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@ADreamOfLiberty
does that include children? Why would you include children?
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@ADreamOfLiberty
lame.
What is the 24% number supposed to represent?
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I was reading about Obama's new presidential portrait and started thinking again about my favorite Presidential portrait. Not surprisingly, most are sober paintings of stiff men. Sargent's portrait of Teddy Roosevelt has an interesting sparse, sepia, common-man quality. Kennedy's posthumous portrait is grim, nearly a political cartoon. But Norman Rockwell's Nixon is terrific. Nixon looks likes he's leaning forward to listen. He looks relaxed and confident and focused on the the viewer. No jingoistic claptrap or luxury in the background. No red white and blue. Just a man in front of you, listening. All presidential portraits should feel so democratic.
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@Shila
Maybe he has a reason for not sucking your facts because you are admitting you are not perfect.Allow him to check your facts instead of sucking at it.
- Public-Choice has every right to check my facts
- Public-Choice has no right to demand I check my facts for him
- Public-Choice has a responsibility to hold his fact checking to at least the same standard he demands
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Why do trolls constantly post about "how they ain't racist" when it's obviously that's the only thing they are for sure?
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@Novice_II
-->@oromagiOkay, then you would have no issue debating this propositionally.There is a required rating of 1900, consequently, you are the only person who can accept this debate. If you genuinely believe that RationalMadman is the best debater this should not be a problem for you.
- So I argue that RM is best by quantity not quality and you create a debate that defines BEST as quality not quantity and then gutlessly pretend you are offering some kind of man to man proposition.
- That is, when you say you wish to debate me propositionally you mean you are a lying varmint laying traps
- obvious trap debates are not moderated
- no thanks to bad faith trolls
- BEST is a child's argument because the condition is subjective. Real debaters use objective terminology in their thesis.
- I can see here why they call you "novice"
- RatMan is the BEST debater on debateart.com because he holds all the medals and thinks all-consumingly that the leaderboard is some kind of reflection of quality. RatMan is also the laziest debater on debateart.com and holds the site record for most chickenshit forfeits. In spite of being a shit debater, he will almost certainly be number one again some day because he has ratings figured out: quantity combined with a certain minimum effort will eventually overtake excellence using the current ratings system.
- Of course, I don't have to explain this concept to you since 40% of all your debates are against mall.
- Since imitation is the highest form of flattery, we can see your admiration for RatMan belies you claim.
- Since you repeatedly claim without evidence that you are a great debater but RatMan can more or less beat you in any debate at will (how many have you lost to him? 8? 10?) you must at least concede that RatMan is a much greater debater than you and if you are not lying (you probably are), and are truly a great debater (probably aren't), then you have already infered that RatMan must be one of the best.
- Call out debates are a violation of DebateArt.com CODE of CONDUCT
- moderators can delete debates... for extenuating circumstances (usually involving blatant Code of Conduct violations).
- Harassment
- Targeted harassment of any member prohibited, as is inciting others to do so at your behest. This includes wishing or hoping that someone and/or their loved ones experiences physical harm.
- Creating [debates, threads] to call-out specific users qualifies as targeted harassment, as does obsessive attempts to derail unrelated topics with impertinent grudges.
- check yourself before you wreck yourself
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@Public-Choice
-->@oromagiThat is why you'll find that Title as the first line of my post.Except it wasn't...Your title left out "expected to."
- No I didn't. You are reading an article from Article from Aug 15th, before Weisselberg pleaded. I am using an Aug 18th article, after the Weisselberg's plea became fact. That should be obvious.
And in the original article, you know, from the Associated Press, that I linked to, (since you didn't even cite a link for your original post) they linked to a NYT article.
- same deal. I assume your outdated article doesn't link because it is outdated.
fact check it, like I normally have to do when you claim things, because, as usual, you got the facts wrong.
- Sorry man. By any measure, your sourcing here and elsewhere is fucked up. I'm not saying I'm perfect. I am just saying you suck at checking your facts.
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@ADreamOfLiberty
If left-tribers can claim that voter ID is voter suppression because somewhere is a hypothetical minority who doesn't have the IQ to find the DMV I can much more reasonably claim that ballot propositions which change voting rules are voter suppression.
- Republicans change voting rules far more often than Democrats. Also, whataboutism, apples and oranges, and false.
1.) Many people don't show up to interim elections where such things are often decided.
- But ranked choice voting was decided in the 2020 General, the same ballots and overwhelmingly Republican majority that voted for Trump +10
- You linked to the 2020 ballot yourself.
- Why are you lying about this?
2.) Many more people don't have the time or patience to read and understand propositions and will vote yes or abstain without good cause
- So if you think the electorate is stupid you just blame Democrats?
So the accurate way to describe "ALASKANS VOTED FOR" would be "Some Alaskans voted for" almost certainly not a quorum.
- That would be an unacceptably biased way of describing the highest voter turnout is Alaska's history both by percentage and raw numbers.
- The measure passed with 174,000 votes in a state where there are only 77,000 Democrats. Significantly more Independents and Republicans voted for this measure than Democrats.
