Queer Politics

[ashen prawn]

Best Practices##

Respect that we all come from different places, religions, cultures, and experiences. By joining this space, you are agreeing to kindly share your opinions while also listening to others perspectives without a goal of trying to change anyone’s beliefs. It is important for us to be able to talk about queer related politics, but it is imperative that we do so in the spirit of welcoming and understanding different opinions.

1. Be Kind
2. Listen with the intent to respectfully learn from one another
3. Do not speak into, assume, or attack others political beliefs (including Alice and/or the cast/directors, etc as they are not here to elaborate on their perspectives)
4. If you start to feel heated in a discussion, take a break from the server or reach out to @fallen charm
5. Agree that human rights are not political in nature and therefore not appropriate nor open for debate on this server

[lofty anvil]

Gay

(thunderous applause)

[wispy idol]

https://tenor.com/view/yes-clap-standing-ovation-applause-gif-13931272447027099345

[obtuse garnet]

It’s a good time during June to remember that Pride started as a protest and while it may be easier for some of us, we are still fighting for rights for everyone on the queer spectrum 💪 go to marches or demonstrations if you can! To celebrate how far we’ve come, but also to push the world to accept those of us who aren’t yet accepted.

[verbal mountain]

Anyone watching the US Presidential debate?

It’s rough…

[soft elk]

biden fumbled really hard

his delivery is nothing compared how trump delivers his message

[glossy echo]

The US need young people in politics and not some old people

[verbal mountain]

We absolutely do!

[soft elk]

its cringe that you need to be 30 to get into senate

never understood that part ngl

[verbal mountain]

Apparently we need age limits now too. As well as term limits but that is another conversation.

Biden could have easily corrected every one of Trump’s false statements and claims last night. It was one after another…

[soft elk]

they should have put a live fact checker on it

if biden had the same level of delivery as trump he would have done so well

[verbal mountain]

It would have been running the whole time!

I was also disappointed that this first debate happened during Pride month and they didn’t ask any questions about the LGBTQIA+ community (despite all the recent legislative attacks).

Unless I missed it but I don’t think I did.

[soft elk]

dont think so

[verbal mountain]

Today is also the 55th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising…

[lethal oasis]

There were some really great articles about the topic

[verbal mountain]

There are! My social media feed has been pretty much only about Stonewall or the terrible debacle called a debate last night

[soft elk]

never heard about stonewall until i saw your name

glad i learned about it though

[rugged moat]

Bro I couldn’t even bring myself to watch it

All I heard about was the “we beat medicare” or smth like that 😭 like huh

[verbal mountain]

I watched the majority of it but it was very, very hard. And sad. And so, so disappointing

[rugged moat]

Yeah, I assumed that would be the case unfortunately

But seriously at this point in time all we need is a stable democracy. We clearly aren’t getting that though

[verbal mountain]

I agree. Also we have to think about the potential of the next president adding someone to the Supreme Court. That decision lasts for decades!

[rugged moat]

Oh yes 100%

[rugged moat]

The recent supreme court ruling… wth

Like what happened to democracy

Or the constitution for that matter

[wheat patrol]

what happened?

[rugged moat]

They ruled that the president has immunity from being criminally prosecuted

Which goes against the idea that “no man is above the law”

[rugged moat]

The polls aren’t looking good either

[rugged moat]

I mean yeah this is basically what happened 💀

[wheat patrol]

ok hi

[blissful token]

oh god i hate politics

goodbye x

[wheat patrol]

same

[terse breach]

uk general election starts voting in 4 hours. the tories (conservatives - have attacked lgbtqia+ rights recently) are looking to be wiped out by progressive parties and could be in 3rd place for the 1st time in their history.

[wheat patrol]

whats general election?

[terse breach]

basically we are voting for all 650 seats in our parliament, party with the most seats becomes our prime minister

[wheat patrol]

oh okay

i just don't live in the uk so i was confused

[terse breach]

our politics is very messy and often very comedic

[wheat patrol]

lol

[terse breach]

one of the party leaders keeps getting milkshaked every election

[wheat patrol]

that is very comedic lol

same with america

[terse breach]

wait who gets milkshaked over there?

[wheat patrol]

not milkshaked but like messy and comedic

[terse breach]

ahhhh, unfortunate with your 2-party system over the pond

granted ours isn't much better but atleast theres a couple of very small parties

reference 3rd place - the snp (scottish party) has around 40 seats i think? and the liberal democrats (4th) have 11.

[verbal mountain]

I saw him try to turn that into a “fun” political ad. It was actually awful though!

[verbal mountain]

I hope it goes better than expected🤞

[terse breach]

wait did farage try to make an ad out of it?

[terse breach]

im too young to vote but im hoping for the progressives to wipe the floors!

[verbal mountain]

Yea. I watched a John Oliver show on UK politics and it was in there

[terse breach]

ill update in abt 18.5 (10pm uk, 5pm eastern - i think?) hours with the exit poll result

[granite axle]

That's when the Guardian says they'll publish their special exit-poll newsletter, so I think you're spot on.

[rugged moat]

This video was literally the only way I could watch the presidential debate without losing my mind 😭
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qmkZaQxy8rY

I mean it was still frustrating to watch, but at least it made me laugh a bit 😭

[terse breach]

morning! someone has took their pet snake to vote today lol

yeah the exit poll is published as soon as voting finishes and they can legally publish it at 22:00. also lots of doggos on the uk news rn haha

[verbal mountain]

I hear you! We watched the whole debate which was horrible and painful, but my son was reading tweets the whole time for a bit of levity…

[terse breach]

oh god big surprise in the exit poll

Labour Landslide - Majority: 170:

• Labour: 410 seats (Centre-left to centre)
• Conservatives: 131 seats (Centre-right to right-wing)
• Liberal Democrats: 61 seats (Centre)
• Reform UK: 13 seats (Far-right)
• Scottish National Party: 10 seats (Left-wing to centre-left, pro-Scottish independence)
• Plaid Cymru: 4 seats (Left-wing to centre-left, pro-Welsh independence/devolution)
• Green Party: 2 seats (Left-wing)
• Other: 1 seat
  Northern Ireland (18 seats) not included in exit poll.

England: 543 seats
Scotland: 57 seats
Wales: 32 seats
Northern Ireland: 18 seats

There is also a huge amount of uncertainty - especially in the Central Belt about the Scottish results between the SNP and Labour.

[verbal mountain]

Thank you for sharing!

I wasn’t expecting these results

[granite axle]

The morning line on Reform was that only Nigel Farage and Richard Tice were likely to win seats, so 13 is pretty amazing.

[terse breach]

same! i wasn't expecting the tories to be above 100, nor the snp to lose so much and reform be in 4th! bit of a shame because i personally like the snp.

[blissful token]

there isnt a day where i dont hate politics ☠️

[wheat patrol]

same lol

[terse breach]

why can't they count the ballots faster. it's been 3.5 hours and only 9 of 650 seats have counted 😭 (all went labour so far)

[granite axle]

The Guardian's newsletter says 443 of 650 seats are decided 0300-0500 UK time. Jeremy Hunt's, Grant Schapps's, and Penny Mordaunt's seats all announce about 0330, Rishi Sunak's, Nigel Farage's and Richard Tice's seats about 0400, and Keir Starmer's about 0415, when the Financial Times expects Labour to get their majority. If Rishi Sunak or Jeremy Hunt lose, it'll be the first time In British history that a sitting Prime Minister or Chancellor has lost their seat in Parliament.

[terse breach]

lol the transport secretary just lost his seat to labour

[terse breach]

Jeremy Hunt is expected to lose to the Liberal Democrats

[soft elk]

can someone check in on larry?

[hearty schooner]

liz truss lost her seat to labour. glorious

[terse breach]

threw together the results on paint 3d lol
on the right is a rough overview of each party including where they stand, political ideology, where they are (left to right), if they're progressive or regressive and stance on independence.

(i may be biased - please correct my biases.)

326 seats needed for a majority.

[rugged moat]

Biden is not looking too hot rn. Even if his campaign manages to survive for a bit longer, it’ll probably fall apart when the dnc meets. I did hear that some new potential candidates to replace biden as the democratic nominee could show up there. Then again, replacing a nominee at this point in the race is pretty uncommon

This whole election is a big unknown tbh. Like trump’s polling really well, so we might be screwed 😭

Also what does trump think he’s trying to do by “distancing” himself from project 2025 💀 like bud you talk about it every day, we know you support it

[verbal mountain]

It seems unfathomable that we would be back there again

And yes, project 2025 is horrible!!! But he is trying to not scare off the moderate voters

[rugged moat]

Yeah, it kind of does. But I honestly think it could still happen unfortunately

[verbal mountain]

I know 🫂

[rugged moat]

I mean it makes sense, but at the same time, these moderate voters have most likely already seen everything trump has said up to this point. I think that’s what’s confused me this entire race— how could you look at everything he’s said/done and still want to vote for him?

I mean if you’re moderate I would hope you would still be pro-democracy 😭

[verbal mountain]

I think there are some people who very loyalist to always voting for their party, despite the bigger picture. They aren’t worried about other people who are hurt by such polices, rhetoric, and division.

[granite axle]

Remember also there's an ugly strain to human psychology where folks would often rather be wrong than be proven wrong. Thus people go far out of their way to avoid changing their minds; it's a variation of the sunk cost fallacy.

[terse breach]

(tw: trauma, blood and guns) ||have i just seen correctly that someone just shot donald trump?!||

||apparently gunshots were heard at one of trumps rallies||

||and trump had blood on his right ear||

source: bbc news

[long pier]

Uh

Please spoiler that

[verbal mountain]

Would you mind doing tw: trauma and blood and then spoiler this entire message?

[terse breach]

omg im so sorry!!

[verbal mountain]

No worries! It’s what is all over socials, but we do want to be sensitive to all our members. Thank you so much!

And holy smokes!

[terse breach]

yeah! im absolutely no fan of trump, but violence is never is the answer!!

[verbal mountain]

There are questions of whether it was staged (I cannot imagine!) because of the way he fist pumped and was exposed after it happened…

But why would anyone risk that?!

[obtuse garnet]

We’ll just have to keep watching the investigation and whatever news comes out of this. We should be very, very careful not make claims or lay blame, which I’m sure various individuals across media are already trying to do

[terse breach]

i still find it very weird as a european that people have the means to access stuff to be able to do such things. i think the last time there was a high-profile (tw: trauma, guns, shooting) ||shooting in the uk was dunblane (in central scotland) in the 80s.||

[obtuse garnet]

Honestly, I think the only outcome from this is a stronger and more dangerous conservative movement. Regardless of what happened. Like we’ve said, violence is never the answer. I fear only more violence will come in the future. This is a sad day.

[verbal mountain]

I agree. The support for him will only increase…it’s so scary.

