How Trump Happened Part 1 of Whatever

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

There are (were) two choices: Take the slow soft population fall by taking measures to reduce consumption, emissions, and population growth, or take the fast hard population fall by hitting our limit and crashing. This is how it works for every other species population on earth, yet we insist on pretending that it can't possibly be true for us.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I keep looking for a place to click to "like" Faust's posts. Damn Facebook.

[Prelate Diogenes Shandor]

I thought this essay was really insightful, and accurately explains why I don't feel any need to let these people into my living room.

http://forsetti.tumblr.com/post/153181757500/on-rural-america-understanding-isnt-the-problem

In deep red, white America, the white Christian God is king, figuratively and literally.  Religious fundamentalism is what has shaped most of their belief systems.  Systems built on a fundamentalist framework are not conducive for introspection, questioning, learning, change.  When you have a belief system that is built on fundamentalism, it isn't open to outside criticism, especially by anyone not a member of your tribe and in a position of power.  The problem isn't "coastal elites don't understand rural Americans."  The problem is rural America doesn't understand itself and will NEVER listen to anyone outside their bubble.  It doesn't matter how "understanding" you are, how well you listen, what language you use...if you are viewed as an outsider, your views are automatically discounted.  I've had hundreds of discussions with rural white Americans and whenever I present them any information that contradicts their entrenched beliefs, no matter how sound, how unquestionable, how obvious, they WILL NOT even entertain the possibility it might be true.

That's true of most people to varying extents, only the specific false idol changes - it's not always a religion, belief in anything will do - but the basic behavioral pattern remains the same.

Furthermore, I would ask you why it is ok to dismiss rural America like this, but apparently not the middle east, to which the same points regarding religious fundamentalism apply? If one is garbage then clearly they both must be.

EDIT:
Mark Twain on truth and belief

And when you know the man's religious complexion, you know what sort of religious books he reads when he wants some more light, and what sort of books he avoids, lest by accident he get more light than he wants. In America if you know which party-collar a voter wears, you know what his associations are, and how he came by his politics, and which breed of newspaper he reads to get light, and which breed he diligently avoids, and which breed of mass-meetings he attends in order to broaden his political knowledge, and which breed of mass-meetings he doesn't attend, except to refute its doctrines with brickbats. We are always hearing of people who are around seeking after truth. I have never seen a (permanent) specimen. I think he had never lived. But I have seen several entirely sincere people who thought they were (permanent) Seekers after Truth. They sought diligently, persistently, carefully, cautiously, profoundly, with perfect honesty and nicely adjusted judgment—until they believed that without doubt or question they had found the Truth. That was the end of the search. The man spent the rest of his life hunting up shingles wherewith to protect his Truth from the weather. If he was seeking after political Truth he found it in one or another of the hundred political gospels which govern men in the earth; if he was seeking after the Only True Religion he found it in one or another of the three thousand that are on the market. In any case, when he found the Truth he sought no further; but from that day forth, with his soldering-iron in one hand and his bludgeon in the other he tinkered its leaks and reasoned with objectors. There have been innumerable Temporary Seekers of Truth—have you ever heard of a permanent one? In the very nature of man such a person is impossible.

[Genghis Khan]

The wall is now a fence and the beaners arent going to be deported, he also already placed a chosen one to work for him, this election was made only to release the pressure of the burguers so they dont revolt, democracy is a meme.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

The wall is now a fence and the beaners arent going to be deported, he also already placed a chosen one to work for him, this election was made only to release the pressure of the burguers so they dont revolt, democracy is a meme.

I am going to leave this post exactly as it is, without comment.  As I feel commentary can only ruin the effect.

[The Wizard Joseph]

The wall is now a fence and the beaners arent going to be deported, he also already placed a chosen one to work for him, this election was made only to release the pressure of the burguers so they dont revolt, democracy is a meme.

I am going to leave this post exactly as it is, without comment.  As I feel commentary can only ruin the effect.

 

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

That's a perfect note for this thread to end on.

[Hagtard Celine Dion Mustard]

 

[Prelate Diogenes Shandor]

At any rate, this thread is predicated on a false premise. Most americans voted against him, and many of the votes for him were the result of Russian interference

[xXRon_Paul_42016Xxx(weed)]

At any rate, this thread is predicated on a false premise. Most americans voted against him,

And in a hypothetical scenario where the presidential election is decided by the popular vote this would matter. This has not been the case for the past 230 years.

and many of the votes for him were the result of Russian interference

[citation needed]

[Prelate Diogenes Shandor]

At any rate, this thread is predicated on a false premise. Most americans voted against him,

And in a hypothetical scenario where the presidential election is decided by the pop :horrormirth:ular vote this would matter. This has not been the case for the past 230 years.

Oh, he won the election alright, but the false premise of the thread is that he won over the american people (which he did not) and to a lesser extent that he was democratically elected (he wasn't)

He only won because we have an inherently defective and inherently gerrymandered election system as a result of a couple of long dead assholes pushing some pork barrel legislation over two centuries ago at the constitutional convention.

It's bad enough that we have the senate and that the districts for the house of representatives are arbitrarily made to not cross to state boundries, but this takes the cake.

(if it were up to me we'd have a completely non-regional senate and congressional districts would not be by state, just by whatever shape is necessary for each to give them all as close as possible to exactly the same number of voters, even if it crosses state lines or bisects a city)

[xXRon_Paul_42016Xxx(weed)]

Well at least youre consistent.