Politics? Nah

[ruffers]

Well done everyone

[Being645]

Oh well, what to start with? Ukraine, Israel/Palestine, the elections (UK, US, France, Iran or recently the EU), climate change ... only some of the currents ... nothing looking good... ...

[timsinister]

Good an opportunity as ever to let you know I'm polling the fancy-dress brigade on their plans for the UK Election over on the blog. Come share in the misery! It's traditional.

[GC]

Biden's just pissed on his chips.

[Ocean Moves]

I'll go :

I'd like someone to explain to me in layman's terms why in a country of over 330 million human beings, the only candidates in the electoral race are a convicted criminal (who happens to be a pathological liar)
and a frail octogenarian.

[sultan2075]

I'll go :

I'd like someone to explain to me in layman's terms why in a country of over 330 million human beings, the only candidates in the electoral race are a convicted criminal (who happens to be a pathological liar)
and a frail octogenarian.

In a democracy people get the kind of government they deserve.

[Being645]

I'll go :

I'd like someone to explain to me in layman's terms why in a country of over 330 million human beings, the only candidates in the electoral race are a convicted criminal (who happens to be a pathological liar)
and a frail octogenarian.

In a democracy people get the kind of government they deserve.

No, in a democracy people get the kind of government the majority of those who actually vote decide for, basically. And even that is not the final say. Forming a government can be difficult at times. Nonetheless, I think an obligation to vote for all eligible like in Belgium is not the worst idea. Anyway, there are so many voting systems in democracies. And offering votes to the people doesn't automatically turn a political system into a democracy, see Iran currently.

As to the US, I couldn't possibly explain why things are as they are now. Neither there nor elsewhere in the world where people have obviously forgotten (or even worse never experienced) what freedom, human development, common effort and progress. self-esteem and respect towards the other really means. Surely not dehumanising and shooting down what one doesn't like. I really hope the Democrats come up with some surprising and convincing argument and win the elections. It were such a shame to see the alleged country of the free fall into such an extent of disorientation between its people that mostly greed and hatred against everything and everyone different succeeds. Although, discrimination has never been overcome, neither there nor anywhere else. Instead of learning from past mistakes, people prefer to deny their part and their impact. Never no looking back ... for its not for nothing that Lot's wife turned into a pillar of salt when she looked back while they were leaving Sodom. But hell, what's the lesson to learn from it? Never look back or we are the salt of the earth? Good luck, America.

And yeah, good luck to the UK as well. If there is one word that makes me vomit into even the best of meals, no not "Brexit" although that were a good candidate as well, but no, it's "austerity" ... ...

Over here in Germany... there's the EURO24 just now ... so people are having a short drunken break from ALL other stuff, if they can ... nothing reliable.

[Pista]

Politics these days seems to be like unfiltered social media with audio added.

[ribbons69]

I'll go :

I'd like someone to explain to me in layman's terms why in a country of over 330 million human beings, the only candidates in the electoral race are a convicted criminal (who happens to be a pathological liar)
and a frail octogenarian.

So here in the UK if a leader is particularly useless, like Boris for instance, his own party have a process that can replace him. Does this not happen in the US?

[Ocean Moves]

Commentators keep talking about how Biden stepping down would be a "deeply personal intimate decision". How so ? It's a decision that affects the entire nation and more broadly the entire world !

[Dan]

So here in the UK if a leader is particularly useless, like Boris for instance, his own party have a process that can replace him. Does this not happen in the US?

Yeah, can't Trump's party say they don't want him as a candidate and throw him out?
Or wouldn't they do that because they're all as corrupt as he is??
The idea that as a President he could rule from within a prison cell is just monstrous.

[eastmidswhizzkid]

"It doesn't matter who you vote for. The Government always gets in."
~Neil Innes

[Bartek]

Politics these days seems to be like unfiltered social media with audio added.

Politics is barely trying to keep up with the ever-changing emotions and boredom of the people who use these social media.

Politicians are people who cared more about people's attention than others, they learned to manipulate. They did not fall from the sky and took our countries and cities, they are one of us.

[sultan2075]

So here in the UK if a leader is particularly useless, like Boris for instance, his own party have a process that can replace him. Does this not happen in the US?

