The Next American President Thread (2016)

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Comments

  • Posts: 315
    History in the making. America will elect it;s first woman President next Tuesday. Waiting more than 230 years. And then there's this 108 year wait and how it ends.

    cubs-win.jpg
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited November 2016 Posts: 23,883
    TripAces wrote: »
    Dershowitz has lost all credibility. He defended OJ, for crying out loud. The man has lost it.

    As for turning over all devices, we're not talking about a device that belonged to HRC. Right? So that doesn't apply to her.

    My guess is that almost all, if not ALL, of the emails the FBI finds will be ones they have reviewed already.
    No, the device belonged to private citizen Weiner, but it has State Dept. official emails on it, which is probably breaking some law somewhere, and it reportedly has additional confidential and classified 'private server' information on it as well (I hope it's not from POTUS).

    I also didn't realize that there is a separate FBI investigation into the Clinton Foundation underway. No doubt they were going to try and quash this post-election if she won, but the story has broken now.

    The server was reportedly hacked by 5 foreign governments:

    http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2016/11/02/fbi_sources_tell_fox_news_indictment_likely_in_clinton_foundation_case.html
  • @OBrady -- Please don't worry about my sanity, I'm still posting elsewhere on this forum sans Dylan lyrics. Their appearance here is just my reaction to the insanity of this election. Dylan playing piano rather than guitar in this version of his classic song tells me that it's a recent version, one I hadn't heard before with a few changes to the lyrics. Nice video, thanks. @echo -- by all means, please keep speaking sense to the fools as long as you can, I've been doing it for months now. @bondjames -- oh yes, I always look to FauxNews for fair & balanced coverage of the political arena.



    There's an interesting story to this song: Dylan wrote it & gave it to Joan Baez when he moved out of the cottage on her property he'd been living in. She found it in the typewriter when she went to clean up after he'd moved out.

    "Call many any name you like, I will never deny it
    But Farewell, Angelina, the sky is erupting, I must go where it's quiet."
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited November 2016 Posts: 23,883
    @BeatlesSansEarmuffs, I watch all the networks, and not just Fox News. I have to say that in my opinion, Chris Wallace did the best job out of all this year's debate moderators. Brett Baier is no fool, and neither is Megan Kelly. Both of them ran with this story yesterday. If it's untrue, then the Clinton camp should issue a statement, and not send surrogate Obama out there to complain about leaks (I mentioned yesterday that these leaks were coming from within the FBI from frustrated investigators who are being stymied by a politically compromised Justice Dept).

    If they can't comment on it, then it's reasonable to conclude it's because they are in fact the subject of the investigation and don't want to be caught lying to the public.

    The allegations are not from Assange or the Russians this time, but from American law enforcement.
  • @FLeiter: Congratulations, Cubbies! One last time, here's Steve Goodman with "The Dying Cubs Fan's Last Request" A great song is forever, even if a curse can eventually pass...

    @bondjames: J. Edgar Hoover, that deeply closeted transvestite, would no doubt be deeply ashamed to see the organization he built taking sides in a strictly partisan battle. Yes, Chris Wallace did a good job moderating the debate he had charge of; no, Megan Kelly is no fool and she's raking in some very solid coin to mouth the Faux party line. The less said about the empty suit that is Brett Baier the better.

    "You have many contacts among the lumberjacks
    To get you facts when someone attacks your imagination
    But nobody has any respect, anyway they already expect you to all give a check
    To tax-deductible charity organizations

    Ah, you've been with the professors and they've all liked your looks
    With great lawyers you have discussed lepers and crooks
    You've been through all of F. Scott Fitzgerald's books
    You're very well-read, it's well-known
    But something is happening here and you don't know what it is
    Do you, Mr. Jones?"
  • TripAcesTripAces Universal Exports
    edited November 2016 Posts: 4,585
    bondjames wrote: »
    TripAces wrote: »
    Dershowitz has lost all credibility. He defended OJ, for crying out loud. The man has lost it.

