by Grania
Welcome to the penultimate episode of Election2016 With a Vengeance. Tomorrow should be more of an epilogue than an action sequence. Scratch that. It had better be more of an epilogue than an action sequence.
The deep and bitter divisions in society right now seem to have reached simmering point, and have in no small way been helped along over the years by talking heads on both sides of the spectrum some of whom now seem to regret ratcheting up animosity and resentment in their audiences. For more on this, check out the two articles linked in Sean Carroll’s tweet.
From opposite sides, Glenn Beck (https://t.co/nIkHr23srF) and Bill Maher (https://t.co/sWlmqxLVAc) regret crying wolf. Danger is real now.
— Sean Carroll (@seanmcarroll) November 7, 2016
If I wish anything from my place on the eastern edge of the Atlantic Ocean, I hope that next week, and more importantly next year, the USA has a government that strives to function as best it can to serve its people effectively, rather than return to the Cold War style of blockading everything they possibly can to stymie the efforts of their ideological opponents to govern.
If you’ve had enough of this sort of stuff – and who can blame you – here are some soothing kittens:
https://twitter.com/EmrgencyKittens/status/795124830496559104
And here’s a dog who truly understands the meaning of the word Priorities.
This is Bruce. He never backs down from a challenge. 11/10 you got this Bruce pic.twitter.com/aI7umZHIq7
— WeRateDogs® (@dog_rates) October 23, 2016
Over in Dobrzyn, Hili has a Cunning Plan.
Hili: These hazelnuts must be put on the window sill.
A: Why?
Hili: There was a red squirrel there in the morning. It might come back.
In Polish:
Hili: Te laskowe orzechy trzeba wystawić za okno.
Ja: Dlaczego?
Hili: Była tam dziś ruda wiewiórka, może wróci.
We have two bonus appearances this morning from felid friends of Jerry.
Leon: Do you have something for me?
Carol sends this in on Gus.
We’ve emptied the water out of the pond for the winter but somebody still wants to drink from it…
Trump apparently dramatized the fear and hatred many white Americans feel for people different from themselves, ones who differ racially or religiously. If Clinton hopes to “bring us together,” she must say, “White racist lives matter.” If she can say that, what’s the next step? The American populace needs to be “homogenized”? Individuals of different races and religious views socializing, getting to know each other as individuals. What a weird theory!
Trust me on this : you do not want me to break into song.
WWhat we need is a great big melting pot …
… turning out coffee-coloured people by the score.”
Which raises the question of what hot water & caffeine product is Trump covered in?
What difference does it make what “color” people are. Skin color is obvious and trivial.
I have to take issue with Bill Maher’s point. When George W Bush won, there were many of us on the East side of the Atlantic who thought he would be catastrophic, and actually, yes he was catastrophic in some ways, the Iraq war being the primary example.
As Frankie Boyle said, there was a time when we thought Bush was the absolute rock bottom, who would have guessed there would be a level so far below him.
I agree. Crying wolf is not an accurate description and Bush Jr. administration was a disaster of historical proportions.
Well, over there on the eastern edge of the Atlantic ocean that is a nice optimistic thought, however, one cannot plan on it. If the republicans become even more unhinged after defeat today and the other party gets much smarter… There I go acting like the optimist.
I’ll just watch Hili and the gang.
Maher is correct that electing Romney wouldn’t have changed his life – because Maher can afford to give a million dollars to a candidate! He’s overlooking that Romney would have nominated someone to replace Scalia – someone whom the Republicans would have been willing to confirm.
Maher is right, and the trend to demonizing those whom we don’t agree with 100% has been turned towards HRC, not just by Republicans, but some Democrats as well. If Trump should manage to win this election, that will be the reason. But if things go the other way and Democrats win, then I’m not sure how the rifts can be healed. I think the only chance is if Democrats take at least the senate in addition to the presidency, and the house in the mid-terms. Then, conciliatory gestures can be made safely. But if we only win the presidency, the obstruction and bad feelings will continue until the system collapses.
