Please stop insulting Pound Shop - if you go into the local Pound Shop, you can get a bottle of Fairy liquid for a pound. Which is really useful for doing the dishes.
If you gave Jeff Davis a pound coin, he'd spend it on losing a war. No Fairy liquid. So dirty dishes in the sink....
Re: pound shops. Note that on this side of the Atlantic (and Pacific) we have dollar stores.
When you buy your cut-rate detergent and off-brand candy, you Brits are REALLY getting ripped off!
Do you mean washing-up liquid and sweets? Just checking.
The Irish have Euro shops. We are being ripped off.
Perhaps we can join whatever club it is they are in? 🤔
It was the same when we were members of the same (expensive) club 🙄
I sat watching it with my gob hanging open. It takes a particularly ballsy news crew to see *that* and think "lets get in there". Yes they can go in without fear of arrest thanks to the 1st Amendment. But seriously, I would have been in fear of the crowd - violence, the pox, caught in the crossfire.
Its no wonder I was a crap journalist. No balls.
My problem here is that I have realised I must suffer from some sort of psychological problem.
When people say 'May you live in interesting times' and mean it as a curse, what I actually hear is 'May you get all the Christmas pressies you wished for'.
I genuinely have a bit of me - quite a large one it seems - that sees all this stuff going on and thinks 'Cool!! History being made' rather than 'oh dear this is bad' which I recognise is the correct response.
A moment's thought is enough for head to override heart again and realise this is not good in the grand scheme of things, but that love of 'stuff happening' still lurks deep inside somewhere. As I have said before, I am definitely a cowardly anarchist. My heart is anarchic but I have way to much vested in the status quo to actually want it to happen.
I can 100% relate to this.
Surely EVERYBODY on a site dedicated to moving news and political drama gets a little buzz, or a major orgasm, out of dramatic news and political events? This is what we DO.
FFS this is a site which can go into meltdown when the Lib Dems in Scotland lose 3% in a ComRes SubSample.
The potential storming on the Capitol in DC is bound to get PB-ers quite hot under the collar. And rightly so.
I genuinely think there's a 50/50 chance right now the 25th will be invoked. This has gone too far.
CNN reporting "White House aides" pressed for the National Guard to be called upon, Trump wouldn't - then Pence did it by himself. This is going too far, way too far.
I don't think there are enough people brave enough in the cabinet to do it. I think they'll try to manage out the remaining fortnight.
He's lost it though - completely. All appointments cancelled, Twitter account suspended, probably being physically managed, possibly doctors in attendance. I think they'll try to shift him towards Mar-a-Lago for a rest cure if they possibly can. Really tough fortnight ahead.
I believe very much in free speech, and of platforms not restricting it lightly, but people were getting hurt and crimes committed because of what he was saying and spreading on that platform. It had very little option.
What's striking and a little reassuring about the Trump insurrection is the lack of organisation and leadership - basically it's a bunch of angry people trying to make out what the supreme leader wants them to do. Fortunately, there seems to be no organised plan - no attempt to seize news stations, set up alternative power bases, encourage military disaffection. It's just idiot Trump, a startlingly large bunch of careerists passively going tolerating him and a horde of leaderless louts. It's utterly appalling, but actually not remotely enough to be a threat.
That was never going to happen anyway. There is simply not enough muscle to do that and never was. That you even consider those as options completely overestimates the situation. Military disaffection, really? There's a coop full of eggs in that idea.
They are not, however, a set of leaderless louts. They have capacity and if and when some building goes up in smoke Oklahoma style or several people get killed in a single incident, they will no doubt they will be called a huge threat. They are a threat, they do have organisation, there is simply a lack of focus.
No one can assess whether today was considered a success for some of the groups involved or a failure because we don't know exactly what was on their objective list. There is every possibility that it will be considered a success because it was a day out, cause shit event that actually achieved much more, in their reckoning, than they thought it would. They could have put thousands through the breach into the Capitol Building, yet the vast majority stood outside. That in itself gives you an idea of the level of ambition on the day.
Spot on. Which is why it's lucky Trump has NPD and not something more dangerous.
I sat watching it with my gob hanging open. It takes a particularly ballsy news crew to see *that* and think "lets get in there". Yes they can go in without fear of arrest thanks to the 1st Amendment. But seriously, I would have been in fear of the crowd - violence, the pox, caught in the crossfire.
Its no wonder I was a crap journalist. No balls.
My problem here is that I have realised I must suffer from some sort of psychological problem.
When people say 'May you live in interesting times' and mean it as a curse, what I actually hear is 'May you get all the Christmas pressies you wished for'.
I genuinely have a bit of me - quite a large one it seems - that sees all this stuff going on and thinks 'Cool!! History being made' rather than 'oh dear this is bad' which I recognise is the correct response.
A moment's thought is enough for head to override heart again and realise this is not good in the grand scheme of things, but that love of 'stuff happening' still lurks deep inside somewhere. As I have said before, I am definitely a cowardly anarchist. My heart is anarchic but I have way to much vested in the status quo to actually want it to happen.
I can 100% relate to this.
Surely EVERYBODY on a site dedicated to moving news and political drama gets a little buzz, or a major orgasm, out of dramatic news and political events? This is what we DO.
FFS this is a site which can go into meltdown when the Lib Dems in Scotland lose 3% in a ComRes SubSample.
The potential storming on the Capitol in DC is bound to get PB-ers quite hot under the collar. And rightly so.
No I just find it depressing and scary. No buzz tonight.
I sat watching it with my gob hanging open. It takes a particularly ballsy news crew to see *that* and think "lets get in there". Yes they can go in without fear of arrest thanks to the 1st Amendment. But seriously, I would have been in fear of the crowd - violence, the pox, caught in the crossfire.
Its no wonder I was a crap journalist. No balls.
My problem here is that I have realised I must suffer from some sort of psychological problem.
When people say 'May you live in interesting times' and mean it as a curse, what I actually hear is 'May you get all the Christmas pressies you wished for'.
I genuinely have a bit of me - quite a large one it seems - that sees all this stuff going on and thinks 'Cool!! History being made' rather than 'oh dear this is bad' which I recognise is the correct response.
A moment's thought is enough for head to override heart again and realise this is not good in the grand scheme of things, but that love of 'stuff happening' still lurks deep inside somewhere. As I have said before, I am definitely a cowardly anarchist. My heart is anarchic but I have way to much vested in the status quo to actually want it to happen.
I can 100% relate to this.
Surely EVERYBODY on a site dedicated to moving news and political drama gets a little buzz, or a major orgasm, out of dramatic news and political events? This is what we DO.
FFS this is a site which can go into meltdown when the Lib Dems in Scotland lose 3% in a ComRes SubSample.
The potential storming on the Capitol in DC is bound to get PB-ers quite hot under the collar. And rightly so.
I think we can all agree that ComRes isn't the Gold Standard, though.
Anyway, Pence seems to be stepping up to be the unlikely hero of the hour.
I genuinely think there's a 50/50 chance right now the 25th will be invoked. This has gone too far.
CNN reporting "White House aides" pressed for the National Guard to be called upon, Trump wouldn't - then Pence did it by himself. This is going too far, way too far.
I don't think there are enough people brave enough in the cabinet to do it. I think they'll try to manage out the remaining fortnight.
He's lost it though - completely. All appointments cancelled, Twitter account suspended, probably being physically managed, possibly doctors in attendance. I think they'll try to shift him towards Mar-a-Lago for a rest cure if they possibly can. Really tough fortnight ahead.
The American site I am watching just showed a tweet from I think a reporter saying sources were saying trump was not entirely in touch with reality at the moment ........
