Political Randomness

Kurth · Post by **Kurth** » Mon Oct 31, 2022 12:42 am

Alefroth wrote: Sun Oct 30, 2022 7:11 pm Lula wins!

JB's concession imminent.

Well, there's a rare bit of good news. Feels like we don't see nearly enough defeats for authoritarian assholes these days.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Mon Oct 31, 2022 1:31 am

Kurth wrote: Mon Oct 31, 2022 12:42 am
Alefroth wrote: Sun Oct 30, 2022 7:11 pm Lula wins!

JB's concession imminent.
Well, there's a rare bit of good news. Feels like we don't see nearly enough defeats for authoritarian assholes these days.

The margin was razor-thin. If Brazil transitions without any shenanigans their system is more democratic than ours is.

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Mon Oct 31, 2022 7:04 am

They are more (small D) democratic than us just because they have the benefit of a straight popular vote w/ runoff rounds. There aren't 50 entities with various "attack surfaces" that can break our national politics.

Carpet_pissr · Post by **Carpet_pissr** » Mon Oct 31, 2022 7:41 am

Kurth wrote: Mon Oct 31, 2022 12:42 am
Alefroth wrote: Sun Oct 30, 2022 7:11 pm Lula wins!

JB's concession imminent.
Well, there's a rare bit of good news. Feels like we don't see nearly enough defeats for authoritarian assholes these days.

I literally thought Alefroth was being tongue in cheek, there. This is not over.

Unagi · Post by **Unagi** » Mon Oct 31, 2022 8:22 am

Kurth wrote: Mon Oct 31, 2022 12:42 am
Alefroth wrote: Sun Oct 30, 2022 7:11 pm Lula wins!

JB's concession imminent.
Well, there's a rare bit of good news. Feels like we don't see nearly enough defeats for authoritarian assholes these days.

I assumed Alefroth was being sarcastic with the 2nd half.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Mon Oct 31, 2022 8:35 am

Went and early voted yesterday. No wait when I went, but I've been watching the wait times and it's been pretty steady, with some bursts of lines wrapped around the building. Hoping turnout is good, it's about the only sliver of hope left.

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Mon Oct 31, 2022 9:02 am

Unagi wrote: Mon Oct 31, 2022 8:22 am
Kurth wrote: Mon Oct 31, 2022 12:42 am
Alefroth wrote: Sun Oct 30, 2022 7:11 pm Lula wins!

JB's concession imminent.
Well, there's a rare bit of good news. Feels like we don't see nearly enough defeats for authoritarian assholes these days.
I assumed Alefroth was being sarcastic with the 2nd half.

Has the Brazilian election authority (or whomever the relevant party) declared Lula the official winner yet?

My sense from what little I've read is that this is like mid-November 2020 in the U.S. - general recognition that the opposition candidate won, but with the incumbent president not yet having conceded or determined exactly what they're going to do next.

Carpet_pissr · Post by **Carpet_pissr** » Mon Oct 31, 2022 9:22 am

Just based on Bolsinaro's history and rhetoric, I could totally see him looking at the J6 situation and thinking "Totally doing that, but successfully". He has a LOT more support from the military there (than Trump did here), and that matters more there as well, unfortunately (a nasty little holdover throughout LATAM from the decades of dictatorships).

Hope I'm 100% wrong on this.

Alefroth · Post by **Alefroth** » Mon Oct 31, 2022 12:49 pm

Unagi wrote: Mon Oct 31, 2022 8:22 am
Kurth wrote: Mon Oct 31, 2022 12:42 am
Alefroth wrote: Sun Oct 30, 2022 7:11 pm Lula wins!

JB's concession imminent.
Well, there's a rare bit of good news. Feels like we don't see nearly enough defeats for authoritarian assholes these days.
I assumed Alefroth was being sarcastic with the 2nd half.

I was.

