Trump can't really do anything about NAFTA because it is essentially a treaty. His only move there would be to try and issue some EOs to direct Customs to use as much red tape as they can for things being imported from Canada and/or Mexico, which would be ridiculous.
I do not have any interest in this fight one way or another, but I am curious how far the "take them down" crowd is willing to go to remove any/all memorials relating to the Confederacy and/or people who owned slaves. Gravestones or other burial markers which have a Confederate flag on them? Are the monuments in places like Vicksburg slated for decommission? Will someone call for the Jefferson Memorial to be dismantled?
Anyway, @jjstraka34 mentioned the vandalizing of that Holocaust Memorial in Boston. Given that people are petty, short-sighted, and vindictive, look for more incidents of vandalism against such monuments as well as monuments to people like Dr. King; that should be the next play in their book, in addition to stationing people at monuments on the other side they wish to preserve.
Oh, and that other thing he mentioned--the group surrounding the church has been mostly overlooked in the wake of that poor woman's death. Let's just say that *I* wouldn't have wanted to be in that church at that time then look out the window to see a group holding torches.
Final thought: if secession is treason then shouldn't someone be tapping the CalExit folks on the shoulder and telling them that the measure they have almost managed to get onto the ballot in California is treasonous? (Incidentally, secession is *not* treason but we can resume that discussion some other time.)
Trump can't really do anything about NAFTA because it is essentially a treaty. His only move there would be to try and issue some EOs to direct Customs to use as much red tape as they can for things being imported from Canada and/or Mexico, which would be ridiculous.
I do not have any interest in this fight one way or another, but I am curious how far the "take them down" crowd is willing to go to remove any/all memorials relating to the Confederacy and/or people who owned slaves. Gravestones or other burial markers which have a Confederate flag on them? Are the monuments in places like Vicksburg slated for decommission? Will someone call for the Jefferson Memorial to be dismantled?
Anyway, @jjstraka34 mentioned the vandalizing of that Holocaust Memorial in Boston. Given that people are petty, short-sighted, and vindictive, look for more incidents of vandalism against such monuments as well as monuments to people like Dr. King; that should be the next play in their book, in addition to stationing people at monuments on the other side they wish to preserve.
Oh, and that other thing he mentioned--the group surrounding the church has been mostly overlooked in the wake of that poor woman's death. Let's just say that *I* wouldn't have wanted to be in that church at that time then look out the window to see a group holding torches.
Final thought: if secession is treason then shouldn't someone be tapping the CalExit folks on the shoulder and telling them that the measure they have almost managed to get onto the ballot in California is treasonous? (Incidentally, secession is *not* treason but we can resume that discussion some other time.)
The historical context of a group of mostly African-Americans in a church being surrounded by white men with torches is not lost on anyone who knows anything about the racial history of this country. And those participating in the march damn well knew what they were doing. That march to surround the church was a terrorist act in and of itself.
CalExit is going nowhere, but if California DID decide to secede, they'd be fine, since they are the world's 5th largest economy on their own. West Virginia and Mississippi are the ones who need California, not the other way around.
Seceding may not have been treason, but firing on Fort Sumter certainly was.
History trivia: when Ft. Sumter returned fire (which took a while), its first shots were fired by Abner Doubleday. Yes, *that* Abner Doubleday, the one who didn't actually invent baseball (regardless of what the MLB will tell you).
History trivia: when Ft. Sumter returned fire (which took a while), its first shots were fired by Abner Doubleday. Yes, *that* Abner Doubleday, the one who didn't actually invent baseball (regardless of what the MLB will tell you).
