The American Politics Thread

Fixed.. and BYE-BYE !!!

"for so long..." - Well, let's get real, it was only one term.  Us conservatives had to put up with the Obama/Biden team for double that length.

"...unmitigated disaster..." - Matter of perspective.  I didn't think Trump's term was an unmitigated disaster.  I actually thought he did a fairly decent job, policy-wise.  I agreed with several of his policies.  I did not vote for him in 2016, but I did in 2020, based purely on his performance from 2016-2020.  Do I think Trump's demeanor is Presidential material?  No.  Does he act like a clown/buffoon on a frequent basis?  Yes.

But there were plenty of things about Trump I liked.  I like that he doesn't give a rip about "political correctness" and just says what he thinks.  I actually found that refreshing.  I like that Trump isn't afraid to talk to the media - in that regard, it's something his successor could learn a lesson from.  I also like that Trump didn't hold back when he called the media out as "fake" (although this is a far more complex matter than simply shouting "fake news!") ...and of course Trump was plenty guilty himself of using the media to his advantage when he could.  I 100% agree with Trump that America's interests should come first, and be of greater priority than any worries about the interests of other countries.  (I would expect the same of any country's policies, and find it baffling that any American would be against an 'America First' stance.)  I like that Trump is patriotic - a trait in short supply in this country.  I like that Trump had zero regard for globalist/internationalist organizations, and appreciated that he told the ICC they did not have any jurisdiction or authority over Americans.  I had no problem at all with Trump withdrawing our presence and funding from the Paris Climate Accord.  I was 100% on-board with his de-regulation policies, and 100% on-board with his efforts to increase domestic production.  I approved of Trump renegotiating (or attempting to, anyway) trade deals with other countries that are imbalanced in their favor.  I thought his tweets were comic gold and I appreciated the transparency, even if it was sometimes bizarre.

All that said, there were also things Trump did that I disapproved of.  Not holding the Saud king's feet to the fire on the Khashoggi killing was definitely one.

Meanwhile, and during Trump's election and tenure, I found the cheating from the DNC during the election (of which Wasserman-Schultz had to consequently resign) sad, and even more pathetic was Sanders' rolling over and taking it, backing the team that cheated against him - not that I really expected any backbone from Sanders anyway - but it was still pathetic.

I found the attempted crucifixion of Kavanaugh by the Democrats revolting.  The whole "Russian Collusion" thing was also pretty sad.  The impeachment was a farce.  I could go on and on.  The Democrats thwarted or tried to thwart Trump at every single turn.  There was zero "bipartisan" efforts from the left.  They hated him - and still do.  Granted, he gave them plenty of reason to.  His policies were in direct contradiction to the left's "vision" of America.  So I get it.  But to hear Biden or Pelosi complain about a lack of support from Republicans is laughably disingenuous and hypocritical.

Regardless of all this, and regardless our differing opinions about politics and politicians, what I find most disturbing about American politics and socio-political "culture wars" - which goes above and beyond any political party or figurehead - is the seemingly relentless demand for conformity of thought.  Less disturbing (but still irritating) is the way that conformity of thought plays out in day-to-day discussions and communications, like we are engaged in right now on a prog-rock forum, of all places.

I don't expect anyone here to think like me.  I want people to think for themselves, and not just parrot what comes out of their media filter.  I'm tired of the so-called "journalists" trying to shape our thoughts instead of simply informing us of facts.  Everyone seems to have some sort of agenda to make people think a certain way - both sides are guilty of this.  And the easy stereotyping is childish.  Not every Trump supporter is some redneck rube Q-anon believer.  Not every Biden supporter is an entitlement-hungry big-government socialist or communist subversive.

I just wish people would think for themselves, and come to their own conclusions about things... and allow me to think for myself, come to my own conclusions, and quit trying to manipulate me to think a certain way, or belittle me if I don't think like them.   

I would humbly recommend to anyone interested, the two very excellent books by Jacques Ellul: "The Technological Society," and "Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes."  The former was written in 1954, the latter in 1962 - but both are entirely pertinent to understanding today's world, in my opinion.

  

Another mouth breather..

UV light is a disinfectant, what’s so hard to grasp about that?  My water filter is carbon block as well as UV light.

In that video Trump talked about UV light, if the media turned it into something else, who’s to blame?

OK fair enough. I didn't know that any health condition qualifies as "comorbidity". Obviously many people have such conditions, therefore percentages ought to be high (of course higher in Covid deaths than in the general public, that's nothing new - and doesn't mean that anywhere near 85% of registered Covid deaths in fact died for other reasons).