The Politics Thread

[Khan]

More and more, I think about @marceline's words: that this all could end in warfare, violence and bloodshed.

[JaneAusten]

I am going to repeat what an African American friend shared with me months back. That in a twisted sort of way, she was enjoying the ass kicking the so called "white moderates and liberals" were getting under this president, things her community has experience since the onset of this "free and equal" United States. Don't get me wrong she was not wishing for it,  just that maybe more people can get a sense of what others have been experiencing since the founding of this country.

 

If you watched the series on reconstruction based on the book by Henry Louis Gates, it's amazing how much of this is unknown to most of the general public. It's not taught in US history class and hasn't been for a reason. Progress made and then stripped away after the "white moderates" got tired of enforcing it and moved onto other things.

 

[DramatistDreamer]

 

Also, once blacks began to get political power and blacks were elected to public office as a result, this started to reflect a change in economic status for black businesses, which many whites found threatening.  That is when you had the emergence of groups that would coalesce into what became known as the Ku Klux Klan, essentially a terrorist organization, aided and abetted by law enforcement to terrorize blacks.  In the case of Greenwood, the KKK burned an entire town!   One of the last survivors (who was a child at the time) just died, so this is not distant history!

This is a reminder to me to finish the Reconstruction documentary (I watched Part 1 last week) but it was interesting to watch the first part and then the documentary on Black entrepreneurs as a few of the themes and historical events overlapped. It's not an easy viewing, to see how an entire people's aspirations are thwarted politically after promises not kept.  I was pretty pissed when watching the section on the Freedman's bank because it reminds me so much of what happened with the global economic crises a bit over a decade ago.  Nobody was punished for their criminality and in the case of Frederick Douglas with the Freedman's bank and President Obama with the economic/banking crisis, they only enlisted black men to fix things once both situations became dire.

 

 

Edited May 2, 2019 by DramatistDreamer

[Khan]

And Democrats, of course, will cave the moment even a whiff of impropriety emanates from the investigation and pressure Biden into quitting the race.  Because, we're still in the Purity Clearing House Sweepstakes, don't you know?

 

Say what you will about Bill and Hillary, but those two never backed down from any challenges coming from the GOP or even one of their own.  We need more street fighters like that in the Democratic Party.

Edited May 2, 2019 by Khan

[marceline]

 

It already has. Trump's side is already using violence and terrorism. You can't vote facism away. Every time facism has been defeated it's been by force. Mind you, I don't say this lightly but the Republicans have joined with a hostile foreign power to attack our country. Too many on the left still can't bring themselves to admit that a lot of their friends and family voted for this because they had this hatred inside them. They can't bear thinking of their loved ones as traitors. That's why they keep trying to blame "economic anxiety" or claim Hillary was the worst candidate. 

 

 

 

I don't think that's going to work. I might be projecting but I think the Dem base, not Woke Twitter but the actual base, is about to slap back hard against the Social Justice Left. A lot of the reason we're here is because Lefty Purists didn't give a [!@#$%^&*] in 2016 and they keep screwing us. Whether its losing Al Franken or people demanding Ralph Northam step down over 30 year old blackface photos and now people trying to take Biden out because of Anita Hill, the price of purity is getting too damn high and I think that's going to play out in 2020 by Biden getting the nomination.

Edited May 3, 2019 by marceline

[DRW50]

On the one hand I think Joe Biden is much more than just past actions which I think he genuinely regrets, and other than Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris he's the Democrat I could most see myself voting for, but there is also so much drama surrounding him, and I'm so tired of drama. Maybe this is what we will get from now on with any real candidate, I don't know.

 

 

I saw a tweet going around today outraged over him praising Cheney. The problem is he did that in 2015, not today. People want to focus on today. Or they should want to. I think that Biden's poll numbers, which have (for now anyway) been much stronger than I would have expected, go to what you're talking about - a certain backlash against the outrage left. 

[Khan]

 

 

I hope so.  For all our sakes.  People on the left need to realize there is no such thing as the perfect candidate.  The sooner they do, the better off the rest of us will be.

 

[ReddFoxx]

https://www.bbc.com/news/topics/ceeqy0e9894t/england-local-elections-2019

 

The council elections for England took place today and the Liberal Democrats have really cleaned up so far, with Independents also making some substantial gains. The Conservative Party unsurprisingly lost a ton of seats and Labour saw losses.

[Vee]

[DramatistDreamer]

As someone who struggled financially while in graduate school (and to a lesser extent in undergrad), this was an incredibly depressing read to know that things seem to have gotten worse.  There were lean times in regards to food, for sure, but thanks to friends who were out in the work force)( who would stock me up with meals in which they had made extra portions), I never had to take "poverty naps".  

And some of the comments that this article have drawn are almost as depressing as it illustrates how clueless and lacking in compassion some people truly are.

 

Edited May 3, 2019 by DramatistDreamer

[Vee]

I've been there.

 

Thought some folks might appreciate this:

 

 

[DramatistDreamer]

This is what greed devoid of conscience looks like.

 

[Khan]

Dan Rather would "go to Hell and back" to interview Beyonce, but I have a feeling she would bore him (and us) to tears rather quickly.  Neither she nor her husband are all that interesting.

 

Thanks for the link, Vee.

 

It certainly does.  It also puts to rest (again) notions that anyone had about Kelly having been a good influence on the administration during his time there.  The truth is that he's just as craven as the rest of 'em. 

 

Ugh.  Candace Owens is so cancelled.  We don't claim her.  We will NEVER claim her.

Edited May 4, 2019 by Khan

[DramatistDreamer]

Is anyone surprised by this?  Or the lack of backlash?  Trump basically commits acts with impunity the way most people breathe. And the lying and rapaciousness that goes on in his cabinet and inner circle is breathtaking.

 

[Khan]

The Russians have always viewed Fearless Leader as nothing more than a clown puppet, operating strictly for their amusement.  Unfortunately, either his minions and followers are too thick-headed to realize we all have become Putin's court jesters, or they don't care (or both).