[-] spaceghoti@lemmy.one 1 points 20 minutes ago

You'll excuse me if I wait for more reputable sources once the general election has started.

[-] spaceghoti@lemmy.one 2 points 22 minutes ago

We have the means. We only lack the will, because the fascists in our government want to emulate Putin. Becoming isolationist won't solve our problems. Punching our own Nazis before the rest of the world has to do it for us is the only way.

If we go the way of Nazi Germany, we'll deserve the same treatment we have to them.

[-] spaceghoti@lemmy.one 4 points 1 hour ago

If your neighbor ends up homeless, what do you he'll do to survive? Anything? Do you think that maybe helping your neighbor might contribute to the health and safety of your community better than if you leave him in desperate straits?

But let's make the metaphor match the situation a little closer. Your neighbor across the street is dealing with another neighbor who wants their property. They won't sell, so the other neighbor is getting violent to get their way. Not your problem, right? Not until that neighbor comes after you, and with your arsenal they wouldn't dare do that, right? That will certainly help keep the peace in the neighborhood.

Being a good neighbor means more than just ignoring what's happening on the other side of the fence. Strong communities look out for each other and help where they can. That applies internationally as well as locally.

[-] spaceghoti@lemmy.one 7 points 1 hour ago

It's not like the US is supporting Ukraine alone. We just happen to have the best weapons, and a vested interest in containing Putin's authoritarian ambitions. Providing material support to Ukraine without putting our own boots on the ground is a win all around.

One reason Putin went to such efforts to stop Clinton from winning here is because she knows who he is and was very effective at quietly neutralizing him. Now we're dealing with his ambitions in action, and we're not doing it alone.

[-] spaceghoti@lemmy.one 15 points 7 hours ago

One in which opposition is emnity, and when you you can't counter the truth with obfuscation you use any and every means at your disposal to suppress speech.

Vance is one of the people helping pave the way toward dictatorship.

[-] spaceghoti@lemmy.one 3 points 7 hours ago

Are you assuming that Republicans are negotiating in good faith? That would be a mistake on your part.

[-] spaceghoti@lemmy.one 6 points 10 hours ago

It's a losing battle, but Republicans (particularly the ones in power) have been responding to that by doubling down for the past thirty years. It convinced their base that it's a display of strength and leadership while everyone else looks on in horror.

I guess we'll see if their strategy ultimately pays off.

[-] spaceghoti@lemmy.one 7 points 10 hours ago

The Republican base is taught to fear. Fear liberals, fear diversity, fear whatever they're told to fear. A generation ago they were told to fear Russia, so we opposed Russians with all our strength. They're told the only salve for their fear is a strong leader.

Now, today, Putin presents himself as a strong leader and suddenly Russia is no longer to be feared but admired. So what that he wants to rebuild the Soviet Union by invading the nations around him? Trump says he's a good guy, so obviously when he says he's invading Ukraine for their own good he must be telling the truth.

They follow anyone who presents themselves as strong and confident because that allays their fears somewhat. And since their current leaders like Russia and don't like Ukraine, that's what they're supporting.

[-] spaceghoti@lemmy.one 2 points 10 hours ago

Yeah. It's a shame the authors of the study wasted their time with empirical data instead of just asking a random person on the internet for their "logic."

[-] spaceghoti@lemmy.one 7 points 19 hours ago

So you're saying the unusual increases in profit corresponding to inflation is in error? The authors published their methodology. Please show your work.

[-] spaceghoti@lemmy.one 16 points 20 hours ago

The EU is sending a lot of support to Ukraine, but they're not the military bullies we are.

[-] spaceghoti@lemmy.one 48 points 1 day ago

The answer is that conservative thinking is driven by fear. It's not that liberals don't fear things, it's that liberal thinking isn't driven primarily by fear.

903

In April, Société Générale economist Albert Edwards released a scathing note saying he hadn’t seen anything like the current levels of corporate greed in his four decades working in finance. He said companies were using the war in Ukraine as an excuse to hike prices in search of profits.

“The end of Greedflation must surely come. Otherwise, we may be looking at the end of capitalism,” Edwards wrote. “This is a big issue for policymakers that simply cannot be ignored any longer.”

369

In a tense game of chicken, remarkable for its mix of petulance and audacity, congressional Republicans are threatening to halt U.S. aid to Ukraine—guaranteeing a Russian breakthrough and possible victory in that war—unless Democrats help pass a bill that all but locks down America’s Southern border.

If the impasse isn’t resolved by the end of next week, when Congress goes on recess until the new year, the Ukrainian army could run out of ammunition. President Joe Biden could resupply the arsenal from U.S. stockpiles without legislative approval, but the move would be temporary, and the signal sent—that Ukraine, and by implication other allies, can no longer count on U.S. support in a pinch—could be a holiday cork-popper for Russian President Vladimir Putin and all of our other adversaries.

68

Social Security benefits are a perennial target for cuts because the program faces a long-run shortfall. Some lawmakers and opinion leaders mistakenly portray the program’s benefits as lavish. The fact is, benefits are modest and workers have earned them by paying into Social Security — protecting themselves and their families if they retire, become disabled, or die. Here are five key facts that policymakers need to keep in mind....

112

...All available evidence indicates that the Democrats are becoming a more culture war–focused, economically moderate party — except, that is, for what Democratic politicians actually say and do.

That the Democrats have remained stubbornly focused on progressive economic reform has been apparent for a while now. But in a new paper, “Bridging the Blue Divide: The Democrats’ New Metro Coalition and the Unexpected Prominence of Redistribution,” the Yale political scientist Jacob Hacker and his colleagues quantify that resilient commitment.

257

“Wisconsin voters have been awaiting accountability for three years, and it is beyond time to hold those who perpetrated this scheme responsible for their actions,” explained Jeff Mandell, an attorney for the Law Forward firm that brought the suit. “This settlement agreement provides one piece of that accountability and helps ensure that a similar effort to subvert our democracy will never happen again.”

But just one piece. The threat these people pose to fair elections has not gone away.

For instance, one of the fake electors, Milwaukee County Republican activist Robert Spindell, still serves on the Wisconsin Election Commission, thanks to an appointment by Wisconsin State Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg. This means he helps administer elections in a state whose last presidential election he deliberately tried to sabotage.

406

“The temporary restraining order granted by the Travis County district judge purporting to allow an abortion to proceed will not insulate hospitals, doctors or anyone else from civil and criminal liability for violating Texas’ abortion laws,” Paxton said in a statement shortly after the judge’s decision. “This includes first degree felony prosecutions…and civil penalties of not less than $100,000 for each violation.

Paxton added, ominously: “The [judge’s temporary restraining order] will expire long before the statute of limitations for violating Texas’ abortion laws expires.”

192

Why this renewed assault? “Obamacare Sucks!!!” declared the former and possibly future president. For those offended by the language, these are Trump’s own words, and I think I owe it to my readers to report what he actually said, not sanitize it. Trump also promised to provide “MUCH BETTER HEALTHCARE” without offering any specifics.

So let’s discuss substance here. Does Obamacare, in fact, suck? And can we believe Trump’s promise to offer something much better?

32
604

A court-ordered financial auditor has caught Donald Trump quietly moving $40 million from the Trump Organization into a personal bank account—seemingly so the former president could pay his whopping $29 million tax bill.

Trump isn’t supposed to be moving any money around without alerting Barbara S. Jones, a former federal judge in New York tasked with babysitting the Trump Organization for its relentlessly shady business practices. But on Wednesday, she notified a New York state court about some major bank transfers that were never brought to her attention by the Trumps.

33

Sen. Thom Tillis wants you to know that he’s very “reasonable.” That’s the word the North Carolina Republican used with reporters this week while describing immigration reforms that the GOP is demanding from Senate Democrats in exchange for supporting the billions in Ukraine aid that President Biden wants.

But the demands from Tillis and his fellow Republican leading the talks, Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, are not reasonable at all — they’re following Donald Trump’s playbook. Under the guise of seeking more “border security,” they’re insisting on provisions that would reduce legal immigration in numerous ways that could even undermine the goal of securing the border.

226

Given the current state of partisan polarization, it’s unlikely Biden can get majority job approval next year even with the most fortunate set of circumstances. But the good news for him is that he probably doesn’t have to. Job-approval ratings are crucial indicators in a normal presidential reelection cycle that is basically a referendum on the incumbent’s record. Assuming Trump is the Republican nominee, 2024 will not be a normal reelection cycle for three reasons.

515

According to a Tuesday letter addressed to committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.), Biden agreed to testify before the committee on Dec. 13 — as long as the hearing was public. In the letter, Biden’s attorneys quoted Comer’s own demand, issued in November, that given Biden’s “willingness to address this investigation publicly up to this point, we would expect him to be willing to testify before Congress.”

The letter added that open-door proceedings “would prevent selective leaks, manipulated transcripts, doctored exhibits, or one-sided press statements.”

Republicans would not have it. “Hunter Biden is trying to play by his own rules instead of following the rules required of everyone else,” Comer wrote in a statement. “That won’t stand with House Republicans.”

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spaceghoti

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