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Re:California Dam Crisis Could Have Been Averted by M_Grey on Tuesday February 21, 2017 @12:20PM (#13697300)
Then problem is not that he's 100% wrong, the problem is that when he's right it seems to be of the "Broken Clock" variety. When there is little rhyme or reason to the views he takes, he's bound to end up in a few positive places (such as today, condemning anti-Semitism).

The problem with Trump is that they're only positive in these highly isolated, episodic ways.

Re:California Dam Crisis Could Have Been Averted by artursapek on Tuesday February 21, 2017 @12:23PM (#13697355)
That sounds like a lazy way to dismiss a guy who maybe deserves more credit than he gets.
Re:California Dam Crisis Could Have Been Averted by mikeash on Tuesday February 21, 2017 @12:33PM (#13697468)
Trump is the only person I've ever seen make three contradictions in a single sentence.

The only thing consistent about the man is his inconsistency (and his love of Russia, apparently). He's the political version of how you can prove anything if you assume a logical contradiction.

Of course he's touched on important issues. He has touched on all sides of virtually all issues. He wants to spend $1 trillion on infrastructure, increase military spending, leave Social Security and Medicare intact, cut taxes, and balance the budget. This sort of obvious insanity does not deserve praise.

Re:California Dam Crisis Could Have Been Averted by artursapek on Tuesday February 21, 2017 @12:36PM (#13697495)
I agree that a lot of what he says and does makes no sense. I was just showing disdain for the "broken clock" insult which is so easy to throw around.
Re:California Dam Crisis Could Have Been Averted by mikeash on Tuesday February 21, 2017 @12:57PM (#13697682)
I don't get it. Sure it's an easy thing to throw around, but any brief criticism is. Shouldn't your assessment be based on whether it's based on something of substance, not whether it's easy?
Re:California Dam Crisis Could Have Been Averted by artursapek on Tuesday February 21, 2017 @01:24PM (#13697962)
It's basically saying "I often disagree with this person, so when I agree with them I refuse to admit that they have some virtue and deserve credit for it - they are still broken and bound to be correct sometimes out of pure chance." You don't see how that's kind of pathetic?
Re:California Dam Crisis Could Have Been Averted by mikeash on Tuesday February 21, 2017 @01:34PM (#13698090)
No, because that's not how I interpret it at all. I already explained how I interpret it: since he takes virtually every position possible, even contradictory ones, without any apparent thought or reasoning, any positions which are good are that way purely by coincidence, and therefore aren't worth anything.

The proverbial broken clock isn't useless because you disagree with broken clocks and refuse to acknowledge when they're correct. They're useless because they have no actual connection to the information they purport to convey, so even when that information is correct, it's still useless.

If I make a random number generator that prints out values between 15,000 and 25,000, I will sometimes correctly predict the closing value of the Dow Jones Industrial Average for the day. That fact is not worth a damn, though.

Re:California Dam Crisis Could Have Been Averted by ygaf on Tuesday February 21, 2017 @01:34PM (#13698084)
The original poster you replied to already went to the bother of backing that buzzword/phrase up.
Re:California Dam Crisis Could Have Been Averted by macintux on Tuesday February 21, 2017 @12:29PM (#13697420)
It's painful to extend credit to a man with no moral compass, no demonstrated capacity for learning, no comprehension of the damage he does, no understanding of history, no concept of loyalty to anything outside of himself.
Re:California Dam Crisis Could Have Been Averted by M_Grey on Tuesday February 21, 2017 @12:33PM (#13697465)
What do you believe he deserves credit for, that he doesn't get? Please be extensive, and specific.
Re:California Dam Crisis Could Have Been Averted by MegaButts on Tuesday February 21, 2017 @12:30PM (#13697435)
What does Trump deserve credit for?
Re:California Dam Crisis Could Have Been Averted by ythn on Tuesday February 21, 2017 @12:37PM (#13697511)
Are you going to try and find "the problem" with anything he deserves credit for?
Re:California Dam Crisis Could Have Been Averted by MegaButts on Tuesday February 21, 2017 @01:02PM (#13697735)
It seems to me "the problem" is being criticized for asking a question. How can I expect to understand someone with differing views if I am unable to ask questions?
Re:California Dam Crisis Could Have Been Averted by ythn on Tuesday February 21, 2017 @01:37PM (#13698113)
I was just pointing out that your "question" was likely just a trap. If I say "Trump gets X right" you'll reply "The problem with this is..." and proceed to show why Trump doesn't actually get X right. It doesn't really matter what X is, you'll find some way to discredit it. It's not just you, either, republicans did the same thing to Obama finding problems with everything he did.
Re:California Dam Crisis Could Have Been Averted by MegaButts on Tuesday February 21, 2017 @01:49PM (#13698253)
I'm aware what you were doing, but you still seem unaware of what I was doing: asking a question. You're disparaging me for my curiosity.

You seem to know everything already, but I'm not that sure of myself, so I ask questions to try to learn more.

Re:California Dam Crisis Could Have Been Averted by M_Grey on Tuesday February 21, 2017 @12:48PM (#13697609)
Let me get this straight... you want the person to whom you're replying, to guess at what achievements someone else might claim for Trump, and then guess at any problems there might be with them?
Re:California Dam Crisis Could Have Been Averted by ythn on Tuesday February 21, 2017 @01:47PM (#13698224)
No, I was accusing OP of setting a trap wherein no matter what someone puts, they will attempt to discredit it.
Re:California Dam Crisis Could Have Been Averted by M_Grey on Tuesday February 21, 2017 @02:30PM (#13698862)
Can you at least see how that kind of thing isn't conducive to a useful discussion, but is really just a way to stop someone from saying things you don't want to hear?
Re:California Dam Crisis Could Have Been Averted by ythn on Tuesday February 21, 2017 @12:34PM (#13697479)
> the problem

Instead of enumerating all of "the problems" sometimes it can be healthy in a discussion to acknowledge that someone got something right with no strings attached. By always villainizing people you disagree with, you contribute to the partisan polarization issue we currently have

Re:California Dam Crisis Could Have Been Averted by mikeash on Tuesday February 21, 2017 @12:59PM (#13697698)
I'm happy to acknowledge the good things Trump does, in the unlikely event that such a thing ever occurs.

I can't acknowledge that he got this right, when he has no real concept of what it would look like, no plan to get it done, no idea of how to pay for it, and there's pretty much no chance it'll actually happen.

Re:California Dam Crisis Could Have Been Averted by M_Grey on Tuesday February 21, 2017 @12:42PM (#13697561)
I'm really tired of people trotting out this old, "Be positive, you're part of the problem!" crap. Be realistic about the society you live in, which is a fairly malignant plutocracy, and stop selling the notion that the only thing separating us is the separation between us.

The problems we have are longstanding and systemic, not some recent attitude shift or problem getting along.