President Trump

[Skanky Vamp]

No...that was the poor soul whose last activity on earth was trying to defuse the snuke in Hillary's sniz..."It's dark...so cold...something is looking at me...wait...I have no quarrel with you..."

Oh. I guess that makes more sense. Yes, that sounds very humorous.

 

[Anyanka Bunny Slayer]

Oh. I guess that makes more sense. Yes, that sounds very humorous.

Check it out on youtube. It's hilarious.
 

That's a bit like saying if you've never acted in or directed a film you can't have opinions on them. I'm entitled to an opinion whether I live in your country or not.

Well, you know what they say about opinions...

 

[thrasherpix]

I'll use the last few posts as an excuse to share an Onion vid that made me laugh...

I think what amuses me the most is it plays off how people think their own preferred news and blogs are somehow objectively obvious to everyone (which is as ridiculous as when some Christian tells a nonbeliever to "look it up" in the Bible when a nonbeliever couldn't care less what the Bible says, and yet the Bible thumper can't understand that, just sees rejecting the Bible as defiance to an objective truth for selfish or evil ends).

 

[November]

Looking in from the arse end of the planet, it was so amusing during the campaign. Even I was shocked at the result, but it really really made sense as more of the information started to trickle down to Oz. The status updates and twitter shock when the results came in were incredibly catastrophic, I felt like it revealed all those who had never faced defeat in their entire lives. They cried LOUDLY that "this is the end of the world, we're all guna die under his presidency waaa waaa WAaaaaaaaaa". And they still haven't stopped, a year on. Worlds still here. That's more what drove me off social media. This constant doom. Trump's a dickhead, but I doubt he wants to end the world. He's ruling the world right now, every outrage brings more power. It shows how brilliant he truly is.

I do not have a political education, I find the forced voting days here too overwhelming. It's too much pressure for my little western mind, I only vote when I can do so by post. I admit to knowing jack shit about politics, but from what media I see here (not US major news networks), he doesn't seem to be doing a poor job in his role.

I am on quite a few US based forums, and one of the big things that stood out to me was the change from obamacare. This looked like a GREAT idea where I stood. Americans were crying that their health system had turned to crap cos it wouldn't cover acne cream :/ they lost the plot when medications that are used to control poor lifestyle were restricted. We are in crisis in Oz with our universal healthcare system. I can not argue that this is the way to manage a countries health. I do think community based care is the way to go- but need far more discussion with people who have experience in this matter before I am solid in any opinion. From my limited understanding of insurance - the giants scare me. The richest doctors find those with the best insurance and milk it for all it is worth. We have a HUGE number of Overseas born and trained doctors working in the public system here as the aussie born prefer to work in the private sector where they can filter the insurance money to benefit themselves rather than the patient. There are definitely situations where I argue no treatment is better than excessive expensive treatment.

Just because we disagree, does not mean that you have to be degrading towards me.

This is the biggest issue I face in talking to those in the US on the internet. As soon as I dont fall into line with their book learnin', I am uneducated/bigot/homophobe//sexist/racist/cis-gender/privileged. Can someone please give me an example of bigoted behaviour so that I stop doing it in front of the Uni students? It's tiring to be labeled in such a hateful way. That isnt coming from the president, its coming from the people who hate the president (and seem to therefore hate anyone who disagrees with their way). Trump has revealed America to the world.

If the majority of people don't hate a sexist and racist pig then I worry about the human race😱

The reality is, many men are racist and even some women are sexist 😱 actually I think the human race is made up more of these people than of those who have grown up in stable, rich, "educated" communities. Why do these terms need to be used as insults in a hateful conceited way? Some humans have had experiences in their lives that make them unable to be comfortable around people of colour or different races or religions. Shutting them down with screaming insults is more harmful than trying to understand the point of view. Talking it out is really a good thing, but lately it seems any difference of opinion quickly turns into a name calling and insults.

Its frustrating as obviously one cannot spread out their entire belief system during discussion, and those who have limited experience outside of their own bubble tend to use labels to describe people they do not yet understand.

