All purpose news and politics thread part VI: This Is Not The Time For Posing

[Mister Mets]

Many of his supporters are anti-vaxxers, or became so because of him, somehow. I'm not sure of the mental path that took, but if you take a president (now ex-president)who won't wear a mask and kept underplaying the pandemic and encouraging the idea that it was a hoax, that it wasn't so bad and that no one would really get sick or die from it, then I guess it's not a long stretch to embolden anti-vaxxers as well.

I think Mary Trump is even more right than we realize. Trump's followers 'Are Trump' in that they are not only his followers but also that they want to be like him. Which means being given permission to be their worse selves, even if it means partying like it's 1999 and getting themselves, and those around them, killed.

Jim Jones made a batch of poisoned Kool Aiade and got his followers to drink it, Trump is doing something similar yet slower, encouraging his supporters to be reckless enough to land them in the hospital or in prison.

They see Trump as Invincible, and they think of themselves as invincible, untouchable, as if by magic. Magical thinking is the term I think.

As far as Trump is concerned, he is just culling the herd and those followers who survive will be 'stronger'

Trump actually reminds me of Naraku from InuYasha. There was an episode where Naraku trapped hundreds of demons and put them together in a magical containment device (I can't remember the exact details). The idea being that they fight it out, or consume each other, to the point where there was only one demon left and that demon would be the strongest, only it didn't work out very well for him.


Anyway, Trump is culling his followers to create a stronger, more loyal, and dedicated army of followers who will adore him no matter what. But that is pure fiction on his part.

Given enough time, all he will find is that he is alone. Trump, alone, is nothing. He incapable of doing anything, or getting away with anything, if everyone else turns their back on him.

I knew this right from the beginning, I even wrote about it and posted it on Twitter back in 2017, that Trump could only survive if he had people enabling him. But the more he uses and throws away people, the fewer people he will have to support him. The more likely he is to fall off of his pedestal in a big way.

With only 55% support at CPAC, the numbers are starting to go down, and over the years they may continue to do so.

It is also worth noting that winning CPAC straw polls isn't always a great indication of political success. Ron Paul won a few times in 2010 and 2011.

Rand Paul won three times (2013, 2014, 2015) but when he ran for President, he got under five percent in Iowa, and dropped out shortly after.

I don't think Trump is trying to create fewer, better Republicans by encouraging disease. Carelessness is likely the best explanation for the poor results of his policies rather than intent. It doesn't work for a gut who won and lost narrowly to kill a high amount of potential voters.

But why was healthy, 50 year old Melania eligible? And yes, that they did it in secret, while still calling for everything to open, condemn mask wearing and social distancing is the problem.

Doug Ernhoff received the vaccine early, so it doesn't seem too unusual that Melania Trump got it when she did.https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kamala-...covid-vaccine/

The question of who to vaccinate can be complicated. There is one argument that leaders should eat last, and that political figures shouldn't get to cut the line. However, political figures also tend to travel frequently and interact with a lot of people from different communities, so it makes sense to vaccinate them sooner rather than later.

For his multiple flaws, regarding Covid and otherwise, Trump doesn't seem anti-vaccine.

Donnie Junior is even more of an idiot than his daddy. I doubt even the most fervent Trumpanzee or Qpublican would take Junior seriously as a presidential candidate.

I know what you're thinking: "But yeah, no one took Trump seriously in 2016 and look what happened!" Still, I doubt lightning would strike twice.

I am concerned that Jr. may find some kind of launching pad to the White House. Right now, he hasn't done enough (even Trump Sr. was the titular head of a major organization and hosted a TV show.) But that could change if he becomes head of the NRA or something.

If he was patient, a strategy would be to move to a small conservative state, work for a conservative executive/ organization, and run for the first open statewide race (For example- Montana has a Democratic Senator up for reelection in 2024.) Fortunately, he's not willing to put in the work for that.

[mogwen]

I'm self-centered because I haven't been online to reply in a matter you find timely, it seems.

Well, I'll answer your earlier inquiry.

