Are you afraid?

I'm not . . . regardless who occupies the White House.

I have faith.

However, I am aware many have fears of going backwards to the days of non-existent rights for many classes of citizens, judicial legislation, destruction of economic classes (poor, middle and wealthy), immigrants, Constitutional rights abandonment or expansion, political philosophy, global reputation, national debt, security, entitlements and the intrusion or withdrawal of government in our lives . . . to name a few.

I can't recall an administration that hasn't brought our country a few steps forward and a few steps back, during their term(s).

And yet, here we are . . . a bit stronger in some ways and weaker in others.

Each candidate paints a "scorched earth" view of our country if their opponent is elected. It's doomsday, folks and this nation will NEVER recover.

Irreparable harm with no chance of recovery.

Sure . . . if Trump is elected, men will ravage and rape women like invading marauders.

And . . . if Hillary is elected, minorities, immigrants and the poor will loot and pillage our country and the rich . . . like invading marauders.

But not to fear . . . both candidates will keep increasing the national debt.

Do you believe the candidates' prognostications of irreparable damage to our nation?

Or are you just paranoid?

Clinton won't do any such thing. I'd wager she will go down as a fine and capable president much the same as her husband did. The scariest part of a Clinton victory is the absolute vitriol Trump has whipped up in his rabid, racist, xenophobic fan base. There have already been incidents. There will be more.

I don't think I need to spell out the scariest possibilities with a Trump victory. History already has.

I’m not afraid or worried about the survival of the United States under either a President Clinton or a President Trump.

Clinton earned my vote because I think she’s smarter, she’s tougher, she’s more qualified in temperament and related experience, her plans are more realistic and detailed, she’s more inclusive, and I know the country is not going to hell in a hand basket with Trump as our sole potential savior, as Trump and his paranoid fans and cohorts insist (it’s just the opposite economically). Even if I did believe Trump's end of days rhetoric, he'd be among the last people I'd trust to save us all.

The smarter Republicans with future political aspirations know that Trump has greatly harmed the growth/expansion strategies they devised to keep the shrinking Republican party alive after the Romney loss. If Donald Trump is elected President, I believe they'll be working against a President Trump on many fronts, either overtly or covertly. Trump would be rendered a lame duck by the infighting within his own adopted party, in my opinion.

If Hillary Clinton is elected the next President of the United States, I believe that she'll try to work across the aisle, as she claims and as she's done in the past. I also think she'll likely have a Democratic Senate majority when she takes office, which will help her get some things done relatively quickly, despite high-profile Republicans on The Hill insisting that obstructing and jailing her will be their top priorities. And, if the GOP continues with that obstructionist bullshit, I expect the Democrats will keep the Senate majority in 2018 and may win the House majority then, which would also enable a President Hillary Clinton to accomplish more of her goals in a 4-year term.

Anyway, I believe the U.S. would be in better shape domestically and globally under a Clinton administration, but I have no doubt that the country will survive no matter which candidate is elected.

I have seen the argument before that Trump as President would by hindered or corralled by Congress. Its the same argument they made about him during the primaries, during the general election, and in the GDR in 1932 when they tried to appease the National Socialists by giving their guy a nominal meaningless position.

That reasonable people think this guy and his followers can do no real harm fucking terrifies me, as it should every thinking person here.

(11-04-2016, 11:01 AM)Donovan Wrote: That reasonable people think this guy and his followers can do no real harm fucking terrifies me, as it should every thinking person here.

I think Trump has the potential to do real harm, Donovan.

But, I think a lot of people within the Republican party know that as well. If the party itself wasn't struggling to expand for its own survival, I'd be much less inclined to believe that Donald Trump would be a lame duck from day 1.

I don't believe that Donald Trump is going to be elected President of the United States anyway. But, if he is and he does his worst, the United States obviously won't cease to survive/exist (that was the OP question).

It will be business as usual no matter who gets the most hated job in the world. Both have the capability to destroy the world but that's a bit far fetched.

A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage.

America has been living off a credit card since 1984.

Gunnar, you're not capable of forming an original thought or opinion, are you? (Rhetorical question)

Yesterday, you continued your long history of jacking other people's thoughts/words and positioning them here as your own by plagiarizing a copyrighted piece written by Ann Coulter. And, now ^ this?

