Rick's b.log - entry 2024/11/06

What the actual fuuuuuuuuuu....?

AI-generated image.

I think, today, is the day that one must accept that the United States lost the Cold War, having decided to elect Putin's useful idiot into The White House. It is also the day that the rest of us are going to have to accept that America is, at best, a very unreliable ally, and at worst... given that the lying mysogynistic convinced felon that will be the next President seems to enjoy screwing with stuff simply for the lulz.
What will be on his agenda? Well, for the rest of the world: Sucks to be you if you're Ukrainian, Palestinian, a believer in the usefulness of NATO and/or the UN, or anybody who exports to America.
For Americans? Sucks to be you if you're black, or Hispanic, or an Arab, or just have boobs.

Dark days ahead.

By the way, I had my AI picture app generate loads of pictures of a mushroom cloud over The White House, but this one absolutely won due to putting the flag, on a flagpole no less, on top of the mushroom cloud. That was precisely the right level of sarcasm for how effed things are now.

Polishing a turd

First of all, people don't care about "change". Everybody talks about "change". Even the Tories wittered on about it as if they somehow hadn't been responsible for the past decade and a half of decline. No, people want the potholes fixed, they want public services that work, they want to be able to have an actual appointment with their actual doctor, and they want to be paid (wage or pension) something that isn't a planetary joke.

As for the foundations, well, the previous so-called government took a wrecking ball to the lower floors so, you know, sometimes one must simply raze the structure and start again. Patching up such a broken thing is not that different to polishing a turd. At the end, the turd is still a turd and the broken is still broken.

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jgh, 6th November 2024, 21:34

The Dem's campaign has reminded me of the LibDem's 2019 campaign. They obsessively targetted <i>their own activists</i> and not actual real people with votes.

Rick, 6th November 2024, 23:17

Not to mention this bizarre thing that so many parties seem to be doing, and that is thinking that they can see off the threat of the right by moving to the right.    It doesn't work. People who were thinking of voting for a right leaning party aren't going to be interested in right-lite, and the traditional more left voters will feel that the party is betraying them. So by trying to court more votes they end up alienating both sides.    I dunno, I can't help but feel that the correct answer to the right is a stronger better argument from the left, not trying to ape them.

C Ferris, 7th November 2024, 08:55

Left wing Right wing - the new lot here are after milking the lower income people:-(

A tree-dwelling mammal, 7th November 2024, 09:00

The US election result has confirmed what we suspected all along. Americans are dumb. [1]    [1] No offence meant to any individual 'merkin who might be reading this. I'm sure there are some Americans who are individually smart. As a country, however, they act completely brain-dead.    They re-elected Bush.    And now they've re-elected Trump. A convicted felon.    Just... how? How did that happen?    I'm reminded of a comment made in the run-up to the last election (the one Trump lost). There is only one thing more dangerous than someone determined to hold on to power at all costs, and that's someone with nothing to lose.

C Ferris, 7th November 2024, 12:53

My mum used to say that you got government that you deserved.    It will be interesting to see how Trump goes about solving the two wars.    In Ukraine two sides - one wanting to tiff their cap to EU and the other to Russia (Stalin planted Russian people in eastern Ukraine)

Rick, 7th November 2024, 14:11

Simple.    Ukraine: Surrender enough land that Russia feels satisfied, or "we won't pay for you any more" (Trump is big about how much things cost, look at his shameful response to the hurricane that hit Puerto Rico).    Middle East: He'll be behind Israel all the way. As for the Arabs, they'll be caught up in the great deportation.  It'll fall to the rest of us (like Europe and actual allies) to support Ukraine as best we can to keep Russia at a safe distance.    As for Americans being dumb, I can't help but think that the ones that refused to vote for Harris because her stance on Gaza was unclear were very very dumb. Whatever her, and the Democrats, stance it has to be more on Gaza's favour than anything Trump will do.

C Ferris, 7th November 2024, 14:21

After WW2 we had to pay USA huge amounts of money - Ukraine will probably have to as well - I doubt if these arms are free.  Do we get oil in exchange for missile's?

David Pilling, 8th November 2024, 02:19

Surprise! Trump 45 seemed to achieve nothing because the system stopped him - he also made mistakes and fell out with people. See if he does any better. This time he is a lame duck because you only get two goes at the job. He's only got two years. Elon Musk for successor (?) more likely Musk will be out before January.    The other side of the coin is does he do any of the things he has said he will do, and if he does what will the consequences be. USA has big financial problems, fixing them will be difficult and unpopular. More likely he will squander more money and make the problems worse.

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