Now That Trump's President... (not any more!)

  On 7/1/2019 at 5:37 PM, ignatius said:

"You mean like the nazis had?"  <---  common thing ignorant americans say. 

If you really bend the term they aren't that wrong. The NSDAP had a lot of backing by the working class. A lot of socialist ideas were incorporated into the facist ideology, mostly for populist reasons though. The National Socialists basically tried to find a "third way" between socialism and nationalism (both popular ideologies at that time), at least that's what they propagated in order to get power. There is a new far right party in Germany now called "The Third Way" because of that. But of course this has nothing to do with the idea of socialism the Utopist thinkers of early 19th century had in mind and even less with what Marx had in mind. And then there is the state socialism of the USSR etc., which is yet another thing. And ontop of that socialism is a term used in right wing propaganda trying to establish an association between the modern left and Stalin, which is pretty wild. So yeah, the term is pretty much unusable by now. On the other hand it might not be wrong of the left to reclaim the term and add more positive connotations to it. Still, what those popular leftist American politicians call socialism is nothing but social democracy and maybe they would have more success if they started calling it that

But no clue

  On 7/1/2019 at 11:18 AM, darreichungsform said:

Yeah

But what Sanders etc. call socialism is in fact social democracy

yeah I know. It's unfortunate that he has mislabeled even his own platform with the """evil""" word that is democratic "socialism". 

  On 7/1/2019 at 10:27 PM, Brisbot said:

yeah I know. It's unfortunate that he has mislabeled even his own platform with the """evil""" word that is democratic "socialism". 

As I pointed out, it's a pretty poisoned word. It can mean almost opposite things. But even if you define it like modern European leftist parties define it then what Sanders calls democratic socialism isn't socialism. Wanting a functioning healthcare system isn't socialism, it's a pretty standard and normal thing that should be considered centre-left., not far left

This article from 2016 is decent regarding Sanders and socialism: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/03/bernie-sanders-democratic-socialism/471630/

  On 7/1/2019 at 11:36 PM, Braintree said:

This article from 2016 is decent regarding Sanders and socialism: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/03/bernie-sanders-democratic-socialism/471630/

The article isn't bad but it equates socialism with the state socialism of the USSR. But it's way more complicated than that.

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

It mentions that in the article.

US elections have basically turned into some online cyber warfare. No people dying. But reality is, I'm afraid. And the people (soldiers) who run those campaigns, don't give a f#ck. 

  On 6/30/2019 at 5:02 PM, Rubin Farr said:

This got cartoonist Michael DeAdder fired.

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a bad cartoon...Trump wouldn't ask

  On 7/2/2019 at 1:51 AM, very honest said:

 

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Again, not really a fan of Biden, but I feel like deliberate misleading of the public should be a federal offense. That campaign "slogan" even sounds like something a 12-year-old would write. Kinda reminds me of the fake Mueller sexual assault allegations Jacob Wohl fabricated. I wanna see that little shit stain end up behind bars so badly.

Yeah, I think this is a dynamic people need to be aware of. A boring centrist democrat like Biden is still working for the United States, and still a million times better than Trump, and if that's who ends up being most likely to win(which so far, all data indicates this), don't fuck around. Remember that the media is likely dependent on Trump levels of hysteria, and aren't interested in politics being normal and boring. 

https://www.mediaite.com/opinion/both-liberal-and-conservative-media-wants-biden-to-lose-and-it-may-get-trump-re-elected/

The 4th of July is now a military parade apparently:

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Trump-Says-Tanks-Will-Be-Part-of-July-Fourth-in-Washington-512084031.html?akmobile=o&nms=y

  On 7/1/2019 at 10:19 PM, Nebraska said:

 

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 i love the expression on  lagarde's face when she finally notices her...

The funny thing, I kinda feel for Ivanka. All those times you opened your mouth and people looked like a dead bird fell out of it. And she's trying. But then I realise, she's probably completely ignorant of her own ignorance and pushes her BS as if it carries any importance. Then I feel for Lagarde and all the others.

No wonder Merkel got the shivers nowadays. Shit's getting dark. It's turning into autocrats sausage fest up there.

Yeah, massive levels of Dunning-Kruger. 

