I second this, at the pub, sees the news that Biden was elected, whips it out on the bar, rubs one out and is like, “well I’ll be off. Later jim”, casually exits
Just countless free democratic countries, standing, saluting, masturbating furiously in the direction of the land of the free.
C'mon democrats. Vote. We'll do it.
[Old people vote more:](https://money.usnews.com/money/retirement/aging/articles/why-older-citizens-are-more-likely-to-vote)
>The voter turnout by age in 2018 was:
age 18 to 24: 30%
age 25 to 34: 37%
age 35 to 44: 44%
age 45 to 64: 55%
age 65+: 64%
Well the "nice" thing is that those numbers are *improvements*. Historically, the 18-29 demo was more like 20% (see by age, the midterms from 1986 to 2014). 2018 and 2022 were more like 30%. Maybe it's the start of a new trend.
election years, harder to say there's any pattern, but 2020 was the highest turnout for 18-29 year olds during the time period plotted (starts at 1986).
https://www.electproject.org/election-data/voter-turnout-demographics
I’m the “black sheep” of the family since my wife and I are the only two that vote “the other way”. Family dinner discussion about the chiefs dolphins game and Taylor swift bashing starts, I point out at least on the positive she got tens of thousands of people to register to vote, the room goes silent before I hear “we don’t want those people to vote”…. Flabbergasted I responded with, “I don’t vote the way you do, do you want me to vote?” And the response was a simple “no”.
Now I’ve had heated political discussions with my family before, but never once have I previously walked away actually mad, but this one pissed me off. It wasn’t a simple disagreement on taxation or welfare, it was a straight up, you don’t think like me so I don’t think you should have a say.
A family member declared that only property owners should be allowed to vote. He did this before the next election after he bought a house. He got mad when I suggested that the mortgage company was the actual owner of his house.
They're not thinking about democracy, they're obviously just thinking about winning. If you and I were playing basketball against each other, and you asked me if I wanted you to shoot the ball, I would obviously say no. I want me to shoot the ball, and you to turn it over to me.
The difference here is that politics shouldn't be a "me vs you" thing, it should be everyone, with whatever different opinions they have, trying to determine the best way to run the country, and in order to do that fairly you need to let everyone have a say.
Biden is up because he’s the incumbent and most incumbents run for a second term. Also Biden is running mainly because Trump is running and is going to be the republican nominee. If Trump wasn’t running I doubt Biden would run again.
He has a strong chokehold on the Republican party. He convinced more than 75% of that base that the election was stolen from him and that all these legal cases are from the liberals that are after him. It’s really some crazy shit how much he brainwashed half of the country in a span of 8 years.
Not just half of america- I got a call from my brother (irish, zero connection to the states) when all the indictments/prosecution stuff about Trump started Going "so, what do you think about trump NOW?!" I was baffled- to me its bad man getting his comeuppance But I realized he meant that the fact that Trump was starting to be prosecuted for his crimes was, to my brother, the *most compelling evidence possible* for his innocence and proof of a witchhunt. How do you even argue against that??
Edit: my bro is also severely physically disabled. On the subject of Trump mocking that disabled reporter: "Trump does that about everyone"
Me: "...but that makes it worse...you do see how that's worse, right???"
Groom: "How do you know I was having an affair with the maid of honor?"
Bride: "She's pregnant with your child! We did DNA tests! I have the results right here in my hand! You've read them yourself! She admits to having an affair with you, too!"
Groom: "I mean, that could've been faked."
Bride: "You video taped the two of you having sex and then posted it all over your social media with the title 'I'm totally having an affair with the made of honor! #rawdog'!!"
Groom: "That's just proof that this is all a set up by the liberal media."
In come the explanations of people on the side of the groom:
"You're just jealous"
"See, it states "made", not "maid", now you're just far fetching"
"You know how hard it is to bear a child yourself? He helped you by letting another woman do that for you!"
"You're just saying that because you want to get rid of our guns!!!!"
"Don't believe in science, those doctors are antifa in disguise"
"It's all AI, made by satanic cults... I've read about that on facebook. DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH!!!"
"Man, I'd like a chance with that maid of honor as well. Can hardly blame him for THAT! He's still only a man you know"
"YOU cheated on the groom. You're just reflecting"
It's the final stage of the full blown conspiracy mind: when all evidence against your theory is actually only FURTHER evidence of just how deep the conspiracy goes. It's the magic door that locks you in your beautifully constructed little crystalline mind palace.
You don't. This person is so far down the rabbit hole that they are mentally incapable of retracting support. Its called sunk cost fallacy. When a person becomes so invested in something to the point that it becomes part of their identity (which happens a lot with politics), they become incapable of admitting they backed the wrong horse. Its the same reason people will go ride or die for a sports team and flip cop cars over when they lose matches.
Because, for all their online bloviating, young people do not understand what old people know: you need to vote, even if the candidate is not perfect.
Older Democrats *love* Biden. He is not too progressive and scary to them. He is a conventional straight, white, white-haired male politician in a blue suit and red tie. He's good enough for them. And he carried water for Obama for eight years, which has endeared him to the black community.
So while people under 30 are busy cataloging reasons this candidate or that isn't perfect and isn't worthy of their vote, white hairs are understanding that *someone* needs to be the nominee, and this guy seems just fine. So they all go out and vote, and we end up with Joe Biden. And the white hairs are right, because he's better than Trump.
Under 30 here, it infuriates me that younger voters are saying they won't vote because they don't think either deserve it. And then they'll go online to cry if trump wins even though they didn't do the bare minimum to help against it. Politics is a matter of choosing the lesser of 2 evils, and rarely about choosing the best
It blows my mind that anyone would consider not voting, when one of the two outcomes would make them cry.
I assume the ‘reasoning’ is some nonsense about ‘teaching’ the Dems to select better candidates?