When you talk about French politics? I read what you post. I myself don't comment, though, because I'm not going to pretend to be an expert in discussing something that I'm not privy to. I would be talking out of my *** completely were I to try to explain the domestic policies of Emmanuel Macron. I have an interest, but I can't delve into every aspect of every country's politics. Most of the discussion on here is of American politics because its posters are American. That doesn't mean we're not aware France still exists, and when there are stories in the news. We discuss the American political stories most because, presumably, those are the stories that affect us specifically and directly the most.

But if you don't feel this forum is Francophilic enough to focus your country's politics (and, I admire that historically, when the state messes with the French, they get more than they bargained for from its wonderful people in protest), you're setting yourself up to be disappointed. Because I do feel the last thing you would want is a bunch of clueless yanks discussing a political scene we aren't impacted by.

If you see my former messages, you'll see that I replied to you today and that my rant was obviously not directed at you. It's something I've seen during the 10 years I've been on this thread. And it doesn't matter that you don't know much about french or spanish or whatever countrie's politics, I think we're here to learn from each other, I have myself learnt a lot about american politics from coming on this thread. I'm sad if you take it so personally because you're maybe one of the people I admire the most on this thread for the amazing job you do. It's not about being francophilic, you and the others are perfectly entitled to have a critical opinion of France, it's never been about that. It's about curiosity as I said earlier. It's really sad, having been on this thread for 10 years, having tried to be supportive as much as I could, trying to share information and being treated like that.
And you're wrong I wouldn't mind having "a bunch of clueless yanks" discussing subjects they're not impacted by, because you don't have to be impacted by something to feel sympathy as I didn't have to be impacted by Trump's politics to feel sadness for you those last years and hope the best would come.
Sorry, english not being my native language maybe some things don't translate well andsorry for the rant.

[Mister Mets]

How exactly would you propose doing that? What incentives do the best and brightest have to go into a career as an underpaid and overworked public servant, when there are so many more lucrative jobs available in the private sector? Even if you were really passionate about teaching, you're going to struggle to pay off your student debt and justify the investment you made in your education, even if your societal contribution would be much greater than it would be had you gone into business or finance instead. And don't count on finding some hidden mountain of cash that is currently being siphoned off by corrupt school administrators, there is of course some of that but it's not nearly significant enough to make up the shortfall.

These are good questions. The policy solutions are going to vary depending on where you are. The average salary for teachers is okay, especially when you take into account the benefits (insurance, retirement packages, etc.) But just because the average teacher in the United States makes over $60,000 a year doesn't mean that it's ideal for a starting teacher in New Mexico to make $36,000 a year. So some states and jurisdictions will have different needs than others.

https://www.edweek.org/teaching-lear...laries/2019/04

Some potential ideas would be partnerships with state university teaching programs (so tuition is less, and student loans aren't as significant) as well as opportunities for the best teachers to make a higher income supporting new teachers.

There is some waste. It's usually not corruption, as much as it is unnecessary. So many school districts buy Apple products, without a significant enough discount, when there are cheaper laptops, and tablets available.

Another step would be to consider ways to make teaching more pleasant. More people will stick around for the same salary if they like going to work.

A subtext of a lot of education discussion is that school isn't just about educating the next generation. Some of the education funding essentially goes to other needs, like having a safe place for kids to be when the parents are at work. That has value, but perhaps that money shouldn't come out of the education budget, but rather the labor or housing budget.

Sometimes the solutions to problems aren't only going to help teachers. It's a problem that teachers in high-income areas have a tough time being able to afford the rent. One fix is to get rid of NIMBY laws, and make it easier to build new housing, which increases supply and decreases prices.

[Hypestyle]

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/02/neer...get-chief.html

President Joe Biden said Tuesday that he is withdrawing the nomination of Neera Tanden as his budget chief at her request, a move that came after signs she would fail to win Senate confirmation because of past critical Twitter posts about lawmakers.

