#you love democrats more than you love democracy

[tungledotedu]

the vote blue no matter who crowd should've just kept it to themselves. we have a year before elections and you're already proclaiming that you'll back joe biden and the democrats no matter what?

have you noticed that none of this is over yet? only a four-day truce has been agreed upon and it was still delayed. israel is intensifying its bombings of northern gaza before this truce comes into effect. we don't even know how many palestinians have been killed as the gazan health ministry is unable to properly update the death toll. this is because the idf has been decimating its healthcare infrastructure, invading hospitals and sniping doctors. it claimed hamas had a command centre under the al-shifa hospital, and the biden administration 'confirmed' this without providing actual evidence.

this is only a recent development. god knows what else your government will do to escalate the conflict and help its ally slaughter more innocents. you'll look even stupider in retrospect for flocking to your leader like the brainwashed maga cultists you love to hate.

you don't have the spine to threaten to withhold your vote. you don't have the brains to question your officials' statements and actions. you don't even have the compassion to understand why people hesitate to support the democrats again. hell, some of you refuse to believe israel is committing a genocide in the first place.

you're turning people away, people who would have otherwise understood your point of view. you're effectively shooting yourselves in the foot. it would be laughable if it wasn't a chilling revelation of just how little you care about the victims of your government when it happens to benefit you.

you condescend to your own people as if they're idiots, as if they aren't deeply familiar with the dangers that trump represents. i can't imagine how difficult it must be for muslim and arab americans to be stuck in this unenviable dilemma, and for anyone who held their nose to vote for biden and is now appalled by his conduct. this is no easy choice, not in a country of warmongers posing as a democracy.

but you don't reach out to those people and show them any sympathy, do you? you dismiss them as lazy, useless leftists, because it's easier. you're all too eager to blame them for splitting the vote, as if they were the ones who chose to send more weapons knowing they'll be used for ethnic cleansing. biden wants them to be kept secret and bypass congress. because guess what? he knows you're gullible dipshits who will believe him when he claims to protect civilians.

but sure, you'll do what you can to hold the democrats accountable before you go to brunch. keep pretending your party is a champion of left-wing causes while it collaborates with an apartheid, racist settler-colonial state. your tax dollars go to drones and bombs, but at least your student loan debt is cancelled, right? and that's worth the price in human lives?

you lick those boots thinking they keep you safe, but one day they will crush you too.

[jjmcquade-misc]

Some clever points by Rob Schneider As we have seen this week, ONCE AGAIN the Democratic Party is NOT running on any ideas to make American’s lives better, they are once again running on the hatred of one individual, Donald J Trump.

And they are hoping that YOU will HATE him so much that you will forget about the Democrat’s FOREVER WARS that are pushing the world closer to World War III, they are hoping that you forget about your grocery bills being 26% higher since Biden/Harris took office.

The Democrats are hoping that you FORGET all the CENSORSHIP that the Biden/Harris regime did, working with TECH companies to silence Scientists, Doctors and Academics and ANYONE who dared question their Tyrannical COVID POLICIES, VIOLATING THE FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS OF ALL AMERICANS, FIRING FEDERAL WORKERS, DOCTORS AND NURSES who refused to get an experimental vaccine, FORCING TWO YEAR OLD BABIES TO WEAR MASKS, CLOSING SCHOOLS AND SMALL BUSINESSES, while allowing BIG BUSINESSES to MAKE BILLIONS in profits, putting GIRLS AND WOMEN AT RISK BY ALLOWING NARCISSISTIC MEN TO INVADE THEIR SAFE SPACES AND SPORTS, putting PORNOGRAPHY BOOKS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, pushing the GENDER MADNESS OF CHILD MUTILATION SURGERIES and CHILD STERILIZATION CASTRATION DRUGS (PUBERTY BLOCKERS), REMOVING AMERICA’S ENERGY INDEPENDENCE and once again making our Nation captive to FOREIGN OIL, OPENING OUR BORDER allowing 11 MILLION ILLEGAL NON-CITIZENS INTO OUR COUNTRY, CAUSING MISERY, DEATH AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING, FLOODING OUR CITIES WITH MIGRANTS AND DEATH CAUSING FENTANYL, ILLEGALS FLOWN TO DIFFERENT STATES all being PAID BY U.S. TAXPAYERS.

The Democrats CALLED TRUMP ‘HITLER’ and half the CITIZENS of our country “MAGATS” and DEPLORABLES, INCITING HATRED AND THE ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION OF A FORMER PRESIDENT.

The Democrats cry of ‘SAVING DEMOCRACY’ as they DISCARD the 14 MILLION DEMOCRATS WHO VOTED FOR BIDEN IN THE PRIMARY, effecting a COUP, pushing OUT A DULY ELECTED PRESIDENT and much like the SOVIET POLITBURO, INSTALLING THEIR NEW PUPPET LEADER who had the LOWEST APPROVAL RATING OF ANY FORMER VICE PRESIDENT and who has still REFUSED to take ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE PRESS.

YES, the Democrats are hoping that you HATE TRUMP more than YOU LOVE YOUR COUNTRY AND YOUR FREE SPEECH, YOUR CHILDREN’S EDUCATION AND SAFETY AND YOUR FREEDOMS.

Robert Kennedy Jr. supporting President Trump is plainly this: A REJECTION OF THE AUTHORITARIAN AND SERIAL UNDEMOCRATIC ACTIONS OF THE DEMOCRAT MACHINE.

As a fellow American Citizen and Robert Kennedy Jr. supporter, I hope that you will OPPOSE TYRANNY and join us and VOTE FOR DONALD J. TRUMP FOR PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA! Sincerely,

Rob Schneider.

[263adder]

Don't Lose Your Vote! UK Edition

Update: Tuesday 18th June 2024 is the deadline to register to vote for the general election.

A snap general election could be called any day. This will be the first general election that requires photo ID if you vote at the polls (postal votes 📫 are unaffected by the Election Act 2022).