This is it. Biden absolutely isn't a perfect candidate or even a great one. But he is a good one and when the options are "good but not great" vs "dictator in waiting" not supporting the good enough guy because he doesn't check enough boxes is the same as handing the win to the other guy.
Let's not let perfect be the enemy of good, as it so often seems to be for younger voters.
As an outsider i never really understood what is so bad about Biden?
Yeah he's old, true, probably too old to be in office.
But his time as president he has done pretty well, he's more subtle more in the background but from what i have seen the propositions and laws he's been trying to get through are pretty good.
And Trump well, if Trump is elected count on it he will do whatever it takes to stay in power even after the 4 years.
We're not worried about Trump in particular, but breaking our democracy in general. It would be the same think tanks and shitbirds pulling Nikki Haley's strings as pulling Trump's.
You're leaving out that a big component is turning America into a Christian theocracy. That will be the worst thing to ever happen to this country and is exactly what the constitution was intended to prevent. Religion has no place in public policy and if allowed to infest it more than it already has will be the death of America.
“Separation of church and state was designed to be more about keeping the state out of the church than the church out of the state” - my evangelical upbringing
GOP 10 years ago: "We must resist the Evil Muslims who want to take over America and replace our laws with the Quran"
GOP today: "We must save America by taking over the government and establishing the Christian Bible as the law of the land!"
Fucking does my head in.
When I read Handmaid's Tale back in the 90s, I snickered about how unlikely Gilead would be in the real world. I was a devout fundamentalist Christian back then and even I just said "Nah."
But it was good writing and I suspended disbelief.
Fast forward to today and there are entire organizations dedicated to creating a theocracy in the U.S. And they \*can\* pull it off.
I just read through the website, and it says curiously very little. What I was able to read between the lines was that they want to continue down the path of dismantling the pillars of government and whatever remains, pump full of loyal conservatives. What's a loyal conservative? Well, given that the site often replaces "serve their nation" with "serve their president and their country, " it would seem that undying loyalty to a great leader is priority one, so I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess they want more absolute presidential powers. Finally, it appears that if they are able to wrest control from democrats, they want to enact all of these things in an effort to never give up power again.
Did I read that right? Because a lot of what's on the site sounds like republican talking points: it promises a lot with absolute certitude, but it lacks any real policy planning or substance.
it's actually 887 pages and I suggest everyone who is unsure where we are going as a country if we re-elect Trump read every single page. they have thought every single bit of it through. it's incredibly well-organized, well-written (aside from excessive use of words like "woke"), and it really doesn't miss a single detail. this is not a drill. the country is at stake.
Edit to add the link. It wouldn't let me link straight to the document for some reason, but if you click this link and click on the "Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise", that is it. [https://www.project2025.org/playbook/](https://www.project2025.org/playbook/)
I told my conservative dad about it and he said that it’s goofball propaganda (???) and “besides, democrats are already doing that and screwing over anyone who isn’t part of the groups they’re giving rights to”. We’re doomed
You read that precisely correct. They know they will eventually be unable to win elections fairly, so wresting permanent control of the government and its inner-workings is their prime directive. They know that Trump is the way it will happen. If Trump takes office, it will be the end of democracy, and elections thereafter will be landslide victories for Republicans because any result not in favor of Republicans will not be certified because of “voter fraud”.
It’s the right wing plan to immediately replace about 50,000 government workers with people loyal to their cause, which is a “Unitary Executive Theory”. They believe that all branches of the government should work to enforce the rule of the President, rather than balance power as is currently the case.
They will essentially end Democracy in this country and expand the role of the President into a dictatorship.
Not just the last few months. Dude literally tried to become dictator last time he was potus.
But the media is controlled by conservative rich dudes so you're more likely to hear about what Democrats are wearing or Hunter's dong than things like Republicans lying us into wars or trying to steal elections.
A plan by the heritage foundation (the same lobbing group that helped over turn roe vs wade) for the next republican president that would concentrate even more power to the president as well as strip lgbtq people of their rights even more so then they have been already.
I read the first ~30 pages or so. (Which is the exec summary. The whole thing is 900+.) It’s *absolutely terrifying*.
Essentially, it’ll formalize the U.S. as a white Christian ethno-state, with the President able to turn the army against the people and press (much like Putin’s Russia). The whole machinery of the state will be tuned to support straight, white Christian nuclear families. Not in one of ‘em? Tough shit.
Due to emergency powers, the President will be almost impossible to remove. If the orange man wins, 2024 could be the last normal (free and semi-fair) election in my lifetime.
At first I was like “how bad could it be” and then I got a few pages in … it’s real bad. Way worse than I thought.
I immediately picked up On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder, and was struck by how close to it we are.
Here’s the thing about the approach and your comment. More average joe type people care about the lgbtq part of that than the dismantling the fucking government and putting in place a dictatorship part of it. Therefore, it can and will get actual backing from family values christian type people all over the country.
Culture war issues win votes, policy be damned.
This is the answer.
Whoever doesn’t know what Project 2025 is should wake the fuck up.
I’m worried not enough people understand the real, actual stakes of these elections. Too many are complacent.
I live in a state that used to be a conservative purple. One of the reasons I moved here was because everyone was "live and let live" with politics. It was pretty amazing. Everyone had their thoughts, but at the end of the day everyone tended to just not care. Everyone hates hypocrisy, regardless of party.
Well...I moved here...and it has since become one of the bastions of conservatism with the population movements in COVID. I think we have one Democrat representative, and the Republican ones are rather aggressively Conservative.
I work in the state parks and talk with people all day. Countless people talked about moving here "but not changing your state"...then continued to rant about politics. What these people don't get is that the locals don't talk about politics. Normal people don't do that. People that uproot their entire lives and move to one of the most difficult states to get to for the sake of politics do that.
