Trump's America

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Túrin Turambar
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Re: Trump's America

Post by Túrin Turambar »

yovargas wrote:
538 wrote: A Selzer & Co. national poll conducted Nov. 24-27 for Grinnell College found that Trump had a 43 percent approval rating and a 45 percent disapproval rating among all adults. However, his support isn’t distributed equally across different types of communities. He’s enormously popular among residents of rural areas, with a 61 percent approval rating and a 26 percent disapproval rating. In small towns, that breakdown is 44 percent approve vs. 42 percent disapprove. But in suburban areas, only 41 percent of residents approve of the job that Trump is doing as president, while 50 percent disapprove. Trump’s approval rating is lowest among urbanites — 31 percent approve of him while 59 percent disapprove.

I feel like the urban vs rural cultural divide is something that doesn't get enough attention and discussion.
It's hugely significant across the western world at the moment. Most of the people who've benefited most from globalisation, for example, by working a white-collar job in a multinational company, live in cities. It's easier to get a new job if your employer shuts down if you live in a city. And you're far more likely to come into frequent contact with foreigners, immigrants, openly gay people and the like in the city. The person working for HSBC's San Francisco office with Indian and Chinese co-workers who regularly travels overseas and would be OK with taking a job in London and the auto plant worker in the only auto plant in his Michigan town almost live in different countries.
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Voronwë the Faithful
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Re: Trump's America

Post by Voronwë the Faithful »

This is as petty as it is unsurprising.

Trump Cancels White House Party for Press
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Re: Trump's America

Post by Voronwë the Faithful »

I split off the discussion about the Urban vs Rural Cultural and Political Divide to a separate thread so that the discussion could continue there.
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elengil
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Re: Trump's America

Post by elengil »

Yeah, all 67 pages :rofl:
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was a 2020 planner.

"Does anyone ever think about Denethor, the guy driven to madness by staying up late into the night alone in the dark staring at a flickering device he believed revealed unvarnished truth about the outside word, but which in fact showed mostly manipulated media created by a hostile power committed to portraying nothing but bad news framed in the worst possible way in order to sap hope, courage, and the will to go on? Seems like he's someone we should think about." - Dave_LF
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Primula Baggins
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Re: Trump's America

Post by Primula Baggins »

I tied to move them back here, then re-split the topic, but I wasn't able to move them back. I'm rusty on this, so rather than risk sending posts into the aether, luminiferous or otherwise, I will fold my hands gracefully and wait for Voronwë to take care of it.
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
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Re: Trump's America

Post by Voronwë the Faithful »

Whoops!
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Re: Trump's America

Post by Primula Baggins »

Thanks, Voronwë! :hug:
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
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RoseMorninStar
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Re: Trump's America

Post by RoseMorninStar »

Trump canceled the annual press Christmas party at the White House. Can you imagine the outrage on FOX news about the 'War on Christmas' had Obama canceled a Christmas party?
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Re: Trump's America

Post by elengil »

Y'know what I think is most fascinating about this entire situation (horror aside) is how easily we condemn our rivals and excuse our allies - for the exact same thing.

We should endeavor to always consider "If the other side had done this, how would we react?" and try to temper our opinions. Too often we will say "yes, but if they had done it, it would have been different!" Really? In what way?
The dumbest thing I've ever bought
was a 2020 planner.

"Does anyone ever think about Denethor, the guy driven to madness by staying up late into the night alone in the dark staring at a flickering device he believed revealed unvarnished truth about the outside word, but which in fact showed mostly manipulated media created by a hostile power committed to portraying nothing but bad news framed in the worst possible way in order to sap hope, courage, and the will to go on? Seems like he's someone we should think about." - Dave_LF
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Re: Trump's America

Post by RoseMorninStar »

elengil wrote:Y'know what I think is most fascinating about this entire situation (horror aside) is how easily we condemn our rivals and excuse our allies - for the exact same thing.

We should endeavor to always consider "If the other side had done this, how would we react?" and try to temper our opinions. Too often we will say "yes, but if they had done it, it would have been different!" Really? In what way?
Agreed!
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Re: Trump's America

Post by Voronwë the Faithful »

Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis has resigned, citing irreconcilable policy differences with Mr. Trump, effective in February.
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Re: Trump's America

Post by yovargas »

And based on his resignation letter (seen here), he resigned because he didn't want to work for a president that antagonized our allies and coddled are antagonists. Neat.
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Re: Trump's America

Post by Voronwë the Faithful »

Neat. Except that the next Defense Secretary is likely to be more aligned with Mr. Trump.

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Re: Trump's America

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And yet Republican politicians and the 'base' refuse to see major problems with this 'executive'--a person whom any decent company would have tossed out long ago.
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Re: Trump's America

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GOP Senator Marco Rubio: "Just read Gen. Mattis resignation letter. It makes it abundantly clear that we are headed towards a series of grave policy errors which will endanger our nation, damage our alliances & empower our adversaries."

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Re: Trump's America

Post by yovargas »

These days, when googling these stories, I sometimes intentionally go to Fox news so I can see how they are reporting it. The actual reporting itself was about the same as other sites. But the comment section, well, they all think this is great news and a great thing for Trump.
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Re: Trump's America

Post by Voronwë the Faithful »

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell:

"I believe it's essential that the United States maintain and strengthen the post-World War II alliances that have been carefully built by leaders in both parties," McConnell said in a statement. "We must also maintain a clear-eyed understanding of our friends and foes, and recognize that nations like Russia are among the latter." 

"So I was sorry to learn that Secretary Mattis, who shares those clear principles, will soon depart the administration. But I am particularly distressed that he is resigning due to sharp differences with the president on these and other key aspects of America's global leadership."



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Re: Trump's America

Post by Voronwë the Faithful »

GOP Rep. Mike Coffman:
"Mattis has been the adult in the room when it comes to national security policy and I find his impending departure alarming. For the last two years he has been a buffer between the chaos of the White House and our military."

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Re: Trump's America

Post by Voronwë the Faithful »

GOP Senator Ben Sasse:

"This is a sad day. General Mattis was giving advice POTUS needs to hear. Mattis rightly believes that Russia & China are adversaries, and that we are at war with jihadists across the globe who plot to kill Americans. Isolationism is a weak strategy that will harm Americans..."

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Re: Trump's America

Post by RoseMorninStar »

The Whitaker/Attorney General situation is distressing as well.

Lifting of Russian oligarch sanctions.

Chaos.

Putin's dreams come true.

The other night I was listening to a former CIA official who said that Russia has been working on destabilizing/subverting the US and creating chaos/distrust in our institutions using propaganda & social media since the early 2000's. He said that Putin's aim was to get people so divided and mistrustful of our government that we would welcome another regime to step in & take over without a shot fired.
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