2020 US Presidential Election

[aot]

 

[Lucifer]

If Republicans lose both seats in the US Senate for Georgia they did this to themselves.

They got too stingy when they didn't approve the $2000 stimulus payment. Republican Senators need to look at themselves in a mirror and realise their current ways of doing things are not going to work anymore.

As a society, people are leaning more Moderate and Progressive and if Republicans continue being a Conservative party I think this will be the death of the Republican Party.

 

[Pulsing Ear]

I didn't realize Kelly Loeffler and her husband were worth $800 million. I would never had guessed that. Lot of people don't like the wealthy, or maybe that's just what I think. I was just siding with the Republic Party and didn't research the candidates much.

Many on the left are multimillionaires too, and many made it off of politics.

 

[Pulsing Ear]

Maybe the wonderful people of Europe will start WWIII while they're at it, and kill another hundred million people, like they did in the 20th century. Goddamn hypocritical, pompous fools, to think they're better than thou.

Yep, and then expect us to come and save them.

 

[Lucifer]

First order of business is almost certainly another stimulus package. Probably with a price tag of at least a trillion dollars.

A stimulus package paying money to useless countries that don't need it.

 

[Born To Slay]

If Republicans lose both seats in the US Senate for Georgia they did this to themselves.

They got too stingy when they didn't approve the $2000 stimulus payment. Republican Senators need to look at themselves in a mirror and realise their current ways of doing things are not going to work anymore.

As a society, people are leaning more Moderate and Progressive and if Republicans continue being a Conservative party I think this will be the death of the Republican Party.

I agree, I think the GOP is going to have to move left on economic issues. Social issues not as much as those issues remain contentious as ever but on economics, they have to move. You are not going to be winning elections trying to repeal Obamacare or trying to cut rich people's taxes anymore.

 

[Pulsing Ear]

Oh, I know. That's the whole joke -- calling a predictable mass of votes "fraud".

95 % to 100% for Biden is neither predictable nor logical.

 

[Lucifer]

I agree with this (although the Daily Mail is absolutely awful!) People did appear to try to get rid of Trump from what I can see (didn't some Democrats and Republicans vote against him in the electoral college certification thing???)

We saw the same thing with Brexit in the UK. The Remainers (who were mostly liberal) hated the result, and called for it to be overturned or for there to be a second vote. I'm a Remainer, but I would never have tried to overturn the result just because I didn't like it.

Trump is taking it further than anyone ever has, and is threatening the future democracy of the country in the process, but trying to overturn the result is not unique to him, or unique to conservatives. That's why having a robust democracy is so important.

I was shocked the UK decided to leave the EU. I thought there would have been more benefits remaining than leaving.

I know there were some sports stars that took a Kolpak deal to play Cricket in England and now that option is not available to them because the UK decided to leave the EU.

 

[Pulsing Ear]

I will put some of that away for my FX-322 shot if it comes.

My family won't see a penny.

 

[Born To Slay]

A stimulus package paying money to useless countries that don't need it.

Maybe .1% of it I guess. Most of it is going to go toward state and local aid and new stimulus checks though. In a budget of a trillion dollars, a few billion in foreign aid is just irrelevant to me. It makes next to no difference as long as Americans are taken care of and they will be.

 

[aot]

Yep, and then expect us to come and save them.

Maybe I'm reading too much into your post, but it wasn't just Americans who opposed the Nazis. Many Europeans (including quite a few Germans) stood up to those fascists aswell.

Also, politics aside, I see that your tinnitus is rather new. I hope you are coping with it well. It can be a challenge.

 

[Pulsing Ear]

Are they allowed to count the votes during the night?

In Georgia right now it's 10:32pm.

The night time is when they pull out suitcases full of ballots. Of course they count at night!

 

[Lucifer]

I agree, I think the GOP is going to have to move left on economic issues. Social issues not as much as those issues remain contentious as ever but on economics, they have to move. You are not going to be winning elections trying to repeal Obamacare or trying to cut rich people's taxes anymore.

I definitely agree with economics having to move. Social issues seem like a big issue as well for the Republican Party with Anti-abortion and Anti-LGBTQIA+ rights but this may change in the future and hopefully we see a shift to the middle or left for social issues.

Continuing with the current Republican Party's social and economic views will cause Democrats to continue voting Democratic until these two issues change.

 

[Tanni]

I was shocked the UK decided to leave the EU. I thought there would have been more benefits remaining than leaving.

There are, but people vote against their own interests all the time unfortunately. We have a touch of 'Little Britain' syndrome where we think we shouldn't have to work with/answer to other countries, and also the usual anti-immigration rhetoric that you see everywhere.

At this stage, we've gotten over the shock of the result and we're just hoping it works out somewhat.

 

[Lucifer]

Maybe .1% of it I guess. Most of it is going to go toward state and local aid and new stimulus checks though. In a budget of a trillion dollars, a few billion in foreign aid is just irrelevant to me. It makes next to no difference as long as Americans are taken care of and they will be.

I mean if they get something back that benefits Americans then 1% of the stimulus package of giving money to foreign countries is fine.

 

[Pulsing Ear]

First order of business is almost certainly another stimulus package. Probably with a price tag of at least a trillion dollars.

Yeah, screw the federal deficit. We can just print us some more money!

 

[Pulsing Ear]

Considering I was one of the liberals who didn't get on board the russiagate train, I think I'd accept the results and move on. The evidence doesn't meet the standards of court and that's that. Not even Trump's own judges have given him a bone.

The courts do not want to set a precedent by weighing in on an election. From my knowledge, that has never happened before. Two Supreme Court Justices did vote to hear a case though.

 

[Drachen]

I am very surprised it seems like Perdue is going to lose his seat. Good thing I didn't bet any money on the election.

I agree with the previous sentiments that the Republicans have nobody to blame but themselves. I can't even put this on Trump; the Party is faltering and failing to adapt to a changing demographic of voters. Georgia is no longer a red state, and I hesitate to even call it a swing state. This is going to keep happening to former red states until things change. Texas is already on its way.

 

[Pulsing Ear]

Maybe I'm reading too much into your post, but it wasn't just Americans who opposed the Nazis. Many Europeans (including quite a few Germans) stood up to those fascists aswell.

Also, politics aside, I see that your tinnitus is rather new. I hope you are coping with it well. It can be a challenge.

Thanks. My tinnitus is actually over 30 years old now, and gotten slowly worse. A lot of it was probably my fault. Loud stereos and concerts. I also used to sunbathe a lot too and developed skin cancer.

My stapedial myoclonus is what is new. Luckily it seems to have mostly stopped! That started about 1 months ago after another trip to the ER to get defibrillated. They also did a cardiac catheterization on me, an angiogram. Wondering if something from that caused it because it started only 2 days afterward.

 

[TeeOh]

Yes, I've heard that too. It's good to know. The CCP detests Trump though and was very excited when Biden was declared victor.

I guess the CCP detesting Trump is true, but I have noticed a lot of the average Chinese folks also dislike liberals and more so than the conservatives in my experience. They have an insult name for liberals too.

That's what I have noticed on their social media as I speak some Mandarin (very shit), where they basically mocked all the liberals that had a meltdown seeing Trump win 2016, but got disappointed that he lost. A surprising amount unironically liked Trump too at the beginning, and not going to lie but in 2016 I did agree a lot with him on certain points like a couple of interviews where he spoke about George Bush, Iraq and everything being a lie. Not saying I support him, but he did have some great points back then. This might explain why he started off with so many unironic fans in China, but at the end they still like him even after the trade war as they consider him less worse to them than Biden.

Not sure the CCP are thrilled about Biden either because it looks like he wants to continue the trade war and he might be even more brutal:

Biden Says US Needs Coalition for Confronting China

There's also an economic deal that the EU and China has got together on, but Joe Biden stuck his nose into it (he's not even President yet) telling the EU to not agree to it even though I thought his values included self-determination for countries? Biden does not control the EU so he can go fuck off:

Biden Camp Adds Pressure on EU to Hit Brakes on China Deal

EU-China investment deal done and dusted

 

[just1morething]

Have a cigar with Rudy...

