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]

No, but there are Bernie Bros who would just stay home. 

I think Biden has the other problem though, moderates staying home.  After people start seeing his policies, he is going to be hard to sell. 

It why Democrats want to send ballots to everyone on all list.s.  Unfortunately that means dead people would get a ballot and more than one ballot for every American who has ever moved and is listed on different voting lists where they lived.  It will make up for the lack of interests in Biden and Harris.

[faberryman]

It why Democrats want to send ballots to everyone on all list.s.  Unfortunately that means dead people would get a ballot and more than one ballot for every American who has ever moved and is listed on different voting lists where they lived.  It will make up for the lack of interests in Biden and Harris.

And in that scenario you believe that Democrats would cheat more than Republicans, and therefore steal the election. Do you have any evidence to support the premise that the Democrats would cheat more than the Republicans?

[Alan Klein]

And in that scenario you believe that Democrats would cheat more than Republicans, and therefore steal the election. Do you have any evidence to support the premise that the Democrats would cheat more than the Republicans?

I've already said it once, but not 1000 times, that both sides are playing politics. The Democrats want to make up for the lack of interest in their candidate by letting people vote from home who have no interest in going to the polling place to vote in person.  And the Republicans find that a disadvantage to their side. 

From a practical side leaving aside politics, sending ballots out willy nilly is going to create huge confusion, illegal double voting, and lawsuits ten times worse than what happened in Florida in the 2000 presidential election.  That's not the way to run an election.  No one, including Trump,  is opposed to voters requesting a mail-in ballot that would be mailed to the voter's current address. That would stop the illegal double voting and open ballots being mailed to millions of dead people whose names are still on government voting lists.

[faberryman]

Bernard, you do realize that in the last weeks, the Democratic left were arguing that 2+2=5, because they could just change the deffinition of the elements.

I may be out to lunch here, but I thought 2+2=5 was a metaphor not a math equation, that is until the mathematicians, who can never pass up a challenge, got involved.

[Robert Roaldi]

Do people think that statements like this from Trump are ok, https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/512690-trump-urges-boycott-of-goodyear-tires-after-maga-attire-report?

Is it really ok for the President to call for the boycott of a company's products because they don't want political clothing at their place of work? Is this a valid use of Presidential power? Isn't this what we used to think only happened in banana republics?

Aren't you Trump supporters just a little embarrassed about this? I mean, just a little?

[Alan Klein]

Do people think that statements like this from Trump are ok, https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/512690-trump-urges-boycott-of-goodyear-tires-after-maga-attire-report?

Is it really ok for the President to call for the boycott of a company's products because they don't want political clothing at their place of work? Is this a valid use of Presidential power? Isn't this what we used to think only happened in banana republics?

Aren't you Trump supporters just a little embarrassed about this? I mean, just a little?

He's pushing back against the left's call to ban corporations who don't follow the left's demands.  No one else is doing that except him.  It's a political statement that makes me squirm because I'm not use to politicians on the right doing that.  But politicians on the left do it all the time and they have created a vacuum that Trump is filling to the delight of his supporters.  Meanwhile Biden hides in his basement afraid to say anything because it might show him suffering from senility. 

[JoeKitchen]

Do people think that statements like this from Trump are ok, https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/512690-trump-urges-boycott-of-goodyear-tires-after-maga-attire-report?

Is it really ok for the President to call for the boycott of a company's products because they don't want political clothing at their place of work? Is this a valid use of Presidential power? Isn't this what we used to think only happened in banana republics?

Aren't you Trump supporters just a little embarrassed about this? I mean, just a little?

Sure, and I am also embarrassed when Democratic politicians do the same, and they have been doing so for years.  What's good for the goose is good for the gander, and if Dems insist on continuing this tactic, you should not be surprised when conservatives catch on.

Not to mention if a company wants to get political, which Goodyear did, they better be ready for the reaction.  It's not like it is not obvious what would happen; NBA ratings are down 26%. 

[Peter McLennan]

They banned all political garb, not just MAGA regalia. 
Based on what we read here, that's a darn good idea.

Only the Trump Organization would seek to politicize the depoliticizing of the workplace.

They do permit non-political human rights and social values affiliated clothing.

A local NBC News affiliate in Topeka, Kan., reported Tuesday on a slide purportedly shown at a Goodyear diversity training that listed “Black Lives Matter,” “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender pride” under “acceptable” while branding “Blue Lives Matter,” “All Lives Matter,” “MAGA attire,” and “politically-affiliated slogans or material” under “unacceptable.”

[Peter McLennan]

Sure, and I am also embarrassed ...

I thought you had a life and were too busy to post here? 

[JoeKitchen]

They banned all political garb, not just MAGA regalia. 
Based on what we read here, that's a darn good idea.

Only the Trump Organization would seek to politicize the depoliticizing of the workplace.

They do permit non-political human rights and social values affiliated clothing.

A local NBC News affiliate in Topeka, Kan., reported Tuesday on a slide purportedly shown at a Goodyear diversity training that listed “Black Lives Matter,” “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender pride” under “acceptable” while branding “Blue Lives Matter,” “All Lives Matter,” “MAGA attire,” and “politically-affiliated slogans or material” under “unacceptable.”