- Your scapegoating Democrats here is ample enough proof that you are not a reliable interpreter of democratic processes in America.
- But I guess we knew that already.
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@badger
I love Louis CK. We are both half Irish Catholics born in DC about a year apart- I can really relate to him.
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@badger
Lord of the Rings is what made me love the English language. My 3rd grade teacher read us The Hobbit and I spent the summer reading the trilogy- the first very long books I had ever read. The first books I read with war and fear of death and sacrifice. I've never been much a fanboy but I wrote a letter to Tolkien and went to the library to find out his address. When the librarian advised me he was dead, I cried, and the poor librarian had to comfort me. I've never been much of fanboy but the Red Book version of The Hobbit and a little statuette of Gollum are two of my most beloved possessions.
To me, that world exists entirely independent of Amazon or Jackson (Dead Alive is still his best work) or Bakshi. If any outsiders influence my imagination it is the Brothers Hildebrandt. In much the same way I don't judge a film by the faults of the actors, I separate these LOTR works from my imagination, knowing that no artist's vision could rival that first imprint.
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you lot are fucking obnoxious
fine.
What is your opinion on the topic you posted?
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@Public-Choice
The actual title of the article is "Trump Org. CFO expected to plead guilty in NY tax case" [1]
That is why you'll find that Title as the first line of my post.
Additionally, there was no primary source document linked to in the entire article, only other AP News articles and one New York Times article.
No need. I am not sourcing a debate, I am starting a conversation with a news clipping. AP News is credited and anybody wishing to verify can just google the headline.
Furthermore, the New York Times article that was linked to also failed to link to any primary source document.
You are hallucinating again. No NYT articles were referenced or linked to in this post.
This is all, therefore, hearsay [2] and not actual proof of anything.
It's not a debate. It is a news clipping. Only the very lazy or the very dumb would have any trouble verifying the article or its contents.
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@badger
I can understand why you get like this, but the whole rest of the world invented a bunch of shit too.
Nobody denies it, nor does any group invent stuff, make culture in a vacuum.
Recall this was a counterargument to "Brits not entranced by Americans."
Now an Irishman comes complaining about our wealth, tech, compelling culture, and dominance.
I think my argument is made that we Americans are more interesting to other nations than other nations care to admit.
I once read a great book of advice to British people travelling in the US. There was a great bit about cold drinks- Americans invented refrigeration and so are compelled to remind themselves of their genius by stuffing every glass of water, tea, juice, soda pop with incredible amounts of ice, making their drinks so cold you can't taste anything, making their drinks so cold it actually causes them pain which they laugh off as some kind of normal consequence. You have no choice in America but to drink most drinks too cold but to prevent painfully cold, you must always specify "no ice."
I once took a literary tour of Dublin pubs run by Trinity College which began with the tour guide wanting assurance that nobody present was from the state of Colorado in America. I said I was and the tour guide became deeply concerned because Coloradoans were the butt of every punchline on the tour, following Oscar WIlde's descriptions of his trip to Leadville in 1882. I assured the tour I was sporting and so proceeded 3 hours of Irish opinion about Americans fueled by half a pint of Guinness every 10 mins or so that will serve as everlasting and sufficient counterpoint to my national pride for the rest of my days.
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@Elliott
Perhaps “entranced” wasn’t the best choice of words
I know it gets used by art critics as "delightful" but I was thinking of "trance" "mesmerized" sense of the word when I said what I would argue, thinking of screens.
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@ADreamOfLiberty
Talk about shifting the context. The casual use of "we" claiming representative status over the collective of all humans in the Americas from now into prehistory... just wow
Another pronoun cop. great.
Clearly, the notion of taking pride in national achievement eludes you.
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@ADreamOfLiberty
As usual democrats change rules at the last minute to get power
What rule change? What Democrats are you scapegoating? Republicans control the Governorship, the are a majority in the Senate and the House.
Explain your accusation.
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@ADreamOfLiberty
I guess I'd have to disagree. I consider LOTR and the Hobbit very English and classic works of literature in the best sense.I didn't say it wasn't English. I didn't say it wasn't a classic. I said those aren't the reasons people like it. Do you like it because it's an English classic or do you like it because of the themes, characters, and plot?
I don't think you can separate LOTR from its Englishness, although Jackson tried at points. The themes are very English between the wars- a great Evil thought conquered has arisen again to the Southeast, moving far faster and with greater numbers than Western leaders anticipated. Ordinary but doughty men who wish they were at home with their beer and pipe and Rosies must travel to foreign countries and join in with a hasty alliance of Westerners to stop the evil before it gets its hands on a world-destroying weapon, risk everything to preserve freedom and equality and the Shire way of life.
Unlike a classic American character, Frodo and Sam succeed by reserved persistence, by staying calm and carrying on and in the most desperate moments, thinking of their Queen Galadriel. Both master and servant both know their place and fulfill their roles uncomplainingly without making a fuss. The hobbits aren't just very Victorian characters, they represent a pre-WW1 world view.
