Unfortunately, this is not happening. Nowhere. Instead, media are always trumpeting the government's claims, instead of being impartial and observing, they currently sound the horns of war (against Russia, China) beyond any real rationale - just trumpeting and indoctrinating to the governments' ease. While sanctions are failing and only harming the people whose governments employ them. Propaganda and censorship are no earmarks of democracy, and yet they are gaining ground every day in the West, the self-annointed pillar of democracy. Hypocrisy abound, and no one is doing anything against it. - Therefore I think Trump will be good for all of us, not only the US but the whole world.
Well in terms of media bias, that is not actually objectively true in Germany at all is it?
a) you have a shit ton of newspapers catering to all sides of the political spectrum
b) you have numerous talkshows on public TV stations that frequently invite speakers from all political parties. If anything, the minor parties are over-represented (Wagenknecht for instance)
c) you also have IMO excessive airtime given to outspoken contrarians like Richard David Precht or Varwick.
d) and last but not least you have a veritable tsunami of thought and opinion on the internet.
well, you know that quip from Churchill, "democracy is the worst form of government - apart from all the others."
Does money play a role in politics? Undoubtedly. But money is not monolithic either. There are numerous interest groups out there competing with each other for public attention.
There is not just one source of big "money". There are hundreds. The same holds true for the media. The best weapon against politicised media, interest-group lobbying and paid shills on the internet is open discourse and full disclosure. It's messy but there is no real alternative.
Unfortunately, this is not happening. Nowhere. Instead, media are always trumpeting the government's claims, instead of being impartial and observing, they currently sound the horns of war (against Russia, China) beyond any real rationale - just trumpeting and indoctrinating to the governments' ease. While sanctions are failing and only harming the people whose governments employ them. Propaganda and censorship are no earmarks of democracy, and yet they are gaining ground every day in the West, the self-annointed pillar of democracy. Hypocrisy abound, and no one is doing anything against it. - Therefore I think Trump will be good for all of us, not only the US but the whole world.
Thanks. Let me answer the last one which rings in my ears most. YES it is democracy what you describe. But is that what is practiced in the West? In the US? Really?
Is it not more something that is influenced by capital flows from X to Y? In other words: the best democracy one can buy for money?
I'm afraid, there is no such thing as democracy in most all the Western world, because most all their democratic principles have been eaten up by money. - "JohnQPublic or me - living off of social welfare at age, after having payed plenty and plenty of taxes" to the daimos (the people). And no, they DO NOT RULE. THEY ARE BEING RULED instead. Ruled by the ones with enough money to pay the media and bribe the decision makers.
well, you know that quip from Churchill, "democracy is the worst form of government - apart from all the others."
Does money play a role in politics? Undoubtedly. But money is not monolithic either. There are numerous interest groups out there competing with each other for public attention.
There is not just one source of big "money". There are hundreds. The same holds true for the media.
The best weapon against politicised media, interest-group lobbying and paid shills on the internet is open discourse and full disclosure. It's messy but there is no real alternative.
I'm going to ignore that for the time being, cause it is kind of out of left-field and entirely hypothetical.
Getting back to this sentence of yours:
"Putting a potential solution way OFF like you seem to do (powerless rulers, history, all are muddling) in my opinion gives rise to even less competent rulers, which I'd hate to (trust me - I 'd really hate them) let go off without a mark."
Two things..
1. "a solution" is a bit fraught. There is no "one" solution and things keep changing. I don't advocate putting solutions off at all. I just leave them up to the elected government, which frequently means having to tolerate incompetent leaders for the time being, but hey, that is what democracy is all about. At least we get the chance to change them.
2. rulers being judged on their competence - isn't that what elections are all about in the first place? If you don't perform well, you are out.
Thanks. Let me answer the last one which rings in my ears most. YES it is democracy what you describe. But is that what is practiced in the West? In the US? Really?
Is it not more something that is influenced by capital flows from X to Y? In other words: the best democracy one can buy for money?
I'm afraid, there is no such thing as democracy in most all the Western world, because most all their democratic principles have been eaten up by money. - "JohnQPublic or me - living off of social welfare at age, after having payed plenty and plenty of taxes" to the daimos (the people). And no, they DO NOT RULE. THEY ARE BEING RULED instead. Ruled by the ones with enough money to pay the media and bribe the decision makers.
You have reached a new low. You are now lower than the bottom of a snake's belly.
You are beyond hyper partisan. You are self projecting the antisemitism that has become so deeply entrenched in today's democratic party.
I bet that you think Hamas are the good guys.
