Trump has finally lost it.....

Amongst the prominent Republicans that will not support Trump is former President George W Bush

www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/08/19/all-the-republicans-who-have-endorsed-joe-biden-for-president/#f02d8596aa53

Cindy McCain, wife of the late Sen. John McCain and a longtime Republican, lent her voice to the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, outlining the “unlikely friendship” her husband had with the newly minted Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

www.politico.com/news/2020/08/18/cindy-mccain-joe-biden-dnc-398162

Trump has lost many prominent Republicans. Former Secretary of State Colen Powell has endorsed Joe Biden.

www.cnn.com/2020/08/18/politics/colin-powell-biden-convention/index.html

What do posters think re the ongoing John Durham Investigation and the release of UN redacted papers from the Obama/Biden/Comey period in the Whitehouse?

I have been following American politics with more interest of late the politics such as Black Lives Matter/ANTIFA and official interviews such as the Senate Judiciary Committe with the likes of Rod Rosenstein (ex Deputy Attorney General) and his stating he would not have signed the FISA Application in hindsight. He is not alone.

The General Micheal Flynn case is another one I am following with interest too.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Sunday that she is calling the House back into session this week to vote on a bill prohibiting the US Postal Service from implementing any changes to operations or level of service. The action comes amid growing concerns that the White House is trying to undermine the agency during the coronavirus pandemic while states expand mail-in voting options.

In a letter to Democratic lawmakers on Sunday evening, Ms Pelosi also called on her colleagues to appear at a post office in their district on Tuesday for a coordinated news event. “In a time of a pandemic, the Postal Service is Election Central. Americans should not have to choose between their health and their vote,” she wrote.

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/usps-postal-service-bill-vote-house-nancy-pelosi-donald-trump-mail-in-a9673436.html

The concept of "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need" is in theory a wonderfully fair social philosophy, and is what was drew many people to the original Communist ideal.

The problem, as always, is human nature and the perception and measurement of ability and need, on both the legislation/providing and the receiving ends.

Good summary and analysis Elegran.

It's interesting that some of those ideas haven't disappeared, even in the UK. We're in the middle of a number of culture wars and how to deal with the poor is one of them.

MaizieD That is more or less how it was in this country for centuries. From the ruling class, neglect of the poor and left behind, or treatment of them as cannon fodder in war and expendable in peace, while the poor and left behind were cautious of attracting too much interest from above, as it usually resulted in them being thrown into jail as vagrants and their daughters debauched

Poor relief was traditionally the duty of religious institutions, who funded it from the tithes paid to them by all in the parish, and donations from the wealthy with an eye to salvation. That worked when communities were fairly small, when the local bigwigs, landowners and farmers all contributed their 10% to the parochial budget and the church wardens knew their parishioners well enough to distinguish those who were genuinely in need of help from the idle wasters whose greatest need was for someone to shame them into providing for their families. It was "outdoor relief" - you got money to tide you over. If you moved away and then got into difficulties, you were sent back to the home parish where you were born and baptised to ask for assistance.

The growth of cities, road improvements, and the start of the Industrial Revolution meant that communities were larger and more crowded. People moved from where they were well-known to anonymous rookeries near where the work was. Some parishes contained vast numbers of badly paid workers and couldn't cope with them.

And so the system changed and Union Workhouses were born. Funding was still by the parishes, but it was more economical for several parishes to unite and construct a building where the indigent could receive "Indoor relief" - be taken in and sheltered, clothed and fed under one roof. Gradually, funding from the church was replaced by taxes and responsibility for the poor moved to the state.

The first Americans copied the systems in place at the time they left behind the mother country, and the tradition of assistance in time of need coming from charitable giving has persisted to this day. So has suspicion of the motives of the state. In the UK, that has not completely died out either, but we have had longer to associate the state with efforts to solve the perennial problems of keeping everyone fed and healthy. Many in the US still have the traditional fierce independence which made the early colonials emigrate in the first place, and those who have been very lucky and successful in life do appear to require that those who are barely surviving display it too.

Biden and Harris, like Democratic combos of the past, only embrace certain issues, specific demographics and sections of the country- Never the whole- They offer nothing new, their dance steps are old, tried and true- And pave the way for the next crisis to smoothly glide towards "doomed" and damned to repeat the past-

The problem as I see it is that Americans are too locked into their libertarian, every man for himself, anti-socialism mind set to do anything to help the poor and left behind. They themselves ( the poor and left behind) are so locked into it that they regard any state intervention in anything at all with horrified suspicion. And won't vote for it.

How do you overcome that?

varian

Lawrence: Prayer Breakfast Rant Shows Trump Doesn't Understand What Love Is

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhGPItQd47U

This video is truly shocking and the roomful of religious people, mostly republican supporters, was truly shocked.

I love Arthur C. Brooks-

Here's a brief, excellent article of his:

www.nytimes.com/2016/10/08/opinion/those-who-dont-understand-trump-are-doomed-to-repeat-him.html

He writes, "It demands authentic compassion for people on the periphery of society."

