US Elections 2020 (geopolitics, informed debate, no ad hominems)

Biden

14 (66.7%)

Trump

7 (33.3%)

Total Members Voted: 21

Voting closed: November 02, 2020, 06:25:59 pm

[Alan Klein]

Alan, still - I don't see you as a Trump guy...

I knew guys like him in NYC when I worked for real estate owners in my contracting business.  Cheap, bombastic, egotistical and NY tough.   Some real estate owners were nice and charitable.  Not Trump. I would stay away from guys like him.  His demeanor and style turns me off.  But if you watch him in a one-on-one conversation, he's funny and smart and has a lot of common sense.  If you actually check his record, he's done a reasonable job over the last four years especially considering all the interference that has been thrown at him.  A weaker man would have given up already or collapsed.  The vote is not For Trump or Against Trump.  It's For Trump or For Biden.  I don't think Biden has the physical stamina or mental acuity to be president. He's bought into the left's agenda and doesn't have a mind of his own any longer.  So choosing Trump will be better for America.

[PeterAit]

That's what I do and my wife is like yours.  I always switch to CNN and MSNBC if she's not around to see how they're reporting it.  You want to know what the competition is doing and thinking.

Google News on my computer has 80% negative articles on Trump. 

This shows a pro-Trump bias in the news. If the news overall were truly neutral and accurate, it would be 95% negative articles on Trump.

The biggest spreaders of news however are probably the NY Times and Washington Post.  Many news media around the world read their bylines because they don't have their own news staff to get the news.  So they just repeat these papers' articles which are negative about Trump and slant the news.  It's why many people have certain opinions about him and the USA. Or they watch CNN or Bloomberg which are also left of center and negative Trump.

You still don't get it, Alan. Since almost everything Trump does is stupid, immoral, illegal, or harmful to the country and the world, accurate reporting will reflect that. Calling that a "bias against Trump" is like saying the medical journals are biased against cancer. I am sure you still won't get it, but I tried. So be it.

[Alan Klein]

This shows a pro-Trump bias in the news. If the news overall were truly neutral and accurate, it would be 95% negative articles on Trump.

You still don't get it, Alan. Since almost everything Trump does is stupid, immoral, illegal, or harmful to the country and the world, accurate reporting will reflect that. Calling that a "bias against Trump" is like saying the medical journals are biased against cancer. I am sure you still won't get it, but I tried. So be it.

I know Peter.  Trump has never done anything right.  Howe about getting two Arab countries and Israel to make peace? If Obama did that, he would have gotten a second Nobel peace prize.

[Peter McLennan]

I know Peter.  Trump has never done anything right.  Howe about getting two Arab countries and Israel to make peace? If Obama did that, he would have gotten a second Nobel peace prize.

That's not what Peter said, Alan.   He said 95%, not 100%.  Even if you agree that Trump was responsible for "getting two Arab countries and Israel to make peace" (which is highly debatable) that falls within the 5% of stuff he's done that's not corrupt, venal, disrespectful, hateful, illegal or harmful to America's (and the world's)  interests.

[Frans Waterlander]

That's not what Peter said, Alan.   He said 95%, not 100%.  Even if you agree that Trump was responsible for "getting two Arab countries and Israel to make peace" (which is highly debatable) that falls within the 5% of stuff he's done that's not corrupt, venal, disrespectful, hateful, illegal or harmful to America's (and the world's)  interests.

More TDS. Sad.

[Robert Roaldi]

Once again Trump rewards his supporters in his unorthodox way, https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/521508-trump-turns-his-ire-toward-cabinet-members. What a treat it must be to work for this guy.

Breaking news about Bin Laden, https://thehill.com/policy/defense/521511-trump-digs-in-on-conspiracy-theory-over-bin-laden-raid, Trump may believe that Osama may still be alive. Perhaps he's in the same clandestine CIA hospital where they're keeping JFK and a few alien abductees and the landscaper from Roswell.

I guess that's just Trump exaggerating again. Turning that dignity of office thing on its head, one more time.

I'm beginning to formulate a theory that Q of QAnon may actually be a deep state troll bait project whose mission is to bring to the surface every crazy person in the US. It's devilishly clever, isn't it. Kind of like fly paper.

Am I mistaken or hasn't there been much criticism of those would-be kidnapper Michigan militia heroes? You'd think they'd at least want to distance themselves a little. I have seen a couple of headlines about how some Republicans running for office are distancing themselves from Trump.

Cue to Alan K., time to mention Hilary or Obama in reply, I think. You've been overusing the Bidens lately. 

[faberryman]

Am I mistaken or hasn't there been much criticism of those would-be kidnapper Michigan militia heroes? You'd think they'd at least want to distance themselves a little. I have seen a couple of headlines about how some Republicans running for office are distancing themselves from Trump.