If you don't have an approved form of identification (list here), you can apply for a FREE voter ID photo card. Find out more below or use these 5 minutes to register and get your ID sorted instead ❎ because, and this is important to know, the government really doesn't want young people to vote.

The Explanation

Rishi Sunak, UK Prime Minister and Leader of the Conservative Party, may call a snap election in 2023. (A snap election is a vote brought in earlier ⏱ than the one that’s scheduled 🕐) The UK’s next general election (for MPs and the PM) is meant to happen between December 2024 and January 2025.

A snap election happens in as little as 25 days 😨 between the announcement (aka the PM asking the House of Commons’ to approve the dissolution of Parliament) and the vote 🏃‍♀️

You must be registered to vote - currently over 8 million people are not. Unlike other a democratic countries, the UK doesn’t automatically register all eligible voters. You have to do this yourself. Here’s a quick reminder of how to register:

Over the past 15 years, it has gotten harder for British citizens to vote:

Families can no longer register to vote as a household 🏡 so young voters must register themselves (Cameron Govt)

Colleges and universities are barred from registering students 👨‍🎓 (Cameron Govt)

The Elections Act requires photo ID 🤳 for anyone voting in person (Johnson Govt)

Local elections (for city and town governments) in 2023 were the first votes that required VOTER ID. According to the Electoral Commission, over 14,000 people were turned away from the polls because they had not heard about the change.

The House of Lords tried to amend the Elections Act before it passed, to include more common types of ID, such as bank statements, bills, student ID, library cards and much more. This amendment was struck down in the House of Commons. A lot of the IDs included in the approved list are more likely to be owned by older voters than younger ones. For example, a 60+ Oyster Card is acceptable ID but an 18+ Oyster Card is not.

Here’s the important thing to know: voters who don’t have a driving licence or passport or other approved forms of ID, can apply for a free voter ID photo card. Watch the video below to find out how!

And finally, please, for the love of our democracy, vote.

"Democracy is not something you believe in or a place to hang your hat, but it's something you do. You participate. If you stop doing it, democracy crumbles." Abbie Hoffman

[mythica-ithaca]

the fact that I see some of y'all posting more about how important it is to vote for Biden than you ever have about Palestine just shows that you fucking "vote blue no matter who" people genuinely don't give a fuck about anyone but yourselves.

you only choose to speak up when YOUR hypothetical rights are threatened. you love to fear monger about how much hypothetically worse it would be under trump than acknowledge the actual atrocities that Biden is committing and condoning every single day. how exactly is he the "lesser" of two evils for?

do any of you actually look at the images coming out of gaza, or are you too fucking ~triggered~ to fully acknowledge other peoples suffering rather than your own. have you seen the video that came out recently of the little boy whose brain is exposed, about to be laid next to his dead family members, only to twitch and seize in his fathers arms as he screams and runs in horror to find a doctor, because his son is alive. his brain is literally falling out of his skull but he is still alive. that is one brief example of the most horrific shit you've ever seen in your life coming out daily for almost a year. how on this earth can you watch that and possibly claim that Biden is in any way shape or form "less" evil.

instead of demanding that the dnc force a different candidate, you're trying to guilt trip people who have actually seen the mutilated bodies of children on their timelines every single day and watched the press briefings of bidens administration denying genocide and defending Israel at the expense of literally everything else for the last 8 months, into voting for a man who supports it 100% and has not and will not be convinced otherwise.

this is where allowing them to push widely unpopular and centrist candidates has gotten us. it didn't work with Hillary in 2016. it BARELY worked in 2020. and hate to break it to you, but its probably not going to work again. so congrats. your "vote blue no matter who" rhetoric has got them thinking that they can push the most right leaning liberals on us and think that we'll vote for them just because they're in a blue tie instead of a red one.

if you care about democracy like you say you do, then the Democrats should be fucking TERRIFIED that you won't vote for them if they don't deliver. not constantly reassured that they can commit literal fucking genocide and still get your votes if they dangle abortion rights over your heads. you realize they see those posts too right? the ones that say "Yes! protest vote in the primary but make sure to actually vote for the guy in the general!!" like. you are literally telling them how performative your activism is.

if every election at this point is the one where democracy is on the line then we are already fucked. if they don't get it through their heads now that we will not support this shit, then every election to come will be between a fascist and a fascist who cares slightly less about whether gay people get married or not. but that's all you care about right? as long as your domestic policy is in your favor then the rest of the world can suffer at your tax dollars.

this isn't about morality voting. this is about recognizing that there is not actually a "lesser" of two evils in this situation, just because you think that the causes that you personally care about will be less affected one way or the other. because what if it was abortion rights? what catholic Joe Biden was firmly against abortion and was threatening to ban it completely and throw anyone getting or giving one in prison for murder. what if it was videos of lgbt people being slaughtered coming out every single day for a year. genuinely fucking ask yourself if you'd still be saying "vote blue no matter who" and that he's the "lesser" of two evils.

vote for whoever the fuck you want. and I do genuinely urge you to vote for the most progressive candidate you can for the house and senate and your local elections. but for the love of god, stop trying to convince people that there is, in any sense of the word, a "Lesser" evil in this situation. stop trying to absolve yourselves of the fact that you are CHOOSING evil. it's genuinely sick.

[psychotrenny]

Lancer is a funny because of how much it insists that Union is this flawed but ultimately benevolent institution that's well on the path to improvement, a "utopia in progress" as they love to say, when like they casually reveal so many things about it that show Union as rotten to the fucking core. Like as much as Lancer fans like to go on and on about how it's an imperfect society that needs to make compromises, there's so much awful shit about Union that just seems pointless or easily avoidable.

