us politics

Categories under us politics

Operation warped

Written By: - Date published: 9:05 am, December 20th, 2020 - 30 comments

Donald Trump has spent the past week stuffing up the vaccine roll out in some states, fighting attempts to cancel the Trump wall and blaming China for Russian hacks on American institutions and corporations.

Shock horror, trickle down does not work

Written By: - Date published: 7:31 am, December 18th, 2020 - 54 comments

In yet another study academics at the London School of Economics have concluded that trickle down leads to higher income inequality but do not have any significant effect on economic growth or unemployment.

Nanaia Mahuta – Peacebroker

Written By: - Date published: 6:07 pm, December 16th, 2020 - 22 comments

“Do I believe that there might be an opportunity for New Zealand to create a different environment and have a conversation? Yes, I do.” Nanaia Mahuta told Reuters on Tuesday the country would be willing to help negotiate a truce between neighbouring Australia and regional heavyweight China, who are caught in an escalating trade and diplomatic spat. Great idea.

Trump loses the presidency, but Trumpism lives on

Written By: - Date published: 12:30 am, November 19th, 2020 - 8 comments

The reality is that the United States is a poor example of a functioning democracy in 2020.

Trump’s chances of winning the Presidential Election through legal action

Written By: - Date published: 9:05 am, November 18th, 2020 - 19 comments

To win the Presidential Election Donald Trump has to win multiple legal challenges in multiple states.  So far his cases have not gone very well.

The million MAGA muppet march

Written By: - Date published: 9:33 am, November 16th, 2020 - 37 comments

America is in some trouble.  Covid19 is surging.  The third wave is hitting hard.  Suddenly 100,000 daily new infections is not a scary possibility, 200,000 is.  And a group of Americans have been persuaded that Trump has had the election stolen off him.

Some men just want to see the World burn

Written By: - Date published: 8:24 am, November 12th, 2020 - 58 comments

Normally when you lose an election you say nice things about the winner and make way for them. But is Trump doing this in the US of A? No sirree. From refusing Biden transition resources to instructing officials not to cooperate with Biden’s team to mass sackings of Defense officials to various failed cases Trump is obstructing the transition every step of the way.

What should the left make of the US election result?

Written By: - Date published: 7:43 am, November 10th, 2020 - 76 comments

Now the dust is settling on the US election result the one question I have is why was it even close?

Lawyers, guns and money

Written By: - Date published: 8:05 am, November 9th, 2020 - 51 comments

Over in the United States of America the country is descending into chaos. But so far the farcical type of chaos as opposed to the violent type of chaos and this is a good thing.

Donald Trump’s letter to Joe Biden

Written By: - Date published: 8:53 am, November 8th, 2020 - 19 comments

It is customary for outgoing Presidents to leave for the incoming President a short letter of introduction. The Standard has managed to obtain a early draft copy of Donald Trump’s letter to Joe Biden drafted while he was playing golf.

President Biden and Vice President Harris.

Written By: - Date published: 6:54 am, November 8th, 2020 - 92 comments

At last. All of the main US media organisations have now called the election for for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris with Pennsylvania. The eventual electoral college vote looks to be over 300 – well above the 270 required as Arizona and Nevada are called. It looks like Georgia will wind up the same way.

If Biden wins, then what?

Written By: - Date published: 11:29 am, November 7th, 2020 - 39 comments

I hope that I am not tempting fate by saying this but a Biden presidency seems almost inevitable. But presuming he prevails the transition is going to be one of the most difficult and most important in America’s history.

This is how you do it America

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, November 7th, 2020 - 79 comments

Day four of the US election (general discussion thread).

US Election day three

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, November 6th, 2020 - 38 comments

General discussion thread for the US election.

US election 2020: the morning after

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, November 5th, 2020 - 155 comments

General discussion thread for the US election.

Updated at 0651

US Election 2020

Written By: - Date published: 6:36 pm, November 3rd, 2020 - 137 comments

General discussion page for the US Elections 2020.

On the US election.

