I posit that the best and only way to stop trump from controlling right wing politics is to re-elect Biden and have him pardon Trump as one of his first acts in his second term thus neutering Trump politically. Biden would suffer minimal political blowback so long as Trump is convicted of at least one of the federal felonies for which he has already been indicted by that time. It would make Trump look a bit more "weak" to his cult knowing he relied upon even a little mercy from the opposition. The Republicans who were afraid to be more outspoken against Trump could feel liberated or even vindicated to stand up
This morning, had a conversation with my Uber driver. He's an older Republican voter who said to me he can't vote for Trump...he finds him a very immoral and fraudulent man... I was pleasantly surprised
The part at the end, about not punishing civilians for Hamas, makes perfect sense in a sane world where we understand most folks living there have nothing whatsoever to do with it. Sadly, the government says they’re ALL Hamas, and so they agree with the goal but disagree on your objections. Which to me makes Netanyahu and co’s intention, of driving everybody there out for good, plainly clear. Especially when you combine these attacks with the acceleration of illegal territory seizure in the West Bank.
Hamas hasn't held an election since they came to power (at least 18 years, if I recall correctly). And they only won the election by promising to be less corrupt than Fatah and the Palestinian Authority (which is an extremely easy bar to clear). Even if they did hold an election, a choice between shameless corruption and violent authoritarianism is a lousy choice indeed.
Well said. Like you, I am an American Jew. And I agree with you here 100%. Like almost all American Jews (and most other Americans, frankly), I am an American BECAUSE my ancestors survived genocide. They fled pogroms in the early 20th century. Netanyahu does not have a monopoly on what it means to be a Jew. And when he represents what he is doing as though it is in the name of Judaism, invoking biblical passages, and using terms as horrific as "blood libel" to describe anyone who dares tell him to stop committing the same kinds of crimes that were committed against all our ancestors, that hurts us all. As Frank Mankoweitz used to say: "that's not good for the Jews." Of course it is far worse for Palestinians. And beyond Gaza, we have seen a rise in BOTH Antisemitism (real antisemitism, not the BS that Netanyahu calls antisemitic) and ALSO Islamaphobia. And it needs to stop.
As a Jew who does not support the current Israeli government and as a Jew who wishes that the creation of Israel had been done in a better way more than my lifetime ago, thank you for pointing out that despite sympathies for their creation there are in fact two main villains and no heroes, only victims, in the story of Oct 7th.
You are totally wrong, Hamas is the villain. I don’t like the government of Israel either and would like to see a peaceful two-state solution but there can be no excuse for what Hamas did.
@@mikeg2306 Israel was bombing Gaza and rounding up innocent Palestinians en masse in the months leading up to October 7th. If your enemy slaughtering civilians and taking hostages means you cannot be a villain yourself, then your own argument is that Hamas cannot be the villain. Israel was the aggressor, and they have escalated the conflict they started to genocide. If Israel didn't want Hamas to take hostages for the purpose of an exchange, Israel shouldn't have started taking hostages. There is nothing acceptable about how Hamas responded to Israeli aggression, but a response was predictable, about as predictable as the fact that the entire world would just ignore Israel's actions before the response from Hamas and frame that response as an "unprovoked attack."
@@mikeg2306 > Be a Palestinian child. > Grow up watching members of your family being displaced and killed by IDF soldiers. > Join the only party fighting the occupation because Isreal ousted all the moderate/secular parties fighting for the same cause. > Become radicalised. > Watch as occupiers hold a rave outside the open air prison you’ve lived in all your life. > Fight back. > Retaliation results in Isreal cutting off water, electricity, and bombing your home. Zionists: HaMaS aRe ThE vIlLaInS. hOw CoUlD aNyOnE dO sUcH a ThInG???
I agree with your sentiment for the most part but I don't believe there is a "better way" to set up an ethnostate. I completely understand why Jews felt unsafe living in Europe but there is no reason why they could not have established themselves in Palestine as earlier Jewish immigrants had done for centuries. No matter the circumstances, it is not right to take land on which people already live and establish your own state by force. We have a word for that, it's called colonialism. Obviously what's done is done and interesting as it may be to speculate about how things could have gone differently, it doesn't exactly leave us with solutions. About two thirds of the Israeli population were born there and don't have a 'home' to return to so Palestinians and Israelis are going to have to learn how to live together. Neither side supports a two-state solution so the peace process should probably be modelled on South Africa (with respect the unique characteristics of this conflict). All in all, my heart goes out to the people affected by this conflict and many others around the world. My own country suffered decades of violence and instability but for the young people of Ireland those days are thankfully a distant memory. Peace is possible, don't lose hope!
It's upsetting to me that I have to vote for someone just because he's the lesser of two evils. However, you don't need to be in love with a candidate to make a choice to vote for them. You have to make the best choice from the choices available to you.
... And you have to remember that in the US electoral system, not voting or going third party (in federal elections) amounts to upping the chances for the worst option to win.
@@e.458 It can depend on your state. I'm in a true blue state, there is no way my state will go red. So I do in fact have the luxury of choosing third party just to make a statement. However, I'm not going to do that, even though I'm really a third party kind of person. But if you're in a state where you can't be sure of that, you must vote for the blue candidate like your life depends on it, at least in this election.
I don't agree Joe Biden is the "lesser of two evils," not even close. I don't agree with every one of his policies or everything he says, but he's not a wanna-be dictator. He doesn't or won't ignore, dismiss, bend, or break existing laws, programs, institutions, traditions, and norms even if they limit his authority. Trump, by contrast, has and promises to do more to get HIS way, no matter what damage it will do to the US.
@@sharimeline3077 Who is the better third-party candidate? I feel Bernie Sanders has always been consistent. Stubborn and consistent. Bernie won't win because the right has successfully conflated progressivism with communism then further conflated that with anti-patriotism and satanism. Elizabeth Warren is in a similar boat. AOC? Katy Porter??! Kamala Harris? I see Gavin Newsom as the pure politician he is as he moves away from the left toward the center right in preparation for a presidential run in 2028
I love waking up each day thankful that a lunatic is not at the helm of the free world. My health, especially my mental health, cannot handle the anxiety and worry that another 4 years of a trump presidency would bring.
@@bunniesbunniesbunnie yeah as a Queer & Nuerodivergent person gotta say that's absolutely fucking terrifying lol... But if Biden actually Publicly declared a cease fire... Then he would win... But judging by his "Tough on Crime" past... Sadly I don't think so... But who knows...
I wake up every day with the disquieting realization that a very large group of people in this country still find something to support in that man. 91 criminal charges. 7 or 8 or who reallly knows how many trials. Mountains of evidence. It’s not like the prosecuting Trump don’t have the receipts. But that group will look at Biden with no evidence to back the Rights claim of his crimes and believe it. They lol at the 2 ton pile of clear facts showing that Trump lies and was corrupt and cheated and sexually assaulted at least one woman that he was tried and found guilty for, and we even had him on tape admitting to doj g that very thing and the Republican Base are like , nope don’t believe it. He’s a saint.
"I love waking up each day thankful that a lunatic is not at the helm of the free world." Netanyahu is a lunatic, and he holds the ring in Biden's nose.
being in a state of hypervigalence, as I was from 2015-2020 will take it's toll on mental health, I can do it, I just think it will be the end of the American Experiment. I typically do not engage in hyperbole, but given the support Trump is receiving from the Right Wing Intelligencia, I am referring to project 2025, and the efforts of Steve Bannon, recruiting a sizable force of bureaucrats to help dismantle the administrative State. I fear for the country I love.
You can't back a dog into a corner and then complain when it bites you. My personal opinion is that genocide and colonialism are wrong no matter who is doing it. I've been trying to keep away from being too informed about exactly what's going on because I have the horrible feeling that Israel isn't going to stop until there isn't a Palestine left. I simply don't trust the people that are in a position to prevent that from happening to do the right thing.
The thing is... Hamas has been desperate to keep Gaza in that corner for 15 years. Everything they do is designed to prevent long-term peace, because their power is built on the fantasy of "resistance." If they wanted to get out from under the blockade, the worst possible thing they could do would be to devote all of their resources to smuggling in rockets to ineffectively shoot at Israeli civilians - and yet, that has been Hamas's core policy for years. They do it because they dream of a Jew-free theocratic autocracy across the Levant, and there's no number of Gazan children they won't sacrifice to try and make that impossible dream a reality. There have been plenty of Israeli decisions that have not helped matters, and there are some very bad guys on the Israeli side, including in the current cabinet. But Hamas did not attack out of desperation, other than desperation that their Arab allies had moved on and they were being ignored. And nothing scares terrorists quite like being ignored. The dog didn't bite because it was backed into a corner. It WANTED to bite, and it cited the corner as an excuse.
This famous Lenny Bruce quote and more importantly the life he lived opened my eyes to what decency truly meant: "“You can’t do anything with anybody’s body to make it dirty to me. Six people, eight people, one person - you can do only one thing to make it dirty: kill it. Hiroshima was dirty.” Believe me, this was a a revelation to someone who grew up in a quasi-Mormon religion where dirty words were considered more offensive than dirty deeds. And considering Lenny Bruce and Jesus Christ were both murdered for expressing the same sentiment shaped a lot of who I am today.