 

[thrasherpix]

This is the biggest issue I face in talking to those in the US on the internet. As soon as I dont fall into line with their book learnin', I am uneducated/bigot/homophobe//sexist/racist/cis-gender/privileged. Can someone please give me an example of bigoted behaviour so that I stop doing it in front of the Uni students? It's tiring to be labeled in such a hateful way.

Unfortunately, no. But it's not just that side which uses this obnoxious practice.

However, I can explain it. It's lazy thinking, and it's much easier to attack you as a person rather than actually think about anything you said. If you lash back then it's just chimps throwing metaphoric poo at each other and that's easy and natural. If you have enough class to walk away then in their deluded minds you are conceding the point. The meaning of the word is far less important than the power of it, whether they're calling you a Nazi, (Stalinist) Socialist, or a host of other names including bigot or bully, which is sad because it cheapens what those words actually mean, and as it is I tend to dismiss those terms as someone being overly dramatic again rather even though it could possibly be true. There are plenty of bigots, sexists, and racists, but I dare say most called that are not (and furthermore, some who call others that actually strike me as bigoted, sexist, or racist themselves, even if in a more condescending way).

A mentor of mine called it the "frog spell" in which by name calling they reduce anything you say to "meaningless croaks." She told me that after I had a surreal experience in which within a month I got called both a "leftist loony" (by a Rush Limbaugh ditto head--and he called himself a ditto head with pride, btw, that's not me trying to degrade him) and a "right wing extremist" (by a woman trying to get Al Gore elected POTUS) for saying about the very same thing to both of them (long story short I used the same reasoning against a different issue they brought up). Of course they didn't debate me, just called me names. To actually debate me would mean thinking, and thinking takes more effort and energy than many are willing to expend, especially if it challenges how they identify themselves.

Oh yes, in your specific case, I think it's also people trying to feel better about themselves when they don't actually do anything good. They may not ever volunteer to help the homeless, but they sure will call you names if you dress up as a hobo for Halloween and feel that they actually did something other than meaningless slacktivism, for example.

 

[Anyanka Bunny Slayer]

Such a sweet, sweet memory!

 

[thrasherpix]

I had a mad impulse to balance out the other video I posted above...Bill Maher (who has a lot of criticism about PC police and the like as well, which he accurately calls "lazy liberalism") had me close to tears with this...

Though where it got really good was at the 3 minute mark. (Watching an Obama impersonator say the same lines as Trump just got better and better, especially imagining how Trump supporters would've reacted.)

 

[November]

I think that vid goes to show that language is so important. Obama presented himself as calm and well spoken. Trump never has. He is quite literally speaking on a level that the majority will understand with ease. If Obama had said these things he would have said them in a completely different manner, in line with his image, which may not have translated as well to a portion of society. Trump isnt the first president in America that has bragged about the size of his penis. Obama did not appear to be the stereotypical proud black man, he moved more like a rich white man in a black skin suit. It felt like his image was moulded to appeal to the masses, rather than helping the masses accept diversity. Plain speak and run of the mouth openness was perhaps Trumps best idea.

I dont know who stands for what really, so this is judgement on appearances. I have a hard enough time getting my head around our politics, let alone a country I dont live in haha.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

one of the big things that stood out to me was the change from obamacare.

ACA was quite damaging. Many people lost their jobs because of it and companies went out of business. It also changed the face of the healthcare industry not in a positive way.

 

[Mr Trick]

Looking in from the arse end of the planet, it was so amusing during the campaign. Even I was shocked at the result, but it really really made sense as more of the information started to trickle down to Oz. The status updates and twitter shock when the results came in were incredibly catastrophic, I felt like it revealed all those who had never faced defeat in their entire lives. They cried LOUDLY that "this is the end of the world, we're all guna die under his presidency waaa waaa WAaaaaaaaaa". And they still haven't stopped, a year on. Worlds still here. That's more what drove me off social media. This constant doom. Trump's a dickhead, but I doubt he wants to end the world. He's ruling the world right now, every outrage brings more power. It shows how brilliant he truly is.

