Post 9uRniCcLpawDBQfNYm by horatius@mastodon.social
(DIR) More posts by horatius@mastodon.social
(DIR) Post #9uNcPk3XPJcnGEXP6G by Are0h@playvicious.social
2020-04-24T17:42:44Z
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So basically all of the GOP governors in the US have decided to become the Legion of Doom and go against sound medical advice because their states can't function without sacrificing people to capitalism.Well ok then.
(DIR) Post #9uNcPkDon5qdm7Lc7k by Are0h@playvicious.social
2020-04-24T17:55:06Z
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Everything we say about 45 is true, but he is not the source of the problem. He's being enabled by millions of people who simply don't give a shit about themselves, much less a nation.He is being allowed to ruin the nation because people get activated around not being able to move about freely in PANDEMIC rather than an incompetent racist sex offender in office gutting their ability to have a decent life.And they continue to support him.
(DIR) Post #9uNcPkWxdvA0jUItxg by Are0h@playvicious.social
2020-04-24T18:03:34Z
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I've said this before but the tragedy of the States isn't that we have problems but rather we refuse to fix them.The US' pandemic response is emblematic of the policy history of America. We're choosing to drown in a wading pool because we believe standing up isn't the solution.And America has been so inundated with so much bigoted propaganda from people that just want to sell more shit, that they believe going out like this is honorableIn essence, millions are enabling their own demise.
(DIR) Post #9uNcPkjMtn5LLy6oIi by GrandHighInquisitor@dobbs.town
2020-04-24T20:38:55Z
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@Are0h Actually Pres Obama had a system for avoiding large pandemic casualties, he had new programs for making pandemic emergency supplies--and Trump got rid of all that stuff. It's not about "the states" it's about WHO is administering them. A good administration does things wisely. We had one. Then certain people--prodded by Putin's operatives--refused to support Democrats in the Presidential race in 2016.
(DIR) Post #9uNd6FIXdmIUJop5oe by Are0h@playvicious.social
2020-04-24T20:46:36Z
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@GrandHighInquisitor So did Bush II before him, but that did not stop the absolute shit show that happened in Katrina. Yes, 45 is unprecedented in how he is getting rid and/or ending long standing departments that have been a part of our national infrastructure, but his blend of incompetence, greed and cruelty is specific to the party he represents and that enables him.History has shown this is what happens when we elect conservatives. They work against the national interest consistently.
(DIR) Post #9uPZHPlT3V76StLKgy by horatius@mastodon.social
2020-04-24T21:24:27Z
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@Are0h @GrandHighInquisitor "If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you."-- Lyndon B. JohnsonNothing much in whiteness has changed.
(DIR) Post #9uPZHPxWKgkr4GyxTk by GrandHighInquisitor@dobbs.town
2020-04-25T19:13:14Z
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@horatius @Are0h and communities of color are experiencing coronavirus epidemic worse because of their conditions and poor access to medical help and data.
(DIR) Post #9uPZL5JL2m5QBfw5VA by GrandHighInquisitor@dobbs.town
2020-04-25T19:13:55Z
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@horatius @Are0h yes LBJ's remark about "give him somebody to look down on he'll empty his pockets for you"
(DIR) Post #9uRniCcLpawDBQfNYm by horatius@mastodon.social
2020-04-26T21:04:20Z
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@GrandHighInquisitor @Are0h Communities of color are also redlined into living on neighborhoods built on abandoned landfills and superfund sites. It's an entire industry dedicated to make sure that the average african american and native american has worse life expectancy.
(DIR) Post #9uS0m2kDmP8X7oVdiq by GrandHighInquisitor@dobbs.town
2020-04-26T23:30:44Z
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@horatius @Are0h You're mostly right, Horatius, it's true for many communities of color. That sort of thing isn't something industry is "dedicated to doing"-- they're not saying, "let's kill people of color", but they sure don't CARE if they kill minorities! They really don't care who they hurt. THey get their profits and get out, no matter who gets hurt. So we have to replace those industries with sustainable ones, & to the extent they exist, regulate them. Some prosecution would be good too.
(DIR) Post #9uS0qeUVNgV9LtM7vs by GrandHighInquisitor@dobbs.town
2020-04-26T23:31:34Z
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@horatius @Are0h You're mostly right, Horatius, it's true for many communities of color. That sort of thing isn't something industry is "dedicated to doing"-- they're not saying, "let's kill people of color", but they sure don't CARE if they kill minorities! They really don't care who they hurt. THey get their profits and get out, no matter who gets hurt. So we have to replace those industries with sustainable ones, & to the extent they exist, regulate them hard. Prosecution would be good too.
(DIR) Post #9uS3snB0ML2ejOwlXs by GrandHighInquisitor@dobbs.town
2020-04-27T00:05:35Z
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@horatius @Are0h You're mostly right, Horatius, it's true for many communities of color. Killing people isn't something industry is "dedicated to doing"-- they're not saying, "let's kill people of color", but they sure don't CARE if they kill minorities! They really don't care who they hurt. THey get their profits and get out, no matter who gets hurt. So we have to replace those industries with sustainable ones, & to the extent they exist, regulate them hard. Prosecution would be good too.
(DIR) Post #9uYLqzLv59rW2T6LaK by yassin@tilde.zone
2020-04-29T20:49:26Z
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@Are0h @GrandHighInquisitor Judging from across the big pond, I could never quite grasp why every presidential election boils down to the party duopoly. What keeps you from voting for the Greens? SPUSA?
(DIR) Post #9uYLqzWYRcMwZS4qA4 by GrandHighInquisitor@dobbs.town
2020-04-30T00:55:11Z
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@yassin @Are0h first of all, we don't have a Parliamentary system, so that shifts things around for us. But we CAN vote Green party or for the Socialist Party or some other, if we want, only, they cannot win any significant election. So we don't vote for them. They do not have enough popular support & we don't want to waste our votes. If we get good leadership in the Democratic party--like, Elizabeth Warren or Sanders--we would get a lot of what the Greens & socialists want. Not all, but much.
(DIR) Post #9uZTRHkL46taLfjo0m by yassin@tilde.zone
2020-04-30T13:54:54Z
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@GrandHighInquisitor @Are0h True, the system is quite different from a parliamentary one. It seems to me that even the elections to Congress share the same principle of majority, which disadvantages small parties. However, I am sceptical about whether your vote for one of the non-mainstream parties should be considered wasted. Democracy doesn't start in the political institutions and doesn't end there. If parties not represented in Congress gain a significant number of votes, the basis of democratically legitimised power would certainly dwindle - not in the formal sense, but materially. Already now a turnout of merely 60% is close to a crisis. Giving those "lost votes" a face will have political repercussions. Maybe that will lead the way to a constitutional reform to end the political bi-partisanship?
(DIR) Post #9uZsR6MU5macgtIkHA by Are0h@playvicious.social
2020-04-30T15:33:18Z
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@yassin @GrandHighInquisitor Read up on the Electoral College and the history of voter suppression in the States and we can have a sensible exchange about this.There are some particular aspects concerning the specific context of the American vote that are missing from your opinions, so it's had to have a good exchange when one is basing their thoughts on assumptions of what voting in America is like versus what is actually happening.Once you have that context, this convo will improve.
(DIR) Post #9uZsR6fcwbtzeGG276 by yassin@tilde.zone
2020-04-30T16:07:59Z
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@Are0h @GrandHighInquisitor I am not 100% sure what you're hinting at. True, my reply diverted from the original topic to some extend. But now I am wondering here what the electoral college could possible have to do with the question of lost votes. Voter suppression? It all sounds very interesting, but do you have a link or a short explanation by any chance? Thanks!
(DIR) Post #9uZsR7Ap4cr7D0qwjo by GrandHighInquisitor@dobbs.town
2020-04-30T18:34:58Z
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@yassin @Are0h You have to look up at how this electoral college works here. We lose votes because votes in some areas end up counting more in others! There were MORE VOTES FOR HILARY CLINTON in 2016! But Trump was elected! The electoral college situation is an outmoded system from the early 19th century.
(DIR) Post #9uZsgoOceh29bZnCpk by GrandHighInquisitor@dobbs.town
2020-04-30T18:37:50Z
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@yassin @Are0h I know what you mean about the non mainstream vote, but we are in a crisis situation and a vote for the Greens would in effect be a vote for Trump.
(DIR) Post #9ua5Qro7VHGqxJRica by yassin@tilde.zone
2020-04-30T21:00:36Z
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@GrandHighInquisitor @Are0h Yeah, this electoral college thing is definitely weird. But do the two parties actually have any incentive to change it eventually?Regarding the lost votes: don't you think if a considerable number of the electorate are not represented in Congress anymore due to the voting system, this could lead to a constitutional change? I understand that right now voting for Blue at all cost is a sane thing to do - but it doesn't seem like a very viable perspective on the long run. You are not really voting *for* Biden, but *against* Trump. Politics also need a positive perspective and voting only to avoid your political enemy rising to power will only deepen the trenches.If the political system is broken, it needs to be fixed from outside.
(DIR) Post #9uaAUr2kmkvXW10mcy by GrandHighInquisitor@dobbs.town
2020-04-30T21:57:22Z
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@yassin @Are0h the consensus is growing that we need to get rid of the electoral college system.
(DIR) Post #9uaVl97lQXqbGLxsxc by GrandHighInquisitor@dobbs.town
2020-05-01T01:55:37Z
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@yassin @Are0h political systems can be changed from the inside IF there is enough consensus, enough people voting. there is no 'from the outside' outside as long as the usa has the largest military in the world and as long as it can be deployed against armed subversives. we do have a margin to get things done here, it just takes a lot of work and a changing of the guard.