All of these are reported in “corporate news.”
This is the beauty of not consuming the MSM, you can believe it has reported on or not reported on whatever you want.
What do you believe ‘headlines’ to be in this instance? Any mention whatsoever?
First, let me point out how interesting it is that I was clearly responding to your title, but instead you are trying to defend the words that Reich used in the tweet.
But anyway, your title says “no corporate news story.” That literally means no mention whatsoever, but I would fairly interpret that as meaning that it’s buried or there little to no mention of it. Which is untrue, I mainly consume “corporate media” for, as biased as they are, they are still hundreds of times less biased and more reliable than other news “sources” I’ve come across. And these are all things I’ve know about from my typical news consumption (with the exception of OT expansion, this is the first I’ve heard of that). So I disagree with your “no corporate news” claim. I think it’s actually patently false.
What Reich here means is that they aren’t the main news stories of the day. None of these single things is ever going to be, on it’s own, the biggest news of the day. But it’s the constant little steps that are good. And it’s not like these are being hidden, it’s just that none of them are going to be as popular as the main news stories of the day so they aren’t getting the same traction.
Negotiating drug prices for Medicare. That’s a huge caveat, especially since this guy is tweeting this info out. Medicare is only available if you’re over 65.
Like why lie?
prolly because it is a twatter sound bite, not a proper policy white paper.
Lie?
You mean understand how progress happens over a long period of time against intractable evangelical zealots who, helpfully, are also batshit crazy and rich?
You want a five line recap of beneficial policies in 50 words or less with no context or qualifications. Ok. No, no, it’s a valid point that the drug price cap affects the most vulnerable on medicare. Would you also like to see those discussions and how they played out across the months to get that far? No. You would not.
“Lie.” Please. Get in there and make it happen or understand the people who are already doing it are making the kind of progress we haven’t seen since the GOP became the GQP (including the Tea Party Fuckwits).
Is it not enough? Are those mean ol’ liberals keeping the abundance of universal happiness from happening for (checks notes) genocidal . . . wtf . . . really? Geno- wow. Ok . . . genocidal reasons? Well, when you have your favorite orange rapist back in power you’ll be super stoked at all the progress you’ve been denied these whole . . year-and-a-half . . . of a friendly Congress.
Everyone wants everything and thinks it’s just simple to build new policies and procedures in the middle of their constant attack and destruction by republiQans. And it does not now, nor has it ever, worked that way.
“Lie.” Ffs.
It’s hard to follow these anti-capitalist bourgeoisie, when they fold themselves backwards for mere nuggets at every election cycle.
It’s not even complete nuggets it’s week old table scraps, and they fain for them like it is the best thing in the world
Your blocking will not be in vain, comrade.
Meanwhile: “Good isn’t perfect, so fuck that and fuck you.”
Too many people are all too ready to say that improvement isn’t enough, it has to be a perfect and complete solution or else what was the point.
Then why y’all so scared of Trump winning?
Can I answer for someone outside the US?
The only reason why I might be OK with Trump winning is that, perhaps, if you experience “fascism light” at the hand of an absolute dimwitted toddler, the damage might be reversible.
Just think about that… Any country wishing to destabilise the US, and destroy trust with allies, etc. Trump is peeeeerfect.
except, we’ve already done that. That was Trump 1.0
Trump 2.0 includes Project 2025, which is hard core, far right extremism. The Handmaid’s Tale level of fascism.
Because of the sheer number of stupid/greedy people on the country
Maybe you should round them up and put them into camps.
Look out everyone, we’ve got a master edge lord in our midst!
Oh how original! No one has ever made that dumbass comparison before in the history of the internet! You must be so proud!
Because there are a ton of single issue voters who ignore all of the good he’s done because of the Israel thing, despite the fact that Trump would be exponentially worse.
There’s no US politician that has any chance of being elected that would be any better about Israel. It all comes down to two things: Israel is our only real ally in the Middle East and AIPAC.
They could literally be building camps to gas Muslims and expanding their plans beyond Gaza and we’d likely still support them regardless of which party is in office at the time.
Yeah, I was going to point that out, but someone would have inevitably mentioned Bernie.
Because tr-mp is evil.
I don’t even understand how your question follows the post at all.
If things are so good, why do people want to change it
Wouldn’t Trump being elected change that? You don’t even make sense.
because trump supporters are fucking stupid
Their vote still counts the same as yours. Calling them stupid does nothing nor explains anything. It’s a thought stopping comment. Do better.
Okay.
Because Trump will roll everything back and cause worse working and living conditions for minority groups, while compelling the GOP to push for extended term limits, arresting opponents and outspoken individuals under false pretenses and plain lies, and embolden the worst people we have in this country.
Now, you’re turn: Challenge me. If you want others to do better we sure as hell will expect that of you. Answer your own question.
If you want others to do better we sure as hell will expect that of you. Answer your own question.
*crickets chirping*
Pretty typical in my experience. If you want them to reply you often need to leave some crack in your reasoning that their cultish little minds can latch onto and run with to the absolute disregard of literally everything else.
Spit straight facts? Normally the only reply you’ll get is one made to get under your skin, if they make any attempt at all.
GOP play book rule number whatever: Make your opponents spend the time and energy necessary to dispute you. Then ignore that and attack their character.
This is sealioning right here. Not when I stop you from dragging me off the point.
As a single father of two girls, because Trump appointed judges to the Supreme Court who decided to repeal Roe vs Wade. Because he refused to accept the outcome of an election and maintains to this day that he is the duly elected President of the United States. Because he illegally interfered with military aid Congress had apportioned to Ukraine because Zelensky was unwilling to announce investigations into Hunter Biden. The man has lived his whole life with a silver spoon so far up his ass it tickles his tonsils, but he has you convinced he is on your side.
Trump is a corrupt authoritarian hack who only wants the power of the office, he doesn’t give a shit about anyone else.
