Congratulations to President elect Trump and VP Elect Vance.

[Trailblazer]

Dems these days are terrible at healthy self-reflection. Instead of considering why their candidates have failed and what they did wrong, they pretend their candidate was wonderful and heap vitriol on the American people. They are currently playing the blame game and blaming every group under the sun except for Harris, her campaign and the DNC. It seems like they live in ivory towers where they look down in disgust at the "rabble". This is a common thing among liberals nowadays. You see it with the foreign liberals on here, too. They just hate Americans at the end of the day and are full of self-righteous arrogance. That doesn't endear you to voters and win elections. They will continue losing until that fact sinks in, if it ever does.

Well said.

 

[Nimos]

I don't think that is the reason she lost. If Biden had run he would also have lost.

I think, it was a complete mess, to be honest, Biden should have gone much faster and allowed someone else to prepare a good campaign etc.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Are you saying that convicted felons shouldn't have a second chance?

It's common for people to view felons as scum who deserve to be shut out from society. It can ruin your chances of getting a job, housing, benefits and you can lose some rights, including the right to even vote in some areas. You permanently lose your right to own a gun, regardless of if the felony was of a violent nature or not and even if you've paid your debt to society. There's a lot of stigma. People are just using it as an insult and it's rather callous.

 

[SkepticThinker]

The dictator thing amuses me , but I'm sure most of us know that for the next four years we will all somehow survive as a nation. ;0)

Yeah, that's .... hilarious.

 

[Regiomontanus]

So to me, the issue that the Americans are facing seems to be much more severe than just who is sitting in office, their system is not very good at handling these things because of the extreme inequality in the US.

Yes, it is a structural flaw in our system.

In the EU they seem to care about the individual over the corporation. Not in the good 'il USA. It has never been that way here, unfortunately.

 

[Revoltingest]

I think one of the big issues is rising prices, rent, goods etc. after COVID. And as expected you blame the sitting government.

Whom did you think I blamed for what?

I do blame government only for things under its control,
eg, excessive economic damper applied during Covid.

But a lot of this is not solely their fault....

Of course.
That's been a common theme I've proffered.

 

[Trailblazer]

Has life really been that bad for you these last 4 years?

It has not been bad for me because I have more money than I will ever need or use, but such is not the case for the average American and I feel for people who are struggling to make ends meet.

 

[fantome profane]

Are you an American? I ask only because you seem to think that there are no safeguards against such wannabe fascists.

No, I am not an American, and I have never been more grateful not to be an American.

But those safeguards you think exist have been considerably weakened, and will get weaker the moment Trump is sworn in. The Supreme Court has given this impending dictator immunity for his crimes, and his party now holds the Senate, the House and the Supreme Court that I just mentioned. And before 2026 he will make sure that court is made up of at least 7 or 8 Justices who have sworn allegiance, not to the Constitution but directly to Trump himself.

 

[Regiomontanus]

It's common for people to view felons as scum who deserve to be shut out from society. It can ruin your chances of getting a job, housing, benefits and you can lose some rights, including the right to even vote in some areas. You permanently lose your right to own a gun, regardless of if the felony was of a violent nature or not and even if you've paid your debt to society. There's a lot of stigma. People are just using it as an insult and it's rather callous.

We are all flawed, sinful beings. To deprive a person of basic rights because of a shortcoming in their past is, IMHO, wrong.

 

[Truthseeker]

Can you please explain why you think that the American people failed us?
Can you explain why we are bringing hell on America and also the rest of the world?

He may end democracy in America. He has said things that plainly indicated that. You don't follow the news. He wants to unleash the Justice Department on his "enemies", he has said. He has said if he has to he will use the military on protesters. He is taking an isolationist kind of stance on the world. Ideally we would have a world government, but in the meantime the world depends on our leadership against Russia in the Ukraine war, also opposing China taking over Taiwan by force. If Russia takes over the Ukraine that encourages other nations to do the same to other nations. Baha'u'llah said:

Should any king take up arms against another, all should unitedly arise and prevent him. If this be done, the nations of the world will no longer require any armaments, except for the purpose of preserving the security of their realms and of maintaining internal order within their territories.
(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 248)

Unprovoked Russia attacked Ukraine. China wants to do the same to Taiwan.

 

[Revoltingest]

It has not been bad for me because I have more money than I will ever need or use, but such is not the case for the average American and I feel for people who are struggling to make ends meet.

