What does a TRUMP presidency look like?

[Valmy]

Thirty years from now when you're sitting by your fireside with your grandson on your knee and he asks, 'What did you do in the great Space Force?' You won't have to cough and say, 'Well, your granddaddy shoveled shit in Louisiana.' No sir, you can look him straight in the eye and say 'Son, your granddaddy shaped the strategic environment!'

[Hamilcar]

Thirty years from now when you're sitting by your fireside with your grandson on your knee and he asks, 'What did you do in the great Space Force?' You won't have to cough and say, 'Well, your granddaddy shoveled shit in Louisiana.' No sir, you can look him straight in the eye and say 'Son, your granddaddy shaped the strategic environment!'

"And by "shaping the strategic environment" I mean I made some really hot Powerpoint slides! They had pie charts, flame transitions, and at least 11 bullet points per slide."

[Syt]

Thirty years from now when you're sitting by your fireside with your grandson on your knee and he asks, 'What did you do in the great Space Force?' You won't have to cough and say, 'Well, your granddaddy shoveled shit in Louisiana.' No sir, you can look him straight in the eye and say 'Son, your granddaddy shaped the strategic environment!'

It's something that could literally be from the Netflix show.

[garbon]

I'm only seeing this mentioned by Independent right now but hmm...

https://www.independent.co.uk/us-election-2020/trump-twitter-kamala-harris-biden-democrats-animals-empire-state-building-2020-election-a9668526.html

Trump calls Kamala Harris a 'mad woman' and bizarrely claims Democrats want to abolish 'any kind of animals' and 'tear down' Empire State Building

Donald Trump on Thursday tore into Kamala Harris and other Democrats, saying the presumptive vice presidential nominee is a "mad woman" and claiming her party wants to get rid of "any kind of animals" and tear down New York's famed Empire State Building.

The president, trailing Joe Biden in nationally polls and ones in most key swing states, contended in a Fox Business interview that Democrats want to rip down the iconic building and replace it with a new one featuring "no windows." He also said the party's "Green New Deal" calls for "no cows," before making his claim that all Democrats want to abolish all animals.

He also repeated his claim that, before the coronavirus outbreak, the economy was so strong George Washington, the country's first president, would have been unable to defeat him. The president called Mr Biden and Ms Harris "big taxers," claiming they are proposing what amounts to a $4trn tax hike.

[celedhring]

Has he come up with a nickname for Harris already? Can't find anything on his twitter feed. Have the muses deserted him? 

[The Larch]

He also repeated his claim that, before the coronavirus outbreak, the economy was so strong George Washington, the country's first president, would have been unable to defeat him.

Bold statement, to claim to be able to beat George Washington in an election.

[Sheilbh]

Has he come up with a nickname for Harris already? Can't find anything on his twitter feed. Have the muses deserted him? 

I think she's "nasty" Kamala so far - I've seen that in an ad, I think.

[celedhring]

Nasty Kamala needs work. But "Corrupt Kaine" wasn't one of his best zingers either. I guess VPs aren't as deserving of his fine brand of poetry.

[Syt]

[Valmy]

Slightly hyperbolic.    I don't understand the fascination with a doomed Empire that for the last few centuries mostly coasted on their previous status as major power. Kind of like 19th century Austria-Hungary. 

*runs for cover*

Well I find Austria-Hungary just as, if not more, fascinating so probably not a great example

Both are very weird. Weird things are more interesting than boring things.

Also when you have this story about how the Roman Empire fell in 476 and then somebody brings up that the Romans were back in 535 for a bit before being booted out again by Lombards and Normans, naturally the next question is: oh? how long was this? And when the answer is: oh...500 years...I mean that is fucking bizarre. Granted in the Dark Ages 500 years is not a very long time.

[The Minsky Moment]

It would be more accurate to say that Justinian destroyed what was left of the Roman Empire in Italy as opposed to restored it. Italy under Theoderic was politically and culturally a continuation of the late Western empire; Theoderic even obtained consulships and titles from the eastern Emperors to maintain a fig leaf of de jure legitimacy.  If you were an old-style Italo-Roman aristocrat in 500, things would have seemed a lot like they had for the prior century except that the Pax Ostrogothica would have appeared more stable. Justinian's invasion devastated the physical and cultural infrastructure of Italy, and combined with the plague it never recovered.

[Valmy]

It would be more accurate to say that Justinian destroyed what was left of the Roman Empire in Italy as opposed to restored it. Italy under Theoderic was politically and culturally a continuation of the late Western empire; Theoderic even obtained consulships and titles from the eastern Emperors to maintain a fig leaf of de jure legitimacy.  If you were an old-style Italo-Roman aristocrat in 500, things would have seemed a lot like they had for the prior century except that the Pax Ostrogothica would have appeared more stable. Justinian's invasion devastated the physical and cultural infrastructure of Italy, and combined with the plague it never recovered.

I mean you are not wrong. But how many things get destroyed but exist 500 years after their demolition? Only Byzantine things. What a weird country with a weird history.

But the plague would have devastated Italy anyway. Who knows.

[Malthus]

It would be more accurate to say that Justinian destroyed what was left of the Roman Empire in Italy as opposed to restored it. Italy under Theoderic was politically and culturally a continuation of the late Western empire; Theoderic even obtained consulships and titles from the eastern Emperors to maintain a fig leaf of de jure legitimacy.  If you were an old-style Italo-Roman aristocrat in 500, things would have seemed a lot like they had for the prior century except that the Pax Ostrogothica would have appeared more stable. Justinian's invasion devastated the physical and cultural infrastructure of Italy, and combined with the plague it never recovered.

Basis of one of my favorite alt-history novels, "Lest Darkness Fall".

[grumbler]

It would be more accurate to say that Justinian destroyed what was left of the Roman Empire in Italy as opposed to restored it. Italy under Theoderic was politically and culturally a continuation of the late Western empire; Theoderic even obtained consulships and titles from the eastern Emperors to maintain a fig leaf of de jure legitimacy.  If you were an old-style Italo-Roman aristocrat in 500, things would have seemed a lot like they had for the prior century except that the Pax Ostrogothica would have appeared more stable. Justinian's invasion devastated the physical and cultural infrastructure of Italy, and combined with the plague it never recovered.

Basis of one of my favorite alt-history novels, "Lest Darkness Fall".

  L. Sprague de Camp knew how to write yarns. 

[Sheilbh]

So it looks like we're pretty close to the first QAnon-backing Representative:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/08/11/marjorie-taylor-greene-georgia-qanon/

It turns out she's also had questions about 9/11 and the (non-)fact that "It's odd there's never any evidence shown for a plane in the Pentagon."

And then goes onto discuss Iraq: "But anyways, I won't -- I'm not going to dive into the 9/11 conspiracy. But 9/11 had happened. Our country was very much into a war. We had invaded Iraq looking for weapons of mass destruction that we never found at that time. We were basically destabilizing the Middle East."

There's something very striking that in both the UK and the US the party responsible for Iraq saw its base basically entirely turn on the party establishment and, instead, run to two fringe, populist candidates in Corbyn and Trump