Seems to me the Lincoln Memorial would be the last one anyone on the left would go after. Not that anyone has suggested the removal of the Washington or Jefferson Memorials either. They haven't. It's been strictly related to Confederate memorials. Moreover, there are at least 22 Confederate monuments in the United States that are in States that WEREN'T EVEN IN THE CONFEDERACY. How can one make an argument those are about anything but racial intimidation?? And I'll continue to bring this up, nearly ALL of the over 1500 Confederate memorials in this country were put up at least 50-60 years after the war. Most during the rise of Jim Crow, and the rest during the Civil Rights Movement. They are nothing but monuments placed by the white power structure of the South to say to black people "we are still in charge no matter what you or those Yankees say".
Anyway, that Lincoln Memorial thing strikes me as a teenager with a can of spray paint, and the message is nonsensical at best, and nothing can be discerned from it. But, again, no one is calling for the Washington or Jefferson Memorials to be removed, and any suggestion that they are is a straw-man that only exists in a hypothetical future.
Statues are only put up to HONOR someone, nothing less. If people want to honor what the Confederacy stood for, that shows me who and what they are. If they need these statues to maintain their sense of history, then they, more than anyone, need to go where history is actually told, which is in books.
Where this all goes next is anyone's goddamn guess, but I am getting the distinct feeling from today that Trump is rooting for violence in the streets to point to when the Russia story drops on him like an anvil, and he will invoke "law and order" as a defense. Know this: there is no bottom to this barrel. No one has yet seen the depths of depravity this man will sink to. Not even close.
In visiting, crawling around, and exploring many times as a kid, and having other family that grew up right next to several civil war forts, I often wondered then how southern civil war veterans felt. Older now, I have wondered how they were treated afterwards. It might be easy to call out people , but I'll bet the decision at the time for some was harder than many could ever think, even within the same small town and family. I have often wondered what I would have done THEN, living in a different time period without the info, news, opinions, and the knowledge I have now.
We are not the only country to have problems in dealing with past military conflicts that are seen in a bad way. It is not easy dealing with a past one is not proud of. Maybe I just don't like seeing folks jump the rails, skipping the trying to understand part and going straight to violence.
Rebels and traitors, huh. Well now, looks like I come from a family of past traitors, not only to the British Monarchy but to the US as well. Ok, I can understand and accept that viewpoint, but many won't. Might I suggest not opening a mixed debate in the south with that statement? It'll shut ears quicker than wax. It's obvious this country has never gotten over that war, or it's reasons, certainly not here in the south, even after 150 yrs. The removal or not of remembrances should be taken with a bit more respect than that of angry protest to if we are to keep tensions from escalating even further (and they already are).
It's not easy trying to understandall sides in the 'removal' debate, especially not one as emotionally charged as this. I do know that taking a strict stance of moral superiority usually inflames another group (whichever) and will most likely lead, rightly or not, to violence.
Maybe that's what it has come down to though, and the time of peaceful negotiation has ended. It sure is beginning to look and sound that way, on many different issues. We still may yet get another war within this country, although in many ways, I think there already is.
In visiting, crawling around, and exploring many times as a kid, and having other family that grew up right next to several civil war forts, I often wondered then how southern civil war veterans felt. Older now, I have wondered how they were treated afterwards. It might be easy to call out people , but I'll bet the decision at the time for some was harder than many could ever think, even within the same small town and family. I have often wondered what I would have done THEN, living in a different time period without the info, news, opinions, and the knowledge I have now.
We are not the only country to have problems in dealing with past military conflicts that are seen in a bad way. It is not easy dealing with a past one is not proud of. Maybe I just don't like seeing folks jump the rails, skipping the trying to understand part and going straight to violence.
Rebels and traitors, huh. Well now, looks like I come from a family of past traitors, not only to the British Monarchy but to the US as well. Ok, I can understand and accept that viewpoint, but many won't. Might I suggest not opening a mixed debate in the south with that statement? It'll shut ears quicker than wax. It's obvious this country has never gotten over that war, or it's reasons, certainly not here in the south, even after 150 yrs. The removal or not of remembrances should be taken with a bit more respect than that of angry protest to if we are to keep tensions from escalating even further (and they already are).
