The World Right Now

[Wookie Mistake]

I'm with @Soups on this one, I'm not a fan of Trump but he is the President much like Obama was, whether I liked it or not. The one thing that's disconcerting/refreshing is that Trump is actually going through with what he promised, refreshing because it wasn't just rhetoric, disconcerting because a lot of his platform was/is nationalistic xenophobia.

@Neo Emolga, I'm nodding my head at this too. As far as main stream media goes. It almost seems like what they're doing is a last gasp effort to keep themselves in business. I'm of the opinion that social media is what's killing off true m.s. media. A lot of the information we get nowadays we get because of the instantaneous-ness that is social media. M.S. media used to be religious about fact checking and making sure that all the 't's are crossed and the 'i's dotted, or seemed so at least. So much of the stuff we read/see/hear is error-ridden and over sensationalized primarily to keep up with the rolling tide that is social media, which sometimes focuses less on truth and more on getting as much attention as possible.

As for finding the difference between fact and fiction the only real way is to become knowledgeable about the situation, which in itself is a bit of a catch-22 but the more you learn about something, especially if you read learn about both sides, the easier it becomes to see inconsistencies. The hardest part is not falling into the GRAY FALLACY.

@Pokemon Trainer Sarah, it reminds me a bit more of the civil war actually, (not that I was there, I'm old, but c'mon guys). The party platforms were heavily divisive, so much so that it tore the nation apart. What that book was talking about became readily apparent after 9/11. It's the whole I can make fun of my family, but you can't mentality.

I think that i'm just coming into my cantankery much earlier, more of a general malaise as to the direction that society is taking regardless of political beliefs.

[Soups]

I'm with Soups on this one, I'm not a fan of Trump but he is the President much like Obama was, whether I liked it or not. The one thing that's disconcerting/refreshing is that Trump is actually going through with what he promised, refreshing because it wasn't just rhetoric, disconcerting because a lot of his platform was/is nationalistic xenophobia.

I'm not shocked that he's actually doing what he claimed he'd do. The fact that people ARE shocked is what speaks volumes. We've reached a point where U.S. citizens legitimately doubt that their president(s) will actually do what they say they'll do. It's disheartening and a damn shame.

You're right though. It's what he's doing that rubs many the wrong way. At the end of the day, all that those that disapprove (myself included) can do is do the best possible job to stand for what they/we believe is right and seek change.

[Pokemon Trainer Sarah]

@Wookie Mistake I admit I know nothing at all about American history really. All I know about the civil war is the south wanted slaves or something. We don't learn American history here. xD But yeah, I don't know if the media is making everything out as worse than it really is (they probably are), but it sounds pretty terrible. And there's plenty of stuff that is just fact and they can't make up, like the little 5 year old kid detained for hours at a US airport because "to assume that just because of someone’s age or gender or whatever that they don’t pose a threat would be misguided and wrong". :/ It's just so strange to me that this stuff is allowed to go on in America, though to be fair America has always seemed like a very strange place to me. The American presented to most of the outside world is so progressive and advanced (hollywood, tech companies, social freedom, scientific advances) and yet there are plenty of places that are so restrictive and "traditional". It's pretty interesting.

[Wookie Mistake]

@Soups, yeah, it's one of the reasons that most Americans distrust politicians regardless of party, it's a pretty sad commentary that we don't even have faith in the people we "choose" to lead

@Pokemon Trainer Sarah, totally understandable, I can see where you can compare it to WWII, we're at a point where the situation in one part of the world can directly affect another. It's true though that there is usually a nugget of truth in the best lies. Not saying that it's a lie, I haven't read any of the story, but as an example of how that little nugget of truth can be twisted around, a conservative writer can find a way to claim that the child was detained along with his family, not just the child, and from the other side a liberal writer can leave out that very same point making it seem like the child was the only one detained. Unfortunately it's what the media tends to do, it's not about giving facts and letting the readers decide anymore, it's about the views and the likes, and the clickbait. Regarding our progressiveness, it's a perception that we want the rest of the world to believe, celebrities, most of whom publicly condemn Trump for blocking refugees and other forms of xenophobia, threatened to blacklist artists who performed at Trump's inauguration, essentially condemning them guilty by association. The distinction between the two is minimal.

