newnative

    Plenty of blame to go around on both sides.  Looking forward, there's also plenty of work to do, as well.  The Dems lost ground on just about every voter demographic except educated Whites.  If you're a Dem, that should be a big wake-up call.  It was for me.   How to win back these voters needs to be Job 1. 

    As I mentioned in another thread, the Dems have too few solid Blue states to count on these days, while the Reps have lots of very solid Red states that give them a big Electoral College lead right from the get-go, with the Dems scrambling around trying to win 'swing' states that aren't very swingy any more. 

   Biden won the popular vote in 2020 by 7 million votes yet he barely won the EC.  Scary.  Every election, the Dems lately are starting in an EC hole.  And, as a poster pointed out to me, at the next Census some of the Blue states will be losing EC votes, so the Red states lead will likely increase unless the Dems can turn things around.   For the Dem leadership, do some useless bickering and even more useless 'what-ifs' for a few days more, and then get to work.

     I retired to Thailand in 2010 because my spouse, whom I met in the US, is Thai.  We can live a much better lifestyle here.  But, I would not have ended up in Thailand had my spouse not been Thai.  We started in the beach area of Rayong but found it too remote and not having enough of what we wanted in a place to live so we soon moved to Pattaya. 

     We've lived in just about every area of Pattaya--from Jomtien in the south to Wongamat in the north--and we've enjoyed them all.  After a parade of about a dozen or more seaview condos all over the city, we are now on our 4th pool villa on the Darkside, and liking it, as well.   We chose Pattaya because it checks more of the boxes of what we want in the place where we live than any other city in Thailand.  And, Pattaya is booming because it does that for lots of other people, as well.

     The new housing project of 28 homes on The Darkside where we live has three Chinese families so far, and several Russian ones.  We sold our first house in the project to a Russian family after we built a second home in the project this year. 

     We know one of the young Chinese families and they told us their main reason for living here was for a better education for their two children.  I think Pattaya will continue to be a popular choice for families with its selection of private schools, wide choice of housing at all price points, good health care and shopping, and close proximity to Bangkok and two airports.  

2 hours ago, Harsh Jones said:

Lol this guy is still calling on his review of Pattaya from the 1990's, in the year 2024. 

And, he's not the only one.  Clueless.  

20 hours ago, Etaoin Shrdlu said:

For those who may have been stymied by the NYT paywall, I'm gifting this to you:

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/07/us/politics/trump-fiscal-republicans.html?unlocked_article_code=1.YU4.JMrW.0wkYymnx0V6H&smid=url-share

Thank you!  Interesting article.  

    Highly doubt 'Pattaya is in an uproar' over this incident.  Let's watch the over-the-top hype on these stories.  With every one of them, Pattaya is 'outraged, 'in an uproar', 'shocked', etc. etc.   Just report the story and let us decide our reaction to it.   My reaction with this story would be concerned, rather than 'in an uproar', and hoping the teacher is fired if the allegations are proved to be true.  

1 hour ago, sandyf said:

Indeed, big time.

The DOJ are now looking to drop the outstanding charges against him.

Who does that make sense to?

     Not me.  Why would winning an elected post result in criminal charges being dropped?   The cases should all continue, especially the Georgia case.  

1 hour ago, mogandave said:

You mean Obama’s economy that Obama saids best days were over, and his job was to manage the decline? 

 

 

    Check the graphs below.  Trump took over in 2017.   Note where 2017 falls on the graphs--they all maintain their unbroken trajectories started by the Obama administration.  As you can see, Trump inherited a good economy from Obama with employment rising, unemployment falling, and wages increasing.  All good for workers.

     He rode the good economy until covid hit in early 2020.   In 2021, Biden inherited the economic mess Trump left him but has turned the economy around in the last couple of years--just in time for Trump to take over once again and hog all the credit if the economy continues to improve--or, blame Biden if he screws it up. 

    Unfortunately, the Dems in this election failed to drive this economic message home to the voters.  I was watching one news program before the election and a woman commented that she disliked Trump but was voting for him because she felt she was better off during his administration.  Whatever her economic perception for that period was, it was thanks to Obama, not Trump. 

