And They're Off! The Democratic Candidates for 2020

[71 dB]

You guys are totally clueless, but provide an always-on laughtrack!

The topic of American politics and the fact that during the recent years I have gotten much better grasp of it has revealed to me that GMG members are not all-knowing super-geniuses. For some reason we enjoy classical music, but apparently that doesn't mean everyone is able to notice things like political corruption, oligarchy, brainwashing etc.

What if the same is true with classical music? What if some opinions shared here are similarly ignorant? Well, at least my opinions have been called ignorant and silly, but maybe I have taken that criticism too seriously? I have feared so much being wrong, but what if being wrong isn't that serious because we all are often wrong?

So, instead of having an intellectual debate over politics we have posts like this by Muzio. When you don't have anything substantive to say you can call others clueless and discredit everything they say by telling how good laughs they provide.

Biden and Trump are BOTH utterly corrupt. The fact that the former has been the VP for 8 years and the latter is the president tells a lot about how corruption has taken hold of American politics. The solution is to vote out such scum and instead elect people who are not corrupt. That's why Bernie Sanders 2020.

[71 dB]

     It doesn't seem to work. The public is getting the Trump story and it says he's trying to frame Sleepy Joe for what his son did, get paid for his last name. It's an easy story to understand, and based on recent polling it's understood. Hunter is an embarrassment to his father. That's it.

Except father Joe needs to be corrupt for the idea to give a well-paying job to son Hunter to work. Ukraina knows Joe is corrupt and can be bought this way. If Joe was principled he would have said Hunter he can't accept the job offer because it looks bad and is effectively corruption. He didn't as far as we know, did he?

[drogulus]

Except father Joe needs to be corrupt for the idea to give a well-paying job to son Hunter to work. Ukraina knows Joe is corrupt and can be bought this way. If Joe was principled he would have said Hunter he can't accept the job offer because it looks bad and is effectively corruption. He didn't as far as we know, did he?

     Biden made enemies in Ukraine because his anti-corruption drive was aimed at them. Kleptocrats are endangered and enraged by the noncorrupt.

     Ukrainian Oligarch Seethed About 'Overlord' Biden for Years

Biden has touted his leverage over Kyiv, including successfully pushing for the ouster of the country's then-chief prosecutor, Viktor Shokin. Biden wasn't the only one pushing for Shokin to leave as part of Ukraine's anti-corruption efforts. The prosecutor had put in anemic performance charging powerful and well-connected kleptocrats while in office and the IMF, the European Union, and Ukrainian anti-corruption activists all urged his ouster.

Shokin had also scrutinized a gas company whose board included Biden's son Hunter Biden, a fact that Trump and his allies have cited as evidence of corruption. They note that Shokin's replacement wasn't much better. But the reporter who broke the Hunter Biden story years ago reported that Joe Biden's overall anti-corruption push in Ukraine likely endangered the company his son was linked to.

     A Russian linked Ukrainian oligarch is targeting Biden and using Americans linked to the WH to do it.

[Karl Henning]

     Biden made enemies in Ukraine because his anti-corruption drive was aimed at them. Kleptocrats are endangered and enraged by the noncorrupt.

Witness Trump.

[Madiel]

Biden and Trump are BOTH utterly corrupt.

Putting a word in capital letters doesn't make it more convincing.

[Karl Henning]

Putting a word in capital letters doesn't make it more convincing.

Nope. And if he cannot perceive the differences between the former Vice President, and Trump, he's one sorry puppy.

[Florestan]

Is Joe Biden not corrupt at all?

[drogulus]

Is Joe Biden not corrupt at all?

     He is slightly evil in a way that's hard to pin down.

[Florestan]

     He is slightly evil in a way that's hard to pin down.

Why, of course, their corrupt guys are so much worse than ours...

[Florestan]

Hatred that blinds...

[71 dB]

Nope. And if he cannot perceive the differences between the former Vice President, and Trump, he's one sorry puppy.

