Trump's complete destruction of the US's international authority and image

[JimL]

You mean 50% don't you? The latest tracking poll shows that Trump's approval rate is at 50%.

You funny rogue. Rasmussen. LOL!

[lilpixieofterror]

Well it is in general, but even more now than usual.

Previously Americans were just the fat tourists in restaurants who didn't know how to talk with an indoor voice, had a nasty sounding accent, and are overly opinionated and complain loudly when things aren't the way they're used to, and to whom subtlety is a foreign concept and so miss the approximately one million hints everyone is giving them that their behavior is inappropriate, and whom everyone else just ends up rolling their eyes at and tolerating grudgingly out of politeness and embarrassment for them.

Now there's Trump and the Republicans. And it's even worse than it was under Bush. They might as well rename the country Trumpistan since most of the West now treats America with the level of disdain usually reserved for countries that end in -stan.

It's always amusing to watch a double speaking hypocrite complain about stereotypes of gays and goes on to use stereotypes of Americans in yet another hate filled rant. Keep it classy.

[lilpixieofterror]

That's rich! The Kiwi accent is annoying as all get out. It sounds like you all are choking on your words half the time.

I'd like to know what American accent he's talking about since there's around 23 different ones in the lower 48. Surely, he wouldn't talk about something he knows nothing about, would he?

[lilpixieofterror]

Hey, I resemble that remark! But really, a majority of us are embarrassed, the other 37% or so, including Trump, are embarrassing

Haven't done much travel, eh Jimmy? The most annoying tourist, by and far, is Chinese. Most tend to see Americans as pretty good tourist.

[Starlight]

You mean 50% don't you? The latest tracking poll shows that Trump's approval rate is at 50%.

Depends on which poll you look at. From today: Trump disapproval hits 64 percent in AP poll:

Nearly two-thirds of Americans disapprove of the job President Trump is doing in the White House, according to an Associated Press/NORC poll released Thursday.

Sixty-four percent of respondents in the survey said that they don't like how the president is handling his office, while just over a third, 35 percent, approve of Trump.

RealClearPolitics takes an average of multiple recent polls, and their numbers are currently 40% approve, 54% disapprove.

I am pretty skeptical of the recent Rasmussen poll that found approval at 50-50. Rasmussen has a history of being strongly biased toward conservatives. And that particular poll's outcome is very very different to other recent polls as can be seen from the RealClearPolitics average.

I'd like to know what American accent he's talking about since there's around 23 different ones in the lower 48. Surely, he wouldn't talk about something he knows nothing about, would he?

I'm by no means an expert on accents, but I know what I find annoying to listen to. Some US accents are totally fine and in fact the ones on mainstream US TV programs are typically indistinguishable from a NZ speaker - I understand that mainstream networks actually prefer to use people who speak with what is considered a 'neutral' accent known as "General American" whose distinguishing feature is that it doesn't have any geographic tells or unusual accents and so people can't pinpoint the regional origin of the speaker. e.g. Of US shows I commonly watch I would say that Stephen Colbert, and Bill Maher both speak with pretty neutral accents, and while I am far from an expert in such matters, I would say you could teleport either of them to NZ and nobody would notice that they weren't born here.

The two US accents I find most annoying, are any form of Southernish drawl, and the nasty nasally accent used in much of Canada and parts of the northern US.

[Tassman]

Everyone I met in Ireland and Canada complemented me and my grandparents for our Texas hospitality, curiosity, friendship, and fascination by malt vinegar, poutine, and kinder eggs.

Whyou pin all boorish Ness on Americans? Boorish Ness is not confined to nationality.

[Starlight]

South Korea partially exist because we helped them fight.

Engaging in alternative history is always speculative, but it's quite possible the Koreans would have been better off without intervention.

Today, as a result of the intervention, Korea is a divided nation where one half of the nation is seriously at risk of being attacked with nuclear weapons by the other.

Had the West not stuck its oar into the matter and not been so harsh against the resulting communist Korea, presumably Korea would have stayed a single nation and be a fairly normal Asian nation today - much like Vietnam and China are today (the other "communist" nations in the region).

