The New York Times: Biden gives legal protections to undocumented spouses. Biden’s administration has been effective and consequential. All he really needed to do was get us out of the pandemic, but there’s been a lot more. He deserves our vote. 🇺🇸
@manton He didn't get us out of the pandemic. We're still in one and we're not even getting vaccine updates on the schedule the science says is needed. We've got no support for Paxlovid, testing and masks for people who can't afford it. Members of his own party are trying to enact mask bans and he says nothing.
To top it all off, we're slow waking our way towards a potentially far worse pandemic of H5N1 largely as a result of Biden not wanting to play the heavy with farmers.
@manton If he get's my vote it will be despite my disgust of his support of genocide and only because the alternative is an outright fascist. History will show that Israel has committed war crimes, ethnic cleansing and genocide. Given his very long support of Israel and ongoing willingness to support them with the weapons they are using at this moment to commit the crimes, I suspect that history will not show him in a favorable light.
I continue to be dumbfounded at so many Americans' willingness to look the other way. If anything what it's made clear is that a predominately white middle class America is deeply fearful of loosing what they have. There doesn't really seem to be a moral or ethical framework for middle class America other that fear of loss of their position and priviledge. And within that it comes down to being in quiet support of a system deeply rooted in a history of white supremacy and which is still an active expression of that white supremacy. We don't talk about it but that doesn't negate its reality. It's the core of our ongoing national/domestic violence, our willingness to export violence via foreign policy and war profiteering, etc.
It's all so much bigger than a comment to a blog post so I'll stop there.
@Denny I disagree with the phrase “support of genocide”. He has called for an end to the war for months, worked on new aid avenues, and pushed a peace deal. You’ve simplified the war beyond recognition. I know we are far apart on this and that’s fine, I respect your view, but we’ll see now history judges us if we blow this election.
@manton this whole how will history judge us is such a liberal take. Like Hitler really sat there one night and thought hmm, I wonder how will History judge me?. Republicans will be very happy to take our votes as long as they get to own today and chart their own history. They dont care how history will judge them as long as they can own it, and liberals should take the same approach. Act for today and save what we have today, not because we want to feel good about how history will judge us.
@stupendousman I sort of agree but “history” is a useful way to think about whether we’re doing something good. It’s probably overused, though.
@manton Agree. With Stalin Jr. on the doorstep, I hope you won’t cast a vote for someone who is BFF with him.
@stupendousman I think when we say “how history will judge us” what we mean is “with the power of hindsight, will we have done the right thing?” I don’t think it’s about doing something because of how others judge you— it’s about making the right decision today that will hold up into the future. Sometimes that’s clear, like with electing Biden over Trump. Sometimes it’s much less clear.
@manton There was some new action by the FTC that is good too. (https://masto.ai/@rbreich/112639186900403183). I have my complaints about this or that big issue, but overall he's done a good job. Letting the orange one back into office simply because Biden disappoints in some way would not make sense, though we will hear the usual rhetoric about third-party candidates or not voting anyway. If only an majority were needed to win office. That and run-off elections could help a lot.
@manton Yes but he continues sending the weapons doesn't he? With virtually no restriction or pause. Just one of the many stories recently. He's doing it in the open.
I've not simplified the war. On the contrary, I'm paying very close to the details everyday via a range of respected sources. And that includes the details of the "peace deal", the details of the "aid avenues", etc. The inconvenient truth is that he's saying one thing publicly but the details, if one chooses to actually look, reveal that the public statements contradict much of the diplomacy.
There are people simplifyng the war, it's not me.