A Political Thread

[Leonormous Boozer]

I might be in the minority here, but I don't think Obama did a good job during his tenure as president. Apart from Obamacare, there isn't much I can remember that stood out as big improvements, and the american economy suffered under his rule. Trump has improved their economy immensely since then, and did make a lot of things better since Obama's rule.

The American economy went from recession to unprecedented levels of growth under Obama, 2009 and 2017 were light and day in terms of economic struggle for the average American household. Trump really just had to ride the wave of a growing economy and when his first real challenge came he handled it slightly better than the president of South Africa who has just as many racial issues, more social and health issues and mass poverty to deal with, and a fraction of the budget Trump has.

Without incorrect information or serious mental gymnastics I don't think it's possible to consider Trump a better president than Obama after the last 6 months.

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

In fairness. Many presidents handled the COVID-19 crises badly. And I think South Africa's president did a much worse job than Trump. It's an unprecedented (or should I say unpresidented) situation, and overall there hasn't been many positive feedback as to how government handled the situation.

I might be in the minority here, but I don't think Obama did a good job during his tenure as president. Apart from Obamacare, there isn't much I can remember that stood out as big improvements, and the american economy suffered under his rule. Trump has improved their economy immensely since then, and did make a lot of things better since Obama's rule.

But America has a tendency to repeat mistakes when it comes to presidents and having turmoil and devisiveness, it happened under Bush, Clinton, & Nixon to name just a few. It's not like some of these issues are brand new and some of them aren't just Trump and his administration's fault. The racial biasness has been there a very long time, nothing new. Police Brutality has been there since I can remember. the KKK is not a new organisation.

Yes, there are things taken to a more extreme level, but again, that's an overall issue not just a trump issue. I guess, me living in South Africa who are used to violent protests, riots and racism on both spectrums, huge unemployment figures, poor infrastructure, corruption, and political grandstanding, don't see things as others do in other countries...

Ok sorry but some of what you have written is just ridiculous

1) Yes other governments have responded to Covid badly. That doesn't excuse Trump and also very few other governments handled it as badly as he did. He was repeatedly denying it, blaming others, shutting down his own response team, constantly hampering his own response by lying and treating it as a political issue which he is STILL doing. He's constantly peddling miracle cures and attacking governors blaming them whilst taking no responsibility himself. He is still flat out lying about what is happening. This hasn't happened anywhere else. The USA also had by far the most resources to deal with this and Trump directly hampered that response not just due to incompetence but due to malice. He has repeatedly put his ego before the well being of the nation.

2) The idea that the economy did better under Trump and suffered under Obama is just an outright lie. Obama took an economy that had gone through one of the worst economic crises in history and then presided over the longest period of sustained growth in US history. The highest quarterly growth under Obama was higher than it was under Trump and Obama had higher quarterly growth than under Trump multiple times. Average growth was higher, growth in the stock market was higher, rate of unemployment dropping was higher and the deficit came down every year under Obama apart from the first year. Even before Covid 19, Trump was performing worse than Obama. Trump also massively skewed the economy to give tax breaks to the ultra wealthy (him and his businesses), he has gutted environmental regulations going back years, he has started trade wars, he has overseen more jobs going abroad despite saying he would stop it, he has raised taxes on everyone except the most wealthy, he has exploded the deficit. Again this is all before you even assess the economy since Covid.

3) You keep making excuses for Trump as if this has happened before. Yes the problems have existed before but to pretend anyone has responded to them in the way Trump has is just disingenuous at best and outright lying at worse. Trump goes out of his way to make situations worse. There literally isn't a single thing that has become better after Trump has touched it, Not one thing. Violent and racial crime had dropped during the Obama-Biden administration and Trump has completely reversed that and is now actively fanning the flames. No president has been as blatantly partisan as him. This is the guy who threatened to withold Covid aid to his political opponent states, whose son in law scrapped a national plan to deal with Covid when it turned out it would mean helping Democrat states, a man who attack Puerto Rico for being poor and costing the rest of the USA money in the middle of a crisis (and tried to exchange it with Denmark for Iceland), a man who has constantly attacked state governors, a man who is attempting to rig the voting system, a man who attacked California for the wildfires and threatened to withold federal aid. NO other president has been this partisan with what many people would consider completely non-partisan issues. Even Nixon had acted reasonably presidential before Watergate, Trump has never tried to.

 

[ncurd]

It should also be noted that for the last 2 years of Obama's presidential time he didn't have control of the senate and for 6 years didn't have the house of representatives. During which the Republicans went virtually nuclear on anything Obama tried to get through. A hostile house severely hampers what you can and can't do.

Trump still has control of the Senate (barely and it has caused issues) but you look how hard it's been since the Democratics retook the house.

It's sometimes really hard to judge a presidents legislative agenda when they aren't able to pass any of it.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Electoral college explained: how Biden faces an uphill battle in the US election

Trump won the presidency in 2016 despite Clinton receiving almost 3m more votes, all because of the electoral college. How does the system work?

www.theguardian.com

Thought this was quite interesting how the electoral college vote distorts the popular vote due to the minimum 3 electoral votes per state. So much for each vote being equal. Not much better than UK first past the post system, but instead electing the so called leader of the free world.

