johnvansickle.bsky.social
42 posts
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And the 77.3 million for Trump represents 49.8% of voters. That’s way too many. But not a majority.
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Author writes that “to diagnose a malady is to identify a cure.” Article then diagnoses a non-fascist home-grown malady but mentions no cure. I like puzzles but for this one I need a hint as to the cure. Little help please?
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That’s not his position and you are not interested in an accurate a good faith conversation so I’m done here.
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Again misquoting me so you can argue against a straw man. Maybe stop and ask yourself why you are unable to respond to what I am actually writing?
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I agree! But I didn’t write “resist nothing!” I just think there should be a cogent strategy and message beyond “resist everything.” Schumer has concerns that seem valid to me. I think it’s unwise to dismiss them out of hand.
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(1) I did not say “this obviously won’t work.” I said it’s not obvious that it will. These are very different statements. (2) There are many ways to resist Trump, and some have potential pitfalls/political costs, which we should consider. (3) I’m on your side so don’t be such an ass.
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Science is undertaken for pleasure of discovery, for profit, to gain advantage over an adversary…these are all values. It’s not that science is value-free. It’s just that you can’t know a person’s or entity’s values from the mere fact that they pursue science. It’s indeterminate.
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Democrats are ineffective. But that doesn’t mean we can just change anything or everything and suddenly we’ll be effective. Republicans got away with shutdowns — doesn’t mean Dems will. Different coalition and voters. Different (worse) messaging machine.
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Maybe part but not the most important part. Schumer might be making a mistake here. But it’s not an obvious mistake as some are portraying it.
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The Republicans didn’t get where they are because of shutdowns. They got here through shameless but effective propaganda.
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I actually think (1) is a very good reason, considering the immense political ignorance of the average American and the American media’s obsession with both-sides-ing everything.
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I support Ukraine. But wearing the colors of a foreign flag is a bad idea for an opposition party. It will feed the Republican narrative that Democrats care more about other countries than about the USA. I think we need to explain how Trump’s actions are bad for Americans and offer an alternative.
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Unfortunately, security cannot be guaranteed. Especially not by a foreign power whose citizens enjoy consuming enemy propaganda.
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It’s a very large minority and it’s the minority that Republican Congressmen/women are incentivized to respond to. The minority rules the majority here.
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Republican voters are all watching Fox, OAN or similar garbage.
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They got where they are not by planning ahead but instead by trying everything and then going with whatever seemed to get traction.
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Conservatism has always been about defending an established hierarchy (of sex, race, religion etc) from egalitarian social movement. For a few decades this fact was obfuscated and even somewhat derailed by the language of economic freedom. That’s gone now. Conservatism is going back to its roots.
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The best thing Europeans and Americans can all do for the cause of freedom is refuse to acquiesce to Trump’s idiotic, non-strategic, antidemocratic and (often) illegal acts.
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Unfortunately, my USA is acting like a dumb child, and part of the remedy will be suffering the consequences of our collective idiocy. Europe was never wise to rely on us (Americans) to the extent it has. But will Europe really respond to this, the fifth or sixth or tenth wake up call?
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Ukraine cannot be admitted to NATO now because it’s been attacked by Russia. But in the future, if Russia attacks Ukraine, believe me, we will totally admit Ukraine then! (Don’t I sound tough?!)
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He won a plurality of the vote (not a majority) which, in our dumb system, was enough to win the presidency.
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This is the one thing Hegseth is right about. European defense budgets ARE mostly inadequate. The free world DOES need Europe to step up so the USA can focus more on China. Many Europeans who support Ukraine agree on this. Trump and Hegseth = dumb jerks BUT on this specific point they are correct.
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Yes. Necessary to rebuild European defense production capacity. However, in the very near term, substantial spending on American arms may be needed to fill critical gaps. As a bonus, purchases from USA might placate Trump on two issues: NATO spending levels and trade balance.
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No country unserious about defense will be able to maintain its values for long. Unfortunately, Europe will need bombs, missiles and drones (and industrial capacity) for that.
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As much as I deplore this scumbag and his approach to Ukraine and humanity in general, he is correct on this point. Most of NATO needs urgent investment in defense. After decades of foolish neglect, 5% is not unreasonable. Be like Poland.
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Assuming Europe did spend 5%—this is no guarantee that it would never need or want American help.
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They don’t have to vote for a Democrat. They have to refuse to support Trump’s fascism/dictatorship/monarchy and communicate their intentions and interests to their Republican representatives. We’ll have to settle for that.
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The problem is that if Trump follows through on these foreign policy threats, most Americans will shrug it off. The public disapproval is probably mild and not politically significant.
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If Greenlanders are amenable, I would welcome the five new states of Avannaata, Kujalleq, Qeqertalik, Qeqqata, and Sermersoo, along with their ten new US Senators.
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Ignorance of history and current sanctions, threats of tariffs on nonexistent Russian imports, naive view of relationship with Putin… So far nothing to celebrate.
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If these “hybrid attacks” carry on for five or ten more years, the West may need to consider starting a conversation about holding a meeting to schedule discussions about the wording of a potential joint statement of grave concern.
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Unfortunately, Europeans’ superiority to Americans is more imagined than real. I wish I could look to Europe as a source of stability and wisdom during these next four years. But European voters and politicians are mostly a hot mess.
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Bigger than Alaska, with the ice-free parts adding up to a California-sized chunk. So it’s not exactly small.
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sort of patriotism make this a long shot, to say the least. In light of Ukraine’s experience with Russia over the centuries, it is a condescending flight of fancy to second guess their decision to resist Russia’s aggression as they thought necessary.
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The author speculates that, had Ukrainians not fought back, then, after perhaps tens of thousands of Ukrainian deaths, Russians *may
have* eventually forced Putin to stop (and reverse?) the invasion. Newsflash: Russian media censorship, brutal repression of even minor protests and an imperial …
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Tokayev is president of Kazakhstan
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The defense posture of most NATO countries is very poor due to decades of neglect. As a result, our leaders fear Russia, but they also fear that the necessary increases in defense spending will be unpopular. We have to demand that our leaders make defense a priority.
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To everyone unhappy with the weakness of Euro/NATO responses to Russian aggression: make sure to voice your displeasure to your elected representatives, presidents/ministers etc. (Kaja Kallas already knows what’s up, so complaining here is not the most effective use of your advocacy time).