    As for turning over all devices, we're not talking about a device that belonged to HRC. Right? So that doesn't apply to her.

    My guess is that almost all, if not ALL, of the emails the FBI finds will be ones they have reviewed already.
    No, the device belonged to private citizen Weiner, but it has State Dept. official emails on it, which is probably breaking some law somewhere, and it reportedly has additional confidential and classified 'private server' information on it as well (I hope it's not from POTUS).

    I also didn't realize that there is a separate FBI investigation into the Clinton Foundation underway. No doubt they were going to try and quash this post-election if she won, but the story has broken now.

    The server was reportedly hacked by 5 foreign governments:

    http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2016/11/02/fbi_sources_tell_fox_news_indictment_likely_in_clinton_foundation_case.html

    If there are state dept. emails on Weiner's computer, then that is Abedin's problem. Not HRC's.

    I love the Fox News headline here: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/11/03/sources-99-percent-chance-foreign-intel-agencies-breached-clinton-server.html

    First of all, notice what they said: "There is a 99% chance that the emails may have been stolen." What the eff is THAT supposed to mean? That's like a woman telling you, "There's a 99% chance I might be pregnant."

    Why the might be / may be qualifier?

    Secondly, there are most definitely leaks coming out of the FBI, from partisan hacks, who are going straight to Fox News. This is a perfect example.

    Third, and this is the most important point: no FBI investigator can (or will ever know) if the server got "hacked." It's pure speculation. We will know if/when a third party publishes the emails. And so far: nobody has. So until that happens, there is still zero evidence that the server was hacked.

    According to Politifact:

    There’s no evidence that anyone successfully hacked Clinton’s email servers, but they certainly were not impervious to attack. It’s possible that a sophisticated hacker gained access but left no trace.

    Comey said the private servers did not have full-time security staff, which are found at government agencies and commercial email providers like Google. Further, he noted that Clinton used her personal email abroad, which could have allowed "hostile actors" to access her account.

    Had Clinton used an @state.gov email address, it’s very likely that it would have been hacked, too. In fact, it’s known that Russian actors recently hacked the State Department email system. According to the New York Times, some State Department employees turned to private email addresses at least temporarily in order to avoid Russian hacker disruptions.
  • edited November 2016 Posts: 3,566
    Once again: wrong, Donald. At least you're consistent. http://www.salon.com/2016/11/03/remember-when-donald-trump-blasted-the-terribly-run-chicago-cubs-in-march/

    Who killed Davey Moore
    Why an’ what’s the reason for?

    “Not I,” says the referee
    “Don’t point your finger at me
    I could’ve stopped it in the eighth
    An’ maybe kept him from his fate
    But the crowd would’ve booed, I’m sure
    At not gettin’ their money’s worth
    It’s too bad he had to go
    But there was a pressure on me too, you know
    It wasn’t me that made him fall
    No, you can’t blame me at all”

    Who killed Davey Moore
    Why an’ what’s the reason for?
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited November 2016 Posts: 23,883
    TripAces wrote: »
    If there are state dept. emails on Weiner's computer, then that is Abedin's problem. Not HRC's.
    No, it's also Clinton's problem because the content can be reviewed to see if Clinton handed over everything that she said she handed over to the FBI under the initial probe and subpoena.
    TripAces wrote: »
    First of all, notice what they said: "There is a 99% chance that the emails may have been stolen." What the eff is THAT supposed to mean? That's like a woman telling you, "There's a 99% chance I might be pregnant."

