Hardkill

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Posts posted by Hardkill

  1. Posted · Edited by Hardkill

    On 5/26/2024 at 5:58 AM, Husseinisdoingfine said:

    To be fair, I don't like either option. Biden has done some decent things, most notably banning non-compete agreements. But his advanced age and bizarre slow movements continue to bother me. I'm probably going to abstain from voting, or vote third party.

    Are you serious?

    Why are you making that a main concern over Biden’s major historic policy change and great character compared Trump who was the worst president ever?

    Besides, he has his VP Harris to take the edge off the age problem.

    which state do you live in?

  2. Posted · Edited by Hardkill

    16 minutes ago, LSD-Rumi said:

    @Hardkill The US laws are so corrupt. A judge picked by a party is most likely to be a biased judge which ironically is against the most important elements of any justice system.

    It is mindblowing how much ignorance there is in US politics. Lobbying (aka legal bribes), electoral college and the supreme court judges picked by the president.

     

    Yeah, while America still isn't as corrupt as any underdeveloped or any developing countries are, it is arguably the most corrupt first world/developed country in the world besides perhaps Israel now.

  3. Posted

    4 hours ago, LSD-Rumi said:

    Why didn't Biden do the same? Why didn't he manipulate laws to make the supreme court left leaning?

    He couldn't with SCOTUS because there have been no openings for Biden replace any conservative justices with liberal justices. None of the conservative justices plan on retiring or stepping down anytime soon. None of them seem to be dying anytime soon. Furthermore, Biden and most Democrats in Congress don't want to pack the court with extra judges because they believe it would be perceived as being too divisive and too political and set a precedent for the Republican party to do the same if they gain back control of the White House and both chambers of Congress.

    However, Biden and his party have appointed 200 federal judges, which is the highest amount for any president since like JFK.

    https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/joe-biden-nears-200-judges-highlighting-stakes-courts-2024-election-rcna152485

  4. Posted

    2 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

    I am starting to regret my words. Trump is more unhinged than ever and he has better odds of winning now.

    Trump's 1st term might have given us a false sense of complacency, since term 2 will be much worse in ways we can't yet imagine.

    Well, we'll have to see. 

    A lot would have to go wrong in terms of governance by Biden and his party.

    Besides, there is already a growing number of people who are getting very scared about Trump not leaving office.

  5. Posted · Edited by Hardkill

    3 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

    @Hardkill If Trump wins reelection he will stuff the court with right-wing lunatics for the next 40 years and there will be no progressive legistation chances at all. All of it will be blocked and undone by the court.

    You guys don't fully appreciate how bad it will be.

    Oh, I do know how bad it will be. 

    So, I am not sure why you said before that if Trump wins the election then:

    On 10/21/2023 at 3:38 AM, Leo Gura said:

    Meh..... Business as usual.

     

    But yeah, that's why we have to re-elect Biden.

    Even though the polls are not looking great right now, but they are also all over the place and most of the pundits out there really have no idea who will win.

    Besides, a lot would have to go wrong for Biden to lose according to the fundamentals.

     

  6. Posted · Edited by Hardkill

    27 minutes ago, OmniNaut said:

    Just to clarify, cockblocking works not the best for Orange by totally blocking a piece of legislation. Because then there is fuel still for Blue/Orange to try again at some point. No the best way for Orange is to sneakily alter the legislation (by "lobbying") that the impact on Orange is minimal, but still on the front it looks like accomplishes something. Then when legislation is through, attention will be diverted to another area, leaving this legislation alone for the next 10 to 20 years.

    That's partially true. However, when there is way too much of a mandate for such policies or for a major liberal/progressive vision, then even the stage Orange lobbyists will be forced to compromise a lot. Otherwise, if they don't, then they jeopardize the public order and tranquility of our country. 

    Even these slimy lobbyists know that they don't want to have another Gilded Age era rife with extremely violent widespread labor strikes and rioting around the country.

    In fact, look at what Biden and his party got done so far, even they made compromises with their corporate lobbyists and wealthy donors. They already achieved what seemed impossible in many ways, especially when you consider how much gridlock there has been in our government for so many. 

  7. Posted · Edited by Hardkill

    1 hour ago, Leo Gura said:

    Even if a leftist happens to win a General Election by some miracle, they won't accomplish much since they will be cockblocked by the House, Senate, Supreme Court, and the deep state -- all of which are Orange and Blue.