It's not easy trying to understandall sides in the 'removal' debate, especially not one as emotionally charged as this. I do know that taking a strict stance of moral superiority usually inflames another group (whichever) and will most likely lead, rightly or not, to violence.
Maybe that's what it has come down to though, and the time of peaceful negotiation has ended. It sure is beginning to look and sound that way, on many different issues. We still may yet get another war within this country, although in many ways, I think there already is.
You won't see me spending anytime in the South. The rural North is awful enough on these issues. In some places it might be worse. And it's not really a viewpoint, it's a fact. They fired on their own country and went to war with them. And the side that is against people going to war to protect the institution of slavery IS morally superior.
@jjstraka34 Aww, c'mon down, even us ol rednecks, hillbillies, tarheels, and crackas will still welcome ya down heah. I was reminded quite a few times of where I was from when visiting NYC in the past. Heh, chuck in appearances and an accent and I'm often a goner, right out the gate. IIRC they liked 'hillbilly' up yonder ways. This small town country boy thought he was in another land in more ways than one. I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion (pretty much already) that bout every state and country has it's downsides in one form or another.
Politics: the feel in my country...as explained by D&D alignment.
Lawful Good: "Nazis are despicable. But they have their constitutional rights...that must be respected." Neutral Good: "The far-right are disgusting. They must be stopped...but I don't endorse violence." Chaotic Good: "Bash the fash!" Lawful Neutral: "Leftists are just as bad as the far-right. Both of them should respect the other's rights." True Neutral: "Can't we all just get along?" Chaotic Neutral: "Both sides suck. F*ck 'em. Fuck the police too." Lawful Evil: "We need to pass laws sending you subhumans back to where you come from." Neutral Evil: "We don't want war, but we will stop at nothing to safeguard our nation and race!" Chaotic Evil: "Race war now! G** the *****! 14/88 Boots on the Ground!!!"
I know that no one had called for doing things like taking down the Jefferson Memorial; however, it is legitimate to ask the question: where is the logical conclusion of "take them down"? Just for the sake of discussion, let us presume that today all Confederate statues/memorials were removed from public places, that all streets named for Confederate leaders were renamed to generic names, and that all schools were also renamed. Now what? Will that actually solve anything? I don't care if the statues are taken down--they mean nothing to me--but it *is* an exercise in futility because no one is going to suddenly have a revelation and realize that holding white supremacist views is wrong because of it. The only real result will be some blank spaces in public parks where statues used to sit.
I know that no one had called for doing things like taking down the Jefferson Memorial; however, it is legitimate to ask the question: where is the logical conclusion of "take them down"? Just for the sake of discussion, let us presume that today all Confederate statues/memorials were removed from public places, that all streets named for Confederate leaders were renamed to generic names, and that all schools were also renamed. Now what? Will that actually solve anything? I don't care if the statues are taken down--they mean nothing to me--but it *is* an exercise in futility because no one is going to suddenly have a revelation and realize that holding white supremacist views is wrong because of it. The only real result will be some blank spaces in public parks where statues used to sit.
There are still SCHOOLS that have the names of Confederate leaders?? Because honestly, that is way worse. Why the hell should any African-American child have to go to "Robert E. Lee Elementary". Furthermore, when did we start this stupid practice of naming (mostly) elementary schools after past Presidents and (apparently) Confederate Generals?? Who decided that was a good idea??
An interesting question. I think memorials, monuments and street names do have an impact on the population. It's just hard to know what kind of impact and how much. Taking them down might not solve anything right now but could have an effect on future generations (just look at @jjstraka34 's example). How different would it be to grow up in modern Berlin if Adolf-Hitler-platz, Stalinallee and statues of Stalin were still around without anyone finding anything strange about that?
