\o/

The news has been so depressing the last several months between Trump and everything else that I have been avoiding it lately for my sanity. XD

I'm much more concerned about what the replacement administration is going to be in the upcoming years rather than what specifically happens to Trump.

Personally, I'm finding the current situation extremely uplifting to my spirits. Call it karma, call it justice, call it what you will, but it's heading for the Don and he's not going to enjoy it one bit when it gets here. (Me, I'm ordering the giant-size bucket of popcorn! )

Unfortunately I can find no joy in the inevitable downfall of the would-be dick-tater and mobster-in-chief. His corruption was well documented even before the election, and the fact that there are a huge number of people susceptible to his cons and lies and that most Republicans were willing to sell their souls and throw their lot in with him in exchange for his promises to throw them some crumbs instead of standing up for what I would consider to be REAL American values is predictable but depressing.

Rampant corporate capitalist capture of the political system unfortunately didn't start with our current president and it won't end with him. Even after he's out of office, in the hoosegow or pardoned, we've got a long road ahead of us to try to undo the damage that he and his accomplices have done, let alone try to make progress on all of the things we should have been doing in the meantime...

And yeah, our current pres is a lot worse than Hillary would have been, but there's a long list of things that probably wouldn't have been any better under her either.

It's a struggle, and we certainly have our work cut out for us...

I'm totally there with you - Hillary would've made an excellent president (Sheesh, I mean secretary of state AND a 2-term US senator!), which is why the right wing spent 25-30 years trying to destroy her reputation.

However, she still was a corporate president at heart; in her defense though, you mentioned Trump supporters settling for crumbs; I really think she wanted to give the American people a slice or two instead of crumbs. (One of her last proposals during the campaign was requiring corporation to share their excess profits with their workers.)

You hit the nail on the head re corporate capitalism; we've been sold a bill of goods that corporations are our "friends" who deserve tax breaks and de-regulation. Capitalism is great - but it needs serious regulation to keep the greedy in line. It won't be an easy fight, that's for sure.

As I said, she would have been a lot better. She would probably have a more positive effect on social programs and climate change, for instance. But I don't think capitalism is great. It's destroying the planet and us with it. We need to start imagining and creating whatever will succeed it before it's too late. Hillary is completely gung-ho with the whole wall street and corporate capitalist agenda.

She is also a dangerous hawk, and would have continued the bloated and dangerous military agenda, including drone warfare, targeted extrajudicial assassination, and the continued over/ misuse of surveillance, just as Obama did, to name a few things...

Here's what I don't get about capitalism and climate change though. The first corporation that comes up with some manner of cost-effective solution to mitigate the worst effects of climate change, even if it's relatively small, is effectively going to rule the world. I would have thought free market conservatives would be all over that like a tramp on chips.

It seems obvious to me that there is a huge amount of money to inevitably be made in green economy related businesses. Certainly more than in coal, or ultimately fossil fuels as a whole, or even nuclear energy. Particularly when you factor in the subsidies and hidden environmental and health costs related to those industries, which is rarely done.

There are already cost-effective solutions being implemented, and there will only be more of those which will become more and more viable as the technology advances and as the climate situation continues to become increasingly dire.

Now is the time. We really can't be doing these things fast enough. Also don't forget that while governments and the public will be footing most of the bill there will also be big money to be made in climate mitigation related to rising sea levels and weather related catastrophes, as well as food and water crises likely to ensue.

It isn't just about money at this point, it's also about power and influence.

You bet. 'Cause that's what that kind of money can buy.

What does an imprisoned migrant family say in their Christmas card to Trump?

"Dear Donald - WISH YOU WERE HERE."

Ah yes, The Trumpsters; the wacky, monstrous sitcom family that resides at 1313 Smockinggun Lane.

Much thanks for the Christmas Card. I find this "outcome" one of the most uplifting events of the year. :)

Merry Christmas.

union busting and the corporatizing of retail were the death of real capitalism.
but even real capitalism, there are things it does well and things it does not.

the kind of infrastructure a country needs for people to be truly free, are one of those it does not.

and organized crime replacing organized government benefits no ideology then fascism.
does nothing to reduce the real costs of government, nor deregulate the private life of the individual.

and when socialism just means government doing its job, even real capitalism benefits from that.

government has two jobs which can earn its keep, and making war is not either one of them.
the well being of every person, place and thing, over which it claims sovereignty is one of them,
and the intersection of infrastructure and environment is the other.

Hear hear!

Wish I could confirm this quote I read quite a while ago, supposedly from H.G. Wells:

"By the end of the 20th century the world will be run by international gangsters."