News Thread 2

When I saw F zero pop up I thought it was going to be another version of that new stick bug meme.

I spent most of yesterday in the sea and I am now very much in favour of living there.

We won't have a choice before too long.

The_Jaster wrote:

When I saw F zero pop up I thought it was going to be another version of that new stick bug meme.

Today I learned that there is a new stick bug meme.

Forgot to say anything earlier:


YESSSSSSSSSS

YES YES YES YES

THANK GOD

Of course it's not the solution to all America's problems, of course there are worrying things thrown up by the election, and of course even with the House Biden would be too centrist to solve a lot of these satisfactorily.  That doesn't mean Trump being kicked out of the Whitehouse like a big screaming orange baby isn't a fat satisfying sigh of relief.  Woohoo!



Post your best Trump losing memes here please.

I've had a very weird reaction over the past few days.

In the run-up to the election, I was convinced Trump would win again. So I started to look for the silver linings.

After Biden loses, at least the Democrats will know that they have to run someone genuinely progressive in future. At least Trump is too incompetent to engage in most of the shady American interventionism that we're used to, with drones illegally executing people left right and centre, and the CIA toppling democratic regimes that don't want to give America all their resources. Well, Biden wouldn't actually roll back any of Trump's heinous acts so maybe it's better to wait until we can get someone decent with more backbone. Well, at least Trump and his supporters are fun to laugh at.

So much so, in fact, that when the election rolled around and Biden came out on top I actually felt kind of bummed about it. I missed the silver lining so much, I couldn't even be glad to see the clouds part.

Ultimately, I have settled a little. I am glad Trump is gone, he was fascist piece of shit. However, I'm not ready to hail Biden as a superhero or the messiah. Will he address any of the actual, material problems that lead working class voters to Trumpism? Will he do anything about systemic racism and inequality? Is he outside of the pockets of big oil enough to solve the climate crisis? Will he be any less of a war criminal than every American president since the start of the cold war?

Watch this space . . .

I don't think the Democrats would have put a progressive forward for 2024 if Biden had lost though. And even as a leftist myself I have to admit they wouldn't necessarily need to put one forward to win. After all, Biden did end up winning without a radical platform. That's how the democrats are.

I think the history speaks for itself, but I don't think the democrats would have changed course for a number of reasons. First of all they don't want to put forward a left wing candidate or even a centre-left one like Bernie. Even if they know a candidate like him is viable, they have the classic excuses to fall back on as to what cost them the election: attacks from the left, not appealing enough to republican-minded voters, etc - in order to discourage such candidates.

As for the result of the election, I guess it's near enough the best we could have hoped for given the choices the US had. Trump lost, and while he wasn't exactly crushed the outcome was still pretty decisive. Biden is projected to beat him around something like 30X electoral votes to 220ish for Trump, and by about 5 million votes. It's not really close as most media outlets are reporting it as - it only seemed close because it took so long for votes to be counted this time around. And Trump was the incumbent. Pretty bad loss for him, even considering the circumstances of the pandemic. He just seemed too crazy this time around and increasingly so towards the election. His declaring that he wouldn't go peacefully probably didn't help him either.

Anyway yeah, Biden is bad and will probably be bad like most other American presidents have been, but he's still a lot better than Trump and is supported by a base that has much better intentions than the Republican's. I could never be okay with a Republican beating the Democrat candidate.

Everyone outside of the US political bubble has accepted Biden's the new president, so that at least puts the rest of the world on a good standing. Trump is already seemingly swapping out senior figures as some kind of puppetry. So I would say that, if somehow he gats away with this, the BBC/other major news outlets should treat America like they do Russia/China; you only hear about them once a month: "this just in: that country sucks more than ours"

Buskalilly wrote:

After Biden loses, at least the Democrats will know that they have to run someone genuinely progressive in future...

Would that this were true mate, but the amount of talking heads blaming the left wing of the Democrat party for Biden's failure to win a landslide is unreal.

It's insane. It's actually the polar opposite of the facts; Democrat victories were all provided by progressives.

I mean, that's why we had Biden over Bernie in the first place, right? Something I've seen a lot is that Americans (and Brits!) like socialist policies, but if you tell them somebody's a socialist they go, 'Ew, no.' The right-wing media's really done a job there.

Buskalilly wrote:

Ultimately, I have settled a little. I am glad Trump is gone, he was fascist piece of shit. However, I'm not ready to hail Biden as a superhero or the messiah. Will he address any of the actual, material problems that lead working class voters to Trumpism? Will he do anything about systemic racism and inequality? Is he outside of the pockets of big oil enough to solve the climate crisis? Will he be any less of a war criminal than every American president since the start of the cold war?

I feel like the answers to all of these are going to start 'no, but'. 'No, but he'll make some reforms in the right direction until he's blocked by the houses.' 'No, but he won't inflame it like Trump did.' 'No, but he's at least rejoining the Paris accord.' 'No, but.'

Which... sigh, yeah. I get where you're coming from. It's not inspiring, but the last four years have been whatever the opposite of inspiring is. Despairing maybe. At least it'll only be modest head-shaking for the next four. (Not thinking about the four after that for now thank you.)

Balladeer wrote:

 It's not inspiring, but the last four years have been whatever the opposite of inspiring is.  Despairing maybe.

I guess I'm in the unusual position that I basically wasn't around for most of the last 4 years. I haven't been in the UK for almost three, and though I've picked up some of the vibes online, I haven't palpably felt the rise in hateful sentiment and so on. To me, the Trump issue is as academic as the Biden one, whereas I guess if you live in Brexit Britain or, to an even greater extent, Trump's America it has been something very real and present.

I'm pretty well shielded from most of it by my relatively cushy job and position, but yep it all feels very real to me. Even in Japan I can't imagine Trump pulling out of the Paris Accord went unnoticed? Climate change doesn't really care where you live... There's also the part where I still follow a fair amount of politics online, whereas I think you've said before that you've tried to draw away from all that. Which I totally get, and just... haven't managed.

There's Boris Johnson in the House of Commons right now, outlining his 'Living With COVID' plan, saying things like 'lol' and 'girfuy' (or something to that effect).

Imagine ending free testing, self-isolation requirements and all legal COVID restrictions. What a fucking weapon.

Don't have much to add to that.  Absolute shyster.  In any reasonable democracy he'd have been impeached already.

Also: today I learned what 'GIRFUY' means.

I'm never going home, am I? The rest of the world is just gonna have to blacklist the UK completely!

I often have BBC Radio Somerset on in the car, and interview's with people most seem to love it because #freedom.

That's bbc journalism though. Fair and balanced is translated to let's hear what loonies have to say and give them the same platform as the sane.

Not all arguments are created equally but you wouldn't know that if tou went on BBC.co.uk

Also in Somerset, love the tories.

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing people that there are two sides to every argument, worth equal weight.

masofdas wrote:

Also in Somerset, love the tories.

Isn't Rees-Mogg their MP? Says it all really.

Yep, ares local loves a photo op with a Saudi Prince.

My parents either are or were living in Mogg's constituency. It is a constant source of frustration for my father that both of my siblings have picked up my habit of wishing death on right-wing politicians

(He doesn't like them or anything, he just wants to see them lose a fair election)

Didn't find out, Andy is now your father though.

Andy's always like "it wouldn't solve anything" and I'm like, it'd solve the problem that Jacob Rees Mogg is alive.

He's got like 20 kids, they'll quickly take his place