Yeah, can't Trump's party say they don't want him as a candidate and throw him out?
Or wouldn't they do that because they're all as corrupt as he is??
The idea that as a President he could rule from within a prison cell is just monstrous.

There will be an attempt at preventing Trump from getting the Republican nomination, but it's unlikely to succeed. A lot of people in the US see him as a monster... but that's why they want to vote for him. They want to lock that monster up in Washington DC, because to large parts of the country, all the federal government does is tax them, spend the money on foreigners, and send their children overseas to fight in stupid, useless wars like Iraq and Afghanistan. Similarly, Trump is popular within the Republican party because he talks about the right issues to be popular in the Republican party. So while the powers-that-be in the party don't want him to get the nomination, they probably can't stop him, because populist sentiment in this country is rising. Believe it or not, Trump is the only president in my lifetime who didn't start any new wars. For the large portion of the country who saw their kids get wounded and killed in the middle-east, that's really attractive. And Americans were definitely better off economically under Trump. Interest rates were low, gas was cheap. My grocery bills have nearly doubled in the last three years. Nobody that wants to vote for him has any illusions about his character. They're just tired of having to take out a loan to buy a dozen eggs.

The Democratic party has a history of playing games with their nominating process, arranging things so that favored candidates can more easily get the nomination (i.e., use of superdelegates). This is how Hillary Clinton beat Bernie so easily last time around. They've also tinkered with things a bit to prevent a primary challenge to Biden.

As for sitting presidents, there is the 25th Amendment. It allows, under certain conditions (which, based on the debate the other night many would say have clearly been met), for the elevation of the VP to the position of acting president - essentially stripping the president of all powers on the basis of age, infirmity, etc. Democrats don't want to do this for a few reasons, mostly related Kamala Harris. Harris is notoriously stupid and lazy (here in DC it's an open secret that she doesn't read her briefing books and can't keep anyone on staff for more than a few months because she's abusive; there's a reason they pulled her out of the limelight a few years back, and it's not because she's good at her job), so nobody wants to put her in power, even temporarily. Secondarily, she's deeply unpopular, and can't win an election. If they were to 25th Amendment Biden, that would maker her the presumptive head of the ticket. But she is unlikely to be able to defeat Trump, and she is unlikely to be able to take the Democratic nomination uncontested - so she'd be facing Trump after a bruising primary fight within her own party.

Newsom (governor of California) would probably be the best option for the Democrats at this point. But that assumes Biden gets out of the way, and there are indications that this is unlikely to happen. And then there's still the political problem of Kamala Harris to solve - and some recent polling indicates working-class African-American and Hispanic voters are more open to Trump than they were four or eight years ago, so the Democratic margin-for-error is perhaps tighter than they might like when it comes to keeping minority voters on board.

"It doesn't matter who you vote for. The Government always gets in."
~Neil Innes

Yep. As Michael Malice once quipped when asked what the problem is with the state... "it exists."

[ruffers]

Thanks for that.

[Incoming!]

So here in the UK if a leader is particularly useless, like Boris for instance, his own party have a process that can replace him. Does this not happen in the US?

Yeah, can't Trump's party say they don't want him as a candidate and throw him out?
Or wouldn't they do that because they're all as corrupt as he is??
The idea that as a President he could rule from within a prison cell is just monstrous.

There will be an attempt at preventing Trump from getting the Republican nomination, but it's unlikely to succeed. A lot of people in the US see him as a monster... but that's why they want to vote for him. They want to lock that monster up in Washington DC, because to large parts of the country, all the federal government does is tax them, spend the money on foreigners, and send their children overseas to fight in stupid, useless wars like Iraq and Afghanistan. Similarly, Trump is popular within the Republican party because he talks about the right issues to be popular in the Republican party. So while the powers-that-be in the party don't want him to get the nomination, they probably can't stop him, because populist sentiment in this country is rising. Believe it or not, Trump is the only president in my lifetime who didn't start any new wars. For the large portion of the country who saw their kids get wounded and killed in the middle-east, that's really attractive. And Americans were definitely better off economically under Trump. Interest rates were low, gas was cheap. My grocery bills have nearly doubled in the last three years. Nobody that wants to vote for him has any illusions about his character. They're just tired of having to take out a loan to buy a dozen eggs.

