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70 today.

Really showing your age on Obamacare, Joey. "A half measure of any reasonable healthcare reform" caused the US to lose its fucking shit, including your right wing Democrats (mostly led by Joe Lieberman in those days) which made even passing that night to impossible. The Republicans ran in the 2010 midterms on "Obama's going to take your health care away" and won a landslide in the House and took the healthcare vote out of contention in the Senate by making it 51-49 and leaving the usual suspects on the Blue team to refuse to back it. At the same time as he became President, Obama was left with 3 major things he wanted to do: roll back the civil liberty infringes from the Bush era, stop the recession turning into a major US depression worse than the 1930s, and expand healthcare. He started trying the first one with his first Presidential speech. The middle one took precedent and the Obama Administration bailed out several major employers in the Rust Belt to stop the economy tipping over, and he had to fight Republicans in the Senate tooth and nail for that one too. Because the Senate was so against even small changes like "let's not make most people in one of the major cities unemployed" it took time to get past the gridlock. In 2020, you can look and say that Obama should have used more executive orders like Trump does to get what he wants, but that wasn't how Presidents operated, on the whole, but it's also forgetting that Obama did use a lot of them. One of the first was to ensure the US operated under the Geneva Convention, for a reminder of how much things had slipped in the 2000s. But yeah, 2009 is a prime example of what happens when a progressive candidate wins the White House. The careerists in Washington try to block even common sense stuff. Obama wanted a public health care option, he managed to expand slightly Medicaid for the first in 50 years (admittedly to 100 million people, many of whom rely on it as a life and death thing, so you know, lets not mock the poor here), and he had to fight to the death to even get that far. I don't doubt your beliefs or values. I will add that sincerity is overrated. Many great progressive acts have been passed by charlatans, and many great sincere progressives (I refer to Barack above) have been absolutely stuck in the mire of trying to get anything done. A Harold Wilson who got X, Y and Z done for political gambit reasons was more successful than a Tony Benn who fervently believed in them, but never got close to power. So let's look at Trump's record. Concentration camps, which I forgot last time we spoke on this matter. Don't get shrill and mention the Nazis, folks, a concentration camp is merely a place you concentrate lots of people with inadequate resources to keep them out of the way. The executions and forced labour are additional extras. These mass detention centres are, and you'd expect Biden to shut them down immediately - that's not even a partisan issue (although Trump and MItch try to make it so) as Republicans like John McCain opposed the proposals in the past. He's a climate change denialist, but of the Bolsonaro style, who actively go the opposite way out of spite. His foreign policy has been so cack-handed and inept he has nearly led the world to the brink of war three times (earlier this year, when he was trying to rile up N Korea, and with his continued meddling in the Middle East) in ways that no US President has bumbled so often before. Besides that, his own voters voted for him for isolationism against Hawk Clinton. He's be the least isolationist President since Roosevelt who fought a World War! He tore up a peace treaty which would have aided the US in foreign policy, in the treasury and in their goals in the Middle East, because Obama pushed for it. His basic financial incompetence is another issue which keeps cropping up too. He misunderstands the concept of tariffs, thinking they can punish non-Americans not realising US farmers are losing money en masse from them. The same people in the Rust Belt who voted for him, and whose local economies are struggling en masse as their farms rely on low trade between countries Trump is in a strop with, and cheap labour that his ICE department keep locking up in detention centres. Also, on a personal economic level, his fucking around with the US dollar in the last few years has cost me a pretty penny in admin costs that wouldn't have otherwise existed thanks to the increase in red tape, so the fiscal conservative part of me thinks he's a fucking cunt too. As for the racial dimension, well, I am not a black American so obviously much of this is something I can only imagine. But when folk who actually are tell me that Biden is far better on the matter than Trump, and that they fear for their lives under day to day in Trump's America, I try not to brush it off, because that's their life experience after all. And it may yet be a decisive issue in the next election. He also wasted all that money on the useless wall which doesn't work, but that probably distracted him from even further damage to the world economy, so you know... (Although, I often laugh to find out the Mexico wall is very popular in Alaska but not so popular in fucking Texas or Arizona where its being built!) Also, on coronavirus, I know many of the worlds nations are in a fight to be rubbish over it, but... at least Boris Johnson doesn't suggest bleach can help. So even if you don't view