this post was submitted on 03 Aug 2026
194 points (99.5% liked)

politics

30661 readers
1891 users here now

Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!

Rules:

  1. Post only links to articles, Title must fairly describe link contents. If your title differs from the site’s, it should only be to add context or be more descriptive. Do not post entire articles in the body or in the comments.

Links must be to the original source, not an aggregator like Google Amp, MSN, or Yahoo.

Example:

  1. Articles must be relevant to politics. Links must be to quality and original content. Articles should be worth reading. Clickbait, stub articles, and rehosted or stolen content are not allowed. Check your source for Reliability and Bias here.
  2. Be civil, No violations of TOS. It’s OK to say the subject of an article is behaving like a (pejorative, pejorative). It’s NOT OK to say another USER is (pejorative). Strong language is fine, just not directed at other members. Engage in good-faith and with respect! This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.
  3. No memes, trolling, or low-effort comments. Reposts, misinformation, off-topic, trolling, or offensive. Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.
  4. Vote based on comment quality, not agreement. This community aims to foster discussion; please reward people for putting effort into articulating their viewpoint, even if you disagree with it.
  5. No hate speech, slurs, celebrating death, advocating violence, or abusive language. This will result in a ban. Usernames containing racist, or inappropriate slurs will be banned without warning

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.

That's all the rules!

Civic Links

Register To Vote

Citizenship Resource Center

Congressional Awards Program

Federal Government Agencies

Library of Congress Legislative Resources

The White House

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Senate

Partnered Communities:

News

World News

Business News

Political Discussion

Ask Politics

Military News

Global Politics

Moderate Politics

Progressive Politics

UK Politics

Canadian Politics

Australian Politics

New Zealand Politics

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
top 45 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] phutatorius@lemmy.zip 1 points 21 hours ago

It's not just political. It's rotten to the core.

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 59 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (4 children)
[–] artyom@piefed.social 26 points 2 days ago

but I don't think political is the right word. Corrupt is more like it

I mean it's kinda the same thing at this point, don't you think?

You'll find very few Republicans condemning any of the corruption happening in the White House or doing anything to curtail it. They're all complicit, because tribalism trumps service.

Platner was simply accused of sexual assault and he was gone instantly. Trump gets caught admitting to it on tape and it only makes him more popular.

[–] BillyClark@piefed.social 8 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Also, I'm pretty big on oaths, so I cannot understand how you can take an oath to tell the truth during your confirmation hearings, and then lie during those same hearings. It feels like it should be automatically disqualifying from confirmation, and if it's discovered later, then it feels like it's fraud and they should be removed from their positions.

I think all but one of the conservative justices swore during their confirmation hearings that they would consider Roe v. Wade as precedent, or made other similar statements. If they truly viewed it as "precedent", then they would never vote to overturn it. So, several conservative justices lied under oath in order to be confirmed. They got their job under false pretenses.

George Santos was expelled from the House for lying about much less important issues, and not under oath.

If any of us lie during a job interview about something important, and it's discovered later, you can bet we'd be fired before we knew what hit us, and we don't swear a solemn oath when doing job interviews.

I feel like the moment a justice votes contrary to what they swore to, either during their confirmation hearings, or even as part of their oath of office, it's absolute proof that they were lying under oath and that they got their job under fraudulent pretenses. That should immediately invalidate their position, only to be reinstated if they can prove in court that their actions don't constitute a lie.

You cannot give any trust to a person who swears a solemn oath and then breaks that oath (with the exception of a wedding oath, which is an insane oath that cannot be held at face value, imo). I wouldn't trust an oath breaker to walk my dog if I had a dog.

[–] Pieisawesome@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

If you automatically remove someone who lied on a confirmation, they can just ask insane or badly worded questions to catch someone in an innocuous lie and disqualify them

[–] BillyClark@piefed.social 3 points 1 day ago

If you think that would work, then you could convict anybody of perjury in the same way. And again, I did say that it could be reviewed by the courts, which is the legal path we have to apply common-sense standards to unusual situations.

[–] halcyoncmdr@piefed.social 10 points 2 days ago

There seems to be something in common between all 5 of those Justices... but I can't put my finger on it.

[–] AgentSeven@lemmy.zip 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

That's 6. I was surprised by the number 5, being, as there are, 6 right-wingers on the court.

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 days ago (2 children)

FBI interviewed individuals who accuse Amy Coney Barrett faith group of abuse

This one is just a bad look, not corruption.

[–] ChunkMcHorkle@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

It's an obedience situation with that one:

A PoP handbook states that members are expected to be obedient to male authorities, or group heads, and are expected to give 5% of their earnings to the group. Heads are influential decision-makers in members’ lives, weighing in on issues ranging from dating to marriage and determining where members should live.

During her confirmation I recall reading a number of reports that -- to put it politely -- indicate her husband has a great deal to do with her work; iow, that describe her as a "handmaiden" that is completely obedient to her husband, something she had said herself before her nomination. In the confirmation hearings she was questioned about this directly and forced to deny that her husband would be an influence if she were confirmed, but it was superficial at best. Outside the hearings, other reporting that took a much closer look at the husband revealed all kinds of sketchy links and obligations.

Which is to say that in her case the corruption is not primarily about money, it's a weirdly toxic faith, and the actor/beneficiary is not herself, but her husband and his ties. Think Leonard Leo. It was strange and dark and labyrinthine and I'd have to look it all up again to describe it in any detail, but man that is some shady shit going on just behind her.

Excellent comment up top, btw. Well sourced, much appreciated.

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 day ago

Thanks, I'll look at this side of things too and add her to the list.