Biden also said that he expected Tanden, whom he had tapped to be director of the Office of Management and Budget, to land another “role in my Administration.” But the president not identify what that job might be.

Tanden’s withdrawal is the first case of a Biden Cabinet nominee failing to win Senate approval.

In a letter to Biden, Tanden wrote, “I appreciate how hard you and your team at the White House has worked to win my confirmation.”

“Unfortunately, it now seems clear that there is no path forward to gain confirmation, and I do not want continued consideration of my nomination to be a distraction from your other priorities,” wrote Tanden, who president of the left-leaning think tank Center for American Progress.

Tanden’s nomination was in doubt after three senators — Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, and Mitt Romney, R-Utah, and Maine Republican Susan Collins — said would vote against her because of her history criticizing lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle.

That criticism was archived in the more than 1,000 tweets that Tanden reportedly deleted before the confirmation process began.

Democrats hold majority control in the Senate by the slimmest of margins. Two independents caucus with 48 Democrat senators, giving them the same number of votes as the 50-senator Republican caucus.

Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, holds the tie-breaking vote in the Senate, giving her party the approve nominations and legislation if the caucus remains unified.

Manchin’s refusal to back Tanden, coupled with the difficulty in getting a Republican to support her, made Tanden’s path to confirmation very narrow.

During her confirmation hearing, Tanden was questioned about her past tweets, which included comparing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to the Harry Potter villain Voldemort, and writing that “vampires have more heart” than Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent, also had pointed out Tanden’s “vicious attacks” against him and other progressives in the past, particularly when Sanders ran against former senator and secretary of state Hillary Clinton for the 2016 Democratic nomination.Tanden had been an advisor to the Clinton’s campaign.

At her confirmation hearings, Tanden said, “I deeply regret and apologize for my language, and some of my past language.”

Biden, in a statement released by the White House, said of Tanden, “I have the utmost respect for her record of accomplishment, her experience and her counsel, and I look forward to having her serve in a role in my Administration.”

“She will bring valuable perspective and insight to our work,” the president said

ah, well... I guess Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema can't officially be blamed, but with the razor thin quasi-majority that the Democrats have now at 50-50 (plus VP Harris), this is going to be super-problematic going forward for literally every remaining Biden cabinet nominee and the bills that are helpful but aren't pre-watered down to tea-party acceptability. Super-problematic. When even the 'nuclear option 51 majority angle needs these two's co-sign, and they don't want to get rid of the racist filibuster... sheesh.. I guess it's nice to pretend at least that the Democrats have significant policy making power now..

[Iron Maiden]

I'm self-centered because I haven't been online to reply in a matter you find timely, it seems.

Well, I'll answer your earlier inquiry.

When you talk about French politics? I read what you post. I myself don't comment, though, because I'm not going to pretend to be an expert in discussing something that I'm not privy to. I would be talking out of my *** completely were I to try to explain the domestic policies of Emmanuel Macron. I have an interest, but I can't delve into every aspect of every country's politics. Most of the discussion on here is of American politics because its posters are American. That doesn't mean we're not aware France still exists, and when there are stories in the news. We discuss the American political stories most because, presumably, those are the stories that affect us specifically and directly the most.

But if you don't feel this forum is Francophilic enough to focus your country's politics (and, I admire that historically, when the state messes with the French, they get more than they bargained for from its wonderful people in protest), you're setting yourself up to be disappointed. Because I do feel the last thing you would want is a bunch of clueless yanks discussing a political scene we aren't impacted by.

I haven't been posting much here myself because I am trying to put Trump in my rear view mirror. But like yourself, I know very little about politics in the EU and Great Britain.


mogwen, don't take it as people snubbing you. I don't feel like I know enough to have an opinion. Right now I am tired of all the turmoil in our own political landscape that I have some reluctance in diving into the EU, etc.

[mogwen]

I haven't been posting much here myself because I am trying to put Trump in my rear view mirror. But like yourself, I know very little about politics in the EU and Great Britain.


mogwen, don't take it as people snubbing you. I don't feel like I know enough to have an opinion. Right now I am tired of all the turmoil in our own political landscape that I have some reluctance in diving into the EU, etc.

