Open Thread - Politics Plus

Berlusconi was VERY shocking to many Italians, who found him crass, cheap and dirty. Not everybody fits the stereotype. Berlu's control of many TV channels helped him polish his image and get elected, but they voted him out in the end...

BTW, Berlusconi's election was a con, in the sense that his main aim was to use the PM job to get out of legal problems and earn more money. I suspect similar motive for Trump: make more money.

JPB mentioned somewhere yesterday that Gary Johnson stepped in (to the GOP scene, I assume). I remember reading about him last presidential election and not entirely minding him on some subjects, and displeasure re his takes on other subjects. He might be right for some GOP voters who seem now, to me, to have nowhere to go. At this point I don't recall what he was for or against, just that there was some liberality in there.

No osso, he'll run as Libertarian and frankly, I don't think he'll get far. Being the CEO of a Cannabis company, promoting cannabis, certainly will bring him some voters, but are these the right kind?
He wants to cut the federal deficit by 43 %, hasn't said how though.
He wants to balance the budget by cutting entitlement and defense. Now what does he mean by "entitlement"?

Now he supports legalization of prostitution - it's safer when legal and regulated. That's actually true as we have seen this in Europe. However, that's really not a pressing issue, isn't it?

He wants to eliminate corporate taxes all together in the hopes it will create new jobs. He clearly hasn't been around corporate greed for too long.

He favors private prisons - a huge no no in my book. He has come up with a savings of $20/prisoner vs. state run prisons. I don't know how as it is proven that private prisons are avid money makers and are inhumane in many many ways.

The list goes on and on about his misconceptions, so I don't think he'll go far. Nice try though....

"Cut the federal deficit by 43%." This guy's running for office? LOL

All these ego driven egomaniacs have many parallels - they like to hear themselves talk, want publicity, think they're God's gift to every woman and they grossly overestimate their intelligence, knowledge, charm, and popularity.

Cannabis challenged

I'd forgotten that, he being a libertarian candidate back then. He's still a no for me, but not the worst around. I agree on your takes.

Well yes, but the problem in the case of Trump (and Berlusconi back then) is that they can con people very well. Far too many people buy their BS. We should try and understand why. What's their allure?

Note also the rise of various types of populists in Europe. People are frustrated the status quo, they long for radical discourses, they feel shackled and dream of new forms of collective action. Somewhere along the way, something went wrong with democracy, me think, and not "only in America".

Their allure is that they are uneducated, and a wealthy individual like Trump gives them a spokesperson. Trump said he's going to build a wall between the US and Mexico, and these are the kind of people who believe it.

Oh you can bet he'll built that wall if he gets elected (managed to spell that right). It will be his pharaonic acheivement, as Blatham would say. And his own company TRUMP & Co will build it and make billions out of it.

What I see him doing is attracting the attention of the Trump is the greatest crowd and the Trump is an asshole crowd while the Koches and the rest of the 1% pump millions into their brain washing club that the common people call the public media that prints for money, just what the 1% wants them to print. Trump is a distraction. The media is as bought as congress.

And, of coarse, he'll have TRUMP on that wall.

You are 100% CORRECT.

Interesting take! In most countries the media is liberal and I think to a great extend in the United States too! Unfortunately, also bias, just looking at the exposure of Bernie Sanders vs. Hilary Clinton is very revealing. Trump nonetheless gets the most coverage due to being a loudmouth and shocking everyone with his racist statements. No matter where he goes, he makes a huge hoopla - good or bad, he doesn't care. That's the m.o. of a psychopath.

Are his followers psychopath too?

From the book by Alan Furst that I read a week ago, Mission to Paris - set in 1938:

edit - I decided not to copy the sections I wanted to, re copyright that I respect. Besides, I've slowed down at touch typing while reading. The relevant pages start at 138, Random House trade paperback, 2013.

From Wiki -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herschel_Grynszpan
I didn't know all that from the book, which isn't directly about this one situation.

I'll just recommend the book highly.

I also liked Furst's The Foreign Correspondent, set primarily in 1939, much of it also in Paris. It's a mix of info for me, in that I knew a lot of it somewhat, but still learned a lot. That book I failed to dog ear.

Thanks, Tsar, for the recommendations.

http://nyti.ms/1SNlSdQ
Don't it ever. Sounds like a great book, osso.

I've got two more to add, which people may be sick of me talking about on the 'what are you reading now thread', but are among the best books of my life of reading, neither of them easy reads re what happens. Olivier is the one who first posted about them.

I'll be back. I'm in the middle of messsing up making crumpets. (I'm getting better at it)

This is how wiki is perceived in my world.

http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/education/2010/march/The-Top-10-Reasons-Students-Cannot-Cite-or-Rely-on-Wikipedia.html

Our English department won't accept it as a source.

Different strokes, I guess.