Who would have imagined that the Peach State would be our country’s salvation from the “heart of darkness” we entered with President Trump and his administration?
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Who would have imagined that the Peach State would be our country’s salvation from the “heart of darkness” we entered with President Trump and his administration?
Georgia’s election of Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff to the United States Senate guarantees that President-elect Biden’s agenda will not be undermined/stymied/blocked by Mitch McConnell. Finally, the majority has found its voice.
You may recall that the majority of Americans did not want Trump to be their president, did not want a wall to be built on our southern border, did not want the country to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accords or the Iran Nuclear Agreement, did not want a Supreme Court vacancy filled in the 11th hour before an election, did not believe that COVID-19 would be gone after the election, did not fall victim to the thousands of lies spewed over the course of the past four years by a self-obsessed bully.
But Trump Republicans didn’t care what the majority of Americans wanted. They were desperate to maintain their hold on power any way they could, even if it meant subverting democracy and the expressed will of the public.
Trump’s threatening phone call to the Georgia secretary of state on Jan. 2, demanding that he find votes to overturn the presidential election in that state, was the zenith of his corruption. The storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6 by a rioting mob of his followers was his defining shame and ignominy.
That so many Americans have been gullible to this unconscionable impostor is a sad statement on current America. But now, perhaps the more than 400 bills passed by the House of Representatives but blocked by McConnell can be considered, and the country can move forward solving its problems — and somehow somewhere find its moral bearings once again.
I’m honored to know that my mother’s home state provided the turning point.
John Delaney
PORT TOWNSEND
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Justin Hale
You claim that the majority of Americans did not want...
The border wall: but during the Obama years they were in favor of the wall.
Withdrawing from the Paris Accords: I'll bet the majority of Americans never read the accords.
Withdrawing from the Iran NuclearAgreement:
//www.nbcnews.com/storyline/iran-nuclear-talks/poll-finds-most-americans-dont-trust-iran-nuclear-deal-n338521)
"did not want a Supreme Court vacancy filled in the 11th hour before an election:
That's not what this poll showed (https://www.marquette.edu/news-center/2020/public-views-of-justice-ginsburg-and-appointments-to-the-supreme-court.php)
Maybe you meant to say that the majority of Americans who agree with you.
Friday, January 15, 2021 Report this
MargeS
The Border Wall cost U.S. Taxpayers 15 Billion dollars since 2006 for 450 miles of a fence that only Trump Supporters wanted. Quite different to what he promised before he was elected.
“I would build a great wall, and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me, and I'll build them very inexpensively, I will build a great, great wall on our southern border,” Trump said, announcing his bid for the White House in June 2015.
In 2006 then-President Bush signed the Secure Fence Act, which called for the erection of hundreds of miles of barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border. The Bush Administration intended to build 700 miles by December of 2008, when his second term would come to an end. By April of 2008 then-Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff had issued waivers that swept aside dozens of federal laws and “all federal, state, or other laws, regulations and legal requirements of, deriving from, or related to the subject of” the named laws for all of the planned border walls.
Once again a very complicated matter that Trump failed to understand.
The Paris Agreement is a landmark environmental accord that was adopted by nearly every nation in 2015 to address climate change and its negative impacts. ... The agreement includes commitments from all major emitting countries to cut their climate-altering pollution and to strengthen those commitments over time. Trump didn't want to let climate interfere with U.S. industry.
The Trump Administration's intended withdrawal of the US from the Paris Agreement and its rollbacks of domestic climate policy will leave US greenhouse gas emissions at least 3% higher in 2030 than with the policies still in place."
And maybe you Justin in Hale don't bother to do the research you should.
The things you talk about here are very important, but complicated matters that take someone with diplomatic world knowledge to understand. Trump could have chosen some appointees who were knowledgeable, and maybe he did, but just didn't listen.
We vote for people with the knowledge to run a country, not a reality show.
Friday, January 15, 2021 Report this
Justin Hale
During the Obama/Biden administration building the wall was OK, but when Trump wants to build the wall it's not OK. The Obama/Biden administration deported more people than the Trump administration, OK for Obama/Biden but if Trump does half of what they did he is called the anti-immigrant racist.
Saturday, January 16, 2021 Report this
edavidt
Justin, you continue to cherry pick data, to mis represent others positions (and then try to prove the misrepresented position wrong), and worst of all, take information completely out of context and mis represent it. I was hoping that with the new year, the loss of the election by the Republicans, and the willful goading by Trump for his supporters resulting in a violent and lethal attempt to alter a democratically determined electoral outcome, you may have paused, reflected on reality, and at least made an attempt to endorse a more noble set of ideologies. But alas, I can see it was too much to hope for. At the very least, perhaps you can study up on intellectual integrity and apply your learnings to your posts in these pages.