You brought up George Soros as a source of chaos and cause of lawlessness. He is a bogeyman for hard-right types including Trump and Viktor Orban. Orban and others effeecively shut down Soros's university because of Soros's democracy-oriented activities and his Jewish background.
This isn't news to you, Kurt. There was a significant back-and-forth in RP forum about Soros and his supposed influence on politics and even his childhood. There ws heated discussion ast to whether Soros's father was a Jewish collaborator with the Nazis during WWII and whether Soros himself, as a child helping his father's work, was indirectly such a collaborator.
I'm also pretty sure you understand that words like "globalists", "internatinoalists", and "godless Marxists" are dog whistles for anti-semitism.
Are you personally an anti-Semite> I don't know.But you're a brilliant parrot of all the dog whistles and fact-less rants against Soros. And I see NO daylight between you and your rapist friend who tolerates and quietly encourages anti-semitism bcause it furthers his claim that America is controlled by corrupt, lawless and grasping elites.
Frankly, I have very little faith that you've even briefly considered where your view of America today comes from and who or what has influenced it. You are told to fear and hate and you follow.
If you're not being paid to shill for Trump, you really should try to score a gig as a Trump influnencer. Just make sure you get paid up front.
Of course, this is strictly hypothetical and more than hard to swallow for the uh-so-well indoctrinated posters on this forum. *hahaha.................*
I'm going to ignore that for the time being, cause it is kind of out of left-field and entirely hypothetical.
Getting back to this sentence of yours:
"Putting a potential solution way OFF like you seem to do (powerless rulers, history, all are muddling) in my opinion gives rise to even less competent rulers, which I'd hate to (trust me - I 'd really hate them) let go off without a mark."
Two things..
1. "a solution" is a bit fraught. There is no "one" solution and things keep changing. I don't advocate putting solutions off at all. I just leave them up to the elected government, which frequently means having to tolerate incompetent leaders for the time being, but hey, that is what democracy is all about. At least we get the chance to change them.
2. rulers being judged on their competence - isn't that what elections are all about in the first place? If you don't perform well, you are out.
ok, so if I understand you correctly, you want punitive damages from bad rulers for the damage they have done? I can understand the sentiment, but wouldn't that be a bad precedent (unless they really do break fundamental rules).
I mean, if you do that then you are just going to get a constant back and forth of incrimination and counter-incrimination.
There's a rule of nature named as karma. It will most likely take care of that. Or then again, maybe not. I have no idea. But it feels right to me.
Summarizing all thoughts expressed, I welcomed Trump and his foreign policy acts from where I live. He really had the right hunch in so many situations, when he "appalled" the Western cabal. If he'd beaten Biden in 2021, Putin wouldn't have invaded Ukraine in the first place, I guess.
Of course, this is strictly hypothetical and more than hard to swallow for the uh-so-well indoctrinated posters on this forum. *hahaha.................*
Dear Bruce, I really appreciate your response. Unfortunately I don't know a solution to the whole mess, either.
Putting a potential solution way OFF like you seem to do (powerless rulers, history, all are muddling) in my opinion gives rise to even less competent rulers, which I'd hate to (trust me - I 'd really hate them) let go off without a mark. While establishing oneself as a ruler (just like Barbecue) one has to bear the consequences in my opinion. It is why I can't let all these sycophants off the hook, who have nothing on their scale but their own, private income and money.
ok, so if I understand you correctly, you want punitive damages from bad rulers for the damage they have done? I can understand the sentiment, but wouldn't that be a bad precedent (unless they really do break fundamental rules).
I mean, if you do that then you are just going to get a constant back and forth of incrimination and counter-incrimination.
ok, if I can try and identify the "grievance" out of this and if Kurt can try to honestly articulate his grievance, we might be actually getting somewhere.
I don't want to disparage either of you. A LOT of people feel the same way.
But there does seem to be lot confusion out there as to what exactly the problems are and moreover, what precisely the causes of the problems are. Here, you express your nostalgia for a functioning welfare state and state ownership of key infrastructure (something I actually share btw) and simultaneously frustration at the government taking away personal rights during an epidemic (and at a guess the Green Party trying to push through wide-sweeping reform to address climate change). It's a bit of a contradiction in terms, tbh. You want a nanny state, but not one that nannies.
For his part, Kurtster always falls back on "illegal immigration", which by itself is not sufficient to explain his depth of passion. He's mightily pissed off, but I still can't work out what about. It mostly seems to be with people who are not like him or who don't share his support of Trump. Here too, I interpret this as nostalgia for a past that is slipping out of his control as the world around him changes.
You both seem to share a tendency to blame change on nefarious movers working in the background.
