Trump for dictator?

[SciFi Chick]

I think the thing about California people forget is how big it is. Sure, it goes Democrat, but outside of the coastal cities there are regions that are far, far bigger than some states that are very agricultural and very conservative.

California is HUGE. That never really sank in until I moved to Australia and realized that the entire population of Australia is about the same as L.A.! It's freakin' amazing!

[SciFiFisher]

I think the thing about California people forget is how big it is. Sure, it goes Democrat, but outside of the coastal cities there are regions that are far, far bigger than some states that are very agricultural and very conservative.

California is HUGE. That never really sank in until I moved to Australia and realized that the entire population of Australia is about the same as L.A.! It's freakin' amazing!

Does it help to know that California has it's own Military Department that qualifies as the 9th largest military in the world.

[Sigma_Orionis]

I think the thing about California people forget is how big it is. Sure, it goes Democrat, but outside of the coastal cities there are regions that are far, far bigger than some states that are very agricultural and very conservative.

California is HUGE. That never really sank in until I moved to Australia and realized that the entire population of Australia is about the same as L.A.! It's freakin' amazing!

Does it help to know that California has it's own Military Department that qualifies as the 9th largest military in the world.

Or maybe that if California were an independent country its economy with be the sixth largest in the world?

[Rommie]

I think the thing about California people forget is how big it is. Sure, it goes Democrat, but outside of the coastal cities there are regions that are far, far bigger than some states that are very agricultural and very conservative.

California is HUGE. That never really sank in until I moved to Australia and realized that the entire population of Australia is about the same as L.A.! It's freakin' amazing!

Yeah, I remember flying back from six months in tranquil little 4 million people New Zealand, and gaping at Los Angeles spread out as the plane landed. Auckland had a million people, but it's still a small city, and that was the biggest one I'd seen for months!

Also, some years ago I got my hands on an excellent book titled "how the states got their shapes." A lot of it's interesting in very random ways, one of which is how the Western states were pretty much all designed size-wise to be equal. The exception is California, which had gold, and frankly the Union needed California more than California needed the Union, so they could just call all the shots including all the prize bits of land sorta around them that normally would have gone to, say, Nevada.

I guess that's stuck around ever since.

[grapes]

Also, some years ago I got my hands on an excellent book titled "how the states got their shapes." A lot of it's interesting in very random ways, one of which is how the Western states were pretty much all designed size-wise to be equal. The exception is California, which had gold, and frankly the Union needed California more than California needed the Union, so they could just call all the shots including all the prize bits of land sorta around them that normally would have gone to, say, Nevada.

I guess that's stuck around ever since.

They're regretting that now. Too much regionalism, in the state government, and they coulda had like six or eight more senators in the US Senate. The two great competing pressures of history, aggrandizing and balkanizing

[Rommie]

Also, some years ago I got my hands on an excellent book titled "how the states got their shapes." A lot of it's interesting in very random ways, one of which is how the Western states were pretty much all designed size-wise to be equal. The exception is California, which had gold, and frankly the Union needed California more than California needed the Union, so they could just call all the shots including all the prize bits of land sorta around them that normally would have gone to, say, Nevada.

I guess that's stuck around ever since.

They're regretting that now. Too much regionalism, in the state government, and they coulda had like six or eight more senators in the US Senate. The two great competing pressures of history, aggrandizing and balkanizing

Indeed, every action like that has negative impacts you often can't see until much further down the line. Though I think in California's case one of their big issues is their crazy referendum policy and how that means a small percentage of people can impact the rest. I never hear much similar complaining out of Texas, with the exception of those living in Austin.

[squ1d]

I think the thing about California people forget is how big it is. Sure, it goes Democrat, but outside of the coastal cities there are regions that are far, far bigger than some states that are very agricultural and very conservative.

California is HUGE. That never really sank in until I moved to Australia and realized that the entire population of Australia is about the same as L.A.! It's freakin' amazing!

That didn't sound right to me so I looked it up. The population of L.A. is 4 million. There are 2 million people in the city I live in (Perth), and 23 million total in Australia.

However, there are 39 million people in California, making it bigger in population than Australia.

As for the geography comparison in size: http://mapfight.appspot.com/au-vs-calif ... comparison

[SciFi Chick]

I think the thing about California people forget is how big it is. Sure, it goes Democrat, but outside of the coastal cities there are regions that are far, far bigger than some states that are very agricultural and very conservative.

California is HUGE. That never really sank in until I moved to Australia and realized that the entire population of Australia is about the same as L.A.! It's freakin' amazing!

That didn't sound right to me so I looked it up. The population of L.A. is 4 million. There are 2 million people in the city I live in (Perth), and 23 million total in Australia.

However, there are 39 million people in California, making it bigger in population than Australia.

As for the geography comparison in size: http://mapfight.appspot.com/au-vs-calif ... comparison

I was still remembering when I lived there. And when I said huge, I definitely meant population wise, not geographically. That's what is so amazing to me about it. And finding out that now there are even more people living there than live in a country which is the same size, geographically, as our 48 states - it's fascinating. I won't be visiting India any time soon. Put it that way.

To further explain my comment about L.A., I was referring to L.A. county, not the city center. L.A. county is like one big city, as Rommie commented. The population of L.A. county, back when I lived there, was 13 million. I looked it up just now, and it has dropped to just under 10 million. When it was 13 million, Australia's population was roughly 20 million. So I moved from a place that was just over 4000 square miles with over 13 million people to a place almost the same size as the entire 48 states with just around 20 million people. I still find that incredible, even if my memory and ability to explain it are flawed.

[squ1d]

Haha, so not planning a trip to Greater Tokyo with its 38 million people anytime soon then?

[SciFi Chick]

Haha, so not planning a trip to Greater Tokyo with its 38 million people anytime soon then?

Most definitely not. Although, the thought of all that sashimi is mighty tempting.

[Cyborg Girl]

So, I randomly stumbled across this cartoon and just had to repost it:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cp7eP1PWgAAZRkV.jpg

[Rommie]

Yes- it will be interesting to see what happens to the Republicans after this, Trump or no Trump.

This might sound random, but I also wish we still had mike around to comment, just once. You know he would have used few words on Trump, but they would have been the exactly right ones.

[Swift]

So, I randomly stumbled across this cartoon and just had to repost it:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cp7eP1PWgAAZRkV.jpg

Though, to be serious for a moment (sorry), I have absolutely zero sympathy for the Republican party. They did this entirely to themselves. They have been tapping our country's rich vein of racism, xenophobia, and bigotry for decades, while covering this filth with a thin veneer of Southern gentlemen plantation-owner dignity. It has gotten particularly bad while that uppity nigger was in the White House. They thought they could tap this vein for votes, while still continuing their real purpose of making the rich and powerful, richer and more powerful. Now the stuff has gotten away from them. They created the Trump-monster. I hope it destroys them.

[Rommie]

So, I randomly stumbled across this cartoon and just had to repost it:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cp7eP1PWgAAZRkV.jpg

Though, to be serious for a moment (sorry), I have absolutely zero sympathy for the Republican party. They did this entirely to themselves. They have been tapping our country's rich vein of racism, xenophobia, and bigotry for decades, while covering this filth with a thin veneer of Southern gentlemen plantation-owner dignity. It has gotten particularly bad while that uppity nigger was in the White House. They thought they could tap this vein for votes, while still continuing their real purpose of making the rich and powerful, richer and more powerful. Now the stuff has gotten away from them. They created the Trump-monster. I hope it destroys them.

Yes. For some reason I was thinking lately of my high school US history teacher, who was very good at explaining things in the not-so-distant past (Civil Rights, Vietnam, Cold War) that he must have dealt with as a young man in ways that we could then understand them. In particular, I guess I was imagining the equivalent of him explaining what has happened to the Republican party to his US history class when my theoretical future children are teenagers.

Obviously it's hard to know where to draw the line, but I feel an awful lot of this is just the inexorable conclusion of what began during George W. Bush's presidency. Not just that 9/11 changed mindsets and Iraq was a disaster and the financial collapse, but also the fact that it left no next generation in the party which allowed the crazies to step in. I remember first hearing the "Tea Party" when Obama was hardly a year in office- and us laughing, as they didn't know they shouldn't call themselves teabaggers, which yeah is still pretty funny- but had there been any plan except just "not what Obama wants" by the Republican establishment I doubt they would be in this situation.

[Cyborg Girl]

Agreed and agreed.

Especially about Bush, which (I think) was where the crazy started really going mainstream. It continues to annoy me when people say about Trump: "Hey calm down, Bush got elected in 2000 and the world didn't end."

Well... it didn't end, but it did get quite a lot worse in a remarkably short amount of time.

[geonuc]

Well... it didn't end, but it did get quite a lot worse in a remarkably short amount of time.

Yes, and we really need to remember that.

[SciFi Chick]

This might sound random, but I also wish we still had mike around to comment, just once. You know he would have used few words on Trump, but they would have been the exactly right ones.

I was just thinking about him and Elliott (was it one t or two? dammit!), and crying. It felt random then as well. Just driving home, thinking about the awesome time my husband and I got to spend with that family and how fucking unfair it is.

I would love to hear mike's thoughts on the current situation as well. Wouldn't be surprised if he just closed xof up in disgust, since real life beats all of the satire at this point.

[code monkey]

This might sound random, but I also wish we still had mike around to comment, just once. You know he would have used few words on Trump, but they would have been the exactly right ones.

I was just thinking about him and Elliott (was it one t or two? dammit!), and crying. It felt random then as well. Just driving home, thinking about the awesome time my husband and I got to spend with that family and how fucking unfair it is.

I would love to hear mike's thoughts on the current situation as well. Wouldn't be surprised if he just closed xof up in disgust, since real life beats all of the satire at this point.

Elliot. 1 t. he had a pretty fair hand at satire and was a poly sci major with a strong commitment to social justice. his pen would be on fire.

I've often thought that Michael would have found the political hijinks irresistible. and not just trump. chris Christie (aka crispy cream) and bridgegate? I don't know whether or not he posted about mark Sanford and hiking the Appalachian trial or not but he had me in stitches.

he'd never have closed xof.

damn, I miss them.


btw, i'd go back further than bush. Nixon and his southern strategy anyone?

[Thumper]

he'd never have closed xof.

No, he would would not.

[Swift]

btw, i'd go back further than bush. Nixon and his southern strategy anyone?

I agree that a lot of this nonsense goes back to Nixon (and maybe longer ago than him, but now not in my memory). Nixon's campaigns and the GOP of that time tried to tap into white fears, though it was more often about crime and not terrorism. Nixon (often through Agnew) did a lot of blaming the media for distorting his message, and in my memory started the myth of the "liberal media". And of course there were all the disgusting CRP (pronounced "creep" - Committee to Reelect the President) dirty tricks- Trump at least doesn't do it secretly - he publicly insults people.

[Sigma_Orionis]

.......Trump at least doesn't do it secretly - he publicly insults people.

He says he's not going to do that anymore...... I give him a week, tops

[SciFiFisher]

.......Trump at least doesn't do it secretly - he publicly insults people.

He says he's not going to do that anymore...... I give him a week, tops

I don't think he can last 2 days.

[geonuc]

In terms on the 'crazy going mainstream', I'd say it began with Newt vs Clinton. Contract with America, impeachment, etc. Bush I, Reagan, Nixon, LBJ, Kennedy (I exclude Ford and Carter from this) all had their moments but it was before the advent of the internet which changed everything both in terms of us finding out about the stupid stuff our politicians are doing and in terms of our politicians using the medium to broadcast lies and innuendo in hopes of garnering the stupid vote.

[Cyborg Girl]

A new Trump emerges

<insert flannel moth joke>

[SciFi Chick]

In terms on the 'crazy going mainstream', I'd say it began with Newt vs Clinton. Contract with America, impeachment, etc. Bush I, Reagan, Nixon, LBJ, Kennedy (I exclude Ford and Carter from this) all had their moments but it was before the advent of the internet which changed everything both in terms of us finding out about the stupid stuff our politicians are doing and in terms of our politicians using the medium to broadcast lies and innuendo in hopes of garnering the stupid vote.

And wouldn't you have thought us getting this knowledge through the Internet would have made a difference? What a disappointment.