    We don't have a firm left-winger for president. A center-leftist will do.

    But we also need to elect a supermajority of Dems in both chambers of Congress. Also, the Supreme Court won't be controlled by the conservatives forever. 

    As for the deep state, like I said before liberals and progressives will have to inevitably make some pragmatic compromises with the government elites and the business community in order to get a lot of the big changes we want done. 

    The deep state also can't just block every major reform, especially when there is an overwhelming mandate for such reforms by the public. Otherwise, they risk destabilizing our society.

    They know that and that's why the deep state will have to make compromises with the people if the liberals/progressives have a supermajority of Dems in both chambers of Congress and we have another FDR-like president.

    This will much more likely happen if all of these factors coincide with another major crisis pertaining to the economy happens under the watch of the GOP and/or have a groundswell of support from some kind of movement that can't be ignored by the public.

     

     

  8. Posted · Edited by Hardkill

    3 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

    But that's exactly what leftists suck at. So I won't be holding my breath.

    Most leftists are not good at that, but a new youngish center-left politician who has such exceptional talent like the Roosevelt presidents can pull it off in a way that can frame progressivism or liberalism as the mainstream dominant ideology in America like in the first two decades of 1900s or in the mid-1900s. 

    That can very well happen again if the left-wing and the center-left in this country can get it together by building an overwhelming groundswell of support and awareness for all of these liberal/progressive ideas with grassroots organizers and activists mobilizing communities and pushing for bold policy changes all over the country. In fact, it already seems to be happening and has continued to grow to such a level that America hasn't seen since like the early to mid 70s.

    It's probably just going to take decades of very hard and commitment for all of this to succeed in our country. 

    Even you said before that the chances of having a once in a generation broadly charismatic person like Obama, but is a real fighter seems more likely to happen within the next 20 years. 

    Besides, I am aware of the fact that liberals and progressives will have to inevitably make some pragmatic compromises with the government elites and the business community in order to get a lot of the big changes we want done. That's always been the case according to history. So, I do concede that we probably still won't achieve all of the forward thinking changes we want within our lifetimes. However, transforming our society to one that is much more progressive than it is now within our lifetimes should be doable.

  9. Posted · Edited by Hardkill

    17 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

    That's how immature people live.

    Just by looking at our business culture.

    Nah, what runs the world is money and power, not progressive ideals.

    It is deceptive because many of these giant companies virtue signal with Green values, but in fact they are run by pure profit motive. Look at Facebook, these AI companies, Big Tech, all of crypto, all of medicine, all the top universities -- it's all Orange on steroids with some lip-service to Green.

    You realize how bad it is when you realize that even universities are not Green but Orange.

    Okay, I get it.

    but maybe we will be in the midst of another kind of Progressive Era (1896–1917) or another New Deal era  involving a big war on business and the implementation of new major social programs like many of the ones you've already mentioned before:

    • Raising the minimum wage
    • Regulating banks and Wall Street speculators
    • Raising capital gains taxes
    • Taxing the rich. Higher income taxes on top earners, and a wealth tax on millionaires & billionaires.
    • Taxing corporations
    • Removing all private money from political campaigns
    • Placing more regulations on large corporations
    • Breaking up monopolies with strong anti-trust enforcement
    • Increasing consumer protections
    • Cracking down on fraud and white-collar crime
    • Protecting worker's rights to unionize
    • Better legal protections for minorities and LGBTQ people
    • Limiting aggressive foreign policy and wars
    • A well-funded education system
    • A public healthcare system that cuts out the parasitic insurance middlemen
    • Better paid time off, maternity and paternity leave, and free access to childcare
    • More investment in scientific research
    • More investment in pandemic prevention (Trump cut the pandemic prevention budget)
    • More investment FEMA and disaster relief
    • Housing for the homeless
    • Food for children in poverty
    • Addressing pollution and climate change. More investment in green energy
    • A government job guarantee, like during the Depression era
    • Huge investments in improving national infrastructure

    In fact, Biden and the Democrats have been doing a lot of these things.

    I've lately become more and more convinced that ever since Obama first became elected president in 2008, re-elected in 2012, followed by part of the progressive movement that began with Bernie Sanders, this country has been starving for a liberal/progressive revolution like the way that TR lead it right after the Gilded Age or the way that FDR led it during the Great Depression. Obama just didn't know how to do it.

