Watcha' Doing - 2020 Showing 2,301-2,350 of 2,651

[Shirley]

We are all watching with interest at the American election. We wonder where we will get our amusement if we don’t have Trump’s antics to entertain us. We’ll have to turn on our own politicians. Plenty of candidates for amusement there.😁. Who’d be a politician eh?

[Esther]

Rusalka wrote: "Hear hear!! As someone who comes from a place with anonymous voting, and compulsory turn out to vote, it's your vote to do what you wish with. We call it Donkey Voting here, where you put in a blank ballot, or write an essay, or draw a picture, or misnumber the boxes.."

I have been a Deputy returning officer for quite a few elections. I can tell you that people can be very creative when voiding a ballot. :)

[Travis]

Some of my thoughts are I think we have more of and louder voices of liberal media. National polls tend to poll more Democrats for some reason. I just don't think Joe Biden is that dude. What I'm saying is I'd be very surprised to see trump not reelected. Also if the Senate and House go Democrat somehow the electoral college goes republican to prevent the trifecta of power.

Other things to watch. If this mail in voting takes too long we already know for months trump has set the stage for fraud and everything else because he knows statistically mail in or absentee votes are largely Democrat votes. And if the count starts dragging out and they start arguing the case they can demand the popular vote thrown out and choose people to make the vote for us. Apparently popular vote is a privilege and not even needed for a president. Each state I believe it is can nominate people to make the vote or something. It's hard for me to explain it all but be prepared for anything I guess.

[Rusalka, Moderator]

Shirley wrote: "Yours was recently held too? We don’t hear much about ACT unless it’s politicians squabbling (otherwise known as Parliament) or bushfires."

All good down here, just hay fever kicking in crazily. Although now we have an air purifier after the unbreathable air in summer, so that's making it a bit better inside.

Was very pleased with your results up north! Funny what happens when a whole heap of southerners attack a Queenslander, it solidifies you guys.

Our election was the the week before, same day as the NZ one. We thought it would be a usual landslide to Labor, but nope. 9 Libs, 10 Labor, and 6 Greens. Tripled the Greens in parliament, and now we have 2 Greens ministers in the Labor cabinet. The Liberals have made themselves the third party now with their push of a really socially conservative agenda in the most socially progressive city in the country /eyeroll.

[Saar The Book owl]

I'm currently following the American elections. I couldn't imagine that it woud be a neck on neck race.

[Annerlee]

Hi folks. I'm just popping in to say hello having taken a back seat for a while.

My news is that I finally have a premanent home! It's in the village of Scalloway which is outside the main town of Lerwick but still only 15 minutes away by bus. Good for work and supplies

I signed the lease at the beginning of September but have since been busy moving in and setting up. I had no furniture and the previous tenant had to take everything out, rip out all floor coverings, curtains etc Apparently because of Covid ?!?

My boss at work had spare laminate flooring in the cellar and just turned up one Saturday to lay it down in the kitchen for me. He also donated carpet oddments that have covered one room and provided 'rugs' for the others. I feel pretty humbled by all the help I've received. There's such a cool community in Shetland.

I've met some of my neighbours at a distance - we can't visit just now. There are lots of kids and dogs around but in a good way. Feels like a good and lively place to be.

And I finally have a decent internet connection!!!!!

I've been reading quite a bit - a few chunksters amongst them.They don't necessarily fit the annual challenge criteria, but I've just been reading what I like and enjoying every minute. Robin Hobb is a fantastic author and my discovery of 2020!

[Annerlee]

Saar The Book owl wrote: "I'm currently following the American elections. I couldn't imagine that it woud be a neck on neck race."

I'm currently trying NOT to follow the American elections. I couldn't imagine that it woud be a neck on neck race.

Can't stand the pressure.

Also, there's word that a Trump win could also mean a harder Brexit for the UK because Johnson thinks he'll get more backing from the US (sigh)

[Sarah]

Good to hear from you Annerlee. That's excellent that you have a permenant address now and you've had support getting it kitted out. I hope you will be very happy there.

I can't believe how close things are with the election.

[Sandra, Moderator]

Congrats on your new place, Annerlee! Good to see you around.

[Saar The Book owl]

Annerlee wrote: "Hi folks. I'm just popping in to say hello having taken a back seat for a while.

My news is that I finally have a premanent home! It's in the village of Scalloway which is outside the main town o..."

I'm so happy for you that you find a home! I think that's a lot of stress falling of your back. That's so thankful of your boss to come and help you out. About the elections, well, I never thought it would get so tight.

[Peggy]

I'm so happy to read your positive message Annerlee!

We've been reading Robin Hobb's Realm of the Elderling books as buddy reads for some time now. Not sure where you're at, but feel free to jump in :)

[Kristie, Moderator]

So good to hear from you, Annerlee. I'm glad things are going well and you found a new home in a welcoming community. I'm sure you will be very happy there. Congratulations!

Yes, the US election is really close, unfortunately. It is looking like it could be a repeat of 4 years ago where one candidate wins the popular vote and the other wins the electoral college. I'd love to have a candidate who could win both.

[Annerlee]

Peggy wrote: "I'm so happy to read your positive message Annerlee!

We've been reading Robin Hobb's Realm of the Elderling books as buddy reads for some time now. Not sure where you're at, but feel free to jump ..."

Thanks Peggy

I'm half way through the Tawny Man trilogy. I'll look in on the discussion if I catch up with you : )

[Jenn]

Glad to have you back Annerlee 😃

[Lilisa]

Great to hear from you Annerlee and that you’re settled in your new place. Lovely to hear about all the support you’ve been receiving - a reminder that there are lots of awesome people. Happy reading!

[Janice, Moderator]

I'm happy to hear from you Annerlee. Congrats on your new home. Things sound positive for you. It's been a journey.

[Travis]

The race was always predicted to be neck in neck unless you follow any sort of bias news agency. Which to find honest news is hard. You kind of have to know what podcasts to follow. All the stuff I heard has the race playing out exactly like it is. Absolutely no surprise to me at all

[Travis]

Even though I find unbiased as possible news. They did all give the edge to Biden by a narrow win. I personally never actually believed that but I'm being proven wrong as to this point



Historically though for future reference if national polls say the Democrat has a 6% lead it means they're even. They survey more Democrats and more Democrats respond and it averages to if you want the actual projections heading into an election you subtract 6 from the Democrat side. This is data from multiple elections and it proves time and time again

[Esther]

Annerlee wrote: "Hi folks. I'm just popping in to say hello having taken a back seat for a while.

My news is that I finally have a premanent home! It's in the village of Scalloway which is outside the main town o..."

Gald to hear from you Annerlee. It sounds like you found a great place.

[Travis]

So my Facebook looks like this. The people I've watched calling everyone else snowflakes and being too damn sensitive have turned suddenly into the biggest bunch of cry babies everm. Haven't checked the count lately but the amount of whining I'm witnessing along with threats that the world is apparently going to end tells me Biden is winning and apparently every business in America is about to close because of it and it appears we'll be a third world nation pretty soon

Drama much people. We just went through the most toxic 4 years probably anyone has lived through who was alive during it. I think we'll be just fine.

[Sandra, Moderator]

Lol, Travis. I think your "thermometer" is right.
But at this point things still things can go either way. We'll see. It is being painfully long...

[Cherie]

Hi Annerlee. I am so glad you have your own place and to hear that your boss came through for you with flooring and carpets. I hope things keep looking up for you! It is nice to have you back and to hear you finally have a good internet connection. Happy reading, whatever it is for. ;o)

[Sarah]

God this election is dragging. I'm tense and I'm not even in the US. Just seen there have been protests and quite a few arrests at some of the count centres.

I'm still waiting for my covid test results. It's ridiculous how long you have to wait. No wonnder we're in the state we are.

[Saar The Book owl]

Sarah wrote: "God this election is dragging. I'm tense and I'm not even in the US. Just seen there have been protests and quite a few arrests at some of the count centres.

I'm still waiting for my covid test r..."

Yes, people are protesting and threathening. It takes ages to come with the results. I hope you get your test results soon, Sarah.

[Rusalka, Moderator]

So good to hear from you Annerlee, and that you have a new home. Lovely you have a community looking in on you too.