Well, here in Poland there are still street names like Red Army St. or similar, and I don't think it has any impact at all - or at lest any serious impact. Once every few years someone wants to change it because of obvious reasons, but often there is surprising resistance - mostly because of convenience. There are also monuments of Red Army, to displeasure of our right-wing.
The statues are not the real issue here. Donald Trump tried to make them the issue, but the issue is this: For years during Jim Crow, one of Klan's most feared tactics was the burning of black churches. The Charleston shooter attacked a church (after pretending to be interested in joining their prayer service). On Friday night, a mob with lit torches surrounded an unsuspecting church gathering of African-Americans and their allies chanting the official slogan of the Nazi Department of Agriculture (blood and soil). Donald Trump called those people "quiet protesters". As far as I'm concerned, everyone who marched on that church should be arrested for making terroristic threats. It is THE most ignored part of this story, other than Heather Heyer, whose death has also been lost in the shuffle.
What do people think would happen if a group of say, 250 Black Panthers surrounded a suburban Methodist church with lit torches?? The cops would have stopped them before you could bat an eyelash, and everyone knows it.
Well, here in Poland there are still street names like Red Army St. or similar, and I don't think it has any impact at all - or at lest any serious impact. Once every few years someone wants to change it because of obvious reasons, but often there is surprising resistance - mostly because of convenience. There are also monuments of Red Army, to displeasure of our right-wing.
Europeans are just more reasonable about these things than here in the U.S. Two world wars where millions of people lost their lives will do that.
We sit over here guarded by oceans and think that words and ideas are the most awful things in the world and get all heated up about it. Thicker skins and less 'moral outrage' would calm things down considerably. Unfortunately that seems less and less likely.
There are still SCHOOLS that have the names of Confederate leaders?? Because honestly, that is way worse. Why the hell should any African-American child have to go to "Robert E. Lee Elementary".
My high school was named after Robert E. Lee! We even had a statue and portrait of the guy in the main building, plus a tiny Confederate flag mosaic in the courtyard. Our school colors were red and gray, and our cheerleaders were named the "Confederettes."
Oddly enough, nobody ever seemed to care who Lee was or why our school was named after him. Personally, I always thought it was kind of funny to have the school named after a failed rebel from the wrong side of a war he lost.
Anyway, for some strange reason, Lee High School had the smallest percentage of black students in the district.
There are still SCHOOLS that have the names of Confederate leaders?? Because honestly, that is way worse. Why the hell should any African-American child have to go to "Robert E. Lee Elementary".
My high school was named after Robert E. Lee! We even had a statue and portrait of the guy in the main building, plus a tiny Confederate flag mosaic in the courtyard. Our school colors were red and gray, and our cheerleaders were named the "Confederettes."
Oddly enough, nobody ever seemed to care who Lee was or why our school was named after him. Personally, I always thought it was kind of funny to have the school named after a failed rebel from the wrong side of a war he lost.
Anyway, for some strange reason, Lee High School had the smallest percentage of black students in the district.
What do people think would happen if a group of say, 250 Black Panthers surrounded a suburban Methodist church with lit torches?? The cops would have stopped them before you could bat an eyelash, and everyone knows it.
What? Even if they got a 'permit' first? Do you think a Federal judge would have overturned the locals in that scenario?
The Black Panthers are one organization from the other side that may be able to do just that for largely the same reason. I think part of the problem is that people know what white supremacists are capable of and are afraid of them. On the other side the Black Panthers also fall under that category. Intimidation actually works, unfortunately...
What do people think would happen if a group of say, 250 Black Panthers surrounded a suburban Methodist church with lit torches?? The cops would have stopped them before you could bat an eyelash, and everyone knows it.
What? Even if they got a 'permit' first? Do you think a Federal judge would have overturned the locals in that scenario?
The Black Panthers are one organization from the other side that may be able to do just that for largely the same reason. I think part of the problem is that people know what white supremacists are capable of and are afraid of them. On the other side the Black Panthers also fall under that category. Intimidation actually works, unfortunately...