I do not have a political education, I find the forced voting days here too overwhelming. It's too much pressure for my little western mind, I only vote when I can do so by post. I admit to knowing jack shit about politics, but from what media I see here (not US major news networks), he doesn't seem to be doing a poor job in his role.

I am on quite a few US based forums, and one of the big things that stood out to me was the change from obamacare. This looked like a GREAT idea where I stood. Americans were crying that their health system had turned to crap cos it wouldn't cover acne cream :/ they lost the plot when medications that are used to control poor lifestyle were restricted. We are in crisis in Oz with our universal healthcare system. I can not argue that this is the way to manage a countries health. I do think community based care is the way to go- but need far more discussion with people who have experience in this matter before I am solid in any opinion. From my limited understanding of insurance - the giants scare me. The richest doctors find those with the best insurance and milk it for all it is worth. We have a HUGE number of Overseas born and trained doctors working in the public system here as the aussie born prefer to work in the private sector where they can filter the insurance money to benefit themselves rather than the patient. There are definitely situations where I argue no treatment is better than excessive expensive treatment.





This is the biggest issue I face in talking to those in the US on the internet. As soon as I dont fall into line with their book learnin', I am uneducated/bigot/homophobe//sexist/racist/cis-gender/privileged. Can someone please give me an example of bigoted behaviour so that I stop doing it in front of the Uni students? It's tiring to be labeled in such a hateful way. That isnt coming from the president, its coming from the people who hate the president (and seem to therefore hate anyone who disagrees with their way). Trump has revealed America to the world.



The reality is, many men are racist and even some women are sexist 😱 actually I think the human race is made up more of these people than of those who have grown up in stable, rich, "educated" communities. Why do these terms need to be used as insults in a hateful conceited way? Some humans have had experiences in their lives that make them unable to be comfortable around people of colour or different races or religions. Shutting them down with screaming insults is more harmful than trying to understand the point of view. Talking it out is really a good thing, but lately it seems any difference of opinion quickly turns into a name calling and insults.

Its frustrating as obviously one cannot spread out their entire belief system during discussion, and those who have limited experience outside of their own bubble tend to use labels to describe people they do not yet understand.

Because the people you describe are consistently put in positions of power, and are allowed to rule over people who have day to day issues they could never understand. If Trump had anything about him he never would have run for the White House in the first place. Its clearly a ego trip for him.

What experiences are you talking about? From my knowledge of the world it has been more a case of people of colour suffering at the hands of White people.

I agree with your point on one level. But what proof is there than Trump isn't any of the things I described him as. Yes there is room to talk to some of his supporters who voted in an honest way. Just like you can't dismiss everyone who voted Brexit as racists, you can't call everyone who Voted Trump and racist. I've never said anything different.
 

ACA was quite damaging. Many people lost their jobs because of it and companies went out of business. It also changed the face of the healthcare industry not in a positive way.

In your opinion you mean? I've heard a lot of positives about that healthcare bill. Besides people losing jobs isn't great, but isn't it a bit more important to give people good healthcare? Not everything is about money. The issue I have with what Trump is doing is him ripping the whole thing up and starting again. I'm sure there are good things he could find in the bill. The skill is to keep those things, lose the weaker parts and add your own.

 

[Taake]

In your opinion you mean? I've heard a lot of positives about that healthcare bill. Besides people losing jobs isn't great, but isn't it a bit more important to give people good healthcare?

From what I've heard it is very varied results depending on where you live. One of the hosts of the podcasts I listen to, stationed in New York, says his coverage got great with ACA and he could afford to fix his teeth and get really good healthcare, meanwhile his mom in Texas got really screwed over in the deal and lost both money and good healthcare. Massive national government arrangements seem to have very different outcomes depending on the individual states and their ability and/or willingness to impliment it. So it makes sense that a lot of people have positive things to say, and an equal amount of people have negative things to say.

Not everything is about money.

