Another Drive4show 'Anything goes' thread

[super_realist]

First topic message reminder :

Will Alec Baldwin go to jail for the manslaughter of that lady on the filmset under American law or is it considered an industrial accident?

Doesnt seem like he's in trouble just yet. How do you kill someone with a prop gun that fires blanks?

Edit: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/prop-gun-using-blanks-still-052227936.html

"As for the question of criminal responsibility, that’s for law enforcement to investigate. But it must be noted that in the vast majority of cases, the person who pulled the trigger wasn’t remotely at fault. They were handed a prop and assured it would function normally — and it didn’t."

Guns dont kill people, rappers do.

[Duty281]

I miss Trump. He was a fine President after the terrible Obama years, and now America have got Joe Biden, a man who makes Trump seem articulate. But you don't hear much about Biden's more 'interesting' comments because the mainstream media (the real enemy) don't like reporting on it as much as they did with Trump.

And now you see Biden's approval ratings tanking very quickly, and inflation set to rise rapidly. His Presidency has been an utter disaster, he's even handling Covid worse than Trump did, which is quite something.

The mainstream media and the woeful American, two-party, electoral system has created this mess.

[super_realist]

The loony left, the Msm, its all gone a bit Trumpy in here.

Are you denying a lot of the left, especially the far left absolutely worship the NHS?

[beninho]

I miss Trump. He was a fine President after the terrible Obama years, and now America have got Joe Biden, a man who makes Trump seem articulate. But you don't hear much about Biden's more 'interesting' comments because the mainstream media (the real enemy) don't like reporting on it as much as they did with Trump.

And now you see Biden's approval ratings tanking very quickly, and inflation set to rise rapidly. His Presidency has been an utter disaster, he's even handling Covid worse than Trump did, which is quite something.

The mainstream media and the woeful American, two-party, electoral system has created this mess.

Is this a parody?

[beninho]

The loony left, the Msm, its all gone a bit Trumpy in here.

Are you denying a lot of the left, especially the far left absolutely worship the NHS?

I honestly don't know, I do think I have the same level as interest in the NHS and its detractors and cheerleaders as much as you. I've had some frustrating times with the NHS, but they were pretty good at times when needed. Could it be better, probably, could it be worse, probably.

[JuliusHMarx]

I miss Trump. He was a fine President after the terrible Obama years, and now America have got Joe Biden, a man who makes Trump seem articulate. But you don't hear much about Biden's more 'interesting' comments because the mainstream media (the real enemy) don't like reporting on it as much as they did with Trump.

And now you see Biden's approval ratings tanking very quickly, and inflation set to rise rapidly. His Presidency has been an utter disaster, he's even handling Covid worse than Trump did, which is quite something.

The mainstream media and the woeful American, two-party, electoral system has created this mess.

Is this a parody?

No, Duty likes Trump. I'm not sure if it's the sexism, the racism, the fear-stoking, the narcissism, the inflated ego, the populism, the ability to create division rather than consensus, the lying, the extra-marital affairs, or a combination of all those, but Duty is a fan.

[Duty281]

I miss Trump. He was a fine President after the terrible Obama years, and now America have got Joe Biden, a man who makes Trump seem articulate. But you don't hear much about Biden's more 'interesting' comments because the mainstream media (the real enemy) don't like reporting on it as much as they did with Trump.

And now you see Biden's approval ratings tanking very quickly, and inflation set to rise rapidly. His Presidency has been an utter disaster, he's even handling Covid worse than Trump did, which is quite something.

The mainstream media and the woeful American, two-party, electoral system has created this mess.

Is this a parody?

No, Trump was a good President. Joe 'I love kids jumping on my lap' Biden is a poor second. But there was no alternative to Biden in the crooked two-party system if you wanted Trump out.

[Duty281]

I miss Trump. He was a fine President after the terrible Obama years, and now America have got Joe Biden, a man who makes Trump seem articulate. But you don't hear much about Biden's more 'interesting' comments because the mainstream media (the real enemy) don't like reporting on it as much as they did with Trump.

And now you see Biden's approval ratings tanking very quickly, and inflation set to rise rapidly. His Presidency has been an utter disaster, he's even handling Covid worse than Trump did, which is quite something.

The mainstream media and the woeful American, two-party, electoral system has created this mess.

Is this a parody?

No, Duty likes Trump. I'm not sure if it's the sexism, the racism, the fear-stoking, the narcissism, the inflated ego, the populism, the ability to create division rather than consensus, the lying, the extra-marital affairs, or a combination of all those, but Duty is a fan.

I wouldn't quite go as far as a 'fan', but I'll always think fondly of Trump for stopping that awful woman becoming President. And his election rallies were always fun to watch.

[beninho]

I miss Trump. He was a fine President after the terrible Obama years, and now America have got Joe Biden, a man who makes Trump seem articulate. But you don't hear much about Biden's more 'interesting' comments because the mainstream media (the real enemy) don't like reporting on it as much as they did with Trump.

And now you see Biden's approval ratings tanking very quickly, and inflation set to rise rapidly. His Presidency has been an utter disaster, he's even handling Covid worse than Trump did, which is quite something.

The mainstream media and the woeful American, two-party, electoral system has created this mess.

Is this a parody?

No, Trump was a good President. Joe 'I love kids jumping on my lap' Biden is a poor second. But there was no alternative to Biden in the crooked two-party system if you wanted Trump out.

Definitely a parody account.

[JuliusHMarx]

I miss Trump. He was a fine President after the terrible Obama years, and now America have got Joe Biden, a man who makes Trump seem articulate. But you don't hear much about Biden's more 'interesting' comments because the mainstream media (the real enemy) don't like reporting on it as much as they did with Trump.

And now you see Biden's approval ratings tanking very quickly, and inflation set to rise rapidly. His Presidency has been an utter disaster, he's even handling Covid worse than Trump did, which is quite something.

The mainstream media and the woeful American, two-party, electoral system has created this mess.

Is this a parody?

No, Trump was a good President. Joe 'I love kids jumping on my lap' Biden is a poor second. But there was no alternative to Biden in the crooked two-party system if you wanted Trump out.

To be fair to Trump, he did try to dismantle the two party system - by trying to install himself as the leader of a one party state. Unfortunately in so doing he repeated blatant lies that led to millions of (dumb) Americans to lose faith in their own democracy. Some were even emboldened to attempt an armed insurrection. But maybe you think that's the sign of a good President.

[pedro]

deleted

[pedro]

I miss Trump. He was a fine President after the terrible Obama years, and now America have got Joe Biden, a man who makes Trump seem articulate. But you don't hear much about Biden's more 'interesting' comments because the mainstream media (the real enemy) don't like reporting on it as much as they did with Trump.

And now you see Biden's approval ratings tanking very quickly, and inflation set to rise rapidly. His Presidency has been an utter disaster, he's even handling Covid worse than Trump did, which is quite something.

The mainstream media and the woeful American, two-party, electoral system has created this mess.

Is this a parody?

No, Duty likes Trump. I'm not sure if it's the sexism, the racism, the fear-stoking, the narcissism, the inflated ego, the populism, the ability to create division rather than consensus, the lying, the extra-marital affairs, or a combination of all those, but Duty is a fan.

Maybe it’s something you don’t bother to mention: his politics?
Regardless, 75m Americans seem to agree with duty.

[Duty281]

I miss Trump. He was a fine President after the terrible Obama years, and now America have got Joe Biden, a man who makes Trump seem articulate. But you don't hear much about Biden's more 'interesting' comments because the mainstream media (the real enemy) don't like reporting on it as much as they did with Trump.

And now you see Biden's approval ratings tanking very quickly, and inflation set to rise rapidly. His Presidency has been an utter disaster, he's even handling Covid worse than Trump did, which is quite something.

The mainstream media and the woeful American, two-party, electoral system has created this mess.

Is this a parody?

No, Trump was a good President. Joe 'I love kids jumping on my lap' Biden is a poor second. But there was no alternative to Biden in the crooked two-party system if you wanted Trump out.

To be fair to Trump, he did try to dismantle the two party system - by trying to install himself as the leader of a one party state. Unfortunately in so doing he repeated blatant lies that led to millions of (dumb) Americans to lose faith in their own democracy. Some were even emboldened to attempt an armed insurrection. But maybe you think that's the sign of a good President.