I think Boris should have said 'shocking' or 'concerning' scenes, not disgraceful. He struck far too much of a strident tone for a foreign politician. No doubt trying to curry favour with the incoming administration, but just ended up sounding like a Brit telling the yanks how to behave.
No. For once I am with Johnson. You can’t mollycoddle this. If the US ceases to be a democracy then democracy itself is in mortal danger. Someone else, acting in concert with others (oh the irony) has to draw a line and say this. If the same thing had happened in Westminster then I would hope everyone else in the world would react similarly.
The us hasn't been a proper democracy for years and its policing institutions whether federal or state have behaved little better than armed thugs from criminal gangs for a similar times. If you think America is a bastion of democracy sorry you are deluded. Just look at civil forfeiture laws to see that, or the fact the police regularly act to hide the records of officer investigations. Hell some states have even had to try and pass laws which are mostly evaded giving defence counsel access to list of cops that have acted corruptly in previous investigations.
I genuinely think there's a 50/50 chance right now the 25th will be invoked. This has gone too far.
CNN reporting "White House aides" pressed for the National Guard to be called upon, Trump wouldn't - then Pence did it by himself. This is going too far, way too far.
I don't think there are enough people brave enough in the cabinet to do it. I think they'll try to manage out the remaining fortnight.
He's lost it though - completely. All appointments cancelled, Twitter account suspended, probably being physically managed, possibly doctors in attendance. I think they'll try to shift him towards Mar-a-Lago for a rest cure if they possibly can. Really tough fortnight ahead.
The American site I am watching just showed a tweet from I think a reporter saying sources were saying trump was not entirely in touch with reality at the moment ........
Cabinet won't do it, but Congress can appoint a body to do it that isn't Cabinet. By a simple majority, I believe! If McConnell is on board it's a slam dunk.
I sat watching it with my gob hanging open. It takes a particularly ballsy news crew to see *that* and think "lets get in there". Yes they can go in without fear of arrest thanks to the 1st Amendment. But seriously, I would have been in fear of the crowd - violence, the pox, caught in the crossfire.
Its no wonder I was a crap journalist. No balls.
My problem here is that I have realised I must suffer from some sort of psychological problem.
When people say 'May you live in interesting times' and mean it as a curse, what I actually hear is 'May you get all the Christmas pressies you wished for'.
I genuinely have a bit of me - quite a large one it seems - that sees all this stuff going on and thinks 'Cool!! History being made' rather than 'oh dear this is bad' which I recognise is the correct response.
A moment's thought is enough for head to override heart again and realise this is not good in the grand scheme of things, but that love of 'stuff happening' still lurks deep inside somewhere. As I have said before, I am definitely a cowardly anarchist. My heart is anarchic but I have way to much vested in the status quo to actually want it to happen.
I can 100% relate to this.
Yeah. Me too if I'm honest. Was on a little downer today and yesterday. Now I'm enervated. Not nice, probably, but there we are.
Er, I strongly suspect you do not understand the word "enervated"
adjective without vigor, force, or strength; languid.
I sat watching it with my gob hanging open. It takes a particularly ballsy news crew to see *that* and think "lets get in there". Yes they can go in without fear of arrest thanks to the 1st Amendment. But seriously, I would have been in fear of the crowd - violence, the pox, caught in the crossfire.
Its no wonder I was a crap journalist. No balls.
My problem here is that I have realised I must suffer from some sort of psychological problem.
When people say 'May you live in interesting times' and mean it as a curse, what I actually hear is 'May you get all the Christmas pressies you wished for'.
I genuinely have a bit of me - quite a large one it seems - that sees all this stuff going on and thinks 'Cool!! History being made' rather than 'oh dear this is bad' which I recognise is the correct response.
A moment's thought is enough for head to override heart again and realise this is not good in the grand scheme of things, but that love of 'stuff happening' still lurks deep inside somewhere. As I have said before, I am definitely a cowardly anarchist. My heart is anarchic but I have way to much vested in the status quo to actually want it to happen.
I can 100% relate to this.
Yeah. Me too if I'm honest. Was on a little downer today and yesterday. Now I'm enervated. Not nice, probably, but there we are.
I think it would be harder to feel that tonight if tens of Senators had been killed or taken hostage, as some of the most hardcore of the protestors seemed to have wanted.
That's part of what's so cumulatively dangerous about the Trump phenomenon ; he's a sort of lethal entertainer, who continually treads a fine line between theatre and absolute chaos. No wonder one of the invaders of the Capitol was wearing a Joker outfit.
The problem is that this continually deniable theatre / chaos, cumulatively and insidiously, shifts the parameters of acceptability, and disorients everyone around .
I sat watching it with my gob hanging open. It takes a particularly ballsy news crew to see *that* and think "lets get in there". Yes they can go in without fear of arrest thanks to the 1st Amendment. But seriously, I would have been in fear of the crowd - violence, the pox, caught in the crossfire.
Its no wonder I was a crap journalist. No balls.
My problem here is that I have realised I must suffer from some sort of psychological problem.
When people say 'May you live in interesting times' and mean it as a curse, what I actually hear is 'May you get all the Christmas pressies you wished for'.
I genuinely have a bit of me - quite a large one it seems - that sees all this stuff going on and thinks 'Cool!! History being made' rather than 'oh dear this is bad' which I recognise is the correct response.
A moment's thought is enough for head to override heart again and realise this is not good in the grand scheme of things, but that love of 'stuff happening' still lurks deep inside somewhere. As I have said before, I am definitely a cowardly anarchist. My heart is anarchic but I have way to much vested in the status quo to actually want it to happen.
I can 100% relate to this.
Yeah. Me too if I'm honest. Was on a little downer today and yesterday. Now I'm enervated. Not nice, probably, but there we are.
I think it would be harder to feel that tonight if tens of Senators had been killed or taken hostage, as some of the most hardcore of the protestors seemed to have wanted.
That's part of what's so cumulatively dangerous about the Trump phenomenon ; he's a sort of lethal entertainer, who continually treads a fine line between theatre and absolute chaos. No wonder one of the invaders of the Capitol was wearing a Joker outfit.
The problem is that this continually deniable theatre / chaos, cumulatively and insidiously, shifts the parameters of acceptability, and disorients everyone around .
Indeed. And I'm psychologically susceptible to enjoying the drama of it all. As are some others. The difference is we are aware of the innate flaw in our character. And that it is a flaw. Millions aren't.
I believe very much in free speech, and of platforms not restricting it lightly, but people were getting hurt and crimes committed because of what he was saying and spreading on that platform. It had very little option.
Free speech has never meant freedom from consequences of your speech. He has no right to expect private publishers to promote his speech, anymore than I can insist on going on Sky News in the name of free speech.
I think Boris should have said 'shocking' or 'concerning' scenes, not disgraceful. He struck far too much of a strident tone for a foreign politician. No doubt trying to curry favour with the incoming administration, but just ended up sounding like a Brit telling the yanks how to behave.
Not sure anyone will notice or care.
They notice in the US.
Well they should notice. An armed group encouraged by the head of the executive just stormed the legislature. How is that not disgraceful? What would happen if some future monarch of ours encouraged a mob to surround Parliament or storm No 10 (Her Majesty would not but I wouldn’t put it past some of her offspring) would that just be “concerning”? No, it would be disgraceful, and it needs to be called as such. Allegedly “buccaneering” (retch) nations do not fear speaking truth to power.
I genuinely think there's a 50/50 chance right now the 25th will be invoked. This has gone too far.
CNN reporting "White House aides" pressed for the National Guard to be called upon, Trump wouldn't - then Pence did it by himself. This is going too far, way too far.
