Larssen
Member
+99|1857
In light of the above I'd like to reference the video I posted on p.278  'American Psychosis' - the speaker does a fantastically eloquent job of highlighting the importance of the humanities and their study in a society, among other things.

Last edited by Larssen (2020-11-17 07:49:57)

uziq
Member
+492|3422
the stuff in that video about 'the cult of self' is very much in the spirit of david foster wallace's kenyon commencement speech, published as 'this is water'. you can hear him reading it as an audiobook version online.

Dilbert_X
The X stands for
+1,810|6076|eXtreme to the maX

uziq wrote:

exactly this. the politics of resentment only flow one way. dilbert is probably genuinely the most resentful person on this forum and one of the most resentful people i've ever interacted with. white collar people or 'arts hipsters' don't spend the time or energy on all that useless fucking hating. who cares? i don't think the people dilbert obsesses over even think about his beloved engineering.
The only thing I'm resentful of is having useless morons in positions of responsibility and sneering at the rest of us as they fuck everything up.
Русский военный корабль, иди на хуй!
SuperJail Warden
Gone Forever
+634|3689
Anyway, so who won the election?

I read an article on National Review titled "The Failure of Black Lives Matter". Basically argued that the "Defund the Police" slogan and BLM sank the democrats in this election. The article comments are all Jay/Lowing/ATG shit so I won't even bother telling you their ideas.

So democrat's house majority shrank a bit. And the Senate most likely is still going to be Republican but who the hell knows what will happen in January when the run offs are taking place. But Biden did win "the crown" and actually won over 50% of the popular vote. Trump never got any big laws passed that need to be repealed ASAP.

I don't think election is a repudiation of democrats as republicans are claiming. Am I getting gaslighted?
https://i.imgur.com/xsoGn9X.jpg
Dilbert_X
The X stands for
+1,810|6076|eXtreme to the maX
It wasn't exactly a convincing win, I imagine BLM turned off a lot of centrists.
Русский военный корабль, иди на хуй!
unnamednewbie13
Moderator
+2,053|6742|PNW

Trump being the first incumbent ousted since HW Bush I think kind of says something. Even if in conscious denial, he'll still have to forever live with the subconscious tickle of having been beaten by "Sleepy Joe."

Newsweek wrote:

Joe Biden's Popular Vote Share Is Third Largest by Presidential Challenger in Election History
Brendan Cole  3 days ago

In a record-breaking election, results so far show that President-elect Joe Biden's share of the popular vote is the third highest by the challenger of an incumbent president in history.

Although there are legal challenges to November 3's election pending, as of Saturday, Biden won 50.9 percent of the popular vote, with his more than 78.2 million votes, which is the most ever cast for a candidate.

So far Biden is more than 5 million votes clear of President Donald Trump's 72.8 million votes which is the second highest recorded and the most ever by a losing candidate. Trump won 47.3 percent of the popular vote. A large margin of victory in the popular vote does not necessarily guarantee the White House. In 2016, Hillary Clinton lost the election to Trump despite getting 2.8 million votes more than him.

[…]
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics … r-BB1b0K2J

There's also been plenty of lies spread about BLM that aren't really BLM's fault. Sure, it probably hurt the Democrats some. Maybe put some of the blame on Republican propaganda and some on Democrat damage control.
uziq
Member
+492|3422

Dilbert_X wrote:

It wasn't exactly a convincing win, I imagine BLM turned off a lot of centrists.
it wasn't a landslide, but it was absolutely a convincing win.

he won the popular vote and he won as many electoral college votes as trump did in 2016. he unseated an incumbent, no mean feat.

BLM/AOC might have turned off some demographics in some areas, like latin voters in miami dade, but equally it flipped long-red states to blue in places like GA. go figure.
SuperJail Warden
Gone Forever
+634|3689
I think the fact that he twice lost the popular vote is a significant rejection of him or maybe even his world view. Republicans say "these are the rules " when people complain about the electoral college but 30 years with only one popular vote victory doesn't signal an immediate and lasting swing towards conservativism. I also believe Trump is particularly exciting among some people that drew them out to vote who otherwise wouldn't take part in politics. Same with Obama and of course not with Biden/Clinton. I think Mayor Pete would have done a lot better.
https://i.imgur.com/xsoGn9X.jpg
unnamednewbie13
Moderator
+2,053|6742|PNW

Another one bites the dust...

Trump ousts Homeland Security cyber chief Chris Krebs, who called election secure
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-ousts- … 35199.html

Anyway I probably get to look forward to four years of people, through half-smirks, complimenting the Democrats on the masterful job they did at underhandedly stealing the election (much in the same spirit of Hillary being an evil genius spymaster whose repugnant tactics were admirable even if she failed). "You gotta hand it to them!"

Don't want to get caught being inconsistent in your attachment to strong-man figures, I suppose.
SuperJail Warden
Gone Forever
+634|3689
This is probably why we shouldn't worry too much about Trump pulling off a military coup at the last second. The people with the power to do so are smart enough to know you can't trust your future to Twitter man. Eisenhower probably could have pulled it off though.
https://i.imgur.com/xsoGn9X.jpg
unnamednewbie13
Moderator
+2,053|6742|PNW

SuperJail Warden wrote:

This is probably why we shouldn't worry too much about Trump pulling off a military coup at the last second. The people with the power to do so are smart enough to know you can't trust your future to Twitter man. Eisenhower probably could have pulled it off though.
People are worried that Biden won't be able to remove Trump's political appointees, who serve at the pleasure of the president, at the pentagon. He could probably easily do so. Even if Trump wanted to stage a "military coup," I don't think he has enough support from them to do so. The simplest explanation is probably enacting long planned petty vendettas against people who pushed back against his policies and proposals.
SuperJail Warden
Gone Forever
+634|3689
The Pentagon political appointees are rich people who just padded their resume with some time in the Pentagon. I don't think very many wealthy people would decide again to go along with Twitter man considering the enormity of the risk.

