Planet America

[stanky]

we do have it relatively good, but what it costs the world is untenable...especially our penchant for bomb dropping and mining. The erosion of our personal liberties is fairly recent but set to continue. Depending on one's position, they might not even notice some changes. Anything to do with living well with minimal money has been snuffed out. Things like extended camping on Federal land; gunk-holing at marinas, sleeping in a van at a Walmart parking lot; cheap annual passes for national forest campsites, even rv living has had new restrictions and costs amid rumors of having to have a permanent address.

Power prefers better controls on potential counter culture experiments. The free living experiments i've known have been crushed with bureaucracy and bull dozers. Free beaches and rivers and springs have become rare. Hitch-hiking, once common and acceptable, is nearly gone and scary. Poor people were able to travel that way. Should one want to go off grid, the obstacles have mounted.
We're getting homogenized. Timid. Fat. Stupid.


now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country

[arthwollipot]

Not sayin' just sayin'

RFK Jr. Defends January 6th Insurrectionists in New Statement

One day after his campaign walked back a fundraising email that referred to January 6th insurrectionists as "activists" who had been "stripped of their Constitutional liberties," independent presidential candidate RFK Jr. issued a statement defending the criminals who attacked the Capitol in the name of Donald Trump.

"I have not examined the evidence in detail," Kennedy said in his Friday statement, "but reasonable people, including Trump opponents, tell me there is little evidence of a true insurrection. They observe that the protestors carried no weapons, had no plans or ability to seize the reins of government, and that Trump himself had urged them to protest 'peacefully.'"

Many Jan 6 insurrectionists did have weapons. Multiple individuals that entered the Capitol were carrying guns, and many more had knives and blunt objects. Several pipe bombs were discovered hidden around Capitol Hill in the days following January 6th.

[Meadmaker]

Anything to do with living well with minimal money has been snuffed out. Things like extended camping on Federal land;

I see what you mean. I'm told that camping in San Francisco is still available, bug a lot of folks aren't keen on allowing it.

Public, free, spaces do seem to be less common than in my youth. A lot more parks have entrance fees. Camping is more regulated, and more expensive.

[sparks]

Not sayin' just sayin'

RFK Jr. Defends January 6th Insurrectionists in New Statement

One day after his campaign walked back a fundraising email that referred to January 6th insurrectionists as "activists" who had been "stripped of their Constitutional liberties," independent presidential candidate RFK Jr. issued a statement defending the criminals who attacked the Capitol in the name of Donald Trump.

"I have not examined the evidence in detail," Kennedy said in his Friday statement, "but reasonable people, including Trump opponents, tell me there is little evidence of a true insurrection. They observe that the protestors carried no weapons, had no plans or ability to seize the reins of government, and that Trump himself had urged them to protest 'peacefully.'"

Many Jan 6 insurrectionists did have weapons. Multiple individuals that entered the Capitol were carrying guns, and many more had knives and blunt objects. Several pipe bombs were discovered hidden around Capitol Hill in the days following January 6th.

Oh man. Well, once one sees him as an antivaxxer nut job, this latest outburst is perfectly understandable. He's trying to make points with Trumps base or, he's as batshit crazy at Trump himself.

Neither scenario is acceptable as President of The United States of America.

This jackass will take enough votes from Joe such that Trump will be a shoo in. What a miserable cunt.

[stanky]

To blame Bobby for Biden's failure(s) is like blaming Nader for Bush.
(an exception to the absurd blame game, imo, is Al Gore's hedge-bet with Lierbrman as VP pick. That, i believe, was a planned defeat...much as Biden's campaign seems to be. I don't see how Biden could do worse than he's doing. Even with the questions pre-leaked, he couldn't fake his way through a recent interview.
Of course rfk jr is trying to appeal to a potential hybrid voter. It's the sane thing to do. Something needs to cut through the guff of there being a divisive america, on the verge of civil war.

You've likely never heard a full talk or interview of Jr. You're told not to bother by your preferred propaganda outlet. RFK jr is actually damn smart and knowledgeable on history and policies. He's a successful environmental lawyer, fighting the big boys (Monsanto, etc) and winning bigly. Pity that his objections to the mandates and the vaccine's origins over rules everything. The other two offer nothing.
They call that "Trump derangement syndrome". Fear of Trump could give rise to Biden? To hear people make excuses for Biden is just sad. He's not even there. Biden is the cunt in this. He could have made way for a new star. Instead, with luck, we get Kamala as Prez?
(Because Joe won't make four more years) This is Biden's extreme narcissism at work. Has nothing to do with vision, Just ego.