Actually, I have been thinking about that quite a lot, but just as I reach some sort of clarity something else comes up and my attention is diverted. There's just so much else going on that a plot to kidnap a governor seems sort of like small potatoes. After all, we've got fifty of them. Perhaps things will pickup if the FBI starts scouring computer repair shops in Michigan to see if they can find one of those militia member's laptop. Then we'll be able to prove that Trump was running the operation out of his clubhouse up in Bedminster. I mean it's obvious. He tweeted "Liberate Michigan!". Sounds like a confession to me. But maybe he'll argue that it was just an order to nursing home administrators in Michigan to let all the patients out because his radiologist friend Scott Adams told him about herd immunity. I mean he could just say he was acting on medical advice. Maybe this is just a routine medical malpractice claim. Who knows? We'll just have to see.

[Alan Klein]

That's not what Peter said, Alan.   He said 95%, not 100%.  Even if you agree that Trump was responsible for "getting two Arab countries and Israel to make peace" (which is highly debatable) that falls within the 5% of stuff he's done that's not corrupt, venal, disrespectful, hateful, illegal or harmful to America's (and the world's)  interests.

He destroyed ISIS and killed its leader. He's making peace in Afghanistan and has kept peace in North Korea - they stop testing nukes and ICBM's. .  He solidified our relationship with our Asian allies and pressed China regarding trade and stealing our commercial patents and secrets.  He got NATO Europe to pay up more. He moved a division out of Germany to a better ally.  He passed a tax bill that has helped our economy.  He's lowered unemployment to its lowest level (before Covid).  He moved our embassy to Israel political and historical capital. He pulled out of the giveaway Paris accord and stupid Iran deal and killed their general weakening the aims for taking over the ME.  He helped make peace between Israel and two Arab countries opening up the whole ME to similar moves and making that area more peaceful for everyone.  Meanwhile, Obama got the Nobel Peace prize for creating ISIS.

The problem is you only read or watch CNN and other anti-Trump media. 

[Robert Roaldi]

Actually, I have been thinking about that quite a lot, but just as I reach some sort of clarity something else comes up and my attention is diverted. There's just so much else going on that a plot to kidnap a governor seems sort of like small potatoes. Perhaps things will pickup if the FBI starts scouring computer repair shops in Michigan to see if they can find one of those militia member's laptop. Then we'll be able to prove that Trump was running the operation out of his clubhouse up in Bedminster. I mean it's obvious. He tweeted "Liberate Michigan!". Sounds like a confession to me. But maybe he'll argue that instead it was an order to the nursing home administrators in Michigan to let all the patients out because his radiologist friend Scott Adams told him about herd immunity. I mean he could just say he was acting on medical advice. Maybe this is just a routine medical malpractice claim. Who knows? We'll just have to see.

Are you Q?

[faberryman]

Are you Q?

Funny you should ask. When I was growing up and watched James Bond movies, I never wanted to be James Bond. For starters, he was always making out with the girls, and I wasn't really into girls at the time. At that age, girls still had cooties. Anyway, one Christmas I got a James Bond briefcase, you know the one with the rubber knives that slid out of the ends when you turned the latches the wrong way. I thought that was the coolest thing. But James Bond didn't think that up. He was more into the physical stuff like beating up Odd Job and almost getting his nuts cut off by a laser beam. I was more interested in the intellectual side, so my hero was M. Do you remember all the stuff M did with James Bond's Aston Martin, you know like the ejection seat and the machine guns where the headlights were supposed to be? Awesome! So when my friends and I played James Bond adventures, I always pretended to be M. A real advantage to pretending to be M is no one ever shot at you and you never got cooties. The thing is as I grew older, so did M, until one day, M went to that big secret agent research and development department in the sky. So M was replaced by Q. I don't know how you feel about it, but I think Q is a dork. Initially, I felt a little insulted that you would even ask me if I were Q, but then I thought about it for a while and realized you probably didn't know how I felt, so everything is okay.  But to answer your question, I am not Q, and I would never pretend to be. M is the man for me.

You know, something just struck me. Maybe you weren't thinking about James Bond at all. Maybe you were thinking about Star Trek - The Next Generation. If that is what you were thinking of, then I have never been so flattered in my life. I am definitely Q. Everybody wants to be Q. The best part about being Q is that you get to drive Captain Picard crazy, so crazy that he forgets to order his Earl Grey hot. It's hilarious. Fortunately, after about a dozen therapy sessions with Counselor Troi, he is able to remember to say "Engage" and they can get on with the next adventure. But it was touch and go there for a while. Yep, I am definitely Q. Nice to meet you.

[John Camp]

The Washington Post reports that Democrats are far out-raising the Republicans in the money race this year. I gave a few thousand dollars to candidates this year, mostly to Biden but also to Bullock and Hickenlooper, and when I got up this morning and opened my email, I had 111 new emails -- two from a friend with photos of deer in his yard, and 109 from Democratic politicians pleading for money. And yet, the WAPO says they're awash in cash. Quite a few of the pleas have headlines that are grossly misleading or simply lying. One had a headline that said, "It's over -- Joe Biden loses." When you look zt it, it's a plea for money for Texas congressional races, and I don't live in Texas, and had never heard of the candidates. I've got the ugly feeling that this might not go away after the election, as we now seem to be in a never-ending election cycle.