No, I think Trump's achievements in office were the sign of a good President. I disagree with Trump's idea that the election was 'stolen'; it was a wafer-thin election, the second closest in the last 100 years (by % of the vote in the key states that it was decided).

[JuliusHMarx]

I miss Trump. He was a fine President after the terrible Obama years, and now America have got Joe Biden, a man who makes Trump seem articulate. But you don't hear much about Biden's more 'interesting' comments because the mainstream media (the real enemy) don't like reporting on it as much as they did with Trump.

And now you see Biden's approval ratings tanking very quickly, and inflation set to rise rapidly. His Presidency has been an utter disaster, he's even handling Covid worse than Trump did, which is quite something.

The mainstream media and the woeful American, two-party, electoral system has created this mess.

Is this a parody?

No, Duty likes Trump. I'm not sure if it's the sexism, the racism, the fear-stoking, the narcissism, the inflated ego, the populism, the ability to create division rather than consensus, the lying, the extra-marital affairs, or a combination of all those, but Duty is a fan.

Maybe it’s something you don’t bother to mention: his politics?
Regardless, 75m Americans seem to agree with duty.

Either the Democrats or the Republicans could put a monkey up for President and still get millions of votes. I would have thought a good President would get re-elected fairly easily, rather than losing the House, the Senate and the Presidency in the space of four years.

[JuliusHMarx]

I miss Trump. He was a fine President after the terrible Obama years, and now America have got Joe Biden, a man who makes Trump seem articulate. But you don't hear much about Biden's more 'interesting' comments because the mainstream media (the real enemy) don't like reporting on it as much as they did with Trump.

And now you see Biden's approval ratings tanking very quickly, and inflation set to rise rapidly. His Presidency has been an utter disaster, he's even handling Covid worse than Trump did, which is quite something.

The mainstream media and the woeful American, two-party, electoral system has created this mess.

Is this a parody?

No, Trump was a good President. Joe 'I love kids jumping on my lap' Biden is a poor second. But there was no alternative to Biden in the crooked two-party system if you wanted Trump out.

To be fair to Trump, he did try to dismantle the two party system - by trying to install himself as the leader of a one party state. Unfortunately in so doing he repeated blatant lies that led to millions of (dumb) Americans to lose faith in their own democracy. Some were even emboldened to attempt an armed insurrection. But maybe you think that's the sign of a good President.

No, I think Trump's achievements in office were the sign of a good President. I disagree with Trump's idea that the election was 'stolen'; it was a wafer-thin election, the second closest in the last 100 years (by % of the vote in the key states that it was decided).

Does that mean it wasn't the second closest in the last 100 years by several other measures?

[Duty281]

I miss Trump. He was a fine President after the terrible Obama years, and now America have got Joe Biden, a man who makes Trump seem articulate. But you don't hear much about Biden's more 'interesting' comments because the mainstream media (the real enemy) don't like reporting on it as much as they did with Trump.

And now you see Biden's approval ratings tanking very quickly, and inflation set to rise rapidly. His Presidency has been an utter disaster, he's even handling Covid worse than Trump did, which is quite something.

The mainstream media and the woeful American, two-party, electoral system has created this mess.

Is this a parody?

No, Trump was a good President. Joe 'I love kids jumping on my lap' Biden is a poor second. But there was no alternative to Biden in the crooked two-party system if you wanted Trump out.

To be fair to Trump, he did try to dismantle the two party system - by trying to install himself as the leader of a one party state. Unfortunately in so doing he repeated blatant lies that led to millions of (dumb) Americans to lose faith in their own democracy. Some were even emboldened to attempt an armed insurrection. But maybe you think that's the sign of a good President.

No, I think Trump's achievements in office were the sign of a good President. I disagree with Trump's idea that the election was 'stolen'; it was a wafer-thin election, the second closest in the last 100 years (by % of the vote in the key states that it was decided).

Does that mean it wasn't the second closest in the last 100 years by several other measures?

It's second closest by the number of votes as a % of the total. It's the most reliable indicator of how close it was.

So the 2000 election was decided by a margin of 500 votes. 1960 was decided by 40k votes. 1976 was decided by 25k votes. 2020 was decided by 41k votes. As 2020 had just over double the number of votes of 1960/1976, that makes it closer as a % than those two, but not as close as 2000.

Of course a quirk of the electoral college is that one candidate could win 538-0, but only win by fifty votes.

[Duty281]

I miss Trump. He was a fine President after the terrible Obama years, and now America have got Joe Biden, a man who makes Trump seem articulate. But you don't hear much about Biden's more 'interesting' comments because the mainstream media (the real enemy) don't like reporting on it as much as they did with Trump.

And now you see Biden's approval ratings tanking very quickly, and inflation set to rise rapidly. His Presidency has been an utter disaster, he's even handling Covid worse than Trump did, which is quite something.

The mainstream media and the woeful American, two-party, electoral system has created this mess.

Is this a parody?

No, Duty likes Trump. I'm not sure if it's the sexism, the racism, the fear-stoking, the narcissism, the inflated ego, the populism, the ability to create division rather than consensus, the lying, the extra-marital affairs, or a combination of all those, but Duty is a fan.

Maybe it’s something you don’t bother to mention: his politics?
Regardless, 75m Americans seem to agree with duty.

Either the Democrats or the Republicans could put a monkey up for President and still get millions of votes. I would have thought a good President would get re-elected fairly easily, rather than losing the House, the Senate and the Presidency in the space of four years.

Would have happened without Covid, of course. And Biden spent a lot more than Trump. I think that Trump's victory over Clinton in 2016 is the only time in post WW2 history that a Presidential candidate has spent the least out of the two main competitors and won.

Plus, the Republicans didn't lose the Senate in 2020.

I agree with your first sentence. It's why Biden is so unpopular and why the American system is even more broken than ours. If you wanted Trump out, Biden was your only choice. Millions had to hold their nose to vote for him. It's a terrible system, just as bad as the French system.

[JuliusHMarx]

So he completely screwed up the response to the biggest health crisis in however long and created huge and lasting damage to an already faltering democracy and you still rate him as 'good'.

[Duty281]

So he completely screwed up the response to the biggest health crisis in however long and created huge and lasting damage to an already faltering democracy and you still rate him as 'good'.

I disagree that he 'completely screwed up' the response to Covid. The early travel bans, the food assistance given, and the vaccine program (Operation Warp Speed) were successful and his administration deserves credit for those things.

I do think his actions were appalling towards the end of his Presidency.

But, due to his many achievements in office, I'd still say he was a good President.

[super_realist]

The loony left, the Msm, its all gone a bit Trumpy in here.

Are you denying a lot of the left, especially the far left absolutely worship the NHS?

I honestly don't know, I do think I have the same level as interest in the NHS and its detractors and cheerleaders as much as you. I've had some frustrating times with the NHS, but they were pretty good at times when needed. Could it be better, probably, could it be worse, probably.  

"Could be better, could be worse" is exactly the attitude as to why we dont have a British car industry anymore.

Its not exactly the sort of strap line you want about your health service.
"Come to the NHS, we're bang average"

The NHS is a noble concept, executed poorly and we should stop treating it like a sacred cow and reform it.

[beninho]

I'm sure if soneone can cone up for a way to reform the NHS and show it would be better for the vast majority of people, then I doubt people will have an issue. I've not seen anything from the Conservative government of the last 11 years that have done that.

I dont raising taxes being popular, though isn't this what they have done with the NI surcharge thing? But Conservative governments aren't keen on tax rises normally anyway.

I cant see the public being interested on further payments to be made on top of the taxes they already pay.

It has to be sonething that benefits the vast majority of people.

[beninho]

Just looked at Germany, they pay 7.5% from salary into healthcare, with employers topping up another 7.5%. And also have higher tax bands. Love to see how that would be sold in the uk!

[Pal Joey]

Here in Oz, it's a 2% Medicare levy or about $75/month (£40/month) for a $90,000 (£48,400) salary earner.

Then the Government spends around 17% of tax revenue or around $100 billion a year on healthcare. This has/is increased with Covid, so just over half a trillion ($503b) over the next 4 years which is about £270b in your money.

