While we do #Denmark #Danmark #USA #Greenland #Arctic drama, don't forget the #Inuit, the people who live there

@benroyce Just a note: I do like your empowering anger, your thoughts and engagement, and your patience here.
People like you give me hope for a change.

@davevolek@mastodon.social @eswag @Pepijn

@grumble209 @TCatInReality @eswag @Pepijn

oh yeah, parties suck

unfortunately they are real

merely saying "there shouldn't be political parties" sounds good. and is true. but it doesn't change a damn thing

so we have to work with the shit we got

it's like saying "war is bad"

no shit

but when there's russians marching tanks over your border, that sentiment doesn't mean much. you have to fight them

so we have to engage on political parties. because it's great? no. because it is what it is

@benroyce @TCatInReality @eswag @Pepijn I respectfully disagree.

As far as I can tell, parties are the storefronts where big money donors go shopping to buy corrupt politicians.

I will not support a political party. I will support the good candidates that I trust. People - with ideas - not parties.

There's nothing about political parties in my Constitution, and that's good enough for me.

We may have to disagree about this.

@NatureMC @eswag @Pepijn

thank you

i'm simply a hothead and a loudmouth

which is not a virtue

but it might be something like a virtue in a shit world such as it is

any one who isn't angry isn't paying attention. so therefore all there is that i'm doing of any value is articulating anger. the tragedy would be is that is all i do. so the idea is to do that anger articulating *effectively*: actually change things

let's see not only how i can do that, but how all of us can do that

@NatureMC @eswag @Pepijn

thank you

i'm simply a hothead and a loudmouth

which is not a virtue

but it might be something like a virtue in a shit world such as it is

any one who isn't angry isn't paying attention. so therefore all there is that i'm doing of any value is articulating anger. the tragedy would be is that is all i do. so the idea is to do that anger articulating *effectively*: actually change things

let's see not only how i can do that, but how all of us can do that

@Pepijn @benroyce working for a danish/italian company I didn't have "war with the US" on my list of potential risks for 2026. As you said: there are so many positive things which used to come up thinking about the US, but now it's the opposite. It feels like a friend who betrays you.

@benroyce And I must say that I find it harder by the day to hear quotes from US citizens like "I didn't vote for him", "not my president", "not in my name" and especially: "50% of us disagree".

I get it. And I believe people when they say that. It also doesn't mean anything to me. That's internal.

What is external, to me as a citizen of another country, is that the USA -the country, with all the history, friendship & agreements we share- is actively threatening my country with invasion & war.

@grumble209 @TCatInReality @eswag @Pepijn

but we don't disagree

i agree with you 100%

you say you'll support good candidates

great

me too

so when i say "take over the democratic party" what am i really saying?

getting good candidates forward

that the vehicle is a party is merely a rational tactic, it isn't the destruction of all that is good in the world

and if the candidates are good enough, and we get ranked choice voting from them, we can start talking about killing political parties

@Pepijn @benroyce

If his opponents in the US don't kick out him and his cronies, we are finished. The US is so powerful, especially militarily, that even with determination we could not repel an onslaught.

Caught between two authoritarian behemoths, the rational choice would be to have some form of stand-off alliance with the superpower which is committed to green energy and science.

@grumble209 @TCatInReality @eswag @Pepijn

but we don't disagree

i agree with you 100%

you say you'll support good candidates

great

me too

so when i say "take over the democratic party" what am i really saying?

getting good candidates forward

that the vehicle is a party is merely a rational tactic, it isn't the destruction of all that is good in the world

and if the candidates are good enough, and we get ranked choice voting from them, we can start talking about killing political parties

@benroyce @TCatInReality @eswag @Pepijn It's easy to agree when the ballot has good candidates that just happen to be Democrats. But I think we'll end up disagreeing over voting for shitty Democrats vs shitty Republicans.

Personally, I'm getting really tired of taste-testing the shit from both candidates to pick the one that's microscopically less shitty.

But let's think happy thoughts and pray that the DNC won't ever again run two shitty presidential candidates without a primary like 2024.

It's a sad thing that these days there's sooo many ways to read that second paragraph.

> superpower which is committed to green energy and science.

China?

@lionelb @benroyce

@grumble209 @TCatInReality @eswag @Pepijn

agreed, with one caveat:

the worst dog shit democrat is still not fascism happy MAGA

so even if the democrat is the most spineless chuck schumer shitbag, you act tactically, rather than sitting things out and watching us go to fascism

it's not a fucking romance

it's tactics in a game, to hold the line if not proceed to better, so you at least can go for better tomorrow, rather than putting out fires for decades

@benroyce @phl I bet I’m not the only American to just now be hearing about this. WTF?!?!

@benroyce @TCatInReality @eswag @Pepijn Harris probably wouldn't have sunk a bunch of boats and murdered their sailors before kidnapping Maduro and stealing Venezuela's oil, but Harris would still have supported Israel killing and starving Palestinians just like Trump does.

I'm too much of a pussy to look at a starving Palestinian orphan being expelled to Africa and say - hey, you have to understand I was voting *strategically*.

Instead, I get really, really pissed off at the party assholes who put me in this position for the sake of the convenience of their donors.

@grammasaurus @benroyce @phl
iirc crptome.org wrote about it ~2000.

@NatureMC @eswag @Pepijn

thank you

i'm simply a hothead and a loudmouth

which is not a virtue

but it might be something like a virtue in a shit world such as it is

any one who isn't angry isn't paying attention. so therefore all there is that i'm doing of any value is articulating anger. the tragedy would be is that is all i do. so the idea is to do that anger articulating *effectively*: actually change things

let's see not only how i can do that, but how all of us can do that

@benroyce
Ben, you're definitely a loudmouth, but a hothead? Your messages and replies are always eloquent and well thought through. A hothead loses control of themselves. I've never had the feeling you were not in control, even when seething, and rightfully so, with anger. Much appreciated!
@NatureMC @eswag @Pepijn

@benroyce And I must say that I find it harder by the day to hear quotes from US citizens like "I didn't vote for him", "not my president", "not in my name" and especially: "50% of us disagree".

I get it. And I believe people when they say that. It also doesn't mean anything to me. That's internal.

What is external, to me as a citizen of another country, is that the USA -the country, with all the history, friendship & agreements we share- is actively threatening my country with invasion & war.

@Eetschrijver @NatureMC @eswag @Pepijn

as a mindless contrarian, now that you've identified this line, i will do my best to cross it

(just kidding, thanks GJ)