America - The Official Thread

[Scaff]

To be blunt, yes, when I'm back in Europe I'm always thankful that roundabouts exist. I love them. But they work in large because people grew up with them and understand how to circumnavigate them. I don't think they would work in the US, mainly because in many areas there is simply too much volume to make them effective. And also because the simple concept of those IN the circle having the right of way is too abstract a concept. A lot of people here seem to be confused with 4 way stops.

Time for the obligatory shout out to the Magic Roundabout in my town.

If standard roundabout can throw people, this one is the king of roundabouts.

https://www.wired.com/2016/08/brilliant-sorcery-englands-7-circle-magic-roundabout/

 

[TexRex]

Time for the obligatory shout out to the Magic Roundabout in my town.

If standard roundabout can throw people, this one is the king of roundabouts.

https://www.wired.com/2016/08/brilliant-sorcery-englands-7-circle-magic-roundabout/

Hey, Swindon...birthplace of XTC!

 

[Scaff]

Hey, Swindon...birthplace of XTC!

Yep, I’ve met and spoken to Dave Gregory on a number of occasions, as a friend of mine was in a band with him (Tin Spirits).

 

[TexRex]

Yep, I’ve met and spoken to Dave Gregory on a number of occasions, as a friend of mine was in a band with him (Tin Spirits).

I enjoy Tin Spirits as well. They did a fantastic cover of Genesis' "Back In NYC."

Edit: Not as good as Kevin Gilbert's cover, but possibly better than Jeff Buckley's.

 

[Biggles]

To be blunt, yes, when I'm back in Europe I'm always thankful that roundabouts exist. I love them. But they work in large because people grew up with them and understand how to circumnavigate them. I don't think they would work in the US, mainly because in many areas there is simply too much volume to make them effective. And also because the simple concept of those IN the circle having the right of way is too abstract a concept. A lot of people here seem to be confused with 4 way stops.

I think people would learn soon enough. That roundabout in Buffalo appears to have 8 intersecting roads. Imagine what that was like when t was controlled by traffic lights! You could sit there for 5 minutes waiting to move. I agree that some intersections are too busy for roundabouts - in Europe there are obviously intersections that have traffic lights. I think with enough room you can make anything work.

 

[Danoff]

I think people would learn soon enough. That roundabout in Buffalo appears to have 8 intersecting roads. Imagine what that was like when t was controlled by traffic lights! You could sit there for 5 minutes waiting to move. I agree that some intersections are too busy for roundabouts - in Europe there are obviously intersections that have traffic lights. I think with enough room you can make anything work.

We have them all over the place in Colorado. They work great unless an 18 wheeler needs access, in which case they have to find an alternative route.

 

[Northstar]

Jersey lefts?! Enough to make you crazy. The United States still hasn't discovered the efficacy of the roundabout.

Around my area at least roundabouts have been popping up like crazy. Pretty much every smaller intersection that had lights or a stop sign has been converted into one when they re-do it.

 

[FuriousDemon]

Around my area at least roundabouts have been popping up like crazy. Pretty much every smaller intersection that had lights or a stop sign has been converted into one when they re-do it.

Same here.

 

[Biggles]

👍

There's nothing more annoying than sitting at a traffic light for a couple of minutes with absolutely NO traffic coming in the other directions. Makes me wonder what the cost in wasted fuel is nation wide. Then the other consideration is the number of serious T-bone accidents caused by people "running the lights".

 

[andrea]

 

[BobK]

In Massachusetts they call them "rotaries" while in New Jersey they are called "circles". I thought "roundabout" was pretty much a British/Commonwealth term?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlton_Circle

 

[Danoff]

This kind of stuff hits me like a sip of water after the deepest thirst. If Biden gets nothing done, and just spouts platitudes like this, it will still be far better than another Trump administration. This is what the President is supposed to be, and it has been sorely missed.

I took this part for granted, the part where we elect someone who cares about the country and who knows how to speak to people like they're human beings. I don't think I'll ever be able to forget it now.

 

[Joey D]

This kind of stuff hits me like a sip of water after the deepest thirst. If Biden gets nothing done, and just spouts platitudes like this, it will still be far better than another Trump administration. This is what the President is supposed to be, and it has been sorely missed.

I took this part for granted, the part where we elect someone who cares about the country and who knows how to speak to people like they're human beings. I don't think I'll ever be able to forget it now.

Honestly, I'd rather Biden get nothing done outside trying to make a bit of peace in the country. I don't really want the president to ever do very much since they often make things worse somehow.

I do hope the rumors are true and he gives some Republicans a seat in his cabinet. I know there's talk of Romney getting something and while he's not a super popular Republican among the Trumpers, he is decently popular among the moderate right-leaning people. That alone would show that Biden is out to serve the best interest of America.

 

[Jezza819]

This kind of stuff hits me like a sip of water after the deepest thirst. If Biden gets nothing done, and just spouts platitudes like this, it will still be far better than another Trump administration. This is what the President is supposed to be, and it has been sorely missed.

I took this part for granted, the part where we elect someone who cares about the country and who knows how to speak to people like they're human beings. I don't think I'll ever be able to forget it now.

That was what I didn't understand from Trump supporters, "I like him because he's not a politician and he doesn't talk like a politician". Really?? That's like being in the hospital and your doctor comes in dressed like a construction contractor and starts talking about I beams, heating units, structural walls and such.

I want my President to be presidential, have respect for all of his or her constituency, and talk like a politician instead of like some hot head idiot that hates everybody that didn't vote for him.

 

[NotThePrez]

That was what I didn't understand from Trump supporters, "I like him because he's not a politician and he doesn't talk like a politician". Really?? That's like being in the hospital and your doctor comes in dressed like a construction contractor and starts talking about I beams, heating units, structural walls and such.

