US Foreign Policy 3.0: We're The Mets of International Diplomacy

[RaceBoarder]

Kep is taking the "Circle theory" of politics a bit far in that picture...

9 is non-extreme/radical, but fully Left. 3 would be the same for Conservatives

On a clock 12 is "Extreme Hate/Terror"... Think Stalin (left) and Hitler (right) are at like 11:55 and 12:05 respectively.

In the comic Kep posted, you have the right at like 1:00 and the Dems shown at like 9:00. They are not equal in their "dedication" to the cause.. This also shows the shift that AP mentioned..

 

[MichVandal]

There's a co-worker in my office who speaks similarly. Despite b*tching about the hate coming from the far right, he also despises anything left of Biden's politics. The Squad legitimately makes him scared for the future.

It's taken a while, but thanks to some in depth stats about how each party's ideology has shifted (moreso, the hard right turn from the GOP in the last 25 years), I finally made him realize that the evangelical Bible thumper are terrorists, the left hasn't really moved any further left, and he needs to just stop being a libertarian a**hole.


It's still gonna take him a while to get out of the "both sides are bad, so why do I even vote" mentality.

Ironic that Biden is so feared but a person who was part of the secret police of the most feared version of the far left is so honored.

If they are going to tell me that AOC is such a bad person, it's pretty hard to accept the concept that vladdy is not hated or feared.

That kind of puts into perspective of the whole BS of the "bothsideism" going on.

 

[Swansong]

Ironic that Biden is so feared but a person who was part of the secret police of the most feared version of the far left is so honored.

If they are going to tell me that AOC is such a bad person, it's pretty hard to accept the concept that vladdy is not hated or feared.

That kind of puts into perspective of the whole BS of the "bothsideism" going on.

Agreed, and I think much of it comes from the infection that is Donald Trump poisoning any well he gets into. Yes, partisans have always been... uh... partisan. But right now the Right will take up literally any side against Joe Biden. Of course scum like Tuckums will use weasle words to hide his thinly veiled support for Putin, but rank and file Republicans who find that gross (and there are many of them) will lean on said weasle words, reject the obvious Putin support, and then flip it into "but Biden is the real problem" nonsense.

In the end, it's the same.

 

[Kepler]

Also been reading that Russia has had to pull troops off from the front line offensive to shore up the protection for their supply lines. Which might help explain their inability to push the offensive.

Also that they are pulling troops from the other places they and Wagner are making trouble (Georgia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Syria, Mali). Maybe we'll see Fox News and the Republican Members called home to Moscow.

The Dumps are safe. Ivanka's the only one not 4-F.

 

[Kepler]

TV personalities at Russia outlets are shocked, shocked to discover that they are just Putin's propaganda machines and not real journalism.

I love when Fox News types who have been perfectly happy to cash checks as they spread rhetoric that murders people suddenly find out they too are just fungibles to their puppeteers, and how it hurts their feewies.

 

[Kepler]

Maybe this is a chance to calm things down with Iran as well as Venezuela. Be interesting to see what else shakes loose if SPECTRE keeps losing power.

The Neocons must be going insane.

 

[dxmnkd316]

This is fairly close to my evolution, minus the outright fear of AOC. I was - am? - "socially liberal and fiscally conservative" but I'm sickened by what most people that espouse that belief seem to say here in 2022. Most people that claim the libertarian mantle have proven to be hateful borderline (or not borderline) anarchists, or fascists who haven't yet found their binky.

I used to be a SLFC centrist but I grew out of it when it became almost impossible to square the two in my head. The only reason I was FC was because of the propaganda drilled into my head with garbage like Jr Achievers and all of the other corporate-sponsored nonsense about working hard, the american dream, boostraps!, blah blah blah blah blah.

Anyways, when it became obvious that not everyone can afford a boat, "a rising tide raises all boats" seemed awfully shi--tty. I think my transition to S(very)LFL was like a titrated buffer. Takes a while, but once it starts, it's fast. Oddly enough, the x-axis almost perfectly reflects the age where it normally occurs. And the colors work too. And going from acidic ideas... cool.

 

[rufus]

Agreed, and I think much of it comes from the infection that is Donald Trump poisoning any well he gets into. Yes, partisans have always been... uh... partisan. But right now the Right will take up literally any side against Joe Biden. Of course scum like Tuckums will use weasle words to hide his thinly veiled support for Putin, but rank and file Republicans who find that gross (and there are many of them) will lean on said weasle words, reject the obvious Putin support, and then flip it into "but Biden is the real problem" nonsense.

In the end, it's the same.

Started with Obama, though. Anything he was for, Republicans had to be against.

Because........reasons.

 

[rufus]

TV personalities at Russia outlets are shocked, shocked to discover that they are just Putin's propaganda machines and not real journalism.