Only people with money say that.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

From what I've heard it is very varied results depending on where you live.

I wasn't talking just from an insured/uninsured perspective. I was talking about the numerous orthopedic manufactures that had to drastically reduce their R&D budget (or eliminate it altogether) to account for the changes. That means instead of going out there and looking for ways to improve joint implants, looking for ways to improve our wellness, the budget and jobs associated with that department was cut. The new products, new services, and improvements that came out annually (and in the case of the company I worked with- quarterly) had stopped happening. Stagnation is a dangerous problem for healthcare.

 

[Mr Trick]

From what I've heard it is very varied results depending on where you live. One of the hosts of the podcasts I listen to, stationed in New York, says his coverage got great with ACA and he could afford to fix his teeth and get really good healthcare, meanwhile his mom in Texas got really screwed over in the deal and lost both money and good healthcare. Massive national government arrangements seem to have very different outcomes depending on the individual states and their ability and/or willingness to impliment it. So it makes sense that a lot of people have positive things to say, and an equal amount of people have negative things to say.




Only people with money say that.

Well I don't have it and I'm saying it. What I mean is that decisions made in politics should be about other factors. For example human life, or morality. I'll give you an example. The issue of Fracking. A lot of people who justify it do so because of money reasons. But surely if fracking is placing human lives in danger then that should be more important than the money factor. I tend to think it is actually people with money who see everything from that stand point.

 

[TriBel]

drops mic obama gif | Awesomely Luvvie

Sorry - couldn't be bothered wasting time arguing.

 

[Taake]

Well I don't have it and I'm saying it. What I mean is that decisions made in politics should be about other factors. For example human life, or morality. I'll give you an example. The issue of Fracking. A lot of people who justify it do so because of money reasons. But surely if fracking is placing human lives in danger then that should be more important than the money factor. I tend to think it is actually people with money who see everything from that stand point.

The thing when you say people with money, is that people immediately tend to assume rich people. I mean people with a security net and a chance of a viable income. Saying stuff like "money isn't everything" is a privliged position.
I'm not defending people who want to make a buck out of fracking, I'm not talking Corporations or their leaders. I'm talking people, the people who are so hard up for money that they have to put their lives in danger and work with fracking, because working in a dangerous job is better than not working at all. People who don't know how to put food on the table.

I don't think that money is everything, but that becomes easier to say at a time when I have a job and an income, not a lot of money by any stretch of the word, but enough so that I don't have to - like when I was a child - search for beer cans just to be able to eat at home. A lot of people are in a position I'm fortunate enough not to be in anymore, those people may be open to whatever financial remedies Trump offers because all they want is to be able to support themselves. Saying "money isn't everything" to someone who can barely keep ends together for their family is an enormous insult, even if its is a nice theoretical statement.

 

[thrasherpix]

Plain speak and run of the mouth openness was perhaps Trumps best idea.

That reminds me of a quote...

“As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.” — H. L. Mencken


That said (in Obama voice), Let me be clear (end Obama voice 😉). I don't think Trump is an idiot. In addition to hiring certain companies to plan out his campaign strategy using manipulative psychology and hiring professional trolls (anyone can hire them), he used the same tactics that work so well on so-called reality shows (which often come with their own voting process). I can grudgingly admire that. But not so much for the people that works on.

(And the hate against Obama was as intense and obsessive as the hate against Trump. People who are quick to denounce others as "special snowflakes" and "SJWs" and "feminazis" are just as bad as those quick to denounce others as "bigots" and "racists" and "misogynists" -- note I said "quick to" in both cases. I suppose it's inevitable in a tribalistic society that wants easy answers to complicated problems, though, but that probably means we'll keep shifting from one end of the spectrum to the other in a world that is always unjust and messed up in one way or another.)
 