Adjusting for population... multiply by 2.65. So that equates to a £720b spend over 4 years or a £180b/year health spend in the UK?  
Not sure if it's as clean cut as that though. Different countries; different factors at play of course.

[super_realist]

Just looked at Germany, they pay 7.5% from salary into healthcare, with employers topping up another 7.5%. And also have higher tax bands.  Love to see how that would be sold in the uk!

Ben, you alreasy pay 21.9% of your income tax to the NHS. This equates to over 5% of your income anyway. Who wouldn't pay an extra 2.5% for a German level of healthcare?

If you dont want to pay, people should stop complaining about it being underfunded

[super_realist]

I'm sure if soneone can cone up for a way to reform the NHS and show it would be better for the vast majority of people, then I doubt people will have an issue. I've not seen anything from the Conservative government of the last 11 years that have done that.

I dont raising taxes being popular, though isn't this what they have done with the NI surcharge thing? But Conservative governments aren't keen on tax rises  normally anyway.

I cant see the public being interested on further payments to be made on top of the taxes they already pay.

It has to be sonething that benefits the vast majority of people.

How about making the NHS a bit more efficient. 50% of the budget is spent on non clinical things. Imagine decreasing that by 5%?

Thats the trouble with state owned industries, they have no incentive to be efficient.

[dynamark]

Ben NI used to be called NHI -National health insurance-not that long ago on your pay packet in this country. We certainly put the money in its what we get out that needs a close look. Its huge and complex and major change would be a very brave move by a govt.

[beninho]

National insurance is not specifically for the NHS. That's like thinking road tax is for roads.

If the NHS could be changed to benefit the vast majority, im sure it would be. It still love to see the sales pitch to employers they have to pay an extra 7.5% for every employer. It was hard enough getting some to do the pension changes.

[McLaren]

Exactly.

The government need ton starrt giving details on:

Ages of those dying/hospitalised, how many had underlying issues and what % of dead have been vaccinated.

I think you have a fundamental misunderstanding of what limiting the spread of covid is meant to achieve. The goal is not just to limit the deaths of very old people but to also keep the health and social care system somewhat functioning. The NHS was already running at, or over, capacity and now it has to deal with covid. Whether or not an 80 year old dies is almost besides the point, it is the resources (beds, doctors, nurses, cash, admin etc) it consumes for that patient to come through the system with covid and die or otherwise. There was no slack in the system for covid patients with any severity of disease. And you also have to think of the downstream services like social work and housing (I am sure ben can enlighten you here) who will have increased caseloads as more and more people get sicker from covid. You have to start to think about it in terms of the number of people (and in what time period) are using health and social care services that wouldn't have without covid.

Think of infection rates and deaths as a proxy measure of how fucked the NHS and affiliates will be.


If anything the death rate is a good measure of how well a country is coping with covid but that doesn't have to be the only goal of the abatement measures.

[super_realist]

National insurance is not specifically for the NHS. That's like thinking road tax is for roads.

If the NHS could be changed to benefit the vast majority, im sure it would be. It still love to see the sales pitch to employers they have to pay an extra 7.5% for every employer. It was hard enough getting some to do the pension changes.

Why should an employer pay for the NHS when they can provide you with private health cover and take the strain off the NHS? Most people with a half decent private sector job get this benefit.

[super_realist]

Exactly.

The government need ton starrt giving details on:

Ages of those dying/hospitalised, how many had underlying issues and what % of dead have been vaccinated.

I think you have a fundamental misunderstanding of what limiting the spread of covid is meant to achieve. The goal is not just to limit the deaths of very old people but to also keep the health and social care system somewhat functioning. The NHS was already running at, or over, capacity and now it has to deal with covid. Whether or not an 80 year old dies is almost besides the point, it is the resources (beds, doctors, nurses, cash, admin etc) it consumes for that patient to come through the system with covid and die or otherwise. There was no slack in the system for covid patients with any severity of disease. And you also have to think of the downstream services like social work and housing (I am sure ben can enlighten you here) who will have increased caseloads as more and more people get sicker from covid.  You have to start to think about it in terms of the number of people (and in what time period) are using health and social care services that wouldn't have without covid.

