talking points that piss you off

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

Anything involving the words "create jobs" or "job creators".

[k-onmmunist]

So the whole 95% tax rate we had from 1945-1973... it generated no revenue at all?

Pretty much. Tens of Thousands of wealthy people and celebrities moved abroad. When the top rate was cut to 60%, revenue more than doubled.
Don't forget, Taxman by the Beatles was a protest against that exact policy.. "Should 5 percent appear to small".

Tax loopholes =/= higher top rates not being a good idea.

[Rooney]

"Wisconsin values" in the recall race. What in the heck does that even mean? I once tried to land a job in Watertown, WI, and I can assume that Wisconsin values is eating a lot of dairy products and walking your dog while riding on a riding lawnmower.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

such and such is "voting against their own interest"  (the assumption being that self-interest must be defined as narrowly as possible and is predictable to someone thousands of miles away)

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Noone on here would recognize the ones that really get on my hips.

Oh, but do explain.

[Gustaf]

So the whole 95% tax rate we had from 1945-1973... it generated no revenue at all?

Pretty much. Tens of Thousands of wealthy people and celebrities moved abroad. When the top rate was cut to 60%, revenue more than doubled.
Don't forget, Taxman by the Beatles was a protest against that exact policy.. "Should 5 percent appear to small".

Tax loopholes =/= higher top rates not being a good idea.

It's not necessarily about loopholes. It just distorts the economy in a way that lowers efficiency.

And regardless, high rates always lead to loopholes. You may not like this, but it's a political reality.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Thinking of ones that haven't already been mentioned:

-Basically any defense of the Electoral College, especially the idea that it forces candidates to campaign across the country instead of just the most populated states, when it just disenfranchises tons of people like the conservative parts of California and all the blacks in the Deep South, and just means that only a handful of large swing states matter. It does the opposite.
-People who act like it's unfair that a candidate can win a state election or the popular vote with just a few urban counties with the vast majority of the state's geography voting against them. The funny thing is that the reasoning is usually that it's not fair for some area and demographic to be able to dominate the rest of the state on a numerical advantage and candidates should need to have a broader appeal, but such urban counties are much more diverse and have a broad range of interest groups than a ton of tiny rural counties.
-Any scared suburbanite who acts like US cities are similar to Sarejevo in the early 90s and any random person is likely to get shot.
-This isn't really used by anyone besides libertarian-ish trolls/quasi-trolls, but the idea that it's hypocritical to support "state intervention" in things like health care and yet also oppose things like the War on Drugs or PATRIOT Act, sort of based on the idea that your political philosophy must be that all government intervention is good if you support it in some areas.

[freefair]

High tax rates are a disincentive to increase earnings , productivity, and revenue, as well as a loophole/avoidance creating tool.

[nclib]

"Family values" and "moral values", especially when used interchangeably with conservative Christian values.

Using prominent blacks and women in the GOP to pretend that the GOP isn't racist or sexist.

Equating equal rights with special rights.

Let the people decide, in regards to gay marriage bans (as if all laws are voted on by the people).

"For the children", in relation to sexuality, while ignoring things like health care, poverty, bullying, and corporal punishment.

"Smaller government" while supporting government intervention in the most private areas of our lives.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Thinking of ones that haven't already been mentioned:

-Basically any defense of the Electoral College, especially the idea that it forces candidates to campaign across the country instead of just the most populated states, when it just disenfranchises tons of people like the conservative parts of California and all the blacks in the Deep South, and just means that only a handful of large swing states matter. It does the opposite.
-People who act like it's unfair that a candidate can win a state election or the popular vote with just a few urban counties with the vast majority of the state's geography voting against them. The funny thing is that the reasoning is usually that it's not fair for some area and demographic to be able to dominate the rest of the state on a numerical advantage and candidates should need to have a broader appeal, but such urban counties are much more diverse and have a broad range of interest groups than a ton of tiny rural counties.

I guess I'd agree with that.

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Coming where I come from, similar beliefs about Detroit are all too common, they I don't protest them. They seem fitting.

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I guess I'd agree here, but of course in the opposite direction.

