Random political thought thread.

[Red Herring]

So the US needs Lebensraum now? Is that gonna be the theme of his second term?

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

So the US needs Lebensraum now? Is that gonna be the theme of his second term?

This came up in conversation over the course of my break. Immediate thought: That's not great.

 

[Virtual ghost]

So the US needs Lebensraum now? Is that gonna be the theme of his second term?

Some people start with Austria, some start with Canada.

However from what I noticed this is something that is in the cards for a while now (regardless of how surreal it looks).

 

[Coriolis]

I am afraid that you totally missed into what I was getting at and you kinda used too academic interpretation of my words. In other words I also treat gangs as one culture, junkies as a culture, UFO cultists as one, conspiracy theorists as one, gun nuts as one .... etc. I was not talking about ethnic background. I was saying that your cumulative deeds don't really add up and that is very serious problem for the stability of the whole society. Plus in my book you aren't getting any kind of unification as a country in my book. As things stand the debt clock says that you seem to have pilled about 103 trillion $ debt across the whole society. Therefore you are going for the great rapture and "free for all" if something isn't done.

I got into this conversation simply because I can't believe that the country of this size can just walk off the cliff for no defined reason. Impulse control ... pretty much zero (and in my book that is a form of culture).

It looks like by "culture" you mean our various forms of dysfunctional lifestyle. Though some specific groups may be uniquely American, this sort of culture, or rather subculture, certainly isn't. In some societies they hold more sway than in others. They also seem especially easy to manipulate, for someone who can determine what kind of kool-aid they have a taste for. One thing Americans do seem to have a penchant for is learning the hard way, hence that tendency to walk off the cliff. Yes, tthis is related to a lack of impulse control, or rather insistence on instant gratification. Patience is not an American strong suit, and we are vulnerable to those for whom it is.

 

[Virtual ghost]

It looks like by "culture" you mean our various forms of dysfunctional lifestyle. Though some specific groups may be uniquely American, this sort of culture, or rather subculture, certainly isn't. In some societies they hold more sway than in others. They also seem especially easy to manipulate, for someone who can determine what kind of kool-aid they have a taste for. One thing Americans do seem to have a penchant for is learning the hard way, hence that tendency to walk off the cliff. Yes, tthis is related to a lack of impulse control, or rather insistence on instant gratification. Patience is not an American strong suit, and we are vulnerable to those for whom it is.

The reason why I dared to call all of that "culture" is because I have impression that the scale of the whole thing is much larger than in most other countries. I mean those are just some elements that came to mind to me in the moment. But there is evidently more, like "celebrity lovers". To me it is surreal that someone will watch TV show about how much money various celebrities make. In my part of the world no one cares and it is possible to meet a celebrity on the street behaving like everyone else. No hysteria, no autograms, no extra security.

Therefore when you take a look at how many of your countrymen don't belong to any of the mentioned groups the impression is that the number isn't super high. What indicates that all of this is actually a problem of culture.

 

[ygolo]

Populism without racism and xenophobia in the US. Where would that be?

I know people like to think the left has it, but I assure you the racist and xenophobic, elements are there--they just pretty it up.

 

[The Cat]

Well, Well, Well...
*Bites an apple*
Weird how that seems to shake out.
Remember Right Wing Populists:
You voted against out of touch wealthy elitists by voting in a bunch of out of touch wealthy elitists...
And it's not even January yet y'all.


Fuck. Shit. Jesus! Is right.
Enjoy the Kansas City Shuffle.

​

 

[Virtual ghost]

Well, Well, Well...
*Bites an apple*
Weird how that seems to shake out.
Remember Right Wing Populists:
You voted against out of touch wealthy elitists by voting in a bunch of out of touch wealthy elitists...
And it's not even January yet y'all.
​

This is something that was reasonable to expect. That the tech guys that make electric cars and similar products for a living would eventually clash with the majority of the base. Since these two groups are evidently completely different packs of animals. One group wants lowers taxes + deregulation and the other wants ethno state. Heck, Elon even said some 6 months ago something like "I am essentially a centrist Democrat". So yes, this is the drama that almost surely wouldn't go away anytime soon. Therefore judging by how this "debate" looks in Europe it can be expected that the ethno camp will win by sheer numbers. As a matter of fact good chunk of the left wing white working class may come aboard.

 

[Virtual ghost]

Regarding the above:

I went to educate myself about this big split and I can only say that this is "very big story". This is basically almost beyond repair situation, especially after those posts about "dumb and lazy locals". What in the end puts entire Trump's presidency into the question. Especially since now it is questionable who even has the majority in the house and some other places. Which even formally have ultra tight majority.

This is "all bets are off" plot twist.
Especially on the long run.

 

[The Cat]

 

[ygolo]

I believe this characterization washes over the essentially deeply racist and xenophobic responses the MAGA base had in its part of the conversation.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/trending/elon-musk-reacts-to-racist-pic-showing-indian-origin-sriram-krishnan-as-butter-chicken-101735360432609.html

Not just the right wing harbors that level of xenophobia.

 

[Red Herring]

In his defense (and I can't believe I'm actually defending Musk and his ilk), Ramaswamy didn't say Americans were "too dumb to train". On the contrary, he explicitely stated that this was not a matter of intelligence but of culture, i.e. of anti-intellectualism and anti-science sentiments in the US (especially compared to China or India). I tend to agree with him.

Her portraying this as the evil (foreign) elite slandering the poor honest American workers is the same kind of bullshit resentment, just coming from the other side of the aisle.



On a related note: I can get behind a certain degree of anti-capitalist anger, especially in a country with not much of a social net and very little protection of workers rights. But some 83% of Americans live in cities and 46% of the working age population has a college degree so talking about the "urban elites" or "educated elites" (not her, but populists of all stripes and colors in general) tends to make the word "elite" meaningless. Eat the rich all you want but don't start by lynching the neighborhood bookseller.

