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MadSkillz Destroyer of Worlds Since: Mar, 2013 Relationship Status: I only want you gone
Destroyer of Worlds
#156801: Nov 19th 2016 at 12:32:32 AM

On further reflection, I'm watching a show called Roman Empire: Reign of Blood. It's on Marcus Aurelius and Commodus.

Marcus Aurelius is Obama.

Commodus is Trump.

Another Roman emperor with Trump-like qualities is Commodus. He was a megalomaniac. He spread his name far and wide around Rome naming landmarks after him and even branded Rome itself with his name. He renamed the fleet, the legions, the Senate, and the Roman people themselves after him. He even named the months of the years after himself. He reigned from 177 to 192 AD when he was assassinated.

In opposition to the Senate, in his pronouncements and iconography, Commodus had always laid stress on his unique status as a source of god-like power, liberality and physical prowess. Innumerable statues around the empire were set up portraying him in the guise of Hercules, reinforcing the image of him as a demigod, a physical giant, a protector and a battler against beasts and men. Moreover, as Hercules, he could claim to be the son of Jupiter, the representative of the supreme god of the Roman pantheon. These tendencies now increased to megalomaniacal proportions. Far from celebrating his descent from Marcus Aurelius, the actual source of his power, he stressed his own personal uniqueness as the bringer of a new order, seeking to re-cast the empire in his own image.

Expect the White House to be gold-plated guys with Trump's name on front in shiny gold letters.

How do people like the name Trump DC?

KarkatTheDalek Not as angry as the name would suggest. from Somwhere in Time/Space Since: Mar, 2012 Relationship Status: You're a beautiful woman, probably
Not as angry as the name would suggest.
#156802: Nov 19th 2016 at 12:34:32 AM

How do people like the name Trump DC?

I feel like that ought to be grounds for impeachment right there.

Oh God! Natural light!
PotatoesRock Since: Oct, 2012
#156803: Nov 19th 2016 at 12:47:27 AM

Also with Kushner and Ivanka seemingly running much of the actual transition from the sounds of it, I get the distinct impression Trump is trying to delegate as much power to anyone else. The whole Simpsons' movie joke of "I was elected to lead, not to read!". Like I expect it to be cronyistic, corrupt, and the like, but Trump himself, I expect to be President Celebrity doing his stupid victory tours and the like.

Though if Bannon's the one running things, last I heard, Bannon has absolutely zero love for Paul Ryan and wants to see the guy gone / ruined. (Supposedly Bannon favors a White's Only/Heavily White Biased New Deal set up, hence Trump's howling about Trade Waring China and bringing back Jobs). Ryan's Randian schemes to gut the Social Safety Nets in theory would run completely counter to Bannon's plans.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#156804: Nov 19th 2016 at 1:00:59 AM

I forgot to add The Borgias to my earlier list.

Disgusted, but not surprised
RBluefish Since: Nov, 2013
#156805: Nov 19th 2016 at 1:38:07 AM

We're Heading Into Dark Times. This Is How To Be Your Own Light In The Age Of Trump. An extremely grim and sobering warning of the times that may lie before us, and how we need to hold on to what makes us us even if the worst should come to pass.

"We'll take the next chance, and the next, until we win, or the chances are spent."
RedSavant Since: Jan, 2001
#156806: Nov 19th 2016 at 1:51:45 AM

That is very sobering. I hope it reaches the people she's speaking to... which I guess is most Americans.

I may do that writing exercise tomorrow.

It's been fun.
KarkatTheDalek Not as angry as the name would suggest. from Somwhere in Time/Space Since: Mar, 2012 Relationship Status: You're a beautiful woman, probably
Not as angry as the name would suggest.
#156807: Nov 19th 2016 at 1:51:47 AM

Not exactly uncharted territory there. I get the message, but I'm not sure if I particularly care for the tone. Not sure why.

Oh God! Natural light!
RBluefish Since: Nov, 2013
#156808: Nov 19th 2016 at 1:53:21 AM

Also - apparently Trump's win margins in a number of key states look pretty damn suspicious.

The #AuditTheVote movement is still going. People are being encouraged to contact these committee members and insist upon a complete bipartisan audit of the election results. If we're going down into a fascist kleptocaracy, then by Christ, we're going down swinging.

"We'll take the next chance, and the next, until we win, or the chances are spent."
KarkatTheDalek Not as angry as the name would suggest. from Somwhere in Time/Space Since: Mar, 2012 Relationship Status: You're a beautiful woman, probably
Not as angry as the name would suggest.
#156809: Nov 19th 2016 at 1:57:35 AM

I don't know...that feels like it's dipping into conspiracy theory territory there. And this is hardly a major publication...

What evidence to they have?

Oh God! Natural light!
RBluefish Since: Nov, 2013
#156810: Nov 19th 2016 at 2:08:37 AM

The NSA already stated that there is no doubt in their minds that a foreign power was involved in influencing the results of the election. The FBI made numerous reports of foreign hackers attempting to penetrate voting systems. The article also points out that the P*ssy-Grabber-Elect won several key swing states by almost the same percentage of the vote, which is highly suspect from a mathematical perspective.

