BS: Good luck USA

Subject: BS: Good luck USA
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 08 Nov 16 - 06:10 AM

Hope you don't need it!

DtG

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 08 Nov 16 - 06:31 AM

They'll need it whatever happens. This campaign has been traumatic and damaging and we'll all take long time to recover from it. It would help considerably if Clinton won by a margin that was not too narrow.

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: akenaton
Date: 08 Nov 16 - 07:14 AM

The campaign has exposed the blatant corruption within both Parties......that is the best thing which could have happened.

The American people will probably end up with anther establishment, corporate dynasty, but at least the massive flaws in the American political system and the political media have been brutally exposed.

Next time no one will be able to say "We did not know"

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: Stu
Date: 08 Nov 16 - 08:05 AM

"establishment, corporate dynasty,"

Because Trump isn't corporate at all, isn't part of the corporate machine and lives humbly and behaves according his own deeply held believe in being compassionate to all human beings?

If Trump wins, then corporate capitalism of the worst kind would now hold so much more political power than it does now as an uber capitalist will be in charge, only being reigned in by his advisors and other wonks. It'll represent the utter and profound failure of democracy in the west, and the victory of unfettered, unregulated, pure capitalism. And that is BAD.

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 08 Nov 16 - 08:31 AM

Bruce Springsteen was in good voice last night.

Bottom line is, always vote against anyone who advocates torture.

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: Mrrzy
Date: 08 Nov 16 - 09:21 AM

Thank you! I am pretty sure it's not as close as it seems from the media - that is, if there are 999 reasonable people and 1 loon, the media tend to report 1000 people and here is an opinion, and quote the loon. I'm fairly confident in the 999 reasonables that don't make the news.
That said, I'll go in a while, after a cuppa and get my courage up...

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 08 Nov 16 - 09:25 AM

Mrs Steve and I are horrified by the whole thing. Civilisation is in suspense today. Enjoy your tea. If you catch me posting after UK midnight tonight I may well be under the influence of something stronger.

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: Jeri
Date: 08 Nov 16 - 09:30 AM

Whatever happens, and I believe Clinton will win, Trump has exposed the seedy underbelly of the US, and the racists, insane haters, easily fooled, and those who desire a dictator, have crawled out of the woodwork and into the light.

Where are they gonna go?

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 08 Nov 16 - 09:39 AM

That's the big fear even if she wins. The brexit issue has caused a surge of race hate crime here. What's going to happen to you could well make brexit look like a walk in the park.

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: Stu
Date: 08 Nov 16 - 09:45 AM

"I am pretty sure it's not as close as it seems from the media"

Don't be complacent! If you get stung, it'll hurt a damn sight more than you realise.

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: Donuel
Date: 08 Nov 16 - 10:01 AM

There was about 200 people and 4 strollers in our elementary school polling place at 7 AM that went out the door. It was about the same for Bush in 2004. I saw many Trump voters as evidenced in my opinion of demographics, behavior and dress i.e. red hats etc.. There were no "observers for Trump".

Actual voting was done by a pen filling in an oval space in a booth then in another line scanned by a machine that collated all votes digitally. At one point the streams/lines got crossed but was quickly sorted out. The last step seemed like a weak link by the time all data is transferred to a thumb drive and transported to larger collating machines.
This was still less redundant than last time.

40 minutes total time spent in line until out the door.

The mood was much more quiet, subdued, insulated and self absorbed than ever before.

No one had a clothes pin on their nose.

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: Jeri
Date: 08 Nov 16 - 10:17 AM

I just hope to get there early enough to get a cream cheese & olive sandwich. (Ladies' Auxiliary sells baked goods and sammiches.) Will probably come home afterwards, but I may hang around outside for a bit. I'm tempted to Facebook "live", but I probably won't.

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: Donuel
Date: 08 Nov 16 - 10:18 AM

No photo ID required but after we gave our name and were confirmed with a receipt that went into a paper pocket on a folder we had 3 destinations to traverse while holding our oversized Manilla envelopes concealing our ballot   It was simplicity itself.?

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: Rapparee
Date: 08 Nov 16 - 10:29 AM

Thank you.

