For context, Dick Cheney announced that he’ll be voting for Kamala Harris.

  • @cybervseas@lemmy.world
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    393 months ago

    I can’t decide if I love Dick’s facial expression or Gimli 2’s more…

    We need this for more republican endorsements please. At least the weirder ones.

    And if republican voters make a difference, then a “Gondor calls for aid!” meme.

  • @qarbone@lemmy.world
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    123 months ago

    So all the ‘conservatives’ are seeing the writing on the walls and, like sea rats, scurrying to get off the sinking ship that is Donald J. Trump? They’ve had their fun and made their money but that dog won’t hunt no more so they’re all deciding to put him down.

    If the momentum sticks and Trump is voted to oblivion, they’ll all write their books about how terrible he really was. How odious it was to chafe under the strangling yoke of…^checks ^notes their endorsed candidate.

    I’ll take your vote, Dick, but you can choke on yourself just like all the other Republicans politicians voting for Harris.

    • @foxontherocks@lemmy.world
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      43 months ago

      It is more like they see an opportunity to push the democratic party even further to the right. Dick is in your party because he is comfortable there. You have no politics that are fundamentally inconsistent with his.

  • Maeve
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    -273 months ago

    I think it’s indicative of just how far right the “left” have gone. We have no real representation.

    • @Zipitydew@sh.itjust.works
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      953 months ago

      Not related to that at all.

      Cheney hates Trump because of his ties to Russia. For threatening to have the US leave NATO. January 6th. And above all the cardinal GOP sin of attacking fellow party members. Liz has repeatedly been the focus of Trump’s outbursts because she’s stood up to him. And to a ghoul like Cheney, attacking the in-group is a big no no. Especially his own daughter.

          • @MrMcGasion@lemmy.world
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            43 months ago

            If the Democratic party gets to be too large of a tent, and the Republican party shrinks, eventually the Democratic party will fracture too, and we might get a real progressive party out of it.

            • @foxontherocks@lemmy.world
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              13 months ago

              Except the democratic party isn’t a large tent. There are almost no leftists in power in it. And those voters that are leftists are rapidly leaving the party.

              You can’t get a progressive party by becoming the white suburbanite party.

        • @octopus_ink@lemmy.ml
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          13 months ago

          most true Republicans see the destruction of the conservative party by MAGA and want to defeat it to save the party.

          Where were nearly all of them for the past 8 years? Oh yeah, supporting Trump and maga.

          I’m glad they are going to help defeat him in 2024, but they can eat a bag of dicks after that. I’ll neither forgive nor forget the monster they invited into the nation (and I mean the entire maga crowd and mindset, not just Trump). It would be within the realm of scifi for me to vote for a Republican as so much a a local fileclerk at any point between now and when old age takes me.

      • cartoon meme dog
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        93 months ago

        Being protective of your own daughter is hardly due to being a ghoul.

        I mean, Dick Cheney is a ghoul, but not for this reason.

      • @verdigris@lemmy.ml
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        103 months ago

        I mean, it’s both. Republicans are driven away from Trump because he’s obviously a grifter to anyone with a room temperature IQ, but also leftists don’t have any other option but the center-right Democrats. If we had a healthy spread of parties (enabled by ranked choice voting and the abolition of the electoral college) there is no way you’d see the Cheneys voting in the same bloc with anyone even remotely left.

        • @MentallyExhausted@reddthat.com
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          133 months ago

          Bernie and AOC being given a speaker slot at the convention is a radical shift from where leftists were 8 years ago. The idea that the Democrats are moving right while we have declared socialists presenting front and center is a significant misunderstanding of the last 30+ years of political discourse in this country.

          • @verdigris@lemmy.ml
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            3 months ago

            Bernie and AOC are progressives, sure, but the Dems as a monolith are objectively not leftist in the slightest. They’re just more left than the Republicans. Even if they have moved left, they’re still center-right by any reasonable metric. Note that I said nothing about the direction they’re moving.