Calling both Biden and Trump corrupt doesn't mean they are corrupt the same way or degree. If you don't understand that you are one sorry puppy yourself.

The US system is so messed up it allows LEGALLY massive corruption, systemic corruption. You do it you don't break the law, but you are corrupt anyway. You take someone's money and do their bidding. That is corruption, legal or not.

[drogulus]

Hatred that blinds...

     I guess I was unintelligible. I was saying a nice thing about Sleepy Joe. He's not a favorite by any means. He exudes an air of goofy normalcy like a !950s sitcom dad.

[Karl Henning]

Is Joe Biden not corrupt at all?

He's no Trump. But, why do I endeavor to discuss it with you? Like Trump, you deride critics as "haters."

[Karl Henning]

Hatred that blinds...

What will be left for you to do when you see genuine hatred? Your latest Johnny one-note wheeze is wicked as well as undiscerning.

[JBS]

Calling both Biden and Trump corrupt doesn't mean they are corrupt the same way or degree. If you don't understand that you are one sorry puppy yourself.

The US system is so messed up it allows LEGALLY massive corruption, systemic corruption. You do it you don't break the law, but you are corrupt anyway. You take someone's money and do their bidding. That is corruption, legal or not.

By that measure every political system is hopelessly corrupt. Every politician too. Bernie and AOC take the money of their donors and do their donors's bidding.

[71 dB]

By that measure every political system is hopelessly corrupt. Every politician too. Bernie and AOC take the money of their donors and do their donors's bidding.

I knew some blockhead here would bring this up.

Yeah, they take because if you don't take any money you can win any election ever. Who is talking about removing the influence of money from politics? Taking the money from your regular people who vote for you means you do the bidding of the regular people who voted for you. Isn't that kind of the idea? That's why their money is less harmless. If only those billionaires who donate to Biden voted for Biden it wouldn't be a problem.

[Jo498]

I don't think what Joe and Hunter Biden tried to pull off (or did) in the Ukraine is covered by taking money from US donors to finance one's campaign. They were in bed with kleptokrats and if one believes otherwise one is as naive as many Trump supporters.
But of course, the US system is particularly problematic because usually one has to be a multi-millionaire or needs very potent donors to even run for office. Now one could say that the good thing about this is that it is more in the open. In countries like Germany it is different (and maybe not quite on the US or Ukraine level). Politicians here want to be rewarded after they held offices, so they get some well paid industry/PR job afterwards (or sometimes parallel to office but there are some rules against that).

[71 dB]

New CNN likely New Hamphire voters poll:

Sanders 21 %
Warren 18 %
Biden 15 %
Buttigieg 10 %
Others under 10 %

How did CNN write about this poll? They wrote 5 articles none of which says in the headline Bernie is leading in NH:

1) "Sanders and Warren sit at top in New Hampshire, but there's no clear front-runner"
2) "A disappointing poll for Biden"
3) "Early state primary voters much more undecided than voters nationally"
4) "This is a historically unprecedented New Hampshire mess"
5) "Buttigieg in fourth, but a strong fourth"

Admittedly the first headline is somewhat fair to Bernie, but isn't it funny how it's easier for CNN to say Buttigieg is a strong fourth than saying Bernie is leading? Do you think corporate media would ever write "Bernie is a strong fourth" when Bernie IS fourth? Never! This is the corporate media bias I have been talking all the time. This is why corporate media sucks and people go watch the likes of Kyle Kulinski to get more objective take of the facts.

[Muzio]

  Bernie and 'friend' discussing the benefits of socialism!  Can't make this stuff up! 

[71 dB]

Bernie and 'friend' discussing the benefits of socialism!  Can't make this stuff up! 

I admit this is unintentionally funny. This is the video the screenshot is from:

https://www.youtube.com/v/qFKzxkTzbtY

Bernie and Rashida Tlaib Visit Food Pantry
That's food shortage in Trump's America, "fruits" of not-so-well-regulated capitalism.
For reality check this is what grocery stores in "socialist" Finland look like: