Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: leeneia Date: 20 Sep 24 - 12:36 AM It's discouraging that manyAmericans lapped up CSI stories for years and didn't seem to acquire analytical thought. With the pet-eating rumor, why don't journalists and the man in the street ask the following simple questions: Does Animal Control report more pet owners searching for missing pets? Are teachers seeing woeful little kids whose pets are gone? Are there more flyers posted around town about missing pets? Are more pet owners asking rescue organizations about missing pets? Two predators for small pets are coyotes and great horned owls. Are they moving into Springfield? Great horned owls are increasing in wooded cities, and Springfield looks pretty verdant. Do social-media sites report more pets missing in Springfield? The city government says there are no reports. Is Springfield the kind of place where citizens would ask gov't for help with a pet? =========== Of course the whole idea is ridiculous. Why eat pets when one could go fishing? |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Helen Date: 20 Sep 24 - 02:11 AM There is a joke in Oz which has been around for a long, long time about cooking and eating cockatoos. Place the dead cockatoo in a pot of boiling water with a large stone. When the stone is soft, throw away the cockatoo and eat the stone, i.e. the flesh is too tough to eat. Cats and dogs would probably fall into the same category. I just saw a snippet on the TV news saying that Trump is planning to visit Springfield, maybe to clarify his source of information for this conspiracy theory. Or maybe not - maybe to try to cement his whackadoodle statements into a firmer position in reality. (Like THAT'S going to happen!) |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: mayomick Date: 20 Sep 24 - 08:07 AM It seems more like Russian satire directed against various Western media Meta itself refers to Doppelgänger as a “spoof” |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Thompson Date: 20 Sep 24 - 10:40 AM Kamala started out great guns, but she seems to have gone suddenly quiet. Why is there no news about her now? |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Rain Dog Date: 20 Sep 24 - 01:06 PM I see voting has already started in Virginia. |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Neil D Date: 21 Sep 24 - 01:28 AM Several years ago I read one of the most profound commentaries on America and I regret that I can't remember the author's name. He was a Scottish writer of detective fiction (not Iain Rankin). His protagonist was a detective trying to wind down from a brutal case by visiting America, only to stumble onto a human trafficking ring. None of which ha to do with the commentary. After his adventure he spends his last day in America at a Florida beach where he sees an immigrant family and he muses "The American Dream has never belonged to Americans. It belongs to the people around the world who desire to be American. But when America closes her borders, as she inevitably will, that dream will die." I've never forgotten those words and find them most appropriate now. |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Thompson Date: 21 Sep 24 - 10:52 PM Now you're driving me crackers, Neil - what was that Scottish thriller? Two good pieces in the New York Times about what a victory by Harris or Trump would mean: from last month, Tim Walz and the Weird Politics of Free School Lunches, and from January, Bidencare Is a Really Big Deal. Harris and Walz offer an America where people help each other - where the rich reach out a hand to pull people out of poverty with honest work and decent lives. Is that what Americans want? We shall see; I hope what they want on 5 November isn't Gunpowder, Treason and Plot. |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Neil D Date: 22 Sep 24 - 07:50 AM Driving me nuts too Thompson. At the time I was reading 2 or 3 crime novels a week, many from the far side of the pond. I'm particularly fond of Iain Rankin and Ken Bruen but this was neither of them. It was one I picked up, read quickly and re-consigned to Goodwill and soon forgot the author and title. But that line about the American Dream stuck with me, more and more as anti-immigrant vitriol has increasingly burdened our political discourse. Now, whenever I quote it, I feel bad that I can't properly attribute it. I was kind of hoping some Tartan Noir fan here on the Cat might recognize the plot summary. |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Bill D Date: 22 Sep 24 - 08:53 AM "Kamala started out great guns, but she seems to have gone suddenly quiet. Why is there no news about her now?" Ummm.. I see news about her every day! It's mostly about campaign appearances, but there's also stories about her plans for after being elected. Well, I live in the U.S. and have both TV and online articles. |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Bill D Date: 22 Sep 24 - 08:57 AM Kamala news |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 22 Sep 24 - 10:31 AM During the first Trump administration there were people there to act as the adults in the room, they provided the "guardrails." With Project 2025 we see Trump getting on the bike without training wheels (the Heritage Foundation puppeteers would be less visible second time around). Over time he's learned enough to know he doesn't want responsible people around him, for a 2024 cabinet he would be hiring sycophants only. Right now there is an invitation from CNN to do one more presidential debate on Oct. 23, accepted by Harris but Trump is balking so far. It would be interesting to be the fly on the wall in those discussions. I figure at this point the Roger Stones of his acquaintance are working on as many dirty tricks as they can. |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Backwoodsman Date: 22 Sep 24 - 10:33 AM Not sure about the press and media in Ireland but, here in the UK, they seem to be obsessed with Agent Orange, very much the same way they’re obsessed with Farage. Presumably because they are both ‘characters’ (although another, much shorter, word also beginning with ‘c’ would suit them both better), and ‘characters’ sell newspapers. |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Helen Date: 22 Sep 24 - 04:55 PM Neil D, I know we shouldn't go off-topic too much, but as an ex-librarian I am interested in finding the Scottish detective story author and helping you to correctly attribute the quote. Male or female detective? Have any of the books been made into movies or TV shows? Is the author in this list? Scottish crime fiction writers Any more clues you can give us? You can PM me with more clues if you want so that we don't sully this topic with an unnecessary detour. |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 22 Sep 24 - 05:13 PM Let us know the answer when you come up with it - that was a really good sentiment cited from the book! The news today is that Trump says he won't run again in four years if he loses November election If he is re-elected, though, he didn’t rule out the possibility of appointing former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, tech billionaire Elon Musk or Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to his Cabinet. One would hope that, if we're all so diligent in our efforts that he does lose in November, bigly so there is no dispute, that the GOP will get their heads out of the collective asses and try to rebuild the party to a responsible entity. And in four year's time it wouldn't even come up to consider Trump. And mostly because he'll still be in prison. |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Helen Date: 22 Sep 24 - 07:55 PM I retract the question about male or female detective because I re-read Neil D's first post about it and he refers to the detective as "he" and "him". More clues will help the search. Also any recollections on the detective's name? If we find the answer we'll definitely post it here, but in the meantime I'll refrain from referring to the search here. |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: mayomick Date: 23 Sep 24 - 05:45 AM I wonder if the Scottish writer was paraphrasing Ronald Reagan on the immigrants who embrace the American dream ? "It is bold men and women, yearning for freedom and opportunity, who leave their homelands and come to a new country to start their lives over. They believe in the American dream. And over and over, they make it come true for themselves, for their children, and for others" https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speech/remarks-presentation-ceremony-presidential-medal-freedom-5 |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Helen Date: 23 Sep 24 - 06:43 AM I've sent Neil D a PM with a possible match and I'm waiting for his reply. The book is called Stateside by J.D. Kirk in which the Scottish detective named Robert Hoon goes to Florida. |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Neil D Date: 23 Sep 24 - 08:24 AM Helen, that certainly sounds like that is probably it. Your research prowess is better than mine. I've been scouring Amazon synopses for days ,getting nowhere. |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: mayomick Date: 23 Sep 24 - 08:38 AM Sounds like a match “When Hoon hears that his friend and MI5 agent, Miles Crabtree, has gone missing in the United States, he is dragged back into action once more.” Until you see J.D. Kirk writing that the book was only to be released in July this year , which puts Neil’s “several years ago “ time frame out “Today, it gives me great pleasure to reveal the cover and blurb for the book, which will be published in July 2024. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! https://jdkirk.com/stateside-cover-reveal/ |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 23 Sep 24 - 12:39 PM Back to the Trump presidential news (but good find on that novel, Helen!) Man suspected of assassination attempt against Trump left a letter detailing his plans, prosecutors say He seems to have even offered a bounty (did he have this kind of cash?) One letter, addressed to “The World” said: “This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you. I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster. It is up to you now to finish the job; and I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job. He seems to have had a plan, a half-dozen cell phones, and left copious communications to analyze. Maybe that $150K comes from the sales of his Kindle book (it's still there - $2.99 on Amazon, look up "ryan routh book") Prosecutors say Routh was in the area of Trump’s golf course and the former president’s Mar-a-Lago residence across multiple days in the month before he was arrested and had a Google search of how to travel from Florida to Mexico in one of his phones. The handwritten stuff will nail the case, whereas he might claim that he "found the phones" with the searches already in place. |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Helen Date: 23 Sep 24 - 12:54 PM Thanks guys! My ex-librarian bloodhound instinct might still be working. LOL I did think of publication dates but the plot seemed to fit and reading the plots from the list of Robert Hoon Thrillers Books shows that J.D. Kirk has written about human trafficking. I'll stop posting about it in this thread but I'll be interested in any further developments, including finding the quote and whether it is related to Ronald Reagan's quote, so a PM with further info will be welcome. |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Neil D Date: 25 Sep 24 - 08:06 AM mayomick is right. If "Stateside" was published this year it can't possibly be the one I read at least 7 years ago. I never expected to kick off a literary scavenger hunt but it does seem interesting. |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 25 Sep 24 - 11:40 AM Trump wants chaos, and he wants a government shutdown, but it looks like the GOP led House of Representatives is pitching the dealbreaker that Trump wanted ("it removed a proposal demanded by Donald Trump that would require Americans nationwide to show proof of citizenship to register to vote.") House poised to pass a bill to avert a shutdown after dropping Trump voting plan GOP leaders plan to rely on Democratic votes to pass the bill as they face internal defections. Fears of a shutdown before the election are motivating them to abandon their demands. I'm trying to post links to articles everyone can open, but the headline on the Atlantic is a good one: Republicans Are Finally Tired of Shutting Down the Government Despite all the chaos of their narrow House majority, Republicans have avoided disaster. The lesson that the GOP is having difficulty taking in is that when they act rationally they get bipartisan support and the work of governing is much easier. Trump wants it to be more difficult, so he can grandstand on different positions that are blocking functioning government. |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Helen Date: 25 Sep 24 - 02:03 PM So SRS, some good may be coming out of the Trump era. (I never thought I would catch myself saying that!) The GOP, or at least a chunk of it, may finally be realising the true reasons for being elected representatives of the people, i.e. making decisions for the good of the people and the country. We can only hope, but I think that sometimes the best changes in life come out of the worst experiences, bringing a change of course based on a desire for better outcomes. |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 25 Sep 24 - 02:54 PM What they all want is to pass this legislation because the sooner that happens they all go home and take the rest of the time off until the election. They won't be back until after November 5. They're all campaigning and raising money, harder to do when they actually have to do their jobs. Trump will have one less cudgel to use against Biden/Harris/Democrats when the House isn't there in session doing and saying stupid things. |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Helen Date: 25 Sep 24 - 03:19 PM I just watched the Oz TV show Planet America. According to their analysis, Mark Robinson, a candidate for Governor of North Carolina, is also one less cudgel to use against Biden/Harris/Democrats. He has become a liability and not an asset for Trump. Mark Robinson may be in hot water with Trump and his voters after latest controversy |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 25 Sep 24 - 03:46 PM Robinson's campaign people have resigned en masse. I think Trump watchers are waiting for the day when he says "Robinson who?" |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Thompson Date: 28 Sep 24 - 06:21 AM Tell me this, Americans, why are people over there so obsessed with immigrants? I see Kamala Harris is now treating immigration as a danger as well as the other yoke. |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Backwoodsman Date: 28 Sep 24 - 07:11 AM I agree, Thompson. It’s so deliciously ironic that a nation made up almost entirely of immigrants and their progeny seems to be losing its collective shit over immigrants. |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 28 Sep 24 - 11:10 AM No, Thompson, she isn't, you've misinterpreted whatever newsbyte you heard. She's trying to get the comprehensive border bill passed that in fact offers a lot of help to immigrants as far as getting hearings much faster and better care when crossing the border. The bill that was a bipartisan project earlier this year but Trump told GOP house members to drop because he wanted the mess to continue so he could run on that issue. Trump really is all in it for himself, he doesn't care at all about making things better for anyone else. |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: robomatic Date: 28 Sep 24 - 01:28 PM We've probably gone into the subject more than once in the MUDCAT, but the issues of Americans and immigrants goes back to before the beginning. And it is definitely a case of what I like to call: "Regression to the ironic." And it knows no party, except the Know Nothing party. I've already got a hat. |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Dave the Gnome Date: 01 Oct 24 - 08:58 AM Interesting analysis by Robert Reich in the Guardian. |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Mrrzy Date: 01 Oct 24 - 09:16 AM 5 weeks |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 01 Oct 24 - 12:21 PM Dave, there is a powerful subtext to this election that people are forgetting. Argue about border issues, about tarifs, about Trump wanting to roll back all of the cases against him, and you have a seething, angry, determined LARGE population of girls and women determined not to end up victims of a dystopian future where they are breeders for the xtian nationalist cult or are crone caregivers for those women and babies and the mangled women who have poor outcomes from pregnancies. |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: MaJoC the Filk Date: 02 Oct 24 - 12:10 PM Is it just Herself's impression, or does Vance appear to others to be using The Handmaid's Tale as a leadership manual? |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Helen Date: 02 Oct 24 - 02:33 PM LOL MaJoC. Funny not funny!! ou beat me to it. I was just about to post that looking at JD Vance, with his cold blue eyes and deadpan face looks like he would be dangerous to women in his life. Possibly another #MeToo man - but I'm just picking up the vibe and I could be totally wrong. |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: The Sandman Date: 02 Oct 24 - 02:51 PM The problem with people smuggling across borders, is tryng to deal with organised crime. Neither of the two candidates has said how they will stop illegal people smuggling across the mexican border., or have they, and how much of a problem is it for the USA? |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: The Sandman Date: 02 Oct 24 - 02:55 PM https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0jp4xqx2z3o bbc source |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 02 Oct 24 - 05:25 PM Trump's attorneys tried mightily to prevent the release of the indictment documents by Judge Chutkan, but she released them today. That genie is out of the bottle, even if through various appeals the Supreme Court eventually were to declare them off-limits. Of course they were released before the election, how else can the electorate know the legal standing and dubious status of the candidate who is running in order to try to shut down all of the criminal trials. The public has a right to know. Key takeaways from special counsel Jack Smith's major filing in Trump's 2020 election case The 165-page document is available for anyone to read, and the political pundits are racing through the chapters like a tag team so they can report back to online hosts quickly. One of the first read out on MSNBC this afternoon had to do with pages deep in the document, testimony of a White House aid hurrying into the dining room on January 6, 2021 to tell Trump that Pence has been moved to a more secure location. Trump's response was along the lines of "so what?" The cases and the election are separate threads here, but they do overlap on occasion, such as when the behavior was so bad on January 6 that the electorate need to know in order to make an informed decision. Anything more about this will go in the trials thread. |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: keberoxu Date: 03 Oct 24 - 02:41 PM This year, Election Day and Guy Fawkes Day are the same day, as has been pointed out elsewhere. An omen? |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Raggytash Date: 03 Oct 24 - 04:37 PM Not really as Guy Fawkes night has nothing to do with America and everything to do with England, Wales and Scotland. |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 03 Oct 24 - 11:08 PM Trump is stumping, lying about FEMA and help to the states hit by Hurricane Helene. Stating that they're out of money because Biden spent it all of illegal immigrants. Total fabrication (even his VP candidate couldn't go with that lie - he acknowledged the FEMA work today). His campaign style is dangerous; people who can't get complete news at this point, with little power, no internet, only radio if they can get a local signal - if they are so unlucky to land on news of Trump's words he is just inspiring even more desperation. |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: SPB-Cooperator Date: 04 Oct 24 - 12:31 PM FEMA are calling out