Btw, to go with the "If Obama said it." I just remembered Jimmy Kimmel's experiment. SIGH. It's being a problem for me to find again. But this one explains it (couldn't find the video for it as I hoped):

Jimmy Kimmel Wows Donald Trump Supporters With Obamacare Rebrand: “Trumpcare”

Taking a a page from Donald Trump’s playbook, Kimmel this week began playing to the president’s base, re-branding as “Trumpcare” the healthcare plan that commonly had been called Obamacare. He urged viewers to sign up during the current open enrollment period.

“I and many of my counterparts have taken issue with a great many things Donald Trump has done in his first year as president. But, I have to be honest, it hasn’t all been bad,” Kimmel conceded on Wednesday night’s show, sticking with his sly script.

“Yesterday I was looking at the White House website…and I have to admit the healthcare plan there is actually pretty good. So last night I encouraged people, even liberals who don’t like Trump, to think about signing up for Trumpcare, at least take a look at it. And some of the people with whom I’m typically at odds on social media actually had some positive things to say.”

He read some of the Facebook responses from Trump supporters:

-“Got to respect Jimmy for keeping an open mind. Goes a lot into healing the divide.”

-“Funny how he made fun of the president for ruining the health care, but now that he’s actually proposing a great plan, Jimmy is praising it. Stupid liberals could have been supportive from the beginning instead of giving those ridiculous speeches.”

More of same on Twitter:

-“Am I dreaming, or is Jimmy actually on Trump’s side for once?” .

-“Too bad you’re just now finding the content of our president’s agenda worthwhile. About time you woke up to smell America again.”

-“Anything is better than Obamacare which is exploding. Some states only have 1 insurance provider Democrats have created a monopoly.”

And another tweeter, named Trevor, said, “Jimmy Kimmel has been pretty hard on the GOP and Trump but even Jimmy would like you to check out this administrations HealthCare.gove website. You can sign up until December 15th!”

Responded Kimmel: “Exactly Trevor. You understand perfectly what’s going on here.”

(A bit more there)

 

[Anyanka Bunny Slayer]

If Trump had anything about him he never would have run for the White House in the first place. Its clearly a ego trip for him.

Why shouldn't he have run? He won, so obviously he knew how to run a campaign.

Oh, and it's an ego trip for every candidate, not just Trump. Only a type "A" personality would attempt such a daunting task.

 

[BuffyBot22]

This is the biggest issue I face in talking to those in the US on the internet. As soon as I dont fall into line with their book learnin', I am uneducated/bigot/homophobe//sexist/racist/cis-gender/privileged. Can someone please give me an example of bigoted behaviour so that I stop doing it in front of the Uni students? It's tiring to be labeled in such a hateful way. That isnt coming from the president, its coming from the people who hate the president (and seem to therefore hate anyone who disagrees with their way). Trump has revealed America to the world.

I'm not quite sure how I am supposed to take this.
But, I never called anyone on here racist or homophobic.
I am clearly more liberal, and I was the one who was attacked by someone who seems to lean more conservative by being called delusional.
I am just so tired of the name-calling from both sides.
Not all Democrats are "butt-hurt, delusional snowflakes"
Not all Republicans are "bigots, racists, sexist, and homophobes."

It just seems easier for some people to insult rather than to actually have an insightful conversation.
If someone has to insult me, then I therefore believe that that person has no valid argument or evidence against what I have said. So instead of admitting they are wrong, they stoop to insults instead.

And as far as I'm concerned, if a person voted for Trump, it does not necessarily mean you are a bigot, but it does mean you endorse bigotry behavior. And that is something I am not okay with.
It does not mean I cannot get a long with a Trump supporter or even love one (I have some family members that voted for him), but I do lose a fundamental understanding of the person who could endorse such hate.

 

[ILLYRIAN]

Press Agent for him has that Donald (duck) Trump (the quackmeister to his friends) has started to read The Witches of Echo Park by Amber Benson

 

[Mr Trick]

Rather than start a new thread I think its fair to pose this question here.

Do you guys think that Trump should be impeached? If not now than when would it get to that stage for you?

The reason I ask is because with him in the White House there's a good chance that we are heading for some kind of cold war IMO. If that does happen I for one think that would be reason enough (though sadly it would be too late by then).