Trump

[Sandydragon]

And a bunch of Trump supporters have shown up in Detroit claiming they want to be observers to try and stop votes being counted. They're not packing AR-15s yet.

I think if I were in charge of the counting stations, I'd be asking for a police presence.Just in case.

American police?

Given where it is, would be better to ask the Canadians

If Trump keeps on like he is, they will need the National Guard to protect them. Its only a matter of time before some nutter does something and you can just imagine the Republican lawyers seizing on any disruption to claim the vote is no longer sufficiently robust, even if their own president has inspired it.

[J Dory]

I think if I were in charge of the counting stations, I'd be asking for a police presence.Just in case.

American police?

Given where it is, would be better to ask the Canadians

If Trump keeps on like he is, they will need the National Guard to protect them. Its only a matter of time before some nutter does something and you can just imagine the Republican lawyers seizing on any disruption to claim the vote is no longer sufficiently robust, even if their own president has inspired it.

We'd be happy to help ay.

[Sandydragon]

So Michigan declared for Biden and Wisconsin has Biden ahead with 99% of the votes counted. All eyes now to Arizona and possibly Georgia. It would be grey to tie this up before the later postal ballots in Nevada and Pennsylvania are accounted for.

Speaking of Pennsylvania Trumps lead is now down to 300k, for over a million earlier this afternoon and there are still plenty of votes to count.

[Stom]

AP has Arizona as Biden's win.

Which would give Biden 248. Add in Michigan and that's 264. Nevada is 6 and the win.

Penn, though is getting mighty close, and Georgia is getting closer, too, though not at the same rate. Those ballots in the cities making a big difference.

[morepork]

253 to 214. It’s a mini blue wave with the taste of chemical toilet, but is preferable to the red algal bloom of red raw sewerage. C’mon Philly, rock those mail ballots on.

[Buggaluggs]

We'd be happy to help ay.

Is that the beaver that Trump bragged about grabbing?

[Buggaluggs]

Biden needs 66% of the remaining vote in PA down from nearly 68, so this is on. Needs 65% of remaining vote in GA with not much left to count.

[hugh_woatmeigh]

Agree with all the anti-trump rhetoric, not debating that... but the AP calling Arizona in Biden's favour as early as they did is looking very, very suspect.

[WaspInWales]

253 to 214. It’s a mini blue wave with the taste of chemical toilet, but is preferable to the red algal bloom of red raw sewerage. C’mon Philly, rock those mail ballots on.

264 to 214 now!

Beeb still showing 243 to 214 though.

[hugh_woatmeigh]

253 to 214. It’s a mini blue wave with the taste of chemical toilet, but is preferable to the red algal bloom of red raw sewerage. C’mon Philly, rock those mail ballots on.

264 to 214 now!

Beeb still showing 243 to 214 though.

Because the beeb is quite rightly showing a bit of reservation with states that are still being contested.

[Puja]

Agree with all the anti-trump rhetoric, not debating that... but the AP calling Arizona in Biden's favour as early as they did is looking very, very suspect.

It was actually Fox who made the first call on Arizona, surprisingly enough. Their behind-the-scenes election analyst is supposed to be brilliant, apolitical, and highly independent and he's got enough credit in the bank to be able to say, "No, this is what's happening," and be taken as fact.

Apparently Trump's team were not happy, as it was announced just as it'd started to become clear that he'd taken Florida and Fox of all networks announcing such a big state flipping to Biden really knocked the wheels off "the red wave" narrative that they were trying to build to let Trump declare victory early.

Puja

[WaspInWales]

253 to 214. It’s a mini blue wave with the taste of chemical toilet, but is preferable to the red algal bloom of red raw sewerage. C’mon Philly, rock those mail ballots on.

264 to 214 now!

Beeb still showing 243 to 214 though.

Because the beeb is quite rightly showing a bit of reservation with states that are still being contested.

Fair enough...I'm thinking it's due to them being shit at updating live events.

If you follow football, rugby or cricket via the Beeb app, you may know what I mean

Fox News are even going with 264-214.

[Stom]

264 to 214 now!

Beeb still showing 243 to 214 though.

Because the beeb is quite rightly showing a bit of reservation with states that are still being contested.

Fair enough...I'm thinking it's due to them being shit at updating live events.

If you follow football, rugby or cricket via the Beeb app, you may know what I mean

Fox News are even going with 264-214.

The only possibility other than 264 is 253, though, surely? Not 243? That would suggest they haven't counted Wisconsin.

Anyway, it's getting mightily tight in both Penn and Georgia.

