Idiocracy

[dappleganger]

Great to see the Republicans owning the House, Senate, and (eventually) Supreme Court.  Don't screw this up, Trump.

You mean, like last time they controlled the Whitehouse, Senate, and Congress in 1928. Anyone here remember what happened in 1929?

Leave it to Anne Coulter to spread this wackiness. George W. Bush had 5 years of control over all three. Barack Obama had 2 years of control over all three.

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

This shit pisses me (not you Busta) but someone says something on twitter and everyone takes it as fact, and reports on it. Jeezus.

 

[TBLeafer]

Great to see the Republicans owning the House, Senate, and (eventually) Supreme Court.  Don't screw this up, Trump.

You mean, like last time they controlled the Whitehouse, Senate, and Congress in 1928. Anyone here remember what happened in 1929?

Leave it to Anne Coulter to spread this wackiness. George W. Bush had 5 years of control over all three. Barack Obama had 2 years of control over all three.

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

This shit pisses me (not you Busta) but someone says something on twitter and everyone takes it as fact, and reports on it. Jeezus.

At the same time they were about to take power in office?

 

[bustaheims]

Leave it to Anne Coulter to spread this wackiness. George W. Bush had 5 years of control over all three. Barack Obama had 2 years of control over all three.

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

This shit pisses me (not you Busta) but someone says something on twitter and everyone takes it as fact, and reports on it. Jeezus.

Obama having all three doesn't impact when the Republicans last did, but, nonetheless, your point is valid. Last time the Republicans held all 3, we entered the "Great Recession." When they held all 3 briefly in the 50s, the US saw a spike in the levels of inflation, and, yes, before that that was leading up to and during the Great Depression. So, I mean, it generally hasn't been a great thing over the better part of the last century.

 

[ZBBM]

Subject: prediction on presidency from 96 years ago
Date: Wed, 9 Nov 2016

"As democracy is perfected, the office of the president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people.
On some great and glorious day, the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the
White House will be occupied by a downright fool and complete narcissistic moron."
H. L. Mencken, The Baltimore Evening Sun,  July 26, 1920

 

[herman]

The vote going the other way would not have solved racism/sexism/discrimination, merely continued to hide it. It's hard to defeat something that people deny the existence of. We've seen it ourselves here: they keep doing it because they don't know it's wrong.

It's out in broad daylight now. Between Brexit, Russia, France, ISIS, Boko Haram, and a Trumpublican US, we have tremendous fuel for education right on our door steps.

The election result is a great conversation starter to reach out to those of differing minds. Siloing with those we already agree with will only further the divides.

That would be great, but a lot of the people that were emboldened by Trump are willfully ignorant. There's no conversation to be had with them, or any education that's going to reach them. They're akin to 5 year olds with their fingers in their ears (and, yes, I acknowledge there are many with the same attitude on the other side, as well). These aren't people that are doing things because they don't know they're wrong, they're people who genuinely hold these positions and attitudes. Too many of them are beyond reach.

Their young children, on the other hand, hopefully are not. They're the ones that need to be educated, to be exposed to other races and cultures, and to have the values of equality and respect for basic human rights and dignities enshrined within them. We need to fix the future generations, because, the unfortunate truth is, large swathes of the current generations are broken beyond repair.

The problem is that the hatred just continues.  You can expose children to as much as you want but the values that their parents place on them seem to override what society is trying explain to them.  Like at the hatred that exists in the middle east and how long it has been going on for.  It's pretty simple to say "Hey if you stop hating one another, and stop fighting, things might get better", but they just don't want to let it go.

Be that as it may, I can't stop hoping; I can't say, this or that person is irredeemable. Because that route will lead to the Age of Ultron (or whatever AI singularity apocalypse you choose).

So yeah, it's going to suck (and be even more dangerous literally) for the next little while, but I know the oppression of what is good and noble will lead to some of the brightest works of humanity.

The indoctrinated hate mentioned does seem like a formidable wall. There's a reason such regimes abolish elements of society like free press and education up front. We have to keep talking about it, and try to build ideas towards solutions.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/796900183955095552
www.twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/796900183955095552

And back in 2012 when he thought that Romney had won the popular vote:

Still hard to believe that this dude is President.

 

[herman]

Electoral reform is really funny that way. Only the winners can make changes, so...

 

[Highlander]

The amazing thing is we are two days in and the sky has not fallen as yet. Unbelievable

Tell that to the victims of emboldened hate criminals.

I do not advocate hate crimes, I hate, hate crimes, the fact of the matter is that the U.S. is so far removed from its old history, slavery, the Civil War, hate of the Irish at that time (or any other new ethic group to hit their shores),and has moved to equal rights for not only Blacks, but same Sex folks and the rest. It takes time to build tolerance and education.  To blame the big T for these things is like blaming Washington for fathering the country where all this hate has manifested for its ages.  There has been a tremendous acceleration in our societys for the rights of all, there is no reason to think these things will ultimately be set back.  Society is more than one President, if he can provide Jobs as he has promised (and yes I am skeptical of his ability to do so) then more and more people will adjust and settle down, with more prosperity.
These things take baby steps

 

[CarltonTheBear]

There has been a tremendous acceleration in our societys for the rights of all, there is no reason to think these things will ultimately be set back.

Except Mike Pence has literally already talked about doing this in regards to the LGBT community since their victory.

