This time next year, President Trump moves back into the Whitehouse...

[Screwdriver]

93% of abortions are performed in the first trimester (80% in the first 9 weeks). Only 1% are performed after 21 weeks and the 2 main reasons appear to be not being to get an abortion earlier or foetal abnormality.

https://www.kff.org/womens-health-polic ... ions-occur
https://www.kff.org/womens-health-polic ... dobbs-era/

That's not my question though is it. I appreciate the reality and practicalities of the situation but what is the law?

The opposite is also true,. Trump isn't saying babies are being murdered after birth as a matter of routine. I think there are two issues: 1. there is no limit so the idea of terminating a 9 month "foetus" is technically allowed 2. some abortions are unsuccessful in that a live foetus is recovered and then terminated

America is also a gigantic country, about the same size as the whole of Europe. Therefore one can suggest there are as many differences in social preferences within the states of the USA as there are between Spain, Ukraine, Scotland...

Therefore having the individual states decide on things like abortion rather than by blanket universal federal diktat is I think the preferred option. That in a nutshell is what Trump is suggesting.

[Count Steer]

"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that." George Carlin

My guess is that intelligent people have already made up their minds how to vote. So the important question is: who won the debate in the opinion of stupid people?

Or, to put it another way - My guess is that unthinking people have already made up their minds how to vote. So the important question is: who won the debate in the opinion of thoughtful people?

Why would people who want to consider the options (particularly in the USA where one candidate hasn't been in the running very long) be regarded as 'stupid'? Surely, the 'core' voters that won't shift whatever happens aren't as thoughtful as those that actually consider the options.

I guess, from the TV 'debate' Trump was playing to his base most of the time and Harris might feel the need to try and pivot some as well as appeal to the undecided.

The other angle is actually getting people out to vote, whether they're lazy, don't think it'll make any difference or dim is another question entirely I imagine.

[DefTrap]

I watched a post-debate inteview with a group of fairly sentient on-the-fence voters and it was interesting to see that they'd actually already made their minds up on policy and therefore were really only looking to their preferred candidate's debate performance to justify that decision. Although none of them banged on about what a swizz it was and blethered on about the awful biased fact-checking, nor were they enraged by Harris's insistence on baby-killing, nor Trump's insistence that immigrants are eating patriotic pets - funny that.

As far as performances go, Trump was looking forward to some nice easy spars with Biden - he made hard work of it with Harris.

[wheelnut]

Or, to put it another way - My guess is that unthinking people have already made up their minds how to vote. So the important question is: who won the debate in the opinion of thoughtful people?

Why would people who want to consider the options (particularly in the USA where one candidate hasn't been in the running very long) be regarded as 'stupid'? Surely, the 'core' voters that won't shift whatever happens aren't as thoughtful as those that actually consider the options.

I guess, from the TV 'debate' Trump was playing to his base most of the time and Harris might feel the need to try and pivot some as well as appeal to the undecided.

The other angle is actually getting people out to vote, whether they're lazy, don't think it'll make any difference or dim is another question entirely I imagine.

I suspect this election will come down to the votes of a few 10s of thousands of people in a couple of states.

Trump will,always play to his base. It will help reinforce his own vote but won’t necessarily entice any more to vote for him.

I thought the trump assassination attempt would seal it for him but it seems to have made no real difference to the polls. I now think the same will happen for Harris and the debate; a temp bump in her poll results.

For Harris to win I think she needs to put herself out there a lot more and get in front of people, especially the young and recently eligible, simply not being Trump won’t be enough I don’t think. It’s also a double edged sword as she does have some perceived weaknesses. Polls have been known to be wildly wrong in the past but I think it’s going to be very close.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Debating like this in general always strikes me as a bit daft.

Not really sure how your ability to verbally spar with someone and make a cutting comeback relates to your ability to run a country in a considered fashion.

Americans love a debate though and they love arguing stuff with preprepared sound bites. Surprised it hasn't all moved on to reaction gifs and memes by now. Might be interesting when the Millennial candidates come along in a decade or so.

[Yambo]

I wonder if the USA is ready for a female president and if they are, is Harris the right one?

