Irony is dead

“The U.S. urged leaders in Ivory Coast to stick to a "democratic" election process hours after President Trump prematurely declared victory.”

I call for a delegation from Bolivia to come and watch the elections in the USA and make sure they go as planned because clearly no one in the USA is capable of handling this

Posted by: DG | Nov 6 2020 10:53 utc | 1

This tweet pretty much sums up the dysfunctionality of the election:

Dinesh D'Souza
@DineshDSouza
·
17h
If Latinos turned out for Trump in record numbers, Biden can be consoled by the fact that dead people seem to have turned out for him in record numbers. Incredible turnout! #ElectionResults2020

b

But hey, they found another bag of 'mailed in' ballots.

Posted by: Down South | Nov 6 2020 10:57 utc | 2

Looks like they can't count so good, but are excellent at finding bags of ballots at convenient moments.

Looks like the exceptional nation is now turning into a normal nation.

Yes, death to MAGA.

Welcome MANA.... make amedika normal again.

Posted by: kiwiklown | Nov 6 2020 11:08 utc | 3

Inasmuch as Trump is losing, any headline about Dems losing is deceptive. Talking about progressive initiatives succeeding as some sort of critique of Dems when the Republic (NOT A DEMOCRACY!) Party is much more vehemently united against them than the disorganized mob of Dems is doubly deceptive. Arbitrarily citing a dubious anecdote to hint God Trump's loss is due to fraud is triply deceptive.

There hasn't been much play in the US media but negative comments about Trump's call not to count votes except where he think's he's winning are very strong evidence that Trumpery is widely regarded as unamerican in a Frank Capra sort of way.

Posted by: steven t johnson | Nov 6 2020 11:19 utc | 4

Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour is not socialism. It is an insurance policy, brought to you by capitalism. Bernie Sanders is not a socialist. He is a capitalist and a sheepdog for the Democrats. His only role is to corral the progressive vote for his party. He is a complete fraud and he will hand the baton of fraudster to Ocasio Cortez at some time in the future.

Posted by: Simon | Nov 6 2020 11:29 utc | 5

But hey, they found another bag of 'mailed in' ballots.

It's really sad that you have to resort to an outright LIE to vindicate your sense of frustration that you were wrong predicting Trump would win and how it bugs the hell out of you that he can't do the dirty work that makes you happy.

FYI, Georgia is a RED state whose Governor, Brian Kemp, a radical Republican, is accused of voter suppression and purging Democratic votes. If he's not screaming that votes were found and not 'mailed in' and neither are the Republican Attorney General for Georgia or the Republican Secretary of State demanding an investigation, then the votes being counted are legit and there's not a damn thing those goons can do about it.

The ballots must also have a USPS processing stamp to be county processed.

But then, you know all this, but since your goal is to fuel ignorant conspiracies, the same you ironically delete from the Covid threads, to sow more divisiveness and stoke resentment you will stoop to this level, Trump's level, with gutter disinformation.

However, you're not satisfied with stirring that pot alone. You're trying to stoke divisiveness within the Democratic Party as well before everyone can at least celebrate the common goal of getting rid of Trump as a united front. So what's your game? Why don't you explain that as well while you're at it; your motive for risking your own reputation and exposing your credibility to derision?

You would destroy your own credibility for corrupt vermin like Trump, a loser on his way out the door!? WHY?

Posted by: Circe | Nov 6 2020 11:57 utc | 6

No, Socialism is still not when the government does stuff. Yves Smith still doesn't (want to) understand.

Posted by: vato | Nov 6 2020 12:05 utc | 7

YVES SMITH, nails it!

Posted by: Steve | Nov 6 2020 12:23 utc | 8

Interesting take by the former Lieutenant Governor of New York

Don’t be fooled by the Biden team’s rhetoric that every ballot must be counted and all it takes is patience. Only valid, legally cast ballots should count.

Trump is right to ask the high court to protect the system set up under the Constitution and to stop the Democratic Party’s ­legal maneuvers. The Democrats have already used the courts to create pandemonium. They’ve stolen Election Night. They mustn’t be permitted to steal the election, too.>/BLOCKQUOTE>
https://nypost.com/2020/11/04/president-trump-is-simply-suing-to-stop-the-counting-of-bogus-votes/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

Posted by: Down South | Nov 6 2020 12:36 utc | 9

So b supports trump that much is Cristal clear ! Why oh why ?
And here’s Trump with a freand ———
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=epstein+trump&safe=strict&prmd=niv&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjSq4b69e3sAhWHIMAKHSMZARwQ_AUoAnoECBUQAg&biw=320&bih=438
b thinks trump should be president of america !! again.

Posted by: Mark2 | Nov 6 2020 12:36 utc | 10

US democracy, like European Civilisation, is a great idea, (to paraphrase M. Ghandi).

Posted by: Jams O'Donnell | Nov 6 2020 12:39 utc | 11

thanks for your analysis b, since it now looks certain that the Democrats stole this election, what do you think the long term consequences of this will be for the US, I doubt the Trump supporters will ever accept Biden/Harris what will they do over the next few years. Will we see a impeach Biden/Harris movement in 2022, if the Republicans take the house?

Posted by: Kadath | Nov 6 2020 12:40 utc | 12

b, many good points here, and I quite appreciate the links to Scott Ritter and Yves Smith, who are always a good read. thanks.

Posted by: michaelj72 | Nov 6 2020 13:04 utc | 13

Yeah, b, what's the idea of raining on Circe's parade by promoting ignorant conspiracy theories, you know, unlike stuff that really happened, like Russia Gate and Ukraine Gate?

Will no one stand up to denounce b for doing Putin's dirty work by stoking division in Circe's beloved home, the Democratic Party?

Don't worry Circe, the day is yours. Death to Zionism! Death to Sheldon Adelson! Forward with Comrades Joe and Kamala to liberate Palestine!

Posted by: expat | Nov 6 2020 13:04 utc | 14

they found another bag of 'mailed in' ballots.

Mature ballots often play around with the other ballots, between them, they produce from one to over a thousands baby ballots, and baby ballots take longer to count; so please just be patient.

Posted by: snake | Nov 6 2020 13:09 utc | 15

The election is being stolen but once again the establishment dramatically misread the lay of the political landscape among the American population. The adjustments that were made ahead of time to the paperless electronic voting machines were not sufficient to overcome the votes for Trump and so the establishment has to fall back on much more difficult and risky approaches to cooking the count. To help cover this more challenging and time-consuming operation the "Mighty Wurlitzer" has the mass media chanting in chorus that the Trump Administration's charges of fraud are "baseless" before investigations can be done to determine if the charges have a basis.

