In fact, the reason so many people voted for Trump is BECAUSE Biden didn't do much for the American people (and Trump will be even worse). In Biden's term, inflation rose, inequality grew, police brutalization continued unabated, billionaires increased their wealth by trillions (https://inequality.org/article/billionaire-wealth-up-88-percent-over-four-years/), and more.
There is NO, I repeat ZERO argument to be made that "Biden was doing quite a commendable job" before Oct 7th.
What this thread illustrates for me, Chang, is that Americans have an incredibly large
-- capacity for denial
--addiction to duopoly explanations
It's D then R then D again then R, and not a goddamned thing ever evolves. But to see that the entire enterprise is corrupt, top to bottom, requires the removal of blinders that are apparently glued in place with a high-bond adhesive that no one has yet devised a solvent to remove.
Many of us can see the entire enterprise as corrupt, though not nearly enough. We can also see some large differences between the two parties as currently being displayed now. I voted for Stein since I live in California and it didn't matter, but domestically the current situation is far more disastrous than it would have been if Harris had won. (No change for the hideous plight of the Palestinians of course.) To deny that fact is absurd.
Sorry, I opine that what's absurd is the fact that you tend to
A. downplay the extent to which Democrat politicians are, almost as thoroughly as the other side, bought by (other than pro-Israel) pro-weapons, –Wall Street, and -Pharma, -etc.
I also voted for Jill in NM. Trump is a scumbag. I would gladly run over Elon with a road paver.
B. the extent to which Democrats in power abrogate actual mechanisms of change, mostly floating campaign promises and half-baked fluff. Then re- introducing bills of no hope when Rs take over. Please, this is theater.
And I feel your terror at the descent into Authoritarianism, Fascism if you like. But in my mind, I look at America through the lens of Dallas, November 1963 and personally in Spring 1968 at Columbia University. And it has been a Fascist fucking country for quite some time. But I look at Obama and Biden administrations and I see no reason to hope that a Harris or any status quo politics is going to be "better".
I do get it and agree, except that this is seriously bad in so many ways: cutting food, healthcare, research, the EPA, wanting to drill everywhere, not to mention how much worse it would get. And it's not like voting for Stein or not voting was going to make any difference. Instead of cursing the duo poly, we need to find real ways to change it, if there are any. Personally, I think the whole fabulous planet is doomed by greed and ignorance.
Luckily, as a biologist and worshiper of the Complex Adaptive System that is the Biosphere, I can assure you that some bacteria and fungi will make it through whatever holocaust we idiots devise. And it'll require eons of course. But life will re-evolve. And if the fungi in their Millennia of plant root mutualistic symbioses have managed to actually have pseudo intercourse and taken up some plant genes, it could go faster (personal hypothesis). I share this because it is how I stay sane.
Well, I love our planet the way it is now (or was a few hundred years ago) and am beyond appalled that most humans in power don't care. I think there are undoubtedly other worlds with life in the universe, but this one is all we know and I grieve deeply for it and its astounding myriad of incredible lifeforms. (Not really staying very sane at this point.)
You wanna burn out their eyes, Jenny? Blind leading the blind? I think we already have that here in Murica. Hopeless situation -- too many layers of un-seeing, perception of numerous phantom realities, but rarely anything approaching veritas.
Biden hates ALL Americans. Supported by a gutless Congress, this slimeball glorified murder and mayhem. No sewage plant would want anything to do with this dreg of humanity. He's ugliness personified, the wretched refuse of a nation now showing it's going down, down, down. He's not the only president we've had that detested Americans. Bye, Joe, we'll do our best to remember you as the most hated President in our history.
Yes, he definitely did have some accomplishments and did some good. Biden also made progress on cancelling some student debt, and many other things.
And that's what people need to understand - politics is RARELY a black-and-white issue - there are some positive developments and some negative developments. Though with Trump, for the life of me I can see NO positive accomplishments/developments (unless you are talking about the benefits for the oligarchy, corporations, and tech-bros, and monopolists).
There MAY be unintended consequences (both positive and negative) arising from an administration's policies, but I'm unwilling to give ANY Administration ANY credit for such effects.
Putin is very similar to Trump - another strongman - fascist, authoritarian, dictatorial. Like you said in your comment - not many people (on this substack) understand or have enough knowledge about Russia and its history, hence the over-representation of Russo-philes here.
We also don't know who on here is a plant. I'm reading Careless People about Facebook and Zuckerberg. Facebook worked closely with the first drumpf campaign and engineered his win.
Did you forget about the Ukraine war? NATO expansion? Anti-China foreign policy? And don't forget that Biden deported more immigrants than Trump (US deportations under Biden surpass Trump's record -> https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c36e41dx425o) or (Comparing the Biden and Trump Deportation Records -> https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/biden-deportation-record)
Biden messed up the Afghanistan withdrawal, kept the same increased trade tariffs from the Trump term, knifed labor unions in the back (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/01/joe-biden-rail-strike-labor-unions), and did NOTHING to combat INFLATION.