I don't think there are enough people brave enough in the cabinet to do it. I think they'll try to manage out the remaining fortnight.
He's lost it though - completely. All appointments cancelled, Twitter account suspended, probably being physically managed, possibly doctors in attendance. I think they'll try to shift him towards Mar-a-Lago for a rest cure if they possibly can. Really tough fortnight ahead.
If he's lost it then the 25th should be invoked. No ifs, no buts. He is too unstable to be POTUS and carry the nuclear football.
If he needs to be sent to Mar-a-Lago all the more reason for the 25th to be invoked.
I genuinely think there's a 50/50 chance right now the 25th will be invoked. This has gone too far.
CNN reporting "White House aides" pressed for the National Guard to be called upon, Trump wouldn't - then Pence did it by himself. This is going too far, way too far.
I don't think there are enough people brave enough in the cabinet to do it. I think they'll try to manage out the remaining fortnight.
He's lost it though - completely. All appointments cancelled, Twitter account suspended, probably being physically managed, possibly doctors in attendance. I think they'll try to shift him towards Mar-a-Lago for a rest cure if they possibly can. Really tough fortnight ahead.
The American site I am watching just showed a tweet from I think a reporter saying sources were saying trump was not entirely in touch with reality at the moment ........
I believe very much in free speech, and of platforms not restricting it lightly, but people were getting hurt and crimes committed because of what he was saying and spreading on that platform. It had very little option.
I genuinely think there's a 50/50 chance right now the 25th will be invoked. This has gone too far.
CNN reporting "White House aides" pressed for the National Guard to be called upon, Trump wouldn't - then Pence did it by himself. This is going too far, way too far.
I don't think there are enough people brave enough in the cabinet to do it. I think they'll try to manage out the remaining fortnight.
He's lost it though - completely. All appointments cancelled, Twitter account suspended, probably being physically managed, possibly doctors in attendance. I think they'll try to shift him towards Mar-a-Lago for a rest cure if they possibly can. Really tough fortnight ahead.
The American site I am watching just showed a tweet from I think a reporter saying sources were saying trump was not entirely in touch with reality at the moment ........
He's never been totally in touch with reality, but still.
It is actually quite sad in a way. Somewhat reflective of 1872, when Horace Greeley lost the election. He died in a mental hospital a month later, possibly by his own hand. There are important differences. Greeley was a fundamentally good, if eccentric, man and his loss was compounded by the death of his wife just before the election. He turned his disappointment in on himself, and blamed himself, whereas Trump has obviously turned it outwards and blamed everyone but. But it does show the sheer sense of loss and the pressure that it can put on someone who is psychologically fragile.
I do worry for Trump in a way. I seriously doubt he'll live to 2024 to stand again - he seems broken.
I sat watching it with my gob hanging open. It takes a particularly ballsy news crew to see *that* and think "lets get in there". Yes they can go in without fear of arrest thanks to the 1st Amendment. But seriously, I would have been in fear of the crowd - violence, the pox, caught in the crossfire.
Its no wonder I was a crap journalist. No balls.
My problem here is that I have realised I must suffer from some sort of psychological problem.
When people say 'May you live in interesting times' and mean it as a curse, what I actually hear is 'May you get all the Christmas pressies you wished for'.
I genuinely have a bit of me - quite a large one it seems - that sees all this stuff going on and thinks 'Cool!! History being made' rather than 'oh dear this is bad' which I recognise is the correct response.
A moment's thought is enough for head to override heart again and realise this is not good in the grand scheme of things, but that love of 'stuff happening' still lurks deep inside somewhere. As I have said before, I am definitely a cowardly anarchist. My heart is anarchic but I have way to much vested in the status quo to actually want it to happen.
I can 100% relate to this.
Yeah. Me too if I'm honest. Was on a little downer today and yesterday. Now I'm enervated. Not nice, probably, but there we are.
I think it would be harder to feel that tonight if tens of Senators had been killed or taken hostage, as some of the most hardcore of the protestors seemed to have wanted.
That's part of what's so cumulatively dangerous about the Trump phenomenon ; he's a sort of lethal entertainer, who continually treads a fine line between theatre and absolute chaos. No wonder one of the invaders of the Capitol was wearing a Joker outfit.
The problem is that this continually deniable theatre / chaos, cumulatively and insidiously, shifts the parameters of acceptability, and disorients everyone around .
Any thoughts on 11 for Trump to leave office before the end of the first term? Tempting?
That was 18 when I put it up earlier.
Didn't do it. Sounds like I should have.
No! PT pointed out it doesnt include the 25th*, so he would need to be impeached or resign.
* I agree with PT's understanding but think there is scope for a tiny bit of ambiguity again here so caveat emptor either way.
Without the 25th I cant see it being value, perhaps at 18, maybe. There is a scenario Pence is on board and cant get half the cabinet but can get two thirds of the senate.
Hang-on, wasn't 2021 supposed to be better than 2020?
Nope. I told you what my ASTROLOGER LADY predicted. 2021 will be WORSE than 2020 (and she correctly predicted in late 2019 that 2020 would be a global shitshow).
She specifically predicts a serious war at some point this year: ie a war involving advanced powers, not Namibia invading the Seychelles.
I used to deride her predictions. Now... I do not. Not quite so much. It is an odd thing. I still believe astrology is ludicrous, and yet..... hmpf
You do realise astrology is a pseudo-science?
It's not even a pseudo-science, it is absolute shite.
And yet, she nailed these predix. And she specifically told me, months ago, when things were looking up, that No, January 2021 would be notably and painfully worse, signifiying an escalation in the global crisiis.
Maybe she was talking about this? -
"London’s hospitals are less than two weeks from being overwhelmed by covid even under the “best” case scenario, according to an official briefing given to the capital’s most senior doctors this afternoon."
Which two major countries are going to war then? And when?
Dunno. Shall I ask her? She charges. Literally. And makes money from it. She is also the only person who has given me credible evidence of the existence of telepathy, in some form
I have had vivid predictive dreams that have later taken place exactly as seen in advance. Not often, and not for some years, but a very uncanny and disturbing phenomenon when it happens in real life.
Telepathy, or my subconscious assembling a jigsaw that my conscious could not? Who knows? Very weird though.
Well I had a vision - on the back of my eyelids - about a year ago that Donald Trump will leave the White House under duress in a horizontal position. So if that happens I'll be a bit spooked.
I genuinely think there's a 50/50 chance right now the 25th will be invoked. This has gone too far.
CNN reporting "White House aides" pressed for the National Guard to be called upon, Trump wouldn't - then Pence did it by himself. This is going too far, way too far.
I don't think there are enough people brave enough in the cabinet to do it. I think they'll try to manage out the remaining fortnight.
He's lost it though - completely. All appointments cancelled, Twitter account suspended, probably being physically managed, possibly doctors in attendance. I think they'll try to shift him towards Mar-a-Lago for a rest cure if they possibly can. Really tough fortnight ahead.
The American site I am watching just showed a tweet from I think a reporter saying sources were saying trump was not entirely in touch with reality at the moment ........
So if you're in the GOP, at this point you really want Trump to be prevented from running again. This is *especially* true if you're Cruz or Pence or someone who wants to run without Trump as a competitor.
I don't suppose the 25th Amendment route has that effect, whereas impeachment does? Could they squeeze in a quickie impeachment?
I sat watching it with my gob hanging open. It takes a particularly ballsy news crew to see *that* and think "lets get in there". Yes they can go in without fear of arrest thanks to the 1st Amendment. But seriously, I would have been in fear of the crowd - violence, the pox, caught in the crossfire.
