The Otherworldly Circus - The America Thread

[Norm De Guerre]

The fix is in , they are now making a President a King !
Maybe I run

It's a fix that has been in the making for 50 years due to the Federalist Society playing the long game and working towards having a conservative super majority of partisan hacks sitting on the Supreme Court. Thus entrenching oligarchical rule throughout the country and enabling a winding back of 60+ years of many progressive social, working and environmental agendas in the country. Given they are equally in the pocket of big spending backers the Democrats have had a hand to play in this as well as they've just sleep walked through the entire process as a democracy destroying 5 alarm fire has been erupting all around them.

Todays decision was as bad as it was predictable. But with its delay until the courts final sitting day its had the desired effect of at best punting any decision about Trumps crimes into the long grass of years of discussions between different levels of the judiciary about presidential immunity. And at worst and in all reality gutting the entire process to the point of pointlessness before it's begun.

Thats bad enough, but there will be a time when Trump is gone from the world stage. The Republicans understand this and its why they've been so intent on stacking the Supreme Court with its lifetime appointees safe in the knowledge that regardless of who in power thats where the real power of political, economic and society defining changes are made. The lasting effect of the Supreme courts power grab 4 days ago when it comes to their ruling on the Chevron deference will have much longer and chilling effect on American society than Trump, Biden or any politician ever will.

We've just arrived at the last stop of The Federalist Societies end game.

Next up is the dystopian nightmare of The Heritage Foundations Project 2025.

They face some choice. One I doubt most voters understand the gravity of which they will soon make...

 

[King Harold]

It's a fix that has been in the making for 50 years due to the Federalist Society playing the long game and working towards having a conservative super majority of partisan hacks sitting on the Supreme Court. Thus entrenching oligarchical rule throughout the country and enabling a winding back of 60+ years of many progressive social, working and environmental agendas in the country. Given they are equally in the pocket of big spending backers the Democrats have had a hand to play in this as well as they've just sleep walked through the entire process as a democracy destroying 5 alarm fire has been erupting all around them.

Todays decision was as bad as it was predictable. But with its delay until the courts final sitting day its had the desired effect of at best punting any decision about Trumps crimes into the long grass of years of discussions between different levels of the judiciary about presidential immunity. And at worst and in all reality gutting the entire process to the point of pointlessness before it's begun.

Thats bad enough, but there will be a time when Trump is gone from the world stage. The Republicans understand this its why they've been so intent on stacking the Supreme Court with its lifetime appointees safe in the knowledge that regardless of who in power thats where the real power of political, economic and society defining changes are made. The lasting effect of the Supreme courts power grab 4 days ago when it comes to their ruling on the Chevron deference will have much longer and chilling effect on American society than Trump, Biden or any politician ever will.

We've just arrived at the last stop of The Federalist Societies end game.

Next up is the dystopian nightmare of The Heritage Foundations Project 2025.

They face some choice. One I doubt most voters understand the gravity of which they will soon make...

Thanks Norm, you articulate it far better than me , 100% correct. ( plus I’m a lazy bastard )

The dissenting paper makes very interesting reading, particularly for some of those Trump fans on our board.

When something doesn’t make sense , as in the decision, it is just no good.

 

[grassman75]

Thanks Norm, you articulate it far better than me , 100% correct. ( plus I’m a lazy bastard )

The dissenting paper makes very interesting reading, particularly for some of those Trump fans on our board.

When something doesn’t make sense , as in the decision, it is just no good.

I wish people in this country would pay as much attention to politics in this country as they do to the USA.

A lot of people need to wake the **** up

 

[geoffjennings79]

I wish people in this country would pay as much attention to politics in this country as they do to the USA.

A lot of people need to wake the **** up

I'd suggest anyone invested in the US atm is most likely just as, if not more, invested in domestic politics. I know I am. I'm a life-long keen follower of Australian politics, but with the availability of in-depth reporting, it's easier to also follow what is happening politically across the globe, especially in nations where there is a direct link to our own place in the world.

The Aus Politics board in the SRP forum on BF is heavily utilised by discerning posters.

 

[King Harold]

I wish people in this country would pay as much attention to politics in this country as they do to the USA.

A lot of people need to wake the **** up

It is exactly why I’m invested in watching the going’s on in the USA.

The blueprint to what the far right in the US are doing will undoubtedly have consequences here and around the world.

