politics
Politics does not dictate our collective cultural mindset as much as it simply reflects it; We've got to look in the mirror sometimes, and we've got one.
American Presidential Election 2020
Donald Trump did not even think so. Will win the election - he was confident. But he did not seem to understand what had happened. He is losing his second term as the first incumbent president since 1992. Through a nuclear disarmament deal with North Korea, the arch-enemy of the United States, through mediation to normalize Middle East relations with Israel, and through a trade war with China, he may have thought he would gain greater support in the country. So he became desperate to win the election. But he may not have known that the coronavirus issue had eaten him to the ground like a worm. He has canceled a historic nuclear deal with Iran signed by former President Barack Obama.
By Md Zahirul Haque5 years ago in The Swamp
Hidden benefits
Although this week is marked by the US election, in Canada we also vote to bring in our government. When I was younger before I could vote, I always used to wonder why everyone seemed to get angry when discussing their vote. Like with everything else in our lives, we have our own opinions. I don't think that anyone can say one party is their exact vision, so we go with what's really important to us and which party holds more of those ideals important as well.
By Yvette McDermott5 years ago in The Swamp
A Socialist Argument Against Marxist Orthodoxy
For new socialists, Marxism, and its most popular schools of thought; Maoism, strict Bolshevik-Leninist (Trotskyist), and Marxist-Leninist (Stalinist) arguments are among the least accessible, most difficult to understand ideas in socialist and communist thought. This may be why Trotskyists, Stalinists, and other Marxists in general are considered, or perhaps consider themselves, to be the most intelligent, crème de la crème of socialism. Is this perception valid? Largely, this is debatable. The most frustrating aspect of this school of thought for new, young socialists, those just starting out in their socialist thought after leaving neoliberalism, is the inaccessible, ivory tower reputation of orthodox Marxism. Orthodox Marxists of all stripes may view this as an unfair criticism, or an inaccurate analysis, but it pays off to maintain perspective regarding the new socialists, to have an eye for the new “recruits” to socialism, in an effort to grow socialist thought in the United States and elsewhere.
By Johnny Ringo5 years ago in The Swamp
The American Working Class and the Failure of the Left and Right Wings
America’s working class has had it hard from day one. Ever since the presidency of FDR, and the creation of Social Security, or the so-called “welfare state” to take care of America’s disenfranchised workers (thereby creating what has come to be known as “the middle class”), American workers have struggled to be taken seriously by a political establishment that seems cut off, separate from, and blind to the struggles of working Americans. There seems almost a palpable hostility to the average working American, whether that American is a documented immigrant working hard and raising a family, a working mother holding down two or more jobs to feed her kids, a single father struggling to go to work and take care of a baby in a state with “at will” employment that can fire him at any time, for no reason, or the average nuclear American family, with one or more spouses working full time to keep food on the table, and trying to prevent their house from being foreclosed on.
By Johnny Ringo5 years ago in The Swamp
The USAPATRIOT and USAFREEDOM Acts
The USAPATRIOT and USAFREEDOM acts, as well as their historical parent legislation such as FISA, Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066, and the various Alien and Sedition acts throughout American history, are glaring examples of hostility, distrust, xenophobia, and racism as a matter of public law. To me, it is no different than Jim Crow, or the Dredd Scott 1857 ruling. PATRIOT and FREEDOM are draconian legislation, and an authoritarian’s wet dream. The instituting of PATRIOT into American domestic policy was intended, just like FISA and Order 9066, to give credence to war hysteria, paranoia, and to justify violence. Historically, sources have reported that following 9/11 and the passing of PATRIOT (the fastest legislation ever to be pushed through Congress and enacted as law in centuries), violence against brown-skinned immigrants by American citizens rose somewhere close to 800% when compared to pre-9/11 citizen-on-immigrant violence. A similar rise in violent crimes against ethnic minorities has increased 500% if memory serves, in recent years following the Trump inauguration.
By Johnny Ringo5 years ago in The Swamp
Saudi Arabia, Oil, and the Future of the Middle East
In the Gulf States of the Arab Peninsula, there is no bigger state, no more powerful player on that stage than Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is a dominant force in the Middle East, having some measure of involvement in the politics of the entire region. Similar to the United States’ involvement in the politics of nearly half the world, one can say that there are a lot of Saudi fingers in a lot of Middle Eastern pies, so to speak. Saudi Arabia is also one of the only friends the United States has left in that region, except for the UAE and Qatar. The UAE has large oil reserves, and the US has spent a large amount of wealth for construction and diplomatic efforts in the UAE. Qatar features one of the largest American bases in the Middle East, and is critical as a foothold for the US to access, trade, negotiate, invade and pressure the Middle East. Since the discovery of oil in the region, western powers such as England and the United States have endeavored to be involved in Arabia’s politics, seeking to secure rights, or at least access, to Arabian oil. The king of oil in the Middle East is Saudi Arabia. But what is the future of the Middle East, what moves are being made, and who do they benefit?
By Johnny Ringo5 years ago in The Swamp
The Last Ditch Effort Of Trump
The outcome of this election really shouldn't come as a shock considering the antics of Trump. What we should be cognizant of is that the Trump Presidency has made the United States sink so low in international standings that it is almost impossible to reverse the damage. Not matter who is inaugurated in January this Administration for the past four years has been able to create the greatest riff in our society. The divisions that have widened because of the utter incompetence of one Donald Trump has only incensed the publics responses. The closeness of the election just shows how deep the divisions have become. We can also state that in no other time in recent history has the United States been faced with an Administration that has dismantled the rule of law and this election is proof once again that Trump will do anything to dispel the results if Biden is declared the winner.
By Dr. Williams5 years ago in The Swamp
Your vote and voice matters
In a pandemic we have never faced since the Spanish Influenza, the handling of Covid-19 that was poorly accounted by our current administration has scourged over the entire country and even worldwide. The U.S. has lost over 230,000 lives from the coronavirus, in which we have given confidence to the science expersts and major pharma companies to work on vaccines and treatments for laboratory test experiments while we are gradually wearing masks and follow CDC guidelines. Schools cancelled and have gone virtual. Some schools reopen without any handling how it will affect children getting in as well as transmission of the virus they are unaware of. Federal, state, and local governments, agencies, and institutions are going through phases of reopening once the virus handling is negotiated. Worse of all, we have witness masses of gatherings and protests that has torn the country into pieces since the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other African-American lives taken by corrupt authorities like the police force. Day after day, week after week, and month after month I have never seen anything that shocked me in my entire life. It's hard getting a job because staff is cut short and hours are limited. Your financial aid ends after being forced to have your name taken off of your parent's tax returns. And, student debt is still rising and it's not only a national tragedy, but a strategy that dismantles anyone involved in that particular debt.
By Victor Christy5 years ago in The Swamp
COVID-19: Immediate future looks bleak for England
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the Conservative Party leader, establishes a second England-wide lockdown. The latest England lockdown, after documents reveal a significantly higher death toll than previously expected, had been inevitable. The British prime minister, after attending a cabinet meeting, broke the news.
By Shain Thomas5 years ago in The Swamp