Its no wonder I was a crap journalist. No balls.
My problem here is that I have realised I must suffer from some sort of psychological problem.
When people say 'May you live in interesting times' and mean it as a curse, what I actually hear is 'May you get all the Christmas pressies you wished for'.
I genuinely have a bit of me - quite a large one it seems - that sees all this stuff going on and thinks 'Cool!! History being made' rather than 'oh dear this is bad' which I recognise is the correct response.
A moment's thought is enough for head to override heart again and realise this is not good in the grand scheme of things, but that love of 'stuff happening' still lurks deep inside somewhere. As I have said before, I am definitely a cowardly anarchist. My heart is anarchic but I have way to much vested in the status quo to actually want it to happen.
I can 100% relate to this.
Yeah. Me too if I'm honest. Was on a little downer today and yesterday. Now I'm enervated. Not nice, probably, but there we are.
Er, I strongly suspect you do not understand the word "enervated"
adjective without vigor, force, or strength; languid.
Goodness. I'm usually decent on that front. But not this time... Btw. The problem with dreams is we believe waking reality is any more real than them. They aren't. But astrology is bunk.
So, do PBers think UK government should allow The Donald entry, given he's an extremist with a proven record of exhorting others to violence?
Those were the grounds in past, I believe, under which KKK leader Bill Wilkerson and other have been refused entry into UK.
For medical treatment he (inexplicably) couldn't get in the US, I think so; or similar compassionate grounds. Otherwise, I think not. It would not be in our national interest.
So if you're in the GOP, at this point you really want Trump to be prevented from running again. This is *especially* true if you're Cruz or Pence or someone who wants to run without Trump as a competitor.
I don't suppose the 25th Amendment route has that effect, whereas impeachment does? Could they squeeze in a quickie impeachment?
They could try but they could not be seen to actively support it however or they would lose the votes of Trump's supporters in the 2024 GOP primaries
Any thoughts on 11 for Trump to leave office before the end of the first term? Tempting?
That was 18 when I put it up earlier.
Didn't do it. Sounds like I should have.
Where is that from and what are the Ts and Cs?
I think its 50/50 right now that the 25th could be invoked. I'd put it at >10% chance it already has been.
25th doesn't remove him from office, just strips him of powers, so could be an argument over Ts and Cs like prior Betfair arguments.
I assume 25th could be used to immediately neutralize him, and impeachment could be used to take him out of future circulation - based on what has been said here. The first doesn't preclude the second.
I think Boris should have said 'shocking' or 'concerning' scenes, not disgraceful. He struck far too much of a strident tone for a foreign politician. No doubt trying to curry favour with the incoming administration, but just ended up sounding like a Brit telling the yanks how to behave.
No. For once I am with Johnson. You can’t mollycoddle this. If the US ceases to be a democracy then democracy itself is in mortal danger. Someone else, acting in concert with others (oh the irony) has to draw a line and say this. If the same thing had happened in Westminster then I would hope everyone else in the world would react similarly.
The us hasn't been a proper democracy for years and its policing institutions whether federal or state have behaved little better than armed thugs from criminal gangs for a similar times. If you think America is a bastion of democracy sorry you are deluded. Just look at civil forfeiture laws to see that, or the fact the police regularly act to hide the records of officer investigations. Hell some states have even had to try and pass laws which are mostly evaded giving defence counsel access to list of cops that have acted corruptly in previous investigations.
American democracy is like a unicorn
Every democracy is flawed, in many cases significantly so, and we have flaming rows on here about how to operate one (e.g. as on here earlier, would a hypothetical democratically elected government have the right to revoke a prior democratic plebiscite? Views clearly differ). But one thing America can do is reject a leader who has shown himself unfit for office (or indeed any other reason they choose) and that makes it a democracy. It’s a relatively low bar and they pass it.
So if you're in the GOP, at this point you really want Trump to be prevented from running again. This is *especially* true if you're Cruz or Pence or someone who wants to run without Trump as a competitor.
I don't suppose the 25th Amendment route has that effect, whereas impeachment does? Could they squeeze in a quickie impeachment?
They could try but they could not be seen to actively support it however or they would lose the votes of Trump's supporters in the 2024 GOP primaries
Trump's supporters in 2024 are going to be about as relevant as Corbyn's supporters in 2024.
Trump is history in the making. That was already the case but tonight is another nail in the coffin. Trump is gone, like Corbyn.
Any thoughts on 11 for Trump to leave office before the end of the first term? Tempting?
That was 18 when I put it up earlier.
Didn't do it. Sounds like I should have.
No! PT pointed out it doesnt include the 25th*, so he would need to be impeached or resign.
* I agree with PT's understanding but think there is scope for a tiny bit of ambiguity again here so caveat emptor either way.
Without the 25th I cant see it being value, perhaps at 18, maybe. There is a scenario Pence is on board and cant get half the cabinet but can get two thirds of the senate.
The 18 struck me as worth it - although I didn't - but not at 11. Could have laid back as it turns out which is always nice. Ah well. Can't say I had my betting hat on tonight with all this going down.
There is still an ongoing security issue in the Capitol Building. There is still going to have to be a sweep around a wide area related to the legislative machine in the city given the pipe bombs (or facsimiles of) found.
Having stayed in Washington and the immediate area around it more times than I can count on two hands, the idea of it getting trashed by various troubles in recent months is saddening. I like the place and would recommend it even if only for several days of tourism. It does have the feel of exactly what it is and is like London in parts, you can feel the sense you are somewhere where stuff really does happen
Small note, the British Defence staff in Washington used to have a nice SUV with a number plate that I am sure was 'RAF 1'. No low profile there lads.
I genuinely think there's a 50/50 chance right now the 25th will be invoked. This has gone too far.
CNN reporting "White House aides" pressed for the National Guard to be called upon, Trump wouldn't - then Pence did it by himself. This is going too far, way too far.
I don't think there are enough people brave enough in the cabinet to do it. I think they'll try to manage out the remaining fortnight.
He's lost it though - completely. All appointments cancelled, Twitter account suspended, probably being physically managed, possibly doctors in attendance. I think they'll try to shift him towards Mar-a-Lago for a rest cure if they possibly can. Really tough fortnight ahead.
The American site I am watching just showed a tweet from I think a reporter saying sources were saying trump was not entirely in touch with reality at the moment ........
SO did getting kicked off of Twitter send Trumpsky over the edge into full-blown madness?
MUCH worse for him than impeachment!
Or could that be a concerted effort to delegitimise him to the press, if an arrangement's already been made to have the reins taken away from him ?
There've been multiple of these reports of his mental health suddenly coming through in the last couple of hours, and he didn't look any particuiarly more out of his mind than usual - which is fairly mad - in his broadcast a couple of hours back .
Any thoughts on 11 for Trump to leave office before the end of the first term? Tempting?
That was 18 when I put it up earlier.
Didn't do it. Sounds like I should have.
Where is that from and what are the Ts and Cs?
I think its 50/50 right now that the 25th could be invoked. I'd put it at >10% chance it already has been.
25th doesn't remove him from office, just strips him of powers, so could be an argument over Ts and Cs like prior Betfair arguments.
I assume 25th could be used to immediately neutralize him, and impeachment could be used to take him out of future circulation - based on what has been said here. The first doesn't preclude the second.
I think that's technically right although none of it is very likely. It would just inflame the situation. The US has 13 days to manage him to the exit, keep him busy with discussions of who to pardon and good beef burgers, send him to the golf course, keep him out of sight, get him down to Mar-a-Lago etc. It's not easy, but nor is it that long a period.
So if you're in the GOP, at this point you really want Trump to be prevented from running again. This is *especially* true if you're Cruz or Pence or someone who wants to run without Trump as a competitor.
