General US Politics

[Rezzy]

Bit of shock over here I'm pretty sure. Nothing official said yet.

Also, was hearing his presidential acceptance speech. Holy crap, it really is that simple language, and it makes sense he'd get as much votes as he did. Also we couldn't help but make the comparison of a line that sounds like it came from, of all things, Paw Patrol. I'm not trying to joke about this, there's a line where he went "no dream is too big" and we all noticed it. (And we have that idea because my niece loves that show). It's kind of incredible that those were the words out of a president. Though no, I do not think he's going to be a great president.

So no, not enthusiastic. My parents are taking note of his ownership of a golf course in Doonbeg, and linking the two as a good thing, but I'm not seeing it.

Is Paw Patrol that show about puppies being cops and fire fighters and stuff? My 2 year old son watches that all the time.

[Jotari]

How's the rest of the world taking this turn of events?

As one of my friends proudly said, for the second time this year, the value of an Irish passport has increased dramatically.

[Life]

I know that nobody will believe me but this election is bittersweet.

It's great that Hillary lost to even a baboon. It's terrible that we chose a baboon.

Conservatism died today and I knew that it would happen. We sold our souls to keep our principles. We'll see what that cost really entails in the next 4 years.

[James Bond]

I hope he will make America great, because then the world will also be great. I want to hope so anyway, but I always keep my expectations low...
On a different note, I also hope he will have nothing to do with the Greek debt anymore.
And that it will be a matter for Europe alone to solve (and hopefully Greece's only.)

Edited November 9, 2016 by James Bond

[blah the Prussian]

Interesting. What do you see potentially happening regarding future relations?

To be honest as long as the Czech Republic remains part of the EU we're fine. Zeman is a complete douchebag, but he's also the President of a Parliamentary Republic, so he's a figurehead. The Prime Minister is liberal, and they have quite the relationship (Zeman's joked about outright MURDERING him, so that's one over "jail the bitch"). Overall barring some upset I don't see the Czech Republic leaving the EU, and we're too far away from Russia anyway.

[Water Mage]

Trump's victory is causing the Global Market to plummet.

I wonder what that means for thr US.

[Jotari]

Bit of shock over here I'm pretty sure. Nothing official said yet.

Also, was hearing his presidential acceptance speech. Holy crap, it really is that simple language, and it makes sense he'd get as much votes as he did. Also we couldn't help but make the comparison of a line that sounds like it came from, of all things, Paw Patrol. I'm not trying to joke about this, there's a line where he went "no dream is too big" and we all noticed it. (And we have that idea because my niece loves that show). It's kind of incredible that those were the words out of a president. Though no, I do not think he's going to be a great president.

So no, not enthusiastic. My parents are taking note of his ownership of a golf course in Doonbeg, and linking the two as a good thing, but I'm not seeing it.

Well didn't Obama very publicly quote Bob the Builder in his campaign? Seems to be a running theme.

[Time the Crestfallen]

Trump's victory is causing the Global Market to plummet.

I wonder what that means for thr US.

Recession is probable, a depression is also possible, but I don't think that's very likely.

[UNLEASH IT]

Trump's victory is causing the Global Market to plummet.

I wonder what that means for thr US.

This happened with Brexit as well.

[Dayni]

Is Paw Patrol that show about puppies being cops and fire fighters and stuff? My 2 year old son watches that all the time.

Yep. And I'm pretty sure I have lost sanity to it. And I'm only an uncle.

Back on president Trump, I find it interesting that the popular vote did do in Trump's favour. Not by much, but it's rather telling that even if the Electoral college wasn't a thing, he still won. The full results will be interesting to analyse I think.

[Rezzy]

I hope Trump turns out like Chester A. Arthur. He was a crook, but when he became president, he actually cracked down on corruption quite a bit.

Arthur was president from 1881-1885, succeeding Garfield after he died from being shot.

[Shuuda]

It's days like this that make me glad not to be emotionally invested in politics. Should be an interesting episode of Have I Got News for You.

[Res]

The rest of Europe hasn't forgotten what England did, believe you me.

Yeah; humor aside, I am truly ashamed of my home country and wish I could apologize on its behalf.

The jury is still out. Have faith!

EDIT: Considering the date, I think we've won now guys!

Ha!

Okay, thoughts before I go to bed:

So surveys do show that ultimately, it was largely white people who voted for Trump; and while we should absolutely listen to the disenfranchised voters, especially in the poorer, rural areas, there were also many people whose votes were fueled by bigotry, and asking minority groups to be considerate of the opposition, when their opposition are their oppressors (historically and currently), isn't okay.

goodnite everyone, I'll leave you all with some words

I remember when I was in high school a teacher told me something.the quickest way to kill a friendship, is to talk about religion or politics.don't let this year's election ruin your friendships.

It depends on the nature of the friendship and the reason someone voted; but generally speaking, I couldn't be friends with a Trump supporter, since certain issues are too important to me. Just like I expect someone who was very pro-life, to take an example of one issue, couldn't be friends with me. I'll listen to opposing viewpoints, but I neither have to agree or respect them (if I consider them to infringe upon others' rights).

