-
13 votes
-
The Afghanistan withdrawal and Taliban takeover mean the terror threat is back
3 votes -
Democracy should be sentimentalist not rationalist
6 votes -
The psychological advantage of unfalsifiability: The appeal of untestable religious and political ideologies
5 votes -
What if the Morgenthau plan was implemented in Germany after the end of WW2?
5 votes -
US to erase student debt for those with severe disabilities
15 votes -
'A big win': USPS must turn over docs about Louis DeJoy's potential conflicts of interest
13 votes -
Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of August 16
This thread is posted weekly - please try to post all relevant US political content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Extremely significant events may warrant a separate...
This thread is posted weekly - please try to post all relevant US political content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Extremely significant events may warrant a separate topic, but almost all should be posted in here.
This is an inherently political thread; please try to avoid antagonistic arguments and bickering matches. Comment threads that devolve into unproductive arguments may be removed so that the overall topic is able to continue.
8 votes -
California Gubernatorial Election
So I’m curious if there are any other Californians here looking at the ballot for the recall of Governor Newsom and scratching their heads like me. A group of Trump supporters got up enough votes...
So I’m curious if there are any other Californians here looking at the ballot for the recall of Governor Newsom and scratching their heads like me. A group of Trump supporters got up enough votes to hold a recall of the governor, and we have to vote in the next few weeks. The ballots arrived this week and there are 2 votes we have to make: 1) Should we recall the governor? And 2) Which of these 46 (not joking!) people should replace him. Unfortunately, of the 46 possible replacements, I’ve heard of 2 of them: Caitlyn Jenner and Angelyne. Neither appear to have any relevant experience. (I’ll give Ms. Jenner the benefit of the doubt that she’d at least give a voice to an underserved portion of the population, though.)
This opinion piece from the LA Times makes the point that if the recall succeeds, there are no viable Democratic candidates despite the state leaning Democrat by a 2 to 1 margin. (
Furthermore, I can’t find any place that even has statements from each of the candidates like our elections usually do.Found it!)I don’t know how likely the recall is to succeed, so it may be a non-issue, but I’m a little concerned that there could be some dumb situation where not enough people take it seriously and only people who are pissed that they have to wear masks vote and we end up with some far right talk show host as our governor for the next year and a half or more. Anyone else have a strategy here?
22 votes -
For an ecological realpolitik
6 votes -
Wolin, on his coined 'inverted totalitarianism' and the motivations of citizens under it
3 votes -
Why the Quad alarms China
5 votes -
Taliban enter Afghan capital as US diplomats evacuate by chopper
40 votes -
Jair Bolsonaro’s ‘banana republic’ military parade condemned by critics
8 votes -
Morten Messerschmidt, a leading right-wing Danish politician, has been convicted of fraudulently receiving funds from the European Union
9 votes -
South Africa’s descent into chaos
4 votes -
Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of August 9
This thread is posted weekly - please try to post all relevant US political content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Extremely significant events may warrant a separate...
This thread is posted weekly - please try to post all relevant US political content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Extremely significant events may warrant a separate topic, but almost all should be posted in here.
This is an inherently political thread; please try to avoid antagonistic arguments and bickering matches. Comment threads that devolve into unproductive arguments may be removed so that the overall topic is able to continue.
7 votes -
How life improved since 1990
14 votes -
New York governor Andrew Cuomo to resign after investigation finds he sexually harassed multiple women
16 votes -
Tips for political debate, part 2
2 votes -
Denmark has become the first country in the European Union to offer residency to those it has worked with in Afghanistan
9 votes -
Tips for political debate
4 votes -
Envy
15 votes -
Sophie Zhang risked everything to expose how Facebook enables global political manipulation. Now she’s telling her story.
14 votes -
Why is critical race theory?
5 votes -
UK Government accused of 'burying' conversion therapy report
7 votes -
Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of August 2
This thread is posted weekly - please try to post all relevant US political content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Extremely significant events may warrant a separate...
This thread is posted weekly - please try to post all relevant US political content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Extremely significant events may warrant a separate topic, but almost all should be posted in here.
This is an inherently political thread; please try to avoid antagonistic arguments and bickering matches. Comment threads that devolve into unproductive arguments may be removed so that the overall topic is able to continue.
6 votes -
The FBI’s domestic “War on Terror” is an authoritarian power grab
6 votes -
The fight to end child marriage in North Carolina
11 votes -
Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of July 26
This thread is posted weekly - please try to post all relevant US political content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Extremely significant events may warrant a separate...
This thread is posted weekly - please try to post all relevant US political content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Extremely significant events may warrant a separate topic, but almost all should be posted in here.
