Political Discussion and Commentary

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A place to discuss politics and offer political commentary. Self posts are preferred, but links to current events and news are allowed. Opinion pieces are welcome on a case by case basis, and discussion of and disagreement about issues is encouraged!

The intent is for this community to be an area for open & respectful discussion on current political issues, news & events, and that means we all have a responsibility to be open, honest, and sincere. We place as much emphasis on good content as good behavior, but the latter is more important if we want to ensure this community remains healthy and vibrant.

Content Rules:

Self posts preferred.
Opinion pieces and editorials are allowed on a case by case basis.
No spam or self promotion.
Do not post grievances about other communities or their moderators.

Commentary Rules

Don’t be a jerk or do anything to prevent honest discussion.
Stay on topic.
Don’t criticize the person, criticize the argument.
Provide credible sources whenever possible.
Report bad behavior, please don’t retaliate. Reciprocal bad behavior will reflect poorly on both parties.
Seek rule enforcement clarification via private message, not in comment threads.
Abide by Lemmy's terms of service (attacks on other users, privacy, discrimination, etc).

Please try to up/downvote based on contribution to discussion, not on whether you agree or disagree with the commenter.

Partnered Communities:

• Politics

founded 2 weeks ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

Presidential debate discussion (lemmy.world)

submitted 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

1 comments fedilink

Sidebar Rules Updated (lemmy.world)

submitted 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

0 comments fedilink

After a bit of discussion with @laverabe, we've agreed to update the sidebar with a more specific rule set. We have about 2 decades of moderation experience between us, and we're more or less on the same page about how to kick-start the community and get things rolling.

To put it simply, we are significantly less interested in enforcing our rules on opinions or content than we are on behavior and your treatment of others. Barring truly horrific opinions (which probably violate Lemmy's ToS in the first place), we're open to any and all perspectives, no matter how tasteless, crass, or toxic other people may believe them to be. There is no shortage of people on the left who think people on the right should be censored, just as there's no shortage of people on the right who think people on the left should be censored. We will not censor opinions because they're liberal, conservative, libertarian, egalitarian, utilitarian, humanitarian, Rastafarian, muggle, sith, Borg, etc. We will remove content that's abusive. So just don't be an asshole and everything will be peachy.

This forum is not meant to be focused on any particular topic or region, but we reserve the right to remove content on the rare occasion that it doesn't suit the purpose of the community. Given that nearly everything is political nowadays, that might be an entirely moot point, but just in case we ask that you not post lasagna recipes, driving directions, product reviews, or other unrelated stuff.

Content Rules:

Self posts only.
Opinion pieces and editorials are allowed on a case by case basis.
No spam or self promotion.
Do not post grievances about other communities or their moderators.

Commentary Rules

~~Obey the golden rule: treat others as you would like to be treated.~~ Don't be a jerk or prevent honest discussion.
Stay on topic.
Don’t criticize the person, criticize the argument.
Provide credible sources whenever possible.
Report bad behavior, please don’t retaliate. Reciprocal bad behavior will reflect poorly on both parties.
Seek rule enforcement clarification via private message, not in comment threads.
Abide by Lemmy's terms of service (attacks on other users, privacy, discrimination, etc).

Please upvote/downvote based on quality of contribution to the discussion, not based on whether or not you agree with the post or comment.

Since our rules are new, we'll probably issue a lot of warnings in the early stages. We're not expecting to issue any bans unless something is truly out of bounds and unproductive. We're also just humans who have actual jobs, so we just don't have time to babysit folks who can't be cooperative.

Please provide your thoughts on anything you think should be more or less specific, as well as added or removed. We can't promise that we'll see eye to eye, but we'll make every effort to help you understand where we're coming from and how we see the community developing.

Edit: Updated rule 1 to be more specific, in case someone decided to be rude because they get their rocks off by fighting.

What technological channels should candidates use to reach a mass audience? (lemmy.world)

submitted 6 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

2 comments fedilink

Obama had his YouTube popularity in 08', and Trump arguably won (with assistance) the internet strategy in 2016 vs Clinton.

What technological "channel" might propel the next US president to the finish line?

Close to eight in 10 Democrats say they are more enthusiastic than usual about voting in this year’s election | Gallup (news.gallup.com)

submitted 1 week ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

4 comments fedilink

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans’ enthusiasm about voting in this year’s election has surged in recent months, with 69% of U.S. adults now saying they are “more enthusiastic than usual” about voting. This is up from 54% in March.

Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are largely driving the surge in enthusiasm nationally. In March, 55% of Democrats and Democratic leaners said they were more enthusiastic than usual about voting; now, 78% are. Republicans and Republican leaners, who held a slight edge in enthusiasm in March, now trail Democrats by a significant margin, with their current 64% enthusiasm score up slightly from 59% in the spring.

What policy issue should be a major issue but is never discussed? (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 week ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

6 comments fedilink

Trump Criminal Case Scorecard: (lemmy.world)

submitted 2 weeks ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

2 comments fedilink

No real changes here, next date to watch is Thursday, September 26th:

If you're trying to keep track of where we're at in the Trump prosecutions:

Updated 09/06/2024

Washington, D.C.
4 federal felonies
January 6th Election Interference
Investigation
Indictment
Arrest <- You Are Here
Trial - The trial, originally scheduled for March 4th, had been placed on hold pending the Supreme Court ruling on Presidential Immunity.

The Supreme Court ruled that the President does enjoy limited immunity for "official acts", it now returns to lower court to determine what, if any, of his acts leading up to 1/6 were "official".

https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/01/politics/supreme-court-donald-trump-immunity/index.html

On 8/27, a new federal grand jury re-indicted Trump on all four counts in a hearing this time excluding evidence barred by the Supreme Court.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/trump-indicted-federal-election-interference-case-supreme-court-immuni-rcna168503

"Judge Chutkan set a date of Sept. 26 for prosecutors in the office of the special counsel, Jack Smith, to submit an opening brief to her on the question of immunity."