[ZuWo]

"a woman's right to choose" - but the human being inside the womb cannot choose

[RI]

"a woman's right to choose" - but the human being inside the womb cannot choose

Along with this:

1. Couching marriage in terms of rights
2. Almost anything with the words freedom or liberty in it
3. Saying the separation of church and state is absolute/misconstruing its meaning
Corollary: "Religious people are inherently ignorant/blind/stupid/irrational and shouldn't be in public conversation"
4. "Marijuana is less dangerous than alcohol" [Not because it's wrong but because it's a really stupid argument]
5. Anything whatsoever that mentions states' rights
6. "The people have spoken" or anything similar that supposes popular support (especially for a party but not an issue) gives moral or even political legitimacy
7. "The American people are cutting back so government should too" [ugh]
8. Anything that talks about economics in non-quantitative absolutes
9. Anything calling politicians blanketly corrupt/stupid/evil/bad etc.
10. Anything calling government blanketly corrupt/stupid/evil/bad/etc.

There're plenty more I'm sure.

[politicus]

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That's a simple fact. You can die of an overdosis of alcohol, but not from smoking pot.
Why does that irritate you?

One that irritates me is:

"Guns don't kill, people do" and anything similar.
An apparant truism, that is both simplistic and stupid and miss the point.


 

[k-onmmunist]

"a woman's right to choose" - but the human being inside the womb cannot choose

I hope you extend the right to choose to warts and tumours

Also, marijuana is less harmful than alcohol as has been shown in countless scientific studies - there's less potential for addiction, it's far less likely to be related to violence and it's possible to overdose on alcohol - no-one has ever died from a marijuana overdose.

[Velasco]

"a woman's right to choose" - but the human being inside the womb cannot choose

The old argument: who was before the egg or the hen? When a foetus can be regarded as a human being? We`ll never end arguing.

Along with this:

1. Couching marriage in terms of rights

3. Saying the separation of church and state is absolute/misconstruing its meaning
Corollary: Religious people are inherently ignorant/blind/stupid/irrational and shouldn't be in public conversation

1. Marriage is attached with certain social and economic advantages and with civil rights so this doesn`t piss me off.

3. Separation of church and state does not imply lack of respect towards personal beliefs, so the corollary seems to be wrong.

[RI]

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That's a simple fact. You can die of an overdosis of alcohol, but not from smoking pot.
Why does that irritate you?

It's not that it's factually inaccurate; it's just a very poor argument. In fact, to me, it's a perfectly good argument for banning alcohol.

[Donerail]

2. Almost anything with the words freedom or liberty in it

You are pissed off by freedom and liberty?

[RI]

2. Almost anything with the words freedom or liberty in it

You are pissed off by freedom and liberty?

Not exactly. Mostly it's a couple of things: First, the way people use those words in political discussions as silver bullets that they think magically win conversations. Second, the way those concepts are commonly construed I believe is very limiting and disservicing. Third, the way people frequently believe that these things are always or nearly always good things or, even more so, that their maximization represents the highest echelon in the hierarchy of political ideals despite that aforementioned limited view of what these words mean, and most of all that this view should be universally accepted.

I believe that freedom, liberty, and choice are amoral constructs whose proliferation and even simple existence are not always desireable ends. I do not think that they are bad per se; I just think that our understanding and discourse about freedom assumes far too much and that a more nuanced view could benefit society.

[ZuWo]

"a woman's right to choose" - but the human being inside the womb cannot choose

I hope you extend the right to choose to warts and tumours

How can warts and tumours be equated with developing human beings? Do warts and tumours have characteristics that clearly identify them as "human" just like embryos and fetuses? Your comparison only makes sense if you can answer these questions in the affirmative.

[bore]

Another really annoying one is people using words which no one would argue with to describe their views (e.g pro life, pro growth) as if their opponents are against these things.

[Rooney]

I also hate it when someone negatively refers to something Congress, the president, a mayor or state legislature does as "politics." Jay Carney referred to the Congressional investigation of Fast and Furious as "politics." Well, duh! Congress is made of politicians so everything they do is thus "politics."

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

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That's a simple fact. You can die of an overdosis of alcohol, but not from smoking pot.
Why does that irritate you?

It's not that it's factually inaccurate; it's just a very poor argument. In fact, to me, it's a perfectly good argument for banning alcohol.

Because that was such a success.

[morgieb]

"Pro-life but pro-death penalty"

[RI]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

That's a simple fact. You can die of an overdosis of alcohol, but not from smoking pot.
Why does that irritate you?

It's not that it's factually inaccurate; it's just a very poor argument. In fact, to me, it's a perfectly good argument for banning alcohol.

Because that was such a success.

Irrelevant.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

1. "Independents vote for whoever is the most moderate"
2. "Most people don't pay taxes"
3. "10 out of 10 terrorists vote Democrat"
4. "Pro-choice people are bad Catholics, but pro-death penalty pro-war and anti-poor people are good Catholics"