If you took the English out of LOTR it would suck. If it wasn't a classic, most people would not have heard of it. Certainly, producers wouldn't be trying to wrangle some kind of interesting story out of the non-classic Silmarillion now.
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@Elliott
-->@oromagiThey speak English. I'd argue that the English are even more entranced by Americans.I can’t speak for everyone but from personal experience of my fellow countrymen I would say we are not at all entranced by Americans, we are sometimes fascinated but not always in a positive way.
Brits spend 51% of their day looking at TVs, pcs, laptops, smartphones all products of American science and culture. Since 33% of the day is spent sleeping that leaves 16% of each day for other activities. It is therefore accurate to say the average Brit spends 3 times as much time being entranced by American cultural artifacts then they do any other activity.
If you are not impressed by the internet, films like Star Wars and the Avenger, TV shows like Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad, music such as Rock & Roll, Hip-Hop, food like candy, peanut butter, fast food, potatoes, tomatoes, corn, soda pop, hamburgers, fried chicken, tech such as the transistor, the integrated circuit, dishwashers, refrigerators, microwave ovens, atomic energy, GPS that's fine- we have other interested customers.
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PELTOLA BEATS PALIN
By BECKY BOHRER
September 1, 2022
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Democrat Mary Peltola won the special election for Alaska’s only U.S. House seat on Wednesday, besting a field that included Republican Sarah Palin, who was seeking a political comeback in the state where she was once governor.
Peltola, who is Yup’ik and turned 49 on Wednesday, will become the first Alaska Native to serve in the House and the first woman to hold the seat. She will serve the remaining months of the late Republican U.S. Rep. Don Young’s term. Young held the seat for 49 years before his death in March.
“I don’t think there will be another birthday like today,” Peltola said.
“Really I’m just so grateful to Alaskans and all the Alaskans who put their faith in me to fill out the remainder of Congressman Young’s term,” she said in an interview. “My desire is to follow in Congressman Young’s legacy of representing all Alaskans, and I’m just looking forward to getting to work.”
Peltola’s victory, in Alaska’s first statewide ranked choice voting election, is a boon for Democrats, particularly coming off better-than-expected performances in special elections around the country this year following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. She will be the first Democrat to hold the seat since the late U.S. Rep. Nick Begich, who was seeking reelection in 1972 when his plane disappeared. Begich was later declared dead and Young in 1973 was elected to the seat.
Peltola ran as a coalition builder while her two Republican opponents — Palin and Begich’s grandson, also named Nick Begich — at times went after each other. Palin also railed against the ranked voting system, which was instituted by Alaska voters.
All three - Peltola, Palin and Begich - are candidates in the November general election, seeking a two-year term that would start in January.
The results came 15 days after the Aug. 16 election, in line with the deadline for state elections officials to receive absentee ballots mailed from outside the U.S. Ranked choice tabulations took place Wednesday after no candidate won more than 50% of the first choice votes, with state elections officials livestreaming the event. Peltola was in the lead heading into the tabulations, followed by Palin and then Begich.
State elections officials plan to certify the election by Friday.
Alaska Democratic Party leaders cheered Peltola’s win.
“Alaskans have made clear they want a rational, steadfast, honest and caring voice speaking for them in Washington D.C., not opportunists and extremists associated with the Alaska Republican Party,” state Democratic party chair Michael Wenstrup said in a statement.
Wednesday’s results were a disappointment for Palin, who was looking to make a political comeback 14 years after she was vaulted onto the national stage when John McCain selected her to be his running mate in the 2008 presidential election. In her run for the House seat, she had widespread name recognition and won the endorsement of former President Donald Trump.
After Peltola’s victory was announced, Palin called the ranked voting system “crazy, convoluted, confusing.”
“Though we’re disappointed in this outcome, Alaskans know I’m the last one who’ll ever retreat,” Palin said in a statement.
Begich in a statement congratulated Peltola while looking forward to the November election.
During the campaign, critics questioned Palin’s commitment to Alaska, citing her decision to resign as governor in July 2009, partway through her term. Palin went on to become a conservative commentator on TV and appeared in reality television programs, among other pursuits.
Palin has insisted her commitment to Alaska never wavered and said ahead of the special election that she had “signed up for the long haul.”
Peltola, a former state lawmaker who most recently worked for a commission whose goal is to rebuild salmon resources on the Kuskokwim River, cast herself as a “regular” Alaskan. “I’m not a millionaire. I’m not an international celebrity,” she said.
Peltola has said she was hopeful that the new system would allow more moderate candidates to be elected.
During the campaign, she emphasized her support of abortion rights and said she wanted to elevate issues of ocean productivity and food security. Peltola said she got a boost after the June special primary when she won endorsements from Democrats and independents who had been in the race. She said she believed her positive messaging also resonated with voters.
“It’s been very attractive to a lot of people to have a message of working together and positivity and holding each other up and unity and as Americans none of us are each other’s enemy,” she said. “That is just a message that people really need to hear right now.”
Alaska voters in 2020 approved an elections process that replaced party primaries with open primaries. Under the new system, ranked voting is used in general elections.