There will be no "revenge" against the Democrats. If the American public accepts the results of the fraud then the establishment (Democrats and Republicans) will heave a "Huuuge" sigh of relief for dodging the bullet and things will return to "normal" as they were with previous presidents as figureheads for the State. There will be nothing remotely like the ludicrous "Russiagate" hysteria that the mass media indulged in against Trump. Something truly baseless will have to be found for the Republicans to rant at the Democrats about like Obama's birth certificate, but the real issues will be dropped like hot potatoes by both "teams".

The establishment will then try to restart "Project for a New American Century". This is bad news for Syria as the "Assad Curse" will start getting more exercise again. This is also bad news for Russia as the PNAC crowd are entirely certain that the Russians are bluffing about engaging the Empire kinetically. They are Russians, after all, right? You just have to push them hard enough like Reagan did and they will roll over.

At least that is what the PNAC crowd thinks. The PNACers rely for their brainpower on the PMC ("Professional, Managerial class"), who as c1ue pointed out are "... the middle managers, doctors, lawyers, MBAs, tenured professors, finance types and what not who are divorced from the actual hands-on labor." That part about being "divorced from the actual hands-on labor" is important because it means they have nothing mooring them to reality.

[Aside: I have often mentioned that economics is the keystone social science, and contemporary economics being based around vacuous capitalist apologetics renders the entire realm of the social sciences a limp and constantly shifting mass of liquid shite with no predictive power and only serving to sell pop culture self-help books. Psychology is where the social sciences bump up against the biological sciences. This is how economics plays such an important role in real (not pop) psychology. One's occupation; how one makes a living; how one puts food on the table, is the core of human identity (skin tone isn't anywhere close). The more that individuals fulfill employment roles that are entirely socially constructed and the further they are from direct involvement in the process of transforming natural resources into tangible items humans use for living, then the more tenuous and, to put it politely, more "abstract" and subject to reinterpretation their association with physical reality becomes. This is why c1ue's PMCs, despite being very intelligent and highly educated, can make such profound mistakes that get hayseed farmers scratching their heads in amazement.]

The PNAC gang (Biden/Harris is their front) will now "shirtfront" Russia and "get in their face". They will escalate until they succeed at their plans. Trump's escalations were almost entirely symbolic and meaningless, but the PNACer's escalations will be kinetic. When Iran is once again forced to retaliate against the empire and missile-strikes some US assets, the PNAC people will escalate and respond with ten times the violence where Trump had ordered the empire to stand down.

Unfortunately for the empire, America's economic decline is systemic; it is baked into capitalism. It cannot be reversed. While Trump hastened the empire's diplomatic decline and poisoned its "soft power", Biden/Harris will hasten the empire's economic decline.

As for the Fort Detrick flu, the mass media will now try to downplay it in order to get workers back to making the elites some profits, but the cases and fatalities will continue to increase. There will be no more effective countering of the pandemic by Team Blue than Team Red because the US simply doesn't have the tools, either medically, culturally, or socially, to do anything about it.

Four years of the deep state/establishment exposing itself in panicked hysteria, only to now fade back into the background with nothing gained from those four years. I wonder how the posters here who think it was all part of an elaborate plan will spin their tales of the omnipotent empire now that it can no longer be said "Trump hasn't started a war YET but he will once he cements his image as 'Glorious Leader'!!"

Biden/Harris being installed in such an obvious manner is not a display of the establishment's power, but rather is proof of their weakness and incompetence.

Posted by: William Gruff | Nov 6 2020 13:19 utc | 16

Cheers to Simon #5. Not to fan flames on an improper fire, but progressive types in the USA may find a bit of a guiding light in Canada`s Jagmeet Singh, leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada. While party leaders for the Liberals (Trudeau) and Conservatives (newly selected Erin O`Toole) chose to offer no comment on the US presidential race, Singh spoke out strongly against Trump. The further comments on his Twitter feed may be worth a bit of a browse, IMHO.

https://twitter.com/theJagmeetSingh/status/1323769819309740033

Posted by: Quasi Retired anonym | Nov 6 2020 13:25 utc | 17

And yet another site goes evidence free. No the Democrats did not steal this election.

Posted by: Maureen O | Nov 6 2020 13:26 utc | 18

This is the essence of it. When you actually drill down, the things both Democrat and Republican voters want much the same things and that is more collectivism. They want more collectivism on social matters and they want more collectivism on economic matters. They want society back.

Both the social 'conservatism' and economic 'progressivism' on offer tend to be welded to highly unpopular opposites. If you want immigration control (Which is both a social and economic issue but only framed in social terms effectively) and an end to insane post-modern SJW identity politics, you're obliged to also vote for people who will further deregulate the economy and give tax cuts to the wealthy. If you want social democrat politics you're obliged to vote for people who will further promote insane anti-social solidarity post-modern SJW politics and unending mass migration that are counter-productive, perhaps fatality so, to their social democratic agenda. (See AOC and her wishes for literal open borders and full Nordic-style social democrat welfare state)

The currency of a system of economic redistribution within a democracy is the willingness of those with resources to give to those without. The 'progressive' Democrats in the US are hooked on this ideal of expanding welfare but that doesn't empower the poor because they're depended on those with resources to support taxes to give them it. Industrial policy and immigration restriction (Both to decrease job competition and to make the recipients of resource redistribution more sympathetic to those with resources) to actually shift the real wealth and power in society is far more important.

A synthesis on at least immigration restriction and progressive economic policies like banking regulations, trade reform and industrial policy would be highly popular and is entirely open ground to take. In 2016 Trump became the first person to make that offer in stark form in 40 years and despite all the ammo the media and intellectual class were able to throw at him, he beat Hilary Clinton. Bernie and Corbyn both understand this synthesis and have spoken of it in the past but now are trapped in political apparatuses that make any mention of immigration and the economic and social interests of the native working class totally impermissible. Worse, they wed them to an ideal of ever expanding immigration that will rip apart any social solidarity needed for socialist or social democrat policies since the new group interests of the native working class will be battling the newcomers for social and economic space.

A great deal of American 'Libertarians' are actually quite community oriented and are infact just not in favour of their taxes being redistributed to outgroups whom they don't have any sense of social solidarity with. Ask them what should be done in their community and they start sounding like Bernie Sanders. They view the Federal government as an alien thing that will take from them and give to alien outgroups.People will say they're being 'duped' but I think those people just don't understand that people are born out of ethnic groups not class groups, ethnicity is more important and we might expect it to be so given human evolution.

Posted by: Altai | Nov 6 2020 13:28 utc | 19

Quote; Democrat Abigail Spanberger was losing her race to a Republican challenger until 14,000 ballots were suddenly found on a flash drive. What a stroke of luck.

14000 ballots on a flash drive"
The "gift" that does not stop giving.

Posted by: Stonebird | Nov 6 2020 13:34 utc | 20

Will Trump go out with a legacy attack on Iran? I rate this risk as high because of his emotional extremes, narcissism, impulsiveness, and the bloodthirsty brutes who surround him. After writing this, I rate this very high. I just hope that the good Christians such as Pence, Pompeo, Rubio, and Cotton can talk him out of it.

