'I’ve never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure'
- Clarence Darrow
nbcnews.com/politics/politics-…
Sen. Lindsey Graham dies at 71 after ‘brief and sudden illness’
Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who was elected to the Senate in 2003 and was a close political ally of President Donald Trump, has died, his office confirmed early Sunday. He was 71.Scott Wong (NBC News)

Jones Murphy
in reply to Ben Royce V͎O͎T͎E͎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ ⁼ ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ • • •Mark Koek
in reply to Jones Murphy • • •Jones Murphy
in reply to Mark Koek • • •Mark Koek
in reply to Jones Murphy • • •Ben Royce V͎O͎T͎E͎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ ⁼ ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ
in reply to Mark Koek • • •@mkoek @jonesmurphy
it's a matter of domestic vs international perspective, so i can understand your take
i would also say that if you were more aware of graham's domestic track record as us americans are, your sentiment might change
you're dutch?
if geert wilders dies and an american goes "well, i can't speak ill of the dead" it's a fine instinct, in a vacuum, but in regards to specific nasty people it doesn't hold much weight- many dutch would not agree with that take for that person
Mark Koek
in reply to Ben Royce V͎O͎T͎E͎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ ⁼ ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ • • •Ben Royce V͎O͎T͎E͎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ ⁼ ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ
in reply to Mark Koek • • •@mkoek @jonesmurphy
those other replies are not me. i only spoke of "dutch people" in the abstract. i didn't personalize it as an attack on you
myself i engage on where you are respectfully because i see no malice in your position but i do consider it to be unideal. perhaps i can convince you
the problem in our world today is:
the malicious depend upon us to have decorum, while they do not
it becomes an unfair balance that drives further malice
that's my message to you
no personal attack
Jones Murphy
in reply to Ben Royce V͎O͎T͎E͎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ ⁼ ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ • • •Ben Royce V͎O͎T͎E͎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ ⁼ ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ
in reply to Jones Murphy • • •@jonesmurphy @mkoek
'yeah but kamala harris has a "weird laugh," so i can't be bothered to vote. that our country slides into fascism isn't a big deal, it doesn't affect me, i'm white'
😡
i really despise this entitled fake left
but mark isn't in this rotten country
he only knows of graham from his support for ukraine. his involvement on the topic is tangential. so he can be swayed with dispassionate argument
rather than the castigation we rightfully level at white american fake leftists
farlukar
in reply to Ben Royce V͎O͎T͎E͎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ ⁼ ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ • • •Josh Wood
in reply to farlukar • • •Ben Royce V͎O͎T͎E͎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ ⁼ ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ
in reply to Josh Wood • • •@too_little_caffeine @farlukar @jonesmurphy @mkoek
that's what mamdani and the DSA are for
but the problem is the people who aren't voting, like the primaries, so no DSA candidate either
so you're talking about people who just whine and complain and don't vote, only helping MAGA win and make things shittier even faster
there is nothing in such losers worth a single fucking thing. they are just entitled useless inert assholes always fucking complaining and doing absolutely nothing about it
Jones Murphy
in reply to Ben Royce V͎O͎T͎E͎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ ⁼ ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ • • •@too_little_caffeine @farlukar @mkoek Josh Wood, nobody owes you the perfect candidate. If you don't like the available options, run for something:
runforsomething.net/?
Front Page - Run For Something
Run For SomethingJosh Wood
in reply to Jones Murphy • • •Ben Royce V͎O͎T͎E͎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ ⁼ ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ
in reply to Josh Wood • • •@too_little_caffeine @jonesmurphy @farlukar @mkoek
people who say "i want better or i'm not voting" when offered better say "i want even better or i'm not voting"
because their point is holier-than-thou self-regard, not participating constructively
real leftists are in the mud working hard with a sucky payoff
but they put in the fucking work so they eventually get better
that i respect
i don't listen to nor respect entitled whiners who think endless demands and not doing shit is "helping"
xenophyte
in reply to Ben Royce V͎O͎T͎E͎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ ⁼ ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ • • •edsanders2
in reply to xenophyte • • •@xenophyte @too_little_caffeine @jonesmurphy @farlukar @mkoek
I am primarily on your side, but it needs to be said (particularly here) that there are people who would otherwise be allied in this fight, but cannot because the Dems won’t fight for them, and in many cases actually oppose them.
There are huge differences between the parties, but on the main issue for the trans community, not nearly enough.
Jones Murphy
in reply to edsanders2 • • •edsanders2
in reply to Jones Murphy • • •@jonesmurphy @xenophyte @too_little_caffeine @farlukar @mkoek
Fuck off troll.
Ben Royce V͎O͎T͎E͎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ ⁼ ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ
in reply to edsanders2 • • •@edsanders2 @jonesmurphy @xenophyte @too_little_caffeine @farlukar @mkoek
if people voted, we could take over the democrats, the mamdani template
if people do not vote, and just whine online, they are helping MAGA in their inaction
that's not trolling, that's simple reality
it does not matter what centrist dems think. fuck them, why do you care about them
just replace them
but we can't replace them, because some people will use any excuse to do nothing, and consider themselves "righteous"
Josh Wood
in reply to Ben Royce V͎O͎T͎E͎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ ⁼ ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ • • •Ben Royce V͎O͎T͎E͎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ ⁼ ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ
in reply to Josh Wood • • •@too_little_caffeine @edsanders2 @jonesmurphy @xenophyte @farlukar @mkoek
it doesn't matter that shitlibs exist, it matters that certain people do not get off their fucking ass and vote
if we want to change our world, we engage, we participate. if we want to stand on the sidelines and whine that assholes exist in the democrats this is just weak excuse making of ineffectual impotent losers
did that stop mamdani?
mamdani is the way forward: take over the democratic party. so fucking VOTE
Josh Wood
in reply to Ben Royce V͎O͎T͎E͎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ ⁼ ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ • • •Ben Royce V͎O͎T͎E͎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ ⁼ ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ
in reply to Josh Wood • • •@too_little_caffeine @edsanders2 @jonesmurphy @xenophyte @farlukar @mkoek
did you vote in the primaries? that's when the "who" part is decided
we have horrible democrat candidates BECAUSE assholes don't vote
Josh Wood
in reply to Ben Royce V͎O͎T͎E͎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ ⁼ ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ • • •Jones Murphy
in reply to Josh Wood • • •Josh Wood
in reply to Jones Murphy • • •Ben Royce V͎O͎T͎E͎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ ⁼ ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ
in reply to Josh Wood • • •@too_little_caffeine @jonesmurphy @xenophyte @farlukar @mkoek
they tried to push cuomo down our throats and we showed up and got mamdani
if we went "they are trying to push cuomo down our throats, waah waah, life sucks and then you die, waah waah, it's never worth it to get off our ass and vote, waah waah" then we would have cuomo
do you get it?
NONVOTERS ARE THE PROBLEM. the self-fulfilling prophecy of toxic useless whiny stupid cynicism
Josh Wood
in reply to Ben Royce V͎O͎T͎E͎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ ⁼ ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ • • •Ben Royce V͎O͎T͎E͎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ ⁼ ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ
in reply to Josh Wood • • •@too_little_caffeine @jonesmurphy @xenophyte @farlukar @mkoek
Mamdani was a choice because the voters fucking showed up and put him on the ballot in the primaries
Bad candidates do not cause nonvoters
Nonvoters cause bad candidates
Josh Wood
in reply to Ben Royce V͎O͎T͎E͎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ ⁼ ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ • • •@jonesmurphy @xenophyte @farlukar @mkoek Right, but Mamdani was on the ballot. The other part of the equation is having someone worth voting for. Non-voters show up in droves when the options aren't shitty and less shitty.
I don't think the finger wagging is really all that helpful.
Ben Royce V͎O͎T͎E͎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ ⁼ ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ
in reply to Josh Wood • • •@too_little_caffeine @jonesmurphy @xenophyte @farlukar @mkoek
nope
nonvoters presented with a better option go "they aren't perfect" and still don't vote
because their concern isn't bettering our world
their concern is tweaking their smug sense of superiority and entitlement to do nothing but whine, at the expense of us sliding into fascism
they don't care about that
they are fake leftists, just empty whiny losers
avoid this pathetic trap in life
vote and participate to better our world
Josh Wood
in reply to Ben Royce V͎O͎T͎E͎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ ⁼ ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ • • •Ben Royce V͎O͎T͎E͎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ ⁼ ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ
in reply to Josh Wood • • •@too_little_caffeine @jonesmurphy @xenophyte @farlukar @mkoek
i'm confused
you're saying nonvoters are liberals?
what?
Josh Wood
in reply to Ben Royce V͎O͎T͎E͎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ ⁼ ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ • • •Ben Royce V͎O͎T͎E͎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ ⁼ ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ
in reply to Josh Wood • • •@too_little_caffeine @jonesmurphy @xenophyte @farlukar @mkoek
there are many flavors of nonvoter
maga who don't vote, neocons who don't vote, liberals who don't vote, etc, etc
the USA is 1/3 mind controlled MAGA bigot voters, 1/3 positively engaged left leaning voters, and then this vast 1/3 of disengaged losers
and since elections are decided by small percentages, and trying to appeal to MAGA is gross and stupid, we have to hack at those leftists who aren't voting and convince them to vote
Ben Royce V͎O͎T͎E͎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ ⁼ ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ
in reply to Ben Royce V͎O͎T͎E͎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ ⁼ ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ • • •@too_little_caffeine @jonesmurphy @xenophyte @farlukar @mkoek
some say to me "Ben, calling nonvoters losers doesn't convince them"
on the contrary playing codependent enabler catering to ineffectual broken psychology, cynicism and perfectionism, pays 0 dividends
what you do is you hack at the moronic reasons these assholes don't vote
and yes: many just get pissed off and tune out. utterly lost souls who don't care
but some are listening
and all we need is a small percentage to defeat MAGA
Jones Murphy
in reply to Ben Royce V͎O͎T͎E͎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ ⁼ ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ • • •@too_little_caffeine @xenophyte @farlukar @mkoek there's a re-surging group of non-voters who are being prevented from voting by Confederate tricks & traps designed to make it harder for specific groups to vote. Supreme Court Republicans have had the majority for 56 years, and have used it to roll back the Voting Rights Act of 1965 at an accelerating pace:
theguardian.com/us-news/2020/m…
Texas closes hundreds of polling sites, making it harder for minorities to vote
Guardian staff reporter (The Guardian)no brain no pain
in reply to Jones Murphy • • •Jones Murphy
in reply to no brain no pain • • •Ben Royce V͎O͎T͎E͎ ᶜʸⁿⁱᶜⁱˢᵐ ⁼ ᵃᶜᶜᵉᵖᵗᵃⁿᶜᵉ
in reply to Jones Murphy • • •@jonesmurphy @nobrainnopain
i would say that the rich use the bigots to get in power and stay in power, and the bigots use the rich to abuse minorities
the transaction is:
1. i, the #bigot, don't mind being robbed, as long as you abuse minorities
2. i, the #plutocrat, don't mind abusing minorities, as long as i keep my rent seeking parasite existence
the plutocrat-bigot political axis is real
not *all* of them, you're right about that. but enough of them
#plutocracy #bigotry