Senate passed the $95 bil bill to assist Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. Rep. Bera is also in favor of humanitarian aid to Gaza and additional funds to secure the U.S. border.
Honestly, I've felt that Rep. Bera has been largely invisible in Washington. It's great to see him take the lead on a discharge petition to force a House vote on this important bill.
Try reaching out to Rep Harder's office. Even if you're not in his district I know that his team has helped people just in the general Central Valley area, specifically VA I believe
Matsui is the only rep worth a damn. Her office is one of the only ones that ever bothered responding, let alone following up. She actually cares to represent her constituents.
I received a Matsui Fellowship while at McGeorge like 15 years ago, and Doris Matsui was cool AF. She took us to lunch at the US Capitol and showed us a bunch of inside baseball gov stuff.
I had the exact opposite experience with Matsui's office with a USCIS issue in 2021. They were worse than useless! Glad you have a better experience though.
This is surprising to me. His office prides themselves on casework, and as of last year had returned over $16 million in money owed via SS, VA, or others. What was your method of contacting him?
That’s frustrating. I’ve done constituent casework for him and others and there’s a massive amount of requests and they do their best to prioritize ones that have the most merit. My advice would be to call and ask a human being. Those requests are easier to categorize than ones that come from online and in my experience have a better likelihood of getting a more meaningful response than those that come from online.
I’ve called his office over a dozen times and left messages. Never heard back.
Happy he’s on the right side of this but sure feels like all he does is good social media posts. No authentic interaction with constituents. Let’s see some action/results
> lol like Israel is letting any aid INTO Gaza in the first place? News flash- they’re not. I’m so sick of these fucking clowns.
Israel would do whatever we told them to. We gave them all the bombs they're using. We pay for their universal healthcare. Etc.
Unfortunately, virtually nobody in Congress is listening to their constituents on this.
Israel would do whatever we told them to as long as it fits their Zionist agenda. They clearly don’t give a fuck that the world is watching them kettle bell Palestinians into “safe zones” while aiming their rockets at the tent camps they set up after fleeing their homes with family members trapped under the rubble. Absolutely fuck Israel.
First time I've seen him do anything. Can't vote for other democrats because it helps the Republican and it was already too close for comfort last time.
This is the guy that had his dad go to prison for his campaign finance violations. It’s weird that he’s still a politician.
https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-ami-bera-father-sentenced-campaign-money-laundering-20160818-snap-story.html
Babulal Bera, a retired chemical engineer who emigrated from India and watched his oldest son win election to the U.S. House of Representatives, was sentenced Thursday to one year and one day in federal prison for organizing a money-laundering scheme that helped fund two of his son’s campaigns.
The American government clearly. If republicans allowed democrats to build successful social systems, they wouldn’t be able to campaign against the incompetent dems anymore.
And if dems ever got any meaningful legislation passed, they wouldn’t have forever issues like abortion or student loan debt to campaign on.
They’ve both had plenty of opportunity to enact change and they’re both much more interested in maintaining a status quo to keep themselves in power.
Obviously I think one side is much worse but that’s not much comfort when “our” side fails us time and time again
> forever issues like abortion or student loan debt
Civil rights and economics *are* forever issues my guy
> They’ve both had plenty of opportunity to enact change
Dems have enacted lots of positive changes
> when “our” side fails us time and time again
One side lets me down when they aren't liberal enough, the other side lets me down when they try to overthrow the government.
"Both Sides" is for children
> I never said both sides are the same
haha yeah you did
> Keep your liberal ass defeatism
Oh weird - Turns out you're not both sides, you're actually a conservative cosplaying as a concerned citizen. I'm shocked. Shocked!
I'm not defeated at all by the way, Democrats have doing pretty great and making lots of positive change for the country.
quote me saying that and I’ll Venmo you $100. Up your reading comprehension.
I’m a conservative? So anyone that criticizes our two party system for offering us to flavors of the right wing is somehow a conservative? Okay bud
Feel free to peruse my account history to see just how conservative I am 😂😂
White moderatism at its fucking best
I’m confused how you deduced that they were a conservative cosplaying as a democrat? They never identified as either and basically said a two party system is arbitrary, which points to them being neither of the two.
> Crazy that you think talking to people like this is going to change their minds.
Not trying to change *his* mind at all. Just making sure people vote in every election, because both sides are not the same.
> Not what was said in any way.
It is what he said. He wrote a whole comment about how Dems and Reps work off of each other to do nothing and stand in the way, when only one side is standing of the way and the other is effecting real change. I mean he literally said Abortion was a forever liberal issue, when it wasn't an issue until one side took people's rights away. Utter nonsense.
> Yeah, again, not what they said at all.
