Trump

[zip accident]

"Pointing to his head, he said: 'Because without this thinking, you would see numbers that you wouldn't believe in reverse.' "

Like hope going upwards?

I'm a little unclear on what happens if Trump is successfully impeached - would that mean Mike Pence would take over for the end of his term, or only until some new election is held?

When Roosevelt (spelt?) died, Truman served out the rest of the term, before being reelected in his own right.

[KlaxonCow]

Yes, if a President is impeached - and then convicted by the Senate (which requires a two thirds majority, by the way) to be actually removed from office - then the line of succession is followed.

And that means President Mike Pence.

Which is arguably no improvement, besides that he can actually speak English and isn't orange.

But I sense the general feeling is that folks are so pissed off of Trump that his "insurance policy" of having an arsehole as his Vice-President doesn't work anymore and, fuck it, anything but the orange man-baby.

(Also, the markets might not dip as much as Trump's ego would like. After all, as we've covered, his policies are threatening how the economy functions. So you have to balance the mild uncertainty of no-one knowing what Pence'll be like as a President yet - and, by the way, somewhat the point of having Vice-Presidents is to ensure that there is some certainty to the process, as we do already know who'll take over - versus the celebration the economy'll have that the guy prompting global trade wars and impractical protectionism has fucked off. The American economy is neo-liberal, remember. So it'll be overjoyed to kick these policies into touch and get back to its globalism once more. Indeed, come on, "it's the economy, stupid" - Trump has been bullet-proof right up until he's messed with the economy, and now they're gunning for him in earnest. Don't mess with other people's fortunes, as that's the one "sin" they'll never forgive you for.)

[tufty]

Which is arguably no improvement, besides that he can actually speak English and isn't orange.

Fuckin' right. Trump might be an illiterate moron acting on dangerously random whims and a desire to get rich, but Pence is a vicious religious fundamentalist. God's on his side, there ain't much more dangerous than that

However, random internet speculation might offer an out - https://twitter.com/aliasvaughn/status/ ... 3988808704

[KlaxonCow]

God's on his side, there ain't much more dangerous than that

I'm amongst the last people you need to convince of that point, of course.

[F-ZeroOne]

Okay, thanks for the clarification everyone. Trump is so annoyed by the way hes started going FULL CAPS again.

[Jamesac]

While the idea of Pence getting the presidency is pretty horrifying, odds are good he's as deep in this as Trump is. It seems highly unlikely he'll be able to avoid the splashback when things finally fall apart. It's smart on his part to be quiet during all this, but the tidal wave of shit just keeps growing and is showing no signs of breaking yet.

[F-ZeroOne]

World Peace also going well:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-45302865

[Rubisco]

If Trump gets the boot then Pence riding out the rest of the term is the least of your worries.

Best case scenario for the world is Trump surviving to get his arse whooped democratically.

[KlaxonCow]

So, does anyone comprehend what the fuck this "#Qanon" conspircy bollocks is all about?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-45040614
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QAnon

Apparently, it's some idiot on 4chan - then moved to 8chan - making up random cryptic crap and then Trump supporters swallowing it all.

I tried reading an article by a "Qanon" believer explaining it all, but it was like reading randomly generated text. There were words there, in grammatically correct form, but conveying no actual meaning that my brain could grasp.

Thing is, folks are actually turning up at Trump rallies with "Q" signs and T-shirts and things (see bottom right of image, the "WWG1WGA" is their slightly illiterate rallying cry). They really seem to believe it all.



And there was this guy who blocked traffic at the Hoover Dam to demand that the FBI release the real report on Hillary Clinton's emails.



And it gets really serious with this guy - the "Pizzagate" affair - where he started firing weapons in a pizza shop in Washington D.C., convinced by these online conspiracy theories that the Democrats were running a paedophile ring. From a pizza shop.



This is from the Wikipedia article on this:

Starting with the first posts incorrectly predicting Hillary Clinton's imminent arrest and followed by more failed predictions, QAnon's posts have become more cryptic and vague allowing followers to map their own beliefs into them. By generating a keyboard heatmap of QAnon's supposedly coded messages, information security researcher Mark Burnett concluded that they "are not actual codes, just random typing by someone who might play an instrument and uses a QWERTY keyboard", adding that "almost all the characters" in the codes alternate between the left and right hands, or the characters are close to each other on the keyboard.