    Moreover, ever since 2008, the demographics have been increasingly favoring liberals and Democrats over conservatives and Republicans. The Democratic party and the left-wing during most of the 2010s didn't have the resources and infrastructure like they do now to mobilize the silent majority who truly want liberal/progressive reforms.

    It also has to be done in a way that some might call "progressive-centrism" whereby a liberal/progressive vision for the country is presented in a way that broadly appeals to the public's emotions and their beliefs in traditional American culture values.

  11. Posted

    On 5/19/2024 at 2:31 AM, Leo Gura said:

    The movie glamourized his life. Immature people see that movie and wish they could be him. Just like how immature people wish that they could be Trump.

    If you are peak Orange, Jordan Belford and Trump are your God.

    I wish I had a big mansion, was super rich, have a very successful career (at least momentarily), and had a really hot girlfriend/wife like Jordan did. 

    However, I would never in a million years ever ever want to be him or anybody like him. After watching that whole movie, I thought to myself, "Why, would any normal man want to live that kind of life he lived or do what he did?" He and everyone in his inner circle were all complete degenerates in every way possible. I wouldn't be able to live with myself at all if I got away with scamming countless people for their money. Plus, I am so glad that I am not a drug addict or alcoholic like he and his friends were.

    Also, I wouldn't want to have to keep looking over my shoulder everyday wondering if the cops or the FBI or anybody else in the law enforcement is going to catch me. Moreover, I do not want to have to be tried for anything by the criminal justice system, and possibly serve any time in prison. Not to mention, that when you're convicted of crime, then you lose so many big legitimate career opportunities that you could've had, and you will forever have the reputation of being a disgrace to society.

    All of those reasons are pretty much the same reasons why I would never want to be someone like Trump either. 

  15. Posted

    I had to make this Megathread. The federal courts in the US, especially the US Supreme Court, has gotten so corrupt that we may not have a democracy anymore in a few years, especially if Trump and the MAGA Republican take back government of the whole government trifecta. I know that there have already been a number of threads made on here about the terrible, frightening, and unjust decisions made by SCOTUS and other courts at the national level. However, there are still A LOT MORE examples that haven't been highlighted about the unethical behavior, abuse of power, or illegal activities by judges, court staff, or other officials within the federal judicial system. 

    Look, obviously there's nothing that I or most people like me can do about all of this. However, I believe there needs to be a discussion about how enough people in our country can be inspired to rally together in some kind of strong coalition or movement at the grassroots to address corruption in the federal courts. The exposure of the corruption and promotion of transparency by the left-wing, the mainstream media, and public awareness campaigns out there to try to bring attention to the issue and push for reform still hasn't been working well enough to motivate enough people out there to help generate the level of public demand needed to effectively pressure lawmakers and court officials to make good material changes to our federal judicial system. Nothing seems to be working at all so far. 

    I wish enough people would wake up to grave danger our country is in and realize how much of why we are sleepwalking into an authoritarian regime in America is because of the how rotten and shaky our whole court system has gotten. I hope this big thread of examples on this issue will generate good, fruitful discussions on possible strategies that could work and on whether or not there is any hope out that this will fixed for the country before it becomes too late.

    So, let the examples begin.

  16. Posted · Edited by Hardkill

    Even if the president of Iran tragically perished, I don't see how it would destabilize the country like some such as Kyle Kulinski have been saying might happen. The Ayatollah, who is the supreme ruler of the country, is still alive and well. Plus, they have a vice-president, who probably will be next in to take over as president of Iran.

    Moreover, Iran really doesn't want to start a real war with Israel and/or any of its allies.

  17. Posted · Edited by Hardkill

    29 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

    Our situation has become so polarized now that you're not going to have a politician who rallies everyone together.

    Sadly, yes. 

    That's why the entire political environment needs to be fixed completely from the bottom-up in order to restore the political consensus and unity we used to have throughout most of the 1900s. Then, we can elect a phenomenally charismatic progressive president who will be able to rally every together so to speak at the right time and elect a supermajority of Democrats, liberals, progressives, centrists, and moderate conservatives in both chambers of Congress.

    Moreover, I don't get why progressive activists don't also try to work to bring the Republican party back to its liberal/progressive roots like in the early 1900s or like when it originally began as the party of Lincoln.

