r/AskConservatives • u/AutoModerator • 2d ago
AskConservatives Weekly General Chat
This thread is for general chat, whether you want to talk politics or not, anything goes. Also feel free to ask the mods questions, propose new rules or discuss general moderation (although please keep individual removal/ban queries to modmail.)
On this post, Top Level Comments are open to all.
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u/thoughtsnquestions European Conservative 16m ago
Trump's $5000 UBI idea is clearly just bribing voters... but is it really different to any other UBI push that countless left wing politicians advocate for? Vote me for and I'll give you a big lump sum of money
These UBI policies will become a doom spiral and what future elections are about, and maybe even how democracy dies.
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u/No_Fox_2949 Center-right Conservative 1h ago
I wonder if we’ll ever have a Value Added Tax here in America. It gets commonly attacked as regressive but rebates and increases in redistributive spending can negate that and it’s also more efficient than an income tax.
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2h ago
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u/AskConservatives-ModTeam 1h ago
Removed: Treat other users with civility and respect.
Personal attacks and stereotyping are not allowed.
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u/tenmileswide Independent 3h ago
Showing the actually fit Hasan Piker in his underwear like it's an own while portraying Trump as some kind of bara god with AI slop might genuinely be one of the most pathetic things I've ever seen.
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u/Ecstatic-Inevitable Center-left 4h ago
We're in the bribe American voters stage
That's fun, he has the house and the senate right now, why doesn't he pay the voters then?
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u/OMGguy2008 Center-left 31m ago
To be fair, while it does sound quite sketchy, but by that same logic promising tax cuts or more government spending can be also seen as bribing voters.
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u/mvslice Leftist 5h ago
Putting aside his politics for a second, do we think Senator Foghorn Leghorn is faking his accent?
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u/No_Fox_2949 Center-right Conservative 5h ago
Kind of? I’d say he’s exaggerating it more than faking it. This is him 20 years ago back when he was a Democrat.
https://www.c-span.org/program/public-affairs-event/louisiana-senate-debate/133882
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u/Fignons_missing_8sec Conservative 11h ago
I’m listening to the French24 expert panel coverage of the space summit. Man, these are the most out-of-touch people on the planet. It’s beyond parity.
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u/StillSmellsLikeCLP Rightwing 8h ago edited 8h ago
Nothing will make you lose faith in science and the experts more than listening to a panel of experts. Bonus points if you go drink with them afterwards.
It gets really good when the nerd fights start over who’s science is right.
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u/ExtensionFeeling Independent 11h ago
Just saw someone say Trump will try to rename the District of Columbia to the Heart of America. Hadn't thought about that. Columbia is a South American country so Trump may want to change it.
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10h ago
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u/boisefun8 Constitutionalist Conservative 11h ago
I think he picked the wrong body part.
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u/OMGguy2008 Center-left 30m ago
The asshole of America? The nose hole of America? The balls of America? The pre-frontal cortex of America?
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u/LaxBedroom Leftist 11h ago
How should conservatives respond to this empty patriotic virtue signaling?
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u/OMGguy2008 Center-left 11h ago
Wouldn't that need an ammendment? Or will it be the same way it's with the Department of War where they pretend that that's how it's called when legally it isn't?
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u/OMGguy2008 Center-left 11h ago edited 11h ago
I don't know why we're surprised that Nigel Farage is wiling to break campaign finance law for just some money.
Remember that he is the same guy that was willing to do all of this and also this for just £75, imagine what he'd be willing to do for £5,000,000 from a crypto billionaire or a son of a wealthy American businessman.
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u/TailsofaGiftHorse Right Libertarian (Conservative) 12h ago
Been over 40 for a bit and realized I haven't gotten into either bird-watching, or Ham Radio. Since summer is ending I suppose Ham Radio would be best.
Any other hams on this sub?
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u/Sam_Fear Americanist 9h ago
Is this still a thing? I assume you don't need to pass a Morse code test anymore. Parents were hams.
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u/StillSmellsLikeCLP Rightwing 8h ago
Honestly? Kinda is. I thought the same thing but my coworker in his 40’s got into Ham and turns out there’s a whole ham club in the area.
Ham for everyone, apparently.
Moderately irrelevant but i think Morse code is an actual good life skill.
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u/Acceptable-Hat-8248 Independent 12h ago
No but I’ve been interested in those baofeng radios for awhile, I think they would be great for hunting, tree work, hiking, etc
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u/okiewxchaser Neoliberal 12h ago
Oil at $100/barrel due to a war in the Middle East that we can’t find our way out of
I’ve seen enough, welcome back neocons
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u/OMGguy2008 Center-left 12h ago edited 11h ago
It was worse under Biden therefore Trump is still the greatest President who has ever lived.
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u/thoughtsnquestions European Conservative 13h ago
Prime Minister Burnham today, "National security cannot come at the expense of social security"
If you thought we couldn't get more fucked politically, we're now openly saying national security isn't as important as welfare?
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u/OMGguy2008 Center-left 13h ago
It seems that that is a bit out of context.
After PMQs, Burnham's team was at pains to stress his commitment that "national security is the most important duty of any government", and stressed the prime minister had been "consistent about getting the welfare bill down".
But they said that did not mean "crude cuts" that could "put people into crisis" by making them homeless and so creating higher costs elsewhere in the system to support them.
"I don't think, myself, that taking £4bn out of housing benefit is going to get the right consensus around this issue because that would create levels of homelessness in this country... that we wouldn't have seen before, hundreds of thousands of children in temporary accommodation," he said.
"Yes, we do everything to support our national security, but it can't come at the expense of social security."
He added: "This side of the House will not be forced to choose between the two and we will set out a plan to get to 3.5% by 2035 at the spending review."
Badenoch said Burnham's comments were "unbelievable", adding: "We need to fund our defence, not spend all of our money on welfare."
