Starker on 18/1/2025 at 11:18
Anyway, since all other US politics threads have been closed, I'll just post this here -- the last interview with Brandon as president (taking into account his age):
[video=youtube;uEBmJ-aAmBo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEBmJ-aAmBo[/video]
I have to say, something about him always rubbed me the wrong way. He always seemed a bit too arrogant to me (in the stereotypical "we are the best cause we are Muricans" kind of way), his policies over the decades have been a mixed bag, to put it charitably, and he was incredibly boring as a president. But he's also one of the few presidents who actually got things done and actually tried to govern, which is why he's probably going to be considered as one of the best modern presidents US has had. Which is not a praise to the US, but only highlights its political dysfunction and structural roadblocks to any meaningful change.
Nicker on 18/1/2025 at 17:09
“Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times.”
If the price of liberty is eternal vigilance, expecting that effort from people raised sucking the teat of freedom which their grandparents bled for, is where the cycle falters. Whether American Democracy survives these hard times and these weak men, remains to be seen. The world (most of it) hopes that the USA rises from the ashes of its self immolation, stronger than ever.
Tocky on 19/1/2025 at 02:18
I don't know. I don't think we come back from this one. I've argued for the US many times. You all know I have. I've wanted to believe. But electing a man of such low moral character after he has shown in every word and deed what an absolute scumbag cretin he is? The man tried to get governors to lie for him when he lost and riled rednecks into wanting to hang his own vice president for godsake! After all that we elected him again. No. We jumped the shark. We are full on idiocracy this time.
lowenz on 19/1/2025 at 13:25
What if Trump really incarnates the "unscrupulousness" the majority wants? Because "the american dream" is not a "moral" one: you must succeed or be eliminated - no matter being honest, well, to be honest is a totally optional bonus - and Trump really channels that.
I really can't stop thinking that the "american dream" paradigma is the root of the problem.
Vae on 20/1/2025 at 05:12
The American Dream is bad!...:mad:
Starker on 20/1/2025 at 06:47
Meanwhile, the owners of the country celebrate the crowning of the clown:
Quote:
(
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/15/musk-bezos-zuckerberg-trump-inauguration)
President-elect would cut taxes for richest 5% of Americans and increase them for everyone else, according to thinktankDonald Trump's inauguration ceremony in Washington DC on Monday will have giants from across the business and tech worlds in attendance, perhaps personified most dramatically if Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg sit together at the US Capitol.
Musk, the world's richest person and a top adviser to Trump; Amazon's Bezos; and Mark Zuckerberg of Meta will be prominently placed together near members of Trump's cabinet, according to an NBC News report on Wednesday, continuing their rapid public swing to the right as they cozy up to Trump's Make America Great Again (Maga) power base.
Musk became the biggest donor of the 2024 election, with the electric-vehicles and space entrepreneur contributing more than a quarter of a billion dollars to Trump's campaign.
It was announced in November that the Tesla CEO would co-head a newly created but ill-defined entity, called the department of government efficiency, tasked with reforming the vast apparatus of federal government employees.
Musk has been accused of using the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, which he owns, to spread misinformation and propaganda to help the Trump campaign.
Bezos, the owner of online e-commerce giant Amazon and the Washington Post newspaper, broke from a long tradition and his largely hands-off attitude toward the Post's editorial operations when he suddenly blocked his journalists from endorsing a presidential candidate, shortly before the paper was set to announce it was backing Kamala Harris for the White House - a race she lost decisively to Trump on 5 November.
The move sparked outrage, leading to resignations and a dramatic loss in subscriptions, while Bezos defended his decision. Amazon later donated $1m to the Trump's inauguration fund, as did Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, announced last week that he would be getting rid of his company's factchecking program and boosting more political content, in a move widely seen as facilitating more conservative commentary and bending to the newly empowered Trump's arguments that the right is censored on social media.
Zuckerberg last week also scrapped DEI policies at Meta and relaxed restrictions on speech seen as protecting groups including LGBTQ+ people.
Zuckerberg will also co-host a lavish black-tie reception on Monday alongside the Republican mega-donor Miriam Adelson to celebrate before the three inaugural balls. The event was first reported by Puck News.
Meanwhile, the OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman, announced last month that he would make a personal donation of $1m to the Trump inaugural fund.
[...]
[video=youtube;-54c0IdxZWc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-54c0IdxZWc[/video]
lowenz on 20/1/2025 at 08:44
Quote Posted by Vae
The American Dream is bad!...:mad:
The american dream creates performance/success craving and the ones who can't achieve it are the perfect target for hate-based populist propaganda, in a perfect loop.
Starker on 20/1/2025 at 08:55
Apparently, people in the US are just too lazy to burn the 3 AM oil, according to co-president Musk:
Quote:
(
https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-americans-avoid-going-to-work-unlike-chinese-workers-2022-5)
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, said he expects China to produce "some very strong companies" because of the country's workforce.
"There's just a lot of super-talented, hardworking people in China who strongly believe in manufacturing," Musk said in an interview with the Financial Times on Tuesday.
"They won't just be burning the midnight oil. They will be burning the 3 a.m. oil," he continued. "They won't even leave the factory type of thing, whereas in America people are trying to avoid going to work at all."
[...]
Starker on 20/1/2025 at 12:18
When a clown gets put in charge of a palace, he doesn't become king -- the palace becomes a circus.