I'm left of left and I will vote for Joe Biden to keep Trump or other conservatives out of the presidency but I'm genuinely terrified that Biden's and this administration's desire to unconditionally support the genocide by the IDF will result in Trump taking the White House again.
I believe actions speak louder than words, and as Steve points out, Blinken absolutely has been applying pressure on Israel's far right government. Do I agree with Steve that Biden especially should be pushing _harder?_ 💯 Do I believe we should cut off all military aid to the region for the duration of the conflict? 💯 But I also acknowledge that Bibi is a monster who is in a Mutual Admiration Society with Trump and who has a long relationship with Putin. Geopolitics are hard, and I'm willing to extend Biden's administration _some_ benefit of the doubt-while also publicly voicing my desire for him to do more in the name of _decency._
I feel that. The UK has the same choice really between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer. A lot of the left won't vote for Sunak cause the Conservative party is...well...horrible. But won't support Sunak cause he's not left enough. The argument I've heard is this. You have the choice between 2 buses. One of them is going the right way but takes you somewhere you don't like first but at least it's going to the place you want to go to. The other is going the completely opposite direction. You're also certain it's going to the bridge that's been demolished. Which bus are you getting on?
Which is makes little sense because the right and Trump are much more supportive of Israel than people on the left and in the DNC. We hold D presidents to such a higher standard than R presidents, because Rs do such insanely awful shit that most of their traditionally awful things the president does (things that Obama and now Biden have been criticized for) goes under the radar.
Thank you, Steve, for addressing this important issue, and also for taking time to draw clear distinctions and to call out antisemitism. I've absolutely seen an up-swing in it recently, even in my own town, even coming from those who are ostensibly on the left (there was a Chanukah celebration that was shut down by harassment, by people who styled themselves as 'pro-Palestinian,' even though the celebration was explicitly religious and had absolutely nothing to do with Israel, Palestine, or anything international). Criticism of Israel is absolutely not anti-Semitic inherently, but anti-Semites do sometimes try to worm their way into organizations critical of Israel, and we have to stay vigilant about it if we want that activism to stay credible. Anyway, thank you for making a clear call for peace, the protection of civilians of all nationalities, and for politicians to take moral responsibility for their actions. Thank you for being decent :)
Thanks, Steve. I tried sending one of your other videos (Steves in the bar) to a Jewish friend of mine. She decided to conflate the US supplying weapons to Israel with the US supplying weapons to Ukraine. I don’t know enough personally to even have a discussion with her, let alone defend my thinking that yes, there should be a GD ceasefire! This situation is just … unbelievable. Or it should be. Instead, we are here. SMH. Thanks for doing such a great job of trying to simplify enough for ordinary folk to understand, without completely losing the nuance. It’s not easy, and you do it well. Thanks.
I am disgusted by what's going on in Gaza, and I can not see anyone being "ok" with treating anyone as subhuman, but how do we fix it? We can't convince people right here in the states, people we know, that human beings deserve better. Would the United States deciding to refuse any support to Israel, fix everything? Is it just a step? What happens next? If the bombing stops, and it goes back to simply treating Palestinians like animals, instead of this massive loss of life, will we all be cool with that? That's better right? I'm not making a statement in wording that way, I'm legitimately asking... What would actually fix this?
I agree. This fight has been going on for centuries. The arrogance of America to think 2 people can have a fight and your solution is to tell 1 side to stop fighting is ludicrous. You have to let 1 person actually WIN the fight, then we should be holding Israel's feet to the fire on having an actual productive relationship with the Palestinians instead of the enablist policies we have had in the past.
Steve, I don't always agree with you, but you have perfectly articulated my feelings on this situation in a way I never could. Thank you and well done.
I never commented on that last video but I was also among those thinking, *_"Why not the (superior) Oxford dictionary?"_* O.E.D.!!! O.E.D.!!! O.E.D!!! ❤😂
There’s a lot that I appreciate about the Biden administration, there’s also stuff that I find disappointing. This is the one thing that I find truly heartbreaking
American Fascist A parody sing along to The Guess Who’s American Woman American fascist what messed up your mind? American fascists mess’n with our minds American fascist what messed up your mind? American fascist what messed up your mind? Say A Say M Say E Say R Say I Say C Say A N American fascist what messed up your mind? Mmmm, American fascists mess’n with our minds American fascist what messed up your mind? American fascists Get away from we American fascists Better let us be Stop your empiring well short our door We don’t wanna see you fascists no more We’ve got more important things to do Might even grow old if we’re rid of you Now fascists! We said stay away American fascists Listen what we say American fascist Stay away from we American fascists Better let us be Don’t come round knocking down all our doors We’re done bowing down to you fascists for sure What you fail to realize Is put down long enough we rise Now fascist We said stay away American fascists Listen what we say American fascist Said stay away American fascists Listen what we say Don’t come round knocking down all our doors We don’t wanna see you fascists no more We tire of your non-stop war machine Won’t replicate your ghetto scenes What you fail to realize Is put us down too long we’ll rise Now fascists Stay away from we American fascists Better let us be Go! Stay the hell away Get away right now, go, go, go Don’t want to see you fascists How ‘bout you leave, you fascists Bye-bye Bye-bye Bye-bye Bye-bye Fascism’s no good for me, fascism’s no good for you Gonna look you Rights in the eye and tell you what you ought’a do You know you ought’a leave You know you ought’a go, you know you ought’a leave We know you gotta go, fascists Go on and leave fascists Goodbye American fascists America ‘n Israel’re SICK
The greatest lie we tell ourselves is that voters want honest politicians; history shows the precise opposite, alas, that we want politicians to tell us what we want to hear whether it's true or not. We really need to fix that, somehow.
Really glad you’re putting this on Biden… It was downright pitiful seeing the way his supporters responded to protesters shouting “Ceasefire now” at one of his campaign events (yes… it *was* a campaign event, not a memorial for the shooting victims of the church massacre) by saying “Four more years!” Opposing war crimes isn’t a fucking campaign slogan or platform opposition.
I so want to agree... The reason I can't is because I'm pragmatic, and pragmatically, I think if Biden followed your advice he could lose to Trump this year. I agree with you about everything regarding the severity of Israel and the Gaza strip, however, I think if Biden does "the right thing" in THAT situation, he could be doing the wrong thing in the larger American situation. Biden losing re-election could upend democracy in the U.S. while leading to foreign and domestic atrocities at the hands of Donald Trump that would make the Israel-Gaza war crimes look like subtle bullying. Trump is a man who is threatening and capable of dismantling American democracy and that should scare the living shit out of every educated person in America. So, no. I don't want Joe Biden doing anything except winning the next election, even if it means not taking a stand against Israel's atrocities in Gaza, unless he's 100% sure that it won't cost him the next election. If it appears that the Jewish vote would diminish by withholding funds to Israel, then Israel has to be funded. Any risk-taking with regard to losing the next election is not worth the risk of what could happen to the US and the world if Trump were to win. The dude would be Hitler, if he thought he could get away with it, and he can already get away with a disturbing amount.
Anyone have any workable ideas to keep Hamas and other terrorist groups from using innocent civilians as human shields? Or how to get Hamas to cease fire too if Israel ceases first? Anyone?
It's interesting that Hamas was not the the first choice of the Palestinian people. Israel refused to work with what we would call legitimate Palestinian government for decades. Their calls for diplomacy fell on deaf ears. We of course can't forgive Hamas its crimes but we should not be surprised when an oppressed people lashes out violently after all peaceful attempts to restore dignity to their community have failed and are likely to continue to be fruitless in the future. I think that if Israel would actually work with the Palestinian people, or even treat them like people, the popularity of Hamas would crumble.
Wow just wow thank you for putting all the jumbled thoughts and feelings I've been having for the past couple months and then one coherent statement it's so rare in life you get to say to someone I agreed with everything you just said!
In 1995, Yizhak Rabin was murdered. This was because he strived for peace and a solution for the Palestinians and he was also getting results. Since then, the country has been fully hijacked by the Right at first but then by Bibi personally, mainly working to keep his position more than anything else, eventually allying himself with the extreme right. Two people from the movement responsible for Rabin's murder are now ministers in Bibi's coalition. The current bloodlust in my country, unfortunately, cannot be sated. Not even by the atrocities the army is currently committing. Think about the US after 9/11, only here you have someone to blame that isn't an amorphic character living in a cave.
Intelligence reports point the fingers at Likud and those parties father right politically for that assassination. The speeches and commentary we hear from mainstream sources feels like the American government's support of Apartheid South Africa in the 70's and 80's. The only thing that's missing is the vague spectre of communist support for the opposition.
Dont forget about the thousands of Palestinians hostages detained in israelis prisons, with no trial whatsoever. Women, children, men in prison for decades because they were arbitrarily arrested by an IDF soldier
This video should be mandatory viewing for everyone, especially those in government who hold the levers of power. I don't think I've heard a more balanced, yet passionate assessment of the mess in Gaza. Thank you for this!
I know I'll get some flak for this but I feel like this situation is the Achille's Heel of us Liberals; a situation where neither side is right, but the situation has degraded to the point where you HAVE to choose, the third way is gone, and the side you don't choose is gonna get Right-Click -> Select All -> Delete'd either in their goals or their total existence. There is no way to Kobayashi Maru our way out of this; all the chances for Speech Checks and saving rolls are over or failed. Everyone involved has made it abundantly clear at this point, if not by word by but action and attitude; either Palestine survives, or Israel does. Because Palestinians won't tolerate being the victims of apartheid or waged war against, nor will Israel tolerate it's enemies having a convenient launching pad for their non-stop attacks right on it's doorstep nor will they simply give up and leave the only formal home they've had in thousands of years. Even if we somehow manage to delay the inevitable, it will still come back because the underlying issues are still at large and now hands on both sides are too bloodied, pride too hurt for things to be forgotten or forgiven. For Republicans and especially MAGA, this is no problem at all; full speed ahead "Fuck those (derogatory word for whichever ethnic/religious/social group is their current target of hate/opportunity)!". For Liberals, we're faced with the problem of reality coming up to us and saying: "Your fancy hopes and ideals mean nothing right now. You missed your opportunity (or had it stolen from you by outside forces) to get a better outcome and now you have to make a choice, or make no choice and live with the choice someone else makes." And none of us, least of all me, know what to do about it.
Not an expert on what to do about it, but complaining incessantly to your representatives couldn't hurt. Donating to relief organizations isn't a bad idea either. I signed up for a monthly donation to Human Rights Watch. Working within the system and throwing money at the problem is probably the most Liberal way to approach the problem. Imo, going further left and getting more DIY and boots-on-the-ground is a better direction to go, tho I'm still working on that part myself.
The reason his followers have sunk to cult levels, is because he has made indecency acceptable, he has freed them from the constraints of decency, of morality, of empathy, of being just to everyone. He has allowed them to be their worse, to not just free their bigotry, but be proud of it, to be proud of their worse instincts, and so they love him, he is their beacon.
Make sure to watch South Africa's remarks at the ICJ. The UN posted a video titled "South Africa levels accusations of ‘genocidal conduct’ against Israel at UN Int'l Court of Justice" and the remarks start at 50:25. It's extremely clear that the highest levels of government and military knew, know, and encourage the genocide.
As much as I agree with all of this Steve, this is sadly one of those situations where strategic geopolitical concerns take precedence over moral or ethical ones. That part of the world has three regional powers, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Israel. The US is allied, for good or ill, with two of them. This is one of those situations where Biden's traditional 'establishment' mindset of maintaining the current global order as seen with bombing the Houthi's when they started bombing shipping is going to come in play. Two people that helped me understand how International Relations actually work rather than how I'd like to work are the youtube channels, Beau of the Fifth Column and Perun, Beau is a journalist who's good at describing geopolitics using phrases as the "International Poker Game where everybody's cheating" and Perun does deeply informative powerpoint videos about military economics and the reasons behind certain actions and behaviours. Both highly recommended for their descriptive rather than prescriptive explansations.
Things won't change until we start rejecting the current pardigrm of how international relations work. I appreciate that Beau and Perun can point out how it currently works... but that doesn't make the current state of affairs in any way, shape, or form acceptable. Human lives are not poker chips, and someone needs to start flipping tables.
I was also thinking along these lines when I was listening to this. I keep up with Beau on pretty much everything and as unfortunate as it might be, there's no real good way out of this situation for the US. As I understood it, at least as of about a month ago or so it was kind of a geo-political gamble holding out for a resolution with a legitimate Palistinian state authority, but it would depend on the pieces falling into place and somewhat dependent on what Iran does and we've been sitting back and watching Israel make a lot of the same mistakes that the US made during the Iraq war. I'm not currently abreast of the situation just that it's gone on for longer then 100 days. The broader goal of maintaining stability in the entire region as a whole often overshadows individual conflicts and atrocities. While the morality of the situation is often pretty cut and dried, The US can't... exactly.. just not support Israel. That action would have much broader implications then are readily apparent to most casual, or even well informed observers. To quote another of Beau's sayings "Countries don't have friends, they have interests." If the US missteps or fails to meet expectations it can easily lead to a domino effect of instability, not least of which to include groups or countries "testing the waters" to see what they can get away with for example. To say something makes us look weak, ineffective, or unreliable. sounds like a superficial talking point, but internationally, and in the middle east specifically has direct and real world consequences.
Israel doesn't need our help. We don't even need the Middle East's oil at this point. We could have had strong relations with Iran under Obama's negotiations with them. the Houthi attacks have been largely mitigated by the two entire Carrier Strike Groups, an Amphibious Ready Group, and other support groups in the region. If the US didn't have a pension for indiscriminate killing of civilians and actually only attacked Houthi military installations I'd maybe be ok with that. I've come to the conclusion there really is no excuse for more war. Especially not as the largest military and economic force on the planet (for now). We choose to meddle, we choose to give people weapons, we choose to ally ourselves with dictators and oppressors. We can choose not to.
Part of what makes this situation so tragic is that the world and the Jewish people looked at the horrors of the Holocaust and said "Never again" but the government of Israel turned and said "Our turn".
I agree with everything you're saying. There is, however, one point that you, and many other commentators overlook. The fact of the matter is that the aid Israel receives from the US is minuscule compared to their own internal defense industry, as well as the income they generate from contributions from sympathizers the world over, as well as their own economy. Many people see Israel as a US dependent. They're not. The US could cut all aid, and while it might inconvenience Israel, it isn't a large enough incentive to make them stop. Most people severely overestimate the amount of leverage the USA has there. Sure, Biden can play the decency card and threaten an end to aid if Israel doesn't doesn't comply. Israel could just shrug and say 'So what?' And continue what they're doing. At which point Biden would have lost all the influence and leverage the USA had. Right now, Biden can bring some kind of influence to bear, but if they make that threat, Netanyahu is going to call the bluff, at which point the USA loses all influence. So... which is better? Which saves more lives in the long run? It's a shit position to be in, but that's the tightrope Biden is on.
Ultimately I don't think it'll happen and if it does I think the damage is done. I think he's throughly torpedoed his chances of winning this year. Honestly I'm terrified for my friends who are in the crosshairs of a Trump lead GOP who wants to make sure no election of note ever happens again. Trump is literally arguing he should have absolute power with zero culpability.
Polls seem to raise the real possibility that the corrupt lunatic man child with xenophobic despot predilections will win. There are so many people still in a bubble that whole-heartedly admire him
one big problem with having only two parties is, if one of them turns their back toward demokracy you kind of allready lost it. Having only one choice is not really democracy. a significant feature of the voting system in the United states is, that it really only allows for 2 parties. That is one very important thing you guys will have to change if you want to make your democracy survive long term.
The founders were opposed to any parties at all but were left with no system to avoid only two. If we were mentally trained to expect and enforce four or five parties,... We might avoid a duopoly We can't manage to encourage corporate competition to maintain four or five competitors either and we end up with ineffective regulation of near megalithic/monopolistic trusts in all but name
@@SpaceCaseZ06 So you've already resigned to losing to fascists. Americans are SO averse to change, SO stuck in their ways... don't you think this societal attitude of political conservatism was done to us on purpose?
@@SpaceCaseZ06not all the founders were opposed to political parties, in fact many were okay with them and advocated for them. The fact that Washington warned about the dangers of political parties is a big reason why his farewell address is so famous/infamous. Also, the American electoral system effectively managed three parties fairly well for a time, whigs just kind of faded away and were mostly absorbed into the Republican party to unite under the abolitionist cause.
The progressive conundrum: choose between a regressive and massively underwhelming Democrat or an awful and cruel Republican. No wonder so many young people feel like politics are a lost cause.
I've been getting even more demoralized by politics thanks to all the "local" politicians that get elected on a democratic, or even leftist, platform and then either outright flip parties are immediately become "centrist" and start pandering to republicans. Oregon's new governor went from "people first!" to "MOAR COPS" within her first year.
Just going to say there is something kind of poignant about the US election being in the Chinese year of the Dragon. I know that's just pure coincidence and a mathematical inevitability but to me it's poignant because dragons also have a bit of a mixed reputation depending on who you ask. In Japan they are sacred with Ryujin being one of the sacred dragons of the ocean. In Wales there's Y Ddraig Goch (which literally translates to "The Red Dragon") who is the symbol of Wales and can be seen on the Welsh flag. But then you've got the English who always seem to depict the dragon as some monster that needs to be slain, even American folklore has the Snallygaster which was considered a hunter of black slaves...and was also considered to be a real creature....that Theodore Roosevelt considered hunting whilst postponing an African Safari. So why the hell am I mentioning fantasy creatures and trying to tie them into politics? Because dragons have a surprising amount of historical weight and are something of a phenomenon given that they're a global fantasy creature with a history that dates at least as far back as the ancient Mesopotamians. But what's intriguing is how they're treated essentially the same way as political leaders; they're seen as powerful, sometimes they're worshipped, and sometimes they're painted as evil demonic creatures that need to be killed. So what better year to have a US presidential election than on the year of the dragon?