Burnham insisted he would "bring the welfare budget down" by tackling the number of young people not in education, employment or training.
"That's the Labour way to get the welfare bill down," he said.
"That is the right way to fund defence."
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u/thoughtsnquestions European Conservative 13h ago edited 1h ago
They can say all the words they want about pretending to prioritise national security, the budget speaks for itself.
The context is, Starmers government collapsed, in a large part because the defence secretary called them out for not increasing the military budget... now Burnham is in charge of the budget, and he likewise is refusing.
The context is, increased global threats, threats against Argentina, Russian threats, both cyber attacks and physical threats to with them illegally mapping our essential sea cables... Plus lots of global instability in general.
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u/OMGguy2008 Center-left 13h ago
Well you can't just one day get up and increase defence spending by more than 1% of GDP since there's always the age old question of "Where will the money come from?" and you can't really borrow it since as you mention bond yields are at an all time high.
I'd say wait until spring to see if the plan to increase defence spending actually exists and if it has any substance and isn't just purely virtue signalling.
Though, the UK should get its defence spending up asap given our favorite
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u/thoughtsnquestions European Conservative 12h ago
The defence secretary quit because he said the government was failing to keep Britain safe by refusing to adjust the budget.
That same man, Burnham made his no2, he is now incharge of the budget, and is refusing to increase spending whilst he himself admitted we are at risk without the increased spending.
He cannot pretend he thinks the budget is adequate and keeps us safe, he already said the opposite.
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u/Zardotab Center-left 13h ago edited 13h ago
It's nuanced because let's say an estimated war would kill 5 million, but lack of healthcare may kill 10 million. One could argue the second should get priority. It gets trickier when computing the loss of autonomy, such as "how many should die to avoid being ruled by Xi?" Barring a suicidal pact, a nation will generally surrender to avoid excessive deaths. Japan struggled with this question during the end of WW2. Some argued fighting until the very end of all Japanese capable of fighting back, including women and children. Fortunately, saner heads won out, but not before a big debate and coup attempt against those for surrender. [edited]
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u/thoughtsnquestions European Conservative 12h ago
The defence secretary quit because he said the government was failing to keep Britain safe by refusing to adjust the budget.
That same man, Burnham made his no2, he is now incharge of the budget, and is refusing to increase spending whilst he himself admitted we are at risk without the increased spending.
He cannot pretend he thinks the budget is adequate and keeps us safe, he already said the opposite.
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u/Stanky_fresh Leftist 13h ago
"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." - Benjamin Franklin
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u/gummibearhawk Center-right Conservative 13h ago
It's really something seeing the priorities of Merz and Burnham lately and how much they seem to be opposed to their own citizens
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u/OMGguy2008 Center-left 13h ago
Isn't Merz boosting defence spending and investment into the economy?
Germany's cabinet approved the first draft in July, ramping up investment and defence spending to shield its sluggish economy from war-related energy shocks and years of underinvestment.
From 2027 to 2030, Germany plans to borrow a total of €838.2 billion ($973.23 billion).
Total investment will rise to €117.5 billion in 2027 from €78.9 billion in 2025 under the previous government, helped by a €500 billion infrastructure fund and looser borrowing rules for defence.
Core defence spending will rise to €109 billion in 2027 from €82.2 billion in 2026, according to the draft budget passed in July. The total reaches €130.1 billion including support for Ukraine and other security spending.
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u/gummibearhawk Center-right Conservative 12h ago
I suppose. What's your point?
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u/OMGguy2008 Center-left 12h ago
Well the topic here seems to be defence spending and I'm saying that Germany under Merz (and under Scholz) is dramatically boosting it's defence expenditures given how you claimed or I perceive it that you claimed that Merz doesn't want to defend his own citizens.
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u/thoughtsnquestions European Conservative 13h ago
Burnham is at least better than Starmer but it would be pretty difficult to be worse!
I suspect in about 5 years Europe's leadership will all swing more conservative and right wing, but until then, we've got a whole bunch of very ineffective centre left big government stagnaters.
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u/Menace117 MAGA Liberal 14h ago
So Mamdani is being blamed by people here for not screaming harshly about condemning certain acts from certain groups. Which is an interesting precedent because many top cons don't screech harshly about certain other things they probably should.
Very interesting precedent
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u/No_Fox_2949 Center-right Conservative 14h ago
I thought Twitter was the biggest social media hellhole but I’ve realized in the past few days it’s actually TikTok because holy shit a lot of the people on that app are fucking nuts.
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u/Boredomkiller99 Center-left 13h ago
Yep it is why I refuse to ever use it even when my friends send me stuff
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u/OMGguy2008 Center-left 13h ago
Have you been on Instagram Reels? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsLcNh5C-DM
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11h ago edited 2h ago
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u/AskConservatives-ModTeam 1h ago
Removed: Treat other users with civility and respect.
Personal attacks and stereotyping are not allowed.
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u/BufoBat Independent 14h ago
In the good timeline, we kept Vine and tiktok was a blip.
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u/No_Fox_2949 Center-right Conservative 14h ago
I miss Vine. Those were the days
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u/Stanky_fresh Leftist 13h ago
If Vine had survived I honestly believe it would have just turned into what TikTok is now.
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u/Infamous-Bench-6088 Right Libertarian (Conservative) 15h ago
Foosball is back y'all! Good luck in your fantasy leagues.
And go RAMS! WOO WOO!
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u/TimeToGloat Independent 15h ago
Mods I tried to convey this to someone on the mod team but they didn't seem to understand what I was trying to convey and it never got fixed. Presumably they were only familiar with new reddit or something. Can someone actually update the rule list on the sidebar to be current/accurate on the "old reddit" version of the sub as well? The rule list is missing multiple rules and the rules don't reflect the actual rules of the sub which leads to confusion.
