All purpose news and politics thread part VII: News & Politics Total Landscaping

[Jack Dracula]

One benefit Iran can count from their missle attack is they now know precisely how quickly Israel can react and how effective their defense can be. And, they did it without starting a war.

[Robotman]

Biden closes gap on Trump but third-party candidates pose danger, polls show
Multiple new polls show Joe Biden strengthening slightly in the US presidential election, but suggest third-party candidates could present a risk to his chance of carrying the White House in November.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...rd-party-polls

Polls are moving in the right direction, Biden is picking up steam

The polls in 2020 were some of the most inaccurate is recent history. They had Biden up by a much higher margin heading into the election. There are lots of reason why the polling was so off but one of the reasons suggested is that Trump supporters have been programmed to believe that polls and institutions are corrupt and out to get them, so they won’t participate.

So if it’s a virtual tie it may mean that Trump is ahead.

Add Kennedy syphoning votes from Biden into the mix and it’s definitely cause for concern.

[Gray Lensman]

The polls in 2020 were some of the most inaccurate is recent history. They had Biden up by a much higher margin heading into the election. There are lots of reason why the polling was so off but one of the reasons suggested is that Trump supporters have been programmed to believe that polls and institutions are corrupt and out to get them, so they won’t participate.

So if it’s a virtual tie it may mean that Trump is ahead.

Add Kennedy syphoning votes from Biden into the mix and it’s definitely cause for concern.

One of the other things is that in 2020 a lot of unlikely voters made it to the polls. The models of who was likely to vote broke down, throwing all the polls out of whack.

[hyped78]

The polls in 2020 were some of the most inaccurate is recent history. They had Biden up by a much higher margin heading into the election. There are lots of reason why the polling was so off but one of the reasons suggested is that Trump supporters have been programmed to believe that polls and institutions are corrupt and out to get them, so they won’t participate.

So if it’s a virtual tie it may mean that Trump is ahead.

Add Kennedy syphoning votes from Biden into the mix and it’s definitely cause for concern.

That's a good point - and I agree - but I think that the interesting thing is that some of these polls, from the same pollster, are showing movement towards Biden.

For example:
-NY Times/Siena April - Trump +1%
-NY Times/Siena February - Trump +4%

-Reuters/Ipsos April - Biden +4%
-Reuters/Ipsos March - Biden +2%
-Reuters/Ipsos January - Trump +5%

So, within the same pollster - and these two above are good pollsters - there is a trend towards Biden over the previous polls/ months. I think this a good sign.

[lilyrose]

The polls in 2020 were some of the most inaccurate is recent history. They had Biden up by a much higher margin heading into the election. There are lots of reason why the polling was so off but one of the reasons suggested is that Trump supporters have been programmed to believe that polls and institutions are corrupt and out to get them, so they won’t participate.

So if it’s a virtual tie it may mean that Trump is ahead.

Add Kennedy syphoning votes from Biden into the mix and it’s definitely cause for concern.

Yes, they've always had a problem underpolling Trump voters when he's on the ballot. Have they fixed it by now? We don't know.

Hopefully Biden can just keep gaining ground and winning back his 2020 voters. It's also possible at the end of the day in 2020 Trump had an incumbent advantage as the sitting president, and maybe ultimately Biden will have that this time as well.

I am concerned about third party though.

[CaptainEurope]

Trump fell asleep during his trial today.

[kidfresh512]

Trump fell asleep during his trial today.

If Biden did that it would be old, senile, low energy man headlines for days. Well hell if Boden was actually IN A TRIAL during the campaign it would be apocalypse. But for trump its just a Monday and a witch hunt.

Even as a judge was hearing arguments on last-minute issues in a criminal case that centers on salacious allegations and threatens to upend his bid for the presidency, Mr. Trump appeared to nod off a few times, his mouth going slack and his head drooping onto his chest.

The former president’s lead lawyer, Todd Blanche, passed him notes for several minutes before Mr. Trump appeared to jolt awake and notice them.

____________________________________________
Rudy Giuliani loses bid to dismiss $148 million defamation judgment in Georgia election workers case

Rudy Giuliani has lost his bid to dismiss the $148 million defamation judgment against him from late last year. The judgment was won by former Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Wandrea "Shaye" Moss.

"Giuliani's renewed motion urging this Court to reverse its prior findings and rulings and to override the jury's considered verdict on the basis of five threadbare arguments falls well short of persuading that 'the evidence and all reasonable inferences that can be drawn therefrom are so one-sided that reasonable men and women could not have reached a verdict in [plaintiffs'] favor,'" U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell said in her ruling Monday.

[JackDaw]

If Biden did that it would be old, senile, low energy man headlines for days. Well hell if Boden was actually IN A TRIAL during the campaign it would be apocalypse. But for trump its just a Monday and a witch hunt.

I know all the reasons the Republicans ended up with Trump…”fanatical supporters”, “he gives licence to hate”, etc, etc.

But, blimey it’s strange that it can come to him being their Presidential candidate. Write it 20 years that some one could behave like him, and be Presidential candidate with a 50/50 shot at winning…it would be regarded as a satirical fantasy.

