Don't blame me, I voted for the other guy. (Politics General)

Is Pence as bad as Trump?

@JasonRatana  
Trump’s a loud mouth bully.
 
Pence is silent serial killer.
 
Make of that what you will.

@Background Pony #5AD0  
What’s the reason that you view Pro-Brexit groups as bigots?
 
Honest question here.
 
What link do they have with hate?

Pause the politics.
 
I’m making lasagna.

@CaptainXtra  
Nationalism is bad. Now we are all in the shit because of that!  
Europe is to keep peace between countries.

@CaptainXtra  
Pence is a lot worse than Trump. He’s just waiting.

@The Smiling Pony  
Will the protests last as long as Hong Kong? (I support HK’s protestors by the way)

@igotnopicks  
Exactly.

MY. FUCKING. GOD!

@Twi Clown  
Seen the news early.

Kasich now says he supports impeaching the president.
 
He joins a growing list of Republican statesmen everywhere but Congress that support either the investigation or the impeachment.

@The Smiling Pony
 
Does it really matter in a practical sense if Catalonia is independent of Spain though? My understanding is that they, like the Venetians, Scots, Basque, et cetera want to remain within the EU, thus they’re still part of the same [theoretically] borderless superstate. To quote Quillette:  
 
(emphasis mine)

@Ebalosus  
Got a link to that article?

@Ebalosus  
They should’ve just gone full on Brexit mode.

@Ebalosus  
The problem with that is that EU membership isn’t automatic. The US Constitution has specific provisions for carving new states out of old territory. The Treaty on European Union is silent on that count, and in 2014 the European Commission declared that an independent Scotland would be considered a “third country”, having to join the EU on its own merits.

@HeadlessHorselessHorseman
 
Here you go.

@Ebalosus  
>Andy Ngo grifting publication  
that’s an oof from me friend.

@Background Human  
So basically if the UK wants back in the EU after it possibly leaves, it ain’t gonna be an overnight or even yearly transition is it?

@CaptainXtra  
Nope - probably as long and messy a process as leaving. If they even approve us.

@Ebalosus  
>800 injured  
It’s really painful to see when propaganda works. The regional government sent out the order that anyone receiving any medical attention that day, including people calling over the phone to ask about the flu, were to be logged as “injured in protests”.
 
The best part is the people running this don’t actually want independence, they just want the attention in order to carve out some more fiscal autonomy so they can benefit from Spanish social security, infrastructure, military, etc. without paying back in. The NEETs running around in the streets have just been brainwashed by decades of distorted history lessons and nationalist propaganda.

@dissociativity
 
Me using them in this instance isn’t an endorsement, just that the author had a good point about how the likes of independence movements within the EU that want to stay within the EU doesn’t sound like it means that much. To paraphrase the author: what difference does it make if they answer to people in London/Madrid if they all ultimately answer to the people in Brussels?
 
Also, if you really want to go after Quillette, then bring up how Clair Lehman was really into the human biodiversity movement (until she scrubbed that from the internet) and how for a supposedly “free speech and free thought” platform, they adamantly refuse to publish anything pro-gun. So yes to Ngo, the Prussian education systems superiority, and racialism; but no to the idea guns aren’t just the purview of criminals and terrorists.
 
I guess my mate AusGovGunFacts is right about the power of anti-gun brainwashing in Australia…
 
Speaking of brainwashing:  
@The Smiling Pony
 
Even if that’s the case, I’m doubtful that it’ll change much. The central Spanish government has been painted at the bad guys…again (seriously, it feels like from a historical perspective the Spanish government has a quasi-monopoly on doing bad shit throughout history), and the Catalonians as the plucky rebels who just want to be free. That’s the perception, and since perception drives reality, not much can be done about it I’m afraid. Either the Spanish government cracks down and reaffirms everyone’s beliefs, or they ease up and validate the independence movement.

So word of advice to any independence movements from within the EU:  
It won’t mean jack shit unless you actually leave the EU.
 
Not that Brexit is something to idolize…

@Ebalosus  
I realize that, and it’s infuriating. It’s rich former nobility scurrying away their ill-gotten fortunes (read up on the Pujols), leading masses of racist and xenophobic pricks. But, they’ve invested a lot of money, public money, into international propaganda, and they’ve explicitly stated as much in writing, so all people outside of the country will see is what they’ve been told to see, and none of the racism, elitism, or favoritism matters.
 
And yes, from a historical perspective, Spain is always painted as the bad guy, because Spain sucks at PR. Britain put in a lot of effort into tarnishing Spain’s reputation, and it stuck, as did Netherlands, spreading the lies of the “black legend”.
 
Just read up on the Spanish Inquisition, for example; it’s a meme that it’s literally the worst thing ever, but Spain was one of the safest countries to be a “heretic” or “apostate” in for centuries because of it. While in England, France, or Germany tens of thousands were just immediately lynched/hanged/burned alive over any accusation, the Spanish Inquisition demanded no action be taken against the accused until they arrived, and then they be put to trial with a lawyer, with the vast majority of cases ending in the accused being absolved after slander was proven against them, or given a financial fine. Not that the whole situation wasn’t fucked up, but it was one of the least fucked up in the entire continent, and still the propaganda prevails.

Not sure if this deserves to be in the politics or video game thread more so I’ll just cross-post it in both.
 
Congress itself has drafted a bipartisan letter slamming Activision Blizzard for bending the knee to China and its hypocritical claim for ‘Free Speech’
 
Bobby Kotick dun goofed.