Politics & Stuff

[NikkiCFC 8,337]

11 minutes ago, cosmicway said:

Putin is good deep state.

This is what I heard from Trump fans:

Deep state runs everything. Democrats and Republicans. Donny is first one since JFK who is not a puppet and that's why they don't want him because they can't influence him. They want wars all around and every president is delivering them but Trump is peacemaker. Any truth?

[cosmicway 1,333]

24 minutes ago, NikkiCFC said:

This is what I heard from Trump fans:

Deep state runs everything. Democrats and Republicans. Donny is first one since JFK who is not a puppet and that's why they don't want him because they can't influence him. They want wars all around and every president is delivering them but Trump is peacemaker. Any truth?

Well, Trump knows only one enemy: Mexico.
And the magas are like the old isolationists before Pearl Harbour and Trump plays to their sentiment.
About new wars with Trump, who knows ? Maybe against Italy.
Meanwhile the deep state, if they exist, would like the current state of affairs, NATO - CENTO - Combin - Di Nallo. Remember those players ? The French armed forces national team.

Edited July 15, 2024 by cosmicway

[robsblubot 3,595]

24 minutes ago, NikkiCFC said:

This is what I heard from Trump fans:

Deep state runs everything. Democrats and Republicans. Donny is first one since JFK who is not a puppet and that's why they don't want him because they can't influence him. They want wars all around and every president is delivering them but Trump is peacemaker. Any truth?

nope. 😆

[Thor 2,728]

I look at how my life was impacted by changes in leadership in my country. It never was on a grand scale, bar a tax break here, or some subsidy here for something. 

People really put too much emphasis on this shit. Unless they're taking your rights away - it won't matter all of much. Life will move on. 

[cosmicway 1,333]

23 minutes ago, robsblubot said:

Like I said, conspiracy theories are so fucking stupid.

So your theory is the assassin wanted Desantis for president.

[cosmicway 1,333]

8 minutes ago, Thor said:

I look at how my life was impacted by changes in leadership in my country. It never was on a grand scale, bar a tax break here, or some subsidy here for something. 

People really put too much emphasis on this shit. Unless they're taking your rights away - it won't matter all of much. Life will move on. 

Kind of true.
Andreas Papandreou was supposed to want Greece out of NATO.
But the US bases stayed in place and they were also serving nice burgers while in our army canteens it was just beans and ptatoes bloom (swimming potatoes). Also dumplings (yikes).
Then his successors increased taxes sky high.
I sided with the opposition, eventually they won after bitter struggle.
Then their economics minister said "I discovered that the PASOK taxes were the most wonderful thing ever".
Now if a new dictatorship happens they will have to search really hard to find citizens rights to remove.

[robsblubot 3,595]

53 minutes ago, cosmicway said:

So your theory is the assassin wanted Desantis for president.

My theory is that having one is stupid.

[Vesper 30,231]

2 hours ago, Thor said:

I look at how my life was impacted by changes in leadership in my country. It never was on a grand scale, bar a tax break here, or some subsidy here for something. 

People really put too much emphasis on this shit. Unless they're taking your rights away - it won't matter all of much. Life will move on. 

If you were a woman in a Republican-run US State that has banned basically all abortion, and you then have something go wrong and needed an emergency abortion because you are bleeding out or at risk of that, or at risk of another life-threatening outcome, and you go to the hospital and the doctors REFUSE TO TREAT YOU because they are terrified of being charges with 'murder', you sure as fuck would be impacted.

Same thing if you are a 12 yo girl and are pregnant due to your step father or uncle, etc raping you.

Pro tip: those very things are happening to women and girls NOW.

If you are lower class, working poor, and cannot afford to take a trip, potentially hundreds of miles away, to the nearest clinic in another state, you may well be fucked.

Beyond that, some of the Republican-run States are attempting to make it a felony crime to simply travel out of state for an abortion, and not just for the woman or girl who gets one, BUT also for anyone who aids them.

That is some Handmaid's Tale shit right there.