          • @TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world
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            43 months ago

            💯 and really, everyone here and even @jimmydoreisalefty@lemmus.org deserve a victory lap. Kicking, and screaming and against Thur own will, we’re making the Democratic party a party of the left as we pry it from the cold goulish fingers The Neocon/Neolib order.

            Justice Democrats, Our Revolution, Sunset movement, Wolf pack, many others. We’ve moved the needle. But also, we’re super disorganized. Under Trump, we were good damned militant. Fucking lit af. Biden was a relief valve we all desperately needed but it also reduced the impetus the pressure to respond the stress. Leftist originating complexly collapsed under Biden.

            It’s the wartime castilione vs peace time contradiction. Frankly I think the insurgent left is far more effective in the outside power scenario, but wowo we need to learn to not eat our own. I look at how often here, truly significant and honest posters are implied to be bots or paid shills or whatever. Look how fucking united leftist media was in 2020 and look how fractuous it is under peace time conditions. TYT members hate MR members. Everyone’s shitting on everyone and accusing them of being shills. I often think about what Micheal Brooks would think of the state of leftist media.

            The reality is that leftists need to find a way to work together or more centrist elements will find wling partners on the right. Save this post and mark my words, they are counting on being able to frog March the DNC to the right. And the DNC leadership wants this. Look at that last night of the convention. It was basically a Republican micro convention.

      • @TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        For sure, but also it might be an indication of how much we’re leaving on the table.

        Would Cheney endorse a M4A candidate?

        Would Cheney endorse an arms embargo on Israel candidate?

        What’s the line? How much more could we be going for here?

        Realistically Cheney is bringing us effectively 0 voters, maybe even negative a few. So if it’s these steps to the right Harris keeps making that give us Cheney with no ec votes, show me the value.

    • Jesus
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      573 months ago

      AOC could be the democratic nominee and the Cheney family would likely still vote for the democrats. He’s not voting for Harris because he likes her policies. He voting for her because of this reason that he gave…

      “In our nation’s 248-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump,” Cheney said in a statement. “He tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him. He can never be trusted with power again.”

      “As citizens, we each have a duty to put country above partisanship to defend our Constitution. That is why I will be casting my vote for Vice President Kamala Harris”

    • @BruceTwarzen@lemm.ee
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      423 months ago

      It’s more of a sign that one guy is such a batshit insane criminal that people would rather vote for pretty much anyone else.

    • @ryathal@sh.itjust.works
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      353 months ago

      I think it more that the other option is just that insane. It’s not as much a left vs right thing. It’s a business as usual vs. Chaos election. Cheney being in favor of someone playing by the normal rules isn’t that surprising.

      • @PugJesus@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Cheney is an absolute ghoul, but I don’t doubt that the neocon stupidity he embraced during the Bush administration was at least partly out of a desire for America to remain ‘top dog’.

        Trump is sitting here ready to quite literally sell our position to Russia and China.

        It’s a WW2 moment. The Soviets and the Western Allies join hands, because even though each thinks the other is fucking terrible, there’s a more vile foe afoot.

        • @GraniteM@lemmy.world
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          183 months ago

          Yeah, there’s the effect Cheney and his gang all having American supremacy as their goal, with them and their corporate fuck-buddies specifically on top of the heap. In their own particularly fucked kind of way, they did care about America or something.

          Trump and his ilk… They believe in fucking NOTHING. I’m not even convinced their goal, at its core, is even self-enrichment. I’m pretty well convinced the whole movement is just extremely self-destructive mental illness metastasisized into a political party.

          • @PugJesus@lemmy.world
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            133 months ago

            I’m not even convinced their goal, at its core, is even self-enrichment.

            I’m almost certain it’s not. There are so many easier ways to unjustly enrich yourself in this country.

            I’m pretty well convinced the whole movement is just extremely self-destructive mental illness metastasisized into a political party.

            I think you’re right. People sometimes underestimate the power of culture and popular delusions. They rarely make the fire on their own, but they are one fucking hell of an accelerant.

          • @PersnickityPenguin@lemm.ee
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            73 months ago

            I doubt any two of Trump’s team members have the same goals. It’s like a clown car full of grifters, con men, psychopaths, power seekers and snake oil salesmen.

        • sp3ctr4l
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          143 months ago

          Obligatory reminder that Dick Cheney literally does not have a heart or a pulse, as his heart was replaced by a continuous flow pump.

          So… ghoul indeed.

        • Maeve
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          03 months ago

          He ushered in PNAC which has morphed into Project 2025 afaict.

        • @NuclearDolphin@lemmy.ml
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          -13 months ago

          Trump is sitting here ready to quite literally sell our position to Russia and China

          God, I wish I lived in the reality liberals have concocted for themselves.

          You’re making Trump sound way cooler than he is. He’s a less savvy but more enthusiastic imperialist. Ending American (read white, anglo) supremacy does not inspire dread to anyone but weird xenophobes, financial exploiters of the global south, and weapons manufacturers.

          I’m supposed to think one of the worst war criminals in human history endorsing your candidate is a good thing because their new guy is…checks notes…NOT PATRIOTIC ENOUGH? Is being the more competent pillager supposed to be an appeal?..while rent, food, and healthcare are unaffordable?

          All this rhetoric does is inspires anyone who cares about anything above profit and bloodlust to not vote for your candidate. Meanwhile the people who like this xenophobic shit will vote for the more enthusiastic Republicans.

          • Maeve
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            23 months ago

            He’s not that cool, but he’s greedy.

      • @Donkter@lemmy.world
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        53 months ago

        Unfortunately, “Business as usual” in our political climate, is a pretty conservative sentiment.

        I get that you’re saying Cheney is just making a rational decision but it doesn’t contradict the Op’s point.

        • @ryathal@sh.itjust.works
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          43 months ago

          Harris will likely try to pass more left leaning goals, but she isn’t going to fundamentally change the rules or change priorities based on the last conversation she had with someone. It’s easier to be an opposition party than trying to control Trump.

    • @DeanFogg@lemm.ee
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      63 months ago

      More like the right has gone so far right that dickhead is a left leaning moderate lmao

    • socsa
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      53 months ago

      It’s because if you ever got a real leftist candidate into office you’d immediately turn on them when they refused to fill the reflecting pool with billionaire blood.

      • @zbyte64@awful.systems
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        33 months ago

        Maybe that’s what the corporate media says but AoC is popular in her district. What really happens is money from AIPAC comes in and unseats the leftist candidate during the primaries.

        • @PugJesus@lemmy.world
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          23 months ago

          Maybe that’s what the corporate media says but AoC is popular in her district.

          Don’t worry - as many on here will tell you, AoC is a corporate puppet and a sellout.

      • @foxontherocks@lemmy.world
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        13 months ago

        If there was a real leftist candidate you’d ally with the GOP to remove them. You might even kill them or throw them in prison.

      • Maeve
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        -23 months ago

        Me personally? No. Most of the populace? Hard to say.

    • @ShareMySims@sh.itjust.works
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      -103 months ago

      How dare you?! Your criticism of the conservative lite party and unwillingness to compromise with the full blown fascists makes you the real fascist! (heavy /s)

      • Maeve
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        -23 months ago

        I don’t think it’s so lite anymore.

        • @ShareMySims@sh.itjust.works
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          -63 months ago

          Too right. I’d actually used “fascist lite” before changing it, but I figured give the libs a little break from the full on reality check lol

  • @lars
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    -373 months ago

    Wow that Donald Trump guy is starting to look attractive for the first time in human history.

      • @lars
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        63 months ago

        Those war criminals in DC in later Bush administrations were so appalling and demoralizing that it’s hard to remember they’re able to be right about any single thing.

  • @Letsdothis@lemmy.world
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    -413 months ago

    Hah, it’s funny it has to come to this for people to understand that they may be voting for a system that they thought they were voting against.

    Trump isn’t even a politician, much less part of the shadow government(the swamp). Although Harris is part of this club, along with other big-name politicians, including the likes of Obama, Clinton, bush, Cheney, etc.

