h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

...let's sit down and have a mature conversation.

Traveller in Time on his party hat
"Well lets party for the returning Researcher


Oh, sorry mature would be

-1+0-8+6+5*9=42 Must be a True Researcher indeed. "

Was that a bit too mature?

This one is pretty mature. And this port is pretty well aged too.

Mature Topic for starters: How do you think the American Presdential contest will end up? I get the impression that the great voting public are really fed up with being offered the same old same-old.

The general opinion from the experts seems to be that Sanders has exposed the fragility of Clinton's position (or lack of it?) but won't have enough support in the South and West to beat her. If Rubio turns out to be the safe option for the Republicans I can't see Clinton beating him, especially if she's got the FBI on her back.

What's to come is still unsure. I'm prepared to be surprised.

It's certainly shifted the centre of gravity of the debate, which was creeping evermore rightward.

The only common aspect of Trump and Sanders is that they are outsiders. Trump never explains anything, comes up with ludicrous and/or uncosted proposals, and habitually insults his opponents. Sanders explains everything, makes reasonable proposals and is the very model of civility.

Plus the fact that there are two contenders on the Left and four on the Right, and I don't hold out very much hope for the Republican party's chances.

What do you think of Jeb? The saying is that George and Jeb are like the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman: one has no brain and the other has no heart.

I think he's a serious contender. But he doesn't have what it takes to go the distance. Which is the support of the shadowy and huge amounts of cash that slosh around the US elections.

The US has the best political system that money can buy. The interests of the rich, arrogant and powerful have dominated for too long: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-echochambers-27074746

Jeb simply isn't right wing-enough for the likes of the Koch brothers, who have a scorched earth view of civic society.

Oh, and George was nowhere near as thick as people like to make him out to be. He was smart enough to realise that smart people don't let other people find that out too readily how smart they really are.

Closer to home, we have the example of Boris Johnson...

Oh, and TiT, all this cliquey HHGG nonsense, like trying to make one's U-Number add up to 42, is what drove me away from this place originally. Some people don't understand that Adams's writing was intended as the starting point behind this place, not the be-all-and-end-all of it.

Spare me it, please.

Traveller in Time counting by head
"Sure, no problem, it's just a nice exercise.

I happen to like these 'local rituals' as it makes this site more then just an encyclopedia. As is my 'overdone' number of smileys "

I never thought George W is as thick as he has portrayed himself. At one stage in his life he pronounced 'nuclear' effortlessly. He just loves doing Yogi Berra-isms, only when Yogi did them they made more sense. W just goes for nonsense.

However I firmly believe that people are not really all that different in cleverness. Some take refuge in appearing smarter, others in appearing dumber.

Yogi is credited with one of the best quotes I have heard: “In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But in practice, there is.”

https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/79014.Yogi_Berra

That is, http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/79014.Yogi_Berra

A brilliant quote. I wish I'd thought of it. I'm still trying to get my head around the observation that 'if the human brain was so simple we could understand it, we'd be so stupid we couldn't.'

A bit like another Yogi quote: "If the world was perfect, it wouldn't be."

On the subject of Jeb Bush:
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2016/02/jeb_bush_was_not_a_joke.html

The only good Bush is a Jeb Bush?

Like I said, he wasn't right-wing enough. The Republican Party has hollowed itself out: the only people who identify with it now are the nutjobs on the lunatic fringes. 'Things fall apart, the centre cannot hold...The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity'.

Meanwhile, Trump slouches towards Washington to be reborn.