Lame.

Yeah, cite your sources, Melania.

(11-04-2016, 12:24 PM)Donovan Wrote: Yeah, cite your sources, Melania.

Alex Tytler for those of you who's fucking google is broken.

(11-04-2016, 11:36 AM)HairOfTheDog Wrote: Gunnar, you're not capable of forming an original thought or opinion, are you? (Rhetorical question)

Yesterday, you continued your long history of jacking other people's thoughts/words and positioning them here as your own by plagiarizing a copyrighted piece written by Ann Coulter. And, now ^ this?

Lame.

I didn't position them as my own. I merely pointed out that both sides have their flaws and those flaws are easily obtained on the internet. Something you also do quite frequently.

(11-04-2016, 11:08 AM)HairOfTheDog Wrote:

(11-04-2016, 11:01 AM)Donovan Wrote: That reasonable people think this guy and his followers can do no real harm fucking terrifies me, as it should every thinking person here.

I think Trump has the potential to do real harm, Donovan.

But, I think a lot of people within the Republican party know that as well. If the party itself wasn't struggling to expand for its own survival, I'd be much less inclined to believe that Donald Trump would be a lame duck from day 1.

I don't believe that Donald Trump is going to be elected President of the United States anyway. But, if he is and he does his worst, the United States obviously won't cease to survive/exist (that was the OP question).

If the country existed in a vacuum, I'd be more,inclined to believe and agree, HotD.

But we don't we exist in a world where we are essentially the only real superpower, and we have steadily amassed quiet adversaries across the globe through our meddling and arrogance. Trump alone might not have a lot of room to wreak havoc. But Trump with millions of rabid followers domestically, and other governments just waiting for a stumble they can capitalize on, much like Russia is doing now... it would be naive to think we can't be brought down. And given then our geographic divide is literally right up the middle of the continent, a civil upheaval might be more destructive and catastrophic to our future than even the first one was.

I am speaking as I always do from the philosophical view of a student of history. We have seen this story played out many times. And the end game rarely deviates. All empires fall. Including ours.It isn't if, but when, and it isn't how but who.

(11-04-2016, 12:29 PM)Blindgreed1 Wrote:

(11-04-2016, 12:24 PM)Donovan Wrote: Yeah, cite your sources, Melania.

Alex Tytler for those of you who's fucking google is broken.

It is ethically inappropriate to steal other people's words and thoughts without proper citation, Melania. I am not in the habit of googling every paragraph I read when the source is deliberately omitted by a thief of intellectual property. You don't need to Google my responses, because I know how to formulate my own opinions into words I thought up all by myself. I also don't Google HotD's text walls because I know That sexy brainiac came up with that shit all by herself.

But thanks for telling me I have to fact check you for honesty. Should have already known, I suppose.

(11-04-2016, 12:34 PM)Blindgreed1 Wrote:

(11-04-2016, 11:36 AM)HairOfTheDog Wrote: Gunnar, you're not capable of forming an original thought or opinion, are you? (Rhetorical question)

Yesterday, you continued your long history of jacking other people's thoughts/words and positioning them here as your own by plagiarizing a copyrighted piece written by Ann Coulter. And, now ^ this?

Lame.

I didn't position them as my own. I merely pointed out that both sides have their flaws and those flaws are easily obtained on the internet. Something you also do quite frequently.

If you copypasta someone's words without indicating in any way the source, either by use of the author or website or even a quotation mark, you are attempting to plagiarize their ideas as your own. And you just got caught doing it. Somewhere in this board, Melania, is a thread series where a poster got caught trying that with a photograph and was mocked so thoroughly I think he left.
I think it was "Imadick". So apparently, youreadick, too.

(11-04-2016, 12:47 PM)Donovan Wrote:

(11-04-2016, 12:34 PM)Blindgreed1 Wrote:

(11-04-2016, 11:36 AM)HairOfTheDog Wrote: Gunnar, you're not capable of forming an original thought or opinion, are you? (Rhetorical question)

Yesterday, you continued your long history of jacking other people's thoughts/words and positioning them here as your own by plagiarizing a copyrighted piece written by Ann Coulter. And, now ^ this?

