a clown car full of millionaires: the 2016 presidential primary thread

is he quoting They Might Be Giants in those last three sentences

http://s3.amazonaws.com/rapgenius/Insane-Clown-Posse-fuckin-magnets-how-do-they-work.jpg

I believe that God gave the creatures he made the ability to adapt to their environment. Except the ones who didn't adapt. God hates those creatures.

lol

but apparently not smart enough to arrange things so there's no need to "adapt to their environment".
There's lots of Ben Carsons out there: people who aren't completely stupid but WAY overestimate their own intelligence, try to use the same tools actual smart people use (ie logic, reasoning), fail miserably yet aren't smart (or humble) enough to realize that.

the previous five extinction events was just god clearing out loser animals he made when he stoned.

There's lots of Ben Carsons out there: people who aren't completely stupid but WAY overestimate their own intelligence, try to use the same tools actual smart people use (ie logic, reasoning), fail miserably yet aren't smart (or humble) enough to realize that.

a lot of those people, sadly, have medical degrees

Carson could say smart-sounding stuff about intelligent design and information theory and whatever. He'd still be wrong, but he would appease the base and not come across as totally ignorant. So, I guess he is that ignorant?

God: He's Very Smart
(i feel i have at least four points of disagreements with that statement)

1. There is no God.
2. If there were a God, it'd be a She.
3. ???
4. ???

3. God is smart.
4. God is VERY smart.

revised with bonus beef:
3. God, as presented in your argument, would be smart.
4. God, as presented in your argument, would be very smart.
5. We can comprehend the scope and meaning of "God".

This reminds me of the NonStampCollector cartoons about how weird and dumb the god of the bible is.
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDyWzuw_u0TBnRaoAcVg0jw

You're making God sound like a Magnavox. xp

God this, God that, where you going, where you at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHGHkGmOmD4

God this, God that, where you going, where you at

FYI I am applauding this

https://vine.co/v/exHYKIiQn5i

POWERFUL HORRIBLE TODAY!

On a related note, David Roberts wrote another great thing:

http://www.vox.com/2015/9/24/9393217/ap-climate-doubters-truthers

Talking about why people believe things for which no evidence exists(Climate change as conspiracy, birthers, truthers, chmetrails, GMOs as plot to kill us all, etc) and how beliefs are more a tribal marker than anything else.

The popular conception of reason is that it poses a question, gathers evidence, weighs the evidence, and draws a conclusion. But that turns out to be a highly idealized conception, tracing back to positivism and the Enlightenment.

In fact, human beings are not primarily rational creatures. We are primarily social creatures. We are born into specific social contexts, overlapping tribes from which we absorb our worldviews and values. We stitch our identities together out of those tribal affiliations. Most of what we believe, we do not conclude. We do not reason to it at all. We inherit it.

Those inherited beliefs are often tribal markers, conditions of approbation, even acceptance, among our tribes. Because belonging to tribes is fundamental to our well-being, those markers become very important to us. Protecting them is adaptive behavior, among our most basic instincts...

And of course, you can't debunk or correct or directly attack that belief, since nothing will better re-cement an idea than someone getting defensive about it

Stuff happens ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

haha he is so bad at this

Presidential Candidate Jeb Bush made an eyebrow-raising comment in the wake of the Oregon school massacre -- saying "stuff happens" in response to a discussion about gun violence.

"Look stuff happens, there's always a crisis and the impulse is always to do something and it's not always the right thing to do," Bush said at the Conservative Leadership Project in Greenville, South Carolina, referring to taking away rights.

maybe the fact that "there's always a crisis" is indicative of a problem

nah

come on that's crazy talk

funny, trump had pretty much the same response as jeb! on the massacre:

“It’s not politically correct to say that, but you’re going to have difficulty and that will be for the next million years, there’s going to be difficulty and people are going to slip through the cracks,” Trump added. “What are you going to do, institutionalize everybody?”

