Random Politics Thread

[Virtual ghost]

The Debt Ceiling Is Dangerous. Here’s Why It Probably Isn’t Going Anywhere.

 

[Virtual ghost]

World’s cartoonists on this week’s events

World’s largest companies to pay more under global tax overhaul

 

[Kephalos]

"Sub-paragraph A" is the place to look for the patriarchy.

 

[Virtual ghost]

 

[Red Herring]

Number of changes of head of government since 1990:

 

[Kephalos]

The Biden administration is preaching fairness and justice while simultaneously seeking death [sentence for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to be reinstated.]

The perplexing case of Biden, Tsarnaev and the death penalty

The Biden administration is preaching fairness and justice while simultaneously seeking death, writes Karen J. Pita Loor.

www.wbur.org

Death penalty should be reinstated for Tsarnaev in Boston Marathon bombings case, Biden administration tells US Supreme Court (Boston Globe)

Tsarnaev's sentence had already been overturned by the US Court of Appeals. All Biden had to do was let the matter drop.

 

[Z Buck McFate]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1449185230720544772

What was it Manchin recently said about entitlement? Like, ensuring affordable healthcare was creating a "society of entitlement" or some such bullshit?

There are so many broken things about Congress. I've heard it said that the only way they'd be able to make laws about this (limiting ways Senate and House members could cash in on their position) is if the current members received immunity/were the last to be able to do it. If that's what it takes, fine, but they need to get on that. We need a Congress that doesn't appeal to the shittiest people.

 

[Kephalos]

https://www.marketplace.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Uncle-Sam-by-BF.jpg?w=768

 

[ceecee]

I'm being silenced by media like CNN....

...while being interviewed on CNN.

I'm no fan of CNN but these crypto-right wing pundits like Bari Weiss, Nate Silver or Glenn Greenwald crying on every single platform that they've been cancelled is hilarious.

 

[Z Buck McFate]

I'm being silenced by media like CNN....

...while being interviewed on CNN.

I'm no fan of CNN but these crypto-right wing pundits like Bari Weiss, Nate Silver or Glenn Greenwald crying on every single platform that they've been cancelled is hilarious.

It's a bit amazing how well it works though. Making that claim taps into deep feelings en masse of outrage and righteousness; both or which are falling progressively more and more into the "hell of a drug" category. The whole business model seems to be "Give us oxygen, we'll give you all the free drugs you could ever possibly want!" It's just amazing the 'drugs' take on the appearance of 'truth', when they're actually more like that fungus that turns bugs (people) into zombies.

 

[Virtual ghost]

I'm being silenced by media like CNN....

...while being interviewed on CNN.

I'm no fan of CNN but these crypto-right wing pundits like Bari Weiss, Nate Silver or Glenn Greenwald crying on every single platform that they've been cancelled is hilarious.

 

[Kephalos]

Of all the people responsible for the mess in Iraq (a country he played a huge role in destroying) and Afghanistan, Colin Powell (who apparently died today, unpunished) seems to have almost escaped with his reputation almost intact:

Colin Powell Was a Nice Man Who Helped Destroy Iraq

As secretary of state in 2003, Powell lied at the United Nations about Iraq having weapons of mass destruction.

theintercept.com

Lie After Lie: What Colin Powell Knew About Iraq 15 Years Ago and What He Told the U.N.

The evidence is irrefutable: Colin Powell consciously deceived the world in his 2003 presentation making the case for war with Iraq.

theintercept.com

 

[ceecee]

Of all the people responsible for the mess in Iraq (a country he played a huge role in destroying) and Afghanistan, Colin Powell (who apparently died today, unpunished) seems to have almost escaped with his reputation almost intact:

Colin Powell Was a Nice Man Who Helped Destroy Iraq

As secretary of state in 2003, Powell lied at the United Nations about Iraq having weapons of mass destruction.

theintercept.com

Lie After Lie: What Colin Powell Knew About Iraq 15 Years Ago and What He Told the U.N.

The evidence is irrefutable: Colin Powell consciously deceived the world in his 2003 presentation making the case for war with Iraq.

theintercept.com

The thing that always boggled my mind is that he not only orchestrated much of the Iraq war, he covered up for the May Lai massacre in 1968. But my feeling is summed up in something I read yesterday:

Colin Powell’s epigraph is that he was a loyal soldier of American empire. Whether or not this is a defense or a damnation depends on your view of that empire. I’m inclined towards the latter.

He also deserves much blame for government untrustworthiness huge plummet after 2001 - up to and including what is happening now.

 

[Kephalos]

I don't like the expression "war criminal". It's unnecessarily, even criminally redundant.

 

[Red Herring]

I just came across a book about "Hygge - the secret to Danish happiness"

Ehm, maybe Scandinavians in general and especially the Danish consistently rank among the happiest people in the world and the most content with their lives because they have such lovely blankets and candles and put some extra spice in their cocoa when it gets cold outside. Or, you know, maybe it has something to do with the fact that people trust their neighbors and their own state, don't have to worry about medical bills or college tuition, don't have to fear poverty if they lose their jobs, have relatively little social inequality and tend to look out for each other as a society. Who knows?

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

What are y'all's thoughts on a land value tax?

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

What are y'all's thoughts on a land value tax?

It seems like it might be a good idea from what little I know about it.

 

[Coriolis]

I just came across a book about "Hygge - the secret to Danish happiness"

Ehm, maybe Scandinavians in general and especially the Danish consistently rank among the happiest people in the world and the most content with their lives because they have such lovely blankets and candles and put some extra spice in their cocoa when it gets cold outside. Or, you know, maybe it has something to do with the fact that people trust their neighbors and their own state, don't have to worry about medical bills or college tuition, don't have to fear poverty if they lose their jobs, have relatively little social inequality and tend to look out for each other as a society. Who knows?

If I ever were to relocate from the U.S., Norway would be my preferred location, partly for the reasons above.

What are y'all's thoughts on a land value tax?

How would this work? In general, I am opposed to any tax that is not proportional to one's ability to pay.

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

If I ever were to relocate from the U.S., Norway would be my preferred location, partly for the reasons above.


How would this work? In general, I am opposed to any tax that is not proportional to one's ability to pay.

If I ever were to relocate from the U.S., Norway would be my preferred location, partly for the reasons above.


How would this work? In general, I am opposed to any tax that is not proportional to one's ability to pay.

A land value tax would essentially be a progressive tax, but ideally it would totally replace most other taxes, notably income taxes and property taxes

One if the biggest advantages... I can see this leading to a reduction in overdevelopment of land such as forests and wildlife refuges, as such a system would encourage land owners to sell undeveloped land in their possession rather than to hold onto land that ultimately goes unused with the current tax system (due to landowners not wanting to improve or develop said land out of fear of higher property taxes). There would be more incentive to develop land such as unused/abandoned lots in cities. Imagine the social and economic benefits in a city like Detroit. Improvements to land in places such as poor urban centers would be far less likely to lead to gentrification and current residents being priced out of their own cities.

Of course, good luck getting the congressional duopoly to get on board with this. We would be wise to support something like this over current ideas for ecotaxation, as it might encourage and aid conservation efforts without stifling economic development

 

[The Cat]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1449185230720544772

What was it Manchin recently said about entitlement? Like, ensuring affordable healthcare was creating a "society of entitlement" or some such bullshit?

There are so many broken things about Congress. I've heard it said that the only way they'd be able to make laws about this (limiting ways Senate and House members could cash in on their position) is if the current members received immunity/were the last to be able to do it. If that's what it takes, fine, but they need to get on that. We need a Congress that doesn't appeal to the shittiest people.

"There is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress.”