hobbes64's recent activity
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Comment on US President Donald Trump calls for an end to the Chips Act, redirecting funds to national debt in ~society
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Comment on US tariff war risks sinking world into new Great Depression, International Chamber of Commerce warns in ~finance
hobbes64 Link ParentI agree that trump and musk see people as NPCs. They are both clearly immoral sociopaths. It’s been hard for me to accept that almost half of people aren’t able to detect this. Or they think it’s...I agree that trump and musk see people as NPCs. They are both clearly immoral sociopaths. It’s been hard for me to accept that almost half of people aren’t able to detect this. Or they think it’s ok because egg prices might go down. If they won’t hurt me because I’m white and wave a trump flag.
It’s been such a slow moving train wreck to watch trump break through every check and balance that’s supposed to keep evil people and traitors out of power. While millions cheer their own demise. -
Comment on White House seeks plan for possible Russia sanctions relief, sources say in ~society
hobbes64 Link ParentRussia doesn’t have a good economy. It’s mostly based on oil which the world is trying to move away from. I wonder how much “big oil” is behind trump’s actions. There are a ton of sociopaths in...Russia doesn’t have a good economy. It’s mostly based on oil which the world is trying to move away from. I wonder how much “big oil” is behind trump’s actions.
There are a ton of sociopaths in power who will burn the world down so they can have ten years of higher profits.
Edit: actually the influence probably goes the other way. Trump tries to kill clean energy all the time because Putin’s economy is weakened by it.
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Comment on US tariff war risks sinking world into new Great Depression, International Chamber of Commerce warns in ~finance
hobbes64 Link ParentNice reference. I think Ben Stien was kind of a jerk though.Nice reference. I think Ben Stien was kind of a jerk though.
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Comment on US tariff war risks sinking world into new Great Depression, International Chamber of Commerce warns in ~finance
hobbes64 Link ParentManufacturing has been offshored for decades. Stating with Reagan I think (the last guy claiming to make America great again). It would take maybe a decade to build it back, but that would not be...Manufacturing has been offshored for decades. Stating with Reagan I think (the last guy claiming to make America great again). It would take maybe a decade to build it back, but that would not be possible without competent government intervention, so yeah this is going to be painful unless republicans in congress grow a pair and remove him from office.
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Comment on White House seeks plan for possible Russia sanctions relief, sources say in ~society
hobbes64 LinkThe mendacity of Trump should not surprise anymore, but the fact that he still talks about the “Russia, Russia, Russia hoax” while continually acting like Putin’s employee is just mindblowing. And...The mendacity of Trump should not surprise anymore, but the fact that he still talks about the “Russia, Russia, Russia hoax” while continually acting like Putin’s employee is just mindblowing. And I’ll never get over the fact that there are millions of Americans waving Trump flags and calling themselves patriots while they watch him commit treason.
There are a lot of actions occurring that indicate the current admin doesn’t expect to be accountable to voters.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of March 3 in ~society
hobbes64 Link ParentI’ve talked to some people who didn’t vote for Harris and the reasons they gave are not based in reality. For example, I’ve heard “she’s so dumb” and “she doesn’t answer questions “. Neither of...I’ve talked to some people who didn’t vote for Harris and the reasons they gave are not based in reality. For example, I’ve heard “she’s so dumb” and “she doesn’t answer questions “. Neither of these things has any basis in fact. In fact, they seem to be projections of the other candidate. I’m not sure what propaganda people are watching or if they just make random decisions and then make up a justification.
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Comment on What exists behind us? - A reminder to actually spend time with content from the past, not just cherish it in ~talk
hobbes64 LinkI've been enjoying television and movies from the 1970s. I've made at least one post about this here recently. I like the pace of the older shows, even when some of it is filler. I like seeing how...I've been enjoying television and movies from the 1970s. I've made at least one post about this here recently. I like the pace of the older shows, even when some of it is filler. I like seeing how people dressed, and how many plot points are about how you can't talk to someone right away because there isn't a phone around. I like seeing how all the furnishings are made of metal, wood, glass, and cloth. There is almost no plastic around. If there are computers, they are taking up a whole wall and have a lot of blinking lights and tape reels that spin. A lot of the old shows are set in Los Angeles, which I know pretty well, It's very interesting to see how much less development there was 50 years ago on streets that I've walked or driven.