Their permit allowed them to surround a crowded church with lit torches?? I think I must just have a very different opinion of what constitutes free expression and what crosses the line into straight up harassment and terrorism. And that seems to be the problem. I'd encourage everyone to again watch the video of the minister who was inside the church I posted earlier.
As for First Amendment issues, what about the First Amendment rights of those minding their own business in the church to worship and gather without fear some Nazi might torch the place??
The permit part of my statement was meant to be tongue in cheek. My main point is that the Black Panthers may have been able to do something quite similar because of their violent reputation. Normal people try to avoid violence at all costs and back down to thugs as often as not. That doesn't mean they agree with the bastards, it just means that they're afraid to deal with them. It doesn't mean they're wimps or cowards either. It's easy to TALK tough.
Trump has announced another rally on 8/22 in Arizona. I'll predict right now he will either again float the idea, or straight up say he is going to grant a pardon to recently convicted Joe Arpaio at that event.
Well, here in Poland there are still street names like Red Army St. or similar, and I don't think it has any impact at all - or at lest any serious impact. Once every few years someone wants to change it because of obvious reasons, but often there is surprising resistance - mostly because of convenience. There are also monuments of Red Army, to displeasure of our right-wing.
Europeans are just more reasonable about these things than here in the U.S. Two world wars where millions of people lost their lives will do that.
We sit over here guarded by oceans and think that words and ideas are the most awful things in the world and get all heated up about it. Thicker skins and less 'moral outrage' would calm things down considerably. Unfortunately that seems less and less likely.
Agreed Euros are more reasonable on a whole but I don't think it's thicker skin. As I mentioned a bit earlier in the thread a couple days ago an American tourist acted a fool and nazi saluted in Germany and was promptly punched in the chops.
Euro I think there's more of a sense of community and society, less "every man for himself, you are on your own buddy!" than there is in the US. Cultural norms mean more and there's a lot more tolerance for each other. I think it's because there's so many cultures and neighbors mixing with each other - French, English, Spanish, Polish, etc etc people are all going to wander and meet each other and mix and have to tolerate each other.
As you mentioned the US is huge and fairly isolated culturally from distinct disparate influences like that. Overall the US is mostly English speaking, mostly Christian values there's much less diversity than that mix of cultures and people in Europe.
As far as government, the GOP has taken most governments over locally and nationally. And there's a lot of collusion with each other and groupthink so they appear on the same team mostly. They nearly passed a terrible Wealthcare bill that no sane person should have supported but they nearly unanimously did because it was Team Red's thing.
Trump has announced another rally on 8/22 in Arizona. I'll predict right now he will either again float the idea, or straight up say he is going to grant a pardon to recently convicted Joe Arpaio at that event.
I think most Arizonans are actually glad Arpaio is gone. So Trump's probably itching a recently scabbed wound. On the other hand, the kind of deplorables that will show up for Trump's rally probably might be okay with it. Kind of an odd situation.
He (Apaio) is not as tremendously popular as he was for years. I think all the pointless lawsuits where he lost for millions of dollars turned people against him. The lawsuits being pointless because he'd be told "hey stop doing this thing that violate people's rights", and he wouldn't change at all and do it anyway and then he'd get sued and the county would have to pay huge legal fees and settlements.
This a joke. Over a 1/3 of them quit within the last 48 hours. The idea this falling apart was his choice is laughable. This reminds me of the time my friend got up and turned off the N64 when I took a 14-0 lead in a game of Madden on two long passes. It's called rage-quitting. Less than 24 hours ago he was bragging about all the people he had to replace the ones leaving. Guess not. Proving once again that Trump and the Republicans 100% count on their base having a shorter memory than the life-span of a mayfly.