    Why the might be / may be qualifier?
    I don't think one can ever be 100% sure in these cases. It has to do with where the preponderance of evidence leads you.
    TripAces wrote: »
    Secondly, there are most definitely leaks coming out of the FBI, from partisan hacks, who are going straight to Fox News. This is a perfect example.
    This is not relevant really. What's relevant is whether an investigation is ongoing. That is a matter of national interest. We were under the impression that it had been completed and that everything had been turned over. We were also under the impression that there was no official investigation into the Clinton Foundation. Both of these assumptions have been overturned, unless the Clintons deny it. They have not.
    TripAces wrote: »
    Third, and this is the most important point: no FBI investigator can (or will ever know) if the server got "hacked." It's pure speculation. We will know if/when a third party publishes the emails. And so far: nobody has. So until that happens, there is still zero evidence that the server was hacked.
    How do you know that? I certainly don't know that. Just because the contents are not published doesn't mean it hasn't been hacked. For all we know the FBI knows how wikileaks got the emails but can't disclose.
    TripAces wrote: »
    According to Politifact:

    There’s no evidence that anyone successfully hacked Clinton’s email servers, but they certainly were not impervious to attack. It’s possible that a sophisticated hacker gained access but left no trace.

    Comey said the private servers did not have full-time security staff, which are found at government agencies and commercial email providers like Google. Further, he noted that Clinton used her personal email abroad, which could have allowed "hostile actors" to access her account.

    Had Clinton used an @state.gov email address, it’s very likely that it would have been hacked, too. In fact, it’s known that Russian actors recently hacked the State Department email system. According to the New York Times, some State Department employees turned to private email addresses at least temporarily in order to avoid Russian hacker disruptions.
    That is based on what was revealed in July. They have been investigating since then and may have new information. Bottom line is we don't know what they know at this point, and won't know until findings are eventually released and disclosed.

    One major issue with the server is that it goes outside of Federal records retention laws. An official server being hacked is one thing because that becomes the Government's problem. A private one with confidential information on it being hacked is another matter. Any attempt to conceal information requested by the Government is a further problem. The FBI is obviously investigating all of this at this time. No one has denied the recent disclosure that the investigation into the emails is ongoing and that there is a separate investigation into the Clinton Foundation.
  • TripAcesTripAces Universal Exports
    edited November 2016 Posts: 4,585
    bondjames wrote: »
    TripAces wrote: »
    If there are state dept. emails on Weiner's computer, then that is Abedin's problem. Not HRC's.
    No, it's also Clinton's problem because the content can be reviewed to see if Clinton handed over everything that she said she handed over to the FBI under the initial probe and subpoena.
    TripAces wrote: »
    First of all, notice what they said: "There is a 99% chance that the emails may have been stolen." What the eff is THAT supposed to mean? That's like a woman telling you, "There's a 99% chance I might be pregnant."

    Why the might be / may be qualifier?
    I don't think one can ever be 100% sure in these cases. It has to do with where the preponderance of evidence leads you.
    TripAces wrote: »
    Secondly, there are most definitely leaks coming out of the FBI, from partisan hacks, who are going straight to Fox News. This is a perfect example.
    This is not relevant really. What's relevant is whether an investigation is ongoing. That is a matter of national interest. We were under the impression that it had been completed and that everything had been turned over. We were also under the impression that there was no official investigation into the Clinton Foundation. Both of these assumptions have been overturned, unless the Clintons deny it. They have not.
    TripAces wrote: »
    Third, and this is the most important point: no FBI investigator can (or will ever know) if the server got "hacked." It's pure speculation. We will know if/when a third party publishes the emails. And so far: nobody has. So until that happens, there is still zero evidence that the server was hacked.
    How do you know that? I certainly don't know that. Just because the contents are not published doesn't mean it hasn't been hacked. For all we know the FBI knows how wikileaks got the emails but can't disclose.
    TripAces wrote: »
    According to Politifact:

    There’s no evidence that anyone successfully hacked Clinton’s email servers, but they certainly were not impervious to attack. It’s possible that a sophisticated hacker gained access but left no trace.

    Comey said the private servers did not have full-time security staff, which are found at government agencies and commercial email providers like Google. Further, he noted that Clinton used her personal email abroad, which could have allowed "hostile actors" to access her account.

