All purpose news and politics thread part VII: News & Politics Total Landscaping

[The Cool Thatguy]

I think Putin is only interested in USEFUL idiots, not just plain idiots.

He still has Snowden, remember. I think Putin would love the propaganda of hosting a US president

[Dalak]

IMO Trump did well with suburban moms in 2016 mostly because of the mistrust or Hillary that was stoked by conservative media. Evidently they mistrusted Hillary more than they were disgusted by the Access Hollywood scandal which really should’ve killed him in all female demographics.
This time around I have to think it’s the hateful rhetoric concerning LGBTQ+ Americans and the whole book banning movement.
We can’t have deviants corrupting the minds of our precious little angels you know. /s

Trump got more women in 2020 than in 2016, but I hope that Abortion will change that drastically. It depends on how much they hate LGBTQ+ folks and how much they buy into the culture war BS.

But the question remains why is it on black folks to save America from Trump?

In fact why does the GOP target black folks?

Everything Project 2025 affects EVERYONE.

Abbott's Vouchers for private schools is going to hit every public school including white and Asian ones in Texas.

Abortion ban is trying to force white women to birth kids HOWEVER it's forcing everyone to do that. So for every 10 white women that give birth-20-30 babies of color are going to show up as well.

Right now, the polarization in the US may be largely between white people. Minority voters with different perspectives and fewer illusions about nationality, patriotism, classism, etc may bring a clearer, uncluttered view with them to the polls.
Just my off-the-cuff thoughts.

I agree with you both here, and I think that if we could convince more people (White mainly) not to be selfish assholes and vote based on who will do the most good/least harm rather than vote for Trump or not vote for whatever reasoning then the world wouldn't need Black Americans to save them.

I really liked this



And a bit of trivial, I'm only 6 DAYS older than Colbert. I just found that out since I missed this on the 13th. Very happy to nearly share a birthday with him.

The oddities of life can often be entertaining.

The Mass Psychology of Trumpism

How America tried and failed to stay White

These articles are interesting reads that paint a dark picture of Trump, conservatives, and the US voting populace, but they are nuanced & worth reading IMO.

One hopes you actually care about Palestinians more than you care about African-American and LGBT American voters.

We will see if they are just being used as political tools again.

I meant a president Trump has consequences on the rest of the world… It’s not that this latter can do anything about it… Sadly.

That's understood given his incompetence in dealing with issues such as foriegn trade alliances, Mideast policy, and Covid as well as his support of dictators such as Putin.

Yeah, Trump's a danger for everyone not just the US. The extremism that's overtaken the GoP is doing the same to conservatism globally, and that's besides Trump's reckless & fascist behaviors and the chaos they cause.

[Dalak]

I understand not wanting to be a defeatist but the consequences of his first term will have devastating consequences for generations. The end of Roe, the huge list of right wing judges confirmed, rolling back environmental protections, emboldening authoritarian dictators like Putin and giving them free rein, sabotaging the USPS and restricting POC voting rights, etc.

If he’s allowed a second term it will be far worse because they have more of a cohesive plan. Project 2025?

Saying “we’ll get through it like we always do” just doesn’t apply here. Once Trump is back in office he’s not leaving. Who’s going to stop him? The members of Congress who are literally dressing like him and marching outside of the courthouse where he’s being tried for soliciting hush money to a porn star? The bought and paid for Supreme Court (which he will no doubt be able to nominate additional corrupt right wing lunatics)?

This demonstrates how & why Trump's such a danger, and whether one is confident that Trump will lose or not it's definitely important to acknowledge.

The Netherlands will form the most right-wing government in the EU, after Geert Wilders forfeits his claim to the PM post and the center right party VVD agrees to work with the fascists.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe...se-2024-05-15/

More saddening news, I can only hope that they can be balanced out in some way

How things have been going for the far-right AfD party in Germany:

Higher Administrative Court (OVG) has on Monday rejected a complaint by the party against its classification by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) as a suspected right-wing extremist case.

and

On Tuesday, a court ruled against Thuringian AfD leader Björn Höcke for allegedly using a slogan from the paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party, the Storm Troopers (Sturmabteilung). The graduate historian and former history teacher denies knowing the origin of the banned slogan "Alles für Deutschland" (Everything for Germany).

Höcke was fined €13,000 ($14,060) which is to go to a grassroots anti-extremism program. Once the appeals have run their course, he will officially have a criminal record.

https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-far-r...ure/a-69078624

And today, parliamentary immunity was lifted for Petr Bystron, who is not just an MP but also their #2 on the candidate list for the upcoming EU elections. He's under investigation for taking bribes after audio recordings became public of him counting bills and complaining that his Russian contact paid him in large 200 € bills, which gas stations would not take.
The number one on that candidate list, Maximilian Krah, had his offices searched because one of his staffers is suspected of being a Chinese spy.

They are using the Trumpian playbook, of course, and calling all of these events "witch hunts."

While this helps the outlook compared to the above post, I still hope that these people don't get away with their misdeeds.

