US Election Thread 2024

[heywood]

Plead all you want Nicker, but what are the actual chances of Trump going to jail? Approaching zero I'd say. Assuming he loses the election, I fully expect him to be offered and to take a plea deal where he avoids jail time. The prosecutors aren't going to want this in front of a hostile SCOTUS majority. And if it does look like he's going to face significant jail time, I expect he will receive multiple offers of refuge and flee.

[heywood]

You do make some valid points, but when a country gets to the point where it is imports are greater than it's exports you will have more money leaving than coming in. Also, if you take away good paying labor jobs from those in your country, and ship them overseas, that contributes to money leaving the country instead of circulating within the economy. The only benefit to exporting labor is to increase stockholder dividends and executive pay and bonuses.

Very few companies actually suffer failures because they are unionized. There are some cases where unionized workers demand higher pay and benefits from a company that's not capable of giving them what they want. Hostess was one of those but they failed because the general population in the US has changed it's overall diet choices to either healthier options, or upgraded their tastebuds from American cafe food to gastropub grub. It's easy though to reference Ford paying its workers more because so that they could afford to buy Fords but that's not the case for companies producing random widgets or even Boeing aircraft. Maybe Boeing employees travel more when they have more money, but I don't know if that supports their own industry or not.

One of the other problems is when a countries raw resources start to dwindle or in some cases there are plenty of resources but extraction costs are higher than what it would cost to import the same materials a manufacturer would rather import the material. That of course hurts mining companies but helps transportation companies. You could shift workers but that's not easy to do.

This problem certainly isn't unique to the US though as many industrialized countries have shipped manufacturing jobs overseas in order to save a buck, and once that snowball starts rolling an avalanche soon follows. Sometimes the cost increases aren't entirely related to labor costs either and have a lot to do with environmental regulations. Coal mining might be adversely affected in a country based on environmental regulations and/or diminishing resources.

As far as immigration is concerned small amounts in any country generally helps boost economies, but massive amounts left unchecked can upturn economies very quickly to the point where it's difficult to adjust. The US as a melting pot shouldn't be overly concerned with migration and those concerns are usually related to labor competition disguised as criminal intent of immigrants that citizens claim when they feel threatened. In countries where resources and space is more limited like the UK unchecked immigration is probably more problematic economically and culturally than in places like the US. One could make the argument that entire cultures are being displaced by too high of a flow of immigrants in too short of a time period and that it is pushed on the people politically. This is where countries that have huge numbers of refugees should retain them as much as possible as cruel as that may seem. In some cases you could argue that there is politically motivated colonization happening in many countries and it's okay for more heavily melanated people to rage over past colonization but the lighter melanated people are being forced to suck it up or be labeled racists.

The most basic issue though I think is boiled down to population vs. resources in most countries and corporations and garbage politicians that exploit them both. If the livable land mass in any country could easily be expanded and they had unending resources there wouldn't be much of a reason to compete for anything. So maybe the most obvious, but also the most difficult to change, problem is the exponential increase in populations in nearly every country on Earth.

I forgot to reply to this earlier. I wanted to point out that a trade deficit doesn't mean more money is leaving than coming in. Payments for goods and services is only one kind of money flow. Our trade deficit is offset, almost dollar for dollar, by a surplus of foreign investment into the US. We give them dollars for stuff and they use it to invest in us, buying stock in US companies, US Treasury bills and notes, municipal bonds, real estate, etc. So we run a deficit in current accounts and a matching surplus in capital and financial accounts. This balance of payments means there is no net loss of jobs in the overall economy due to the trade deficit.

Also, the reason why we have a trade deficit has nothing to do with politicians selling us out. It is an outcome of using the USD as the world's primary reserve currency, predicted by Robert Triffin back in 1959. Other nations that trade in USD or service debts in USD need to hold dollars in their accounts and hold assets that are easily converted to dollars. Those assets are various debt instruments issued within the US. The worldwide demand for US debt creates a net investment surplus into the US, allowing us to borrow cheaply and buy more than we produce. That's why there's a trade deficit. If this seems hard to believe, think about why the rest of the world would keep sending us more stuff than we send them if they weren't getting anything in return?

Because the trade deficit is a result of using the USD as a reserve currency, the size of the trade deficit is linked to the strength of the USD against other currencies. When the dollar is high, the trade deficit tends to grow and when the dollar is low it shrinks. The reason should be obvious based on the above. It doesn't matter who is in office.

The only thing wrong with your second statement is that there is an assumption that there is a competent team behind the Biden administration.

Biden literally did nothing noteworthy during his term as president. Former vice presidents serving a term as president afterwards rarely amount to nothing more than attempting to carry the torch forward in a half-hearted way. Bush senior, a former vice president, might have led the nation during Desert Storm but I can't think of anything else he did that was noteworthy during his presidential term that I can remember. Al Gore, I suppose, invented the Internet so I guess that's noteworthy . Biden skipped a term to rest up to do nothing more than walk around the White House lawn with his caretaker while wearing out of style aviator sunglasses. One of the most important things for America is healthcare and Biden did nothing to try to fix the mess that Obama created (Punishing people financially for not having healthcare does not make healthcare affordable). So I wouldn't expect much from Harris other than an unconstitutional attempt to confiscate guns. She'll do nothing but talk in circles, enrich her stock portfolio and write a boring book afterward. Liberals will rejoice with the same sadistic fervor that Trump supporters did when he was elected because there is no concern for what a president could or will do during their term. The only thing going through voter's minds these days is either my team one or my team lost and that it won't matter to them after the hangover is gone because baseball season is right around the corner....