I don't suppose the 25th Amendment route has that effect, whereas impeachment does? Could they squeeze in a quickie impeachment?
They could try but they could not be seen to actively support it however or they would lose the votes of Trump's supporters in the 2024 GOP primaries
Trump's supporters in 2024 are going to be about as relevant as Corbyn's supporters in 2024.
Trump is history in the making. That was already the case but tonight is another nail in the coffin. Trump is gone, like Corbyn.
I don't think that is necessarily true, it took a landslide defeat for Corbyn and his supporters to lose control of Labour last year.
Trump though he lost did not suffer a landslide defeat and indeed he and many of his supporters still believe he won
Indeed a snap Yougov poll has 62% of voters overall seeing the storming of the US Capitol as a threat to democracy but 68% of US Republicans seeing it as not a threat to US democracy
However by 50% to 42% US voters believe Trump should be impeached immediately and removed from office but 85% of Republican voters still think Trump should not be impeached even after today's events
So if you're in the GOP, at this point you really want Trump to be prevented from running again. This is *especially* true if you're Cruz or Pence or someone who wants to run without Trump as a competitor.
I don't suppose the 25th Amendment route has that effect, whereas impeachment does? Could they squeeze in a quickie impeachment?
They could try but they could not be seen to actively support it however or they would lose the votes of Trump's supporters in the 2024 GOP primaries
Trump's supporters in 2024 are going to be about as relevant as Corbyn's supporters in 2024.
Trump is history in the making. That was already the case but tonight is another nail in the coffin. Trump is gone, like Corbyn.
I don't think that is necessarily true, it took a landslide defeat for Corbyn and his supporters to lose control of Labour last year.
Trump though he lost did not suffer a landslide defeat and indeed he and many of his supporters still believe he won
Indeed a snap Yougov poll has 62% of voters overall seeing the storming of the US Capitol as a threat to democracy but 68% of US Republicans seeing it as not a threat to US democracy
That doesn't mean the 68% of Republicans approve at all. Some surely do. But others will mean that they believe that it's a relatively disorganised mob that will be dealt with without shaking US democracy to its foundations.
Any thoughts on 11 for Trump to leave office before the end of the first term? Tempting?
That was 18 when I put it up earlier.
Didn't do it. Sounds like I should have.
Where is that from and what are the Ts and Cs?
I think its 50/50 right now that the 25th could be invoked. I'd put it at >10% chance it already has been.
25th doesn't remove him from office, just strips him of powers, so could be an argument over Ts and Cs like prior Betfair arguments.
I assume 25th could be used to immediately neutralize him, and impeachment could be used to take him out of future circulation - based on what has been said here. The first doesn't preclude the second.
I think that's technically right although none of it is very likely. It would just inflame the situation. The US has 13 days to manage him to the exit, keep him busy with discussions of who to pardon and good beef burgers, send him to the golf course, keep him out of sight, get him down to Mar-a-Lago etc. It's not easy, but nor is it that long a period.
No, I agree. Unless they do something tonight, I think it is even less likely tomorrow, and with each subsequent day.
So if you're in the GOP, at this point you really want Trump to be prevented from running again. This is *especially* true if you're Cruz or Pence or someone who wants to run without Trump as a competitor.
I don't suppose the 25th Amendment route has that effect, whereas impeachment does? Could they squeeze in a quickie impeachment?
They could try but they could not be seen to actively support it however or they would lose the votes of Trump's supporters in the 2024 GOP primaries
Trump's supporters in 2024 are going to be about as relevant as Corbyn's supporters in 2024.
Trump is history in the making. That was already the case but tonight is another nail in the coffin. Trump is gone, like Corbyn.
The Trump Corbyn comparison was always better than the Trump Johnson one. Indeed, Corbyn lost the popular vote by less than Trump did first time. Difference is Corbyn was a genuine idealist. He was motivated by his beliefs (whatever one thinks of them). Which is why he's still banging on about them. As he did for 30 years before he became LOTO. Trump is motivated by Trump. And Trump alone.
I sat watching it with my gob hanging open. It takes a particularly ballsy news crew to see *that* and think "lets get in there". Yes they can go in without fear of arrest thanks to the 1st Amendment. But seriously, I would have been in fear of the crowd - violence, the pox, caught in the crossfire.
Its no wonder I was a crap journalist. No balls.
My problem here is that I have realised I must suffer from some sort of psychological problem.
When people say 'May you live in interesting times' and mean it as a curse, what I actually hear is 'May you get all the Christmas pressies you wished for'.
I genuinely have a bit of me - quite a large one it seems - that sees all this stuff going on and thinks 'Cool!! History being made' rather than 'oh dear this is bad' which I recognise is the correct response.
A moment's thought is enough for head to override heart again and realise this is not good in the grand scheme of things, but that love of 'stuff happening' still lurks deep inside somewhere. As I have said before, I am definitely a cowardly anarchist. My heart is anarchic but I have way to much vested in the status quo to actually want it to happen.
I can 100% relate to this.
Yeah. Me too if I'm honest. Was on a little downer today and yesterday. Now I'm enervated. Not nice, probably, but there we are.
Er, I strongly suspect you do not understand the word "enervated"
adjective without vigor, force, or strength; languid.
Goodness. I'm usually decent on that front. But not this time... Btw. The problem with dreams is we believe waking reality is any more real than them. They aren't. But astrology is bunk.
Quite the vocab for a horny handed hewer of the flinty phallus, helpful with the sales pitch I guess.
Was just looking at NYT maps of county results in the two GA US Senate runoffs.
Note that shifts toward the Democrat in both races occurred in counties across the state, in particular the whole swath south of Atlanta and north & west of Augusta.
In other words, in the rural Cracker heartland. Which methinks MAY be a sign that GOP lost support from some Trumpsky voters, who either went for Democrats OR (even more likely) decided to go fishing and NOT vote this time.
Any thoughts on 11 for Trump to leave office before the end of the first term? Tempting?
That was 18 when I put it up earlier.
Didn't do it. Sounds like I should have.
Where is that from and what are the Ts and Cs?
I think its 50/50 right now that the 25th could be invoked. I'd put it at >10% chance it already has been.
25th doesn't remove him from office, just strips him of powers, so could be an argument over Ts and Cs like prior Betfair arguments.
I assume 25th could be used to immediately neutralize him, and impeachment could be used to take him out of future circulation - based on what has been said here. The first doesn't preclude the second.
I think that's technically right although none of it is very likely. It would just inflame the situation. The US has 13 days to manage him to the exit, keep him busy with discussions of who to pardon and good beef burgers, send him to the golf course, keep him out of sight, get him down to Mar-a-Lago etc. It's not easy, but nor is it that long a period.
No, I agree. Unless they do something tonight, I think it is even less likely tomorrow, and with each subsequent day.
That assumes Trump doesnt seek to escalate it further.
I think Boris should have said 'shocking' or 'concerning' scenes, not disgraceful. He struck far too much of a strident tone for a foreign politician. No doubt trying to curry favour with the incoming administration, but just ended up sounding like a Brit telling the yanks how to behave.
No. For once I am with Johnson. You can’t mollycoddle this. If the US ceases to be a democracy then democracy itself is in mortal danger. Someone else, acting in concert with others (oh the irony) has to draw a line and say this. If the same thing had happened in Westminster then I would hope everyone else in the world would react similarly.