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: Charmion
Date: 08 Nov 16 - 11:45 AM

From Donuel: "I saw many Trump voters as evidenced in my opinion of demographics, behavior and dress i.e. red hats etc."

If anyone showed up at a Canadian polling place displaying a partisan symbol or slogan, he or she would be intercepted at the door and sent away to remove the said partisan thingie.

Also, in our elections, campaign signs and materials may not be displayed any closer to a polling place than 100 metres. Partisan poll workers (scrutineers) represent the party that won the last election and the party that came second; they sit together beside the ballot box and make sure that you, personally, with your own fair fingers, insert your ballot -- which is a carefully folded slip of paper -- into the box.

Mind you, our federal elections are simple affairs in which voters are asked only to select their Member of Parliament. With every American election cycle, I am more and more grateful for the Westminster system of government.

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: Stu
Date: 08 Nov 16 - 11:56 AM

I have the good fortune to have several American friends and have met many more, a wonderful people. Good luck!

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: Jack Campin
Date: 08 Nov 16 - 12:00 PM

This is worrying:

Chicago's chances in a zombie apocalypse

The Trumpocalypse has been going on for a lot more than two months.

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: keberoxu
Date: 08 Nov 16 - 12:29 PM

And good luck, Arizona, the state with Joe Arpaio running for re-election as county sheriff....words fail me.

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: Greg F.
Date: 08 Nov 16 - 12:36 PM

Joe Arpaio running for re-election

LOCK HIM UP!!!

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 08 Nov 16 - 01:57 PM

In the light of those posts I'm amazed voting numbers aren't a lot lower in the States. 40 minutes - I'd expect to spend maybe three minutes.

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 08 Nov 16 - 02:01 PM

"Whatever happens, and I believe Clinton will win, Trump has exposed the seedy underbelly of the US, and the racists, insane haters, easily fooled, and those who desire a dictator, have crawled out of the woodwork and into the light."

And those people are allowed to possess guns.......

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: Bill D
Date: 08 Nov 16 - 02:55 PM

I live 'near' Donuel, but vote at a different school. They said that there were LONG lines at 7:00 AM, but there was almost no line at 2PM... they expect longer lines again later. Early voting combined with liberal Maryland has kept things fairly low key. In 2012, I waited in a pretty long line even at mid-day... but there was no early vote then, except for mail.

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: ranger1
Date: 08 Nov 16 - 03:01 PM

I went at 8:45 AM local time. In and out in ten minutes, may have taken me longer to find a parking space. Glad I went early, I hear it was taking about an hour from 10 AM on. And now I wait, fingers crossed for "business as usual" as opposed to "possible Armageddon".

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: Jeri
Date: 08 Nov 16 - 05:15 PM

It took me longer to decide I didn't want the cream cheese & olive sandwich because the crusts had been cut off and find some cookies than it did to vote. Five minutes, maybe. Small towns are great.

Of course, it seems Trump was whining because some people got to vote after the polling station was supposed to be closed. The problem was that they were late getting in. I think the judge wasn't having it. Too bad-registered voters got to vote. I hear they were mostly Hispanics.

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 08 Nov 16 - 05:39 PM

On a hopefully lighter note, a pundit on telly tonight has just said that "tomorrow will be an historic day." well I've just checked every history book written by living historians in the last thirty years on the shelves of a reputable bookshop and I can't find anything in them about tomorrow at all!

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Nov 16 - 06:51 PM

Charmion, anyone in recognizable party or candidate regalia is supposed to be turned away from U.S. polls also. No selfies with your ballot (here in Texas), and lots of other rules to maintain civility. I didn't put a Hillary yard sign up this year because of the risk of Trump supporters vandalizing (they did some damage in town earlier this year). I did see one this morning - more power to them!

I have a canvas bag from the Hillary campaign that I have my dance class gear in. I can't even carry anything like that at work (students can wear campaign stuff, apparently, but for faculty and staff it is verboten). I suppose now that the election is over that bag can come out of hiding.   

One hour and ten minutes until local coverage of election results here.

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 08 Nov 16 - 08:06 PM

I was in line for about 15 minutes. Here in a dying mill town in Rhode Island, in a part of town with small house lots, condos, tenement houses, and apartment complexes, we voted in a furniture store. My wait in line would have been shorter if I'd been in the M-Z line instead of with the A-Ls. It would have been even shorter if the state was equipped with electronic ID scanners. Our poll workers often have trouble with alphabetical order beyond the first letter of last names as they search through their books of registered voters. The only campaign workers were on the proper side of the sign indicating their boundary, and they represented two candidates running for town council in our ward. None of the voters seemed to have any problems, but the only people I saw seemed to be like me--white without accents that I heard or garb that indicated they were anything other than Christian. We've got a lot of minorities in this town. I hope they voted at other times or polling places.

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: Joe Offer
Date: 09 Nov 16 - 01:05 AM

I'm in Arizona tonight. It looks like Sheriff Joe is losing, after 24 notorious years in office. That's one good result of this election.

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: SPB-Cooperator
Date: 09 Nov 16 - 01:24 AM

I started this thread back in February, to which the responses were almost unanimous that the resukt could never happen. Whatr went wrong. Are human beings no longer capable of common sense?



Subject: BS: Trump
From: SPB-Cooperator - PM
Date: 07 Feb 16 - 07:09 PM

A challenge to all American folkies.....

In light of one of your presidential candidates calling for increased and more intensive use of torture, why do you think as a country you have any right to participation on the world stage, and do you think you should be subjected to worldwide sanctions?

ps I know there are a lot of decent people in US, including several personal friends.

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: TIA
Date: 09 Nov 16 - 02:02 AM

I am ashamed to learn that there are so fucking many hateful racist shitbags in USA. Knew there were some, but so many!?!? Really?

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: akenaton
Date: 09 Nov 16 - 02:18 AM

Well you could emigrate, TIA.

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 09 Nov 16 - 03:06 AM

Commiserations. Just try to keep him under control on the world stage and maybe he will not start a war in the next 4 years.

DtG

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 09 Nov 16 - 04:01 AM

I will say here the same as I said of the Brexit vote. I do not believe it is a good decision but it will be nowhere near as bad as the detractors would have us believe. There will be some bad results but there will be some positive things come out of it. Hopefully, like the Brexit vote, it is a shake up of the complacency of establishment politicians. Whether that shake up will be a step too far remains to be seen but we can only hope for the best.

Once more, with feeling.

Good luck.

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 09 Nov 16 - 05:34 AM

Well they say bad things happen in threes. We've had brexit, we've had Trump. I dread to think what the third thing will be.

Perhaps General Zod will return and take over the world.




No, hang on....that would be an improvement...

Subject: BS: A Trump in a circus
From: The Sandman
Date: 09 Nov 16 - 05:37 AM

Trump is a UK slang word for fart. So the presedential election was a fart in a circus

Subject: RE: BS: A Trump in a circus
From: JHW
Date: 09 Nov 16 - 05:57 AM

off she went with a trumpety trump, trump trump trump

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: JHW
Date: 09 Nov 16 - 06:02 AM

I warned you. Just wait for new sign. TRUMP WHITE HOUSE.

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: Senoufou
Date: 09 Nov 16 - 06:18 AM

We have always been told the world would end when the Last Trump sounded. Well, hold on to your hats chaps...

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: Donuel
Date: 09 Nov 16 - 06:20 AM

trump supreme court trump house trump senate trump military

a government shut down this December will be different this time.
it will be a punishing, decimating siege starvation of government workers.

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: skarpi
Date: 09 Nov 16 - 09:55 AM

9/11 again .......what a disaster for the world , a man who have only have half of his brain ...is going to the white house , I feel sorry for you american s ,as I am 1/4 my self I am a shame of it , neither Trump nor Clinton should be a President , the only man who was good enough was Bernie Sanders ...so it will be interesting to see , what will happen in the near future , will he be shot , or will the military and CIA shut up ...that man is a Bad News ...

God help this world

This is just my view ...

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: Donuel
Date: 09 Nov 16 - 12:28 PM

I can only hope Bernie could have fired up America.

the USA as a whole will strive to be a free democracy. Trump hate is not all of who we are, it is the stabbing pain in what we have lost in jobs and homes, wars and fortune to the very rich.