It demands authentic compassion- Period- But the fact that the people on the periphery haven't received it, and that that very fact requires such emphasis, speaks volumes about past administrations as well as the current one-

Trump promised a slice of bread to hungry sections of the country, which there are many, including the breadbasket regions- They received his attention-

He promised more to the greedy who already had enough, and they received it 10 fold-

Each administration inherits the prior administrations mess, the majority of which doesn't get sorted or purged- Not by Republicans- Not by Democrats- Administration after administration, decade after decade, the situation fluctuates between dire and becoming worse-

The "right" has become so far right that the far "left" got pushed to the center for one bright and shining moment-

Biden and Harris, like Democratic combos of the past, only embrace certain issues, specific demographics and sections of the country- Never the whole- They offer nothing new, their dance steps are old, tried and true- And pave the way for the next crisis to smoothly glide towards "doomed" and damned to repeat the past-

rosecarmel I think he knew exactly who to target for votes.

It's a pity that the urbane charming and highly intelligent Obama didn't see that neglecting a huge swathe of society would usher in someone like Trump.

President Trump needs every vote he got from white evangelicals in 2016 — and then some. Hoisting a Bible in the air may not be enough.

Unnerved by his slipping poll numbers and his failure to take command of the moral and public health crises straining the country, religious conservatives have expressed concern in recent weeks to the White House and the Trump campaign about the president’s political standing.

Their rising discomfort spilled out into the open this week when the founder of the Christian Coalition, Pat Robertson, scolded the president for taking such a belligerent tone as the country erupted in sorrow and anger over the police killing of an unarmed black man, George Floyd, in Minneapolis.

Speaking on his newscast, “The 700 Club,” the televangelist whose relationship with Mr. Trump dates to the 1990s said, “You just don’t do that, Mr. President,” and added, “We’re one race. And we need to love each other.”

www.nytimes.com/2020/06/04/us/politics/trump-polls-christians-evangelicals.html

Trump is immoral, dishonest, irreligious, racist and mysogynist, but will they still vote for him? They did the last time.

Lawrence: Prayer Breakfast Rant Shows Trump Doesn't Understand What Love Is

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhGPItQd47U

This video is truly shocking and the roomful of religious people, mostly republican supporters, was truly shocked.

His grandfather (Trump) died during the pandemic, Trump's father just a child at the time-

If you have yet to read Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man by Mary L. Trump I encourage you to-

It's insightful and sad, but a real page turner- I couldn't put it down-

Truly, he never had it to lose- A large portion of his base had "enough" to some degree then lost it- And after it was lost, nobody paid much attention to them again- Until Trump came along- And for them, the "attention" is enough- And Trump knew this to be true-

They aren't bad people, they're a severely neglected, large sect of Americans that can get him elected -- again-

Too many past administrations overlooked them- And now we're suffering for it and could suffer through 4 more years of it-

The gap between Biden and Trump is exactly the same as it was this time of year between Clinton and Trump- Too many view Biden as an extension of Obama and don't want 4 or 8 more years of being passed over and overlooked-

Gobsmacked by his comments about ' the 1917 flu pandemic'.
According to him that's what finished WW2 because so many of the soldiers got sick and died!

Just a curious comparison about Johnson and Trump is that Johnson was born 19/6/64 and Trump was born 14/6/46. Make of that what you will.
Regarding people against Trump, there are several groups on You Tube that are interesting to watch. Some point out what has happened over the last 4 years and some go further back. These include The Lincoln Project, Don Winslow Films, Meidas Touch and Republican Voters against Trump.
Others write parodies about certain aspects of Trump and his supporters. These include Founders Sing, Roy Zimmerman, Don Caron Parody Project and my personal favourite Randy Rainbow. His language can be a bit ripe but he is a talented performer. He always cheers me up.

I think you have to feel sorry for most PMs/world leaders who have Covid to deal with, knowing that whatever they do will be criticised by their electorate.

I am certainly not a huge Donald Trump fan but I do believe he make great strides with their economy before this awful virus put paid to that.

It is widely expected that he will lose in November, but looking at the opposition I am not so sure.

I agree Jane43. I have never heard our PM apologise for any of his many errors managing this pandemic. He would have a lot more respect and trust if he admitted when he’d got things wrong, and more importantly learned from them.

Trust in the government is at rock bottom since the Cummings debacle and this can’t be ultimately good for the country.

It’s a shame we can’t have somebody like Nicola Sturgeon as PM. In today’s briefing when referring to Scotland’s exam results policy she actually said they got it wrong and will work to put it right. No previous bluster and excuses just a straightforward admission.

Sometimes I imagine I’ve been in a coma and woken up in a terrifying dystopian world, with a spreading killer virus and leaders like Trump and our own U.K. version in power ?

Oops xd post

Trump apparently thinks its a good idea for his fizzog to join the illustrious previous US Presidents at Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Luckily for the World and unhappily for him, theres no space left to carve it

Donald Trump says 'it sounds like a good idea' for his face to be carved onto Mount Rushmore

news.sky.com/story/donald-trump-says-it-sounds-like-a-good-idea-for-his-face-to-be-carved-onto-mount-rushmore-12046373

He claimed to have brought in a Veterans‘ Act which was brought in in 2014 saying nobody thought it was possible but he did it. When a reporter called him out on it he stormed off the podium in his usual child-like fashion. The only thing he is good at is self promotion and dodgy business dealings.

Sorry - remove the word “would” from end of 2nd line!