Well, I understand your reluctance given the rollercoaster the last few years have been, but as I said earlier, wouldn't it be great to show openness to learn from each other as I have learnt among you all those years? People here taught me a lot of things about the american political system and I feel a better person for that, more knowledgeable about things that I ignored previously.
It made me better by allowing me to understand other systems and other point of views. Being open to and curious of other people, isn't it something we should aim for?

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Well, because the policies of the Texas state government haven't killed enough people yet, here's the latest from Gov. Abbott:

Gov. Greg Abbott to lift Texas mask mandate and open state '100 percent'

Delightful. Texas has been the next best thing to a third world country because of last month's ice storm that crippled the state, now this madness. Look for virus cases there to skyrocket, and with more communicable and potentially more dangerous variants on the loose, that will only make things worse.

[4saken1]

The voter suppression in TX basically gives him carte blanche to kill people without any consequences.

I was thinking the same thing. Republicans have been winning Texas by smaller and smaller margins in recent years. The recent fiasco with Ted Cruz probably won't help them in 2022. Being that opening up the state will likely have much more dire consequences in tightly packed urban areas, this will probably help Republicans in 2022 via population control.

[CSTowle]

Keep in mind most people in this country (and on these boards) don't pay much attention to even American politics beyond one or two pets issues and how it impacts them (stimulus checks/unemployment/etc.). When you break down the percentage of people who do pay attention to politics and enjoy reading about and discussing the topic you again have a very large percentage of people (like myself) who have a basic but not very deep understanding of the issues and more strong opinions than thorough knowledge. Most of us interested in politics still probably can't name all of our state and local representatives, let alone tell you their stances on particular issues (even the ones we're interested in) and probably just voted straight-ticket. Then ask them about neighboring states reps, or other regions of the country's reps, and the knowledge becomes shallower still or nonexistent.

Then put an ocean between them, and (more importantly) a language barrier for most of us, and aside from really big stories (and honestly, even the Sarkozy thing was a quick hit/blip on the radar for most news outlets here) and it's hard to attract interest. For better or worse the US throws a lot of weight around the world so unfortunately that means a lot of people outside of the US need to keep track of things. How is the dollar doing/who are we bombing this time/where do we have nukes/which small countries are we strong-arming for resources or allowing a military presence or torture black sites/how are our big tech companies' policies impacting those in other countries? Etc.

It's not a sign of disrespect, it's just what happens when you're living in the country that takes up all of the oxygen in the room. We show similar amounts of interest in other European countries' politics, even the UK's aside from the Royal Family (and that's for the soap opera aspect). Would it be nice if more people were tuned in to what's going on in other countries? Or could place most of them on a map? Sure. But part of the isolation of being an ocean away means people don't have to be aware, or know more than one language, so they don't (humans, not just Americans as fun as it is to make fun of us even amongst ourselves, are lazy creatures).

[Mister Mets]

I was thinking the same thing. Republicans have been winning Texas by smaller and smaller margins in recent years. The recent fiasco with Ted Cruz probably won't help them in 2022. Being that opening up the state will likely have much more dire consequences in tightly packed urban areas, this will probably help Republicans in 2022 via population control.

What percentage of Texas's population do you expect to die as a result of Abbott's decision?

Well, I understand your reluctance given the rollercoaster the last few years have been, but as I said earlier, wouldn't it be great to show openness to learn from each other as I have learnt among you all those years? People here taught me a lot of things about the american political system and I feel a better person for that, more knowledgeable about things that I ignored previously.
It made me better by allowing me to understand other systems and other point of views. Being open to and curious of other people, isn't it something we should aim for?

It probably is something to aim for, but it doesn't seem to be the prevailing attitude.

