The USA is a democracy.

The people made their decision. Respect their decision and leave it at that.

As for Elon Musk's salute. Perhaps wishful thinking by some here. Compare it with the Neo-Nazi salutes we saw on our streets some time ago.

Some people have very vivid imaginations driven by their bias.

We should be thinking about our election. Do we want a leader who takes a Bex and lays down whilst rampant, vicious antisemitism, indeed terrorist activities are taking place on our streets, or a leader given to law and order.

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Fact-Checking on Day One

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1. Trump said, “We will tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens.” But his proposed tariffs would be paid by U.S. consumers

2. He falsely stated there was “record inflation” under the Biden administration. But it was much worse during multiple periods in U.S. history.

3. Trump claimed that 38,000 Americans died during the construction of the Panama Canal. Only about 300 were American. There were 20,000 French. The rest were from Jamaica and Barbados.

4. Citing North Carolina and other states post-Hurricane Helene, Trump misleadingly claimed that the federal government “can no longer deliver basic services in times of emergency.” FEMA provided food, water and other supplies, offering over $344 million in assistance within weeks of the disaster.

5. He said the U.S. has “the largest amount of oil and gas of any country on Earth,”. It produces more but several countries have far greater reserves than the U.S.

6. Trump blamed high inflation on “massive overspending and escalating energy prices.” The COVID-19 pandemic triggered the escalation.

7. He said he would “revoke the electric vehicle mandate” and allow people “to buy the car of your choice.” But there is no “mandate” on electric vehicles. Carmakers are free to decide how to reduce tailpipe emissions.

8. Trump said, “We will bring law and order back to our cities.” Violent crime has gone down slightly since he left office.

9. Trump claimed that many immigrants crossing the border illegally are from “prisons and mental institutions.” There is no evidence to support that.

10. He insisted the 2020 election was “totally rigged.” The evidence and 77 legal cases prove the opposite.

11. Trump falsely claimed that the House select committee that investigated the Jan. 6 Capitol attack “destroyed all the evidence”. The committee released an 800-plus page report with the evidence.

12. Trump falsely claimed that he “offered 10,000 [National Guard] soldiers” to protect the Capitol on Jan. 6, to then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, wrongly adding that she “admitted it on tape.”

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There are about 244 million people eligible to vote in the US. 77,284,118 voted for Trump in the 2024 presidential election. That represents about 32% of all those eligible to vote.

That means that 68% of Americans who could have voted for Trump did not. No doubt for various reasons – not necessarily because they did not want him to become president.

It is, nevertheless, something that should be kept in mind as events unfold.

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"12. Trump falsely claimed that he “offered 10,000 [National Guard] soldiers” to protect the Capitol on Jan. 6, to then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, wrongly adding that she “admitted it on tape.”"

http://tiny.cc/rl67001 Oh dear!

"3. Trump claimed that 38,000 Americans died during the construction of the Panama Canal."

No. He said: ""They were diggers, and they were brave: 38,000 men died from infected mosquitoes in the jungles of Panama during the construction period. Think of that: We lost 38,000 men." No claims they were Americans.

"2. He falsely stated there was “record inflation” under the Biden administration. But it was much worse during multiple periods in U.S. history."

There are many ways to measure inflation. Picking one and making claims about it indicates a desire to falsify rather than edify.

"6. Trump blamed high inflation on “massive overspending and escalating energy prices.” The COVID-19 pandemic triggered the escalation.'

It was caused by the laughingly named 'Inflation Reduction Act' which threw stupendous amounts of money into an already over-heated economy. At the time Biden claimed it wouldn't cause inflation since “Milton Friedman isn’t running the show anymore.” Friedman had proven in the 1970s that government spending was the cause of inflation. Friedman was proven right again.

And sadly these were the least inaccurate parts of Banjo's claims!!

And so it begins. False claims made against Trump get believed by the TDS crowd and form part of the meme that all is a lie while they try very hard to forget the most corrupt regime in US history that preceded it.
And irrespective of how outlandish the claims of lies are, they'll be repeated by the losers ad infinitum.

Musk Nazi salute.... just add it to the list.

The Panama Canal belongs to the 40,000, mostly black and Hispanic people who perished while labouring for a uncaring America during its construction.

California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and most of Colorado once belonged to Mexico (Actually it all belonged to the Native Americans) the United Stole the land of others!

A defining feature of authoritarian regimes, including fascist regimes, is total control of the media, extreme suppression of free speech, and an obsession with misinformation/disinformation. I think that a significant reason for Trump coming to power was his promotion of free speech.

In Australia there are many examples of attempts to control public opinion with supposed "fact checking" that amounts to no more than blatant distortion for the purpose of supporting a political agenda. Some examples:

-finding a Nazi salute to be a camera adjustment and a mock Hitler mo to be an unrelated habitual hand gesture

-finding that a group of people didn't chant "f the Jews" of "gas the Jews", but rather "Where's the Jews?"

-fact checking to determine the Uluru Statement to be one page

-finding wind and solar to be the cheapest and most reliable forms of energy generation

As AA members well know, there is no hope of solving a problem until you acknowledge it.