Are you ever going to acknowledge the Nakba, Steve? Will you ever acknowledge just HOW Israel was founded? How many people were ethnically cleansed from their homes? (Over 700,000) in only a few years). It seems a sore spot nobody wants to talk about, but it is INCREDIBLY relevant. It is the origin of militant Palestinians. Steve, do you believe that colonizers are innocent, and should not be forced to stop? If you have a problem with the West Bank settlements, why not with the original founding of Israel? You do understand that it isn't ancient history, right? There are still people, Palestinians, alive, who played on their parents' fields, (that they witnessed being burned), who ran through the markets of their towns, (that were razed into oblivion in front of them)? You do understand that these people still exist? They're old, yes, but where is THEIR justice? No discussion about Israel can be complete without talk of reparations for its very founding. I understand that you're an American (like me), and that you must have opinions about returning stolen land to its indigenous inhabitants... but there simply can be no end to the conflict and no fairness to be had if the colonial founding isn't addressed.
I'd love to hear Steven's opinions about the Vote Blue no matter who people, the people, (like myself), who choose to vote for third party candidates like Dr Cornell West, and is it wasting a vote to do so. I strongly believe it isn't.
Firstly, I agree with most every point you've made. I think that you represented the honest reality very well. That said, my layman's understanding is that Biden is in an extremely tight spot here. He's not only having to deal with international politics in terms of Israel and Palestine, but also the international politics of OTHER countries as well as politics here in the US. Any step that is seen as anti-Israel is going to be twisted by the right-wing propaganda machine(s) into some kind of display of antisemitism or fickle behavior/bad leadership on the part of the Biden administration and the US, and like it or not, they are VERY good at making bullshit sound reasonable for those who don't follow it on a daily basis. I suppose I'm saying that to my perception, he is having to thread two (plus) needles at once, and that's hard even at the best of times. It's even worse when the people holding those needles are moving them around as needed to establish footholds in positions of power. He may end up winning a few battles only to lose the overall war, and losing the overall war would mean losing those battles in retrospect.
There is something Steve hasn't touched on, but is somewhat known, especially if you've grown up around evangelical culture. Israel is part of many evangelicals' doomsday prophecies. Bottom line, having Israel be a dominating force is one of the things that needs to happen for Armageddon to occur. Which is also why evangelical leaders urge Israel not to negotiate; any lasting peace in that region renders their prophesy null and void.
Thank you Steve, I agree with everything you said. Hamas is absolutely guilty of extreme war crimes. No question about the truth of that. But there is also no doubt that the Israeli response had been disproportionate to the most extreme degree. To say that the Israeli payback has been a “bitch” is laughably an understatement.
The problem is it isn’t _payback_ . Hamas is a nihilistic organization fueled by hate. They don't care one bit about the well being of Palestinians or even their own well being. They only care about hurting Israel and fueling the movement. Palestinian civilians being killed by the thousands and displaced by the millions *_helps_* Hamas-it drives recruitment. As does the general destruction of everything in Gaza. What the IDF is doing would be unacceptable under any circumstances … but what makes it worse, they aren't even going to accomplish anything.
"An educated citizen knows, too, that every fellowman is entitled to be regarded with decency and treated with dignity. A citizen who seeks to subvert the law, to suppress freedom, or to subject other human beings to acts that are less than human, degrades his heritage, ignores his learning, betrays his oath and obligation. In these moments of tragic disorder, a special burden rests on the educated men and women of our country to reject the temptations of prejudice and violence, and to reaffirm the values of freedom and law on which a free society depends." - President Kennedy VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MAY 18, 1963
This is about your president(s). I'm from the UK. I'm commenting because on Israel/Gaza we're on the same track. Israel, I believe, pre-arranged their support for this campaign with both the UK and USA. Neither the UK or USA can sensibly revoke their support. This is bloody and ugly, but backtracking now will not undo that. Backtracking will, however, lose the possibility of the removal of Hamas. I'm 100% against Israel's methods which are resulting in unnecessary loss of life, but an unconditional ceasefire will not meaningfully improve the situation in Gaza. Hamas' surrender is the best prospect of improvement for Gaza. Once this is over, I hope there will be a thorough reckoning. I recognise that there is a sunk cost fallacy right here.
This war in Gaza has been a massive gift for trump and especially the family research council. Biden could have made that not the case but he supports Israel too much that it is a gift for the family research council.
Just one note about the origin of Israel. I get that the Jews had just been through one of the most horrific experiences in all of history, and giving the Jews a homeland was a form of justice. But do you know who doesn't get that, who SHOULDN'T HAVE TO get that? Palestinians. It wasn't THEIR fault. They were just minding their own business, and Europeans came along and said "some of our guys got fucked over real bad, so to pay for it now you're going to get fucked over!" Since then, they've been under brutal occupation. This is a good video, but it acts like Hamas came out of nowhere and attacked for no reason, and like Israel hasn't been doing in slow motion for decades exactly what it's been doing fast for the last couple of months. Israel has been killing Palestinian civilians since before it was a country, and it has never stopped. And since it became a country, it has been taking Palestinian hostages, many of them children. We like to talk morality to the Palestinians, how they shouldn't be violent but should resist peacefully . . . so, remember the Great March of Return? Didn't think so. Massive, powerful show of nonviolent resistance just a couple years ago. Israel killed hundreds of them, sniped journalists and medics whenever they spotted them, and where were we? Paying zero attention until the Palestinians did something spectacularly violent, that's where. Speaking of decency.
Not quite. The Arabs in Palestine/Israel actively, and violently, sought to prevent Jewish refugees in the 1930's from reaching the only community in the world that was willing to accept them unconditionally -- i.e., the already-existing Jewish community in the Land of Israel. And they were *successful* in pressuring the British mandate (which then governed that area) into limiting Jewish immigration there, thereby condemning large numbers of Jews to death, since they couldn't emigrate anywhere else, either. Several of their leaders collaborated with the Nazis during World War 2. And after 1945, they *still* insisted on preventing Jews from reaching the only community that would accept them unconditionally; and in 1947, instead of taking the Palestinian state *that was offered to them by the UN*, they *chose* to join their fellow-Arabs in Jordan, Egypt, Syria etc. in their genocidal attempt to wipe Israel off the map before it was even born. So no, not quite so innocent
And in the end it's not about who I like but about who gets harmed if one or the other side wins. I am sure Biden winning means a lot less harm being done to a lot less people than Trump winning.
WTF? Don't stigmatize mental illness like that. Trump is an entitled fascist prick. This doesn't require mental illness and using that as a talking point helps nobody and harms us. Get that talking point out of your mouth.
@@cassiedevereaux-smith3890 Yes, the stigmatization is a valid point but I'm pretty sure the "also" means they are referring to the accusations of Biden of being mentally unfit and as usual it's chock full of projection as any "symptoms" or "evidence" they point to apply far more to Trump.
The fact that Trump is *even an option* is just indicative of how bad things are.
I would further argue that in Trump's case at least, Trump's superficial indecency is a result, a symptopm of his deep-seated indecency.
I posit that the best and only way to stop trump from controlling right wing politics is to re-elect Biden and have him pardon Trump as one of his first acts in his second term thus neutering Trump politically. Biden would suffer minimal political blowback so long as Trump is convicted of at least one of the federal felonies for which he has already been indicted by that time. It would make Trump look a bit more "weak" to his cult knowing he relied upon even a little mercy from the opposition. The Republicans who were afraid to be more outspoken against Trump could feel liberated or even vindicated to stand up
It's indecency all the way down.
This morning, had a conversation with my Uber driver. He's an older Republican voter who said to me he can't vote for Trump...he finds him a very immoral and fraudulent man...
I was pleasantly surprised
Maybe there is hope for some conservatives after all.
Well judging by the results of tonight’s Iowa Caucus, this Uber driver is in the Republican minority.
He says that, but what matters is what he does on election day.
@@Toybinger Let's hope for everyone's sake more of them see him for what he is.
@@nicholassmith7984yes, “I won’t vote for trump” in the primary is different from in the general election when the other choice is a democrat.
The part at the end, about not punishing civilians for Hamas, makes perfect sense in a sane world where we understand most folks living there have nothing whatsoever to do with it. Sadly, the government says they’re ALL Hamas, and so they agree with the goal but disagree on your objections.
Which to me makes Netanyahu and co’s intention, of driving everybody there out for good, plainly clear. Especially when you combine these attacks with the acceleration of illegal territory seizure in the West Bank.
Did you hear? South Africa is Hamas as well. What a shame :/
Hamas hasn't held an election since they came to power (at least 18 years, if I recall correctly). And they only won the election by promising to be less corrupt than Fatah and the Palestinian Authority (which is an extremely easy bar to clear). Even if they did hold an election, a choice between shameless corruption and violent authoritarianism is a lousy choice indeed.
Star Trek is essentially about decency. Even when violating the Prime Directive, it was always done because of decency.
Guess I should add, I agree, fuck Hamas and the Israeli government. Blessings to the people of Gaza And Israel without their shitty "leaders".
Well said. Like you, I am an American Jew. And I agree with you here 100%. Like almost all American Jews (and most other Americans, frankly), I am an American BECAUSE my ancestors survived genocide. They fled pogroms in the early 20th century. Netanyahu does not have a monopoly on what it means to be a Jew. And when he represents what he is doing as though it is in the name of Judaism, invoking biblical passages, and using terms as horrific as "blood libel" to describe anyone who dares tell him to stop committing the same kinds of crimes that were committed against all our ancestors, that hurts us all. As Frank Mankoweitz used to say: "that's not good for the Jews."
Of course it is far worse for Palestinians. And beyond Gaza, we have seen a rise in BOTH Antisemitism (real antisemitism, not the BS that Netanyahu calls antisemitic) and ALSO Islamaphobia. And it needs to stop.