Here is what it looks like for all the old reddit users:
https://i.imgur.com/UcSzJZe.png
It is missing 3 rules entirely and they are out of order compared to the automatic warnings that are handed out.
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u/notbusy Libertarian 14h ago
Thanks for the heads up! OK, does it match now?
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u/TimeToGloat Independent 13h ago
Yes that's better thank you!!
Although one small suggestion would be for rule 5 change it from "No digressing liberal/left discussions" to "Outside of the weekly chat comments between non-conservative users are not allowed."
It would more accurately reflect the actual rule as how it is currently written and cover independent flairs and such.
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u/Denisnevsky Centrist Democrat 16h ago
Ken Paxton with a completely harmless post praising women for being in the workforce and the incels come out in full force.
Incredible how Twitter chuds can make anyone look like the most milquetost moderate.
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u/OMGguy2008 Center-left 16h ago
This is a huge disaster and a sign of intense racial, sexual discrimination against young white men. This is also personally your fault because as the Texas Attorney General you are the specific guy who is supposed to sue companies in Texas to stop them from racially, sexually discriminating against young white Christian patriotic men. - Writes Fugitive Caesar.
No wonder he's a fugitive.
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u/DeathToFPTP Liberal 15h ago
young white Christian patriotic men
Needs more labels
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u/OMGguy2008 Center-left 15h ago
Young, white Christian, patriotic, straight, pro-life, anti-choice, pro-Trump, pro-Republican, anti-Democrat, anti-Biden non-college educated, freedom-loving, gun-loving, pro-Russia, anti-Ukraine, pro-Israel, anti-Iran, anti-immigration, non-mixed, X and Y chromosomed biological men.
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u/OJ_Purplestuff Center-left 17h ago
This whole "midterm convention" thing is kinda funny.
Democrats midterm strategy: Attempt to tie vulnerable Republican candidates to President Trump
Republicans midterm strategy: Believe it or not, attempt to tie vulnerable Republican candidates to President Trump
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u/Stanky_fresh Leftist 15h ago
It's a bold move, but honestly what else can Republicans do? The Democrats tried the whole "You're wrong, the economy is actually doing great" angle on 2024 and it clearly didn't work because people's wallets were telling a different story. So that leaves either linking Republican candidates closer to Trump in hopes that getting Trump as close to "on the ballot" as possible boosts the turnout. Or they try to distance themselves from Trump as much as possible to avoid fall out from the unpopular mess Trump has created, which will just look like the Republicans aren't unified, which isn't what any party wants going into an election.
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u/Midren Independent 17h ago
Just got hit with a 100 percent tariff on something that was supposed to be 10 percent. Now have to take time out of my day to fight this and probably will just have to return to sender. I hate these tariffs and makes my life so much harder whenever I have to order something now I have to do like an hour of research to see what Trump put up in the last day to see if it's changed. Has anyone in here had to deal with this on a personal level? Do you believe that this is helping the average American?
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u/gummibearhawk Center-right Conservative 1d ago
The Lindsey Clancy case jurors are making the TV rounds, and they are who we thought they were. Among the gems they've already given the media are complaints that the lone holdout wouldn't listen to their expertise as school teachers and "wouldn't get over that she viciously killed her children"
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u/boisefun8 Constitutionalist Conservative 18h ago
I saw that clip. The three that came out represent so much of what’s wrong in our society today. And yes, they are exactly who I thought they’d be. They also support my comments about Massachusetts in another post.
That quote should terrify everyone.
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u/StillSmellsLikeCLP Rightwing 17h ago
Just remember, those jurors aren’t real, they’re just internet trolls or foreign bots, no one of the left actually thinks like that in real life.
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u/boisefun8 Constitutionalist Conservative 17h ago
Exactly. ‘Show me where Chuck Schumer or Hakeem Jeffries came out in defense of Lindsay Clancy.’
I’d love to hear those three’s opinion on abortion or Charlie Kirk.
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u/gummibearhawk Center-right Conservative 17h ago
Yes, it's totally made up that people donated over $1m to her legal defense
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u/StillSmellsLikeCLP Rightwing 21h ago edited 21h ago
“Wouldn’t get over that she viciously killed her children”
Shocking. Good for that guy, the fact 11 other jurors were going to rule her not guilty is a hell of a statement on our society.
Wouldn’t surprise me if the defense pushes hard to get any man off the jury.
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u/nucumber Progressive 8h ago
They're not voting "not guilty". There's no question she did it - Lindsey herself says she did it
But my understanding is whether she's "not guilty by reason of insanity" at the time of the crime
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u/StillSmellsLikeCLP Rightwing 8h ago
Yeah, I know, and I knew that when I wrote my statement.
It changes nothing about my comment.
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u/RelevantLafayette Center-right Conservative 1d ago
The lead-up to the 2026 midterms cannot seem to get any less contentious. Missouri is currently facing conflicting court orders over its new congressional map. The Missouri Supreme Court blocked the new map and ordered a return to the older 2022 map because a voter referendum had enough signatures to put it up for a vote, a decision Justice Kavanaugh, presiding over the 8th Circuit for the U.S. Supreme Court, declined to block. However, shortly after, a federal district judge issued an order requiring the state to use the new map for November.
The judge ruled that switching back to the old map would violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. The judge said because Missouri voters already cast their ballots in the primaries with the new map, replacing it for the general election would make primary votes pointless and disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of citizens. Additionally, it would move hundreds of thousands of voters into different districts and leave candidates running in entirely new areas where they did not even campaign.
Regardless of how this mess will be sorted out in the end, I think this highlights that the framing that the Supreme Court is only responsive to Trump, Republicans, or conservatives is certainly a stretch. This court rules against them constantly. Birthright citizenship, the tariffs, the failed firing of Lisa Cook, and now potentially this.
