US Politics: A small step from going viral to going postal

[IheartIheartTesla]

The Upshot (Nate Cohn/NYT operation) has a few state polls out. Weirdly, it shows MN and WI in better shape for Biden than NH or NV (5-7 versus 3-4), but the former states also have more people polled. I also wonder if they went a bit overboard with their correction from 2016 - if you recall, they had Clinton at 99% chance of winning or something ridiculous like that.

[Zorral]

FEMA has just abandoned Lake Charles, and how many other areas?

https://www.talkdatnola.com/news/laura-evacuees-protest-cite-slow-aid-response-from-fema-830

No water, no power, no food, no nuthin' at all.  Heck of a job!

P.S. Hitler tried for a career as an artist, a painter, not in the theater.

[Mindwalker]

Colorado secretary of state Jena Griswold (D) took aim at the U.S. Postal Service on Twitter late Friday after she said the mail service had sent out a misleading informational postcard to voters containing an inaccurate checklist for mail-in voting that could undermine the election and “suppress votes.” 

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/griswold-accuses-usps-voting-misinfo

[HoodedCrow]

I suppose you are right about the tweeting:( I couldn’t bring myself to read Mein Kampf.I have listened to Hitlers speeches. I can’t speak German, and I was horrified that he sounds very passionate and that you can’t immediately tell that he is looney.

I loved the count of Monte Cristo and read Dumas’ other books also.The app spelled it Monte Christa, and the app war is on. My favorite book is Vanity Fair by Thackeray. Or Storm of Swords.

[Centrist Simon Steele]

5 hours ago, A Horse Named Stranger said:

That wasn't your point tho. And both Kal and I said something to that extent. That approximately half of the votes went to that openly racist, sexist piece of work is an indictment for the US society as a whole. And the low turn out pointed by Ty is not as redeeming as he might hope. As in those not voters were obviously not outraged (enough) to just flat out vote against him. Of course it's easier to just dismiss the whole thing, as an electoral fluke than to just face it, that half the country was ok with it.

There's something like a collective responsibility. Like all of Germany owned, and still does own Hitler, you collectively own Trump. I know it's uncomfortable, and easier and more convenient to pretend you have no part in it. But again, that he got to where he is, is an indictment for US society as a whole. No matter what Falwell might tell you, it wasn't god or anything that put Trump where he is, US citizens did.

You can of course continue to ask yourself: should we blame the goverment, or society, or should we blame the images on TV? To which DMC will dutifully reply: Hell no! Blame Canada.

No. It was my point. Here's what I wrote: "I disagree. We did not fail the test four years ago--and I'm including in that all these people who voted for Trump. " I'm including in that al these people who voted for Trump. 

Meaning, I was sticking up for them too--a much harder argument to make, no doubt--but I am MOST DEFINITELY talking about those who didn't vote for various valid reasons, and those who didn't vote for Trump.

If half my students don't show up to class, I don't punish the half that do. It's a nonsense, puritanical argument from the people who literally cry all the time about purity. It's a stupid point you're standing by. 

And again, it's not an electoral fluke. It is true more than half of voters went for Hillary and she still lost, which is bullshit, but again, MORE than half voted for Hillary. But that is a supporting point to my argument. The biggest issue are the systemic issues that have festered for so long in this country that Trump was inevitable. A lot these systemic issues which people who cry about purity have defended. 

And you keep acting like this is an act of "God" which tells me you aren't paying attention to anything. I never claimed that. I refuted that directly in a previous response. You're arguing in circles, so I feel we've come to a meaningful conclusion: the meaning is I'm wasting my time.

[Centrist Simon Steele]

5 hours ago, Lollygag said:

Not Obama. Bill Clinton.

 

Agreed. Gingrich really began driving this, and I'll even concede that Reagan laid the groundwork. 

[Zorral]

Ha!  Republican ads up on banner here, hidden behind calling it an "urgent message to voters from Ron Paul" -- please click NOW.  Same ones as all over today's WaPo site.

[Centrist Simon Steele]

1 hour ago, Triskele said:

Hugh Hewitt's backup tweeted something about how all troops have sworn a lifelong oath to defend the country against all enemies of the state including leftists.  

Can't believe the shooting hasn't started yet.  

Think how I must feel being a leftist! I guess I must start by shooting myself? But wait a minute, I think the oath I took said enemies foreign and domestic, but didn't mention--parenthetically--"leftists" as one of those. In my view, it's always be "rightists" that are the enemies. But also, protecting the nation is a vague term. I never interpreted it to mean I have to shoot people with ideological differences. 

[Centrist Simon Steele]

36 minutes ago, HoodedCrow said:

I suppose you are right about the tweeting:( I couldn’t bring myself to read Mein Kampf.I have listened to Hitlers speeches. I can’t speak German, and I was horrified that he sounds very passionate and that you can’t immediately tell that he is looney.

I loved the count of Monte Cristo and read Dumas’ other books also.The app spelled it Monte Christa, and the app war is on. My favorite book is Vanity Fair by Thackeray. Or Storm of Swords.

