Vote!

I agree. As I said before (in a deleted thread on smug liberals), I think Trump will be mostly bad. His domestic policies will/would be disastrous. Not unlike most Republican presidents.

My point is, if the US were more democratic and the federal government wasn't so powerful, influenced by lobbyists and unaware of what people's problems are, it wouldn't have come to this.

Bernie Sanders would have won the primaries and probably the presidency. Even so, Congress would have prevented him from implementing any or most of his plans.

Trump is more of a Democrat than most Republicans, in some ways. He's crazy but not stupid.

That he's one of us doesn't mean he admits it. Many if not most with NPD (or, less so, BPD and many other PDs; anything chronic near-psychotic) don't. But any Republican would have done away with Obamacare. Even so, non-discrimination and other restrictions to what insurance companies can do are what's really important. Forcing people to be insured only raises premiums because it diminishes your bargaining power.

Only state insurance is a real and cost-effective solution, much like what Sanders proposed. Obamacare is as with all Third Way, (neo)liberal compromises: the government ends up paying lots of money to private, big companies without being/feeling responsible for the costs, by design. It's trickery and politicians without any business acumen fall for it. So hopefully Trump doesn't and he will take responsibility. If he sees government as a business, he will try to get the best deal. That could be bad for many big companies.

It can't be much worse. I for one, like to see a genuinely "crazy" person elected, not a bean-counting robot who is gullible or corrupt enough to fund big businesses using tax-payer's money.

Just got home from a church supper. We have a lot of Somalis in our church, gotta wonder what they think of this guy.

I agree with everything except I believe the last paragraph. I wish Bernie would have won the primaries. He is the one I planned on voting for and agree he would have won. I believe a majority of Bernie votes, especially the young went to Trump.

I'm Australian and I really hoped Bernie had got in. He seems like a decent human being and had good policies. Why did Hillary beat him???

I believe Hillary made backroom deals years ago and was promised the vote (but I'm into conspiracy theories so don't listen to me on that part. We are told she won because she was voted the winner. She had a lot more money for her campaign and big business behind her.

what could have been (cue melancholy music).

Bernie would have been awesome. Even if he hadn't been able to do much to move the country forward, he would have moved the Democratic Party forward and changed the political landscape.

But, the DNC gave us Hilary. I voted for her because at least she's rational and gets things done, even if she is (was) First Lady of Wall Street.

And the voters gave us all President Trump. I suspect America has now officially descended into The New Dark Ages. Climate change is a "hoax," evolution is "just a theory," reflection+critical thinking are not tolerated.

These are scary times to be an American.

Ok, "like"... it's interesting. And someone with NPD who is a misogynist and a creep isn't really my preferred kind of crazy.

What I do know from the resemblance with BPD, it's more to provoke than that he really means what he says. And that's refreshing and would allow him to be pragmatic rather than an ideologue and dogmatist, blindly liberal nor conservative. Psychologists call it openness and it's rare in politics.

I agree his running mate is a problem. A staunch conservative. The antithesis of Trump (in this respect). That's of course why they chose him. Luckily, the Vice President doesn't really have any real power. He's used to cover all bases just to please more voters during the campaign. That he makes up for what Trump is lacking is I think a good thing, in that way.

Trump should really not be compared to a fascist. There are no private armies of his followers marching the streets. His acceptance speech clearly shows that he doesn't believe in division. Just opposition. He is his own checks and balances. He's changeable, chronically near-psychotic, but not really psychotic. No real fear of others or xenophobia. He wouldn't live in New York if he were.

Edit:
Not that being psychotic automatically leads to xenophobia. Of course not. But many of the truly dangerous people had a psychotic kind of fear for some minorities they saw as powerful and dangerous, a menace, and similar fear of other countries and ideologies. It makes it easy to convince others if you believe it yourself so very strongly, if it's not overly fanciful, if it could be true and more or less resonates with people's prior assumptions, I hope we all can agree (or maybe I'm just that convincing or others around me so gullible ).

It's due to the superdelegates. If all delegates would have had one vote, Bernie would have won. It's really an extraordinary feat and I think you in the US can be very proud of that. The US political system is conservative because you are really quite progressive compared to many countries. It's really the system, not the people. A young nation of immigrants, people who dare to dream of bettering themselves and take the risk to do so, from many different countries that "back" in Europe still don't see eye to eye. Much to be proud of.

And slavery is "our" doing, not yours (originally), in a way.

Call it what you will, I have my own personally theories about what is going on. I've been typing about it all night so I feel a bit repetitive at this point. I believe that finance and how commerce and economic rise and fall are controlled more by some old farts with old money than who is president. Our voices are only heard with regards to social change. They are wise enough to know that once you've messed with a minority (or various types) long enough, and they have sufficient numbers, there will be riots and chaos. So they allow the people to vote on things and allow minorities certain rights depending on how likely they are to fall in line and better serve the economic machine.