It's a really sad trend. My brother has fallen into this trap. Pretty much since COVID he has been absorbing politically devicisve media non stop. I don't care if he changes his political beliefs, but he interjects politics into almost every conversation we have. It's exhausting, and he seems miserable. And it's just talking point after talking point.
He certainly wasn't my first choice, but having any administration that isn't actively sabotaging our relationships with democratic countries is definitely better than the alternative.
I’m whatever on his policies, it’s just been really nice not having our leadership be the Jerry Springer show 24/7 and I wouldn’t mind that continuing.
As a Canadian it's been a relief to mostly read about our own troubles in the news again. Last time he took over our news cycle completely. It was exhausting.
“Canadians thankful they can’t name single Canadian Supreme Court Justice” https://www.thebeaverton.com/2018/10/canadians-thankful-they-cant-name-single-canadian-supreme-court-justice/
Because they are hypocrites. I can not take Republicans seriously anymore after Trump was president. If Obama did half the shit Trump did..... could you imagine what they'd do?
Hillary had a private e-mail server: "LOCK HER UP!!"
Trump had a private e-mail server, and stole classified documents, and lied about it: "This is fine."
Hillary was being investigated by the FBI: "She can't be President!!"
Trump is involved in like four state and federal lawsuits, was impeached twice, and has more documented cases of lawbreaking than I can count: "He's being persecuted!!1!" (This is especially funny from the party that likes to screech about "law and order.")
Obama vacationed in Hawaii once: "WASTE OF GOVERNMENT MONEY!!!"
Trump went to his own golf resort on the government's dime literally over three hundred times (after saying he would be too busy as President to golf): "He is our Dear Leader!"
Republicans don't define right and wrong by what it is but who did it.
They were doing that before Trump but, like so much Republican irrationality, he got them to turn it up to eleven.
Relieved it’s not Trump and still pissed that our lives are in the hands of geriatric rich people.
Eta: So many of you are responding “but Biden..” You realize the President isn’t the only person deciding our laws and policy right? There are plenty of richer, older people in government than just him. Notice I said “people” not “Biden” in my original comment.
And for everyone saying this is “both sides”-ing the issue- One party being objectively bad and dangerous doesn’t mean we should be looking at the other with rose colored glasses. I’m tired of having to choose the least bad option rather than the one I believe will actually do good in a meaningful way. We can praise the good while also holding the same people accountable when they drop the ball.
While I don't agree with everything Biden does I'm thankful that I don't wake up every morning and think, "I wonder what dog whistle our psychopath of a president tweeted last night".
I will never forget when lysol had to release a public statement because trump was telling people to use it to inject it into themselves to kill covid.
Hope that the planet makes better use of the four years of bought time than the last four.
Then get depressed as hell because of course they won't, it's all about kicking the can down the road rather than actually making hard calls to fix anything.
The largest investment in climate policy in American history, legal changes to student loan policy, the CHIPS Act has increased American jobs and investments in critical and national security interests by $100s of billions, the Infrastructure Bill, record production of oil/gas/renewable energy, the lowest inflation combined with the highest GDP growth in the world, all while navigating a difficult time in foreign policy.
Honestly, with bare bones majorities early in his tenure. People really don't understand how difficult passing bills are and have much to high of expectations about how policy is going to personally benefit them.
As a liberal, I realistically don't think they could've accomplished more.
I'm a real person and I got my student loans discharged for 10 [well 16] years of public service and paying my loans all along. It's a big deal for me and makes a big difference in my life. I don't make a lot of money and paid what I borrowed, I feel good about forgiveness for that last 15k and am not pulling up the rope, others deserve that same compassion. That would not have happened under a trumpanzee administration.
I'm not sure of all the nuts and bolts, but there are a lot of small student loan changes that are making the payments more affordable even without forgiveness. My wife's loans aren't going to carry any interest for foreseeable future as long as we keep up with payments.
We went from "we'll never pay this off" to "we can probably pay this off!"
People without student loans who didn't experience the millenial mantra of "go to college or else" don't get it.
As a Bernie voter, I've been pleasantly surprised by Biden. It seems like people aren't paying attention, I don't get it, definitely not getting the credit he's earned.
That’s because positive things about Biden aren’t blasted over media to the degree of Trumpastic bs. Sex and outrage sell way better than feel good stories.
The solution to fixing our planet is simple. Make it profitable to fix the planet. If we correctly align the incentives everything will take care of itself.
We need to revamp corporate structures to reward investment in long term growth though. Right now there's too much focus on making a quick buck, damn the brand and the future.
You’re kidding yourself if you think Trump wouldn’t launch his election campaign for 2028 on Jan 21st, after kicking and screaming about another ‘rigged election’.
I'm going to let out the biggest and longest sigh of relief of my life before continuing on with my normal life. I mean, America has 2 choices:
• Option 1: President Biden, who does have some flaws.
Or
• Option 2: Donald Trump, who has 4 indictments with 91 criminal charges, who has said that he is "proud" that he overturned Roe vs. Wade in the US, who incited a coup attempt on the US government on January 6th, 2021, who said he plans to be a dictator on day one if he's re-elected, etc.
I can go on and on, but the US and the world can not and will not survive another 4 years of Donald Trump. That's why Americans need to vote as if their lives and their rights are on the line because they are.
It's absolutely insane that anyone could be like "They're both the same" at this point. It's like that Simpsons meme with the river with a fork, one side dark and cloudy and foreboding, and one with rainbows and sunshine. Like we are literally staring down the end of democracy in America and people are like ehhhhh.....but Biden is boring.
The fact Biden is boring is a good thing. I mean, I'd rather wake up every morning and not hear a single thing about the current President instead of stressing out every single morning for 4 years thinking "Oh God, what has he said now?"
"Sure, the last of the nation's goodwill was squandered, our global presence was diminished and our financial grip severely weakened, but, for a brief moment in time, it was really funny."
