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9 days agoThere really wasn’t any masked pretense before the election, either.
Baron Von J
I play guitar, watch USMLR and NHL, occasionally brew beer, enjoy live music and travel, and practice sarcasm.
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Cake day: June 11th, 2023
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They’re doing the same over here in c/playstation
0·9 days agoShowing some real Government Efficiency here.
0·9 days agoIt’s wrong and it’s bad and it’s worse
The “it’s worse” is all I’m arguing about. Not the degree to which it’s worse, just that it is worse at all. And by the definitions of the word empowering, Trump being worse than Biden is empowering the Israelis.
we have not lost a force for good in losing Bidenism. Bidenism with respect to Israel was evil. And Trump is eviler, but on this issue, there’s really not much worse it can get. On many many other issues Trump is incomparably worse, but no one should pretend Biden was in any way a bulwark against genocide and occupation…
I haven’t been arguing that Biden has been a force for good in this conflict. Agreement that Trump is worse was my only objective. So 🍻
I don’t understand why you’re trying to split hairs here as if it makes any difference
Because this comment thread is about whether Trump’s actions are empowering the Israelis. It’s apparent to me that most people are using a different definition of empowering than I am.
- to give official authority or legal power to
- Something that is empowering makes you more confident and makes you feel that you are in control of your life
Even though these actions don’t have a large practical impact on their military capability, or financial means, it does send the message that Trump isn’t interested in placing even performative restraint on Israel. Thus, he is empowering them to do even more.
From Oct 7 2023 to Jun 28 2024 (the date of the reuters article that is being posted) we had shipped thousands of those bombs. We paused a shipment in May of 2024 (stated in that reuters articale), and here’s an article from July of 2024 saying we still had not shipped any of them
And I’ve found nothing indicating we have sent any more 2k pound bombs since May of 2024. So if we had, please provide a source reporting it.
Perhaps we should try to agree on what empowering means, though:
- Something that is empowering makes you more confident and makes you feel that you are in control of your life
- to give official authority or legal power to
Trump’s actions are empowering the genocide because they are clearly supportive of both Israel’s bombing and occupation.
My introspection was that I can’t stand by and let bad defeat better simply because best isn’t on the ballot, because that will hurt the ones I love.
Can you give me a citation for an incumbent party winning the election with a candidate other than the incumbent? I’m not aware of that every happening. Clinton won the popular vote in the 2016 primaries. That’s why I opened up with saying we need more progressive candidates and voters to participate in the primaries. We have more progressive representatives now than we did in 2016 because of Bernie’s 2016 campaign, not because of 3rd party voters.
And we’re not winning just because the person doing the fascism wears a blue pantsuit.
No. But we are farther from it when the President is engaging in trans-denialism and xenophopbia and pardoning convicted seditionists. but by all means, keep letting perfect be the enemy of better. I’m sure some day that will work.
Trump could have said hey this sanction isn’t working, we need to strengthen it so that it does. But he instead said get rid of this sanction entirely. I get that you’re saying “well it didn’t really work and they had access to it anyway.” I do. But by your own account they had to go through extra steps to get it and now they don’t. That’s empowering. Even if just in the psychological sense that they now get to think “hey Trump is doing things to make it easier for me to keep occupying this land.” They now know that Trump is aiding them, so that gives them a greater sense of purpose and power to continue. And now they get more of the bigger bombs with which to do it.
Your link is published in June of 2024 and states:
The Biden administration has paused one shipment of the 2,000-pound bomb, citing concern over the impact it could have in densely populated areas in Gaza, but U.S. officials insist that all other arms deliveries continue as normal. One 2,000-pound bomb can rip through thick concrete and metal, creating a wide blast radius.
Here’s a link from July of 2024
The U.S. in May paused a shipment of 2,000-pound and 500-pound bombs due to concern over the impact they could have in Gaza
I can’t find anything saying we resumed shipment of 2,000 pound bombs in the remainder of 2024. So it seems to be true Trump is now reversing Biden’s [since May 2024] policy of withholding these bombs.
So how do you plan to succeed with third parties in the face of the cumulative failure of all third parties combined to win even 1% of the offices? In particular in contrast to the recent increase of progressive candidates running for and winning Democratic primaries?
Also, do some introspection.
I did, and that’s why I stopped voting for any 3rd parties in 2016. I had voted for candidates from all parties prior to then. Because they can’t win a large enough scale without electoral reform. And we won’t get that by losing all the elections.
they are fascists. Voting against them is a moral act.
So if we’re getting fascists either way (because again, the winners of >99% of elections around the country are going to be either the Democratic candidate or the Republican candidate), wouldn’t voting to prevent the ascension to power of the racist transphobes who are publicly voicing their desire to detransition transgender persons and denaturalize and deport citizens be the moral thing to do?
I’ve been saying it since June. I know I’m shouting into the void.
And I assume people like me have been responding to you the whole time. And your voices were enough to lose the election for the rest of us. So not much a void.
willing to go full Player 2 or you’re a billionaire
Sorry, I don’t understand the Player 2 reference. And since you don’t appear to have been paying attention, the billionaires are all winning now (they wanted Trump, they got Trump).
The occupiers are the state of Israel.
Yes, that what I said, though I can see how the ordering of my words could be ambiguous.
Biden had some very limited sanctions
And Trump is removing them. Therefor Trump is, in an objective and literal sense, empowering those people subjected to those sanctions by removing sanctions that Biden had put in place.
Well I did say should. So what is your suggestion? Vote third party? By my quick scanning of this page there’s are <45 members of state legislatures around the country, out of >7,500 total state legislators. And 2 out of 535 US Congress members. Not voting? They don’t care. That’s just less time and money they have to spend trying to connect with a potential opposition voter.
The article is literally stating that Trump is giving the green light to giving Israel more powerful bombs to genocide with, and also to give Israeli West Bank occupiers their access to US financial resources again.
Not all leftists are this problem. Just the ones who didn’t vote for Kamala in an otherwise winnable state.
you have to be pretty dense to think that there is any meaningful difference between how Kamala and Trump would have handled Palestine
Kamala called for a ceasefire.
Trump said Biden should “Let [Israel] go and let [Israel] finish it.” and now he’s saying we’re going to give Israel bigger bombs to do it while removing economic sanctions on Israeli occupiers.
How can you say there is no meaningful difference?
The primaries are where the accountability should happen. For the vast, vast majority of elections in the US the winner will be either the Democratic candidate or Republican candidate. And you can turn in primary ballot without voting for any of the candidates. Your participation is then a matter of public record, and campaign managers will be inclined to try and win your vote.
edit - you can also become an actual party member, maybe even a delegate, and vote on leadership.
Can an instance block individual communities? I would think if users just don’t subscribe to the political and then set the feed view to subscribed that should sort it out for them.