Excellent Commentary on U.S. Election by "Mr. D"

[travelerjim]

For those interested in how Trump won in the rust belt States of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.. and
An explanation of why the recount efforts will fail.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/brandonfinniga ... .bgd5dRnLy

And from Larry Sabato...
http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crysta ... r-clinton/

Tj

[Alex]

And, meanwhile, that the US's influence on the rest of the world declines to the point of irrelevance.

And are you going to tell us whose influence you would like to see increased instead? Or will there just be a vacuum left where the US's influence is now?

I'm genuinely curious, as lvdkeyes raises a good point - just how bad is the US influence when compared with the alternative(s) that come(s) to mind...

[travelerjim]

My take on Trump's presidency is one that will be mired with legal problems mostly from conflicts of interest relating to his domestic and global business interests, I don't believe he will be able to finish 4 years let alone 8.

Trump says he's leaving his businesses to focus on presidency

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/11 ... dency.html

Tj

[Oliver]

The US influence on many parts of the world has been maligned - particularly the Middle east where its closest allies are racist colonisers like Israel or fundamentalist head-choppers like Saudi Arabia. The colonisation of Palestine would have been halted forty years ago had the US not repeatedly used its UNSC veto. And the medieval monarchies of the Gulf would be laughably vulnerable without the input of US arms.

But I'm intrigued; why should you want any one country to dominate? Sounds more like the mafia a than a brotherhood of nations. And there's the problem; for decades, the US has seen itself as the playground bully....the Nelson Muntz of the international community. Does that please you?

[Gaybutton]

problem; for decades, the US has seen itself as the playground bully

I don't see it that way. But I do see it as the USA trying far too long to be the police of the world and too much meddling in the internal affairs of sovereign countries. If under Trump that stops, then yes, that would please me.

[Alex]

But I'm intrigued; why should you want any one country to dominate?

The question is not why we should want that, but what would REALLY happen in case of reduced US influence. My guess would be that other powers will move in to fill the void, in some cases China and in others regional powers. Simply because they can, and in order to further their own agenda. The big question is how their influence will compare. I've got the feeling that those who condemn US influence now will pray to have it back in some instances in the not too distant future, but we shall see.

I mostly agree with you regarding the Middle East though. That has been an unmitigated disaster since a very long time, and the US's choice of friends and allies in that region is, indeed, particularly questionable.

[Gaybutton]

I mostly agree with you regarding the Middle East though. That has been an unmitigated disaster since a very long time

Oh well, maybe if Trump pulls out of the Middle East after finishes bombing ISIS to oblivion, since the USA won't have to be paying a fortune to keep troops in the Middle East anymore, now Trump will have the money to build the wall, just in case Mexico won't pay, and open concentration camps where all the millions of illegal aliens can be kept until they can be deported . . .

[Oliver]

Just think how the US's infrastructure and public services could be improved if the US abandoned its nuclear bases around Iran, Russia and China. And stopped propping-up Israel with tax-payers' money. Do Americans know that two of their citizens have been killed recently by the recipients of this largesse? Two fifteen year-olds. I suspect that this hasn't been reported in the media, despite the State Department's failed attempts to secure justice for the kids.
And then consider what a safer world we'd all live in. The Cuba missile crisis, which we've recently been remembering, is a stark warning as to what happens when foreign powers station nuclear arms on the borders of foreign countries. The chances of accidental war are increased exponentially. The US didn't like it when it thought that its borders were threatened. Why should Russia and Iran react differently?

[Alex]

Great idea, Oliver! Let's get China, Russia and North Korea to destroy their nuclear weapons and we will follow suit immediately...

[billyhouston]

It's rather amusing to see the anti-American and anti-Semitic (dressed up as anti-Israeli) bile spewing forth from those who profess to support democracy ..... until, that is, it produces a result they don't like. For 'friends of Jeremy' antisemitism is not just acceptable, it's mandatory.