Having said that, I found all Trump supporting friends I had removed themselves from my friends lists. I never endorsed any political candidates and I generally avoided most hot issues (if you've read my posts in this forum, you've pretty much seen the extent of my online arguing) but apparently posting pro-indigenous rights and pro-LGBT posts was enough for most. Oh well!

[UNLEASH IT]

It's days like this that make me glad not to be emotionally invested in politics. Should be an interesting episode of Have I Got News for You.

Honestly waiting on Bill Maher, Trevor Noah, John Oliver and Colbert to comment on these things when their shows air. Bill Maher in particular, especially with reactions like these https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNF_mao9HLY, which may have done the opposite of what it intended

[Life]

Trump's victory is causing the Global Market to plummet.

I wonder what that means for thr US.

False.

​My dad has worked in stock markets his entire life. At the start of the election, it was down 5%. When Trump officially won, it was only down 2.5%.

The only reason it went down was because of the uncertainty.

[Water Mage]

People are really giving presidents more credit then they are worth. They aren't the real decision makers Congress is and nobody likes them.
THINGS A PRESIDENT CANNOT DO:

-Reverse any Supreme Court decision:

This includes Obergefell v. Hodges, which made same-sex marriage a constitutional right; Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, which reaffirmed a woman’s right to choose first articulated in Roe v. Wade, another Supreme Court case. Grutter v. Bollinger, which instituted affirmative action, the entire body of Civil Rights case law, plus anything related to due process, including the right of minors to due process, your right to an attorney, Miranda rights, inadmissible evidence, etc.
(Even if Trump appoints the worst possible SC nominee, they still can’t reverse any of these decisions without a really significant case coming before the Court with new facts, and then they have to write an opinion stating how this case is different than that other case…it’s unlikely to happen.)


-Write law or repeal any existing law

While traditionally, presidents have exerted influence on the legislative agenda (see, Obama’s role in advancing and promoting the Affordable Care Act) they cannot actually write or pass legislation. Bills, joint resolutions, concurrent resolutions, and simple resolutions must be introduced in the House by a Representative.


-Presidents cannot strike down law.

Only Congress can repeal laws, and only the Supreme Court can strike them down as unconstitutional.
Presidential influence is just that—influence.
(And if—for example—you are hated by 95% of the party you joined last week, and burned all your goddamn bridges by insulting them at various points in your campaign…..they’re unlikely to partner with you in crafting legislation.)


-Make any law or declaration that infringes in any way on the rights of the states


So in the US, most of the rights are reserved to the states. You name it, it’s a state-run power. Criminal procedure and law? States. Medicare and Medicaid? States. The definition of marriage? States. Insurance, health departments, housing, unemployment benefits, public education, all these are state programs. And the president cannot infringe on those powers given to the states.
(This is why down-ticket voting is so important, because Mike Pence as governor of Indiana had 800x the power he’s going to have as VP.)


-Declare war.


This one is the most complicated, because with the advent of our “conflicts” in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, etc. there has been a significant shift in the articulation of the war doctrine, and it is one of the least restricted of the president’s “restricted” powers. But, despite all that, a president still has no power to declare war.

-Unilaterally appoint heads of administrative departments

-Unilaterally make treaties with foreign nations

Essentially, while presidents have a lot of power, it’s mostly unofficial—they can’t make sweeping laws, they can’t overturn existing rights, the most they can do is refuse to enforce them (which is absolutely a threat! and a problem!) but we aren’t electing de facto royalty here.

Presidents are really just figureheads or spokesperson. They barely have any significant power compared to the congress hell most of their laws they try to push would get quickly shot down. There's a reason why congress is so unpopular with the public yet no one has the drive to do anything about it.

[ping]

This article might be a good indication of how Germany feels about the election.

Honestly, I suspect there will be a LOT of smugness coming up, too, so that people can distract themselves from the fact that racism, nationalism and xenophobia is rising pretty heavily in Germany, too. The AfD (the newest right-wing party here) won't take over the chancellorship for the foreseeable future, but they're at 10-15% in polls, so they're very likely to be voted into parliament next year.

But hey, at least we don't have Trump as our president, right? So we're still doing fine, right?! is what I expect the general sentiment to be. We've been very smug when the US voted for Dubya the second time, so this speculation on my part isn't even groundless.

[Life]

I haven't watched this show yet but I absolutely adore this video.

Gotta do this.

​

[Achelexus]

When he announced his campaign, everyone said he'd not get serious support.

When he got serious support, everyone said he'd never make it past the primaries.

When he got past the primaries, everyone said that he could never beat Hillary.

The celebrities didn't want him, the media didn't want him, the politicians didn't want him, the billionaires from wall street didn't want him. But boy, the population wanted him.

Admit it, SF, in the end of the day, you really can't stump the trump.

[The Geek]

When he announced his campaign, everyone said he'd not get serious support.

When he got serious support, everyone said he'd never make it past the primaries.

When he got past the primaries, everyone said that he could never beat Hillary.

The celebrities didn't want him, the media didn't want him, the politicians didn't want him, the billionaires from wall street didn't want him. But boy, the population wanted him.