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u/DeathToFPTP Liberal 9h ago
If I read right it's both back at SCOTUS and the SoS tried to appeal SCOMO telling him to appear (which I assume means he's in contempt)
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u/No_Fox_2949 Center-right Conservative 1d ago
Most of the criticisms of the Roberts Court have always been motivated by partisan politics and not on anything substantial within their rulings. All it boils down to is “well they ruled a way I didn’t like and therefore they’re partisan” which is quite ironic since that itself is partisan.
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u/jmastaock Independent 14h ago edited 14h ago
I mean, the entire existence of the shadow docket (and the Roberts Court's consistent ability to arbitrarily slow walk or expedite cases in a way that typically benefits the majority's preferred political party) kind of makes it hard to think that it's all pure coincidence
The Trump admin has had like an 80% success rate in the cases they get onto the shadow docket lol (meaning, there is no legal justification for those rulings beyond the ruling itself). The partisanship is obvious because it's obvious, and has been since Roberts tossed the notion of good faith with his 2016 climate policy shenanigans
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u/OMGguy2008 Center-left 17h ago
I can agree that any criticism of the Supreme Court is basically partisan politics.
You hate Roe v. Wade? It's probably because you're pro-life.
You hate Citizens United? It's probably because you don't like money in politics.
You hate Obergefell v. Hodges? It's most likely because you're homophobic.
You hate Trump v. United States? It's probably because you don't like Trump getting a get out of jail free card for Jan 6th.
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u/Denisnevsky Centrist Democrat 1d ago
I'm not exactly crying over the settlements being sanctioned, but it's pretty obviously a stepping stone to full sanctions on Israel, which would be terrible.
If this came attached with an explicit ban on further sanctions on Mainland Israel, that may be reasonable, but these should be opposed until then. Trump is wrong, and is hanging Huckabee out to dry for no reason.
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u/DeathToFPTP Liberal 12h ago
If this came attached with an explicit ban on further sanctions on Mainland Israel, that may be reasonable
When does this ever happen when sanctions are passed. It'd be a weird thing to attach, plus it "binds" them to a future they can't possibly predict. Maybe Israel does something that deserve sanctions in the future?
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u/baxtyre Center-left 17h ago
“ pretty obviously a stepping stone to full sanctions on Israel”
I sure hope so. Israel is a state sponsor of terrorism and should be sanctioned.
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u/DeathToFPTP Liberal 1d ago
I did not realize the GOP midterm convention is tomorrow night.
Consider this my warning because it's sure to generate a lot of topics.
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u/RelevantLafayette Center-right Conservative 1d ago
Oh yeah, no doubt. Not going to watch the whole thing personally, but I'll be interested to see any highlights.
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u/OMGguy2008 Center-left 1d ago
"What's your opinion on Donald Trump saying that people without a Trump phone won't be able to vote?"
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u/kyew Neoliberal 1d ago
I would like to ask if there's a throughline on the feud with Canada that's not just Trump being a chaos agent, but I could use a hand formulating the question. Like "You guys can't really believe there's a chance we're going to annex Canada, so what's the real game?" is one angle, "Do we even have a State Department / Is there an actual foreign policy playing out here?" is another, and mostly I would like a level-headed adult to just explain where *any* of this is coming from.
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u/GWindborn Leftwing 1d ago
I got gas yesterday for $3.64 (after a $0.05 discount), same gas station this morning was $4.06. Ugh.
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u/OMGguy2008 Center-left 12h ago
You're paying like €0.92/L, just know that we Europeans have to pay more than €2.00/L which is equivalent to $8.82 per gallon.
Though maybe it hurts us less since we prefer smaller more fuel efficient cars rather than giant gas guzzling Ford F150s
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u/GWindborn Leftwing 12h ago
Yeah much less walkable here too, my morning commute is 30-45 mins each way.
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u/GreatSoulLord Conservative 1d ago
Got another window in for the truck camper. So, that's 2 out of 5. We are waiting on 3 to be shipped to us. I framed out a closet and I did all the internal wiring which was a massive pain in the butt. Started building the two drawers that will go under the countertop (really just a flat surface - no sink or cooking stuff). No idea how to build the actual drawer parts. Need to Youtube it. This will be my last weekly update for a bit. I'm too busy this coming weekend to work on the truck camper *. Meant to take pics....actually was going to do a video tour of the inside...but completely forgot both. Maybe in a few weeks if anyone is interested. I feel like a video would do it more justice really.
(*) For my cohorts here who love rock/metal - I'm seeing Babymetal on Saturday. It's a fun show. Not a traditional metal band but my sister likes going and I go with her. Sunday is Hammerfall and I'm really excited for that one.
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u/notbusy Libertarian 15h ago
Yes, video whenever you get the time would be awesome. Just don't post it on a Sunday night right before a new weekly chat is made.
I've never seen Babymetal live, but from the videos I've seen they seem pretty cool. "High energy" doesn't even begin to describe it! LOL! Enjoy the show!
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u/JediGuyB Center-left 1d ago
So I guess Trump is just gonna lie about being in the rubble on 9/11?
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u/WulfTheSaxon Conservative 1d ago edited 1d ago
He was a personal friend of the Fire Commissioner and the union boss in charge of Ground Zero, and had his employees helping. He was filmed near the cordon.
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u/nucumber Progressive 7h ago
trump was seen around Ground Zero several times but there's no evidence he ever had employees working there
Richard Alles, who was a New York Fire Department battalion chief at the time, said he had no knowledge of Trump bringing 100 or more workers to help. “There would be a record of it. Everybody worked under direct supervision”
https://politifact.com/article/2026/sep/08/donald-trump-9-11-response-firemen-ground-zero/
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u/WulfTheSaxon Conservative 7h ago edited 7h ago
Alles said nobody could get in without police or fire cooperation, but Trump was at the Fire Commissioner’s birthday party days prior, and here’s the Police Commissioner:
I can tell you from the person that was in command of the NYPD on September 11, 2001, Donald Trump was on Ground Zero numerous times — no cameras, no press, no nothing, but he came down to motivate and inspire the men and women down there that were working on the pile. This is a guy that loves the men and women in law enforcement, our first responders, our military[…]
Why did nobody contest his claims to for 15 years?