Huh. That's interesting. Someone could compile all of the Donald's Tweets and make them into his own book. It'd make about as much sense as his speeches.

[HoodedCrow]

Trump tweets. It’s a good idea, thus someone has done it? Juxtaposing it with Mein Kampf or current events would be a next step.
My sister is bold and sometimes she uses the word guillotine in relation to Trump. Also her favorite emoji is the middle finger. She tells me that they don’t seem to understand the sentence “I don’t want to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person.” I mocked, saying” Duh, what’s a wit?”
I pretended to be an additional musketeer when I was a kid.

[Mindwalker]

Goddess, I'm so sick and tired of all those people who happily worked for/ with Troomp, promoting him, protecting him, whatever,  now suddenly discovering their conscience just in time to make money but probably not helping one bit. Now it's the “The Art of the Deal” co-author. I won't provide a link.

/ rant over

[DMC]

11 minutes ago, Mindwalker said:

Now it's the “The Art of the Deal” co-author. I won't provide a link.

Tony Schwartz has publicly criticized Trump sine July 2016.

[Fragile Bird]

3 hours ago, A Horse Named Stranger said:

Talking about it.

I think this is pretty much what his book would look like.

It's all my recommendation for people participating in Secret Santa this year. You just need to imagine the happy smile of Birdy, when she unpacks her present and finds one of those books. You, just know it's the perfect present for everybody. 

Please don’t you start dragging me into nonsense, it’s enough that Ty does it non-stop!

[A Horse Named Stranger]

5 minutes ago, Fragile Bird said:

Please don’t you start dragging me into nonsense, it’s enough that Ty does it non-stop!

So you don't want a book full of Trump tweets for christmas?

Anyway, sorry. I just needed somebody, who is participating in that secret santa stuff and also reading/contributing in this thread for this off hand joke. As in I did not want to drag anybody into it, who is not participating/following this thread.

 

[HoodedCrow]

Fragile, a little nonsense helps. Secret Santa, no way:) I want my ballot more than anything. 
Simon, in Texas, I heard that they want older people to go out and take one for the team. Shock.

[DMC]

1 hour ago, Simon Steele said:

Huh. That's interesting. Someone could compile all of the Donald's Tweets and make them into his own book. It'd make about as much sense as his speeches.

To be clear, this is the book @A Horse Named Stranger linked to earlier - in fact there's two volumes of it!  Those volumes list Hal Moroz - a true believer who just lost a Georgia Supreme Court election spectacularly - as the author.  ....Isn't the author Donald Trump?  And how is he not suing to make money off these books?  Forefront Books has their own compilation of Trump's tweets from inauguration through the impeachment trial.

[Kalbear]

6 hours ago, Tywin et al. said:

Apples and oranges, guy. 

ETA: And my point before remains valid because 3/4's of the country didn't support him and half of his support just came from those who disliked Hillary. Trump represents and reflects some of the worst parts of our society, but they are minority views. The larger problem is breaking the infrastructure that allows said views to still have power. 

To be clear, that's almost precisely the same level of fervent support that all authoritarians have. What's the quote - 33% support, 33% oppose, and 33% are willing to do nothing.

And clearly from polling half of his support did not just come from people who disliked Clinton. 

The real problem is that 75% of the country is not particularly opposed to his viewpoint. Only 30% might actively vote for it, but the other is perfectly fine to live in it and let people suffer. 

And you said before that this is probably not that different from other places. Probably true! But other places have significantly stronger laws in place to mitigate these things. My point is simply this: this is what humanity is, this is what America is, and the continual 'this isn't who we are' is a lie. We have to accept that this is who we are before we move on to what we could be. We have to accept that as bad as this is, this is status quo for most of the minorities in the US and has been for a long time; the feeling of constant dread, of danger from their government, of distrust, of anger and unfairness is what minorities in the US have lived with every single day of their lives for 400 years. If you're wondering why they went for Biden over Sanders in a landslide, it's because they don't trust the white people to do even remotely the right thing. And entirely fairly so. 

You want to break that structural inequity? Start with that first.

[DMC]

3 minutes ago, Kalibear said:

The real problem is that 75% of the country is not particularly opposed to his viewpoint.

Considering polling consistently shows about half of Americans strongly disapprove of Trump, I think you're grossly inflating that figure.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

23 minutes ago, Fragile Bird said:

Please don’t you start dragging me into nonsense, it’s enough that Ty does it non-stop!

Don't lash out at me because your Raptors choked last night.

[Kalbear]

1 minute ago, DMC said:

Considering polling consistently shows about half of Americans strongly disapprove of Trump, I think you're grossly inflating that figure.

If they don't vote, they don't really matter as far as their disapproval. If they cannot do the least little thing - voting - in order to oppose him - then no, I don't rank them as particularly in opposition to his policy. If it was truly the case that half of the US strongly disapproves of Trump he'd be gone in a landslide and we would have a Democratic senate right now.