President Trump

[SezMe]

It's tough for solar to be a complete solution because of the way we use electricity and the storage issue. You can only generate electricity during the day, but the heaviest use is in the twilight hours. Sadly the progress to building better batteries has been painstakingly slow.

In much of the Southwest, the afternoon period of peak solar generation coincides with the peak demand for power due especially to air conditioning (See charts here).

Yeah, battery development has lagged. I think the move to electric vehicles will affect that in a couple of ways. Not only will development proceed apace but old batteries (especially auto batteries) will have after-market value for energy storage.

 

[SezMe]

I heard he also breathes air, and you know who else breathed air? HITLER.

Am I correct in assuming you don't think Trump's support from racists, neo-Nazis and white nationalists is of any consequence?

 

[SezMe]

For example, you've done a fine job of expressing your disagreement with me, without calling me an ignorant toothless redneck hick, without insinuating that I'm a racist or a bigot. I suspect it wasn't even particularly difficult!

Damn! I knew I left something out of my post.

 

[TofuFighter]

Enough people saw Trump as a danger and still didn't care.

If Donald *********** Trump can be president, anything can happen in America.

This is also something I feel.
The further away we get from WWII, the more we forget. I had a friend (french) whose grandmother would tell him stories about the war that were horrific, and who was firm about the fact that people need to be reminded, lest it happen again. But that reminder is ineffective these days. It's not real enough. Most younger people today just think it wouldn't happen and are too from the horror of it to be wary.

Emily's supposition

..snips
The problem is that many of his supporters are gun owners... and a very great many of them are gun owners who firmly believe that it is their duty to oppose the tyranny of the government. It is my opinion that they would not support Trump's attempts to become a dictator. They would object on ideological grounds. You would end up with Trump having no support from the left (for obvious reasons) and extremely minimal support from the right (because they are ideologically opposed and armed).

that Trump would not have support from a his gun-owning voters is, imo, not correct. I think they would believe in what he is doing, believe in what he wants to do, and/or support him blindly. The ideology of rejecting tyranny would not be aimed at him, but rather at whoever he opposes. Trump would paint his opposition as the tyrannical ones, and his supporters would believe it. This is exactly how his campaign was operated. I, personally, thought that the US public would see through that blatant charade, but they didn't.
I agree that the military is not likely to support him.

The election is over, but I feel Trump must still be held accountable for every assholic comment he made publicly during his campaign.

 

[SezMe]

And then he'd publicly infer you're a shrill, resentful, menstruating female, followed by his political base making your life a living hell for the next year or so. But at least he put the "elites" in their place.

Imply. (I have a woody about the imply/infer confusion. )

 

[SezMe]

You're in complete denial.
We have the vast majority of governorships and statehouses.
We have the presidency.
We have the congress.
We have the supreme court.
We will soon have the federal courts.
Four states are controlled by dem governors and Dem legislatures.

In every conceivable measure you're in the wilderness.

You're correct. So you deserve your gloating time and I hope you enjoy it.

But history teaches that when one party gets too much power, they begin to abuse it. You know the old saying. We're now seeing that at the state and national level.

So when the shoe is on the other foot, don't expect anyone to give a **** what your opinion is since you have that attitude now.

 

[SezMe]

I saw that. I continue to believe that Trump had no intention of actually being elected president.

I agree but I have no idea how one could refute the claim because I'd rather not hold that belief. Maybe I'll take confirmation the fact - if it occurs - that he doesn't last four years.

 

[SezMe]

And everything Obama actually did exploded the national debt. What a surprise.

I know this is old hat around here, but I don't think that is true. Can you provide a cite?

 

[TofuFighter]

The ACLU has posted an open letter to Trump, warning him about his stated policies.


https://www.aclu.org/blog/speak-fre...ents-his-proposed-policies-well-see-him-court

Steve S

But he'll stand up for Article XII, so don't fret.

 

[SezMe]

Hitler didn't have to disarm 5he country or use the military to enforce his rule.
People went along with it and goted for him. He encouragedgun ownership and marksmanship, it was patriotic and prepared people for military service.
Any dictator in the US won't face a mass armed rising, whoever it is will be cheered by the masses and praised.
That's how it always starts.

That's right. And those of an authoritarian bent will be enthusiastic supporters. And I think that cohort includes all the gun owners who support the militia movement, who are 2^nd Amendment gun nuts and the far-right Trump supporters. It would be presented as a highly polished turd and I doubt many in those categories would see the large issues.

 

[SezMe]

Yes.

NO! Not until gerrymandering is ancient history.

 

[SezMe]

We were going to in the 70s but the government chickened out and it hasn't been broached since. Nobody wants to pay the price.

BTW, I think we should. I could carry fewer tools.

Well, not quite. Who was that guy who ran on using the metric system in 2015. A Dem if I remember correctly. He lasted about 5 minutes.

 

[Hlafordlaes]

YES, it would... BECAUSE.. the people who own the guns (the armed populace) are EXACTLY the people who are ideologically strongly opposed to tyrannical leaders and governments that overstep their bounds.

