USA Politics (redux)

Started by bhodges, November 10, 2020, 01:09:34 PM

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Daverz

Quote from: BasilValentine on July 26, 2021, 02:34:12 PM
I've been thinking about the future. Has anyone else come to the conclusion that if a Republican wins the WH in 2024, that person will immediately pardon all of the insurrectionsists?

I'm not expecting much in the way of consequences in any case. 

Que

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on July 24, 2021, 12:36:44 PM
It's the people, mostly ....

America's Imperfect Founding

I totally agree with that prespective . It's unfortunate that sofar the (appeal of the) myth seems to be more stronger than reality...  For me as an outsider, it seems that what the US needs most is some critical self reflection, including the removal of the Constitution and the Founding Fathers from their pedestals. They were a product of their times, with the imperfections that came with it. But the myth is a powerful tool in the hands of those who benefit from keeping things the way they are.

Black Lives Matter might be a game changer! Plus the rude awakening from the Imperial Dream. Although the example of the UK shows that that can also lead to an irrational clinging on to the past and self isolation.

Que

Since the fight against the pandemic seems to be politised in the US, I'm posting here.

I'm absolutely baffled by the anti-vax campaigns from (some?) Republican quarters!

How did they switch from Trump's championing the production of vaccines to this? And to what political gain?  ???

Also: what are the ramifications, political and otherwise? 
How many Americans are persuaded not to get vaccinated? I read up to half of all Republican voters?


Herman

Well, some Republican leaders are attempting to make a U-turn on this anti-vaccine position, but I guess it's a little too late.

Karl Henning

Quote from: Que on July 26, 2021, 10:33:04 PM
I totally agree with that prespective . It's unfortunate that sofar the (appeal of the) myth seems to be more stronger than reality...  For me as an outsider, it seems that what the US needs most is some critical self reflection, including the removal of the Constitution and the Founding Fathers from their pedestals. They were a product of their times, with the imperfections that came with it. But the myth is a powerful tool in the hands of those who benefit from keeping things the way they are.

Black Lives Matter might be a game changer! Plus the rude awakening from the Imperial Dream. Although the example of the UK shows that that can also lead to an irrational clinging on to the past and self isolation.

Part of our present severe dysfunction is the MAGA-verse's delusional clinging on to the "Whites on Top, baby!" past
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Stürmisch Bewegt

No wonder we're the "Home of the Brave," you have to be to live in the bullet-riddled Hell Hole we have created :  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9826297/US-records-one-shooting-12-minutes-915-shootings-single-week-leaves-430-dead.html
Leben heißt nicht zu warten, bis der Sturm vorbeizieht, sondern lernen, im Regen zu tanzen.

DavidW

Quote from: Que on July 26, 2021, 10:43:15 PM
I'm absolutely baffled by the anti-vax campaigns from (some?) Republican quarters!

Conservative media has created a narrative that Biden and other liberals want to encroach upon their civil liberties.  Since their previous tactic was to downplay how severe the pandemic is, and how liberals want to ruin the economy and infringe upon personal liberties by forcing shut downs and mask wearing, anti-vax messaging is actually a natural extension of the disinformation campaign.

I see a natural progression that started when Trump downplayed covid so long ago, and through that inertia and saving face it ended up politicizing a medical matter so severely that there is no recovering from it.  BTW just to show how hypocritical they all can be, Fox News has a vaccine passport mandate to work in the building.  All the anchors and hosts are vaccinated.  Most anti-vax politicians are vaccinated.  Rudolph Murdock, who controls a monopoly on mainstream conservative media, was one of the first to be vaccinated.

Now that was on the mainstream front.  There is a doctor in Florida that was responsible for generating most of the truly egregious anti-vax nonsense on FB.  Since Trump spent years convincing his base that the mainstream media couldn't be trusted, many of his followers are more likely to trust FB or relatives that get their information from FB than from more reasonable sources.  Disinformation is a real threat to America right now.

Karl Henning

Quote from: DavidW on July 27, 2021, 08:22:16 AM
Conservative media has created a narrative that Biden and other liberals want to encroach upon their civil liberties.  Since their previous tactic was to downplay how severe the pandemic is, and how liberals want to ruin the economy and infringe upon personal liberties by forcing shut downs and mask wearing, anti-vax messaging is actually a natural extension of the disinformation campaign.