Maybe they thought Trump stayed at the Holiday Inn Express?

I hate that argument with a burning passion, just because they were using it when talking about the president. Like, I understand what was trying to be said, which imo made Trump sound even more unqualified for the job, but I feel like once you become the leader of a country and are the leader of one of the two most powerful political parties in said country, if not the world, then the whole "he's not a politician" shtick loses its flavor.

 

[TexRex]

What the people who say he's not a politician don't get is that he's been a politician as long as he's been in the public eye. What changed was him having a role in government.

 

[Biggles]

Saying stuff is pretty much what the President does. He doesn't personally fight on the battlefield, he doesn't build roads or bridges, he doesn't harvest the crops, or teach in schools, or put out fires. He's supposed to speak to the people, provide reassurance, instil confidence & explain policy. What Trump has done from the beginning is insult, denigrate, lie, sow division and ... above all ... self aggrandize. The worst President in living memory.

 

[Danoff]

The worst President in living memory.

Worst US president ever. And I don't take that title lightly.

 

[UKMikey]

Worst US president ever. And I don't take that title lightly.

What was it that gave him the edge against FDR for you? Was it his assaults on the US Constitution?

 

[Tornado]

I'm assuming it's because FDR never did anything to suggest if he had lost an election that he would just not leave.

 

[PeterJB]

James Buchanan is often cited as a contender due to his instrumental role in triggering the Civil War.

 

[andrea]

Biden plans immediate flurry of executive orders to reverse Trump policies
https://www.washingtonpost.com/gdpr...b9c1d0-210b-11eb-b532-05c751cd5dc2_story.html

• Rejoin the Paris climate accords
• Reverse Trump's withdrawal from the World Health Organization
• Repeal the immigration ban on many Muslim-majority countries
• Reinstate the "dreamers" program to allow people who were brought to the country illegally as a child to stay
• Reverse Trump's rollback of 100 public health and environmental rules which were in place during the Obama administration
• New ethics guidelines at the White House
• Executive order saying no member of his administration can influence any Justice Department investigations

 

[Blitz24]

Worst US president ever. And I don't take that title lightly.

I don't know. I don't remember anything good from WH Harrison's tenure. He had to go die on us.

 

[Joey D]

So did FCA provide a bunch of vehicles to be front and center or are people in Delaware just all about Jeeps?

But I was pretty impressed with his speech. Biden sounds certainly more put together than he had any of the other times I'd heard him speak. And look, I don't like Biden, but wanting anything less than for him to do the absolute best he can for the country is stupid. I want him to succeed and I want him to turn America around. It's encouraging to hear that he's going rely on science to fight COVID and I do think we have a much better shot at getting everything under control with him than Trump (OK really a ham sandwich would probably handle the pandemic better than Trump).

I'm still probably going to disagree with many of his policies, but I'd rather argue over policies than argue over whether or not we want America to fall into a fascist dictatorship or not.

 

[Liquid]

It's quite telling, refreshingly, that Biden spoke about the United States of America rather than himself.

 

[Dotini]

It's quite telling, refreshingly, that Biden spoke about the United States of America rather than himself.

Yes, Biden has called for reconciliation. If he hopes to successfully govern a united America, he is starting off wisely and tactfully, two essential political qualities his defeated opponent lacks. Let us wish him well in this uphill task. He needs all the help he can get.

President-Elect Biden Calls For Unity, Reconciliation. Says It’s Time For Healing
Channels Television
Updated November 8, 2020

US President-elect Joe Biden delivers remarks in Wilmington, Delaware, on November 7, 2020, after being declared the winner of the presidential election. PHOTO: ANGELA WEISS / AFP


President-elect Joe Biden has called for unity and promised “a new day for America” in his first national address since he won the tense US election and ended the era of Donald Trump.

After jogging onto the outdoor stage to the music of Bruce Springsteen in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, Biden delivered a message of hope and healing to a crowd of cheering supporters and tens of millions more on television.

The Democrat’s victory speech followed an election conducted in the midst of a raging coronavirus pandemic. But instead of sounding triumphant, Biden’s accent was more on changing hearts in a country split down the middle between Democrats and Republicans.

US President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris stand with spouses Jill Biden and Doug Emhoff after delivering remarks in Wilmington, Delaware, on November 7, 2020, after being declared the winners of the presidential election.
Jim WATSON / AFP


Promising “not to divide but unify,” Biden reached out directly to Trump supporters, declaring “they’re not our enemies, they’re Americans.”

“Let’s give each other a chance,” he said, urging the country to “lower the temperature.”

“Let this grim era of demonization in America begin to end, here and now.”

 

[Biggles]

Well, if Biden has certainly unified GTPlanet (with a few exceptions), bringing together people of diverse political opinions. Who woulda thunk that was possible a couple of years ago? That's how desperate it had become.

Dotini, you've been an apologist for Trump for the last 4 years.

 

[UKMikey]

Well, if Biden has certainly unified GTPlanet (with a few exceptions), bringing together people of diverse political opinions. Who woulda thunk that was possible a couple of years ago? That's how desperate it had become.

Dotini, you've been an apologist for Trump for the last 4 years.

I think Trump already unified most of us.

 

[Dennisch]

Continuing on that trend, now that it is pretty much certain that the Orange One is gone, can we go back to not being dicks to each other again, no matter the colour of your political spectrum?

 

[UKMikey]

I'll continue to trust in the mods and admin staff to root out antisocial behaviour. Don't know about anyone else but I haven't got any problems with the way they've been doing things so far.