Alefroth · Post by **Alefroth** » Mon Oct 31, 2022 12:50 pm

El Guapo wrote: Mon Oct 31, 2022 9:02 am
Unagi wrote: Mon Oct 31, 2022 8:22 am
Kurth wrote: Mon Oct 31, 2022 12:42 am
Alefroth wrote: Sun Oct 30, 2022 7:11 pm Lula wins!

JB's concession imminent.
Well, there's a rare bit of good news. Feels like we don't see nearly enough defeats for authoritarian assholes these days.
I assumed Alefroth was being sarcastic with the 2nd half.
Has the Brazilian election authority (or whomever the relevant party) declared Lula the official winner yet?

My sense from what little I've read is that this is like mid-November 2020 in the U.S. - general recognition that the opposition candidate won, but with the incumbent president not yet having conceded or determined exactly what they're going to do next.

Everything I've seen says they (Superior Electoral Court) declared it last night.

Unagi · Post by **Unagi** » Mon Oct 31, 2022 12:51 pm

Alefroth wrote: Mon Oct 31, 2022 12:49 pm
Unagi wrote: Mon Oct 31, 2022 8:22 am
Kurth wrote: Mon Oct 31, 2022 12:42 am
Alefroth wrote: Sun Oct 30, 2022 7:11 pm Lula wins!

JB's concession imminent.
Well, there's a rare bit of good news. Feels like we don't see nearly enough defeats for authoritarian assholes these days.
I assumed Alefroth was being sarcastic with the 2nd half.
I was.

I suppose Kurth may have too and was just pointing out the good part.

Sigh. Man I hope this works out for them.

Alefroth · Post by **Alefroth** » Mon Oct 31, 2022 12:51 pm

JB has been out of public view since at least 8pm last night. He did say before the first round that his options were prison, death, or victory, and that he wouldn't be arrested.

Unagi · Post by **Unagi** » Mon Oct 31, 2022 12:54 pm

If only Trump could be so dignified.

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Mon Oct 31, 2022 1:06 pm

Unagi wrote: Mon Oct 31, 2022 12:54 pm If only Trump could be so dignified.

Is it dignity? It is probably more aligned with plotting.

Unagi · Post by **Unagi** » Mon Oct 31, 2022 1:59 pm

malchior wrote: Mon Oct 31, 2022 1:06 pm
Unagi wrote: Mon Oct 31, 2022 12:54 pm If only Trump could be so dignified.
Is it dignity? It is probably more aligned with plotting.

I meant only to imply that Trump could have done us all a favor and just jumped off a bridge after he lost.

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Mon Oct 31, 2022 4:04 pm

Tensions ratcheting down hopefully.

https://twitter.com/ianbremmer/status/1 ... 6514675715

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Mon Oct 31, 2022 4:06 pm

That is great news. I'm not done holding my breath, so we'll see how this all plays out, but a positive sign for sure.

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Mon Oct 31, 2022 4:29 pm

Florida Man (Uno) went on Truth Social and posted:

I talked to Bolosonro, I call him little Jar-Jar. We had a great talk. I told him I was disappointed, I prefer leaders who always win. He should never concede. I speak from expedience. There is so much fraud, I mean real election fraud. You can never find enough fraud.

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Thu Nov 03, 2022 11:09 pm

https://twitter.com/radleybalko/status/ ... 6465590273

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Mon Nov 07, 2022 11:10 am

In case you were wondering what happened to the daylight saving time bill:

A bill to permanently “spring forward” has been stalled in Congress for more than seven months, as lawmakers trade jabs over whether the Senate should have passed the legislation at all. House officials say they’ve been deluged by voters with split opinions and warnings from sleep specialists who insist that adopting permanent standard time instead would be healthier, and congressional leaders admit they just don’t know what to do.

“We haven’t been able to find consensus in the House on this yet,” Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) said in a statement to The Washington Post. “There are a broad variety of opinions about whether to keep the status quo, to move to a permanent time, and if so, what time that should be.”