I see a natural progression that started when Trump downplayed covid so long ago, and through that inertia and saving face it ended up politicizing a medical matter so severely that there is no recovering from it.  BTW just to show how hypocritical they all can be, Fox News has a vaccine passport mandate to work in the building.  All the anchors and hosts are vaccinated.  Most anti-vax politicians are vaccinated.  Rudolph Murdock, who controls a monopoly on mainstream conservative media, was one of the first to be vaccinated.

Now that was on the mainstream front.  There is a doctor in Florida that was responsible for generating most of the truly egregious anti-vax nonsense on FB.  Since Trump spent years convincing his base that the mainstream media couldn't be trusted, many of his followers are more likely to trust FB or relatives that get their information from FB than from more reasonable sources.  Disinformation is a real threat to America right now.


It certainly is. What simultaneously baffles and repels me is the fact that I have friends and siblings, and we all grew up in the greater NYC area, and so grew up knowing what a vile character and bullshitter the disgraced former president is ... and yet these near and dear ones have somehow acquired a taste for consuming the bullshit.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

milk

Quote from: Que on July 26, 2021, 10:33:04 PM
I totally agree with that prespective . It's unfortunate that sofar the (appeal of the) myth seems to be more stronger than reality...  For me as an outsider, it seems that what the US needs most is some critical self reflection, including the removal of the Constitution and the Founding Fathers from their pedestals. They were a product of their times, with the imperfections that came with it. But the myth is a powerful tool in the hands of those who benefit from keeping things the way they are.

Black Lives Matter might be a game changer! Plus the rude awakening from the Imperial Dream. Although the example of the UK shows that that can also lead to an irrational clinging on to the past and self isolation.
So, is it the kind of post-Marxist, critical theory-type ideology with which you want to replace the liberal vision of the constitution? It does seem that liberalism is under fire as impartiality, equality before the law, rationality as a legal and philosophical concept, are seen as "white." The idea of progress has to be thrown away with the constitution, if the vision of liberalism cannot simply be expanded to include all people. The idea I see, with intersectionality, liberation and oppression-focused ideologies, is that we humans cannot be reasonable, in terms of universality. And now everything is "racial," since it's the main hermeneutic by which we can know our relationships and society.
But there's a warning from conservatives like Glenn Loury. It's this: do you want the majority to see themselves in racial terms, while advancing this project of getting them to admit their culpability in white supremacy? What could go wrong?
I very much doubt that this is popular amongst the communities that so-called leftists think it is.  And personally, I don't think it's progressive at all. Tearing down the constitution for what? And for whom? The idea behind it seems like a con to me. It's powerful people enriching themselves by using people. Meanwhile, nothing changes in the way that corporations are really run. But things will definitely get worse and it's a dangerous gamble. Just my two cents.
To me, the real game is the way global wealth is concentrated and the way we humans are fast using up the world's resources and adding to global warming.
Another point is how China is laughing at the U.S. The CCP loves power too and laughs at the so- called failure of liberal values. This it can crow about as it elbows it's way towards more domination.

greg

Quote from: milk on July 30, 2021, 07:14:02 AM
So, is it the kind of post-Marxist, critical theory-type ideology with which you want to replace the liberal vision of the constitution? It does seem that liberalism is under fire as impartiality, equality before the law, rationality as a legal and philosophical concept, are seen as "white." The idea of progress has to be thrown away with the constitution, if the vision of liberalism cannot simply be expanded to include all people. The idea I see, with intersectionality, liberation and oppression-focused ideologies, is that we humans cannot be reasonable, in terms of universality. And now everything is "racial," since it's the main hermeneutic by which we can know our relationships and society.
But there's a warning from conservatives like Glenn Loury. It's this: do you want the majority to see themselves in racial terms, while advancing this project of getting them to admit their culpability in white supremacy? What could go wrong?
I very much doubt that this is popular amongst the communities that so-called leftists think it is.  And personally, I don't think it's progressive at all. Tearing down the constitution for what? And for whom? The idea behind it seems like a con to me. It's powerful people enriching themselves by using people. Meanwhile, nothing changes in the way that corporations are really run. But things will definitely get worse and it's a dangerous gamble. Just my two cents.
To me, the real game is the way global wealth is concentrated and the way we humans are fast using up the world's resources and adding to global warming.
Another point is how China is laughing at the U.S. The CCP loves power too and laughs at the so- called failure of liberal values. This it can crow about as it elbows it's way towards more domination.
Yeah... to put it in other words, Intersectionalism is pretty much just tribalism. Divide and conquer.

And who will conquer us when we're divided? Seems like the wealthy of this country will extend their power, and eventually China, who the wealthy are in bed with. So that's a great world that we should live in. Screw human rights. China looooves this internal conflict.

It's funny how little wealth inheritance is talked about in wokeism/Intersectionalism, when it makes up (along with genetics) probably over 90% of what you'd call "privilege." It's designed to tell poor white conservatives that they should feel like oppressors even though they live in a small trailer in the middle of the woods.  :P

Actually, recently was discussing issues of poverty with someone online (a white guy who didn't deny being from an upper middle class background), and I talked about my observations about the situation of non-white people that I grew up around, and he threw the "you can't say anything because of your white privilege" card at me. (Probably because I mentioned that mostly things were about the same for all of us, it conflicted with his narrative). I'm sorry, but was he the one that talked to them every day for years and heard everything they had to say? Yet he thinks he can throw some nebulous concept at me to discredit my actual experience.

Too many people think they can sit in their ivory towers and tell other societies how things are and what they should do, while no one elected outsiders as spokespeople.
Wagie wagie get back in the cagie

North Star

Quote from: milk on July 30, 2021, 07:14:02 AM
So, is it the kind of post-Marxist, critical theory-type ideology with which you want to replace the liberal vision of the constitution? It does seem that liberalism is under fire
Definitely, as seen in e.g. the Capitol Hill siege by far-right conservatives.
Quoteas impartiality, equality before the law, rationality as a legal and philosophical concept, are seen as "white."
This sounds to me like you're complaining that black people are making too much noise about being killed by the police for no reason, getting their votes disenfranchised, and getting disproportionately harsher sentences for same crimes as white people.
QuoteThe idea of progress has to be thrown away with the constitution, if the vision of liberalism cannot simply be expanded to include all people.
The constitution that takes into account how many representatives each state gets in the house for their slave population, and which tells of the right of a well-regulated militia to bear arms? Yeah, a sacred document that should be worshipped until the end of time for sure, it's not like nobody's tried to edit it or add something to it before.

QuoteThe idea I see, with intersectionality, liberation and oppression-focused ideologies, is that we humans cannot be reasonable, in terms of universality. And now everything is "racial," since it's the main hermeneutic by which we can know our relationships and society.
But there's a warning from conservatives like Glenn Loury. It's this: do you want the majority to see themselves in racial terms, while advancing this project of getting them to admit their culpability in white supremacy? What could go wrong?
Everything has been very 'racial' for black people, Native Americans, Mexicans, South Americans, Japanese, etc. in the US since forever. Your answer seems to be that they should just mind their place.

QuoteI very much doubt that this is popular amongst the communities that so-called leftists think it is.  And personally, I don't think it's progressive at all. Tearing down the constitution for what? And for whom? The idea behind it seems like a con to me. It's powerful people enriching themselves by using people. Meanwhile, nothing changes in the way that corporations are really run. But things will definitely get worse and it's a dangerous gamble. Just my two cents.
To me, the real game is the way global wealth is concentrated and the way we humans are fast using up the world's resources and adding to global warming.
Another point is how China is laughing at the U.S. The CCP loves power too and laughs at the so- called failure of liberal values. This it can crow about as it elbows it's way towards more domination.
Income tax, capital gains tax, wealth tax, inheritance tax, VAT, health insurance, tuition payments are certainly also issues, and I agree that if every nonwhite in the US was part of the wealthiest 1% or 10%, much of their struggle would disappear. That is not going to happen anytime soon though, and fixing these things on the financial side (which would require some sort of supermajority of the left side of Democrats in House and Senate) doesn't mean that systemic racism doesn't matter anymore.



Quote from: greg on July 31, 2021, 09:12:22 AMIt's funny how little wealth inheritance is talked about in wokeism/Intersectionalism
You should be happy about the Biden administration's inheritance tax plan then, Greg - must have missed your post on it. :)
"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." - Confucius

My photographs on Flickr

greg

Quote from: North Star on July 31, 2021, 01:07:03 PM
You should be happy about the Biden administration's inheritance tax plan then, Greg - must have missed your post on it. :)
Have not heard about it, this sounds like possibly a great thing!  :)

The reason I like the idea is because I like equal opportunity... after that things are based on merit/hard work, that should be the judge. I don't like equity (forced equal outcome), or unfair/rigged competitions. Kids shouldn't get a free ride in life while others have to suffer.

