‘You mean’

No I didn’t mean that. Please don’t waste my time.

My comment on Europe needing to spend more was simply in terms of the reality of facing down a belligerent Russia.

Americans generally do not seem to understand that their massive military spending is actually in support of and necessary as long as they wanted the dollar as global reserve currency. This doesn’t surprise me and isn’t really a criticism (we have similar issues in the UK). The American people I have come across online appear to have grown up being told they are exceptional, the best, apparently without actually being told the reality of 20th century economic history.

The world was forced to buy oil in dollars due to the arrangement the US made with the Saudis, meaning the world had to buy US debt if it wanted oil. Obviously in this scenario the US print the money other people are borrowing facilitating the transfer of wealth that is coming to an end. When the likes of Saddam Hussein said he was going to sell oil in Euros he got a good ol’ dose of freedom. The 9/11 attackers were Saudis but the US would never touch them due to this arrangement. Anyway, this is why US defence spending has been what it has been. It isn’t the case that the rest of the world should have paid more. In fact the rest of the world paid the US deficit at least in part by this mechanism. Trump is bringing those halcyon days to a premature end intentionally because now he wants the likes of Europe to pay US debts but not get military support lol.

If/when the US doesn’t spend that money on military support of regions like Europe the US are in a sense reneging on their agreement and so they no longer get that global reserve currency status, everybody sells US debt, the dollar is greatly weakened (which might be what Trump wants, in terms of making US made goods affordable for people outside the US, whether misguided or not) and presumably interest rates rise considerably. Moving away from SWIFT and the WTO are 100% unambiguous signals of the EU’s intent to ‘dedollarise’ we have seen in just the last few days.

This reserve currency status is roughly what has given America a large amount of unearned global wealth post ww2, and more or less allowed boomers to buy a home on one wage etc. Changing it is a huge upheaval on US life that will last many decades. Military spending has supported the dollar, Trump is more or less throwing that away.

‘Radical’ and ‘socialist’ in US politics are not only nothing of the sort but are nowhere near, so no I do not mean that in any sense.

Don’t put words in my mouth my post was clear.

It didn’t happen overnight (and racist religious world views have been cultivated within this cohort over many years), but the fact that the poorest most easily manipulated people haven’t had anybody representing their interests for decades now opened the door to Trump.

The same process is happening in the UK. The UK ‘electorate’ don’t seem to have the wherewithal to see this, instead they often demonise the poor as ‘racist’ or xenophobic inflaming the situation.

Trump isn’t wrong that European NATO countries have needed to increase their defence spending for a long time. It remains to be seen which European NATO countries will actually do so or can: words are easy. (Just call Trump ‘Daddy’ and agree to whatever he says lol before continuing with whatever we intended to do all along anyway!)

Trump and many other Americans in positions of power obviously have been Russian assets to various degrees for a long time now, but the last thing Russia wants is Trump’s actions forcing Europe to spend more on defence, and end their reliance on the US.

Russia would prefer complacent European NATO/EU nations relying on America, who would pull the rug out from under them - similar to what America has done to Ukraine - when Russia was in a position to attack NATO further. I guess the timing just won’t be right for that outcome, unless Trump forces a third term, so Putin will be happy with what he has achieved.

As well as a Russian asset Trump is also just a bit of a moron who doesn’t see the value in the US dollar as global reserve currency. Maybe he sees the rise of China and thinks ‘this is what the US needs to do again. Go back to developing world status and become the world’s factory in order to rise later as China is now’. Trump doesn’t appear have much in the way of strategic thinking. He appears to have an unchangeable very out of date world view, and more he is driven by the pathological impulse to acquire everything he can for himself. The uber-pig.

This return to developing world status would be great for billionaires but not for your average American, never mind brown skinned Americans, women, the poor (ironically Trump’s base I guess), and other minorities.

I suppose with this post I have rendered myself persona-non-grata in the US now for the next several years and probably beyond (once border policies are put in place they don’t change easily). Pity. I like the Americans I have known and always wanted to visit.

The UK has invaded several countries alongside the US.

You are still talking nonsense.

I’m not sure if this is what you are looking for but, for example: ‘referee’ the noun taken from the verb to referee is known as a ‘gerund’.

If it isn’t exactly what you are looking for exploring this might help you figure out what you are looking for, if you don’t get a better response.

I quite like this video over what Brits contributed to the modern world. Most people don’t know. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcZQS4LBugk

Some combination of negligence and tragic accident.

This poster wasn’t a difficult one to block.

Of the 190 odd countries in the world the UK have invaded something like 175 of them.

You are talking complete nonsense.

die on this hill.

I mean, it isn’t that difficult. Just pick all lower case or all upper case to communicate in.

If you really are prepared to die on this hill just do it, not just here, but at work, college, etc, and if it is better everyone else will follow. Language is a living, evolving thing.

Sounds like a very good part of a coherent plan to challenge the wealth inequality intrrinsic to fossil-fuel-powered neo-liberal capitalism, and climate change.

Do not let this single tweet provide you comfort that has no basis in reality. The rich and powerful are not scared of a tweet, but they are very happy you feel comforted and so placated by it.

If many thousand tweets get many thousand people on the streets to stay until a coherently developed and articulated program of change is enforced upon them, then they might might start to feel some fear.

Edit - the issue is that for the above to happen, many people have to be prepared to get hurt, thrown in jail, if not shot. I hate to say it but I actually don’t doubt that American christo-fascists have a Tiananmen Square in them.

I prefer might balls smooth. I wouldn’t shave them but I have found rubbing them with fine sandpaper really makes a difference.

Musk, Bezos, and the MIC aren’t shy about living off government money. What is a thousand or more times bigger than a rat?

This was a perfectly reasonable post that should not have been removed. Lemmy is as bad as truth social. Just a different reality is all.

What you think is different, but the way you think and how you protect and nurture those beliefs - which is more important - is exactly the same.

This is the democrats a certain class of moron thinks that people not voting for - not giving consent to - gave Trump power.