[Dragon Master Mike]

Alright, this is going to be a long ranty post.

To be honest, I don't think most trump supporters are even actually racist. I think the main reason Trump got in is just because people have lost so much faith in our government that people are willing to do anything for something to change, and Trump was a change. Then you have the people who think Hillary is literally evil and going to bring in the new world order or something. No, seriously, that's a thing.

I am completely disgusted with the United States right now. I have completely lost all respect for the government at this point. To be honest, what annoys me the most is the fact that our election system is so ****ed that Hillary won by 3 million votes but the electoral college voted on Trump.

Basically it's a winner take all system, meaning in each state only the first 51% of votes matter. NJ has about 9 million people, and 14 electoral votes. It doesn't matter if 5 million people vote for one candidate or all 9 million people do, because either way the candidate with more votes gets the same 14 electoral votes 99% of the time. Those extra 4 million votes wouldn't actually affect the election. They say every vote matters, but really only the first 51% do. I'm just as angry about a candidate that didn't win the majority of votes winning than I am about Trump winning to be honest.

Now, I did a bit of research on how many Americans have actually been killed by refugees from the countries in the travel ban. According to CNN, and a couple of other sites I found, none. Oh, and here is another site that says your odds of being killed in a terrorist attack by a refugee is one in 3.6 billion. I haven't seen one source that claims there is any significant threat posed by these refugees. I also want to point out that the United States ALREADY DOES have some of the strictest vetting for immigrants and refugees in the world.

So foreign leaders, please continue to denounce us. Denounce the **** out of us because we deserve it. I'm just gonna hope Trump manages to get himself impeached or something.

[Mujaffa]

while things like "serious discussion" and "the world right now" usually is my cue to leave, i'll give it a shot because i'm pretty sure i'd make better calls than 90% of politishiwankers (least in good ole' Norwayland)
now for you guys over in 'Murica, you.. oh youuuu. you had two turds, all you had to do was pick the shiny one, but you went with the shitty one. bad, i even lost out on free tacos because of that, and Mujaffa loves his free taco.
is this a political rant, or is it a joke. you decide.
now last time someone used Trump's political strategy and won was in eeeeehbout 1932. Germany. he shouted loudly and promised to get rid of the imigrants and to get jobs for everyone, and he did just that. by starting world war 2. oopsie.
so a moron is one of the most powerful people in the world, let's all hope he's to dumb to make any serious mistakes. or gets assasinated. either way, really.

as for the UK leaving EU. fine, i guess? why tho? i dont see the logic behind it. stop free imigration from other EU contries i guess, or just to mess up the economy? either way i'll point and laugh if it backfires, because i really did want to visit without the hassle.

let's end with my favorite political joke. from MY CONTRY! yeah! we banned diesel cars in Oslo, and the Norwegian people, for once. stood up and protested by replacing their diesel cars with thirsty V8's and driving modified diesel cars that had the catalytic converters removed( making black smoke pour out of the exaust) effectively lifting the ban after 11 hours and making Norway the laughing stock of the world.
BUT WAIT, Mujaffa isnt that a bad thing?
is it? is it reaaaaally? maybe instead of banning cars we should focus on making factories more green and stop burning coal. CHINA, INDIA and AMERICA.
i for one love my combustion engine more than i love my life. and i'm not gonna replace it with a electric crapbox that'll be worthless when the batteries die.
whew that's enough politics for one lifetime. i feel all angry on the inside. no wonder politishans are the worst. cheers.

[Soups]

Alright, this is going to be a long ranty post.

To be honest, I don't think most trump supporters are even actually racist. I think the main reason Trump got in is just because people have lost so much faith in our government that people are willing to do anything for something to change, and Trump was a change. Then you have the people who think Hillary is literally evil and going to bring in the new world order or something. No, seriously, that's a thing.

I am completely disgusted with the United States right now. I have completely lost all respect for the government at this point. To be honest, what annoys me the most is the fact that our election system is so ****ed that Hillary won by 3 million votes but the electoral college voted on Trump.