    Had Clinton used an @state.gov email address, it’s very likely that it would have been hacked, too. In fact, it’s known that Russian actors recently hacked the State Department email system. According to the New York Times, some State Department employees turned to private email addresses at least temporarily in order to avoid Russian hacker disruptions.
    That is based on what was revealed in July. They have been investigating since then and may have new information. Bottom line is we don't know what they know at this point, and won't know until findings are eventually released and disclosed.

    One major issue with the server is that it goes outside of Federal records retention laws. An official server being hacked is one thing because that becomes the Government's problem. A private one with confidential information on it being hacked is another matter. Any attempt to conceal information requested by the Government is a further problem. The FBI is obviously investigating all of this at this time. No one has denied the recent disclosure that the investigation into the emails is ongoing and that there is a separate investigation into the Clinton Foundation.

    The overall point is that there is STILL zero evidence that Clinton's email server was hacked, and most anyone with rudimentary computer skills will know that trying to determine if someone else hacked into your emails is almost impossible to find out. You know when those emails get disclosed. Notice that not a single email from Clinton's server has been revealed by any third party.

    That the FBI is leaking info that there is 99% chance of a "maybe" is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. And Fox viewers will eat it up not knowing that such a statement is a way of saying "we don't know" while suggesting they do know. It is all about playing with words.

    And back to ghe Weiner computer: what laws did HRC break in that regard?
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694

    @BeatlesSansEarmuffs, I'm shocked Trump didn't tweet about the win and make it all about him.

    "Chicago Cubs, World Series champs, 2016. I knew they could do it, I've said it for years. Good team, good management, good game. If I had been running things, they'd have gotten there a lot faster. A lot faster."

    We know how he loves to take credit for things he has nothing to do with.
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    edited November 2016 Posts: 9,020
    All those critics of Comey would have applauded him heavily had it been something about Trump he'd released.
    Hypocrisy galore.
    Comey did his job and has ruined his career over it. Had he waited until after the election he would have been accused too.
  • Posts: 2,341
    I worry about Clinton's war hawk ways. I fear that she will give Israel carte blance to ground the Palestinians into the dust. Like the Brits did in Australia, the Spaniards did in Latin America, and the way the Manifest Destiny did in the USA.
    She will continue to wage war in Afganistan (we cannot reach a military decision there so why aren't we opening negotiations with the Taliban? ) And she will continue our failed Middle East policies and the USA will continue to terrorize and rain death and destruction on innocents in that part of the world.

    Now Trump? Not only will he manage to make a bad situation much worst in the middle East but he will incur the wrath of China, North Korea and the rest of the world. All the while he will continue to divide American society and give free reign to the para military police departments and empower racists to bring violence on not only Muslims but any Americans of color.

    Trump makes one wish that the Zombie apocalypse would hurry up and get here.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited November 2016 Posts: 23,883
    TripAces wrote: »
    bondjames wrote: »
    TripAces wrote: »
    If there are state dept. emails on Weiner's computer, then that is Abedin's problem. Not HRC's.
    No, it's also Clinton's problem because the content can be reviewed to see if Clinton handed over everything that she said she handed over to the FBI under the initial probe and subpoena.
    TripAces wrote: »
    First of all, notice what they said: "There is a 99% chance that the emails may have been stolen." What the eff is THAT supposed to mean? That's like a woman telling you, "There's a 99% chance I might be pregnant."

