Is it just me or if you zoom in really close you can see the cord running along the table into the phone?
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Yes you can.
Iâm sure you do and I bet most of it is MSNBC. This is why I always find it ironic when people (mostly boomers) complain about the internet or social media radicalising people. Explains why the country is so polarised too.
Itâs hard to tell if it is a shadow or a cord. For that reason, this is such an odd thing for Trump to make an attack on. The man is bonkers.
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An interesting look via Frontline at the comparisons of Trump V Harris - their history and stances as part of their election tradition of âdecisionâ features youâll need a VPN to view.
No doubt Four Corners will air this in a couple of weeks over 2 weeks.
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The New York Times editorial board isnât holding back! A good and true report on the choice the US have in this election.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/30/opinion/editorials/kamala-harris-2024.html
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In some more positive political news, Jimmy Carter has become the first former president to become a centenarian. Happy birthday to him.
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Happy birthday to him. I believe he entered hospice a few months back.
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I think Carterâs presidency and loss to Reagan couldâve been a sliding door moment for the world. Imagine if Carter had won another term instead of Reagan. Would America be a lot more different than it is today? Probably not too much but at least they wonât be hawkishly trying to fight and start wars everywhere and trickle-down economics wouldâve never been a thing.
Carter, for all his faults, and his lack of flair and personality, was a good president. In contrast I never saw the appeal in Reagan. He seemed like a bit of a sleaze in the way he talked and comes across as fake, not to mention his disdain for social reform and his obsession with supply-side policies that enriched the wealthy and pretended that it would all âflow downâ to the less fortunate.
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I think both Reagan and Thatcher were both sliding door moments in many ways, but primarily the economy. Reagan in particular slashed taxes for companies and the rich and set the scene for massive government debt and underinvestment, and failed trickle down economics. It really was him that set us on the trajectory. His government also removed the impartiality requirement for news and media, resulting in Fox news. In hindsight some really bad decisions, putting it mildly. It really does appear in retrospect that he wanted to push the middle class back down.
As for Thatcher she was probably the lesser of two evils, but still. I saw a few clips of her TV interviews recently and forgot how creepy she actually was. Really creepy.
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Both of them had that sense of creepiness about them in their tenures, yet they were also extremely capable of pulling wool over the votersâ eyes and win landslides. Goes to show that people are willing to vote against their own interests even if theyâre being lied to.
If only a progressive leader had that ability to pull it off here and there (and before anyone mentions Clinton or Tony Blair, both were more centrist than progressive).
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I recently read some book that covered Regan and my god was it an abject disaster. What an asshole he was. Absolutely destroy the US economy and it wasnât really set on an even keel until Clinton.
As is the case here the right gets in and guts the place and then the centre left comes in and repairs it all.
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There you go again
I mean, people say he provided America with an economic boom. Where and when did that ever happen in the 80s? All I remember was that debt was at an all time high and any benefits that the economy inhabited was moreso a correction effect after the oil and energy crisis which happened to (surprise surprise) take place during a Democrat President. He only cared for the upper echelons and yes they boomed, at the expense of Middle America, yet they still voted for him over Carter and Mondale in unprecedented landslides, not to mention Bush Sr over Dukakis (who in todayâs world, would be called a leftardâs leftard).
Heâs also so old that my grandparents could be his kids which is ironic given the GOPs obsession with Bidenâs age when Reagan was just as old when he left office.
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Agree about the 80s. It was a different time though and despite the evidence to the contrary now, people did believe back then that conditions were improving. The working class felt they could move upwards and so did the middle class. It was the story that was told in the âgreed is goodâ decade. It wasnât till the end of the 90s or even later that the reality of what had actually happened started to sink in. Both Clinton and Blair even bought into the false dream of neoliberalism and trickle down economics, that started with Reagan and Thatcher. BTW Iâm not generally a raging leftie either, and some of the hard left thinking these days doesnât sit well with me.
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Funnily enough, the political dynamics back then was diammetrically opposite to today. Reagan was a Californian and Carter hailed from Georgia of all states, and going even further back, LBJ was from Texas (!) and Nixon was also Californian. Neither of them would probably imagine states like Texas and Georgia turning from solid Democrat to hardcore Republican whilst California is a Democrat powerhouse after decades of flip-flop Republican support.
Me neither. Iâm supportive of many progressive issues that lie to the left (e.g. Two-state solution, climate action, social equality) but the leftâs grandstanding and anger issues take away a lot from their appeal.
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Well October is here, the month that will define the winner.
Dems off to a shaky start it seems. The VP debate was somewhat more civil, however Vance came across as incredibly polished (regardless of the lies which nobody ever seems to check), Walz not so much. The debate didnât do the Dems any favours.
Iâm not sure which way this ME conflict is going at the moment, however continued escalation wonât be doing the Harris campaign any favours, especially when you have Trump who keeps pushing the peace card under his watch.
I had a feeling some October surprises might appear. Iran is the first on that front. Continued escalations in the Ukraine and ME might sink Harris here. It seems the general consensus from voters is the Biden Administration has lost its grip when it comes to Israel and other conflicts. The issue for Harris, is she is part of that administration.
Week 1 October, Trump is ahead. Who knows what the coming weeks will bring, expect anything.
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As opposed to Trump who seems to think Israel should have carte blanche to do what it wants. Funny how he loves his strongmen, isnât it?
The Democrats absolutely cannot rest on their laurels. Harris has a 60 Minutes interview coming up this week and this is her best (maybe last) chance to set her records/policies/positions straight. She needs to push that sympathetic angle towards Palestine/Lebanon as much as she would have to stick with the governmentâs position on Israel. Sheâs gonna have to put Immigration on the table and promote that bipartisan bill and its purposes. Sheâs gonna have to put it all out otherwise Trump 2.0 here we come.
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