So, basically, some idiot is literally smashing keys on his keyboard and claiming it's a "secret code", which some Trump supporters are using to go shoot up pizza shops?!?

[Little stoned kiwi]

It's a bit like that episode of Black Mirror where social media is used to get the PM to fuck a pig. Or on a different scale, Ghost in the Shell.
I'm getting some sort of perverse, fascinated pleasure from it. Right from the very start when Trump not only ran but actually won. Everything from the start has been batshit crazy and gloriously beautiful.

[F-ZeroOne]

"Gloriously beautiful"? Hmm.

"Elves are wonderful. They provoke wonder.
Elves are marvellous. They cause marvels.
Elves are fantastic. They create fantasies.
Elves are glamorous. They project glamour.
Elves are enchanting. They weave enchantment.
Elves are terrific. They beget terror.
The thing about words is that meanings can twist just like a snake, and if you want to find snakes look for them behind words that have changed their meaning.
No one ever said elves are nice.
Elves are bad.”

- Sir Terry Pratchett, "Lords and Ladies".

[F-ZeroOne]

John McCain waffled on some important political issues, and picked Sarah Palin as his running mate back in those heady days when we thought she was the worst possible thing that could happen to US politics but its worth considering the military service of the man whom Trump said "I don't like people who get captured":

"On July 29, 1967, McCain was a lieutenant commander when he was near the epicenter of the USS Forrestal fire. He escaped from his burning jet and was trying to help another pilot escape when a bomb exploded; McCain was struck in the legs and chest by fragments. The ensuing fire killed 134 sailors and took 24 hours to control With the Forrestal out of commission, McCain volunteered for assignment with the USS Oriskany, another aircraft carrier employed in Operation Rolling Thunder. Once there, he would be awarded the Navy Commendation Medal and the Bronze Star Medal for missions flown over North Vietnam.
Prisoner of war

McCain's capture and subsequent imprisonment occurred on October 26, 1967. He was flying his 23rd bombing mission over North Vietnam when his A-4E Skyhawk was shot down by a missile over Hanoi. McCain fractured both arms and a leg when he ejected from the aircraft, and nearly drowned after he parachuted into Trúc Bạch Lake. Some North Vietnamese pulled him ashore, then others crushed his shoulder with a rifle butt and bayoneted him. McCain was then transported to Hanoi's main Hỏa Lò Prison, nicknamed the "Hanoi Hilton".

Although McCain was seriously wounded and injured, his captors refused to treat him. They beat and interrogated him to get information, and he was given medical care only when the North Vietnamese discovered that his father was an admiral. His status as a prisoner of war (POW) made the front pages of major newspapers.

McCain spent six weeks in the hospital, where he received marginal care. He had lost 50 pounds (23 kg), was in a chest cast, and his gray hair had turned as white as snow. McCain was sent to a different camp on the outskirts of Hanoi. In December 1967, McCain was placed in a cell with two other Americans who did not expect him to live more than a week. In March 1968, McCain was placed into solitary confinement, where he would remain for two years.

In mid-1968, his father John S. McCain Jr. was named commander of all U.S. forces in the Vietnam theater, and the North Vietnamese offered McCain early release because they wanted to appear merciful for propaganda purposes, and also to show other POWs that elite prisoners were willing to be treated preferentially. McCain refused repatriation unless every man taken in before him was also released."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCain

Needless to say, someone won't be getting an invite to the funeral.

[F-ZeroOne]

It now turns out that McCain has invited both George W. Bush and Barrack Obama to give an eulogy at his funeral. Note whos missing.

[Harlequin]

It now turns out that McCain has invited both George W. Bush and Barrack Obama to give an eulogy at his funeral. Note whos missing.

Perhaps he thought that the current President would be unable to make it anyway due to his crippling bone spurs.

[snaff]

And he couldn't afford Bill or Hillary.