    Why the might be / may be qualifier?
    I don't think one can ever be 100% sure in these cases. It has to do with where the preponderance of evidence leads you.
    TripAces wrote: »
    Secondly, there are most definitely leaks coming out of the FBI, from partisan hacks, who are going straight to Fox News. This is a perfect example.
    This is not relevant really. What's relevant is whether an investigation is ongoing. That is a matter of national interest. We were under the impression that it had been completed and that everything had been turned over. We were also under the impression that there was no official investigation into the Clinton Foundation. Both of these assumptions have been overturned, unless the Clintons deny it. They have not.
    TripAces wrote: »
    Third, and this is the most important point: no FBI investigator can (or will ever know) if the server got "hacked." It's pure speculation. We will know if/when a third party publishes the emails. And so far: nobody has. So until that happens, there is still zero evidence that the server was hacked.
    How do you know that? I certainly don't know that. Just because the contents are not published doesn't mean it hasn't been hacked. For all we know the FBI knows how wikileaks got the emails but can't disclose.
    TripAces wrote: »
    According to Politifact:

    There’s no evidence that anyone successfully hacked Clinton’s email servers, but they certainly were not impervious to attack. It’s possible that a sophisticated hacker gained access but left no trace.

    Comey said the private servers did not have full-time security staff, which are found at government agencies and commercial email providers like Google. Further, he noted that Clinton used her personal email abroad, which could have allowed "hostile actors" to access her account.

    Had Clinton used an @state.gov email address, it’s very likely that it would have been hacked, too. In fact, it’s known that Russian actors recently hacked the State Department email system. According to the New York Times, some State Department employees turned to private email addresses at least temporarily in order to avoid Russian hacker disruptions.
    That is based on what was revealed in July. They have been investigating since then and may have new information. Bottom line is we don't know what they know at this point, and won't know until findings are eventually released and disclosed.

    One major issue with the server is that it goes outside of Federal records retention laws. An official server being hacked is one thing because that becomes the Government's problem. A private one with confidential information on it being hacked is another matter. Any attempt to conceal information requested by the Government is a further problem. The FBI is obviously investigating all of this at this time. No one has denied the recent disclosure that the investigation into the emails is ongoing and that there is a separate investigation into the Clinton Foundation.

    The overall point is that there is STILL zero evidence that Clinton's email server was hacked, and most anyone with rudimentary computer skills will know that trying to determine if someone else hacked into your emails is almost impossible to find out. You know when those emails get disclosed. Notice that not a single email from Clinton's server has been revealed by any third party.

    That the FBI is leaking info that there is 99% chance of a "maybe" is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. And Fox viewers will eat it up not knowing that such a statement is a way of saying "we don't know" while suggesting they do know. It is all about playing with words.

    And back to ghe Weiner computer: what laws did HRC break in that regard?
    The FBI leaks were something I mentioned was coming yesterday, before this story broke. That would have probably occured even if Comey hadn't made his statement. So he had no choice, as I said a couple of days back. Fox isn't the only channel that has commented on conflict between the FBI and the Justice Dept.

    I am not a forensic tech expert so I don't know if it's possible for the FBI's National Security Unit (the group reportedly investigating this) to know if a system has been hacked. I suspect they have a way to know.

    The 99% or 1% chance is really not of interest to me personally. That information will come out when it eventually does. Either it was hacked or it wasn't.

    I am glad that the public is aware that there is an open investigation into Clinton's email and the Clinton Foundation. Until I hear a denial from the FBI, The Justice Dept or the Clintons, that is relevent information to me. We were previously told otherwise officially under Congressional testimony, and to not correct the record would have been misleading.
  • edited November 2016 Posts: 3,566
    OHMSS69 wrote: »
    Trump makes one wish that the Zombie apocalypse would hurry up and get here.

    And finally we come to the real problem in the world today: the overwhelming mood of nihilism that has taken too many of us. Sorry, @OHMSS69, zombies aren't real. No such simple ending will come up to take the hard decisions out of your hands. Got to do the best you can with what you got.
    bondjames wrote: »
    The 99% or 1% chance is really not of interest to me personally. That information will come out when it eventually does. Either it was hacked or it wasn't.

    Oh come on. @bondjames. Will you please, finally, just own up to your obvious preferences? The Trump people (of which you are one) are getting desperate to just throw Hillary into jail NOW and hand the office to Herr Drumpf. Again, it ain't happening. Time to get used to the world as it is rather than the way you wish it were.

