2020 US Presidential Election

[Christiaan]

Actually there is no left wing party in the US...

The Overton window (range of policies considered politically acceptable by the mainstream population at a given time) has moved so far to the right in the US since the Cold War and the Red Scare tactics in the time of McCarthyism, that what Americans consider as a centre left party (in casu Democratic Party), is in the European case in fact a centre right party. Even the conservative right wing party in my country (VVD) has friendly political ties with the Democratic establishment. So moderate European centre left parties like the Spanish PSOE party (Social Democratic & ruling party) would be considered as too radical for the US political system, let alone a party like Podemos (Democratic Socialist and partner of PSOE in Spanish government).

Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overton_window

There are talks about the formation of a true centre left party in the US. The Movement for a People's Party is working on it, and has the support of around 100.000+ people (which I read somewhere). Even Danny Glover and Susan Sarandon are vocal supporters of the Progressive cause Their plan is to challenge the duopoly (their words, as they belief the Dems and GOP are beholden to Wall Street) in the next local and state elections.

Link: https://peoplesparty.org

 

[FGG]

. If a woman accepts a sixty five hundred dollar Cartier Love Bracelet from Trump, you can be sure that she knows that she's supposed to give something in return.

Just to be clear, are you saying that if a woman accepts an expensive gift she is giving consent for future sexual advances?

 

[Luman]

It won't matter. He is on *tape* admitting he knew he was lying about COVID-19 and his supporters will *still* say any criticism of him is "fake news."

View attachment 40582

It's a cult at this point.

A cult is a small group, not the amount of people that comprise half the country, or more.

 

[all to gain]

When Trump was younger and put the moves on a woman, I'm sure that he didn't start until he was sure she was willing to at least consider doing something sexual with him. I'm certain that if they said "No more", that he would not have continued, with the foreplay or whatever. This is not Bill Cosby, a degenerate who drugged his victims. Trump is probably more of a charmer and spender, for fun. If a woman accepts a sixty five hundred dollar Cartier Love Bracelet from Trump, you can be sure that she knows that she's supposed to give something in return.

Donald Trump is not our moral leader, and his private life has nothing to do with his job as president.

Depending on what he does in it, his private life might have lots to do with his job. He is in control of the second largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world and who he associates with and tell things, maybe to do with national security, is very important. If he were banging every other stripper out there it would be of great concern. We need to be able to trust that the person in charge isn't giving away important information to all and sundry. I agree though that his personal dealings with his wife and close family aren't our business.

 

[PeteJ]

And obviously there needs to be care in these decisions to prevent over inflation but passing a reasonable COVID-19 relief bill is well below the danger threshold. We're talking a few trillion dollars here.

Now the US does need to get its finances in check, there's no doubt about that but that's separate from the COVID-19 disaster.

I think you have the communication difficulties since you still don't get it. Plus, your "friends" who 'agree' with your posts. Maybe you religiously get your info from CNBC Business news or something but my point was based on common sense. Something they might *not* report on. There's various sources that report on the ever increasing debt and how it can't go on indefinitely (plus theory on how the currency value is going into the gutter).

But, you people are hopeless.

 

[Contrast]

A cult is a small group, not the amount of people that comprise half the country, or more.

You'd consider religion a cult, wouldn't you?

 

[Zugzug]

You'd consider religion a cult, wouldn't you?

Not every religious person has a cult-like obsession with it, but yes, history has made it clear that large groups of people turn to religion as a cult.

 

[Lilah]

The Overton window (range of policies considered politically acceptable by the mainstream population at a given time) has moved so far to the right in the US since the Cold War and the Red Scare tactics in the time of McCarthyism, that what Americans consider as a centre left party (in casu Democratic Party), is in the European case in fact a centre right party. Even the conservative right wing party in my country (VVD) has friendly political ties with the Democratic establishment. So moderate European centre left parties like the Spanish PSOE party (Social Democratic & ruling party) would be considered as too radical for the US political system, let alone a party like Podemos (Democratic Socialist and partner of PSOE in Spanish government).

Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overton_window

There are talks about the formation of a true centre left party in the US. The Movement for a People's Party is working on it, and has the support of around 100.000+ people (which I read somewhere). Even Danny Glover and Susan Sarandon are vocal supporters of the Progressive cause Their plan is to challenge the duopoly (their words, as they belief the Dems and GOP are beholden to Wall Street) in the next local and state elections.