Saturday, January 16, 2021 Report this
Justin Hale
D.T., Blah Blah Blah.
As if the Haters and biased MSM hasn't done exactly the same.
Saturday, January 16, 2021 Report this
MargeS
Why bother with the truth when you can make things up. It's the Trump doctrine. Just in hale has swallowed the lie. Don't expect much from him, or any other troll out there.
Saturday, January 16, 2021 Report this
edavidt
A minority of the Republican party has lost themselves in a delusional, fictitious world filled with Satanic pedophiles and conspiracy theories around the election. They have chosen Donald Trump as their leader because he possesses the skills to repeat lies over and over again in aconvincing way and has no problem doing it. He ceaves the attention, and they give it to him. The majority of the Republican party has chosen to remain silent and not call out the truth, in the hopes that this movement will strengthen their base. Justin unfortunately you are straddling the fence.
The damage caused by both those that are truly delusional, as well as those Republicans who refuse to call out the truth, is immeasurable. It's hard for me to imagine us recovering from this in less than a generation. I'm not talking about immigration policy, or pro-life versus abortion or taxes. I'm talking about the core of what we are as a nation. The siege of the capital by several groups of unorganized fanatics was not the event that we should be concerned about. It's simply the manifestation, the tip of the iceberg that represents a huge segment of our population that is delusional. And of course none of this could have happened 20 years ago because the internet and social media platforms have provided a vehicle that serves as a stage for the ongoing indoctrination and conspiracy mongering.
I think the fundamental question that hasn't been asked, but should be is this; why is this happening only in the United States today? Why isn't it happening in Europe? Why isn't it happening in Asia? I think just a little bit of reflection would provide us an answer.
Sunday, January 17, 2021 Report this
Thomas Camfield
First I decided I had to stick around through the Nov. 3 election. But that came and went—and almost immediately I found myself wrapped up in the Georgia runoffs, followed instantly by the 2021 inauguration—then my 92nd birthday Feb. 1. Now, what the heck. I may as well give our 70th wedding anniversary and the 2022 mid-terms a shot. Lord knows I’ll remain curious about what’s around the next corner between now and then
Sunday, January 17, 2021 Report this
edavidt
Right on Tom!
Sunday, January 17, 2021 Report this
Justin Hale
DT.
You refer to the QAnon nonsense, I think that story is as nutty as it gets, sadly there are a minority of lunatics in both parties. That is one fence I am not straddling
"Even so, the theory remains largely unknown to most Americans, according to a recent Pew poll that found 76% of adults said they were unfamiliar with QAnon. In fact, Democrats were more likely than Republicans to be familiar with the theory, Pew found, with 28% saying they knew a little or a lot about QAnon compared to 18% of Republicans."
"(https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/01/politics/qanon-republicans-trump-gop/index.html)
" the tip of the iceberg that represents a huge segment of our population that is delusional"..... Those who believe Trump won the election are delusional, those who believe that our electoral system is free of illegal/fraudulent votes and manipulation are delusional.
"why is this happening only in the United States today?".....
"9% in U.S. trust mass media "a great deal" and 31% "a fair amount"
27% have "not very much" trust and 33% "none at all"
The percentage with no trust at all is a record high, up five points since 2019" (https://news.gallup.com/poll/321116/americans-remain-distrustful-mass-media.aspx)
This is not only happening in the U.S.
Sunday, January 17, 2021 Report this
edavidt
Not sure what your point is, justin. You're right, a lot of people don't trust the media. Which makes them extremely vulnerable to conspiracy theorists. I guess that's my point. And these people that don't trust the media end up going to media sources that are far less trustworthy than the mainstream media as you call it. And given that about 25% of Republicans do adopt some or all of the Q anon belief I would say that is indeed a significant portion of the population who are immersed in altered realities. It's not the Democrats who are insisting that the Republicans are pedophiles. In general it's not the liberals that coalesce around bizarre fictional realities like the elections were stolen. Like I said they're basically two camps maybe about 25% of Republicans actually believe this stuff and very few of the other 75% are standing up and saying come on let's be honest. And this is the point I was making, to which you did not respond. You are an example of someone on the fence. you keep going back and insisting that there are problems on the election. in actuality nearly every sane person recognizes that getting 300 million people to vote will result in some irregularities and problems. It's a peripheral issue.. The question is, did Biden win the election or not? Trump has been saying since before he was first elected that there's going to be fraud in the election. He insisted that if Hillary were to win it would only because she stole the election. He planted the conspiracy seeds a long time ago. That's one reason why he's never have been allowed to run for president because he corrupted and destroyed faith in core democratic institutions in the country. he's repeated the lies about election fraud for 4 years! over and over and over again and he said it convincingly and the majority of Republicans believe it. It's delusional. And the way you respond to it puts you squarely on the fence. While you may have acknowledged Trump's win you refuse to stand up and say enough of this delusional conspiratorial rhetoric. you complain chronically about the mainstream media but refuse to acknowledge that Trump has been one of the major players who's destroyed credibility in the media.. Trump has done more to corrupt reality than any single mainstream media source. It's a pity you can't see that, or at least we'll admit it.
Lastly, perhaps you can name another country that's just screwed up as this one is when it comes to having 25% or more of its population living in a delusional space. Somewhere in Europe perhaps' South America? Are they are they screaming election fraud and insisting that the political opposition are all pedophiles in China? Again you feel to recognize a severity of the situation that this country is in and Trump's rule in that. You voted for somebody who took advantage of delusional people and encouraged them to march on the capital. Five lives were lost in many lives were threatened. And you refuse to acknowledge Trump's role in that.
Up above you said to me, blah blah blah. Amazing. You've been writing in these pages for years and continue to vomit the same old narrow little ideologies about Trump haters and immigration in mainstream media. And the alternative, that is taking a stand for honesty integrity and Truth was/is simply too much for you. That puts you squarely on the fence between those who are truly deluded and those who recognize the delusion but can't bring yourselves to publicly State the obvious. Trump has been a horrid disaster.
Probably my last note to the leader. Life is too short. I was involved in a very difficult accident in December, and it changed my thinking on how I want to spend my time. https://www.peninsuladailynews.com/search/#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=Cyclist%20hit%20by%20tree&gsc.sort=
Sunday, January 17, 2021 Report this
Justin Hale
DT wrote, "given that about 25% of Republicans do adopt some or all of the Q anon belief ".....I don't know where you get that 25% of R's adopt some or all of QAnon belief? Certainly not from what I posted, "Democrats were more likely than Republicans to be familiar with the theory, Pew found, with 28% saying they knew a little or a lot about QAnon compared to 18% of Republicans." Knowing about QAnon is not the same as adopting its looney theory. You and I know about QAnon and I'm betting that neither of us adopts its looney theory.
"getting 300 million people to vote will result in some irregularities and problems.".....I agree. The question is to what degree do those irregularities and problems affect the outcome of an election, enough to make Trump the winner of the election? I doubt it, but I don't really know and neither do you. Call that sitting on the fence if you want to.
Did you know that in 2017 Trump created a Commission to look into the integrity of our election processes. So many states filed lawsuits against the commission that the commission was De-commissioned. Our own AG Ferguson a Democrat was among those who filed suit against the commission.
"Trump has been one of the major players who's destroyed credibility in the media."..... The MSM has destroyed its own credibility, Trump merely point's that out. That Gallup poll I cited said 33% have no trust in the MSM they did not ask the responders if they were D's or R's.
In no way did Trump tell anyone to break the law, he said specifically "peacefully and patriotically demonstrate" The FBI and NYPD told the DC police that trouble was brewing days before Trump's rally, the lawbreaking was a premeditated and planned event long before Trump spoke.
I'll never agree with your point of view, nor you mine. As I've said throughout all these comments is that I am neither D or R, I have voted for both sides. Call that sitting on the fence if you like, I call it being neutral.
Sorry to hear of your accident, hope your injuries were to too serious.
Monday, January 18, 2021 Report this
Thomas Camfield
Trump’s been yakking away for years and he “points out” nothing. He flings out a few random lies about the Free Press or public education and heads out the door for the nearest golf course to rave about his new putter.
Monday, January 18, 2021 Report this
Thomas Camfield
'David: that was one crazy Christmas present!—and I hope you’re recovering O.K.
Monday, January 18, 2021 Report this
Justin Hale
DT.
Just read the story of your run-in with a tree, wow, you were lucky that tree didn't kill you. Who would imagine something like that happening?, like getting struck by lightning. Hope you recuperate and all heals well for you.
Monday, January 18, 2021 Report this
MargeS
Sometimes Just in hale, you can't just be neutral. How were you feeling when the attack on Congress happened. Just sitting on the fence, or as you say being neutral. There are time in history when being neutral really wasn't an option.
Monday, January 18, 2021 Report this
Justin Hale
MS,
As the events at the Capitol were happening I felt that those who were breaking the law should be held to account, and they are, I have no sympathy for them. I do not agree that Trump is to blame for their illegal behavior, certainly not an impeachable offense. In these divisive times I think we need a strong middle ground, if the two extremes are not able to or willing to find a compromise this Nation is doomed.
Monday, January 18, 2021 Report this
garynovak418
David, Hope your recovery is complete and you get back on the road the way you like it. Using energy dealing with the Flat Earth Society members like Justin Case might not be the best use of your wits.
Tuesday, January 19, 2021 Report this
Justin Hale
Just noticed a mistake in my 3:20 comment. Of course I meant to say "were not too serious".
Tuesday, January 19, 2021 Report this