The Political Thread

[CraigPelton]

They're just saying it out loud: the FBI will be Trump's gestapo.

 

[Grim]

You don't get it, we're just exaggerating when we called Trump and MAGA fascists.

 

[Samoa Looch]

The future of the FBI:

 

[Grim]

 

[Samoa Looch]

Alright... German Federal Election 2025.

I'm kinda surprised about how much on point the polls seem to be. I took a look at those about 4-5 (maybe 6) weeks ago and there isn't much difference to what the first projections indicate.

CDU (our big conservative party) getting about 29%, while the AfD becomes 2nd strongest party with about 20%. That's pretty much what the polls showed in early to mid-January. The current governing party, SPD, our big centre-left socialist party, gonna lose about 10% compared to 2021, falling to 16%.

Now, the CDU would have 209 seats with 316 needed for the majority. It is unlikely that the CDU will go into talks with the AfD (but I wouldn't 100% count on it), so basically it'll come down to us getting, once again, the "Big Coalition" (CDU and SPD, which will have about 327 seats and a pretty much not functional opposition)... now, from the outside that probably looks fine, since the far-right AfD can't really do anything, it is not far away from the worst outcome, because that Big Coalition is one huge part of why Germany has to deal with an ongoing government and economy crisis right now.

So... the way I see it... if the economy crisis we have going on can't be stopped, either by the CDU (who are pretty much only interested in making sure the small, upper levels of society will be as safe as possible from economical hardships) or somehow by sheer dumb luck, then I can see the AfD gaining more momentum for the election in 2029... and by then I feel like it's likely we'll see the CDU and AfD will go into a coalition.

 

[Samoa Looch]

Oh yeah... just for completeness sake.

Right now the projections are:
CDU (Centre-Right Conservatives - 28,6% / 209 seats)
AfD (Far-Right Populists - 20,4% / 149 seats)
SPD (Centre-Left Socialists - 16,3% / 119 seats)
Greens (Centre-Left Greens/Social Liberals - 12,3% / 90 seats)
The Left (Left-Wing Populists/Socialists - 8,5% / 62 seats)
"Others" (basically all other small parties clumped into one statistic with 4,3%, but only one of those get a seat, which is the SSW. Usually every party needs to get at least 5% to get a seat in the Bundestag, but since the SSW is the party of the Danish and Frisian minorities in Schleswig-Holstein (the Northernmost (and my) State of the Germany) it is exempt from that 5% hurdle. They are usually left-leaning, but of course the interests of the Danish and Frisian minorities are their highest priorities.)

The two "big" parties, who will, at the moment, miss the Bundestag are the FDP (Centre-Right Liberals) with 4,7% (the usually preferred buddies of the CDU to govern with in the past) and the BSW (Far-Left Populists/Nationalists/Eurosceptics that split off The Left in January 2024) with 4,9%.

 

[Tommy Shelby]

Oh yeah... just for completeness sake.

Right now the projections are:
CDU (Centre-Right Conservatives - 28,6% / 209 seats)
AfD (Far-Right Populists - 20,4% / 149 seats)
SPD (Centre-Left Socialists - 16,3% / 119 seats)
Greens (Centre-Left Greens/Social Liberals - 12,3% / 90 seats)
The Left (Left-Wing Populists/Socialists - 8,5% / 62 seats)
"Others" (basically all other small parties clumped into one statistic with 4,3%, but only one of those get a seat, which is the SSW. Usually every party needs to get at least 5% to get a seat in the Bundestag, but since the SSW is the party of the Danish and Frisian minorities in Schleswig-Holstein (the Northernmost (and my) State of the Germany) it is exempt from that 5% hurdle. They are usually left-leaning, but of course the interests of the Danish and Frisian minorities are their highest priorities.)

The two "big" parties, who will, at the moment, miss the Bundestag are the FDP (Centre-Right Liberals) with 4,7% (the usually preferred buddies of the CDU to govern with in the past) and the BSW (Far-Left Populists/Nationalists/Eurosceptics that split off The Left in January 2024) with 4,9%.

Fuck. A Coalition of Centre Right CDU and Far Right AfD isn't that a recipe for disaster especially if the economy stabilises and the AfD get the credit. Makes me happy it's still first past the post in this country and not alternative voting. In Scotland a few years back the SNP Nationalist Party won an out right majority and basically showed it's possible to win even with alternative voting. Guess Germany is way Bigger and no chance of it happening in the country. Luckily.

 

[Samoa Looch]

As Facebook Abandons Fact-Checking, It’s Also Offering Bonuses for Viral Content

Meta decided to stop working with U.S. fact-checkers at the same time as it’s revamping a program to pay bonuses to creators with high engagement numbers, potentially pouring accelerant on the kind of false posts the company once policed.

www.propublica.org

Meta decided to stop working with U.S. fact-checkers at the same time as it’s revamping a program to pay bonuses to creators with high engagement numbers, potentially pouring accelerant on the kind of false posts the company once policed.

 

[Grim]

Meta should get forcibly broken up.

 

[Grim]

Mississippi Legislature not a ‘public body’ and not subject to Open Meetings Act, judge rules

A judge has ruled that the Mississippi Legislature is not a public body and not subject to the state’s Open Meetings Act. Hinds County Chancery Court Judge J.

apnews.com

The Mississippi Legislature is not a public body and not subject to the state’s Open Meetings Act, a Hinds County Chancery Court judge ruled Tuesday, affirming a 2023 Mississippi Ethics Commission finding and rejecting an appeal from the Mississippi Free Press.

The decision clears the way for Mississippi’s Republican House majority to continue operating in secret, gathering a quorum of legislators to plan votes and shape legislative agendas without public access to their proceedings.

Chancellor J. Dewayne Thomas ruled in favor of the House of Representatives and former Speaker Philip Gunn on Feb. 18, asserting that while the specific language of the Open Meetings Act included all of the standing, interim and special committees of the Mississippi Legislature, the Legislature itself was excluded from the act.

Mississippi’s Open Meetings Act holds that “it being essential to the fundamental philosophy of the American constitutional form of representative government and to the maintenance of a democratic society that public business be performed in an open and public manner … the formation and determination of public policy is public business and shall be conducted at open meetings except as otherwise provided herein.”

In the House, private Republican caucuses are held to control the agenda of a voting bloc powerful enough to pass or kill legislation regardless of any outside opposition.

MFP Barred from Meeting, Filed Complaint​

This reporter attempted to attend a House Republican caucus meeting on March 14, 2022, before legislative staffers quickly jumped to bar the entrance. Then-House Speaker Philip Gunn, the leader of the Republican caucus before leaving the Legislation in 2024, confirmed directly at the caucus that he did not believe the secret meetings were in violation of the Open Meetings Act.

The Mississippi Free Press then brought the matter before the Mississippi Ethics Committee, which adjudicates complaints under the Open Meetings Act and other statutes. While the current and former executive directors of the Ethics Commission argued in favor of the Mississippi Free Press and the public’s access to the proceedings of the House GOP caucus, the full board voted 5-3 to reject the claim, asserting that the Legislature as a whole was not a public body.

You heard it here folks, a legislative assembly is not a public gathering.

 

[Tommy Shelby]

@Samoa Looch who did you vote for the CDU or SPD. I wish in this country we could change the voting system and other times not so much. I couldn't imagine conservatives or Socialists working together in this country as it's very difficult.

Years ago in the 70's one of my favourite politicians who I wish could of been prime minister Roy Jenkins, worked with Many in Conservative and Liberal parties to get us to stay in Europe. He'd be turning in his grave after we left, since leaving my countries GDP has went down and down to we have 0.1% predicted growth for this quarter , which is pathetic. Seems like the E.U's main countries are the same with France and Germany not doing well.

Do you think that's why CDU became largest party again, after the SPD did last election?

 

[Samoa Looch]

It's the same shit as it is in any country really. Too many stupid people blaming the current governing parties for what's going on, completely forgetting that the opposite big party is the one who build towards the shit people have to go through for a long ass time before that.

I don't vote for either of those two. Never have, never will (unless they actually fuckin' change being selfish and stupid for once).

 

[Comrade Khan]

from the miniscule amount of info I read, the main reason the right of center cons won big was because the left is currently kind of splintered. fortunately (for now) it does not seem like the winning party will form goverment with the nazis. but we will see. I dont know enough about the other parties , i am sure Looch could give a brief recap. there is some weird shit in europe tho, like legit left tankies but who also praise russia. which is not really a thing in NA anymore at all since Ukraine - leftists in NA have all but abandoned any sort of america bad russia good sentiment. we just hate both now lol

 

[Comrade Khan]

but also from what I read, alot of these major parties are much closer to the middle than in NA, especially USA. id wager most of them aree still left of establishment Democrats

 

[Comrade Khan]

@Ricky Smarks shat on your constitution now coming for your guns bud