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11 votes
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Arizona grand jury indicts eleven Republicans who falsely declared Donald Trump won the state in 2020
53 votes -
Man sets himself on fire near courthouse where Donald Trump is on trial (gifted link)
41 votes -
2020 election lawsuits continue... Smartmatic settles OANN defamation case: Here’s where Dominion and Smartmatic’s other lawsuits stand now
10 votes -
Duty to Warn's John Gartner breaks down Donald Trump's cognitive decline
32 votes -
Is climate change driving the global rise in populism? If so ... how? If not ... what is?
Preamble ... this is another rambling, jumbled soliloquy that may or may not make any actual points ... or, you know, sense. "Climate Change is causing the rise in populism". That is a theory I...
Preamble ... this is another rambling, jumbled soliloquy that may or may not make any actual points ... or, you know, sense.
"Climate Change is causing the rise in populism".
That is a theory I have entertained for many years -- going back to before the 2016 US Presidential election. And--confirmation bias being what it is--since I believe the theory, I keep seeing anecdotal evidence all over the place connecting the two.
But, thinking about it this morning, looking at it logically ... I still think there is probably a connection, but I'm not really sure. It may well just be a coincidence of timing. And even if there is a connection, I'm just not quite sure what it is. If it is true ... why? What is the actual connection?
So ... why do countries keep electing populist "Trump-like" leaders?
That's already a hard question to answer clearly, without quickly descending into personal attacks and ad hominems and such.
Plus, of course, generalization is problematic ... we're talking about different countries, different cultures, different histories driving each vote. It's not all the same. And yet, over and over again, election after election, it sure looks the same.
I think the main reason is a tribal "fear of invaders" reaction, mostly against the rise of immigration, particularly immigration from (to paraphrase Trump) "the shit-hole countries". Maybe it's an even more basic "fear of change" reaction. But I definitely think, in the US, the rise of Trump was a direct result of the illegal immigration issue -- not exclusively, but that was a big piece of the puzzle. In particular, Trump equating Muslims with terrorists, and Mexican immigrants with criminals, etc.
Here in the EU, immigration -- particularly the 2015 refugee crisis caused by the wars in the Middle East -- was probably the top reason for Brexit, as has been most of the populist surge over here since then. One country after another here keeps electing right-wing leadership based on the "we'll keep out the dirty immigrants" campaign promises. Hungary, Italy, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Poland, the list just keeps going. I live in Germany these days, and I gotta tell you, there is nothing scarier than seeing a huge surge in popularity in the German far-right.
The other top reason that seems to be driving it is some kind of sense of nationalistic self-determination. People feeling like their country--their home--is being changed by Outside Forces, and trying to lock it down, trying to find a way back to the good old days when the white people ran things and the brown people cooked and cleaned for them.
In Hungary, Orban routinely gets massive support with his constant rants about "Brussels" (meaning the EU) trying to force their gay liberal anti-Christian agenda down the throats of decent God-fearing Hungarians, and I see variations of that theme in most of the populist movements.
Right now, I want to say the populist trend is a response to (or rather, a denial of) the consequences of Colonialism and resource depletion. I think (again, over-simplified), people here in the Industrial Western World do not want to hear that the problems in the rest of the world are our fault, and that we have a responsibility to the people there, to try to help address some of the problems we've helped cause ... and instead, people are electing leaders who tell them the rest of the world is going to hell but it's not their fault and if they just lock down their borders, everything will stay "nice" in their country.
Something like that, anyway.
Okay ... so, resource depletion and a backlash against the consequences of Colonialism.
Does that seem like a fair and reasonable generalization of what is driving the rise in populism?
Because none of that is really connected to Climate Change. Sure, it depends on "which" resources we're talking about, but even in a magical hypothetical world where burning fossil fuels doesn't cause the planet to heat up ... wouldn't we still be seeing just about the same results from the Colonialism-and-resource-depletion issues?
But then again, at a global level, everything is pretty much connected to everything else. I feel like, coming at it from that angle, I could make a fairly good argument that Climate Change and resource depletion are pretty closely related, regardless of which resources you're talking about.