 

 

[Thor 2,728]

4 minutes ago, Vesper said:

If you were a woman in a Republican-run US State that has banned basically all abortion, and you then have something go wrong and needed an emergency abortion because you are bleeding out or at risk of that, or at risk of another life-threatening outcome, and you go to the hospital and the doctors REFUSE TO TREAT YOU because they are terrified of being charges with 'murder', you sure as fuck would be impacted.

Same thing if you are a 12 yo girl and are pregnant due to your step father or uncle, etc raping you.

Pro tip: those very things are happening to women and girls NOW.

If you are lower class, working poor, and cannot afford to take a trip, potentially hundreds of miles away, to the nearest clinic in another state, you may well be fucked.

Beyond that, some of the Republican-run States are attempting to make it a felony crime to simply travel out of state for an abortion, and not just for the woman or girl who gets one, BUT also for anyone who aids them.

That is some Handmaid's Tale shit right there.

 

 

Sure. There are bad sides to each party. And like I said - if it impacts your ability to live or freedoms, then yes - its a big deal. 

[Vesper 30,231]

1 minute ago, Thor said:

Sure. There are bad sides to each party. And like I said - if it impacts your ability to live or freedoms, then yes - its a big deal. 

The Democratic Party is far, far from perfect, but if you weighed it versus the Trumpian-seized Republican party of 2024 on the scales of democracy and actual freedom (the fundamental human right to self-autonomy, to not fall under the whip hand of christofascist control across vast swathes of people's lives), the Republican side of the scales would be launched into the exosphere, perhaps further.

[robsblubot 3,595]

5 hours ago, cosmicway said:

So your theory is the assassin wanted Desantis for president.

Just to provide a quick "why",
instead of coming up with convoluted ways for how the moneys can buy control, simply look for the myriad of totally legal ways in which that already happens. What is not yet legal can be made legal and it's really not that hard, or obscure.

A good old read on the subject, and still very much relevant given how the US congress operates (lobbies and spec interests), is "Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress" by Lessig (the convention candidate). And with just enough wealth, you have access to a supreme court judge: read on Clarence Thomas esp articles from politico on his lifestyle paid by his billionaire "friend." Citizen United ruling was yet another "aberration" gifted by our "wonderful" Supreme Court.

Edited July 16, 2024 by robsblubot

[robsblubot 3,595]

1 hour ago, Vesper said:

The Democratic Party is far, far from perfect, but if you weighed it versus the Trumpian-seized Republican party of 2024 on the scales of democracy and actual freedom (the fundamental human right to self-autonomy, to not fall under the whip hand of christofascist control across vast swathes of people's lives), the Republican side of the scales would be launched into the exosphere, perhaps further.

I mostly agree with you, and would fully agree with you maybe a decade or two ago. There are a lot of anti-science coming from the left nowadays; no, not nearly as much as it does from the right, but still more than before.

Personally, I think Jan 6th is really all one needs to know about Donald Trump to make it a no-brainer. When someone claims Trump is a threat to democracy, that should be exhibit A, B, C, and D.

[Vesper 30,231]

54 minutes ago, robsblubot said:

There are a lot of anti-science coming from the left nowadays;

That is from the extreme lunatic fringe of the left, not from the elected Democratic Party members (there are no radical lefties in the US Congress, no actual socialists, even the Democrats in the House who are furthest to the left would be considered bog standard left to centre left social democrats over here in the EU; so many Swedes laugh when they hear Americans calling AOC or Bernie Sanders commies or socialists (the Republicans insanely call ALL Democrats Marxist Communists, which is literally mad as ass, many US Democrats would be solid centre RW to middle RW over here), despite their (speaking of Bernie, AOC, and maybe 4 or 5 others in total) stupidly and falsely self-labelling as democratic socialists, when they are absolute not that, they are just basic social democrats.