In fact, the reason so many people voted for Trump is BECAUSE Biden didn't do much for the American people (and Trump will be even worse). In Biden's term, inflation rose, inequality grew, police brutalization continued unabated, billionaires increased their wealth by trillions (https://inequality.org/article/billionaire-wealth-up-88-percent-over-four-years/), and more.
There is NO, I repeat ZERO argument to be made that "Biden was doing quite a commendable job" before Oct 7th.
What this thread illustrates for me, Chang, is that Americans have an incredibly large
-- capacity for denial
--addiction to duopoly explanations
It's D then R then D again then R, and not a goddamned thing ever evolves. But to see that the entire enterprise is corrupt, top to bottom, requires the removal of blinders that are apparently glued in place with a high-bond adhesive that no one has yet devised a solvent to remove.
Many of us can see the entire enterprise as corrupt, though not nearly enough. We can also see some large differences between the two parties as currently being displayed now. I voted for Stein since I live in California and it didn't matter, but domestically the current situation is far more disastrous than it would have been if Harris had won. (No change for the hideous plight of the Palestinians of course.) To deny that fact is absurd.
Sorry, I opine that what's absurd is the fact that you tend to
A. downplay the extent to which Democrat politicians are, almost as thoroughly as the other side, bought by (other than pro-Israel) pro-weapons, –Wall Street, and -Pharma, -etc.
I also voted for Jill in NM. Trump is a scumbag. I would gladly run over Elon with a road paver.
B. the extent to which Democrats in power abrogate actual mechanisms of change, mostly floating campaign promises and half-baked fluff. Then re- introducing bills of no hope when Rs take over. Please, this is theater.
And I feel your terror at the descent into Authoritarianism, Fascism if you like. But in my mind, I look at America through the lens of Dallas, November 1963 and personally in Spring 1968 at Columbia University. And it has been a Fascist fucking country for quite some time. But I look at Obama and Biden administrations and I see no reason to hope that a Harris or any status quo politics is going to be "better".
I would gladly put that paver in reverse for you as Trump is a Zionist Nazi Mass Murdering Sociopath and a Hitler wannabe.
I do get it and agree, except that this is seriously bad in so many ways: cutting food, healthcare, research, the EPA, wanting to drill everywhere, not to mention how much worse it would get. And it's not like voting for Stein or not voting was going to make any difference. Instead of cursing the duo poly, we need to find real ways to change it, if there are any. Personally, I think the whole fabulous planet is doomed by greed and ignorance.
Luckily, as a biologist and worshiper of the Complex Adaptive System that is the Biosphere, I can assure you that some bacteria and fungi will make it through whatever holocaust we idiots devise. And it'll require eons of course. But life will re-evolve. And if the fungi in their Millennia of plant root mutualistic symbioses have managed to actually have pseudo intercourse and taken up some plant genes, it could go faster (personal hypothesis). I share this because it is how I stay sane.
Well, I love our planet the way it is now (or was a few hundred years ago) and am beyond appalled that most humans in power don't care. I think there are undoubtedly other worlds with life in the universe, but this one is all we know and I grieve deeply for it and its astounding myriad of incredible lifeforms. (Not really staying very sane at this point.)
Acid might do the job?
You wanna burn out their eyes, Jenny? Blind leading the blind? I think we already have that here in Murica. Hopeless situation -- too many layers of un-seeing, perception of numerous phantom realities, but rarely anything approaching veritas.
Maybe LSD would help.
Biden hates ALL Americans. Supported by a gutless Congress, this slimeball glorified murder and mayhem. No sewage plant would want anything to do with this dreg of humanity. He's ugliness personified, the wretched refuse of a nation now showing it's going down, down, down. He's not the only president we've had that detested Americans. Bye, Joe, we'll do our best to remember you as the most hated President in our history.
Ok, but he did have some accomplishment.
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/395517/joe-biden-food-stamps-snap-legacy
https://navigatorresearch.org/lowering-drug-prices-and-investing-in-infrastructure-are-most-popular-and-known-biden-accomplishments/
Yes, he definitely did have some accomplishments and did some good. Biden also made progress on cancelling some student debt, and many other things.
And that's what people need to understand - politics is RARELY a black-and-white issue - there are some positive developments and some negative developments. Though with Trump, for the life of me I can see NO positive accomplishments/developments (unless you are talking about the benefits for the oligarchy, corporations, and tech-bros, and monopolists).
There MAY be unintended consequences (both positive and negative) arising from an administration's policies, but I'm unwilling to give ANY Administration ANY credit for such effects.
Just like Hitler's Germany?
Well I feel that way about Ukraine. Plenty of blame on both Putin and Biden. I know that's not a popular viewpoint on this substack.
Putin is very similar to Trump - another strongman - fascist, authoritarian, dictatorial. Like you said in your comment - not many people (on this substack) understand or have enough knowledge about Russia and its history, hence the over-representation of Russo-philes here.
We also don't know who on here is a plant. I'm reading Careless People about Facebook and Zuckerberg. Facebook worked closely with the first drumpf campaign and engineered his win.
People love things to be B&W, which is not always the case.