Is the expat party coming to an end?

[Wade K.]

Wade and the people who liked your comment, sure, Trump did not incite the resurrection, (going to be wild) he did not conspire to get fake electors in all of the close race states, he did not beg the attorney general in Georgia to find 11,000 votes, he is not continuing to promote the big lie.... You Wade are anti-democratic, anti-honesty and ridiculously disingenuous like that P.O.S. you like so much.

Well you feel rather strongly about it lol. We just had a morning news commentator say Trump was going to execute people if he regained power. Said look at his past record. Every two years the Left brings out all the scare tactics before elections because their economic policies don't hold up under scrutiny. It's not a matter of partisan flag waving, I want this country run better. I want secure borders, low inflation, international diplomatic policies that keep the peace for a more secure future for the young. The current administration is failing in all of this. To say let's keep the status quo because I hate the other party isn't fixing the problems. Much of what you posted about Trump has been skewed by his political enemies to keep him out of office. I expect most if not all charges will be overturned on appeal. Most charges were filed in highly Democratic districts so convictions are likely because of the hatred for Trump in those districts. Doesn't make it so though. Good luck with the TDS!

 

[Wade K.]

Many people are celebrating Mileis win but the party will be short lived as he does not have the mandate to implement the changes that he wishes to achieve . I agree on him on many poicies but do not on dolarizattion due to many factors . I am a capitalist and believe in less government intervention but with checks and balances in place to protect the most vulnerable of the society . Australia has subsidied medical care as well as scholarships that keep that society running . Being capitalist does not mean blowing up completely the system as professed by Milei on many occasions .

I suspect that if dollarization happens Argentina will become much less affordable for expats and quite a few will leave. Ecuador used to be extremely affordable until they adopted the Dollar. Still affordable, but not like before.

 

[Wade K.]

I missed the part where Democrats stormed the Capitol when they lost.

Did you happen to notice the much worse riots across the country in 2020 that the Democrats abetted? Did you see all the security tape just released that showed a very different narrative than the Jan. 6th Commission painted? Did you see the security footage of the Capitol Police firing rubber bullets and tear gas into the crowd stirring up anger? The resultant surge towards the police was the footage that the Jan. 6th Commission released while refusing to release any other footage. When McCarthy took office he released most of it and Johnson has now released all of it. Did you know that one of the guys charged with trespass had a terrorism enhancement put on by the DOJ that would of given him 20+ years? Security footage showed him walk in peacefully, look around for 20 minutes, then walk out. No violence. After getting the terrorism enhancement he committed suicide. The Jan. 6th Commission also claimed the guy who wore the buffalo headgear and acted outlandish was a ringleader trying to force an overthrow of government. He got 7 years. McCarthy released security footage and it showed him walking peacefully around, escorted by two Capitol policemen. Nothing violent. He was released from prison shortly after the footage came out. The Jan.6th Commission was willing to lie about most of these people because they were trying to create a narrative they could use against Trump to destroy him. Why? It's my belief that Trump was a threat to the endless wars that make defense contractors wealthy and fill campaign coffers of politicians of both parties. People have been so indoctrinated to hate Trump that they don't realize they're being played. As the saying goes, it's easier to dupe a man than convince him he's been duped. Trump is a very flawed individual. I'm not thrilled with his personality. But during his term we had low inflation, low gas prices, a secure border, and countries weren't being invaded. The pandemic threw a monkey wrench into all of that. But I can say this all day and the Trump haters still won't agree. I hope you give Milei more of a chance.

 

[Wade K.]

I have no issues with contesting an election and never stated that I did. In my opinion Trump had every right to contest those results. He had an obligation to his supporters to do so. Let's discuss some of the differences between 2020 and the elections you brought up.

First difference. there's a difference between contesting the results of an election and questioning the legitimacy of an election.

I did mention that Trump lost in all but one of the over 60 cases he and his lawyers took to the courts. If you doubt this or think it's from a vivid imagination you can find many sources from independent reliable news agencies that back this up. Unlike 2000 where the recount was ordered to be stopped in order to comply with the time frame set forth by Congress to certify the results, Trump chose to go in a different direction and encouraged his followers to not only follow along, but to actively participate in disrupting the certification process. Violence wasn't a concern - "It's going to be wild!" Like everything else I'm mentioning in this post, it can all be verified by valid, respected, independent news agencies both domestic (US) and foreign.

In 2000 it came down to the infamous "hanging chads" and both sides had their teams of lawyers in Florida. The Dems got out played by Roger Stone and his Brooks Brothers Riot. The Dems bought knives to a gun fight and lost - which wasn't a surprise at all. Bush fought harder, Gore didn't, Bush won. It wound up going to the Supreme Court. On December 13, 2000, just a little over a month after the election and before the Electoral College votes were to be certified, Al Gore formally conceded his loss saying, "for the sake of our unity as a people and the strength of our democracy, I offer my concession." To this date Trump has neither formally or informally conceded his defeat, and certainly didn't act in any way for the sake of unity as a people and for the strength of democracy. On January 6, 2000 twenty members of the House of Representatives rose one by one to file objections to the electoral votes of Florida. Gore, who presided in his capacity as President of the Senate, ruled each of these objections out of order and the electoral votes of all 50 states were certified. Bush was sworn in on Inauguration Day, and Gore was there to witness it. Quite different than 2020.

2000 United States presidential election - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

In 2004 Kerry conceded his defeat to Bush on the day after the election. There were concerns about the process raised by both sides, but I don't see the point of bringing them up since they were raised by both sides, Kerry conceded, and obviously there were no issues as far as certifying the results of the Electoral College. Bush was again inaugurated and Kerry was there to witness it. Again, quite different than what happened in 2020. Here's a link on the controversies if you're skeptical that these aren't facts and instead the product of a vivid imagination or just interested:

2004 United States election voting controversies - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

2016. The Associated Press called Pennsylvania for Trump at 1:35AM EST, putting Trump at 267 electoral votes. By 2:01AM EST, they called both Maine and Nebraska's second congressional districts for Trump, putting him at 269 electoral votes, making it impossible for Clinton to reach 270. One minute after this, John Podesta told Hillary Clinton's victory party in New York the election was too close to call. At 2:29AM, the Associated Press called Wisconsin, and the election, for Trump, giving him 279 electoral votes. By 2:37AM, Clinton had called Trump to concede the election. On Wednesday morning at 2:30 a.m. Eastern Time (ET), it was reported that Trump had secured Wisconsin's 10 electoral votes, giving him a majority of the 538 electors in the Electoral College, enough to make him the president-elect of the United States, and Trump gave his victory speech at 2:50 a.m. Later that day, Clinton asked her supporters to accept the result and hoped that Trump would be "a successful president for all Americans."

There were controversies and concerns; like in 2004 coming from both sides. Jill Stein contested electoral votes in certain states, but she's Green, not Democrat, and as I mentioned, there's nothing wrong with contesting, but when you lose, you lose, and if you respect the democratic process you put on your big boy pants, admit defeat, and for the good of the country wish the winner success during their term. As in '00 and '04 elections you brought up, the '16 results were certified on the required dates. People took to the street in peaceful protest (as is their right as Americas) which were not called for by the loser Clinton. No actions were taken by Clinton to mobilize her supporters to deny the results, take over the Capitol Building, "fight like hell," and disrupt the certification process. The protests did not involve police officers being beaten by protestors and protestors did not search out elected officials inside (or outside of) the Capitol Building looking to hang them or otherwise bring violence.

There's nothing wrong with contesting results and using lawyers and the courts to fight as hard as you can for as long as you can right up until the moment where Congress fulfills their Constitutional duty to certify the results. But 2020 was the only year where that long tradition of respecting the democratic process and peaceful transition of power was not only ignored, but pissed on.

For the record, the last time I voted Democrat in a Presidential Election was Clinton in '92; more because I was tired of 12 years of Reagan/Bush than I was a fan of Clinton. I was so disappointed in the Clinton years that I didn't bother voting in '96 which was made easier since I was outside of the country in a remote location and didn't feel I had anyone to vote for anyway. In 2000 I voted Nader. Out of the country in '04 and '16 (were I also wasn't a fan of Hilary and didn't vote for her). I'm not a fan of Biden either. Obviously I'm not a registered Democrat. What I am is someone who respects the democratic process and who is against authoritarianism. I'm also someone who accepts the reality of a situation without feeling the need to make up stories or deny reality when things don't turn out the way I'd like them to. I remember what I was taught as a child playing sports and am either a gracious winner or accept graciously accept my defeat without whining about my loss. And since my residence is not even close to being a swing state I've never felt bad about not voting because unlike declaring a winner based on the popular vote, the Electoral College system makes it so that your vote doesn't really matter if you live in a solid red//blue state like Alabama, California, W. Virginia, Oregon, etc

As far as Milei, of course his opponents are going to smear him and work to ensure his defeat in the next election. It's called politics and it's how that game is played and has been played since politics has been around. Surely you don't get upset when Trump smears people and works to defeat them in the next election since part of Trump's whole schtick is to give people childish nicknames and smear them before the self-proclaimed Billionaire tries to sell common people red hats or flat out begs them to send him $. And his supporters love it when he does and repeatedly open their wallets to give their hard earned $ to the most successful businessman history has ever known - so successful he has to sell hats, bottled water, steaks, etc., and beg for $ . I can't understand why you'd be upset, take offence, or even bring it up as an issue if other politicians and their supporters use the same smear tactics that Trump uses? Maybe that lack of understanding explains why you believe the 2020 election was no different than 00/04/16? The Devil's in the details.

I didn't read all of that but I'll just point out that right at the start you said Trump lost all of those cases. Not so. Those cases were tossed without ever being tried. The courts refused to get involved. That's a big difference from the common belief that Trump lost in court. I honestly don't have time to go through all of that but I suspect it more of the same. I hope Trump is reelected and can pardon himself of the Federal charges to save all of us the grief of going through another four years of constant attacks and roadblocks to his agenda.

 

[Jimbob]

Is there not a US politics thread you guys can go argue in? It's tiresome having to wade through your internal discourse in so many threads.

 

[TWB103]

Is there not a US politics thread you guys can go argue in? It's tiresome having to wade through your internal discourse in so many threads.

There's inevitably cross-over especially if Milei is the 'Argentinean Trump' and talking of left vs right political dynamic which is a universal theme that links US/Global and Argentine politics. Argentina doesn't exist in a vacuum. When truths are exposed or answers can't be given I guess some are more keen to end the discussion than others.

 

[Jimbob]

There's inevitably cross-over especially if Milei is the 'Argentinean Trump' and talking of left vs right political dynamic which is a universal theme that links US/Global and Argentine politics. Argentina doesn't exist in a vacuum. When truths are exposed or answers can't be given I guess some are more keen to end the discussion than others.

I appreciate that but it all too often deviates from the specific topic and starts repeating what is written in other threads. We all know what Milei is about and the topic is if this going to effect us as expats, not so much whether Trump is a criminal etc etc.

 

[on the brink]

Take a break, cupcake as it's obvious you're stressed out.

Seems that retiredbanker is fresh out of arguments, and now resorts to name-calling. Sad.

 

[aloevera]

Universities in Argentina can remain free for those of low income but should charge those who have the means to pay something.. The costs would be insignificant compared to USA prices. Also why should Argentine citizens pay for the education of foreigners who come to Argentina solely for the benefit of free education? These things need reforming.

Who is low income and who is not? (I thought Milei was firing lots of state employees. He's going to need to hire some people to calculate this annually). Even if someone is "high income", they may not have the means to pay for a university education because of life circumstances. WHY should people be discriminated against because of their income (or their parents' income)? the current system is fair and equal (free) for all!
other countries such as Germany and Brasil also have free university education for foreigners. the number of foreign students in Argentine universities is very low and insignificant, but of course, xenophobic politicians need a group to direct hate and anger towards.

 

[Quilombo]

Who is low income and who is not? (I thought Milei was firing lots of state employees. He's going to need to hire some people to calculate this annually). Even if someone is "high income", they may not have the means to pay for a university education because of life circumstances. WHY should people be discriminated against because of their income (or their parents' income)? the current system is fair and equal (free) for all!
other countries such as Germany and Brasil also have free university education for foreigners. the number of foreign students in Argentine universities is very low and insignificant, but of course, xenophobic politicians need a group to direct hate and anger towards.

I hate means testing, but neoliberals seem to LOVE it for some reason, despite it always being a total shitshow when implemented. There are better ways of funding things than charges at the point of use, and peoples incomes change, sometimes drastically, over a short period of time.

The least complicated solution is graduated taxes on income/assets over years to fund social services and goods. I can only speak for myself, but I want rich people to have the same doctors as poor people, I want rich families to care about the quality of education a middle class kid receives because their kids attend the same schools, I want millionaires to take the subway because it's more convenient than driving.

While I'm not bothered by discriminating against rich people (I wish we did more of this, and assigned a negative value to hoarding wealth) I don't like how segmented/segregated/sorted societies and communities are becoming. I'm hoping to adopt a baby at some point in the next 10 years, and if I continue to (hopefully) earn a good salary like I do now, we could more than afford to send a kid to private school, but I don't want to, because we should all be invested in the outcome of public education for example, and it's easy to not care when you can afford the best teachers and small class sizes.