[verbal mountain]

My state had open carry down to age 18! Meaning anyone 18 and up can tw weapons || carry a gun of any sort either openly or concealed at any time, at any place. They used to be banned at schools and parks but that was repealed by our state government ||

[terse breach]

its so weird to me how there js such strong far-right politics is in the us compared to, say, scotland, which has a very pro-lgbt, progressive, centre-left government in charge

[terse breach]

woah!! thats shocking that ur state would repeal such basic protections!!

as the saying goes, "your freedom to swing your arm about ends where my face begins."

[long pier]

In Florida you can just buy it without a license

[terse breach]

wait, what.

[long pier]

Yep..

[granite axle]

[Guns]||There are several cities in the US where the head of the household is required to own at least one gun. No idea how they enforce it, but the laws are on the books.||

[soft elk]

this is just gonna make trump have even more support isnt it

[hearty schooner]

thats what happened with Reagan back in the day, so probably

[rugged moat]

I heard it was revealed that the (tw: guns) ||gunman|| was 20 years old and a registered republican. At first I figured it was just someone in the far-right that didn’t like that trump was distancing himself from project 2025, but it was also said he had donated to a democratic organization before. No idea how long ago that was though. In conclusion, his motives are uncertain

[rugged moat]

Oh yeah 100%

[rugged moat]

That has desantis written all over it. I mean idk if he was the one that signed that into law specifically, but ik he did allow (tw: guns) ||guns to be concealed without a permit||

[soft elk]

this whole thing is full of mysteries

[rugged moat]

Yup agreed

[soft elk]

makes me wonder what a world we would live in if he didnt miss

[granite axle]

I'm sure the conspiracists are already going with the "Maybe he didn't miss, but accomplished what he set out to" story.

[soft elk]

yeah true

[buoyant wind]

That's ridiculous, you should have the same rules as here, guns should be a privilege not a right

[long pier]

I agree, but that's Florida

[rugged moat]

I finally asked my cousin if I could move in with her if I end up saying “fuck america” and go to norway— her response was “yeah cool I don’t see why not” 😂 love her

[long pier]

Honestly not a first for me to move one country to another so when I'm stable enough by myself or with my SO I'll move out of America too

[rugged moat]

Ahh cool

[long pier]

Yeah the culture was never for me since I didn't grow up in it XD

[rugged moat]

That’s fair tbh

[obtuse garnet]

He donated to the Dem PAC several months before registering as a Republican to vote in the 2022 midterms. Not sure how important that timeline is. But yeah, no clear motive. From reading everything else about it, and this is just speculation based on what has been released so far, [mental health] ||this feels more like the typical profile of a bullied, lonely young man who needed a reason to feel important. Anything else on top of that to me is just veneer and distracts from fixing the issue of bullying/mental health.||

[long pier]

Same Hazel that's how it feels to me

[rugged moat]

Ok, thanks for the info. And yeah I think it was probably mostly related to mental health as well

[lethal oasis]

The thing is, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter who he was, what his motivation was, whether he acted alone, whether he was a registered Republican. It doesn't matter. Everything can be distorted by framing or conspiracy theory. The only thing that matters is the image of the attacked "hero", and that is frightening to me.

I have some positive news from Germany though. One of the most famous f1 drivers just showed of his male partner. He's not the first queer f1 person but the most famous one. This might lead to some change in perceptions if f1 fans and I like that.

[soft elk]

yeah deffo in a cis male dominated sports its really important

[lethal oasis]

Yeah, still sad that it has to be "a big thing" but it might actually change unwritten policies.

[soft elk]

yeah in a perfect world it shouldnt be headline news but just like "good for him"

hopefully it sets a precedent for other big sports names that they can come out

[lethal oasis]

I wish it would also lead to political change in f1 like a position paper or anything. I know that I'm being utopian here 😄 but that's the reason why I chose the politics post because I wish it changes more than a bit

[soft elk]

i doubt anything will come unfortunately 🫠

especially since hamilton when he wore his pride helmet a new rule was added that no political statements could be made

[lethal oasis]

Yeah, and the instroduction of that rule is a political statement in itself

[verbal mountain]

I agree with all of this. You will see both sides incessantly squabble over the details when no one addresses the main issues of 1) gun control 2)Trump encouraging “the fight”

I needed to hear your positive news this am, Fuzzy! Thank you for sharing

[lethal oasis]

I will share something positive later as well, RCM. We all need a positive boost and perspective today.

[hearty schooner]

Some excellent news that I missed and therefore others may have missed: homosexuality has been decriminalised in Namibia!
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7220g65xllo

[obtuse garnet]

I absolutely agree for the larger political conversation because talking points will be pushed one way or another, but ignoring who he was and the typical profile of a man like this is exactly how we’ve allowed more of these situations to happen in US. Addressing that absolutely matters.

[verbal mountain]

Trump just named Vance as his running mate😳🤦‍♀️

[obtuse garnet]

He doesn't have to hedge his bets anymore, he can do whatever he wants... they just threw out his documents case as well, the best chance we had to hold him accountable.

[granite axle]

The Dow Jones Index of the US stock market just set a record high in the wake of the shooting. The professionals think a president of one party and a Congress of the other is best for the economy, and they don't care much in which direction those go. Many signs point to Democrats having both chambers in the next session.

[rugged moat]

Yeah I saw that… unfortunately 😐

[hearty schooner]

Great news from South Korea: https://x.com/koryodynasty/status/1813811071519711454?t=QcSfJU_bJPECgc_BFsTVqQ&s=19

Raphael Rashid (@koryodynasty) on X

BREAKING: South Korea's Supreme Court rules in favour of same-sex couple's right to health insurance dependency benefits. The court found excluding same-sex partners violates the constitutional principle of equality, discriminating without reasonable justification.

Twitter · Jul 18, 2024, 5:40 AM

Could be a big step towards marriage equality

[rugged moat]

I heard about this! Glad at least some progress is being made there

[verbal mountain]

https://www.instagram.com/p/C9mn493Ntre/?igsh=OHRzeGc4bTQ1ejc3

tennesseannews

The Tennessee Adult Entertainment Act, the controversial law that limits drag performances, will stand, thanks to a Thursday federal appeals court ruling that dismissed a lawsuit challenging the law.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision reverses a lower court ruling that deemed the statute an unconstitutional limitation on the freedo...

Instagram

This makes me sad and angry. It’s such an infringement on freedom to express oneself, and is so, so hurtful🥺😡

[wispy idol]

oh no...

[soft elk]

one of our parties has begun flying planes with a banner with their logo on it over cities
the funny thing is election season has basically ended...

[obtuse garnet]

https://youtu.be/X7greYgsJAo?si=sS6CeIWyK9TBNYK3

Great video from Hank Green

On doomscrolling, recent political events, and how we process them

[soft elk]

https://x.com/joebiden/status/1815080881981190320?s=46 its joever

Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) on X

Twitter · Jul 21, 2024, 5:46 PM

[verbal mountain]

Hazel, I just now got to listen to this and it is so good and so true. The way we all pick the pieces that make sense to our own narratives versus sitting in the not knowing…that really resonated with me. Thanks for sharing.

[verbal mountain]

Omg.

I mean, I think this is a good thing, and I hope the Democrats can get it together to put a new team in place asap

I don’t know whether to feel excited or sick. Or maybe a bit of both. I may need to watch Hazels video again🙈

[soft elk]

gonna be hard to get a team to rival trump

[granite axle]

Depends on how many people vote against him rather than for him. Dislike, distrust, and hatred can be powerful motivators.

[obtuse garnet]

On a practical level, I am worried about the legal challenges and procedural road blocks that will be put in place to prevent democrats from getting someone other than Joe on ballots. It’s so silly that this is considered “late”

[granite axle]

After the convention is when it'd enter the realm of legalities. Today, it's only inconvenience and logistics.

Until today, he was only the presumptive nominee.

[soft elk]

isnt there a date where it cant be changed anymore or not?

[verbal mountain]

That is a good point…it’s not late. But they will use all the “election fraud” conspiracy theories they can to battle this

[granite axle]

State by state, yes. Federally, I think not.

[verbal mountain]

I hope this will bring a surge of energy and cohesion to the Democratic Party. We need it!

[soft elk]

https://x.com/joebiden/status/1815087772216303933?s=46 good choice imo

Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) on X

My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term. My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best

Twitter · Jul 21, 2024, 6:13 PM

[verbal mountain]

Kamala cannot beat Trump, I don’t think

[granite axle]

Depends on how many vote for her combined with against him.

[verbal mountain]

I would love it if she won…but we will have to see who they decide will be the ticket

[granite axle]

The oddsmakers like the chances of Kamala Harris and Gretchen Whitmer, Governor of Michigan. One very-experienced District Attorney and Attorney General and one very-experienced politician can make a formidable team.

[soft elk]

its pretty smart to drop out after the RNC their biggest campaign time aimed at biden was for nothing, probably wont have that big of an impact but who knows

[terse breach]

yeah, the recent french and uk elections are big examples of this. (against the RN and tories, respectively)

[terse breach]

as an extra, i'd like to point out that both are right-wing parties (and that's definitely an understatement in france's case)

[obtuse garnet]

I think Kamala can absolutely win. She has a problem delegating and choosing her team, so I think whoever ends up being her VP needs to have a lot of political chops, but she’ll now have the full weight of Biden’s team and that’s one of the things he’s best at so I think she’s in good hands to get to November

[verbal mountain]

I hope you are right. I would LOVE to see her win and would definitely support her nomination

[rugged moat]

Kamala seems to be the most likely candidate rn, but I’m just worried people are going to think the same thing about her as they did about biden, especially since she’s his current vp

And then not vote for her/not vote at all yk

[rugged moat]

And she’ll also have biden’s funding

[granite axle]

Strongest argument all of us have to use on others is "Go vote! If you don't, you don't get to complain about the result."

[rugged moat]

A completely new democratic candidate most likely wouldn’t have the funding she does

[granite axle]

Remember how much funding--in both directions--is aimed at making the other candidate lose. Ramp up that argument, and you'll see more dollars.

[rugged moat]

Yeah I kind of feel like she can’t either, but I still hope she wins if she’s the candidate

[rugged moat]

I hope you’re right 😭🙏

But yeah one of my trans friends (currently lives in a red state) is (understandably) very concerned about the future, but still currently plans to finish college here even if trump is elected. But honestly I think she and I mutually understand that if trump does get elected, things won’t be safe for long

Another concern we have is that trump could change emigration policies so that it’s harder for american citizens to leave… honestly not sure though, it’s kind of just speculation (if anyone knows anything about this feel free to correct/inform me). Plus other countries would probably see america as an enemy at that point— who knows how they’d treat americans trying to move to their countries (in terms of the student visa/permanent residency process)

Because (as some of you have probably heard 😭) I’m not risking any more time in the us than I have to if trump wins

[granite axle]

There are already a lot of developed countries not eager for immigrants unless those immigrants bring significant skills or liquid, investable, assets.

