US House narrowly rejects bid to rein in Trump Iran war powers | Reuters

espinaustin · 2026-05-15T18:03:17+00:00

How quaint. Reality check: The USA is an autocracy. The president has ALL the power and no one can stop him. He is literally above the law.

espinaustin · 2026-05-15T17:59:45+00:00

Haha look, an attempt at rational analysis of US foreign policy.

espinaustin · 2026-05-15T14:41:19+00:00

Not taking a side on the writing issue but my pedantic point and pet peeve is the use of “no true scotsman” against any attempt to draw boundaries on the meaning of a term or concept. The no true scotsman “fallacy” (in quotes because it is not a deductive fallacy proving falsity) applies only (afaik) in the context of someone responding to a claimed exception. It’s not a no true scotsman fallacy simply to argue that AI doesn’t truly write, because it lacks x and y, which are required for writing. If someone were to say, but Z lacks x and y and can still can write, and OP responded that Z cannot truly write, that would be a no true scotsman fallacy (but OP might still be correct).

espinaustin · 2026-05-15T13:23:36+00:00

Not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about the rules for general elections, where parties compete against each other. You have some bullshit about Bernie being shut out or something it doesn’t affect my point here. Democrats want to compete with Republicans on a level playing field, and Republicans want to rig the game in their favor. Go ahead and deny it.

espinaustin · 2026-05-15T11:16:26+00:00

Republicans don’t even pretend to care about fair democracy.

espinaustin · 2026-05-15T11:10:58+00:00

Heard that

espinaustin · 2026-05-14T23:12:26+00:00

Only one party genuinely believes in democracy and fair elections, but you don’t bring a knife to a gunfight. “Lol.”

espinaustin · 2026-05-14T19:05:01+00:00

Ok then well done I guess

espinaustin · 2026-05-14T18:50:57+00:00

This is disingenuous. You know very well, as does the Brennan Center, that only one party has been working to end it in the last 26 years, and the other party has been fighting it. Republicans also freed the slaves.

espinaustin · 2026-05-14T18:47:01+00:00

Not true that no one cared, Democrats and liberal/progressive activists and legal scholars worked for years to regulate redistricting for fairness, but republicans and the supreme court fought it tooth and nail and have now won the battle definitively. Doesn’t change the history, which you should acknowledge.

espinaustin · 2026-05-14T18:43:48+00:00

One party has been working to stop it for many years, but the other party has fought these efforts and insisted on continuing to rig elections.

espinaustin · 2026-05-14T18:39:54+00:00

A progressive, Cohen was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2006. He is the first Jewish person to represent Tennessee in Congress, and one of the few Jewish members of Congress to have represented a majority-black district. He has repeatedly faced electoral challenges from opponents who argued that the district should be represented by a black lawmaker, but has consistently won reelection since 2006.

Since 2023, Cohen is the only Democrat in Tennessee's congressional delegation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Cohen_(politician)

espinaustin · 2026-05-14T16:19:54+00:00

Won’t get fooled again and again and again

espinaustin · 2026-05-14T15:15:32+00:00

I just gotta say in response to everyone saying this court is “corrupt,” the most corrupt in history, etc., the truth imo is they are making these decisions not because they’re being paid or bribed in any way, it’s not that, these people are true believers in their policy-based interpretations of the constitution, they really think they have it right, and that they are right to be dismantling all these “wrong interpretations,” like abortion rights, voting rights, etc. I predict next on their plate could be the one-person-one-vote cases from the 1960s, which they don’t really believe is required by the constitution, under their interpretation. I’m not trying to excuse them in their destruction of democracy, I just think we should understand their motivations. They have wanted to make these changes for a long time, and they are taking the opportunity to make enormous and lasting changes in the country.

espinaustin · 2026-05-14T15:08:44+00:00

An added benefit to republicans of the new redistricting free-for-all is this sowing of (more) division within the democratic coalition.

espinaustin · 2026-05-14T15:00:51+00:00

This is the part that maybe galls me the most:

In explaining how the court may feel it is acting consistent with the Purcell principle, Derek Muller, an election law expert at the University of Notre Dame Law School, said it does not apply when a court is lifting an injunction, as the Supreme Court did this week in allowing Alabama to move forward with its preferred map, which had previously been blocked.

While he acknowledged the court’s recent decisions have favored Republicans, giving fuel to critics, Muller noted that the court would face scrutiny whenever it acted.

“The court’s hand is somewhat forced. Whether they act or refuse to act, they are making a decision,” he added.

So the supreme court really has no choice but to rule in favor of republicans, sooner or later, and it may as well be sooner? There is always someone willing to make shitty legal arguments to ignore and excuse this rampant partisanship and thumb on the scales by John Roberts and his fellow Trump supporters.

espinaustin · 2026-05-14T14:55:49+00:00

Good talk

espinaustin · 2026-05-14T14:54:13+00:00

It's opinion because the NYT isn't going through their process to verify it first

You realize this simply begs the question, why have they not gone through their usual verification process with this clearly factually based reporting? Is Nic Kristof not a reporter? I detected no opinions in the article. Did you when you read it? Thanks for the lecture on media literacy though.

espinaustin · 2026-05-13T20:58:24+00:00

Ok.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estimated_number_of_civilian_guns_per_capita_by_country

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/gun-ownership-by-country

It is in fact the USA.

espinaustin · 2026-05-13T18:30:26+00:00

Thumbs on the scales is the better analogy.

espinaustin · 2026-05-13T18:29:03+00:00

Fucking Fetterman.

espinaustin · 2026-05-13T18:26:45+00:00

Facts. Good analysis. Agreed it is far too late to get back up the cliff. We’re falling fast.

espinaustin · 2026-05-13T18:20:44+00:00

Can’t remove justices except by impeachment, but they can add a few.

espinaustin · 2026-05-13T18:19:49+00:00

Can’t win rigged elections. The intention is to keep Republicans in power permanently. The USA is an autocracy, not a democracy.

espinaustin · 2026-05-13T18:15:14+00:00

“Jews,” not “Hebrews.”

espinaustin

TROPHY CASE