Posted by: Christian J. Chuba | Nov 6 2020 13:36 utc | 21

Kadath: The GOP has been silent on the presidential election. As a whole the GOP did well this election. The GOP interpretation going forward is a mix of Chamber Commerce's financial and immigration policies mixed with Neocon's spreading of democracy thru bombs and ballot harvesting. In other words their world is getting righted by the steal. Absolutely no doubt in my mind the GOP is in on the whole thing. Deep State wins.

$15.00 minimal wage after most small businesses are teetering on the brink due to lockdowns won't end well. It will end with bankruptcy and unemployment, a preference for hiring "illegals", or if possible an investment in automation. Why is that so hard to understand? Nor are you going to get the "rich" with this scheme.

Posted by: Old and Grumpy | Nov 6 2020 13:37 utc | 22

The election is in the courts. The judges were all elected. Or appointed by elected politicians. Should be pretty plain how hermetically sealed that system is.

Judges are politicians first, jurists second. They are going to decide for Biden. Biden is better connected. Biden is sure to reward them while Trump is mercurial. There will be no determination of facts, probably impossible to do that in any case, more importantly no one wants to know.

Mark2 said something I can agree with! His photo file of Trump with Epstein is damning. Bigger photo file of Clintons with Epstein. Even bigger photo file of Clintons with Trump. And then we have the photo file of Biden pawing young girls. And of course the photo files of his son with children. They all stink. But half of us cheer on one and half of us cheer on the other. They stink.

Posted by: oldhippie | Nov 6 2020 13:38 utc | 23

"...America already practices socialism for the rich..."

So socialism is giving deadbeats free stuff? Why do these faux left adopt the narratives of the right?

Socialism is not about free stuff. It is about how the economy is controlled. The goal of socialism is social control of the economy (see, it is right in the name: socialism) while its antithesis capitalism is about capital controlling the economy (see, again it is right in the darned name: capitalism).

Why is this so difficult, people?

Posted by: William Gruff | Nov 6 2020 13:50 utc | 24

Old hippie @ 23
Yes we do agree ! and I agree with your point. But with one factual correction ——
I’m anti trump not pro Biden. A subtle difference.
Point to one of my comments that shows otherwise.
The least worse option. Pay atention.
Basically I don’t like Trump condoning cold blooded murder of inocent black people on camera. It’s snuff porn. Condoned by a very sick man.
Biden ? Well if he condones similar. ——-
Expect us.

Posted by: Mark2 | Nov 6 2020 13:52 utc | 25

More votes found!!!!!!!

Michael Beschloss
@BeschlossDC
Important —
@NBCNews
now says that new Philadelphia votes have put Joe Biden in the lead in Pennsylvania, by 5,587 votes statewide. More to come.

LOL

Posted by: Down South | Nov 6 2020 13:58 utc | 26

Biden on locking up Black "predators": 1993 speech video (3:24)

Biden ? Well if he condones similar. ——- Expect us.

I expect nothing but silence from the faux left, and doubtless I will get it.

Oh, there will be rationalizing and prevaricating and other forms of squirming to justify their tribe's behavior, but that will be easy to ignore. If America's Black youth are locked up politely then there will be no more torched mom & pop shops.

Posted by: William Gruff | Nov 6 2020 14:10 utc | 27

b is entirely correct in suggesting that the Democrats steal elections. Their entire history is of doing so. They have been doing it since the 1790s. They are the party of machines- Tammany, Pendergast, Cook County. The party of the Solid South in which the entire section, larger than the Confederacy, vored Democrat for the better part of a century when the only elections were the White Primaries.
But there is no need to go back so far: Biden stole this year's primaries, just as Clinton stole those in 2016. Stealing elections is what Democrats do. It is also what Republicans, particularly since the South switched from Democrat to Republican, do. It is the American way-fixing elections to make sure that the popular will is never imposed on the rich and powerful.
Those who think that Biden represents anything more enlightened than the appalling Trump have not been paying attention, something which is hard to do when your head is buried in the sand and full of fantasies in which great men (or women) rescue the Republic.
The problem in the United States and most of the 'western' world, is that people just enjoy being told what to do, what to think, who to applaud. It has reached the stage at which the most basic sexual attraction is held to be perverse and large numbers of people adjust themselves to conformity with the tawdriest gender stereotypes by demanding to be castrated. You really couldn't make this up!

Posted by: bevin | Nov 6 2020 14:13 utc | 28

Down South @26

Votes will continue to be "found" until they have enough.

The establishment needs to get "back to normal". They don't have the strength for four more years of hysteria, so the election will be flipped regardless of the difficulty.

Posted by: William Gruff | Nov 6 2020 14:16 utc | 29

It seems the Republicans will keep the Senate and make gains in the House.

A lot of people are gluing their eyes on Trump while ignoring McConnell. The Republicans learned they don't need the White House to govern - they can shape American domestic policy one piece at a time, while the POTUS is swamped on foreign soil, fighting the wars of the Empire.

From what I've been observing, the American Left is not deluded with Biden's victory. They expect a McConnell hegemony for the 2021-2024 cycle - specially in a context of a 6-3 SCOTUS.

Posted by: vk | Nov 6 2020 14:23 utc | 30

b, re:popcorn

Have you tried Lemon & Pepper Seasoning?

Awesome and easy, but be careful about sprinkling on too much to your popcorn.

Come to think of it, do they have Lemon & Pepper Seasoning in your neck of the woods (wherever that is)?

Posted by: librul | Nov 6 2020 14:28 utc | 31

Biden took Georgia, a state no Democrat has won since '92. He is now ahead in PA with only predominately blue votes left to count. It's over. He is going to Arizona and Nevada. He will win with 306 electoral votes and a popular vote victory of over four million. The Dems added a senate seat, they may add another. They also held the house.

Posted by: David | Nov 6 2020 14:35 utc | 32

18 Maureen. Lot's of new names on the list these last few days, people who are ignoring or don't know that Trump repeatedly urged his voters to vote in person, while many on the winning side used the mail. It's in all the media that the latter group generally will be the last to get counted.

Posted by: Bart Hansen | Nov 6 2020 14:41 utc | 33

If they keep this going long enough Biden will have his 49 state landslide victory. The pollsters shall be saved!!!

Posted by: EoinW | Nov 6 2020 14:47 utc | 34

We are an "end justifies the means" society. I understand that some people here hate Trump so much that seeing him beaten - at any cost - is all that matters. People are entitled to their opinion. The election is clearly being stolen from Trump. One can recognize that reality regardless of which side they are on. Don't you think the Dems and media can handle all the fraud on their own? Why must you insult everyone's intelligence by taking part in the lies? Have you no self respect?