Ivanka became awkward penguin in season 8

my fav of the "ivanka in important historical events" memes:

  On 7/2/2019 at 5:27 AM, azatoth said:

a bad cartoon...Trump wouldn't ask

border patrol goons are laughing about the same dead immigrants unironically on a closed FB group that propublica has blown open

https://www.propublica.org/article/secret-border-patrol-facebook-group-agents-joke-about-migrant-deaths-post-sexist-memes

Customs & Border Patrol will should terminate them, and probably would have in the past, but they're desperate to retain personal right now.

  On 7/2/2019 at 12:08 PM, eugene said:

my fav of the "ivanka in important historical events" memes:

 

 

 

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these are up there with the Kelly Conway couch texting memes

  On 7/2/2019 at 8:01 AM, Candiru said:

Yeah, I think this is a dynamic people need to be aware of. A boring centrist democrat like Biden is still working for the United States, and still a million times better than Trump, and if that's who ends up being most likely to win(which so far, all data indicates this), don't fuck around. Remember that the media is likely dependent on Trump levels of hysteria, and aren't interested in politics being normal and boring. 

 

https://www.mediaite.com/opinion/both-liberal-and-conservative-media-wants-biden-to-lose-and-it-may-get-trump-re-elected/

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It is infuriating how complacent they were in his election. I remember a BBC interview in the summer of 2016 and a commentator/guest said the US media made a huge mistake by even covering him. In hindsight they felt they could talk about how bad he was without it being turned around, perhaps like Palin in 2008. Now he's totally turned it around and the nefarious brilliance of his "fake news" rhetoric is he took a real term to describe absurdly false email chains and social media posts, conflated legitimate criticism of cable news, and then offered absolute lies as an alternative (from day one - remember the inauguration crowd bullshit) in order to normalize the idea of state censorship and state propaganda positive as alternatives. I knew it was fucked when I heard a close relative literally say they found Trump's redefinition of "fake news"  brilliant and great, even after I explained how it was doublespeak. 

  On 7/1/2019 at 10:19 PM, Nebraska said:

 

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If you can completely detach this from it's absurdly nepotist and corrupt political context it's fascinating how cringe it is. It looks like something from Curb Your Enthusiasm, the Office, Alone Together, Louie. Ironically it's the most human and relatable I've seen her, reminds me of when Tina Belcher is trying to fit into a conversation with older girls on Bobs Burgers.

jfc the shitiness of the fucking agencies dehumanizing and jumping on some conspiracy bullshit to avoid any guilt/responsibility.. wtf. fuck these people. this country can suck it hard sometimes. aargh. 

  On 7/2/2019 at 5:42 PM, ignatius said:

jfc the shitiness of the fucking agencies dehumanizing and jumping on some conspiracy bullshit to avoid any guilt/responsibility.. wtf. fuck these people. this country can suck it hard sometimes. aargh. 

It's inherent with any entry-level / field staff of an agency like that. You can always find grunts who are just as racist, moronic, and ironically conspiracy theory minded. I can't imagine how frustrating it is for the more veteran staff trying to do their original duty pre-Trump, especially then many who work in US Customs & Border Patrol or other law enforcement agencies on the border who are actually from the area. I think the far-right, including some of these employees, have this stark black/white concept of what the border is like and are oblivious to and/or in denial of the fact that people have had families and socioeconomic ties on both sides for centuries. The latter often form the more responsible staff of the law enforcement of the area and the ones who have been skeptical of the wall and other GOP rhetoric.

I've lurked on r/military and I've noticed many who joke about and shake their head at bootlickers who don't serve as well as those in the service who are pretty much there to just shoot stuff and feel important. Awhile back one of them mentioned how he was alarmed how some of his peers were oblivious to the perpetual NATO-Russian tensions and how the US geopolitical strategy is more about detente with Russia and China than it is the more expensive, well-publicized missions against ISIS. Someone else mentioned how they've noticed bots posting more and more neutral and positive pictures of Russian military forces on instagram and other threads that normally cover American forces. 

The "dumb armed and badass" personnel have always been around in law enforcement and military. It's a common trope - the guardsman in Rambo, Dave Fowler in Jarhead, Bunny in Platoon, etc. I think it's just more overt and in the open under Trump and after over a decade of both cops militarizing on various levels and far-right militia getting more normalized, tolerated, and even catered to by many in the GOP.

  On 7/2/2019 at 1:41 PM, very honest said:

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There wasn't nothing before the big bang. It was literally everything.