If you think Orwell was saying "Violation of privacy is fine, as long as you aren't murdered pending the state's violation," you're missing key elements of the story. Surveillance of the individual, under any circumstances, is indeed a major plot point and criticism of totalitarian systems that Orwell is identifying.…

Yup.

At least two of those three things were going on under the Obama administration. Critical thinking can be your friend.

In a larger sense it is. Obama wanted "truth" locked down, and he wanted no opposition. And SCOTUS kept turning down requests from him unanimously because they were unconstitutional. But, hey, he's handsome and he gives great "feel-good" speeches. He really was like a big brother to us. Oh, wait…

Really? Is that why Winston has to hide from his t.v. all the time? Is that why his neighbor being turned in by his own children is a significant plot point?

This is so bizarrely wrong and flies so completely in the face of history.

Did Obama making a deal with Google to spy on us and download all our internet activity escape their notice? And no, this isn't an "apology" for Trump, just frustration that people only recognize when their civil liberties are violated if a Republican is doing it. Both parties are pretty toxic at this point.

I think he was going for a "gotcha" that didn't work. He hoped everyone would accuse him of pedophila. Then he's duck it with "I specifically said I wasn't into children—everyone knows that's sick. Then when they accused him of interest in legally underage boys, he'd duck it with "It's all hypothetical, I thought…

Hillary's great mentor?

So pedophilia only offends whites?

Gay people: those sexually attracted to their own gender. The Gays: a hypothetical group Kathy Griffen pretends to have as friends (kind of a Mr. Snuffleupagus situation). The former never cared for Milo. The latter is imaginary, so cannot hold opinions on anything.

I never asked why we can't change laws here, nor argued that we can't. I said our free speech laws are good laws and punching someone for what they say rather than because they're physically trying to assault someone is a bad idea. You're reading into this conversation a conversation you want to have, rather than the…

On second thought, stop obsessing on Trump on an entertainment website.

There can't be a "classic" meaning of a relatively new term (its a new term in terms of the meaning now ascribed to it), and of course criticizing a development in academia is a valid-counterpoint.

Skip my comments then.

We're the A.V. Club. We're a political site.

I'm not sure twisting the knife in someone generally considered to be a suicidal sociopath with his finger on the button is such a good idea. But I do agree this is an asterisk case. What happened in this election is not the rule, though it does happen from time to time.

The electoral college makes sure every state has a voice. That doesn't mean there isn't any corruption in the way elections are run right now. Nor is that corruption okay. But the electoral college isn't a part of the corruption. It is, in fact, a fairly ingenious concept that works to prevent either an elite group of…

I never said the Trump people wouldn't have a fit and scream. I'm saying I find it highly unlikely if Trump had won the popular but not the electoral, that you or anyone else would be arguing "Look I hate the guy, but he's the real president, not Hillary Clinton."

I'd say he wrote a phrase that has been appropriated by people with an agenda and interpretation of said phrase, far from what he intended.
When people look at the history of Ancient Rome do they talk about "Roman Exceptionalism"? When they look at WWII do they talk about "German and Japanese Exceptionalism"? Do…