Donald Trump as an existential threat to the world, he's a menace to most normal peoples money that should be avoided at most causes, and supports several dodgy policies and friends that shouldn't be in high office. So, Joe Biden instead. Ironically, given recent events, some of his great achievements were in confronting domestic abuse in the 90s when no one wanted to. He was also the first elected White House official, President or Vice President, in history to publicly back gay marriage. He was one of the first in the Senate to actively push for climate change proposals back when it was unsexy. He pushed for action against Milosevic on humanitarian grounds when people looked the other way. He fought at Obama's side in many meetings over aforementioned impending depression in 2009, and was one of the main reasons General Motors stayed open and prevent the state of Michigan falling into a depression followed by the rest of the country. He managed to pass one of the only gun control laws the US has ever managed, on assault weapons, which Bush Jr allowed to expire. He authored the Violence Against Women Act. He introduced the tracking of paedophiles in the country as a Federal issue so they could no longer jump state and disappear. The Violent Crime Act did lead to results unforeseen at the time (prison overcrowding, the gaming of the system to screw over poorer defendants) but had been intended to deal with an epidemic in drugs crimes in the 1990s. As with the good parts of the Act above, and indeed the Dont Ask Dont Tell Clinton proposals, they were designed to protect vulnerable people against abuse. It's just that the US system is very good at abusing good intentions. He also was an early and strong advocate of campaign finance reform, something close to your heart Joey, as being one of the less financially well off Senators in his time he was stunned by how much open bribery corrupt folk would try and offer the vulnerable. Biden is what I'd call a pragmatic hawk. He supported action in Bosnia on humanitarian grounds (as did I for the record), he supported action in Afghanistan because that's where Bin Laden was (he escaped from the country while the US was in it), and he supported Iraq because he got conned by the fake intelligence, like many other honourable people, although he also stated that once you are and got rid of the President, you can't just leave the vaccum unintended - which is true. He opposed the original Gulf War interference, he opposed warmongering against Iran, and those who use the Israel/Palestine troubles for sabre rattling. As your typical wishy washy live and let live type, I am resigned to the US getting involved militarily in the world. Jimmy Carter is the only US President not to send the US troops into battle. I'd rather someone who judges the issues on a case by case issue and tries to look at the long term picture, then a bumbling narcissist. On the matter of race relations, have you seen Biden's black vote. The American black voter, on majority (they aren''t a collective Borg mass after all) seem to view Bidens whole hearted support of the first black President as mattering more on his standing than events from the 70s. Robert Byrd was mourned as a key ally of Obama, and his career started in the 1950s as the Klans man in Washington. People are allowed to grow in their views and become better people. But again, not my life experience to talk about, just noting thats the general view. So, if Biden is likely better on foreign policy, race relations, the economy, dealing with national crises like the Coronavirus, the climate, and the dollar in your pocket, is he really not much better than Trump? Or is this a case of the left denouncing Wilson for being no better than a Tory, all the while homosexuality was decriminalised and job security was enshrined in law? As for things you like, well, Biden's vowed to carry on Obama's fight for a public option on health care. Its hidden in the legalise on his website because health care reform freaks out Democratic voters who seem very susceptible to the Republican myth that any reform will leave that person without any health care, but it includes taking on the drug companies on the ludicrous prices for day to day necessary medicines in the US, continuing the Medicare/Medicaid expansion, and allowing the important of drugs from outside the US which will again decrease the health care costs for millions, and restoring the funding on HIV research that Trump rescinded. (Fucks sake, I didn't even know about that one, is Trump an equal opportunity cunt or something?) He is swivelling quickly in recent weeks to supporting the cancelation of student loan debt (it works differently in the US than from here) that was one of Bernie's big campaign things. Now you wanted proof this would happen in office, but really what you have here is a politician sensing the way the wind is blowing. On the matter of proof, he's also on record and has the history to back it of supporting gun control, introducing basic normal country stuff like background checks on people who buy guns, not allowing them to buy war weaponry online, and not allowing the mentally ill to buy automatics. Crazy policies... But other than casually point out the vast differences in the two mens policies - I've deliberately ignored their personal defects to avoid a tit for tat thing here - and pointing out stuff you support that the campaign is starting to back, there's really nothing else we can do.