The us hasn't been a proper democracy for years and its policing institutions whether federal or state have behaved little better than armed thugs from criminal gangs for a similar times. If you think America is a bastion of democracy sorry you are deluded. Just look at civil forfeiture laws to see that, or the fact the police regularly act to hide the records of officer investigations. Hell some states have even had to try and pass laws which are mostly evaded giving defence counsel access to list of cops that have acted corruptly in previous investigations.
American democracy is like a unicorn
Every democracy is flawed, in many cases significantly so, and we have flaming rows on here about how to operate one (e.g. as on here earlier, would a hypothetical democratically elected government have the right to revoke a prior democratic plebiscite? Views clearly differ). But one thing America can do is reject a leader who has shown himself unfit for office (or indeed any other reason they choose) and that makes it a democracy. It’s a relatively low bar and they pass it.
Ah that is why they failed to reject Trump....yes it is a low bar and they failed to pass it. Their law enforcement officers, their politicians are largely above the law. It is a failed state. Said it before tonights events
Any thoughts on 11 for Trump to leave office before the end of the first term? Tempting?
That was 18 when I put it up earlier.
Didn't do it. Sounds like I should have.
Where is that from and what are the Ts and Cs?
I think its 50/50 right now that the 25th could be invoked. I'd put it at >10% chance it already has been.
25th doesn't remove him from office, just strips him of powers, so could be an argument over Ts and Cs like prior Betfair arguments.
I assume 25th could be used to immediately neutralize him, and impeachment could be used to take him out of future circulation - based on what has been said here. The first doesn't preclude the second.
I think that's technically right although none of it is very likely. It would just inflame the situation. The US has 13 days to manage him to the exit, keep him busy with discussions of who to pardon and good beef burgers, send him to the golf course, keep him out of sight, get him down to Mar-a-Lago etc. It's not easy, but nor is it that long a period.
No, I agree. Unless they do something tonight, I think it is even less likely tomorrow, and with each subsequent day.
That assumes Trump doesnt seek to escalate it further.
And that depends how well managed he is by his GOP handlers - especially now he doesn't have access to Twitter to broadcast to his supporters.
Who the hell is Scott Morrison? He seems in the wrong company here.
The only one of them other than Trudeau currently PM of a country
Ah yes... I had to Google him. The only one I had never heard of. Odd, because you normally hear about Aussie PMs. Maybe their national quarantine has been too effective 😀
I genuinely think there's a 50/50 chance right now the 25th will be invoked. This has gone too far.
CNN reporting "White House aides" pressed for the National Guard to be called upon, Trump wouldn't - then Pence did it by himself. This is going too far, way too far.
I don't think there are enough people brave enough in the cabinet to do it. I think they'll try to manage out the remaining fortnight.
He's lost it though - completely. All appointments cancelled, Twitter account suspended, probably being physically managed, possibly doctors in attendance. I think they'll try to shift him towards Mar-a-Lago for a rest cure if they possibly can. Really tough fortnight ahead.
The American site I am watching just showed a tweet from I think a reporter saying sources were saying trump was not entirely in touch with reality at the moment ........
SO did getting kicked off of Twitter send Trumpsky over the edge into full-blown madness?
MUCH worse for him than impeachment!
Or could that be a concerted effort to delegitimise him to the press, if an arrangement's already been made to have the reins taken away from him ?
There've been multiple of these reports of his mental health suddenly coming through in the last couple of hours, and he didn't look any particuiarly more out of his mind than usual - which is fairly mad - in his broadcast a couple of hours back .
All this talk about 25th Amendment and suchlike is media fantasy-land. By folks who are more interested in selling papers (or whatever they are selling) than anything else.
And in ongoing covid news 3793 deaths in USA reported
The riot will have been another huge spreader event, but during Trump's speech I think the crowd even had a proud, conscious and ironic "superspreader" moment of hugging each other, like they did a couple of nights ago in Georgia.
I sat watching it with my gob hanging open. It takes a particularly ballsy news crew to see *that* and think "lets get in there". Yes they can go in without fear of arrest thanks to the 1st Amendment. But seriously, I would have been in fear of the crowd - violence, the pox, caught in the crossfire.
Its no wonder I was a crap journalist. No balls.
My problem here is that I have realised I must suffer from some sort of psychological problem.
When people say 'May you live in interesting times' and mean it as a curse, what I actually hear is 'May you get all the Christmas pressies you wished for'.
I genuinely have a bit of me - quite a large one it seems - that sees all this stuff going on and thinks 'Cool!! History being made' rather than 'oh dear this is bad' which I recognise is the correct response.
A moment's thought is enough for head to override heart again and realise this is not good in the grand scheme of things, but that love of 'stuff happening' still lurks deep inside somewhere. As I have said before, I am definitely a cowardly anarchist. My heart is anarchic but I have way to much vested in the status quo to actually want it to happen.
I can 100% relate to this.
Yeah. Me too if I'm honest. Was on a little downer today and yesterday. Now I'm enervated. Not nice, probably, but there we are.
Er, I strongly suspect you do not understand the word "enervated"
adjective without vigor, force, or strength; languid.
Goodness. I'm usually decent on that front. But not this time... Btw. The problem with dreams is we believe waking reality is any more real than them. They aren't. But astrology is bunk.
Quite the vocab for a horny handed hewer of the flinty phallus, helpful with the sales pitch I guess.
Hey, wonder what Jack Nicklaus would have made of today's events?
Jim Mattis, despite occasionally sounding like an early version Homer Simpson, is a man who knows how to get to the core. Probably the statement of the day.
I sat watching it with my gob hanging open. It takes a particularly ballsy news crew to see *that* and think "lets get in there". Yes they can go in without fear of arrest thanks to the 1st Amendment. But seriously, I would have been in fear of the crowd - violence, the pox, caught in the crossfire.
Its no wonder I was a crap journalist. No balls.
My problem here is that I have realised I must suffer from some sort of psychological problem.
When people say 'May you live in interesting times' and mean it as a curse, what I actually hear is 'May you get all the Christmas pressies you wished for'.
I genuinely have a bit of me - quite a large one it seems - that sees all this stuff going on and thinks 'Cool!! History being made' rather than 'oh dear this is bad' which I recognise is the correct response.
A moment's thought is enough for head to override heart again and realise this is not good in the grand scheme of things, but that love of 'stuff happening' still lurks deep inside somewhere. As I have said before, I am definitely a cowardly anarchist. My heart is anarchic but I have way to much vested in the status quo to actually want it to happen.
I can 100% relate to this.
Yeah. Me too if I'm honest. Was on a little downer today and yesterday. Now I'm enervated. Not nice, probably, but there we are.
Er, I strongly suspect you do not understand the word "enervated"
adjective without vigor, force, or strength; languid.
Goodness. I'm usually decent on that front. But not this time... Btw. The problem with dreams is we believe waking reality is any more real than them. They aren't. But astrology is bunk.
Quite the vocab for a horny handed hewer of the flinty phallus, helpful with the sales pitch I guess.
Hey, wonder what Jack Nicklaus would have made of today's events?
I genuinely think there's a 50/50 chance right now the 25th will be invoked. This has gone too far.
CNN reporting "White House aides" pressed for the National Guard to be called upon, Trump wouldn't - then Pence did it by himself. This is going too far, way too far.
I don't think there are enough people brave enough in the cabinet to do it. I think they'll try to manage out the remaining fortnight.
He's lost it though - completely. All appointments cancelled, Twitter account suspended, probably being physically managed, possibly doctors in attendance. I think they'll try to shift him towards Mar-a-Lago for a rest cure if they possibly can. Really tough fortnight ahead.
The American site I am watching just showed a tweet from I think a reporter saying sources were saying trump was not entirely in touch with reality at the moment ........
SO did getting kicked off of Twitter send Trumpsky over the edge into full-blown madness?