Around 230k in Penn now, that might not be down quite enough.

Georgia down to just over 50k, which again, might not be quite enough.

Both are going to be very tight.

Win one of those 2 and it's game over.

[Stom]

By the way, why does no-one call this "Trumpism", "Nationalism fuelled populism" what it really is? Fascism.

Hell, does this sound familiar? Written in 1995

The cult of tradition. “One has only to look at the syllabus of every fascist movement to find the major traditionalist thinkers. The Nazi gnosis was nourished by traditionalist, syncretistic, occult elements.”
The rejection of modernism. “The Enlightenment, the Age of Reason, is seen as the beginning of modern depravity. In this sense Ur-Fascism can be defined as irrationalism.”
The cult of action for action’s sake. “Action being beautiful in itself, it must be taken before, or without, any previous reflection. Thinking is a form of emasculation.”
Disagreement is treason. “The critical spirit makes distinctions, and to distinguish is a sign of modernism. In modern culture the scientific community praises disagreement as a way to improve knowledge.”
Fear of difference. “The first appeal of a fascist or prematurely fascist movement is an appeal against the intruders. Thus Ur-Fascism is racist by definition.”
Appeal to social frustration. “One of the most typical features of the historical fascism was the appeal to a frustrated middle class, a class suffering from an economic crisis or feelings of political humiliation, and frightened by the pressure of lower social groups.”
The obsession with a plot. “Thus at the root of the Ur-Fascist psychology there is the obsession with a plot, possibly an international one. The followers must feel besieged.”
The enemy is both strong and weak. “By a continuous shifting of rhetorical focus, the enemies are at the same time too strong and too weak.”
Pacifism is trafficking with the enemy. “For Ur-Fascism there is no struggle for life but, rather, life is lived for struggle.”
Contempt for the weak. “Elitism is a typical aspect of any reactionary ideology.”
Everybody is educated to become a hero. “In Ur-Fascist ideology, heroism is the norm. This cult of heroism is strictly linked with the cult of death.”
Machismo and weaponry. “Machismo implies both disdain for women and intolerance and condemnation of nonstandard sexual habits, from chastity to homosexuality.”
Selective populism. “There is in our future a TV or Internet populism, in which the emotional response of a selected group of citizens can be presented and accepted as the Voice of the People.”
Ur-Fascism speaks Newspeak. “All the Nazi or Fascist schoolbooks made use of an impoverished vocabulary, and an elementary syntax, in order to limit the instruments for complex and critical reasoning.”

[Puja]

By the way, why does no-one call this "Trumpism", "Nationalism fuelled populism" what it really is? Fascism.

Hell, does this sound familiar? Written in 1995

The cult of tradition. “One has only to look at the syllabus of every fascist movement to find the major traditionalist thinkers. The Nazi gnosis was nourished by traditionalist, syncretistic, occult elements.”
The rejection of modernism. “The Enlightenment, the Age of Reason, is seen as the beginning of modern depravity. In this sense Ur-Fascism can be defined as irrationalism.”
The cult of action for action’s sake. “Action being beautiful in itself, it must be taken before, or without, any previous reflection. Thinking is a form of emasculation.”
Disagreement is treason. “The critical spirit makes distinctions, and to distinguish is a sign of modernism. In modern culture the scientific community praises disagreement as a way to improve knowledge.”
Fear of difference. “The first appeal of a fascist or prematurely fascist movement is an appeal against the intruders. Thus Ur-Fascism is racist by definition.”
Appeal to social frustration. “One of the most typical features of the historical fascism was the appeal to a frustrated middle class, a class suffering from an economic crisis or feelings of political humiliation, and frightened by the pressure of lower social groups.”
The obsession with a plot. “Thus at the root of the Ur-Fascist psychology there is the obsession with a plot, possibly an international one. The followers must feel besieged.”
The enemy is both strong and weak. “By a continuous shifting of rhetorical focus, the enemies are at the same time too strong and too weak.”
Pacifism is trafficking with the enemy. “For Ur-Fascism there is no struggle for life but, rather, life is lived for struggle.”
Contempt for the weak. “Elitism is a typical aspect of any reactionary ideology.”
Everybody is educated to become a hero. “In Ur-Fascist ideology, heroism is the norm. This cult of heroism is strictly linked with the cult of death.”
Machismo and weaponry. “Machismo implies both disdain for women and intolerance and condemnation of nonstandard sexual habits, from chastity to homosexuality.”
Selective populism. “There is in our future a TV or Internet populism, in which the emotional response of a selected group of citizens can be presented and accepted as the Voice of the People.”
Ur-Fascism speaks Newspeak. “All the Nazi or Fascist schoolbooks made use of an impoverished vocabulary, and an elementary syntax, in order to limit the instruments for complex and critical reasoning.”