Harris doesn't have to do anything right, or anything at all, to secure the vote for most women. There will likely be conservative women voting for Harris as well literally for sexist reasons. My ex-wife literally couldn't tell me how the president actually gets elected but is super excited to see a woman as president regardless of party affiliation.

For this election cycle I don't think that it matters much if Trump or Harris is elected because neither are a good choice. One will make gun owners and major corporations happy and the other will make anit-gun nuts and major corporations happy. I think the people should focus more on who is controlling the house and the senate during this election cycle if you want to see any difference made even though so many of them are in the pockets of corporations themselves.

GHWB got us out of the Cold War and the S&L crisis. Not bad if you ask me.

I credit Biden mainly for getting infrastructure and Medicare negotiation finally passed and repairing relations with our allies. I think he has a (surprisingly) good foreign policy team, I like his AG, and I love his FTC chair. I think most of his cabinet is competent except for Mayorkas and Cardona, who are total zeros.

[Vae]

*** BREAKING NEWS ***

*** TRUMP SAFE AFTER SECOND ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT ***




Details: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...gn-2024-09-15/


Once again, as predicted...

As predicted...

The transnational oligarchy has attempted to take Trump's life, which is of course their only recourse after the lawfare has failed.

This attempt to kill the next president will result in strengthening the resolute standing of the Cold Civil War that we've been in for a number of years.

If given the opportunity, they will attempt to kill him again.

[demagogue]

Why would the transnational oligarchy care about some histrionic loser who barely got a 2.0 GPA at business school? Surely they'd find more threatening a person who could form a complete sentence and doesn't slur his words, constantly sniff from his adderall use, or depend on Russian money laundering loans to even stay solvent?

[Vae]

This event will aggravate the cognitive dissonance for many, due to the increased tension between illusion and reality...which is expressed in the form of dismissive, distorted characterizations, as a coping mechanism.

However, a time will come where this will no longer be sustainable.

Once again, If given the opportunity, they will make a third attempt upon Trump's life.

And as I've stated many times, Trump will be president or he will be dead...there is no other future result.

[Tomi]

And as I've stated many times, Trump will be president or he will be dead...there is no other future result.

I think you may be right for once!

I also predict that I will be the Queen of England or I will be dead... there is no other future result.

[demagogue]

Well these assassins need to understand that the public only has so much attention before it's used up. There's just not going to be any left to for it to care about Trump being shot at and miraculously surviving every other week, if that's the plan. At some point they're not even going to be making the news cycle anymore, hardly a back page mention, and then they'll have to review what the goal is that they're even trying to achieve anymore.

The public is exhausted. I think most people just want the constant cluster b drama and histrionics and victimhood to end already. Getting shot at all the time isn't normal, and people just want some normalcy again.

If I was talking to an abused women that's finally understood that her boyfriend is a malignant narcissist, and what that really means, I'd advise her to go no contact as soon as possible. Don't even open his messages. If only the country could be so lucky to have that option.

------

Edit: I guess I should add, first of course it's a given that political violence is completely unacceptable, and it shouldn't even be hinted at as Trump does all the time, and all the rhetoric needs to start chilling out and the constant & opportunistic Big Lie-ing stop to deradicalize people, there should be better gun regulation, better mental health services, better information sharing and training, etc. But also if these assassination attempts are real -- and it's sad that we even have to wonder about it because Trump scripts his campaign and rallies like WWF matches, not even metaphorically, and blading is a thing; but personally I think right now that they are real -- then I think Trump disappearing from the public view is the best thing he could do for his own safety too. Ending the drama would do him some good as well. The minute he's out of the public view, even the memory of him will evaporate instantly and totally I think, since he has no substance, no there there; not even worth the energy to get upset over much less want to harm him.

But one other mark of cluster b types that people don't realize is, if they do start to see the end coming near, as Trump must right now, they have a stupendous capacity for self-harm and bringing everyone down with them in a blaze of disrepute without an ounce of hesitation or empathy, the sycophants first in line, before having to face acknowledging the-thing-that-cannot-be-acknowledged, until the person is thrown face first into total narcissist collapse, which is evidently the train we're on anyway, and it's going to be a sad and pathetic day when we all have to face up to that pitiful music together, and half the country has to come to terms with being ridiculously duped to believe the stupidest things this whole time. Better just rip the band-aide right off as soon as possible and be done with it already.

[Starker]

I thought he was already killed at the debate. From what I heard, it was pretty much a non-stop one-sided slaughter.


In other news, looks like Lord Dampnut didn't much like Taylor Swift's endorsement of Harris:

[Sulphur]

Wait, they're called 'ReTruths' on the off-brand (more) open sewer Twitter? If enough people retruth something to critical mass, will they get a prize alternate reality?

[Starker]

I think that's already a requirement for being on the platform.

[heywood]

Well these assassins need to understand that the public only has so much attention before it's used up. There's just not going to be any left to for it to care about Trump being shot at and miraculously surviving every other week, if that's the plan. At some point they're not even going to be making the news cycle anymore, hardly a back page mention, and then they'll have to review what the goal is that they're even trying to achieve anymore.

The public is exhausted. I think most people just want the constant cluster b drama and histrionics and victimhood to end already. Getting shot at all the time isn't normal, and people just want some normalcy again.

Mass murder is "normal" here now. We're going to have to get used to that until Republican pols realize that vigilantism isn't solving the country's problems and stop promoting it.

[RippedPhreak]

There are no right-wing vigilante mass murders going on in this country.

The public is exhausted. I think most people just want the constant cluster b drama and histrionics and victimhood to end already. Getting shot at all the time isn't normal, and people just want some normalcy again.


If I was talking to an abused women that's finally understood that her boyfriend is a malignant narcissist, and what that really means, I'd advise her to go no contact as soon as possible. Don't even open his messages. If only the country could be so lucky to have that option.

So the side that keeps getting shot at is the real threat to the country. ....OK, I guess?

[heywood]

There are no right-wing vigilante mass murders going on in this country.

So?

So the side that keeps getting shot at is the real threat to the country. ....OK, I guess?

The people shooting at Trump obviously feel that way. They are playing vigilante. This is blowback from Republican gun nut culture. Seems the orange idol is sacred to you guys but school children are expendable.

[mxleader]

This is blowback from Republican gun nut culture. Seems the orange idol is sacred to you guys but school children are expendable.

I fixed it for you: "This is blowback from Democrat anti-gun nut culture.

Seems the orange idol is sacred to you guys but school children are expendable.

What does skin color have to do with anything?

[heywood]

How are a mentally ill guys taking shots at the former President a result of Democrat anti-gun nut culture? Please explain that one.

[mxleader]

You forgot to address your racism.

[RippedPhreak]

The blowback is from Democrats continually shouting "who will rid me of this turbulent priest?" and their whacko followers obeying.

[heywood]

Oh, so we should feel guilty for continuing to point out how he's a criminal scumbag with a severe personality disorder that prevents him from running the country lawfully and effectively? I don't think so. Trump is responsible for his own statements and behavior. You guys are arguing irrationally.

[mxleader]

Oh, so we should feel guilty for continuing to point out how he's a criminal scumbag with a severe personality disorder that prevents him from running the country lawfully and effectively? I don't think so. Trump is responsible for his own statements and behavior. You guys are arguing irrationally.

You forgot to address the frequent comments about the color of Trump's skin and why it's relevant to anything?

[heywood]

What do you want me to address about it? His fake tan makeup, hair color, and hairstyle usually look clownishly orange, though he has toned it down for the campaign. And he has become an idol.

[demagogue]

Trump isn't a side. He's only for himself, and always throws his own followers and fans under the bus so quickly you wouldn't believe.

But nah, he's not a threat because he keeps getting shot at. That may be a sign that one's messaging is out-of-touch with reality, if it's so consistently stoking actual TDS, and he should review it if only for his own sake; but people could be shot at for all kinds of reasons, almost all of them unwarranted, unacceptable, and not the target's fault, including this case.

Trump's a threat to the country because he openly sells US policy and intelligence to foreign businesses and governments, openly coddles with dictators that start wars, openly withdraws US support from its allies, he reneges out of hard-won diplomatic agreements that take months or years of negotiations and thrusts us into half-assed terrible agreements he thought of in 40 seconds while Truthing on the toilet. But Trump manages to go even further and works people up into some lunatic raging froth, which is dangerous and sad in cases like January 6, Pelosi's husband getting hammered in the head, or getting himself shot at... The kooks shooting him are evidently mentally ill or deeply troubled, so they're not people I'd think of as direct threats to the country, although still to the people they target when they're off their rockers. They're just a consistent part of the larger story.

[Starker]

There are no right-wing vigilante mass murders going on in this country.

Most of the terror attacks in the US are perpetrated by right-wing vigilante mass murderers.

[Jason Moyer]

There's something special about someone openly advocating political violence for 10 years, then having his former supporters who bought into that shit attempting to assassinate him.

[RippedPhreak]

Most of the terror attacks in the US are perpetrated by right-wing vigilante mass murderers.

Unless you're counting muslims as American "right-wingers" I doubt this.

[Starker]

Islamist terrorists are the second largest source, yes, but all those white nationalist synagogue shootings, the anti-immigrant shootings, the people who try to start a "race war", they are motivated by right wing ideology, not by any islamist rhetoric.

Just in the past few years, nearly every extremism-related killing in the US has been perpetrated by right-wing extremists, completely dwarfing any other groups (such as black nationalists or islamist extremists)