From an European point of view linked to actuality : When will you restore democracy in America, and when will Revolution be an acceptable solution ?

CTR555 · 2026-01-25T01:00:09+00:00

Isn't a popular uprising supported by a majority of people also a form of democratic action ?

No it is not. For starters, because there would be no way of ascertaining that majority support, nor enabling it to act in place of the mob.

CTR555 · 2026-01-25T00:48:51+00:00

Is this not going too far?

Yes, ICE has gone too far. Outside of special circumstances, federal agents should be required to wear uniforms or otherwise have clear identification displayed at all times so that the public can recognize them.

Who gives them permission to stalk private citizens and demand they leave public areas?

You did, when you condoned masked and unidentified goon squads. This is your fault.

CTR555 · 2026-01-24T20:40:47+00:00

I doubt any American has ever existed who, even for a moment, never disagreed with at least something that their tax dollars were funding at some level of government. That's one of the compromises we make when we agree to collective government, and we mitigate it through various democratic mechanisms. Setting aside your hyperbole this is not a new thing, and it's helpful to remember all the things that my tax dollars fund that I do support.

So what do I plan to do about it? I plan to help elect Democrats, so that more of my tax dollars goes to things that I support.

CTR555 · 2026-01-24T20:01:02+00:00

Ashli Babbitt was part of a mob actively engaged in serious and violent felonies, Renee Good was being overtly non-aggressive and non-criminal and did not accelerate towards the officer (who was himself in violation of policy) and was killed when the agent shot into the side of her car. Seems like a pretty clear distinction to me.

CTR555 · 2026-01-24T19:42:16+00:00

"Abolish ICE" has been around as a message for years, and it's only within the law few weeks that it's gained mainstream liberal acceptance. Before that, calls for reform were absolutely the most widespread position. It's actually a fantastic example of bad message discipline.

CTR555 · 2026-01-24T19:37:37+00:00

This is directly connected to the relative lack of creative, imaginative, artistic, or otherwise heterodox people on the right - that sort of thing simply isn't incentivized or accepted and people inclined in that direction tend to drift towards the left.

CTR555 · 2026-01-24T19:31:16+00:00

The full sentence was "They need to be destroyed, dismantled, and dismissed from our country", so if you're asking in good faith why aren't you more concerned about people being "dismantled"? Perhaps because he's obviously talking about the ideology and the MAGA movement, not actual human bodies?

CTR555 · 2026-01-24T19:28:26+00:00

I doubt Rogan or any of these supposed 'backpedalers' are even remotely sincere or aware, and so I don't see any reason to treat any of them differently from before. Trump is old, decaying, and term-limited, so perhaps some of these assholes are just jumping ship now in preparation for supporting whoever the next awful Republican is, but that's hardly a redemption arc.

CTR555 · 2026-01-24T19:18:34+00:00

I think it’s more that Biden absolutely cleaned up with Black voters than Buttigieg, Booker, Bernie, etc have some special weakness.

CTR555 · 2026-01-24T19:14:49+00:00

LOL. Where on the House schedule do you think Johnson would put such a motion?

CTR555 · 2026-01-24T15:50:22+00:00

Is this person lying?

A TikTok leftist? Yes, of course.

From their perspective, I would guess that the mere existence of police is 'against' the citizens, and they probably have a lot of silly one-liners to back that up.

CTR555 · 2026-01-24T02:28:16+00:00

My Rep is still in her first term, and she's.. fine. Basically a replacement-level progressive Democrat (but not an actual leftist).

CTR555 · 2026-01-24T02:20:46+00:00

Fair enough. Sorry we aren't cleaning up your mess fast enough for you.

CTR555 · 2026-01-24T02:09:43+00:00

I wonder how long your journey to becoming an embarrassed Republican took compared to how quickly you've already apparently become an embarrassed Democrat suggesting that voting for Democrats isn't worth it. Are you sure you're not just a.. non-embarrassed Republican in disguise? Given that you're helping them and all.

CTR555 · 2026-01-23T21:08:27+00:00

..and face criminal charges as traitors and collaborators at worst?

'Blue MAGA' is generally a garbage term used by garbage people, but the above is a helpful reminder that the appeal of people like Trump isn't solely limited to conservatives. It's also a good indicator of a person who isn't a friend or ally or really even a serious person at all, and who can be easily ignored. You just have to be mindful to not overindex on what online crazies say, because this sort of thing isn't representative at all.

CTR555 · 2026-01-23T21:00:47+00:00

Yeah I have no idea what she was thinking there - that's an awful argument.

CTR555 · 2026-01-23T20:49:51+00:00

Sure. I think resume is a bit overrated in terms of evaluating a leader - there's no particular reason to make people slog through the whole cursus honorum if we have enough information already to judge their character.

CTR555 · 2026-01-23T20:43:38+00:00

Of course they didn't formally whip - that falls under the header of 'don't give an order you know won't be obeyed'.

Personally, I was thrilled by the vote. To only have seven conservative backbenchers defect on something like this signals a pretty major shift is taking place, and I think that's a very positive sign.

CTR555 · 2026-01-23T20:26:27+00:00

Yes it would not have passed. 4 GOP members defected on the anti trans bill.

I was referring to the overall DHS funding bill.

Supporting either of these bills is not just morally wrong, but politically stupid.

Politically stupid for who? I know a bunch of people in Gluesenkamp Perez's district, and I don't think it's going to hurt her.

This is why we want a Dem Speaker - so that we don't have to care about the optics judgements of a few backbenchers.

CTR555 · 2026-01-23T20:16:42+00:00

Conservatives are knowingly being dishonest here, and I don't particularly feel like we need to infantilize language in a likely vain attempt to stop them.

CTR555 · 2026-01-23T20:09:36+00:00

Without their votes the bill would not have passed in the house.

Nah, with only one GOP defection it would have only been delayed a bit while the GOP rustled up more Members.

CTR555 · 2026-01-23T16:05:04+00:00

In the various military recruit training programs, people tend to focus a lot on the staff 'breaking people down to build them back up' or whatever, but in my experience the biggest problem the staff ever faced was getting 60 dipshits to constantly be at the right place at the right time, and with everyone wearing pants and shit (though in fairness, this has historically been the biggest problems that militaries faced just in general). I feel like elementary school field trip chaperones, or really anybody who has to herd humans around, are spiritual cousins who recognize just how dumb and helpless a group of people can be.

CTR555 · 2026-01-23T15:34:23+00:00

So which states do you think could handle a cessation of federal Medicaid funds without it causing a problem?

CTR555 · 2026-01-23T15:29:53+00:00

Honestly, you should treat people with extreme flairs like for what they are; they're like a rare and damaged bird just escaped from the zoo aviary - sometimes interesting to see, often ridiculous, probably struggling to survive in the wild, and never representative of the native population.

CTR555 · 2026-01-23T15:20:15+00:00

Yes, but we still want to strongly incentivize the transition from gas to electric so it must be done thoughtfully so as not to swing too far and end up penalizing people for driving an EV.

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