The Christian right care more about painting minorities as evil than they do what it says in the bible.
A lot hated him too, they just wern't allowed to be public about it. He came to power with less than 40% of the vote. Also- according to many accounts, it wasn't that the 30 something % that voted for him liked him... it was more, he was an alternative to communism and was the most vocal against it and a lot of Germans at the time were scared of communists. They saw him as the lesser of two evils. Hitler came to power as an Anti-Communist, not primarily as an Anti-Semite... although that changed after he was elected. Once he took power, a lot probably still didn't like his social agenda but he was working economic miracles so they looked the other way as atrocities happened. It wasn't that they necessarily supported him or the agenda- it just didn't impact them directly, and they were wealthier- so they looked the other way. (at least on the surface... all fueled by unsustainable borrowing of money... Germany was on the brink of absolute economic collapse by the end of the war... even if the Russians or the Americans hadn't joined in- Nazi Germany would have collapsed because it couldn't sustain the level of borrowing). Goes to show that a deranged idiot can take power with minority backing... same thing could happen with Trump. Majority hate him, but enough idiots like him he might just grab power back... and he might never let it go.
I actually think the verdict is a load of bollocks and I don't even support him. Essentially what he did was legal but the fact he hid the payment as a legal expense wasn't. He should have declared it as a campaign expense. Boohoo.
I agree it's not the biggest crime. But, he's guilty and he knew what he was doing when he did it. Is it the worst thing he has done? No. Is it really that serious a crime... not really. John Edwards did a very similar thing back in 2008... he got caught and tried... and somehow got away with it, I don't remember how now- but it did ruin his political career even though he got away with it (because unlike Trump's supporters- his supporters DID care). For me, I'm happy because someone rich and powerful actually got found guilty and is being held accountable... that doesn't happen often. I also am happy something is sticking to the teflon don after everything he's done, it's nice he's finally being held accountable for something (even if it isn't the biggest crime of the century). I doubt he'll get more than a slap on the wrist because the judge has made it clear he doesn't want to be interfering with the election, and he's let Trump get away with breaking gag orders so many times that he clearly has no backbone... (anyone who wasn't Trump would have been put in jail during the trial for repeatedly breaking the gag order) but I'm also happy with anything that gets in Trump's way. Trump doesn't respect democracy... and I don't normally care too much who is President, because I don't think it makes that much difference... but I do think democracy is important and Trump is a threat to democracy. I think for a lot of Americans, the reason why this won't impact their voting is because elections is a team sport for many of them. They're either team Democrat or team Republican. And just many football fans will back their team even when they're fouling or diving... so will political-party fans. I'm not partisan... I don't belong to any party and I think they're all corrupt to a degree... funny thing is, other than the tax cuts for the rich and tax raises for the poor a lot of his policies go completely against what republicans stand for (or used to stand for). Protectionism used to be a democrat thing, not a republican thing. Things like his tarriffs on European and Asian goods.. a decade ago, its the republicans who would have found that abhorrent. Cozying up to Russia, etc... I can't understand why they love him so much. He's made the worst of the democrat's ideas into Republican ideas and kept the worst of the republican ideas at the same time. I was convinced he had to be a Democrat plant the first time he ran...
I've just listened to some of Trump's speech and the way he talks is lol funny It was largely insane but the bit that made me spit my tea out was this: You saw what happened to some of the witnesses that were on our side. They were literally crucified by this man, who looks like an angel, but he’s really a devil. Genuinely laughed. Like, does he know what literally crucified means? I just had a picture in my mind of all his witnesses being stuck up on crosses in the middle of the courthouse. And the way he finished off in that voice by saying he's really a devil
When I was in hospital recovering from my quadruple heart-bypass, a rather stunning nurse who looked remarkably like Emily Blunt would come in around midnight each night and sit on my face just to check I was still breathing... mind you, morphine does make you dream a lot so I can't attest that this is 100% accurate ...
when I was in Hospital after my motorbike accident a pretty young nurse in the uniform of 1967 was an additional incentive to live. seeing one walking down the ward to administer your medicine cheered you up even if it was a needle in your backside I was in traction so I could not leave the bed and to prevent bed sores your bottom was massaged with a silicon lotion, you used a bar over the top of the bed to lift yourself up enough for access, the nurse would put the lotion on the palm of her hand and make sure there was full coverage, it was almost like the scene in The Singing Detective Detective where Johan Whalley is applying lotion to Michael Gambon and in his head he is saying Please don't get hard They used to wash my hair as well and one even used to shave me, I think it was all that attention that caused the breakup with my girlfriend because she got very jealous, I was almost sad when I was discharged and sent home In those days you new what everyone did because of the uniforms and Doctors wore white coats with a stethoscope around their neck These days they all wear shapeless fatigues, just not the same
I work with hospitals... most nurses I work with, you need a few blunts before the nurses are worth looking at.
It was a bizarre, but typically self indulgent, self pitying Trump speech He really does play the victim card Made me laugh seeing the protesters with Trump is a Loser outside the court, because he'll ****ing hate that as he's always portrayed himself as a winner.
To a lesser degree, a similar thing happened here with Boris. A man who is a known liar, cheat and incompetent. A person who like Trump is only interested in bolstering his own ego and political career, yet people still voted him in and then watched the country go to ****. I can imagine a scenario if Trump wins where he'll take a Putin-esque approach and make it as difficult as possible for people to remove him from power
People were taken in by Boris, who did a good job hiding his narcissism behind a front of easy humour and charm. You’d have to be mentally quite unwell, to be taken in by Trump.
Yeah, always felt the Boris = Trump comparison was lazy tbh. Boris was involved in British politics since the day he left school, he was a main stay on British political TV. He hid whatever faults he did have with a wall of genuine charisma, Boris was one of the most popular politicians of the modern TV era, scratch that, THE most popular politician. He's a good speech giver, good debater, he takes criticism in stride. And while he earned the publics trust, when he misused it, he lost it. There wasn't a cult around Boris, not like Trump's. I think the Tories regret sacking him but he isn't "our trump"
A measure of his charisma, is how he managed to persuade persuade voters in traditionally Labour areas to vote for him. His majority in Parliament came from the Red Wall seats; and twice the people of London elected him as mayor. He knew how to sell himself; tbf so does Trump, but Americans are a lot easier to con, it would seem.
Funny thing is, most Republicans hated him to begin with.. he won the nomination because while there were a dozen old-style candidates playing the old-style handbook he was preaching a much more firebrand version of "Islam is evil, keep out the Mexicans". He was blunt and combative and stood out like a sore thumb, and that appealed to enough that the racist element all voted for him while the moderate Republicans all split their votes between the large number of moderate candidates. Most Republicans were "anyone but Trump" up until Trump won the nomination. Once he had the nomination... Well .. Americans view.politics as a team sport, you back your man. Those that hated him before had to support him. They got used to digging in and defending him. America, and the Republicans got numb to how evil a man he is. The only people that really decide an election are independents. I would say 90% of Americans are going to vote for the same party every election no matter how bad their candidate is. There's only 10% that really need convincing. It's like, Chelsea are going to want Chelsea to win, even if they're managed by Mourinho. Republicans want Republicans to win even if they're led by Trump.
It'll probably kick off in Central London this afternoon... It appears Tommy Robinson has a march, and there's going to be an anti facist counter march gathering.