MUCH worse for him than impeachment!
Or could that be a concerted effort to delegitimise him to the press, if an arrangement's already been made to have the reins taken away from him ?
There've been multiple of these reports of his mental health suddenly coming through in the last couple of hours, and he didn't look any particuiarly more out of his mind than usual - which is fairly mad - in his broadcast a couple of hours back .
All this talk about 25th Amendment and suchlike is media fantasy-land. By folks who are more interested in selling papers (or whatever they are selling) than anything else.
And yet it seems reasonably plausible that some sort of temporary arrangement has been reached between other politicans. Any process by which it was Pence who took the National Guard decision looks very curious.
I sat watching it with my gob hanging open. It takes a particularly ballsy news crew to see *that* and think "lets get in there". Yes they can go in without fear of arrest thanks to the 1st Amendment. But seriously, I would have been in fear of the crowd - violence, the pox, caught in the crossfire.
Its no wonder I was a crap journalist. No balls.
My problem here is that I have realised I must suffer from some sort of psychological problem.
When people say 'May you live in interesting times' and mean it as a curse, what I actually hear is 'May you get all the Christmas pressies you wished for'.
I genuinely have a bit of me - quite a large one it seems - that sees all this stuff going on and thinks 'Cool!! History being made' rather than 'oh dear this is bad' which I recognise is the correct response.
A moment's thought is enough for head to override heart again and realise this is not good in the grand scheme of things, but that love of 'stuff happening' still lurks deep inside somewhere. As I have said before, I am definitely a cowardly anarchist. My heart is anarchic but I have way to much vested in the status quo to actually want it to happen.
I can 100% relate to this.
Yeah. Me too if I'm honest. Was on a little downer today and yesterday. Now I'm enervated. Not nice, probably, but there we are.
Er, I strongly suspect you do not understand the word "enervated"
adjective without vigor, force, or strength; languid.
Goodness. I'm usually decent on that front. But not this time... Btw. The problem with dreams is we believe waking reality is any more real than them. They aren't. But astrology is bunk.
Quite the vocab for a horny handed hewer of the flinty phallus, helpful with the sales pitch I guess.
Hey, wonder what Jack Nicklaus would have made of today's events?
Or indeed his Todger? Well, Jack's granddaughter's Todger to be more precise.
I sat watching it with my gob hanging open. It takes a particularly ballsy news crew to see *that* and think "lets get in there". Yes they can go in without fear of arrest thanks to the 1st Amendment. But seriously, I would have been in fear of the crowd - violence, the pox, caught in the crossfire.
Its no wonder I was a crap journalist. No balls.
My problem here is that I have realised I must suffer from some sort of psychological problem.
When people say 'May you live in interesting times' and mean it as a curse, what I actually hear is 'May you get all the Christmas pressies you wished for'.
I genuinely have a bit of me - quite a large one it seems - that sees all this stuff going on and thinks 'Cool!! History being made' rather than 'oh dear this is bad' which I recognise is the correct response.
A moment's thought is enough for head to override heart again and realise this is not good in the grand scheme of things, but that love of 'stuff happening' still lurks deep inside somewhere. As I have said before, I am definitely a cowardly anarchist. My heart is anarchic but I have way to much vested in the status quo to actually want it to happen.
I can 100% relate to this.
Yeah. Me too if I'm honest. Was on a little downer today and yesterday. Now I'm enervated. Not nice, probably, but there we are.
Er, I strongly suspect you do not understand the word "enervated"
adjective without vigor, force, or strength; languid.
Goodness. I'm usually decent on that front. But not this time... Btw. The problem with dreams is we believe waking reality is any more real than them. They aren't. But astrology is bunk.
Quite the vocab for a horny handed hewer of the flinty phallus, helpful with the sales pitch I guess.
Hey, wonder what Jack Nicklaus would have made of today's events?
I genuinely think there's a 50/50 chance right now the 25th will be invoked. This has gone too far.
CNN reporting "White House aides" pressed for the National Guard to be called upon, Trump wouldn't - then Pence did it by himself. This is going too far, way too far.
I don't think there are enough people brave enough in the cabinet to do it. I think they'll try to manage out the remaining fortnight.
He's lost it though - completely. All appointments cancelled, Twitter account suspended, probably being physically managed, possibly doctors in attendance. I think they'll try to shift him towards Mar-a-Lago for a rest cure if they possibly can. Really tough fortnight ahead.
The American site I am watching just showed a tweet from I think a reporter saying sources were saying trump was not entirely in touch with reality at the moment ........
SO did getting kicked off of Twitter send Trumpsky over the edge into full-blown madness?
MUCH worse for him than impeachment!
Or could that be a concerted effort to delegitimise him to the press, if an arrangement's already been made to have the reins taken away from him ?
There've been multiple of these reports of his mental health suddenly coming through in the last couple of hours, and he didn't look any particuiarly more out of his mind than usual - which is fairly mad - in his broadcast a couple of hours back .
All this talk about 25th Amendment and suchlike is media fantasy-land. By folks who are more interested in selling papers (or whatever they are selling) than anything else.
After the Chris Miller statement it looks to me a real possibility.
And in ongoing covid news 3793 deaths in USA reported
The riot will have been another huge spreader event, but during Trump's speech I think the crowd even had a proud, conscious and ironic "superspreader" moment of hugging each other, like they did a couple of nights ago in Georgia.
No masks on face Big disgrace Spreading their germs all over the place Singing we want we want Trumpy.
I sat watching it with my gob hanging open. It takes a particularly ballsy news crew to see *that* and think "lets get in there". Yes they can go in without fear of arrest thanks to the 1st Amendment. But seriously, I would have been in fear of the crowd - violence, the pox, caught in the crossfire.
Its no wonder I was a crap journalist. No balls.
My problem here is that I have realised I must suffer from some sort of psychological problem.
When people say 'May you live in interesting times' and mean it as a curse, what I actually hear is 'May you get all the Christmas pressies you wished for'.
I genuinely have a bit of me - quite a large one it seems - that sees all this stuff going on and thinks 'Cool!! History being made' rather than 'oh dear this is bad' which I recognise is the correct response.
A moment's thought is enough for head to override heart again and realise this is not good in the grand scheme of things, but that love of 'stuff happening' still lurks deep inside somewhere. As I have said before, I am definitely a cowardly anarchist. My heart is anarchic but I have way to much vested in the status quo to actually want it to happen.
I can 100% relate to this.
Yeah. Me too if I'm honest. Was on a little downer today and yesterday. Now I'm enervated. Not nice, probably, but there we are.
Er, I strongly suspect you do not understand the word "enervated"
adjective without vigor, force, or strength; languid.
Goodness. I'm usually decent on that front. But not this time... Btw. The problem with dreams is we believe waking reality is any more real than them. They aren't. But astrology is bunk.
Quite the vocab for a horny handed hewer of the flinty phallus, helpful with the sales pitch I guess.
Hey, wonder what Jack Nicklaus would have made of today's events?
Or indeed his Todger? Well, Jack's granddaughter's Todger to be more precise.
I genuinely think there's a 50/50 chance right now the 25th will be invoked. This has gone too far.
CNN reporting "White House aides" pressed for the National Guard to be called upon, Trump wouldn't - then Pence did it by himself. This is going too far, way too far.
I don't think there are enough people brave enough in the cabinet to do it. I think they'll try to manage out the remaining fortnight.
He's lost it though - completely. All appointments cancelled, Twitter account suspended, probably being physically managed, possibly doctors in attendance. I think they'll try to shift him towards Mar-a-Lago for a rest cure if they possibly can. Really tough fortnight ahead.