    "Too much of nothing
    Can make a man ill at ease
    One man's temper might rise
    While another man's temper might freeze
    In the day of confession
    We cannot mock a soul
    Oh, when there's too much of nothing
    No one has control
    Say hello to Valerie
    Say hello to Vivian
    Give them all my salary
    On the waters of oblivion."
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited November 2016 Posts: 23,883
    bondjames wrote: »
    The 99% or 1% chance is really not of interest to me personally. That information will come out when it eventually does. Either it was hacked or it wasn't.

    Oh come on. @bondjames. Will you please, finally, just own up to your obvious preferences? The Trump people (of which you are one) are getting desperate to just throw Hillary into jail NOW and hand the office to Herr Drumpf. Again, it ain't happening. Time to get used to the world as it is rather than the way you wish it were.
    I honestly am not concerned whether there was a hack of the emails or not. That is irrelevant to me and a sideshow. I am certainly concerned that such a potential exists and that the personal server was not subject to the same security measures that exist at the State Dept. or elsewhere. I am concerned also that emails which could pertain to the American people's business have been deleted. Emails that apparently relate to yoga and birthday parties. We'll see.

    Yes of course, of the two candidates I prefer Trump. I think that should be quite obvious by now.

    Interestingly, the Comey testimony and statement was made in early July, before the Democratic Convention. At that time, after his statement, it should have been clear that nominating Hillary would result in this kind of nonsense.

    We haven't seen anything yet. This is just the beginning. Get ready for 4 years of this kind of rubbish, unless....
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    A parallel universe indeed ... you cannot make this stuff up (that applies to so much this election year and yes, especially for sure regarding Trump):

  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,351
    If only we could have an anti rapture where all the bad seeds are taken away and the good ones are left behind to repair the damage and make Earth great again.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited November 2016 Posts: 12,480
    Yeah, we will go round and round who really leaked the emails. I do think other countries, including Russia and China, try hard and sometimes do hack our computers. I am not losing sleep over this issue, actually. My govt has its fingers everywhere; no surprise to me. Govts do that; I realized that as a teenager. Do I condone it? Only to a certain degree; so mostly, no. But it is the reality of the modern world.

    Leaks of information, when accurate, are not always a bad thing. Sources, sources, timing, timing.

    And good thought, @Murdock, I'm with you on that.


  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    Murdock wrote: »
    If only we could have an anti rapture where all the bad seeds are taken away and the good ones are left behind to repair the damage and make Earth great again.
    It may come sooner than you think, with any luck.

    fEB7UBZ.jpg

  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited November 2016 Posts: 12,480
    This is the uniform handed out to those "bad seeds" being taken away? I'd make it a little cooler, literally - perhaps a crop top - after all, where they are headed it will be VERY hot indeed. ;) Not a swamp, though.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    edited November 2016 Posts: 28,694
    bondjames wrote: »
    Murdock wrote: »
    If only we could have an anti rapture where all the bad seeds are taken away and the good ones are left behind to repair the damage and make Earth great again.
    It may come sooner than you think, with any luck.

    fEB7UBZ.jpg
    *WARNING* IN DANGER OF SELF PARODY *WARNING* IN DANGER OF SELF PARODY *WARNING*
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
  • edited November 2016 Posts: 3,566
    bondjames wrote: »
    Murdock wrote: »
    If only we could have an anti rapture where all the bad seeds are taken away and the good ones are left behind to repair the damage and make Earth great again.
    It may come sooner than you think, with any luck.

    fEB7UBZ.jpg

    Well, they'll stone ya when you're trying to be so good
    They'll stone ya just a-like they said they would
    They'll stone ya when you're tryin' to go home
    Then they'll stone ya when you're there all alone
    But I would not feel so all alone
    Everybody must get stoned.