Link: https://peoplesparty.org

I agree the U.S. right and the European right do not hold the same values. U.S. conservatives are generally evangelical Christians (strong belief in Jesus) and hold conservative social values which are likely not even present in Europe (specifically Western Europe). U.S. conservatives are nationalists (not the racist kind, but the "proud to be American" type whereas the U.S. left is generally ashamed to be American) meanwhile I bet even the European right primarily consists of globalists and are big supporters of globalist organizations such as EU, UN, etc. The U.S. right dislikes high taxes due to the spirit of individualism (that they should decide how to spend their own money) whereas the European right probably has a more collective nature.

I do believe the values and goals of the U.S. left and the European left are the same, which is socialism.

 

[all to gain]

"Now, there's one thing you might have noticed I don't complain about: politicians. Everybody complains about politicians. Everybody says they suck. Well, where do people think these politicians come from? They don't fall out of the sky. They don't pass through a membrane from another reality. They come from American parents and American families, American homes, American schools, American churches, American businesses and American universities, and they are elected by American citizens. This is the best we can do folks. This is what we have to offer. It's what our system produces: Garbage in, garbage out. If you have selfish, ignorant citizens, you're going to get selfish, ignorant leaders. Term limits ain't going to do any good; you're just going to end up with a brand new bunch of selfish, ignorant Americans. So, maybe, maybe, maybe, it's not the politicians who suck. Maybe something else sucks around here... like, the public. Yeah, the public sucks. There's a nice campaign slogan for somebody: 'The Public Sucks. F*ck Hope.'"

George Carlin

 

[Born To Slay]

I think you have the communication difficulties since you still don't get it. Plus, your "friends" who 'agree' with your posts. Maybe you religiously get your info from CNBC Business news or something but my point was based on common sense. Something they might *not* report on. There's various sources that report on the ever increasing debt and how it can't go on indefinitely (plus theory on how the currency value is going into the gutter).

But, you people are hopeless.

It can't go on forever but the time to get stuff in check isn't during a depression. That most certainly is not common sense, it literally can't be since almost no one agrees with you that we shouldn't have a stimulus package of some sort. That's a pretty extreme position to take.

 

[Luman]

You'd consider religion a cult, wouldn't you?

They started out, in larger societies, as cults. Then, if they get large enough, they're accepted as institutions. Some people consider the Mormons, a cult. I guess it depends on other factors.

 

[Juan]

"Don't be shocked Trump lied about Covid on tape. Be horrified that it won't matter."

https://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2020/09/09/woodward-book-play-it-down-coronavirus-steve-almond

Hardly surprising that Trump is a liar. He's a liar, a clown, a racist... apparently for some people in the US these are "qualities".

For me, someone who is racist should not even be considered to be elected.

 

[Zugzug]

Let's be totally honest about something. If Obama was president (or Hillary), and 180,000 Americans died from COVID, they downplayed it, disbanded the pandemic team, said it would just "go away," etc. and the Bob Woodward audio came out, they would be in prison right now.

Should they be for such an act? I don't know, but the hypocrisy is kind of chilling.

 

[Luman]

Hardly surprising that Trump is a liar. He's a liar, a clown, a racist... apparently for some people in the US these are "qualities".

For me, someone who is racist should not even be considered to be elected.

The vast majority of people in America are not racist, and they elected Trump. If they wanted a racist president, they'd have one. We only have two parties here: the Republicans, and the historically-racist Democrats. Trump is a member of the former party, and he has no history of racism. In fact, this is his first political role, in his entire life.

Does this look like a man who is racist, to you?

 

[Lilah]

Trump judges everyone based on merit. He judges people's intellect/success by how much money they make. While there are certainly flaws with this view, it is not racist to think like this.

 

[FGG]

The vast majority of people in America are not racist, and they elected Trump. If they wanted a racist president, they'd have one. We only have two parties here: the Republicans, and the historically-racist Democrats. Trump is a member of the former party, and he has no history of racism. In fact, this is his first political role, in his entire life.

Does this look like a man who is racist, to you?

I think he's more narcissistic (and therefore thinks whatever he is race, gender and background wise is superior) than classically racist but if we are going by photo ops, why is that photo an endorsement of black Americans and this one not an endorsement of Kim Jong Un:

 

[all to gain]

The vast majority of people in America are not racist, and they elected Trump. If they wanted a racist president, they'd have one. We only have two parties here: the Republicans, and the historically-racist Democrats. Trump is a member of the former party, and he has no history of racism. In fact, this is his first political role, in his entire life.

Does this look like a man who is racist, to you?

The photo could just be a photo op?

This makes for damning reading:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racial_views_of_Donald_Trump

Not saying it's all true, but that's a long list for them to be all just one-offs.

Do you feel that Trump plays on race relations and racism at all for political gain? Of course, the same could be asked of Biden and other Democrats. I presume we all know that they are.

Out of interest, does anybody know the breakdown by ethnicity of those who voted for Trump and those who voted for Clinton?

 

[PeteJ]

It can't go on forever but the time to get stuff in check isn't during a depression. That most certainly is not common sense, it literally can't be since almost no one agrees with you that we shouldn't have a stimulus package of some sort. That's a pretty extreme position to take.

Still the comedian. Considering the posters and their perspectives on here, not agreeing with me doesn't mean much.

 

[FGG]

U.S. conservatives are nationalists (not the racist kind, but the "proud to be American" type whereas the U.S. left is generally ashamed to be American).

I think conservatives and liberals just love America differently. Liberals are less blindly loyal to the symbolic America and love more what America *could be* at its best.

There is something poetic about the conservative type of love for America but it comes off like a cheesy romance novel version of love (ie idolization and not realistic love) to liberals (or maybe just me, maybe I'm speaking for others when I shouldn't) and maybe even at times like the "no matter what" type of love victims of abusive relationships are expected to have, where you ignore the faults.

There is a great love in wanting to acknowledge where things could be better and strive to do that. What you read as "shame" is really just being dismayed that America is held back from her real potential.

Just my opinion anyway.

 

[PeteJ]

I agree the U.S. right and the European right do not hold the same values. U.S. conservatives are generally evangelical Christians (strong belief in Jesus) and hold conservative social values which are likely not even present in Europe (specifically Western Europe). U.S. conservatives are nationalists (not the racist kind, but the "proud to be American" type whereas the U.S. left is generally ashamed to be American) meanwhile I bet even the European right primarily consists of globalists and are big supporters of globalist organizations such as EU, UN, etc. The U.S. right dislikes high taxes due to the spirit of individualism (that they should decide how to spend their own money) whereas the European right probably has a more collective nature.

I do believe the values and goals of the U.S. left and the European left are the same, which is socialism.

False. Many on the 'so-called right' in Europe are EU Skeptics or even anti-EU.

 

[Daniel Lion]

The vast majority of people in America are not racist, and they elected Trump. If they wanted a racist president, they'd have one. We only have two parties here: the Republicans, and the historically-racist Democrats. Trump is a member of the former party, and he has no history of racism. In fact, this is his first political role, in his entire life.

Does this look like a man who is racist, to you?

Hi Luman, I agree with FGG's analysis of Trump's relationship to race... but how can you look at this photo and conclude anything about the inner workings of our president? Wouldn't looking at his actions instead of photo ops be better way of assessing anybody's values. He posed with a Bible outside a church.. does that mean he is a believer and follows the tenets of the Church, or was it a photo op?

"Now, there's one thing you might have noticed I don't complain about: politicians. Everybody complains about politicians. Everybody says they suck. Well, where do people think these politicians come from? They don't fall out of the sky. They don't pass through a membrane from another reality. They come from American parents and American families, American homes, American schools, American churches, American businesses and American universities, and they are elected by American citizens. This is the best we can do folks. This is what we have to offer. It's what our system produces: Garbage in, garbage out. If you have selfish, ignorant citizens, you're going to get selfish, ignorant leaders. Term limits ain't going to do any good; you're just going to end up with a brand new bunch of selfish, ignorant Americans. So, maybe, maybe, maybe, it's not the politicians who suck. Maybe something else sucks around here... like, the public. Yeah, the public sucks. There's a nice campaign slogan for somebody: 'The Public Sucks. F*ck Hope.'"

George Carlin

Hi ATG, George Carlin was brilliant. He really got American culture spot on. He saw our shit and our good. Glad you posted that.

 

[Luman]

@Juan Cat got your tongue?

 

[Luman]

I have no idea if the picture was a "photo op", but a "real" racist, such as David Duke, would not allow himself to be photographed like that, nor would any black people that I know, be photographed in such a picture with Duke or anybody that either admits to being a racist, or is widely considered to be one..

Most black people have been Democrat voters.

 

[Luman]

I think he's more narcissistic (and therefore thinks whatever he is race, gender and background wise is superior) than classically racist but if we are going by photo ops, why is that photo an endorsement of black Americans and this one not an endorsement of Kim Jong Un

Trump convinced him to stop testing nuclear missiles. This was something that nobody else was able to do. I see this photo as an indication of Trump's ability to get things done, and leave the bad guys, smiling. I don't know if he told him that we'll bomb his country into the stone age, or offered him some kind of aid, or whatever, but he got results.

 

[all to gain]

Does this look like a man who is racist, to you?

View attachment 40589

That photo reminds me of:

 

[Born To Slay]

Still the comedian. Considering the posters and their perspectives on here, not agreeing with me doesn't mean much.

Um it's not just people here. It's most mainstream politicians and economists that also think we need another stimulus package, they just disagree on the size it should be.

 

[Christiaan]

In other news...

 

[just1morething]

In other news...

View attachment 40592

Is that caused by global warming? The Amazon burning down trees and vegetation might contribute as well as fossil fuels...who knows?

 

[Juan]

The vast majority of people in America are not racist, and they elected Trump. If they wanted a racist president, they'd have one. We only have two parties here: the Republicans, and the historically-racist Democrats. Trump is a member of the former party, and he has no history of racism. In fact, this is his first political role, in his entire life.

Here Are Examples Of Donald Trump Being Racist:

• He attacked Muslim Gold Star parents.
• He claimed a judge was biased because "he's a Mexican."
• The Justice Department sued his company ― twice ― for not renting to black people.
• In fact, discrimination against black people has been a pattern in his career.
• He refused to condemn the white supremacists who are campaigning for him.

 

[Daniel Lion]

I have no idea if the picture was a "photo op", but a "real" racist, such as David Duke, would not allow himself to be photographed like that, nor would any black people that I know, be photographed in such a picture with Duke or anybody that either admits to being a racist, or is widely considered to be one..

Most black people have been Democrat voters.

He panders to racists and white fear for their vote. He's been stoking racial tension for his benefit, when he could just as easily make speeches that encourage the coming together and healing of our great nation.

Trump convinced him to stop testing nuclear missiles. This was something that nobody else was able to do. I see this photo as an indication of Trump's ability to get things done, and leave the bad guys, smiling. I don't know if he told him that we'll bomb his country into the stone age, or offered him some kind of aid, or whatever, but he got results.

The below was April 14th 2020, nothing has changed with North Korea, It sounds like you are buying into his charisma and think world leaders will buy in to him the way Americans do. They don't.

North Korea fires barrage of missiles in weapons test

SEOUL, South Korea — A barrage of North Korean missiles fired from both the ground and fighter jets splashed down on the waters off the country's east coast on Tuesday, South Korea's military said.

The show of force comes on the eve of a key state anniversary in the North and parliamentary elections in the rival South.

The back-to-back launches were the latest in a series of weapons tests that North Korea has conducted in recent weeks amid stalled nuclear talks and outside worries about a possible coronavirus outbreak in the country.

North Korean troops based in the eastern coastal city of Munchon first launched several projectiles — presumed to be cruise missiles — on Tuesday morning, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.​

Here's a record of what is publicly known, I started from 2017 as that was when President Trump came into office.