I've not heard much good said about her tbh and from what I've seen I don't think I'd want her as a CEO of a large organisation, let alonethe country. Of course, she'll have plenty of advisors around her but then you'd have to wonder who's in charge.

I suspect she's not really cut out for the highest office in the land.

As for Trump, I don't think he's suitable for the highest office in the land either.

[mangocrazy]

I don't believe Trump is suitable to run a charity shop, let alone the highest office in the Land of the Free...

[Taipan]

I still think Trump will do it. He's simply selling America to Americans with his MAGA chants an of course his shoo-in is, he pretty much is the American dream. Where as Harris is only offering to put right what her party has already got wrong and like every exiting party, her claims are undermined by the previous few years. That said, BoJo stormed it when faced with the same problem...

[Bwana]

Somewhere in Tennessee....

An indictment filed Wednesday alleges a media company linked to six conservative influencers — including well-known personalities Tim Pool, Dave Rubin and Benny Johnson — was secretly funded by Russian state media employees to churn out English-language videos that were “often consistent” with the Kremlin’s “interest in amplifying U.S. domestic divisions in order to weaken U.S. opposition” to Russian interests, like its war in Ukraine.

AP news article

Is that like the briefcase being Russian disinformation?

What briefcase is that?

[Tricky]

I still think Trump will do it. He's simply selling America to Americans with his MAGA chants an of course his shoo-in is, he pretty much is the American dream. Where as Harris is only offering to put right what her party has already got wrong and like every exiting party, her claims are undermined by the previous few years. That said, BoJo stormed it when faced with the same problem...

I'm not so sure any more- there are an awful lot of Swifties out there.....

[Bwana]

Trump ... he pretty much is the American dream.

Really? To be born into wealth, make a complete arse of yourself on the world stage,, suck off a couple of dictators, tank 3 casinos, get done for having a scam of a university, fuck off with charity cash and get done for it, build and sink an airline and a football league? Yeah, sign me right up for that dream.

[Bwana]

It’s amazing how blatant he is with it.

‘We are aborting babies at 9 months and even killing newly born babies’*

‘No, Mr Trump, we don’t execute new born babies in this country.



* from memory so may not be verbatim

Well since Kamala didn't answer, exactly where do they draw the line?

7 months? 8 months? 9 months?

Genuine question btw, I am assuming there is a line somewhere during a viable pregnancy.

93% of abortions are performed in the first trimester (80% in the first 9 weeks). Only 1% are performed after 21 weeks and the 2 main reasons appear to be not being to get an abortion earlier or foetal abnormality.

https://www.kff.org/womens-health-polic ... ions-occur
https://www.kff.org/womens-health-polic ... dobbs-era/

Reality doesn't matter when you want to fear monger. Where do you draw the line is a pointless question that is clearly answered in the stats. Just a wee bit below 99% are done before 20 weeks. The number done after 30 weeks approaches zero. Late term abortions are always a matter of maternal health or fetal anomaly. Reinstating Roe as the law of the land was her answer.

The only "fact checking" that took place during the debate covered 3 patently obvious porkers. The pet eating, uncontrolled rising crime, and killing babies after they're born. All previously debunked dumptruck full of shit level lies. The moderators didn't fact check either candidate, that came in the days following and both of them were fact checked. If there was fact checking during the debate, the debate would still be taking place today as there were so many factually inaccurate statements to address.

I dunno about anyone winning the debate, but Trump was the clear loser. He simply can't avoid rising to bait and vomiting out a shit ton of lies in the process. Blaming the refs, the pure and simple spoiled brat rich boy means of avoiding responsibility for his own failures. TDS looks to be what keeps his base in the cult.

[demographic]

Trump ... he pretty much is the American dream.

Really? To be born into wealth, make a complete arse of yourself on the world stage,, suck off a couple of dictators, tank 3 casinos, get done for having a scam of a university, fuck off with charity cash and get done for it, build and sink an airline and a football league? Yeah, sign me right up for that dream.

Don't forget the(convicted) rapey bits, the alledged adult nappies and the photos of the Epstien island connections.