The anti-science actually coming from a Party is coming from the majority of the Republican Party elected members:

Climate change denial, 'Young Earth' creationism (5,000 old earth, with humans and dinosaurs co-existing, this is not that widespread as the others but it deffo is there), anti-vax madness (many Red states want to end ALL vaccines for children (at least in terms of mandated ones), and you are now seeing the rise of long-under-control transmittable diseases breaking out, like measles, etc), the massive push to deny sexual identity as a biological fact (the fuckers say we CHOOSE it), which leads to torturous conversion therapy and horrid discrimination, plus a general hatred of advanced knowledge (what the US RWers sometimes call 'fancy book learnin') and secular education, thus the RW Republican rush to defund the public (what we call state schools in the UK) school systems, force through voucher systems to subsidise private religous (and often racially segregated to to a great degree) schools, and do away with the US Department of Education, etc etc etc etc.

 

 

Edited July 16, 2024 by Vesper

[robsblubot 3,595]

40 minutes ago, Vesper said:

That is from the extreme lunatic fringe of the left, not from the elected Democratic Party members (there are no radical lefties in the US Congress, no actual socialists, even the Democrats in the House who are furthest to the left would be considered bog standard left to centre left social democrats over here in the EU; so many Swedes laugh when they hear Americans calling AOC or Bernie Sanders commies or socialists (the Republicans insanely call ALL Democrats Marxist Communists, which is literally mad as ass, many US Democrats would be solid centre RW to middle RW over here), despite their (speaking of Bernie, AOC, and maybe 4 or 5 others in total) stupidly and falsely self-labelling as democratic socialists, when they are absolute not that, they are just basic social democrats.

The anti-science actually coming from a Party is coming from the majority of the Republican Party elected members:

Climate change denial, 'Young Earth' creationism (5,000 old earth, with humans and dinosaurs co-existing, this is not that widespread as the others but it deffo is there), anti-vax madness (many Red states want to end ALL vaccines for children (at least in terms of mandated ones), and you are now seeing the rise of long-under-control transmittable diseases breaking out, like measles, etc), the massive push to deny sexual identity as a biological fact (the fuckers say we CHOOSE it), which leads to torturous conversion therapy and horrid discrimination, plus a general hatred of advanced knowledge (what the US RWers sometimes call 'fancy book learnin') and secular education, thus the RW Republican rush to defund the public (what we call state schools in the UK) school systems, force through voucher systems to subsidise private religous (and often racially segregated to to a great degree) schools, and do away with the US Department of Education, etc etc etc etc.

 

 

Right's Creationism has been the official "science" in red states for a long time now, but blue states have been catching up and doing their own ideological indoctrination. While I agree it's silly to deny sexual identity as a fact, it's also wrong to introduce the subject to young children who wouldn't really even care about any of that if it wasn't forced upon them. No, I don't think it's as common as creationism taught in red states, but I know that it does happen. Heh there are a lot of anti-vaxxers on the left too as it is usually something around lack of education, lack of information, and/or privilege (better food/better care no need to worry about getting sick as much).

Yes, sure most of the left's stupidest shit comes from the far-left. On the other hand, if you watch NBC long enough, you will hear someone preach about the rights of transgenders in women's sports (self-evident who changes for a competitive advantage); it's not fringe anymore because it's already in mainstream media.

Also, dems are just as happy with the circus in congress; they have no intention on improving the situation because they get just as much money and power--just from slightly better sources.

Now, I'm all against false equivalencies, so I won't claim it's the same, but these little things make the left an easier target, which helps the GOP land elections.

[Vesper 30,231]

How to Teach the Bible in Oklahoma’s Public Schools

 

[Vesper 30,231]

14 minutes ago, robsblubot said:

Also, dems are just as happy with the circus in congress; they have no intention on improving the situation because they get just as much money and power--just from slightly better sources.

That simply is not true.

They passed a shedload of very vital programmes and initiatives until they lost the House in the 2022 midterms (due to Andrew Cuomo, the now disgraced ex conservadem NY governor, fucking up the 2022 NY US congressional maps due to hs 10 year war on the NY Assembly progressives, it is all too long and granualar  to get into here, but Andrew Cuomo is a true villian in all this).