• February 11, 2017 North Korea test-fired a Pukkuksong-2 missile over the Sea of Japan. This was the first launch of the new medium-range ballistic missile.
• March 6, 2017 North Korea launches four ballistic missiles from the Tongchang-ri launch site in the northwest. Some flew 620 mi (1,000 km) before falling into the east sea.
• April 4, 2017 North Korea test-fired a medium-range ballistic missile from its eastern port of Sinpo into the Sea of Japan.
• April 15, 2017 North Korea test-fired an unidentified land-based missile from the naval base in Sinpo but it exploded almost immediately after the takeoff.
• April 28, 2017 North Korea test-fired an unidentified missile from Pukchang airfield. The missile, believed to be a medium-range KN-17 ballistic missile, faltered and broke apart minutes after liftoff.
• May 13, 2017 North Korea test-fired a Hwasong-12 missile from a test site in the area of Kusong. The missile, later revealed to be an intermediate range ballistic missile, traveled 30 minutes, reached an altitude of more than 2,111.5 km, and flew a horizontal distance of 789 km (489 miles), before falling into the Sea of Japan. Such a missile would have a range of at least 4,000, reaching Guam, to 6,000 km.
• May 21, 2017 North Korea test-fired another Pukkuksong-2 medium-range ballistic missile from Pukchang airfield, which traveled approximately 500 km (300 miles) before falling into the Sea of Japan. The missile landed about 350 km (217 miles) from North Korea's east coast.
• May 29, 2017 North Korea fired a Short Range Ballistic Missile into the Sea of Japan. It traveled 450 km.
• June 8, 2017 North Korea fired several missiles into the Sea of Japan. They are believed to be anti-ship missiles. The South Korean military said the launches show the reclusive regime's "precise targeting capability."
• June 23, 2017 North Korea tested a new rocket engine that could possibly be fitted to an intercontinental ballistic missile.
• July 4, 2017 North Korea tested its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) named Hwasong-14 on July 4. It launched from the Panghyon Aircraft Factory 8 km southeast of Panghyon Airport. It was aimed straight up at a lofted trajectory and reached more than 2,500 km into space. It landed 37 minutes later, more than 930 km from its launch site, into Japan's exclusive economic zone. Aiming long, the missile would have traveled 7,000–8,000 km or more, reaching Alaska, Hawaii, and possibly Seattle. Its operational range would be farther, bringing a 500 kg payload to targets in most of the contiguous United States 9,700 km away.
• July 28, 2017 The 14th missile test carried out by North Korea in 2017 was another ICBM launched at 23:41 North Korea time (15:41 GMT) from Chagang Province in the north of the country on July 28, 2017. Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago, Boston, and New York City appear to be within range. The missile's reentry vehicle (RV) was seen by people in Japan as it entered the atmosphere and landed near the northernmost Japanese island, Hokkaido. Analysis later revealed that the RV broke up on re-entry; further testing would be required. The CIA made an assessment expecting adequate performance of the RV under the different stresses of a shallower trajectory towards the continental US.
• August 26, 2017 North Korea test-fired three short-range ballistic missiles from the Kangwon Province on August 26. Two travel approximately 250 kilometers in a northeastern direction and one explodes immediately after launch.
• August 29, 2017 On August 29, 2017, at 6 AM local time, North Korea launched a ballistic missile over Northern Japan. The missile's short and low trajectory and its breakup into three pieces is consistent with the failure of a heavy post-boost vehicle.
• September 15, 2017 North Korea launched a ballistic missile on September 15 from Sunan airfield. It reached a height of 770 km and flew a distance of 3,700 km for 17 minutes over Hokkaido before landing in the Pacific.
• November 28, 2017 North Korea launched an ICBM from the vicinity of Pyongsong at 1:30pm EST/3:00am Pyongyang time. The rocket traveled for 50 minutes and reached 2800 miles (4,500 km) in height, both of which were new milestones. The missile flew 600 miles (1,000 km) east into the Sea of Japan; unlike summer launches, the Japanese government did not issue cellphone alerts to warn its citizens. North Korea called it a Hwasong-15 missile. Its potential range appears to be more than 8,000 miles (13,000 km), able to reach Washington and the rest of the continental United States. Much about the missile is unknown. The missile might have been fitted with a mock warhead to increase its range, in which case the maximum missile range while carrying a heavy warhead might be shorter than 13,000 km. Based on satellite imagery, some experts believe that North Korea may now be able to fuel missiles horizontally, shortening the delay between when a missile becomes visible to when it can be launched. The rocket is believed to have broken up on re-entry into the atmosphere.
• May 4, 2019 North Korea launched several short-range projectiles from the vicinity of Wonsan on the country's east coast, one possibly a Russian Iskander missile which can make course corrections during its flight.
• May 9, 2019 North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles from the vicinity of Sinori in North Pyongan Province (launch area also, in another source, identified as Kusong) at 4:29 p.m. and 4:49 p.m. local time.
• July 25, 2019 North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles, believed to be of a new design.
• July 31, 2019 North Korea launched "several" short-range ballistic missiles.
• August 2, 2019 North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles at 2:59 a.m. and 3:23 a.m. local time.
• August 24, 2019 North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles from Sondok in South Hamgyong Province. Both fell in the Sea of Japan.
• September 10, 2019 North Korea launched two short-range projectiles from Kaechon shortly after proposing to resume denuclearization negotiations with the US. Both the projectiles fell into the sea off the North's east coast.
• October 2, 2019 North Korea test-fired a new-type submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) in the waters off Wonsan. The Republic of Korea Armed Forces said the missile, which was dubbed Pukguksong-3, flew about 450 kilometers and reached a maximum altitude of 910 kilometers, making it an intermediate-range ballistic missile. It fell into the exclusive economic zone of Japan off Shimane Prefecture. North Korea said the launch was successful.
• October 31, 2019 North Korea test-fired two short-range projectiles from Sunchon at 4:35 p.m. and 4:38 p.m. Both flew around 370 km and reached a maximum altitude of 90 km before falling in the Sea of Japan.
• November 28, 2019 North Korea test-launched two "short-range projectiles". Rocket exhaust was visible from Russia.
• March 2, 2020 North Korea carried out test-launch of two unidentified projectiles from eastwards over the sea from the Wonsan area on the east coast. Projectiles are equipped with an operational range of 240 kilometres, and capable to flew a height of 35 kilometres.

The above April 14th 2020 article is not listed here as the list has not been updated yet.