Metaneos

 Welp, the Democrats lost big-time. Harris lost to Trump and it wasn't even close enough to bother with contesting it. Why? Who knows. There'll probably be any number of reasons developed: third parties, racism, and so on, and some of those reasons may even be relatively close to the truth. But what is true is Joe Biden didn't really do Harris any favors with his lack of action on combating inflation. He left it all up to the central bankers and they have exactly one tool for targeting inflation —raising interest rates— and this tool really isn't the best tool available for bringing inflation down in a hurry (it's taxes. Taxes are the best tool for combating inflation but no politicians ever speak about this). It basically took Biden's entire term for interest rates to finally go below 3%, and with that, Biden also probably would've lost the election, because average people are feeling the effects of the cost of living. It's basically a crisis out there ...

Matt Tabbi Hopefully, some calm and reason returns to the USA, soon. Probably not, but it's not vain to hope for it. In the end, though, it's probably better to prepare for worse things to come. Things will get worse before they get better, sometimes.

Toronto Star Well, let's just all observe how this all plays out. What's the plan for the unexpected happening? What's the over-under?

CTV News Well, sucks to be Trump and Ryan. But there's much to be said when your replacement bill is already considered to be worse than the Act it's supposed to replace. And let's be honest, the ACA was bad. Somehow, Trump's replacement for it was even worse. All things considered, this is probably for the best.

The Intercept, by Glenn Greenwald People are losing their damn minds over Donald Trump. People I respected are going insane over his election win. My take over his election win is, fuck Donald Trump. He was a beatable candidate. It was the Democrats' fault for losing an infinitely winnable election when they nominated a loser like Hilary Clinton. It should've been obvious a mile away that she was fully capable of losing that election, and handily at that. She barely beat a tepid old man like Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary, and she had to cheat at that. Seriously, who are we kidding here? We need to look at things, both realistically and pragmatically. We can't be jumping at shadows and conspiracy theories, simply because they match up with what we hope to be true. Beat him in an old school way. Next election, nominate a decent candidate with a bit of charisma, and who has workable policies. No more backroom nominations. And stop relying on the damn spooks. Ther...

In the USA, in regards to the election. The neo-liberals are painting the election as stolen by the Russians, as though somehow they swung the electoral college for Trump. Except, as Ian Welsh points out , even if the leaks and the FBI did ultimately cost H. Clinton the election, both were own-goals. This cannot be stated enough. H. Clinton's email scandal was of her own design. The Russians never forced her to utilize her unsecured private email server. (That's not even getting into stating how the proof showing it was Russians who did it isn't good enough .) What's especially concerning is how commentators are chasing this lede down a very dangerous rabbit hole. It's unsettling to hear how people would be absolutely fine with the electoral college overturning their decision, because of these accusations. Well, that's called a coup. And if you're fine with the electoral college overturning result of an election, then you're fine with a coup, and all ...

It is upon us! We are not worthy! Hilary Clinton, whose moral scruples are somehow less then her popularity, which is as low as it can get in the modern era, versus Donald Trump, as nasty a piece of work as has been seen in some time in US politics. It'll be bare knuckle brawling from here on out, and I get the feeling the Drumpf will have the advantage in a pure mud slinging dirty campaign. Then again, I could be wrong. But I'm not wrong when I predict this will be a low voter turnout. At this point, who cares who wins? Hilary Clinton is More of the Same! Whereas Trump is Power to the One Percent! You know, it'll be shit sandwiches, as Ian Welsh calls it, for everyone, regardless of who wins. The difference between the two, is while Hilary will force you all to buy the shit sandwich, she won't force you to eat it, whereas Trump will force you to eat it, but you won't have to buy it. Well, there's nuances, and everything to consider. What kind of bread, an...

There's talk of Mitt Romney running as an independent. Wonderful, a third party to split the vote between people who probably are going to stay home on election day, regardless. Hilary Clinton, probably the most hated Democrat since Jimmy Carter, but he had at least has managed to restore his image over the past few decades. Policies? Position? We all know what she is. A neo-liberal snake oil salesman. And a poor campaigner. Donald Trump, a sea change in the Republican Party, but he's been campaigning as a racist douche. He's been moving leftward in his campaigning, lately threatening to skive off Clinton's support on her right flank. A libertarian. Green Party. Probably still too soon for a concerted effort at the presidency, but they should work toward growing their support. Mitt Romney. Voters stayed home the last time he ran for president. What's changed that he should challenge again? And the old guard Republicans are hoping he'll split the vote with Tr...

Trump will probably win the Republican nomination. What's hilarious is how neo-liberals and neo-conservatives have paved his path toward this still small success. They'd created this opening for such a man to enter into the halls of power. And now, they're panicking. And even if he doesn't win the presidential election, there probably are others watching and observing Trump's political success. If Trumps wins more success in the US political system, then his currently radical policies will quickly become normalized. For the past thirty-ish years, we've been living in the age of Reagan. Now, his influence, and the influence of his peers and students is waning. The age of Reagan is coming to an end. It is times like this when radical ideas begin to normalize, and become adopted by the powerful, seeking different avenues into ever greater power when the old bottlenecks are thoroughly controlled by the old guard. However, liberals and progressives have been ca...

Matt Tabbi - Rolling Stone Tabbi probably oversimplifies too much, here. I can understand. I wouldn't want to give much credit to Trump, either, but that's dangerous. Trump's campaign is dangerous. I'd even state it's proto-fascist in nature. It's what fascism looks like, before it's institutionalized. Trump isn't an idiot, though, as Tabbi tries to illustrate. I'd even consider Trump to be especially crafty, when it comes to understanding how to appeal to the Republican base. And it's that appeal that makes his campaign deadly. Trump has calculated how he can win the Republican primary. And so far, it seems as though he's guessed right. He says what he himself probably wants to hear. What's worse, is if he wins the Republican primary, he may even have a chance of winning the Presidential election. Especially if the Democrats elect Clinton as their choice for president. Thus far, Trump has run as the anti-Clinton. He's genuine a...