Political Posts

[james22]

The next thing I knew, the discussion was onto the subject of fascism in America.

 

Everybody was talking about police repression and the anxiety and paranoia as good folsk waited for the knock on the door and the descent of the knout on the nape of the neck.

 

I couldn’t make any sense out of it.  . . .

 

Support came from a quarter I hadn’t counted on. It was Grass, speaking in English.

 

“For the past hour, I have my eyes fixed on the doors here,” he said. “You talk about fascism and police repression. In Germany when I was a student, they come through those doors long ago. Here they must be very slow.”

 

Grass was enjoying himself for the first time all evening. He was not simply saying, “You really don’t have so much to worry about.” He was indulging his sense of the absurd. He was saying: “You American intellectuals — you want so desperately to feel besieged and persecuted!”

 

He sounded like Jean-François Revel, a French socialist writer who talks about one of the great unexplained phenomena of modern astronomy: namely, that the dark night of fascism is always descending in the United States and yet lands only in Europe.

 

https://contemporarythinkers.org/tom-wolfe/essay/intelligent-co-eds-guide-america/

[Spekulatius]

45 minutes ago, james22 said:

The next thing I knew, the discussion was onto the subject of fascism in America.

 

Everybody was talking about police repression and the anxiety and paranoia as good folsk waited for the knock on the door and the descent of the knout on the nape of the neck.

 

I couldn’t make any sense out of it.  . . .

 

Support came from a quarter I hadn’t counted on. It was Grass, speaking in English.

 

“For the past hour, I have my eyes fixed on the doors here,” he said. “You talk about fascism and police repression. In Germany when I was a student, they come through those doors long ago. Here they must be very slow.”

 

Grass was enjoying himself for the first time all evening. He was not simply saying, “You really don’t have so much to worry about.” He was indulging his sense of the absurd. He was saying: “You American intellectuals — you want so desperately to feel besieged and persecuted!”

 

He sounded like Jean-François Revel, a French socialist writer who talks about one of the great unexplained phenomena of modern astronomy: namely, that the dark night of fascism is always descending in the United States and yet lands only in Europe.

 

https://contemporarythinkers.org/tom-wolfe/essay/intelligent-co-eds-guide-america/

That was written in 1976. It’s almost 50 years later now and Gunther Grass opinion would be quite different, I dare to say.

 

Also, tell me that this wouldn’t be cancelled by MAGA:

 

Edited May 5, 2025 by Spekulatius

[james22]

4 hours ago, Spekulatius said:

That was written in 1976. It’s almost 50 years later now and Gunther Grass opinion would be quite different, I dare to say.

 

Nah.

 

 

[Sweet]

6 hours ago, james22 said:

 

Nah.

 

 

Anyone who knows more about Germany than me want to explain what makes the AfD far-right?

 

Seems that just being anti-immigration, a relatively mainstream view in Europe (btw!), can get you that label.

 

When I think far-right I think goose-stepping Nazi’s or fascist regimes.  Are they really in that mould?

 

Edited May 5, 2025 by Sweet

[cubsfan]

Scary times in Europe, so much for democracy.

[james22]

5 hours ago, Sweet said:

Anyone who knows more about Germany than me want to know explain what makes the AfD far-right?

 

German collective war guilt.

[lnofeisone]

On 5/2/2025 at 3:13 PM, Milu said:

Now that the S&P500 is almost back at level year-to-date it will be curious to see the mental gymnastics people go through about Trumps policies should we end up with a comfortably positive year. 

 

 

If you keep score on mental gymnastics, at least stretch, and start measuring performance with January 20th as day 1. 

[Paarslaars]

Anything anti islam or anti uncontrolled immigration is considered far right these days in Europe.

 

In Belgium they have something called "cordon sanitaire" implemented by the socialists in 1989 that stipulates all parties agree never to enter into the goverment with the 'Vlaams Belang' party.

 

Ironically that party isn't even that far-right other than its immigration standpoints, when it comes to the socio-economical standpoints, they are more center-left.

[changegonnacome]

 

 

Captain Chaos strikes again

 

National security threat cause sometimes Toronto doubles as Manhattan for movie location shoots

 

Where the hell are the lawsuits putting Captain Chaos back in his box re: invoking national security.

 

I guess this is why he needed to shake down a bunch of DC law firms for millions in legal services......imagine the poor lawyers trying to build a case that movie location shoots outside the US are a threat to the Republic. Tough gig.

[dwy000]

22 minutes ago, changegonnacome said:

 

 

Captain Chaos strikes again

 

National security threat cause sometimes Toronto doubles as Manhattan for movie location shoots

 

Where the hell are the lawsuits putting Captain Chaos back in his box re: invoking national security.

 

I guess this is why he needed to shake down a bunch of DC law firms for millions in legal services......imagine the poor lawyers trying to build a case that movie location shoots outside the US are a threat to the Republic. Tough gig.

