the watcher

Yeah Bill Maher is an insufferable prick, butnhe was bang on when he said that America has a fine right wing party,  the Democrats. They just don't have a left wing party.

I recoil at the thought of the Democrats being considered "left". They are to the left of the GOP but no where on the left of the political spectrum. 

On this I agree. If the Democrats had fielded any kind of a candidate that connected with people then a narcissistic ,lieing , womanizing,  failed businessman would never have been elected in the 1st place

On this I agree. If the Democrats had fielded any kind of a candidate that connected with people then a narcissistic ,lieing , womanizing,  failed businessman would never have been elected in the 1st place

Whatever works in the cesspool that is American politics.  It's a gong show, and it isn't just a gong show on the right. The left has culpability in it as well and you will never convince me otherwise. It is gross and it is trickling into Canadian politics as well. Sad state of affairs. Extreme partisanship has taken over.

I agree. Most people's commitment to acting on their beliefs is largely driven by how convenient it is to do so. 

The earth certainly does and has gone through warming and cooling periods, many greater than what we are seeing or expecting. The thing that is ignored is that those fluctuations often wipe out species, civilizations, populations....... On top of that is most previous fluctuations have caused more local carnage. Because we are so dependent on other parts of the world , local damage in one part will have an effect thousands of miles away.The fact that humans are causing not only climate change but  damage to fragile systems that will have domino effects  is science. We are also vacuuming up resources  at an insane pace.  I don't agree  with all of Jared Diamond 's writings but he is correct in his belief that civilization collapses are often triggered by issues in their environment. What the world has never seen is when that is world wide.

The thinking goes - if we had fires and floods in the past, there's no way they could be caused by humans in any way. We see this logic in "the earth has always gone through periods of warming and cooling - this isn't caused by humans" Unfortunately people in power use this to prevent efforts to help with climate change.
Really low-level thinking that I'm pretty sure is intentionally blinding at times (people cling to beliefs when reality means they have personal responsibility and their way of life needs to change) and is definitely used as propaganda.
 

When we were living just south of Alberta, High River experienced its fourth catastrophic flood since 1950, each one worse than the last, with the last one creating horrendous property damage and taking the lives of three people immediately and many more later. Apparently each of the preceding floods was met with the identical response from the provincial government. First, politicians toured the area, wringing their hands and making promises to ensure this would never happen again. A committee was struck and disappeared from public view shortly thereafter. Months later, a report was issued detailing the causes and costs to correct them. The government made somber statements that the report would be given full consideration, and more months passed. Eventually, the minister responsible declared that this was a once-in-a-lifetime event , was terribly expensive to prevent it happening again but would be watched closely. Then the government shelved the report and retreated into a comatose state, refusing to answer any further questions as the whole thing was ancient history. 
We humans seem constitutionally incapable of learning from past mistakes. 

Most of society is a long way from being prepared for these changes.  We are all clinging to those beliefs, to some extent.  No one is exempt from this, it is the fabric of our current society.

The earth certainly does and has gone through warming and cooling periods, many greater than what we are seeing or expecting. The thing that is ignored is that those fluctuations often wipe out species, civilizations, populations....... On top of that is most previous fluctuations have caused more local carnage. Because we are so dependent on other parts of the world , local damage in one part will have an effect thousands of miles away.The fact that humans are causing not only climate change but  damage to fragile systems that will have domino effects  is science. We are also vacuuming up resources  at an insane pace.  I don't agree  with all of Jared Diamond 's writings but he is correct in his belief that civilization collapses are often triggered by issues in their environment. What the world has never seen is when that is world wide.

The world has become one big freak show.

Their entire political system is a nonfunctional gong show.Its got nothing to do with trying to govern a country  just  self promotion, power, lining your pockets, and attacking the opposition ( who ever you see as opposition ) with what ever you can make up.  It would be comical if it was a tiny unimportant country that had little real military or financial  importance in the world.

Funny that the same Russian government whose military is looking quite inept in its Ukraine invasion is the same one that could coordinate a cyber-campaign to de-stabilize the US and influence its elections. Not sure if it says more about the strength of Ukraine or weakness of the US. 

Their entire political system is a nonfunctional gong show.Its got nothing to do with trying to govern a country  just  self promotion, power, lining your pockets, and attacking the opposition ( who ever you see as opposition ) with what ever you can make up.  It would be comical if it was a tiny unimportant country that had little real military or financial  importance in the world.

When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans I had an " ah ha " moment and came to believe the US was a failing state. Members of the press were rescuing people while rows of buses sat out side the area of damage while politicians argued durisdiction. No coordination,  no leadership and emergency measures for the country being handled by a racetrack owner (or manager??) . If a country can't deal with a disaster in a limited area it's an ugly sign in my opinion.( think BC last year, Red river floods )
Everything that has followed since, the 2008 economic crisis,  the election of Trump, the riots and counter riots , the utter idiocy of government officials and politicians ...... just reinforce my belief. How long the fall is is the question. Empires have risen and completely disappeared in a person's life time. Rome waxed and waned for hundreds of years. They could rise again to prominence again quickly or never again.

Their entire political system is a nonfunctional gong show.Its got nothing to do with trying to govern a country  just  self promotion, power, lining your pockets, and attacking the opposition ( who ever you see as opposition ) with what ever you can make up.  It would be comical if it was a tiny unimportant country that had little real military or financial  importance in the world.

If you are looking for credibility, politics may not be the best place to start. Now, hypocrisy, whataboutism, gaslighting, self-interest, well…….

Their entire political system is a nonfunctional gong show.Its got nothing to do with trying to govern a country  just  self promotion, power, lining your pockets, and attacking the opposition ( who ever you see as opposition ) with what ever you can make up.  It would be comical if it was a tiny unimportant country that had little real military or financial  importance in the world.

SOme very interesting information on the logistics of the failed attempt to take Kyiv in 2 days and what scenarios might playout:
 
 

It's a pivotal moment for the Conservatives. Do you continue with the right of center party they have always been or do you leap feet 1st  into the idiocy that plagues the US. I still have faith in Canadians. I believe if they go down the far right path they will be soundly rejected in the net General election. A strong, competent leader for the Liberals would ensure that. 

It's a pivotal moment for the Conservatives. Do you continue with the right of center party they have always been or do you leap feet 1st  into the idiocy that plagues the US. I still have faith in Canadians. I believe if they go down the far right path they will be soundly rejected in the net General election. A strong, competent leader for the Liberals would ensure that. 

Pretty sure animal flatulence is as good as a mask there.

It's a pivotal moment for the Conservatives. Do you continue with the right of center party they have always been or do you leap feet 1st  into the idiocy that plagues the US. I still have faith in Canadians. I believe if they go down the far right path they will be soundly rejected in the net General election. A strong, competent leader for the Liberals would ensure that.