    Trump is an asshole, but at least he isn’t part of the dark elite trying to control our country (the world) from the shadows.

    • @rsuri@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Trump gave the Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, to Miriam Adelson because she inherited a fortune and gave a bunch of that to Trump’s campaign. In case you don’t believe me, here’s her wikipedia page, there’s no other accomplishments of note to be found there.

      So I dunno what you mean by “shadowy government swamp”. But if trading taxpayer-funded awards for money isn’t part of it…shouldn’t it be?

      And as for Harris, she’s one of the few people in congress to actually invest in index funds to avoid conflicts of interest and insider trading in stock investing. She’s not above criticism, but she’s probably one of least swampy politiicans out there.

        • @untorquer@lemmy.world
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          13 months ago

          Swamp needs drama to manufacture consent. Trump is as much part of it as any of them. In fact, characters like him are routine actors. He is/was just a particularly charismatic one.

      • @ShareMySims@sh.itjust.works
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        -49
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        3 months ago

        No fucking shit.

        Oh yeah, I forgot, some of you can only see the world in black and white red or blue… 🙄

        News flash: a (very fucking marginally) lesser evil is still fucking evil, and you’re never going to be free of either as long as you continue to play by the rules they’ve set out for you (in fact, you’ll only ever achieve the opposite - the continued shift to the right of the Overton window to its inevitable conclusion).

          • @immutable@lemm.ee
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            3 months ago

            That’s the neat part, if you aren’t American you can agitate and tell people “don’t vote, voting for the lesser evil means you end up with slightly less evil and that’s bad, instead you should not vote or ignore mathematics existing and vote third party which is a fancy way of not voting” and then suffer no consequences.

            Tell people not to vote and the party that wants to “hurt the right people” gets into power, doesn’t matter, those policies don’t touch foreign agitators.

            I’ve been in the depths of the leftist circle jerk about this. You see if we all sat home on Election Day reading Marx, then the oligarchs who rule over us would see that no one is taking part in the charade anymore. Then those oligarchs who wield tremendous wealth and power would just give up, you know, the turnout too low. All those people refused to endorse the democratic farce any further and so clearly those with power would be so red faced with embarrassment they would voluntarily give up that power and abolish capitalism.

            Those oligarchs certainly wouldn’t be delighted by the fact that the population is even cheaper and easier to control because people are sitting out. Nope, we will certainly show them by allowing them to dominate us with even more ease and at bargain prices, certainly that will end the system.

            • @vividspecter@lemm.ee
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              53 months ago

              if you aren’t American you can agitate and tell people “don’t vote, voting for the lesser evil means you end up with slightly less evil and that’s bad, instead you should not vote or ignore mathematics existing and vote third party which is a fancy way of not voting” and then suffer no consequences.

              The entire planet suffers the consequences when Trump undoes all climate action and destabilises the world.

            • @zarkanian@sh.itjust.works
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              3 months ago

              ignore mathematics existing and vote third party which is a fancy way of not voting

              I live in a blue state. Using this logic, my vote for Harris is the same as not voting, because my state is going to go blue regardless. It’s mathematics.

              • @immutable@lemm.ee
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                93 months ago

                The mathematics I’m speaking of is that first past the post voting mechanisms result in two dominant parties and third parties being non viable.

                You might not like that FPTP results in this, but that’s how math works.

                Formally it’s called Duverger’s Law so if you don’t like it take it up with him.

                • @zarkanian@sh.itjust.works
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                  3 months ago

                  So, how does that show that voting for Stein is the same as not voting?

                  Duverger’s Law just explains how the system works. It doesn’t tell you who you should vote for.

                  You might not like that FPTP results in this, but that’s how math works.

                  Again, using the same logic, a vote for Harris in a blue state is the same as not voting.

                  “The math” says that it’s impossible for my state to be anything but blue.

              • @pingveno@lemmy.world
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                33 months ago

                That works until it doesn’t. Keeping your state out of play means Democrats can focus their limited resources on other states. Let it become a closer contest and Democrats may find themselves expending resources in areas that should be a slam dunk.