I was surprised to read this:

And while the lobbying efforts around clock changes pale next to the tens of millions of dollars spent by advocates for so-called Big Pharma or Big Tech, some congressional aides joke that the debate has awakened “Big Sleep”: concerted resistance from sleep doctors and researchers who issued advocacy letters that warned against permanent daylight saving time, traveled to Capitol Hill to pitch lawmakers on permanent standard time instead and significantly ramped up their lobbying spending, according to a review of federal disclosures.

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Mon Nov 07, 2022 11:46 am

Big Sleep aka Science. Everything needs some shitty nickname? Our politics are at the core just incredibly dumb.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Mon Nov 07, 2022 11:51 am

BigSleepGate.

Carpet_pissr · Post by **Carpet_pissr** » Mon Nov 07, 2022 12:23 pm

Is there a Viagra specific lobby? If so, I wonder what it’s called?

Big…?? huh, I got nothin’.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Mon Nov 07, 2022 12:39 pm

But why would he buy Twitter? Surely the CEO of a mega-phone social media platform wouldn't do anything overtly political ahead of an election and pin it on his profile?

He's legitimately a complete chaos goblin.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Mon Nov 07, 2022 12:45 pm

Isgrimnur wrote: Mon Nov 07, 2022 11:51 am BigSleepGate.

BigSleep-a-Lago. We agreed that -a-Lago will replace -gate.

I strongly favor DST over standard time. Yesterday it was pitch black by 5 o'clock and it's going to get worse. But even I would rather tolerate standard time than keep switching back and forth.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Mon Nov 07, 2022 12:45 pm

He's the other Trump of a two headed coin. I've sadly held this opinion for years.

He just keeps reaffirming it for me.

Glad I don't have a Twitter profile and an ad blocker for when you guys link to that site.

Also shit is not spelled C H A O S. May his and his backers 44 Billion go up in smoke.

Defiant · Post by **Defiant** » Mon Nov 07, 2022 12:50 pm

Isn't the "Big Sleep" supposed to mean death?

That film would have been very different if everyone just had a nice, long, restful sleep.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Mon Nov 07, 2022 1:14 pm

Raymond Chandler wrote:What did it matter where you lay once you were dead? In a dirty sump or in a marble tower on the top of a high hill? You were dead, you were sleeping the big sleep, you were not bothered by things like that. Oil and water were the same as wind and air to you. You just slept the big sleep, not caring about the nastiness of how you died or where you fell.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Mon Nov 07, 2022 1:18 pm

It's not the outcome, it's how inconvenient the journey.

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Mon Nov 07, 2022 2:59 pm

Smoove_B wrote: Mon Nov 07, 2022 12:39 pm But why would he buy Twitter? Surely the CEO of a mega-phone social media platform wouldn't do anything overtly political ahead of an election and pin it on his profile?

He's legitimately a complete chaos goblin.

Does anyone seriously consider recommendations from Musk Melon?

Zarathud · Post by **Zarathud** » Mon Nov 07, 2022 3:07 pm

This is why advertisers fled. Musk was going to be stupid, and there’s no profit in supporting it.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Wed Nov 09, 2022 11:39 pm

2022 historian rankings of US presidents

For the seventh time since its inception in 1982, the Siena College Research
Institute’s (SCRI) Survey of U.S. Presidents finds that experts rank Franklin D. Roosevelt, Abraham
Lincoln, George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt and Thomas Jefferson as the United States’ top five
chief executives. The 141 participating presidential scholars agree with their peers over the last 40 years
naming the same five leaders as America’s finest.

For the second time, scholars include Donald Trump
along with Andrew Johnson, James Buchanan, Warren Harding and Franklin Pierce in the bottom five.
Joseph Biden enters the ranking after only a year in office at 19th rated highly on his ability to
compromise (9th), court appointments (10th), executive appointments (10th) and integrity (12th) but lower
on luck (34th), his relationship with Congress (31st) and his communication ability (30th).