Think of infection rates and deaths as a proxy measure of how Frak the NHS and affiliates will be.


If anything the death rate is a good measure of how well a country is coping with covid but that doesn't have to be the only goal of the abatement measures.

Mac, its not my duty to protect the NHS, I already pay for it.
Furthermore it is important to know how many people in hospital are vaccinated. 90% of South African patients in ICU are not vaccinated, so why aren't restrictions only faced by the unnvaccinated? Why do we have a duty to the unvaccinated now?

Hospital admissions are less than half this time last year, and if they coped then, they should now, especially  given that stay duration is also less now.

[beninho]

National insurance is not specifically for the NHS. That's like thinking road tax is for roads.

If the NHS could be changed to benefit the vast majority, im sure it would be. It still love to see the sales pitch to employers they have to pay an extra 7.5% for every employer. It was hard enough getting some to do the pension changes.

Why should an employer pay for the NHS when they can provide you with private health cover and take the strain off the NHS? Most people with a half decent private sector job get this benefit.

I was talking g about the Germany model. Employee pays 7.5% and the employer pays 7.5% towards the overall pot of medical cover. Think that's the regulations in Germany. As I said, not sure how this woukd work in the UK.

[super_realist]

National insurance is not specifically for the NHS. That's like thinking road tax is for roads.

If the NHS could be changed to benefit the vast majority, im sure it would be. It still love to see the sales pitch to employers they have to pay an extra 7.5% for every employer. It was hard enough getting some to do the pension changes.

Why should an employer pay for the NHS when they can provide you with private health cover and take the strain off the NHS? Most people with a half decent private sector job get this benefit.

I was talking g about the Germany model. Employee pays 7.5% and the employer pays 7.5% towards the overall pot of medical cover. Think that's the regulations in Germany. As I said, not sure how this woukd work in the UK.

It wouldnt, because the socialists cant bear to have the NHS model changed for the better

[superflyweight]

Exactly.

The government need ton starrt giving details on:

Ages of those dying/hospitalised, how many had underlying issues and what % of dead have been vaccinated.

I think you have a fundamental misunderstanding of what limiting the spread of covid is meant to achieve. The goal is not just to limit the deaths of very old people but to also keep the health and social care system somewhat functioning. The NHS was already running at, or over, capacity and now it has to deal with covid. Whether or not an 80 year old dies is almost besides the point, it is the resources (beds, doctors, nurses, cash, admin etc) it consumes for that patient to come through the system with covid and die or otherwise. There was no slack in the system for covid patients with any severity of disease. And you also have to think of the downstream services like social work and housing (I am sure ben can enlighten you here) who will have increased caseloads as more and more people get sicker from covid.  You have to start to think about it in terms of the number of people (and in what time period) are using health and social care services that wouldn't have without covid.

Think of infection rates and deaths as a proxy measure of how Frak the NHS and affiliates will be.


If anything the death rate is a good measure of how well a country is coping with covid but that doesn't have to be the only goal of the abatement measures.

Mac, its not my duty to protect the NHS, I already pay for it.
Furthermore it is important to know how many people in hospital are vaccinated. 90% of South African patients in ICU are not vaccinated, so why aren't restrictions only faced by the unnvaccinated? Why do we have a duty to the unvaccinated now?

Hospital admissions are less than half this time last year, and if they coped then, they should now, especially  given that stay duration is also less now.

Was speaking to a friend who is an ICU nurse (last couple of years has been an unfortunate time to be a respiratory specialist). He said that the concern this year is different from last year and it's less about the admission of people with Covid, but more with the impact that those admissions will make when placed together with the rules for isolation. A combination of having to close words to isolate patients, staff illness and/or isolating at home and also not being able to discharge old people back into care homes will cripple things.

Although the need to treat covid will be reduced, there will still be a massive impact on the rest of the NHS.

[beninho]

National insurance is not specifically for the NHS. That's like thinking road tax is for roads.

If the NHS could be changed to benefit the vast majority, im sure it would be. It still love to see the sales pitch to employers they have to pay an extra 7.5% for every employer. It was hard enough getting some to do the pension changes.

Why should an employer pay for the NHS when they can provide you with private health cover and take the strain off the NHS? Most people with a half decent private sector job get this benefit.