[rugged moat]

Yeah— that’s why I’m kind of hoping that a study visa can get me by for a while (I plan to live in another country with one until I can get a work visa)

Like if I get accepted to a uni there then they have a reason to let me live there for an extended period of time at the very least

[obtuse garnet]

https://youtu.be/mPt-4Eqr35I?si=JQqqg9Usjmr1uj7E

[verbal mountain]

Thanks for sharing. It’s going to be really complicated if the nominee isn’t Harris.
And isn’t the Heritage Foundation a 501(c)3?

[obtuse garnet]

They have a (c)4 arm as well. Most voting rights organizations I’ve worked with have operated the same; with a (c)3, 4, and even PACs sometimes, it all just has to be very carefully compartmentalized

[soft elk]

love charts

[verbal mountain]

There has been a huge positive energy shift towards supporting Harris! My state Democratic delegates voted to endorse her and I am feeling more and more optimistic!

[verbal mountain]

So did Texas!

[soft elk]

switching to kamala is a great choice

now we need that senator who was an astronaut and it will be a election sweep

like the timing is good imo, conservatives whole strategy falls apart

[granite axle]

Problem there: Arizona had two Democratic Senators. One became an Independent, and is not seeking re-election. Her replacement Democrat is in a somewhat-tight race, and there's no guarantee we could replace Mark Kelly with another Democrat. That's not just local selfishness; it's also going to be part of the playbook Harris's team's running.

[soft elk]

so mark isnt gonna run for senator?

[rugged moat]

Some people are also saying andy beshear should be vp, but others seem to be saying he’s not ready for it

I mean I think he would be a decent choice because he’s a red state democrat (is more used to people bashing him) but yeah idk much about him at the end of the day

[granite axle]

It's not his turn to run; his cycle isn't until 2026. If he goes to the Executive Branch, the Democratic Governor of Arizona would name a replacement for the remainder of his term, and then there'd be a normal Senatorial race that year. His approval's high-enough he'd have an easier time of getting re-elected than replaced, though.

[soft elk]

ah ok now i get it

thanks!

just quietly replace him with his identical twin, no one would notice /j

[verbal mountain]

I'm going with 3 older kids to vote in our local election (critical for our school board!) and primary later today. Growing up, my family never discussed politics and younger me used to say silly (maybe more ignorant or even privileged) things like I am not political.😳 Now, I am so grateful to have this opportunity with my own kids to discuss and encourage the importance of using our voices by voting.

[verbal mountain]

We just got results of our school board elections. Only 18% of the county even voted (people move to our area for the schools). We lost 5/6 seats to ultra conservative, actively anti-inclusive, pro book banning, MAGA supported candidates. I can’t believe it🥺

[soft elk]

how many seats are there in total?

[verbal mountain]

12. We alternate voting on odd/even districts every 2 years. The ones who didn’t run this election are 4/6 very conservative.

[soft elk]

thats pretty interesting how you can vote for school boards, here schools are just part of either two school groups

[granite axle]

50 states, over 13,000 school boards.

[soft elk]

wow

[granite axle]

For every parent who doesn't want to teach their kids themselves, it sometimes feels as if there are a dozen who want to tell everyone how their kids should be taught.

School board fights, both elections to get on them, and protests against their actions, sometimes get ugly. Interestingly, there are almost never gatherings in support of a school board, except as a reaction to a protest against them.

[soft elk]

seems like a big mess

does the goverment decided what gets taught or do the school boards do?

[granite axle]

School boards.

[soft elk]

yikes

[granite axle]

Textbook contents are almost always decided, nowadays, by the decisions of the state of Texas, as they buy so many books that it tends to lock down the content that publishers are willing to produce.

[soft elk]

that makes everything so cursed wtf

[granite axle]

You may've run across mention of "Common Core" which was an initiative to try to get everyone on board with a slate of agreed-upon content. The number of people who lost their sanity on the subject of "gub'mint mind control" was, and probably remains, literally beyond imagination. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Core

[verbal mountain]

Our school boards are also partisan in Tennessee now.

[verbal mountain]

In our state, it is both

[terse breach]

Elected school boards are so weird to me.
Over here we have voluntary "parent councils" per school (multiple if it's a mixed school)

The parent council is run by parents of the students and helps with school trip funding decisions, school events (like a P7 prom or disco)

It seems to be a Primary (5 - 12 year old) School and Extra Support School thing, and if one does exist for Secondary, no-one cares about it/it has no power.

In secondary, most the decisions are made by the Head Teacher (principal) and very important decisions (like snow-days, close due to lack of staff or changes to the school hours) mainly/always come from the Council (local government in charge of public services, etc.)

It's important to note that the Government sets the curriculum (a huge list of what you must teach) from Nursery (3/4 year olds) to S4 (15 year olds, first year of exams) at which the teachers follow what they think is most important for you to pass the exam in that subject.
All that time from Nursery until the you leave school from 16 to 18, the Teacher decides the content of all the lessons, but they generally follow existing lessons and other teachers' lessons.

There has only been 2 spats about rules in my school:

1. Girls aren't allowed to wear tights. This prompted a school-wide petition and everyone wore tights anyways.
2. They closed the boys' toilets for 2 years after a single, average, (from my experiences) incident of them getting TP'ed. It prompted the toilets to be barricaded and all the Secondary boys called into an assembly by the Head Teacher for a unanimous scolding. Annoying because the boys lost their upstairs toilet and had to go all the way downstairs to use the unisex toilets until just over a year ago. C'mon!

There has never been a single, public, book argument or that class argument - if they (parent/ child) didn't want to have that class, they didn't have to turn up for!

In-short, the parent council minds their own beeswax here, thankfully.

[terse breach]

btw this is a massive iirc about the curriculum - it could be set until S6 or to the end of S3 like i said!

source: my memory, so may be (probably) unreliable

[soft elk]

here in belgium the regional goverment just decideds what needs to be taught and principals just manage the school

school groups just distribute funding and decides what publishers for books

[verbal mountain]

Kamala Harris picked Tim Walz, Governor of Minnesota, as her running mate. Smart choice…

[hearty schooner]

i feel its probably a good sign that ive never heard of him

[lethal oasis]

I need more information on why 😄

[granite axle]

It's a minor factor, but of her choices, it's arguable that he's the easiest to replace in his office with another Democrat politician. In all seriousness, one of the most-important--but all-too-often ignored--purposes of a Vice President is to be ready to assume office if the worst occurs.

[soft elk]

a very good choice, he has done quite alot of good things imo

[rugged moat]

He’s done a ton of good things for mn

[hearty schooner]

thats good to hear

[rugged moat]

Peggy flanagan is the one who’s most likely to take his spot as governor, which wouldn’t be bad for mn. Tbh I haven’t really heard anything bad about her, so I wouldn’t be too worried

[verbal mountain]

I think he is a solid choice! He is pro LGBTQ+ and made Minnesota a trans refuge state, he was an educator before getting into politics, he is for gun control/reform laws, he looks conservative but isn't!, he has a military background, he has protected abortion rights and legalized recreational marijuana....there are some questions over a few of his timing decisions but overall, I think this helps Kamala's potential

[lethal oasis]

That sounds like a really solid choice

[rugged moat]

I love my governor 🙏

[granite axle]

Oy. Just oy: https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/19/politics/donald-trump-taylor-swift-ai/index.html

[verbal mountain]

He has no idea what he has done.

[granite axle]

A few commentators are now saying the gender-gap and youth-gap between the candidates in November may be record-breaking.

[terse breach]

reminds me of when the conservatives both in the 2019 and 2024 election in the uk changed their twitter to look like a fact-checking account when in fact, they were just posting lies and slander as fact.

[soft elk]

one of the party chairmen was negotiating a new goverment while at a festival here

the rest of the negotiations is going horribly tho 💀 perhaps we go for a new record of longrst time of no goverment

[verbal mountain]

Watching the last night of the Democratic National Convention and Gabby Giffords is speaking...it's emotional to watch the cheers for her!

[long crow]

https://www.threads.net/@mawhite72/post/C--L1fwA6rv/?xmt=AQGzdFqrYWR3Hio2D9YSgSPfOIziuSWpaEWTc9j25kYCCQ

❤️

[soft elk]

what is it with coalitions and havinh goofy names

[verbal mountain]

Trump and Harris debate is tonight. I have high hopes…

[soft elk]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippe_Reines#2024 coming up to the debate i learned the democrats have a guy who has pretended to be trump in their mock debates since 2016

[verbal mountain]

That is awesome…Trump said he has been preparing his whole life so he wasn’t going to do any specific preparation

Continuing his egotistical approach

[obtuse garnet]

Instead his aides have been having him do “policy time” instead of debate prep lol. They have to trick him like a toddler into doing the thing he has to do. “This isn’t medicine, it’s a spoonful of peanut butter!”

[verbal mountain]

Hopefully they will tell him that schools do not have funding for surgeries...they can barely cover free lunches for qualifying students, and absolutely cannot provide sports equipment let alone theater and arts support...for the love!!!!

[verbal mountain]

Anyone watching the debate?

[verbal mountain]

Whew.

[ornate scarab]

Debates make me panic, whether I'm involved in them or not. So I didn't watch the debate.

My dad started watching the debate and decided that doing laundry was more interesting.

And my sister was very interested in the debate (she's an international relations major) but was cringing about it. She was especially cringing about Trump.

Everyone in my family is more conservative than me but we all agree that Trump made a big mistake not specifically preparing for the debate.

[verbal mountain]

I feel like Harris did a great job…overall. Trump was sweating

[daring valve]

Frr

My mom was yelling at the screen and she kept shushing me when i talked

[little lintel]

I watched some of the debate just hope do dale triple lies don’t get him to win

[verbal mountain]

I do feel like his microphone needed to be muted a lot more. He was given more free range to share his “concept of a plan” plans which maybe wasn’t terrible after all..he kept looking worse and worse , in my opinion

[winter tendon]

https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/sarah-mcbride-delaware-primary-win-congress-rcna169758

🎉

[verbal mountain]

So happy to see this!

[rugged moat]

I definitely agree. She came off strong, and then trump just lied the entire time + only talked about china and immigrants. Like there are severe issues within the country rn, I can’t say I really care about china and immigrants that much at the moment lol

It was satisfying whenever the moderator corrected trump and trump had nothing to back it up besides “it’s a fraud, it’s a fraud!!”

(I watched the majority of it live)

Also when trump avoided the question about supporting ukraine twice by just saying “I want the war to be over” like 💀

[verbal mountain]

I agree. I was talking with one of my kids at college who watched it live with his friends, and he was really disappointed at the name calling and lack of actual detailed policy sharing overall. I showed him clips of debates (before Trump came on the scene) that were respectful, cordial, and mature, and both sides had a chance to actually share details of their platforms.

To me, right now, this is more than about specific policies...America is struggling with basic human decency and basic respect for "other" humans, aka not just the ones who look like you and act like you, and as we know, a democracy is only maintainable if people are willing to work together to maintain dignity and rights for all...it's a critical juncture for us, and one person seems to continue to lead with poison and nonsense.

[granite axle]

We hoped that making an effort to stop "othering" people different from you would help in a broad way, but instead, it's broadened what some now define as "other": "Anyone not me and my family (and sometimes not even them)".

[granite axle]

Following Taylor Swift's endorsement of the Democratic Presidential ticket, the Federal agency running the largest voter-registration website in the US reports “As of 2:00 P.M. on Wednesday, September 11, there have been 337,826 visitors to vote.gov referred from the custom URL created and shared by Ms. Swift,” a spokesperson for the GSA, told CNN."

[tough tide]

She was weak on the economy question, but it is a little above my low standards haha

I don't expect Harris to be less than vague in her policies

I hope what they're doing is an attempt to push the Democratic Party into a pro-worker and progressive stance

[verbal mountain]

I do wish she had shared more details about her other policy plans. But to be fair, I cannot imagine the energy it took her to simply maintain composure.

[tough tide]

What I personally got from her through the several campaign and the debates is that

1. They intend to pass a bill on background checks and a ban on assault rifles
2. Reintroduce protection for abortion rights through a bill
3. Increase taxes on billionaires, middle class tax breaks and tax breaks on house builders(?) and first time home buyers
4. Increase IVF funding
5. Remove tax on tips
6. a financial cushion for small businesses with a tenfold increase in the startup expense deduction

[tough tide]

Well, she was a prosecutor haha

Nothing on transgender issues sadly

The only time I've heard about it is Harris mentioning Tim Walz used to be faculty advisor to the GSA of his workplace 😭

[verbal mountain]

I have always been disappointed in the lack of discussion in debates for LGBTQIA+ issues. It's wild to me because that is such a "pressurized" topic, especially in my state where our trans community has suffered unreal blows from our legislators. Recently, I was on a panel to come up with questions for a local debate, and carefully crafted 8 questions about queer issues/protections/healthcare, and not one was used. There was only one off hand mention of LGBTQ+ anything by one candidate. I was disappointed, and quite mad, actually, as I sat through the whole thing and...nothing.

[verbal mountain]

I have seen Harris talk about it in other situations too, but, there is more to be done!

[tough tide]

Well, hopefully it comes up in a debate or something

[granite axle]

Oh look, the Former Occupant says he'll not debate the Vice-President again. I shall now expire from not-surprise.

[verbal mountain]

Somebody is a sore loser....

[granite axle]

...or finally listened to his advisors.

Nah, more likely "and".

[terse breach]

shame, i kinda hoped he would embarrass himself again on tv, he's became even more of a laughing stock over the pond!

on a more serious note, hope america goes blue again, we all can't afford mr. incompetent/evil again!!

[tough tide]

Walz vs Vance perhaps? 🤔

I doubt it'd happen haha

[verbal mountain]

There is a VP debate scheduled October 1...

[tough tide]

Oh wow, I cannot believe Vance agreed pfft

[lethal oasis]

I don't know if I can watch this without screaming

[verbal mountain]

This was actually him

I think Taylor got 11 million likes on her post for Harris

[lethal oasis]

I hope it ttranslates into votes

[verbal mountain]

The first day over 400.000 people registered to vote🙌

[winter tendon]

that number was how many people clicked the link to the voter registration website, so we don’t know what percentage of those people actually registered, but hopefully it was a decent amount!

[verbal mountain]

apparently 27,000 registered to vote and 80,000 verified their registration (per one source on the very reliable instagram☺️)
I misread my original number the first time with my rose colored glasses on…and am glad you pointed that out 💜

[terse breach]

he's like a toddler throwing a tantrum when he doesn't get his way...

[verbal mountain]

anyone planning to watch the VP debate tonight?

I'm not sure I can stomach JD Vance...

[granite axle]

I saw a quip saying that if he can avoid throwing a N@z! salute on live TV, he'll win the debate. Ah, the "lowering expectations" game of debating.

[verbal mountain]

so true. Which is why I don't know if I can watch it live. We saw comparison clips of say 12 years ago debates and just the basic respect and decorum showed made me wonder WTF has happened to us...

[granite axle]

The unchecked misogyny of the 2016 electoral process--from candidates and voters--pretty much put paid to that. Whether it can return is yet to be seen.

[verbal mountain]

I just tuned in.

the first bit I saw showed Vance being pretty articulate for a moment but whew

[verbal mountain]

ofc he is a Yale trained attorney so, yea...

[harsh marlin]

sighs

[spring comet]

Alr @harsh marlin let’s yap here :3

Help we sent something at the same time 😭

Ok but like I had no clue this existed it wasn’t even on my channels list even tho I selected every one I thought 😒

[harsh marlin]

LMAOO

[harsh marlin]

i think it’s because it’s a forum

[spring comet]

Oh that’s probably why

[harsh marlin]

yeaahh!!

here’s the map of lgbtq acceptance by state btw

[spring comet]

Wow barely any of them are high..

I hate this world

[harsh marlin]

yeah it really sucks

[granite axle]

Do remember that large metropolitan areas in most states are very accepting, regardless of how the state as a whole gets interpreted. Displays like this are often engineered to allow audiences to take away whatever message they want or expect to see, as it's too broad a question to answer properly at the state level.

[harsh marlin]

yeah, i can definitely see where you’re coming from, but i’ve been all around my state of florida and everywhere is extremely homophobic. it’s crazy

[verbal mountain]

My state is red too, snowy. It’s tough

[spring comet]

My state is also red, I hate it here 😭

[daring valve]

Its sucks people can't date who they want to without having to deal with homophobes

[rugged moat]

Ratioed lmao

[rugged moat]

Mine is green ❤️

[verbal mountain]

Early voting opened here today😅

[granite axle]

Ballot in Arizona went out last week. Finally, I can stop feeling guilty about ignoring...well, everything in the state, pretty much.

[verbal mountain]

We have terrible voter turnout here. The “my vote doesn’t count” argument makes me so irritated. Just vote. Please.

[granite axle]

Almost 90% of Arizona is now on the Permanent Early Voting Mailing List; it's helped participation tremendously.

Of course, there are human-interest stories on Election Day every year of people not just declining a poll-worker's offer to sign them up for the list in future, but getting really upset about even having the offer made to them.

[winter tendon]

I voted today!

[granite axle]

From yesterday, in Georgia: https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/15/politics/early-voting-record-georgia/index.html

[verbal mountain]

I’d love this to happen here!

[rugged moat]

Exactly like it makes me lose so much hope 😭

[verbal mountain]

Working on my comments for a school board meeting because they are doing a first and final vote tonight to remove sexual orientation and gender identity from our dress code policy. Our students are coming to speak too, but it’s so hard to encourage them to come and kick some ass and speak up for themselves and others, AND know we will likely lose, but it’s so worth it to keep showing up…this is a marathon we are in…

[granite axle]

"If you don't participate [vote, volunteer, contribute, whatever], you don't get to complain."

[verbal mountain]

It passed. Sadly. But we showed up…and elevated our voices.

[obtuse garnet]

I was reading about the recently passed laws in Idaho that made it so that all medical procedures for a minor, even just asking them basic health questions, require parental consent. It also removes their right to privacy. And they want to make this national policy.

The result of this of course is that while this is meant to target minors who are talking to doctors about their gender identity, there is far, far more collateral damage including minors who are pregnant who are now unable to make decisions about their own birth chart (which was the specific subject of the story I was reading).

Like, even if you truly believed that queer minors should have no right to privacy or any sort of medical autonomy, the extremely, extremely small portion of the population you are passing this law to “protect” is simply not enough of a justification when you consider the very real harm you are doing to all minors, not just those with identities you want to invalidate

[verbal mountain]

It’s really absurd. We are rapidly losing every right that was fought for…we are even losing the right for no contest divorce here. What?!

And HOW can a pregnant minor be required to obtain parental consent. Like you said, the ramifications go farther than these small minded people can possible imagine. It’s devastating.

[obtuse garnet]

Like she was experiencing contracting at 36 weeks and before the doctor did anything they had to call a lawyer, and then spent hours getting in touch with her legal guardian (grandmother), who was in jail. The law just doesn’t consider the very real ways in which parents, in many cases, are not there for their kids

[verbal mountain]

That is unbelievable…I mean, she is about to be a mom! I cannot imagine what she went through waiting on “consent” to have her baby…HER baby.

Tonight they said something about pregnancy and how that clearly is covered by the definition “sex” because you can only be one sex to be pregnant…and all I could do was sit and listen (because I wasn’t allowed to speak again) to this blatant disregard for anything other than the binary gender

[granite axle]

Even worse are the places that carefully consider it, and finally decide not to care about anything but the verbal rhetoric opportunities. When even optics no longer matter, that's a deep rabbit-hole your followers have joined you at the bottom of.

[obtuse garnet]

Yeah the current trend of anti-woke politics is “write the poorly thought out but catchy law that will do more collateral damage than address the thing we claim we want to fix, and then spend months/years after that carving out exceptions to fix the law for all of the unintended consequences” which is basically what one of the Republican congressman admitted to being his rational when he voted for it, even though he knew it was bad law. Do the thing for political points now, fix it to not be quite as damaging later (though they’ll be patching holes in that particularly broad leak for years).

And I just. When it comes to how our community is affected… we have to do better. We have to be able to give more space for LGBTQ+ youth to be able to have medical conversations they need to have in secure settings. I worry about Idaho. I worry about Texas. I worry about the US as a whole and other countries that struggle with this, but just as being LGBTQ+ will always be inherently political, so too does that mean that so many of us grew up with an appreciation for political engagement and for finding ways to make our voices heard.

[verbal mountain]

Last few days for open voting here

[tough tide]

Already sent my vote last week! Not a lot of early voters in Nevada it seems

[granite axle]

According to folks who study elections: Nevada's rules on allowing votes to arrive up to four days late and be counted, along with their rules about counting already-received votes early have kept early voting from taking hold so strongly as it has elsewhere.

[tough tide]

I see, well it likely isn't going to affect the result much

[granite axle]

It's the only state allowing such late-arriving votes to be counted, so Nevada is, in that way--among others--unique, as may be their plan 😁 .

[tough tide]

It sucks a little that my first time voting has to be mailed in haha, so we sent it early in case it'd arrive late

[granite axle]

It's never bad to take multiple measures to make sure you get counted.

[tough tide]

Yup yup. Nevada doesn't try lowering voter turnout luckily

[verbal mountain]

Tennessee has it where you have to vote in person before you can vote absentee...and a lot of college kids don't know that so they miss out on voting their first possible time

You can also go in person to the election commission in your county, but again, this is hard to find information

Glad you got to vote!

[rugged moat]

I voted today!

[rugged moat]

This happened to my brother his first year of college

[lament moss]

I was able to sign up for an absentee ballot so I just filled it out over my last break and my parents are going to send it in

[tough tide]

Yeouch. We moved out of the country before I turned 18 so it'd be impossible

[daring valve]

Can I post videos here?

[verbal mountain]

As long as it adheres to the rules of our server and follows the best practices pinned on this channel.

[verbal mountain]

Feeling a lot bit anxious about tomorrow’s vote.

[long pier]

I'm not super into politics but I hope we get Kamala

At least she cares

[lament moss]

Same

[winter tendon]

I’m trying not to think about it

I don’t think we will get the results the same day

[verbal mountain]

I agree...I think it will take awhile to know...we have a lot riding in our local elections too ( as I am sure most of us do)

[granite axle]

A couple of states have already said not to expect to hear from them before Saturday.

[terse breach]

iirc a pollster that has got the iowa results correct everytime had harris 3% above trump in their poll... isn't iowa a safe red state?

[final adder]

literally

like no joke this vote determines the state of our community in America

[final adder]

I really hope she means what she says

[long pier]

Me too

[final adder]

it would actually fix a lot of issues

or at the very least mend them

[verbal mountain]

they are considered moderately red...voted Republican in 2016 and 2020

No matter what happens, just know that there are many good people fighting a good fight to protect and preserve LGBTQIA+ rights...we are in a marathon race, so, there is HOPE and LOVE and WORK to be done...and many of us who are willing to do it.

[final adder]

I'm nervous for the future of our people

I try not to talk about politics but it's been plauging my mind for months

it's fucking, everywhere

you cannot escape the ads,the campains,the faces

like there's literally a stand selling trump junk right down the road for me

it doesn't make me feel safe, ESPECIALLY walking by it with my bf

[verbal mountain]

I get it. I am in the southern US too...but, we are stronger and kinder, and we aren't going anywhere!

[final adder]

gosh yeah, I'm in the Midwest I can't imagine what the South is like

[red bison]

Same it's worrying me and I don't even live anywhere near there

Arizona converted to a red state based on early votes this isn't looking good so far :(

[night tiger]

i live in the uk but within the next two years I had plans to go there for a trip. I slightly worried and stressed for my friends who live there

[red bison]

Lmao I remember last time Trump won I was like "welp looks like I can't holiday there anymore"

[night tiger]

i don't think regardless of what happens in the election that i would ever feel safe or comfortable going there solo

[red bison]

Yeah neither, there are some safe places but unfortunately all the touristy places are unsafe

Mainly the big cities, I feel like Boston is the only exception

[verbal mountain]

I love Boston!

[red bison]

Same if I had to live in the US it would likely be there

[verbal mountain]

But there are safe places. And people who want to keep them that way.

[red bison]

Pretty safe all round, supports who I support, big enough to have everything you need ansd their public transport system is quite progressive

They also have a good queer community

[night tiger]

i feel unsafe going out sometimes in certain places but i cant imagine the stress and worry for young girls and women walking around in certain parts of the us

[red bison]

Yup

I wonder how my mum did it, she lived in LA

Her and my dad also used to go to Las Vegas a lot for fun, even when they were younger before they got married. I'd be too scared to do that.

[night tiger]

the uk is bad enough let alone the extra things that pose a risk in the us

[red bison]

A lot of the UK is quite safe

[red bison]

There's people everywhere who want their place to become safer, it unfortunately just doesn't happen

[night tiger]

i agree but a lot of the places that are deemed 'safe' are often not

[red bison]

My relatives live in the more unsafe areas

[red bison]

I feel like that's the case for a lot of countries

these days even what might look unsafe is probably safe compared to the rest of the world

Crime here also seems a bit high for me, but once you see how it is in the rest of the world it's like "oh maybe it's not so bad"

Unfortunately that's just reality, there's very very few actual "safe" places in the world

I can think of a few places but unfortunately they're not the most accepting of queer people...

[red bison]

this isn't looking good-

[tough tide]

Well, most of it is pretty much expected

It's a forecast, they'll start counting later in the day

If Dems win PA and Michigan, Harris will win

[soft elk]

is not over until its over 🤷‍♂️ alot can change depending on how many votes still need to be done and counted

[tough tide]

Nevada is very likely to be blue, same with Wisconsin

[long pier]

Not surprised by Florida tbh especially in my area

[soft elk]

best is to start looking at the map when most polls close, until then its up in the air

[tough tide]

Yeah, even though DeSantis practically destroyed the state's reputation haha

[long pier]

Yep.....

[red bison]

Florida and Texas are like always guaranteed red

[red bison]

Yeah same as pretty much every year

[long pier]

Yep, thanks the most close minded boomers I have around me and is very loud who they support

Like very loud

[red bison]

Yeah a lot of these states seem to have this attitude where they are too full of themselves and their beliefs

Especially florida and texas, but mainly texas

[long pier]

Texas is worse then Florida yeah

But I agree

[red bison]

The amount of people I see on discord from texas randomly starting conversations about how their state is the best and everyone is moving there is insane, it's like they live to hate on california 😭

[tough tide]

Eh... can't be ageist here, a lot of younger people are deluded enough to think that fascism has a point

[red bison]

Yeah unfortunately

[tough tide]

Yeah, and they'll blame their power grid failing again on the feds haha

[red bison]

Lmaoooo

That state is so backwards it's funny

[long pier]

Tbf California is very expensive

[red bison]

The whole shift going back to being racist and wanting lgbtq rights to be removed etc is an insult to US and the progress made over the years

[long pier]

I have friends that want to move away because of that

[red bison]

Oh yeah for sure, but I'd rather pay that price than live in a place like Texas, again I've never been to Texas before but it just seems like an awful place to live

I'm sure there are some good areas but then they'll be small and isolated

Any big city in USA that is "good" is expensive unfortunately :(

[long pier]

I have some in Texas and yeah its red but not all think close minded y'know

[red bison]

Fair enough, inflation hit real hard, my parents moved from cali only to move to a more expensive place 😭

[long pier]

I don't generalized them

[red bison]

Yeah for sure I have online friends who live there, it's just the place in general has other problems with poverty and crime etc

and natural disasters-

I don't think it's hotter than california but I'm pretty sure Texas is very hot as well? 😭

[long pier]

US in general has natural disasters

It depends on the state

[red bison]

Yeah but they hit some states more

[long pier]

Yeah

Florida is one of them that gets hit the most

[red bison]

Yeeee

South and east coast :/

If I moved to US I'd go to boston

idk how disasters are there but everything else seems pretty good

[long pier]

Boston is good I've been there

They got good Asian restuarants

[red bison]

same i loved it

[red bison]

lol

good food in general

also good connectivity to ny and stuff

[winter tendon]

hi everyone, you might want to move to #general-chat now 😊

[soft elk]

results just got released /j

[long pier]

Omg if it gets like that I'll be happy ~~ my parents won't tho~~

[rugged moat]

My schedule for the day /j

[final adder]

well

today's the day

[verbal mountain]

I’m low key glad I am flying out soon and can’t go to any of the watch parties…
Sending love and hope and positive vibes to all🫶❤️

[red bison]

😭

I saw this earlier and another map of like 95% red, people will twist everything

Idek where to get the real map from

[granite axle]

Any US news site will show little else once the polls start closing. Parts of Indiana and Kentucky are the first to close their polls, at 2300UTC.

[mortal prawn]

this is my prediction of the election.

[red bison]

Isn't Arizona red now

[red bison]

Interesting

Kentucky is red right?

If Kentucky converts to blue I'm editing the KFC logo to match 😭

[granite axle]

1996 was the last time Kentucky voted Democratic for President, so, even though they do vote for individual Democrats within the state--such as the current Governor--tonight's not expected to go Harris's way.

[mortal prawn]

is it?

i don’t know

[granite axle]

Arizona, now my home state, has been reasonably purple-ish in recent elections. This time, I'll not be surprised if we go Republican, but I still hold out hope for a small surprise in that arena.

[charred lake]

AZ is about as purple as it comes recently

[red bison]

Interesting, I saw that in the pre votes or whatever they're called they seem to be favoring Trump but idk

[rugged moat]

Yupppp

I will either end today/wake up tomorrow feeling happy, or I will be figuring out how to apply for a citizenship somewhere else 💀💀

[final adder]

MOOD LMFAO

[rugged moat]

Nahhh because my mom and dad fr be thinking about moving to canada

The only thing that’s really holding them back are their parents because they want to be able to take care of them

Which fair

We’ll just have to see

[final adder]

I have a neice or nephew on the way next year in May

I want to be there for them and my sister

but like, I wouldn't be able to get married to my boyfriend (eventually, not for a while but still)

or adopt kids

weird time to live in

it's simultaneously progressive and regressive

[charred lake]

The polls in general were but they can be very wrong, especially in recent years

[wanton elbow]

watching closely and hoping for the best today. it’s a curious thing to watch another nation vote knowing the results are so far reaching internationally.

[red bison]

True

[red bison]

Good

😭

Regardless of who wins I'd rather live in Canada

[granite axle]

In the UK, pollsters, for whatever reason, can get large-enough sample sizes for some decent statistical analysis in political polls. In the US, fewer people each year are willing to speak to pollsters--and even fewer once one accounts for those who enjoy lying to them--so they have had to increasingly adopt "adjustments" to try to put forth predictions. They underestimated the Former Occupant's support in both 2016 and 2020, so they keep increasing the sizes of their "adjustments"...I'm hoping for the Mother of All Polling Errors™️ this cycle. Also, the members polling industry hired by news organisations also have serious incentives to make the contest look like a horse race, because that's what the news wants it to look like to increase viewership and engagement. The pollsters claim if they're too far wrong they'll not be hired next cycle, but, by then, many people won't remember the magnitude of error, and the ones who know won't have any choice but to hire the pollsters available to do the work.

[red bison]

Very complicated way of doing things but I feel like this also shows how much bias there is. Idk how it is in UK either but I'm sure it's not like this. But yet it makes sense, it needs to look close for people to engage.

[terse breach]

watching nervously from across the pond here...

538 (with ABC) has Harris at a 50.3% chance and Trump at 49.5%. its way too close for comfort.

please go out and vote, especially in the 7 swing states!!

[granite axle]

The standard rule-of-thumb, given the Electoral College--I pray you'll never need to understand that monstrosity--is that Harris would've needed a lead north of 3 points, not 0.8 points, to have a good chance at winning. That's why I'm hoping for the Mother of All Polling Errors™️ .

[turbid mirage]

hoping the guy who predicted 9/10 elections correctly is right and kamala wins

[terse breach]

i do think that the polls being so close all the way through is fishy, hoping for a mother of all polling errors(tm) in our direction too!!

[sinful hemlock]

I do know lines were huge -- order of half-mile in one case noted to me.

Another reason mail-in is important.

And the rule-of-thumb I use for the EC is👎

[sinful hemlock]

Ann Selzer's reputation and final prediction for Iowa was giving a bunch of analysts I follow a rather significant pause, since it strongly suggests some hidden support. 538's prediction was shifting notably toward Harris, and had Harris very slightly more likely to succeed to office.

If any iPhone users want: The Apple News app has an opt-in for live updates. That will add the current results for President, House, and Senate to the lock screen and to the island.

[left marsh]

I don’t think Harris will win Iowa, but the interesting part about the Selzer poll is what it says about white voters in other states, especially college educated women. I’ve basically been ignoring 538 and other aggregators for the past 2 months

[sinful hemlock]

I start my doom-scrolling with 538 and electoral-vote.com around July preceding an election.

[terse breach]

hearing georgia is expected in around an hour? im guessing thats projections and that georgia doesnt have lightning fast counters lol

[sinful hemlock]

My husband and I were talking to Canada's Immigration back in 2003. The only reason we didn't go through with it was, basically, the same: People we can't abandon. Other friends are looking to relocate to Ireland (one's an Irish citizen), but that's been a slow boat for them.

But we did relocate to within a couple hours of the border, at least.

[sinful hemlock]

No swing state will be certain tonight. If for no other reason than legal battles will be raging. The overseas and military ballots also need to be tallied, and those take a bit.

[terse breach]

ive just checked, its because of early voting laws that require the early vote results in GA to be declared an hour after polls close. i think there was quite a bit of early voting in ga.

[terse breach]

yeah, trump is gonna play dirty!!

[sinful hemlock]

That'll just give the early vote. Remember that GA in particular went on for what.. a month? .. in 2020.

[rugged moat]

Yeah, that’s totally understandable. The thing is though, my dad’s parents would be willing to follow my parents to canada. My mom’s parents, on the other hand (especially her dad), are conservative trump voters that want to stay in the us. They already live halfway across the country from my parents, but obviously my mom is still attached

[sinful hemlock]

Pelosi thinks the Democrats might be able to regain the House. That will hamper one (legal) avenue for GOP-led efforts to deny EVs and force a contingency election on a state-by-state basis (ie, 1 vote per state).

[sinful hemlock]

Your mother's a bit more doting than I would be, in that situation. Thankfully I lucked out with my relations. 🙂

Our bf's all-but-vanished himself from his parents. I am pretty certain they still think he's on the east coast, though he's been here for several years. He's election-weary, so I've been trying to lighten things with Steven Colbert's interview of Tim Walz which, if you haven't seen, is pretty fun. And Harris's SNL cold open.

If folks need some musical interlude and thinly-veiled messaging, the Danish National Orchestra recently put on a US Election concert. Worth checking on YouTube -- the names of the specific pieces are apt.

[rugged moat]

Off-topic, but one of my friends posted this 💙 walz is our governor so ig it makes sense that he met him lol

[compact ice]

I’d love to meet him

[mystic sandal]

How we feeling

[sinful hemlock]

Walz just seems very genuinely great. But geography teacher kinda fits. He tells Colbert in his interview how he met his wife, who was also teaching at the same school. Fun story.

One of my cousins is/was very active in the DNC scene in MN. Her husband was an Obama appointee, go figure.

[compact ice]

Scared, I need Kamala to win

[mystic sandal]

This could be one of me and my families last nights residing in America

lOL

like we cannot stay if he wins, that puts our whole family at risk fr dr

[mystic sandal]

He’s so father coded

[sinful hemlock]

We're planning on pizza, and have stocked up on various things to otherwise buffer us. I think I might be the only one of the four here that will be actively watching the results.

[viscid seal]

It’s predicted kamala might win but I’m not sure

[sinful hemlock]

Funcle 🙂

[mystic sandal]

She won the pre-election thing

[mystic sandal]

Do keep me updated I’m so anxious

[viscid seal]

Still a good chance she might win I think we still have the electoral college

[sinful hemlock]

Well, Vermont was called for Harris, no surprise. And Bernie is projected to retain his position.

[cursive sage]

Watching the election live

[mystic sandal]

New York New Jersey and Connecticut impact the electoral college heavily

[viscid seal]

That makes sense considering all the people

[mystic sandal]

Cause we have around the biggest electoral college numbers

Which is GOOD

cs New York has been blue since 1988

Georgia is a big one too for this year

They were battling HARD

[sinful hemlock]

CT has half the EVs as WA. NJ about the same as WA. FL has a couple more than NY, and both are dwarfed by CA and TX.

[mystic sandal]

Our biggest electoral vote (California) with 54+ is a blue state

[mystic sandal]

Yea but we always end up somehow overpowering over Florida

Idk why

[sinful hemlock]

I mean, in an arm wrestling match, sure. 🙂

But FL is the state of the 500 hanging chads and the 2000 debacle.

[mystic sandal]

I mean I can name multiple times where we override their votes 😭😭

[sinful hemlock]

It is fair to say that NY almost cancels out FL. That is true 🙂

[mystic sandal]

South Dakota doesn’t matter at this rate

LMAOO

[mystic sandal]

They shld just kick Florida out of the us/j

[long pier]

Florida has a lot of close minded boomers here

[mystic sandal]

yea see that’s why we needa remove it, respectfully

[long pier]

In my area they are so loud with it

[terse breach]

isnt florida full of retired rich old people who want to play golf? (trump included)

[mystic sandal]

a county in the swing region is blue which is a good sign for Florida fr

[long pier]

Yep

[terse breach]

thought so, its like the american dorset.

[mystic sandal]

Biden is gonna join soon fr

[long pier]

Which is odd because a lot of queer folks are loud and proud here

[sinful hemlock]

As tempting as that may be, there's stuff there that I'd wanna keep. And some people, too.

Even TX: the first gay bar I ever visited was a converted synagogue in San Antonio. It was a surreal experience for me. And I recall they had a good governor at the time.

[long pier]

Like get with the times close minded folks

[mystic sandal]

We can take Disney from Florida

And than ship them off

They’ll survive (they’ll crumble)

[cursive sage]

Did I try and convince my dad who was rooting for trump that Kamala Harris would make a great president yes I did and did by reciting her policies

[fervent tapir]

Honestly so scared for the election tonight

[long pier]

My parents are eh

[mystic sandal]

My parents voted for what I wanted

Cs I’m A girlboss

[sinful hemlock]

And Cape Canaveral. But you can't really relocate that: it exists where it is for sound reasons of orbital mechanics. And there's the Apollo 1 launch pad that needs to be protected.

[fervent tapir]

If I wasn’t a minor I would vote for Kamala but I can’t vote until like 2032

[rotund jasper]

personally I want Kamala to win but idrc about the outcome if that makes sens

sense

[sinful hemlock]

oh, doing errands, there was a song that seemed the right vibe for this server: "Sister" by "K Flay". Randomly popped up on a rotation that had nothing to do with it genre-wise, but it seemed very HS-soundtracky.

[cursive sage]

As soon as I told him trump was talking about sending non us citizen back to their country of origin and my dad being a resident he was like oh is that what he he said well he can go f himself he said this all in Spanish so it was funnier

[mystic sandal]

I’ll be like 20? When I can vote next

Whenever that is bro

Oh 2028

[sinful hemlock]

I saw a great sign he'd appreciate which I don't think I could feel could about posting here. So fill in your imagination and you'll probably be close.

[fervent tapir]

I’m gonna be 17 in 2028

[cursive sage]

But honestly I’m not too worried about the election deep down I know who’s going to win

[mystic sandal]

are you 10…

[fervent tapir]

I’m 13😭

[mystic sandal]

Oh Jesus bro

I’ve never been more scared in my life for a split second

my math was js off

[granite axle]

Remember there's a four-year window you have to play with.

[fervent tapir]

It’s okay!!

[mystic sandal]

YEA i was off on the actual age from 2028 not the four year thing

[mortal prawn]

north carolina is blue so far!!!!

[mystic sandal]

Common W

[fervent tapir]

Pretty sure California is gonna be blue

[mystic sandal]

Per usual

W tho

Kamala has a high chance

[fervent tapir]

I love California but the prices are SO high

[mystic sandal]

What are their prices

[fervent tapir]

Gas prices is 4$ per gallon

[sinful hemlock]

Some things to take away from this: The country's got a lot of people (friend and foe) who'll come out of the woodwork (we're seeing both now). Elections aren't supposed to be this way (obvs). Elections used to be fun and good-natured (for the most part).

[mystic sandal]

WHAT

THAT is cheap??

[fervent tapir]

In California at least

[granite axle]

For those who haven't been watching closely: The seven states that're most likely to decide the overall contest are Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Those are the closest in expected outcome, while the others are considered more "settled" for this cycle.

[mystic sandal]

I guess it’s js that New York has the highest prices smh

[mystic sandal]

Oh aren’t those battlegrounds

And swing states

Or idk

[fervent tapir]

Yea everything is too expensive in California due to inflation

[sinful hemlock]

I've seen it higher. I almost-but-not-really miss seeing it around 75c/gal (when I started driving). Electric's cheaper where I'm at.

[obtuse garnet]

Yeah the only one I pay attention to is Nate Silver due to how closely they pay attention to the state by state polls

[granite axle]

Yep, "battleground" and "swing state" are both appropriate, and often-used terms.

[mystic sandal]

I wish we had $4 gas smh

[sly goblet]

ohio leaning blue?

[mystic sandal]

Ooo

[mystic sandal]

W?!??

Ugh finally ohio

[fervent tapir]

Yea but your lucky to get a candy bar for like 5$

[mystic sandal]

That is not true

I payed almost 9 dollars for a stupid Hershey bar 😭

[rugged moat]

Since this is my first presidential election, I feel so damn fortunate to be able to vote. Like this is definitely the most important election of my life so far imo. For those in the chat who can’t vote yet, I wish I could vote for all of you 😔

[fervent tapir]

Well idk I’m not 100% up to date with prices here

[mystic sandal]

WOOO

[sly goblet]

i’m also not american in anyway but i’m sooo invested in this election

[mystic sandal]

GO GEN-Z

[fervent tapir]

WHAT

[mystic sandal]

YEA LMAOO

our pricing is outrageous

And I’m nowhere NEAR New York City smh

[sinful hemlock]

only about 1/6 of the vote has been tallied in OH

[obtuse garnet]

Remember early voting tends to lean Democrat, I’d expect it to shift red as the count all of the Election Day votes :)

[mystic sandal]

Likely will go red I fear

[fervent tapir]

So hard to believe that Trump has been running since I was in kindergarten and I’m gonna be in high school next year and bro is still running

[mortal prawn]

my county is blue!

[sinful hemlock]

likely

[mystic sandal]

Jesus Christ I’m old 😕(I’m js 16 man)

[rugged moat]

I thought the same thing 😭😭

[sly goblet]

yeah i know and it’s all the big city’s

[mystic sandal]

Like I think I heard my back crack

[mortal prawn]

yall saying that you’re old is making me feel older…

[mystic sandal]

I was 8 so wtv that grade is

[rugged moat]

Bush was in office when I was little 😭

[fervent tapir]

3rd

[obtuse garnet]

Someone should hand him a glass of water that’s a long time to be running 🏃/j

[fervent tapir]

LMAO

[sly goblet]

he’s been running since i was 10 i’m 19 now 😭

[mystic sandal]

Imagine bro

Guys…..

He’s been running since 2000….

[sinful hemlock]

heavens.. I'm old enough to be y'all's grandfather. And I'm not the oldest one on this server.

[fervent tapir]

He has been running since I was FIVE MAN and now I’m gonna be a FRESHMAN next year, Trump fr needs to chill 💀

[mystic sandal]

He stopped for awhile and came back

[sly goblet]

LOL i was -5

[mortal prawn]

i’m only 21 lol… if yall feel old, wonder how the rest of us old folks are feeling

[mystic sandal]

Real I wasn’t even thought of

[mystic sandal]

Trump has officially run as a candidate for president four times, in 2000, 2016, 2020, and 2024; he also unofficially campaigned in 2012 and mulled a run in 2004.

[granite axle]

I lived in New York City in the '80s when he was wreaking havoc there, so I've been putting up with him for a long time.

[mystic sandal]

… 80’s?!?!

Suddenly I just got my young bones back

😭

[sinful hemlock]

The 80s have a lot to answer for. At least the entertainment industry was keeping us distracted.

[sly goblet]

i need to sleep 🥲

it’s 1am but i’m so invested

[mystic sandal]

… guys do we mean the 1880’s.. or the 1980’s…

[granite axle]

Think "Eeevil landlord" and "Unscrupulous businessman"...so, not that different. He was a fervent Democrat then, because he found them easier to manipulate.

[mystic sandal]

Mean

[fervent tapir]

I fell asleep in class again today😭

[sly goblet]

j have a 9am lecture tommorow

this is not good

[mystic sandal]

I gotta get up at 5 sigh

[rugged moat]

And what annoys me so much is that trump supporters act like trump isn’t deteriorating because of his age. Like I think it may have been after one of his rallies, but he was walking over to get into a truck, and he almost fell over trying to open the door. Like 😭

[sinful hemlock]

that's.. about the time I've been going to sleep the past few months. 😛 🙂

[fervent tapir]

Good luck😭

[mystic sandal]

Girl is more incoherent then Biden fr

[obtuse garnet]

I imagine a lot of that was just due to there being more of them in NYC too, which was where he wanted to do business. I imagine he’d still be Dem if he wasn’t running for national office (or hadn’t moved to Florida)

[rugged moat]

I have an 8 am 💀💀

[sly goblet]

i did the same thing with the 2020 election stayed up so late and was soo tired the next day

[mystic sandal]

What was my home state like back then

I’m so interested

[mystic sandal]

8?? Dawg I got a 6 am exam 💀 we like rarely get those in hs tho

[sly goblet]

i love being irish but i hate the 5-8 hour time difference

[rugged moat]

Where in the world are you from where you gotta be at class at 6 am 😭😭😭

[sly goblet]

that’s actually insane

[mystic sandal]

.. it’s like a college class I take ontop of highschool so they gotta do it before school for us 😭

Like I get up at 5 am usually not sure if I can tmr smh

[rugged moat]

Omg that sounds like hell

[granite axle]

New York State? Much the same as today. The place seems to've always divided itself into "The City" and "Upstate". Neither always likes the other 😁 .

[sinful hemlock]

My company offered a guided meditation/breathwork session this morning.

[mystic sandal]

We have more division now

We have the city, the middle and upstate LOL

[left marsh]

Trump winning Florida by more isn’t necessarily good for him, it may mean more republicans moved there from the Midwest since 2020

[mystic sandal]

Us upstate New Yorkers crack down on what’s considered upstate

[obtuse garnet]

I love that “upstate New York” just means anywhere in New York that isn’t NYC lol

[sly goblet]

i’ve been to new york ahhh it was amazing

[mystic sandal]

wrong !!! /lh it’s actually not! We do not count anything that is 4+ hours away from nyc to be upstate lol

[granite axle]

...and the rest of the state is usually not all that pleased they attract so little attention.

[sly goblet]

he he officially won florida

[obtuse garnet]

Could be bad sign for Harris’ polling with Latin voters though…

[sinful hemlock]

I very nearly matriculated to Cornell. I could have maybe-possibly studied under Sagan. Instead one of my housemates at the school I did go to used to babysit his and Ann's children. I live vicariously 😛

[obtuse garnet]

I was mostly joking haha

[mystic sandal]

Oh my bad I’m so bad at tones I swear

[obtuse garnet]

I didn’t add tags so that’s on me

[mystic sandal]

.. I read that as Putin…

[sly goblet]

this scared me 😭

[mystic sandal]

AOAH?

[sinful hemlock]

Isn't 4h just... y'know... across town from NYC? 🙂

[mystic sandal]

TEXAS BEING BLUE /j

[mystic sandal]

Pretty much

[sly goblet]

imagine 😭😭

[mystic sandal]

Everyone claim “I was here when Texas was blue before it went red” ticket /hj

[sinful hemlock]

Flew into LA after a conference. My husband picked me up at John Wayne, and we drove to Anaheim. A few miles -- three hours. It wasn't even rush hour.

[mystic sandal]

Where do u see this

[granite axle]

If Texas were to stay blue--ha ha ha--it'd be all over.

[mystic sandal]

It would literally be red white and royal blue

I mean tbf, they were flipping between blue and red all week

So we have a shot

[sly goblet]

cnn live elections results

[mystic sandal]

Tyyy

[obtuse garnet]

Hahahaha Texas being blue in that made me so mad lol. Like there’s no way they could do what Beto couldn’t

[granite axle]

The last time Texas voted Democratic for President was Jimmy Carter in 1976.

[mystic sandal]

texas can do it again I believe in them

[mystic sandal]

HAHA

wait so

[sinful hemlock]

They had Ann Richards as governor in the early 90s, and Mark White in the 80s. So.. they straddle from time to time.

[mystic sandal]

Like what if Kamala gets Cali and on those big states

[mystic sandal]

So would t that make her the winner

Or does she also need those small states

[sinful hemlock]

Kamala will get the entire west coast. That is a certainty.

[mystic sandal]

Most of the north too

[mystic sandal]

Up north not sideways north

[obtuse garnet]

I lived in Texas for 23 years, if anyone had a chance to get it blue it was Beto O’Rourke. My mom still lives in Collin Allred’s congressional district

[sinful hemlock]

yes.. that's the coast 🙂 .. WA, OR, CA. aka Cascadia (and Southern California)

[granite axle]

Ann Richards was fun, not least because she had a quick wit, and knew how to deliver a one-liner.

[rugged moat]

Just opened a (non-alcoholic) drink and turned on the election coverage lol

[mystic sandal]

Oh.. I meant maine new York Vermont LOL

we have two different meaninfs

[granite axle]

Her getting California's considered a foregone conclusion, so it's already baked into the odds. Those seven states from earlier are the only ones close-enough to swing things.

[mystic sandal]

I got my zero sugar soda

[sinful hemlock]

I loved watching her. WA's gov at the time was good for speeches as well: his joke was that a governor is the part in the machine that impedes progress.

[obtuse garnet]

In a different time she would have made a cool presidential candidate

[mystic sandal]

What’s a foregone /genq sorry

I’m bad with English fr

[granite axle]

That's honestly what the Senate--and the US Constitution--thinks their job is.

[sinful hemlock]

foregone = certain, presumptive, if-it-isn't-then-something's-wrong .. that sort of thing

[sly goblet]

texas gone red

😔😔

[mystic sandal]

…. I still do not understand but I will pretend I do

LMAOO

https://tenor.com/view/glee-emma-pillsbury-nod-nodding-yes-gif-3737306875204656768

[faint sable]

all i wanna know is why trump is winning

what good is he doing

[granite axle]

The funniest pipe-dream about Texas going blue someday is that Elon Musk keeps shipping employees from California to Texas, and they bring their politics with them.

[mystic sandal]

I swear I hate Elon bruh

[rugged moat]

I think kamala is doing worse in florida than biden did back in 2020. Like yes we knew she wasn’t going to win florida, but damn 😭

[mystic sandal]

He makes me SO mad for no reason

[faint sable]

me too

[sinful hemlock]

Nobody is winning right now, and won't be for a long while yet. Polls are still open in half the country as it is. Don't trust the early results.

[mystic sandal]

Florida is a big sack of.. uh.. racists

[sly goblet]

i really need to go to sleep so i’ll see yous in 5 hours when my alarm goes off 😭😭

[faint sable]

oohh

[mystic sandal]

Bye!!

[rugged moat]

And just historically red lol

[faint sable]

idk im not american but yea

[mystic sandal]

Ikr ship them out

[mystic sandal]

I’m American and even I don’t understand

And I kinda have to start because I can vote in 4 years 😭

[granite axle]

So folks can make comparisons: In 2020, Florida's Presidential vote was 48% Democrat, 51% Republican.

[red bison]

This is really annoying

[mystic sandal]

I think I js watched my ceiling collapse in slightly 💀 oh well, hopefully Kamala wins fr

[red bison]

Texas was off to a blue start :(

I was shocked NH was leaning red in the beginning they're like one of the most blue states

[mystic sandal]

New York immediately leans blue usually

[sinful hemlock]

Look up "red mirage" .. it's a big topic right now because it's a common thing to see on election night. Rural precincts tend to be lower population and quicker to tally and report. They tend to vote conservative. Big population centers -- Atlanta, GA, for example -- take a long time to tally, and so you won't see their results until late. They tend to vote liberal. This was a big point of drama in the 2020 election: Trump tried to use it as evidence that the election was being stolen.

[red bison]

Yeah the east and west coast usually does

but trump has pretty much the entire central and southern america on his side

[mystic sandal]

Aside from California WOO

[red bison]

Not to be that guy but compare the blue states and red states and see which one has a higher quality of life

[red bison]

California is blue

[mystic sandal]

Ain’t no way I js seen Maine leaning RED.

[red bison]

and cali is west coast

[red bison]

isn't maine split into two

last time one half voted blue the other half voted red

but blue is majority blue as well so surprising

[sinful hemlock]

Maine chooses to split its electoral votes: the part of it that is a city will probably be blue. The rest will probably be red. The same is true of Nebraska (2 red, 1 blue)

[mystic sandal]

Why

[red bison]

NJ, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Virginia, Maryland and Vermont are all blue luckily

[mystic sandal]

/genq

[mystic sandal]

As usual baby

[red bison]

And Michigan should be coming in soon \

[mystic sandal]

I wonder what Michigan will be

LOL PLS

[red bison]

best part of the country fr

[red bison]

LMAO

They should be blue

[mystic sandal]

cs I wanna go to Michigan university but if they go red.. I ain’t

[red bison]

although I think they leaned red last time they're usually blue

[mystic sandal]

LMAO

[faint sable]

oohh

[red bison]

Michigan is one of the big 10 states, only 3 are really guaranteed on her side, cali, new york and Illinois. Pennsylvania and Michigan may lean blue but apart from that the rest of the big 10 are red

[mystic sandal]

don’t say that we need her to win

💔💔

[granite axle]

Every time that's pointed out, the red states claim not to care, and that trend's lasted decades. Not sure how to fight back against that.