Comments
I do not have any interest in this fight one way or another, but I am curious how far the "take them down" crowd is willing to go to remove any/all memorials relating to the Confederacy and/or people who owned slaves. Gravestones or other burial markers which have a Confederate flag on them? Are the monuments in places like Vicksburg slated for decommission? Will someone call for the Jefferson Memorial to be dismantled?
Anyway, @jjstraka34 mentioned the vandalizing of that Holocaust Memorial in Boston. Given that people are petty, short-sighted, and vindictive, look for more incidents of vandalism against such monuments as well as monuments to people like Dr. King; that should be the next play in their book, in addition to stationing people at monuments on the other side they wish to preserve.
Oh, and that other thing he mentioned--the group surrounding the church has been mostly overlooked in the wake of that poor woman's death. Let's just say that *I* wouldn't have wanted to be in that church at that time then look out the window to see a group holding torches.
Final thought: if secession is treason then shouldn't someone be tapping the CalExit folks on the shoulder and telling them that the measure they have almost managed to get onto the ballot in California is treasonous? (Incidentally, secession is *not* treason but we can resume that discussion some other time.)
CalExit is going nowhere, but if California DID decide to secede, they'd be fine, since they are the world's 5th largest economy on their own. West Virginia and Mississippi are the ones who need California, not the other way around.
Seceding may not have been treason, but firing on Fort Sumter certainly was.
History trivia: when Ft. Sumter returned fire (which took a while), its first shots were fired by Abner Doubleday. Yes, *that* Abner Doubleday, the one who didn't actually invent baseball (regardless of what the MLB will tell you).
Oh, and I was right: someone already tagged the Lincoln Memorial with red spray paint.
Anyway, that Lincoln Memorial thing strikes me as a teenager with a can of spray paint, and the message is nonsensical at best, and nothing can be discerned from it. But, again, no one is calling for the Washington or Jefferson Memorials to be removed, and any suggestion that they are is a straw-man that only exists in a hypothetical future.
Statues are only put up to HONOR someone, nothing less. If people want to honor what the Confederacy stood for, that shows me who and what they are. If they need these statues to maintain their sense of history, then they, more than anyone, need to go where history is actually told, which is in books.
Where this all goes next is anyone's goddamn guess, but I am getting the distinct feeling from today that Trump is rooting for violence in the streets to point to when the Russia story drops on him like an anvil, and he will invoke "law and order" as a defense. Know this: there is no bottom to this barrel. No one has yet seen the depths of depravity this man will sink to. Not even close.
It might be easy to call out people , but I'll bet the decision at the time for some was harder than many could ever think, even within the same small town and family.
I have often wondered what I would have done THEN, living in a different time period without the info, news, opinions, and the knowledge I have now.
We are not the only country to have problems in dealing with past military conflicts that are seen in a bad way. It is not easy dealing with a past one is not proud of.
Maybe I just don't like seeing folks jump the rails, skipping the trying to understand part and going straight to violence.
Rebels and traitors, huh.
Well now, looks like I come from a family of past traitors, not only to the British Monarchy but to the US as well.
Ok, I can understand and accept that viewpoint, but many won't. Might I suggest not opening a mixed debate in the south with that statement? It'll shut ears quicker than wax.
It's obvious this country has never gotten over that war, or it's reasons, certainly not here in the south, even after 150 yrs. The removal or not of remembrances should be taken with a bit more respect than that of angry protest to if we are to keep tensions from escalating even further (and they already are).
It's not easy trying to understand all sides in the 'removal' debate, especially not one as emotionally charged as this. I do know that taking a strict stance of moral superiority usually inflames another group (whichever) and will most likely lead, rightly or not, to violence.
Maybe that's what it has come down to though, and the time of peaceful negotiation has ended. It sure is beginning to look and sound that way, on many different issues. We still may yet get another war within this country, although in many ways, I think there already is.
Nationalist and Right Wing Murders since 1992: 230
Annual Chance of Being Murdered by right winger: 1 in 33,316,130
Left Wing Murders since 1992: 19
Annual Chance of Being Murdered by left winger: 1 in 399,793,565
Nationalist and Right Wing terrorists killed about 12 times as many people as Left Wing terrorists did.