[Hellion]

Keep in mind most people in this country (and on these boards) don't pay much attention to even American politics beyond one or two pets issues and how it impacts them (stimulus checks/unemployment/etc.). When you break down the percentage of people who do pay attention to politics and enjoy reading about and discussing the topic you again have a very large percentage of people (like myself) who have a basic but not very deep understanding of the issues and more strong opinions than thorough knowledge. Most of us interested in politics still probably can't name all of our state and local representatives, let alone tell you their stances on particular issues (even the ones we're interested in) and probably just voted straight-ticket. Then ask them about neighboring states reps, or other regions of the country's reps, and the knowledge becomes shallower still or nonexistent.

Then put an ocean between them, and (more importantly) a language barrier for most of us, and aside from really big stories (and honestly, even the Sarkozy thing was a quick hit/blip on the radar for most news outlets here) and it's hard to attract interest. For better or worse the US throws a lot of weight around the world so unfortunately that means a lot of people outside of the US need to keep track of things. How is the dollar doing/who are we bombing this time/where do we have nukes/which small countries are we strong-arming for resources or allowing a military presence or torture black sites/how are our big tech companies' policies impacting those in other countries? Etc.

It's not a sign of disrespect, it's just what happens when you're living in the country that takes up all of the oxygen in the room. We show similar amounts of interest in other European countries' politics, even the UK's aside from the Royal Family (and that's for the soap opera aspect). Would it be nice if more people were tuned in to what's going on in other countries? Or could place most of them on a map? Sure. But part of the isolation of being an ocean away means people don't have to be aware, or know more than one language, so they don't (humans, not just Americans as fun as it is to make fun of us even amongst ourselves, are lazy creatures).

This.

I don't post on here often enough to be considered a "regular," as I'm usually multitasking whenever I have time to peruse this thread, but I always have an interest in the happenings abroad (currently facepalming over the Sturgeon vs. Salmond tiff in Scotland). Though so much has happened in the last few years it took me a full minute to remember who Sarkozy was. I appreciate the foreign commentary here when it happens, though.

[AnakinFlair]

I was thinking the same thing. Republicans have been winning Texas by smaller and smaller margins in recent years. The recent fiasco with Ted Cruz probably won't help them in 2022. Being that opening up the state will likely have much more dire consequences in tightly packed urban areas, this will probably help Republicans in 2022 via population control.

And now Mississippi is lifting restrictions as well.

I'm starting to wonder if states that border Texas and Mississippi may restrict travel to and from those states, just to try and make sure their own Covid cases don't increase due to their recklessness.

[Tendrin]

And now Mississippi is lifting restrictions as well.

I'm starting to wonder if states that border Texas and Mississippi may restrict travel to and from those states, just to try and make sure their own Covid cases don't increase due to their recklessness.

I'm seeing suggestions that the real reason for Texas' 'opening' is because of the hole blown in the budget by falling sales tax revenues.

[worstblogever]

If you see my former messages, you'll see that I replied to you today and that my rant was obviously not directed at you. It's something I've seen during the 10 years I've been on this thread. And it doesn't matter that you don't know much about french or spanish or whatever countrie's politics, I think we're here to learn from each other, I have myself learnt a lot about american politics from coming on this thread. I'm sad if you take it so personally because you're maybe one of the people I admire the most on this thread for the amazing job you do. It's not about being francophilic, you and the others are perfectly entitled to have a critical opinion of France, it's never been about that. It's about curiosity as I said earlier. It's really sad, having been on this thread for 10 years, having tried to be supportive as much as I could, trying to share information and being treated like that.
And you're wrong I wouldn't mind having "a bunch of clueless yanks" discussing subjects they're not impacted by, because you don't have to be impacted by something to feel sympathy as I didn't have to be impacted by Trump's politics to feel sadness for you those last years and hope the best would come.
Sorry, english not being my native language maybe some things don't translate well andsorry for the rant.

No worries. Just don't take engagement as a measure of what you contribute. You're not screaming into the void, so to speak, if that's any consolation.

[Tendrin]

No worries. Just don't take engagement as a measure of what you contribute. You're not screaming into the void, so to speak, if that's any consolation.

We save that feeling for doctors and climatologists.