the lie on their website but they are being diplomatic and referring to it as a rumour. |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 05 Oct 24 - 03:27 PM Netanyahu is pushing a lot of buttons in the Mideast that have a toxic ripple effect. Democrats suspect Netanyahu attempting to tilt Trump-Harris race Democrats increasingly suspect Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to interfere in U.S. domestic politics by ignoring President Biden’s calls to negotiate a peace deal in Gaza and by confronting Hezbollah and Iran weeks before the U.S. election. Further down the page Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have pressed Netanyahu for nearly a year to negotiate a cease-fire deal, and U.S. officials say that the Israeli prime minister largely agreed to one privately before later backing away. |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 06 Oct 24 - 01:01 PM Trump returned to the scene of the first assassination attempt in Butler, PA. For what point it's hard to tell. Attention, mostly, and a larger turnout, just to see if anything else happens? |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 07 Oct 24 - 11:47 AM We have noted the meddling in US politics by Israel and Russia, but enough about the fighting by Israel: an old thread has all of the moved posts so duke it out over there. Acknowledging that interference is probably Netanyahu's goal doesn't mean that whole war needs to be transacted here. Take it to the older thread. There has also been reporting about Putin's attempts also - when Biden dropped out this report came out pretty quickly, dated September 17. Microsoft said the video and its laundering through a sham news site was consistent with the tactics of an influence operation it has tracked in previous reports. Researchers at the misinformation-tracking company NewsGuard have linked that operation to a former deputy sheriff from Florida who now lives in Moscow. Right now hurricanes are taking the lustre off of political campaigns (those that tell the truth, at any rate). The impact of Helene in the US southeast doesn't mean those people stopped caring about the politics - they may care more now, knowing that FEMA needs to continue to be funded to help them for long after this election season. Victims of Katrina lived in FEMA trailers for years as new homes were found our built. Apartment assistance paid for as families moved out of destroyed neighborhoods to surrounding states. Anyone who thinks Trump is going to dismiss and dismantle the system in place will be desperate to vote, if they can find a way to do it. Once they've got a shelter and found or recovered family members. It's a mess at the moment. |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 07 Oct 24 - 12:21 PM Newsweek is tilting toward Trump with a recent article that quotes a critic but doesn't get a FEMA response about Helene rescue work in North Carolina (other federal people talk about the response, but none from FEMA. They're probably too busy.) And the usual Trump drivel about "they used it all up for immigrants" came up again, but at least they answered that with correct information: Scrutiny about FEMA spending has increased in recent weeks after FEMA spent money on assisting communities across the country dealing with an influx of migrants through its Shelter and Services Program (SSP). The program had a budget of $640 million for the 2024 Fiscal Year, which ended on September 30. Biden will have to work with Congress (who hold the purse strings) to get additional funds to FEMA in the face of this colossal storm. It happens every few years. I'm sure Harris will be consulted and participate in the process. Will the GOP House cooperate? Probably, since so many of the affected states have mostly GOP representation right now. |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Backwoodsman Date: 07 Oct 24 - 01:44 PM ”We have noted the meddling in US politics by Israel and Russia, but enough about the fighting by Israel: an old thread has all of the moved posts so duke it out over there Errrrrrmmm…clicking the link results in “Access Denied”. Fixed. ---mudelf |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 07 Oct 24 - 03:07 PM How Two Billionaire Preachers Remade Texas Politics. The article is a gift from the New York Times - these are the kinds of folks inside the US who are meddling with our politics. The subhead: They control Republican politics in the state. Now they’re poised to take their theocratic agenda nationwide. Damned scary stuff. More scary stuff from Trump (not gift, may have to try different browsers to read): Trump’s Plans Could Increase U.S. Debt While Raising Costs for Most Americans A new analysis finds that Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald J. Trump’s plans would both add to the deficit, but Mr. Trump’s proposals could create a fiscal hole twice as big. |
Subject: RE: BS: American Presidential race 2024 From: Thompson Date: 07 Oct 24 - 04:20 PM Is Newsweek tilting or was it always right-inclined? Reading Time for the first time in yonks, I'm saddened by how lightweight it's become. Used to be not bad on news. |