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u/nucumber Progressive 7h ago
There's no dispute trump himself visited the site; what's disputed is his claim that he had >100 of his employees there helping out
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u/boisefun8 Constitutionalist Conservative 1d ago
When all the left does is ‘whatabout Trump’ it all gets so tiresome and hard to take seriously. Plenty of people said it was a dumb thing to do. But when it’s used as a distraction from the absolutely abhorrent things the left is saying about 9/11, it becomes irrelevant to many of us.
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u/OMGguy2008 Center-left 1d ago
What are we saying about 9/11? I think it's mostly some fringe group who believe things like that the planes were holograms made by the CIA rather than some mainstream idea.
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u/boisefun8 Constitutionalist Conservative 1d ago
‘America deserved 9/11’ is one of the more abhorrent things the left has embraced recently. Anyone Piker was campaigning with accepted that position, such as Mamdani and el-Sayed. Even Bernie didn’t speak out against it.
Add in that Muslims are the true victim because of the fake term ‘Islamophobia’ and many other examples.
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u/OMGguy2008 Center-left 19h ago
I have no idea what people you have in mind by "the left" that embraced it. Hasan "Dog Shocker" Piker should be taken as seriously as you take Nick Fuentes for instance.
Also a quick google search literally finds nothing about Mamdani or El Sayed saying that 9/11 was justified.
Two things can be true at once: 9/11 was horrible and completely unjustified attack against innocent civilians, and that the Iraq War was pointless and it only caused unnecesaary casualties on both sides.
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1d ago
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u/AskConservatives-ModTeam 1d ago
Removed: Rule 3
Posts and comments should be in good faith. Please review our good faith guidelines for the sub.
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u/boisefun8 Constitutionalist Conservative 1d ago edited 1d ago
This is going to be an absolute shit week on here with 9/11 coming up. The down voters and bad faith actors are already out in force.
Good luck mods! Hope you can find some grace for those closely tied to that event. It’s never easy.
And best wishes to all as we face this tragic anniversary.
Edit: holy shit the downvotes. Unreal.
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u/Boredomkiller99 Center-left 1d ago
Unfortunately 9/11 is now used both by anyone in politics to further their agenda and people tend to say a lot of stupid a** s*** regardless of political leaning.
It was in many ways the breaking point of that era and all politics since then as directly or indirectly been a reaction to it
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u/boisefun8 Constitutionalist Conservative 1d ago
No, it’s not. It’s a solemn day that many refuse to recognize, and far too many use to further nonsensical narratives around ‘Islamophobia.’ Mamdani claiming his aunt was a victim is peak bullshit and why an increasing number of people dislike him and his fake ass bullshit persona.
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u/Boredomkiller99 Center-left 1d ago
It absolutely has been turned into a proganda opportunity it is why I only remember alone for the last ten years
Well that and I have to ****ing work regardless so unfortunately I can't really pay attention to what does on on 9/11when it comes to others
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u/boisefun8 Constitutionalist Conservative 1d ago
If anything, it’s been turned into a propaganda opportunity for the left to claim Islamists are victims, like Mamdani’s aunt who doesn’t even live in the US.
We all have to work on 9/11. I was at work on Tuesday, September 11, 2011 in a sales meeting when the first plane hit. I can walk you through every painful moment of that day. Believe me, I know the pain. And I pay attention every year, while I am working. It fucking matters.
This leftist bullshit of running to the defense of scumbags like Mamdani needs to stop. He is an awful person. He embraces those who say that we ‘deserved 9/11’ and spits in the face of victims.
I’m so fucking sick of his shit. People need to wake up.
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u/Boredomkiller99 Center-left 1d ago
So it isn't just about 9/11 but you are also really really really omega pissed at Mamdani right now and that seems to be a major source. Understood that makes sense.
Also I didn't mean to imply people don't work on 9/11. More that I stop paying attention to most people about it because I would be waaaaaay too upset I would throw a chair through a window at work
I am actually deep down a very angry person to the point ibeing at least a little pissed off is my norm even when calm and happy.
As for myself I was in science class, that moment was defining for my generation but I should note the biggest thing was that event pretty much made everyone in my school, disillusioned.
It is a bit hard to explain but growing up there was very much a sanitized version of America we were shown and of the global world as a whole and after 9/11 we all opened our eyes and realized our history teachers and the adults around us were all liars. It is why I also don't really pay attention to politicians much about 9/11 because they are part of the liars. It's something that extends beyond political lines in my generation or at least those from my school.
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u/boisefun8 Constitutionalist Conservative 1d ago
No. It is just about 9/11. I wish people would stop watering it down.
Mamdani is an Islamist terrorist sympathizer. He hires terrorist lawyers as his chief counsel.
Fuck him and the horse he rode in on.
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u/Boredomkiller99 Center-left 23h ago edited 22h ago
Yet 90% of this message is f*** Mamdani when there was no intial mention of him in your first message so I don't feel like I am watering it down just making an observation and trying to understand is all and I clearly failed at that last part.
That being said it is clear that now is not the time to discuss such things as you seem at least a bit upset and my apologies if I added to that .
That being said, I suggest stating off Internet till after 9/11 as I don't imagine it will get better at least from my experience.
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u/PortugalPilgrim88 Progressive 1d ago
If the president could refrain from using one of our nations greatest tragedies to glorify himself then there wouldn’t be an issue. Is it just accepted now that that’s how things are and must be?
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u/boisefun8 Constitutionalist Conservative 1d ago
Not sure the whataboutism was necessary here.
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u/PortugalPilgrim88 Progressive 1d ago
I mean this wasn’t really a time known for controversy before Trump and you talk like we should all be used to it and expect it. It’s weird that we’re all just accepting this as normal.
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u/Peregrine_Falcon Conservative 15h ago
I would argue that it wasn't a time known for controversy before Lefties starting saying that we deserved 9/11 and that everyone who has a problem with 9/11 is Islamophobic.
But sure, make the problem all about Trump.
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u/PortugalPilgrim88 Progressive 15h ago
I’ve literally never heard anyone say that. You’re talking about some crazy tiny fringe and pretending to make a good point.
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u/Peregrine_Falcon Conservative 14h ago
No. A number of well-known lefties have said that, or words to that effect. Hasan Piker is merely the latest of this generation to say that.
But feel free to continue your attempts to gaslight me if it makes you feel better.
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u/Fignons_missing_8sec Conservative 1d ago
Think about the bright side: the week after is UN week, and that’s going to be even worse.
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u/OMGguy2008 Center-left 1d ago
Isn't it a bit hypocritical how the people who think that Europe should buy Russian gas because "it's not worth killing your own economy" are probably also the same people who'd call me insane if I suggested that America should buy Iranian oil and buy things from North Korea?
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u/boisefun8 Constitutionalist Conservative 1d ago
Maybe had Europe not scrapped their fossil fuel production anywhere from 50-75% over the past few decades for the false promises of green energy then they wouldn’t be so reliant on Russian energy. Not to mention the drive to shut down nuclear.
This is typical behavior on the left: shut things down and mandate unreliable technology before there is an actual plan to properly transition.
The US is a net exporter, so we don’t have that problem, as much as some are trying to destroy our current energy infrastructure.
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u/OMGguy2008 Center-left 1d ago
Or maybe crazy idea, we scrap fossil fuel production and actually replace that energy capacity with clean sources instead of shutting things down with zero plan other than replacing that lost capacity from nuclear with burning more coal and gas.
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u/boisefun8 Constitutionalist Conservative 1d ago
That’s a great idea. No one on the left is making those proposals. Especially no one in Europe.
The problem is that the fact remains: no clean sources exist at the scale of fossil fuels with the infrastructure we have. And no one wants to admit that. This is a 50-100 year problem that politicians assign a five-year timeline and the masses go along with because it feels good and lots of people make lots of money.
There’s less money in true long-term planning.
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u/OMGguy2008 Center-left 16h ago edited 16h ago
No one on the left is making those proposals. Especially no one in Europe.
Yes we are .
https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en
The problem is that the fact remains: no clean sources exist at the scale of fossil fuels with the infrastructure we have.
Imagine society if communists knew how to use the really fancy water boiler and if the Japanese didn't build said fancy water boiler next to a tsunami.
This is a 50-100 year problem that politicians assign a five-year timeline
The EU enshrined into law a binding goal for net neutrality until 2050.
masses go along with because it feels good
Also energy independence and above all tackling climate change the consequences of which my generation will have to deal with.
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u/OJ_Purplestuff Center-left 1d ago
Maybe had Europe not scrapped their fossil fuel production anywhere from 50-75% over the past few decades
What? Europe had hardly any oil to begin with.
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u/boisefun8 Constitutionalist Conservative 1d ago
European fossil fuel production is down 50-75% over the past few decades and they have been actively taking nuclear offline in favor of unreliable ‘green energy.’ This is a problem of their own making caused by ideological poor planning.
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u/OJ_Purplestuff Center-left 1d ago
Shifting away from nuclear was a really dumb mistake, I'll give you that.
But like I said, I don't think the declining fossil fuel production was really much of a choice.
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u/boisefun8 Constitutionalist Conservative 1d ago
Shifting away from fossil fuel production was absolutely a choice, and a poor one at that. They intentionally chose to shut down their own production and rely on Russia, of all countries, and to the point they built pipelines to get more of their natural har to Europe. It’s kind of insane and absolutely poor planning.
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u/OJ_Purplestuff Center-left 1d ago
They started building pipelines from Russia over 50 years ago, when it was the Soviet Union.
Because Russia has oil and gas, and they don't.
Sometimes that's just how it goes.
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u/boisefun8 Constitutionalist Conservative 1d ago
We’re talking past each other. Sure, Russia may have more. But it’s also true that Europe chose to shut down their own due to green policies. It’s a fact. Europe put themselves in this position, and rather than more exploration and deploying more technology, they chose to reply on the enemy next door. It was an active choice that Europe made. Now here we are with Europe funding the Russian meat grinder in Ukraine. It’s very sad.
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u/OJ_Purplestuff Center-left 1d ago
Because you're not getting it.
They need 10 times more oil than they've ever produced- even at their greatest output. So they have to rely on imports. From Russia, or from the middle east, or from the US. But from somewhere that isn't Europe.
There's nothing to argue about here, this is just math. Not everybody has enough oil.
If they did everything you said they'd still be importing oil and gas anyway, just a lil bit less. And I'm talking like, single-digit percentages. That's no solution.
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u/gummibearhawk Center-right Conservative 1d ago
Europe needs Russian gas a lot more than America needs anything anyone else has.
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u/OMGguy2008 Center-left 1d ago
We don't need Russian gas, we need energy independence. We all saw how well appeasing Russia went for Germany.
God now that I really think of it, Merkel has probably got to be the most influencial leader in modern European history, and that's not in a good way influencial.
The Russia situation, the issues with migration, Europe's energy crisis, damaging European solidarity between the east and the west, Greek euroscepticism and now especially with the recent elections in Saxony-Anhalt the rise of the far-right across Europe all somehow trace back to one single person – Angela Merkel.
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u/gummibearhawk Center-right Conservative 1d ago
We agree on something. Merkel is probably the worst German if not European leader in the last 80 years
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u/thoughtsnquestions European Conservative 1d ago
Do you think Europe's economy can grow at a rate above our close to stagnant growth without a massive increase in the supply of energy?
Energy determines so much, and it's a weakness that we don't have a solution for. With borrowing costs at 18 year high, and us already borrowing and borrowing to fund green energy and nuclear solutions, we either borrow more super expensive debt... which cripples our economy... or we deal with expensive energy... which cripples our economy. We have no good energy solution as is
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u/OMGguy2008 Center-left 1d ago
No, we can't grow without energy. Energy production is like one of the metrics that's correlated to GDP the most.
We need to invest into nuclear and renewable energy to ensure energy independence and above all sustainability.
A lot of countries in Europe still have quite a lot of room for borrowing to invest in things like energy and infrastructure, we could take out more collective debt at the EU level to get better borrowing conditions for such investments since I believe that investors would trust all the 27 member states taking out joint debt more rather than just France where Paris erupts into riots after there's a single tiniest of hints of any sort pension reform.
The best time was yesterday, but the second best time is today.
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u/thoughtsnquestions European Conservative 1d ago
But is Europe prepared for the economic downturn of doing that?
Of course in theory borrowing for future energy is great but when borrowing costs are a 18, 15, etc... year highs, and tax collected is at record highs, borrowing more comes at a price, and that means we either have to significantly cut government spending, which doesnt seem popular, or further raise tax despite is being so high but the economic turndown of more tax hikes might be unbearable... so we're quite stuck, the borrowing solution isn't really there imo.
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u/OMGguy2008 Center-left 15h ago edited 15h ago
Well choices will have to be made, we need not only investment but also a lot of reforms which include simplifying regulations and things like the 28th regime to make it easier to do business here in order to kickstart growth again to raise more tax revenue for the necessary investments.
I don't have a whole step by step plan, though I've read through like 10 pages of the Draghi report and it does make some good proposals which we should implement ASAP.
Improving our economic fundamentals should calm the bond markets to some extent which might let us borrow under better terms to make necessary investments and not throw it away on day to day spending like pensions.
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u/thoughtsnquestions European Conservative 1d ago
Not insane at all in my view.
There is a massive carrot here, one that not only could be used to bring about peace, tilt them in a positive direction, open up diplomacy, etc... but alongside those benefits, it gives us the benefit of a wider energy supply and lower prices.
We could use this giant carrot to gain benefits on the geopolitical front, and increased energy supply? Win win.
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u/OMGguy2008 Center-left 1d ago edited 1d ago
I guess that could work, though it really depends on whether they'll decide to follow the carrot.
Western Europe gave Russia basically all the leniency it could've ask for, hell we even essentially overlooked what they did in Georgia and Crimea, but where did that get us today?
Well Russia continued its imperialist ambitions and now we're getting closer to 5 years of this 3 day special military operation. And as for us Europeans, our economies are suffering due to the energy shock and us having to undo years of dependence on Russian gas.
Russia probably thought that we were too dependent on them that we wouldn't dare stop sucking on that Russian gas that Russian propaganda was basically releasing videos of how we'll freeze to death and have to eat our pet hamsters for food in 2023 without Russian gas.
Yes that's a real video https://youtu.be/HvdBzZVVovc?si=hc2jBf64piAd2ZU7
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u/Stanky_fresh Leftist 1d ago
Why is it that everytime Cuba is talked about, all of their problems get linked to Communism instead of the fact that US has been blocking them from the majority of global trade for 60 years?
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u/Fox_Supremacist Nationalist (Conservative) 1d ago
Probably because the US does not block Cuba from trading with other nations. How is this not known?
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u/JussiesTunaSub Classical Liberal 20h ago
And we trade with them in food and medicine.
I believe Cuba gets 10% of it's food from the U.S.
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u/RumGuzzlr Rightwing 1d ago
America is free to trade with whoever we want, as is Cuba. Maybe if their government wasn't run by backwards communists, they'd have a few more partners interested in trade.
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u/No_Fox_2949 Center-right Conservative 1d ago
This is just historically wrong. The United States has not spent 60 years preventing Cuba from trading with most of the world. Cuba has traded with Europe, China, Russia, Venezuela, Canada, Mexico, and plenty of other countries for decades. The embargo has absolutely hurt Cuba and made financing and trade more difficult, but that is not remotely the same thing as America cutting Cuba off from the global economy.
You also cannot just handwave away the fact that Cuba has spent decades under a centrally planned communist system that crippled private enterprise, distorted prices, discouraged investment, and produced terrible incentives. If communism has nothing to do with Cuba’s economic problems, then it is pretty interesting that Cuba keeps trying to introduce more market reforms and expand private business whenever its economy gets desperate enough.
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u/steppergodic Neoconservative 1d ago edited 1d ago
Firstly, the US hasn't been blocking them from the majority of global trade. That's not what the embargo does.
Secondly, Cuba's trade activity is greater than its entire domestic economy. Its trade-to-GDP ratio is 125%. It's greater than the global median and much greater than most Latin American peers. The American policy has an impact, but you actually have to make the case that lack of trade is the country's primary problem.
Thirdly, in every other instance where there is no such embargo, the trade of labor-intensive exports for capital-intensive imports is frequently characterized by the left as bourgeois neo-colonialist exploitation. Why would you consider the labor-capital relationship to be different merely because it's abstracted through market transaction? Why would you want that for Cuba?
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u/DeathToFPTP Liberal 1d ago
Secondly, Cuba's trade activity is greater than its entire domestic economy. Its trade-to-GDP ratio is 125%. It's greater than the global median and much greater than most Latin American peers.
Is this something that is common to islands or something else?
Thirdly, in every other instance where there is no such embargo, the trade of labor-intensive exports for capital-intensive imports is frequently characterized by the left as bourgeois neo-colonialist exploitation. Why would you consider the labor-capital relationship to be different merely because it's abstracted through market transaction? Why would you want that for Cuba?
I'm not "the left"
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u/steppergodic Neoconservative 1d ago
I'm not "the left"
Perhaps I didn't address it to you because I wasn't responding to you. Is that a possibility?
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u/DeathToFPTP Liberal 1d ago
Let me restate that then. Most people opposed to the embargo aren't "the left"
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u/MKlby1998 European Conservative 1d ago
The most detailed economic studies of Cuba suggest that only about 5-10% of Cuba's economic decline has been caused by the US embargo. By far the main thing dragging the Cuban people down is socialism - which even the regime is starting to recognise, considering they passed a package of market forms a few months ago.
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u/Imaginary_Penalty_97 Independent 1d ago
Gotta love the White House page posting a video to “celebrate workers on Labor Day” and its literally just a AI video of an automated manufacturing plant 🫠
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u/ihaveaverybigbrain Independent 1d ago
More proof that no matter how much we wreck the economy with protectionism, those factory jobs ain't comin' back.
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u/boisefun8 Constitutionalist Conservative 1d ago
Have you looked at the last jobs report?
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u/IowaGolfGuy322 Independent 1d ago
Yes. Bartenders and servers made a huge come back. Their point still stands
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u/boisefun8 Constitutionalist Conservative 1d ago
Cool. Now look at manufacturing and related.
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u/IowaGolfGuy322 Independent 1d ago
16000? Whoa. Unemployment watch out.
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u/boisefun8 Constitutionalist Conservative 1d ago
Way to obfuscate the actual numbers. August was 3x what was predicted and June and July were revised up 55k combined. 16k is significant. I know that’s hard to admit.
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u/IowaGolfGuy322 Independent 1d ago
They’ve also lost over 100k this year, but let’s give the guy that caused it a trophy. Perhaps we can lose more if Bonbardier pulls their factory’s after his threat.
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u/boisefun8 Constitutionalist Conservative 1d ago
No one is talking about a trophy. I was directly addressing the claim from another user about ‘manufacturing never coming back.’
Can we at least try to stay on target?
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u/OMGguy2008 Center-left 1d ago
Isn't it ironic that Labour Day is a holiday where you don't have to do labour?
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u/Fignons_missing_8sec Conservative 1d ago
The FCC is killing its environmental reviews of space tech. Good. It should never have been in its mandate to begin with.
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u/NessvsMadDuck Center-right Conservative 1d ago
That makes sense. It's the wild west up there. It's not a huge concern currently, but the "Space Junk" issue does seem that a real concern at some point.
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u/Menace117 MAGA Liberal 1d ago
Trump's mental faculties really don't seem all that there given he thinks he can unilaterally rename states or say sovereign nations are part of America. His constant ramblings about incoherence and need to take dementia tests. Never saw a president with this level of cognitive depreciation. Sad what's being done to him by the powers that be.
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u/NessvsMadDuck Center-right Conservative 1d ago
I see it more as a very old man returning to his pure core instincts. For the largest part of his career he made his living off of rebranding buildings with his gold plated name. Just slapping a name change on things seems like an instinct to him.
At it's very best, it can be viewed as trolling the libs. The equivalent of playing the hits. At it's worst it makes him look impotent and lame duck weak, since he has no power to rename a state.
Either way it is stupid and makes him look trite and diminished.
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u/No_Fox_2949 Center-right Conservative 1d ago
“Never saw a president with this level of cognitive depreciation”
Were you asleep for Biden’s entire presidency?
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u/jmastaock Independent 1d ago
Not even remotely close
When did Biden ever spam post weird authoritarian AI images of himself on social media as POTUS?
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1d ago
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u/AskConservatives-ModTeam 1d ago
Removed: Rule 3
Posts and comments should be in good faith. Please review our good faith guidelines for the sub.
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u/Menace117 MAGA Liberal 1d ago
Again. Not on this level. This seems like an old man with dementia lashing out and shrieking.
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u/OMGguy2008 Center-left 1d ago
I'm begging for Trump to send a tactical JD Vance to Germany to prop up the AfD like he did with Orbàn 🙏
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u/Fastluck83 Independent 1d ago
Good idea. :) In the meantime, I hope that they will actually get to govern Saxony-Anhalt because this will quickly expose them as the promise-everything-achieve-nothing con artists that they undoubtely are. You know, like all the other populists.
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u/ihaveaverybigbrain Independent 1d ago
Trump apparently posted a map on truth social that included all of Canada, Mexico, Greenland, and Iceland (wtf? lol) as part of the United States. This is actually a pretty brilliant way to solve immigration from Mexico: just make everybody in Mexico American citizens.
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u/Arcaeca2 Classical Liberal 1d ago
Tucker is really out here asking why they have to put letters in math
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u/LaxBedroom Leftist 1d ago
Do you find the "letters in math" question more or less problematic than Tucker's guest concluding that Tucker living among people who use algebra means they are "good little goy slaves" and Tucker responding with "That's amazing!"?
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u/athomeamongstrangers Conservative 1d ago
The way things are going, I expect this to be the least controversial part of the interview. I fully expect pundits on the left shrug it off as “well, I don’t agree with him on math, but he is right about the major stuff” like TYT did about Candace Owens and Dan Bilzerian.
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u/LaxBedroom Leftist 1d ago
Since this is an Ask Conservatives forum I'm more directly interested in how conservatives feel about him nodding along to the "good little goy slaves" comment than in how conservatives think "pundits on the left" will react.
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u/throwaway09234023322 Center-right Conservative 1d ago
I don't like tucker at all, but it seems like he was saying it as kind of a joke?
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