Between this and wanting to bring back Alcatraz, somebody forgot to lock grandpa's phone last night. 

[John Hjorth]

18 minutes ago, changegonnacome said:

 

 

Captain Chaos strikes again

 

National security threat cause sometimes Toronto doubles as Manhattan for movie location shoots

 

Where the hell are the lawsuits putting Captain Chaos back in his box re: invoking national security.

 

I guess this is why he needed to shake down a bunch of DC law firms for millions in legal services......imagine the poor lawyers trying to build a case that movie location shoots outside the US are a threat to the Republic. Tough gig.

 

Crazy stuff.

 

What's next, the imposing of a tariff on all Danes for visting a toilet - a per visit tariff, so that we can learn to comply, when we don't want to hand over Greenland to USA when asked to by him?

 

Not a tax return, but a US tariff return on all Danes?

[cubsfan]

25 minutes ago, changegonnacome said:

I guess this is why he needed to shake down a bunch of DC law firms for millions in legal services......imagine the poor lawyers trying to build a case that movie location shoots outside the US are a threat to the Republic. Tough gig.

 

Yeah, those DC law firms do a great job of hiding political payoffs for the highest bidder.

No bigger scum than these guys.

[changegonnacome]

52 minutes ago, cubsfan said:

Yeah, those DC law firms do a great job of hiding political payoffs for the highest bidder.

No bigger scum than these guys.

 

I dunno cubs in your world it seems two wrongs can make a right.....

 

 - these firms are scummy....sure...so that makes it OK for the President of the United States to shake them down by withholding security clearances and in return he gets to collect millions and millions in free legal services that he secured by using the Presidency itself and parlaying it into a hoard personal flying legal monkeys he can unleash on people.

 

- Biden crime family we're up to tricks before sure....totally scumtastic what Hunter was doing....... so its ok for Eric and Donald to run around the middle east enriching themselves & launching memecoins.

 

This type of thinking is exactly how you end up with banana republics.....

[cubsfan]

In the world of DC, it's a race to the bottom, led by the law firms and lobbyists.

[changegonnacome]

15 minutes ago, cubsfan said:

In the world of DC, it's a race to the bottom, led by the law firms and lobbyists.

 

Well if its any blessing Captain Chaos sure is helping US politics get to the bottom in an accelerated way.....I'll give him that.

[Sweet]

1 hour ago, changegonnacome said:

 

I dunno cubs in your world it seems two wrongs can make a right.....

 

 - these firms are scummy....sure...so that makes it OK for the President of the United States to shake them down by withholding security clearances and in return he gets to collect millions and millions in free legal services that he secured by using the Presidency itself and parlaying it into a hoard personal flying legal monkeys he can unleash on people.

 

- Biden crime family we're up to tricks before sure....totally scumtastic what Hunter was doing....... so its ok for Eric and Donald to run around the middle east enriching themselves & launching memecoins.

 

This type of thinking is exactly how you end up with banana republics.....

The answer is that no, two wrongs don’t make a right… but why does it take the likes of Trump for the left to realise ‘we’ve went too far’.

 

Only after getting smacked around a mouth is the realisation that these things cut both ways and it’s not nice in the receiving end.

[LC]

13 hours ago, Sweet said:

Anyone who knows more about Germany than me want to explain what makes the AfD far-right?

 

Seems that just being anti-immigration, a relatively mainstream view in Europe (btw!), can get you that label.

 

When I think far-right I think goose-stepping Nazi’s or fascist regimes.  Are they really in that mould?

 

If you're truly interested, I would start with the wikipedia page on the party, rather than listen to one-liners here.

One of the 3 party founders left the party, and his replacement? also left the party. 

Both mentioned the same reasoning: that the party had moved too far right and away from basic principles of German democracy.

 

Quote

AfD leader Jörg Meuthen has quit the party. This was confirmed by the 60-year-old in an interview with the ARD-Hauptstadtstudio. "The heart of the party beats very far to the right today," Meuthen is quoted and parts of the AfD would be "not on the ground of the free democratic basic order." He sees "quite clearly totally total echoes". As party leader, he failed with his commitment to another way. Especially in corona policy, the AfD has developed something cult-like.

 

Quote

The liberal democratic basic order (German: freiheitliche demokratische Grundordnung, informal abbreviation fdGO or FDGO) is a fundamental term in German constitutional law. It determines the unalienable, invariable core structure of the German commonwealth. As such, it is the core substance of the German constitution

 

My read (not knowing the cultural background so there is probably lots lost-in-translation) is that they claim typical right wing positions but also favor strongman rule rather than a democratic process. That is typically seen as the devolution into the extreme right.

[Blake Hampton]

Scott Bessent in the WSJ this morning:

"Tax cuts and cost savings from deregulation raise real incomes for families and businesses. Tariffs provide income-tax relief and create incentives for reindustrialization. Deregulation complements tariffs by encouraging investments in energy and manufacturing.

 

The engine is already starting. For the second month in a row, Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report beat expectations, with 177,000 jobs added in April. More than half a million private-sector jobs have been added since January. Add to this falling inflation and the first decline in consumer prices since Covid.

 

This is just the cylinder firing. The American people should expect to hear the engine humming during the second half of 2025. With all pistons moving, we’ll see more jobs, more manufacturing, more growth, a more robust national defense, higher wages, lower taxes, less-burdensome regulation, cheaper energy, less national debt and less dependence on China—all while maintaining a strong dollar.

 

This is how we restore the working class, re-establish the U.S. as an industrial powerhouse, and right the wrongs of lopsided trade policies. This is how we pave the way for Wall Street’s next 40-year run while making sure Main Street runs alongside it. This is how we make America great again for all Americans."

 

Trump’s Three Steps to Economic Growth - WSJ

[Blake Hampton]

What a joke.

[Mephistopheles]

3 hours ago, Sweet said:

The answer is that no, two wrongs don’t make a right… but why does it take the likes of Trump for the left to realise ‘we’ve went too far’.

 

Only after getting smacked around a mouth is the realisation that these things cut both ways and it’s not nice in the receiving end.

Because the left, just like the right, are blind to when their own guy does it.

 

Having said that, and what the whataboutism loving cult fails to recognize, is the magnitude of Trump’s corruption (and fascism) is greater than any one person’s wrongdoing on the left. It’s like if you were to combine all of the evils of everyone on the left and jam them into one person.

 

But it’s more than that. Fuck the whataboutism. Judge the situation for what it is: an attempted authoritarian takeover. The people in the middle should stop wasting time debating the nuances of his every policy in an attempt to remain neutral. 

[cubsfan]

3 minutes ago, Mephistopheles said:

But it’s more than that. Fuck the whataboutism. Judge the situation for what it is: an attempted authoritarian takeover. The people in the middle should stop wasting time debating the nuances of his every policy in an attempt to remain neutral. 

 

Absolutely - Trump is going to overthrow the Federal Government and crown himself Emperor for Life!

 

Probably should assasinate him!

[Spekulatius]

9 hours ago, james22 said:

 

German collective war guilt.

Anti democratic, Anti semitic , anti Islam, Holocaust denier, Plenty of active Neo Nazis in party positions, openly racism (for example they want to take away German citizenship from immigrants based on  of race as well as political opinions). 28/48 of the AFD delegates have a criminal record. Some are more of less openly paid by Russia.

 

https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounder/alternative-germany-afd-party-what-you-need-know

https://www.dw.com/de/recherche-afd-schickt-gewalt-und-straftäter-in-parlamente/a-68786293

 

Edited May 5, 2025 by Spekulatius

[Mephistopheles]

4 hours ago, changegonnacome said:

 

I dunno cubs in your world it seems two wrongs can make a right.....

 

 - these firms are scummy....sure...so that makes it OK for the President of the United States to shake them down by withholding security clearances and in return he gets to collect millions and millions in free legal services that he secured by using the Presidency itself and parlaying it into a hoard personal flying legal monkeys he can unleash on people.

 

- Biden crime family we're up to tricks before sure....totally scumtastic what Hunter was doing....... so its ok for Eric and Donald to run around the middle east enriching themselves & launching memecoins.

 

This type of thinking is exactly how you end up with banana republics.....

Yes Biden’s own DOJ prosecuted Hunter Biden with a Trump appointed US Attorney serving as special prosecutor. Looking forward to the day Pam Bondi does the same to Don Jr. 

 

Both sides

[Mephistopheles]

12 minutes ago, cubsfan said:

 

Absolutely - Trump is going to overthrow the Federal Government and crown himself Emperor for Life!

 

Probably should assasinate him!

 
Or: just try to assassinate your VP if you want to become emperor

Edited May 5, 2025 by Mephistopheles

[John Hjorth]

11 minutes ago, Spekulatius said:

Anti democratic, Anti semitic , anti Islam, Holocaust denier, Plenty of active Neo Nazis in party positions, openly racism (for example they want to take away German citizenship from immigrants based on  of race as well as political opinions). 28/48 of the AFD delegates have a criminal record. Some are more of less openly paid by Russia.

 

https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounder/alternative-germany-afd-party-what-you-need-know

https://www.dw.com/de/recherche-afd-schickt-gewalt-und-straftäter-in-parlamente/a-68786293

 

It reads like they all as a group are prospects for getting up for a podcast interview with Nicolai Tangen in his podcast 'In good company' [j/k]  [I'm sorry - I coulden't help it ...]