Basically it's a winner take all system, meaning in each state only the first 51% of votes matter. NJ has about 9 million people, and 14 electoral votes. It doesn't matter if 5 million people vote for one candidate or all 9 million people do, because either way the candidate with more votes gets the same 14 electoral votes 99% of the time. Those extra 4 million votes wouldn't actually affect the election. They say every vote matters, but really only the first 51% do. I'm just as angry about a candidate that didn't win the majority of votes winning than I am about Trump winning to be honest.

Now, I did a bit of research on how many Americans have actually been killed by refugees from the countries in the travel ban. According to CNN, and a couple of other sites I found, none. Oh, and here is another site that says your odds of being killed in a terrorist attack by a refugee is one in 3.6 billion. I haven't seen one source that claims there is any significant threat posed by these refugees. I also want to point out that the United States ALREADY DOES have some of the strictest vetting for immigrants and refugees in the world.

So foreign leaders, please continue to denounce us. Denounce the **** out of us because we deserve it. I'm just gonna hope Trump manages to get himself impeached or something.

But still... Donald Trump? Of all people? I understand where you're coming from though. It happens in basketball a lot actually, especially with LeBron James. He's been the best basketball player on the planet for so long and rightfully deserves the MVP award every season (he really does), but voter fatigue is a thing and other players end up taking home the award... even if they aren't deserving or as qualified for it. Americans, from what it seems like, were willing to put anybody in office, regardless of mishaps and lack of political experience simply because they distrust the government and wanted somebody who had no prior relations to it a.k.a. Donald Trump.

As for the voting system... I don't know how to feel about it. I'm not going to lie: if the Electoral College helps my preferred candidate win the election, I have no complaints. However, if it's the reason my preferred candidate loses, I hate it. I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks this way either. I'd like to see a better system, but hey...

Also, I disagree with Trump's approach toward immigrants and those from certain countries (the ones that he banned).

[Bulbasaur]

I'll do my best to be serious for one post.

I think one of my biggest problems with Trump is the ignorance of some of his supporters. Most of them did not vote for Hillary because she was part of that scandal. And Trump has never done anything similar? There have been countless incidents in Trump's business history where he has cheated people out of money. Sounds like a scandal to me.

However, my BIGGEST problem is how he acts. It still infuriates me to this day that a man that mocks disabled reporters is now our president, our leader, our role model. This man is sick. People want a man that stoops down to the lowest level of mocking one with a disability as our president? This is beyond me. And to make things even worse, I read recently (I'm behind on politics) that Hillary brought up that incident and Trump did not own up to it. Honestly, I'd be happier if he recognized the fact that he made fun of that disabled reporter, even if he wasn't sorry. And that's because he is our president. Does a liar and a deceiver sound like a good president?

Trump has been well known for cheating people. He has treated everyone completely unequally. I can't begin to imagine how some people thought he would help make "America great again".

[Soups]

I'll do my best to be serious for one post.

I think one of my biggest problems with Trump is the ignorance of some of his supporters. Most of them did not vote for Hillary because she was part of that scandal. And Trump has never done anything similar? There have been countless incidents in Trump's business history where he has cheated people out of money. Sounds like a scandal to me.

However, my BIGGEST problem is how he acts. It still infuriates me to this day that a man that mocks disabled reporters is now our president, our leader, our role model. This man is sick. People want a man that stoops down to the lowest level of mocking one with a disability as our president? This is beyond me. And to make things even worse, I read recently (I'm behind on politics) that Hillary brought up that incident and Trump did not own up to it. Honestly, I'd be happier if he recognized the fact that he made fun of that disabled reporter, even if he wasn't sorry. And that's because he is our president. Does a liar and a deceiver sound like a good president?

Trump has been well known for cheating people. He has treated everyone completely unequally. I can't begin to imagine how some people thought he would help make "America great again".

I'd have to agree with you. Besides all of the politics, I simply dislike Trump because of his mishaps during his campaign. Anyone with a brain saw the blatant disrespect toward women, minorities, immigrants, and the LGBT community. I can't ever forget that, and the fact that he's now in office, says a lot about America.

[Wookie Mistake]

It's crazy, all of it. We used to be a society that would get back on the horse if we get knocked off, and if the horse doesn't want to let us back on we jump on a donkey. We used to be resourceful and resilient. All I can do is keep my head down, and help when I can, who I can.

Keep Calm And Sweep the Leg, Johnny.