Election Day 2016 Megathread

[Cap]

I think he has the ability to do damage that will take us decades to fix.

That's optimism. When it comes to climate change, he has the ability to do damage that can never be fixed.

I did read that because of polution, we've delayed the next ice age that would have occurred in 50,000 years by another 50,000 years.

Oh, you read that somewhere? OK, I'm convinced. Pollution is good.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/14/world/ice-age-postponed/
No need to get all snarky and salty. I didn't say that pollution was good.

Then what's your point?

[In2ition]

That's optimism. When it comes to climate change, he has the ability to do damage that can never be fixed.

I did read that because of polution, we've delayed the next ice age that would have occurred in 50,000 years by another 50,000 years.

Oh, you read that somewhere? OK, I'm convinced. Pollution is good.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/14/world/ice-age-postponed/
No need to get all snarky and salty. I didn't say that pollution was good.

Then what's your point?

First off, I am not for pollution at all, and I know damage has already been done. I'm not a climate change denier, but I also think there are some people on an extreme side of this. I was just giving some info I found interesting and in a way oddly optimistic. I also read that all the planets in the solar system are going through a bit of global warming right now, and so maybe some of the angst over Trump doing damage that can never be fixed could possibly be a bit overblown.

[Cap]

Inaction on climate will lead to sea livel rise and devastation of ecosystems all over the globe. Cyclical variation in solar out are very small and have no impact on this. That is the overwhelming consensus of scientists who actually study the matter. It isn't overblown.

[ShelC]

I think it's a little overblown when a DNC staffer tells leadership that they're going to die of old age while he dies of climate change.

[Cap]

Sure, if your definition of overblown is "Some random nobody, somewhere, made a wisecrack that isn't literally true." That's a pretty ridiculous definition.

The attention being paid to the subject, and the action being taken, is far too little. It is "underblown" in the only sense that matters.

[specialsauce]

Sure, if your definition of overblown is "Some random nobody, somewhere, made a wisecrack that isn't literally true." That's a pretty ridiculous definition.

The attention being paid to the subject, and the action being taken, is far too little. It is "underblown" in the only sense that matters.

That is obviously depending on the person you ask.

This is nothing that is going to drastically affect us or our children. You're talking about preserving the earth for the distant future, none of which we will be alive for. There are more important things to worry about that will impact our generations.

[Cap]

True enough. The way to cope with this is to keep in mind that it's not my problem; the billions of people who will pay the price for this aren't me. I'm not Muslim, LGBT, or Hispanic, and I'm not a parent. I should just focus on making my remaining years as pleasant as possible for me, and not worry about today's minorities and tomorrow's everybody, because there's extremely little I can do to help them.

For my own, selfish concerns, the biggest threat is what trickle-down economics might to do to the economy, and the stock market, on which I personally depend for money. And if the stock market is my biggest problem, then I'm one of the lucky ones. I'm not happy, but I wouldn't trade places with the people I'm worrying about, and if I'm not actually doing anything to help them, then I guess merely "worrying" about them and complaining about their fate is a kind of spiritual masturbation. I voted for Clinton and Kirkpatrick; I lost; now it's time for me to shut up about the election because I'm not accomplishing anything by complaining about how it's going to affect other people.

And Trump's victory doesn't guarantee inaction on climate change. It may still be possible to act. Just gotta find a way to make it profitable for Trump.

[specialsauce]

I'm not religious but I am middle eastern; I do worry some about the changing climate with the incoming Trump administration. Nothing I can control at this point, and he won the election and nothing short of impeachment is going to change that. And if he is impeached, Mike Pence takes over right? Not much better. I do think these protests are silly; they are not going to accomplish anything. It is absolutely a 1st amendment right though, whether I agree with their cause or not. The only problem I have is when they march down streets and shut down traffic, they should immediately be arrested.

I too voted for Clinton, Kirkpatrick and Penzone, BTW. At least Arpaio is gone, hopefully he's not long for this world that racist arrogant POS.

[Cap]

Arpaio is gone from the Sheriff's office, but he's probably the next Secretary of Homeland Security. That's not better.

[specialsauce]

Arpaio is gone from the Sheriff's office, but he's probably the next Secretary of Homeland Security. That's not better.

I'm really counting on that being just a rumor.

[In2ition]

Arpaio is gone from the Sheriff's office, but he's probably the next Secretary of Homeland Security. That's not better.

I wanted Arpaio out too. His arrogance was his undoing. Once you think you're above it all, it's probably overdue for a change.

Do you know something that no one else knows about an appointment? I hadn't seen any concrete positions offered, but I've seen you guys report it like it's a done deal. I sure hope Arpaio is far away from any position at this point.

