***Official Political Discussion Thread***

[RustyShackleford]

I would laugh if I didn't know that Trump is gonna put Miller in charge of a mass deportation scheme on Tuesday morning.

And pressure Congress to give Millier tens of billions in funds to work with

 

[elpablo21]

Got damn

 

[Frankie Blue]

 

[atlsfinest]

Biden is old, he doesn't have 40 years to redefine himself like Carter

The Party won't try to rehabilitate his image

People barely understand economics as it is, telling people his industrial policy was amazing isn't gonna move the needle

If Biden had not run for reelection, and some other Dems caught the clean L, then I think he would be remembered more fondly in the long term.

It would be like "Joe tried, but inflation cooked the Dems", him not dropping out really ****** his legacy

People think the Gaza thing is a massive deal, but when it comes to legacies it doesn't mean much compared to other things for most people. Bush's imagine recovered from Iraq, and that was a way bigger **** up for a President.

Biden will just go enjoy his final years on a beach in Delaware.

And probably have to bail Hunter out one more time in the next decade

You make a lot of great points as always. Biden will get the Bush 43 treatment where the party made him a pariah and didn't care to rehab his image. Nobody wanted Bush to campaign for them, they didn't want him at the RNC,.etc.

How Joe was remembered is largely dependent on how things going to future. Even Bush 43 (probably the worst president of the last half century when you consider the global financial crisis and Iraq war) got the benefit of hindsight after the craziness of the first Trump administration. If Trump's second term is as chaotic as his first then people will begin to look at Biden's presidency with rose colored glasses.

As I've stated before, I think Joe was a good president for the most part but the final year of his presidency might go down as all time bad.

- handling of Gaza stuff
- to wishy-washy approach to Tiktok ban
- choosing to run for reelection out of arrogance and hubris and then putting the party in an impossible situation, dropping out 100 days before the election.

Now it seems Joe still believes he could have beaten Trump if he hadn't dropped out.

 

[osh kosh bosh]

Yeah I'm done with Joe

 

[atlsfinest]

Well we've already seen the latter. The former feels extreme

Vance got motion like Bush?

I guess I shouldn't put anything past this country and it's voters either though

Vance is goofy but it may not matter, It might not be JD. It could be some other random Republican.

Democrats have bled so many key demographics (Latino men and young men in general) over the last couple of election cycles and these demos may be solidified as Republicans going forward. Also keep in mind that the election map is getting less favorable for Democrats (due part to poor Democratic housing policy in major US cities). For the first time in a generation there are more registered Republicans nationally than registered Democrats.

I'm not really sure where the Democrats go from here. As I'm sure many of you guys have noticed, there isn't the same animosity and resistance movement against Trump. People aren't embarrassed to say they voted for Trump. Celebrities aren't embarrassed to embrace him. What we thought to be left leaning tech companies are doing everything possible to cozy up to Trump. MAGA is more mainstream than ever and Joe Biden's failures (or perceived failures) are only making Trump more popular.

I'm not foolish enough to believe that anything is permanent (Heck, there was a time about a decade ago where it seemed like Democrats had a permanent advantage with the blue wall) but it does look like Democrats have an uphill battle going forward. The party has to do some major soul searching and figure out what their priorities are.

 

[atlsfinest]

Yeah I'm done with Joe

Joe is doing everything in his power to speedrun ruining his legacy. Who is advising him?!

I'm at the point where I can't even defend Joe anymore.

 

[dacomeup]

I thought that the TikTok ban made sense on its face, but when we’re just going to force them to sell to technocrats here and the technocrats are about to take over the country, does it really matter?

 

[Public Enemy]

 

[Public Enemy]

 

[Public Enemy]

I knew one day I’d have to watch powerful men burn the world down – I just didn’t expect them to be such losers | Rebecca Shaw

Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg’s desperation to be cool as they suck up to Donald Trump is so cringe it makes my skin crawl

www.theguardian.com

 

[Public Enemy]

Israel-Hamas ceasefire: Netanyahu's security cabinet votes on Gaza truce

Israel's cabinet meeting comes after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said there were last minute snags in finalizing the ceasefire agreement with Hamas.

apnews.com

 

[gry60]

I'm not really sure where the Democrats go from here. As I'm sure many of you guys have noticed, there isn't the same animosity and resistance movement against Trump. People aren't embarrassed to say they voted for Trump. Celebrities aren't embarrassed to embrace him. What we thought to be left leaning tech companies are doing everything possible to cozy up to Trump. MAGA is more mainstream than ever and Joe Biden's failures (or perceived failures) are only making Trump more popular.

