USA presidential elections 2016

emordnilap · Post by **emordnilap** » 01 Jun 2016, 10:40

American presidential candidates (like politicians the world over) have done what they usually do to win: lied and promised. They all turn out to be neither what you need nor what you expect. This time is no different.

AutomaticEarth · Post by **AutomaticEarth** » 01 Jun 2016, 11:51

Quite an interesting article:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 59076.html

It would certainly be interesting if Sanders did get himself on the ballot. I can't see it, but you never know.......

biffvernon · Post by **biffvernon** » 01 Jun 2016, 11:59

Wall Street Journal: Clinton Might Not Be the Nominee

http://www.wsj.com/articles/clinton-mig ... 1464733898

Post by **kenneal - lagger** » 01 Jun 2016, 12:42

biffvernon wrote:Hawking on Trump
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/0 ... te-change/

Hawking got one thing wrong in that article. The ocean temperature is already high enough to melt the ice caps and is doing so at an increasing rate.

I think the policy of the GOP and its backers of keeping the majority of the American population ignorant is coming back to bite it!

UndercoverElephant · Post by **UndercoverElephant** » 01 Jun 2016, 13:20

AutomaticEarth wrote:Quite an interesting article:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 59076.html

It would certainly be interesting if Sanders did get himself on the ballot. I can't see it, but you never know.......

I've been saying for months that there is no chance of the democratic superdelegates changing their mind and backing Sanders, but I'm wondering now if what seemed impossible might actually happen.

Hillary Clinton is exactly the wrong candidate and maybe the superdelegates can see it. If Trump beats Clinton then history will condemn those superdelegates as the people who could have stopped it happening, but refused to do for highly questionable reasons.

If I was a Clinton-supporting democratic superdelegate right now, I think I'd be feeling rather uncomfortable.

Lord Beria3 · Post by **Lord Beria3** » 01 Jun 2016, 20:13

UE - Bernie is the stronger candidate but I still can't see the super-delegates switching to Bernie.

emordnilap · Post by **emordnilap** » 02 Jun 2016, 10:15

kenneal - lagger wrote:
biffvernon wrote:Hawking on Trump
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/0 ... te-change/
Hawking got one thing wrong in that article. The ocean temperature is already high enough to melt the ice caps and is doing so at an increasing rate.

I think the policy of the GOP and its backers of keeping the majority of the American population ignorant is coming back to bite it!

Trump, on the other hand, has said he does not believe climate change exists. Last week, he promised to undo essentially every major climate policy developed in the last decade if elected president.

Even if he does, it'll make little difference now. The cake is in the oven.

woodburner · Post by **woodburner** » 02 Jun 2016, 10:37

emordnilap wrote:
Trump, on the other hand, has said he does not believe climate change exists. Last week, he promised to undo essentially every major climate policy developed in the last decade if elected president.
Even if he does, it'll make little difference now. The cake is in the oven.

In which case why do people on PS get so hot under the collar about it? We might as well do what we like and stuff the consequences, if it'll make little difference.

emordnilap · Post by **emordnilap** » 02 Jun 2016, 10:39

woodburner wrote:
emordnilap wrote:
Trump, on the other hand, has said he does not believe climate change exists. Last week, he promised to undo essentially every major climate policy developed in the last decade if elected president.
Even if he does, it'll make little difference now. The cake is in the oven.
In which case why do people on PS get so hot under the collar about it? We might as well do what we like and stuff the consequences, if it'll make little difference.

Well, ethical habits are hard to break for a start. Besides, I enjoy being guilty-conscience-free, amongst many other advantages.

woodburner · Post by **woodburner** » 02 Jun 2016, 10:42

That's just self delusion under the circumstances. One could say a Biffism.

emordnilap · Post by **emordnilap** » 02 Jun 2016, 11:18

woodburner wrote:That's just self delusion under the circumstances. One could say a Biffism.

Can you explain what you mean (preferably without ad hominems

)?

biffvernon · Post by **biffvernon** » 02 Jun 2016, 12:00

woodburner wrote:
In which case why do people on PS get so hot under the collar about it? We might as well do what we like and stuff the consequences, if it'll make little difference.

It's shameful that the ad hominems seem to be spreading.
It is clear both that some effects of global warming, such as sea level rise, are now beyond our powers to prevent, but also that action now still has the power to mitigate a great deal of the worst damage that will occur without action. We still have time to save human civilisation - that is more than 'little difference'.

Little John · Post by **Little John** » 02 Jun 2016, 13:25

biffvernon wrote:
woodburner wrote:
In which case why do people on PS get so hot under the collar about it? We might as well do what we like and stuff the consequences, if it'll make little difference.
It's shameful that the ad hominems seem to be spreading.
It is clear both that some effects of global warming, such as sea level rise, are now beyond our powers to prevent, but also that action now still has the power to mitigate a great deal of the worst damage that will occur without action. We still have time to save human civilisation - that is more than 'little difference'.

You're f***ing joking, right?....In terms of slimy, underhand ad-hominems, you're a bloody ninja master Biff Vernon.

UndercoverElephant · Post by **UndercoverElephant** » 02 Jun 2016, 13:39

Lord Beria3 wrote:UE - Bernie is the stronger candidate but I still can't see the super-delegates switching to Bernie.

They might do if they think Clinton is going to lose to Trump but Bernie might win. They want Clinton to be President, but they'd definitely take Bernie if the alternative is Trump.

UndercoverElephant · Post by **UndercoverElephant** » 02 Jun 2016, 13:42

biffvernon wrote: We still have time to save human civilisation - that is more than 'little difference'.

Yes, we do, but if we follow your advice then we will run out of time, because we will accelerate the downfall of the more civilised parts of the world by importing unlimited amount of problems from those parts that are already going down the toilet.