US Politics / Biden thread
Comments
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Not everyone cowers behind 'too close to call'
Which, as it turns out, managed to be both cowardly *and* wrong.
“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!0 -
Genuinely interesting how a sensible government balances the need for some sort of relationship with the US and its president, when that president is still (and always will be) an 'adjudicated rapist'.
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The canter and gallop are variations on the fastest gait that can be performed by a horse or other equine. The canter is a controlled three-beat gait, while the gallop is a faster, four-beat variation of the same gait. It is a natural gait possessed by all horses, faster than most horses' trot, or ambling gaits.
I think she'll be going to the decanter tonight.
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I have the words Elon and Musk muted on twitter which makes it wholly more enjoyable. I wish I could do the same here.
He's really not that interesting.
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I don't think you'd buy X or risk alienating half the population if that was a concern.
Oh, enjoy the mute feature.
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😀
"I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]0 -
It's heartening to see that even in these extraordinary times when you got something wrong, you haven't lost your natural charm and sense of humour 🙂
"I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]1 -
The "anti hard Brexit" parties had a comfortable majority in the 2019 GE, in terms of votes cast. But UK GEs have been contested on a FPTP basis for several centuries, so this stat is interesting but not relevant beyond the fact that there was plenty of scope for stopping a hard Brexit had such voters collectively prioritised avoiding a hard Brexit over other considerations.
I know a few anti-Brexit folk who voted Tory because they were more worried about Corbyn than Brexit, so they got what they deserved re Brexit.
There was also plenty of chit chat on social media about anti-Brexit folk who abandoned the LDs because of their perceived complicity with the Tories in austerity and/or Clegg's U-turn on tuition fees, voted Labour and then ended up with a Tory MP in a seat that was eminently winnable for the LDs. Likewise, these voters got what they deserved re Brexit.
And by the 2019 GE, the die was cast as to what type of Brexit was on offer should the Tories win. The impact of the "red lines" had been discussed endlessly in the media and the Withdrawal Agreement had by then been finalised and could be read at anyone's leisure. So a claim that the 2019 GE outcome was skewed by remainers not knowing what a direct or indirect vote for the Tories would mean doesn't stand up.
And there was always the "revoke" option available, as that was the LDs' main policy in 2019, so in marginal LD/Tory seats, there was a very clear choice on offer.
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I think you're proving the point! Avoid the issues and just dismiss those with opposing views as gullible.
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Agree that "labelling" is often just used as a means of insulting people. I'm not using the term "progressive" in such a way though, as I am one myself. I'm just more open to considering opposing views than many who could sensibly be labelled as "progressive".
This is a good example of the issue: A peaceful but determined resistance to Trump must start now | Robert Reich | The Guardian
The most learned and doubtless well-meaning article approaches Trump's re-election as though it being a bad thing is axiomatic, and that the American people need to be saved from it, and completely overlooks that the American people voted for it very convincingly.
Weirdly, Owen Jones appears to be "on it" which isn't something I've said very often: I’ve been on the road speaking to the US right. Trump’s victory was not a surprise | Owen Jones | The Guardian
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It depends what he does, really. He's promised to deport all illegal immigrants and impose tariffs on everything but also lower prices. He's promised to cut the debt and lower taxes.
As sure as night follows day, debt will cease to be a concern.
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It's interesting how many people voted on the basis of the economy. Rick always made out it was doing very well. Maybe it was for some people.
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The problem with the right populism, is that it seems to me to be both a response to and proposing solutions to global or regional problems from a nation-specific perspective.
That is to say, you can't fix problems of global migration, tax avoidance, commodity prices, the banking system, on your own.
All you can do is build higher barriers for a while, and the problem continues to get worse behind that barrier.
Lefties seem to then come in with a realistic message, for which they take the blame. And on it goes.
I am increasingly of the view that this will happen in the UK.
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More accurately inflation, but that was COVID induced. As we know it's easy to pontificate in hindsight (and in general) that too much Government money was spent, but in reality it has to be taken into context at that time. The overwhelming majority of governments turned on the taps, they didn't have a choice. Putin turning off the gas taps didn't help either.
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I think the mistake is to think that a vote for a candidate is an unqualified endorsement of absolutely everything that candidate has done and will do. It's a fixed menu not a la carte and sometimes it's just a question of not wanting what you had last time. In this case, the lot that were in power when inflation was high.
On the other hand, in places where they don't feel the need to worry about whether they are insulting Americans, the headlines on the election are quite interesting.
1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
I have no issue with anyone who voted Brexit and don't make assumptions on someone's personal beliefs based on how they voted in the referendum. I am not interested in the ideological side to Brexit or any notions of 'sovereignty', so I always focus on two of the key policy areas that most leave voters say were key issues; immigration and trade/economy. If you read the OBR in depth analysis on the effects of Brexit it clearly states:
- Imports/Exports will be around 15% lower than if the UK had remained in the EU
- New trade deals with non EU countries will not have a material effect
- The TCA will reduce long productivity by 4%
The OBR has also had to revise medium term net migration figures up from 129,000 per year to 315,00 and I am sure most of us would agree that we hardly have control of our borders.
Other key issues like the lack of recruitment into sectors such as care and hospitality due to the loss of many EU citizens who left the UK due to Brexit has also impacted the economy.
We have also had a Tory govt, that has just been voted out because people are poorer, we have failing public services and an economy that has barely grown in years. I am failing to see the economic benefits of Brexit or any degree of success in addressing people's issues with immigration.
My issue is that I am yet to have a conversation with a single Brexit voter that admits to any of this or can point to any clear economic benefits. You then usually get accused of being a leftie snob who dismisses people as racists in order to deflect from the fact that they cannot give you a straight answer or highlight how Brexit has benefitted them in any way.
I also find the argument that if the left do not take on board people's legitimate concerns that you are left with Farage/Reform/populism to be nonsensical. We voted to leave the EU in 2016 and have had a right wing govt. in power for over a decade. If people felt their concerns were not being listened to then how is that the fault of the left who were neither in power or had any control over economic and social policy for a decade?
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I think it is simple. A liar has been lying to get himself into power and pardoned. He will not live up to his promises.
I may be wrong. Time will tell.
The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
I am not sure. You have no chance.Veronese68 wrote:PB is the most sensible person on here.0 -
Just looked at an analysis of Trump's tax plans, which estimates that it will put the debt up by between $4-6 trillion over ten years, with the top 0.1% earners benefitting by $376,000 per year from year one. The biggest gains percentage wise would be those in the 95-99% of earners, with those in the lowest 20% gaining $320.
All of this comes from additional borrowing.
It's like Truss on steroids, let's see how much more resilient the USA is.
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One advantage to Brexit will be that we can continue to receive cheap state subsidised cars from China without the tarrifa that will be imposed by both the US and the EU.
Yay.
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There's a high correlation between people with this opinion and those that agree with VAT on private schools.
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It's interesting how much of Asian have had a female leader, but the US hasn't managed it.
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Is there, do you have some statistical analysis to prove this?
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Completely misses that it isn't "the left" that gets the blame but "the establishment" which has been taken over by the woke in an antidemocratic coup. This is not a completely impossible idea, but it now relies on the bond markets being woke.
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According to Liz Truss they are!
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Oh god let it go.
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I do not have a rigorous statistical analysis of this theory.
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Doesn't Brexit predate woke?
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Post whatever you have on twitter.
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Woke, politically correct, whatever you've got.
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Likewise
“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!0
