US The 2020 Campaign for US President

[Urban Gardener]

I'm not even sure that the "you aren't black" thing even counted. what he meant when he said that is pretty clear and although he probably shouldn't have said it. I think everyone understands the sentiment unless they really don't want to.

I think that assessment should be left to the people the remark was directed at.

 

[Lou]

Found another good article in my mailbox today

Even if Biden wins, the world will pay the price for the Democrats' failures | Owen Jones

The Democratic establishment has paid too little attention to the reasons Americans voted for Trump, says Guardian columnist Owen Jones

www.theguardian.com

The whole thing is worth reading but check out the conclusion

That does not mean there is no hope. The so-called Squad of progressive Congressional Democrats – whose most famous member is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – has doubled in number, including the election of former nurse Cori Bush in Missouri and the first queer black Congressman, Mondaire Jones, in New York. The old Democratic establishment has failed to inflict the final reckoning on Trumpism that is deserved. It falls to this new generation of progressive leaders – predominantly working-class people of colour – to finish the job, not just for the United States, but for all of us.​

 

[Urban Gardener]

Found another good article in my mailbox today

Even if Biden wins, the world will pay the price for the Democrats' failures | Owen Jones

The Democratic establishment has paid too little attention to the reasons Americans voted for Trump, says Guardian columnist Owen Jones

www.theguardian.com

The whole thing is worth reading but check out the conclusion

That does not mean there is no hope. The so-called Squad of progressive Congressional Democrats – whose most famous member is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – has doubled in number, including the election of former nurse Cori Bush in Missouri and the first queer black Congressman, Mondaire Jones, in New York. The old Democratic establishment has failed to inflict the final reckoning on Trumpism that is deserved. It falls to this new generation of progressive leaders – predominantly working-class people of colour – to finish the job, not just for the United States, but for all of us.​

Both parties are authoritarian. The Democrats want to tackle poverty by expanding social services offered by the government, but that's insulting to the people who it's intended to help. People want to earn a living. They want to have good jobs, to run their own businesses. So they favor policies that are friendly to small business owners.

I voted for Biden. But I think the Democratic party needs to do a better job of listening to people who are not white collar and college educated. They need to drop their snobbery and recognize those people's experiences and thoughts and ideas instead of just offering them government services and preaching about it as though they're saviors of some lesser kind. No one wants that.

 

[Lou]

Both parties are authoritarian. The Democrats want to tackle poverty by expanding social services offered by the government, but that's insulting to the people who it's intended to help. People want to earn a living. They want to have good jobs, to run their own businesses. So they favor policies that are friendly to small business owners.

I voted for Biden. But I think the Democratic party needs to do a better job of listening to people who are not white collar and college educated. They need to drop their snobbery and recognize those people's experiences and thoughts and ideas instead of just offering them government services and preaching about it as though they're saviors of some lesser kind. No one wants that.

I agree with the author. The democratic party has been too nice to Corporate America. Socialism is not just about expanding social services. It's also about equitable taxation.

As the author states, " Yet while the tax burden of the average American family nearly doubled between the mid-1950s and 1980, taxes on corporate America have been successively slashed."

People are afraid of socialism because they fear a rise in taxes. A good reform on our taxes would not increase the taxes on most Americans. Getting big corporate donations is an important mainstay for both parties. So maybe what we need first is election reform.

That's why I liked Sanders and Warren so much. They seemed to understand this.

AOC for 2024?

 

[Jamie in Chile]

According to a combination of my own analysis and what I´ve heard and read:

Biden still looks slight favourite in Pennyslvania
Trump looks slight favourite in North Carolina
Biden now looks slight favourite in Nevada (after they just reported some new votes finally for the first time in a day or two)
Biden is leading in Arizona, but not clear to me the odds here
Georgia is going to be extremely close, could even come down to military votes or a recount

None of these can be called with 90%+ confidence at this moment

This election dragging out for several days must have cost quite a bit in productivity losses for the US as a country

It´s really dragging on now!

 

[Urban Gardener]

I agree with the author. The democratic party has been too nice to Corporate America. Socialism is not just about expanding social services. It's also about equitable taxation.

As the author states, " Yet while the tax burden of the average American family nearly doubled between the mid-1950s and 1980, taxes on corporate America have been successively slashed."