It all feels like if we get to next year with only a few more Crem style declarations of doomsday the forum will be relieved.

Obituary courtesy of The Times.

It's been a year since she died, so nothing special about that. Buuuut: At that time she only was the second hit on the DL, while at this point the current DL stands at 9! Let's wait and see where it all ends (the DL of 2020)...

Could be an overreaction and pessism to why Trump is winning the betting markets, or could be that in the last 30 years we have seen 3 Democrats(Kerry,Dukakis,Hilary) ahead in polling before the summer only for them to absolutely collapse. Biden is ahead right now playing Weekend At Biden's/The Invisible Man and it being a yes/no referendum on Trump. If he is still ahead closer to Nov them the betting markets will flood in his direction since there is no Comey Letter or magic bullet that can take him down in the last month.

Do you mean this Ian Anderson? Those darn smoke machines should be outlawed or at least come with stern warnings.

Not the mighty Khamtai Siphandon, but his favourite henchman Sisavath Keobounphanh has died at 92.

Update on Nick Cordero: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-52645276

The Scottish Nationalists’ sickening fawning over Nicola Sturgeon in her handling of the coronavirus pandemic when she only half-runs a country smaller than London. I do actually have a favourable approval of what she’s doing, but her supporters make me hate her. I hope to fuck she doesn’t die in a car crash in Paris or we’ll be hearing about it for the next 25 years... it’s all because she pretended to cry about the old cunts dying! Isn’t it?

*shakes fist at sky* GOOSEBERRY!!!!

Yes, a one-day champion during the Art Fleming era: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/politics/2008-06-30-2937395846_x.htm

Your faith will be rewarded!

I've just realised this is only the 3rd year in deathlist history that there has been a hit in each of the first five months, the only other 2 years being 1994 and 2018. If we get a hit in June it will be the first time ever that there has been a hit in every one of the first 6 months.Will we do it? My moneys on it right now !

I don't think it makes a difference. If you think it's going to be 666, then go for it. Duplicated predictions are allowed.

Buffalo Phil 10 Old Crem 10 Sir Creep 10 Grim up north 10 Paddyfool 10 Red Rumour 5 Quim Reaper 5 Engineer 5

Here is the next round material ! Special thanks cause there was no duplicate ! Entries are still opened btw. Good Luck to all ! May 12th : benderdalek May 16th : CoffinLodger May 17th : paddyfool May 18th : Joey Russ May 20th : roaming_comrade May 21st : Cant Wait May 22nd : chilean way May 23rd : Deadpool May 26th : CastAway May 27th : ThereWillBeDeaths7 May 28th : Book May 29th : ladyfiona May 30th : The Quim Reaper May 31st : redrumours June 1st : Genfaerd June 2nd : theoldlady June 3rd : khscarymovie4 June 5th : Sir Creep June 6th : Bibliogryphon June 7th : Il Magneto June 10th : Perhaps June 11th : The Red Death June 12th : The Old Crem June 16th : Bentrovato July 21st : YoungWillz August 30 : Msc

Vera Lynn, Olivia de Havilland is probably immortal by now...

Ninety-fucking-four today!

Bloody hell, you watch The One Show?

Crem is really trying to find a way for John Edrich to be a hit, isn’t he?

I have a hunch that the power of the enema is going to ensure that Pope Benedict is another former name that should have been returned to inclusion on this years list who will become a non hit miss for the committee like Jill Gascoigne and Little Richard.

Deid.

Wow I was just listening to 50s music with someone yesterday when I said how sad it will be when little Richard and Jerry lee Lewis die.