The classified documents are more useful to Putin than Trump -- as well as the Republican white nationalists that do his bidding.

No doubt he took great joy in watching Trump's supporters storm the White House and expose just how easy it is to incite American white supremacists towards treason.

It's the entire Republican party that Putin wants to control -- Trump is just easier than most for him to manipulate.

All of this is obvious in hindsight, and your video is quite revealing. I wonder how much more information could be added to prove it's veracity if it came out in the last 2-3 years.

You mean flee the country to avoid prison? I doubt that would happen, for one, I suspect the Secret Service would stop him from leaving, two, who's to say Putin would let him in once his usefulness is over?

What, you think Putin wouldn't love having a US president as a trophy?

I think Putin is only interested in USEFUL idiots, not just plain idiots.

He still has Snowden, remember. I think Putin would love the propaganda of hosting a US president

Yeah, if it's a choice of Putin or Prison I know which decision will appeal to Trump.

[shooshoomanjoe]

In the three years Biden's been in office, inflation shot up to 20% and the GOP is taking advantage of that. Biden doesn't have much of a plan but I guess it's fine because he's keeping the trains running.

[Dalak]

In the three years Biden's been in office, inflation shot up to 20% and the GOP is taking advantage of that. Biden doesn't have much of a plan but I guess it's fine because he's keeping the trains running.

When you say Biden's not withholding the weapons he said he would and the news reports say he is, I'll take your statement of whether there's a plan with a grain of salt and realize how much context it's missing and how much obstructionism needs to be worked around to get anything positive for the country done at all.

[Kirby101]

A chart that clearly shows post Covid inflation and with the usually lag from legislation and Administration action, inflation being curbed by Biden.
The Inflation Reduction Act was signed in August of 2022, notice the results.

https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/12036059/embed?auto=1

There is also the fact that a good part of the price increases was pure corporate greed, and a Congress unwilling to help Biden address that.

[CaptainEurope]

A chart that clearly shows post Covid inflation and with the usually lag from legislation and Administration action, inflation being curbed by Biden.
The Inflation Reduction Act was signed in August of 2022, notice the results.

https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/12036059/embed?auto=1

There is also the fact that a good part of the price increases was pure corporate greed, and a Congress unwilling to help Biden address that.

Pretty sure the US has the lowest inflation in the G7, so Biden is doing something better than Sunak, Scholz, Macron et ak.

[CaptainEurope]

On, and the news on the low inflationa numbers made the DJI break 40,000 points today for the first time, ever.

[shooshoomanjoe]

Pretty sure the US has the lowest inflation in the G7, so Biden is doing something better than Sunak, Scholz, Macron et ak.

Not really. Japan kept its inflation low. The US in the middle in 2023, very high in 2022.

[CaptainEurope]

Not really. Japan kept its inflation low. The US in the middle in 2023, very high in 2022.

Why do you keep posting things that are not true?

Bank of Japan at crossroads: Japan inflation outpaces US for the first time in eight years

[shooshoomanjoe]

Why do you keep posting things that are not true?

Bank of Japan at crossroads: Japan inflation outpaces US for the first time in eight years

Maybe you should read the article in the link you posted. The very first sentence explains why Japan's inflation has been low.

[CaptainEurope]

Maybe you should read the article in the link you posted. The very first sentence explains why Japan's inflation has been low.

I am old enough to remember when Japan was struggling with deflation.

But you must be aware of what the word "outpaces" means. You simply must.

[Dalak]

Maybe you should read the article in the link you posted. The very first sentence explains why Japan's inflation has been low.

I am old enough to remember when Japan was struggling with deflation.

But you must be aware of what the word "outpaces" means. You simply must.

The first paragraph is "Headline inflation in Japan surged to 3.3% y/y in June 2023, surpassing the US for the first time since October 2015. This development signals that Japan is narrowing the gap with other major economies like the eurozone and the UK and can no longer be considered a safe haven from inflation. While the June figure is lower than the peak seen 42 years ago in January, it still represents a significantly high rate for an economy like Japan, which has been traditionally oriented towards low inflation and was grappling with deflation as recently as August 2021." Nothing in that explains why or how their inflation has been low, just says it has been.

I wonder if the devil's lettuce is involved here, as the first sentence is even less what was represented.

[Mister Mets]

Why do you keep posting things that are not true?

Bank of Japan at crossroads: Japan inflation outpaces US for the first time in eight years

I don't think he was.

The chart shows that Japan's inflation rate has consistently been lower than the US's. In 2023, the gap was smallest, but it was still higher in the US. The gap was greater in 2021 and 2022, which is relevant if we're looking at inflation under Biden.

An obvious issue with inflation is that if it goes up modestly after major increases, these can still be substantial increases from the baseline.

[Dalak]

Why do you keep posting things that are not true?

Bank of Japan at crossroads: Japan inflation outpaces US for the first time in eight years

I'm not sure if people are reading the links you post, as I'm very confused at the responses you are getting if they are.