Posted by: EoinW | Nov 6 2020 14:54 utc | 35

The MAGA meltdown continues. Trump lost handily as was expected when the mail-in votes were finally counted. Republicans screaming "fraud" can rest easy knowing that it was, in fact, Republicans themselves who issued the orders that made sure mail-in ballots were only counted on the day of the election, increasing the load on ballot counters and slowing the work down. This is classic Republican malfeasance and wrecking that you can see everywhere in the American government, from the DMV which is deliberately understaffed, to Byzantine welfare applications, and, well, voting. Republicans will punch holes in their walls and then complain about a draft.

Posted by: fnord | Nov 6 2020 15:04 utc | 36

The quesiton is also how GOP will treat the loss, will they blame Trump and "kick" him out or will they back him? He is likely the most popular GOP "candidate" right now.

Trump need to go after the people that lied and spread all the bs about him past years to set an example by suing them, after all, the orange-mand-bad-bs is in much what caused his loss in this election.

Posted by: Zanon | Nov 6 2020 15:10 utc | 37

Requesting that b remove Mark2 post at 10, I apologize for not reading above posts.

I will keep my comments short here, on b's theme post for the most part, and please,
short sentences will suffice until that happes, or until we arrive at the next page.

Posted by: juliania | Nov 6 2020 15:12 utc | 38

I really wonder why's B sticking to Tronald I'm sure he dislikes as I do. Why would somebody so aware of the Covid threat as B cheer for a denier like Tronald? Does he think Tronald is the shortest way to the self-destruction of the u.s. Behemoth? Maybe imagining this possible without an all out world war?

B's not very worried about the impending ecological not only climate related catastrophe, maybe due to his age. He will not experience it - he thinks.

Nor in the case of Biden nor in the one of Harris we know for sure how belligerent they would act if in power. Sometimes it differs from previously adopted positions. Let's hope so. Future is always open. Tronald we know, is a bad Sauron impersonator, darkening urbi et orbi. He is not part of any solution, even not so if one's thinking dialectical.

Posted by: pnyx | Nov 6 2020 15:13 utc | 39

Sorry, "...happens..."

Posted by: juliania | Nov 6 2020 15:13 utc | 40

I take to heart b's positive "progressive initiatives win", and bravo to the voters
who saw to it that this was a pyrrhic victory indeed for the criminals in control
of the democratic party, as their lead in the House shrank and they did not increase
in the Senate.

Posted by: juliania | Nov 6 2020 15:16 utc | 41

Also, apologies to the internationals posting here. We ask your patience, and that
you realize this matter is an international one. Thanks to karlof1 we are in a
position of comparison with other democratic nations as far as how we conduct our
internal affairs, and the comparison does not give us any right to be considered
a great nation.

Posted by: juliania | Nov 6 2020 15:19 utc | 42

An upstate USPS employee was arrested Tuesday while crossing the US-Canada border with hundreds of envelopes and other undelivered mail — including several absentee ballots.

The Buffalo mailman, who was caught with over 800 pieces of mail inside his trunk that he had failed to deliver, said he had ended up on a bridge between the US and its neighbor to the north by accident, the Buffalo News reported.

Customs and Border Protection found a huge bin of mail spanning several zip codes in the vehicle. Among them were three absentee ballots from the Erie County Board of Elections, authorities told the newspaper.

Brandon Wilson, 27, told CBP agents he was in the wrong lane while traveling on Interstate 190 and accidentally wound up on the bridge. When pressed, Willson claimed that the mail was for his mother, though he was unable to explain why the names on the packages did not match.

Posted by: Down South | Nov 6 2020 15:21 utc | 43

The problem in the United States and most of the 'western' world, is that people just enjoy being told what to do, what to think, who to applaud. It has reached the stage ...???by: bevin @28
<=No Bevin, your are a victim of the surrounding media, educational propaganda, and "live with it" culture.. The USA is excited, even beamingly overjoyed, with the outcome, 340,000,000 people so divided nobody but the wealthy few and their monopoly house corporations can make any decisions or do anything or plan anything. <=there is no problem at all at the USA or among the seven layers of private and foreign interest that control the management and use of the USA, its business as usual <=an infight between propaganda figures over elections, but all in all, the Wealthy Oligarchs are quite happy with the USA, the two party [divide and conquer] system, and media's ability to control everyone's thinking. all in all it could almost not be better.

USA Governed Americans lack American leadership, no one has update the declaration of independence... Americans are without access to the media that controls their thoughts and regulates their understanding, imprisoned by the USA in rule of law fabrics and lost in the take down swamps maintained by the financial communities; and worse, the USA defends, supports, rewards, and finances these institutions.

The Declaration of Independence explains why Americans are so slow to respond to Tyranny, first it reminds the Governors that Governor control over the Governed masses is conditional " WHEN in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of nature and of Nature's God entitle them, .. "

then it goes on to explain governance which seeks to curtail Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness has opened itself up to be cut loose: "WE hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by the Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness "

then it goes on to explain that governments are formed by mankind to secure these unalienable rights to all men equally, "That to secure these Rights Governments are instituted among Men,.."

Then it explains that the power of the Governed comes from the consent of the Governed: "..deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, .."

Then it explains that misbehavior by those who manage the government is sufficient cause for the governed masses to change the government "..that whenever any form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and happiness.. "

Then it explains that people are reluctant to engage the effort to change the government so <=the misbehaviour of the managers of the government and their failures and abuses are often allowed to continue for long periods before the governed people take matters into their own hands and decide to fix it "Prudence, indeed, will dictate the Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient Causes; and accordingly all Experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while Evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the Forms to which they are accustomed.."

Then it explains when these abuses and Evils justify a change in government by the governed, "But when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariable the same object, evinces a Design to reduce the {governed] to absolute Despotism, it is the.. right [of the Governed], it is the.. Duty [of the Governed], to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security. "

Posted by: snake | Nov 6 2020 15:21 utc | 44

I say 'great nation' not in reference to size but in reference to the manner in which
this country conducts its affairs of governance. There is too much false animosity
between the two major parties, something easily corrected by having an ombudsman
entity as 'refereee' that could come from the civil service community and be strictly
non partisan.

Posted by: juliania | Nov 6 2020 15:23 utc | 45

Mark2 @ 25

While being more civil than your usual you admonish me to “Pay attention”.

Previously you have wished me dead, called me out for a fascist, a Trump supporter, a covid denier. Civility is a good thing.

Posted by: oldhippie | Nov 6 2020 15:23 utc | 46

I single out karlof1 for praise because he has provided a good reference point in
many of his links - that is of course China. It would be a good exercise in this
time of indecision for those in the US in particular to reference back many of
those China links for self-education. The reason to do that is that China is
currently the most successful nation on the horizon, so what they are doing is
workiing.