Written By: - Date published: 9:42 am, October 30th, 2020 - 30 comments

This year forecasting the U.S. election has an interesting additional element, with Trump and the Republican Party gearing up to steal the election if it is not a landslide for their opponents. It is going to be difficult with Joe Biden currently estimated at a 89% probability of winning the electoral college.

Justice Coney Barrett appears to be a climate change denier

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, October 28th, 2020 - 10 comments

Newly appointed Republican and Trump supported Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett is not convinced that humans are changing the world’s climate.  Meanwhile China and Japan are convinced and have announced dates by which time they intend to be carbon neutral.

Melbourne gets on top of Covid

Written By: - Date published: 8:36 am, October 27th, 2020 - 15 comments

Yesterday the city of Melbourne recorded its first day of no new reported covid infections in nearly five months. At the same time in America the White House has effectively said that control is too difficult and that it is giving up.

The Trump Biden debate

Written By: - Date published: 2:02 pm, October 23rd, 2020 - 21 comments

Discussion post for this afternoon’s live US Presidential debate.

The Trump Covid game

Written By: - Date published: 2:17 pm, October 6th, 2020 - 10 comments

Let’s imagine a scenario where you are the President of the United States and it is in the middle of a pandemic.  You then contract the virus yourself.  How would you rate compared to Donald Trump?

New Zealand, Biden, Trump, and Australia

Written By: - Date published: 3:47 pm, October 5th, 2020 - 6 comments

If Donald Trump is re-elected in 30 days’ time, he will be vindicated and emboldened.  What will the implications be for New Zealand?

Trump’s not so bad: the holding our breath edition

Written By: - Date published: 11:17 am, October 4th, 2020 - 79 comments

An occasional series

Why Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Death Matters Here

Written By: - Date published: 8:28 am, September 20th, 2020 - 27 comments

RBG’s death was an important event for women here because it happened on the anniversary of Women’s Suffrage Day 126 years ago.  On this day in New Zealand we celebrate women being able to vote, the women who won further victories of political liberation, and many got together to recount our female heroes enabled by that right and all those rights that followed.

Assange’s torture and the death of journalism

Written By: - Date published: 9:28 pm, September 6th, 2020 - 60 comments

On the eve of Assange’s extradition hearing in London, award-winning freelancer Jonathan Cook has written a scathing indictment of corporate journalism’s collusion in ignoring his official torture. I posted an example of that here last year, where Richard Harman denied Assange was a journalist at a panel convened at Parliament by the British High Commissioner.

Hitting the political spot

Written By: - Date published: 9:20 am, September 3rd, 2020 - 20 comments

Markey accomplished what no Democrat or Republican had ever done: He defeated a Kennedy in Massachusetts.

What are the lessons here for lefties in New Zealand?

How Trump Has Changed New Zealand’s future

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, September 2nd, 2020 - 28 comments

Post Trump how is the world order looking?

US v China: new Cold War or new Opium War?

Written By: - Date published: 10:27 am, August 25th, 2020 - 23 comments

The Trump administration has declared war on China, and there is much speculation in the punditry as to whether or not this is a new Cold War similar to that waged post World War 2 against Russia. In my opinion, the 19th century Opium Wars may offer a more appropriate analogy, albeit with a likely different outcome.

Is New Zealand or the United States the Covid cot case?

Written By: - Date published: 9:39 am, August 22nd, 2020 - 28 comments

This week Donald Trump has defended the US’s abysmal handling of Covid 19 by claiming that the disease is out of control in New Zealand.  And National’s rhetoric continues to match what he is saying.

What Might A Democratic Party-Dominated U.S. Foreign Policy Do?

Written By: - Date published: 1:02 pm, August 19th, 2020 - 24 comments

Inasmuch as tiny, distant New Zealand need worry about the foreign policy of the United States, it’s worth a drill into what a Democratic Party dominated United States foreign policy might look like.

Joe Biden’s Four Surprising Vectors for Success

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, August 14th, 2020 - 15 comments

He’s old, boring, uninspiring, and offends no-one: surely he’ll fail miserably as President? But he has a stronger chance than any Democrat President since LBJ of getting very strong domestic reforms done.

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