Look - we have to try, don't we? We are in genuine danger of turning into a fascist kleptocracy, and I'll be damned if I'm not going to say I tried everything I could think of to keep it from happening.

"We'll take the next chance, and the next, until we win, or the chances are spent."
TacticalFox88 from USA Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Dating the Doctor
#156811: Nov 19th 2016 at 2:12:46 AM

But emails tho!!

New Survey coming this weekend!
Heatth (X-Troper) Relationship Status: In Spades with myself
#156812: Nov 19th 2016 at 2:19:46 AM

Foreign powers (i.e. Russia) definitively did influence the election. But that is quite different from fraud, which is what the article is implying. I mean, I am not against some investigation, but I wouldn't put much stock on a conspiracy theory from some random site.

RBluefish Since: Nov, 2013
#156813: Nov 19th 2016 at 2:46:00 AM

The article's accusation is that the numbers are the result of hacking, which is not an unsubstantiated claim.

Is it a conspiracy theory? Yes. But at this point, it frankly does not sound implausible. And like I said, whether I fully buy it or not, we still have damned good reason to demand a complete bipartisan vote audit. There's too much at stake to not try everything we can.

"We'll take the next chance, and the next, until we win, or the chances are spent."
Demonic_Braeburn Yankee Doodle Dandy from Defective California Since: Jan, 2016
Yankee Doodle Dandy
#156814: Nov 19th 2016 at 2:51:00 AM

If we're honestly in danger of becoming a fascist kleptocracy, then those "checks and balances" everyonen keeps talking about are overhyped.

Gotta say though it is interesting to now watch the Left Wing fret over the power of Executive branch, I can't help but think the Libertarians are laughing at us,

Former Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown told the Boston Globe Friday that President-elect Donald Trump is considering him to lead the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

edited 19th Nov '16 2:53:54 AM by Demonic_Braeburn

Any group who acts like morons ironically will eventually find itself swamped by morons who think themselves to be in good company.
Geostomp In the name of the POWER, I will punish you! from Arkansas, USA Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: What is this thing you call love?
In the name of the POWER, I will punish you!
#156815: Nov 19th 2016 at 6:16:55 AM

That we have a man so blatantly corrupted, bigoted, and utterly unqualified supported by a horde of white nationalists too deluded to listen to any dissent proved to me that we were screwed no matter what. If Trump had lost, these crowds and flaws would only remain until another monster rose to take advantage of them. It's just that now he's won, we're about to see just how little our nation's institutions are worth when a political party based on nothing but lies takes over.

"When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all" Futurama, Godfellas
RBluefish Since: Nov, 2013
#156816: Nov 19th 2016 at 6:17:54 AM

The Nerds of Color have complied a simple list of quick and easy ways to try to fight back against Trump, or at least mitigate the damage.

It also has a partial list of the U.S. electors and their public contact information, which I remember Alley Oop had asked about. It's all just "Hail Marys" at this point, but...like I've been saying. Gotta try.

"We'll take the next chance, and the next, until we win, or the chances are spent."
Elle Since: Jan, 2001
#156817: Nov 19th 2016 at 6:34:48 AM

The main reason I haven't jumped on the "were the elections hacked" train is that I know the government has been monitoring the heck out of the Russians and we've not a peep from them. The intrusion in Florida was caught and dealt with a month in advance.

There should still be an audit though. (Also, if we're looking for Republicans who won't fold, there's Lindsay Grahmn who has been anti-Trump throughout and is pushing for investigation.)

TrashJack Confirmed Doomer from beyond the Despair Event Horizon (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Confirmed Doomer
#156818: Nov 19th 2016 at 8:07:57 AM

For us Chrome users out there, a new extension replaces the term "alt-right" with "Rebranded White Nationalism".

"Cynic, n. — A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be." - The Devil's Dictionary
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#156819: Nov 19th 2016 at 8:09:40 AM

"Euphemism for All-purpose bigotry" seems a lot more accurate.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Kayeka (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#156820: Nov 19th 2016 at 8:11:08 AM

[up][up]Isn't White Nationalism just rebranded White Supremacy?

TheHandle United Earth from Stockholm Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
United Earth
#156822: Nov 19th 2016 at 8:14:27 AM

Yes, but defensive.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Pseudopartition Screaming Into The Void from The Cretaeceous Since: Dec, 2013 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
Screaming Into The Void
#156824: Nov 19th 2016 at 8:22:53 AM

This just in: welcoming someone to your performance and asking them to treat all people with the basic human dignity and respect they deserve (which they have not done), is harassment, everyone!

Trump: The Theater must always be a safe and special place.
I am going to laugh in the face of the next right-wing brat who complains about safe spaces.

edited 19th Nov '16 8:31:33 AM by Pseudopartition

Karkadinn Karkadinn from New Orleans, Louisiana Since: Jul, 2009
Karkadinn
#156825: Nov 19th 2016 at 8:36:19 AM

Condescending them didn't stop them from getting into power. I don't think we can afford to laugh at them anymore.

Seeing a lot of parallels here between us and Europe. Kind of worried that we'll be making the same mistakes and inadvertently empowering extremists while trying to oppose them.

Furthermore, I think Guantanamo must be destroyed.

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