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

i'm lazy at the moment but there's a group that tracked the "totally not bribery" disclosures from the court and Barrett is no innocent

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Oh wow, I'll look into that and update the classic if I find anything. Thanks.

iirc, they found 3-4 figures total in gifts each to the 3 liberal justices and 5-7 figures total in gifts each to the 6 trump justices

[–] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Is this some kind of revelation? At least as far back as Roe v Wade, the cons have been agitating for activist judges (yes, more projection on their part, imagine that) that will overturn women's rights.

Not to mention deliver all kinds of other conservative activist fuckery from the court....

For that website? Yeah it's a bigger deal for them to be saying this than idk, Washington Post or Huffington Post or Emily Post. maybe not Emily Post I take that back. I used to read the hill when I was more in politics. It was a fairly reliably [in the lens of the US Overton window, moderate/conservative/semicentrist] perspective.

[–] binux@sh.itjust.works 16 points 1 day ago (1 children)

This just in: shit comes from ass

Who is this man so wise in the ways of science.

[–] ChunkMcHorkle@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Chief Justice John Roberts wants us to believe that neither the court nor the judiciary as a whole has “Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges.” Justice Neil Gorsuch insists that the court is not populated by “politicians in robes.”

Justice Amy Coney Barrett went on Fox News to say that justices “don’t wear red and blue, we all wear black because judges are nonpartisan. And the idea is that we are all listening to the law. We’re all trying to get it right. We’re not playing for a team.”

One notes that the judges most invested in the appearance of "not playing for a team" are, in fact and by every discernible measure, all playing for the same team.

[–] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

It's funny that they are trying this bullshit. Just like the dickheads that pretend to be "independents" and then proceed to do all kinds of concern trolling and Murc's Law bullshit about liberals and Democrats.

#1 - both sides are bad. #2 I didn't vote for this #3 I'm not MAGA #4 I'm a centrist. I'm in the middle #5 I don't like to talk about politics #6 You cut some off because of politics? #7 Why can't we all just get along?

https://www.instagram.com/original_pringles/reel/DZ8zh0NR01T/

[–] homes@piefed.world 11 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Is anyone still denying it at this point?

[–] ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Exactly. Who are they talking to?

[–] homes@piefed.world 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

The past, I suspect

And I'd love to know when that was, given we have stuff like Santa Clara County v Southern Pacific Rail Road, and that was in 1886. I'd love to see someone defend the "corporations have the same rights as humans" thing as being apolitical, LOL.

[–] starlinguk@lemmy.world 12 points 2 days ago

Its "judges" (snort) are literally appointed by the president. Of course it's political.

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 5 points 1 day ago (2 children)

I used to think we needed to expand SCOTUS by 4 seats, but I no longer believe that. Now I think we need to expand SCOTUS by 20 seats, with rolling term limits, so each president gets to appoint a few.

No bad faith president should be able to negatively impact American policy for the next 50-75 years.

The best idea I saw had 18 year terms and each president may nominate 3 during their term, leading to a 27 member court. My math says 24 members so I must be misremembering something

[–] oppy1984 1 points 1 day ago

I prefer the idea that there is no set number of justices, every president gets to appoint one judge per term. Obviously they should still be approved by the Senate. After the Senate approves the judge, that's it, someone dies, to bad wait a few years for the next term or president. Sure we might end up with 20 justices if a bunch of young people are appointed but that just opens up the term limit conversation, and that would be great since lifetime appointments shouldn't be a thing for any position.

[–] Someonelol@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Everything is political. Even things that claim not to be are.

[–] nickhammes@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

Everything is political. Especially things that claim not to be.

[–] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

My favorite thing is when someone chastises someone in a mixed group type of setting and says "we shouldn't talk politics". I mean, what the actual fuck, how do we do that?

Cannot even stick to the weather, since the cons have poisoned that entirely. If it's hot as fuck out, they are on pins and needles and just waiting for someone to indicate it is record setting heat and start raging out with some talking points related to it. Same when it's cold out or snow on the ground. Same with things like fires raging in the country. Or the drought. Or the price of gas and the price of just about everything else being sky-high...

I mean, seriously, it is nearly impossible for families/neighbors to not talk "politics". And even when you are talking about things that are for sure "politics", you have to all pretend you are not talking about things affected by politics...about the only safe topics might be music or sports, and even that is filled with landmines, given the culture war the cons have been conducting...

[–] ClassStruggle@lemmy.ml 6 points 2 days ago (1 children)

It's always been political

[–] adarza@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

it used to be less-so; back when confirmations needed at least some support from the minority party to get confirmed, and nominations were more moderate as a result of that higher bar.

[–] theuniqueone@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 days ago

Except not really when you look at the history supporting racism and siding with business even in cases blatantly against what is "settled law".

[–] ClassStruggle@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 day ago

It never has been, not long after the 14th amendment was ratified SCOTUS ruled in favor of corporations being people, exactly the same way they did Citizens United

[–] tidderuuf@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Even State Supreme Courts are political. The positions in our ballot pamphlet says "Nonpartisan" but candidates for every open position this year are very clearly political.

We get a side that wants to rewrite the state constitution without a vote of the people and another side that wants to bend the constitution to fit the needs of fascists.

Wonderful times we live in.

[–] Napster153@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

The saying, 'politics has an interest in you even when you don't have an interest in politics' rings true.

These people don't care for facts or otherwise. Only what impedes their powerstruggle.

[–] theuniqueone@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 2 days ago

Never not been and impossible for it not to be.

[–] bagsy@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

always has been, always will be.

[–] Spooge@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago

Ok, I admit. Stop making such demands of me.

[–] crystalmerchant@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

Uhhh yeah duh

[–] Pat_Riot@lemmy.today 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)
[–] kmartburrito@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

🌎👨‍🚀🔫👨‍🚀

[–] Hapankaali@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

pikachu face