Admit it, SF, in the end of the day, you really can't stump the trump.

I'd argue it was less that people wanted Trump and more that they didn't want Clinton.

At least that's the sentiment I see more of.

Edited November 9, 2016 by The Geek

[Magical CC]

I'd argue it was less that people wanted Trump and more that they didn't want Clinton.

At least that's the sentiment I see more of.

People want Bernie. But DNC have to be retarded and push Bernie aside to make Hilary their chosen one. DNC didnt want an outsider like Bernie and rigged against him. The whole fiasco with Bernie certainly drove away a large amount of people. I remember someone said that Trump is actually the worst matchup for Hilary and man, they were right. DNC thought there's no way Trump can win but he did. Oh boy.

Edited November 9, 2016 by Magical CC

[Rezzy]

Well, I hope no friendships end over any of this. I'm not huge on Trump, but I'll accept the results and hope for the best. I'd be thinking the same if Hillary had won. I'd have preferred someone else, but that's what we've got.

[Time the Crestfallen]

People want Bernie. But DNC have to be retarded and push Bernie aside to make Hilary their chosen one. DNC didnt want an outsider like Bernie and rigged against him. The whole fiasco with Bernie certainly drove away a large amount of people. I remember someone said that Trump is actually the worst matchup for Hilary and man, they were right. DNC thought there's no way Trump can win but he did. Oh boy.

Yep. If there's one thing I've learnt from this election, it's that both major parties are absolute wankers. The DNC shot itself in the foot by making Hillary the chosen one and the fact that someone like Trump was able to win the primary in the first place says a lot about the state of the GOP.

[Jotari]

People are really giving presidents more credit then they are worth. They aren't the real decision makers Congress is and nobody likes them.
THINGS A PRESIDENT CANNOT DO:

-Reverse any Supreme Court decision:

This includes Obergefell v. Hodges, which made same-sex marriage a constitutional right; Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, which reaffirmed a woman’s right to choose first articulated in Roe v. Wade, another Supreme Court case. Grutter v. Bollinger, which instituted affirmative action, the entire body of Civil Rights case law, plus anything related to due process, including the right of minors to due process, your right to an attorney, Miranda rights, inadmissible evidence, etc.
(Even if Trump appoints the worst possible SC nominee, they still can’t reverse any of these decisions without a really significant case coming before the Court with new facts, and then they have to write an opinion stating how this case is different than that other case…it’s unlikely to happen.)


-Write law or repeal any existing law

While traditionally, presidents have exerted influence on the legislative agenda (see, Obama’s role in advancing and promoting the Affordable Care Act) they cannot actually write or pass legislation. Bills, joint resolutions, concurrent resolutions, and simple resolutions must be introduced in the House by a Representative.


-Presidents cannot strike down law.

Only Congress can repeal laws, and only the Supreme Court can strike them down as unconstitutional.
Presidential influence is just that—influence.
(And if—for example—you are hated by 95% of the party you joined last week, and burned all your goddamn bridges by insulting them at various points in your campaign…..they’re unlikely to partner with you in crafting legislation.)


-Make any law or declaration that infringes in any way on the rights of the states


So in the US, most of the rights are reserved to the states. You name it, it’s a state-run power. Criminal procedure and law? States. Medicare and Medicaid? States. The definition of marriage? States. Insurance, health departments, housing, unemployment benefits, public education, all these are state programs. And the president cannot infringe on those powers given to the states.
(This is why down-ticket voting is so important, because Mike Pence as governor of Indiana had 800x the power he’s going to have as VP.)


-Declare war.


This one is the most complicated, because with the advent of our “conflicts” in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, etc. there has been a significant shift in the articulation of the war doctrine, and it is one of the least restricted of the president’s “restricted” powers. But, despite all that, a president still has no power to declare war.

-Unilaterally appoint heads of administrative departments

-Unilaterally make treaties with foreign nations

Essentially, while presidents have a lot of power, it’s mostly unofficial—they can’t make sweeping laws, they can’t overturn existing rights, the most they can do is refuse to enforce them (which is absolutely a threat! and a problem!) but we aren’t electing de facto royalty here.

Presidents are really just figureheads or spokesperson. They barely have any significant power compared to the congress hell most of their laws they try to push would get quickly shot down. There's a reason why congress is so unpopular with the public yet no one has the drive to do anything about it.

It's kind like the inverse of the Queen of England who technically has a load of power but with in the realms of reason can't really do shit (I'd find it very amusing if a monarch of England lost their mind one day and decided they wanted to nuke somewhere only for the population to just say no).

In light of it all, there's a Simpsons quote that I wish was more popular. Something along the lines of "This paper isn't afraid to tell it like it is! Every thing is fine."

Well, I hope no friendships end over any of this. I'm not huge on Trump, but I'll accept the results and hope for the best. I'd be thinking the same if Hillary had won. I'd have preferred someone else, but that's what we've got.

The prompt for this months Serenes Write Your Butt Off Competition seems hilariously apt right now.

[Time the Crestfallen]

Every single member of the DNC and a solid chunk of left-wing people need to read this.
http://www.vox.com/2016/4/21/11451378/smug-american-liberalism