I was talking g about the Germany model. Employee pays 7.5% and the employer pays 7.5% towards the overall pot of medical cover. Think that's the regulations in Germany. As I said, not sure how this woukd work in the UK.

It wouldnt, because the socialists cant bear to have the NHS model changed for the better

I dont think you will find anyone alive that woukd not be happy with a change to the NHS which benefits all and isn't detrimental to what they already have.

But, it doesn't look easy, otherwise it woukd be done. And in the last 10 years the socialists have had no sway on policy. But, I doubt changing sonething which the older tory voters like and use, isn't politically a good move either.

[pedro]

I miss Trump. He was a fine President after the terrible Obama years, and now America have got Joe Biden, a man who makes Trump seem articulate. But you don't hear much about Biden's more 'interesting' comments because the mainstream media (the real enemy) don't like reporting on it as much as they did with Trump.

And now you see Biden's approval ratings tanking very quickly, and inflation set to rise rapidly. His Presidency has been an utter disaster, he's even handling Covid worse than Trump did, which is quite something.

The mainstream media and the woeful American, two-party, electoral system has created this mess.

Is this a parody?

No, Duty likes Trump. I'm not sure if it's the sexism, the racism, the fear-stoking, the narcissism, the inflated ego, the populism, the ability to create division rather than consensus, the lying, the extra-marital affairs, or a combination of all those, but Duty is a fan.

Maybe it’s something you don’t bother to mention: his politics?
Regardless, 75m Americans seem to agree with duty.

Either the Democrats or the Republicans could put a monkey up for President and still get millions of votes. I would have thought a good President would get re-elected fairly easily, rather than losing the House, the Senate and the Presidency in the space of four years.

Well, DT got >10m more votes in 2020 than he did in 2016. Even if many disagree with him, objectively speeking he couldn’t have been that terrible.

[JuliusHMarx]

Equally, more people voted for his opponent than any other candidate ever, so objectively speaking he couldn’t have been that good.

Obama, described by Duty as "the terrible Obama years" was elected twice, so objectively must have been better.

[beninho]

Even George W got 2 terms.we can file trump with George H and other 1 term stragglers.

[Soul Requiem]

Trump was objectively speaking a terrible president, the worst of my lifetime by quite some margin. Biden and Obama being a bit crap which they are doesn't somehow legitimise four years of chaos, racism and misogyny.

With any world leader the best measure is how strong public opposition is to them rather than their support

[superflyweight]

Anyone read any of the Bob Woodward books about Trump's presidency? his presidency was way worse than presented in the day to day media.

Hard to be anything but a crap president these days due to the partisan nature of Congress, but at least you'd hope for someone who doesn't spread hate and racism with every word vomited out of their mouth.

[beninho]

I find people who complain about cancel culture, annoying. I find people who complain about cancel culture in comedy very annoying. I honestly font believe its a thing.

[Duty281]

Of course it's a thing. It's why Jimmy Carr and Frankie Boyle have completely remodelled themselves over the past few years, in order to not get 'cancelled'.

[JuliusHMarx]

Cancel culture has been around for decades, if not centuries.
E.g. The Beatles got cancelled by the Bible belters after the "We're bigger than Jesus" thing.

[JuliusHMarx]

Most recently, Jimmy Carr got shouted down by the anti-vaxxers for this - https://www.joe.co.uk/entertainment/jimmy-carr-slaps-down-anti-vaxxer-in-crowd-with-brutal-one-line-dig-304354

"Let's talk about the controversial thing, the vaccine," he asks the audience.
"Who's not going to take the vaccine because they think it might be dangerous? Raise your hands."
While most of the crowd kept their hands down, either in agreement or out of fear of being heckled, a few units thought they'd challenge the comedian and raise their hand.
What fools.
Carr snaps back: "Now take that hand and slap yourself in the f***ing face.
"Hear that? It was the voice of f***ing reason, wasn't it?"
With a single breath, Carr continues to berate the anti-vaxxers, saying: "The spread of covid was directly linked to how dense the population is," he then pointed towards the anti-vaxxers, adding: "And some of the population are really quite f**king dense".
People have begun reacting to the clip on social media, with one person claiming to have reported it as Carr is "encouraging self harm".
Another anti-vaxxer said: "He's also using peer pressure and humiliation to stop people from being individuals."

[beninho]

The thi g about cancel culture, is no obe actually gets cancelled. Comedians can joke about what ever they want, and do. If you are funny with it , people will carry on going.

Not sure if anyone watches its always sunny in philadelphia one of the funniest shows ever, some of the most close to the bone jokes, jokes st everything. But it's done well, and is in its 15th season. People love it.

People don't get cancelled, people just may not find them funny.

[JuliusHMarx]

Exactly.
From what I remember (I may be totally wrong) Frankie Boyle made a joke about Katie Price's son and a lot of people thought he was a tw@t for doing so. He may well have then altered his act to make sure he still had an audience.

[Duty281]

Comedians can not joke about what they want, certain types of comedy are considered 'punching down' and are no longer allowed. Frankie Boyle, for instance, can no longer do jokes about Harvey Price or Madeline McCann, otherwise he'd be 'cancelled ' in the same way that David Walliams and his two shows were effectively 'cancelled'. Jimmy Carr can't make jokes about the Holocaust or AIDS otherwise he'd get 'cancelled'. Jim Davidson probably got cancelled at some point, and John Cleese seems to be irked by the menace of it. In retrospect, many TV shows are edited to avoid being 'cancelled' while many others are airbrushed out of history.

Rather than meet this fate, both Boyle and Carr have transformed their careers into dull, establishment goons.

[Pal Joey]

Cancel culture has been around for decades, if not centuries.
E.g. The Beatles got cancelled by the Bible belters after the "We're bigger than Jesus" thing.

It's been around for millennia.

Why do you think Jesus was arrested and charged with treason by the Romans for spouting off to those willing to listen? Just using as an example.

Doesn't matter which side of the fence you stand on with any issue in a given political circumstance... someone can always find a way to cynically oppose your views if it doesn't fit the status quo. In good times one can let it go and move on. At other times you can be struck down there and then on the spot. Social media is just another tool which can be used for misquoting, shaming, abusing, etc... and banning someone for expressing their own particular views.

[Soul Requiem]

I've seen Jimmy Carr live multiple times and his stand up has barely changed over the years, his shows are still very close to the bone sometimes going over the line if such a thing exists. I've also seen Ricky Gervais a few times, based on the content that Netflix put out you may come to the conclusion he's watered his content down but again seeing him live you'll know that isn't the case.

[beninho]

Just by saying they will be cancelled doesn't mean anything. Jimmy Carr has said it doesn't bother him , but his main aim is to get a laugh. He also says it's the best book burning or record burning like the beatles, already mentioned. It's not new, and it's not really a thing.

I really don't think he has tamed down his sets.

[beninho]

The thing is just about how you tell a joke, who is the joke on, and is it funny. Comedians are generally pretty liberal people, such as Jimmy Carr but doesn't stop them telling very close to the line jokes.

I remember years ago, friends of my oarents talking about Lilly Savage, the rudest, comedian going. Then goes on tv and tones it down.

I quite like James Acaster from what I've seen, and Phil Wang.

[JuliusHMarx]

Comedians can not joke about what they want, certain types of comedy are considered 'punching down' and are no longer allowed. Frankie Boyle, for instance, can no longer do jokes about Harvey Price or Madeline McCann, otherwise he'd be 'cancelled ' in the same way that David Walliams and his two shows were effectively 'cancelled'. Jimmy Carr can't make jokes about the Holocaust or AIDS otherwise he'd get 'cancelled'. Jim Davidson probably got cancelled at some point, and John Cleese seems to be irked by the menace of it. In retrospect, many TV shows are edited to avoid being 'cancelled' while many others are airbrushed out of history.

Rather than meet this fate, both Boyle and Carr have transformed their careers into dull, establishment goons.

So you're saying that in order to sell more tickets and earn more money, they changed their act? If so, that's on them. Frankie Boyle is free to tell whatever jokes he wants, it's just that his audiences may well be quite small if not many people find him funny. Seems to me what he is really lamenting is his loss of earnings more than his loss of freedom of speech (which he hasn't lost).

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