Everything is Political

[cinesmith]

Only 62% of eligible voters participated. That's down from 2020's 65%
For every one of the 7 swing states that Biden won last time. Trump won them back by basically the same margins. (Less than 800K votes)
So far, the popular vote is a difference of 3 million votes. Biden clobbered Trump by 7 million. So far, Trump has only grown by 1.5 mil which are all those younger 'bro' votes of Rogan listeners at best. The idea that some people flipped is really less likely. They just didn't vote for Harris.
The notion that anyone who thinks there's going to be any improvement in government trust over the next two years is delusional.
The only people sitting pretty are the rich ones.

[rischka]

well ladies in case it wasn't clear what just happened

trump wants to appoint matt gaetz attorney general

the same one who's been under investigation for sex trafficking for a couple of years and credibly accused of sexually harrassing white house staff

your little #metoo spree is over

how else are assholes supposed to reproduce widely and increase the white race??

edit: unlikely to be confirmed but the very idea is horrific and i'm sure hilarious to elon and his ilk

i'm going to try to quit paying attention to these trolls for awhile. it makes them more powerful

hmm exactly what I used to say at mubi..

[cinesmith]

Only 62% of eligible voters participated. That's down from 2020's 65%
For every one of the 7 swing states that Biden won last time. Trump won them back by basically the same margins. (Less than 800K votes)
So far, the popular vote is a difference of less than 3 million votes. Biden clobbered Trump by 7 million. So far, Trump has only grown by 2 mil which are all those younger 'bro' votes of Rogan listeners at best. The idea that some people flipped is really less likely. They just didn't vote for Harris.
The notion that anyone who thinks there's going to be any improvement in government trust over the next two years is delusional.
The only people sitting pretty are the very wealthy ones.

[rischka]

The notion that anyone who thinks there's going to be any improvement in government trust over the next two years is delusional.
The only people sitting pretty are the very wealthy ones.

that was the point yes. even if there's inflation, they can buy up cheap assets. these clowns could lose 99% of their wealth and still be fabulously rich

efficiency experts? if they want to help the gov't they should try paying their fucking fair share of taxes!! this is gangster capitalism

and the idea that I have to pay taxes to this mob makes me puke. a bunch of crooks. if putin had planned this himself it couldn't be going better

trump had a billionaire advisor in his first term too, carl icahn. he had to quit after it was exposed that he advocated changes that would net his company $205 million a year

i will never stop being pissed off about this government by internet trolling. a number of them have been accused of sex crimes and no one even cares

with people living on the streets out there. these assholes are going to rob us every way they can. it's just obscene

[rischka]

ok now I'm over it. fuck these people

they'll still be laughing when a bunch of kids die because rfk said vaccines aren't safe

when did everything get so dumb

it could be all the supplements

[rischka]

not gonna think about them. I wanna be a low info voter too

[Monsieur Arkadin]

Doing some research in Jakarta at the moment, but have the weekend to just explore the city. I went to the national Museum and looked at their historical dioramas which included these...



Which reminds me that I still have to find time to sit through the ungodly long Treachery of G30S/PKI one of these days, since that film in particular seems to imprinted on people's minds (and I think was a direct inspiration on this diorama).

[rischka]

this is pretty good. and i know how pabs loves HCR

[pabs]

What's HCR?

[rischka]

heather cox richardson - letters from an american ^^

[pabs]

ah yes, ty, she's wonderful and you're right, i love her

[pabs]

Have you moved to bluesky yet?

[pabs]

There's a tool available to migrate all your tweets into your Bluesky account, and then you can delete your stinky musk account. It works for Firefox or Chrome.

[rischka]

i axed my twitter after melon husk took over and i don't think i need more socials

i hope our little community will straggle on

[pabs]

Oh I wish you would start an account at bluesky. I need to have something to follow other than tennis and politics.

[greennui]

Mastodon all over again?

[rischka]

LOL no. it does look like old twitter -- but the firehose of info just isn't healthy for me. i need to disengage or i'm angry all the time

they can't ruin all the beautiful things so i try to find joy. i'm going to hike in the desert

[rischka]

The first step to taking the country back is recognizing the problem and insisting that it is your country. Never give people respect just because they hold authority; respect people based on their actions. These are public servants. Their job is to serve you, not to control you. Resist any effort at control: refuse it. Americans have been pushed into a cult mentality that shuts down critical thinking. Your lived reality matters more than their contrived one — because it’s yours.

from sarah kendzior's Q&A on substack

it's tough being the only 'woke' person i know lol. i'm sure it's connected to my childhood zombie nightmares

might makes right is back with a vengeance and the winners will write history

[Holdrüholoheuho]

i find bluesky pretty useful, just learned a new word (a political term) there
→ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakistocracy

[rischka]

'cacastocracy' - shit government

full of bad faith actors determined to destroy the country (and the world)

[cinesmith]

HA! This just happened. Not relevant in terms of changing the political landscape but a fantastic feature to prove a point.
Harris just surpassed Trump's total votes from 2020!

Trump 2020 total: 74,216,747 total votes
Harris 2024 (so far): 74,250,680 and climbing The margin between Trump's lead is down to 2.5 million and it now sits at less than 50% of the overall vote. Likely one of the weakest results that in comparison. You'd need to look at the election results dating back to the 19th century to find something this lame.

Musk has already worn out his welcome in the Senate and Vance appears to suddenly recognize how useless his role will now be.
There's a pretty big difference between creating 'disruption' versus trying to stockpile inexperienced candidates as seat warmers.
It's a who's who of TV personalities who are subjectively inexperienced nitwits.

[rischka]

lol vance is just waiting for trump to die

i suspect the clown car is a distraction altho multiple sex offenders is certainly a choice!

there's a plan however chaotic things may appear - project 2025

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

christian nationalism aligned with putin and orban - the anti-woke forces of dark enlightenment

one might say the culture war is the only war for these people, heavily subsidized by billionaires

obviously incompatible with democracy so we'll see how it goes ....

[rischka]

https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2024/1 ... an-otoole/

on trump merging sexual assault into his 'brand'

In 2020, 51 percent of Americans said the word “feminist” described their views either “very well” or “somewhat well.” Today just 35 percent say the same. Among Republican men, the figure is just 10 percent. What has happened, then, is an increase in acceptance of the reality that there is structural discrimination against half the population, combined with a shying away from the ideology that seeks to do something about it. It is in such contradictory states of mind that dark myths have most appeal.

It gives women who might think twice about voting for a known rapist a way out: Harris, the mass rapist by proxy, is even worse. And it simultaneously endorses male self-pity. His rhetoric makes it possible to believe that “men have it easier” not because of the persistence of patriarchy but because all American women and girls are in imminent danger of being raped and murdered by dark-skinned strangers licensed by Harris. The violence perpetrated on American-born women by their own male compatriots is projected outward onto the evil woman who stands between Trump and his rightful place in power.

Large majorities of male Trump voters agree with the propositions that “many women interpret innocent remarks or acts as being sexist” (74 percent); “employers should not make special efforts to hire and promote qualified women” (70 percent); “when a man and woman get divorced, the court system will always treat the woman better” (77 percent); and “when women demand equality these days, they are actually seeking special favors” (62 percent). In a divided culture, all games are zero-sum—if women are gaining, men must be losing.

women can't fix this and this was written before the recent rash of sex offenders nominated. are people still scoffing at 'rape culture'?

[flip]

Oh I wish you would start an account at bluesky. I need to have something to follow other than tennis and politics.

if you want to follow my band just search for we talk to horses! we just joined

[rischka]

https://bsky.app/profile/rbgscfz.bsky.social

ok i'm trying it out, follow me whoever is there already

found some film posters there good vibes