The Democratic party has a history of playing games with their nominating process, arranging things so that favored candidates can more easily get the nomination (i.e., use of superdelegates). This is how Hillary Clinton beat Bernie so easily last time around. They've also tinkered with things a bit to prevent a primary challenge to Biden.

As for sitting presidents, there is the 25th Amendment. It allows, under certain conditions (which, based on the debate the other night many would say have clearly been met), for the elevation of the VP to the position of acting president - essentially stripping the president of all powers on the basis of age, infirmity, etc. Democrats don't want to do this for a few reasons, mostly related Kamala Harris. Harris is notoriously stupid and lazy (here in DC it's an open secret that she doesn't read her briefing books and can't keep anyone on staff for more than a few months because she's abusive; there's a reason they pulled her out of the limelight a few years back, and it's not because she's good at her job), so nobody wants to put her in power, even temporarily. Secondarily, she's deeply unpopular, and can't win an election. If they were to 25th Amendment Biden, that would maker her the presumptive head of the ticket. But she is unlikely to be able to defeat Trump, and she is unlikely to be able to take the Democratic nomination uncontested - so she'd be facing Trump after a bruising primary fight within her own party.

Newsom (governor of California) would probably be the best option for the Democrats at this point. But that assumes Biden gets out of the way, and there are indications that this is unlikely to happen. And then there's still the political problem of Kamala Harris to solve - and some recent polling indicates working-class African-American and Hispanic voters are more open to Trump than they were four or eight years ago, so the Democratic margin-for-error is perhaps tighter than they might like when it comes to keeping minority voters on board.

"It doesn't matter who you vote for. The Government always gets in."
~Neil Innes

Yep. As Michael Malice once quipped when asked what the problem is with the state... "it exists."

Well put Sultan2075
"And the trees were all made equal...by hatchet, axe and saw." - Rush
I had to add a Rush Randian quote when talking politics. It's required.

[Ocean Moves]

Inflation is an international phenomenon.

If Trump gets in where will that leave the Ukraine and the rest of Europe?

[ribbons69]

Inflation is an international phenomenon.

If Trump gets in where will that leave the Ukraine and the rest of Europe?

It's an interesting question. If the worldwide rise in inflation is partly driven by the war in Ukraine, the way it affects grain supply and the access to oil, is there an argument to say that if the rest of the world hadn't sided with Ukraine against Russia, or had indeed supported Russia, we would all the better off? (I appreciate that global politics isn't as simple as that)
Had Trump been in power at the onset of the war, what would he have done?

[Ocean Moves]

Had Trump been in power at the onset of the war, what would he have done?

I don't know, but he might have done nothing, which may have resulted in Ukraine falling to Russia in a matter of months,
and then an emboldened Russia attacking other Eastern European countries, which might have dragged Europe into an all out conflict with Russia.

[redlorry]

Living in Putin's Russia is pretty bad. This misery shouldn't be allowed to spread to neighboring countries. Trump could make sure Putin gets everything he wants, so there won't be a lasting war. But it doesn't mean the killings would stop. People on occupied territories are suffering, and more occupied territories means more suffering.

[Incoming!]

The 75th NATO Anniversary conference started yesterday. Hosted by the United States.

Last year, only 9 countries had complied with funding the organization as agreed.
This year - 2/3 did.

I wonder if this is related to the comment Trump made telling Russia to feel free to invade or bomb those NATO nations who haven't been paying?

Rush Randian required lyric
"We've taken care of everything
the words you hear, the songs you sing"

[Bartek]

This may or may not be related, but I guess the main reason is invasion itself. States are usually slow in reacting, thus time was needed to see some changes in the spending area.

[ExPsichonaut]

I'll go :

I'd like someone to explain to me in layman's terms why in a country of over 330 million human beings, the only candidates in the electoral race are a convicted criminal (who happens to be a pathological liar)
and a frail octogenarian.

Because other criminals like them are paying for their elections

[sultan2075]

There’s a lot of ugly political passions that have been loosed in the United States in the 21st century. Today was the outgrowth of that. Plenty of blame to go around of course. The problem is that neither party is capable of fostering a statesman capable of moderating those passions.

So, errrrrrr… gird your loins? It ain’t gonna get any better.

[Being645]

Well, after the attack on Trump in Pennsylvania now...