20 hours ago, advancebooking said:

But the US economy has never been better. You can thank Biden for that. Trump the felon is inheriting this. Dont forget that in years to come. 

     Just as he inherited Obama's great economy in 2017.   And, people did  forget that 'in years to come'.  The big mistake the Dems made in the 2024 election was focusing too much on Trump and not enough on the good economy and their plans to make it even better.  

2 minutes ago, theblether said:

 

Due to population changes, it's expected by the 2030 census that 12 electoral votes will be moved from Blue states to reliable Red states. 

 

California is expected to lose 4 electoral votes alone. That's more votes than deep blue Vermont, for example. 

 

And the census is population based, not citizen based. Expect that to be challenged again during this Presidency. 

     Yes, exactly what I am talking about.  The Dems, increasingly, have a more difficult time getting to 270 than the Reps, even when they hugely win the popular vote, as they did in 2020, by 7 million votes.  

      I posted this on one of the other election threads but it might be more appropriate here.   To use a term my dear old Dad liked, us Dems have had a shellacking in this election.  I've said before that Biden winning by 7 million in 2020 was a landslide.  Ditto for Trump winning by over 4 million this time.  Quite an embarrassing swing for the Dems--going from a 7 million vote win in 2020 to a 4 million loss in 2024, and to a convicted felon.  Shellacking.

    Lots of blame to go around, starting with Biden not announcing early that he would only serve one term, which would have allowed the Dems to select the 2024 candidate through a primary season.  Harris might have still ended up the candidate but she would have gone through the process first, for better or worse.  Perhaps a stronger candidate might have emerged, as well.  107 days was not nearly enough time to get up to speed, with the way presidential elections are run these days.  

    James Carville famously said in 1992, "it's the economy, stupid."  I would add, in presidential elections, it's always the economy, stupid.  Other issues, such as abortion, might resonate in non-presidential election years but the economy's always the main squeeze in prez elections.  With 20/20 hindsight, it was a big mistake for the Dems to focus so much on Trump, rather than on their plans to make the lives of Americans better, and, especially, better economically.  

     Getting this economic message across could not be more important because the Dems are not doing as well as they should with young voters, Black male voters, and Latino voters--a good chunk of the future.  It's easy to see that with these voters, the economy would certainly be right up at the top as a voter issue.   This election, the Dems lost most of the 'Blue Wall'--and this after supposedly pouring maximum time, money, and effort into winning it.  Clearly, focusing on Trump wasn't a winning message--the voters were more focused on their wallets.

     If the Dems can't get the 'Blue Wall' back it will be difficult for them to win presidential elections--that was abundantly clear as I watched the election map and Trump quicky built a big Electoral College lead with all the very reliable 'Red' states reporting in.  Quite simply, at this point the Reps have far too many very reliable red states and, lately, the Dems don't have enough very reliable blue states.  That was also the case in 2020, where Biden easily won the popular vote by 7 million but just barely won the Electoral College.  

    To make matters worse, some of the so-called 'swing' states weren't really so swingy.  Trump won North Carolina fairly easily--51.1% vs 47.7%--and Nevada and Arizona look to be going Republican by more than a few percentage points.  Georgia was a little closer but looks to be, along with the others, a leaning red state rather than a swing state.   A lotta work ahead for the Dems.

2 hours ago, nickmondo said:

i am yet to find an agent that is capable of selling a property.

all they do is put it on a web site

they are useless

     There are certainly some agents that fit your description.   That's why I listed my last property for sale with around 40 different agencies.  Some just listed it and I never heard anything else from them.  Others, however, did more.  Some agents came to personally view the property.  Others sent photographers to take their own photos, even though I had sent photos with my email.   A few also sent videographers to make a video for their website, and to also show clients.  

     As with most of the 20some condos and houses my spouse and I have sold in Thailand, our latest house was also sold because one of those 40 agencies we listed with found and brought a buyer, who liked the house and bought it.  We always try, of course, to sell a property on our own but the majority have found buyers with the help of a not useless agent.  

2 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

https://aseannow.com/topic/1341795-90-day-report-documents-required/

Thank you!