Under ranked voting, ballots are counted in rounds. A candidate can win outright with more than 50% of the vote in the first round. If no one hits that threshold, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. Voters who chose that candidate as their top pick have their votes count for their next choice. Rounds continue until two candidates remain, and whoever has the most votes wins.
In Alaska, voters last backed a Democrat for president in 1964. The number of registered voters who are unaffiliated with a party is greater than the number of registered Republicans or Democrats combined, according to statistics from the Division of Elections.
The last Democratic member of Alaska’s congressional delegation was Mark Begich, Nick Begich’s uncle, who served one term in the U.S. Senate and lost his 2014 reelection bid.
Alaska’s U.S. senators, Republicans Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, congratulated Peltola.
Murkowski said Peltola “has a long track record of public service to our great state.” Murkowski and Peltola were in the state Legislature together.
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@Shila
How can his testimony be credible if he already pleaded guilty to a felony?
Because if he lies, it is jail for life
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@IwantRooseveltagain
-->@oromagiArgument from anecdoteNonsense.
Argument by Dismissal
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@IwantRooseveltagain
A body found Monday has been identified as that of a kindergarten teacher who was abducted during an early-morning jog last week in Memphis, authorities announced Tuesday.First the Uvalde, Texas mass shooting at a school and the incompetent response by law enforcement. Now this. These Republican led cities and states are just havens for violent crime. So poorly managed.
Argument from anecdote
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@Public-Choice
You say you're a liberal, but the current Pope is a socialist.
I write a lot about this subject on the site. I stick to traditional economic definitions of capitalism and socialism and I don't believe any modern economy can succeed without both tools used in dynamic tension. I think most popular thinking about socialism, capitalism, communism, etc is trashed by Cold War emotionalism. Stalin, for example, was no Socialist and anybody who thinks so fails Socialism 101.
I don't believe Pope Francis has ever identified as a Socialist or expressed an economic plan of any kind, although he has made some worthy critiques of Capitalism. I do think that the Jesus I read would have approved of the theory that the means of production should be managed by the people via democracy or that wealth is best used to improve the fortunes of all. Fishes and loaves, least of these brothers, whoever has two tunics, etc.
Do you consider socialism the end goal of liberalism?
The end goal of Liberalism is Liberty, Equality, and Justice for all.
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Unlike the Hobbit movies, almost all of my problems with the work so far is disagreements about interpretation of the very dry and academic history in the Silmarillion. Still, if I had no LOTR information or expectations, I think I would enjoy this world and the story so far. Galadriel as action hero, for example, seems rather forced but some epic heroine just swimming across the ocean with her knife is great and interesting. Traveling wizard hobbits are great. Lindon and Khazad-Dum are great. I guess I'll try to set aside all my prejudices and see the work on its own terms.
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@ADreamOfLiberty
Almost no one likes LOTR because it's British or a classic.
I guess I'd have to disagree. I consider LOTR and the Hobbit very English and classic works of literature in the best sense.
Certainly the most influential work ever in fantasy writing, long before the movies were made. Issac Asimov's favorite books and I certainly think both authors shared an effortless mastery of language. Tolkien is describing all these foreign, supernatural things and it is amazing how economically he summons these visions.
I also think it is a very relatable document of Britishness between the wars- the "nation of shopkeepers" notion. I think Tolkien perfectly presages the National character and mood as the rough beast of war slouches toward Minas Tirith.
I think Tolkein's sense of sound and syllable has also profoundly impacted English storytelling. His choices of people names and place names are so evocative and influential that I think you can still tell good characters from bad in many fantasies just based on the syllabic vocabulary we inherit from Tolkien.
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@Shila
Why are Americans so fascinated by British classics?
They speak English. I'd argue that the English are even more entranced by Americans.
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The whole thing hangs in the balance for me. I had read the Game of Thrones books but didn't start enjoying the series until about season 4. By the end, I like the TV version better.
I am not warming to a blond Paddy Considine, certainly but I don't think he'll last. In fact, I am hearing that 3 or 4 characters get different actors doing older versions mid season so there's going to be a big jump in time.
My favorite scene so far is ep2 when the Princess confronts Uncle Who. Definitely a slower pace narrative, longer dialogues, etc. I don't know if GOT fans will embrace it.
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@Public-Choice
Mere Christianity for me too.
Roman Catholic is the religion with the Pope.
Romanist is derogatory- last popularly used by the KKK campaigning against Al Smith in 1928
I'm a big Roman history fan but I've never been much of a reader of ancient church philosophy. Most of it is just so much intellectual gymnastics trying to formulate a cohesive, plausible system of belief. I have read a little St. Augustine. I tend to be more of a Jesuit in philosophy- pro-liberal, pro-democracy, proletariat. In my estimation, the current Pope is the closest to my notion of Christian ideal than any previous Pope. I hope the next goes further yet. I am skeptical that there was an actual single figure named Jesus whose words and deeds are effectively captured in the New Testament, but I consider the Sermon on the Mount the core of Western morality and if Jesus was real, I assume he'd prefer a religion entirely founded on love thy neighbor, peaceful self-improvement, non-materialism. Thoreau and Gandhi are my idea of good Christians.