Oh yeah ... one more wrinkle. I'm primarily talking about populism in the US, Canada, UK, EU. I actually know a lot less about the situations in other regions. Asia. Latin America. Bolsonaro. Millei. I know there are others, but names elude me at the moment, and I don't have an understanding of why they are getting elected. Are they part of this trend? Do they blow a hole in my logic? IDK.
tl;dr
Okay ... I guess that's my new thesis -- populism is primarily being driven by a denial of the consequences of Colonialism and resource depletion ... which may or may not be closely related to Climate Change itself; I'm still just not sure.
Or, more broadly, more Climate-Change-inclusive -- populism is about people seeing that the world is dying, and electing leaders who A) tell them it's not their fault, and B) promise to save their country, even as the rest of the world burns.
Thoughts?
21 votes -
US Senate Republicans furious over Donald Trump derailing FISA bill
27 votes -
Donald Trump’s lawyers told the court that no one would give him a bond. Then he got a lifeline, but they didn’t tell the judges.
39 votes -
My shooting range, my doctor's practice, my general [translated from German]
11 votes -
Let me rewrite that for you: NY Times misinforms US readers about Robert F. Kennedy Jr and Joe Biden
22 votes -
California is preparing to defend itself — and the nation — against Trump 2.0
31 votes -
Jacob’s Dream - MAGA meets the Age of Aquarius
3 votes -
Elon Musk on racism, bailing out Donald Trump, hate speech, and more - The Don Lemon Show (full interview)
29 votes -
Donald Trump's lawyers say it is impossible for him to post bond covering $454 million US civil fraud judgment
64 votes -
Analysis: Donald Trump election win could add 4bn tonnes to US emissions by 2030
11 votes -
Jordan Klepper presses Nikki Haley supporters: Donald Trump or Joe Biden in 2024 US Presidential election?
14 votes -
Supreme Court rules Donald Trump can remain on Colorado ballot (gifted link)
46 votes -
Trumpist US policy document Project 2025 cowritten by anti social security economist Stephen Moore
35 votes -
Analysis: Donald Trump faces multiple US trials. Here’s why scheduling many for one defendant is complicated.
5 votes -
Donald Trump built a national debt so big (even before the pandemic) that it’ll weigh down the US economy for years [published 2021]
41 votes -
Donald Trump trials - Georgia defendant Kenneth Chesebro caught lying to Michigan prosecutors about alt Twitter account
21 votes -
Donald Trump benefits from newly approved merger: The US Securities and Exchange Commission approved a merger between Trump Media and Technology and Digital World Acquisition Corp
7 votes -
The 355 million dollar US civil fraud ruling against Donald Trump, annotated
30 votes -
AI firm [Midjourney] considers banning creation of political images for 2024 elections
31 votes -
US federal appeals court rejects Donald Trump’s claim of absolute immunity
82 votes -
Megathread - Updates on the Donald Trump trial regarding classified documents
Things are starting to happen in this case also.
23 votes -
Days of darkness: How one woman escaped the conspiracy theory trap that has ensnared millions
32 votes -
Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce and a MAGA meltdown
37 votes -
Donald Trump and the nightmare of tyranny lurking within the American dream
27 votes -
The story of the New Hampshire primary in one voter
19 votes -
I can't get my head around US President Joe Biden polling poorly and Donald Trump polling well
I can't get my head around President Biden polling poorly and Trump polling well. I don't think I need to provide details for people on this site, but Trump was so horrible as a president and...
I can't get my head around President Biden polling poorly and Trump polling well.
I don't think I need to provide details for people on this site, but Trump was so horrible as a president and President Biden has done such a good job. Even if Biden was a passive placeholder four years of him would have been better than 4 more years of Trump.
I don't understand where the low polls are coming from. Particularly for groups that would not do particularly well under a Trump regime like African Americans and youth.
I see some people complaining about President Biden's age, but his administration has been doing a good job and Trump is only about 4 years younger ( and in much worse shape ).
I don't get where the hate is coming from.
I remember the "red wave" that never happened and articles explaining why polls aren't as accurate as they used to be. However, that answer feels too easy to me, a cop out.
Maybe people are angry about greedflation. However, Trump's presidency when it wasn't about vindictiveness was all about neglect. I can't believe people think Trump would be better for the economy -- that he would even try beyond the stock market so he polls well.