I'd be careful to take the current calm as an embrace of Trump.

Folks are waiting to see what he's going to do, and the signs are not good, from reneging on his populist promises after winning, to giving control of the executive branch to the wealthiest among us.

Pay attention to those confirmation hearings. There's going to be a lot of "I told you so" in the next four years, and it won't come from those who voted for Trump.

 

[osh kosh bosh]

I thought that the TikTok ban made sense on its face, but when we’re just going to force them to sell to technocrats here and the technocrats are about to take over the country, does it really matter?

American technocrats are accountable to American governments and to American people.

Chinese technocrats are accountable to no one but one incompetent dictator.

During the cold war no one would allow media for young adults to be controlled by Russia.

China is bad and Xi Jingping is worse, and they are worse than some American company.
Why would we let them program the media consumption of young people via a blackbox algorithm?

 

[RustyShackleford]

It is kinda funny how people forget that the Tiktok ban only happened because Republicans held Ukraine money hostage for months to get it.

The Senate passed an aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan without the ban but Johnson refused to bring it up to a vote in the House.

Then hardliners demanded the ban be added and the Biden Administration and the Dems agreed because they wanted the aid package passed and preferred TikTok be owned by an American company.

Maybe the Administration should have tried to force through the Microsoft sale back in 2021 but rumor is Khan didn't want it, Bytedance were bull****ting anyway, and they had much bigger issues to focus on.

Biden is getting all this blame for taking a reasonable position, not really forcing the issue, but trying to govern reasonably ina split government situation.

While Trump again lies, flip flops, yet people just let him slide and are ready to praise him. He is really running circles around everyone right now.

I think Biden should enforce the ban, but I understand why he is leaving it to Trump.

He started it, let him finish it. I'm going to go eat ice cream on the beach with my wife and idiot son.

 

[dacomeup]

American technocrats are accountable to American governments and to American people.

Chinese technocrats are accountable to no one but one incompetent dictator.

During the cold war no one would allow media for young adults to be controlled by Russia.

China is bad and Xi Jingping is worse, and they are worse than some American company.
Why would we let them program the media consumption of young people via a blackbox algorithm?

Are American technocrats accountable to American people right now? This is a serious question.

 

[TooOlfForThisIsh]

I said at the time it passed that Congress’s approach was rushed, incomplete, and ultimately more about scoring points than actually defending the country.

Actually trying to enforce this underfunded, under guided mandate is a fools errand and I don’t begrudge Biden one bit for leaving it to the fool.

Congress, in its infinite dysfunction, failed to step up to the plate and actually create a robust regulatory framework that could, you know, stop social media in general from undue foreign influence. Say, for example, the army of Russian operatives stirring up **** about Gaza on Meta properties, X, and Reddit.

But they chose instead a blunt hammer that, if there’s any attempt to enforce, will probably make security worse or end up empowering the Federal Government more surveillance capabilities into IP packets than I’d be comfortable with.

 

[osh kosh bosh]

Are American technocrats accountable to American people right now? This is a serious question.

they are, the American people just don't seem to agree on how bad they are and what should be done about them.

everyone agreeing that CCP bad has no impact on TikTok...unless you ban it.

 

[osh kosh bosh]

I said at the time it passed that Congress’s approach was rushed, incomplete, and ultimately more about scoring points than actually defending the country.

Actually trying to enforce this underfunded, under guided mandate is a fools errand and I don’t begrudge Biden one bit for leaving it to the fool.

Congress, in its infinite dysfunction, failed to step up to the plate and actually create a robust regulatory framework that could, you know, stop social media in general from undue foreign influence. Say, for example, the army of Russian operatives stirring up **** about Gaza on Meta properties, X, and Reddit.

But they chose instead a blunt hammer that, if there’s any attempt to enforce, will probably make security worse or end up empowering the Federal Government more surveillance capabilities into IP packets than I’d be comfortable with.

this just sounds like the definition of making perfect the enemy of good.