Irish Catholicism is cultural- big on family before everything else, guilt based, progressive, education forward, romantic, skeptical, poetic.
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@Ehyeh
Oromagi. I've said i will argue reincarnation is very likely correct. I've said i will have that burden of proof. Do you want to do it? i have the entire burden of proof.
- Sure. If you submit debate terms I like, I'll do it. If you'd rather I compose the debate, I'll do that too.
Well then you've been doing it wrong, as all your debates assume a million axioms before the discussion can even begin. What form of "truth seeking" is that?
- scientific
We can see if this argument stands or not in our actual debate? if you don't want to do it, that's fine. Just say so.
- You know newborns that speak in complete sentences? Wow. I would like to hear about that.
Wittgenstein would say that simply means they have axioms which were never questioned, so even if you win the debate and they realise they lost. They don't change their mind as a consequence of having an underlying belief which necessitates their current one. All you actually point out is the fact you never find complete truth in any of your debates, as peoples axioms come out unfazed.
- That's why Wittgenstein and I always define the rules of our particular language game before start rolling the dice.
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@Public-Choice
-->@oromagiIrish Catholic is my heritage, culture, my familyOut of curiosity, are you a Romanist?
- That's mostly a Klan term without much meaning beyond insult. Was that your intent?
Who is your favorite theologian?
- CS Lewis
And your favorite church father?
- no preference
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@Ehyeh
-->@oromagiIf you're capable of showing bigfoot is nonsense (through modern technology) shouldn't you be capable of doing the same with reincarnation?
- Yes. Take a survey of all the newborn babies who can speak in complete sentences. As long as that number remains zero, reincarnation is almost certainly false.
the point of debating is not to get surefire 100% indisputable proof (most of the time).
- false.
Barely anyone changes their minds from debates,
- People are stubborn about their biases. Most people very deliberately believe things without evidence
the idea of it is to add more nuance into things and create synthesis between two conflicting ideas to find a new shared resolution.
- That is dialectic, not debate. A very different form of truth searching.
To then debate things where surefire proof is not possible but then be against this debate for the exact same reason feels contradictory to me.
- because it is mostly just nonsense equivocation. You aren't really arguing in favor of reincarnation, you are arguing that we don't know what happens after death- a truism you are asking me to overcome. Only a sucker would take that debate.
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@Shila
How can a child have the knowledge of several adults unless it gained the knowledge from past lives?
- High intelligence
Jesus never became any smarter after his resurrection.
- How do you know that?
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@Ehyeh
-->@oromagiDidnt you just recently have a debate on bigfoots existence? someone could simply same all the current evidence has failed to detect him but that doesn't mean he doesn't exist.
- If you read that debate you will find that I argued exactly that point: we are past the point where some bipedal megafauna could exist in North America undetectably. My opponent argued that the idea of Bigfoot proved that Bigfoot exists, but only in the mind.
We can definitely debate likelihoods and come to a shared conclusion on if its a ridiculous idea to have (like believing in unicorns and dragons).
- My opponent argued that the idea of Bigfoot proved that Bigfoot exists, but only in the mind. Debate is arguing the truth value of any claim- what's the point of claiming something might be true without evidence?
I noticed that you consider yourself a catholic? is that just for aesthetic purposes?
- Irish Catholic is my heritage, culture, my family. I long ago gave up pretending things are true that I do not know are true.
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@Ehyeh
Switch soul to consciousness and i will carry the full burden of proving there is no sufficient reason to believe consciousness dies at death and that reincarnation is possible. Will that be good enough?
There is also no sufficient reason to believe that consciousness magically moves on to another body. That is because we have no understanding of what happens to human consciousness after we dies (thus falsifying reincarnation). You could argue with the same evidence that there is no sufficient reason to believe that consciousness dies and therefore it is possible that we all transmogrify into flying spaghetti monsters.
That is not an argument for reincarnation. That is a god of gaps that can be colored in with any fantasy you choose.
Since there is no sufficient reason to believe consciousness dies it is just as possible I wake up the next day as Bilbo Baggins or Captain America
To argue that human consciousness is transferable but without an intact memory or personality is to use a special pleading for consciousness.
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@Ehyeh
I'm not going to argue that reincarnation is not unfalsifiable- triple negative.
You must prove that there is such a thing as a human soul and that when a human dies, that soul is provably transferred to another animal.
If you're not arguing that then you're not really arguing for the existence of reincarnation.
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@Ehyeh
More like I was trying to warn you off claims of magic in the realms of reason. You are welcome to submit a debate. If I don't like the terms or the thesis I will reject it. If you'd prefer to discuss topic, format in IM, we can do that to.
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@Polytheist-Witch
If Trump isn't running for anything how are they supposed to defeat him?
I think Trump almost has to run for President again at this point. It is his best argument against going to jail
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@Ehyeh
I'm open to suggestions. History, conspiracy theories, current events politics, etc. are my types of topics generally.
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@Ehyeh
Sure, tho I think reincarnation is easily falsified.
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Oromagi structures his debates like some top secret government AI project released onto debating. He even uses capitalisation that way.
- I guess that's what logic must look like to the uninitiated.
- I use all CAPS in debates to remind VOTERS that particular word was defined for this debate, semantically delimited.
- Debate format, structure follows Barney's published style guide. Since he is by far the most prolific voter on this site, it seems only logical to customize my arguments to appeal to that voter.
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@Novice_II
I forgot about this thread, but since it was updated today, can someone please explain to me how RationalMadman is a good debater, talk less of the best one?
- Because he understands the nature of this site better than any other. The leaderboard rewards quantity over quality and as long as RM keeps winning 2/3rds of his debates (which might be done easily if he simply refused to forfeit so often), he must eventually return to the top slot with an unassailable position on the leaderboard.
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@Shila
Weisselberg was with the Trump family for decades. Not very likely that he will throw Trump under the bus.
He took a plea deal on 15 felonies two week ago. Part of that deal is that he must tell everything he knows about the Trump org or lose his plea deal.
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@PREZ-HILTON
Are you pretending America is a Democracy?
I am asserting it as fact and so are you when cry longingly for a dictator to rule it.
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@cristo71
On DDO, one voter said I changed his mind regarding the justness of the Treaty of Versailles.
On this site, I changed my opponent's mind. Trent0405 instigated a micro debate claiming Germany was more powerful than France and he says I changed his mind completely.
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@FLRW
-->@oromagiDo republican's know Mehmet Oz is a Muslim?
Just imagine the fake outrage if Democrats had a Muslim running for Senate.
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- What is your reaction to India's Joint Military exercises with China in Russia this week?
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@PREZ-HILTON
Are you unaware that every single person who voted for Trump in the 2024 election sees this as Biden saying half the country are extremists which also implies that they need to probably be put on some terrorist watch list?
You have repeatedly called for the violent overthrow of Democracies everywhere and American democracy particularly. I don't know why you'd object to being labeled a terrorist now when you've worked so hard to cultivate that very persona.
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I believe we can and we must do that again, and we are.
MAGA Republicans look at America and see carnage and darkness and despair. They spread fear and lies –- lies told for profit and power.
But I see a very different America — an America with an unlimited future, an America that is about to take off. I hope you see it as well. Just look around.
I believed we could lift America from the depths of COVID, so we passed the largest economic recovery package since Franklin Delano Roosevelt. And today, America’s economy is faster, stronger than any other advanced nation in the world. We have more to go.
I believed we could build a better America, so we passed the biggest infrastructure investment since President Dwight D. Eisenhower. And we’ve now embarked on a decade of rebuilding the nation’s roads, bridges, highways, ports, water systems, high-speed Internet, railroads.
I believed we could make America safer, so we passed the most significant gun safety law since President Clinton.
I believed we could go from being the highest cost of prescriptions in the world to making prescription drugs and healthcare more affordable, so we passed the most significant healthcare reforms since President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act.
And I believed we could create — we could create a clean energy future and save the planet, so we passed the most important climate initiative ever, ever, ever.
The cynics and the critics tell us nothing can get done, but they are wrong. There is not a single thing America cannot do — not a single thing beyond our capacity if we do it together.
It’s never easy. But we’re proving that in America, no matter how long the road, progress does come.
Look, I know the last year — few years have been tough. But today, COVID no longer controls our lives. More Americans are working than ever. Businesses are growing. Our schools are open. Millions of Americans have been lifted out of poverty. Millions of veterans once exposed to toxic burn pits will now get what they deserve for their families.
American manufacturing has come alive across the Heartland, and the future will be made in America no matter what the white supremacists and the extremists say.
I made a bet on you, the American people, and that bet is paying off. Proving that from darkness — the darkness of Charlottesville, of COVID, of gun violence, of insurrection — we can see the light. Light is now visible.
Light that will guide us forward not only in words, but in actions — actions for you, for your children, for your grandchildren, for America.
Even in this moment, with all the challenges we face, I give you my word as a Biden: I’ve never been more optimistic about America’s future. Not because of me, but because of who you are.
We’re going to end cancer as we know it. Mark my words.
We are going to create millions of new jobs in a clean energy economy.
We’re going to think big. We’re going to make the 21st century another American century because the world needs us to.
That’s where we need to focus our energy — not in the past, not on divisive culture wars, not on the politics of grievance, but on a future we can build together.
The MAGA Republicans believe that for them to succeed, everyone else has to fail. They believe America — not like I believe about America.
I believe America is big enough for all of us to succeed, and that is the nation we’re building: a nation where no one is left behind.
I ran for President because I believed we were in a battle for the soul of this nation. I still believe that to be true. I believe the soul is the breath, the life, and the essence of who we are. The soul is what makes us “us.”
The soul of America is defined by the sacred proposition that all are created equal in the image of God. That all are entitled to be treated with decency, dignity, and respect. That all deserve justice and a shot at lives of prosperity and consequence. And that democracy — democracy must be defended, for democracy makes all these things possible. Folks, and it’s up to us.
Democracy begins and will be preserved in we, the people’s, habits of heart, in our character: optimism that is tested yet endures, courage that digs deep when we need it, empathy that fuels democracy, the willingness to see each other not as enemies but as fellow Americans.
Look, our democracy is imperfect. It always has been.
Notwithstanding those folks you hear on the other side there. They’re entitled to be outrageous. This is a democracy. But history and common sense — (applause) — good manners is nothing they’ve ever suffered from.
But history and common sense tell us that opportunity, liberty, and justice for all are most likely to come to pass in a democracy.
We have never fully realized the aspirations of our founding, but every generation has opened those doors a little wider to include more people who have been excluded before.
My fellow Americans, America is an idea — the most powerful idea in the history of the world. And it beats in the hearts of the people of this country. It beats in all of our hearts. It unites America. It is the American creed.
The idea that America guarantees that everyone be treated with dignity. It gives hate no safe harbor. It installs in everyone the belief that no matter where you start in life, there’s nothing you can’t achieve.
That’s who we are. That’s what we stand for. That’s what we believe. And that is precisely what we are doing: opening doors, creating new possibilities, focusing on the future. And we’re only just beginning.
Our task is to make our nation free and fair, just and strong, noble and whole.
And this work is the work of democracy — the work of this generation. It is the work of our time, for all time.
We can’t afford to leave anyone on the sidelines. We need everyone to do their part. So speak up. Speak out. Get engaged. Vote, vote, vote.
And if we all do our duty — if we do our duty in 2022 and beyond, then ages still to come will say we — all of us here — we kept the faith. We preserved democracy. (Applause.) We heeded our wor- — we — we heeded not our worst instincts but our better angels. And we proved that, for all its imperfections, America is still the beacon to the world, an ideal to be realized, a promise to be kept.
There is nothing more important, nothing more sacred, nothing more American. That’s our soul. That’s who we truly are. And that’s who must — we must always be.
And I have no doubt — none –– that this is who we will be and that we’ll come together as a nation. That we’ll secure our democracy. That for the next 200 years, we’ll have what we had the past 200 years: the greatest nation on the face of the Earth.
We just need to remember who we are. We are the United States of America. The United States of America.
And may God protect our nation. And may God protect all those who stand watch over our democracy. God bless you all.
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Remarks by President Biden on the Continued Battle for the Soul of the Nation
Independence National Historical Park
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
(September 1, 2022)
My fellow Americans, please, if you have a seat, take it. I speak to you tonight from sacred ground in America: Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
This is where America made its Declaration of Independence to the world more than two centuries ago with an idea, unique among nations, that in America, we’re all created equal.
This is where the United States Constitution was written and debated.
This is where we set in motion the most extraordinary experiment of self-government the world has ever known with three simple words: “We, the People.” “We, the People.”
These two documents and the ideas they embody — equality and democracy — are the rock upon which this nation is built. They are how we became the greatest nation on Earth. They are why, for more than two centuries, America has been a beacon to the world.
But as I stand here tonight, equality and democracy are under assault. We do ourselves no favor to pretend otherwise.
So tonight, I have come this place where it all began to speak as plainly as I can to the nation about the threats we face, about the power we have in our own hands to meet these threats, and about the incredible future that lies in front of us if only we choose it.
We must never forget: We, the people, are the true heirs of the American experiment that began more than two centuries ago.
We, the people, have burning inside each of us the flame of liberty that was lit here at Independence Hall — a flame that lit our way through abolition, the Civil War, Suffrage, the Great Depression, world wars, Civil Rights.
That sacred flame still burns now in our time as we build an America that is more prosperous, free, and just.
That is the work of my presidency, a mission I believe in with my whole soul.
But first, we must be honest with each other and with ourselves.
Too much of what’s happening in our country today is not normal.
Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic.
Now, I want to be very clear up front: Not every Republican, not even the majority of Republicans, are MAGA Republicans. Not every Republican embraces their extreme ideology.
I know because I’ve been able to work with these mainstream Republicans.
But there is no question that the Republican Party today is dominated, driven, and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans, and that is a threat to this country.
These are hard things.
But I’m an American President — not the President of red America or blue America, but of all America.
And I believe it is my duty — my duty to level with you, to tell the truth no matter how difficult, no matter how painful.
And here, in my view, is what is true: MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution. They do not believe in the rule of law. They do not recognize the will of the people.
They refuse to accept the results of a free election. And they’re working right now, as I speak, in state after state to give power to decide elections in America to partisans and cronies, empowering election deniers to undermine democracy itself.
MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards — backwards to an America where there is no right to choose, no right to privacy, no right to contraception, no right to marry who you love.
They promote authoritarian leaders, and they fan the flames of political violence that are a threat to our personal rights, to the pursuit of justice, to the rule of law, to the very soul of this country.
They look at the mob that stormed the United States Capitol on January 6th — brutally attacking law enforcement — not as insurrectionists who placed a dagger to the throat of our democracy, but they look at them as patriots.
And they see their MAGA failure to stop a peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 election as preparation for the 2022 and 2024 elections.