    Well, they'll stone ya when you're walkin' 'long the street
    They'll stone ya when you're tryin' to keep your seat
    They'll stone ya when you're walkin' on the floor
    They'll stone ya when you're walkin' to the door
    But I would not feel so all alone
    Everybody must get stoned.

    They'll stone ya when you're at the breakfast table
    They'll stone ya when you are young and able
    They'll stone ya when you're tryin' to make a buck
    They'll stone ya and then they'll say "good luck"
    Tell ya what, I would not feel so all alone
    Everybody must get stoned.

    Well, They'll stone you and say that it's the end
    Then they'll stone you and then they'll come back again
    They'll stone you when you're riding in your car
    They'll stone you when you're playing your guitar
    Yes, but I would not feel so all alone
    Everybody must get stoned.

    Well, they'll stone you when you walk all alone
    They'll stone you when you are walking home
    They'll stone you and then say you are brave
    They'll stone you when you are set down in your grave
    But I would not feel so all alone
    Everybody must get stoned.

  • echoecho 007 in New York
    Posts: 6,304
    @Getafix

    What a great assessment of things.
    Yes, Hillary is the greater threat for outside the US. Very much so.
    I fear the worst in terms of future US foreign policy politics.

    It's almost grotesque how Trump gets painted in blackest of black pictures with possible nuclear war and such, when it is Clinton we should be afraid of in that regard.

    Having said this, I am not endorsing Trump in any way. For the US itself he would be much worse than Clinton.

    For the world, Trump is a bigger threat. Do you really think he has the attention span to deal with multiparty talks with North Korea, or Iran, or whatever country? No.
    Germanlady wrote: »
    Getafix wrote: »
    If you think having the American President under the thumb of the Russian dictator is a good idea, go ahead and vote for Trump. Otherwise...........

    I have to say I think this is one area where Trump may be right. Are the Russians really our deadliest enemies? Hardly. In the post Cold War world we have taken Russia's acquiescence for granted and pushed them around.

    There are a litany of Western foreign policy provocations that explain Russia's current antagonism towards the West: expansion of the EU; expansion of NATO; Kosovo; George W's missile defence shield; Western interference in Ukraine; the Iraq War; Western interference in and support for Islamist extremists in Syria and related attempts to overthrow the Syrian government.

    We have acted aggressively and often illegally on a range of foreign policy areas. It's no wonder Russia has given up on seeing the West as any kind of partner and has instead started throwing it's weight around a bit more.

    We need to look at outselves a lot harder and think more about how we are perceived by the rest of the world. For many people the West just stands for double standards and hypocrisy.

    =D> And there is a lot more to it and America Looks Bad in all of it. Its so far Remonde from the white Knight some still See it, its scary.
    OHMSS69 wrote: »
    Trump makes one wish that the Zombie apocalypse would hurry up and get here.

    And finally we come to the real problem in the world today: the overwhelming mood of nihilism that has taken too many of us. Sorry, @OHMSS69, zombies aren't real. No such simple ending will come up to take the hard decisions out of your hands. Got to do the best you can with what you got.
    bondjames wrote: »
    The 99% or 1% chance is really not of interest to me personally. That information will come out when it eventually does. Either it was hacked or it wasn't.

    Oh come on. @bondjames. Will you please, finally, just own up to your obvious preferences? The Trump people (of which you are one) are getting desperate to just throw Hillary into jail NOW and hand the office to Herr Drumpf. Again, it ain't happening. Time to get used to the world as it is rather than the way you wish it were.

    "Too much of nothing
    Can make a man ill at ease
    One man's temper might rise
    While another man's temper might freeze
    In the day of confession
    We cannot mock a soul
    Oh, when there's too much of nothing
    No one has control
    Say hello to Valerie
    Say hello to Vivian
    Give them all my salary
    On the waters of oblivion."