 

[rdowdall]

Subject: prediction on presidency from 96 years ago
Date: Wed, 9 Nov 2016

"As democracy is perfected, the office of the president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people.
On some great and glorious day, the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the
White House will be occupied by a downright fool and complete narcissistic moron."
H. L. Mencken, The Baltimore Evening Sun,  July 26, 1920

This is a great quote, but that isn't necessarily the whole thing.  This is it:

The larger the mob, the harder the test. In small areas, before small electorates, a first-rate man occasionally fights his way through, carrying even the mob with him by force of his personality. But when the field is nationwide, and the fight must be waged chiefly at second and third hand, and the force of personality cannot so readily make itself felt, then all the odds are on the man who is, intrinsically, the most devious and mediocre ? the man who can most easily adeptly disperse the notion that his mind is a virtual vacuum.

The Presidency tends, year by year, to go to such men. As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.

 

[mr grieves]

Great to see the Republicans owning the House, Senate, and (eventually) Supreme Court.  Don't screw this up, Trump.

You mean, like last time they controlled the Whitehouse, Senate, and Congress in 1928. Anyone here remember what happened in 1929?

ACTUALLY, the last time that happened was 2003-2007.
So, we've already had the repeat of 1929.
We just never got 1932.

 

[bustaheims]

ACTUALLY, the last time that happened was 2003-2007.
So, we've already had the repeat of 1929.
We just never got 1932.

Great Depression, Great Recession . . . I guess it's now time for the Great Regression. Or is it the Great Oppression?

 

[mr grieves]

ACTUALLY, the last time that happened was 2003-2007.
So, we've already had the repeat of 1929.
We just never got 1932.

Great Depression, Great Recession . . . I guess it's now time for the Great Regression. Or is it the Great Oppression?

I mean, we're sort of living in an alternate history. What if the 1929 crash wasn't followed by a bold traitor to his class who directed the anger of a nation at its financial elites (say, FDR) but a feckless corporatist manager who completely failed to appreciate the gravity of the situation (say, Hoover)?

 

[bustaheims]

I mean, we're sort of living in an alternate history. What if the 1929 crash wasn't followed by a bold traitor to his class who directed the anger of a nation at its financial elites (say, FDR) but a feckless corporatist manager who completely failed to appreciate the gravity of the situation (say, Hoover)?

Well, I suppose that depends on whose history seems to be being repeated. Or, to use a more modern cinematic term, reimagined and rebooted.

 

[L K]

So Trump named three of his children and his son-in-law to his transition team.  It's against US law to appoint direct family members to civilian positions.  The same individuals who will be running his company.  He also wants to maintain his apartment in New York and is going to destroy half they city with the security detail that will require.

Comical.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

So Trump named three of his children and his son-in-law to his transition team.  It's against US law to appoint direct family members to civilian positions.  The same individuals who will be running his company.  He also wants to maintain his apartment in New York and is going to destroy half they city with the security detail that will require.

Comical.

Poor Tiffany.

 

[mr grieves]

I mean, we're sort of living in an alternate history. What if the 1929 crash wasn't followed by a bold traitor to his class who directed the anger of a nation at its financial elites (say, FDR) but a feckless corporatist manager who completely failed to appreciate the gravity of the situation (say, Hoover)?

Well, I suppose that depends on whose history seems to be being repeated. Or, to use a more modern cinematic term, reimagined and rebooted.

Can you think of any other extreme economic downturns that weren't followed by either populist right-wing or populist left-wing response?

I'm afraid Obama not managing to be up to being our FDR means he's ended up being our Hoover. I really don't see any other legacy for him at this point.

 

[Bender]

I mean, we're sort of living in an alternate history. What if the 1929 crash wasn't followed by a bold traitor to his class who directed the anger of a nation at its financial elites (say, FDR) but a feckless corporatist manager who completely failed to appreciate the gravity of the situation (say, Hoover)?

Well, I suppose that depends on whose history seems to be being repeated. Or, to use a more modern cinematic term, reimagined and rebooted.

Can you think of any other extreme economic downturns that weren't followed by either populist right-wing or populist left-wing response?

I'm afraid Obama not managing to be up to being our FDR means he's ended up being our Hoover. I really don't see any other legacy for him at this point.

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/united-states/gdp-growth

"The United States economy expanded an annualized 2.9 percent in the third quarter of 2016, more than 1.4 percent in the previous quarter and beating market expectations of a 2.5 percent rise, the advance estimate from BEA showed. The increase in real GDP reflected positive contributions from personal consumption expenditures, exports, private inventory investment, federal government spending, and nonresidential fixed investment that were partly offset by negative contributions from residential fixed investment and state and local government spending."

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/canada/gdp-growth

Canada has been barely at a sputter but I don't see us electing an extremist going forward.

I hate to be the one to point this out, but there's no analogy between either FDR or Hoover here, especially from an economic standpoint - there has been no major downturn (which Republicans were partially complicit to) in the US for 8 years. Additionally, most developed countries/advanced economies are experiencing slow economic growth and that will likely remain a prevailing feature going forward.

There are many reasons that things happened the way that they did on Wednesday, many reasons that I don't (and many) can't really pin down right now (you've heard a lot of them already), but by so many metrics Obama's presidency has succeeded rather than failed. I really wouldn't pin the American people electing Donald Trump as much of a reflection on the job he's done.

 

[mr grieves]

Oh, I don't mean to suggest Obama wasn't a good president. He was, by most standards, a very good president, and certainly a historic one. But he might not've been up to the historical moment -- maybe no one would've been -- and, as consequence, the Republicans have a control over levels of government (Federal and states) that they haven't seen since Reconstruction. Except this time, the Republicans are very likely to undo the ACA, Dodd-Frank, CFPB, the Iran deal, all of the major executive orders...

As for your GDP numbers, that's sort of why liberals were complacent about the midwest.

and

[tweet]798263168392974336[/tweet]

 

[hockeyfan1]

Trump's controversial pick:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/stephen-bannon-how-he-fits-in-trumps-unusual-inner-circle/article32835619/: