nigel99

The dems have to unite against someone new. The US is in for a shit show over the next 12 months minimum. Trump is exploiting the assassination attempt and if anything has amplified his violent rhetoric. If he loses he is going to incite violence, knowing that the SC will protect him. If he wins you’re in for a wild ride. Maybe Mexico will pay for the wall - to keep the illegal immigrants out of Mexico after November!

you reminded me of this video that made the rounds a few years ago.

Agreed

Watching the US over the past 8 or so years it looks and feels like the rich and powerful exert undue and excessive influence on the US. Social groups form strong bonds, even if they have internal disagreements. Take skydiving as an example, we all socialise and will get together even with vastly different political opinions. It is natural and normal that the rich and powerful form a social group as they have something in common. For the most part the very wealthy tend to be narcissistic and forceful (bullies). It doesn’t matter if it’s Murdoch, Gates, Musk etc. It’s not even necessarily a bad thing that they scratch each other’s backs and exchange favours. The problem is the that within the US system it has become blurred and there is no firewall between politics and the public rich and powerful. It’s something you see in Russia and many other despotic states and the foundations have been laid over decades in the US. The end result for the US is Emperor god Trump. Democracy was and is intended to counter those forces. What we are seeing is that without strong protections in place democracy slips into a corrupt puppeteer class for the powerful. It’s insidious and creeps up on us all. I wish there was an obvious and easy answer to put power back in the hands of the people. The problem is that it is so ingrained already that it’s not going to come from within. Social media provides a voice to the masses, but it is unregulated and run by the rich. So by its very nature is open to manipulation and misinformation. My Damascus moment on the news and government was the WMD saga and the gulf war, where in the UK the government encouraged or allowed the media to spin the WMD narrative and yet the actual reports that were available contradicted it. I’ll be honest I feel a bit sad and defeated by it all. I’ve just turned 50 and I suspect it will deteriorate substantially during my lifetime, although probably not in a way that directly impacts my personal quality of life. I worry for my children though and what their future holds.

Granted the Trump getting shot factor has significantly changed things since I had made that post. But I disagree strongly that Trump would win as a result of not backing Biden. It’s amazing how effective strong decisive leadership is, and if the dems including Biden backed and promoted someone I think they stood a better chance than Biden. For the next couple of weeks Trump owns the news cycle as a result of the shooting. The dems could come out hard and strong and turn the situation around.

I tend to agree with you sitting it out and logic

As Phil predicted already being monetised and apparently emails from Trump sent exploiting it.

Without doubt he will milk it for all it’s worth and it will likely help his campaign significantly. The US is toast, you’ve got an election conversation that is driven by personality, violence and drama and devoid of policy. As a non American while I feel sorry for you all, it’s time for the rest of us to distance ourselves from you

It’s very strange including Trumps reaction.

I feel no pity for him, not that I condone it. Trumps reaction was weird, the guy is not right in the head. Who has a near miss and needs to be muscled into the car as he’s pumping his fist?

It’s a Holden SS Ute. 6.2l

Very interesting thanks Bill. I was looking at electric vehicles a few months ago as my car is an Aussie performance vehicle and not great to drive in traffic. In the end I decided to go the opposite extreme since I am mostly working from home. I got an e-scooter which is great for little runs up to the shops and anywhere within 5 or 6 miles. Our public transport is pretty good and so I can use it to get to the train for trips to the city. It paid itself off in fuel savings in 4 months. The only downside is our government is very strict and e-scooters are speed limited to 15 miles an hour and you’re supposed to wear a helmet. Would be nice to be able to keep up with bicycles on the cycle tracks.

Is loyalty more important than competence? My grandfather took on the management of an old age home when he was in his early 60’s. He said one of the most difficult things he had to do was take car keys away from people who were no longer capable of driving safely and seeing how it destroyed them. He vowed to stop driving at a certain age (don’t remember if it was 70 or 75) and he kept his word. That’s how I see Biden. A genuine, hardworking man who has been successful. But it looks like he’s losing his ability to keep up. In an interesting twist of timing though, one of the units of my psych degree is on disorders of aging and cognitive decline.

I don’t understand the US system. I don’t see any reason for Biden to resign the presidency as he is doing a good job. If he simply declined the nomination what is it that makes Harris an automatic contender? Is it simply good manners or are there rules that mean it should be her? Not knowing much about her, it seems logical that she could be the nominee and she comes across as quite competent. I guess racism and sexism would undermine her chance of winning.

A jumper from here who spends a lot of time in the US and is a school teacher believes that the US school system has never taught critical thinking skills. He made that comment at least 10 years ago. I forget the full context of the conversation, but he also talked about the nature of news in the US versus most of the Western World.

That’s such a defeatist attitude. I believe if Biden had strength of character he could back someone and a viable candidate against Trump could be put in place. A lot can be done in 100 days. Rather than polls I quite like watching the betting odds as I think it is a more realistic demographic. 3 months ago Trump was the slight favourite, now it’s a landslide in his favour and odds for Kamila are better than those for Biden. If the dems put up Biden Trump will win.

I don’t think you have a choice but to change him if America is going to recover. Biden needs to actively support and promote someone. Sadly I don’t think it’s going to happen.

Well looking at the make up, your presidential debate is going to be between 2 Oompa Loompas.

I was stunned at Jill’s performance after the debate. It was condescending as hell. It was how you talk to a toddler or dog not a president.

It honestly goes to show the vanity and self centered nature of most politicians. The magnanimous way for Biden to have dealt with this would have been to acknowledge his age at the beginning and groom and foster a strong replacement. That is what a good Chief Executive does, they foster and promote succession planning. I never previously had a problem with Biden, but I quite dislike him now. There is no denying a terrible debate performance and sorry but I wouldn’t want my president to have a ‘bad day’ like that in the middle of a national crisis. For all the abuse Bush got for his reaction to 9/11 imagine Biden in the state he was if that had happened?

applicable to both candidates

From the onion on the pros and cons of Trump immunity. Sadly it isn’t that satirical PRO: Can finally stop pretending we live in a democracy. CON: Nothing we can print out of fear of retribution. PRO: Saves a ton on prosecution costs. CON: One more jaywalker. PRO: Nice to finally have it in writing. CON: Encourages him to put personal crimes on company card. PRO: Country won’t last long enough for him to use it very often. CON: Being president will probably get boring after the fourth or fifth time

If you think you survived one Trump term you’re dreaming. The damage and fallout from Trump on the justice system and rule of law continues every day. A second term will be significantly worse, King Trump will probably crown Don Junior to continue the royal legacy.

I feel very sad for you Mark. I know you take great pride in your nation and served in the military defending it. It must be heartbreaking to see the fall of a once great nation. Over the past 10 years the US has fallen from a leading democracy to quite possibly the leader of banana republic’s. I once worked for a conman who was good at it but not as artful as Trump. What I learned from Glenn is that conmen are surrounded by confusion and by confidently lying they get away with it as we are all too polite and shocked to confront it. Glenn was eventually undone as some journalists held him to account for a single lie and refused to drop it. It drove him crazy and he unraveled. That is how Trump needs to be dealt with. Pick a single lie, something that can’t be blamed on others - it should be something small, defined and entirely within his sphere is influence. Then everyone should harass him until he acknowledges the lie - his Truth social account should be flooded with it, every media appearance. From personal experience I predict he will unravel and his insanity will be exposed for the Maga die hards

Well it solves the problem of Bidens debate performance. Time for Seal Team 6 to be given orders regarding the Orange problem.