Whoa! This from someone on a site where, by and large, a good vocal few can't argue rights from first principles, and cannot ween themselves from having to quote old documents as a surrogate for actual reasoning. That's when, if pushed, they'll even fess to having no functioning alternatives to argue cogently, only libertarian ostrich woo, or tired marxist is/should confusion in reasoning. At any rate, this little comment about gunz, in juxtaposition to "democratic reasoning," illustrates, once again, well... the collective trouser drop of the proud nativists now stomping around Anglo culture and thumping so-called "chests."

Hint: Oh, let's just see... for starters, read about mercantilism and its relation to the rise of democratic thought. Choose your history book, there are plenty for this. Some nuggets there to be found, such as what a renewed concentration of wealth might mean for democracy. Or, if you can put up with his disgusting proto-fascism, Ortega y Gasset actually had some notion of the role of leading opinion makers in shaping social responses, not entirely bereft of merit. Another avenue for reflection on what creates, makes, and sustains narratives that flip worldviews. Takes fortitude to read and yet derive benefit.

There'll be more homework in store, for sure.

 

[Belz...]

It's like an auto accident. When you're back in the jam, you swear to not slow down and be a Lookie-Lou. But then you get to the action and you just can't avoid staring. Right?

Thanks for the comparison, I guess.

Go for it. I've posted my share of bad posts, bad English and bad manners here so that one more comeuppance call will probably be fully justified.

Bwa ha ha ha! You're so gonna get it!

 

[Ambrosia]

Not until you start spelling 'liter' correctly.

It's all Noahs fault.

Random aside - while I was aware of Webster before writing this post I'd never read his wikipedia page. He turns out to be a fascinating character.

I wonder what he'd have made of the recent US election, and how his preferred spellings have become the norm in American-English and in some cases over here as well.

 

[ponderingturtle]

Depends on your definition I guess. Federal and state gas taxes are averaging around 48 cents per gallon in the US, unreasonably high in many other countries, IMHO.

But we subsidise cars not by subsidising the gas for them, but subsidizing the roads and the like.

 

[newyorkguy]

...I'm hoping that Trump from New York sees the benefits of a good transit system. (But I wonder if he has ridden it in the last 40 years.

I doubt Trump rides NY City Transit very often, though as a developer he knows the value. In Manhattan, given the extreme population density, you can't develop an office or condo tower without having convenient transit access. He said during his campaign he wanted to invest a lot more money both in mass transit and high-speed passenger trains. But again here's the problem.

He expressed a desire but without outlining a program or specifics. I've seen transit professionals lament that, as with most of Trump's rhetoric, that was probably because he has no concrete plans, just talking points.

Worse, at this stage it's impossible to predict what will happen because, despite Trump stating support for transit and high-speed rail, the Republican platform did not. The Republican platform advocated an end to federal support for mass transit and to kill Amtrak once and for all. Where high-speed rail seems practical or viable it should be turned over to private interests. (President Bush tried that with Amtrak's Northeast Corridor and found no takers despite the fact the Amtrak's Northeast Corridor puts up pretty decent numbers.)

As with much of what Trump campaigned on doing, a lot will depend on his relationship with Congress and that is a huge unknown at this point. His total lack of government and political experience is not going to be much help. His verbal nonsense that some of the electorate found so compelling is probably not going to work too well with Congress.

 

[Fast Eddie B]

Am I correct in assuming you don't think Trump's support from racists, neo-Nazis and white nationalists is of any consequence?

Not cobalt, but I don't think it is.

I think it almost borders on a logical fallacy of some sort.

"I really love my Toyota Land Cruiser".

"You might want to reconsider - they are a favorite of Osama bin Laden."

Since one cannot control who might or might not support you, or your vehicle choice, why should you be painted with the beliefs of those who do?

Let me see if I can zero in on the fallacy. "Guilt by association" is a phrase that comes to mind, but is not a fallacy per sé.

 

[Fast Eddie B]

I know this is old hat around here, but I don't think that is true. Can you provide a cite?

Well, I was just trying to be cute, by copying and pasting and changing select words.

I don't think the President has a lot of direct control over the National Debt.

I was just pointing out that it seems hypocritical to be critical of Trump's future plans because they might increase the debt by $7 trillion (or whatever) without so much as mentioning the roughly $10 trillion increase under Obama.

My long-term concern is the apparent geometric increase in the debt, roughly doubling every 8 years.

That would mean a debt of $40 trillion, then $80 trillion, then $160 trillion and so on, well within the lifespans of many on this board. Pretty soon we're beyond trillions into what? Quadrillions?

I'm not hopeful that either party has the will to actually stop the cycle.

 

[logger]

You're correct. So you deserve your gloating time and I hope you enjoy it.

But history teaches that when one party gets too much power, they begin to abuse it. You know the old saying. We're now seeing that at the state and national level.

Ahh no, your side is losing, has been and will continue to do so on the local level.

So when the shoe is on the other foot, don't expect anyone to give a **** what your opinion is since you have that attitude now.

So ridiculous, as if you and many others would not be doing the same thing if hilldabeast had won.