[godisawesome]

I know all the reasons the Republicans ended up with Trump…”fanatical supporters”, “he gives licence to hate”, etc, etc.

But, blimey it’s strange that it can come to him being their Presidential candidate. Write it 20 years that some one could behave like him, and be Presidential candidate with a 50/50 shot at winning…it would be regarded as a satirical fantasy.

I think that, given the military power of the United States and the rise of the religious right in the US, people sort of expected that any would-be fascist dictator would be more personally intimidating rather than pathetically loathsome, more calculating Knight Templar than cheaply hedonistic but unimpressive conman...

...But in a weird way, I sort of think Trump is just sort of reminding people about how much of fascism is bluntly facile, trashy, and obviously fake, because he’s throwing a highlight on how much of it is purely emotional idiocy, empty machismo, and a pathetic subservience to shockingly lame bullies.

We forget that Mussolini sets the template for more fascist rulers than Hitler does - they’re generally a ridiculous reality tv show desperately trying to conceal obvious weakness and insecurity, frequently cowardly and base rather than actually formidable, and ironically for would-be strongmen, totally dependent on hiding behind others for their actually dangerous nature.

What makes Trump still somewhat unique is just how obvious his facile nature is; Putin, Modi, and Nehtanyahu all provide a contrast that manages quite a bit more formidable a facade of genuine strength and cunning, in part because they genuinely have some intimidating traits, unlike Trump.

[JackDaw]

What makes Trump still somewhat unique is just how obvious his facile nature is; Putin, Modi, and Nehtanyahu all provide a contrast that manages quite a bit more formidable a facade of genuine strength and cunning, in part because they genuinely have some intimidating traits, unlike Trump.

Yes. That’s maybe the most amazing thing (with strong contenders): just how transparent the act is.

I think of him essentially as a con man, and have from time to time tried to compare him with similar guys on the British scene, but inevitably come to conclusion that the guys that I compare him to have something about them that explains their “success” (if conning other people can be so regarded.)

The guy who maybe survived on hot air and bluster longest on the UK scene was possibly Robert Maxwell (maybe best known in US because he was Ghislaine Maxwell’s father.). He ran a business empire that was massively in debt on a cocktail of lies, bluster, and using lawyers to silence journalists.

But then he (Maxwell) was a genuine war hero, and extremely intelligent (fluent in several languages for example).

But Trump? Like you I struggle to see any virtues.

[JackDaw]

One benefit Iran can count from their missle attack is they now know precisely how quickly Israel can react and how effective their defense can be. And, they did it without starting a war.

I wonder what other country than Israel could have a couple of thousand assorted high explosive projectiles aimed at them, and be expected to not regard it as an effective declaration of war.

[Robotman]

Yes. That’s maybe the most amazing thing (with strong contenders): just how transparent the act is.

I think of him essentially as a con man, and have from time to time tried to compare him with similar guys on the British scene, but inevitably come to conclusion that the guys that I compare him to have something about them that explains their “success” (if conning other people can be so regarded.)

The guy who maybe survived on hot air and bluster longest on the UK scene was possibly Robert Maxwell (maybe best known in US because he was Ghislaine Maxwell’s father.). He ran a business empire that was massively in debt on a cocktail of lies, bluster, and using lawyers to silence journalists.

But then he (Maxwell) was a genuine war hero, and extremely intelligent (fluent in several languages for example).

But Trump? Like you I struggle to see any virtues.

It doesn’t matter what Trump does or the stupid things he says, at the end of the day he makes angry scared white Americans who see themselves as victims feel justified in their beliefs. That’s all that matters.

Right wing media tells them that they are under attack 24/7 by LGBTQ trying to corrupt their children, “woke” POCs, women trying to kill babies, and immigrants trying to replace them and spread disease. Trump makes them feel safe because he says out loud what they are thinking regardless of how vile and untrue the statements are.

Like your run of the mill wanna be dictator he has convinced his followers that only he can save them.

Someone like Trump would seemingly rise up in a third world country but the American education system is garbage and we have a long history of sexism, extreme racism, worshipping wealth, and fundamentalist religious beliefs. Trump is just digging into our roots and exposing who half the country is and always has been.

Plus we’re living in the social media age where it is far easier to spread lies and propaganda. He’s the perfect candidate for the time.

[CaptainEurope]

Day 2 of the Trump trial!
Will he stay awake?
Will we have more entertaining jury candidates, like the lady who likes "hitting da clubs" yesterday?
Will the judge again echo Trumps' legal person's stupid comments and questions?
I CANNOT WAIT!!

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Day 2 of the Trump trial!
Will he stay awake?
Will we have more entertaining jury candidates, like the lady who likes "hitting da clubs" yesterday?
Will the judge again echo Trumps' legal person's stupid comments and questions?
I CANNOT WAIT!!

I'm sure British sportbooks are already laying odds on how long it'll take for Don Snoreleone (saw that on X) to nod off again. The Brits will bet on ANYTHING!

[CaptainEurope]

I'm sure British sportbooks are already laying odds on how long it'll take for Don Snoreleone (saw that on X) to nod off again. The Brits will bet on ANYTHING!

At least he seems more relaxed and diplomatic about the whole thing today.