Coincidentally, I just read this morning that the highest income ethnic group in Germany happens to be Indian migrants (because they tend to be here on STEM-related work visa for wellpaying jobs).

That being said, obviously Musk is not only an a****** but a serious danger to the world (he's currently trying to invest his money and influence in some good oldfashioned election interference for the far-right here in Europe)

 

[The Cat]

What works, works.
It may not be a perfect solution...

But I'll take it, and consider it a bargain.
Any port in a storm and any win in a game.
It may not exactly be high minded, but I cant help but find that I'm rather glad the lying leopards who eat faces party is having a hard time putting their differences aside and pulling their fascism together...for whatever reason, and if it can be exploited by the other side to make them get along less in pulling their fascism together. I'm all for it.

No disrespect intended for anyone here who may not share that perspective. It's a rough world to have to come to terms with. Personally, I don't know if I ever truly will, but...

​

 

[SensEye]

What would a non-white-male candidate need to be in order to not be “DEI”? Is there any situation where such a person could have any leadership job based on credentials or is it all “identity politics” by default of their race and gender?

Questions:
1. What specifically is missing from her credentials to make her position solely based on race and gender? What do all the white-male candidates have on their resume and experience that she doesn’t?

2. Would her credentials have to be significantly stronger than white-male counterparts to be considered a valid option? How good would she need to be for people to forget her race and gender?

3. What have white-male VP accomplished throughout U.S. history? What specifically did they accomplish that she did not? Define this bar with specific examples of policy credited to these VP.

It would be helpful for you to provide specific examples without using broad, abstract value statements.

I was travelling over the holidays and wasn't doing much 'interneting' so I apologize for the delay in my response.

This is a bit of a tough question to answer as politicians (regardless of race or gender) are NOT elected due to qualifications relating to their intelligence, competence, or ability to lead. I realize that it is a popularity contest and as such, things like charisma or charm will have an outsized influence. Being a good public speaker and quick on their feet (quick thinkers) are important qualifications.

So to produce a list of academic/intelligence criteria for leadership like it was a job posting would not really add to the discussion.

However, Harris failed miserably even in the charisma and charm categories. She is a terrible public speaker (witness her word salad responses) and terrible on her feet (like when she responded to questions about the economy/inflation with nonsense about being raised in a middle class family). What's worse, she did this repeatedly, despite criticism, which indicates to me she doesn't learn from her mistakes and is incapable of formulating an alternative plan. Bodes poorly for her over all mental sharpness.

Obama, for example, did not suffer from these short comings. He is an eloquent speaker, and quick on his feet when being asked questions. Like all politicians, he would skate around tough questions, but his responses were generally reasonable and sensible, not word salad or completely irrelevant as Harris was prone to doing.

Nikki Haley is another example of someone I consider 'qualified' for high public office. She is well spoken and provides reasonably on point answers to questions (given a certain amount of political disassembling is always going to happen with politicians).

So that would be my response to your point #1.

I don't believe a non-white, non male candidate necessarily has to be stronger than a typical middle aged male candidate in theory. If they can present as intelligent, aware, informed and reasonably on point when speaking about issues it is good enough for me. However, misogynism and racism is still a thing, so under qualified white guys (see Joe Biden, Bush Jr, among others) can get away with it. Especially, if they are going against another of similar ilk. Romney and McCain couldn't keep up with a sharp cookie like Obama, so they lost despite racism.

Hillary had many issues (career politician, not charismatic) but I think she would have been OK otherwise. I don't really think it was her gender that cost her against Trump. That was just the whole weird world and anti establishment sentiment of the time that did her in, although her gender didn't help.

So that's my response to point #2. A non-white, non male candidate should not have to be outstandingly impressive, but they better be at least above average, and Harris certainly was not. Would, say a Democratic version of Nikki Haley have got the job done against Trump. Hard to say really, but I think so given that Harris was not completely blown out despite nobody actually liking her at all (except for squad loving progressive types).

Regarding point #3, VP's are always just kind of appointed for broad popular appeal. So qualifications never really matter for them. I think Trump appointed Pence just to appeal to the religious right, not for much else. So I think Walz fell into the same category. He didn't seem very sharp in debates, but I didn't hate the guy. There were better middle aged white guys available, don't really know why Harris wanted Walz to be honest. I think she was scared a well spoken VP would have made her look bad and got people thinking - why isn't he the nominee - so she went milquetoast. Just my theory.

Bottom line, I just wanted an open primary. If Harris could somehow have won the nomination (I personally am convinced she would not have come close) I would have just shrugged my shoulders and said, fine Democrats, do as you will. But she never proved herself ever in my mind. I, and I think most Americans, didn't care what she did as a California attorney general so she couldn't ride on that although that is what the people who won't accept she was a DEI appointment tend to go with.

I think the only way we will know if I am right or wrong is if Harris comes back in 2028 and wins the nominee fair and square, and then does not lose the election. I don't know how the Republicans won't get punished after four years of Trump 2.0, but one never knows. The Dems should put up a popular nominee with broad based appeal just in case (i.e NOT Harris, not a squad member, and not Sanders, who will be too old by then).

 

[The Cat]

 

[Virtual ghost]

X: More educated people are evidently hotter.
Y: Why !?
X: They have more degrees !

 

[Virtual ghost]

World leaders praise Jimmy Carter's legacy

 

[The Cat]

I dont think politicians who get elected as dems should be allowed to switch to republican after taking office during their term. You got elected as a dem because for whatever reason you couldnt as a republican, and then you switch. Exactly how deep does Hydra go these days?

 

[The Cat]

Sweet Jesus he's gonna crash the economy.​

 

[The Cat]