I didn't think the election would come to this, but I am glad after the President's speech the other night they are taking their time and counting everything. Gives him less credibility in the courts. Fingers crossed there is another state called today so we have certainty, although certainty will be court challenges, no cooperation or handover whatsoever, and bets are no appearance at the inauguration.

Speaking of certainty, hope your results come soon Sarah.

[Kristie, Moderator]

Yes, it's stressful to wait so long. Trump has already filed lawsuits. He wants the counting to stop so they can observe it. Apparently, he can't understand how places started out with him in the lead and then Biden started to receive more votes. He thinks it is fraudulent.

We did somewhat expect this though. A lot of people used mail in voting this year because of COVID. Trump has been telling his supporters not to vote by mail because it isn't safe, votes will be lost, it's fraud, etc. Terefor, more Democrats voted by mail than Republicans, who chose to show up at the polls on election day. States were not allowed to count the mail in votes until election day, so they were counted after the live polls closed. Obviously, it takes time to count all those votes, so the election is taking longer to conclude and since it was mostly Dems voting by mail, Biden's numbers are surpassing Trump's. Trump is struggling to understand this and is already putting lawsuits in place, so I agree with you Rus. If Biden does win, Trump is not going to leave gracefully.

[Kristie, Moderator]

Sarah, I hope your results come back soon. That is stressful to have to wait so long.

[Rusalka, Moderator]

Also, the groundwork was in place early for this type of protest. Dems said vote early, mail in, and responsibly. GoP went vote on election day. That way they knew there was a time they could call this bs while "in the lead" and rile people up as the results "changed" ie became the real thing. We count absentee votes and postal votes after the day too. It's not unusual.

Ever the cynic I know, but I don't think I'm off the money on this one.

[Kristie, Moderator]

Rusalka wrote: "Also, the groundwork was in place early for this type of protest. Dems said vote early, mail in, and responsibly. GoP went vote on election day. That way they knew there was a time they could call ..."

I think you're exactly right.

[Sandra, Moderator]

There is an interview to Sanders from 2 or 3 weeks ago all over the internet today. He was saying that this was exactly what was going to happen. I'm so tired already, specially being in Pennsylvania... Today there were still ballot boxes from military absentee arriving here. It will take a while.

[Sandra, Moderator]

I can't link because my cell is not collaborating, but if you Google "Sanders interview with Jimmy Fallon" you will see it.

[Rusalka, Moderator]

But all this said, please keep yours and you safe everyone. I am thinking of you all at the moment. I hope that you get a result and it's upheld in the next couple of days, no matter which way. I understand limbo is dangerous, and i never ever thought I would have said that about the USA.

[Rusalka, Moderator]

Will check out that video, Sandra. Thanks!

[Janice, Moderator]

Kristie wrote: "If Biden does win, Trump is not going to leave gracefully."

I think that was a foregone conclusion from all the posturing Trump was doing to set up this very scenario. I saw a video of people chanting, "Stop the count". If someone told them their votes were all in an uncounted box, would they still be chanting? But, after reading your explanation of how a lot of republicans were voting in person on the day of the election, and democrat were using mail in voting, I understand the dynamics better.

[Margo]

Annerlee wrote: "Hi folks. I'm just popping in to say hello having taken a back seat for a while.

My news is that I finally have a premanent home! It's in the village of Scalloway which is outside the main town o..."

Annerlee, I wish you the best of luck in your new home. It has taken a long time to come! It sounds like a lovely, supportive community. You have a very cool boss!

I'm so glad you discovered the delights of Robin Hobb. A few of us in the group are reading The Realm of the Elderling and we're all enjoying it.

[Margo]

Kristie wrote: "Yes, it's stressful to wait so long. Trump has already filed lawsuits. He wants the counting to stop so they can observe it. Apparently, he can't understand how places started out with him in the l..."

Thanks for explaining that Kristie. I couldn't understand why Trump was shouting for the count to stop.

I was just talking with Ciara about the coverage Trump has had in Ireland/europe for the last 4 years which is totally negative. I get that we don't like his aggressive attitude and posturing but in real terms he hasn't done anything too bad. Do you think he has increased the divide in the US? Most of world seems has become very polarised right now. I think it what recession does to people.

