Senate The 2016 U.S. Presidential Election has begun

You know, in light of what's been happening with the African-American community and police, I wonder how much more it would take for these protests to turn into an armed revolt.

Think about it. Right now, we have a continuous stream of young black men being killed by what is perceived to be trigger-happy white cops. Instinct tells me this is nothing new, just garnering more attention in the era of ubiqitous cell phones. So let's say a President Bush, with a united GOP Congress, actually passes a far-right agenda and dismantles the welfare state. How hard is to believe that riots won't potentially turn into an actual attempt at armed revolt? You already have:

1) An enormous number of illegal weapons concentrated in America's urban centers
2) A disproportionate number of violent crimes being commited by African-Americans, reflecting not only economic disparity, but a sense of hopelessness and contributing to the biases of police nationwide (also the reason for the much higher proportion of African-Americans in America's prisons).
3) A general national sense that the game is rigged.

All that's needed is a leader, someone who can organize the protestors nationwide. Publicly, they call for civil disobedience and 'peaceful protests'; privately, they co-ordinate urban violence. Such an action would put whomever is President in a real bind--do they order the military in, and direct them to fire on rioting civilians, especially if they happen to have dark skin? Or do they bend to pressure, and try and effect real change?

In today's environment, with the current state of the GOP, I can't imagine that such a scenario wouldn't immediately result in a race to prove one's chops. The instinct, one might almost say urge, to defend a 1950s-style version of white privilege is so rampant amongst the current GOP base that it almost seems to be hardwired. I'm not sure what the solution is, but I for one am surprised no-one's tried this yet (beyond opportunists such as Al Sharpton).

Thoughts?

Peace,

V-03

 

I thought that the Posse Comitatus Act prevented such an action. The reason that the National Guard and Coast Guard get passes from it are because the National Guard would have to be directed to act stateside by the governor of the state, and the Coast Guard falls under the Department of Homeland Security. Even then, the guardsmen that I can recall seeing on the news in Ferguson and Baltimore are not armed.

 

That article about Jeb is terrifying.

 

As a part of her dedication to transparency, Hillary is releasing a copy of those State Department emails that she kept on her private server... on paper. Roughly 55,000 pages, double sided.

 

One of her campaign goals is to tackle bureaucratic inefficiency.

 

Nothing speaks to bureaucracy more than massive ****-tons of paperwork........

 

Vaderize, the African-American community has suffered far worse insults, with far more credible leaders (and sometimes militant) leaders than now exist. There is not and will not be any race war or African-American insurgency.

More to the point, your insult against Sharpton is wholly undeserved. He has plenty of flaws. But openly trying to stir violence is not one of them--at least not in the last decade or so. You seem to forget, for instance, that he was one of the first media personalities to give the Trayvon Martin story any sustained coverage or serious consideration. In instances like these, and the Jenna 6, offering an outlet for community frustrations actually reduces the likelihood of incidents like Baltimore or Ferguson, where there are explosive riots precisely because people perceive--often correctly--that their concerns or grievances are largely ignored. It also deflates the appeal of far more radical and toxic groups.

 

Jabba, you're entitled to your opinion, but mine is that despite the good he has done, the Reverend Sharpton never lets a good crisis go to waste. I understand your point, but mine is that he has allowed himself to fall victim to his own rhetoric. Yes, allowing such outlets does reduce the chance of violence, but he has in the past 'fanned the flames', and so is not the saint you would make him out to be. He may never have open called for violence, but he is far from a 'peacenik', in any sense of the word.

Peace,

V-03

 

Only the U.S. government could set up a paperwork reduction policy and end up creating more paperwork out of it.

 

^ Not just the government, though.

 

Ready the Santorum jokes again!

 

Hillary has another challenger.

 

I challenge you to a dance off!

 

I... danced in China... in the great DANCE OFF... of BEIJING in 1964. It never gets reported because four people died...

 

Daniel Larison with his usual scalpel work, in this case on Lindsay Graham:

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/graham-and-american-weakness/

Larison's the man to read for conservative thoughts on the candidates.

 

Because it can be lucrative to run for president, regardless of whether you come close to the nomination. It gets you national attention, and that frequently means money.

 

Oh my...

 

None of the candidates look any good.....except one I've always admired Bernie Sanders, and I'm glad he's thrown his hat into the ring. He's got my vote!

 

God knows these (mostly) wealthy people need more money.

 

It seems Sanders has a scandal of his own now:

http://www.breitbart.com/big-govern...ernie-sanders-that-would-sink-any-republican/

In short, he wrote an essay about how women fantasize about getting raped. Several media outlets, including fox News, immediately jumped on this and it looks like Sanders' days are numbered.

Except . . . Here's the truth behind that stormy:

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-...-salacious-1972-essay-to-fifty-shades-of-grey

In other words, this so-called scandal is about his writing a satire, slamming gender stereotypes, and also, that he wrote it 40 years ago.

Personally, I find this excellent news for two reasons. First, to try and dig up dirt on Sanders means they're actually taking him seriously as a candidate. And second, this is the best they could dig up.