But what if such people don't actually have as much power and influence as you think? What if all of these changes are just the product of historical contingency? What if the world is simply pretty chaotic and difficult to govern and we are all kind of muddling through?
Dear Bruce, I really appreciate your response. Unfortunately I don't know a solution to the whole mess, either.
Putting a potential solution way OFF like you seem to do (powerless rulers, history, all are muddling) in my opinion gives rise to even less competent rulers, which I'd hate to (trust me - I 'd really hate them) let go off without a mark. While establishing oneself as a ruler (just like Barbecue) one has to bear the consequences in my opinion. It is why I can't let all these sycophants off the hook, who have nothing on their scale but their own, private income and money.
Yes, that's a global phenomenon. I think what Kurt in his own words means by globalists and marxists could as well be read as neoliberalists and neocons. Maybe I'm wrong or lost in translation, but the thing is, it feels the same in Europe. The Davos crowd seems willing to step on us all, which is kind of hard to accept (and not revolt against) since former welfare states (such as Germany) with the onset of Covid have turned blatantly fascist, employing censorship of all media, and such the like with the simple shrug of "there's not enough money, dear"...
Well, WHO turned everything in the hands of the public to be privately bought? The rail-, the airway-, the post-, and the banking gone virtual? Yes, it all started to happen in the US of A in the late 1970s. A virus not to be contained: Capitalism eats itself.
ok, if I can try and identify the "grievance" out of this and if Kurt can try to honestly articulate his grievance, we might be actually getting somewhere.
I don't want to disparage either of you. A LOT of people feel the same way.
But there does seem to be lot confusion out there as to what exactly the problems are and moreover, what precisely the causes of the problems are. Here, you express your nostalgia for a functioning welfare state and state ownership of key infrastructure (something I actually share btw) and simultaneously frustration at the government taking away personal rights during an epidemic (and at a guess the Green Party trying to push through wide-sweeping reform to address climate change). It's a bit of a contradiction in terms, tbh. You want a nanny state, but not one that nannies.
For his part, Kurtster always falls back on "illegal immigration", which by itself is not sufficient to explain his depth of passion. He's mightily pissed off, but I still can't work out what about. It mostly seems to be with people who are not like him or who don't share his support of Trump. Here too, I interpret this as nostalgia for a past that is slipping out of his control as the world around him changes.
You both seem to share a tendency to blame change on nefarious movers working in the background.
But what if such people don't actually have as much power and influence as you think? What if all of these changes are just the product of historical contingency? What if the world is simply pretty chaotic and difficult to govern and we are all kind of muddling through?
nah, you can't get off the hook that easily Kurtster. Just toss a few hand grenades and then walk off all innocently.
Look at what you said. It implies you think globalists and Marxists are in control, or in the process of taking over control. Which begs the question, are these guys a minority using deceitful means to obtain control or are they (gulp) the majority?
If the former, please explain how they pull this off. Once you have done this, maybe fill us in as to how you think this should be combatted.
If the latter, what is your problem with it? After all, the U.S. is a democracy, at least I thought so. Or do the majority not get the opportunity to govern if they are wrong in your view.
And while you are in the process, maybe you can explain why you think the U.S. is not in the middle of an identity crisis.
FWIW, this is not an issue confined to the U.S.
Europe is going through something very similar.
Yes, that's a global phenomenon. I think what Kurt in his own words means by globalists and marxists could as well be read as neoliberalists and neocons. Maybe I'm wrong or lost in translation, but the thing is, it feels the same in Europe. The Davos crowd seems willing to step on us all, which is kind of hard to accept (and not revolt against) since former welfare states (such as Germany) with the onset of Covid have turned blatantly fascist, employing censorship of all media, the toughest immigration laws since the Third Reich, and such the like with the simple shrug of "there's not enough money, dear"... or "we just can't handle their numbers".
Well, WHO turned everything in the hands of the public to be privately bought? The rail-, the airway-, the postal system, and banking systems gone VIRTUAL from a Gold standard?
Yes, it all started to happen in the US of A in the late 1970s.
A virus not to be contained, capitalism eats itself; or perversity in action.
With all due respect, this is my take on my country. We are not having an identity crisis, unless you call fighting off a takeover by globalists and Marxists an identity crisis.
Biden is part of the problem and not at all the part of any solution, especially when it comes to restoring any kind of order to this country, imo.
I may stand alone here with these thoughts in this partisan echo chamber, but I am far from alone with these concerns at large in a more diverse setting.
But it is hyper partisan here and there is no middle ground on anything. And that is how the discussions here are constructed.
Is what it is and gets what it gets. My role here ? I'm just a speed bump in the rush to get on the road to hell.