"Judge Chutkan told Mr. Trump’s lawyers to respond to the government’s submission about immunity by Oct. 17. She also told them to finish making their arguments for why they need more discovery information from the government by Sept. 19."

"In her order, Judge Chutkan, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, set a deadline of Oct. 24 for Mr. Lauro to make a formal request to file the motion about Mr. Smith’s appointment."

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/05/us/politics/trump-election-case-jan-6.html

Conviction
Sentencing

New York
34 state felonies
Stormy Daniels Payoff
Investigation
Indictment
Arrest
Trial
Conviction <- You Are Here Guilty, all 34 counts.
Sentencing - Originally scheduled for July 11, 2024, then September 18th following the Supreme Court's ruling on Presidential immunity, sentencing is now delayed until 11/26, after the election.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/06/nyregion/trump-sentencing-delay-ruling.html

Georgia
10 state felonies
Election Interference
As of 3/13/24 - Judge McAfee cleared 6 charges, 3 against Trump, saying they were too generic to be enforced.
As of 3/15/24 - The case may proceed, but either Fulton County DA, Fani Willis and her office or Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade must remove themselves due to the appearance of impropriety.
Investigation
Indictment
Arrest <- You Are Here
All 19 defendants have surrendered.
Trial - October 4th, 2024 hearing has been set to determine if Fani Willis can remain on the case.
Three defendants, Kenneth Chesebro, Sidney Powell, and bail bondsman Scott Hall, have all pled guilty and have agreed to testify in other cases.
Conviction
Sentencing

Florida
40 federal felonies
Top Secret Documents charges
Investigation
Indictment
Original indictment was for 37 felonies. 3 new felonies were added on July 27, 2023.
Arrest <- You Are Here
Trial - The trial had been set to begin May 20, 2024, but was subsequently delayed indefinitely by the judge, and has now been dismissed outright under the claims that the prosecutor was not Constitutionally appointed.
https://www.reuters.com/legal/judge-tosses-trump-documents-case-ruling-prosecutor-unlawfully-appointed-2024-07-15/

Jack Smith appealed Judge Cannon's ruling on Monday, 8/26 to the 11th circuit.

https://www.npr.org/2024/08/26/g-s1-19642/special-counsel-jack-smith-judge-cannon-appeal-trump-classified-documents
Conviction
Sentencing

Other grand juries, such as for the documents at Bedminster, or the Arizona fake electors, have not been announced.

The E. Jean Carroll trial for sexual assault and defamation where Trump was found liable and ordered to pay $5 million before immediately defaming her again resulting in a demand for $10 million is not listed as it's a civil case and not a crimimal one. He was found liable in that case for $83.3 million.

There had been multiple cases in multiple states to remove Trump from the ballot, citing ineligibility under the 14th amendment.

The Supreme Court ruled on March 4th that states do not have the ability to determine eligibility in Federal elections.

https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/video/united-states-supreme-court-overturns-colorado-supreme-court-donald-trump-ballot-ruling/

Presidential Poll Numbers as of 8/28: (lemmy.world)

submitted 2 weeks ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

9 comments fedilink

I run this analysis in Politics whenever there's a post about "New national poll says..." but we don't allow self posts over there so it's always buried in a comment.

National polls are useless because we don't have national elections. Red states are gonna red state and blue states are gonna blue state.

So knowing that, here are the current results for states that are in play:

Let's see the state breakdown now:

Arizona: Toss Up. Harris +1, Trump +3
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/arizona/

Nevada: Toss Up. Harris +2, Tie
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/nevada/

New Mexico: Harris +8/+11
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/new-mexico/

Texas: Trump +3/+5
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/texas/

Georgia: Harris +1/+2
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/georgia/

Florida: Trump +3/+4
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/florida/

North Carolina: Trump +1/+2/+4
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/florida/

Virginia: Harris +3
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/virginia/

Pennsylvania: Toss Up, 2 tied polls, Trump +1/+4/+5

Michigan: Harris +2, tie
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/michigan/

Wisconsin: Harris +4/+5, Trump +1
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/wisconsin/

Minnesota: Harris +5/+7/+10
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/minnesota/

So... changes from last time...

Nevada moves from Harris to toss up. Georgia has moved more to Harris. Michigan is still Harris but getting closer.

Plotted on the map, Harris only needs 1 of the three toss up states to win. Trump needs ALL THREE to hit 271.

PSA: Support local journalism (lemmy.world)

submitted 2 weeks ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

3 comments fedilink

Please support whatever local journalism you have in your area, if you have any. Financially if possible / subscriptions. They are one of the few organizations that give a voice in support of the public good, and very rarely receive the thanks and gratitude they deserve.

Many areas no longer have local journalism and are controlled by large corporations (most local TV news for example). In that case there is not much that can be done unless you are a journalist yourself.

The media is arguably a 4th branch of government that can help to maintain a system of checks and balances.

If everyone could go to space and experience the overview effect, what long term effect do you think that would have on public policy? (lemmy.world)

submitted 2 weeks ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

8 comments fedilink

Obviously i don't think it would be feasible to send everyone into space, but just as a thought experiment.

A little discussed issue is expansion of public lands (lemmy.world)

submitted 2 weeks ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

3 comments fedilink

I think most people would agree allocating land for the public good is a positive thing for nearly every citizen.

rule 2 added (lemmy.world)

submitted 2 weeks ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

14 comments fedilink