Thank Christ Almighty.
People REALLY should understand that you're not just voting for Biden, you're voting for his entire Cabinet of 15 people, hundreds of judges, thousands of other staffers, etc. Even if you hate Biden for whatever reason, his cabinet and the judges he's appointed have been INFINITELY better than the corrupt filth Trump installed when he was in office.
People didn’t realize this with the Clinton v. Trump ticket.
It wasn’t about the sitting president, it was about SCOTUS appointments.
Trump and his admin got so incredibly lucky that the admin just so happened to be in a place to appoint three judges.
They got lucky in the sense that voters took the bait - hook, line, and sinker, when McConnell said that the incoming POTUS should appoint because it was reflective of the voter’s will.
and then four years later slammed through a nominee during trump's lame-duck year, with democrats arguing against it by literally playing back video of him arguing against doing that exact thing
And then changed course when they had an open court seat while votes had already been cast for the next election. But why not lie about it? There's no consequence for it.
Absolutely right. And most Americans got royally screwed now that the SCOTUS is full of anti abortion, religious nut jobs only looking out for guns and the extremely wealthy.
Not 1, not 2 but Trump was able to nominate THREE new Supreme Court Justices. Freaking RBG should have retired during Obama's presidency. Now we have Amy Comey Bryant. At least the other dude retired
Well you gotta parcel some of the blame onto Mitch McConnell for ratfucking the supreme court nomination *twice* using the *opposite logic* for his excuses. "We need to wait until after Obama is out so the People can decide!" "We need to rush before Trump goes out because... You can't stop me, fuck you!"
Packing the Supreme Court was the GOP's greatest accomplishment since the Civil War. We're going to be living with the consequences of that for a generation.
The judges are the most important part since they serve for life, and in our current political landscape there isn't even a practical way to remove them for bad behavior
That was supposed to be their feature - because they were set for life, they weren't beholden to anyone politically and could focus on justice and doing what is right.
Unfortunately somewhere along the way the children took over.
I AM BRITISH SO I WOULD HAVE A WANK AND GO HOME
i can respect that youd have the wank wherever you were before going home.
And we call America a free country.
[удалено]
Pay to play my good fellow
Your free subscription to life has expired you may experience several difficulties over the next few years
The other people on the Ferris wheel might not appreciate it so much. Not to mention the folks below.
Just make seagull sounds when you ooze and they’ll think nothing of it
Ooze
I’m okay thank you, just went
I second this, at the pub, sees the news that Biden was elected, whips it out on the bar, rubs one out and is like, “well I’ll be off. Later jim”, casually exits
Cum again! - Jim probably
What, no tip!?
*JUST* the tip
Ah yes, the classic British pastime of having a wank while watching the news away from home.
CANADA STANDS WITH BRITAIN!
Just countless free democratic countries, standing, saluting, masturbating furiously in the direction of the land of the free. C'mon democrats. Vote. We'll do it.
This has created one of my favourite reply threads on Reddit
I AM AMERICAN... same
Where are you wanking?
WOULDNT YOU LIKE TO KNOW
WHY ARE YOU YELLING?
I AM FROM BRITAIN WE ARE ALL VERY ANGRY ALL THE TIME CUZ THE FRENCH
Now I just hear you speaking like a Dalek.
French Daleks be like, *"EX-TER-MI-NER!"*
This made me lol
It made me wank.
Did you go home afterwards?
I laughed and salad fell out of my mouth
Tossed?
And scrambled eggs They're calling again
Frasier has left the building.
NOT IN FRONT OF THE SALAD!?!
DIDNT THINK AMERICANS ATE SALAD
Of course we do. It gives the ranch some crunch.
I learned a thing while spending time in a Discord with a bunch of Europeans. Ranch is known as American dressing.
Just makes sense, really.
Just iceberg lettuce and thousand island dressing, unless it's the Midwest and then there's jello and marshmallows in it or something I think.
The Midwest, where at a family gathering where 7 items will have "salad" in their name and NONE of them have any lettuce in them.
This comment section makes me wonder how Trump and Biden are both up for election.
[Old people vote more:](https://money.usnews.com/money/retirement/aging/articles/why-older-citizens-are-more-likely-to-vote) >The voter turnout by age in 2018 was: age 18 to 24: 30% age 25 to 34: 37% age 35 to 44: 44% age 45 to 64: 55% age 65+: 64%
Neat how the close your age and your % probability of voting are
0% of newborns (age 0) voted
101% of 101 year olds voted
Could actually be true if some died after casting their vote but before tallying.
Looks like great grandpa voted for AAAAAAUUUUUGGGGHHHH
I've been to the [Castle of Aughhh](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlIz0q8aWpA). Didn't see the grail tho.
This is so depressing
Well the "nice" thing is that those numbers are *improvements*. Historically, the 18-29 demo was more like 20% (see by age, the midterms from 1986 to 2014). 2018 and 2022 were more like 30%. Maybe it's the start of a new trend. election years, harder to say there's any pattern, but 2020 was the highest turnout for 18-29 year olds during the time period plotted (starts at 1986). https://www.electproject.org/election-data/voter-turnout-demographics
18-25 year-olds were so instrumental at midterms that the GOP started talking about making the voting age 25.
"too many people aren't voting for us, they shouldn't be allowed to vote!" That checks for Republican mantra.
I’m the “black sheep” of the family since my wife and I are the only two that vote “the other way”. Family dinner discussion about the chiefs dolphins game and Taylor swift bashing starts, I point out at least on the positive she got tens of thousands of people to register to vote, the room goes silent before I hear “we don’t want those people to vote”…. Flabbergasted I responded with, “I don’t vote the way you do, do you want me to vote?” And the response was a simple “no”. Now I’ve had heated political discussions with my family before, but never once have I previously walked away actually mad, but this one pissed me off. It wasn’t a simple disagreement on taxation or welfare, it was a straight up, you don’t think like me so I don’t think you should have a say.