My advice to any foreigner looking at this country ... if you want war, endless wars, support Biden. If you want peace and stable energy supplies, support Trump.
nah, you can't get off the hook that easily Kurtster. Just toss a few hand grenades and then walk off all innocently.
Look at what you said. It implies you think globalists and Marxists are in control, or in the process of taking over control. Which begs the question, are these guys a minority using deceitful means to obtain control or are they (gulp) the majority?
If the former, please explain how they pull this off. Once you have done this, maybe fill us in as to how you think this should be combatted.
If the latter, what is your problem with it? After all, the U.S. is a democracy, at least I thought so. Or do the majority not get the opportunity to govern if they are wrong in your view.
And while you are in the process, maybe you can explain why you think the U.S. is not in the middle of an identity crisis.
FWIW, this is not an issue confined to the U.S.
Europe is going through something very similar.
My advice to any foreigner looking at this country ... if you want war, endless wars, support Biden. If you want peace and stable energy supplies, support Trump.
Wow, I didn't even see this post's refernece to globalists and Marxists when I esponded to you a few minutes ago. Thanks for being so, so predictable.
"My advice to any foreigner looking at this country ... if you want war, endless wars, support Biden. If you want peace and stable energy supplies, support Trump"
If Trump is elected, Russia will take over Ukraine and it will not stop there. Iran will do its level best to stick it to Trump as paybck for tearing up the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and killing its Quds leader. China will not cooperate in any way with Trump.
As for stable energy supplies, I suggest you google to learn about the US's current levels of oil and gas productin under Biden. You're embarrassing yourself.
You're being played like a violin by people who are unable to tell you what a woman is. And you suck it right up and ask for more.
The only people taking the bloodbath remark as a hidden code word to incite political violence are people like you and your media who tells you what to think, when to think and how to think. That you spout this shit totally believing it only makes Trump supporters dig in deeper and work harder to overcome this total totalitarian do as I say, not as I do shit show masquerading as the democratic party.
Keep it up. You're going to help turn out the Trump vote. And when Trump wins, we'll see who the real rioters are. And the police that you fought so hard to defund won't be around to save your sorry asses, homes and businesses. And even if they did, the Soros prosecutors you elected will only turn them lose as soon as their cuffs are removed to go out and do more harm in the name of democracy.
.
Kurt, whose supporters gathered in DC on January 6 and broke into the Capitol Building with their leader's encouragement?
Trump's encouraging his supporters to use ciolence again. He's gotten away with January 6 so far and has used it to whip up his fanbase. He has no reason not to encourage violence again.
"Soros prosecutors"?—oh dear. Thanks for opening the door to your creepy conspiracy fever dreams a bit more. Have you abandoned the term "globalists"? Maybe they're internationalists> Or godless Marxists. I'm wondering whether, deep down, you really are thinking"dirty Jews."
Iâm doing a lot of traveling and they all laugh at the USA.
The global knowledge of our system of government, elections, and laws is shocking.
Americans assume some level of superiority because of prosperity. There is a personal sense of accomplishment that is unreasonable. It's the systems that enable such wealth and prosperity. Any doubt...Trump is a perfect example. He fails and fails and fails... and the bankruptcy laws get him out of the failures so he can make money by trying again. After all of that, he thinks he shouldn't owe taxes because he's been so successful. The American lack of self-awareness is fantastic. It allows us to create amazing things and tremendous wealth.
About 20 years ago, my wife and I were in a cab in London late one night. After telling the driver where we were going, he turned around and said something like "I couldn't help but notice the accent... so as an American... let me ask you a question...." He went on to reference several parts of the Constitution in painful detail with some reference to the House vs. Senate. We talked about it, but I don't think I answered his questions. Most Americans can't name a single foreign head of state. Without looking...how many can name the current UK PM? I'd bet less than 5% in the US could.
I have friends in Europe and Asia... and to your point... they all wonder what the hell we're doing. A friend in Ireland commented a few weeks ago... "I'll head back to the US someday - after Trump is convicted - I hope that's soon." They're all watching in fear...and amazement.
With all due respect, this is my take on my country. We are not having an identity crisis, unless you call fighting off a takeover by globalists and Marxists an identity crisis.
It's a full-fledged, textbook definition cult at this point.
Iâm doing a lot of traveling and they all laugh at the USA.
Went to an extraordinary pastry shop near my house and the Romanian lady that I always see was happy to comp me some stuff since Iâm there 2-3 times a week. I told her that I was going to be gone for a few months and Iâd miss the treat. She volunteered: âThings are going to be so bad here and there when he gets elected.â And the younger woman behind her got wide eyes and started nodding in assent.