[Nodack]

http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/13/politics/ ... index.html
Donald Trump named two top advisers to his administration Sunday, tapping Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus to be his new chief of staff and Steve Bannon, the Trump campaign CEO and executive chairman of Breitbart News, as chief strategist and senior counselor.

I bashed Trump for his rumored picks saying he wasn't draining the swamp like he said he would. Today he picked Preibus who is the chairman of the Republican party as his chief of staff. Not exactly draining the swamp but, actually seems smart to me. His followers might not like it but, he is usually politically bulletproof with his followers anyway. Obama wanted to drain the swamp and brought in some new people and never was able to connect politically. Bringing in Preibus will connect Trump with the "establishment" GOP.

Steve Bannon as cheif strategist? Now that is scary as hell.

http://www.dailywire.com/news/8441/i-kn ... en-shapiro#
An ex Breitbart employee that quit after Breitbart and Trump joined forces his his take on Bannon.

https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/grap ... ve-bannon/
This man is the most dangerous political operative in America


A Tweet:Super excited for another day where the candidate with the CEOs of Fox News and Breitbart on his payroll continues whining about media bias.

So how will Priebus and Bannon do together? It seems Preibus is there to speak Republican to the party and Bannon is there to speak alt right to Trump. Just my quick two cents.

[ShelC]

It was naive to think Trump would roll into Washington with 4,000 "outsiders" to run the government and enact his policies. Preibus is the bridge.

Bannon is bad news all around. Extremely troubling he's going to wield such power and will have Trump's ear. Hopefully Trump has enough sense to shut him down on policy issues and is just being loyal to a guy who stuck by him when everyone else was running for the hills a month ago.

[specialsauce]

It was naive to think Trump would roll into Washington with 4,000 "outsiders" to run the government and enact his policies. Preibus is the bridge.

Bannon is bad news all around. Extremely troubling he's going to wield such power and will have Trump's ear. Hopefully Trump has enough sense to shut him down on policy issues and is just being loyal to a guy who stuck by him when everyone else was running for the hills a month ago.

[Mori Chu]

Trump's 60 Minutes interview was a load of hot garbage. He hasn't learned anything. He'll be a disaster.

[Nodack]

Well, if he pisses off his own party enough he might end up being the guy to unite the two party's. United against him.

[Mori Chu]

Ernie Johnson addresses his comments about the election that drew a mixture of praise and criticism. I believe EJ said he wrote in John Kasich in his Georgia vote because he didn't support either major-party candidate.

http://www.si.com/tech-media/2016/11/13 ... n-religion

[Nodack]

43% of the eligible voters did not vote.

[Superbone]

43% of the eligible voters did not vote.

I was really surprised to find out that this was the least attended US presidential election by percentage ever!
Not that I have any confidence the result would have been any different if every eligible voter had voted. But it does show a general apathy for both candidates.

[Nodack]

We need to find a better way of finding the best person to lead our country than we have right now.

If I were in charge of the universe I would make our elections a reality TV show like American Idol. It would be on PBS. Hold auditions. Tape two weeks to narrow down the field to 25 and make it a two show time frame for the auditions. Those applying have to take a test on general knowledge a President should know. How well do they know economics, history, world events and leaders. If they can't pass the basic one they don't make it any further. If they pass, then they face a panel of non partisan expert judges or even partisan judges that get to narrow it down to 25 people who they think are the most qualified. The top 25 go on the show and over a 8 week season they go through a battery of things that test their knowledge, temperament, communication skills, empathy, leadership skills, decision making on hard choices, etc. Ask them real world questions like what would they do about health care and ISIS. How would you bring back jobs, etc. They all go through the same thing so we can really judge them fairly. I think I would make it a rule never to mention party affiliation. No party's on the show, just candidates. After it hits the top 25, the people vote every week on who stays or goes. After a total of 10 weeks we have a winner who America decided was the best qualified.

There would be no more negative smear campaigns unless the candidates wanted to smear other people as part of the show when they get their time to talk. That kind of behaviour would be totally unclassy and deemed petty on any other reality TV show where they compete like American Idol. Attacking the other candidates was 99% of the 2016 Presidential campaign. No more Super Pacs. They spent over a billion dollars on this last Presidential campaign. On my new "American President" show, contestants aren't paid and don't pay anything to enter. The cost of the show is reimbursed by the advertisers. Any surplus goes towards the debt.

I could see making all out politics that way. The next Secretary of Defense is the guy who was the winner of the Secretary of Defense show. He isn't hand picked by the President, he is the guy deemed most qualified by America who applied/auditioned. That show comes on Tuesdays right after the Secretary of State show. Being a politician then wouldn't be a lifetime career unless America really liked you. The previous winner is automatically in the top 25 if they choose to continue next election time. The states could hold their own shows on local TV.

Dumb? Maybe but, not as dumb as our circus we have today in American politics.