Lame.

I didn't position them as my own. I merely pointed out that both sides have their flaws and those flaws are easily obtained on the internet. Something you also do quite frequently.

If you copypasta someone's words without indicating in any way the source, either by use of the author or website or even a quotation mark, you are attempting to plagiarize their ideas as your own. And you just got caught doing it. Somewhere in this board, Melania, is a thread series where a poster got caught trying that with a photograph and was mocked so thoroughly I think he left.
I think it was "Imadick". So apparently, youreadick, too.

I never copied pasta and anyone who thinks I would take the time to cite sources and didn't realize it was a copy and PASTE is a complete fucking moron. So you're a fucking moron.

(11-04-2016, 09:00 AM)BlueTiki Wrote: Are you afraid?

I'm not . . . regardless who occupies the White House.

No, I'm not feeling fear. I feel a lot of disgust, sometimes I feel dumb because I can't understand where others are coming from, on occasion I've felt a little pissy, sometimes I feel self righteous and there have been moments when I've wished I felt apathetic.

I'm feeling with my fingers.

(11-04-2016, 12:34 PM)Blindgreed1 Wrote:

(11-04-2016, 11:36 AM)HairOfTheDog Wrote: Gunnar, you're not capable of forming an original thought or opinion, are you? (Rhetorical question)

Yesterday, you continued your long history of jacking other people's thoughts/words and positioning them here as your own by plagiarizing a copyrighted piece written by Ann Coulter. And, now ^ this?

Lame.

I didn't position them as my own. I merely pointed out that both sides have their flaws and those flaws are easily obtained on the internet. Something you also do quite frequently.

Bullshit, Gunnar.

It's delusional of you to compare your routine plagiarism to my posting style.

It's also delusional of you to claim that Donovan, Maggot, blueberry and others are fucking morons because they've responded to your jacked post content as if it was your own.

Why wouldn't they? That's exactly how you've positioned it by not giving credit to the author, or referencing the source, or even just putting the copy/pasted/retyped content in quotes -- all of which can be accomplished in just a couple of seconds.

As you know, we've made an informal 'special' exception to Lady Cop's forum rules (except in the Cell Block) just for you. You've proven over and over that you're too chronically deceptive, lazy, or both to rise to minimal ethical standards. But, since you're part of the Mock family and you're harmless and we like you, we generally just let it slide.

That doesn't mean I won't call you out on it when it becomes particularly blatant again and I care to bother.

As for your insistence that people need to Google search your post content to find out who really authored it...well, that is truly pitiful.

(11-04-2016, 03:45 PM)HairOfTheDog Wrote:

(11-04-2016, 12:34 PM)Blindgreed1 Wrote:

(11-04-2016, 11:36 AM)HairOfTheDog Wrote: Gunnar, you're not capable of forming an original thought or opinion, are you? (Rhetorical question)

Yesterday, you continued your long history of jacking other people's thoughts/words and positioning them here as your own by plagiarizing a copyrighted piece written by Ann Coulter. And, now ^ this?

Lame.

I didn't position them as my own. I merely pointed out that both sides have their flaws and those flaws are easily obtained on the internet. Something you also do quite frequently.

Bullshit, Gunnar.

It's delusional of you to compare your routine plagiarism to my posting style.

It's also delusional of you to claim that Donovan, Maggot, blueberry and others are fucking morons because they've responded to your jacked post content as if it was your own.

Why wouldn't they? That's exactly how you've positioned it by not giving credit to the author, or referencing the source, or even just putting the copy/pasted/retyped content in quotes -- all of which can be accomplished in just a couple of seconds.

As you know, we've made an informal 'special' exception to Lady Cop's forum rules (except in the Cell Block) just for you. You've proven over and over that you're too chronically deceptive, lazy, or both to rise to minimal ethical standards. But, since you're part of the Mock family and you're harmless and we like you, we generally just let it slide.

That doesn't mean I won't call you out on it when it becomes particularly blatant again and I care to bother.

As for your insistence that people need to Google search your post content to find out who really authored it...well, that is truly pitiful.

TLDNR.