The transition

[6zfshdb]

What relations ?

When your best friend suddenly declares you its enemy, you look for new friends ...

It will change in 2.5 years. Problem is, it will take twice that long to undo the damage. I pity the next guy who has to deal with the mess.

 

[6zfshdb]

Pay up, dinosaur burners!

The sad part is, dinosaurs would have been more useful in their original form if we could train them. how many horsepower in a T rex?

 

[scrambler]

It will change in 2.5 years. Problem is, it will take twice that long to undo the damage. I pity the next guy who has to deal with the mess.

Assuming they have not fully taken control of the election process so they can stay in power indefinitely (Competitive Authoritarianism, Turkey style on its way to Russian style).

We will know in 8 weeks if that is the case

 

[Mr. Coffee]

Assuming they have not fully taken control of the election process so they can stay in power indefinitely (Competitive Authoritarianism, Turkey style on its way to Russian style).

We will know in 8 weeks if that is the case

I am doubtful that such an outcome would be at all stable. The federal government does not have sufficient forces available to it to control the population unless that population wants to be controlled. And you might notice that some of those forces are a bit busy in the moment and that situation isn't going at all well.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

The federal government does not have sufficient forces available to it to control the population unless that population wants to be controlled.

The thing such as the fuel price or the tariffs or the inflation or waging wars or ICE agents in the streets or the aviation issues (ATC crisis) certainly come from the federal government actions. Correct me if I'm wrong but the negative phenomena affecting Americans right now have been all created by the current federal government?

 

[6zfshdb]

Assuming they have not fully taken control of the election process so they can stay in power indefinitely (Competitive Authoritarianism, Turkey style on its way to Russian style).

We will know in 8 weeks if that is the case

That would require changing the current 2 term limit, which needs a two thirds congressional approval. Not likely to happed under current conditions.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

That would require changing the current 2 term limit, which needs a two thirds congressional approval. Not likely to happed under current conditions.

January the sixth. It was close.
Now, the country leader is not asking the Congress permission for anything.
"Special Military Operation in Iran. Not a war", anyone?

 

[scrambler]

I am doubtful that such an outcome would be at all stable. The federal government does not have sufficient forces available to it to control the population unless that population wants to be controlled. And you might notice that some of those forces are a bit busy in the moment and that situation isn't going at all well.

I love your candor
If you study how authoritarian states got to that point you will notice a 100% similarity to the steps that have been taken so far.
In a competitive Authoritarianism state, you have an arguable appearance of democracy, but the guarantee of the outcome, and if you look at all the countries around the world that ended under such regime, they have proven to be almost impossible to change once in place.

 

[scrambler]

That would require changing the current 2 term limit, which needs a two thirds congressional approval. Not likely to happed under current conditions.

I am not talking about a dictature, but competitive authoritarianism, where the appearance of a democratic process is there, but there are enough controls and manipulations that you can guarantee the outcome.
Most of the steps have already been taken, a few have not, but there are ways to compensate for them, especially when you have control of most of the judicial process (which they now basically have).
We shall see in 8 weeks, fingers crossed

 

[Mr. Coffee]

The thing such as the fuel price or the tariffs or the inflation or waging wars or ICE agents in the streets or the aviation issues (ATC crisis) certainly come from the federal government actions. Correct me if I'm wrong but the negative phenomena affecting Americans right now have been all created by the current federal government?

If you look at it from ten kilometers up you might perceive that. But when you look at most local government situations around the Untied States they are seriously messed up and often corrupt as well.

The overall problem is that a government that appeared to be enlightened by 18th and 19th century standards and worked well enough in most of the 20th century might be dangerously obsolete in the 21st.