The media does the GOP’s dirty work for them.
How is it dumb for them to grant themselves unfettered power?
It’s not like he’s an independent. They give him kickbacks, he lets them do whatever they were already going to do.
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Sacrifices have to be made to make sure that your money doesn’t benefit the undeserving.
Combine that with a tradition of convincing everyone who isn’t on food stamps that they are on the giving side of society.
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When did ensuring that the destitute and struggling don’t die and have a chance at being productive and valuable to society become a bad thing?
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I’d say Trump is independent, of congress. But not of financial conflicts. Granting him more power is naive, thinking that Trump is their monster, thinking that they can aim him. I think they are wrong. I do think that he will Godzilla all over the structure of government, as the the GOP wants, but that his thin skinned narcissism and, IMO, sociopathic leanings mean he can’t be controlled.
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Here’s what gets me. Most republican and democratic voters really have mostly the same end goals for the country. I’m fairly certain liberals would prefer, for instance, fewer abortions to more. Same goes for the conservatives. But the conservatives let their desire to control people, and their authoritarian tendencies, and their gut feelings dictate their decisions in such a way on this front that the outcomes are worse for both parties.
Game theory. We need it.
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Yeah, this is a useful graph to ponder alongside the costs one that @roomwithaview posted
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What the hell happened in South Africa?
I mean, there was apartheid, but that ended in 1994.
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I appreciate the sleuthing.
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Protip: don’t have sex in Sub-Saharan Africa 
Graphs of life expectancy at birth for some sub-Saharan countries showing the fall in the 1990s primarily due to the AIDS pandemic.[16]
[16] “Life expectancy at birth, total (years)”. worldbank.org.
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Oh, right. That. Jesus tapdancing christ.
I was thinking something like crime and increased weapons ownership… I mean, the South Africans are well-known for inventing innovative “small” arms despite not being involved in too many wars.
For instance the Protecta (revolver-style 12 gauge shotgun with a clockwork powered 12 round drum magazine), and whatever this thing is:
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Trump’s new “No Annoying Peons” motorcade?
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FTFY
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More relevant to the current political conundrum: What happened in Russia?
Somehow I get a strong sense that a Putin reign is not particularly conducive to the population’s health and longevity.
An additional angle to consider re Showergate.
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Have you seen how they drive? They have a lot of dashcams on civilian vehicles specifically because of that.
I’ve had a Russian friend say something to the effect of:
“We don’t like so much rules. We had plenty during the soviet union. We rely on each other to make sure we all are safe.”
He’s kind of a… Redneck? Like the Russian equivalent of a Redneck.
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A redneck Red?
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Something like that. He likes to hunt, and fish, and lives in a cabin out in the middle of BF nowhere with a satellite internet connection. He claims to know where an abandoned soviet era RTG-powered beacon is, and says he’s been there. I guess trying to impress me.
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Not sure driving can explain a 5.8 yrs divergence from OECD average in a country with one of the lowest car ownership numbers in the developed world.
Awful / non-existent healthcare / total disregard for human life / out of this universe inequality … more likely.
But Russians have a long proud tradition of treating (all of) their population as cannon fodder. Something to keep in mind when thinking about trumps love affair with Putin.
US has traditionally only treated a certain segment of the population as dispensable–this might change in the coming years. Also a kind of progress. Equality achieved the other way around?
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I’ve said it before possibly here on the BBS; that Russia in many ways, resembles the US’s south.
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