But any criticism of Mango Mussolini is “Trump Derangement Syndrome” as if deep-throating his cock is the normal state of affairs and any dissent is treason.
okay. trump supporters support a fucking verified con-man rapist who also happens to be a convicted felon. and yet they still support him.
what the fuck further “explanation” do you need? are you a trump supporter?
“thought stopping comment” GTFO that’s trump’s entire fucking platform: don’t fucking think, just do as i say
and “do better”? how about this: go fuck yourself
So much anger. You should get some therapy.
That’s a comment stopper. Do better.
so little response. you should get some “how to support your point” lessons
but thank you for demonstrating my original point that trump voters are fucking stupid
goddamn fucking right i’m angry
I really hope the irony of this comment wasn’t missed by cumskin_genocide
Very dry, I’m dying 😂
you asked the question. don’t whine when you don’t like the answer.
Forgive me for wanting an intelligent answer and not the slop you usually get on the internet
Okay
Thank you for allowing people with crippling medical debt to get more debt.
This is the help they didn’t know they wanted
Thank you for allowing people with crippling medical debt to still have the opportunity to get a decent loan for a vehicle or a house.
No, they’re right. The last thing anyone in crippling debt of any kind needs is more debt of any kind.
This is a bad solution.
A good solution would be for people not to go into crippling medical debt in the first place.
I’m sure the mortgage brokers and realtors and car dealers and banks and corporate auto loan companies are happy too.
But how about addressing the REAL problem?
Biden has made significant progress for the average person during his presidency, which is disheartening given the potential for even greater impact. It seems he knows that simply meeting basic expectations will be enough to outdo previous leaders.
Significant progress is disheartening. Ok.
Tough room.
I wawnt ever thang I wawnt. If it isint all I wawnt it isint gud enuff.
This is literally how moderate Democrat voters are and you all tell us to cater to them in every single election.
I dawnt unnerstand. Wat u meen?
Lemmy is full of those childish people I met in college.
I suspect it’s also full of foreign agents acting on bad motives. That and children for whom this is their first election, who are caught up on ideals instead of slow and steady progress.
We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there “is” such a thing as being too late. This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action.
- MLK Jr
Our climate is being destroyed irrevocably, wealth inequality is at record levels, and our corrupt government is completely up for sale and unwilling to represent the people. Corporate-run America is in a death spiral, and geriatric neoliberals are leading the charge. Foreign agents would tell Americans to slowly and steadily continue down this ruinous path as the rest of the world leaves us behind. But red blooded Americans understand how this isn’t sustainable for any length of time. Gradual incrementalism is a far cry from our salvation.
Agreed. Many appear to be attending foreign colleges which . . . well, makes sense, sort of.
But don’t you think getting the 10 commandments in our classrooms will make things soo much better? 🙃
Calling mr 34 felonies a leader is a bit of a stretch.
Leading us to our doom is a type of leadership, right?
fair lol
which is disheartening given the potential for even greater impact
What potential? Without Congress or the Supreme Court, what potential things could Biden be doing that would have “greater” impact that he isn’t doing?
Something that doesn’t require a new law, and won’t be shot down by a hostile conservative court?
Please give me examples.
They can’t give you any examples and neither can the dorkuses downvoting you. Biden has accomplished a lot with the maggats playing the “I don’t wanna” game whenever a dem is in office. He not only had to dig us out of the hole the orange menace left us in, he also has to cure cancer, be the first human to step on Mars, etc and even then people will find something to bitch about.
With any luck (and a lot of hard work) we will have Biden for a second term and then a dem to replace him in 2028 so at least 12 years of the adults running things. Then maybe we can get some shit done and stop trying to tread water at best.
Biden could fix everything and walk on water and they’d still hate for some bullshit that isn’t true or above their room temp iq.
and then a dem to replace him in 2028
HRC will win the primaries in 2028 and we’ll be having the same argument we’re having now. Pro-corporate trash isn’t doing the trick.
Maybe we could start by not aiding a genocide? Just spitballing here…
I’m just glad he’s not using a sharpie to write “finish them” on bombs instead of pushing for a cease fire.
You mean the bombs Biden shipped to Israel? Did the sharpie make them extra deadly or something?
Lol bud all Biden’s “resistance” to Bibi is going to disappear the moment the election results come in. And you’ll still defend Biden anyway.
Without Congress or the Supreme Court
Pretty sure the potential lies in changing this.
Vote. Not just for president, but for every office you’re able to. Because this shit isn’t just “Trump did it!” or “Biden didn’t do enough!” It’s also the legislators, and a lot of the judiciary they approved (and probably pushed during the Trump administration). Not to mention all the state and local reps that initiate most of the policies that affect people.
It basically all starts with Congress. We could fix so much shit if we ever managed to get a real majority (not 48 Dems and two ‘not technically Republicans’)
We could fix so much shit if we ever managed to get a real majority
We would just change it to “we could fix so much shit if we ever managed to get a supermajority.”
And then redefine “supermajority” to mean 67.
He could get caught trying.
He could frame a big-picture vision of what he and Democrats value, expressed in terms that speak to Americans emotionally. He could push for policies that Republicans and the Supreme Kangaroo Court will shoot down, and then go to the American people and blame them for taking away good things that everybody wants.
The student-loan debt relief effort had about 1 1/2 of those things. The rest of the time he tends to talk about particular bills and policies. Republicans can stop those, and those things become dead letters, but dreams and hopes are evergreen.
It takes immense amounts of time and effort to bring new items like this forwards, so each item you choose to do means time and money that can’t be used bringing a different policy forwards.
Based on that why should Biden waste his time developing and bringing forward policies that the Republicans are obviously going to immediately shoot down, it just prevents him from being able to work on things that might actually get passed
No, it really doesn’t. I can think them up by the dozens. If they’re not going to pass, there’s no reason to lay all the groundwork. But they’re still good for rhetorical purposes.
Dozens? Off the top of your head? Name a dozen, for science.
- Build a giant net on the border with Canada to keep geese out.
- Make Friday part of the weekend.
- Give every new baby a chocolate eclair.
- Issue bulletproof vests to all citizens to help survive mass shootings.
- No more speed limits in Interstate highways. (Okay, absurd ones are harder to think of than real issues that people care about.)
- Cheaper health care.
- Cheaper housing.
- Cheaper groceries.
- Cheaper fuel.
- Codify reproductive freedom in law.
- Hold the media accountable to the truth.
- Ban insider trading in Congress.
- Ensure that people have secure jobs, with dignity.
Details, schmetails. The post is a complaint by Robert Reich that voters aren’t paying attention to details. And ITT, plenty of Lemmings pointing out that Biden can’t pass very many policy proposals, anyway. The idea is to sell the perception that Democrats understand and care about issues facing Americans.
The big picture comes first to get Democrats elected, then get down to the details.
This document should cover many of the points, so it’ll be referred to a lot.
The president doesn’t have the power to do any of that.
This is how you end up with poorly thought out legislation.
I’m doing 1000 calculations in my head and they’re all wrong
How? Or, why does it matter? It’s not going to pass the House.
Because any president doing this immediately comes across as a 5 year old pretending to have a magic wand.
I’m looking at the list of a dozen items you made - you can’t just say “I want this” and not have a detailed plan for how it’s meant to be executed - where the money comes from, what effects it’s expected to have, etc.
When you are proposing legislation that you know won’t be able to be made into law, you’re just virtue signaling since even you believe there’s no real-world impact. People are even frustrated with Bidens attempts as they are - I’ve definitely read frustrated comments here talking about how Bidens approach to relieving student debt is so poorly thought out that nobody will actually benefit.
Sure you can think up the tag line line liner title for each item but what about all the details? How will they work the restrictions the requirements the funding. How much of that requires large amounts of work just to be shutdown and tossed by the Republicans
This is why Democrats struggle so badly, so I’ll say it straight up: It’s about sales. Reich is complaining that the public doesn’t lose its shit over arcane policy details. Yeah, sit down for this truth bomb (/s): That’s human nature. It’s not fair. It’s not right. It’s not good. It’s just the way it is. Complaining about it won’t help, or change the content of headlines.
So somebody asks for examples of what can Biden do when he’s blocked by Congress? I say: Sell, sell, sell. Get in the PR game. Put on a show that the people in the cheap seats can enjoy. (That is a metaphor for a rhetorical spectacle that even politically unengaged citizens will hear about.) Show everybody that the problem is in Congress.
What do the details matter? The headline is all that people will hear, and Republicans will block it, anyway. He needs to sell the perception that Democrats are trying. The details can come later, after they get the votes.
Shame on you for saying that! I’m sure you’ll be downvoted.
He’s boring and uninspirational and isn’t accomplishing anything of note… but you should not question any of that!
Just rah-rah until defeated, and repeat.
Now give me single payer healthcare/Medicare for All, and I’ll be a happy camper.
We need more Democrats in Congress for that. A third of the Senate and all of the House are up for election in November. Attendance at the polls is crucial for down-ballot candidates just the same as presidential.
Vote in November, or be ready to accept what a Republican President, Congress, and SCOTUS decide for you.
The thing that stinks is
A) the electoral college makes it so only 4 or 5 states really matter
B) there’s an amnesia about trump from the never trump republicans. My dad is conservative but didn’t vote trump. He thought he was an asshole. Now my dad talks about how Biden is crooked, and the only reason people hate trump is because, and his words, “orange man bad”.
C) puritanical leftists have valid reasons to not like Biden, but they are willing to blow up the system as they always have. I say puritanical because I know there are pragmatic leftists who exercise restraint in their actions.
In 2020, the suburban vote was a critical win for Biden. I’m hoping for the best, but I’m starting to sit with the fact that Trump has a decent, if not likely, chance of winning in 2020.
The Electoral College has nothing to do with congressional elections.
The rest of your points can be addressed by providing information to those who are misinformed or disenfranchised. Abstaining may not be a vote for Trump, but it’s a refusal to stand in his way.
Right they’re talking about Congress. There’s still issues with districting though.
You vote for your Senators and House Representatives directly. The Electoral College has nothing to do with that.
Each state has two Senate seats, voted on statewide. Districting does not affect that vote.
Districting issues may make some votes less likely to make a difference in the House vote in specific districts in Republican states. That’s all the more reason to get as many Democrats to vote as possible.
The average Democratic voting representation for congressional elections is less than 50%. We constantly complain about the repercussions of our own inaction.
C) is the one that is gonna be the razor’s edge on this stuff. Reasonable people will vote for Biden, but it’s the people that don’t feel like voting will matter or people who are dying on the hill of a single issue who are potentially going to fuck us and the entire rest of the world by not voting.
I plan on voting for Biden because it’s the right thing to do for all Americans and our allies, and I really don’t want to be a tailgunner if Trump breaks up NATO and all the men get drafted for a world war to save Europe or Asia-Pacific again. Preventing assholes domestically and abroad from destroying peaceful countries would be nice.
is the one that is gonna be the razor’s edge on this stuff. Reasonable people will vote for Biden
Funny, because whenever we say “Biden should have done Y not X” you all say “If he hadn’t then moderate democrats and some Republicans won’t vote for him.” They vote for him because they get what they want. Yet somehow we’re unreasonable when we refuse to vote for him when we don’t get what we want.
You’re trying to hold leftists to a higher standard and it’s bullshit.
It’s the exact same standard. Do you really think all votes for Trump are going to be from supporters? Most of them will be from Republicans who don’t want a Democratic President.
There’s a saying- Democrats need to fall in love, Republicans need to fall in line. It’s that mentality of action that causes us to regress as a nation every time a Republican takes office.
In turn, Democratic candidates move closer to center to capture more of the active voters, having the exact opposite effect that is intended by abstention.
It’s the exact same standard.
If it were the same standard then excusing Biden for catering to moderate voters because otherwise they’d abandon him would never happen. Either your reading comprehension is shit or you’re just plain lying. Moderate Democrat voters are getting everything they want. Leftists are getting bread crumbs and talking about abstaining from voting. You should be going after Moderate Democrat voters for being greedy. Not telling leftists they need to shut up and be grateful they’re getting bread crumbs.
We need more Democrats in Congress for that. A third of the Senate and all of the House are up for election in November. Attendance at the polls is crucial for down-ballot candidates just the same as presidential.
What guarantees can you give us they won’t “fumble” the ball like they did during Obama’s presidency? If they do will you finally acknowledge the fucking problem?
There’s none, other than the guarantee that Republicans will take the ball as far as they can in the opposite direction if we don’t vote. When was the last time a team won a game by walking off the field?
Man! I love when people reduce the nuanced complexities of modern politics to a team sport. That’s just such a great way to reframe any issue to an us or them context.
And, when you get right down to it, that’s really what this world needs: more acceptance and enforcement of norms that pit half of us against the other half.
Ah! Progress!
I agree that polarization is a real problem. The only reason I continued to use the analogy from the previous commenter was to maintain consistency in conversation.
However, there are only two parties that are capable of winning this election. Believing otherwise is distraction, not progress.
You are sadly correct. My comment was not meant, in particular, to call you or your habits out, but a cynical snipe at all of us. Apologies if it came across negative, cos that’s also not gonna help any 🤝
There’s none
Thanks for admitting that Democrat politicians are corrupt pro-corporate trash. Come up with a winning strategy and I’ll come back to the field.
He can’t do that.
People keep saying the things Biden have been doing are weak, half measures, but they have no idea what he’s actually capable of doing without Congress.
He literally tried to wipe away a significant amount of student debt. He tried to fulfill that promise without Congress. The Supreme Court stopped it.
Funny how often Democrats try to do things that will definitely fail but then with things they actually can change there’s always some bullshit excuse.
We don’t have medicare for all or something similar because Democrats refused to make it happen during Obama’s term. That combined with the kid gloves they took to the financial sector during the financial crisis disillusioned a lot of people. Most Democrat politicians are corrupt pro-corporate trash.
Because there wasn’t support for it. Sure it has pretty broad public support. But our elected officials don’t. It’s not a bullshit excuse. It sucks but it’s true. And acting like a child certainly won’t fix it.
Because there wasn’t support for it. Sure it has pretty broad public support. But our elected officials don’t. It’s not a bullshit excuse.
Those elected officials were Democrats. You’re just proving my point. When the power is out of their hands you’re like “Omg they want to and if you just vote harder they’ll totally do it!” but then when the power is in their hands you just shrug and say “They didn’t support it.”
Yes, I know they don’t support it. That’s why I’m not voting for them.
And that’s why they aren’t voting for it. No one is proving your point. And no it’s not just Democrats. Whatever conspiracy pit you frequent, you need to get out.
Are you a bot? It seems like you just lost the entire context of the conversation. Let me remind you.
Me:
We don’t have medicare for all or something similar because Democrats refused to make it happen during Obama’s term.
You:
Because there wasn’t support for it.
Me:
Yes, I know they don’t support it. That’s why I’m not voting for them.
You:
And no it’s not just Democrats.
Are you following along now Siri?
The bullshit appointed Supreme Court.
Honestly I think the entirety of the last 10 years of complete government failure should be tied back to the almost totally non-functional legislature.
The president can’t pass laws. The supreme court would matter far less, if we weren’t trying to creatively reinterpret ancient laws and applying them to technology and culture that didn’t even exist at the time they were written. Instead of updating and clarifying any of those laws, the supreme court has been allowed to effectively make policy by continually shifting interpretations of a static and obsolete set of laws that Congress should have updated 20 years ago. Several times courts have effectively changed policy by saying ‘the law doesn’t mean that, go write an actual law for that, don’t just make shit up’ and then Congress just doesn’t react at all.
If you look back at history, constitutional amendments were relatively regular up until recently. Can anyone imagine our current government passing an amendment for anything at all? Even the most minor tweak would be impossible in this Congress. Several of our major ‘wins’ were mere court cases and like we found out with abortion, what the court gives, the court can take away. Anything about our current day to day life that exists solely based on a court ruling we should be fighting to codify into law, but we all seem to recognize how futile that task is.
Moderates:
Biden has no power, he’s just a president!
Also moderates:
Look at these good things that happened while Biden was in office, he did this!
Biden:
Fuck congress, I’ll go around them if it’s something I want like supporting a genocide or violating human rights at our borders
Are you serious?
When Dem Congress goes his way, the common parlance is that the president, as leader of the Dems, gets the credit as “he did it”. If you want to be pedantic, no he didn’t directly do it. It’s just common parlance to give the president credit for the things he pushes for.
He can ask the Dem House of Reps and Dem senators to do things, but that is not the same. If Congress says no, there’s very little he can do. The President does not have absolute control - to pass legislation takes Congress.
Or things like banning Non-Compete clauses. That was a government agency, which gets appointments. Biden didn’t directly make that decision, it came from his (or other presidents) appointments.
Then you have Executive Action (EA) which can be used for some things. You can’t use EA for all things. But EAs are not laws, they can be undone by the next president lickity split.
You’re responding to either a troll or “progressive” who will find any reason to be disappointed and abstain from voting for a Dem. Don’t bother.
As long as other people learn then I’m happy to do it.
It’s much appreciated. There are people who would be swindled by these people if someone like you didn’t call them out.
There are some things, what you linked twice is emergency action. Another is executive action. But you can’t pass laws, pass a budget, etc without Congress.
It’s gotta suck knowing you will still be voting for him in November.
I sure as fuck won’t. If your dog pisses on the floor and you give him a treat the dog’s going to think you wanted to piss on the floor again. That’s exactly what would happen if people re-elect Biden. Either start holding your own politicians accountable or quit punching at the people that are
I hope you enjoy Trump then.
You should have held your politicians accountable and we wouldn’t be in this mess
Likewise.
I don’t have any politicians if you are assuming I’m republican.
Even worse, someone who doesn’t vote.
Eh, I could live in one of the ~45 states where we already know what the result is…
Everybody wants to act like we don’t know what votes mean these days. The sad truth is if you’re not in a battleground, it doesn’t matter who you vote for as president.
Even 08 Obama that flipped a bunch of states, he already had it in the bag without them.
Good thing there’s more than just a presidential race, then. In fact, you can vote in non-presidential races every year (depending on local elections). At the very least every two.
Yeah, battleground states are important in presidential races… but every state matters in congressional and state/local races.
Yep, there’s even elections in non presidential years!
What’s unfortunate is with a Dem presidential candidate like Biden that people aren’t excited about, is it makes the down ballot races less likely to win in red states. 08 Obama was fucking huge in that respect, and I’m feeling old now that it’s apparently ancient history and no one remember.
Hell, even just 2020 there was that effect because people wanted trump gone and Biden was still an unknown to most Dems nationwide.
Lots of people believed last primary and the promised Biden made.
It’s hard to get that goodwill back from voters.
It’s hard to get that goodwill back from voters.
Agreed. Most of these people don’t understand lots of people still remember the ways Democrats fucked us over during Obama’s term.
- No public option in the ACA
- Kid gloves for the financial sector while people were losing their homes
- Huge surveillance expansion
And more.
I’m not voting for genocide.
Genocide will happen no matter how you vote. One option will lead to more genocide than the other. The rest of the options are not options under our current political system. If you do not vote for less genocide, including by not voting at all, you are voting for genocide.
If choosing the lesser evil still ends up at the most evil act someone can commit, was it ever really lesser evil? Or just slower, easier to ignore evil?
There is no “most evil act”. There is ALWAYS a way to make it worse. We need to take every possible step to make things better. And “better” doesn’t always mean “good”. Sometimes it just means "slightly slower slide to horrifically bad.
Genocide is the Crime of Crimes.
Biden is only choosing to commit genocide because he thinks he can win without my vote because of people like you enabling him, promising to vote blue no matter who. It is your fault that the uncommitted campaign and campus occupations and our voices have failed to push Biden on this issue. I recently listened to Hind Rajab’s call with The Palestinian Red Crescent Society again because of a new documentary on Al Jazeera (“The Night Won’t End”) and I want to fucking die. This is your fault. Own it.
Trump is also choosing genocide because he can hope for people like you not to vote against him.
There won’t be any people in Gaza left to kill by 2025 if Biden doesn’t stop the genocide.
That’s your fault
I voted against him in the primaries and push for ranked choice voting. Unfortunately besides general unrest which will pressure biden but bolster Trump (who is NOW campaigning on crushing us for protesting the state of the war) we are acting too little too late. Maybe general unrest AFTER the election and if cooler heads don’t prevail might actually help.
-
There is no “after the election” for the people in Gaza. If this war is ongoing by January they’ll all be dead.
-
Biden is already crushing us for protesting the war! Trump is late to the party.
-
I want to fucking die
This is the part they don’t understand. We’re done with their shit.
Good for you! ⭐ Here’s your star, move along
Good, don’t vote for Netanyahu
Our bombs. Our jets. Our tanks.
Idiotic take. They all run on gasoline, so therefore clearly Saudi Arabia is to blame! But wait combustion also needs oxygen! It’s the tree’s fault! Don’t vote for the trees!
Israel literally couldn’t get this equipment anywhere else. We’re the only one that could give them the weapons they need.
🤣 🤣 🤣 Riiiiiight we’re the only weapons manufacturer in the world!! Kid, you really have no idea what you are talking about.
Sure, they could get bombs and ammo elsewhere, but we’re the ones with the hardware and we’re also the only country that can supply Israel at the volume they need. No one else can make bombs as fast as the US and Israel’s own officials have openly said this. Also? Where the fuck else are they going to get $18 billion in F-15s? Why don’t you seem to know this stuff?
That doesn’t even get into the way the US has been protecting Israel from Ansar Alla in the Red Sea and has pledged to protect them from Hezbollah if they invade Lebanon.
Yeah you are
Did Aaron Bushnell vote for genocide?
He is not a legitimate candidate for president. It’s trump or Biden, no question asked.
You can vote for one or the other, and your non (or third party) vote will have implicit favor, depending on your location, regardless of your intent.
The primaries are over, pick trump or Biden. You get nothin else. Any ideological opinion on the value of voting or nonvoting ( moral or systemic) are moot, as the system is already constrained to 2 outcomes.
Edit if you are not a Christian nationalist, any action you take that does not competitively keep trump out of office is against your interests. If your vote doesn’t matter because you are in a very blue place, you choose nonvoting out of privilege, and therefore put at risk neighbors at risk due to your lax conduct.
He is not a legitimate candidate for president.
He already cast his vote. Answer my question: did he vote for genocide?
The primaries are over, pick trump or Biden. You get nothin else. Any ideological opinion on the value of voting or nonvoting ( moral or systemic) are moot, as the system is already constrained to 2 outcomes.
This is not an ideological choice and this is not frivolous moralism. This is strategic.
If Biden understood that he will lose if he doesn’t end the genocide then he will do anything he has to do in order to stay in power because he’s a politician. It’s plainly obvious that we have already pushed him on this issue and if we stay the course we can force him to capitulate to our demands. The only reason Biden has not already ended his support for the genocide is because of you blue-no-matter-whos doing everything you can to convince his team that he can have his genocidal cake and eat it too.
If we were actually fucking united on this issue he would fold like wet cardboard! If his rallies were filled with protesters instead of blue-no-matter-whos chanting “four more years!” he would understand. He’s not a demon. He’s a politician.
You stopped the uncommitted movement from succeeding. You stopped the campus protests from succeeding. Your fault.
By refusing to stand with us all you are doing is ensuring the genocide will continue, either under Biden or under Trump.
Meh, you (and I) are in a constrained system. Any other words on choice are fluff.
You’re ascribing emotions to something that has none. You’re ascribing motive to someone you dont even know.
Thus far edit ive only declared I don’t want trump president. You don’t know my choices beyond that.
I don’t want Trump president either, but if Biden does not stop he is going to lose.
And so I have to use the only leverage I have to force Biden to stop supporting and carrying out genocide. If anti-Trump voters actually want to stop Trump then y’all need to understand that Trump is going to win because of the genocide. The people who don’t support genocide will not vote for Biden and the people who love genocide will vote for Trump, it’s lose lose.
We have to force Biden to move on this issue or he’s doomed. It’s not about anyone’s feelings or emotions or what you truly want in your heart. Like I said, this is strategic. We are in a constrained system, this is the only strategy we have.
Or is your plan to help Biden win just to scream at people who won’t vote for genocide?
Because that’s doomed to fail. This is what you are voting for.
I fully get what you are saying, and I wish I believed that we had the leverage that you think we do. But, I think Netanyahu actively wants Trump in power, and I don’t think Biden has the power or ability to really do anything to stop him. It’s not just Netanyahu either, it’s Putin, Farage, Erdogan, Meloni, Le Pen, Orban, and all the other conservative/fascist leaders out there. And as bad as Biden is, a Trump victory is 10x worse. I don’t think Netanyahu would have pulled any of this shit if there was no chance for Trump. I honestly think that by threatening Biden, you just emboldened Netanyahu to do even worse. The greater the atrocities that get committed, the more likely that Trump wins, then he’ll have free reign to really do whatever he wants. Sounds like a win-win for Netanyahu.
If we were actually fucking united on this issue he would fold like wet cardboard! If his rallies were filled with protesters instead of blue-no-matter-whos chanting “four more years!” he would understand. He’s not a demon. He’s a politician.
This is just naive. Protesting against Biden’s Middle East policies is basically kids threatening to run away from home if their parents don’t buy them what they want.
Of course Biden is never going to say this because, again, he’s a politician and has a public image to keep, but he could literally reply to said protestors “Or else? You gonna let Trump win and do worse? Yeah right, now shut up and vote for me”, and they would have absolutely nothing to answer.
That’s how two-party systems work. You identify the worse outcome and vote for the other one. The only way to force the second-worst party to get better is to force the actual worst one to do it first.
Protesting against Biden’s Middle East policies is basically kids threatening to run away from home if their parents don’t buy them what they want.
They’re grown adults choosing to be violently beaten by cops and vigilantes for their beliefs. Have some fucking respect.
Of course Biden is never going to say this because, again, he’s a politician and has a public image to keep, but he could literally reply to said protestors “Or else? You gonna let Trump win and do worse? Yeah right, now shut up and vote for me”, and they would have absolutely nothing to answer.
You’re contradicting yourself.
He’s a politician and has a public image to keep because he can’t just say shit like that, because he’s not actually invincible. Your cynicism is understandable, you’ve convinced yourself there’s nothing you can do so the guilt doesn’t eat you alive, but the truth is that Biden is vulnerable to public image because he still wants to be reelected. If he really believed that he was going to lose because of his support for genocide then he would change his policies. He can be pushed. You refuse to try because you’re scared.
Where am I contradicting myself exactly? He has a public image to keep, so he can’t openly say that. But he very much can act accordingly anyway, and that’s what he’s doing. Because he knows we have no viable alternative and anyone who seriously cares about minimizing casualties (so apparently not you) will not risk Trump getting reelected over some moral superiority that means nothing. He’s never going to lose over his support for genocide because you literally can’t vote against it. That’s how two-party systems work, period. The only reasons he can possibly lose over are differences between his agenda and his opponent’s, and genocide is unfortunately not one of those.
You’re the one trying to avoid guilt so that when a genocide-enabling candidate inevitably gets elected you can say to yourself “well at least I didn’t vote for them!”.
You’re not voting for a president of a country, who has a relationship with another country that acts in its own interests and independence from the rest of the world.
America is not the boss of the world, not the global authority, and no longer a beacon of progress and forward thinking. Israel is its own country, that brought something from another country for its own use. Another country’s decisions are their own - its not America’s fault any more than any other western country or arms producer… weapons aren’t manufactured and sold to be kind.
Biden went around congress to ship weapons to Israel bud. He’s the bad guy too.
If the US stopped providing bombs they’d run out of bombs. Israeli officials have literally said this!
Another country’s decisions are their own
Biden chose to sell them weapons that he knew would be used for genocide. That’s not Netanyahu’s choice.
You’re not in Gaza fighting the IDF, and you aren’t voting for the candidate that will do the most to mitigate The Genocide™, so it seems like you’re actively choosing more genocide. I’ll never understand you genocide enthusiasts, absolutely heartless.
Biden is not mitigating the genocide.
Mitigation is a relative term. Biden’s policies are going a long way to mitigate harm done compared to Trump’s. You may not like it, but that’s reality.
Not actively doing worse than someone else is mitigation now?
i was about to go “i guess burning forests is ok too as long as i point out someone worse”, but mothers and fathers are already crying over their dismembered kids in gaza, and the other way too.
What a weird non-sequitur comment
There might not be anyone left in Gaza by the next presidential term.
Says the person advocating for the guy supplying the genocide with weapons.
Lol, good news is that both of us are doing the same amount to stop the invasion of Gaza right now. However, I’m advocating for deescalation in the future and harm reduction. Maybe even a Palestinian state of their own. You on the other hand are advocating for more genocide and an escalation of the conflict, complete with Israeli condos on the beach in Gaza.
A fun fact about me, I’m also opposed to the Uyghur genocide being carried put by China, as well as the Ukrainian and Rohingya genocides being directly enabled by China. Curiously you only seem to be opposed to genocide if it’s a political liability for Joe Biden and can be used to get Trump elected. I wonder why that is.
Anti-genocide is pro-genocide, pro-genocide is anti-genocide and other Newspeak brought you by the crafty narrative-spinning minds at BlueAnon.
You’re not actually doing anything to prevent or mitigate genocide. You can pretend you’re anti-genocide all day long, but at the end of the day you’re doing absolutely nothing about it. And the one thing you can do to mitigate, vote for the candidate that is calling for restraint, you’re refusing to do.
So you say you’re anti-genocide but your actions are 100% pro-genocide. You can lie to yourself but that doesn’t change reality.
But it’s BlUe mAgA which is why I support red maga winning! /s
Break this down for me. I’m an idiot. What are you trying to say?
He’s saying that all criticism from his left is actually from his right.
There’s some dipshits that call Democrats Blue maga in a desperate last ditch effort to bring legitimacy to the notion that “both sides are the same”. Either because they want Trump to win or because they believe they’re an anime protagonist and they can will a third option into being. The /s means I’m sarcastically supporting that notion.
No we call you that because you spend all your energy fighting us instead of working to rid the Democrat party of pro-corporate trash.
I spend more energy jerking off than talking to you. If you mean the incendiary way I talk down to people like you, that’s because I have fire on speed dial and “fuck off” just doesn’t cut it these days.
PS -> I’m not a democrat. inb4: I’m not a Trump supporter either.
I spend more energy jerking off than talking to you. If you mean the incendiary way I talk down to people like you, that’s because I have fire on speed dial and “fuck off” just doesn’t cut it these days.
Great. Redirect that energy towards the people who keep voting for pro-corporate trash in the primaries.
Bars
instead of working to rid the Democrat party of pro-corporate trash.
So how is that done exactly? By hiring hitmen?
I think a great first step would be to stop spending all your energy lecturing leftists and go after the people who vote for this procorporate trash in the primaries. At the very least it would convince me you’re actually interested in solving the problem and not just trying to get people to kick the can for your benefit.
First, what exactly do you mean by “going after”? Again, do I have to break their legs or what?
And most importantly second, where are those people? Because I’ve seen exactly none on Lemmy or Reddit. I would like to argue with someone who actually thinks Biden deserved the candidacy over others like Bernie, but they’re definitely not here and I wouldn’t even know where to “look” for them. I do what I can on the social I use.
First, what exactly do you mean by “going after”? Again, do I have to break their legs or what?
Lol I love how when I propose this people’s reading comprehension just falls off a cliff. Like they’re going ham on lecturing leftists and young people for their voting habits but super confused about what they could do with moderate voters.
But sure I’ll play along and pretend “go after” wasn’t clear in this context.
Here’s an example: Every time you have the urge to tell a leftist what to do on lemmy immediately log out. Go log into facebook. (Sign up if you don’t have an account). Find some Boomer who voted for Biden in the 2020 primaries and tell them that was a stupid decision.
Capping credit card fees? At what, 25%?
35% APR, compounded DAILY?
What fees are we talking about? They’re already cash-it-here high. It’s there something worse than that? Is the president making their interest remain at a reasonable amount above prime?
Now THAT WOULD be a cap worth bragging about.
Oh look at you, the brains of the operation here. Do you know what the Republicans would have capped it at? NOTHING AT ALL. Do you know why the Democrats can’t deliver the perfect policies you demand? Because they have to fight against the other side tooth and nail to get anything through at all. Do you think the Republicans would be forgiving student loan debt right now? News flash: hell no. Do you have complaints about the way loans are being forgiven, oh of that I have no doubt. Do you know why you have those complaints? Because the Republicans are always chipping away and fighting against at every good thing that happens.
You’d be that spoiled brat whose single mother comes home after working her ass off all day, and throws a fit because she made potato soup again when you wanted hamburgers, wouldn’t you?
Interest is not a fee technically
Hence the question in the comment you’re replying to: “What fees are we talking about?”
Choose not to answer that, did you? Figures. Because I’ll bet it’s a fucking DROP IN THE BUCKET to what those bastards charge regularly.
Yeah.
Late fees. 32 dollar industry average prior to the cap. Down to 8 dollars. Which is relatively reasonable?
But I get what you’re saying, it is a veritable drop in the bucket compared to interest rates charged. But those are different things. And with the limitations imposed with a Republican led House, an essentially tied Senate well below the threshold to overrule a filibuster, capping interest rates federally is nigh impossible.
Additionally, max interest rates are set at the state level. So if you don’t like your interest rate, THAT’S NOT THE PRESIDENT, vote in state and local elections! And for federal banks? That shit is controlled by an independent bureau within the Treasury department. And they are appointed every 5 years. And the current guy is already trying to make shit more fair but they really only enforce the laws that exist from Congress. But if Trump wins, I bet you will find a grifter is his place if you check project 2025.
Actually, on that note, I check the 920 page manifesto of project 2025, on page 705 it states the following.
Merging Functions. The new Administration should establish a more stream-lined bank and supervision by supporting legislation to merge the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Federal Reserve’s non-monetary supervisory and regulatory functions. U.S. banking law remains stuck in the 1930s regarding which functions finan-cial companies should perform. It was never a good idea either to restrict banks to taking deposits and making loans or to prevent investment banks from taking deposits. Doing so makes markets less stable. All financial intermediaries function by pooling the financial resources of those who want to save and funneling them to others that are willing and able to pay for additional funds. This underlying principle should guide U.S. financial laws. Policymakers should create new charters for financial firms that eliminate activity restrictions and reduce regulations in return for straightforward higher equity or risk-retention standards. Ultimately, these charters would replace government regulation with competition and market discipline, thereby lowering the risk of future financial crises and improving the ability of individuals to create wealth.
The above basically outlines how they want to fold all these bureaus together and allow deposit banks and investment banks to be one in the same. Sounds good on paper, until you remember that’s like half the cause of the great depression. And when you have fewer eyes on more problems, even with the best intentions, which I doubt they have, shit hits the fan and hard. So yea. I think Biden has generally better policy there.
Vote for the most progressive candidate you have available to you. Knock doors. Motivate as many as you can.
If you don’t like who got to be the candidate? Well, you should have gotten out the vote for the one you liked when the primaries happen.
But oops, we have this whole incumbent thing! And typically a sitting president will go unchallenged by his own party. Only Crystal Grifter Marianne Williamson and some dude named Doug that no one was interested in voting for were running against Biden.
I’m not saying it’s absolutely perfect, but you really can only play the cards as they are dealt.
Quality fucking post.
I am genuinely worried about Trump, but I think appealing to facts and figures and obscure laws or small “hard to see how it helps me” accomplishments isn’t the way to get Biden back in office.
I’m not sure what is the way.
Negotiating drug prices? How about making price gouging ILLEGAL? How about a world market price for drugs instead of a monopoly market in America?
I can go through this entire list like this. Trying to cheer for these crumbs is contortion at it’s most contorting.
I mean, I’m with you that would be great, but the President isn’t a dictator. I don’t know why this keeps coming up, I don’t want one person having the power to make huge sweeping decisions because they feel like it.
Holding the president to an impossible standard is only going to hurt getting where we’re trying to go here.
Comparably he’s doing more stuff than obama with less legislative backing. I think, in general, US presidents are going to be shit piles no matter what until our electoral system undergoes some changes (probably first at the state constitution level)
Most governments negotiate the drug prices around the world. This is standard practice. They have buying power so they can get far better pricing than anyone else. Just because it’s a new concept to you, doesn’t make it stupid.
I sure don’t know everything, but why mention it then? It’s just normal? Or is this new for the US?
How is it negotiation when there is only one medicine, like in the case of insulin, or even Zolgensma? What chips does the government have to negotiate with? Buying power doesn’t matter.
I still think that’s screwed up, and needs fixing, but if it brought us in line with the rest of the world when it comes to drug prices, then bring it on.
There are 3 companies that produce insulin. Why don’t you ask some of your Canadian neighbors how much they pay for insulin.
They are negotiating the prices paid for drugs by Medicare. You know, like, the largest single purchaser of drugs in the country. That purchase power was not being negotiated prior. They have started with a list of 10 drugs and will expand over time. This can affect prices in a few ways, like insurers saying fuck that and wanting the same rate as the government, manufacturers could set the pricing to match across the board like Eli Lilly did for insulin for non Medicare patients, or we could vote for a fully democratic Senate, house, and president and get Medicare for all, with which this existing law would wield immense powers to negotiate far more benefits for many more people. Gimme 63 Dems in the Senate and shit will get passed. The reason we are stuck like this is that the margin is so slim nothing can happen.
Here’s a quote from the HHS.
The selected drug list for the first round of negotiation is:
Eliquis Jardiance Xarelto Januvia Farxiga Entresto Enbrel Imbruvica Stelara Fiasp; Fiasp FlexTouch; Fiasp PenFill; NovoLog; NovoLog FlexPen; NovoLog PenFill These selected drugs accounted for $50.5 billion in total Part D gross covered prescription drug costs, or about 20%, of total Part D gross covered prescription drug costs between June 1, 2022 and May 31, 2023, which is the time period used to determine which drugs were eligible for negotiation. CMS will publish any agreed-upon negotiated prices for the selected drugs by September 1, 2024; those prices will come into effect starting January 1, 2026. In future years, CMS will select for negotiation up to 15 more drugs covered under Part D for 2027, up to 15 more drugs for 2028 (including drugs covered under Part B and Part D), and up to 20 more drugs for each year after that, as outlined in the Inflation Reduction Act.
The fact that it’s standard practice doesn’t make it non-stupid. Bullfighting in my country, Spain, is pretty stupid and unfortunately in some areas it’s general practice.
The very concept of a patent is tenuous: “no, you can’t make this, this is MY idea and I get to decide who profits by how much and who enjoys my invention”. When applied to medicine, it’s downright immoral and murderous. Even with negotiation of drug prices, you end up with things like the Hepatitis C curing drug costing several tens of thousands of Euros per patient even in European countries, whereas it costs less than one tenth of that in some others. It’s just this is paid by the state and not by the end user so it’s not as Machiavellian as in the USA, but it’s still extremely fucked.
If you want some of the few examples of countries that don’t follow the “standard practice”, you can look at Cuba being the first country in the world to double-vaccinate 95+% of their population with the COVID vaccine. How? State-funded research, and state-funded vaccine manufacturing, with the primary objective of vaccinating as many as possible as early as possible, instead of the profit motive as the driver.
If only politics were about policy and not popularity.
Yeah. But they’re not. Usually.
Interestingly that’s more a function of media more than politics. Political movement “in a vacuum” doesn’t require popularity. But since we have put political power in the hands of everyone vs a king or whatever, the media is the ocean in which politics “swims”.
Expanding internet access in rural areas with the Build Back Better plan. That alone was a massive investment into our infrastructure.
I’m actually switching very soon to a fiber company that recently started covering my area and has only been active at all for a few years. They only have coverage in like three towns, and don’t cover all of any of them (mostly for obvious reasons related to local geography and where you reach the most people by running the lines).
Is there any info on who got funding for Internet in rural areas via Build Back Better? I’m curious if Biden is the reason they are a thing and we have any broadband Internet competition at all.
You can see of you qualify for the program : reconnect. It has a few reference to who has received funding. If you dig deeper, I’m sure you will find more info.
Biden made the big announcement as part of multiple packages at the time. The same plan that is suppose to put high speed rails on the east and west coasts.
I’ll have to dig deeper. It just seemed…convenient that a local fiber provider started up in 2021, started service in 2022 and has been slowly expanding through the region since.
Lol what about like the ten times they’ve done that before
I have family in rural NC , two different areas. Both have lived in those areas for 15 yrs. When AT&T pulled out due to not enough customers, they lost internet. The only option they had was 10 down, 1 up (advertised), for $65 a month.
Last year they got word AT&T, and several smaller name companies were moving out there. Now they get 300 down, 10 up for $50.
The problem with those is the maggat adherents in the repuglican ranks. Get rid of those and good things will happen
