tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408194908462305523.post700136176550162367..comments2024-03-27T20:54:34.655+00:00Comments on Bagging Area: STFUSwiss Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13119322217065850020noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408194908462305523.post-16261703861222618182020-11-06T13:46:16.066+00:002020-11-06T13:46:16.066+00:00He's a deeply ugly (in all ways) individual, f...He's a deeply ugly (in all ways) individual, for sure. But more concerning and, to me, ultimately more depressing, is the massive support he attracts in the US. That such a profoundly bigoted, amoral, misogynistic, ignorant and hateful narcissist should be so popular is a desperately sad reflection on humanity. And it's not just the US - Erdogan, Putin, Bolsonaro, Duterte, Jinping et al, all have substantial support in their countries notwithstanding their oppression, vote-rigging and other nefarious activities. And, frankly, I don't know what the answer is to that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408194908462305523.post-73191734612294625542020-11-05T10:25:10.388+00:002020-11-05T10:25:10.388+00:00I think what I meant but didn't articulate abo...I think what I meant but didn't articulate about the troop withdrawals was that it was the suddenness of the withdrawals that was the issue, that without regard for allies or the sudden destabilisation of a country, he made the decisions. It certainly looked in Syria like he made the decision without any care for what developed after US troops departed. It left the Russians in control which feeds into the narrative about Trump and Putin. Don't get me wrong, I don't think the western intervention was advised in the first place and the legacy in Iraq and elsewhere has bene catastrophic. I'm anti- war myself. <br /><br />I agree with you completely about your 3rd paragraph and the lack of accountability. Trump's success and Trumpism is at least partly rooted in his outsider status, a non- politician. Swiss Adamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13119322217065850020noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408194908462305523.post-58086770195971935772020-11-05T09:37:36.230+00:002020-11-05T09:37:36.230+00:00Pulling troops out of Iraq and Syria a mistake? I ...Pulling troops out of Iraq and Syria a mistake? I guess I'm too old school antiwar to even understand that perspective.<br /><br />Your point about Bush is an important one. Not only has he been completely rehabilitated (look up pictures of Michelle Obama hugging him for a fun example), but not a single person who promoted or prosecuted that criminal invasion has suffered the slightest consequence, and many are still in influential positions in politics and media - despite the war being seen by average people as being an interminable bloody shambles that is long overdue to be ended.<br /><br />This instance of blatant lack of accountability for elite failure is just one example in a long list - 2008 crash, healthcare, outsourcing, opioids, I could go on - that add up to a looming crisis of legitimacy for American elites. People's confidence in the ability of their "betters" to steer the ship wisely is haemorrhaging rapidly. This lack of elite legitimacy is a large part of what made the 2016 result possible, and it is the real underlying problem in the country, which Trump is only masking temporarily. Once he's gone, this problem will still need to be solved. It will not be solved easily.<br /><br /><br />There's now enough election data out that you can see that my prediction of increased nonwhite votes for Trump was correct. As I said few understand the real racial situation here, European whites especially so.Swanditchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15316455524375152972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408194908462305523.post-71807723002911281652020-11-03T22:53:46.985+00:002020-11-03T22:53:46.985+00:00POC not POVC.
Foreign policy it now occurs to.me ...POC not POVC. <br />Foreign policy it now occurs to.me includes pulling troops out of Iraq and Syria suddenly and declaring Jerusalem capital, threatening to nuke North Korea and pulling out of the Paris climate change accords so maybe not as uncatastrophic as I first saidAdam Turnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15414090207240064114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408194908462305523.post-66692448495186634722020-11-03T16:58:17.609+00:002020-11-03T16:58:17.609+00:00Swanditch- I don't know if what he's done ...Swanditch- I don't know if what he's done is worse than the invasion of Iraq, not sure how to compare the 2. I do think he has been a disaster in multiple ways. His foreign policy is maybe the only area that hasn't been a car crash- althogh his meetings with Kim looked absurd at the time and moreso now. both men thinking they were playing the other and both thinking they were getting a deal. He gave Kim some legitimacy by meeting him as well, and Kim is a murderous dictator, exactly the kind of leader Trump seems to admire.<br /><br />I do think it's strange how Bush seems to get off the Iraq invasion. Blair is culpable over here. I don't know how the Americans view GWB and it but GWB seems to get a pass on it. Maybe the average American doesn't see what happened after the invasion as a catastrophe. If so, they should watch the 5 part series on earlier this year. <br /><br />The racial situation with POVC voting for Trump is an odd one. Let's wait and see what the stats for 2020 are in a few days. Swiss Adamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13119322217065850020noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408194908462305523.post-40983098892538108612020-11-03T15:53:01.576+00:002020-11-03T15:53:01.576+00:00Relax guys. It's a shoe in, Trump is finished....Relax guys. It's a shoe in, Trump is finished. There is no way he can beat Biden on such a huge voter turnout. I'll eat all my Sun Ra records if I'm wrong!<br /> -SRCAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408194908462305523.post-51241296971749022372020-11-03T15:45:49.583+00:002020-11-03T15:45:49.583+00:00Good post, but two comments:
1) Do people really ...Good post, but two comments:<br /><br />1) Do people really think that anything Trump has done is objectively worse than Bush's invasion of Iraq? Serious question.<br /><br />2) Despite all the talk of his pro-white racism, Trump will get a larger share of all shades of nonwhite votes than he did last time, possibly larger than any R candidate for generations. Few people have any idea what the real racial situation in the USA is.Swanditchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15316455524375152972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408194908462305523.post-11846566545014314712020-11-03T13:56:39.812+00:002020-11-03T13:56:39.812+00:00Please let him be gone. I've spent time in Am...Please let him be gone. I've spent time in America and it's a wonderful place with some wonderful inspiring people in it. Aspects of their culture are simply awe-inspiring and have had world wide cultural influence. How did they get it so wrong in 2016? Please America, do the right thing this time. He has to go and the world needs to move on. The same as we do from Johnson and his corrupt cronies. We can no longer sneer at America, because we voted in this shower of conmen.Nick Lhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10206460139634182926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408194908462305523.post-67001559130230815482020-11-03T12:38:13.180+00:002020-11-03T12:38:13.180+00:00I’ve got the booze inI’ve got the booze inlondonleehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08431179744928331353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408194908462305523.post-38893020225469560902020-11-03T08:26:50.501+00:002020-11-03T08:26:50.501+00:00Unfortunately I feel that he is going nowhere. I h...Unfortunately I feel that he is going nowhere. I hope to hell that I am proved wrong but drewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12469084438125548989noreply@blogger.com