They are playing the odds if you will.

I'm getting dressed to go to the protest. I don't think it will help much now.. However, if the Party of 99 materializes, my time was well employed. And congress will be looking who to help or not very attentively. Elections in two years.
I hope the Party of the 99 materializes by then. Good luck all.

I agree that, in other words, not mine, politics is war by other means. As to business: it's either big business or small business. You do need a working economy. Free trade and large federations of states, trade blocs, with "democracies" or otherwise, are good for big business, truly independent states better for small businesses. Wages will be higher and skills and knowledge less specialised/limited. If people have more buying power, the domestic economy grows and a state becomes more independent. Influencing decision-making becomes easier and is more effective, creating a demand for influence based on positives rather than negatives. Smaller businesses need the government to provide more services. There's more demand for a good education for well-rounded people with enough spare time (higher wages).

It's all about scale. Take Vermont.

My wires are a little crossed and I only understand bits and pieces and cannot put them together into a cohesive value. It's probably you Me and not you. I like the way you write so I'm inclined to agree with you regardless.

Sounds very Occupy Wall Street-like to me. Have you ever been to a "General Assembly"? It's hellish. It's like being a Democrat in the US Congress, I imagine. There can be too much "democracy"/procedure.

I rather have a party of the One.

I originally said it was probably you and not me....I meant it's probably me and not you. I've fixed it.

I am not an American so I try not to get involved in American politics, but since this thread is really active and I live in a neighboring country I will chime in.

First off, I will say that Americans everywhere need to unite behind President-Elect Trump if you want to keep your position as a superpower in the world. As I type this a Russian battle fleet is headed to the coast of Syria to support Assad's regime, this includes the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuzenstov, aswell as the nuclear battlecruiser Kirov if I recall correctly. The Assad's regimes hopes for victory are getting brighter by the day which is a good thing. Would you rather a ISIS terrorist fanatic or a secular President controlling Syria? Anyways that is beside the point. Look, relations with Russia have improved since Trump was declared victor, and right now America needs to team with Russia should it ever want to defeat ISIS. If I remember correctly, sometime ago there was an agreement signed between Iraq, Iran, Russia, and Syria on mutual information and cooperation in fighting ISIS. I liked Obama and supported him during his first term, but the fact is his "line in the sand" and foreign policy on the whole has been disastrous. Russia is slowly pulling the entire Middle East into their sphere of influence. What America needs right now is a strong man to open dialogue with the Russians and negotiate properly with them about their influence, which I think Trump can do.

Next thing: racism. I am a white Bahamian, and I am a minority in my country, as it is mostly black. I want to remind everyone here that racism runs both ways. I have been called "whitey" and "white boy" by many black people, which I do not find offensive, fortunately nobody has called me a "cracker" cause they know I will punch their teeth out their mouth weighing at 250 and going to the gym frequently. Do I think Trump is a racist? No I don't. I find it funny how nobody called him a racist until he ran against the Democratic Party, which may I remind you, endorsed and wanted to preserve slavery, kept blacks from voting for years through literacy tests at polling booths, and voted against civil rights. They still hope to feed the welfare machine by keeping blacks poor and on welfare instead of actually taking a more proactive solution such as helping them find jobs so that they can stand on their own, thus causing the potentiality of losing a voter base. I would like to see any white American come to The Bahamas, in my shoes and put up with the racial taunts I have went through as a white person of Anglo-Irish descent and see how racism can go both ways.

Illegal immigration. This is a problem for our country aswell. We have thousands of illegal Haitians taking over our country, threatening war with Bahamians, even going on ZNS, the national broadcasting network here in The Bahamas, and threatening Bahamians with a Colombian necktie and outright war. They hog up our free healthcare resources intended for BAHAMIANS to the point where our own citizens are unable to access decent free healthcare. That is why I stand with Trump on immigration.

Look my American friends, some of you may not like the results of the election, but neither did I in our 2012 election. The FNM (Conservative) candidate, whom I strongly supported, lost by a wide margin. Now Bahamians are united in opposition against the liberal PLP government who is taxing the working Bahamian to oblivion. Tobacco tax, VAT tax, duties, and may I mention VAT applied separately on duty and shipping. The VAT rate is 7.5% just to inform you. Now another tax is coming the NHI tax for healthcare that once again Bahamians are not receiving. Don't believe me go to Princess Margaret Hospital in Nassau (Government Hospital) and tell me how many illegal immigrants are there.

This is not the time to be divided American friends, the nation divided will perish. Russia, China, and even India are making moves in this world as they arise as superpowers that to be quite frank, I think many of you are ignoring. America will not be the sole superpower for much longer. I did not support Trump from the get-go, I wanted Senator Rubio to get in as he had a plan for immigration reform, which I strongly liked having for years myself trying to legally immigrate to the USA while Haitians Cubans and God knows who else just step on land and get asylum, which I found to be a slap in the face to me.