I used the f-word in a post earlier, but I actually had to make myself use it - it's been such an established part of culture for so long that comparing an opponent to the Nazis is ridiculous hyperbole and a sign that you've lost the argument that it's hard to call something that is actively and completely fascist by its name.

From the Holocaust Museum:



Puja

[morepork]

You are an unflappably polite student of the game Puja. That museum is overwhelmingly poignant and depressingly relevant, as is the National Museum of African American History and Culture in the same city, and as is the African American Museum in Philadelphia, a must see when in Philly, a major station of the underground railroad. I spent days cruising historic sites of this network when I first came here, and there are many in old city Philly. I wish there was a first nations museum with the same weighting in a major city. There is a permanent Native American display at the Penn museum in Philly that has an unflinching testament to land grabbing and genocide, but it isn't enough. Founding fathers and disenfranchised side by side, if you care to look closely.


I feel strangely American right now.

[Sandydragon]

Looks like Biden will fall just short in Georgia.

[Son of Mathonwy]

By the way, why does no-one call this "Trumpism", "Nationalism fuelled populism" what it really is? Fascism.

Hell, does this sound familiar? Written in 1995

The cult of tradition. “One has only to look at the syllabus of every fascist movement to find the major traditionalist thinkers. The Nazi gnosis was nourished by traditionalist, syncretistic, occult elements.”
The rejection of modernism. “The Enlightenment, the Age of Reason, is seen as the beginning of modern depravity. In this sense Ur-Fascism can be defined as irrationalism.”
The cult of action for action’s sake. “Action being beautiful in itself, it must be taken before, or without, any previous reflection. Thinking is a form of emasculation.”
Disagreement is treason. “The critical spirit makes distinctions, and to distinguish is a sign of modernism. In modern culture the scientific community praises disagreement as a way to improve knowledge.”
Fear of difference. “The first appeal of a fascist or prematurely fascist movement is an appeal against the intruders. Thus Ur-Fascism is racist by definition.”
Appeal to social frustration. “One of the most typical features of the historical fascism was the appeal to a frustrated middle class, a class suffering from an economic crisis or feelings of political humiliation, and frightened by the pressure of lower social groups.”
The obsession with a plot. “Thus at the root of the Ur-Fascist psychology there is the obsession with a plot, possibly an international one. The followers must feel besieged.”
The enemy is both strong and weak. “By a continuous shifting of rhetorical focus, the enemies are at the same time too strong and too weak.”
Pacifism is trafficking with the enemy. “For Ur-Fascism there is no struggle for life but, rather, life is lived for struggle.”
Contempt for the weak. “Elitism is a typical aspect of any reactionary ideology.”
Everybody is educated to become a hero. “In Ur-Fascist ideology, heroism is the norm. This cult of heroism is strictly linked with the cult of death.”
Machismo and weaponry. “Machismo implies both disdain for women and intolerance and condemnation of nonstandard sexual habits, from chastity to homosexuality.”
Selective populism. “There is in our future a TV or Internet populism, in which the emotional response of a selected group of citizens can be presented and accepted as the Voice of the People.”
Ur-Fascism speaks Newspeak. “All the Nazi or Fascist schoolbooks made use of an impoverished vocabulary, and an elementary syntax, in order to limit the instruments for complex and critical reasoning.”

I used the f-word in a post earlier, but I actually had to make myself use it - it's been such an established part of culture for so long that comparing an opponent to the Nazis is ridiculous hyperbole and a sign that you've lost the argument that it's hard to call something that is actively and completely fascist by its name.

From the Holocaust Museum:



Puja

Good to see that stuff described in abstract form, stripped of the particular (eg Nazi) party trappings. Quite a few boxes ticked in the UK . . . even more in Trump's USA.

[Stom]

By the way, why does no-one call this "Trumpism", "Nationalism fuelled populism" what it really is? Fascism.