[mystic sandal]

Bro I will start sobbing of joy if Kamala wins

[sinful hemlock]

The US Constitution allows states to determine how their EVs are allocated. Most of the states do it as all-or-nothing, which is why the Electoral College is such a PITA and why we can have someone lose the national vote, but still win the College -- and you'll find videos on how little percent of the population would be needed to make that happen. There is an interstate compact to reduce that effect, effectively making the College more closely reflect the actual nationwide-results.

[granite axle]

Individual states are allowed to decide how they do certain things, like that.

[red bison]

I mean I just don't get how people don't see it

[red bison]

Same

[red bison]

😭

Election time is the only time I like Illinois and Nevada LMAO

[mystic sandal]

Kamala edits will start flying in fr

[mystic sandal]

Me when California

[sinful hemlock]

Michigan State in East Lansing? Gorgeous campus. I seriously considered going there.

[red bison]

Yessss it will be nice to have a relatively younger and female president for a change too. I don't really know what she's like but I'm hopeful. But for sure down here we all know how bad trump is.

[granite axle]

US politicians noticed many decades ago that educated voters are bad for their jobs, so the US educational system is ASTOUNDINGLY underfunded.

[red bison]

Lmao I like cali honestly 😭

Just not the weather

[mystic sandal]

She’s 60

[red bison]

Literally

[mystic sandal]

So she’s one of our older ones LOL

[red bison]

Eh she doesn't look like it

[mystic sandal]

but she looks and acts so young

[red bison]

Younger than the other two

[mystic sandal]

How old is orange man

[sinful hemlock]

The background level of anti-intellectualism in this country does nothing to help that fact, either 😦

[red bison]

80 I think close to 80

maybe like 79 now

[mystic sandal]

BRO ???

[granite axle]

Also, a lot of people seem to like being told what to think, and act as if they find critical thinking to be painful. It's one of the reasons the term "sheeple" became a word.

[mystic sandal]

AND WE LET GOM RUN

sorry

Sorry for caps

[sinful hemlock]

they're the ones who get fleeced 🙂

[red bison]

Yeah this is true definitely

[mystic sandal]

Listen Biden is a funny guy ngl

[red bison]

His supporters manage to find ways to keep him in

[mystic sandal]

like image having all that weight on you fr

[red bison]

Like I'm sure the people that kept him out of prison were his supporters, any other country and he would've been jailed for life

[mystic sandal]

nah someone use the elastic clause and put an age cap

[red bison]

Lmao

[mystic sandal]

Listen it might not be enumerated but I think it’s a constitutional thing to do

Bro what if we get a 90 year old president one day 💀

[red bison]

MICHIGAN AND KANSAS ARE LEANING BLUE

[mystic sandal]

WAWW

W*

[sinful hemlock]

KS won't stay that way

[red bison]

Ohio and North Carolina too apparently

Shocking

[mystic sandal]

For now

[red bison]

Shhh enjoy it while it lasts, it still shows she has a large sum of supporters in every state which still matters

[mystic sandal]

Ugh Ohio is leaning red

[sinful hemlock]

I love how they called DC even with no precincts reporting: That place tends to be 80%/20% split

[red bison]

maryland is blue

[mystic sandal]

IL is leaning blue

[terse breach]

harris is leading the count at 51-52% in nc so far according to the bbc

[red bison]

The California results are coming in at 3pm my time which is when my exam starts unfortunately, I'll have to get on that one late

[obtuse garnet]

Remember, places that tally early voting before Election Day will typically lean blue early but that will change as votes are tallied

[red bison]

Yeah

That's what happened with NH

[rugged moat]

He also has 34 felonies and is literally awaiting sentencing, but somehow everyone is brushing it off because the president is above the law apparently

[mystic sandal]

Someone use the elastic clause to make it so felons cannot run hruh

Cannot believe it isn’t enumerated alrdy smh

[mystic sandal]

We can believe

[red bison]

The % gap between the two for total votes is closing in

Oklahoma immediately red

[mystic sandal]

We don’t like them smh

[obtuse garnet]

Don’t trust any swing state’s color until voting votes are 100%

[mystic sandal]

I trust new York’s LOL

[red bison]

Funny how they're sworn enemies with Texas too

[mystic sandal]

We never seem to change smh

[red bison]

I feel like we can trust the north east states a bit more they always vote blue

[mystic sandal]

For sure

[sinful hemlock]

Dude instigated an insurrection -- I don't think we'd had one, ever.

It might as well have been 1812 again.

[red bison]

Even when bush was running they voted blue

[sinful hemlock]

Recycling night -- going to break down boxes.

[mystic sandal]

What do u use

[red bison]

Georgia is a big loss

[mystic sandal]

Georgia never picks the right side

[red bison]

Just google atm idk what to use

[mystic sandal]

Smh

[mystic sandal]

Wait so

What if

[red bison]

I thought they usually lean blue with the exception of last year

[mystic sandal]

Trump hits 270 tonight, does that mean she wins

He*

[obtuse garnet]

Not really, Georgia turning blue in 2020 was a pretty major upset

[red bison]

if he has majority votes yes

[red bison]

upset?

[mystic sandal]

so like rn he has 101 so if he hits that 270 he wins?

Or do we still have to wait for the other votes being counted

[red bison]

I'm not exactly sure but the other votes still need to be counted

idk what happens if he gets more electoral but kamala gets more total

[mystic sandal]

I doubt he’ll get the electoral

Well

Idk

[red bison]

he's at 53.4% now

[granite axle]

270 in the final total is what's required. All of this election-night stuff is projections, not certified results.

[obtuse garnet]

As in, Georgia has been red and was expected to vote red until 2020

[mystic sandal]

Really???

So this basically doesn’t matter tonight?

Is it like an estimate

[granite axle]

Precisely what happened in 2016. The Republicans have won the popular vote only once in the last eight contests: George W Bush, in the wake of 9/11 in 2004.

[red bison]

omg the percentage difference in alabama 😭

[mystic sandal]

Why isn’t she winning bro, she was winning in the pre-run 💔

[red bison]

Ohhhh I see

[granite axle]

Tonight is a "best guess". Mostly a very good one, but not official.

[red bison]

we don't know how true that is unfortunatelt

unfortunately*

[red bison]

over 60% trump

in vermont and connecticut it's over 60% kamala

[obtuse garnet]

North Carolina’s governor race has gone to the democrat 👀 this was mainly expected ticket splitting by people voting D on Governor and R for president, but still an interesting result

[mystic sandal]

Isn’t that why Biden won? He didn’t win the best guess? He won the overall

[red bison]

I like Pennsylvania now

[red bison]

interesting

[mystic sandal]

Fr

I’m kinda scared now, she’s only at 49:(

52*

[granite axle]

Well, the Republican governor candidate got caught in a pretty-big--okay, it was actually pretty huge, even by American standards--scandal. His own party tried to get him to step down from running.

[mystic sandal]

Houston Texas is blue !!

Woah

[terse breach]

8% reported means that theres only really a 3.5% gap between the two right now.

[red bison]

Ew Houston

[mystic sandal]

And Austin?!?

[red bison]

Dallas is bigger than Austin

[terse breach]

big cities often vote blue,

[red bison]

Except Houston-

[obtuse garnet]

So the way that polling works here, the percentages before the election are usually not the percentage of votes Harris will win, but rather the likelihood she will win. She had a slightly higher likelihood of winning, but no one can accurately predict the actual breakdown of votes/electoral percentages until Election Day.

[mystic sandal]

State*

Wait so how did Trump win this stage

[terse breach]

houston is very suburban sprawly though

[mystic sandal]

Ooou so she still has a shot?

[red bison]

electoral votes

[red bison]

Yes but they lean very red

[mystic sandal]

Yes but isn’t electoral based off what the population wants or am I off

[obtuse garnet]

So there’s so there’s a chance there’s a massive blowout Trump victory, or a massive Harris victory. 51% chance to win doesn’t mean she’ll get 51% of the votes

[red bison]

no electoral votes come from different people in power I think

[mystic sandal]

Ugh lame

[terse breach]

yeah, sprawly cities tend to be more red. besides all of cali for some reason.

[mystic sandal]

So what ur saying is our vote doesn’t matter

[red bison]

bigger states have more electoral votes so when new york and california come in she's get some more

[mystic sandal]

We close soon

In like uhhh 20 minutes idk

New York [

[red bison]

it's so hot here I'm dying

I'll check up on this later I have exam prep to do, a bit annoyed I'll miss cali :(

[mystic sandal]

How do electoral votes work

[granite axle]

Arkansas last voted for a Democrat for President in 1996, when the governor of their state, Bill Clinton, was running. Nowadays, they're among the most reliably red states.

[terse breach]

i have to get a bus at 8am tmr and its nearly 2am so im probably gonna go to sleep lol,
hope the night goes well for you all!! 💙 (come on the 3 rust belters, go blue - please!!)

[mystic sandal]

Harris has 71!!!

[obtuse garnet]

The way the electoral college works is that for every state (minus Nebraska and Maine), there are a number of electoral college votes based on the population of that state. Those votes are given to an appointed electoral board, who must vote (as in, they are legally required) for the candidate that got the most popular votes in their state. It’s called a “winner takes all” system. Nebraska and Maine break up their electoral votes into districts.

[mystic sandal]

Oh she’s coming back hard

[granite axle]

The simplest story: each state has one electoral vote for each Senator--two per state--and one for each member of the House of Representatives, which are allocated by population. Beyond that, you really really have to want to get into it to understand it.

[mystic sandal]

Ouu

[obtuse garnet]

Yeah it’s wild

[mystic sandal]

Ouuu

So our votes don’t matter?

Smh

[red bison]

SHE WENT UP

[mystic sandal]

She’s gonna shoot up once we close (new tork$

[red bison]

Thank you Illinois 🙏

Pennsylvania is also closing with her in the lead quite a bit and that's the 5th biggest state so she will be getting more

[granite axle]

Not directly, but they do count toward which way your state goes. Once your state's in one camp or the other, there's a school of thought that calls all the rest of the votes "wasted", as they don't change the outcome further. 50% of the votes + 1 is all that's required; 100% won't make the win any bigger.

[mystic sandal]

So if the electoral votes, vote do we just not metete?

[mystic sandal]

Nvm