I love when Fox News types who have been perfectly happy to cash checks as they spread rhetoric that murders people suddenly find out they too are just fungibles to their puppeteers, and how it hurts their feewies.

More principled than anyone at Fox News.

Although to be fair, Russia probably pays its Fox stooges better than the home team.

 

[Wayuphere]

Hmm, so Russia won’t pick up the hotline phone anymore after multiple daily calls that they were previously answering…?
Interesting. Tactical psych move or internal strife?
”You answer it Igor”.
“NO effin way, YOU answer it yourself, Vlad.”

 

[Deutsche Gopher Fan]

I used to be a SLFC centrist but I grew out of it when it became almost impossible to square the two in my head. The only reason I was FC was because of the propaganda drilled into my head with garbage like Jr Achievers and all of the other corporate-sponsored nonsense about working hard, the american dream, boostraps!, blah blah blah blah blah.

Anyways, when it became obvious that not everyone can afford a boat, "a rising tide raises all boats" seemed awfully shi--tty. I think my transition to S(very)LFL was like a titrated buffer. Takes a while, but once it starts, it's fast. Oddly enough, the x-axis almost perfectly reflects the age where it normally occurs. And the colors work too. And going from acidic ideas... cool.

I don’t know how anyone can square those two in their head

 

[dxmnkd316]

I don’t know how anyone can square those two in their head

Part of growing up I suppose. Young and dumb turns to old and somewhat less dumb. For most.

 

[Kepler]

Started with Obama, though. Anything he was for, Republicans had to be against.

Because........reasons.

You misspelled "Bill Clinton."

That was when the Right fully exposed itself as a spiteful, stupid child.

 

[MichVandal]

This is fairly close to my evolution, minus the outright fear of AOC. I was - am? - "socially liberal and fiscally conservative" but I'm sickened by what most people that espouse that belief seem to say here in 2022. Most people that claim the libertarian mantle have proven to be hateful borderline (or not borderline) anarchists, or fascists who haven't yet found their binky.

I also find it amusing that you have a fear of AOC. The core of her green new deal is to take care of people- make sure there's an environment to live in, and that you have a job that actually allows you to live instead of being a slave. It seems radical because people tell you it's radical. It's so very close to what most of the EU is- who have better living standards overall, better health outcomes, and better education.

 

[Kepler]

Most people that claim the libertarian mantle have proven to be hateful borderline (or not borderline) anarchists, or fascists who haven't yet found their binky.

Wasn't always true -- there were still solid Left libertarians in the 70s and 80s who saw whenever the Right is in power, state power is an amplifier for systemic racism and xenophobic militarism, so they wanted to remove the bullets from the Right's gun so they couldn't murder as many people.

But it sure is true, now. The beginning of the end was when the big L Libertarian party was taken over by Randian Kochs and Christian wingnuts. They just turned it into another machine to reduce everyone to their serfs by eliminating regulation and further warping the legal system to only serve the rich.

Result is libertarianism is now as toxic as conservativism. Nobody with an ounce of intelligence growing up now will ever become either unless they are a stone cold sociopath.

 

[Kepler]

Agreed, and I think much of it comes from the infection that is Donald Trump poisoning any well he gets into.

Dump is horror but he isn't the creator of horror. This was already well under way with Rush and Newt.

This churlish poison has been bred in the bone of conservatism since the early 90s.

 

[aparch]

You misspelled "Bill Clinton."

That was when the Right fully exposed itself as a spiteful, stupid child.

Oh, Mr. Newt "I like getting my dick sucked by random women, but I don't like when others have it done to them" Gingrich?

And Rush "both sides are getting their dick sucked, vote Republican!" Limbaugh?

 

[Swansong]

I also find it amusing that you have a fear of AOC. The core of her green new deal is to take care of people- make sure there's an environment to live in, and that you have a job that actually allows you to live instead of being a slave. It seems radical because people tell you it's radical. It's so very close to what most of the EU is- who have better living standards overall, better health outcomes, and better education.

I don't have that fear. I disagree with her on many things and I'm not a huge fan of her twitter persona, however I'm impressed that she is converting from left wing bomb thrower to actual serious legislator. She's putting the work in. I respect that a lot.

 

[Kepler]

I'm impressed that she is converting from left wing bomb thrower to actual serious legislator. She's putting the work in. I respect that a lot.

She always was. What changed was your perception.

 

[Swansong]

She always was. What changed was your perception.

Evidence that she was? Perhaps she did put in the work at first but she was new and all we heard about was the silly social media stuff. A few years in and now it's evident to anyone actually paying attention that she isn't merely a better educated bomb thrower, but an actual legislator. I'm not going to agree with her on that many things (like her ridiculous no vote on the infrastructure plan, or voting "present" on the Israel Iron Dome funding deal).