Posted by: juliania | Nov 6 2020 15:26 utc | 47

The stench of hypocrisy on MOA at the moment is appalling. Gone is any concern for the truth, all that remains is selfish agenda from the trumpidiots.
I look forward to their street protests.
They’l shout ‘no justice no peace !
Ballot box’s matter !
Dam you repug-nents are beginning to sound black.
Pinch me and i’l wake up ! Your crying about being treated UNFAIRLY. Ha ha ha haaa
Ya couldn’t make this stuff up.
Hit the streets an we can call you terrorist’s
Snigger.

Posted by: Mark2 | Nov 6 2020 15:26 utc | 48

It is better to emulate a successful nation than for the lesser one to challenge it.

Posted by: juliania | Nov 6 2020 15:27 utc | 49

And by "emulate" I do not mean become a 'lesser China'. That is impossible.

We have our own traditions, which can be creatively applied; and we need to include all.

The manner of this must begin at the grass roots, as it did in Russia. With leadership there.

Posted by: juliania | Nov 6 2020 15:30 utc | 50

Black lives matter is only a half truth. All lives matter.

Don't listen to the oligarchs. Their era is at an end.

This is a new day.

Posted by: juliania | Nov 6 2020 15:33 utc | 51

Funny how some people here now blast b just because he do not condemn Trump. Could you guys get any more cringe?

But this is what left are about today, silencing people that dont agree with them on every topic.
This is also how absurd the left have become, look back past years since Trump was elected they are now OK with having a neocon foreign policy president Biden to be elected - just because they hate Trump so much. Have you guys already forgotten 4 years of Russiagate?
Or are you guys watching Rachel Maddow for your foreign policy knowledge?
You havent learned one thing past years.

Why Bush-Era Neocons Are Getting Behind Biden
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/2020/07/16/why_bush-era_neocons_are_getting_behind_biden_517376.html

Posted by: Zanon | Nov 6 2020 15:37 utc | 52

The “found” vote comment is moronic. Under Pennsylvania law, as interpreted by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, votes by mail have three days after the polls close (Friday, November 6) to arrive. Once they are delivered by the US Postal Service, ballots will be checked off against the list of registered voters and, only if the ballot came from a registered voter and that voter has not recorded a vote yet, will it be counted.

Other states have similar procedures. They are being followed. There are “found ballots” same as I “find” my credit card bill in my mailbox every month after the US Postal Service delivers it. Please stop with the moronic claims. If you want vote counting to stop and the Supreme Court to appoint the election loser to be president, which is what happened in 2000 with Bush, just say so.

Trump was both the president who told the most lies and the president who was most lied about. I came here for a bit of honesty. There is no reason to start telling lies about Biden and his path to the presidency. I’m quite sure that senile warmonger and Wall Street whore will only make things worse. Please don’t destroy your credibility before he gets sworn in.

Posted by: TimmyB | Nov 6 2020 15:37 utc | 53

This Biden election victory is brought to you by the people who gave you the Coronavirus pandemic.

Posted by: EoinW | Nov 6 2020 15:39 utc | 54

We in the US don't need to self-castigate. We have a broken system but it can be fixed.

China and Russia both went back to Abraham Lincoln.

Of the people, by the people, for the people.

They learned from us; now we learn from them.

Well done voters in turning your back on those adhering to the democratic party.

The plutocrats have the media; but the people increasingly think for themselves.

As they used to do.

Posted by: juliania | Nov 6 2020 15:39 utc | 55

Looks like the GOP is going to support Trump.

Ronna McDaniel
@GOPChairwoman
·
3h
Democrats and the media spent four years talking about a Russia hoax on the grounds of election integrity.

But less than 48 hours after polls closed in an actual presidential election, they want to ignore clear irregularities and rush to call states as won.

Unreal!

Ronna McDaniel
@GOPChairwoman
·
12h
.
@realDonaldTrump
is right to demand that we pursue the irregularities we are seeing.

We already have teams on the ground fighting to protect the integrity of the election!

Posted by: Down South | Nov 6 2020 15:42 utc | 56

Let those who would be king tangle themselves in their own nets.

As b said, it's popcorn time, we can all watch and learn.

The American spirit is alive and well; it's just gone international.

Here it is only sleeping; we can stir it awake after the show.

Posted by: juliania | Nov 6 2020 15:43 utc | 57

https://thebaffler.com/latest/the-view-from-pennsylvania
"If Biden wins, the best-case scenario is that we’ll be forced to deal with a Democratic Party of resurgent centrism, convinced that their path to victory is through vacuous messaging calibrated to cause the least offense to the maximum number of people. They’ll insist that their future dominance is assured, normalcy has been restored, and that the nightmare is over. With eyes fixed on a seemingly winning formula, they won’t see who’s getting left behind again, or history repeating itself before their very eyes."

https://fair.org/home/corporate-media-reverse-reality-by-blaming-blm-protesters-for-everything/

Posted by: Joe | Nov 6 2020 15:45 utc | 58

Old hippie @ ?
So when did I wish you dead ? Covid perhaps ?
I’d love you to find it.
How many have you wished dead by your covid denial ?
Pot calling kettle black. Classic.

Posted by: Mark2 | Nov 6 2020 15:46 utc | 59

Bravo China.

Bravo Russia.

Bravo my native land, New Zealand.

It all begins with good governance.

And wise actions in the face of intransigence.

The people's livelihood comes first.

Posted by: juliania | Nov 6 2020 15:51 utc | 60

Well, I have expressed my opinion here, in cartoon form.

Yes, those of you who are on Disqus, I am Jihadi Colin there.

Posted by: Biswapriya Purkayast | Nov 6 2020 15:51 utc | 61

TimmyB

" will it be counted. "

Not necessarily, the postmarks must be no later than november 3rd to be counted.

Posted by: Zanon | Nov 6 2020 15:57 utc | 62

@ #59

All’s right with the world, Mark2 is back to his usual rhetoric.

How many have I wished dead with my covid denial? Oh, millions. Billions even. All future generations.

Mark, have you stopped beating your wife?

Posted by: oldhippie | Nov 6 2020 15:59 utc | 63

And the people's livelihood is intertwined with the earth. "Earth" is a good word in English.

It stands for the ground each of us stands on; and it stands for our entire world ecosystem.

It does not stand for coins or banknotes in a silo; it stands for wheat and corn and grasslands.

Wetlands, mountains, rivers, seas. Forests, prairies, sun and rain and wind. Livelihood!

Posted by: juliania | Nov 6 2020 16:01 utc | 64

Zanon

Not necessarily. Ballots in delivered by the US Postal Service in envelopes with no postmark will be counted.

Posted by: TimmyB | Nov 6 2020 16:02 utc | 65

Hey b,
How bout an open thread with no US election stuff and maybe no Covid stuff.

Posted by: arby | Nov 6 2020 16:15 utc | 66

Everyone falsely assumes that 'winning' actually involves getting elected. If the term 'winning' is viewed as maintaining the status quo, propping up the rich at the expense of the poor while robbing the State, then regardless of who is carrying out the agenda, the Dems leadership and fundraisers are still 'winning'.

Many big corporations have an each way bet in elections and can rest comfortably knowing that whomever is elected, be they Red or Blue, will always join the ranks of weak and corrupt politicians, seeking corporate approval for reelection, chasing profits or a board seat once retired, while regularly selling their voters out. That's how the game is played to 'win'. Politicians are just pawns on the chessboard, racing to get to the other end with the promise of being turned into a queen.

Posted by: Et Tu | Nov 6 2020 16:18 utc | 67

Old hippie @ ?
Nah my wife beats me hands down !
Not least to the bathroom every morning.
We have love in our lives.
Repugs only know hatred.

Posted by: Mark2 | Nov 6 2020 16:18 utc | 68

@30 vk

That's right.

The state of Georgia has a runoff system, so there will be another election in January. Without the presidential election, turnout would presumably be lower. I'm not sure who that would benefit in this case.

Even with both of the GA Senate seats, the Dem control would be the bare minimum. If you need only 1 Senator to kill a piece of legislation, then doing so becomes affordable to a much larger group of donors.

2022 Will have 20 Republican and 12 Democrat Senators up for re-election, and in this case at most 2 of those Dem Senators will be in competitive races (AZ again, and GA again) - so any political pressure will almost entirely on Republican Senators. Unless their game is focused on obstructing their own party (in some places voters like that, and if so it is a lucrative tactic to extract more federal $$$ for their state), Senators facing a close re-election race would generally be more inclined to follow the party line.

Anyway, even when most people thought Dems would have 52-53 Senators, Biden already started backing away from nominal Dem positions on reduction of oil/gas, police reform, reversing tax cuts. On immigration, the Obama administration's was de-facto anti-immigration by virtue of the mass deportation policies, only without the Trump DHS's sadistic touch. Regulation of the internet companies is a big modern issue, and it's hard to see Biden any different from Republicans on that. With a split Senate, it will certainly go nowhere.

I would maybe dare hope for repairing the disaster-response parts of the government, and some infrastructure investment, while the extent of economic damage from covid plays out.

Posted by: ptb | Nov 6 2020 16:22 utc | 69

You know, we do have such a good language, we english speakers, because it draws from different roots.

The Chinese, I learn, have many dialects but one written language.

That's the e pluribus unum which ought to be on our currency in the US.

There's a Christian concept from the fathers which calls the Trinity the 'Godhead'.

That indicates that there is much more that is unknowable, indescribable, in God, infinitely more.

'In my father's house there are many mansions' Christ said at the Last Supper.

I think those mansions include all the great religions, and even no religion, on the earth.

We each connect only with a small part of that mystery. It's like fractals; those connections. Diversity. Multipolarity.

We are not all the same; and yet we are the same.

Especially now, when we community oriented, family oriented, humans are facing a new foe: this virus.

Separately, but in common gathering information to defeat it.

We shall.

[Apologies for simplicities and garrolousness. Others can do far better.]

Posted by: juliania | Nov 6 2020 16:24 utc | 70

thanks juliania...

@ 66 arby - would be nice....

Posted by: james | Nov 6 2020 16:25 utc | 71

I used to work with demographic data professionally. Yet, I would love for someone to explain why the Democratic voters vote so much more by mail than the Republican voters, like at least 2:1? This is a serious question. There are all kinds of differences between which can cause one group to be higher. But it requires an extremely high correlation with some unknown factor to cause such dominance of one group of registered voters in one type of voting. Without arriving at a good explanation, obviously fraud is the next best one.

This is on top of the issue of so many Republican senators apparently receiving winning votes where Biden “won” through newly discovered bags of mail in votes.

Posted by: Kiza | Nov 6 2020 16:25 utc | 72

What people don't get is that B isn't supporting Trump. he's basically come to the quite obvious conclusion that a Trump victory would be a marginally better (well, less shitty) outcome for the rest of the world than a Biden win. And when you consider the whole world, having US people suffer this jerk 4 more years is worth it. Heck, anything that can hasten the demise of the US regime and the US as a superpower is welcome.

That said, I'd also differ with B on one point. I would make a very clear difference between socialism and progressivism. The former is about all people's lives, economic justice, less class warfare, the latter is all about promoting special interests above the common good. Genuine socialism seems to win, when not presented as "socialism", progressivism is widely loathed and is the path to the undoing of society - basically a "divide and rule" plot by the current elites. And we know which of these the likes of Harris, Clinton and other Dem bigwigs are promoting.

Posted by: Clueless Joe | Nov 6 2020 16:27 utc | 73

Thanks to you, james, for your upbeat spirit always!

Posted by: juliania | Nov 6 2020 16:28 utc | 74

I am seeing quite a few references to a $15/hr minimum wage as a target for a "living wage". I feel this is merely misdirection from the real problems with our money system.

First, let me say that I fully support the idea of a "living wage". After all, I grew up in the 50's, when a single wage earner was able to buy a modest house, own a car, and provide for the average family, including medical costs, college plans, etc. Those days have long gone due to the ongoing debasement of the currency. Thus, it doesn't matter what you establish as the minimum wage this year, by next year it will have to be raised again (and again, and again, . . . ). So, why pick a $15 number when $20, $25, etc. are in the future of an inflating currency.

To suggest a way to break this cycle, please abide with me as I relate a personal anecdote.

In the late 60's I was negotiating a job with a particularly cantankerous cheapskate. I told him that I would work for him for $1/ hour. He got really elated and was ready to formalize the position when I continued ". . . but that dollar has to be a silver dollar." He broke off negotiations immediately. I didn't care. I really didn't want to work for him. Silver was still cheap in those days.

Anyway, look at the price of a silver dollar now, and ask yourself if that would be a "living wage" today. (The melt value of a silver dollar (about .77 oz) is around $20 excluding any premiums or numismatic value.)

I contend that debasement of the currency (the US dollar) by removing all silver (and copper) from coins and gold backing from the paper dollar has caused more of the economic problems (IMHO) of the average person we see today.

Posted by: naiverealist | Nov 6 2020 16:32 utc | 75

Election pushes US divide past tipping point: Global Times editorial

--

Who told you white supremacists don't like Muslims?

China condemns U.S for delisting of ETIM as terrorist organization

Christian, Muslims, Jews, liberals, conservatives - they're all, deep down, the same religion and the same party: capitalism.

--

Lap of humiliation:

Maduro Mocks US Amid Election Chaos: ‘We Hate It When They Pretend to Give Lessons in Democracy’

Evo Morales: "Si hay fraude, Donald Trump debe acudir a Luis Almagro" (+ VIDEO)

--

Infiltration? The USG would never!