 

[TeeOh]

So I guess half of America is dumb and deplorable. Democrats are just so much more intelligent.

Even though I'm not a huge supporter of Trump or believe in the election fraud claims (well it sounded believable at the beginning, but now I don't really follow anymore), but I have to agree the people that voted for him, wasn't because they're "dumb and deplorable", but the fact Obama was such a disappointment promising so much, yet providing so little.

I haven't criticized the Democrats that much lately (I will definitely when Joe Biden officially starts his first day) so here I go. There's a reason why Trump won Wisconsin and Michigan in 2016 which happens to be the 2 states that lost a lot of their manufacturing jobs and the Democrats did nothing to support them all that much and I don't think that will change either. I personally knew some Trump voters and most didn't fit the stereotypes you see on late night talk shows, but I noticed some of them were frustrated with voting for Democrats for years to get nothing and thought Trump would provide some hope for their situation.

 

[Daniel Lion]

I have noticed a similar pattern with people who left Russia before the collapse that they always spoke negatively about it. They're normally on average on the younger side in my experience so they grew up in the worst times of the 80s, but when you speak to old people who actually live there right now to compare the difference between Soviet Russia and Modern day Russia, then the majority would speak positive about the Soviet days (mainly the seniors) despite Putin being very right wing. That's what I was getting at when I mentioned the demographic and them comparing the difference between living in 2 different systems in the same country and culture.

There's a joke my friends living in Russia make about it saying "In mother Russia, the boomers are leftists" because you know how in most countries the elders are always more conservative and right wing on average, but in Russia it's the complete opposite:

Two out of three Russians regret the fall of the Soviet Union

A poll shows that as many as 81 per cent of Serbians believe they lived best in the former Yugoslavia -"during the time of socialism".

Soon you mentioned Stalin, another thing that really surprised me so much is how many Russians I met saw Stalin in a very positive light. It blew my mind the last time I was in Moscow when I asked about the picture of Stalin on the wall of this pub I was in. I don't really want to judge them because I never grew up in Soviet times and most of my information about it comes from movies like Rocky 4 lol, but it is interesting as I thought most hated Stalin as I knew some Italian and German seniors who hated Mussolini and Hitler. Apparently 70 percent of Russians see him positively:

Stalin's Approval Rating Among Russians Hits Record High – Poll

I witnessed a similar pattern like the Russians who left before the collapse of the USSR, except it's white South Africans who left after apartheid ended and normally spoke bad about Nelson Mandela. They won't straight up be blunt enough to say "life was better under apartheid" because then they would sound like white supremacists. Apparently this is quite common as I have spoke to some people who knew these South African folks. They're very subtle about it saying how "life got worst" after apartheid ending (they won't specifically say apartheid, but mention Nelson Mandela instead who helped end it) even though homicides rates dropped dramatically after apartheid ended.

What I'm getting at how is that people leave countries based on some self interest doesn't always share the same values as the people that live back home like everyone who lives in South Africa right now to compare the difference between apartheid and post-apartheid. It suits some people's values, while some it doesn't, but the majority preferred apartheid ending, kinda like how the majority of Russians preferred the the soviet system based on some statistics. This is definitely not me saying white supremacist South Africans and anti-soviet Russians are the same, but that their values don't share the majority back home who benefited more under that system they left.

Below is the data on homicide rates of South Africa after apartheid started to end in 1990 which contradicts what that white South African I spoke to saying "life got worse" after apartheid which I'm going to post in case anyone is questioning whether or not life got better in South Africa after apartheid.

View attachment 42580

Fair play... I am cool with that.

Some family had good jobs over in them parts. A scientist who grew crystals for lasers and my mentor who was well received as a great artist because of his tribute to the siege of Leningrad. Folks my age felt it to suffocating. All in all, as ethnics, we were happy to go. That region can be pretty brutal if your considered undesirable, like the US for some folks.