     To use a term my dear old Dad liked, us Dems have had a shellacking in this election.  I've said before that Biden winning by 7 million voters in 2020 was a landslide.  Votes are still being counted but ditto for Trump winning by over 4 million voters this time.  Landslide.   Quite an embarrassing swing for the Dems--going from a 7 million vote win in 2020 to a 5 million loss in 2024, and to a convicted felon.  Shellacking.

    Lots of blame to go around, starting with Biden not announcing early that he would only serve one term, which would have allowed the Dems to select the 2024 candidate through a primary season.  Harris might have still ended up the candidate but she would have gone through the process first, for better or worse.  Perhaps a stronger candidate might have emerged, as well.  107 days, we now see, was not nearly enough time to get up to speed, with the way presidential elections are run these days.   Trump started 4 years ago.  

    James Carville famously said in 1992, "it's the economy, stupid."  I would add, in presidential elections, it's always the economy, stupid.  Other issues, such as abortion, might resonate in non-presidential election years but the economy's always the main squeeze in prez elections.  With 20/20 hindsight, it was a big mistake for the Dems to focus so much on Trump, rather than on their plans to make the lives of Americans better, and, especially, better economically.  

     Getting this economic message across could not be more important because the Dems are not doing as well as they should with young voters, Black male voters, and Latino voters--a good chunk of the future.  It's easy to see that with these voters, the economy would certainly be right up at the top as a voter issue.   This election, the Dems lost most of the 'Blue Wall'--and this after supposedly pouring maximum time, money, and effort into winning it.  Clearly, focusing on Trump wasn't a winning message--the voters were more focused on their wallets.

     If the Dems can't get the 'Blue Wall' back it will be difficult for them to win presidential elections--that was abundantly clear as I watched the election map and Trump quicky built a big Electoral College lead with all the very reliable 'red' states reporting in.  Quite simply, at this point the Reps have far too many very reliable red states and, lately, the Dems don't have enough very reliable blue states.  That was also the case in 2020, where Biden easily won the popular vote by 7 million but just barely won the Electoral College, with a very shaky 'Blue Wall' even then. 

    To make matters worse, some of the so-called 'swing' states weren't really so swingy.  Trump won North Carolina fairly easily--51.1% vs 47.7%--and Nevada and Arizona look to be going Republican by more than a few percentage points.  Georgia was a little closer but looks to be, along with the others, a leaning red state rather than a swing state.   A lotta work ahead for the Dems. 

    And, a final note to Jill Biden, whom I used to like and respect--heck, she was a professor at one of the other campuses at the community college where I used to work.  Wearing Reagan Red on Election Day?  Very disloyal, childish, and extremely petty. 

21 hours ago, dddave said:

Not 10 minutes at Jomtien but they do have a huge volume.  Did my 90 day there this past Monday, arriving at 10:30am with all forms and copies prepared. Sign on the counter said 1 hour wait. Turned out to be 40 minutes.    

Watched as one man yelled at the counter girl for 5 minutes, really aggressively.  She gave it right back.  He finally stormed out waving his arms in the air, expressing his outrage at everything Thai.  I wouldn't want their job.

       I've been doing my 90-day reports on-line for some time now.  However, I am traveling out of the country in December and my next 90-day report on-line may be rejected and I may need to do it in person.   If I remember correctly, I used to only bring my passport to Jomtien to do the 90-day report and they would put the new slip in the passport.  Can you tell me what 'forms and copies' they are requiring now?  Thank you. 

I'll wait until it is a requirement to do my visa renewal.  

17 hours ago, Hummin said:

I'm surprised "I'm coming" have so few votes. If this was 10 years ago, I believe that one would been much higher. 

 

 

     If they are coming it's highly likely they do not know about Asean Now.  I didn't discover it until I had been here for awhile--and I still run into people living here who have never heard of it.

8 hours ago, save the frogs said:

we've had this discussion.

not everyone is in pattaya for hookers.

pattaya is a great place to live for many reasons. 

 

Thank you for giving the same answer I would have!

If it ain't broke don't fix it.

Watched it.  She was absolutely terrific!