Well said on your part, as well! And, just to clarify, I am an American, but I don't happen to be Jewish.
@@SteveShives Oh, not sure why I thought you were. Personally I'm ethnically but not religiously Jewish.
As a Jew who does not support the current Israeli government and as a Jew who wishes that the creation of Israel had been done in a better way more than my lifetime ago, thank you for pointing out that despite sympathies for their creation there are in fact two main villains and no heroes, only victims, in the story of Oct 7th.
well said.
You are totally wrong, Hamas is the villain. I don’t like the government of Israel either and would like to see a peaceful two-state solution but there can be no excuse for what Hamas did.
@@mikeg2306 Israel was bombing Gaza and rounding up innocent Palestinians en masse in the months leading up to October 7th. If your enemy slaughtering civilians and taking hostages means you cannot be a villain yourself, then your own argument is that Hamas cannot be the villain. Israel was the aggressor, and they have escalated the conflict they started to genocide. If Israel didn't want Hamas to take hostages for the purpose of an exchange, Israel shouldn't have started taking hostages.
There is nothing acceptable about how Hamas responded to Israeli aggression, but a response was predictable, about as predictable as the fact that the entire world would just ignore Israel's actions before the response from Hamas and frame that response as an "unprovoked attack."
@@mikeg2306 > Be a Palestinian child.
> Grow up watching members of your family being displaced and killed by IDF soldiers.
> Join the only party fighting the occupation because Isreal ousted all the moderate/secular parties fighting for the same cause.
> Become radicalised.
> Watch as occupiers hold a rave outside the open air prison you’ve lived in all your life.
> Fight back.
> Retaliation results in Isreal cutting off water, electricity, and bombing your home.
Zionists:
HaMaS aRe ThE vIlLaInS. hOw CoUlD aNyOnE dO sUcH a ThInG???
I agree with your sentiment for the most part but I don't believe there is a "better way" to set up an ethnostate. I completely understand why Jews felt unsafe living in Europe but there is no reason why they could not have established themselves in Palestine as earlier Jewish immigrants had done for centuries. No matter the circumstances, it is not right to take land on which people already live and establish your own state by force. We have a word for that, it's called colonialism.
Obviously what's done is done and interesting as it may be to speculate about how things could have gone differently, it doesn't exactly leave us with solutions. About two thirds of the Israeli population were born there and don't have a 'home' to return to so Palestinians and Israelis are going to have to learn how to live together. Neither side supports a two-state solution so the peace process should probably be modelled on South Africa (with respect the unique characteristics of this conflict).
All in all, my heart goes out to the people affected by this conflict and many others around the world. My own country suffered decades of violence and instability but for the young people of Ireland those days are thankfully a distant memory. Peace is possible, don't lose hope!
It's upsetting to me that I have to vote for someone just because he's the lesser of two evils. However, you don't need to be in love with a candidate to make a choice to vote for them. You have to make the best choice from the choices available to you.
... And you have to remember that in the US electoral system, not voting or going third party (in federal elections) amounts to upping the chances for the worst option to win.
Are you seeking perfection? Because you probably shouldn't be especially in any politician.
@@e.458 It can depend on your state. I'm in a true blue state, there is no way my state will go red. So I do in fact have the luxury of choosing third party just to make a statement. However, I'm not going to do that, even though I'm really a third party kind of person. But if you're in a state where you can't be sure of that, you must vote for the blue candidate like your life depends on it, at least in this election.
I don't agree Joe Biden is the "lesser of two evils," not even close. I don't agree with every one of his policies or everything he says, but he's not a wanna-be dictator. He doesn't or won't ignore, dismiss, bend, or break existing laws, programs, institutions, traditions, and norms even if they limit his authority. Trump, by contrast, has and promises to do more to get HIS way, no matter what damage it will do to the US.
@@sharimeline3077
Who is the better third-party candidate?
I feel Bernie Sanders has always been consistent. Stubborn and consistent. Bernie won't win because the right has successfully conflated progressivism with communism then further conflated that with anti-patriotism and satanism. Elizabeth Warren is in a similar boat. AOC? Katy Porter??! Kamala Harris?
I see Gavin Newsom as the pure politician he is as he moves away from the left toward the center right in preparation for a presidential run in 2028
I love waking up each day thankful that a lunatic is not at the helm of the free world. My health, especially my mental health, cannot handle the anxiety and worry that another 4 years of a trump presidency would bring.
@@bunniesbunniesbunnie yeah as a Queer & Nuerodivergent person gotta say that's absolutely fucking terrifying lol... But if Biden actually Publicly declared a cease fire... Then he would win... But judging by his "Tough on Crime" past... Sadly I don't think so... But who knows...
I wake up every day with the disquieting realization that a very large group of people in this country still find something to support in that man. 91 criminal charges. 7 or 8 or who reallly knows how many trials. Mountains of evidence. It’s not like the prosecuting Trump don’t have the receipts. But that group will look at Biden with no evidence to back the Rights claim of his crimes and believe it. They lol at the 2 ton pile of clear facts showing that Trump lies and was corrupt and cheated and sexually assaulted at least one woman that he was tried and found guilty for, and we even had him on tape admitting to doj g that very thing and the Republican Base are like , nope don’t believe it. He’s a saint.
"I love waking up each day thankful that a lunatic is not at the helm of the free world."
Netanyahu is a lunatic, and he holds the ring in Biden's nose.
being in a state of hypervigalence, as I was from 2015-2020 will take it's toll on mental health, I can do it, I just think it will be the end of the American Experiment. I typically do not engage in hyperbole, but given the support Trump is receiving from the Right Wing Intelligencia, I am referring to project 2025, and the efforts of Steve Bannon, recruiting a sizable force of bureaucrats to help dismantle the administrative State. I fear for the country I love.
@@bunniesbunniesbunnieyour rabid cynicism is less than useless
You can't back a dog into a corner and then complain when it bites you. My personal opinion is that genocide and colonialism are wrong no matter who is doing it.
I've been trying to keep away from being too informed about exactly what's going on because I have the horrible feeling that Israel isn't going to stop until there isn't a Palestine left. I simply don't trust the people that are in a position to prevent that from happening to do the right thing.
same, and it sucks!
The thing is... Hamas has been desperate to keep Gaza in that corner for 15 years. Everything they do is designed to prevent long-term peace, because their power is built on the fantasy of "resistance." If they wanted to get out from under the blockade, the worst possible thing they could do would be to devote all of their resources to smuggling in rockets to ineffectively shoot at Israeli civilians - and yet, that has been Hamas's core policy for years. They do it because they dream of a Jew-free theocratic autocracy across the Levant, and there's no number of Gazan children they won't sacrifice to try and make that impossible dream a reality.
There have been plenty of Israeli decisions that have not helped matters, and there are some very bad guys on the Israeli side, including in the current cabinet. But Hamas did not attack out of desperation, other than desperation that their Arab allies had moved on and they were being ignored. And nothing scares terrorists quite like being ignored. The dog didn't bite because it was backed into a corner. It WANTED to bite, and it cited the corner as an excuse.
Ignorance is bliss after all. The people of the West Bank thank you for your service.
“ they weren’t upset that it was bad but that it looked bad” 100 points
This famous Lenny Bruce quote and more importantly the life he lived opened my eyes to what decency truly meant: "“You can’t do anything with anybody’s body to make it dirty to me. Six people, eight people, one person - you can do only one thing to make it dirty: kill it. Hiroshima was dirty.”
Believe me, this was a a revelation to someone who grew up in a quasi-Mormon religion where dirty words were considered more offensive than dirty deeds. And considering Lenny Bruce and Jesus Christ were both murdered for expressing the same sentiment shaped a lot of who I am today.
I'm left of left and I will vote for Joe Biden to keep Trump or other conservatives out of the presidency but I'm genuinely terrified that Biden's and this administration's desire to unconditionally support the genocide by the IDF will result in Trump taking the White House again.
I believe actions speak louder than words, and as Steve points out, Blinken absolutely has been applying pressure on Israel's far right government.
Do I agree with Steve that Biden especially should be pushing _harder?_ 💯
Do I believe we should cut off all military aid to the region for the duration of the conflict? 💯
But I also acknowledge that Bibi is a monster who is in a Mutual Admiration Society with Trump and who has a long relationship with Putin. Geopolitics are hard, and I'm willing to extend Biden's administration _some_ benefit of the doubt-while also publicly voicing my desire for him to do more in the name of _decency._
I feel that. The UK has the same choice really between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer. A lot of the left won't vote for Sunak cause the Conservative party is...well...horrible. But won't support Sunak cause he's not left enough.
The argument I've heard is this. You have the choice between 2 buses. One of them is going the right way but takes you somewhere you don't like first but at least it's going to the place you want to go to. The other is going the completely opposite direction. You're also certain it's going to the bridge that's been demolished.
Which bus are you getting on?
Which is makes little sense because the right and Trump are much more supportive of Israel than people on the left and in the DNC.
We hold D presidents to such a higher standard than R presidents, because Rs do such insanely awful shit that most of their traditionally awful things the president does (things that Obama and now Biden have been criticized for) goes under the radar.
Yeah, me too. Sometimes ya gotta be a hardluck warrior 😢
@@altosack I don't think that is lost on anyone. I think everyone left of hunting the homeless for sport knows that trump is worse in every area.
Thank you, Steve, for addressing this important issue, and also for taking time to draw clear distinctions and to call out antisemitism. I've absolutely seen an up-swing in it recently, even in my own town, even coming from those who are ostensibly on the left (there was a Chanukah celebration that was shut down by harassment, by people who styled themselves as 'pro-Palestinian,' even though the celebration was explicitly religious and had absolutely nothing to do with Israel, Palestine, or anything international). Criticism of Israel is absolutely not anti-Semitic inherently, but anti-Semites do sometimes try to worm their way into organizations critical of Israel, and we have to stay vigilant about it if we want that activism to stay credible.
Anyway, thank you for making a clear call for peace, the protection of civilians of all nationalities, and for politicians to take moral responsibility for their actions. Thank you for being decent :)
Thank you for talking about this.
Thanks, Steve. I tried sending one of your other videos (Steves in the bar) to a Jewish friend of mine. She decided to conflate the US supplying weapons to Israel with the US supplying weapons to Ukraine. I don’t know enough personally to even have a discussion with her, let alone defend my thinking that yes, there should be a GD ceasefire! This situation is just … unbelievable. Or it should be. Instead, we are here. SMH. Thanks for doing such a great job of trying to simplify enough for ordinary folk to understand, without completely losing the nuance. It’s not easy, and you do it well. Thanks.
Once again, Steve has produced the only Israel/Hamas take that doesn’t make me want to throw things.
If you haven't already, you should take a look at Big/Little Joel's Israel/Palestine takes. He's an absolute legend.
I am disgusted by what's going on in Gaza, and I can not see anyone being "ok" with treating anyone as subhuman, but how do we fix it? We can't convince people right here in the states, people we know, that human beings deserve better. Would the United States deciding to refuse any support to Israel, fix everything? Is it just a step? What happens next? If the bombing stops, and it goes back to simply treating Palestinians like animals, instead of this massive loss of life, will we all be cool with that? That's better right? I'm not making a statement in wording that way, I'm legitimately asking... What would actually fix this?
I agree. This fight has been going on for centuries. The arrogance of America to think 2 people can have a fight and your solution is to tell 1 side to stop fighting is ludicrous. You have to let 1 person actually WIN the fight, then we should be holding Israel's feet to the fire on having an actual productive relationship with the Palestinians instead of the enablist policies we have had in the past.
All very good questions. There are a lot of reparations to be made to the Palestinian people that are extremely unlikely to ever come to fruition.
Steve, I don't always agree with you, but you have perfectly articulated my feelings on this situation in a way I never could. Thank you and well done.
The absolute best and most thorough take on the situation I've heard from anyone.
Steve's gonna have a bunch of "dictionary vids" and I am here for it!
Well, he bought the prop, he's got to get his money's worth out of it. But seriously, I do like the concept and I hope he does a lot more.
I never commented on that last video but I was also among those thinking, *_"Why not the (superior) Oxford dictionary?"_*
O.E.D.!!! O.E.D.!!! O.E.D!!! ❤😂
@@sharimeline3077
I think he can afford two props!!!😂
1:25 "Trump the human being" there's a phrase you don't hear often!
There’s a lot that I appreciate about the Biden administration, there’s also stuff that I find disappointing. This is the one thing that I find truly heartbreaking
American Fascist
A parody sing along to
The Guess Who’s
American Woman
American fascist what messed up your mind?
American fascists mess’n with our minds
American fascist what messed up your mind?
American fascist what messed up your mind?
Say A
Say M
Say E
Say R
Say I
Say C
Say A
N
American fascist what messed up your mind?
Mmmm, American fascists mess’n with our minds
American fascist what messed up your mind?
American fascists
Get away from we
American fascists
Better let us be
Stop your empiring well short our door
We don’t wanna see you fascists no more
We’ve got more important things to do
Might even grow old if we’re rid of you
Now fascists!
We said stay away
American fascists
Listen what we say
American fascist
Stay away from we
American fascists
Better let us be
Don’t come round knocking down all our doors
We’re done bowing down to you fascists for sure
What you fail to realize
Is put down long enough we rise
Now fascist
We said stay away
American fascists
Listen what we say
American fascist
Said stay away
American fascists
Listen what we say
Don’t come round knocking down all our doors
We don’t wanna see you fascists no more
We tire of your non-stop war machine
Won’t replicate your ghetto scenes
What you fail to realize
Is put us down too long we’ll rise
Now fascists
Stay away from we
American fascists
Better let us be
Go! Stay the hell away
Get away right now, go, go, go
Don’t want to see you fascists
How ‘bout you leave, you fascists
Bye-bye
Bye-bye
Bye-bye
Bye-bye
Fascism’s no good for me, fascism’s no good for you
Gonna look you Rights in the eye and tell you what you ought’a do
You know you ought’a leave
You know you ought’a go, you know you ought’a leave
We know you gotta go, fascists
Go on and leave fascists
Goodbye American fascists
America ‘n Israel’re SICK
Steve could never be a politician. Too honest.
The greatest lie we tell ourselves is that voters want honest politicians; history shows the precise opposite, alas, that we want politicians to tell us what we want to hear whether it's true or not. We really need to fix that, somehow.
And also too direct with the point. 😄
Really glad you’re putting this on Biden…
It was downright pitiful seeing the way his supporters responded to protesters shouting “Ceasefire now” at one of his campaign events (yes… it *was* a campaign event, not a memorial for the shooting victims of the church massacre) by saying “Four more years!”
Opposing war crimes isn’t a fucking campaign slogan or platform opposition.
YOUR GRASP OF TRUTH IS AMAZING AND SADLY UNIQUE! DON’T STOP!
The blindness and brainwashedness of his cult will never make sense to me.
I so want to agree... The reason I can't is because I'm pragmatic, and pragmatically, I think if Biden followed your advice he could lose to Trump this year. I agree with you about everything regarding the severity of Israel and the Gaza strip, however, I think if Biden does "the right thing" in THAT situation, he could be doing the wrong thing in the larger American situation.
Biden losing re-election could upend democracy in the U.S. while leading to foreign and domestic atrocities at the hands of Donald Trump that would make the Israel-Gaza war crimes look like subtle bullying. Trump is a man who is threatening and capable of dismantling American democracy and that should scare the living shit out of every educated person in America.
So, no. I don't want Joe Biden doing anything except winning the next election, even if it means not taking a stand against Israel's atrocities in Gaza, unless he's 100% sure that it won't cost him the next election. If it appears that the Jewish vote would diminish by withholding funds to Israel, then Israel has to be funded. Any risk-taking with regard to losing the next election is not worth the risk of what could happen to the US and the world if Trump were to win. The dude would be Hitler, if he thought he could get away with it, and he can already get away with a disturbing amount.
I'm from Germany and for me Trump is simply disgusting.
When being good is seen as a weakness, the wicked will win!
Anyone have any workable ideas to keep Hamas and other terrorist groups from using innocent civilians as human shields? Or how to get Hamas to cease fire too if Israel ceases first? Anyone?
It's interesting that Hamas was not the the first choice of the Palestinian people. Israel refused to work with what we would call legitimate Palestinian government for decades. Their calls for diplomacy fell on deaf ears. We of course can't forgive Hamas its crimes but we should not be surprised when an oppressed people lashes out violently after all peaceful attempts to restore dignity to their community have failed and are likely to continue to be fruitless in the future. I think that if Israel would actually work with the Palestinian people, or even treat them like people, the popularity of Hamas would crumble.
Watch out, Steve! That book you're holding has been banned in Florida schools because it has naughty words in it.
You are correct and Biden needs to stand up to Israel. I'd still want to see Biden in office rather than Trump
Wow just wow thank you for putting all the jumbled thoughts and feelings I've been having for the past couple months and then one coherent statement it's so rare in life you get to say to someone I agreed with everything you just said!
It’s soul crushing as this goes on and on
When will we ever get over the idea of state over humanity? That idea is archaic considering the entangled nature of the planet.
It was archaic from the very beginning; immediately forcing vast swathes of people to lose both quality of life, and freedom.
In 1995, Yizhak Rabin was murdered.
This was because he strived for peace and a solution for the Palestinians and he was also getting results. Since then, the country has been fully hijacked by the Right at first but then by Bibi personally, mainly working to keep his position more than anything else, eventually allying himself with the extreme right. Two people from the movement responsible for Rabin's murder are now ministers in Bibi's coalition.
The current bloodlust in my country, unfortunately, cannot be sated. Not even by the atrocities the army is currently committing.
Think about the US after 9/11, only here you have someone to blame that isn't an amorphic character living in a cave.
Intelligence reports point the fingers at Likud and those parties father right politically for that assassination.
The speeches and commentary we hear from mainstream sources feels like the American government's support of Apartheid South Africa in the 70's and 80's. The only thing that's missing is the vague spectre of communist support for the opposition.
Spot on! Great commentary Steve!
Dont forget about the thousands of Palestinians hostages detained in israelis prisons, with no trial whatsoever.
Women, children, men in prison for decades because they were arbitrarily arrested by an IDF soldier
Blood on one's hands IS Blood on one's hands . And when it's the Blood of children it's inexcusable
8:00 he's also the only president that has done anything positive about Labor in my lifetime.
You should do “If Republicans Said the Quiet Parts Out Loud About History.”
as always i am deeply moved by your commentary - thank you
This video should be mandatory viewing for everyone, especially those in government who hold the levers of power.
I don't think I've heard a more balanced, yet passionate assessment of the mess in Gaza.
Thank you for this!
I know I'll get some flak for this but I feel like this situation is the Achille's Heel of us Liberals; a situation where neither side is right, but the situation has degraded to the point where you HAVE to choose, the third way is gone, and the side you don't choose is gonna get Right-Click -> Select All -> Delete'd either in their goals or their total existence. There is no way to Kobayashi Maru our way out of this; all the chances for Speech Checks and saving rolls are over or failed. Everyone involved has made it abundantly clear at this point, if not by word by but action and attitude; either Palestine survives, or Israel does. Because Palestinians won't tolerate being the victims of apartheid or waged war against, nor will Israel tolerate it's enemies having a convenient launching pad for their non-stop attacks right on it's doorstep nor will they simply give up and leave the only formal home they've had in thousands of years.
Even if we somehow manage to delay the inevitable, it will still come back because the underlying issues are still at large and now hands on both sides are too bloodied, pride too hurt for things to be forgotten or forgiven.
For Republicans and especially MAGA, this is no problem at all; full speed ahead "Fuck those (derogatory word for whichever ethnic/religious/social group is their current target of hate/opportunity)!".
For Liberals, we're faced with the problem of reality coming up to us and saying: "Your fancy hopes and ideals mean nothing right now. You missed your opportunity (or had it stolen from you by outside forces) to get a better outcome and now you have to make a choice, or make no choice and live with the choice someone else makes."
And none of us, least of all me, know what to do about it.
Not an expert on what to do about it, but complaining incessantly to your representatives couldn't hurt. Donating to relief organizations isn't a bad idea either. I signed up for a monthly donation to Human Rights Watch. Working within the system and throwing money at the problem is probably the most Liberal way to approach the problem. Imo, going further left and getting more DIY and boots-on-the-ground is a better direction to go, tho I'm still working on that part myself.
Extremely well said!
Do you really think this started October 7?
The reason his followers have sunk to cult levels, is because he has made indecency acceptable, he has freed them from the constraints of decency, of morality, of empathy, of being just to everyone. He has allowed them to be their worse, to not just free their bigotry, but be proud of it, to be proud of their worse instincts, and so they love him, he is their beacon.
I'd also argue that some in Israel be held accountable for war crimes at this point. We're pretty sure they knew whom they were bombing.
Make sure to watch South Africa's remarks at the ICJ. The UN posted a video titled "South Africa levels accusations of ‘genocidal conduct’ against Israel at UN Int'l Court of Justice" and the remarks start at 50:25. It's extremely clear that the highest levels of government and military knew, know, and encourage the genocide.
@@Dysiode
South Africa: trust me bro, you don't wanna go there
Germany: trust me bro, yes you do!
As much as I agree with all of this Steve, this is sadly one of those situations where strategic geopolitical concerns take precedence over moral or ethical ones. That part of the world has three regional powers, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Israel. The US is allied, for good or ill, with two of them. This is one of those situations where Biden's traditional 'establishment' mindset of maintaining the current global order as seen with bombing the Houthi's when they started bombing shipping is going to come in play.
Two people that helped me understand how International Relations actually work rather than how I'd like to work are the youtube channels, Beau of the Fifth Column and Perun, Beau is a journalist who's good at describing geopolitics using phrases as the "International Poker Game where everybody's cheating" and Perun does deeply informative powerpoint videos about military economics and the reasons behind certain actions and behaviours. Both highly recommended for their descriptive rather than prescriptive explansations.
Things won't change until we start rejecting the current pardigrm of how international relations work. I appreciate that Beau and Perun can point out how it currently works... but that doesn't make the current state of affairs in any way, shape, or form acceptable. Human lives are not poker chips, and someone needs to start flipping tables.
I was also thinking along these lines when I was listening to this. I keep up with Beau on pretty much everything and as unfortunate as it might be, there's no real good way out of this situation for the US. As I understood it, at least as of about a month ago or so it was kind of a geo-political gamble holding out for a resolution with a legitimate Palistinian state authority, but it would depend on the pieces falling into place and somewhat dependent on what Iran does and we've been sitting back and watching Israel make a lot of the same mistakes that the US made during the Iraq war. I'm not currently abreast of the situation just that it's gone on for longer then 100 days. The broader goal of maintaining stability in the entire region as a whole often overshadows individual conflicts and atrocities. While the morality of the situation is often pretty cut and dried, The US can't... exactly.. just not support Israel. That action would have much broader implications then are readily apparent to most casual, or even well informed observers. To quote another of Beau's sayings "Countries don't have friends, they have interests." If the US missteps or fails to meet expectations it can easily lead to a domino effect of instability, not least of which to include groups or countries "testing the waters" to see what they can get away with for example. To say something makes us look weak, ineffective, or unreliable. sounds like a superficial talking point, but internationally, and in the middle east specifically has direct and real world consequences.
Israel doesn't need our help. We don't even need the Middle East's oil at this point. We could have had strong relations with Iran under Obama's negotiations with them. the Houthi attacks have been largely mitigated by the two entire Carrier Strike Groups, an Amphibious Ready Group, and other support groups in the region. If the US didn't have a pension for indiscriminate killing of civilians and actually only attacked Houthi military installations I'd maybe be ok with that.
I've come to the conclusion there really is no excuse for more war. Especially not as the largest military and economic force on the planet (for now). We choose to meddle, we choose to give people weapons, we choose to ally ourselves with dictators and oppressors. We can choose not to.
Haven't seen another Beau fan in the wild before. I need to catch up on his stuff. Appreciate you!
Thank you for this Steve. It is on point and needed desperately at this time.
On all points, I couldn't agree more. Well stated, sir. 🍻
These song lyrics keep coming to mind. Nobody's right if everybody's wrong.
Well stated Steve! Right on the mark!
One of the best commentaries on the subject I’ve heard
Part of what makes this situation so tragic is that the world and the Jewish people looked at the horrors of the Holocaust and said "Never again" but the government of Israel turned and said "Our turn".
I agree with everything you're saying. There is, however, one point that you, and many other commentators overlook. The fact of the matter is that the aid Israel receives from the US is minuscule compared to their own internal defense industry, as well as the income they generate from contributions from sympathizers the world over, as well as their own economy. Many people see Israel as a US dependent. They're not. The US could cut all aid, and while it might inconvenience Israel, it isn't a large enough incentive to make them stop. Most people severely overestimate the amount of leverage the USA has there. Sure, Biden can play the decency card and threaten an end to aid if Israel doesn't doesn't comply. Israel could just shrug and say 'So what?' And continue what they're doing. At which point Biden would have lost all the influence and leverage the USA had. Right now, Biden can bring some kind of influence to bear, but if they make that threat, Netanyahu is going to call the bluff, at which point the USA loses all influence. So... which is better? Which saves more lives in the long run? It's a shit position to be in, but that's the tightrope Biden is on.
Thank you for your nuanced video
Another real thought provoker. Great job.
Thank you Steve, you are so right
Thanks, Steve. Spot on!
thank you for this video, steve.
Ultimately I don't think it'll happen and if it does I think the damage is done. I think he's throughly torpedoed his chances of winning this year.
Honestly I'm terrified for my friends who are in the crosshairs of a Trump lead GOP who wants to make sure no election of note ever happens again. Trump is literally arguing he should have absolute power with zero culpability.
Polls seem to raise the real possibility that the corrupt lunatic man child with xenophobic despot predilections will win. There are so many people still in a bubble that whole-heartedly admire him
That’s even better said than TYT which I am a member. This was a brilliant video and thank you for making it.
Hamas might be using human shields, if true, thats because a human shield should be impervious for decent people …
STANDING OVATION SIR. ❤
Well said.
one big problem with having only two parties is, if one of them turns their back toward demokracy you kind of allready lost it. Having only one choice is not really democracy.
a significant feature of the voting system in the United states is, that it really only allows for 2 parties.
That is one very important thing you guys will have to change if you want to make your democracy survive long term.
The founders were opposed to any parties at all but were left with no system to avoid only two.
If we were mentally trained to expect and enforce four or five parties,... We might avoid a duopoly
We can't manage to encourage corporate competition to maintain four or five competitors either and we end up with ineffective regulation of near megalithic/monopolistic trusts in all but name
@@SpaceCaseZ06 So you've already resigned to losing to fascists. Americans are SO averse to change, SO stuck in their ways... don't you think this societal attitude of political conservatism was done to us on purpose?
@@SpaceCaseZ06not all the founders were opposed to political parties, in fact many were okay with them and advocated for them. The fact that Washington warned about the dangers of political parties is a big reason why his farewell address is so famous/infamous.
Also, the American electoral system effectively managed three parties fairly well for a time, whigs just kind of faded away and were mostly absorbed into the Republican party to unite under the abolitionist cause.
As usual, Steve, you take the words right out of my mouth.
Excellent video man! Totally agree.
The progressive conundrum: choose between a regressive and massively underwhelming Democrat or an awful and cruel Republican. No wonder so many young people feel like politics are a lost cause.
I've been getting even more demoralized by politics thanks to all the "local" politicians that get elected on a democratic, or even leftist, platform and then either outright flip parties are immediately become "centrist" and start pandering to republicans. Oregon's new governor went from "people first!" to "MOAR COPS" within her first year.
Well said
Choir to preacher: "Here, here!"
Thank you for making this.
This video was decent.
Keep it up.
Decorum. A civil self respect for the office you occupy, above all else.
Just going to say there is something kind of poignant about the US election being in the Chinese year of the Dragon. I know that's just pure coincidence and a mathematical inevitability but to me it's poignant because dragons also have a bit of a mixed reputation depending on who you ask.
In Japan they are sacred with Ryujin being one of the sacred dragons of the ocean. In Wales there's Y Ddraig Goch (which literally translates to "The Red Dragon") who is the symbol of Wales and can be seen on the Welsh flag.
But then you've got the English who always seem to depict the dragon as some monster that needs to be slain, even American folklore has the Snallygaster which was considered a hunter of black slaves...and was also considered to be a real creature....that Theodore Roosevelt considered hunting whilst postponing an African Safari.
So why the hell am I mentioning fantasy creatures and trying to tie them into politics? Because dragons have a surprising amount of historical weight and are something of a phenomenon given that they're a global fantasy creature with a history that dates at least as far back as the ancient Mesopotamians. But what's intriguing is how they're treated essentially the same way as political leaders; they're seen as powerful, sometimes they're worshipped, and sometimes they're painted as evil demonic creatures that need to be killed. So what better year to have a US presidential election than on the year of the dragon?
Unless something unprecedented happens, it'll always be either a dragon, a rat, or a monkey
Love you mister! ❤😂
Are you ever going to acknowledge the Nakba, Steve? Will you ever acknowledge just HOW Israel was founded? How many people were ethnically cleansed from their homes? (Over 700,000) in only a few years). It seems a sore spot nobody wants to talk about, but it is INCREDIBLY relevant. It is the origin of militant Palestinians.
Steve, do you believe that colonizers are innocent, and should not be forced to stop? If you have a problem with the West Bank settlements, why not with the original founding of Israel? You do understand that it isn't ancient history, right? There are still people, Palestinians, alive, who played on their parents' fields, (that they witnessed being burned), who ran through the markets of their towns, (that were razed into oblivion in front of them)? You do understand that these people still exist? They're old, yes, but where is THEIR justice?
No discussion about Israel can be complete without talk of reparations for its very founding. I understand that you're an American (like me), and that you must have opinions about returning stolen land to its indigenous inhabitants... but there simply can be no end to the conflict and no fairness to be had if the colonial founding isn't addressed.
AMEN. Hell yes to all of these.
I'd love to hear Steven's opinions about the Vote Blue no matter who people, the people, (like myself), who choose to vote for third party candidates like Dr Cornell West, and is it wasting a vote to do so. I strongly believe it isn't.
Firstly, I agree with most every point you've made. I think that you represented the honest reality very well.
That said, my layman's understanding is that Biden is in an extremely tight spot here. He's not only having to deal with international politics in terms of Israel and Palestine, but also the international politics of OTHER countries as well as politics here in the US. Any step that is seen as anti-Israel is going to be twisted by the right-wing propaganda machine(s) into some kind of display of antisemitism or fickle behavior/bad leadership on the part of the Biden administration and the US, and like it or not, they are VERY good at making bullshit sound reasonable for those who don't follow it on a daily basis.
I suppose I'm saying that to my perception, he is having to thread two (plus) needles at once, and that's hard even at the best of times. It's even worse when the people holding those needles are moving them around as needed to establish footholds in positions of power. He may end up winning a few battles only to lose the overall war, and losing the overall war would mean losing those battles in retrospect.
There is something Steve hasn't touched on, but is somewhat known, especially if you've grown up around evangelical culture. Israel is part of many evangelicals' doomsday prophecies. Bottom line, having Israel be a dominating force is one of the things that needs to happen for Armageddon to occur. Which is also why evangelical leaders urge Israel not to negotiate; any lasting peace in that region renders their prophesy null and void.
Thank you Steve, I agree with everything you said.
Hamas is absolutely guilty of extreme war crimes. No question about the truth of that. But there is also no doubt that the Israeli response had been disproportionate to the most extreme degree. To say that the Israeli payback has been a “bitch” is laughably an understatement.
The problem is it isn’t _payback_ . Hamas is a nihilistic organization fueled by hate. They don't care one bit about the well being of Palestinians or even their own well being. They only care about hurting Israel and fueling the movement. Palestinian civilians being killed by the thousands and displaced by the millions *_helps_* Hamas-it drives recruitment. As does the general destruction of everything in Gaza. What the IDF is doing would be unacceptable under any circumstances … but what makes it worse, they aren't even going to accomplish anything.
"An educated citizen knows, too, that every fellowman is entitled to be regarded with decency and treated with dignity. A citizen who seeks to subvert the law, to suppress freedom, or to subject other human beings to acts that are less than human, degrades his heritage, ignores his learning, betrays his oath and obligation.
In these moments of tragic disorder, a special burden rests on the educated men and women of our country to reject the temptations of prejudice and violence, and to reaffirm the values of freedom and law on which a free society depends."
- President Kennedy VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MAY 18, 1963
I wonder in future times if calling someone a 'Trump' will be seen as an insult ?
Lets hope that's his legacy.
This is about your president(s). I'm from the UK. I'm commenting because on Israel/Gaza we're on the same track.
Israel, I believe, pre-arranged their support for this campaign with both the UK and USA. Neither the UK or USA can sensibly revoke their support. This is bloody and ugly, but backtracking now will not undo that. Backtracking will, however, lose the possibility of the removal of Hamas. I'm 100% against Israel's methods which are resulting in unnecessary loss of life, but an unconditional ceasefire will not meaningfully improve the situation in Gaza. Hamas' surrender is the best prospect of improvement for Gaza. Once this is over, I hope there will be a thorough reckoning. I recognise that there is a sunk cost fallacy right here.
So I have twice hit 'comment' on links to the oral arguments given by the prosecution nation in the Hague over this issue, and twice it wasn't posted.
I so so so wish the graphic behind you were true
Innocent people should never be killed especially children
Performative Anti-Correctness is a good way to describe it....
This war in Gaza has been a massive gift for trump and especially the family research council. Biden could have made that not the case but he supports Israel too much that it is a gift for the family research council.
Just one note about the origin of Israel. I get that the Jews had just been through one of the most horrific experiences in all of history, and giving the Jews a homeland was a form of justice. But do you know who doesn't get that, who SHOULDN'T HAVE TO get that? Palestinians. It wasn't THEIR fault. They were just minding their own business, and Europeans came along and said "some of our guys got fucked over real bad, so to pay for it now you're going to get fucked over!" Since then, they've been under brutal occupation. This is a good video, but it acts like Hamas came out of nowhere and attacked for no reason, and like Israel hasn't been doing in slow motion for decades exactly what it's been doing fast for the last couple of months. Israel has been killing Palestinian civilians since before it was a country, and it has never stopped. And since it became a country, it has been taking Palestinian hostages, many of them children. We like to talk morality to the Palestinians, how they shouldn't be violent but should resist peacefully . . . so, remember the Great March of Return? Didn't think so. Massive, powerful show of nonviolent resistance just a couple years ago. Israel killed hundreds of them, sniped journalists and medics whenever they spotted them, and where were we? Paying zero attention until the Palestinians did something spectacularly violent, that's where. Speaking of decency.
Not quite. The Arabs in Palestine/Israel actively, and violently, sought to prevent Jewish refugees in the 1930's from reaching the only community in the world that was willing to accept them unconditionally -- i.e., the already-existing Jewish community in the Land of Israel. And they were *successful* in pressuring the British mandate (which then governed that area) into limiting Jewish immigration there, thereby condemning large numbers of Jews to death, since they couldn't emigrate anywhere else, either. Several of their leaders collaborated with the Nazis during World War 2. And after 1945, they *still* insisted on preventing Jews from reaching the only community that would accept them unconditionally; and in 1947, instead of taking the Palestinian state *that was offered to them by the UN*, they *chose* to join their fellow-Arabs in Jordan, Egypt, Syria etc. in their genocidal attempt to wipe Israel off the map before it was even born. So no, not quite so innocent
Amazing
It is unacceptable. What is happening to Palestine is disgusting
Complimentary engagement
You sneaky trekkie ..i knew it, this is your 1st like im giving and ive been watching you ..
Donald Trump also has mental health issues.
I'm not a big fan of Biden but I do not like Trump.
President Biden definitely is the decent choice.
🇺🇸
And in the end it's not about who I like but about who gets harmed if one or the other side wins. I am sure Biden winning means a lot less harm being done to a lot less people than Trump winning.
WTF? Don't stigmatize mental illness like that. Trump is an entitled fascist prick. This doesn't require mental illness and using that as a talking point helps nobody and harms us. Get that talking point out of your mouth.
@@cassiedevereaux-smith3890 Yes, the stigmatization is a valid point but I'm pretty sure the "also" means they are referring to the accusations of Biden of being mentally unfit and as usual it's chock full of projection as any "symptoms" or "evidence" they point to apply far more to Trump.
Best “rant” so far
So glad I clicked. 📣