(Trump's more flamboyant narcissism tends to disguise Joe's.)

Trying to elect Biden will ensure Trump's win. Because it's looking more and more pathetic.
Rejecting Bobby for the vaccine issue is like choosing Satan because you don't like Jesus's hat.

Biden is the cunt.
(not that it matters. nor does your vote. odd that we don't recognize that yet.)

[Meadmaker]

To blame Bobby for Biden's failure(s) is like blaming Nader for Bush.

So....it's accurate?

Maybe "blame" isn't the right word, but if Ralph Nader had announced he was dropping out a week before the election, Al Gore would have become President.

If Ross Perot had not run, Bill Clinton would probably never have been President.

3rd parties and independents pretty much never draw equally from both parties, so in our system, they always hurt one candidate, and ironically, the one they hurt is the one their voters would likely want over the other.

Who knows if RFK Jr. will siphon away enough votes to make the difference this fall? My crystal ball is too cloudy to see. Even after the fact, unless it's very close, it might not be easy to tell. In the case of Florida, 2000, the election was so close, and Nader so lopsidedly drew from Gore, that it is pretty easy to say what would have happened without Nader Usually, it's not quite so obvious. A lot of people who vote for 3rd party candidates are people who wouldn't have voted otherwise.

I will agree, though, rewording your message, that 3rd party/independent candidates mostly hurt candidates who are very weak. Unfortunately, that includes the Democratic nominee this year.

[arthwollipot]

Oh, RFK Jr isn't a dickhead purely for the antivax thing. He's just a 100% pure dickhead in every way. Also, as demonstrated here, he is a lying liar who lies.

[stanky]

To blame Bobby for Biden's failure(s) is like blaming Nader for Bush.

So....it's accurate?

Maybe "blame" isn't the right word, but if Ralph Nader had announced he was dropping out a week before the election, Al Gore would have become President.

If Ross Perot had not run, Bill Clinton would probably never have been President.

3rd parties and independents pretty much never draw equally from both parties, so in our system, they always hurt one candidate, and ironically, the one they hurt is the one their voters would likely want over the other.

Who knows if RFK Jr. will siphon away enough votes to make the difference this fall? My crystal ball is too cloudy to see. Even after the fact, unless it's very close, it might not be easy to tell. In the case of Florida, 2000, the election was so close, and Nader so lopsidedly drew from Gore, that it is pretty easy to say what would have happened without Nader Usually, it's not quite so obvious. A lot of people who vote for 3rd party candidates are people who wouldn't have voted otherwise.

I will agree, though, rewording your message, that 3rd party/independent candidates mostly hurt candidates who are very weak. Unfortunately, that includes the Democratic nominee this year.

this feels so defeatist to me...like we can't have a democracy because a variety of candidates might effect the duopoly negatively. It deserves any shaking up it gets. Al Gore should have stepped aside for Nader...or at least offered him vp. Gore could have done 100 things to win. He probably would have been lousy anyway. That was a stolen election. M.I.C. won again. Bought judge. Amazing out-front corruption. Nader deserves better. He's the good guy in this.
Good thing it's a charade. If it wasn't, 3rd party would be the only way out of the stagnant 2 party stranglehold; the only chance of progress

Lying is a specialty of both major candidates this time. rfk jr is by far the most honest of them.

[arthwollipot]

this feels so defeatist to me...like we can't have a democracy because a variety of candidates might effect the duopoly negatively.

It's true. America isn't a democracy. It's a plutocracy with delusions of being a republic.

[Meadmaker]

this feels so defeatist to me.

What's your point?

..like we can't have a democracy because a variety of candidates might effect the duopoly negatively.

You can have a democracy, but you can't guarantee that there's a right way to run an election in such a way that the correct candidate gets elected.

That's not my opinion. That's math. I was quite surprised when I first learned about "the election theorem", but it's quite real.

I think ranked-choice voting is a step closer to a better system, and it would eliminate the problems associated with people like RFK Jr, but only two states use it.

Lying is a specialty of both major candidates this time. rfk jr is by far the most honest of them.

I haven't followed him closely enough to evaluate his honesty. Saying he's more honest than Trump seems like damning with faint praise. You might feel the same way about Biden.

What I am certain of is that RFK Jr. will not be President.

So the question is whether you use your one vote in the fall to make a statement, or to help elect a candidate. There's no right answer, but don't fool yourself about the effects. Voting for RFK Jr. sends a message, but it doesn't put Joe Biden or Donald Trump in the White House. More importantly, it doesn't help keep one or the other out of the White House. In terms of selecting a candidate during this election cycle, it's like staying home.