I do agree that he is just enjoying bullying and being petty towards anyone he can since he has nothing to lose at this point. I can see him trashing the government as much as he can on his way out.

And for what it is worth, it has been more boring than dramatic. Who really cares about the career of random military political appointees. They aren't irreplaceable and the what good has the military even done lately anyway?
https://i.imgur.com/xsoGn9X.jpg
Larssen
Member
+99|1857
To stage a coup you first need significant support from military and intelligence establishments. Trump has neither.

Besides, the modern strongman playbook isn't one of sudden coups and overthrows. It's a gradual erosion of the judiciary and democracy. See Orban, Putin, Erdogan - they've all perfected that way of amassing power. Crucially, with overwhelming popular support.

Last edited by Larssen (2020-11-18 03:15:21)

Dilbert_X
The X stands for
+1,810|6076|eXtreme to the maX
I predict his last act will be to take a shit on the rug in the oval office.
Русский военный корабль, иди на хуй!
SuperJail Warden
Gone Forever
+634|3689

Dilbert_X wrote:

I predict his last act will be to take a shit on the rug in the oval office.
I could see him stealing something like art, statues, or fine china.
https://i.imgur.com/xsoGn9X.jpg
Larssen
Member
+99|1857
That whole family needs a fair bit of karma to come their way honestly. Hope the PoS goes bankrupt after leaving office. I'm pretty sure he will pardon himself as a last act, but that won't save his failing empire and mounting debt.
uziq
Member
+492|3422
aren't the state of new york investigating him for tax offences already? isn't that why he keeps butting heads with the governor?
Larssen
Member
+99|1857
He's got a laundry list of personal vendettas against Cuomo, this would just be one of many.

Yes they've been investigating him for a while now but without full disclosure of Trump's finances I doubt they will find many prosecutable offences. Perhaps he could receive a court order for insight into his financial statements, but I'm certain he'll pardon himself before leaving office. I also don't think any ex president has been subjected to criminal inquiry, I'm sure there will be many reluctant of being the first. The implications aren't good.
SuperJail Warden
Gone Forever
+634|3689
He has a whole range of financial crimes under investigation in NY in both federal and state courts. He is literally an unindicted co-conspirator in that case that sent his personal lawyer to prison. I believe he has cases in federal, civil, and state court related to other things. He doesn't get along with the governor of NY because the governor is a democrat who doesn't kiss his ass and Trump hates states that don't vote for him. The governor of NY is also fairly popular in his state and has his own tough guy persona despite being the son of a famous governor of the state. At least he doesn't want to destroy the poor like a Republican would want to.

I don't think Trump would be imprisoned like some people fantasize about but I think he would have to face genuine legal punishment related to his lifetime of prior legal offenses. Trump is nothing like Nixon and this isn't the 70's anymore. Biden isn't going to pardon Trump and the SCOTUS even if half appointed by Trump aren't going to ruin their reputation in his defense. They already have their lifetime appointments. They don't need to kiss his ass anymore. Same with Trump pulling off a resign and have Pence pardon him move at the last minute thing. Pence would have a brighter future by throwing Trump under the bus. He would be hailed by forgetful liberals as a "National Hero". He would get the John McCain treatment.

The only people who are willing to sacrifice for Trump are the dumb and desperate. No one with a future is going to put it on the line for a man who will throw you under the bus on Twitter.
https://i.imgur.com/xsoGn9X.jpg
Dilbert_X
The X stands for
+1,810|6076|eXtreme to the maX
If he were smart he'd resign now and have Pence pardon him.
Русский военный корабль, иди на хуй!
Pochsy
Artifice of Eternity
+702|5513|Toronto
Honest question: doesn't a pardon require a known criminal offense to have taken place? What exactly would Pence be pardoning Trump for? I don't know that a comprehensive list of the possible indictable offences can be made, and if it can, it's loooong. I doubt the Republican Party is looking to double-down on Trump at the moment, having lost an election and all.
The shape of an eye in front of the ocean, digging for stones and throwing them against its window pane. Take it down dreamer, take it down deep. - Other Families
Dilbert_X
The X stands for
+1,810|6076|eXtreme to the maX
So Pence will sign a long list, probably better than hoping Biden does.
Русский военный корабль, иди на хуй!
SuperJail Warden
Gone Forever
+634|3689

Pochsy wrote:

Honest question: doesn't a pardon require a known criminal offense to have taken place? What exactly would Pence be pardoning Trump for? I don't know that a comprehensive list of the possible indictable offences can be made, and if it can, it's loooong. I doubt the Republican Party is looking to double-down on Trump at the moment, having lost an election and all.
No one knows how it would work. The Constitution really doesn't clarify how it works. It would be up to SCOTUS.
https://i.imgur.com/xsoGn9X.jpg
Pochsy
Artifice of Eternity
+702|5513|Toronto
I have a new question: don't the presidential pardons only apply to federal crimes? I recall hearing that it's the NY State Attorney who's lining up the most serious case. What would the Pence Pardon maneuver achieve w/r/t state charges?
The shape of an eye in front of the ocean, digging for stones and throwing them against its window pane. Take it down dreamer, take it down deep. - Other Families
SuperJail Warden
Gone Forever
+634|3689
Only federal crimes AFAIK.
https://i.imgur.com/xsoGn9X.jpg

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