They tried everything last time to nullify the votes of 81 million people. This time, they’re determined to succeed in thwarting the will of the people.
That’s why respected conservatives, like Federal Circuit Court Judge Michael Luttig, has called Trump and the extreme MAGA Republicans, quote, a “clear and present danger” to our democracy.
But while the threat to American democracy is real, I want to say as clearly as we can: We are not powerless in the face of these threats. We are not bystanders in this ongoing attack on democracy.
There are far more Americans — far more Americans from every — from every background and belief who reject the extreme MAGA ideology than those that accept it.
And, folks, it is within our power, it’s in our hands — yours and mine — to stop the assault on American democracy.
I believe America is at an inflection point — one of those moments that determine the shape of everything that’s to come after.
And now America must choose: to move forward or to move backwards? To build the future or obsess about the past? To be a nation of hope and unity and optimism, or a nation of fear, division, and of darkness?
MAGA Republicans have made their choice. They embrace anger. They thrive on chaos. They live not in the light of truth but in the shadow of lies.
But together — together, we can choose a different path. We can choose a better path. Forward, to the future. A future of possibility. A future to build and dream and hope.
And we’re on that path, moving ahead.
I know this nation. I know you, the American people. I know your courage. I know your hearts. And I know our history.
This is a nation that honors our Constitution. We do not reject it.
This is a nation that believes in the rule of law. We do not repudiate it.
This is a nation that respects free and fair elections. We honor the will of the people. We do not deny it.
And this is a nation that rejects violence as a political tool. We do not encourage violence.
We are still an America that believes in honesty and decency and respect for others, patriotism, liberty, justice for all, hope, possibilities.
We are still, at our core, a democracy.
And yet history tells us that blind loyalty to a single leader and a willingness to engage in political violence is fatal to democracy.
For a long time, we’ve told ourselves that American democracy is guaranteed, but it’s not.
We have to defend it, protect it, stand up for it — each and every one of us.
That’s why tonight I’m asking our nation to come together, unite behind the single purpose of defending our democracy regardless of your ideology.
We’re all called, by duty and conscience, to confront extremists who will put their own pursuit of power above all else.
Democrats, independents, mainstream Republicans: We must be stronger, more determined, and more committed to saving American democracy than MAGA Republicans are to — to destroying American democracy.
We, the people, will not let anyone or anything tear us apart. Today, there are dangers around us we cannot allow to prevail. You’ve heard it — more and more talk about violence as an acceptable political tool in this country. It’s not. It can never be an acceptable tool.
So I want to say this plain and simple: There is no place for political violence in America. Period. None. Ever.
We saw law enforcement brutally attacked on January the 6th. We’ve seen election officials, poll workers — many of them volunteers of both parties — subjected to intimidation and death threats. And — can you believe it? — FBI agents just doing their job as directed, facing threats to their own lives from their own fellow citizens.
On top of that, there are public figures — today, yesterday, and the day before — predicting and all but calling for mass violence and rioting in the streets.
This is inflammatory. It’s dangerous. It’s against the rule of law. And we, the people, must say: This is not who we are.
Ladies and gentlemen, we can’t be pro-insurrectionist and pro-American. They’re incompatible.
We can’t allow violence to be normalized in this country. It’s wrong. We each have to reject political violence with — with all the moral clarity and conviction this nation can muster. Now.
We can’t let the integrity of our elections be undermined, for that is a path to chaos.
Look, I know politics can be fierce and mean and nasty in America. I get it. I believe in the give-and-take of politics, in disagreement and debate and dissent.
We’re a big, complicated country. But democracy endures only if we, the people, respect the guardrails of the republic. Only if we, the people, accept the results of free and fair elections. Only if we, the people, see politics not as total war but mediation of our differences.
Democracy cannot survive when one side believes there are only two outcomes to an election: either they win or they were cheated. And that’s where MAGA Republicans are today.
They don’t understand what every patriotic American knows: You can’t love your country only when you win. It’s fundamental.
American democracy only works only if we choose to respect the rule of law and the institutions that were set up in this chamber behind me, only if we respect our legitimate political differences.
I will not stand by and watch the will of the American people be overturned by wild conspiracy theories and baseless, evidence-free claims of fraud.
I will not stand by and watch elections in this country stolen by people who simply refuse to accept that they lost.
I will not stand by and watch the most fundamental freedom in this country — the freedom to vote and have your vote counted be taken from you and the American people.
Look, as your President, I will defend our democracy with every fiber of my being, and I’m asking every American to join me.
(A protestor disruption can be heard.)
Throughout our history, America has often made the greatest progress coming out of some of our darkest moments, like you’re hearing in that bullhorn.
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@Lair77
You don't say
- how long an argument you are writing in 45 min
- why you need as long to proofread as to compose- that seems off
Stephen King writes about 10kc/2000 words per day and he takes 8-10 hrs to write it. King is considered one of the most productive writers in the history of English. By comparison, Joyce averaged 90 words per day and Hemmingway 500. If you are indeed writing 10kc arguments in 45 minutes I would advise there is not much room for improvement.
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