The sense of humor in the shows is both similar and different to know. Of course there are different cultural references. The interactions between men and women are very different. There is a lot of content that would not be considered acceptable at all today. But a lot of it is strangely progressive. I notice in many of the police shows, for example the two I mention below, the main character is very reluctant to ever use a gun. Most of the shows seem to attempt to handle race in a progressive way. Of course there were exceptions, but I really feel that on the whole "Hollywood" was largely progressive. It makes it a bit hard to understand the politics of "boomers" now I guess.Now to your point about "why is this taken away from us?". Well, I can talk a bit about how I am obtaining this content from the 1970s. One way is to find DVDs at the local library. They may have old things to borrow, or to buy for just a few dollars.
Of course getting used items like this is spotty, you never know what they are going to have. The other way I watch some old shows is through streaming services. This is getting increasingly worse. The shows tend to move around every year or so. For example, I used to watch Columbo and The Rockford files on Peacock. But Columbo disappeared from there for a while and later showed up on Tubi. The Rockford files is now on Amazon Prime. Amazon Prime used to be great for this type of thing before they had ads. I really hate ads. Even though there are fewer ones on streaming than used to be on cable, it is the same few ads over and over and over again. Tubi also has ads but I'm generally able to block them using Pi Hole. Can't block ads on Amazon because they come through the same aws domain as the show.I've also read a few classic books lately. I'm currently working on The Catcher in the Rye. I had to read it in high school but it seems different than I remembered it. I'm sure a lot of books seem completely different after you've had more life experiences. It's a much funnier and sadder book than I remembered.
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Comment on Wealthy Americans fuel half of US economy consumer spending in ~finance
hobbes64 LinkI don’t have a great way to judge the mood of the country. I see how people vote and what people say online. Based on this, it seems the country is very unhappy and that we are on the road to...I don’t have a great way to judge the mood of the country. I see how people vote and what people say online. Based on this, it seems the country is very unhappy and that we are on the road to serious unrest. If the economy is not working for most people there will be more people with nothing to lose and they will do desperate things.
This transfer of wealth to the rich has been happening for a long time and people have noticed, but not understood exactly where to place the blame. Seeing the richest oligarchs in prominent seats at the inauguration should have been very obvious sign that trump had no intention to do anything but hasten the wealth transfer. Big bold moves and tariffs will focus the blame on Trump’s admin, despite all of the propaganda churning in the media.When trump got elected again I assumed he would do a lot of negative things that harmed the country, then there would be mass protests, and a big crackdown by him which would make things worse. The protests have been modest so far but as the weather gets warmer and the economy goes into recession I think this will come true. The only hope is that it results in something positive. It’s clear that the project 2025 people are trying to make the next election irrelevant by installing loyalists at all levels. Hopefully enough people will get shocked out of complacency before they completely succeed
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Comment on Volodymyr Zelenskyy Fox News interview after Oval Office meeting in ~society
hobbes64 LinkWell I watched some of this video but I was on guard because it's from Fox News which I hate with a burning passion. It actually started out fine but I had to stop watching when they showed...Well I watched some of this video but I was on guard because it's from Fox News which I hate with a burning passion. It actually started out fine but I had to stop watching when they showed comments from that horrible snake Lindsay Graham who was praising Trump and Vance for their behavior during the visit. What a total piece of groveling shit he is.
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Comment on Five failures in the Oval Office in ~society
hobbes64 LinkNew video from historian Timothy Snyder. Video description: In this, my first substack video, I react to the shameful encounter between American leaders and media and the Ukrainian president. No...New video from historian Timothy Snyder. Video description: In this, my first substack video, I react to the shameful encounter between American leaders and media and the Ukrainian president. No doubt there were more, but I saw five failures on our side: of hospitality, decency, democracy, strategy, and independence.
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Five failures in the Oval Office
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Comment on US President Donald Trump cuts short talks with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy after Oval Office blow up in ~society
hobbes64 Link ParentThe president and his admin are corrupt, pathetic, compromised buffoons. What a disgrace they've brought upon the United States and what a tragedy for Ukraine and free people. Any republicans or...The president and his admin are corrupt, pathetic, compromised buffoons. What a disgrace they've brought upon the United States and what a tragedy for Ukraine and free people.
Any republicans or conservative "influencers" who try to spin this as something good for the United States or the world are evil idiots.
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Comment on Donald Trump administration launches online portal for reporting 'Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion' in US public schools in ~society
hobbes64 Link ParentThe democratic party is a disappointment to me, they are beholden to rich donors and are more interested in fundraising than supporting the working middle class like they should. But they...The democratic party is a disappointment to me, they are beholden to rich donors and are more interested in fundraising than supporting the working middle class like they should. But they occasionally do things that are pretty good and are somewhat beholden to voters and at least keep things relatively stable.