Trump continued: “That’s the way the world works, and by the way that’s way the world always has worked.”

pretty sure the world didn't work this way before the advent of mass-produced firearms

imaginary threat of "illegals" taking our jobs/raping the white women=omg let's build a huge fucking wall!!!
real threat of gun violence=eh what can ya do, right?

what we need is to take a step back, let things settle down, and then have a national conversation on this important issue. our national conversations are very effective

national conversation of shrug emojis

http://quincyamarikwa.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Stuff-Happens.jpg

jeb! on the campaign trail

fuck jeb in the goddamn eye with a bullet imo

keep diggin motherfucker:

Asked afterward about the comments, Mr. Bush said, “it wasn’t a mistake,” and requested that a reporter point out “what I said wrong.”

“Things happen all the time,” Mr. Bush said. “Things. Is that better?”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0xVLLSJlMw

Stuff Happens: alt title for Sondheim's Assassins, maybe

"The popular conception of reason is that it poses a question, gathers evidence, weighs the evidence, and draws a conclusion. But that turns out to be a highly idealized conception, tracing back to positivism and the Enlightenment.
In fact, human beings are not primarily rational creatures. We are primarily social creatures. We are born into specific social contexts, overlapping tribes from which we absorb our worldviews and values. We stitch our identities together out of those tribal affiliations. Most of what we believe, we do not conclude. We do not reason to it at all. We inherit it.

Those inherited beliefs are often tribal markers, conditions of approbation, even acceptance, among our tribes. Because belonging to tribes is fundamental to our well-being, those markers become very important to us. Protecting them is adaptive behavior, among our most basic instincts..."

Yes (and of course), though reasoning is part of some tribal cultures and not part of others, to varying degrees. (Now apply to ILX.)

That may be Bush's 47% comment. It's Friday afternoon/evening, so there's a chance it's not a story by Monday. I don't think so--I think it will follow him around for a while.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2013/03/04/why-mitt-romneys-47-percent-comment-was-so-bad/

for the supposed "establishment candidate" bush seems shockingly media-inadept. i've scarcely seen an event where he didn't seem tongue-tied, awkward, and/or put his foot part way in his mouth. i'm inclined to think the essential contradiction of running in the crazy-centric republican primary as an "establishment" candidate creates a cognitive dissonance that nobody can overcome... not mitt, not jeb!.

some commenter on Lawyers Guns & Money pointed out that Jeb is the Abe Simpson of this race

I thought that was a quality observation except I think Abe Simpson seems more genuine in his incompetent grumbling

for the supposed "establishment candidate" bush seems shockingly media-inadept

― wizzz! (amateurist), Friday, October 2, 2015 11:29 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Florida is a fetid swamp full of rotting dingleberries with voting rights...

I don't feel smug at all about pointing out how shitty a candidate Bush was/is.

A coworker of mine was briefly excited about being part of Jeb's campaign. Like, in an advisory role, not the "hand out flyers and work phones" thing.
I'm just glad she didn't give money. Oh god, I hope she didn't give money.

There are still a lot of moderate, socially ...liberal (not progressive, i.e "obamacare seems bad! iran deal seems bad!", but not anti-choice, (I realize how qualified that is and that's why I phrased it that way) and pro-LGBTQ) Republicans who are still tribally identified as such, who believe that a loyal opposition is essential to good government, and who are struggling - badly - with the tribal ID aspect. They pulled the lever for Obama. They have begun to process how it is going to feel when they do it for the next Democratic nominee. They have not figured out how to reconcile their registration and identification with the GOP.

I like these people and I trust them. I am glad I don't have to be them.

yeah i know a few professors like that. they still sort-of identify as "republicans" even though they have voted for a lot of democratic senators, governors, and presidents in the past five years or so.

i heard the phrase "the Christie candidacy" on the radio last night and laughed aloud

Indiana Jones and the Christie Candidacy

The Christie Candidacy Prophecy