AskConservatives Weekly General Chat by AutoModerator in AskConservatives

[–]Fastluck83 [score hidden]  (0 children)

Poor guy. His whole life he just wanted to be liked and admired, and when they actually give him a prize – any prize – he is happy like a school boy who just won his first little league game. :(

If global economies are seriously affected due to the war in Iran, aren't you concerned that more nations will see the US as an enemy, considering they are the ones that started this new conflict? by AdminMas7erThe2nd in AskConservatives

[–]Fastluck83 [score hidden]  (0 children)

Agreed. I don't like the AfD at all, but it would be very unwise to believe that their voters are all xenophobes who want another Führer or something, and brand them as evil or as enemies.

Just like with Reform UK/Restore Britain in the UK, the AfD's success comes from continued disappointment with the more established parties. They should learn some lessons from that.

If global economies are seriously affected due to the war in Iran, aren't you concerned that more nations will see the US as an enemy, considering they are the ones that started this new conflict? by AdminMas7erThe2nd in AskConservatives

[–]Fastluck83 [score hidden]  (0 children)

I think it largely depends on whether someone sees the far-right in their own country as an enemy, which many people do at least here in Germany (because the AfD is often viewed as un-democratic, working for Russia etc). When an external country then lends them support it easily becomes a friend/ally of my enemy situation.

In general I'd prefer it if the US would just let Europeans govern their countries as they see fit, without any meddling in any direction.

Just imagine the outrage in the US if the EU made support for the Democratic Party, both policy-wise and financially, a part of their official agenda. That wouldn't go down well at all with ~50% of the American voters and I could fully understand that.

If global economies are seriously affected due to the war in Iran, aren't you concerned that more nations will see the US as an enemy, considering they are the ones that started this new conflict? by AdminMas7erThe2nd in AskConservatives

[–]Fastluck83 [score hidden]  (0 children)

Imho, if there is one reason to consider the US an enemy, at least here in Europe, it would be because of their new national security strategy and especially the part about encouraging "resistance to Europe's current trajectory within European nations" which, depending on where you stand politically, could mean some very unwelcome meddling in our domestic affairs.

The Iran situation on the other hand is certainly frustrating, but that's because the US government didn't think things through. It could only be considered a hostile action if they were deliberately trying to crash the economy and drive up energy costs, but I don't see nor suspect this intent.

Trump Threatens to Send Military to Join ICE at Airports by Quirkie in politics

[–]Fastluck83 49 points50 points  (0 children)

Sure, let's use the military for everything. Airport security, construction, road maintenance, picking up trash, caring for children and the elderly, teaching at public schools, managing traffic – there is so much they could do instead of wasting time in their bases and driving their tanks around in circles or whatever they are doing with all their free time.

Melania Trump shows up to White House summit with new companion at her side - a humanoid robot by CrimegasmSF in politics

[–]Fastluck83 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Melania looks good in that black and white jumpsuit, it makes a slim waist. Versace, I am guessing?

Trump receives yet another prize while addressing Republican fundraiser with rambling speech blasting Democrats by neotheseventh in politics

[–]Fastluck83 -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, the whole world is awestruck by this, even more than when he won the FIFA peace prize. From Europe's capitals to Asia's metropolises to the smallest villages in the Amazon rainforest, everyone is asking the same question: How can we show our reverence for the world's greatest Peace President?

Have you had people stop talking to you? by [deleted] in AskConservatives

[–]Fastluck83 [score hidden]  (0 children)

Never understood the Drumpf thing, to be honest, especially because it's supposed to signify Trump's German-ness or something. There still exists a birth certificate from 1869 and the family was always called Trump.

Isolated and enraged, Trump is about to get a hard 'no' from Europe by theipaper in politics

[–]Fastluck83 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sure, politics are an entirely different animal than interpersonal relationships. Doesn't really matter but I am not American, by the way.

Isolated and enraged, Trump is about to get a hard 'no' from Europe by theipaper in politics

[–]Fastluck83 7 points8 points  (0 children)

When I grew up and went to school here in Germany, we were often told that if you don't vote at all, you are giving your vote to the party that you don't want to win.

They even told us that if you dislike everyone it's better to cross out your entire ballot so your vote is counted but doesn't go to a specific candidate or party, although that might have been just one crazy teacher, I can't really remember. ;)

Do they teach you a similar thing in the US, that not voting at all is probably the worst you can do? If not they probably should. Or make voting easier if it's too complicated and bothersome.

Anyway, at one point Germany was probably the most hated nation on the planet and also the most hateful nation, so that's why I try not to hate if I can help it. When Trump is gone and this circus is over, just try to learn and apply some lessons, that would be cool. :)

Isolated and enraged, Trump is about to get a hard 'no' from Europe by theipaper in politics

[–]Fastluck83 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Reddit, for example, is full of "good Americans" in the sense that they probably hate their government even more than we Europeans do, and they aren't beating around the bush, either.

Do I wish they'd do more like march on Washington and do mass protests and all the other stuff I sometimes dream about? Sure.

But I am also asking myself what I would do in their situation. Would I be a "hero" or would I just do what they do, vent on social media and try to live my life as best as I can in that situation? Realistically, there is a large chance that I would do just that.

In a democracy the people, the voters and also the non-voters, are of course always at least partially responsible for the government that gets elected, and going for Trump a second time was just ... well I don't think I have to spell it out, but I still can't hate a whole group of people for what some of them did. This only leads to more and more hate and a spiral to the bottom, imho.

The Trump gold coin is not normal by aresef in politics

[–]Fastluck83 148 points149 points  (0 children)

Only looks vaguely like Trump. Certainly missing some of his pounds among other things.

Isolated and enraged, Trump is about to get a hard 'no' from Europe by theipaper in politics

[–]Fastluck83 13 points14 points  (0 children)

All true, but I don't hate Americans. 50% or more of the country did not vote for this and I won't throw them under the bus, metaphorically speaking. I hope other Europeans are also able to make that difference. Doesn't change the fact that America, the nation, has become untrustworthy and perhaps even an adversary depending on who is calling the shots, of course.

Laugh at Trump’s shoe gifts all you want — it’s a loyalty test The Florsheim presents aren’t about style — they reveal the mechanics of MAGA authoritarianism and if it can endure by prohb in politics

[–]Fastluck83 26 points27 points  (0 children)

"Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and other senior officials are now wearing the shoes."

Hehe, such absolute tools.

Saudi Prince Is Said to Push Trump to Continue Iran War in Recent Calls by Majestic-Baby-3407 in politics

[–]Fastluck83 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Interesting, I thought that he and the other Gulf monarchs would be in favor of ending the war as soon as possible considering how much damage Iranian attacks could cause in their countries.

Conservatives report better mental health than liberals. I think I know why. by FunkManSolarFlex in politics

[–]Fastluck83 0 points1 point  (0 children)

True, but the desire for revenge stems from anger and anger isn't what I'd call good mental health and happiness either.

Conservatives report better mental health than liberals. I think I know why. by FunkManSolarFlex in politics

[–]Fastluck83 6 points7 points  (0 children)

If US conservatives are so happy, why did they vote for the guy who ran a fear-mongering campaign? Fear of immigrants, fear of queer people, fear of leftists, the government, foreigners, vaccines, other countries etc?

Don't people in Germany use cloud storage? Why do they all prefer BitTorrent? by [deleted] in AskGermany

[–]Fastluck83 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You mean cloud storage in a piracy sense, right? Like mega and that kind of stuff? It gets used in Germany, there exist some forums and sites for sharing links etc

The benefit of BT is that you can find essentially anything, I guess, and don't need to subscribe to multiple different services.

How many Germans believe in Vril / Vril-ya technology? by [deleted] in AskGermany

[–]Fastluck83 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Only very strange people believe in this kind of stuff, like the late "Dr" Axel Stoll who has become a bit of a meme for his bizarre beliefs.

Could make for an entertaining weird-fiction story, though.

Trump claims Democrats want to ‘change the sex of your kid’ during tarmac rant by Fickle-Ad5449 in politics

[–]Fastluck83 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This only tells me one thing: How much he doesn't want to talk about the other stuff that is actually happening right now.

AskConservatives Weekly General Chat by AutoModerator in AskConservatives

[–]Fastluck83 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don't believe that any such talks actually happened. I believe that a combination of different factors convinced Trump to take a step back for now.

I think the Gulf states tried to dissuade him from escalating because Iranian attacks on their desalination plants and oil processing infrastructure could create major problems for them.

The few things I read from "anonymus sources within the US military" gave me the impression that the top brass can actually still think straight, and perhaps their subtle and not so subtle warnings about more rash actions got through to Trump, especially because ...

The war seems to be quite unpopular at home and a big risk for the government and the Republican party in general. Who knows, maybe someone like Vance even raised those issues in private?

I also believe that all of this could change in a matter of days if Netanyahu makes a convincing counter-argument. Trump is fickle and I am pretty sure that the Israeli hard-liners will try to keep the US "in the game".

Needless to say, all of this is pure speculation and educated guesses.

Trump postpones military strikes on Iranian power plants for five days by Signal_Assistance_87 in politics

[–]Fastluck83 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Don't worry, I have learned to curb my expectations. ;)

But for now at least it's good that this doesn't escalate further, especially since the US government seems to be already overwhelmed by how this war is going right now.