Anyhoodle my friend. I am 12 hours ahead and chilling with my son taking in what news I can get. He keeps punching me, I have a feeling he doesn't like lefty types.

 

[just1morething]

There is a link between severe tinnitus and TMJ:

Impact of Temporomandibular Joint Complaints on Tinnitus-Related Distress

Even if you had noise induced hearing damage (for instance) and had TMJ as a co-factor, your tinnitus may be more mild without TMJ as a co-factor.

If you indeed have TMJ and you tinnitus is getting worse, you could be clinching your jaw or grinding your teeth and making it worse.

Have you had it evaluated?

Yes, but not by a TMJ surgeon, only a TMJ specialist with no luck so far. It could be the left barotrauma in 2008. I absolutely hate waking up to it every morning or after a nap. I just haven't found a treatment for it yet. Steroid injection to my left TMJ seems to stop it for a day or 2.

I will have a virtual appt. with a Dr. at Mayo Rochester and possibly see a TMJ Dr. named Dr. Piper in Florida.

I hope you can get an improvement in your ear(s) and eye(s) condition. That would be a great relief I'm sure.

 

[TeeOh]

Maybe I'm reading too much into your post, but it wasn't just Americans who opposed the Nazis. Many Europeans (including quite a few Germans) stood up to those fascists aswell.

Also, politics aside, I see that your tinnitus is rather new. I hope you are coping with it well. It can be a challenge.

80% of dead nazis came from the eastern front anyways so I can't see the part when they can claim 100% responsibility that the US "saved Europe" which is historically inaccurate. I will say the US definitely did contribute a lot in defeating Japan in the Pacific war though.

"The Eastern Front was the largest and bloodiest theatre of World War II. It is generally accepted as being the deadliest conflict in human history, with over 30 million killed as a result. The German armed forces suffered 80% of its military deaths in the Eastern Front."

Source for the above:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Front_(World_War_II)

 

[Lucifer]

$2000 stimulus payment coming your way. Ossoff will most likely win as the remaining areas lean Democratic.

US Senate is turning blue.

 

[Daniel Lion]

You write well buddy! Better than me. How's your noise? I have my standard static. Maybe I'll try apps on my iPhone. Do you mask @Daniel Lion or grin and bear it?

Thanks for reaching out... it feels good. Tinnitus Talk is a good place.

No hearing aids or white noise, I am too terrified to put anything into my ear. I've got nerve damage and a lot of hearing loss, but it's the nerves and associated pain that scares my socks off with putting anything near my ears and I don't want to lose what's left in terms of hair cells (does that make sense?)... So yeah, I just put up with it as it is. It's high pitched and annoying and unrelenting, but I am definitely getting better at managing. Some days are awful but the aggregate has me happy despite my pain, other body failings, and that tenuous line between being ok and an unforeseen acoustic trauma that forces me into the grave early. Happy days, ya hoo!

just1morething, thanks for checking up on me. I am grateful for that gesture and hope your static quiets right on down. I played the fart track for my kids... and it was warmly received. Looking forward to more jokes as always and brighter days for all of us.

See you soon.

 

[Juan]

Maybe the wonderful people of Europe will start WWIII while they're at it, and kill another hundred million people, like they did in the 20th century. Goddamn hypocritical, pompous fools, to think they're better than thou.

I think it's the FED and the US Government who do not remember history, as they are applying the same failed economic principles that made Japan lose 3 decades... and they call it now "stimulus", as if it were something new. In Japan politicians changed the name of this failed non-stop emission of money by central banks to "Abenomics". What a bluff...

Wait till those Americans with 50 mortgages cannot repay them... you will see what's going to happen with property prices...

Common sense is what the world needs.

 

[GlennS]

I hope the country goes to shit, so people regret not giving Trump another term.

 

[GlennS]

I think it's the FED and the US Government who do not remember history, as they are applying the same failed economic principles that made Japan lose 3 decades... and they call it now "stimulus", as if it were something new.

Last time I checked, Trump was pushing for the $2000 stimulus. So this issue isn't even relevant to a Biden vs. Trump debate.