1. #24451
    Legendary God of Pirates Nik Hasta's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sharpandpointies View Post
    It's really annoying, across the spectrum. Freaking Trudeau decides on an election in the middle of a pandemic when his numbers are good, throws a hissy fit and blames everyone else for it when his numbers drop, then crows about having a 'clear mandate' to continue when it was basically 'nothing changed, you won an almost identical minority gov'. All to the tune of 600 million dollars wasted because of his ego (Coalition government? NEVER!).

    Next time he says there's no money for specific social programs, I hope someone remembers that 600 million he burned.
    I share your commiserations.

    Meanwhile, against a backdrop of food shortages, skyrocketing fuel prices, supply line issues, our complete botched efforts in Afghanistan, cuts to universal credit robbing the poorest people in the country and rising taxes [on the poor] - our Prime Minister has had a reshuffle and, according to various sources, seems to be angling for calling an early General Election.

    Now, students of the current state of the current British Parliament will be like "But Nik, that seems really dumb when he has an 85 seat majority and the Tories have taken a real beating in terms of public approval. Current projections of a future GE have the Tories only winning by a 3 - 4 seat majority. Surely he should hold on to that majority as long as possible?"

    And you'd be right.

    But the skuttlebutt is that Johnson is experiencing the lowest level of popularity within the Tory party that he's had in years and is concerned they might oust him early on the normal General Election timeline. So, he's playing high risk and hoping that returning successfully from an early GE will silence the naysayers and will keep him clinging onto power for another four years.

    I am, quietly, hopeful that this gamble might not go his way. The irritating thing is that even with the Tories in the bin in terms of approval, they would still be extremely tricky to beat. Labour is in a mess so our only real hope would be a Progressive Alliance between pretty much all the other parties and that raises the issue of having to deal with the Scottish National Party (SNP) and that, in turn, raises the issue of Scottish Independence which no major party will willingly countenance as it is a threat to the Union.

    It is a... complex time in our political history. Bloody interesting but also pretty terrifying.

    It's odd to say but I really think the future of the UK kind of depends on how the current allegations of criminal embezzlement surrounding Nicola Sturgeon (leader of the SNP) play out in the courts.

    EDIT: Also, I swear to god if the Lib Dems end up playing a critical role in getting the Tories into power by way of coalition again, I am going to literally shoot blood out of my eyeballs.
    Last edited by Nik Hasta; 09-21-2021 at 07:00 AM.

  2. #24452
    A Wearied Madness Vakanai's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sharpandpointies View Post
    Not stupid at all, just considerate about others and worried about what you might be doing. Hardly negative traits, there, unless they promote anxiety. ^_^ And then it would just be because of the degree.



    But yeah, I wouldn't be so quick to blame yourself here. COVID has become so much the norm that maybe we forget about how it has impacted overall behavior, mood, mental health, etc.



    Just blame school in general, sure. I'm up for that.
    I wouldn't say it promotes much anxiety exactly - I tend towards self loathing even in the best of times, so the anxiety's kind of already there baked in. But, it's still a small part of my life overall. I worry less about having upset someone or coming off an ass than I do other stuff. I'm currently more in an "existential" space mentally than social.

    But thanks.


    Onto more uplifting news, greek yogurt is a perfect sour cream substitute! Now if only it served as a better mayo and/or ranch substitute.

  3. #24453
    Prince of Duckness Beadle's Avatar
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    Same Britain, different day.

  4. #24454
    A Wearied Madness Vakanai's Avatar
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    Say what you will, but Biden gives some boring speeches. I tuned out, the news will explain better what if any of it had meaning.

  5. #24455
    Legendary God of Pirates Nik Hasta's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Beadle View Post
    Same Britain, different day.
    You tired of living through "unprecedented political times," yet Beadle?

    I know I am. ¬_¬

    But as Tony Benn put it; there is no final victory;


  6. #24456
    E-Liter3K Scoped Headshot The MunchKING's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by grampagen View Post
    Oh hey Trudeau called an early election at the head of a minority government and the polls say he will...once again be head of a minority government.

    Mail-in ballots and a few parliamentary seat-switches notwithstanding, this is a tad disappointing, yet completely expected. What a waste of time lol
    Quote Originally Posted by Sharpandpointies View Post
    It's really annoying, across the spectrum. Freaking Trudeau decides on an election in the middle of a pandemic when his numbers are good, throws a hissy fit and blames everyone else for it when his numbers drop, then crows about having a 'clear mandate' to continue when it was basically 'nothing changed, you won an almost identical minority gov'. All to the tune of 600 million dollars wasted because of his ego (Coalition government? NEVER!).
    So is he trying to get some sort of better position/job? Or this strictly political theatre? "I'm so secure in my numbers and power I can call for extra elections and I'll still win"?


    Quote Originally Posted by Vakanai View Post
    I don't think we can even call an election without an impeachment .Presidential, I know there's some way to do it for governors - even then, that like a result of a petition, not something the politician calls.
    Yeah, I think our political system doesn't have that...
    Assuming, U.S. I don't think there's anything like that in place for the President, and each state has it's own rules about how to handle their elected representatives in the other positions.

    I know California had a couple of high profile recalls in the recent past. That's how Schwarzenegger got to be in charge.

    Quote Originally Posted by Vakanai View Post
    Say what you will, but Biden gives some boring speeches. I tuned out, the news will explain better what if any of it had meaning.

    After some of the "Exciting" political speeches in the past, "boring efficiency" sounds like a really great idea.

    I just hope it does actually have meaning and is pushing efficient answers.
    The MunchKING is Back! And he is AWSOME!

  7. #24457
    Rumbles Limbo Champion big_adventure's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Vakanai View Post
    I don't think we can even call an election without an impeachment .Presidential, I know there's some way to do it for governors - even then, that like a result of a petition, not something the politician calls.
    Yeah, I think our political system doesn't have that...
    Even in the case of an impeachment followed by conviction in the senate, and in the case where the conviction leads to the president getting kicked out of office, all that happens is the VP taking over - there is no way to have another presidential election during one term.

    There's an entire list of succession: president, VP, speaker of the house, president pro tempore of the senate, cabinet members, blah blah blah.

    This difference is normal, though: countries where stuff like that happens don't have presidents, generally, they have prime ministers, who are elected along with their party majority. Countries where presidents call for bullshit mid-term elections are generally on the banana side of republics.

    States are, of course, different, and governors are not presidents. No governor could call for his own reelection outside of the normal timeframe, but, for example, California has a colossally stupid recall law. Basically, to trigger a recall election, you just need something like 10K signatures. Once the recall is triggered, there is a single ballot with two issues on it: 1. should the existing governor stay in office and 2. who should be governor. If the existing gov wins round 1, round 2 doesn't matter. But if the existing governor doesn't win round 1, whoever wins round 2, no matter how small their total and margin, becomes governor for the rest of the term. So imagine existing governor gets 49.5% of the vote, he's out, and if the leader of the unlimited number of other candidates gets, say, 9%, he becomes governor with that vote, despite literally losing 49.5 to 9.

    Schwarzenegger won a recall for his first term as governator: Gray Davis was recalled losing 44 to 56%, then Schwarzy got 48.5% of the vote (number 2 was Bustamonte with 31%) out of the 150-odd other candidates. ervice.

    The recall that Gavin Newsom just defeated was more clear: he won a vast majority (63% "no" on recall) on issue one, so stays governor. And thankfully at that - Larry Elder would have been a catastrophe.
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  8. #24458
    The Weeping Mod Sharpandpointies's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nik Hasta View Post
    I share your commiserations.
    *reads on*

    Cripes, Nik - that's 'special'. What an appalling mess, and...well, sounds pretty par for the course for Johnson, from what we hear about over here.

    Quote Originally Posted by The MunchKING View Post
    So is he trying to get some sort of better position/job? Or this strictly political theatre? "I'm so secure in my numbers and power I can call for extra elections and I'll still win"?
    He has a minority government right now, which means he needs to ally himself with another party in order to pass anything. Sounds bad, really isn't bad at all - means concessions must be made rather than ramming one's own agenda down the governmental throat.

    But he wants a majority.

    His popularity at the time was big enough that he probably would have gotten one, so he called the election on the BS excuse of 'Other parties won't work with me!'

    The NDP (New Democratic Party, basically our Left group, Trudeau and the libs aren't Left, on the world stage they're considered Center-Right) response?

    giphy.jpg

    Nobody believes Trudeau (considering most of the bills that saved people during Covid were pushed on the Libs by the NDP, yet Trudeau takes credit for them, and the NDP mostly HAVE been working with him).

    So, immediately following that announcement Afganistan, Fourth Wave, Vaccine Passports, HAVING AN ELECTION (IN THE MIDDLE OF A PANDEMIC) THAT'S GOING TO COST 600 MILLION DOLLARS, etc. People erupt, Trudeau's popularity nose-dives.

    [Trudeau] Jagmeet Singh (NDP leader) forced me to call an election!

    [NDP] *see image above*

    Aaaaaand Trudeau's election basically puts the exact same government in place with nearly the exact same numbers. Pointlessly.
    Why are we here?

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    Rumbles Moderator Guy1's Avatar
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    Rumbles Moderator Guy1's Avatar
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    And they're STILL hanging out with Alice!
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    Extraordinary Member Iron_Twister's Avatar
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    ...It's amazing how much work can turn from decent to becoming mildly depressing and frustrating.

  14. #24464
    A Wearied Madness Vakanai's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by big_adventure View Post
    Even in the case of an impeachment followed by conviction in the senate, and in the case where the conviction leads to the president getting kicked out of office, all that happens is the VP taking over - there is no way to have another presidential election during one term.

    There's an entire list of succession: president, VP, speaker of the house, president pro tempore of the senate, cabinet members, blah blah blah.

    This difference is normal, though: countries where stuff like that happens don't have presidents, generally, they have prime ministers, who are elected along with their party majority. Countries where presidents call for bullshit mid-term elections are generally on the banana side of republics.

    States are, of course, different, and governors are not presidents. No governor could call for his own reelection outside of the normal timeframe, but, for example, California has a colossally stupid recall law. Basically, to trigger a recall election, you just need something like 10K signatures. Once the recall is triggered, there is a single ballot with two issues on it: 1. should the existing governor stay in office and 2. who should be governor. If the existing gov wins round 1, round 2 doesn't matter. But if the existing governor doesn't win round 1, whoever wins round 2, no matter how small their total and margin, becomes governor for the rest of the term. So imagine existing governor gets 49.5% of the vote, he's out, and if the leader of the unlimited number of other candidates gets, say, 9%, he becomes governor with that vote, despite literally losing 49.5 to 9.

    Schwarzenegger won a recall for his first term as governator: Gray Davis was recalled losing 44 to 56%, then Schwarzy got 48.5% of the vote (number 2 was Bustamonte with 31%) out of the 150-odd other candidates. ervice.

    The recall that Gavin Newsom just defeated was more clear: he won a vast majority (63% "no" on recall) on issue one, so stays governor. And thankfully at that - Larry Elder would have been a catastrophe.
    Glad we have a president then instead of a prime minister. Calling for extra elections sounds annoying. Now if only we could get decent presidents and parties...
    Eh, as long as we don't get another orange guy.

  15. #24465
    Rumbles Moderator Guy1's Avatar
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    Injustice Animated Movie Red Band Trailer.



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