People variously struggled & succeeded under both Trump & Biden.
I wondered if/why things were so bad for the poster when Biden
was Prez. Most people I know found much more work, & higher
pay under Biden....which is not to say that I give him credit for this.
But the impression that things have been worse the last 4 years
doesn't appear to be based on evidence.

 

[Nimos]

I do not like him as a person either, but I care about the American people who are struggling to make ends meet, even though I am not struggling at all.
Let's not play God, let's wait and see what happens.

But I don't think Trump is the solution, the issue is your system that is in the hands of corporations, because you have allowed it. Everything in the US is a business, whether it is your school system or healthcare it doesn't matter, it is all about cash and has nothing to do with people. And Trump is a businessman and is not going to change it, maybe he can patch it a little or maybe even make it worse depending on where his interests are.

But you have somehow allowed the US to turn into a country for corporations and business interests, where people will have to try to survive in this mess. Does anyone not expect that Elon Musk wants something in return for supporting Trump? and all the organisations etc. that have. It's absurd to have a political system so intertwined with companies and organisations which doesn't give a rat's *** about people.

 

[Revoltingest]

No, I am not an American, and I have never been more grateful not to be an American.

We're grateful too.


Oh, come on....someone had to say it!

 

[fantome profane]

We are all flawed, sinful beings. To deprive a person of basic rights because of a shortcoming in their past is, IMHO, wrong.

What does that even mean? What do you mean by "in their past". If I pick up a gun and shoot someone, well that is "in the past" the moment after my finger squeezes the trigger. Would it be wrong to deprive me of my basic rights because of a "shortcoming in my past"?

 

[SkepticThinker]

Believe whatever you want to believe, it won't affect me in any way.

It's not about believing anything.

That was a sarcastic response I gave you. Nobody is ever a dictator for just one day. And there's nothing funny about somehow stating, despite even being given an out to correct the statement - that they're going to be a dictator for any amount of time. He wasn't laughing when he said it either, as though that makes it okay.

Would it make it okay if I told you I were going to rob your house if I was smiling and laughing when I said it?

 

[SkepticThinker]

Please quote him saying that.

BTW, regarding politics, I am as neutral as one can get since I don't follow politics.
I have not even watched any news since my husband passed on 2.5 years ago.

This has been quoted here ad nauseam.

 

[SkepticThinker]

I totally agree. Well, I am a bit of freak in that I am a pro-life Christian - who is also a socialist. But yeah, the D's obsession with abortion turned off many people. That is why I had to hold my nose when I pulled the lever (ok, touched a screen lol) for Harris. And keep in mind that the issue is, as intended by the R's, back to the states. Abortion rights is now enshrined in many states (like NY), so there is no 'ban on abortion.' If you want to kill your unborn child, buy a bus ticket to the state next to yours.

Ugh

Your last sentence is a tad flippant for me, when people are currently dying from lack of healthcare, thanks to Roe v. Wade being overturned.
This is just the most recent one:

A pregnant teenager died after trying to get care in three visits to Texas emergency rooms

It took 20 hours and three ER visits before doctors admitted the pregnant 18-year-old to the hospital as her condition worsened. She’s one of at least two women who died under Texas’ abortion ban.

www.texastribune.org

 

[Nimos]

Yes, it is a structural flaw in our system.

In the EU they seem to care about the individual over the corporation. Not in the good 'il USA. It has never been that way here, unfortunately.

It's sad and kind of crazy when looking at it from the outside, I'll be honest. Obviously things here are not perfect either, but you have allowed your political system to be extremely corrupted by these things. I don't think anyone would be surprised to hear that the medical lobbyists are not speaking the poor person's case, they are trying to make more money.

 

[Kathryn]

It's not about believing anything.

That was a sarcastic response I gave you. Nobody is ever a dictator for just one day. And there's nothing funny about somehow stating, despite even being given an out to correct the statement - that they're going to be a dictator for any amount of time. He wasn't laughing when he said it either, as though that makes it okay.

Would it make it okay if I told you I were going to rob your house if I was smiling and laughing when I said it?

Interesting. Biden reversed many of Trump's policies within days of taking office.

And I guess it would depend on your context.

 

[Regiomontanus]

Maybe not at the start, but I like to think of it as an enticement for businesses to stay stateside and maybe even entice businesses to come back from overseas , so I see a long-term solution to it rather than a short term.

Why would they do that? Production costs are much cheaper elsewhere. Tariffs? Ok, as is always the case, those costs passed on to the consumer. Long-term, there is no up-side to bring production home.