    +1
  • Posts: 2,341
    The fact that the country would even consider Trump is what is so appalling. There's nude pictures of his wife for crying out loud. This would disqualify most candidates and no one would accept that as a first lady. Not that there is anything wrong nudity but the country and the religious right prides itself on its morals yet they preach capital punishment, war, racial bias, so the idea that the future first lady has nude photos is nothing.
    Then there's the fact that he is totally unqualified. I mean how low can our standards be?

    I think that Trump has tapped into a sick vein in the American electorate and I fear that rather than cleansing itself the GOP will continue the march of folly and put up a more political saavy Right winger for the next general election. This scares me.

    As for the Democrats, I like to think that Sanders opened a Progressive vein in the Left and his disgruntled supporters will accept that they may have lost the battle but not the war. Let them push a real Progressive agenda through and take over the Democratic party and in eight years run a young and saavy Progressive who can connect to all the people on the Left.
  • Posts: 1,631
    OHMSS69 wrote: »
    The fact that the country would even consider Trump is what is so appalling. There's nude pictures of his wife for crying out loud. This would disqualify most candidates and no one would accept that as a first lady. Not that there is anything wrong nudity but the country and the religious right prides itself on its morals yet they preach capital punishment, war, racial bias, so the idea that the future first lady has nude photos is nothing.
    Then there's the fact that he is totally unqualified. I mean how low can our standards be?

    I think that Trump has tapped into a sick vein in the American electorate and I fear that rather than cleansing itself the GOP will continue the march of folly and put up a more political saavy Right winger for the next general election. This scares me.

    As for the Democrats, I like to think that Sanders opened a Progressive vein in the Left and his disgruntled supporters will accept that they may have lost the battle but not the war. Let them push a real Progressive agenda through and take over the Democratic party and in eight years run a young and saavy Progressive who can connect to all the people on the Left.

    Perhaps this is just a bit too optimistic, but I'd like to think that the GOP will go the other direction. There's been enough outrage on the GOP side with Trump, and still, despite what the media would like you to believe, a large reluctance on the part of GOP base voters to "come home" (as Mike Pence would put it) and pull the lever for Trump.

    After the 2012 "autopsy" that concluded that the Republican party needs to be more inclusive and now the looming defeat of a racist bigot running as the party's nominee, an intelligent person on the right would surely be able to look at the writing on the wall and come to the conclusion that the grownups in the party need to seize control of it and take it back from the Tea Partiers.

    I think (or hope) you'll see a lot of more establishment-type Republicans coming out the next time hard against what Trump has done and try to position themselves as something different and more appealing to a broader electorate. You might even see someone from outside the system who isn't a complete wackjob come in and take some of the positive things that Trump has done (the whole outsider thing, "self"-funding, supposed business acumen) and package it in a way that doesn't heavily feature racism and bigotry.

    There are a lot of Republicans who are ashamed of what's happened this election. We're just not as loud as the pro-Trumpers because there just isn't anything worthwhile voting for in opposition of him to get excited about.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited November 2016 Posts: 12,480
    And one sour cherry on this sordid, sick, and degrading cake is that we get more of Sarah Palin. Hey! Just what our country needs, especially as fed up as we are already.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/one-final-election-plea-on-the-behalf-of-us-ideals/2016/11/03/4975a1c4-a1dd-11e6-a44d-cc2898cfab06_story.html?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-f:homepage/story

    ... which says in part:
    It is almost beyond belief that Americans should bless and normalize Trump’s appeal. Normalize vindictiveness and prejudice. Normalize bragging about sexual assault and the objectification of women. Normalize conspiracy theories and the abandonment of reason. Normalize contempt for the vulnerable, including disabled people and refugees fleeing oppression. Normalize a political tone that dehumanizes opponents and excuses violence. Normalize an appeal to white identity in a nation where racial discord and conflict are always close to the surface. Normalize every shouted epithet, every cruel ethnic and religious stereotype, every act of bullying in the cause of American “greatness.”


    This is a key point for me. What has become "normalized", almost "acceptable."
This discussion has been closed.