[Renee]

Annerlee your post shows there are still goods people in this world. I hope your new home is a happy place. It was created with the help of friends.

[Kristie, Moderator]

Margo wrote: "Kristie wrote: "Yes, it's stressful to wait so long. Trump has already filed lawsuits. He wants the counting to stop so they can observe it. Apparently, he can't understand how places started out w..."

I do think he is very divisive. He talks negatively about Dems and is always talking about us versus them or red versus blue when in reality we are all American and need to work together. There is supposed to be compromise and that isn't happening anymore. Everything seems split along party lines. In fairness, I think it's been slowly heading in that direction for a while, but he definitely sped it up and promoted it.

I think he also tries to discredit anyone that does not support, agree with, or represent him in a manner that he wants them to by calling them corrupt or fake or something else, which has increased the division among people.

It looks like his lawsuits were dismissed and vote counting is continuing on.

[Sandra, Moderator]

Yes, I agree with Kristie. You can agree or disagree with what he has done as a president, but his hatred speech is hurting society.

[Margo]

Well, I definitely won't miss his tweets! On a more personal level, I won't miss Pete ranting about his bad behavior.

When do you guys think it will all be over? Could it go into tomorrow? I've never been so invested in a US election.

[Sandra, Moderator]

We don't really know. Nevada might take until Sunday to finish the counting. Pennsylvania was still getting military absentee ballot boxes arriving today.

[Kristie, Moderator]

Yes, I'd be really happy if it was done tomorrow, which is a slim possibility, but it could potentially be several more days.

[Sarah]

Same here Margo. I've always been ibterested in the US election but generally ok to wait for the announcement. I've been refreshing the news page multiple times a day to see if more votes have been counted.

I just received a text to say my covid test was negative which is a relief. Just a bog standard mild chest infection it is then.

[Saar The Book owl]

I recently saw a documentary about Biden and Trump and how they grew up, their families, personal things...
And it's scarying on how Trump didn't evolve in his character, mentality...from his teenage years until now. Also, there were friends, family members, authors, press, entourage...talking and I don't know how Trump even got to be president without a bit of political knowledge. And after seeing a documentaray on how Fox News became famous, well, then you can connect some dots.
America has always been divided and there has always been racism, like everywhere, but not it's not hidden anymore. Trump has made it come to the surface and is profiling himself by taking over the (social) media, because he knows that he can reach the public by this way on maximum capacity.
But it's a good thing that citizens see now the importance of voting. 4 years ago there were a lot that didn't vote.
I don't know how thing will go further, but I think sadly that Trump is not giving up so easily. What the tv - stationsdid, though, was very good, but I think it will take a long way to calm people down. There is need for an open communication without threaths, violence...

[Peggy]

I keep checking for news updates on the votes counted too. But I feel my head is so full with other stuff that I don't really have the space to do more than that. I haven't followed the elections (also in the weeks before) as closely as I normally would. And when I check for the counted votes, I automatically read the other election news too and it's stressing me out. It must be much worse when you're actually living in the US.

[Rusalka, Moderator]

Margo wrote: "I get that we don't like his aggressive attitude and posturing but in real terms he hasn't done anything too bad."

Ooooohhhh... I am not going to go into this in this thread, but I have a very long list.

[Saar The Book owl]

Sarah wrote: "Same here Margo. I've always been ibterested in the US election but generally ok to wait for the announcement. I've been refreshing the news page multiple times a day to see if more votes have been..."

That's good news, Sarah! But take care of the chest infection. Hope you'll feel better soon.

[Rusalka, Moderator]

Sarah wrote: "I just received a text to say my covid test was negative which is a relief. Just a bog standard mild chest infection it is then"

So glad you're clear, Sarah!

[Sandra, Moderator]

Great news, Sarah! Are you feeling better (independently of the relief for the negative test)?

First thing my 7 years old son did this morning was to get the iPad, refresh the elections webpage and say "results still the same". That is how bad is here. :)

[Sandra, Moderator]

@Rusalka, lol, I also have a very long list, but I have to say that I was expecting even worse.