Dude in NYC dressed as "Antifa" reveals himself to be a cop [VIDEO]

Posted by: vk | Nov 6 2020 16:33 utc | 76

Posted by: TimmyB | Nov 6 2020 15:37 utc | 53

Not entirely correct. The count of the votes received after the voting day (but mailed before) did not start yet in Pennsylvania, or at least, not included in the posted partial results of Pennsylvania. Nevertheless, there was a big mail vote, largely collected in special drop boxes -- bypassing the postal service, and since it was promoted by Democrats, it tends to be Democratic. Counting and observing is complicated by Covid rules on social distancing that make it slower.

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Nov 6 2020 16:35 utc | 77

Democrats just picked up another Senate seat. They now have
two more seats: Colorado and Arizona, and two in Georgia with a high probability of
going to a Special Election Runoff in January.
With healthcare ACA in the balance in the lame duck session
Democrats will have great momentum in that Election.

So a Senate majority is still possible.

Mark2, Down South and others who post those endless links: you messed up the thread! Learn how to use HTML TAGS.

Posted by: Circe | Nov 6 2020 16:38 utc | 78

@ 73 clueless joe... thanks.. i think you see more clearly into all this. i appreciate you saying all that...

:) juliania!

Posted by: james | Nov 6 2020 16:41 utc | 79

@ Posted by: juliania | Nov 6 2020 15:19 utc | 42

Thank you, juliania, for keeping your lines short.

It is so hard to read the comments when a link is posted
that makes the page unreadable.

Here's to helping us get to the next page more quickly.

Posted by: suzan | Nov 6 2020 16:44 utc | 80

@ Kiza | Nov 6 2020 16:25 utc | 72... i think it is similar to trying to understand why the coasts vote blue and the center of the usa votes red... i don't know that there is any immediate explanation for this, but it seems to happen this way..

Posted by: james | Nov 6 2020 16:44 utc | 81

Kiza @72

It doesn't have to make sense. Dorsey and Zuckerberg will keep discussion of how suspicious it all is out of social media and the stenographers in the mass media are so desperate to get back to writing about Kardashian ass that they will never draw public attention to "irregularities" in the election. When you tell a lie then you usually have to follow it with more lies to back up the previous one, and then yet more lies to support each previous wave of lies. The stenographers in mass media have had four years of that and cannot take it anymore. That is just too many lies for them to try and keep straight in their heads and they want to start off on some new, like Lukashenko using novichok on ducks and kids or something like that. They just want these last four years of their own self-inflicted nightmare to go away as soon as possible.

There will be no media coverage of any investigations of irregularities. The only attention the media will give the matter is to dismiss the whole thing as conspiracy theory.

Posted by: William Gruff | Nov 6 2020 16:49 utc | 82

Timmy B @ 53

Under Pennsylvania law, as interpreted by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court

If you read the article I posted @ 9 the former lieutenant governor of New York argues that the Constitution state legislators and NOT the courts the power to determine the time, place and manner of elections. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court didn’t have the power to make that decision. Therefore, all ballots counted under that ruling are invalid.

Posted by: Down South | Nov 6 2020 16:49 utc | 83

As I have said before,this election is going to be decided by the Supreme Court.

Posted by: Down South | Nov 6 2020 16:58 utc | 84

Hello James, thanks for trying to explain but you missed the most important part of my question - the dominance, the extreme prevalence. Even in socialist California do 2/3++ voters vote for the Democrats?

With respect, your comment just goes to show why such fraud can pass - because people who are not professionals in statistics and demographics will assume some “natural’ causes. Yet, professionals very well know that unexplained extremism in numbers simply cannot be natural.

It may confuse you further if I introduce the physical principle of entropy. It is probably this natural principle that pushes the voting numbers towards an even distribution - why the elections tend to be so close. Lacking any other strong factor, this natural principle would push mail voting distribution towards 50% - 50%.

So again - what is this unknown strong factor that makes the voter distribution skewed so strongly? 2/3++?

Posted by: Kiza | Nov 6 2020 17:15 utc | 85

It is interesting that the Democratic Establishment has scolded its 'progressive' (cough-cough) wing for the ease of labeling all Democrats socialist to the point fascist Democrats lost Congressional races targeted with political ads calling the fascist Democrat a socialist. Why do 'progressives' stay in such a war-mongering party for, of and by the murderous 1%? I dig AOC and Bernie et al, they're cuddly, but they are political frauds who apparently believe an iceberg can be turned by wishful thinking.

But as many on the right have been duped by Trump who is a complete and total fraud. I guess this Q-Anon thing has really taken hold of people's imaginations that Trump is some kind of superhero crusading against sexually deviant baby eaters. And hey, the 'elite' is as craven as it gets. It's easy to believe the worst. What's hard to believe is that someone like Donald Trump is a force for 'good.'

If trends hold, and after the smoke of litigation clears, it appears Sleepy Joe Biden, a proud fascist, is going to be the next President replacing the previous proud fascist Donald Trump.

So how ironic is it that folks shriek in horror at the word 'socialist' while they get all warm and fuzzy over the two-party fascist swamp that is the federal government of the United States of America.

Posted by: gottlieb | Nov 6 2020 17:15 utc | 86

I can see I’m not the only one who gets annoyed when someone posts a long link that messes up the page, Mark2.

Posted by: Featherless | Nov 6 2020 17:16 utc | 87

After all what we have witnessed during all these past 4 yeras, IMO, anyone supporting Trump is, or in full payement ( as a way of life..i.e. Alex Jones..) or have thought could have a good opportuntiy to steal ( i.e Bannon..)

https://twitter.com/ananavarro/status/1324181444386848768

Posted by: H.Schmatz | Nov 6 2020 17:20 utc | 88

Y. Smith is right but it is very mild advice and doesn’t cut to the heart of the matter.

The Dems (one branch of the Duopoly) are now, and have been for some time, if somewhat
covertly so, the war party, the neo-con party (neo-cons and assorted Never Trumpers who
now form part of that block), the party of globalisation, outsourcing, the party for Corporate
(some call it fascist) power.

They have managed to get as far as they have (not far in this last election, independently of
who becomes Prez in the end) thru their soldered alliance with the MSM and GAFA.
They control “the narrative” and have managed to demonise Trump as a person (not the GOP.)

But this hasn’t worked on a large part of the public who see things differently.

In a way, Trump has out-lefted the Dems, but from a ‘right’ perspective. Trump is seen as less of a war-monger
than Biden, if only because Biden has a mighty pro-war record (Afgh, Iraq, etc.) and Trump “hasn’t started a new war.”
(Imho this would need much discussion, but that is a common perception.)

