American Politics Discussion Thread

[greenline]

Did the US / UK invade the Solomans when they signed security agreements with China? Those used to be ours, we should clearly go take them back! China could station nukes there! They could threaten supply lines to Australia! They are building a naval base there.

Aren't you describing the Cuban Missile Crisis?

I think MOST people when they are talking about reconstruction didn't go far enough are talking about protecting civil rights. I'm not saying there aren't people who say what you are saying, but its far from a majority. I prefer to usually go with what most people say and not to group people into the worst grouping. You often treat a group of people as a monolith and of course the monolith you choose is the worst one (a criticism I've noted before btw).

Most people are moderates with moderate opinions. Extremists are still the ones to watch out for, despite being a minority, because they are willing to fight to great lengths for their extreme beliefs. In the present day, "woke" policies are near universally unpopular, but will never be ditched by the Democratic machine because there are a bunch of extremely woke staffers who refuse to compromise on any of their positions. And you've poured most of your worries into the machinations of what Trump's team could do, rather than the median GOP position of reducing inflation.

[MJW (ya that one)]

Looks like RCV repeal might fail in AK. Doesn't change me 2026 Senate ratings because Mary Pelota has filed for the House seat in the meantime. This could change but my ratings consider what people say.

Solid: Everything else

Likely R: TX, AK, FL (DeSantis might mess up appointment), IA (DEMs actually have bench here), Edit: KS if Kelly declares, (KY would be here but Beshar said he's not running, Tester also seems unlikely to run for MT)
Lean R: OH (DEMs are going to get good candidate, even if Brown doesn't run, here because the incoming gerrymander is going to kick DEMs out of the House)
Tilt R: Nothing
Tilt D: Nothing
Lean D: NC. If Cooper doesn't declare for this seat it goes to Tilt D, but I'm very sure he will because he declined a VP slot. GA. (If Kemp ruins for this seat or Stacey Abrams ruins for governor a third time it goes to Tilt D. If both happen it is Tilt R).
Likely D: MI, NH (Trump lost here but he's weaker than a generic republican for the NE region), ME (Collins is running, but here margin last cycle was actually very low due to RCV)

[Mjmd]

I mean there is a large different between placing nukes and could place. There is also a lot of tech advancement since then. Nowadays there could be a nuke armed sub off your countries coast any time so it doesn't really matter. IE its a stupid excuse that "nukes could be placed there". But we COULD use it as a justification. Its always easy to justify war if you want.

It really depends what you mean by "woke". I don't know if there is a universal definition. It seems to be used mainly as a catch all term for things Republcians don't like and they don't want to sound like they are being assholes (IE they don't just want to come out and say they hate gay and trans people). I'm of the opinion, it makes me uncomfortable, I don't get it, but that goes for a lot of things people do. Government should probably stay out of it. Its a very Republican and libertarian view except when they don't like something. Is that woke, your mileage may vary. What is the GOP plan to reduce inflation? I've been waiting since 2022 for it, but the republican house didn't pass a single bill in relation to it. Republicans seem to like complaining about it, but is the solution really tariffs and mass deportations? Most economists (and common sense) seem to think no.

[BING_XI_LAO]

We all know you don't actually believe any of that, you can stop pretending to.

I went to school at a cathedral that was built 800 years ago, I've read books which are not just centuries but a couple of them thousands of years old (Xenophon and Thucidides are fun and easy reads). And of course Jesus' teachings are from 2,000 years ago. But I couldn't possibly despise something which was first invented 100 years ago and only grew widespread 10 years ago?

I couldn't possibly see it through the framing of the ancient religions which sacrificed people? Instead I have to see it through the frivolous modern framing of individual rights and choices? Just like everyone has to see the Ukraine and Taiwan as 'independent' because that's what the people there claim. Can't have any other definition of nationhood other than the one stemming from the American rebellion. Even if I grew up in England, in a vestige of its mediaeval culture, from before the American betrayal was ever conceived of, from before we smashed a single stained-glass window, closed a single monastery, or murdered the king. I can't see things from the premodern point of view, only from the point of view of the rootless American...

Do you think the Taliban were just pretending when they defeated you 3 years ago? (Maybe you aren't an American, but you've been culturally colonised by them)

My bad, I assumed at least a functional level of sanity from RB. Evil ideas sure, but not just insanity. Guess I should've applied Hanlon's razor. Never attribute to malice what can be more easily explained by someone being a crazy cultist who believes in fairy tales.

Also no, intergender, transgender and other types of non gender conforming people have been around longer than your desert cultism. Genderfluidity occurs in stories as long as we've written down stories. Not our modern gender identities, but then those ARE actually an invention of the past 100 years, since they are continually evolving.

Genderfluidity? 10 years: (google ngram)

[greenline]

Woke is a poor phrase for saying, things progressives insist on. Progressives insist on police defunding and de-escalation, terrible art and movies celebrating minorities for existing, draping the ever changing rainbow flag on everything, putting men in women's sports if they call themselves women, thinking that America is a country with a uniquely bad history, and thinking that straight white men are the cause of all evils in the world, and making it legally required that any organization has an HR department that is filled with obnoxious harpies that only exist to harass employees and enforce progressive rules. These are all generally unpopular things, but they are popular with a small minority of highly educated and rich gremlins who never stop pushing their crap, so the rest of the country must put up with it.

"Genderfluid" did not exist in the past. The progressives who bring it up refer to things like 'two spirits', but don't really understand that a two spirit was a primitive tribe's way of saying, "You are so bad at clubbing seals that you should dress up like a woman and dance to amuse us." Not at all compatible with a progressive worldview, but the vast majority of progressives are morons with no real knowledge of human history or anthropology.

[Charr Babies]

Did the US / UK invade the Solomans when they signed security agreements with China? 

No, but the UK did invade the Solomon Islands; so that you have the nerve to say it used to be yours. Just like we committed genocide on the natives here and call it yours.

Those used to be ours, we should clearly go take them back! 

How? Nuke them?