The Song Fight Bulletin Board

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.

I couldn't have said it better.

I'm dealing with it by focusing on shit I can control. I'm grabbing today by the throat.

You had just ONE job USA.....

Yeah today has been... emotional. Pretty much everyone called in sick at work FOR SOME REASON, and the few of us who came in felt really, really defeated all day.

I just had a nice gathering with some friends where we could commiserate and discuss and talk about the future and we're feeling a lot better. Guardedly optimistic, even. We're all more worried about what's happened to discourse and divisiveness and why we have a side that Must Be Right vs. a side that's trying to do what they think is best to accommodate everyone (without setting any sufficient priorities) and then there are just so many different factions that get more and more radicalized, all claiming that they're the only ones who know what's best for everyone.

What's keeping me going, though, is that I have plans and ambitions and friends and loved ones and we all want to help each other out and do what's right by each other, and it helps to live in Washington State which is mostly liberal (especially in Seattle) and even our Republicans are of the "personal freedom" sort and not the "meddle in everyone else's underpants" sort. Mostly. We do have some conservative no-trannies-in-bathrooms shitstains in our capitol, but our electorate makes damned sure that they know they can't get away with that.

What's really, really important is to make sure you vote in the midterm elections in 2 years. That's where we have our work cut out for ourselves and where we can make a huge difference in bringing balance back to at least one third of our federal government, and that third will help to ensure that the most important third (Judicial) doesn't swing too far. Scalia's old seat is already a lost cause (which is so freaking ridiculous don't even get me started on that Republican obstructionism, what a wonderful capstone to 8 years of compromises and missed opportunities) but, eh.

I don't think Trump will be a very effective leader. What scares the shit out of me is the prospect that he might end up getting impeached or assassinated or decide that real work is too hard and resign or whatever and then we have fucking Mike "Let's electrocute the gay away" Pence in charge. An ineffectual buffoon is an embarrassment, but Pence can do some real damage, and he knows how to do it.

I spent Friday through Tuesday of this week walking around Chester PA knocking on doors for the Democrats. Chester went for Hillary but obviously it wasn't enough to swing PA. (Here is a bit of info about Chester: http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/scenes-one-t ... ies#slide1 )

I'm with fluffy. They get no rest. We start now planning for midterms and in the meantime Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are going to make their fucking lives miserable on the Hill with support right outside the door from marches and protests.

Not enough people voted. If you live someplace where folks didn't vote because they weren't sure how, or because they didn't have the right ID, you can help make change for America in a very real way RIGHT NOW. That's not even assuming you're American-- we had a guy from Vancouver BC canvassing with us. No law says you gotta be a US Citizen to canvass.

Remember-- Hillary won the popular vote. The map is purple, shaded slightly towards the blue.

JB

jb wrote: Not enough people voted.

That amazes me. Did I read somewhere that voter turnout is only about 50%.
So at a rough guess - some 75% of Americans DIDN'T vote for Trump?
That is slightly reassuring.

jb wrote:Bernie Sanders

So - asking from a distance and position of relative ignorance about all this - do you think the result would have been significantly different if he had been the candidate?

The news all says that the Democrat heartland - white, blue-collar workers in the rustbelt - abandoned the Party. I get the impression that Sanders was a more traditional socialist - would he have been more appealing to the blue-collar workers? And I just read yesterday about the lady from Hawaii who was to be his running mate (can't remember name, but she seemed impressive). She appeared to have a military background - would that have reassured any "rustbelt" voters who may have been nervous about Sanders by associating 'socialism' with 'communism'?

Suffice to say, again from my position of relative ignorance - the choice of Clinton as a candidate seemed bizarre. Not to knock her - I have no doubt that she was probably an entirely capable and suitable candidate in principle - but for a year now we have been hearing that the Trump supporters wanted to smash the "establishment" Didn't a candidate with the surname "Clinton" play right into their hands?

I made a song trying to sort out my feelings about this election.


JB

Caravan Ray wrote:

jb wrote:Bernie Sanders

So - asking from a distance and position of relative ignorance about all this - do you think the result would have been significantly different if he had been the candidate?

Dunno. The racist rhetoric would have been aimed more directly at him. "He's too old" (though almost the same age as Trump and "He's Jewish" (but in coded language) and "He's a Socialist" (which for some reason is bad). Who knows how that would have affected the LESS THAN HALF of the electorate that voted for Trump.

She won the popular vote.

JB

I've said the same thing since I could vote, and that's that we need to throw away the stupid electoral college. Straight majority.

Anyway, the Republicans hate Hillary with a passion. Bernie might have been a less volatile option for those that didn't like Trump, but others would have disliked him for the reasons jb said. I just don't think many Rep voters could stomach voting for her especially.
-bill

Not enough Dems either.

I blame the Dems for putting up an unappealing candidate, the Reps for putting up a frankly disgusting candidate, and both parties for being a bunch of assholes... oh and this whole crap two-party system that leads me to feel like nobody represents me at all.
-bill

Not a Hillary fan, but my god. What have we done? And his cabinet choices? Free speech? Civil liberties? The environment? Europe? Asia? ISIS? Race? Oh, sure. He can bring the country and the world together. Hats off to him for two things: pulling it off (nightmare that it is) and for making George (should be rotting in prison) Bush look good.

HeuristicsInc wrote:I blame the Dems for putting up an unappealing candidate, the Reps for putting up a frankly disgusting candidate, and both parties for being a bunch of assholes... oh and this whole crap two-party system that leads me to feel like nobody represents me at all.
-bill

Yes. While the Australian electoral system is far from perfect - thank goodness we do have preferential voting. So, when faced with a choice between Dumb and Dumber - we can vote for a better alternative candidate, safe in the knowledge that should our preferred candidate not get up, then our preferences will allow that vote to eventually flow to Dumb, and not split the vote making things easier for Dumber to get elected (while also sending a message to Dumb and Dumber that they are both on the nose).

Oh...and compulsory voting too. Can't see Americans ever getting on board with that one - but with only 50% voter turn out, one would expect that by forcing the other 50% to get off their arses and vote too, then the results may have been significantly different.

Crosspost of a protest song that was born out of a fight entry. But the title turned out to be something else, so here it is outside the fight.

JB those songs are great, and I think you should have submitted "There Are More Of Us Than You" to the fight. It includes the "do you have a plan" lyric, and it was "born out of a fight entry", so it should be fair game.

To distract myself from recent political disasters I have been listening to this 12-year-old, completely unrelated song recently:

http://www.songfight.org/music/red_skat ... zle_rs.mp3