I disagree, and HRC really doesn’t seem to support your position. HRC and her spouse have been targets of demonization for decades, largely by the Republican Party but, as you say, also from Democrats and liberals.
The rift has been purposely very much enlarged by the Republican Party over the past several decades. They have continuously lied to their base to try and create the false belief that things are much worse than they really are, especially for them personally, and that things are going to get even worse, catastrophic if the Republican Party doesn’t win. They’ve continuously lied that Republicans will improve their economic standing and that Democrats will cause economic disaster. It isn’t a matter of opinion, the raw data clearly shows these things to be lies. You can show people the data, but for those who believe the Republican maskirovka it just doesn’t matter. Democrats and liberals are not the cause of the current over sized divide.
I agree, and that is why I said that Dems can only afford to be “nice” if they have a solid majority.
Rita, you point was perfectly clear. Both sides vilify the other side but are unable to admit they do it. darrelle proved this by ignoring any vilification by democrats.
I am a libertarian and find Trump to be the least libertarian candidate ever. But I am so tired of the progressives’ constant vilification and lack of empathy for half the population. It really tempts me to vote for Trump. But he is so vile that I will stick with Gary Johnson.
If you wish to claim I ignored any vilifying by Democrats you are free to do so, but the evidence of my written comments is there for all to see that I did not.
The tone of your comment suggests you think I was intent on being rude or dismissive to Rita in some way, as you were to me in your comment here, but that is not the case.
Back to Curtis, you apparently don’t have a clue about what I think, nor should you necessarily, but you also shouldn’t assume. Here is an example of what I do think. The accusation that has really been doing the rounds this election season, that progressives vilify and have no empathy for the plight of half the population is bullshit^2. Does that fit some progressives? No doubt. But, 1st of all it isn’t half the population, not even close. 2nd, the majority of progressives clearly do have empathy for the “half” you are talking about. Not least because most progressives are in exactly the same boat, economically speaking, as the “half.” They are often neighbors and coworkers. Not to mention that helping people to be the best they can be is kind of central to a progressive view.
What progressives do tend to vilify, and I sure as hell do, is the Republican Party machine that has, over decades, cynically and with false intentions, convinced that “half” that progressives are the next best thing to evil and don’t give a shit about them. Even though economic data from the past several decades very clearly shows that the plight of that “half,” and nearly everyone else as well, has significantly increased under Democratic administrations and significantly worsened under Republican ones.
Ultimately, we all need to stay united after this tough selection process. Here are five ways to help people agree to disagree. https://bossinthemiddle.com/2016/11/07/5-ways-to-live-in-harmony-after-a-tough-choice-an-election-special/
That Glenn Beck article linked to by Sean Carroll is scary — and the New Yorker interview with Beck it links to, scarier still. I mean, Glenn Beck actually making sense? What other signs of the apocalypse will follow — days of darkness, oceans of blood, a plague of boils?
Don’t look for much in the way of Kumbaya moments after this election. Assuming Hillary’s elected, she should do alright negotiating with the Senate, even if Democrats don’t win a majority, since she has solid working relationships with some on the other side of the aisle from her eight years of serving there. But the U.S. House of Representatives will remain under Republican control, and decades of vicious GOP gerrymandering have stocked it with a hardcore cadre of wingnut denialists who will do everything they can to spike Madam President’s legislative agenda.
I’m looking at the political division in the US this way: It is quite natural for a large diverse nation to lack political cohesion. It has been a two party republic since the beginning. The thing that has kept it together up to today is that leaders expend effort to unite each end of the spectrum. They talk of our nation like a family with differences that can be bridged. They adopt calming language whenever thing get too hot. And in times of war we unite against a common enemy. Lately though, we haven’t seen these signals from all the players. When he first took office Obama thought he could count on the patriotism of the republicans in congress to work with him on at least some issues. That’s when we began to see that there were too many forces working to tear down the fabric of society for their own aggrandizement. Trump is just the culmination of that inability for leaders and opinion makers to hold the nation in one piece. After the election, no matter which way it goes, I see no reason to think this culture war will end.