        • @forrgott@lemm.ee
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          63 months ago

          And yet you have done nothing to promote any alternative; so your faux outrage is, in fact, useless.

          • @ShareMySims@sh.itjust.works
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            3 months ago

            I do, plenty, but there’s only so much time and emotional labour one can waste presenting anarchism to smug libs that think electoral politics can beat fascism and can’t even see how they’re being played in to upholding the status quo that is enabling the rise of fascism with just an illusion of choice, because the people you’re talking to aren’t actually listening, they just want their bias confirmed and ego coddled, not an alternative, especially not one that requires them to look outside the box they’ve been indoctrinated in to, challenge their understanding of the world and their own actions and all the discomfort that comes with that, and act in a way that might risk the privilege the status quo and those who actually benefit from it grants them to keep them in line, demonstrating just how well it works. ¯\(ツ)

            • @Olhonestjim@lemmy.world
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              3 months ago

              Oh yeah? Name his position in the Democratic party.

              You may find this unbelievable, but he is allowed to vote for and endorse whoever he likes, and neither the center, nor the left can stop him.

              You don’t get to choose who boards the ship with you. It doesn’t mean the ship is sinking, and it doesn’t make him captain.

              • @NuclearDolphin@lemmy.ml
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                -13 months ago

                When one of the most bloodthirsty ghouls in human history chooses to board your ship, you need to ask yourself “where tf is this ship going?” and start planning mutiny immediately.

                • @Olhonestjim@lemmy.world
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                  3 months ago

                  And you need to tell me what power this civilian is going to weild before I feel the slightest concern about your fearmongering.

      • @ShareMySims@sh.itjust.works
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        3 months ago

        Lol, that still leads right back to “tell me who your friends are”.

        You can try to twist this all you like to spare your own discomfort, it won’t change who he is, why he’s supporting her, and what it means about who you’re voting for (a conservative, and against your own best interests, either way. Because endorsements like these tell you whose interests they’re are appealing to, and you really only need to be paying the very slightest of attention to realise it ain’t yours).

      • @ShareMySims@sh.itjust.works
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        3 months ago

        He’s neither to you, only to himself and his interests.

        Again - no matter how you people try to twist it to make yourselves feel better about it - Cheney is endorsing his own interests, and only his, and the interests of a wealthy conservative war monger will never align with yours, no matter how much you try to convince yourself otherwise (accidental alignment doesn’t make one an ally, unless you also want to reach for Hitler as your example and justification, but be warned, you too will reek of pathetic desperation lmao).

        You see trump as the embodiment of fascism (when in truth he’s only a symptom), while Cheney sees him as the loose lipped child giving away the fascist family secrets. He’s not endorsing dems because he’s no longer conservative, he’s endorsing dems because they make him feel safe and looked after, and if that isn’t enough to tell you where “blue no matter who” leads, I have bad news for you: you’re a fully fledged member of a cult. Just like a maga cap wearer - voting against your own interests because it’s “your team” no matter how many red banners they wave in your face and blaring alarms they ring in your ears.

        • @zarkanian@sh.itjust.works
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          173 months ago

          I don’t think that Dick is a fan of Harris, but he’s doing the calculus a lot of voters are doing: voting for the lesser evil.

          Cheney is endorsing his own interests, and only his, and the interests of a wealthy conservative war monger will never align with yours,

          If Cheney and I are both in a rowboat and the rowboat is heading for the rapids, I would say that our interests are aligned.

            • @PugJesus@lemmy.world
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              163 months ago

              The rowboat, with you at the front working your cult following ass off:

              “You’re the only ones trying to do anything about imminent disaster” is not the flex you think it is, lmao.

              • @NuclearDolphin@lemmy.ml
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                -23 months ago

                this rowboat analogy fails because the interest to survive isn’t at odds with anything. America’s dominance comes at the expense of the well-being of most people in most nations on earth. A disaster to this boat would be tragic for those inside, but a blessing to those on other boats who were about to be torpedoed.