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Lake Ontario ("Lake America")

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71–80 of 128 posts

Re: Lake Ontario ("Lake America")

#71
post #48

This feels like the right-wing equivalent of pronoun policing lol. Crazy how the extremes of the political spectrum are so close to each other (like a horseshoe), yet hate each other so much. Doesn't seem like the polarization is near to ratcheting down though, at least not by judging from the comments in this thread.

> This feels like the right-wing equivalent of pronoun policing lol.

Nothing about it feels "right-wing" at all -- actual conservatism is all about maintaining continuity and avoiding forced changes to traditional conventions and established social norms.

Trump and his followers are a competing faction of the extreme left, as should be readily evidenced by his economic policies, and it's not at all surprising that he shares the same mentality of inserting political shibboleths into mundane aspects of everyday life.

Re: Lake Ontario ("Lake America")

#72
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, but it's also Trump and the GOP self-immolating. November is going to be a historic electoral wipeout. I expect the next administration will push through some laws limiting this sort of idiocy.

>I expect the next administration will push through some laws limiting this sort of idiocy "In a 5-4 decision..."

It does feel as though the best chance the US had to fix this in living memory would have been if Biden's response to the "United States v. Trump" verdict had been to immediately execute the Justices who said that's fine.

They're clearly OK with that, so it's not a problem that we can't ask them because they're dead, but the remaining Justices might now want to weigh in on whether it's OK to kill Supreme Court Justices if you're President, and might perhaps be expected to decide that's not OK and the earlier judgement was flawed.

Re: Lake Ontario ("Lake America")

#73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel like I am not good at anticipating election results, but anyway, the people arguing that the midterms will be a referendum on the economy make sense to me. Expensive gas and groceries are pretty unpopular. I guess some chunk of people will find a way to wholly blame Biden or whatever.

> I guess some chunk of people will find a way to wholly blame Biden or whatever. Markwayne Mullin, DHS Secretary, just yesterday: “You have a Biden administration that is failing the American people because they are allowing millions of people to come into this country illegally.” 20 months in to a 48 month term and they're still blaming the last guy, and phrasing it as if the last guy is still actively doing things…

A new dimension of doublethinking insanity if they’re having to hold and express that kind of thought in the present tense.

Re: Lake Ontario ("Lake America")

#74
post #3

I apologize to my Canadian friends. This is embarrassing.

Why not choose to feel patriotic about the decision. It gives us recognition for what we've done with the body of water. Arguably the fact that you feel embarrassed or need to apologize shows the lack of patriotism you feel over the body of water, so I think this new name can help future people feel patriotic over it. There is a lot of power in a name.

As Oscar Wilde didn't say: "Patriotism is a virtue of the vicious": https://quoteinvestigator.com/2019/06/28/patriot/

How do you have pride when the leader of your tribe is a liar, swindler, rapist, thug?

What a simplistic mind that says unthinkingly "Well the leader of my country wants it, I'm not going to question him, rah rah!"

Re: Lake Ontario ("Lake America")

#75
post #3

I apologize to my Canadian friends. This is embarrassing.

Why not choose to feel patriotic about the decision. It gives us recognition for what we've done with the body of water. Arguably the fact that you feel embarrassed or need to apologize shows the lack of patriotism you feel over the body of water, so I think this new name can help future people feel patriotic over it. There is a lot of power in a name.

You'll salute a lake but allow masked thugs to execute citizens in the middle of the street. "Patriotism" really is a hollow concept in America, huh?

Re: Lake Ontario ("Lake America")

#76
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> November is going to be a historic electoral wipeout. So you have faith in the average American voter? (Or at least a plurality of them?)

The polls are increasingly dire for the GOP. They're even losing the military vote.

Polls for the last few decades haven't really been all that accurate or good ("it's 50/50" - worthless).

You also seem to be ignoring all the systematic changes that have been made during Trump 2 in your prediction for such huge wins for the democrats. Things like the final destruction of the Voting Rights Act and the extreme Gerrymandering have gone mostly towards republicans. Also 32% of voters (or more) still don't really see a distinction against Donald Trump and The Almighty. Forgive me but I'm not convinced it'll be the bloodbath you think it's going to be. Democrats might have a minor edge in the house when all is said and done and literally nothing else to show for it.

Re: Lake Ontario ("Lake America")

#77
post #9
post #3

I apologize to my Canadian friends. This is embarrassing.

Yes, but it's also Trump and the GOP self-immolating. November is going to be a historic electoral wipeout. I expect the next administration will push through some laws limiting this sort of idiocy.

Gavin Newsom has indicated he won't remove all the tariffs if he becomes president in 2028, so some of the idiocy will continue.

Re: Lake Ontario ("Lake America")

#78
post #46
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

*American Democracy

> *American Democracy Not according to the link above, and the growing array of solvable yet perpetually unsolved problems in other countries.

Swiss democracy is doing just fine, it has frequent changing of power and lack of concentration of it built in much more robustly rather than US' pinky promises and wishful expectations. If only EU would be less pushy in bilateral talks and stop bullying it on internal matters and rather focus on its own rising internal... catastrophe(s) behind the doors.

Plus frequent public votes on actually important matters, the mark of adult smart population. Politicians globally will go out of their way to explain to you why Swiss model is bad for other places, but it boils down to who holds actual decision power and accountability.

Re: Lake Ontario ("Lake America")

#79
post #24

Canada should change the name of the country below them to “Bottom Canada” Honestly can’t believe there’s a few million very smart people in America who have to put up with this. Bridges for Americans worldwide are being burned to the ground and there’s no sign of a new enlightened political age arriving on any horizon. Canadians also don’t seem to understand that this situation is only going to get worse and America…

> Canadians also don’t seem to understand that this situation is only going to get worse and America can no longer be considered a friend.

As a Canadian, I very much understand that this will/can get worse, and not just for the US. The problems of America do not stop at Trump. He is merely the distracting, mercurial figurehead of a dysfunctional government and populist movement.

It is not a matter of friendship --- the average American isn't that different than the average Canadian. Some of my best friends and favoured colleagues are Americans. We can't turn this into Americans v. Canadians. We're all just getting exposed to the same social media cues that feed on fear and despair driven by profit and bad actors which leads to an erosion of trust and goodwill. America may just be a few short years ahead of the rest of us. We need to recognize who/what is driving us apart and fight that.

Re: Lake Ontario ("Lake America")

#80
post #49
post #40

I am Italian, and we get quite pissed when the government issues executive orders (the head of state can't do it), although it happens relatively often. I live in France, and when the president resorted to using them it felt like he was threatening democracy. The US mechanism seems the strongest of the three, and people have considered this a normal thing in a democracy long enough for this to happen.

Executive Orders really aren't that powerful. They can only command the executive branch to do something and are not legislature at all. Trump is certainly proving you can get pretty creative with enforcement to enact terror though, I'd agree to that.

Half the members of the legislature act like Trump is a king and believe that his Executive Orders are the same as laws signed by themselves. They've said as much on national television.
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