While it's obviously possible that the entirety of Korea would today be the isolated backwater ruled over by a crazy dictator that North Korea currently is if the West hadn't intervened, I think that if Korea had remained united they would have been more likely to resist the tendency toward crazy dictatorship. And i think if the West hadn't been so against them and had been more supportive of them as a communist nation, they wouldn't have become so isolated and self-focused - external threats are what tends to give crazy dictators like that power, while international friendliness and openness are conducive to democracies. Obviously the current state of affairs in North Korea is very sad and exceptionally bad, so chances are good if the origin of North Korea hadn't occurred the way it did, then things there would probably be better now than they are currently.

[demi-conservative]

Had the West not stuck its oar into the matter and not been so harsh against the resulting communist Korea

...you would shriek 'heartless west should have intervened to prevent carnage!!!', Mr 'USA needs to stop intervening worldwide but needs to step into Qatar situation!!'.

Understanding of yours of good and evil is so bad, even though sometimes you might be right like broken clock, no one should ever listen to you, be persuaded by you. Instead point and laugh!!!

[Sparko]

Depends on which poll you look at. From today: Trump disapproval hits 64 percent in AP poll:

Nearly two-thirds of Americans disapprove of the job President Trump is doing in the White House, according to an Associated Press/NORC poll released Thursday.

Sixty-four percent of respondents in the survey said that they don't like how the president is handling his office, while just over a third, 35 percent, approve of Trump.

RealClearPolitics takes an average of multiple recent polls, and their numbers are currently 40% approve, 54% disapprove.

I am pretty skeptical of the recent Rasmussen poll that found approval at 50-50. Rasmussen has a history of being strongly biased toward conservatives. And that particular poll's outcome is very very different to other recent polls as can be seen from the RealClearPolitics average.

I'm by no means an expert on accents, but I know what I find annoying to listen to. Some US accents are totally fine and in fact the ones on mainstream US TV programs are typically indistinguishable from a NZ speaker - I understand that mainstream networks actually prefer to use people who speak with what is considered a 'neutral' accent known as "General American" whose distinguishing feature is that it doesn't have any geographic tells or unusual accents and so people can't pinpoint the regional origin of the speaker. e.g. Of US shows I commonly watch I would say that Stephen Colbert, and Bill Maher both speak with pretty neutral accents, and while I am far from an expert in such matters, I would say you could teleport either of them to NZ and nobody would notice that they weren't born here.

The two US accents I find most annoying, are any form of Southernish drawl, and the nasty nasally accent used in much of Canada and parts of the northern US.

Whooboy, you would hate to hear me talk! Or Cow Poke.

But you think the neutral "media" American accent sounds like New Zealand?? That's nuts. Nothing like NZ accent, even newscaster NZ.

[Sparko]

Have you met the French?

Wait, you think that rude american tourists are responsible for the loss of the Vietnam war and Korea? *snort*

[Bill the Cat]

Like Trump, you're getting tired of so much 'winning'. Oh wait, that's not winning...

Facts refute your nonsense about American tourists, and you STILL think you are right...

[tabibito]

Normally it's good to see politicians watching TV and playing golf. It means they're not fixing things that don't need fixing. Somehow - that doesn't apply to Trump.

[Bill the Cat]

I'd like to know what American accent he's talking about since there's around 23 different ones in the lower 48. Surely, he wouldn't talk about something he knows nothing about, would he?

Pish posh. Starfruit is the master of over-generalizations... facts are inconsequential.

[RumTumTugger]

Pish posh. Starfruit is the master of over-generalizations... facts are inconsequential.

Anti-intellectual closed-minded Starlight doesn't' want to be confused with the facts. If he can't twist the facts to fit his argument he ignores them for lies that fit his argument.

[Tassman]

Have you met the French?

Some of my best friends.......

Wait, you think that rude american tourists are responsible for the loss of the Vietnam war and Korea?

No the arrogance of the American military, which was the point being made.