TikTok needed a simple blunt hammer.

 

[TooOlfForThisIsh]

this just sounds like the definition of making perfect the enemy of good.

TikTok needed a simple blunt hammer.

Tell me how you would ban it.

 

[TooOlfForThisIsh]

And for that matter, do you want to justify

TikTok needed a simple blunt hammer.

Or are you just going with a string-sounding hot take?

 

[osh kosh bosh]

Tell me how you would ban it.

uh the way they did ban it, but have the president actually enforce it?

This isn't the first time America has banned a company from operating in America. They did it to Huawei, what makes this different?

And for that matter, do you want to justify



Or are you just going with a string-sounding hot take?

the black box nature of the algorithm and the covert control the CCP exerts makes it impossible for any meaningful regulation of CCP influence.

The best way to stop this is the simplest way, divestment or ban. Like Huawei or ZTE.

not devising some new complicated regulatory regime.

 

[aepps20]

It is kinda funny how people forget that the Tiktok ban only happened because Republicans held Ukraine money hostage for months to get it.

The Senate passed an aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan without the ban but Johnson refused to bring it up to a vote in the House.

Then hardliners demanded the ban be added and the Biden Administration and the Dems agreed because they wanted the aid package passed and preferred TikTok be owned by an American company.

Maybe the Administration should have tried to force through the Microsoft sale back in 2021 but rumor is Khan didn't want it, Bytedance were bull****ting anyway, and they had much bigger issues to focus on.

Biden is getting all this blame for taking a reasonable position, not really forcing the issue, but trying to govern reasonably ina split government situation.

While Trump again lies, flip flops, yet people just let him slide and are ready to praise him. He is really running circles around everyone right now.

I think Biden should enforce the ban, but I understand why he is leaving it to Trump.

He started it, let him finish it. I'm going to go eat ice cream on the beach with my wife and idiot son.

I was irritated and annoyed after the election but I’ve come to the realization that the simple answer is often times the right one. Joe wasn’t perfect but some of the analysis on him is grasping at straws when the election wasn’t close enough for that to matter in the grand scheme of things. Ultimately a vast majority of people felt like the country was heading in the wrong direction economically and voted accordingly. Nothing more or nothing less. If and and other essentials weren’t so high and global inflation didn’t impact America, Joe or Kamala had what it took to win.

With that said. I hope Kiya from cooking with Kiya can still share her recipes with the world on another platform. Many young men in my barbershop know how to cook thanks to her. RIP BUSS IT CHALLENGE

 

[TooOlfForThisIsh]

This isn't the first time America has banned a company from operating in America. They did it to Huawei, what makes this different?

You honestly don’t see the difference between banning physical goods that come in through ports of entry that already have customs officials with banning IP packets?

the black box nature of the algorithm and the covert control the CCP exerts makes it impossible for any meaningful regulation of CCP influence.

“Black Box” is a meaningless term here, but a nice bit of FUD. All ML algos are essentially black box and everything everywhere uses them. Honestly, it would be a lot easier for the CCP to control what people see if they didn’t use a “black box” algorithm.

We regulate tons of things that come from China. To quote you, “what makes this different?”

But this is a dumb argument. All of this will play out in the next two years. There’s nothing Biden could have done in a day that Trump couldn’t undo immediately, so the enforcement will ultimately be Trump’s to own anyway.

I get that everyone is all mad at Biden, but his actions here have no real effect one way or another.

 

[WASHED KING]

I was irritated and annoyed after the election but I’ve come to the realization that the simple answer is often times the right one. Joe wasn’t perfect but some of the analysis on him is grasping at straws when the election wasn’t close enough for that to matter in the grand scheme of things. Ultimately a vast majority of people felt like the country was heading in the wrong direction economically and voted accordingly. Nothing more or nothing less. If and and other essentials weren’t so high and global inflation didn’t impact America, Joe or Kamala had what it took to win.

With that said. I hope Kiya from cooking with Kiya can still share her recipes with the world on another platform. Many young men in my barbershop know how to cook thanks to her. RIP BUSS IT CHALLENGE

What's crazy is even if you think the country is going the wrong way economically what about Republican policies says it is better for the middle class?

America is just dumb and racist b.