This is an inherently political thread; please try to avoid antagonistic arguments and bickering matches. Comment threads that devolve into unproductive arguments may be removed so that the overall topic is able to continue.
8 votes -
Peace...? (1814)
5 votes -
Denmark faces legal action over attempts to return Syrian refugees – activists fear a dangerous precedent being set as Copenhagen deems Damascus safe
6 votes -
Hungary formally lost access this week to over €200 million in grants from Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein amid growing concerns about the country's democratic backsliding
14 votes -
The MAGA-targeted “Freedom Phone” has a breathtaking amount of red flags
15 votes -
Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of July 19
This thread is posted weekly - please try to post all relevant US political content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Extremely significant events may warrant a separate...
This thread is posted weekly - please try to post all relevant US political content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Extremely significant events may warrant a separate topic, but almost all should be posted in here.
This is an inherently political thread; please try to avoid antagonistic arguments and bickering matches. Comment threads that devolve into unproductive arguments may be removed so that the overall topic is able to continue.
5 votes -
Japan moves (slowly) toward electoral reform (2016)
4 votes -
Norway says cyber attack on parliament carried out from China – attack had utilised a security hole in Microsoft's Exchange software
10 votes -
The racist history of austerity politics in America
5 votes -
Greenland stops oil and gas exploration – natural resources minister Naaja Nathanielsen said the environment and climatic impacts had been assessed as being too high
23 votes -
Hirschfield v. BATFE: Fourth Circuit holds that federal laws prohibiting handgun sales to persons between the ages of 18-21 unconstitutional under the Second Amendment (PDF opinion)
7 votes -
The Tennessee Department of Health will halt all adolescent vaccine outreach – not just for coronavirus, but all diseases – amid pressure from Republican state lawmakers
29 votes -
China asks Taliban to make 'clean break' from all terrorist forces
6 votes -
Scientific American retracted pro-Palestine article without any factual errors
12 votes -
Brazil's Bolsonaro may need emergency surgery
5 votes -
Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of July 12
This thread is posted weekly - please try to post all relevant US political content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Extremely significant events may warrant a separate...
This thread is posted weekly - please try to post all relevant US political content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Extremely significant events may warrant a separate topic, but almost all should be posted in here.
This is an inherently political thread; please try to avoid antagonistic arguments and bickering matches. Comment threads that devolve into unproductive arguments may be removed so that the overall topic is able to continue.
6 votes -
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s popularity at lowest point so far amid vaccine scandal
9 votes -
In an effort to outflank the populist right, the ruling Social Democrats in Denmark have adopted one of the harshest refugee policies in the world
10 votes -
What do you think about voting?
I don't understand why people think an individual vote changes anything. I don't mean this as an insult, I just don't understand by what mechanism my vote matters. To be clear, I am not saying you...
I don't understand why people think an individual vote changes anything. I don't mean this as an insult, I just don't understand by what mechanism my vote matters. To be clear, I am not saying you shouldn't vote, simply that one persons vote is a neutral act.
I assume that if I vote in an election my vote will literally be counted; the votes for one candidate will go from 100,000 to 100,001. In tiny elections, it is possible, not likely, for a single vote to change a result. However, arguing for a system from its top 0.1% best case scenario is a bit disingenuous. In 99.9% of elections, it does not come down to one vote.
I have also been told I should just choose the candidate that is closest to my beliefs or even put in a blank ballet. In the US, a 3rd-party candidate will not win any non-local election; in other countries, I understand that it is different, but I can't speak from personal experience. And its not like I would ever choose any of the main party candidates; some are much worse than others, but none represent my beliefs. My understanding of this idea is that what is being valued is the performance of representation, not my actual representation in the system. 'The medium is the message', or who you vote for does not matter, what matters is that you vote.
I've heard people say something to the effect of 'if you don't vote, you have no right to complain about the political system'. This idea ignores the fact that not voting is an explicitly political act. I am engaging with the system by refusing to play what I perceive to be a rigged game.
But its not like the political system changes whether I vote or not; its not like anyone can know if I voted or not, unless I tell them or wear one of those 'I voted' stickers. I've heard people argue that if everyone thought this way, then the OTHER SIDE would win. But other people's decision to vote or not isn't my responsibility.
Is there something I am missing?
EDIT:
I changed my formatting to be more clear and edited the text, as a few responses seem to have missed some of my points.
22 votes -
He's Barack Obama, he's come to save the day! (2009)
2 votes -
In 'Stockholm Syndrome', the new documentary on rapper A$AP Rocky's 2019 assault trial in Sweden, the rapper recalls the moment things went from weird to surreal
3 votes