 

[BiggusLaddus]

Alexei Navalny: Russia opposition leader poisoned with Novichok - Germany

Germany says Alexei Navalny was attacked with a type of nerve agent used against an ex-spy in the UK.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[BiggusLaddus]

That seems to suggest something more than an over-eager regional official.

 

[Yulia]

Alexei Navalny: Russia opposition leader poisoned with Novichok - Germany

Germany says Alexei Navalny was attacked with a type of nerve agent used against an ex-spy in the UK.

www.bbc.co.uk

Jeez...I have no words anymore. "Novichok" again.

.That seems to suggest something more than an over-eager regional official.

Furgal was arrested for 4 murders and can spend in prison the rest of his life (no one believes he murdered someone). To poison him now means to make him a true hero for people.
Poor Navalny..he did a good job with his anti-corruption investigations, especially about Medvedev last time..

 

[stus768]

Electoral college explained: how Biden faces an uphill battle in the US election

Trump won the presidency in 2016 despite Clinton receiving almost 3m more votes, all because of the electoral college. How does the system work?

www.theguardian.com

Thought this was quite interesting how the electoral college vote distorts the popular vote due to the minimum 3 electoral votes per state. So much for each vote being equal. Not much better than UK first past the post system, but instead electing the so called leader of the free world.View attachment 8407

From what I've been told the point of this is to prevent the more populous, mostly coastal states from having basically complete control. This ensures there is more of a spread of influence in middle
America for example and prevents them becoming disenfranchised.

 

[Gavin]

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

From what I've been told the point of this is to prevent the more populous, mostly coastal states from having basically complete control. This ensures there is more of a spread of influence in middle
America for example and prevents them becoming disenfranchised.

While that is the reasoning, I've never understood why the idea of the majority becoming disenfranchised is better than the minority being disenfranchised. Essentially the states that have the highest populations and greatest wealth are being controlled by much poorer and less populated states.

 

[TRF_heineken]

While that is the reasoning, I've never understood why the idea of the majority becoming disenfranchised is better than the minority being disenfranchised. Essentially the states that have the highest populations and greatest wealth are being controlled by much poorer and less populated states.

#Apartheid

 

[TRF_Olyy]

I thought we'd had enough of experts?

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

I thought we'd had enough of experts?

God I hate these morally bankrupt ********. It's like some cruel game in how much bullshit can you get away with and still stay in power. It's not even like they have no integrity but are at least competent, they are useless and lie about it.

 

[Reiser99]

God I hate these morally bankrupt ********. It's like some cruel game in how much bullshit can you get away with and still stay in power. It's not even like they have no integrity but are at least competent, they are useless and lie about it.

Get in bed with the devil if it suited their needs.

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

US election: Trump tells North Carolina voters to vote twice

The president says voters should test the system - despite it being illegal to vote more than once.

www.bbc.co.uk

Trump now telling his supporters to vote twice to "test the system", despite it being completely illegal. Yep you have the president of the USA actively telling his supporters to commit voter fraud after months of complaining about voter fraud... WTF is wrong with the world!? I'm genuinely at the stage where I want to put my life savings into whoever can get me to Mars first.

 

[Gavin]

Thousands of British food businesses could be left without the correct labelling required to continue selling to the European Union and Northern Ireland after the UK government missed an industry deadline to advise them on what new rules they will have to follow.

Britain will leave the EU's trading rules at the end of this year, after which the labels that British food and drink businesses use will no longer be legally recognised on the continent.

UK trade associations repeatedly warned Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government that the end of August was the absolute deadline for issuing guidance that will allow them to produce new labels in time for January 1.

Brexit: Food companies warn Boris Johnson has missed labelling deadline

British food exporters say they have run out of time to produce new packaging for trading with both the EU and Northern Ireland from next year.

www.businessinsider.com

 

[TRF_Olyy]

 

[The Seeker]

 

[The Seeker]

Electoral college explained: how Biden faces an uphill battle in the US election

Trump won the presidency in 2016 despite Clinton receiving almost 3m more votes, all because of the electoral college. How does the system work?

www.theguardian.com

Thought this was quite interesting how the electoral college vote distorts the popular vote due to the minimum 3 electoral votes per state. So much for each vote being equal. Not much better than UK first past the post system, but instead electing the so called leader of the free world.View attachment 8407

As an American (and a Californian), there's nothing I'd like more than to get rid of the antiquated Electoral College and go to a straight popular vote format like most democracies. The Electoral College made sense at one point in our nations history, but not anymore.

 

[Gavin]

Northern Ireland Secretary admits new bill will 'break international law'

Brandon Lewis says a new post-Brexit law will go against agreements in a "specific and limited way".

www.bbc.co.uk

A government minister has said a new bill to amend the UK's Brexit deal with the EU will "break international law".

Concerns had been raised about legislation being brought forward which could change parts of the withdrawal agreement, negotiated last year.

Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis conceded it would go against the treaty in a "specific and limited way".

Former PM Theresa May warned the change could damage "trust" in the UK over future trade deals with other states.

Pretty mad when you think about it.