*Disclaimer:
My apologies if this is the wrong place for this conversation. I thought here or "talk" would be the best choices, though people in "talk" might not want political conversations.
94 votes -
The US right’s underestimated brain
23 votes -
The poverty of anti-wokeness
39 votes -
Recordings, emails show how Donald Trump team flew fake elector ballots to DC in final push to overturn 2020 US election
102 votes -
Colorado Supreme Court, in landmark ruling, bans Donald Trump from state’s ballot under insurrection clause
122 votes -
House Democrats call on US Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse from Donald Trump 2020 election case
27 votes -
Former US President Donald Trump falsely claims attack ad used AI to make him look bad
27 votes -
Kenneth Chesebro (former Donald Trump lawyer) may testify in Nevada and Arizona election fraud cases
17 votes -
Donald Trump trials - Megathread - US Federal Jan 6 case with Special Counsel Jack Smith
Court of Appeals disclosed congressmember Scott Perry's texts re Trump, then removed them
31 votes -
Sebastian Stan to play a young Donald Trump in Ali Abbasi film 'The Apprentice'; Jeremy Strong and Maria Bakalova also cast
8 votes -
Megathread - Update on state court cases challenging legality of Donald Trump candidacy under the 14th amendment section 3 of the US constitution
45 votes -
Kenneth Chesebro, a Donald Trump-aligned lawyer, pleads guilty in Georgia
18 votes -
Donald Trump trials - New York civil fraud case - Megathread
Forbes senior editor accuses witness of perjury based on past email communications - testimony halted Trump civil trial witness accused of perjury
20 votes -
Donald Trump trials - Georgia election interference state court case - Megathread
Texts, documents hint at convicted witness bail bond business owner Scott Hall's wide ties to Coffee County breach, Trump allies ahead of trial Hall played a part in various post-election events,...
Texts, documents hint at convicted witness bail bond business owner Scott Hall's wide ties to Coffee County breach, Trump allies ahead of trial
Hall played a part in various post-election events, and he's taken a plea deal. He will testify in the Georgia 2020 election trials.
Hall's alleged involvement following the 2020 election reaches beyond the small south Georgia county. This includes personal relationships with those close to the former president.
Several media outlets, including CNN, have reported that Hall is related to David Bossie, chairman of the conservative group Citizens United who briefly led the former president's post-election legal challenges. Bossie's name appears in the Fulton indictment.
In late November 2020, David Shafer introduced Hall to a group of individuals including Robert Sinners, a current spokesperson for the Georgia Secretary of State's office who then worked for Trump's campaign. In the email, Shafer said Hall was "looking into the election" on behalf of the former president at Bossie's request.
This is described in Act 4 in the indictment, though Sinners is referred to as "unindicted co-conspirator Individual 4" by Fulton prosecutors. Sinners has since disavowed the post-2020 election activities that took place in Georgia.
Hall may also know about the letter former Justice Department official Jeffery Clark wanted to send that alleged the agency "identified significant concerns that may have impacted the outcome of the election in multiple States, including the State of Georgia."
34 votes -
Former US President Donald Trump allegedly discussed US nuclear subs with Australian billionaire businessman Anthony Pratt after leaving White House: Sources
43 votes -
How General Mark Milley protected the US Constitution from Donald Trump
44 votes -
Former US President Donald Trump heading to trial in seven civil and criminal cases: A calendar of dates and what to expect
56 votes -
First defendant in Donald Trump Georgia case pleads guilty
41 votes -
The scrambled spectrum of US foreign policy thinking
10 votes -
Offbeat Fridays – The thread where offbeat headlines become front page news
Tildes is a very serious site, where we discuss very serious matters like automotive industry, enshittification and donald trump. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven...
Tildes is a very serious site, where we discuss very serious matters like automotive industry, enshittification and donald trump. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if anyone was unclear.
But one of my favourite tags happens to be offbeat! Taking its original inspiration from Sir Nils Olav III, this thread is looking for any far-fetched
offbeat
stories lurking in the newspapers. It may not deserve its own post, but it deserves a wider audience!12 votes