The issue is BLM is a political organization, not to mention a trademarked slogan so any piece of clothing will provide funds to the organization, fighting to take down capitalism, replace it with socialism, and destroy the nuclear family (its on their website).  To approve that but not allow support for other political organizations is not being unpolitical. 

If you want to argue well we should be able to seperate the slogan "Black Lives Matter" from the organization since it an obvious statement, then we should also be able to separate "Make America Great Again" from Trump since it too is an obvious statement. 

[JoeKitchen]

I thought you had a life and were too busy to post here?

That was yesterday when it was nice and I was shooting a project.  Today it is raining and I am researching locations for movie backdrops. 

[faberryman]

Not to mention if a company wants to get political, which Goodyear did, they better be ready for the reaction.  It's not like it is not obvious what would happen; NBA ratings are down 26%.

I acknowledge that sometimes I am slow on the uptake, but what have Goodyear and the NBA got to do with each other?

[jeremyrh]

The issue is BLM is a political organization, not to mention a trademarked slogan so any piece of clothing will provide funds to the organization,

Is that true?  This article suggests not ...
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-24/-black-lives-matter-trademark-applications-surge-after-protests

[JoeKitchen]

I acknowledge that sometimes I am slow on the uptake, but what have Goodyear and the NBA got to do with each other?

NBA became highly political in the last year, and it is seeing the viewership drop because of it, even after months of pent up demand for sports. 

Similar thing happened during the Kap controversy, viewership for the NFL went down, however not as much since the NFL (at the time) was not supporting it.  Viewership increased after Kap was ousted.  More then likely viewership for the NFL will drop too since they have given into being highly political. 

Goodyear is making the same mistake, supporting woke politics while banning the opposite politics.  It will cost them; they should either ban everything (including BLM), or nothing at all. 

Like I said, if a company wants to be highly political, they should not be surprised if there is backlash.  This whole mentality on the left that if you are silent then you are supporting what we are against has goaded a lot of companies into being woke to save their bottom line (not because they actually support it).  Instead they will see huge backlash from the opposite side and Americans who just want to be able to watch a ball game, or buy a product, without seeing something political.  It's a bad business move. 

As they say, "republicans buy sneakers too."  Even Elvis knew this was the case. 

Now this is not to say I am against a company playing to one side, like Black Riffle Coffee.  They do very well selling to conservatives and portray themselves as an alternate for certain woke brands.  They have no market share to lose since they never went after everyone.  A company like Goodyear does go after everyone, so either they are okay with losing market share or will need to own up to this and alter course, which could be an even worse decision. 

By the way, I drink Starbucks; Illy occasionally but it is too expensive to buy regularly even though it is amazing coffee. 

[JoeKitchen]

Is that true?  This article suggests not ...
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-24/-black-lives-matter-trademark-applications-surge-after-protests

I read it in another source, but none the less, it is the name of a highly political organization that heavily relays on semantic overload for support. 

[Alan Klein]

They banned all political garb, not just MAGA regalia. 
Based on what we read here, that's a darn good idea.

Only the Trump Organization would seek to politicize the depoliticizing of the workplace.

They do permit non-political human rights and social values affiliated clothing.

A local NBC News affiliate in Topeka, Kan., reported Tuesday on a slide purportedly shown at a Goodyear diversity training that listed “Black Lives Matter,” “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender pride” under “acceptable” while branding “Blue Lives Matter,” “All Lives Matter,” “MAGA attire,” and “politically-affiliated slogans or material” under “unacceptable.”

You disproved your first statement in the same post. Social values are in the eye of the beholder. They are politicized views, especially in today's climate in America.

If a corporation approves a value it thinks important, then it's taking sides.  The other side's view of a social value is just as valuable to them.  Once you start going down that path, then where do you stop? What Goodyear is doing with your example is deciding who's views are correct. That's the left imposing their standards on society like 1984.  In early America, they'd put you in stocks in the town's public center, maybe whip you, to embarrass you until you make amends and change your ways.  In the Soviet Union, they sent you to Gulags and had show trials where you had to admit your failings.

Corporations should stay out of taking sides and let the free market of speech be the defenders of truth but in the public square, not in their corporations.  They should stick to doing business legally and let the rest of the community deal with social norms.

[jeremyrh]

I read it in another source, but none the less, it is the name of a highly political organization that heavily relays on semantic overload for support.

Well it'd be a strange turnaround if the "trained Marxists" (whatever that means) were relying on T-shirt sales, whereas on the streets of Portland, Donald Trump is proving the truth of Mao's dictum that "politocal power grows out of the barrel of a gun".

[Peter McLennan]

You disproved your first statement in the same post.

Please show me how.

[jeremyrh]

Corporations should stay out of taking sides

So you disagree with corporations pressing their employees to contribute to PACs which then fund specific candidates?

[faberryman]

I don't watch NBA games so I wouldn't have a clue what they are up to. I also don't watch NFL games and if "Kap" refers to Kaepernick, I am generally familiar with that. I know that Trump likes to grouse about that a lot. I know Goodyear makes tires but to my knowledge have never owned any. Really, who cares if Goodyear like BLM and not Trump.

I don't know why corporations can't be political. The Supreme Court said they are persons and can contribute obscene amounts of money to political campaigns.