Lyndon Johnson is ranked 8th, entering the top 10 for the first time due to his work with Congress (1st) and court
appointments (4th) but weighed down by foreign policy accomplishments (39th) and avoiding crucial
mistakes (35th). Barack Obama is in 11th position, his highest ever, Dwight Eisenhower is once again
rated the 6th best president and Ronald Reagan remains in the top twenty at 18th scoring highly on luck
(3rd), party leadership (6th), communication (7th) and relationship with Congress (8th).

George W Bush fell to #35. Trump is #43.

Charts and graphics at the link are PDFs so I can't copy them here, but they're worth a click-through.

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Thu Nov 10, 2022 12:18 am

I'm sorry but no Presidents of past centuries can compare with the shit stain that is Florida Man. To name a few:

Inaction on Covid killed 100k Americans.

Fucked up the border for decades.

Nearly destroyed NATO.

Instigated foreign meddling in U.S. elections.

Reversed action on global warming.

Refused to admit defeat, attempted to overturn the results and instigated an insurrection, almost destroying U.S. democracy.

Was impeached twice.

Stole classified documents.

Ongoing graft, corruption and misuse of funds.

Edit: Appointed the worst judges in American history.

I mean I hated Nixon but he was a choir boy compared to that. There will never be another president as bad as that, if we are even able to continue electing presidents after this unmitigated turd. WORST. PRESIDENT. EVER.

Defiant · Post by **Defiant** » Thu Nov 10, 2022 10:16 am

Good lord, the PDFs aren't very readable, are they?

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Thu Nov 10, 2022 11:48 am

Defiant wrote: Thu Nov 10, 2022 10:16 am Good lord, the PDFs aren't very readable, are they?

No they are not. I looked around a bit for a better presentation -- i.e., a simple list -- but didn't find one.

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Thu Nov 10, 2022 11:50 am

Jaymann wrote: Thu Nov 10, 2022 12:18 am I'm sorry but no Presidents of past centuries can compare with the shit stain that is Florida Man. To name a few:

Inaction on Covid killed 100k Americans.

Fucked up the border for decades.

Nearly destroyed NATO.

Instigated foreign meddling in U.S. elections.

Reversed action on global warming.

Refused to admit defeat, attempted to overturn the results and instigated an insurrection, almost destroying U.S. democracy.

Was impeached twice.

Stole classified documents.

Ongoing graft, corruption and misuse of funds.

Edit: Appointed the worst judges in American history.

I mean I hated Nixon but he was a choir boy compared to that. There will never be another president as bad as that, if we are even able to continue electing presidents after this unmitigated turd. WORST. PRESIDENT. EVER.

James Buchanan allowed an actual civil war to happen.

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Thu Nov 10, 2022 11:51 am

Kraken wrote: Thu Nov 10, 2022 11:48 am
Defiant wrote: Thu Nov 10, 2022 10:16 am Good lord, the PDFs aren't very readable, are they?
No they are not. I looked around a bit for a better presentation -- i.e., a simple list -- but didn't find one.

Wikipedia is your friend.

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Thu Nov 10, 2022 11:52 am

pr0ner wrote: Thu Nov 10, 2022 11:50 am
James Buchanan allowed an actual civil war to happen.

Allowed seems rather tame compared to inciting one.

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Thu Nov 10, 2022 11:55 am

Jaymann wrote: Thu Nov 10, 2022 11:52 am
pr0ner wrote: Thu Nov 10, 2022 11:50 am
James Buchanan allowed an actual civil war to happen.
Allowed seems rather tame compared to inciting one.

Failing to incite one. So far.

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Thu Nov 10, 2022 12:00 pm

Jaymann wrote: Thu Nov 10, 2022 11:52 am
pr0ner wrote: Thu Nov 10, 2022 11:50 am
James Buchanan allowed an actual civil war to happen.
Allowed seems rather tame compared to inciting one.

Lol no.