As for being an anti-globalist and “boosting the economy” nonetheless and “keeping or returning jobs to the US”
and thus “supporting the American worker” (excuse all the “..” but they are needed…) he has scotched TTP,
made efforts to “keep foreignors out” (illegal labor, H1B visas..). Have these policies had much effect?
Maybe some?… can’t treat in a short post. Imho DT’s main move to ‘boost’ was the tax break for Corps, from 35% to 21%,
and that worked quite well. (The USA and Japan had the highest corp. tax rates in the world - of course in the US there
were many exceptions, breaks, loopholes, still.) On this issue, analyses and articles show clear polarisation,
with both sides interpreting, cherry picking, fudging, etc. link 1 gives CNBC showing wage gains.

Trump voters, in exit polls, cite “the Economy” as the number one reasons why they voted for him.
(Doing OK! Despite Covid downturn.)

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/31/pay-gains-under-trumps-best-since-the-great-recession.html

https://www.en24news.com/2020/11/the-economy-the-ray-of-hope-for-donald-trump-and-his-voters.html

https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2020/08/13/important-issues-in-the-2020-election/

Well-being, e.g. prison, health, support for veterans, cost of drugs, other ‘social’, 2 ‘positive’ ex
which many ordinary ppl have noticed (but not Dems or their internet supporters.
Many negs of course, not treated here, 10 pages needed..)

Why isn’t such legislation ever discussed on boards like this and many others?

The First Steps Act (bi-partisan) aims to reduce mass incarceration, be ‘fairer’ to inmates..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Step_Act

opioid crisis:

https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2019/09/04/trump-administration-announces-1-8-billion-funding-states-combating-opioid.html

I am not a DT supporter, but this is my view of some aspects of the election.

Divide-to-rule propaganda works great.

GAFA= google apple facebook amazon, in EU sometimes GAFAM for microsoft.

Posted by: Noirette | Nov 6 2020 17:21 utc | 89

And still and still and still ... all this yammering about "stolen" elections when one candidate had THREE MILLION more votes nationally ... I notice b and the spoilsports here studiously ignore the democratic will of the American people ...

To paraphrase general Welch's comment to Sen McCarthy "You've done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last?"

Nothing's been stolen; no one's been cheated; the will of the people has, for once, been ratified by the EC system and thank goodness for that. Can you imagine if, again, the person getting three million less votes would have WON?

Posted by: Caliman | Nov 6 2020 17:31 utc | 90

@ William Gruff
Your long comment here is the best so far. And there is no doubt that your non-mathematical comment re mine, on the social manipulation by the “social media” is spot on. The only social in the social media is in the name. In other words, behind “social media” there is always some puppet master pulling the strings. I feel like throwing up when seeing those notices that the puppet masters insert into Trump’s (mostly dumb) twits. Openly showing that they consider themselves the judges of right and wrong. Go f*** yourself scumbags. I would not trust you to judge my left hand from my right hand. This is only a symptom of where the Western society finds itself, much more important than one crappy presidential election. Airing your sh*** in the open like that and the suckers still consuming???

Posted by: Kiza | Nov 6 2020 17:36 utc | 91

@ 66 arby

Yes, the earth keeps spinning no matter who “wins” the election.
Armenia, apparently the skies are clear of turkish drones with a little help from Russian EW, so the Artsakh army is deploying armor again to defend Shusha, they almost lost control of the road to their capital Stepanakert.

Another relevant piece of information, the Ukros smelling victory by their satrap Biden last night heavily attacked Donetsk, a taste of things to come.

Posted by: vk | Nov 6 2020 16:33 utc | 76

That’s a good one, Evo calling for Almagro, the OAS will take care of Georgia and Pensilvania.

Posted by: Paco | Nov 6 2020 17:41 utc | 92

Seems that b’s headline is not up to date. It now does appear there are multiple pathways by which the Democrats will have House, Senate, White House. My feeling about that is they have been emboldened by the progress of improbable vote counts thus far and have advanced to daylight stealing with both hands. Trump is now the lamest of ducks. His lawyers will abandon him to his fate, and soon. The Mighty Wurlitzer has triumphed, again.

If you have great faith, if you believe any of this is real, quit commenting on blogs. Politicians need true believers on staff. Get a job in politics. Or just get a job with Google and help the Ministry of Truth stamp out doubleplusungood thought criminals.

Posted by: oldhippie | Nov 6 2020 17:43 utc | 93

The United States is a deeply divided country now. Some of the mountain states went up to 70% for the president. My own California and some other states went 2/3 for Biden. This level of division is unhealthy and unsustainable. If a few thousand votes in PA and GA and NV had gone the other way, Trump would have remained the unacceptable president of California; the fifth largest economy of the world would have had 30 million disenfranchised citizens.

My hope has been that, after Trump, at long last even the biggest believers in "big government" will realize the dangers of a too-strong federal govt. That they understand that having a behemoth in DC with the literal power of life and death over the world is a poor way of running things.

We need to get back to the original concept of America: a small federal govt tasked with national defense and common commerce and leaving the states to settle their own issues as we see fit. Let CA be CA and let KS be KS. The weaker the central govt is, the less important the national election will be and the less fraught. 50 experiments in republican democracy that can learn from each other. That would be a good example to the world.

Posted by: Caliman | Nov 6 2020 17:46 utc | 94

Noirette, vk, Down South and Mark 2 f**ked up this thread with their
endless links.

Posted by: Circe | Nov 6 2020 17:53 utc | 95

Kiza #85: "2/3++?"

Do you live in CA? I do. Yes, 2/3 of us voted for Biden. We do not like the preening megalomaniac currently in charge. Note that our pick in the primary was actually Sanders; so if he had been running, it may have been more than 2/3 ...

Btw, Wyoming voted 70% for Trump. That's a correct number too.

If you have actual evidence of cheating, please put it forward. Otherwise, I trust the system and my fellow volunteer citizens doing their jobs and counting votes as accurately as possible.

Posted by: c | Nov 6 2020 18:00 utc | 96

c @96

Two thirds of you crypto-Nazi scum voted for Prop 22, you plastic California Über Alles. Your efforts to virtue signal are just noise.

Posted by: William Gruff | Nov 6 2020 18:08 utc | 97

What do you think of the next
President in a few weeks KAMALA
DEVI HARRIS?

Posted by: TIRED | Nov 6 2020 18:09 utc | 98

Off-topic, excuse me. I still remember how I was shown Facebook for the first time by this lady I was courting. I was dumbfounded. Naturally, my courtship quickly went nowhere. Because I got stuck thinking - will you turn on the lights and invite all our neighbours when you and I are having sex? Ask them to help by taking snaps to post on?
This even before I would even try explaining to her that she is creating a record-for-life for both the moneyed advertisers and for the societal rulers.
Not a single “social medium” makes sense to a rational mind, but some made billions betting that billions of people are completely irrational.

Posted by: Kiza | Nov 6 2020 18:10 utc | 99

@95 In Mark2's case it should probably be seen as social activism.

Posted by: dh | Nov 6 2020 18:17 utc | 100