Nov 2023 Mod notice:
There may be other, more specific, threads about some aspects of US politics, but this one tends to act as a hub for all sorts of related news and information, so it's usually one of the busiest OTC threads.
If you're new to OTC, it's worth reading the Introduction to On-Topic Conversations
and the On-Topic Conversations debate guidelines
before posting here.
Rumor-based, fear-mongering and/or inflammatory statements that damage the quality of the thread will be thumped. Off-topic posts will also be thumped. Repeat offenders may be suspended.
If time spent moderating this thread remains a distraction from moderation of the wiki itself, the thread will need to be locked. We want to avoid that, so please follow the forum rules
when posting here.
In line with the general forum rules, 'gravedancing' is prohibited here. If you're celebrating someone's death or hoping that they die, your post will get thumped. This rule applies regardless of what the person you're discussing has said or done.
Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
We gotta spread word about the taco trucks. Maybe some of Stein's and Johnson's supporters can be wooed to the Hillary campaign with promise of delicious tacos. Like, Johnson might have a shot at making it into the debates and Stein might bring endless hilarity to the election by underperforming a dead gorilla, but which candidate can promise you easy availability to tacos, huh?
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.@unknowing: Mexican politicians hate taking such risks because the actions of one affect all the members of a given party. For example, when Peña Nieto said he was in favour of same-sex marriage for our country, several candidates from his party lost the elections to several states that were considered "safe" before he said what he did.
Now, while it's true that only 3 out of our 8 or so political parties hold real power in the country, new ones threaten to arise when the people get fed up with any one of the three main ones. Case in point, the rise of our Chavez-left party came when the people got sick of Calderon, the president before EPN.
Given this, the big parties don't like rocking the boat because they might lose the majority in the senate, and the smaller ones fear they may lose their status as political parties (in Mexico a party must get at least 3% of the vote in an election to keep its status and its funds).
In short: our politicians are opportunists who will only do something if there is little to no backlash involved. Unfortunately, accepting help from the US, no matter how much we really need it, is still seen as a deadly sin by a lot of Mexicans.
Regarding the whole Taco truck thing: it's all about malinchismo, stupid nationalism and an irrational hatred of migrant. From Mexico, with love.
See, malinchismo is a Mexican term referring to the contempt for our own culture in favour of a foreign culture that is seen as better. It is, sadly, a common feeling among middle to upper class Mexicans who feel parts of our culture (our food, music, traditions, beliefs), make us little more than uncivilized savages when compared to the First World countries. I bet the guy who made those comments holds a similar belief: "tacos are disgusting because they represent the primitive aspect of Mexican culture and they're enjoyed by the poor and I'm totally not like that! Please like me!"
As for Trump, I'd argue that most Mexicans hate him not because of his stance on immigration but because he's insulting us all. Truth be told, a lot of people are apathetic towards illegal immigrants in the US... at best. It's actually rather common to see countless people complaining about the government spending money on those "traitors" who have "abandoned their country" and who "don't even want to come back".
A common belief among the middle and upper classes of Mexico is that those who leave illegally are the lazy, the uneducated and the criminals. Sounds familiar?
Of course, our treatment of our own illegal immigrants is even worse. From police officers who will rape Central American immigrant over and over and over again, to criminal gangs who will kidnap them and force them to join under the threat of mysteriously vanishing in the jungles of southern Mexico, to "juniors" who will treat those riding The Beast as target practice, to coyotes who will leave hundreds or thousands of immigrants to die in the middle of the desert after taking all their money.
... And the people here do not care because they don't know. After all, it's never reported. Why would it? It's not like those people are important or anything.
It's truly heartbreaking to know that, if Trump had "only" insulted illegal immigrants in the US, he'd be very popular down here.
At any rate, the "can you prove him wrong?" question is tremendously stupid
.
I'm leaving if Light Snake is here. Thanks for everyone else being polite and friendly, but I have serious issues with that guy that just got a lot more serious. Bye.
edited 3rd Sep '16 4:45:17 AM by madfoot
@cid: I never knew Mexicans had this disdain for their own culture. Who can hate tacos? Tacos fucking rock. I'm curious how Mexicans feel about this election. Trump is, well, trump but Clinton's got the NAFTA baggage attached to her.
Is using "Julian Assange is a Hillary butt plug" an acceptable signature quote?Seeing as Light Snake got thumped I fail to see why you are going to leave, the moderators have acted to keep him inline. Still if you wanna go we can't stop you.
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
You do realize that's a perma-ban worthy offense right? You really, really shouldn't do that.
I assume your worried about Lightysnake doxxing you or something, since as far as I can tell he went looking for stuff posted on other forums, which is also against the rules.
That's something that would also end with a perma-ban (for him) if I understand the rules correctly.
edited 3rd Sep '16 6:09:07 AM by CaptainCapsase
In broad strokes, usually there is a transition team that works on things like changes in White House staff, figuring out who they want in cabinet positions, the various more mundane details of moving the President-elect and their family in and the soon to be former President out, having the new people talk with the old people and get caught up on the state of affairs, etc.
Trump would, of course, do some remodeling in the White House (on his own money he's be allowed to do that), and use it as an excuse to continue operating out of Trump tower in order to funnel money from government coffers into his pocket.
I doubt a Trump administration would be the second coming of Hitler, but four years of kleptocracy would do imeasurable damage to the country.
edited 3rd Sep '16 7:27:56 AM by CaptainCapsase
A lot of people keep seeming to forget that it's not just four years. Ginsberg is retiring, Scalia is dead, and it's possible one or two more justices will be gone in the next four years.
The next president will be able to elect between two to four supreme court justices. That's a hell of a lot of influence for a long fucking time.
Since it seems to have been overlooked in the recent pages, debates have been announced, as have their moderators.
http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/02/media/presidential-debate-moderators/
@smokeycut: Indeed, and that in and of itself would be catastrophic, but people tend to get a bit hyperbolic about the plausible short term consequences of a Trump presidency. It could end very badly, and would have disastrous long term consequences, but let's be realistic; in 99 out of 100 Trump presidencies, he's not becoming a dictator or starting World War III. The worst case semi-plausible scenario, for me, is that he tries to do something blatantly unconstitutional, gets called on it, doesn't back down, and things escalate to the point where he gets removed from power forcibly, thereby ending the 151 or so years of the military being nominally neutral in stateside politics.
Even then, impeachment is far more likely if something like that happens, though even that would cause serious problems.
edited 3rd Sep '16 8:06:01 AM by CaptainCapsase

In poll watching news now that we've gotten some distance from the convention the numbers have returned to roughly where they were previously according to 538
with trump now sitting at about 30% chance to win. That's roughly where romney was sitting at this time IIRC and he stayed there until election day.
Is using "Julian Assange is a Hillary butt plug" an acceptable signature quote?