So yeah, props to Biden on this.
Wagie wagie get back in the cagie

milk

#2752
Quote from: North Star on July 31, 2021, 01:07:03 PM
Definitely, as seen in e.g. the Capitol Hill siege by far-right conservatives.
non sequitur. Are you assuming I agree with them? I see your ill-will.
Quote from: North Star on July 31, 2021, 01:07:03 PM
This sounds to me like you're complaining that black people are making too much noise about being killed by the police for no reason, getting their votes disenfranchised, and getting disproportionately harsher sentences for same crimes as white people.
I don't understand much of your post. I referenced liberal concepts in the law and liberalism in general. You said I was complaining about black people? huh? I recommend you pause in the future before going down such a path. Or justify your slimy accusations.
Quote from: North Star on July 31, 2021, 01:07:03 PM
The constitution that takes into account how many representatives each state gets in the house for their slave population, and which tells of the right of a well-regulated militia to bear arms?
Yeah, a sacred document that should be worshipped until the end of time for sure, it's not like nobody's tried to edit it or add something to it before.
Right. Don't remove it.
Quote from: North Star on July 31, 2021, 01:07:03 PM
Everything has been very 'racial' for black people, Native Americans, Mexicans, South Americans, Japanese, etc. in the US since forever. Your answer seems to be that they should just mind their place.
Yeah, if you want to be a jerk, you could put it like that, because who would tell people to "mind their place" except an awful person in your fantasy. How about a little more charity. If you disagree, try going to the substance. There are many commenters from many ethnic groups that do see critical theories in a very negative light. You immediately go to racial insults because you don't seem very serious about arguing the points.
Quote from: North Star on July 31, 2021, 01:07:03 PM
Income tax, capital gains tax, wealth tax, inheritance tax, VAT, health insurance, tuition payments are certainly also issues, and I agree that if every nonwhite in the US was part of the wealthiest 1% or 10%, much of their struggle would disappear. That is not going to happen anytime soon though, and fixing these things on the financial side (which would require some sort of supermajority of the left side of Democrats in House and Senate) doesn't mean that systemic racism doesn't matter anymore.
Not everybody agrees with your concepts. You are going to have to convince people of your concepts rather than telling them that they're horrible evil people for wanting the explanations. I just find it very cowardly to throw accusations and insults at people so you never have to explain what you're talking about in policy terms. There are many prominent people from all backgrounds that just disagree with you. Be charitable and discuss what it is you believe. 



Karl Henning

Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

SimonNZ

TUCKER CARLSON IS JOINING THE RIGHT-WING PARADE TO "ILLIBERAL" HUNGARY
The Fox News star is hosting his prime-time show and scheduled to speak at a far-right conference in Hungary, where Viktor Orbán's appeals to Christian nationalism have drawn support from the American right.


"Over the past few years, Hungary––led by its nationalistic and authoritarian ruler Viktor Orbán––has become a sort of mecca for the American far right, with conservative pundits embarking on pilgrimages to the Central European nation. Tucker Carlson has now joined his peers in traveling to Budapest in support of Orbán's regime. "We're in Budapest all this week for Tucker Carlson Tonight and a documentary for Tucker Carlson Originals," the Fox News host tweeted on Monday. That night, Carlson teased his show's coverage for the coming days. "If you care about Western civilization and democracy and families, and the ferocious assault on all three of those things by the leaders of our global institutions, you should know what is happening here right now," he said. The Hungarian prime minister also shared a photo of himself and Carlson posing next to each other with the caption, "Tucker Carlson Today," which is the name of the news host's online talk show on Fox Nation.

While in Budapest, Carlson is scheduled to address a far-right conference on Saturday organized by the Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC), with a speech entitled "The World According to Tucker Carlson," Talking Points Memo noted. Over the past couple of years, Orbán's government has reportedly shelled out considerable sums of money in his effort to build up Hungary as a destination for the global right. In June, The New York Times reported that Orbán used $1.7 billion in government money and assets to fund MCC, an educational foundation dedicated to advancing Orbán's brand of nationalism. Additionally, OpenSecrets investigative researcher Anna Massoglia reported this week that having Carlson interview Orbán on Fox News was part of a "foreign influence" operation in which the Hungarian government paid a D.C.–based lobbying firm $265,000 in 2019."[...]