And like part of this is the creator's politics; they're social democrats so it's not surprising that Space Sweden is their idea of a society that, if not the best we could possibly achieve, is at least the best we can do for the foreseeable future. As a Marxist-Leninist it's only natural that I'd have a condemnatory view of such a society just as I do for real Social Democracies; my idea of an achievably "good" society is just fundamentally different from that of the creators But like Lancer is also full of little details that just seem fucked up and awful even from the values and viewpoint of Social Democracy. Like stuff that's just as bad, if not worse, than a lot of sci-fi Dystopias. Like why the fuck does Union have a CIA that's run by a group of super-computers with the actual elected legislature having an advisory role but no actual jurisdiction and this fact being kept secret from the vast majority of the populace? Not much of a democracy if one of the most powerful institutions in the entire political body is free from any kind of democratic or even fucking human oversight while most people aren't even allowed to have an opinion on this because they aren't allowed to know about it. Or what about the caste of Janissary diplomats (like was it really necessary to take children and train them like they're the jedi of interplanetary relations) who come with customised computer slaves. Like yeah don't forget about the fucking SCP computer slavery thing, which is completely fine (except for the times it isn't I guess). Like it's basically the weirdest and most uncomfortable part of Star War's setting imported near whole-cloth only like the regular mindwipes are justified because otherwise they'll full Durandal and you don't want that do you? Look how happy and content they are being forced to think like humans while acting as loyal servants. Btw Union is somehow even less denazified than West Germany. Significantly so. They literally gave Hitler Corp. (a fucking weapons manufacturer so powerful they call it a "corpro-state"!) a seat at the UN. While allowing their Blue Helmets to keep using those Nazi-made weapons. And like Third Comm is repeatedly described as doing basically the same shit that Second Comm did but with more "Care" or whatever so don't worry it's fine now.

Like I can just keep going on and on like I'm not making this up this isn't some like weird expansion this is all from the core rulebook. I get that there has to be conflict and tension but like why did they need to make their ostensible good guys so fucking awful like these are the people you're meant to feel good about fighting for why did you need to fill them with the sort of details you'd see in some cautionary dystopia? And like why do actual people keep defending these guys? Like once you get down to it Union manages to be less Space Sweden and more* "The Ottoman Empire with Pronouns"

*to borrow a phrase coined by a mate while we were talking about this

[duchess-of-mandalore]

Star Wars, friends. I know this is not why you follow me, but please make this my most shared post.

You are here.

We're living the lead-up to Revenge of the Sith, and it scares me so much a) it feels like there is so little we can do, and b) young people are acting as if there is nothing we can do.

If you don't know what's going on, I need you to wake up and get engaged.

I have two history degrees. My whole life I've always been the person saying, "When people say, 'This is the most important election ever," it just shows how little they know about history.'"

So please believe me when I tell you that THIS is the most important election (cycle, not just presidential race) that you will likely ever be a part of.

Trump is not Hitler. He's too stupid to be Hitler.

But our democracy only held together in 2020 because of a few people like Mike Pence who were willing to stand up against Trump when it was truly the last line of defense. I know that's hard for some of you to hear, but whatever you think of his beliefs, Pence showed he has integrity and stands by the Constitution.

There will be no Mike Pences this time around. Trump will not make the mistake of surrounding himself with those who are not fully committed to him.

Trump is a convicted felon. He is running to avoid his convictions and likely jail time more than anything else. If he wins, he will be able to pardon himself of his federal crimes, but he's going to keep acting like Donald Trump. If he's still alive in 2028, do you think he will leave the White House peacefully and just submit to further cases against him?

Please watch John Oliver's recent expose on Project 2025 and Trump's Second Term. It is linked in a comment below.

Trump and his administration are already putting in place plans for sweeping reforms that truly will make America look like The Handmaid's Tale. Presidents usually will push for more when they're in their second term because they don't have to worry about another election campaign, but this is different. This is about dismantling the democratic system so that it only benefits the most radical conservatives and Christians.

Christians, I am one of you. I was raised Evangelical (capital E meaning politically motivated culture warrior), and I am still evangelical (lower-case e, referring to theological beliefs). This is not the posture of Christ-followers. There is no good that comes from state-mandated religion, which both coerces people to claim that they are believers for social and cultural clout AND waters down the true religious fervor of the church because most people are only nominal believers.

There is NOTHING about Christian Nationalism that is in the best interest of Christians or in the best interest of the neighbors Christians are called to sacrificially love. If you need a reminder of who your neighbor is, read Luke 10:25-37.

Please start talking with your friends. Young people, please register to vote and bring your friends to do the same.

I know so many of you are disillusioned. I am too. Things that are going on in Palestine and Ukraine and so many other places make it very hard to vote for people with "D"s behind their names (especially after the recent presidential debate).

But punishing Joe Biden is not the revenge you want to pursue here. Are you unhappy with him giving Israel $12.5 billion? I am too, but do you think that number won't be repeated multiple times under Trump? Again, I was raised Evangelical. A staple of (politically-focused) Evangelicalism is that Christians (and thus America) must support (the modern state of) Israel no matter what because they have a hyper-literal understanding of the verse where God tells Abraham that he will bless those who bless him (including his descendants who became Israel).

Do not underestimate the importance of that view in their ideology. Nearly every member of my biological family has shunned me for suggesting that this is not a blanket endorsement of every action the modern state of Israel takes.

Trump is a criminal running for president to save his skin. He supports Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel who is now himself wanted for war crimes. Trump has aligned himself with the authoritarian leaders/dictators of Hungary, China, North Korea, and Russia. He is open about his love for Russian president Vladimir Putin's authoritarian regime and stands against Ukraine's democracy and national sovereignty.

This is what happened before World War I and World War II.

I know this isn't what you follow me for.

But George Lucas was showing the dangers of authoritarianism. He shows that democracy is hard. It's frustrating trying to negotiate with people you disagree with vehemently. It may seem like nothing gets done.

Go and watch the Naboo picnic scene. Go and do it. And after chuckling at all the funny memes it's given us, let me tell you why it scares me so much.

Because Padme laughs.

Anakin tells her who he is, and she laughs.

She passes it off as a joke, or as flirting, or maybe even as just the ignorant views of a boy who views life as far more black and white than she knows it to be.

But the alternative to all of that frustrating democracy, all that gridlock in the Senate, all those choices and compromises you have to make in order to benefit the people at all ... the alternative is a dictator who says, "I will make all the decisions for us."

That's why there are people who applaud Palpatine. That's why we as viewers see Bail and Padme as the reasonable ones and think it's crazy that anyone would applaud, but they do.

The applaud because Palpatine says, "You don't have to be frustrated anymore. You don't have to be worried about those who disagree with you anymore." Safety and security and ease are powerful temptations when you live in a polarized society, and Palpatine offers them all of those things.

That's why many people applaud Trump, too.

There were also people who applauded Palpatine who did see the danger of what he was doing. But they applauded because it was easier to do so. He had already amassed power because they didn't stand up to him before. They applaud him now because standing against him now would have dire consequences they wouldn't have faced if they had stood against him before.

So vote. And get your friends to vote.

If there is any part of you that believes Star Wars has important things to tell us about real life, then I need you to fan that flame into a fire.

Otherwise, you won't be living in the prequels anymore. You will be living in the time of the Empire.

Vote.

[deadpresidents]

On the cliffs of Normandy, in a small holding area, the President of the United States was looking out at the English Channel. It was only six weeks ago, on the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, and President Biden had just finished his remarks at the American cemetery atop Omaha Beach. Guests had been congratulating him on the speech, but he didn't want to talk about himself. The moment was not about him; it was about the men who had fought and died there. "Today feels so large," he told me. "This may sound strange -- and I don't mean it to -- but when I was out there, I felt the honor of it, the sanctity of it. To speak for the American people, to speak over those graves, it's a profound thing." He turned from the view over the beaches and gestured back toward the war dead. "You want to do right by them, by the country."

Mr. Biden has spent a lifetime trying to do right by the nation, and he did so in the most epic of ways when he chose to end his campaign for re-election. His decision is one of the most remarkable acts of leadership in our history, an act of self-sacrifice that places him in the company of George Washington who also stepped away from the presidency. To put something ahead of one's immediate desires -- to give, rather than to try to take -- is perhaps the most difficult thing for any human being to do. And Mr. Biden has done just that.

To be clear: Mr. Biden is my friend, and it has been a privilege to help him when I can. Not because I am a Democrat -- I belong to neither party and have voted for both Democrats and Republicans -- but because I believe him to be a defender of the Constitution and a public servant of honor and of grace at a time when extreme forces threaten the nation. I do not agree with everything he has done or wanted to do in terms of policy. But I know him to be a good man, a patriot and a president who has met challenges all too similar to those Abraham Lincoln faced. Here is the story I believe history will tell of Joe Biden. With American democracy in an hour of maximum danger in Donald Trump's presidency, Mr. Biden stepped in the breach. He staved off an authoritarian threat at home, rallied the world against autocrats abroad, laid the foundations for decades of prosperity, managed the end of a once-in-a-century pandemic, successfully legislated on vital issues of climate and infrastructure and has conducted a presidency worthy of the greatest of his predecessors. History and fate brought him to the pinnacle in a late season in his life, and in the end, he respected fate -- and he respected the American people.

It is, of course, an incredibly difficult moment. Highs and lows, victories and defeats, joy and pain: It has been ever thus for Mr. Biden. In the distant autumn of 1972, he experienced the most exhilarating of hours -- election to the United States Senate at the age of 29. He was no scion; he earned it. The darkness fell: His wife and daughter were killed in an automobile accident that seriously injured his two sons, Beau and Hunter. But he endured, found purpose in the pain, became deeper, wiser, more empathetic. Through the decades, two presidential campaigns imploded, and in 2015 his son Beau, a lawyer and wonderfully promising young political figure, died of brain cancer after serving in Iraq.

Such tragedy would have broken many lesser men. Mr. Biden, however, never gave up, never gave in, never surrendered the hope that a fallen, frail and fallible world could be made better, stronger and more whole if people could summon just enough goodness and enough courage to build rather than tear down. Character, as the Greeks first taught us, is destiny, and Mr. Biden's character is both a mirror and a maker of his nation's. Like Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, he is optimistic, resilient and kind, a steward of American greatness, a love of the great game of politics and, at heart, a hopeless romantic about the country that has given him so much.

Nothing bears out this point as well as his decision to let history happen in the 2024 election. Not matter how much people say that this was inevitable after the debate in Atlanta last month, there was nothing foreordained about an American President ending his political career for the sake of his country and his party. By surrendering the possibility of enduring in the seat of ultimate power, Mr. Biden has taught us a landmark lesson in patriotism, humility and wisdom.

Now the question comes to the rest of us. What will we the people do? We face the most significant of choices. Mr. Roosevelt framed the war whose dead Mr. Biden commemorated at Normandy in June as a battle between democracy and dictatorship. It is not too much to say that we, too, have what Mr. Roosevelt called a "rendezvous with destiny" at home and abroad. Mr. Biden has put country above self, the Constitution above personal ambition, the future of democracy above temporal gain. It is up to us to follow his lead.

-- "Joe Biden, My Friend and an American Hero" by Jon Meacham, New York Times, July 22, 2024.

[ohmerricat]

after nearly a decade of trying to Be The Bigger Person, Take The Higher Ground, “love trumps hate” and Kindness, the democrats have realised that nothing beats the dependable old art of ad-hominem jabs

that’s the thing with conservatives and other breeds of fash. you can’t get to them with civility. if you go on and on (with legitimate concerns, let it be said) about their human rights violations, their power-hungry scapegoating of minorities, their warmongering and hate-stirring, their ceaseless desire for control, they’ll keep taking it as a compliment. they LOVE being told that they’re successful oppressors. it means they’re doing their job right, it means they’re powerful, they’re strong and they’re winning. it’ll fall on deaf ears

that’s why the “weird” line of attack sent them into a tailspin. it’s so surface-level, so painfully middle-school-bully, targeting some kind of primal insecurity that everyone possesses, but nobody more than a conformist. they can deal with being called dangerous, accused of being a threat to democracy — that’s what they crave to hear, a testament to their power. but weird? that’s the worst possible insult — comparing them to us.

when you’ve been “weird” for your entire conscious memory, allegations of abnormality slide off your skin like water. if you call a queer man a fag, he’ll laugh in your face. he’ll take it in stride and get it tattooed. but call a man who makes his masculinity the focal point of his existence a fag — that stings. for the very same reason, that fashion critique guy on twitter riles right wingers up so much: they base their sense of self-esteem on the absolute conviction that their values, behaviours and aesthetics are correct, that anything else is a deviation. they pride themselves on being “straight” in all senses of the word: everyone else is a “pervert”, i.e. twisted and bent. so getting told “um, actually, your shoes are a size too big and your shirt doesn’t fit” shatters their resolve.

spot a rightoid in the wild? don’t call him an authoritarian misogynist. tell him instead that his wife left him for a woman and took the kids. spread a rumour about him fucking a couch. remind him that his nieces and nephews collectively know him as the “creepy uncle” and avoid him at family gatherings. find a photo of lookalike wearing drag and tag him in it.

be petty. because it’s not like they’re ever going to be nice to you

[1-d-a]

Hope? Hope often does that; its bright colors bewitch you like a child, anesthetizing your memory. Then the inevitable happens and suddenly there you are, going through an old painful cycle again. Reality becomes an unbearable De javu: same consequences, same broken heart, same impotence followed by anger.

But we must keep in mind that in certain circumstances, Hope is just another name for Desperation.

Quite sad how during this last year of 'election campaign' many people in my country again clung tooth and nail to the illusion that we're still a democratic nation… and not one tortured by an authoritarian regime that has hijacked all public powers —including the electoral one — for more than 25 years.

Whoever has paid attention to the patterns knows this: for years any election exercise in Venezuela is just a show organized by the government itself, necessary to legitimize its mandate before the world and thus continue in power under a poor disguise of democracy that legally protects its leaders while they commit their abuses.

And the opposition leaders know that. They know it very well. By postulating their candidates, they are not actually betting on winning, because they know it's impossible for the government to recognize it. Patterns don't lie; what the opposition is actually betting on (without any remarkable success) is that the exposure of the electoral fraud to the world will bring some kind of external help while the social revolt in the streets exerts considerable pressure. But that's not honest, because regardless of the final intentions of such political leaders, they always end up using the crowd in the streets as sacrificial cattle.

With elaborate speeches full of heroism and patriotism, opposition leaders emotionally manipulate civilians (mostly kids), inciting them to protest in the streets without any kind of organized resistance to protect them from the violent repression that always, always happens, no matter how peaceful the rally has started.

If we had an organized /armed resistance that, in the face of repression, protect the most vulnerable civilians as a huge shield, other birds would sing… but we don’t have it. Civilians protest defenseless in the streets, risking their lives; not to mention those unfortunate ones who end up in nightmare prisons unjustly accused of terrorism, with their future totally tarnished…

Worst part of this situation is watching helplessly how the crowd makes the same mistakes of the past: idealizing political leaders, abusing patriotism, being too emotional, leaving common sense aside, underestimating the oppressors and the imposed system, expecting too much from international entities, trusting too much in 'divine justice', praying without acting, and especially… not building a solid resistance.

It's been more than 25 years dealing with this shit, we should have learned something; it's ridiculous.

Responding to electoral fraud with pressure in the streets is beneficial for the opposition cause in the media, but it's counterproductive in the reality of the common citizen who doesn't want to be another pawn in a convoluted political plot.

How dangerous it is to be seduced by the emotional euphoria of manipulative speeches. Heroism and patriotism caress your wounded ego, your sense of belonging, your craving for meaning… and that bloody need for catharsis… only to leave you tempting death in front of a bunch of armed police and military who know nothing about ethics and honor. Excessive hope and anger have that effect, they blind reason.

The average Venezuelan is too effusive, more passionate than rational, more idealistic than pragmatic. We also love drama and spectacle, and we have an innate weakness for the archetype of the liberating hero. All of this always works against us.

Burning and destroying things as a tantrum can make you purge a lot of anger after an injustice, the relief is ineffable. Smashing statues of tyrants, as well as the icons and properties that represent them, can also work as a moralizing symbol for an oppressed community…. But actions of this kind alone are not enough to combat an authoritarian government. It is fought through an organized resistance, with expert lawyers and hackers, with double agents in the police and militia; it is fought by stopping begging for attention from international entities and working the weaknesses of the imposed system; it is fought by presiding over the effusive youth who hinder the plan with impulsive acts, etc.

One more time: we don't need defenseless people on the streets risking their lives again without reliable guarantees. Since there are no significant variables in our situation, if the mistakes of the past are repeated the result will be the same. Or maybe worse.

[cimerran-714]

I figured that it would be helpful to call out ten of the most common pro-choice arguments that you might notice online. I'll preface it by saying that I am not a philosopher (or at least not yet), but I am a person with common sense, and you can see through these "arguments" if you have two brain-cells left.

Also, I understand that there are good PC arguments out there (although they are of course not successful, for a strong argument doesn't necessarily have to succeed). I am only arguing some of the most insane and ridiculous ones you'd spot.

If you want to go through some really good claims made by pro-choice/pro-abortion advocates, I'd recommend David Boonin's 'A Defense of Abortion'. It'd help you instead of you having to regurgitate whatever you are spoon-fed by the leftist cult. Go check out that book even if you're pro-life, because it's a great one.

Let's get started, shall we?

A human embryo/fetus is not human:

Yes, it's both human and alive. Biologists agree with this (including pro-choice biologists), and even pro-choice philosophers acknowledge this. This is basic empirical reality. And you only have to open an embryology textbook to know how wrong you are. Also, these people can never explain what species the fetus belongs to if not "Homo Sapiens".

2. It's just a "clump of cells".

All of us are made up of cells. Some are "clumpier" than others. And plus, it's not merely a clump of cells: the embryo is a human organism in its earlier stages of development, and very soon is also differentiated as it grows. That's like saying that it's okay to destroy a car because it's just "a bunch of metal thrown together".

3. It's not a person/sentient, yadda yadda:

Irrelevant and it's the same logic that slave-owners used to own people. Human rights is species-based, and the embryo/fetus is human. That's all that matters. These people love to make up ridiculous, arbitrary criteria to justify their bigotry.

4. You cannot force people to donate their organs...

Not the same thing at all. You cannot be forced to save people, but that doesn't mean you can actively kill them. This is the difference between killing someone and letting them die. There is a significant moral difference between deliberately pushing someone off a cliff and not saving someone who's hanging off a branch at a cliff. Abortion is the former.

5. Women would die...

All states have life-threat exceptions built into it, so this is just deflection. And yes, there are doctors who refuse to perform entirely legal abortions, but that is their fault. It IS legal. They're just cowards, and you can't blame the law for this because they already make this exception.

6. You cannot force your views onto others:

If you support democracy (and, you know, voting) you're forcing your views onto others. That's how law works.

7. The child would grow up in poverty, yadda yadda yadda...:

We don't kill born children because of these reasons, so it's a ridiculous claim. You don't solve poverty by killing the poor.

8. They are just pro-birth:

Statistics show that Republicans donate more to charity than Democrats. Also, just because they don't agree with your method of helping people doesn't mean that they don't care about born people. You see, it's like saying "A fire-fighter rescued someone from a fire, but they don't want to pay out of their pockets to look after them throughout their lives. They don't actually care!"

9. Showing pics of fetuses belonging to other species as a gotcha:

Yes, mammals of different species look the same in their earlier stages, but that doesn't mean there isn't a difference between them. This is, once again, bigoted slaver logic (to want to kill people based on their looks).

10. Men cannot have a say because:

As men are directly affected by this, they absolutely have a say. They are fathers too, and remember that they're the ones who have to pay child support.

There you go. I am not expecting you to be pro-life yet if you are not, but I hope that I have cleared your head up somewhat.

[tungledotedu]

this aged well

[ID: tumblr post by mariacallous, dated the 5th of august, 2021. it says: 'There are very few European political parties (and not many of them mainstream, really) that are as pro-lgbtq and pro-abortion and anti-anti-Semitism and pro-racial and ethnic diversity as the Democrats and most Democrats are more progressive on a lot of other areas traditionally held up as leftist standards.' End ID.]

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Jack Jenkins at RNS:

(RNS) — A diverse group of Christians is throwing support behind Vice President Kamala Harris’ White House bid, organizing fundraisers and Zoom calls in hopes of helping catapult the Democrat to victory in November — and, they say, reclaiming their faith from Republicans in the process. Their efforts come on the heels of similar campaigns aimed at specific constituency groups, such as the recent “White Dudes for Harris” Zoom call that featured celebrities and grabbed headlines. John Pavlovitz, a liberal-leaning Christian author and activist, was on that call when he hatched the idea for a Christian-centric version and texted his friend Malynda Hale, a singer, actress and fellow activist. “We had a conversation about how, specifically on the Democratic side of the political spectrum, you don’t hear a lot of people talking about their faith,” Hale told Religion News Service in an interview. “We wanted people to know that there are progressive Christians, there are Christians on the Democratic, left-leaning side, so that they didn’t feel alone.”

The result was Christians for Kamala, a part-fundraiser, part-virtual roundtable livestreamed event on Monday (Aug. 12). Featured speakers cited their faith as they praised liberal policies and personally endorsed Harris — who recently entered the presidential race after President Joe Biden bowed out — and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Over the course of the nearly three-hour event, the group raised more than $150,000 for the Harris campaign, a number that has climbed to just shy of $200,000 in the days since. “It’s been really difficult to keep up with the flood of comments and connections that have been coming in,” said Pavlovitz, who said the only formal help he received from the Harris campaign was in setting up a donation system for fundraising. A number of Christian groups — including evangelicals, a constituency key to former President Donald Trump’s base — have assembled similar calls in the lead up to next week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Most have had little to no assistance from the official Harris-Walz campaign, which, barely a month old, has yet to announced a dedicated faith outreach director. The emerging grassroots coalition vies not only to bolster Harris but also to push back on what organizers say is a false assumption that to be Christian is to be a Republican — or a supporter of former President Donald Trump.

[...] That diversity was on display during the Christians for Kamala call, which included a mix of faith leaders such as the Rev. Jacqui Lewis, of Middle Collegiate Church in New York City, and the Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr., head of the nonprofit Hip Hop Caucus; activists like environmentalist Bill McKibben and LGBTQ+ rights advocate Charlotte Clymer; commentators such as CNN’s Van Jones; and politicians, including New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and Texas State Rep. James Talarico. The speakers linked their support for specific policies, such as working to blunt the impacts of climate change or passing immigration reform, to their faith and Christian Scripture. Some rebuked conservative Christianity’s ties to the GOP, calling it a form of Christian nationalism. “My faith in Jesus leads me to reject Christian nationalism and commit myself to the project of a multiracial, multicultural democracy where we can all freely love God and fully love our neighbors,” said Talarico, a Presbyterian Church (USA) seminarian who has been vocal in his condemnation of Christian nationalism in his state. “That same faith leads me to support Vice President Harris to be the next president of the United States.”

Although a member of a mainline denomination, Talarico was also a speaker on a separate “Evangelicals for Harris” Zoom call assembled on Wednesday evening. Organized by Faith Voters, a 501(c)4 organization, the effort was geared toward conservative Christians who have disproportionately sided with Trump. The call struck a different tone than Christians for Kamala: some speakers noted they had never endorsed a candidate before, and at least one pastor suggested he was risking friendships and relationships with his congregation by participating.

[...] The calls add to a slate of organizing efforts launched in recent days aimed at specific religious groups. Nearly 500 faith leaders have signed on to a letter endorsing Harris, a “Latter-day Saints for Harris” call was convened last week and multiple separate calls have been organized for Jewish Americans — including one on Thursday that targeted Jewish women and featured singer Barbra Streisand. A separate “Catholics for Kamala” call, facilitated in part by the Harris campaign, was also slated for this week but organizers rescheduled it until after the Democratic National Convention, citing scheduling conflicts. According to Pavlovitz, his group is already partnering with others, such as Catholics for Kamala, Christian Democrats of America and Vote Common Good. What form their collaborations take remains to be seen, but Pavlovitz said he is hopeful for whatever comes next.

Christians fed up with the religious right’s monopolization of what it means to be a Christian rallied to support Kamala Harris on multiple recent calls, such as Christians For Harris and Evangelicals For Harris. Christians need to vote for the REAL Christian in the race, and that’s Harris (and not antichrist Trump). #HarrisWalz2024

[dead-twink-storage]

I love how the annoying "democracy" worshipping Americans you get on here and twitter immediately jump to casting hate and blame on people who voted/vote third party you know people who decided they would rather vote more in tune with their political or moral ideals than simply choosing a "winning team".

These subhumans who constantly cry fascist at every shadow and do their best to copy whatever in vogue leftist rhetoric will endear them to the scary radicals online, but you get them in moments like what you have today and you see that their belief in voting, democracy, the will of the people, and ideological diversity is non existent.

Sure they cry that the big mean right wingers will destroy democracy or get rid of people's ability to vote but their dream is simply a system in which all parties but theirs is banned from the ballot and your choice is between which career politician within the Democrat party will go up and lecture us about whatever corporate approved progressive topic they're all jerking off over that week while they continue gutting the third world of its' labour force and propping up another dozen or so dictators and death squads across the globe while banking on being 1% more socialist than the Republican party as being enough to earn them eternal status as the "good guys" of American politics.

[psychotrenny]

There's a real unearned confidence to the way that Social Democrats talk about their ideology, like they've cracked the code and found the perfect way forward and the only reason people disagree is because they're misguided or evil. Like they'll correctly point out problems within Neoliberal Capitalism before spouting some absolute nonsense about how uniquely evil and dysfunctional Communism was (nearly always in the past tense too; they take it for granted that the end of the USSR was the end of all Communism) and then going "Don't worry though, there's a third way; a mixed regulated economy. We can have a free market in consumer goods while making sure that corporations pay their fair share in wages and taxes that can fund the welfare that looks after everyone". And like putting aside the fact that such a model relies on the super-profits of imperialist exploitation to actually function, and the inherent instability of an arrangement where the Bourgeoisie make concessions even while maintaining ultimate control of the economy, there's the simple fact that much of the Imperial Core did indeed had Social Democracy but does not anymore.

Like these Social Democrats never think about why that might be, why their ideology failed and what they can learn from it going forward. They just act as though some dumb individuals (i.e. Ronald Reagan, Milton Friedman etc.) managed to slip into power and make bad decisions and like the best way to fix this is to vote good people in who'll change it back. Like hell a lot of these people take the previous existence of these policies as like a good point, the whole "We had them before so we aren't being radical by wanting them back. We don't want anything crazy we just wanna bring back The New Deal or Keynesian Economic policy or whatever". There's never any thought about why those policies failed (how often do you hear these people even talk about "stagflation" or "the oil crisis" let alone the impact of the fall of the soviet union) and what implications this might have on the viability of bringing it back. They also love talking about how Social Democratic institutions are still largely intact in the Scandinavian countries, but rather than even consider what specific factors in their political-economic situation led to this these people just go "Damn isn't Sweden great. Why aren't we doing exactly what they do?"

And sure some people might compare this to Marxism-Leninism, the whole "trying to bring back a defeated ideology", but for one it's stupid to treat the dissolution of the USSR as the end of Communism as a global political force. It may have been a major blow, but even if you write off like Cuba and Vietnam as too small and insignificant to matter you can't just fucking ignore that over 1/6 of the world's population continues live under a Marxist Leninist party. Whatever concessions these countries may have made to global Capitalism, it's just plain ignorant to act as though Communism suffered anywhere near the humiliating loss of global power and credibility that Social Democracy has. Sure the latter may be more politically acceptable to toy with in "The West", but "The Western World" ≠ The Entire World. Also, nearly every ML on the planet is painfully aware that Soviet Communism collapsed and that it collapsed for a reason. There might be plenty of contention about why exactly it died and what exactly we can learn from this, but nearly everyone agrees that we need to learn and ideologically grow. No serious Communist wants to "bring back the USSR" in the same way that many Social Democrats want to "bring back The Welfare State". Far from being a form of "best of both worlds" mixed economy, Social Democracy is nothing more than a flimsy tool to stabilise Imperialist Capitalism at its moments of greatest strain. And if people are still gonna promote it wholeheartedly as the best possible solution, I wish they'd be a little less arrogant about it. It's not as though they have history on their side

[faranae]

So the mainstream media is basically bullying Biden for ratings and indirectly helping Trump's campaign. (Rant.)

It's cooling down a little now, but it's been genuinely distressing how even the more left-leaning mainstream media won't shut the fuck up about Biden doing bad at the debate.

We get it: Biden is old. But why so little coverage on all of Trump's lies through and since the debate? Because the American people already know Trump lies, and they're desensitized to it. Talking about Trump's lies doesn't get clicks. Making people angry about Biden, however, does bring in the views. Lemme say that one more time:

Reporting on Trump's lies doesn't make them as much money; Exaggerating Biden's flaws, however, does.

Americans are literally fighting to keep their democracy and these outlets only care about bringing up the same drama over and over again for ratings. They can hardly mention a single good thing Biden has done without shoehorning in at least one or two comments about how "everyone is saying he should step down." If Biden steps down, Trump will most likely win. Full stop.

The other day I was listening to 4 different mainstream news outlets talking about how "so many" Democrats in the house and senate had publicly called for Biden to step down. The total at that time? Nine people. That's 9 out of over 250 Democrats. A few more have popped up since, but that was "so many"?

It has never been so obvious that CNN was essentially taken over in the shadows a couple years ago by billionaire John Malone (who claims he's a Libertarian, but is a Trump donor who hangs with far-righters.) Watching otherwise competent newscasters and panelists resort to soap opera-levels of bad acting to push the narrative their bosses wanted was some painful secondhand embarrassment.

Another example: MSNBC, which is pretty damn left, posted the following the other day:

That sounds pretty bad, doesn't it? Here's the thing though: SEN. BLUMENTHAL LITERALLY DID NOT SAY THAT. The actual quote is as follows:

"I am deeply concerned about Joe Biden winning this November, because it is an existential threat to the country if Donald Trump wins. So I think that we have to reach a conclusion as soon as possible. And I think, Joe Biden, as the Democratic nominee, has my support."

What kind of context-shredding garbage was that, MSNBC? It's straight-up misleading; A lie through omission. But unless you were to look up the video or a full article, you'd never know that.

We get it. Biden is old. Here's the thing though: It's not only a vote for Biden, it's a vote for the Democratic administration he brings with him. Biden may be the nominee, but he is surrounded by highly educated folks who have the American people in mind rather than blind MAGA loyalty. You may not agree with some of their policy, but you cannot deny that a MAGA administration would be far, far worse.

If you haven't yet, please look up "Project 2025".

As much as it sucks being in what is essentially a 2-party system, it's what the Americans are stuck with for now. So I leave you with this:

Not voting is a free vote for Trump.

Voting third-party is a free vote for Trump.

Voting for a write-in is a free vote for Trump.

For the love of democracy, vote blue; No matter who.

/endrant

[vote-democrat-president-congress]

Trump tells Christians ‘you won’t have to vote anymore’ if he’s elected.

2024/07/27: Former President Donald J. Trump at the Turning Point USA Believers Summit in West Palm Beach, Fla., in the closing minutes of his speech to a gathering of religious conservatives on Friday night, former President Donald J. Trump told Christians that if they voted him into office in November, they would never need to vote again.

“Christians, get out and vote. Just this time,” he said at The Believers’ Summit, an event hosted by the conservative advocacy group Turning Point Action, in West Palm Beach, Fla. “You won’t have to do it anymore, you know what? Four more years, it’ll be fixed, it’ll be fine, you won’t have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians.”

Mr. Trump, who never made a particular display of religious observance before entering politics, continued: “I love you, Christians. I’m a Christian. I love you, you got to get out and vote. In four years, you don’t have to vote again. We’ll have it fixed so good, you’re not going to have to vote.”

Mr. Trump’s comments came at the end of a nearly hourlong speech in which he appealed to religious conservatives by promising to defend them from perceived threats from the left. Earlier in his remarks, he lamented that conservative Christians do not vote in large numbers, a complaint he had made repeatedly on the trail.

“They don’t vote like they should,” Mr. Trump said of Christians. “They’re not big voters.”

Mr. Trump’s suggestion that Christians would not have to vote again if he is elected quickly spread across social media. Some argued that it was a threat that the 2024 election could be the nation’s last if he were to win and claimed it was further evidence of an authoritarian, anti-democratic bent he has displayed throughout his political candidacy.

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment to clarify Mr. Trump’s intent.

The former president — who continues to falsely insist the 2020 election was rigged, a claim that inspired some of his supporters to storm the Capitol in a bid to keep him in power in 2021 — has raised alarm from Democrats and some Republicans. He has compared his political opponents to “vermin,” said he would have a prosecutor investigate President Biden and his family and framed his campaign as one of retribution.

James Singer, a Harris campaign spokesman, criticized Mr. Trump in a statement for lying about the 2020 election, among other things, during his Friday remarks. Mr. Trump “went on and on and on, and generally sounded like someone you wouldn’t want to sit near at a restaurant — let alone be president of the United States,” Mr. Singer said.

Since his 2020 loss, Mr. Trump, who often praises strongmen leaders on the trail, has further embraced a brand of conservatism that experts on autocracy have said veers toward totalitarian.

Mr. Trump provoked further outcry when, in an interview with Sean Hannity, he said he would not categorically dismiss concerns that he might abuse presidential power but instead said he would not be a dictator “other than Day 1.”

Mr. Trump added: “We’re closing the border. And we’re drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I’m not a dictator.”

Mr. Trump and his allies have long dismissed the criticism as alarmist political attacks from liberals. They argue that Democrats have been anti-democratic, labeling the criminal cases brought against Mr. Trump as an effort to weaponize the justice system.

The Harris campaign — and the Biden campaign before that — have consistently attacked Mr. Trump as a threat to democracy. More recently, Democrats and their allies have highlighted Project 2025, a set of conservative policy proposals developed by a group that includes former Trump advisers and that would bring about a radical shift to the federal government.

Mr. Trump himself was not behind Project 2025, and he has repeatedly tried to distance himself from it. But The New York Times has reported on his plans for a second term, which would include casting aside the norm that gives the Justice Department independence from the White House, appointing ideologically aligned lawyers who would be less resistant to Mr. Trump’s policies and a vastly expanded crackdown on immigration that would involve scouring the country for undocumented immigrants and deporting millions of people annually.

by Michael Gold, NYTimes. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/07/27/us/harris-trump-biden-election