New York (the State) lost a net swing of 12 to 16 US House seats due to a RW judge (that Cuomo had put on the bench far earlier) and his (the judge's) RW Special Master re-drawing (after the Democratic Party-controlled NY Assembly drew an initial map that was challenged under the scheme that Cuomo had rammed in over the years) a fucked up US Congressional district map for the State of NY's 26 US House seats. That RW re-drawn district map took the Dems, in the 2022 US Midterms (post 2020 census re-districting) from a probable 23-3 (and for sure, at a bare minimum, 21-5) D to R advantage in their US House state delegation all the way down to only a 15-11 advatage, D to R, after the 2022 election. That alone gave the US Republican Party control of the US House of Representatives, post 2022 midterms, and has caused massive chaos and instability, which has not at all been limited to just US domestic affairs, but has been global in impact. Just ask Ukraine, for but one example, as the Republicans tied up billions in military aid to them for over a year, thsu greatly aiding Putin.

That all said, Biden got more done in those first two years (January 2021 to January 2023) than any POTUS since Johnson (Great Society), and, of course, FDR (New Deal).

 

Full disclouse:: I have a post grad masters degree in Political Science with an emphasis on US politics, plus I have done US political consulting work (no not for the Biden adminstration nor campaign, LOLOL, they have a masive number of people doing that themselves, obviously). I also, for my main job, do geo-political risk analysis (focusing on the US, but also I am tasked with some work that expands out into a broader geographical scope as well, and I am not limted to just that risk analysis arena in terms of my overall duties) for the financial firm I am employed by here in Stockholm. It is one of the reasons I keep such strange hours.

[cosmicway 1,333]

10 hours ago, robsblubot said:

My theory is that having one is stupid.

No you must have a theory.

[Fulham Broadway 17,333]

18 hours ago, YorkshireBlue said:

A Colt AR-15 has a range of 550 meters, not sure how far away this guy was, but he's either a crap shot which leads me to believe he has no training with these types of firearms or he has absolutely no knowledge or done his home work at all about the type of rifle he was using, if he was more than 550 meters away then it's down to pure luck to where that round ends up.

Weird to think if the kiddies AR 15 shot had been two inches to the right there would be live pictures of Trumps head literally exploding. These would then be pixelated on mainstream media, but on social media there would be an endless spread of an explicit image.

Trump fans would have gone mental...revenge...civil war...?

[Fulham Broadway 17,333]

Trumps running mate seems as mental as him.....

 Trump’s choice for vice president described the UK as an “Islamist country” with nuclear weapons during a speech at a right-wing conference last week.

JD Vance said “I have to beat up on the UK for just one additional thing”, before saying the election of a Labour government has left Britain as the “first truly Islamist country that will gain a nuclear weapon”. “To our Tory friends, I have to say, you guys have got to get a handle on this,” he said.

Reuters

[cosmicway 1,333]

Assuming the reps would in any case nominate another crazy MAGA candidate to replace Trump, two explanations remain for the assassination attempt:

1st) The would be assassin was a crazy one himself

They of course exist. Now I remembered the attempt in 2002 against Dora Bakoyannis, the Greek former F.O., sister of the present pm.
It was a crazy leftie and everyone who knew him knew he was crazy, only not crazy enough to be committed.
Using a short barelled rifle he shot at her and the bullet went through her neck and out. As it did not touch any vital organs or arteries the attempt failed.

2nd) The deep rep state or Putin

MAGAS needed a hero. A Che Guevara of their own.
So they unleash Crooks.
This of course requires to make him into a suicidal robot, because there was no escape plan.
If this can be done then they did it.
Such suicidal robots are known to exist. The self exploding Al Qaedda terrorists for example.

Why kill Trump ? Always assuming the rep party are into the hands of the MAGA movement well and truly, Trump is but a stage actor.
He is not valuable, like Einstein-Oppenheimer-Teller were valuable.
 

Edited July 16, 2024 by cosmicway