Anyways, my point is the election is over, there is another one in 4 years, so all you guys can do is give Trump a chance atleast, let him put his money where his mouth is as the old saying goes. Our election is coming up in 2017 (we have 5 year terms with no limits on how many terms you can serve, I mean we have been independent for 40+ years and have only had 3 different PM's) but I say yall should atleast give Trump a chance, maybe he will be good President, maybe not, we don''t know yet. Heck he isn't even President yet. Democrats should have went with Bernie though, stood a better chance than Clinton.

I protested with occupy. Met several friends there.

Trump is Putins buddy buddy so there is no reason to get united behind him. He is another example of populist plague that is destroying the western world.

With all due respect BigMike, but you are just one more person who clearly doesn't understand why people are upset about this particular president elect and you assume it is just about our candidate not winning. Sorry, but you really don't get it.

It is clear that BigMike really doesn't understand what this horrifying situation is about.

It really matters not who the President is. It is our Congress (Senate and House of Representatives) who hold the most power in US.

We each have 2 Senators and a House Representative from our district. I monitor legislation that is up for vote in the Senate and House. I email my representative and both Senators directly of my views and how I want them to vote on said bills (legislation). Me, a constituent, a voter.

I see so much time wasted on the internet with other matters, but it is so easy to just read the bills and email our Congressmen, cutting the influence of corporate sponsors for election funds, and therefore, how our Congressmen vote on a legislative bill.

Why the entire populace does not do this simple thing..email your Congressmen, give them your opinion and tell them how to vote on the laws presented for passage or failure. If only all Americans would take the time to do the same, we can control how our country performs.

Just look up your Congressmen on Google or other search engine. There are links to each. Click that button and email them! Have your voice heard! Just voting in an election is not enough. All citizens should do what I do, and have their voices actually heard. It is the voter that places the Congressmen in office. They would pay attention to their constituents (voters) if they want to remain in office.

Get off our rears and do that! We have internet access to the legislative bills up for a vote in the House and the Senate. Read them! Form your opinion. An email takes only a minute. Our country would be transformed back to a true democracy.

Hope others will do what I do. We need to wrest the power back from the Corporations and wealthy individuals who make huge contributions to candidates in the hopes of buying their votes.

Let us take our power back.

Yes, it does matter. The president will nominate supreme court justices (this president probably several) and those justices hold great power in determination of the legality of our laws. The supreme court could strike down marriage equality. It could take away women's rights to make their own reproductive decisions. It matters who our president is.

Yes, it does matter. A republican president with a republican leaning congress can reverse important legislation and push through a conservative agenda that harm citizens since the president would obviously not be using his power of veto against his allies in congress.

We have a 3 branch system of government to keep each branch in check, but when all three branches are dominated by the same party, there is an inherent imbalance in the system.

THIS. SO much this!!!

It is concerning on many fronts, but especially troubling on issues affecting women, given his CLEARLY misogynistic views and outrageous behavior. I'd rail fervently on this topic, but the problems with it should be pretty damn obvious.

(KarenSue, you make a good point that citizen involvement shouldn't end at the ballot box, and good for you in such participation!)

And BigMike, I just want to let you know that although we have significant points of disagreement, no ill will is intended. Everyone has a point of view, and it can be especially felt with personal experiences. And you are right, racism cuts in all kinds of directions.

And Bernie, yes, sigh. He's a good guy, and it would have been very interesting to see.

But get behind Trump? No, I positively can not do such a thing.

(Besides, he'll do whatever the hell he wants regardless of how I feel.)

I do understand world issues are a very big deal. The trick is to show power without going so hard or reacting so rashly as to create other and/or bigger problems. This balance requires reflection and finesse to achieve. He has shown not one iota of either.

I'm inclined to agree with you that many did not consider international implications sufficiently. Though, as shown above, I do not come to the same conclusion as you in my consideration of it. I can only hope you are right.

Because yeah, we've got to give him a chance. That's just how the deal works.

(P.S. Sorry to not have said so much earlier, but I am so glad you came through the hurricane alright. )

I feel like people voted to murder my son. I know that was not their intention but it could be the result. I have no idea what to do? How do I prepare? My son might not survive a month come January. What can I do? Any suggestions? People are cheering over the potential death of my child....my heart....my biggest reason for living. I gave birth to him and promised to protect him and now I am powerless. Someone please tell me what I should do. I can't stop crying....the fear and panic won't stop crushing and killing me. My baby boy is all I ever done right with my life.....having him gave me purpose and reason for living. I always thought I'd be strong enough to protect the people I love but I'm powerless. Help???? Should I write someone? Should we apply for SSI for him? He is disabled but I didn't continue him on my SSDI because I didn't want to accept money we didn't need......would my Medicare even cover him? Am I losing that too? What can I do to prepare? Anybody have any suggestions?