People are afraid of socialism because they fear a rise in taxes. A good reform on our taxes would not increase the taxes on most Americans. Getting big corporate donations is an important mainstay for both parties. So maybe what we need first is election reform.

That's why I liked Sanders and Warren so much. They seemed to understand this.

AOC for 2024?

I agree with the author too. Just expanding on the points made.

 

[Lou]

This election dragging out for several days must have cost quite a bit in productivity losses for the US as a country

Ya think?

Although probably as time goes by people will probably stop checking the NYT every 10 minutes (or turn off ABC or whatever). I wonder how it compares to the World Series.

 

[Jamie in Chile]

Biden needs any two of these five states to win:

Pennyslvania
North Carolina
Nevada
Arizona
Georgia

Unless he wins Pennyslvania, then he only needs that one and can lose the other four.

I hope that´s right.

That assumes the news organizations have correctly called all the other states and there are no surprises elsewhere

 

[Brian W]

The Democrats want to tackle poverty by expanding social services offered by the government, but that's insulting to the people who it's intended to help. People want to earn a living. They want to have good jobs, to run their own businesses. So they favor policies that are friendly to small business owners.

If you are in a position to climb ladders that may well be true but when you are poor and there is no help available, helping people who already have the funds to help themselves just looks crazy mean and selfish. Those at the bottom need at least a basic standard of living and health care as a mandate before they are capable of even thinking of a future for themselves!

 

[SuicideBlonde]

From Tampa.

 

[Jamie in Chile]

A lot of the country probably looks like that, urban blue islands in a sea of red. If you find the map that colours in each county instead of each state, then, by geographic area, nearly all of the US is Republican.

Not very smart of Florida to vote for a climate change denier given it's probably the state most susceptible to sea level rise. Florida might literally be made up of islands one day if we all go on like this.

 

[Urban Gardener]

If you are in a position to climb ladders that may well be true but when you are poor and there is no help available, helping people who already have the funds to help themselves just looks crazy mean and selfish. Those at the bottom need at least a basic standard of living and health care as a mandate before they are capable of even thinking of a future for themselves!

I agree.

My point was that we need to consider why a lot of Americans with lower income levels vote conservative. Currently, there is a tendency to point fingers at them and call them names. "Those rednecks keep voting for Trump. I know better because I have a good education."

I believe that we could do better. We need to drop the classist bovine shitake, listen to those people, treat them like equals, hear what their concerns are, and find policies that will work for everyone. That is truly the progressive way.

 

[Lou]

If you are in a position to climb ladders that may well be true but when you are poor and there is no help available, helping people who already have the funds to help themselves just looks crazy mean and selfish. Those at the bottom need at least a basic standard of living and health care as a mandate before they are capable of even thinking of a future for themselves!

I'm also for a higher minimum wage. Universal basic income is a harder sell but it's proven effective in places that tried it.

we don't have to fund education a little bit more but lots and lots more. (smaller class size, higher-paid teachers, every pupil gets a laptop, books, supplies ). Better school buildings. I'm not opposed to free college educations but we also need an educational system that prepares the workforce of the future*.

Universal health care

infrastructure - roads, bridges, and cable helps everyone.

And the last three (and I'm sure i forgot something) all create jobs.

This can all be paid for by taxing the top 1% (or maybe the top .1%) more. Not even a lot more. Some corporations don't even pay taxes. But the rich corps would rather spend millions on getting aholes elected.



*when i was in school there was a term for this but I can't remember it. but anyway it got squeezed out of the curriculum (along with art and music) to make room for math, science, and computers. It's not an either-or thing. we should have it all.

 

[David3]

Per Reuters News US:
Link: Trump campaign loses legal fights in Georgia and Michigan, vows Nevada lawsuit


"(Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s campaign lost court rulings in the closely-contested states of Georgia and Michigan on Thursday, even as it vowed to bring a new lawsuit challenging what it called voting irregularities in Nevada.

In the Georgia case, the campaign alleged 53 late-arriving ballots were mixed with on-time ballots. In Michigan, it had sought to stop votes from being counted and obtain greater access to the tabulation process.

State judges tossed out both the suits on Thursday.

Judge James Bass, a superior court judge in Georgia, said there was “no evidence” that the ballots in question were invalid.

In the Michigan case, Judge Cynthia Stephens said: “I have no basis to find that there is a substantial likelihood of success on the merits.”

 

[silva]

I'm also for a higher minimum wage. Universal basic income is a harder sell but it's proven effective in places that tried it.

we don't have to fund education a little bit more but lots and lots more. (smaller class size, higher-paid teachers, every pupil gets a laptop, books, supplies ). Better school buildings. I'm not opposed to free college educations but we also need an educational system that prepares the workforce of the future*.

Universal health care

infrastructure - roads, bridges, and cable helps everyone.

And the last three (and I'm sure i forgot something) all create jobs.

This can all be paid for by taxing the top 1% (or maybe the top .1%) more. Not even a lot more. Some corporations don't even pay taxes. But the rich corps would rather spend millions on getting aholes elected.



*when i was in school there was a term for this but I can't remember it. but anyway it got squeezed out of the curriculum (along with art and music) to make room for math, science, and computers. It's not an either-or thing. we should have it all.

Can't leave out justice reform and systemic racism

 

[David3]

From Associated Press US:
Link: 2020 Latest: Judge nixes Trump bid to stop Philly vote count

"
7:10 p.m.

A federal judge has denied a bid by President Donald Trump’s campaign to stop the vote count in Philadelphia over observer access, urging the two sides to instead forge an agreement.

U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond suggested each party be allowed 60 observers inside a hall at a downtown convention center where the final ballots are being tallied. As the hearing unfolded Thursday evening, President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden were locked in a tight battle for the 20 electoral votes in Pennsylvania.

Diamond, an appointee of President George W. Bush, chastened the lawyers as both sides bickered about who was following the rules and reminded them they are officers of the court.

“Really, can’t we be responsible adults here and reach an agreement?” the exasperated judge asked. “The whole thing could (soon) be moot.”

Republicans went to court Thursday afternoon to complain that election officials in the Democratic-led city were ignoring a state court order they’d won earlier in the day to give them a closer view of ballot processing.
"

 

[Lou]

Can't leave out justice reform and systemic racism

Absolutely but I don't know how to do that.

 

[Urban Gardener]

I think public education should be funded at the federal level. It is ridiculous that the local tax base determines the quality of the local public schools, and how bad the schools can be. There is no excuse for that.

And yes, teachers should be paid MUCH more.

We need to completely overhaul our justice system. It's not working right now. I have some ideas, but I'll save that for another post.

 

[Lou]

I think public education should be funded at the federal level. It is ridiculous that the local tax base determines the quality of the local public schools, and how bad the schools can be. There is no excuse for that.

And yes, teachers should be paid MUCH more.

We need to completely overhaul our justice system. It's not working right now. I have some ideas, but I'll save that for another post.

OK, you tell me your justice system ideas and I'll outline my educational system ideas

I think the US government should nationalize the ed system. Put all the teachers in the same union and pay them like we pay federal employees. The union may want a cost of living factor so that NYC teachers make more money than teachers in Idaho Falls.

Right now there are just so many levels of administration. Every school district has something like a director for elementary school science and one for math etc. and this gets repeated in every school district. I think we could just have one for the whole nation (or two). The same goes for the union. Every school district has a union with X number of employees and the work they do is redundant.

Lower-grade classes must be much smaller. I think one way of doing that is by having 10 times the number of assistants. An asst might only have 4 students. I think you could do it something like the army. 3 privates to every corporal, 3 corporals for every sargent, and 3 sargents for every LT. Promotions could be given out by years in grade, experience, and education. And the LTs could be also in charge of training and promotions.

Upper grades should resemble more of something like a college where students choose the classes they want. Classes would have prerequisites and testing should be standardized. A lot of classes could use machine learning and be self-paced. Privileges would be earned and the school could decide what requirements need to be. for instance, i think there should be community service requirements.

High schools should resemble community colleges. and have no parking. the community could make the school a transportation hub. And the school should be integrated with the community. Students could do volunteer work and adults could come to the school and volunteer, too. There will have to be a lot of security to get into the school, too.

 

[KLS52]

Georgia went from pending red to pending blue overnight.