But the republican party is completely batshit insane. It harms the economy every time it has power. It takes away basic rights from people. It denies fair election results, denies a pandemic happened, denies that Russia invaded Ukraine, supports an insurrection and refuses to remove a traitorous criminal from office and then supports his every whim. It controls media and repeats lies to support a tiny minority of rich people.I'm so furious at American voters for falling for the stupid propaganda and lies over and over again.
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Comment on The world Donald Trump wants: American power in the new age of nationalism in ~society
hobbes64 LinkI think this type of article about Trump is aspirational. As in, "please read this Trump, or please read this people near Trump, and mention it to him in case he decides to make the ideas here...I think this type of article about Trump is aspirational. As in, "please read this Trump, or please read this people near Trump, and mention it to him in case he decides to make the ideas here come true. Please have some reason for your capricious and chaotic bullshit and don't make it turn out that you are just a Russian asset who is trying to profit from the collapse of the west". He isn't the brains behind "Trumpism" anyway, he's just the face of it.
People trying to influence Trump remind me of the what is power scene in Shindler's List. Hey, why not do the right thing Trump? Why not benefit other people in addition to yourself? They will think you are powerful if you have mercy or leave a legacy. Don't just be needlessly cruel. Meanwhile Trump is thinking about how mean Jimmy Kimmel was to him or something.
Trump also reminds me of the little kid in the Twilight Zone episode It's a Good Life. Everyone around him has to butter him up all the time to try to reduce the amount of horrible evil things that he does.
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Comment on The world Donald Trump wants: American power in the new age of nationalism in ~society
hobbes64 Link ParentYes from all evidence it seems odd that someone would assume Trump is acting in good faith. The pattern for him is always apparently "how can I enrich myself or punish my enemies". Any of his...Yes from all evidence it seems odd that someone would assume Trump is acting in good faith. The pattern for him is always apparently "how can I enrich myself or punish my enemies". Any of his stated goals should be met with suspicion. It's clear he lacks any basic level of concern for the negative effects of his actions.
If Trump is a Russian asset, intent on destroying the United States as quickly as possible, while he and his associates like Musk get richer from the remaining crumbs, then everything he does makes sense.
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Comment on Jasmine Crockett dares Republicans to say Russia invaded Ukraine in ~society
hobbes64 Link ParentYeah I didn’t notice until after I posted it. It must be in the title of the YouTube link which I pastedYeah I didn’t notice until after I posted it. It must be in the title of the YouTube link which I pasted
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Comment on Jasmine Crockett dares Republicans to say Russia invaded Ukraine in ~society
hobbes64 LinkRelated: Article on The Atlantic today: Did Russia Invade Ukraine? Is Putin a Dictator? We Asked Every Republican Member of CongressRelated: Article on The Atlantic today:
Did Russia Invade Ukraine? Is Putin a Dictator? We Asked Every Republican Member of Congress
Most Republicans strongly condemned Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and have voted on multiple occasions to send the country military aid. But with their party’s leader back in the White House, many of them have grown quiet. Are any GOP lawmakers willing to say, in plain terms, what is true?
I reached out to all 271 Republican members of the House and Senate to find out, asking each of them two straightforward questions: Did Russia invade Ukraine? And is Putin a dictator? So far, I have received 19 responses.
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Comment on Jasmine Crockett dares Republicans to say Russia invaded Ukraine in ~society
hobbes64 LinkJasmine Crockett calls out republicans for lying about the 2020 election and about the danger of Covid, then challenges their silence about Trump's lies about Russia and Ukraine. The part...Jasmine Crockett calls out republicans for lying about the 2020 election and about the danger of Covid, then challenges their silence about Trump's lies about Russia and Ukraine.
The part specifically about Ukraine starts at about the 4:20 mark.
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Jasmine Crockett dares Republicans to say Russia invaded Ukraine
25 votes
The exhausting buffoon does another thing to harm the country and to undermine his supposed goal of making the US more competitive.
It would be cool to just go one full day without seeing his name. Just one day without something seeing his name associated with something dumb or embarrassing or harmful to the country and the world.
Edit: so anyway, as mentioned by the article, this is a law that was already enacted . So I guess he’s using the bully pulpit to give some opinion about it or affect future legislation. But most of his actions are reminders that the US president has way too much power and too few guardrails. For example he’s not supposed to be able to do the recent tariffs but he is anyway by pretending it’s an emergency act.