The American site I am watching just showed a tweet from I think a reporter saying sources were saying trump was not entirely in touch with reality at the moment ........
SO did getting kicked off of Twitter send Trumpsky over the edge into full-blown madness?
MUCH worse for him than impeachment!
Or could that be a concerted effort to delegitimise him to the press, if an arrangement's already been made to have the reins taken away from him ?
There've been multiple of these reports of his mental health suddenly coming through in the last couple of hours, and he didn't look any particuiarly more out of his mind than usual - which is fairly mad - in his broadcast a couple of hours back .
All this talk about 25th Amendment and suchlike is media fantasy-land. By folks who are more interested in selling papers (or whatever they are selling) than anything else.
And yet it seems reasonably plausible that some sort of temporary arrangement has been reached between other politicans. Any process by which it was Pence who took the National Guard decision looks very curious.
Note that what Alice saw beyond the looking glass seemed reasonably plausible to her, too. Was still fantasy.
Any thoughts on 11 for Trump to leave office before the end of the first term? Tempting?
That was 18 when I put it up earlier.
Didn't do it. Sounds like I should have.
Where is that from and what are the Ts and Cs?
I think its 50/50 right now that the 25th could be invoked. I'd put it at >10% chance it already has been.
25th doesn't remove him from office, just strips him of powers, so could be an argument over Ts and Cs like prior Betfair arguments.
Will he officially cease to be president (for any reason) prior to the end of his first term?
Yes/No with Yes now backable at 9.
I'm not doing it having passed on the 18 when I first noticed it.
Is that the Ts and Cs?
If so, the 25th doesn't cause him to cease to be President technically - he just loses his powers, he still remains President.
Badly written Ts and Cs could strike again.
So the bet would lose then. If you lay back shorter and lock in that doesn't matter. But it's not 18 now, it's only 9. So, no, not for me. The one that got away.
Comments
https://twitter.com/TwitterSafety/status/1346970431039934464?s=20
FFS this is a site which can go into meltdown when the Lib Dems in Scotland lose 3% in a ComRes SubSample.
The potential storming on the Capitol in DC is bound to get PB-ers quite hot under the collar. And rightly so.
He's lost it though - completely. All appointments cancelled, Twitter account suspended, probably being physically managed, possibly doctors in attendance. I think they'll try to shift him towards Mar-a-Lago for a rest cure if they possibly can. Really tough fortnight ahead.
Anyway, Pence seems to be stepping up to be the unlikely hero of the hour.
https://twitter.com/VPPressSec/status/1346972967817924608
American democracy is like a unicorn
adjective
without vigor, force, or strength; languid.
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/enervated
You probably mean "exhilarated"?
The difference is we are aware of the innate flaw in our character. And that it is a flaw.
Millions aren't.
Didn't do it. Sounds like I should have.
If he needs to be sent to Mar-a-Lago all the more reason for the 25th to be invoked.
https://twitter.com/kelliwardaz/status/1346916956801179649
It was only a matter of time.
It is actually quite sad in a way. Somewhat reflective of 1872, when Horace Greeley lost the election. He died in a mental hospital a month later, possibly by his own hand. There are important differences. Greeley was a fundamentally good, if eccentric, man and his loss was compounded by the death of his wife just before the election. He turned his disappointment in on himself, and blamed himself, whereas Trump has obviously turned it outwards and blamed everyone but. But it does show the sheer sense of loss and the pressure that it can put on someone who is psychologically fragile.
I do worry for Trump in a way. I seriously doubt he'll live to 2024 to stand again - he seems broken.
Those were the grounds in past, I believe, under which KKK leader Bill Wilkerson and other have been refused entry into UK.
* I agree with PT's understanding but think there is scope for a tiny bit of ambiguity again here so caveat emptor either way.
Without the 25th I cant see it being value, perhaps at 18, maybe. There is a scenario Pence is on board and cant get half the cabinet but can get two thirds of the senate.
MUCH worse for him than impeachment!
I don't suppose the 25th Amendment route has that effect, whereas impeachment does? Could they squeeze in a quickie impeachment?
I'm usually decent on that front. But not this time...
Btw. The problem with dreams is we believe waking reality is any more real than them. They aren't.
But astrology is bunk.
I think its 50/50 right now that the 25th could be invoked. I'd put it at >10% chance it already has been.
25th doesn't remove him from office, just strips him of powers, so could be an argument over Ts and Cs like prior Betfair arguments.
https://twitter.com/adegrandpre/status/1346937538775289856
Trump is history in the making. That was already the case but tonight is another nail in the coffin. Trump is gone, like Corbyn.
Having stayed in Washington and the immediate area around it more times than I can count on two hands, the idea of it getting trashed by various troubles in recent months is saddening. I like the place and would recommend it even if only for several days of tourism. It does have the feel of exactly what it is and is like London in parts, you can feel the sense you are somewhere where stuff really does happen
Small note, the British Defence staff in Washington used to have a nice SUV with a number plate that I am sure was 'RAF 1'. No low profile there lads.
https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton/status/1346947444664369152?s=20
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1346959061862912004?s=20
https://twitter.com/ScottMorrisonMP/status/1346949911237914625?s=20
There've been multiple of these reports of his mental health suddenly coming through in the last couple of hours, and he didn't look any particuiarly more out of his mind than usual - which is fairly mad - in his broadcast a couple of hours back .
Trump though he lost did not suffer a landslide defeat and indeed he and many of his supporters still believe he won
Indeed a snap Yougov poll has 62% of voters overall seeing the storming of the US Capitol as a threat to democracy but 68% of US Republicans seeing it as not a threat to US democracy
https://twitter.com/YouGovAmerica/status/1346979210821128194?s=20
https://twitter.com/YouGovAmerica/status/1346979221223124994?s=20
https://twitter.com/YouGovAmerica/status/1346979225962749953?s=20
Indeed, Corbyn lost the popular vote by less than Trump did first time.
Difference is Corbyn was a genuine idealist. He was motivated by his beliefs (whatever one thinks of them). Which is why he's still banging on about them. As he did for 30 years before he became LOTO.
Trump is motivated by Trump. And Trump alone.
Note that shifts toward the Democrat in both races occurred in counties across the state, in particular the whole swath south of Atlanta and north & west of Augusta.
In other words, in the rural Cracker heartland. Which methinks MAY be a sign that GOP lost support from some Trumpsky voters, who either went for Democrats OR (even more likely) decided to go fishing and NOT vote this time.
Senate and House have to get this finished tonight. Doesn't matter if it goes to 5am or whatever time - they have to do it now.
If they don't anything might happen - they'll burn the place down or kill members of Congress or literally anything.
If they get it done tonight then Roberts swears in Biden on the 20th whatever happens.
The latest behaviour seems to be of a similar character but rather exaggerated. 'On steroids' if you like.
I wonder if this total loss of plot all goes back to Covid? He certainly got worse then.
Yes/No with Yes now backable at 9.
I'm not doing it having passed on the 18 when I first noticed it.
If so, the 25th doesn't cause him to cease to be President technically - he just loses his powers, he still remains President.
Badly written Ts and Cs could strike again.
https://twitter.com/RossMcCaff/status/1346925749001805824?s=20
https://twitter.com/jacknicklaus/status/1321631802004541440?s=20
https://twitter.com/LozzaFox/status/1346983335885619203?s=20
Big disgrace
Spreading their germs all over the place
Singing we want we want Trumpy.
https://twitter.com/LozzaFox/status/1346940626558980102?s=20
https://twitter.com/LozzaFox/status/1346940559148150787?s=20
https://twitter.com/LozzaFox/status/1346940127998861313?s=20