Skarpi, your free speech is dangerous in America.

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: Peter the Squeezer
Date: 09 Nov 16 - 02:05 PM

From Skarpi - "... what will happen in the near future , will he be shot ..."

I remember some graffiti from the days of Ronald Reagan's time as president - "Lee Harvey Oswald - your country needs you now"

Seriously - the repercussions from an assassination would be worse than having to put up with the outcome of the election.

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: Mr Red
Date: 09 Nov 16 - 05:08 PM

The media didn't know because the polls didn't know.

Plenty of voters were too ashamed to admit they were going to vote for Donald J Lump. The media, on Tuesday, were saying that was the Democrat's fear. The polls were wrong because they asked the wrong questions. The media were wrong because they believed the polls.

How you ask a person if he is voting for a cretin is obvious. How you get them to tell you: the man is a cretin and they are still going to vote for one - well would you?

We in the UK warned you. Cameroon got in against the odds. Brexit went the same way. For the same reason. Austria nearly got a neo-Nazi and are gunning for a re-run of that election.

My guess is that the pollsters know the problem, think they had the solution, and patently don't.

Anyone got any possible solutions to tell the pollsters? I don't!

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 09 Nov 16 - 05:18 PM

I think one potential solution is to keep the media in check. It seems to me that rather than reporting the news, they are now making it. People are seeing politics as a big reality show and not realising that the odds are peoples lives and world economies. Fox news and The Sun have become the opium of the masses in place of religion and it has not made things any better.

Just my 2p but if you look at the number of dubious sound bites posted as facts by people on here you will see the effect that the media has had on them. I know we need free speech and freedom of the press but when their freedoms damage the lives of real people it is time to take a step back.

DtG

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: akenaton
Date: 09 Nov 16 - 05:32 PM

I read most of the media throughout the election, it was almost exclusively anti "Donal John" as they say in Lewis(his mother's place of birth)

The most biased by far was the New York Times, a publication which has been described by members as "even handed"

Who gets to decide which areas of the media are moderated? Not Dave I hope!

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: Greg F.
Date: 09 Nov 16 - 05:35 PM

The most biased by far was the New York Times

You really are a freakin idiot, Ake. Give it a rest.

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 09 Nov 16 - 05:41 PM

When any media frenzy starts to affect the lives of millions of people we have a choice. Either let it carry on until we end up with the type of circus portrayed in Science Fiction or we say enough is enough. I had enough years ago and stopped buying newspapers and watching anything but news in brief. I prefer to form my own opinions of world events and in this age of free information it is really simple to see and analyse all sides of an argument. Many people, particularly of the 'old school', either do not or cannot seem to do this. Fine, they have had their day and cannot evolve. It is not their fault. Fortunately my children and grandchildren will see them slip into history as the dinosaurs before them did and their bigotted viewpoints will die with them. I hope!

DtG

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: olddude
Date: 09 Nov 16 - 06:01 PM

I have never been ashamed to be an American. Until this election

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: Greg F.
Date: 09 Nov 16 - 06:06 PM

C'mon Dan, embrace that piece of human excrement that will adorn the White House - he said he's gonna represent all of us.

Don't tell me you don't believe him - just because he can't open his mouth without telling lies out of both sides of it.

Subject: RE: BS: Good luck USA
From: Ebbie
Date: 09 Nov 16 - 06:11 PM

The pendulum of history keeps swinging. When the clock is off balance, the pendulum swings too far in first one direction and then in the other..

I think that the people who oppose President Obama must feel even more strongly than the events of these eight years had shown. They perceive the pendulum as having swung too far and they are correcting it.

And it could scarcely be more opposed:

Where Obama is cerebral and intellectual, Trump lives in the moment and is incurious about the rest.
Obama has class, Trump is crass.
Obama is diplomatic, Trump is reactive.
Obama is faithful, Trump promiscuous.
Obama has two children by one wife; Trump has five children from three wives.
Obama values women, Trump thinks they are on earth for men's titilation.

There are many more conclusions that could be drawn