Aaron Around The World >> North America >> United States of America >> Austin, Texas
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Sunday, 1 January 2017 - Slowing down A new year, and a new direction for this website: I'm not quitting cold turkey, but I am slowing it down. For the last 11+ years that this site has been live, it's been all about my travels and explorations. Now that life is settling down from all that (and taking a new direction itself), so too will this site. I'll continue to update it from time to time, especially with any other trips I take and major events etc., but for the most part I'm hanging up my camera. Kristina and I plan to spend our retirement (all going to plan) traveling the world until we're no longer able, but (hopefully) with time and money on our side. So hey, in 25-30 years from now this site might be back in earnest hehe, but in the meantime, thanks for watching :)
Thursday, 29 December 2016 - Leaves
Sunday, 25 December 2016 - Merry Texas Christmas
Thursday, 22 December 2016 - Winter sunsets
Tuesday, 20 December 2016 - That was a good one
Monday, 19 December 2016 - Let it go
Sunday, 18 December 2016 - Winter is here
Friday, 16 December 2016 - Autumn is here
Thursday, 15 December 2016 - He's coming
Wednesday, 7 December 2016 - Work in progress
Monday, 28 November 2016 - Aaron vs. the plumbing
Thursday, 24 November 2016 - Turkeys
Tuesday, 22 November 2016 - Aaron vs. Google
Friday, 18 November 2016 - Aaron vs. the ants
Monday, 14 November 2016 - Supermoon
Sunday, 13 November 2016 - He we go again
Wednesday, 9 November 2016 - Election hangover
First Brexit, and now Trump. What a year of international upsets 2016 has proven to be.
US elections are especially divisive under normal circumstances, but this particular election cycle has been an altogether different beast. On the one hand, we had a candidate who, if elected, would be the first woman president of the United States, on the back of having just had the first black president of the United States - both a very big deal in this country. Furthermore, she has spent the last 30-something years of her life on the political front lines, having been first lady to President Clinton during the 90's, then a senator for the state of Arkansas, and, most recently, Secretary of State under President Obama. On the other hand, we had a candidate who is the very definition of a political outsider: a real estate mogul cum reality TV star with absolutely no first-hand experience of politics.
The political insider versus the political outsider was a defining theme of this election. A lot of people in this country are simply fed up with the apparent ineffectiveness of Washington D.C. (the US capital), and feel they have been left behind while their issues and concerns fall on deaf ears. These politicians talk the talk, but all too often fail to walk the walk. When Donald Trump started preaching about this very point, he immediately struck a chord with a lot of Americans. One of his key arguments against Hillary Clinton was her failure during her 30-year political tenure to bring about real change. This is all a gross oversimplification of reality of course, but the message nonetheless worked.
Be that as it may, both candidates were generally disliked, which made for some tough decision-making for voters. For Hillary Clinton, 30 years in the public spotlight is inevitably going to include controversy. The 2012 attack on US government facilities in Benghazi during her time as Secretary of State, and her use of a private email server for classified correspondence were most notable. For Donald Trump, a long history of offensive comments aimed particularly at women and immigrants, accusations of sexual assault against multiple women who recently came forward, questions around his taxes and ulterior motives for being president, and even more offensive comments aimed at one group or another during this campaign have all provided some juicy headlines. Ultimately, some people voted for a candidate because they liked them, some people voted against a candidate because they didn't like them, while others refused to vote at all.
One source of Trump's past remarks were his many candid interviews on the Howard Stern Show (of which I'm an avid listener). Howard, still in regular contact with Trump, questioned on many occasions why Trump would want this unnecessary aggravation in his otherwise awesome life. What are his motives? Many others have asked the same question. Is it ego? Is this a publicity stunt that has gone too far? Was he motivated by his many business interests? Or, more simply, does he actually genuinely want this? Whatever the reasons, Trump was grossly underestimated from the beginning, by me included. I figured that if he won the Republican nomination, being as controversial and disliked as he was (even by his own party), it would ultimately hand Clinton the presidency. All of the many polls taken throughout the year seemed to agree. But they were all wrong. There was something of a social stigma attached to saying you were voting for Trump which may explain why the polls were off, but regardless, I don't think even the Trump campaign expected him to do so well last night, let alone actually win.
So where does this leave us? Well many celebrities claimed they would leave the country if Trump won, and in fact the Canadian immigration website crashed overnight so clearly a lot of folk feel the same way hahaha! Trump has vowed to be tough on immigration and deport all illegal immigrants. The people that Kristina and I contracted to renovate our house are all Mexicans, and only one of them turned up to work today hehe. I think more than anything though, a lot of folk are genuinely scared about our future under a Trump presidency (especially that dude up there on the right), in much the same way the UK is after the Brexit vote. Trump is completely untested, completely lacking in intimate knowledge of United States foreign policy (which was clearly evident during the early debates and media interviews), and possesses a disconcerting temperament (also clearly evident). On the other hand, a lot of other folk are genuinely hopeful over a shakeup of Washington, and see Trump's business acumen and success as a sign of things to come for the US economy and our international trade.
As for me, I have a more micro view of life. As long as I have a good-paying job and a nice roof over my head, I'm happy. And come what may, the United States won't crash and burn - we have checks and balances in place to keep the president's power under control (some would say too many, which is largely why Washington is perceived as being ineffective and unable to get things done). Spare a thought for Hillary Clinton though. She lost to Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic primary to be their nominee for president, and despite winning the popular vote last night, she's now lost the presidential election. Ouch.
Saturday, 5 November 2016 - Over the threshold
Monday, 31 October 2016 - News headlines
Saturday, 29 October 2016 - New man-toys
Sunday, 23 October 2016 - Scrubbing up
Tuesday, 18 October 2016 - A year later
Wednesday, 12 October 2016 - Blank slate
Sunday, 9 October 2016 - Gloves off
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