• Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    Well there’s the time he lobbied Congress to take away the rights of striking railway workers.

    And then there’s the fact that he circumvented normal procedures to expedite weapons sales to Israel twice in December alone.

    That’s just two of many examples of him being on the side of the rich and powerful and against regular people every time there’s conflict between the two groups.

    • DarkGamer@kbin.social
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      9 months ago

      How dare he… checks notes… prevent a national financial crisis but still worked to get the unions everything they wanted, and stand by our international allies in a crisis even when Congress won’t.

      I guess you’d prefer a reality where he takes the fall for the consequences of the strike, Republicans win, and Israel is thrown under the bus, providing an example to our other allies that we will do the same to them as soon as it’s politically convenient. Brilliant politics.

      • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        prevent a national financial crisis

        He did no such thing. That was just his bullshit excuse. The crisis from the next major derailment, one that could happen anywhere, including in major metropolitan areas, will likely be much worse than anything caused by upholding the rights of striking workers.

        stand by our international allies in a crisis

        Yeah, when those allies are operating an apartheid regime committing genocide, it’s not a good thing to pretend that automatically taking their side is the principled thing to do. The crisis is of their own making and US support in the form of weapons and funding is making it worse, not better.

        Republicans win, and Israel is thrown under the bus

        Bullshit. Republicans are MORE staunchly in favor of the Israeli government, being fellow fascists.

        we will do the same to them as soon as it’s politically convenient

        Yeah, because not enabling genocide by an apartheid regime is all about convenience! Gtfo with that bullshit!

        • DarkGamer@kbin.social
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          9 months ago
          • You seem to be under the impression that the strike was about safety, it was not. It was about sick days.
          • Israel is neither genocidal nor an apartheid state, this is total hyperbole, and I’m very glad the Biden administration does not share your warped redefinitions of these terms. Biden is now putting sanctions on those who go too far in Israel, which I appreciate. I hope he goes after their right wing politicians next.
          • The comment I was responding to wanted Biden to throw Israel under the bus, not the Republicans that would replace him due to the financial consequences of a national rail strike.
          • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
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            9 months ago

            You seem to be under the impression that the strike was about safety, it was not. It was about sick days.

            It was about both. You can repeat your narrative as many times as you want, doesn’t change the fact that you’re lying.

            Israel is neither genocidal nor an apartheid state,

            False. It’s by definition a case of both.

            this is total hyperbole

            Wrong again.

            your warped redefinitions of these terms

            Those aren’t my definitions. They are those of the Genocide Convention and South African Apartheid survivors.

            Biden is now putting sanctions on those who go too far in Israel

            Nope. He’s frozen assets of a handful of civilian murderers from the West Bank, but is still supporting the Israeli government genocide with weapons, funding and lying about the extent of their atrocities.

            The comment I was responding to wanted Biden to throw Israel under the bus

            Israel IS the bus and he’s throwing his own re-election prospects under it. He’s already alienated significant portions of crucial battleground states like Michigan and he’s hemorrhaging support from every voter who doesn’t consider massacring civilians the cost of doing business.

            the Republicans that would replace him due to the financial consequences of a national rail strike.

            Again, a purely fictional hypothetical invented to excuse the ongoing gross violations of labor rights by some of his favorite owner donors.

            I swear you Biden stans are just as blind to the many faults of your Dear Leader as the Trump cult sometimes 🤦

            • DarkGamer@kbin.social
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              9 months ago

              Israel has not been found guilty of violating either statute, keep repeating it like a mantra but it doesn’t make it any more true. 21% of Israel’s population is Arab/Palestinian and they have full legal citizenship rights. Pretty odd for an, “apartheid state.” Israel is not attempting to destroy Palestinians in whole or in part, they are responding to an attack by a belligerent nation and going to great lengths to select legal targets in response even if they have significant collateral damage. It’s clear this is about self-defense and not racial based punishment, despite your uncharitable portrayal.

              I swear you Biden stans are just as blind to the many faults of your Dear Leader as the Trump cult sometimes 🤦

              Biden is the best president we’ve had in a long time and I’m tired of Hamas stans criticizing him for supporting our allies against unprovoked terrorist attacks. Supporting our allies in a time of crisis is the right thing to do.

              • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
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                9 months ago

                Israel has not been found guilty of violating either statute

                Because until now the US has vetoed every attempt at holding them accountable and the current ICJ case is still ongoing. The lack of a conviction doesn’t invalidate painfully obvious reality.

                eep repeating it like a mantra but it doesn’t make it any more true

                Could say the exact same thing about your denials. Difference would be that I’d be basing it on objective reality rather than lies from pro-Israel outlets such as NYT and Times of Israel.

                21% of Israel’s population is Arab/Palestinian

                Completely irrelevant.

                and they have full legal citizenship rights.

                No they fucking don’t! Even Times of Israel admits they don’t!

                Israel is not attempting to destroy Palestinians in whole or in part,

                Yeah, they are. They’re specifically saying so themselves.

                they are responding to an attack by a belligerent nation

                No, they are responding to a terrorist attack in a wildly disproportionate manner.

                going to great lengths to select legal targets in response

                Nope. They’re notorious for lying about the legitimacy of targets. There’s no fully functional hospitals left in Gaza because that’s what the Israeli government wanted, not because there were Hamas “fighters” hidden in or under every single one like the IDF keeps claiming.

                even if they have significant collateral damage.

                You mean CAUSE, right? Because by their own official estimate, they kill twice as many civilians as Hamas and since they refuse to share the data, it’s probably much worse than even that.

                It’s clear this is about self-defense

                Are you fucking drunk? On other mind-altering substances? Because you can’t be this gullible sober and still function.

                Unless of course you’re deliberately lying, which is very likely.

                Biden is the best president we’ve had in a long time

                Second-best since Carter, but that’s still an awfully low bar since they’ve all been really baf in each their own way and also the shared way of being beholden to billionaires and their corporations.

                Hamas stans

                Let me be absolutely clear: I abhor all terrorism by all terrorists, including Hamas. You don’t have to be on their side to abhor genocide.

                criticizing him for supporting our allies

                Genocidal apartheid state regimes do not make for worthy allies.

                against unprovoked terrorist attacks.

                I’m not saying that the attacks were in any way justified or excusable, but to call them unprovoked is the height of ideological blindness! Are you SURE you’re not drunk or high right now?

                Supporting our allies in a time of crisis is the right thing to do.

                Not when said crisis is of the making of said allies and their crimes against humanity.

              • SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca
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                9 months ago

                Yeah, the Hamas stans are basically indistinguishable from the MAGAs now. They just scream some made up shit they saw from their social media feeds over and over. They even subscribe to many of the same conspiracy theories as the MAGAs about the media being manipulated by the Jews. Though the MAGAs still tend to use code wards like “Globalists” but it’s ultimately the same delusional conspiracy theories.

                It’s really sad how people who are well aware of the manipulations the Trump MAGA movement have used to get people to go down weird rabbit holes they can’t escape from, but then jumped down a rabbit hole right next to it that led to basically the same place. “Joe Biden is evil, the media is controlled by the Jews and is lying to everyone, only my social media feed tells me the truth.” It’s bizarre how people can’t step back for a moment and consider what they’re doing.

                  • SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca
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                    9 months ago

                    I mean Hamas is a blood and soil (from the river to the sea!) movement, that’s anti-democracy, constantly goes on about victimization, constantly talks about restoring past greatness that was taken away by another ethnic group. They have demonstrated a willingness to use violence to maintain power.

                    They tick all the same boxes as the MAGAs. Might be because they’re both fascist movements.

                    I’m always involved in conversations with the “Free Palestine” crowd and the conversations go exactly the same way as with MAGAs. debating whether or not the news can be trusted, trying to pierce through the paranoid conspiracy theories, “both sides” logic, and dog whistles to get to the truth. Ultimately conversations with MAGAs devolve into the MAGA making overt homophobic/transphobic/racist statements. With the Hamas supporters it devolves into overt antisemitism.

                    Hell, yesterday there was someone willing to look the other way on gay people being crucified in Yemen because it was distracting from hating Israel. This person said they were part of the LBGTQ+ community.

                    Some real batshit crazy shit coming from both the MAGAs and Hamas fans.

                    These groups use the same logic (if you can call it that), they just have different groups that they target their hatred towards. It’s all about maintaining the righteous anger and rejecting anything that doesn’t fit the narrative.

          • TheHarpyEagle@lemmy.world
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            9 months ago

            Sick days (and other PTO) is a safety issue. Forcing employees to come in while sick or working them to the bone with no breaks makes for an unsafe working environment. When workers are tired or sick, they’re more prone to mistakes.

      • go_go_gadget@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        You said he got the unions “everything they wanted”. They wanted 15 sick days so I’ll wait for you to post a source saying every rail worker in all 12 unions now has 15 sick days. Or you can admit saying he got them “everything they wanted” is a lie.

    • protist@mander.xyz
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      9 months ago

      Those striking railway workers eventually got their demands for sick leave met in their contracts with continued support from the Biden Administration AND our national economy didn’t grind to a halt

      "We’re thankful that the Biden administration played the long game on sick days and stuck with us for months after Congress imposed our updated national agreement,” Russo said. “Without making a big show of it, Joe Biden and members of his administration in the Transportation and Labor departments have been working continuously to get guaranteed paid sick days for all railroad workers.

      Source: https://www.ibew.org/media-center/Articles/23Daily/2306/230620_IBEWandPaid

      • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        They got a fraction of what they were asking for and they weren’t even asking for much. Their working conditions are still so awful that it’s only a question of time before the next major derailment disaster like the one in Ohio happens.

        Next time, it might happen in a major metropolitan area, in which case many will die and the economy will suffer a lot worse than not trampling on their rights would have.

        And even the tiny concessions they DID get in spite of Biden convincing congress to make them fight oligarchic railway companies without their best weapon, strike actions, was due to NLRB efforts with no help from Corporate Joe.

        • protist@mander.xyz
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          9 months ago

          The strike threat was about paid sick leave, it wasn’t about railroad safety. Safety is an important issue too, but every single source from the time, even directly from the unions, explicitly discussed only paid sick leave. In that sense they got their demand met completely

          • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
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            9 months ago

            It was about sick leave and improving the working conditions that are so awful that they’re literally making workers sick and trains less safe.

            every single source from the time, even directly from the unions, explicitly discussed only paid sick leave

            That’s simply not true. That’s the MSM and party narrative, but it isn’t the truth. Outlets less intertwined with the political establishment such as The Intercept and The Nation could have informed you better, had you bothered to look beyond the bubble.

            in that sense they got their demand met completely

            You mean in that entirely fictional sense? To quote the Nation piece:

            this was never just a conflict over the number of paid sick days. About 115,000 workers represented by 13 separate craft unions, who keep 40 percent of the nation’s freight moving, got screwed. The coalition of interests that did the screwing includes: the executive boards of the seven class-1 carriers, most of Congress, and the president.

      • PopOfAfrica@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        Yeah, I’m not really sure that’s the point. The fact that the only changes that are allowed to get through are what the president allows is disheartening. The fact is, these workers should have been able to strike on their own terms without being shut down. What happens with a more hostile leader? What Biden did was defang the Union in that instance. Threw them a bone afterward, sure, but he defanged them.

      • rayyy@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        Without making a big show of it

        That’s how Biden works! The corporate media is against Biden and it shows to those who can see. It’s tough getting the real news and that’s a massive problem for this country.

      • apfelwoiSchoppen@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        He’s still against universal healthcare. I am tired of folks beating people for wanting candidates that are more electable than Biden running instead of him. Universal healthcare polls well on the right and left.

        That one issue tells you everything you need to know about him, he sides with corporate lobbyists before material needs of the people.

        • DarkGamer@kbin.social
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          9 months ago

          Remember how much political capital Obama had to spend just to get the ACA passed, and even then just barely? I would love universal healthcare but this probably isn’t the best time to push for it, at least not until fascism is defeated and Democrats have the numbers. The president isn’t a genie who can just make things like this happen unilaterally. The public may support it but Republicans do not.

          • apfelwoiSchoppen@lemmy.world
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            9 months ago

            This is a bleak perspective and I refuse to believe that it isn’t a good time. When will it ever. That view will never produce change.

            • DarkGamer@kbin.social
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              9 months ago

              Pushing for legislation that is a non-starter when we are barely able to pass a budget to keep the government running isn’t a great strategy. Political capital needs to be spent where it is most effective, even if that means putting good legislation that isn’t viable on the back burner from time to time.

              I hope we get universal healthcare sooner rather than later, but our problems are a little more existential right now. They might elect the guy who wants to end democracy. Sometimes we must compromise and do what is viable rather than what is desired. The good should not be sacrificed in pursuit of the perfect.

              • apfelwoiSchoppen@lemmy.world
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                9 months ago

                People not getting healthcare right now, is just as existential. Why are we not deserving of passing that? The time to fight for things like that is now. I’m not saying we shouldn’t vote against Trump, we are all saying it is best to have a healthy conversation about who would be a better candidate overall.

            • candybrie@lemmy.world
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              9 months ago

              72% of Democrats, 13% of Republicans support government-run system

              Currently, 88% of Democrats and 59% of independents but just 28% of Republicans think the government is responsible.

              Your source seems to disagree.

              • apfelwoiSchoppen@lemmy.world
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                9 months ago

                Oh OK, just a vast majority of Americans and a growing subset of republicans. So why aren’t the democrats choosing a candidate that supports this again?

                • candybrie@lemmy.world
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                  9 months ago

                  I was just wondering about your statement that majorities on both sides support it. Not really debating that it’s a good idea.

            • candybrie@lemmy.world
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              9 months ago

              Every poll I can find has the large majority of Republicans opposing single payer health care. Some are in favor of “universal health care” but that being a mix of public and private similar to what the afordable* care act with the individual mandate did.

    • njm1314@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      I love that railroad Striker story because it just makes identifying people online so easy. Because whenever people online complain about it it’s either one or two things, it’s either they’re completely ignorant of this actual scenario and what actually happened or they’re just being intellectually dishonest on purpose.

    • rayyy@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      Sounds like you read the newspapers but that’s not where the real news is at. Corporations own the news. Dig deeper, a lot deeper. Biden isn’t as bad as the MSM wants you to believe.

      • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        You’re seriously saying that the MSM, most of which enjoys a symbiotic relationship with the DNC are portraying Biden as WORSE than he really is??

        It’s because I consume media from OUTSIDE of the MSM bubble that I know he’s not anywhere near as great as the likes of Politico and NYT keep pretending.

          • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
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            9 months ago

            Some tropes are based in truth and the one about the MSM consisting of billionaire-owned outlets that unquestioningly support either neoliberalism (Politico, MSDNC, NYT etc) or fascism (Faux News, Breitbart, WSJ editorials etc) is one of them.