Personally I reckon a.lot of Americans can and do aim higher.

[ZRX61]

Well since Kamala didn't answer, exactly where do they draw the line?

7 months? 8 months? 9 months?

Genuine question btw, I am assuming there is a line somewhere during a viable pregnancy.

Democrats refuse to answer on where they would draw the line as that would make them appear to be pro-life in the eyes of the absolute fucking idiots* who vote for them.. which in turn gives the GOP the opportunity to state that Democrats support abortion up to birth... which fires up the absolute fucking idiots* who vote Republican. The ONLY politician who is willing to take the middle ground is Trump.

* The morons who vote based solely on that one issue.

[Taipan]

Trump ... he pretty much is the American dream.

Really? To be born into wealth, make a complete arse of yourself on the world stage,, suck off a couple of dictators, tank 3 casinos, get done for having a scam of a university, fuck off with charity cash and get done for it, build and sink an airline and a football league? Yeah, sign me right up for that dream.

Lol, well if youre a hater he isnt, but to a large amount of your fellow countryman he represents it!

[demographic]

Trump ... he pretty much is the American dream.

Really? To be born into wealth, make a complete arse of yourself on the world stage,, suck off a couple of dictators, tank 3 casinos, get done for having a scam of a university, fuck off with charity cash and get done for it, build and sink an airline and a football league? Yeah, sign me right up for that dream.

Lol, well if youre a hater he isnt, but to a large amount of your fellow countryman he represents it!

So, how are you with the convicted rapist and Epstien buddy part?
Can't say I'm a fan of Clinton now its obvious he was a regular on Epstiens island.

Hows about your own personal feelings on the matter?

[Bwana]

Trump ... he pretty much is the American dream.

Really? To be born into wealth, make a complete arse of yourself on the world stage,, suck off a couple of dictators, tank 3 casinos, get done for having a scam of a university, fuck off with charity cash and get done for it, build and sink an airline and a football league? Yeah, sign me right up for that dream.

Lol, well if youre a hater he isnt, but to a large amount of your fellow countryman he represents it!

Seriously, I have yet to meet an individual born into wealth that wasn't a raging arsehole. Not that I've met them all, so there's hope. I I do enjoy how he's yapping about these pet eaters and there's not a bit of truth to it. He's like a dog with a bone with these little fables. I suppose that the pet eating Haitians has bumped the late great Hannibal Lecter to the side. Rumor has it that Melania has also been bumped aside by Laura Loomer.

[Bwana]

Really? To be born into wealth, make a complete arse of yourself on the world stage,, suck off a couple of dictators, tank 3 casinos, get done for having a scam of a university, fuck off with charity cash and get done for it, build and sink an airline and a football league? Yeah, sign me right up for that dream.

Lol, well if youre a hater he isnt, but to a large amount of your fellow countryman he represents it!

So, how are you with the convicted rapist and Epstien buddy part?
Can't say I'm a fan of Clinton now its obvious he was a regular on Epstiens island.

Hows about your own personal feelings on the matter?

Trump is quite the gem, isn't he. When Dick, W's brain, Cheney, the conservative's conservative, endorses a Democrat rather than support the Republican candidate, hell is about to freeze over. There's a gaggle of former members of his inner circle that have come out stating that Trump is unfit for the office. Four star general Mark Milley has come out against him.

He does have the endorsement of RFK jr. Now there's an interesting character.




Honestly, the current Republican party is loaded with characters that could fit neatly into a Carl Hiassen novel.

[Screwdriver]

So, how are you with the convicted rapist and Epstien buddy part?

Who is the convicted rapist??

...and are there any high profile celebrities that gave never been photographed with Epstein?

BTW you realise Epstein was a deep state asset for the intelligence community. The only question really being which state (USA or Israel).

Another interesting question regarding Epstein is where did he make his money. There's no record of his being a big player in the markets and coincidentally, no record for what happened to Maxwells fortune remembering Epsteins unmurdered partner in crime was Ghislane Maxwell...

[Mr. Dazzle]

Trumpy hitting the big issues on his fake twitter platform