    Otherwise, I really don't see how we will be able to pass such major progressive reforms on the order of the Square Deal, New Freedom, New Deal, or Great Society.

  18. Posted · Edited by Hardkill

    So, it really looks like if progressives really want to reform the system to the degree that TR, WWW, FDR, JFK/LBJ did then we need to wait for another once in a generation charismatic progressive leader to emerge sometime in the future:

     

    On 9/3/2020 at 11:43 PM, Leo Gura said:

    The chances now are better than ever of a new Obama or Clinton -like, but progressive, leader to emerge. I think we'll see exactly that in the next 8 to 16 years. It will happen regardless of whether Trump wins or Biden wins. In both cases people are going to see that neither conservativism nor neoliberalism are working. And they will be eager for something new. Someone like Bernie but with a younger, more charismatic face, and a fighter.

    The function of Bernie was not to win the Presidency. The function of Bernie was to pave the way for a new, younger, charismatic progressive leader in the next 5 to 20 years.

    and it has to be someone with such exceptional charisma to the point of appealing to voters from across the entire political spectrum throughout the whole country. Not a progressive like AOC or Bernie or Warren who only appeals to liberals and progressives.

    Bill Clinton actually fell short of achieving such broad appeal when he first ran for president and during his presidency in the 90s because of the sexual allegations made by Flower in 1992 and other personal scandals surrounding Clinton limited his ability to build a broad coalition of support, making it harder for him to achieve the same level of cross-partisan appeal as Obama did in 2008.

    Obama did have that exceptional charisma in 2008, but apparently lost it during the 2012 because he was said to have let himself get caught too much in "the bubble of the pollsters, hucksters, handlers, and pundits" who I guess pressured him to speak a bit too much like a rehearsed politician instead of speaking more from the heart. They say that it is become harder to resist your inner circle when you become president than when you are running for president. It also, was because Obama rhetoric was too non-partisan and too pro-establishment in his rhetoric during his presidency.

    Moreover, there probably needs to be a time of great crisis in order to create a major opening for a progressive leader like FDR and/or needs to wins the presidency by a true landslide victory like FDR did in each of his elections or like LBJ in 1964 did in order to have major political capital for such major progressive reforms.

    We also need to continue:

    - Advocating for changes like nonpartisan redistricting, open primaries, and campaign finance reform to promote more inclusive and moderate politics.

    - Empowering citizens with fact-based information and critical thinking skills can reduce partisan divisions and promote more nuanced political discourse.

    - Revitalize the political center by promoting inclusive policies and constructive dialogue, rather than surrendering to partisan gridlock

    - building grassroots movements, citizen activism, and external pressure from progressive organizations and advocacy groups to push for change.

    - To identify, support, and elect moderate candidates who can bridge the partisan divide and promote constructive politics and elect more liberal/progressive candidates into office to further promote liberalism/progressivism in our country.

    - To grow our liberal/progressive media ecosystem to further promote liberal/progressive activism and combat the radical right-wing media ecosystem.

  19. Posted · Edited by Hardkill

    1 hour ago, Leo Gura said:

    We'll be dead before America becomes totally stage Green.

    Culture wars of course.

    Okay then, I now think I have enough of an understanding as why it is so improbable that the people in the USA will ever want to overthrow and replace the entire establishment with "populist" leaders, particularly in such a radical way, despite the historic rise in anti-establishment sentiment throughout our country.

    Thank you!

  22. Posted

    24 minutes ago, Princess Arabia said:

    You said white people are doing better than black people. If that's not mis-guidance I don't know what is. 

    Per Capita, African-Americans have still been suffering unfairly compared to whites:

    - A larger percentage of blacks than whites in America still get incarcerated and hurt from police brutality to such an unfair degree

    - A larger percentage of blacks than whites in America are still hurting from Generational poverty in countless way.

    - A larger percentage of blacks than whites in America are still unable to get access to good quality education.

    - A larger percentage of black than whites in America suffer from voter suppression 

    - A larger percentage of black than whites in America suffer from redlining

    Should I say more? It's all still abhorrent.

  24. Posted · Edited by Hardkill

    2 minutes ago, Princess Arabia said:

    What kind of a statement is this. You think white people are doing better than blacks. It's not a color thing. Get off your high horse thinking blacks aren't doing better than white people. Why generalize people based on color. This is just utter ignorance and stems from stereotyping.

    Please, don't tell me that you bought into the whole right-wing narrative.