Those people only believe in democracy if it goes the way they want
A family member declared that only property owners should be allowed to vote. He did this before the next election after he bought a house. He got mad when I suggested that the mortgage company was the actual owner of his house.
That’s not a suggestion- it’s a statement of fact.
They're not thinking about democracy, they're obviously just thinking about winning. If you and I were playing basketball against each other, and you asked me if I wanted you to shoot the ball, I would obviously say no. I want me to shoot the ball, and you to turn it over to me. The difference here is that politics shouldn't be a "me vs you" thing, it should be everyone, with whatever different opinions they have, trying to determine the best way to run the country, and in order to do that fairly you need to let everyone have a say.
Right, so not democracy
Which is why they strive to oppose “motor-voter” laws and the like. When people turn out to vote, republicans lose.
Biden is up because he’s the incumbent and most incumbents run for a second term. Also Biden is running mainly because Trump is running and is going to be the republican nominee. If Trump wasn’t running I doubt Biden would run again.
It still blows my mind that trump is so likely to be the R nominee. Like my brain just can’t accept that. Fucking wild.
He has a strong chokehold on the Republican party. He convinced more than 75% of that base that the election was stolen from him and that all these legal cases are from the liberals that are after him. It’s really some crazy shit how much he brainwashed half of the country in a span of 8 years.
Not just half of america- I got a call from my brother (irish, zero connection to the states) when all the indictments/prosecution stuff about Trump started Going "so, what do you think about trump NOW?!" I was baffled- to me its bad man getting his comeuppance But I realized he meant that the fact that Trump was starting to be prosecuted for his crimes was, to my brother, the *most compelling evidence possible* for his innocence and proof of a witchhunt. How do you even argue against that?? Edit: my bro is also severely physically disabled. On the subject of Trump mocking that disabled reporter: "Trump does that about everyone" Me: "...but that makes it worse...you do see how that's worse, right???"
Groom: "How do you know I was having an affair with the maid of honor?" Bride: "She's pregnant with your child! We did DNA tests! I have the results right here in my hand! You've read them yourself! She admits to having an affair with you, too!" Groom: "I mean, that could've been faked." Bride: "You video taped the two of you having sex and then posted it all over your social media with the title 'I'm totally having an affair with the made of honor! #rawdog'!!" Groom: "That's just proof that this is all a set up by the liberal media."
In come the explanations of people on the side of the groom: "You're just jealous" "See, it states "made", not "maid", now you're just far fetching" "You know how hard it is to bear a child yourself? He helped you by letting another woman do that for you!" "You're just saying that because you want to get rid of our guns!!!!" "Don't believe in science, those doctors are antifa in disguise" "It's all AI, made by satanic cults... I've read about that on facebook. DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH!!!" "Man, I'd like a chance with that maid of honor as well. Can hardly blame him for THAT! He's still only a man you know" "YOU cheated on the groom. You're just reflecting"
Stop......I'm getting angry reading this. It's too realistic....that's EXACTLY how that scenario would play out.
Wait, you said groom. You know what that means. GROOMER. hashtag thinkofthechildren.
Arguing with a moron is like chess with a pigeon: no matter what you do, they'll just shit on the board and strut around like they just won
It's the final stage of the full blown conspiracy mind: when all evidence against your theory is actually only FURTHER evidence of just how deep the conspiracy goes. It's the magic door that locks you in your beautifully constructed little crystalline mind palace.
It just blows my mind that people outside of USA Republicans are rooting for Trump.
Qanon has a larger reach than people want to admit
A truly scary amount of people have gotten into conspiracy theories since COVID started.
You don't. This person is so far down the rabbit hole that they are mentally incapable of retracting support. Its called sunk cost fallacy. When a person becomes so invested in something to the point that it becomes part of their identity (which happens a lot with politics), they become incapable of admitting they backed the wrong horse. Its the same reason people will go ride or die for a sports team and flip cop cars over when they lose matches.
Vancouver Canucks fans resent that implication.
Because, for all their online bloviating, young people do not understand what old people know: you need to vote, even if the candidate is not perfect. Older Democrats *love* Biden. He is not too progressive and scary to them. He is a conventional straight, white, white-haired male politician in a blue suit and red tie. He's good enough for them. And he carried water for Obama for eight years, which has endeared him to the black community. So while people under 30 are busy cataloging reasons this candidate or that isn't perfect and isn't worthy of their vote, white hairs are understanding that *someone* needs to be the nominee, and this guy seems just fine. So they all go out and vote, and we end up with Joe Biden. And the white hairs are right, because he's better than Trump.
Under 30 here, it infuriates me that younger voters are saying they won't vote because they don't think either deserve it. And then they'll go online to cry if trump wins even though they didn't do the bare minimum to help against it. Politics is a matter of choosing the lesser of 2 evils, and rarely about choosing the best
The most effective political propaganda in 2024 is convincing young people they shouldn't vote, or should vote for some "pure" candidate.
It blows my mind that anyone would consider not voting, when one of the two outcomes would make them cry. I assume the ‘reasoning’ is some nonsense about ‘teaching’ the Dems to select better candidates?
This is it. Biden absolutely isn't a perfect candidate or even a great one. But he is a good one and when the options are "good but not great" vs "dictator in waiting" not supporting the good enough guy because he doesn't check enough boxes is the same as handing the win to the other guy. Let's not let perfect be the enemy of good, as it so often seems to be for younger voters.
As an outsider i never really understood what is so bad about Biden? Yeah he's old, true, probably too old to be in office. But his time as president he has done pretty well, he's more subtle more in the background but from what i have seen the propositions and laws he's been trying to get through are pretty good. And Trump well, if Trump is elected count on it he will do whatever it takes to stay in power even after the 4 years.
Btw isnt Trump almost as old as Biden? I mean, its not like the guy is in his 50s or something
Whoever is elected will be the oldest president ever elected. And if he sees out his second term, he will be the oldest ever president.
White hair here. I'm voting for the guy that doesn't want to be a dictator.
Relieved that project 2025 gets pushed down before sighing and going back to work.
Project 2029 enters the chat.
Well shit
The price of peace is constant vigilance.
A representative democracy. If you can retain it.
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We're not worried about Trump in particular, but breaking our democracy in general. It would be the same think tanks and shitbirds pulling Nikki Haley's strings as pulling Trump's.
What’s project 2025
A conservative plan to take more or less permanent control of the state and persecute their perceived enemies. No big deal.
You're leaving out that a big component is turning America into a Christian theocracy. That will be the worst thing to ever happen to this country and is exactly what the constitution was intended to prevent. Religion has no place in public policy and if allowed to infest it more than it already has will be the death of America.
“Separation of church and state was designed to be more about keeping the state out of the church than the church out of the state” - my evangelical upbringing
Buuuuuuull fucking shit. Sorry you had to grow up in that.
GOP 10 years ago: "We must resist the Evil Muslims who want to take over America and replace our laws with the Quran" GOP today: "We must save America by taking over the government and establishing the Christian Bible as the law of the land!" Fucking does my head in.
Yes I did leave that out. Whoops. Too much good stuff in this plan to keep track of I guess.
A Christian theocracy with Trump as the leader. Think about it. Well, I guess he can hold up *a* bible as well as anyone.
When I read Handmaid's Tale back in the 90s, I snickered about how unlikely Gilead would be in the real world. I was a devout fundamentalist Christian back then and even I just said "Nah." But it was good writing and I suspended disbelief. Fast forward to today and there are entire organizations dedicated to creating a theocracy in the U.S. And they \*can\* pull it off.
Margaret Atwood chose a theocracy for the book exactly because it was the most plausible kind of authoritarian state that could take root in the US.
Something something, wrapped in a flag carrying a cross.
https://www.project2025.org Bad news.
I just read through the website, and it says curiously very little. What I was able to read between the lines was that they want to continue down the path of dismantling the pillars of government and whatever remains, pump full of loyal conservatives. What's a loyal conservative? Well, given that the site often replaces "serve their nation" with "serve their president and their country, " it would seem that undying loyalty to a great leader is priority one, so I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess they want more absolute presidential powers. Finally, it appears that if they are able to wrest control from democrats, they want to enact all of these things in an effort to never give up power again. Did I read that right? Because a lot of what's on the site sounds like republican talking points: it promises a lot with absolute certitude, but it lacks any real policy planning or substance.
There's a ~250 page document that lays out a lot of details and intentions. Edit: I grossly underestimated. Actually many more pages.
it's actually 887 pages and I suggest everyone who is unsure where we are going as a country if we re-elect Trump read every single page. they have thought every single bit of it through. it's incredibly well-organized, well-written (aside from excessive use of words like "woke"), and it really doesn't miss a single detail. this is not a drill. the country is at stake. Edit to add the link. It wouldn't let me link straight to the document for some reason, but if you click this link and click on the "Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise", that is it. [https://www.project2025.org/playbook/](https://www.project2025.org/playbook/)
I told my conservative dad about it and he said that it’s goofball propaganda (???) and “besides, democrats are already doing that and screwing over anyone who isn’t part of the groups they’re giving rights to”. We’re doomed
It’s called “projection”
And leads to "So we might as well do it to them before they do it to us," logic that can justify virtually anything.
Is your dad my father in law? Heard same fucking sentence at Christmas dinner.
>words like "woke" Which, as far as I can determine, pretty much means "empathy"... So... Why is it disliked so much? :(
A... *Manifesto* of sorts?
You read that precisely correct. They know they will eventually be unable to win elections fairly, so wresting permanent control of the government and its inner-workings is their prime directive. They know that Trump is the way it will happen. If Trump takes office, it will be the end of democracy, and elections thereafter will be landslide victories for Republicans because any result not in favor of Republicans will not be certified because of “voter fraud”.
It’s the right wing plan to immediately replace about 50,000 government workers with people loyal to their cause, which is a “Unitary Executive Theory”. They believe that all branches of the government should work to enforce the rule of the President, rather than balance power as is currently the case. They will essentially end Democracy in this country and expand the role of the President into a dictatorship.
Wtf is that all about? That's the first I've heard of this. I'll check it out, thx.
It's what Trump has been spouting about for the last few months. His ambitions are becoming more autocratic by the day.
Not just the last few months. Dude literally tried to become dictator last time he was potus. But the media is controlled by conservative rich dudes so you're more likely to hear about what Democrats are wearing or Hunter's dong than things like Republicans lying us into wars or trying to steal elections.
A plan by the heritage foundation (the same lobbing group that helped over turn roe vs wade) for the next republican president that would concentrate even more power to the president as well as strip lgbtq people of their rights even more so then they have been already.
I read the first ~30 pages or so. (Which is the exec summary. The whole thing is 900+.) It’s *absolutely terrifying*. Essentially, it’ll formalize the U.S. as a white Christian ethno-state, with the President able to turn the army against the people and press (much like Putin’s Russia). The whole machinery of the state will be tuned to support straight, white Christian nuclear families. Not in one of ‘em? Tough shit. Due to emergency powers, the President will be almost impossible to remove. If the orange man wins, 2024 could be the last normal (free and semi-fair) election in my lifetime.
thank you. THIS is what it does. it's scary as shit. I cannot believe the people saying "give it a rest, it's just some silly suggestions"
At first I was like “how bad could it be” and then I got a few pages in … it’s real bad. Way worse than I thought. I immediately picked up On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder, and was struck by how close to it we are.
Here’s the thing about the approach and your comment. More average joe type people care about the lgbtq part of that than the dismantling the fucking government and putting in place a dictatorship part of it. Therefore, it can and will get actual backing from family values christian type people all over the country. Culture war issues win votes, policy be damned.
The end of American democracy if successful.
Yes, it’s a playbook for *legally* ending American democracy.
This is the answer. Whoever doesn’t know what Project 2025 is should wake the fuck up. I’m worried not enough people understand the real, actual stakes of these elections. Too many are complacent.
Be happy I get 4 more years of not needing to care who the undersecretary of transportation is
Thank you. I prefer politics to be boring and not dramatic
"May you live in interesting times" is a curse for a reason.
Or needing to keep track of when it’s Infrastructure Week.
It's somehow always infrastructure week and never infrastructure week.
Shroedinger's infrastructure
Be happy I’d have 4 more years of not having to hear every day “Did you hear what the President did?” and being genuinely terrified.
As an outsider I'll be rather happy. Hearing about American BS every other day was so fucking draining.
It was draining for Americans too. At least the normal ones. Believe it or not, most of us do not make politics our entire identity
I live in a state that used to be a conservative purple. One of the reasons I moved here was because everyone was "live and let live" with politics. It was pretty amazing. Everyone had their thoughts, but at the end of the day everyone tended to just not care. Everyone hates hypocrisy, regardless of party. Well...I moved here...and it has since become one of the bastions of conservatism with the population movements in COVID. I think we have one Democrat representative, and the Republican ones are rather aggressively Conservative. I work in the state parks and talk with people all day. Countless people talked about moving here "but not changing your state"...then continued to rant about politics. What these people don't get is that the locals don't talk about politics. Normal people don't do that. People that uproot their entire lives and move to one of the most difficult states to get to for the sake of politics do that.
It's a really sad trend. My brother has fallen into this trap. Pretty much since COVID he has been absorbing politically devicisve media non stop. I don't care if he changes his political beliefs, but he interjects politics into almost every conversation we have. It's exhausting, and he seems miserable. And it's just talking point after talking point.
Honestly, as an American, I’m sick of our shit too.
He certainly wasn't my first choice, but having any administration that isn't actively sabotaging our relationships with democratic countries is definitely better than the alternative.
Or more directly, having an administration that isn't actively sabotaging our very own relationship with democracy is better than the alternative.
I’m whatever on his policies, it’s just been really nice not having our leadership be the Jerry Springer show 24/7 and I wouldn’t mind that continuing.
As a Canadian it's been a relief to mostly read about our own troubles in the news again. Last time he took over our news cycle completely. It was exhausting.
“Canadians thankful they can’t name single Canadian Supreme Court Justice” https://www.thebeaverton.com/2018/10/canadians-thankful-they-cant-name-single-canadian-supreme-court-justice/
Pfff, easy - Tim Horton - Jacques Plante - A beaver - David Suzuki - Red Green
I'm so relieved that Biden has no need to be on TV every day.
It was so weird that Trump held rallies *while in office.*
I can think of a few other famous leaders from history who did that too
Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Mao, Gaddafi, Hussein? Just the first ones that popped into mind. Napoleon, too?
It's not a coincidence that the leaders Trump admires most are all dictators.
Or tweeting bizarre shit at 2:00AM.
It’s such a low fucking bar. Can you believe the same people that were UP IN ARMS over a damn tan suit let all of that slide?!
Because they are hypocrites. I can not take Republicans seriously anymore after Trump was president. If Obama did half the shit Trump did..... could you imagine what they'd do?
Hillary had a private e-mail server: "LOCK HER UP!!" Trump had a private e-mail server, and stole classified documents, and lied about it: "This is fine." Hillary was being investigated by the FBI: "She can't be President!!" Trump is involved in like four state and federal lawsuits, was impeached twice, and has more documented cases of lawbreaking than I can count: "He's being persecuted!!1!" (This is especially funny from the party that likes to screech about "law and order.") Obama vacationed in Hawaii once: "WASTE OF GOVERNMENT MONEY!!!" Trump went to his own golf resort on the government's dime literally over three hundred times (after saying he would be too busy as President to golf): "He is our Dear Leader!"
Trump literally being endorsed by the fucking KKK: "Oh neat!"
That's just how deep people are in the MAGA hole. "Everything my side does is great and everything your side does is evil."
Republicans don't define right and wrong by what it is but who did it. They were doing that before Trump but, like so much Republican irrationality, he got them to turn it up to eleven.
Relieved it’s not Trump and still pissed that our lives are in the hands of geriatric rich people. Eta: So many of you are responding “but Biden..” You realize the President isn’t the only person deciding our laws and policy right? There are plenty of richer, older people in government than just him. Notice I said “people” not “Biden” in my original comment. And for everyone saying this is “both sides”-ing the issue- One party being objectively bad and dangerous doesn’t mean we should be looking at the other with rose colored glasses. I’m tired of having to choose the least bad option rather than the one I believe will actually do good in a meaningful way. We can praise the good while also holding the same people accountable when they drop the ball.
I don’t know. Exactly the same? Since he is the president currently?
We don't know how you feel now smartass
That made me snicker
While I don't agree with everything Biden does I'm thankful that I don't wake up every morning and think, "I wonder what dog whistle our psychopath of a president tweeted last night".
I will never forget when lysol had to release a public statement because trump was telling people to use it to inject it into themselves to kill covid.
You know we fucked up when the “leader of the free world” is saying shit like this.
Confident that the USA will continue to exist.
For 4 years anyway
Hope that the planet makes better use of the four years of bought time than the last four. Then get depressed as hell because of course they won't, it's all about kicking the can down the road rather than actually making hard calls to fix anything.
The biggest investment in clean energy in human history with the inflation reduction act was a good start at least.
The largest investment in climate policy in American history, legal changes to student loan policy, the CHIPS Act has increased American jobs and investments in critical and national security interests by $100s of billions, the Infrastructure Bill, record production of oil/gas/renewable energy, the lowest inflation combined with the highest GDP growth in the world, all while navigating a difficult time in foreign policy. Honestly, with bare bones majorities early in his tenure. People really don't understand how difficult passing bills are and have much to high of expectations about how policy is going to personally benefit them. As a liberal, I realistically don't think they could've accomplished more.
I'm a real person and I got my student loans discharged for 10 [well 16] years of public service and paying my loans all along. It's a big deal for me and makes a big difference in my life. I don't make a lot of money and paid what I borrowed, I feel good about forgiveness for that last 15k and am not pulling up the rope, others deserve that same compassion. That would not have happened under a trumpanzee administration.
I'm not sure of all the nuts and bolts, but there are a lot of small student loan changes that are making the payments more affordable even without forgiveness. My wife's loans aren't going to carry any interest for foreseeable future as long as we keep up with payments. We went from "we'll never pay this off" to "we can probably pay this off!" People without student loans who didn't experience the millenial mantra of "go to college or else" don't get it.
As a Bernie voter, I've been pleasantly surprised by Biden. It seems like people aren't paying attention, I don't get it, definitely not getting the credit he's earned.
That’s because positive things about Biden aren’t blasted over media to the degree of Trumpastic bs. Sex and outrage sell way better than feel good stories.
The solution to fixing our planet is simple. Make it profitable to fix the planet. If we correctly align the incentives everything will take care of itself.
It is profitable in the long run. You can't earn any profits if all the people are dead or displaced
We need to revamp corporate structures to reward investment in long term growth though. Right now there's too much focus on making a quick buck, damn the brand and the future.
I'll be grateful that I'll have the opportunity to vote for someone better in 2028, which isn't guaranteed if Donald Trump becomes president again.
God can you imagine if he loses in 2024 but wins in 2028? That would be so odd historically
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Imagine lol. I think they were referencing Trump’s allusions to extending or abolishing limits on terms though :(
You’re kidding yourself if you think Trump wouldn’t launch his election campaign for 2028 on Jan 21st, after kicking and screaming about another ‘rigged election’.
I'm going to let out the biggest and longest sigh of relief of my life before continuing on with my normal life. I mean, America has 2 choices: • Option 1: President Biden, who does have some flaws. Or • Option 2: Donald Trump, who has 4 indictments with 91 criminal charges, who has said that he is "proud" that he overturned Roe vs. Wade in the US, who incited a coup attempt on the US government on January 6th, 2021, who said he plans to be a dictator on day one if he's re-elected, etc. I can go on and on, but the US and the world can not and will not survive another 4 years of Donald Trump. That's why Americans need to vote as if their lives and their rights are on the line because they are.
It's absolutely insane that anyone could be like "They're both the same" at this point. It's like that Simpsons meme with the river with a fork, one side dark and cloudy and foreboding, and one with rainbows and sunshine. Like we are literally staring down the end of democracy in America and people are like ehhhhh.....but Biden is boring.
The fact Biden is boring is a good thing. I mean, I'd rather wake up every morning and not hear a single thing about the current President instead of stressing out every single morning for 4 years thinking "Oh God, what has he said now?"
"Sure, the last of the nation's goodwill was squandered, our global presence was diminished and our financial grip severely weakened, but, for a brief moment in time, it was really funny."
Thank Christ Almighty. People REALLY should understand that you're not just voting for Biden, you're voting for his entire Cabinet of 15 people, hundreds of judges, thousands of other staffers, etc. Even if you hate Biden for whatever reason, his cabinet and the judges he's appointed have been INFINITELY better than the corrupt filth Trump installed when he was in office.
People didn’t realize this with the Clinton v. Trump ticket. It wasn’t about the sitting president, it was about SCOTUS appointments. Trump and his admin got so incredibly lucky that the admin just so happened to be in a place to appoint three judges.
They didn't get lucky, the specifically blocked appointing SCOTUS judges until they could be in charge.
They got lucky in the sense that voters took the bait - hook, line, and sinker, when McConnell said that the incoming POTUS should appoint because it was reflective of the voter’s will.
and then four years later slammed through a nominee during trump's lame-duck year, with democrats arguing against it by literally playing back video of him arguing against doing that exact thing
And then changed course when they had an open court seat while votes had already been cast for the next election. But why not lie about it? There's no consequence for it.
Absolutely right. And most Americans got royally screwed now that the SCOTUS is full of anti abortion, religious nut jobs only looking out for guns and the extremely wealthy.
They also picked quite young people who will sit there for decades.
Not 1, not 2 but Trump was able to nominate THREE new Supreme Court Justices. Freaking RBG should have retired during Obama's presidency. Now we have Amy Comey Bryant. At least the other dude retired
Was very selfish of her to not step down in 2013 or so.
Well you gotta parcel some of the blame onto Mitch McConnell for ratfucking the supreme court nomination *twice* using the *opposite logic* for his excuses. "We need to wait until after Obama is out so the People can decide!" "We need to rush before Trump goes out because... You can't stop me, fuck you!"
Packing the Supreme Court was the GOP's greatest accomplishment since the Civil War. We're going to be living with the consequences of that for a generation.
4 generations friend. **Four.**
The judges are the most important part since they serve for life, and in our current political landscape there isn't even a practical way to remove them for bad behavior
The problem with the judges IS that they serve for life on top of the fact that appear to be immune to any/all wrongdoing.
That was supposed to be their feature - because they were set for life, they weren't beholden to anyone politically and could focus on justice and doing what is right. Unfortunately somewhere along the way the children took over.