US Elections 2016

[Sidelight]

Are you suggesting he's too busy rioting to post on JKB? 

 

No, just on the spire in St mere eglise.

[Watt-Zeefuik]

Still no sign of UA. We should all be getting a little concerned now. #pray for UA.

Thanks man. Love you back!

 

He'll return when recent nonsense  ends.

 

Wait, I have to until the nonsense on JKB ends?  I have to never post on JKB again?

 

Okay, seriously, it was a busy week, and during the time I tried to get on here and post about the election JKB was down.  Last night I looked at it and the post count was way too high for me to get through.

 

Anyway.

 

Obviously got the prediction wrong -- brief word on that.  Clinton's turnout machine was, in hindsight, a representative of a flaw that has haunted her through her years in office.  She trusts the DC based consultants too much, and never turned her considerable number of passionate supporters into an effective local machine.  Also, Republicans rallied to Trump more than I thought they would.  I have a pretty low opinion of most American evangelicals, but 80% of white evangelical Christians voting for Trump really took my regard for them to a new level.  Also, while it's getting way too cute to try to blame voter suppression for the loss, I have to note that Scott Walker disenfranchised 300k voters in Wisconsin, the vast majority of whom were black people, and the final margin was, what, 29k votes?  Still, Wisconsin never should have been close.  Clinton's team clearly didn't see that coming.

 

We spent election night at my parents' house, and it was a pretty bleak affair.  My parents have lived through two Nixon wins, two Reagan wins, and two W wins, but they said this was worse by far than all of them.  (It felt a little like 2004 to me, when nobody could claim ignorance of what W was going to do anymore, but he won anyway.)  None of us slept much -- frankly too horrified.

 

So here we are.  There are two really nice Kuwaiti students in my Ph.D. program, and they were quite visibly scared on Thursday when I saw them.  Once Trump is in office, will they be able to go visit their families and still come back?  He's said since the election that he "absolutely" still wants to make Muslims register.  That's horrifying.

 

Mike Pence is heading the transition team, and by all appearances will replicate Cheney's "power behind the throne" role.  While Governor of Indiana, Pence passed a bill requiring funerals for aborted fetuses and tried to force gay teenagers to go to "conversion therapy" and receive electroshock.  But now he's in charge of the Executive.  Fantastic.

 

My hometown of Durham had graffiti spraypainted on a prominent wall that said "Black lives don't matter and neither do your votes."  The local Democratic party office had swastikas spraypainted on it.  The NC KKK has announced a "Victory parade" for December.  But don't worry, Trump isn't racist, he just thinks the first black President isn't a true American and that the Central Park Five still deserve to be executed despite being proven innocent.

 

Oh right, he's going to "drain the swamp," except he just appointed a half dozen corporate lobbyists to his transition team and promised to end Dodd-Frank and deregulate Wall Street to 1920s levels.   He's also promised gargantuan new military spending. I'm sure niblick is happy his anti-elite revolution is going so well. 

 

I'll say this -- I said in 2006 that I had never seen the left and leftish wing of the US as united before.  That led to Obama's election. But that was a different kind of thing than now.  Then it was a kind of hopeful anger.   We're less than a week into this nightmare at this point, but right now it looks about 10x as big as 2006. Clintonism, it's safe to say, is fully dead.  Centrism is dead.  Trump has no interest in neoliberalism, and is just going for old fashioned right wing power.  There is no American consensus anymore, which means we're probably entering as interesting and also dangerous phase of politics as I've seen in my lifetime.  I see a lot of people on my social media feeds asking for "unity."  You'll get my "unity" with Trump when Trump stops demonizing and persecuting people I care about.  Until then, from me and from an awful lot of people, he's getting outright resistance.

 

Who knows where this leads at this point.

[Randle P McMurphy]

Thanks man. Love you back!

 

 

Wait, I have to until the nonsense on JKB ends? I have to never post on JKB again?

 

Okay, seriously, it was a busy week, and during the time I tried to get on here and post about the election JKB was down. Last night I looked at it and the post count was way too high for me to get through.

 

Anyway.

 

Obviously got the prediction wrong -- brief word on that. Clinton's turnout machine was, in hindsight, a representative of a flaw that has haunted her through her years in office. She trusts the DC based consultants too much, and never turned her considerable number of passionate supporters into an effective local machine. Also, Republicans rallied to Trump more than I thought they would. I have a pretty low opinion of most American evangelicals, but 80% of white evangelical Christians voting for Trump really took my regard for them to a new level. Also, while it's getting way too cute to try to blame voter suppression for the loss, I have to note that Scott Walker disenfranchised 300k voters in Wisconsin, the vast majority of whom were black people, and the final margin was, what, 29k votes? Still, Wisconsin never should have been close. Clinton's team clearly didn't see that coming.

 

We spent election night at my parents' house, and it was a pretty bleak affair. My parents have lived through two Nixon wins, two Reagan wins, and two W wins, but they said this was worse by far than all of them. (It felt a little like 2004 to me, when nobody could claim ignorance of what W was going to do anymore, but he won anyway.) None of us slept much -- frankly too horrified.

 

So here we are. There are two really nice Kuwaiti students in my Ph.D. program, and they were quite visibly scared on Thursday when I saw them. Once Trump is in office, will they be able to go visit their families and still come back? He's said since the election that he "absolutely" still wants to make Muslims register. That's horrifying.

 

Mike Pence is heading the transition team, and by all appearances will replicate Cheney's "power behind the throne" role. While Governor of Indiana, Pence passed a bill requiring funerals for aborted fetuses and tried to force gay teenagers to go to "conversion therapy" and receive electroshock. But now he's in charge of the Executive. Fantastic.

 

My hometown of Durham had graffiti spraypainted on a prominent wall that said "Black lives don't matter and neither do your votes." The local Democratic party office had swastikas spraypainted on it. The NC KKK has announced a "Victory parade" for December. But don't worry, Trump isn't racist, he just thinks the first black President isn't a true American and that the Central Park Five still deserve to be executed despite being proven innocent.

 

Oh right, he's going to "drain the swamp," except he just appointed a half dozen corporate lobbyists to his transition team and promised to end Dodd-Frank and deregulate Wall Street to 1920s levels. He's also promised gargantuan new military spending. I'm sure niblick is happy his anti-elite revolution is going so well.

 

I'll say this -- I said in 2006 that I had never seen the left and leftish wing of the US as united before. That led to Obama's election. But that was a different kind of thing than now. Then it was a kind of hopeful anger. We're less than a week into this nightmare at this point, but right now it looks about 10x as big as 2006. Clintonism, it's safe to say, is fully dead. Centrism is dead. Trump has no interest in neoliberalism, and is just going for old fashioned right wing power. There is no American consensus anymore, which means we're probably entering as interesting and also dangerous phase of politics as I've seen in my lifetime. I see a lot of people on my social media feeds asking for "unity." You'll get my "unity" with Trump when Trump stops demonizing and persecuting people I care about. Until then, from me and from an awful lot of people, he's getting outright resistance.

 

Who knows where this leads at this point.

In the words of Gregg Popovich, we are Rome. That's where it leads mate. You had a good run

[Jambo-Jimbo]

 

 

He's also promised gargantuan new military spending.

 

 

I'm glad you brought that up, as it didn't seem to get much of an airing during the campaign.

 

Why would Trump want to build up America's military machine, when he's stated that.

1. He wants to improve relations with Russia, and indeed work with Russia on common goals, so therefore we can assume that a new cold war isn't on the cards, so why the need to build up your military.

2. He doesn't see America as the World's policeman, so again why build up your military.

3. He's already stated that America may not come to the aid of fellow NATO countries, once again no need to build up your military.

 

Now of course all this might and probably was just sound-bites, all designed to win votes within a certain portion of the electorate, like everything with this, only time will tell.  

[Space Mackerel]

Several headlines in the Sunday's saying Trump to swap sides and help the Russians out in Syria.

[Francis Albert]

Several headlines in the Sunday's saying Trump to swap sides and help the Russians out in Syria.

A sound start if true. Our priority should be the defeat of ISIS and supporting the Assad regime is the best if not the only way of doing that in Syria.

 

Certainly a more sensible route than Hillary's mooted  idea of bombing Russian forces.

[Space Mackerel]

A sound start if true. Our priority should be the defeat of ISIS and supporting the Assad regime is the best if not the only way of doing that in Syria.

 

Certainly a more sensible route than Hillary's mooted idea of bombing Russian forces.

Not according to the UK Chief of Defence on Sky News a few minutes ago on Murnaghan.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[elvoys]

A sound start if true. Our priority should be the defeat of ISIS and supporting the Assad regime is the best if not the only way of doing that in Syria.

 

Certainly a more sensible route than Hillary's mooted  idea of bombing Russian forces.

 

Sorry I can't stomach that. Standing with Assad is akin to siding with Saddam against the majority of the country (in that case the Shia, Syria's case, Sunnis). The one difference here is that it seems the only way pragmatic way at the moment prevent a genocide of the Alawites and Christians in the west of the country. Post war I don't believe that there is such a thing as a large enough moderate coalition base and even then, given the power and time I'm sure the Islamists would take over. That's why I can't see any other lasting solution than partition, short of balkanisation. In Iraq they at least have a shot of making renewed federalism work before they get to this stage imo. 

[Francis Albert]

Sorry I can't stomach that. Standing with Assad is akin to siding with Saddam against the majority of the country (in that case the Shia, Syria's case, Sunnis). The one difference here is that it seems the only way pragmatic way at the moment prevent a genocide of the Alawites and Christians in the west of the country. Post war I don't believe that there is such a thing as a large enough moderate coalition base and even then, given the power and time I'm sure the Islamists would take over. That's why I can't see any other lasting solution than partition, short of balkanisation. In Iraq they at least have a shot of making renewed federalism work before they get to this stage imo. 

Sometimes you have to stomach things. We stomached Stalin to defeat Hitler. National interest and the moral high ground are rarely good bedfellows, as we should have learnt by now from our many recent interventions.

[Francis Albert]

Not according to the UK Chief of Defence on Sky News a few minutes ago on Murnaghan.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I suppose it is conceivable that he (one of the architects of our Middle East and North African policies over the past decade by any chance?) might just be wrong.

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

I suppose it is conceivable that he (one of the architects of our Middle East and North African policies over the past decade by any chance?) might just be wrong.

Continuing a UK military tradition of screwing up the Middle East since Sykes Picquot of course.

[Cade]

Continuing a UK military tradition of screwing up the Middle East since Sykes Picquot The Crusades of course.

FTFY

[alwaysthereinspirit]

"Love Trumps Hate" Makes me wonder who these demonstrators voted for?

[niblick1874]

This is the gist of it.

 

CNN reporter at a protest interviewing a protester.

So you don't think this was a fair election, because it looks like Trump won fair and square?

 

Protester.

How did he win fare and square. Hillary had more votes, this isn't fair, just count the votes. It's ridiculous, Hillary you're a lawyer, I believe in you, Women need you, minorities need you, I need you. we all need you, this country needs you to stand up and walk into the supreme court and say one vote equals one vote. What's wrong with that, what's the debate.

 

CNN reporter.

There's a lot of people this passionate out here that feel the same way.

 

News anchor back in the studio.

I know that man, That's John _______, he is a camera man. I went to Africa with him.

 

 

[Francis Albert]

"Love Trumps Hate" Makes me wonder who these demonstrators voted for?

"Not my President" is another good one.

 

Well who is?

[Francis Albert]

And of course the Observer and numerous of their columnists grab Trump's election as another reason to have a re-run of the Brexit referendum.

 

Good losers seem to be an extinct species.

[Unknown user]

"Not my President" is another good one.

 

Well who is?

Obama

[Cade]

 

[Francis Albert]

Obama

Very good.

[i8hibsh]

http://www.truthrevolt.org/news/feiminists-plan-stop-trump-more-feminism

 

What an utter boot of a woman.

 

A progressive feminist because feminism doesn't quite cut it.

[Glottis]

An anti trump protest in Edinburgh?

Eh? What's the point?!

[jack D and coke]

An anti trump protest in Edinburgh?

Eh? What's the point?!

Honestly eh....

[Francis Albert]

After a weekend of reading and listening endlessly to peoples' horror over and about protests over the election of the "Chief Groper" I am reminded of a previous President's words in his Inaugural address. a leader who in the protesters folk memory is no doubt remembered as a left-leaning liberal.

 

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty" 

 

Now we know that as a sexual predator JFK made Trump look like a boy scout. And Trump will be going some to come up with anything as  dangerous and idiotic as that promise or threat.

 

In practice of course it meant that Kennedy and most of his successors would support any corrupt dictator who took a hard line against Commies and other Reds and would seek to overthrow democratically elected governments if they were a bit too lefty for American taste.

 

While assigning a relatively low priority to overthrowing something close to apartheid in the Southern States.

 

God save the Land of the Free from Donald Trump.

Edited November 13, 2016 by Francis Albert

[i8hibsh]

An anti trump protest in Edinburgh?

Eh? What's the point?!

It makes a whole bunch of people feel like they are a good decent person who can then do a lot of name calling to people who disagree.

[Space Mackerel]

It makes a whole bunch of people feel like they are a good decent person who can then do a lot of name calling to people who disagree.

I think protestors should be locked up then systematically killed or wiped out, what say you?

[pablo]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-37966943

 

Filed in the bin ?

Edited November 13, 2016 by pablo

[Francis Albert]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-37966943

Filed in the bin ?

more delusions of grandeur

[i8hibsh]

I think protestors should be locked up then systematically killed or wiped out, what say you?

Oooft.

[Space Mackerel]

Oooft.

On a par with the skanks that were evicted from Holyrood.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[i8hibsh]

On a par with the skanks that were evicted from Holyrood.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Truly vile. Almost as vile as those that would not want illegal immigrants involved in crime to be deported.

[Space Mackerel]

Truly vile. Almost as vile as those that would not want illegal immigrants involved in crime to be deported.

Somewhere, in your brain, that made a bit of sense to you

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[i8hibsh]

Somewhere, in your brain, that made a bit of sense to you

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Not really hard to get it. I think the people who are against Trump deporting criminals are vile.

[Lee_Mellon]

On a par with the skanks that were evicted from Holyrood.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Tosh, as usual.

[Kalamazoo Jambo]

Steve Bannon named as Trump's Chief Strategist. A race-baiter in the White House, and another one advising him. Great.

 

Edit: forgot to say anti-Semite. Some of the racist crap on Breitbart under Bannon's leadership has to be seen to be believed. Having Bannon anywhere near the Oval Office is scary stuff.

[Space Mackerel]

Not really hard to get it. I think the people who are against Trump deporting criminals are vile.

Is that the ones who have been tried in a court of law and sentenced or because they look a wee bit Mexican?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Edited November 13, 2016 by Space Mackerel

[i8hibsh]

Is that the ones who have been tried in a court of law and sentenced or because they look a wee bit Mexican?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Everyone everyone look!!Space Mackerel is not racist.

[Bring Back Paulo Sergio]

Everyone everyone look!!Space Mackerel is not racist.

He's definitely not a *****.

[Space Mackerel]

Everyone everyone look!!Space Mackerel is not racist.

You would probably send the Red Indians home too if you had your way

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Ulysses]

Where are JKB's resident space experts when you need them?

 

[Bring Back Paulo Sergio]

You would probably send the Red Indians home too if you had your way

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Trump and I8 won't be happy until they're all back in the ocean.

[Lee_Mellon]

You would probably send the Red Indians home too if you had your way

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

They are Native Americans now. Surprised you don't know that.

[Space Mackerel]

Trump and I8 won't be happy until they're all back in the ocean.

I think Lee has just been on Google

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[i8hibsh]

You would probably send the Red Indians home too if you had your way

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Everyone everyone Space Mackerel is not a racist. Does everyone hear me!!!

[Bring Back Paulo Sergio]

I think Lee has just been on Google

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Now searching about Obama briefing Trump on Aliens.

Edited November 13, 2016 by OFhater

[Ulysses]

 

Now searching about Obama briefing Trump on Aliens.

[Ulysses]

(It felt a little like 2004 to me, when nobody could claim ignorance of what W was going to do anymore, but he won anyway.)

I know it's easy to say in hindsight, but isn't it more like 2000? Or in their own ways, 2008, 1992, 1976, 1968, 1960 and 1952?

 

In other words, wasn't it just a case that whichever party held the White House had held it for too long, so it was time for whoever didn't hold the White House to win it?

[niblick1874]

 

 

Now go and put that together with the pied piper WikiLeaks Email.

 

Woops. How many did the pied piper MSM get to fallow them. You?

 

306 to Trump, How many for Clinton?

Edited November 14, 2016 by niblick1874

[Bring Back Paulo Sergio]

 

 

Now searching about Obama briefing Trump on Aliens.

 

[niblick1874]

There were many things that got trump elected but none more so than three words, Americanism not globalism.

[Watt-Zeefuik]

I'm glad you brought that up, as it didn't seem to get much of an airing during the campaign.

 

Why would Trump want to build up America's military machine, when he's stated that.

1. He wants to improve relations with Russia, and indeed work with Russia on common goals, so therefore we can assume that a new cold war isn't on the cards, so why the need to build up your military.

2. He doesn't see America as the World's policeman, so again why build up your military.

3. He's already stated that America may not come to the aid of fellow NATO countries, once again no need to build up your military.

 

Now of course all this might and probably was just sound-bites, all designed to win votes within a certain portion of the electorate, like everything with this, only time will tell.  

 

Military spending in the US is big business -- witness how much Cheney's Haliburton grossed on the Iraq war.  Of course he'll want a yuuuge military, to do little with.

 

I say that, but he made that promise while campaigning for votes in Virginia, a state which I think is #2 in local federal military spending and where it's the state's second largest metro area (Hampton Roads) is almost entirely dependent on the military for its economy.

 

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/trump-military-spending-flip-flop-226705

 

So he may have just been shilling.

Edited November 14, 2016 by Ugly American