Karl Henning

Worth remembering, especially in the light of 6 January.

Dan Rather, 9 Aug 2016:

"No trying-to-be objective and fair journalist, no citizen who cares about the country and its future can ignore what Donald Trump said today. When he suggested that "The Second Amendment People" can stop Hillary Clinton he crossed a line with dangerous potential. By any objective analysis, this is a new low and unprecedented in the history of American presidential politics.  This is no longer about policy, civility, decency or even temperament. This is a direct threat of violence against a political rival.  It is not just against the norms of American politics, it raises a serious question of whether it is against the law.  If any other citizen had said this about a Presidential candidate, would the Secret Service be investigating?

"Candidate Trump will undoubtably issue an explanation; some of his surrogates are already engaged in trying to gloss it over, but once the words are out there they cannot be taken back.  That is what inciting violence means. 

"To anyone who still pretends this is a normal election of Republican against Democrat, history is watching.  And I suspect its verdict will be harsh.  Many have tried to do a side-shuffle and issue statements saying they strongly disagree with his rhetoric but still support the candidate.  That is becoming woefully insufficient.  The rhetoric is the candidate.

"This cannot be treated as just another outrageous moment in the campaign.  We will see whether major newscasts explain how grave and unprecedented this is and whether the headlines in tomorrow's newspapers do it justice. We will soon know whether anyone who has publicly supported Trump explains how they can continue to do.

"We are a democratic republic governed by the rule of law. We are an honest, fair and decent people. In trying to come to terms with today's discouraging development the best I can do is to summon our greatest political poet Abraham Lincoln for perspective:

""We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."
Lincoln used these stirring words to end his First Inaugural Address. It was the eve of the Civil War and sadly his call for sanity, cohesion and peace was met with horrific violence that almost left our precious Union asunder. We cannot let that happen again.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Karl Henning

A nice piece, especially for anyone still inclined to luxuriate in bothsiderism:

BENJAMIN PARKER: "For people determined not to give Democrats credit for policing their own side, you could say that it was helpful that in both cases the person succeeding the beleaguered official was also going to be a Democrat. Then-Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton, a Democrat, appointed Tina Smith to fill out Franken's term, and New York Lt. Gov. Katie Hochul will take over for Cuomo as governor. So it's not as if the stakes were astronomically high for the Democrats seeking to oust Cuomo and Franken.

"But that also raises an interesting question: When the Republican party had an historically unpopular incumbent president and had the opportunity to impeach him and remove him from office not once—but twice!—why didn't they not do it? It's not as if removing Trump in 2019 would have made Hillary Clinton president—it would have made Mike Pence president, and this was before he had been unpersoned as a traitor."

Andrew Cuomo Resigned Because the Democrats Aren't a Cult
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

MusicTurner

#2757
"Here Are The Major Amtrak Upgrades Proposed In Biden's $2 Trillion Infrastructure Plan":

- https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2021/04/01/here-are-the-major-amtrak-upgrades-proposed-in-bidens-2-trillion-infrastructure-plan/?sh=2c482fa3532e
- https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/02/us/politics/amtrak-trains-infrastructure.html
("Public buses, subways and trains are also set to receive $39 billion in new funding under the bill").







milk

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on August 10, 2021, 12:07:21 PM
A nice piece, especially for anyone still inclined to luxuriate in bothsiderism:

BENJAMIN PARKER: "For people determined not to give Democrats credit for policing their own side, you could say that it was helpful that in both cases the person succeeding the beleaguered official was also going to be a Democrat. Then-Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton, a Democrat, appointed Tina Smith to fill out Franken's term, and New York Lt. Gov. Katie Hochul will take over for Cuomo as governor. So it's not as if the stakes were astronomically high for the Democrats seeking to oust Cuomo and Franken.

"But that also raises an interesting question: When the Republican party had an historically unpopular incumbent president and had the opportunity to impeach him and remove him from office not once—but twice!—why didn't they not do it? It's not as if removing Trump in 2019 would have made Hillary Clinton president—it would have made Mike Pence president, and this was before he had been unpersoned as a traitor."

Andrew Cuomo Resigned Because the Democrats Aren't a Cult
it's scary that Trump could return. It seems like the more unreasonable the right is, the more their constituents like them. The left is much more uneasily divided between factions with different inclinations. Off topic: I wonder if AOC will seek a Senate seat?

Karl Henning

Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot