Re: [OT] What is happening in/to the US ?

On 7/15/2024 8:52 AM, Simon Clubley wrote:

On 2024-07-12, Robert A. Brooks <FIRST.LAST@vmssoftware.com> wrote:

On 7/12/2024 8:07 AM, Simon Clubley wrote:

On 2024-07-11, Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> wrote:

And I really don't see any reason to expect riots in Boston that week or
two weeks later.

>
Recent history on both sides of the political spectrum in the US does not
exactly fill me with confidence in this area.

 I really, really, wish I had been wrong about that. :-( :-( :-(

I don't think there are any bigger risk for riots in Boston in
late October early November than before.
That it can be dangerous to be US president or candidate for
US president is not new.
4 out of 46 presidents has been killed.
And if we look at the time after WWII then:
1 killed (Kennedy)
1 seriously wounded (Reagan)
1 wounded (Trump)
2 shot at (Truman, Ford)
4 other attempts or planned attempts (HW Bush, Clinton, W Bush, Obama)
3 nothing (Eisenhower, Johnson, Biden)
Plus 2 high-profile candidates killed: Kennedy in 1968 and Wallace
in 1972.

Given that Massachusetts (and Boston, specifically) are solidly in the Biden camp,
I suspect there won't be a lot of ads airing near the election.
>
Both sides will be spending their advertising money in the six states where the election
is actually up for grabs.

 I can only imagine what that US would look like right now if the shooter
had not missed. :-(

Probably not that different from how it actually look like right now.
Based on history then no immediate disaster.
Obviously there has been some long term impact. But difficult to
say exactly what.
If Kennedy had not been shot and Johnson had not taken over some
things would have been different, but nobody can say exactly how.
If the other Kennedy had not been shot, then maybe Nixon would not
have become president, but maybe he would have anyway - who knows.
If Reagan had died and HW Bush had become president in 1981 instead
of 1989, then something would have been different.
If Trump had dies then again something would have been different. First
they would need to sort out whether Hailey as runner up in
primaries or Vance as VP candidate would become candidate.

You have the US mainstream media not informing the population about
Mr Biden's decline and acting more like the political wing of the
Democratic party.
 You have the media saying the shooter was registered as Republican (which
I understand doesn't really mean much when tactical voting is involved)
while not mentioning that he apparently contributed to far-left causes,
so it is _very_ unclear what his politics really are.

You must be living in a parallel universe.
All media both right leaning and left leaning has focused a lot
on Biden's poor performance in the debate.
And practically all media has mentioned that the shooter donated
15 dollars to a left leaning PAC 3 years ago.

Mind you, you now have a Secret Service which appears to have gone from
being highly disciplined and effective to being absolutely bloody useless.
 What on earth is happening to the US ?

Most agree that Secret Service did not do a good job.
A shooter less than 150 meter from Trump on a white roof should
be as difficult to spot as a pink elephant in a dining room.
It will be investigated.
But do not expect a conspiracy - some mistakes and
slacking is way more likely.
There has been a number of scandals in recent years
(2012, 2015, 2017 and 2022) where secret service agents
have been drinking or been entertained by prostitutes.
Arne