I was reminded quite a few times of where I was from when visiting NYC in the past. Heh, chuck in appearances and an accent and I'm often a goner, right out the gate. IIRC they liked 'hillbilly' up yonder ways. This small town country boy thought he was in another land in more ways than one.
I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion (pretty much already) that bout every state and country has it's downsides in one form or another.
Lawful Good: "Nazis are despicable. But they have their constitutional rights...that must be respected."
Neutral Good: "The far-right are disgusting. They must be stopped...but I don't endorse violence."
Chaotic Good: "Bash the fash!"
Lawful Neutral: "Leftists are just as bad as the far-right. Both of them should respect the other's rights."
True Neutral: "Can't we all just get along?"
Chaotic Neutral: "Both sides suck. F*ck 'em. Fuck the police too."
Lawful Evil: "We need to pass laws sending you subhumans back to where you come from."
Neutral Evil: "We don't want war, but we will stop at nothing to safeguard our nation and race!"
Chaotic Evil: "Race war now! G** the *****! 14/88 Boots on the Ground!!!"
There are also monuments of Red Army, to displeasure of our right-wing.
What do people think would happen if a group of say, 250 Black Panthers surrounded a suburban Methodist church with lit torches?? The cops would have stopped them before you could bat an eyelash, and everyone knows it.
We sit over here guarded by oceans and think that words and ideas are the most awful things in the world and get all heated up about it. Thicker skins and less 'moral outrage' would calm things down considerably. Unfortunately that seems less and less likely.
Oddly enough, nobody ever seemed to care who Lee was or why our school was named after him. Personally, I always thought it was kind of funny to have the school named after a failed rebel from the wrong side of a war he lost.
Anyway, for some strange reason, Lee High School had the smallest percentage of black students in the district.
The Black Panthers are one organization from the other side that may be able to do just that for largely the same reason. I think part of the problem is that people know what white supremacists are capable of and are afraid of them. On the other side the Black Panthers also fall under that category. Intimidation actually works, unfortunately...
As for First Amendment issues, what about the First Amendment rights of those minding their own business in the church to worship and gather without fear some Nazi might torch the place??
Euro I think there's more of a sense of community and society, less "every man for himself, you are on your own buddy!" than there is in the US. Cultural norms mean more and there's a lot more tolerance for each other. I think it's because there's so many cultures and neighbors mixing with each other - French, English, Spanish, Polish, etc etc people are all going to wander and meet each other and mix and have to tolerate each other.
As you mentioned the US is huge and fairly isolated culturally from distinct disparate influences like that. Overall the US is mostly English speaking, mostly Christian values there's much less diversity than that mix of cultures and people in Europe.
As far as government, the GOP has taken most governments over locally and nationally. And there's a lot of collusion with each other and groupthink so they appear on the same team mostly. They nearly passed a terrible Wealthcare bill that no sane person should have supported but they nearly unanimously did because it was Team Red's thing.
He (Apaio) is not as tremendously popular as he was for years. I think all the pointless lawsuits where he lost for millions of dollars turned people against him. The lawsuits being pointless because he'd be told "hey stop doing this thing that violate people's rights", and he wouldn't change at all and do it anyway and then he'd get sued and the county would have to pay huge legal fees and settlements.
"It was self-defence, they hit my car first!"
This a joke. Over a 1/3 of them quit within the last 48 hours. The idea this falling apart was his choice is laughable. This reminds me of the time my friend got up and turned off the N64 when I took a 14-0 lead in a game of Madden on two long passes. It's called rage-quitting. Less than 24 hours ago he was bragging about all the people he had to replace the ones leaving. Guess not. Proving once again that Trump and the Republicans 100% count on their base having a shorter memory than the life-span of a mayfly.