Trump is just a useful idiot for them, but he is an entertainer that might just get them over the line this time, and they only need this time !

 

[dogwatch]

I wish people in this country would pay as much attention to politics in this country as they do to the USA.

A lot of people need to wake the **** up

That's not to say US politics isn't relevant to us though. There are good reasons for us to be engaged with the US election and concerned about certain possible outcomes. Just as there is with leadership change or lifelong entrenchment in China and Russia. We do get more visibility of what's happening in the USA.

 

[geoffjennings79]

grassman75 - in spite of the similar sentiment in the 3 replies to your post (the other 2 even partly sounded like something I might write!), I'd just like to clarify that King Harold dogwatch and I are not the same person. At least I don't think we are!

 

[dogwatch]

grassman75 - in spite of the similar sentiment in the 3 replies to your post (the other 2 even partly sounded like something I might write!), I'd just like to clarify that King Harold dogwatch and I are not the same person. At least I don't think we are!

 

[BrisDog]

It is exactly why I’m invested in watching the going’s on in the USA.

The blueprint to what the far right in the US are doing will undoubtedly have consequences here and around the world.

Trump is just a useful idiot for them, but he is an entertainer that might just get them over the line this time, and they only need this time !

Our right or far right are not full whacko’s. Even Dutton. What is happening over there will not be replicated in Australia. Kind of glad we are still a monarchy!

 

[Turtleman3]

Our right or far right are not full whacko’s. Even Dutton. What is happening over there will not be replicated in Australia. Kind of glad we are still a monarchy!

It's mostly our compulsory voting (and elections on a Saturday as well as pre and postal voting that allows all to take part), our AEC running our elections with consistency throughout the nation, and the preferential voting system that are our greatest safeguards I believe. That the leader and ministers also have to be elected members of Parliament works in our favour too.

 

[Next Waiting]

 

[MrChristo]

Trump on the other hand is the exact character he plays on 'The Apprentice.' Apparently off camera he can be charming and good company. As soon as the camera goes on he gets into character. Like when he says he's going to play handball with NATO over military funding, NATO becomes one of the contestants on his show. He uses the same faux aggressive tub thumping style & language.

The exact opposite.

Bill Pruitt was a producer. Have a read what he has to say in an article he wrote a month ago.

 

[Leon]

I watched the movie “Lincoln” the other night.

Wonder what the Republicans of that era would think of the current mob

 

[geoffjennings79]

The exact opposite.

Bill Pruitt was a producer. Have a read what he has to say in an article he wrote a month ago.

For 20 Years, I Couldn’t Say What Donald Trump Did on the Set of The Apprentice. Now I Can.

The con we pulled on America just won’t die.

slate.com

 

[bresker]

I'm no Trump fan, but last time he got elected there were dire predictions, and the sky didn't fall down.

The economy grew, and has continued to grow. However 'economic growth' is a facile measurement of how content a nation's citizens are.

I like to watch a fair bit of citizen journalism from the US on YouTube. The old rust belt & coal belt are In bad shape.Huge areas are derelict and crime ridden. Massive opioid addiction thanks to big pharma . Inner cities look like homeless encampments. One of the more liberal cities in the States, Portland Oregan made the well meaning but foolhardy decision to decriminalise drugs.Now half the town is covered in tents.



It's problems like these that politicians seem powerless to tackle.

Then there's the young black men imprisoned for 30 years for making a bad decision when they were 18. Obviously they're criminals but the prison documentaries are heartbreaking.

What does it matter who is in charge ? Really

 

[BrisDog]

What does it matter who is in charge ? Really

Domestically it does it you are a woman who wants to have control of their own body. Domestically it does it you want separation of powers from the Supreme Court to the White House.

Internationally it does it you want NATO to exist and Russia to stop at Ukraine rather than take Poland, Moldova etc etc.

Trump will dump Aukus in my opinion. What the f**k do we do then? Send Liam Jones to our northern border to protect us?

 

[bresker]

Looks like the individual states & supreme court have the say on abortion rights, and I'm not sure what Biden has done about it? Has he even made much noise? Meanwhile Trump has been making equivocal statements on the subject on the campaign trail.

Many Washington insiders quietly accede that the war in Ukraine isn't going anywhere. Its a perpetual stalemate. Of course, war is good for business and the weapons being supplied aren't charitable donations. The Ukrainian people will be paying them off for years. Businessman Trump will have to parley with Lockheed.

