can_you_change_your_username

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Joined 26 days ago
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Cake day: September 9th, 2024

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  • The Fat Electrician’s video was great but he I feel left out a couple of things that I think are important to add. First is that he used his influence in the Russian court to advocate for the end of the surf system. Slavery was his primary focus but he actively opposed all forms of indentured servitude and was involved in the freeing of more forced laborers than any other single individual in history. Also he negotiated the purchase of Alaska.

    Second is Clay’s Battalion. When the Civil War began Washington DC was undefended and there was an order to evacuate because of fears that Virginia would get soldiers there before the Federal Army. Clay was in Washington to be appointed as the ambassador to Russia and, during the evacuation, he started grabbing men off the street to defend the capital. He organized about 300 defenders and occupied the White House and the Navy Yard until federal troops arrived to take over.


  • In American politics the “love it or leave it” trope you are using is undeniably right-wing rhetoric. It was first popularized in that form by McCarthy and Nixon as a response to civil rights and anti-Vietnam War protests. It has since been used by Reagan, both Bushes, and Trump primary in response to either protests or immigrants that they believe have not sufficiently assimilated into American culture. It’s also probably the most unAmerican trope currently used in American political discourse. Protest and criticism of government is fundamental to America’s history and identity and is covered by 3 of the freedoms guaranteed in the First Amendment.




  • I’d suspect the nationality of the individual may play a role.

    I’m not convinced. Kevorkian was acquitted 3 times and had one mistrial for basically the exact same thing back in the 90s and US opinion has continued to soften on assisted suicide since then. It’s legal in 10 states. Kevorkian was eventually convicted of 2nd degree murder but that was after he pushed the button for a patient and represented himself in court. Maybe Swiss officials are giving it undue scrutiny because she was American but I doubt that American officials are pushing for this to get any special attention.



  • Missions to secure nuclear weapons happened when the Soviet Union collapsed and the Russian government invited the US in to do some of them. The missions wouldn’t be to take the sites and disarm the weapons, the goal would be to make sure all weapons are accounted for, being properly maintained, and under the control of a government. It would be to make sure the Russian arsenal wasn’t being sold or taken by splinter groups or extremists rather than to disarm Russia. I expect China would be doing a lot more of it than the US if Russia collapsed in the near future but the US as well as UN nuclear inspectors would almost certainly have a role.



  • That’s always going to be the case with a first past the post election system. There can only be 2 parties with a chance to win at any one time and both are forced to be big tents. Because they have no chance at winning third parties get more choice on the issues they focus on and more freedom in how they talk about those issues.

    We need election reform. We need a voting system that gives more power to minority voices and we need an election system that makes Congress better reflect the actual vote. I like STAR voting and want to move the house to proportional representation. We would most likely still have 2 big tent more or less center parties that will trade the plurality but the big tents would have to work with the minority party representatives to get enough votes to pass legislation. It’s possible that more minority party visibility and them being taken more seriously would lead to a more ideologically diverse Senate and it would almost certainly boost minority party power in state and local elections.