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U.S. Politics: The Biggest Trade in WNBA History

RileyXY1

Young Battle Trainer
We need to end this two-party system, starting with the Commission on Presidential Debates.

This Red vs Blue mess has done nothing but rip the country apart.
Which the Republicans have already decided to pull out of. They don't really like Presidential debates anymore.
 

bobjr

You ask too many questions
Staff member
Moderator
Really the Senate itself is undemocratic, considering how much it weights some peoples votes over others. There’s more people within a mile of a street in California than entire states.

But we also have a push to make voting rights as far gone as possible and we’re basically one GOP controlled government away from voting based on how much land you own.
 

Bolt the Cat

Bringing the Thunder
We need to end this two-party system, starting with the Commission on Presidential Debates.

This Red vs Blue mess has done nothing but rip the country apart.

More parties would be great, but it doesn't seem to have helped other countries which still seem to be engaged in a battle of left vs. right, it just ends up that the left-leaning parties and the right-leaning parties team up against each other. I think the solution to the left vs. right issue is to combat extremism, I think a large part of the problem is related to the media, right wing media is dragging the country to the extreme right whereas left wing voters don't want to follow the rightward trend and either stay where they are or shift even further left and so the two sides are drifting further and further apart. I think combating the misinformation stemming from right wing media is the best way to bring the country back together.

Really the Senate itself is undemocratic, considering how much it weights some peoples votes over others. There’s more people within a mile of a street in California than entire states.

But we also have a push to make voting rights as far gone as possible and we’re basically one GOP controlled government away from voting based on how much land you own.

Maybe, but at least the people vote for their senators and they only have 6 year terms. Maybe it is a little less democratic than other institutions, but at least there's some level of democracy there whereas there's no direct democracy involved whatsoever in Supreme Court appointments, so I would still say the Supreme Court is even less democratic.

The Senate is also less democratic by design and I can see valid reasons for keeping it that way. The whole point of the Senate is that it's part of a compromise between giving states equal representation vs. representation based on population (with the House being population based and the Senate being equal representation). Part of the problem with population based representation is that the population is skewed towards certain demographics, especially when it comes to urban vs. rural. (really urban vs. rural has been an undercurrent in politics throughout the nation's entire history). And even now, the majority of the population is urban so if democracy becomes purely population based it could lead to a tyranny of the majority for the urban areas against the rural areas, and I think that's something we want to prevent. Democracy would work better if both urban voters AND rural voters get a say in the direction of this country because then you have a more diverse range of political views to weigh in on how effective these policies are. So ultimately I don't think making the Senate population based or dissolving it altogether is the right way to go here.
 

PrinceOfFacade

Ghost-Type Master
More parties would be great, but it doesn't seem to have helped other countries which still seem to be engaged in a battle of left vs. right, it just ends up that the left-leaning parties and the right-leaning parties team up against each other. I think the solution to the left vs. right issue is to combat extremism, I think a large part of the problem is related to the media, right wing media is dragging the country to the extreme right whereas left wing voters don't want to follow the rightward trend and either stay where they are or shift even further left and so the two sides are drifting further and further apart. I think combating the misinformation stemming from right wing media is the best way to bring the country back together.

I didn't say anything about including more parties. Parties themselves are divisive.

While such associations are ultimately inevitable, the high visibility of multiple parties to the general public could potentially - with enough media push - make party affiliation obsolete. Since nearly half of American adults aren't registered to vote, and half of those that are don't vote, there is nothing to lose from presenting an alternative to the monotony of a two-party system. It could in fact increase voter participation, if voters are aware they don't have to settle for just two options. the 140 million+ Americans who tend not to vote would thus focus less on the party of the additional candidates and more on the candidates themselves. Of course, once again, this would require a lot of push in the media.

I am aware both the left and right would do a hell of a lot to stop it, but all it takes to get the ball rolling is one revelation (i.e. informing the public about the Commission on Presidential Debates).
 

Trainer Yusuf

VolcaniNO

Swedish Social Democrats, which is the current ruling party in Sweden, have confirmed they will join NATO, but under certain conditions. They oppose stationing nuclear weapons (because Sweden is very anti-nuclear) and hosting permanent NATO bases (because Sweden is still against hosting foreign military bases, and any "NATO" base is just a glorified USA base, let's be real). Effectively, they want the benefits without the costs.

The right-wing opposition is already pro-NATO, obviously, so there is no change from there. Apparently both Finland and Sweden might apply on May 17 officially, but we will see if this is true or not. Again, the bureaucratic process will take more time than people expect.

There are no updates on Russo-Ukrainian war, but Russia is advancing on Izyum front, which means claims of Ukrainian resistance on that front are obviously exaggerated (as everybody watching the war knows), but Ukrainian plan is to advance from north anyway, so this won't change much. Ukrainian tactics, just like the Russian tactics, are very old when it comes to the ground forces (ie. they can literally advance from one singular front like they are still fighting the WWII, which is not how 21st century armies operate), they are just more competent at them then the Russians.

Edit:
Here's an article for the date. Yes it is TASS, but the article is correct.
 
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bobjr

You ask too many questions
Staff member
Moderator
Just a few highlights from Barnette:

- Thought Obama was a muslim.
- Wants to send gay kids to conversion camps.
- Said black people have a slave mentality
- Called Muslims "animals" and said they need to rounded up and interned or deported unless they prove they are safe.
- Said transgenderism is not real and the product of demonic energy infiltrating society.
- Wants to put armed guards at the border to shoot people trying to cross illegally.

And she’s the one surfing in polls for the GOP
 

RileyXY1

Young Battle Trainer
Just a few highlights from Barnette:

- Thought Obama was a muslim.
- Wants to send gay kids to conversion camps.
- Said black people have a slave mentality
- Called Muslims "animals" and said they need to rounded up and interned or deported unless they prove they are safe.
- Said transgenderism is not real and the product of demonic energy infiltrating society.
- Wants to put armed guards at the border to shoot people trying to cross illegally.

And she’s the one surfing in polls for the GOP
She's pretty much their "black friend" who is just as bad as any Republican. She would also have to deal with the powerhouse Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman as her Democratic opponent. Despite his recent stroke Fetterman is surging in the polls and has a large fanbase in the western half of the state. The Pennsylvania Democratic party knocked it out of the park when it came to candidate recruitment.
 

RileyXY1

Young Battle Trainer
And Kurt Schrader might lose his primary to progressive Jamie McLeod-Skinner.
 

Trainer Yusuf

VolcaniNO
US has approved 40 billion USD aid for Ukraine. For context, total aid (not just by US, but also by Saudis, Chinese, Pakistanis etc.) to Afghanistan during Soviet-Afghan war is believed to be between 6 to 12 billion, which is apparently around 39 billion at most by current inflation (total aid is obviously much higher, this is just an estimate).

And before you ask, no, this is not sufficient for Ukraine to "win" against Russia. Ukraine needs annually double the annual military spending of Russia to conventionally win against Russia (ie. around 120 billion USD annually). They apparently are already experiencing a tank shortage, despite the massive amounts of captured tanks from Russia, and Russia already took back the initiative in the East, capturing many new territories.
****
Sweden and Finland formally applied to NATO. Croatia and Turkey are openly opposed to them joining, so necessary bribes will be made.

Their invitation will likely be made in the next NATO summit, which is on June 28-30, 2022.
 

Red and Blue

Well-Known Member
Good lord, just almost two weeks after what happened in Buffalo there was another school shooting in Uvalde, Texas


Fourteen children and one teacher were just murdered
 
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AuraChannelerChris

Easygoing Luxray.
Good lord, just barely two weeks after what happened in Buffalo there was another school shooting in Uvalde, Texas


Fourteen children and one teacher were just murdered
Meanwhile, Republicans are holding onto the fact the shooter was Hispanic to enforce more border laws.

Never mind the fact somehow a person got a hold of a gun in the first place. Toooooooooootally normal, fosho.
 

bobjr

You ask too many questions
Staff member
Moderator
Only about 10% of guns used in Mass Shootings in America are obtained illegally, most of the time these people pass a background check just fine.

It's one of the flaws of the "We just need better background checks" argument, because while it might stop some it would not have stopped the majority.
 

Auraninja

Eh, ragazzo!
Wouldn't more rigorous background checks at least help?

There has been this go-around way back when that Japan has very extensive background checks, and their gun homocide rates are low.
 

Sham

The Guardian of Ruin and Birth
Wouldn't more rigorous background checks at least help?

There has been this go-around way back when that Japan has very extensive background checks, and their gun homocide rates are low.
It’s literally every other country. In Canada as well. I just found out that states like Hawaii don’t even require a license. Literally in some states it’s the same as well.

Even in the social climate West Virgina was offering free guns to whoever got their their vaccines.
 

bobjr

You ask too many questions
Staff member
Moderator
That is part of the solution, but not the whole solution. There are many class-stratified capitalist hellholes around the world and America has by far the most mass shootings by lone gunmen in proportion to our population. Shootings seem to correlate more to the rate of firearm ownership. Fewer guns, fewer shootings. I know that's not the politically expedient answer, but we cannot "solve" this without severely limiting private ownership of guns in some way, like it or not.


 

Divine Retribution

Conquistador de pan
I just found out that states like Hawaii don’t even require a license. Literally in some states it’s the same as well.
Hawaii absolutely requires a gun license to purchase a firearm, and is a may-issue state (I.E. you need to provide a valid reason for wanting to own a firearm when applying for a permit, which can be denied at the authories' discretion). What you might be thinking of is "constitutional carry" states, which are usually southern conservative states. Hawaii is not one of those states. Texas is a constitutional carry state. Make of that what you will.
 
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