If I was yer average American Ukraine & Nato would be well down my list of priorities. Just as they are for Aussies. People pretend to care , but most lost interest after the first 20 minutes of thst TV show.

 

[Doggy Dan]

For 20 Years, I Couldn’t Say What Donald Trump Did on the Set of The Apprentice. Now I Can.

The con we pulled on America just won’t die.

slate.com

Interesting read. The ‘Pig in a poke’ idiom is also the origin of “the cat’s out of the bag”; the moment the con is realised. Unfortunately despite this feline cum felon being wholly revealed, a huge swath of people are still gobbling up the ‘pork’ pies!

 

[ScragCity]

Some say the end is near
Some say we'll see Armageddon soon
I certainly hope we will
I sure could use a vacation from this stupid shit

 

[bresker]

Trump isn't the scary one. He's not a fundamentalist Christian , but many of his inner circle are. They pray for Armageddon.

Trump and the Politics of Armageddon

The protests, related violence and killings that were sparked by the American embassy move to Jerusalem is unlikely to shift hard-line Christian opinion about Israel

politicalquarterly.org.uk

"
Most worryingly, those Evangelicals who take the Bible seriously include Donald Trump’s top team, who meet weekly under the supervision of biblical literalist Ralph Drollinger. When Trump isn’t available in person he gets a full summary and tweets his support.

Drollinger holds extreme conservative views, including being a climate change denier, who thinks homosexuality is a sin and opposes women’s roles in teaching, public office or ‘leading’ their families. He also unequivocally supports the right of Jews to reclaim Israel, and admonishes those who take a less literal, more interpretivist approach."

 

[King Harold]

I'm no Trump fan, but last time he got elected there were dire predictions, and the sky didn't fall down.

The economy grew, and has continued to grow. However 'economic growth' is a facile measurement of how content a nation's citizens are.

I like to watch a fair bit of citizen journalism from the US on YouTube. The old rust belt & coal belt are In bad shape.Huge areas are derelict and crime ridden. Massive opioid addiction thanks to big pharma . Inner cities look like homeless encampments. One of the more liberal cities in the States, Portland Oregan made the well meaning but foolhardy decision to decriminalise drugs.Now half the town is covered in tents.



It's problems like these that politicians seem powerless to tackle.

Then there's the young black men imprisoned for 30 years for making a bad decision when they were 18. Obviously they're criminals but the prison documentaries are heartbreaking.

What does it matter who is in charge ? Really

Fair enough , then give me the guy who’s not a criminal in the first place, and will hand over office if he loses an election.

If you think there is equivalency , then I guess we disagree.

 

[King Harold]

And the “sky not falling in under Trump” , as if a throw away line exonerates him from all his failures.
How was his messaging on covid ?
His economy ,even Bresker could have added 8 trillion $’s to the national debt and had the economy humming.
Never mind almost to a man , his own cabinet have told the world he is incompetent and should never hold the reins of power again.
People would go out of their minds here if we saw the level of nepotism under his administration in this country, and rightly so !

How in the face of all the evidence we still have people say “ I’m not a fan of Trump” but are then flat out telling us he is not that bad , or no worse than some other bloke. We are indeed in different universes.

His next term will go next level , he has circled the wagons with sycophants who will do his bidding.
And now with some added immunity ???

History won’t be kind to this criminal moron.

 

[Doggy Dan]

If Michelle is a true patriot, she needs to run. Only hope of sanity prevailing.

 

[BrisDog]

Looks like the individual states & supreme court have the say on abortion rights, and I'm not sure what Biden has done about it? .

This is a result of who Trump chose to be Supreme Court judges. The end of Roe vs Wade, resulting in states deciding on women’s rights is likely on Trump and the nutters he picked for the SC.

 

[Next Waiting]

Unfortunately the now conservative stacked Supreme Court members have longevity. If 2 of the 6 choked on chicken bones before the election there is some hope. Otherwise the Federal Society is entrenched and immovable is the short to medium term.

Hypothetically, if Trump wins, has he then already served the Federalist purpose and also passed his use by date? He who rides on back of tiger can never climb down ... unless someone shoots the tiger...lets say someone who looks like a liberal left reformist and tree hugger.

Who will Trump's running mate be?Harbour Gold?