WAPO:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/10/18/democrats-stunning-fundraising/

[chez]

Say it ain't so.  I thought for sure it is all true.  Who do we believe?

Not the experts...never believe the experts. I've had great results listening to my barber for financial advice.

[Chris Kern]

The Washington Post reports that Democrats are far out-raising the Republicans in the money race this year.

I suspect quite a few major Republican donors ― not just those who might earlier have supported Trump, but also never-Trumpers and even some who are supporting Biden for the presidency ― have shifted their spending to Republican senate candidates in the hope of helping those whose chances of re-election are threatened by Trump's unpopularity.  No doubt many traditional Republicans and conservatives are comfortable with the prospect of getting rid of Trump (he has never been as popular among Republican politicians as he has among Republican voters), but believe a Democratic senate would be a catastrophe.

[Peter McLennan]

The problem is you only read or watch CNN and other anti-Trump media.

The problem is, according to you, ALL the media are anti-Trump media.

[Robert Roaldi]

Funny you should ask. When I was growing up and watched James Bond movies, I never wanted to be James Bond. For starters, he was always making out with the girls, and I wasn't really into girls at the time. At that age, girls still had cooties. Anyway, one Christmas I got a James Bond briefcase, you know the one with the rubber knives that slid out of the ends when you turned the latches the wrong way. I thought that was the coolest thing. But James Bond didn't think that up. He was more into the physical stuff like beating up Odd Job and almost getting castrated by a laser beam. I was more interested in the intellectual side, so my hero was M. Do you remember all the stuff M did with James Bond's Aston Martin, you know like the ejection seat and the machine guns where the headlights were supposed to be? Awesome! So when my friends and I played James Bond adventures, I always pretended to be M. A real advantage to pretending to be M is no one ever shot at you and you never got cooties. The thing is as I grew older, so did M, until one day, M went to that big secret agent research and development department in the sky. So M was replaced by Q. I don't know how you feel about it, but I think Q is a dork. Initially, I felt a little insulted that you would even ask me if I were Q, but then I thought about it for a while and realized you probably didn't know how I felt, so everything is okay.  But to answer your question, I am not Q, and I would never pretend to be. M is the man for me.

You know, something just struck me. Maybe you weren't thinking about James Bond at all. Maybe you were thinking about Star Trek - The Next Generation. If that is what you were thinking of, then I have never been so flattered in my life. I am definitely Q. Everybody wants to be Q. The best part about being Q is that you get to drive Captain Picard crazy, so crazy that he forgets to order his Earl Grey hot. It's hilarious. Fortunately, after about a dozen therapy sessions with Counselor Troi, he is able to remember to say "Engage" and they can get on with the next adventure. But it was touch and go there for a while. Yep, I am definitely Q. Nice to meet you.

Apologies. Didn't mean to limit you to a single letter.

The last Bond I saw starred Roger Moore, so I don't really know my M's from my Q's. And although I was fond of the original Star Trek series the first time round when I was in high school, I never warmed up to the later re-incarnations so even though I know who Picard is, I don't get that Q reference either. Was Q one of the Borg, by any chance? Friends of mine poke fun at me because I don't know much about the Star Wars saga either.

But I like your political theories. They're starting to make sense to me. Is that good or bad?

[Robert Roaldi]

Trump made some news today because he said something about leaving the country if Biden wins. My first thought was that might bring out the Biden vote like nothing else.

[LesPalenik]

Trump made some news today because he said something about leaving the country if Biden wins. My first thought was that might bring out the Biden vote like nothing else.

Leaving country for Mexico?

[faberryman]

The last Bond I saw starred Roger Moore, so I don't really know my M's from my Q's. And although I was fond of the original Star Trek series the first time round when I was in high school, I never warmed up to the later re-incarnations so even though I know who Picard is, I don't get that Q reference either. Was Q one of the Borg, by any chance? Friends of mine poke fun at me because I don't know much about the Star Wars saga either.

Info on Q here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q_(Star_Trek)

But you really have to watch the first Q episode - Encounter at Farpoint - to get the flavor of the character.

[Robert Roaldi]

Leaving country for Mexico?

Can he climb the wall?

[Manoli]

Further testimony to how far the ‘off-the-wall’ loons will go to.

Fauci, a lifelong runner, also revealed that he has switched to power walking because he has to be accompanied by a security detail — the result of ongoing death threats and harassment.


“That’s sad,” Fauci said. “The very fact that a public health message to save lives triggers such venom and animosity to me that it results in real and credible threats to my life and my safety. But it bothers me less than the hassling of my wife and my children.”

(From WaPo and and an interview on 60 minutes)