Hell, does this sound familiar? Written in 1995

The cult of tradition. “One has only to look at the syllabus of every fascist movement to find the major traditionalist thinkers. The Nazi gnosis was nourished by traditionalist, syncretistic, occult elements.”
The rejection of modernism. “The Enlightenment, the Age of Reason, is seen as the beginning of modern depravity. In this sense Ur-Fascism can be defined as irrationalism.”
The cult of action for action’s sake. “Action being beautiful in itself, it must be taken before, or without, any previous reflection. Thinking is a form of emasculation.”
Disagreement is treason. “The critical spirit makes distinctions, and to distinguish is a sign of modernism. In modern culture the scientific community praises disagreement as a way to improve knowledge.”
Fear of difference. “The first appeal of a fascist or prematurely fascist movement is an appeal against the intruders. Thus Ur-Fascism is racist by definition.”
Appeal to social frustration. “One of the most typical features of the historical fascism was the appeal to a frustrated middle class, a class suffering from an economic crisis or feelings of political humiliation, and frightened by the pressure of lower social groups.”
The obsession with a plot. “Thus at the root of the Ur-Fascist psychology there is the obsession with a plot, possibly an international one. The followers must feel besieged.”
The enemy is both strong and weak. “By a continuous shifting of rhetorical focus, the enemies are at the same time too strong and too weak.”
Pacifism is trafficking with the enemy. “For Ur-Fascism there is no struggle for life but, rather, life is lived for struggle.”
Contempt for the weak. “Elitism is a typical aspect of any reactionary ideology.”
Everybody is educated to become a hero. “In Ur-Fascist ideology, heroism is the norm. This cult of heroism is strictly linked with the cult of death.”
Machismo and weaponry. “Machismo implies both disdain for women and intolerance and condemnation of nonstandard sexual habits, from chastity to homosexuality.”
Selective populism. “There is in our future a TV or Internet populism, in which the emotional response of a selected group of citizens can be presented and accepted as the Voice of the People.”
Ur-Fascism speaks Newspeak. “All the Nazi or Fascist schoolbooks made use of an impoverished vocabulary, and an elementary syntax, in order to limit the instruments for complex and critical reasoning.”

I used the f-word in a post earlier, but I actually had to make myself use it - it's been such an established part of culture for so long that comparing an opponent to the Nazis is ridiculous hyperbole and a sign that you've lost the argument that it's hard to call something that is actively and completely fascist by its name.

From the Holocaust Museum:



Puja

Well indeed.

I've been calling this modern form of American pseudo-Christianity "fascist Christianity" for a while, though that's not a completely true label.

And the fact is, the governments here, there, even in the UK, match with the concept of fascism to varying degrees. Here and the US closer than the UK, which has always had a very odd relationship with parts of its identity.

And we can see the same with Poland, Turkey, India, Brazil, Philippines...

They need to be called what they are.

[Stom]

You want to see the most absolutely insane and ridiculous thing?

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/bla ... d_ms_tw_ma

I mean, wtf America?

These people are almost literally turkeys voting for Christmas. How can a black man vote for an open racist based upon "we can't have a bloody socialist in the White House" despite the fact Biden would be considered pretty goddamn conservative in most other countries in the world!

Jeez, I mean, seriously. Fuck.

America, you're broken.

[morepork]

Not exactly hard hitting statistical analysis, but it does have a nice picture of a single black man surrounded by white dudes to support the narrative.

[Puja]

By the way, why does no-one call this "Trumpism", "Nationalism fuelled populism" what it really is? Fascism.

Hell, does this sound familiar? Written in 1995

I used the f-word in a post earlier, but I actually had to make myself use it - it's been such an established part of culture for so long that comparing an opponent to the Nazis is ridiculous hyperbole and a sign that you've lost the argument that it's hard to call something that is actively and completely fascist by its name.

From the Holocaust Museum:



Puja

Good to see that stuff described in abstract form, stripped of the particular (eg Nazi) party trappings. Quite a few boxes ticked in the UK . . . even more in Trump's USA.

That picture actually illustrates my point about "fascist" being a difficult word to use through its hyperbolic overuse - I found it on a blog from 2004, trying to crowbar that template onto Bush.

Gods, we didn't know we were born back then, did we? There wasn't even the Tea Party in those days. If you offered me 4 more years of W or 4 more years of Trump, I'd take your hand off at the wrist.

Puja

[Digby]

Looks like Biden will fall just short in Georgia.

My kingdom for a Zimmer frame

[Zhivago]

Kicking off a bit in Maricopa county Arizona.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... ction-call


I'm no expert, but what gun is that - is that an AR-15? Can we tick that box now?

[Sandydragon]

Looks like Biden will fall just short in Georgia.

My kingdom for a Zimmer frame

Actually he might not be. BBC was hinting that we was a bit behind with 99% of the vote counted, now Biden is about 18K behind with 5% of the vote remaining to be counted. Its still possible.