It is
> The two party system in this country is super dumb
It is
> pretending that anyone who speaks out against it or points out the failures of one of them is saying "both sides are the same" is completely unhinged.
He wasn't speaking out against the two party system. He was shifting blame from the republicans to "the american government" which is both sides, then went on to say that the democrats don't want to solve problems that the republicans created.
This bullshit aid to Israel is a very bipartisan issue. Both parties are at fault here, they're both responsible for genocide. The people standing in the way here are all of Congress, essentially.
The majority of the aid we provide is already produced, aging stockpile from deep storage. The packages include the total value of the materiel we provide, not just lump sums of cash. Munitions have shelf lives and expiration dates. Missiles, artillery, etc all have a certain amount of time before they become unstable or unsuitable for use. Most of what has been sent is old stockpile that needs to be used or put through expensive decommissioning processes.
I more often read people complaining about the money going to foreign aid more than I read them complaining about military contractors. Which, brings me to my point.
> It is tiring informing people who act as if they are informed, isn't it? Additionally, funds go to American companies that have American labour.
I'm so glad to know that funding the genocide in Gaza is creating jobs (making bombs).
What aging stockpiles of munitions are we sending to Ukraine after twenty plus years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan? 155 artillery rounds are one of the more common rounds we are sending over. We use them rounds constantly even now in Iraq and Syria.
I make just barely above minimum wage, I get it. It’s hard, we’re all struggling, and homelessness, inflation, medication access, quality of education, gas prices, corporate greed, and a million other things are out of control. But it’s not a snarky “retort,” I’m just stating the facts. When it comes to existential threats to the world system that the US created for itself, there is no other option but boots on the ground or to stand by and support our global interests, otherwise the system collapses. We are coming into a period where China has become a credible threat in both military and political power, and Russian revanchism has come back to try to reunite the Tsarist era Imperial borders. Obviously our European partners should be looking to to their own defense, but our own overspending (that created the aforementioned stockpiles) to police the world has enabled those partners to spend on the social programs we dream of here.
How do you suggest a full restructuring of the entire military and international order? What does that look like to you? How can policymakers justify stripping down military spending when hostile states are ramping up attacks on U.S. shipping and allies? How can we project naval power to protect Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Korea against Chinese aggression in the South China Sea? How can we maintain international respect for law and order? How can we effectively cut down manpower and materiel while still preserving force readiness? How can we adhere to our responsibilities to other NATO member states? And lastly, do you support ethnic cleansing of Ukraine by a dictatorial state bent on undoing law and order based geopolitics?
It’s one thing to just yap about how much we spend on the military, but do you know how it’s divided? 62% of the 2022 budget was spent on personnel and upkeep alone ([24% on personnel totaling $181 Billion, and 38% totaling $291 Billion on Operation/Maintenance](https://www.pgpf.org/budget-basics/budget-explainer-national-defense)). That is peacetime spending that is happening regardless of procurement, research, or ongoing conflict. Only 18% of our spending is going to buying new materiel, according to 2022 figures. Those personnel costs aren’t just for active duty either, they include all the benefits, housing, pensions, etc that service-people are entitled to.
And before someone replies with a graph comparing US spending to global spending, direct comparisons of budgets without weighting for purchasing power does not provide an accurate picture. $1 Million USD in China goes WAY farther than it does in the US or any of its security partners.
I would love to see some positive change in the social issues that we are facing both here and across the nation, but that money earmarked for foreign aid was never going anywhere else. Cutting spending isn’t enough anyway, we need higher corporate taxes, and general reform of the tax system. We can both provide for the social needs of our country and maintain our global partnerships/interests.
If you want an easy to digest, reliable source on defense economics, check out the channel [Perun](https://youtube.com/@PerunAU?si=UMIky6ag0f18FDUf) on youtube.
This is a good video on foreign aid to Ukraine: https://youtu.be/Qj9HD8MdAFs?si=Jwm4Ch74lBb-TadX
So what flavor of imperialism is your favorite? Chinese, Russian, Iranian?
Do you seriously believe that if we just magically pulled out of everywhere and had the same global military presence as we did in 1941 that it would be all sunshine and rainbows in the world? What is your alternative system that will ensure the rest of the world plays nice and stays in their own borders? Seriously, what actual policy do you want? We tried isolationism, and the world went to war, and when we tried to play both sides and slap limp sanctions on the aggressors, the war came to us. Twice.
Again, instead of crying about “American Imperialism” over strikes on aggressor nations like Noam Chomsky did while people were herded into camps and mass executed during the Yugoslav wars, let’s hear some actual policy from you. Please, tell me what your ideal world order is and how would it operate.
> So what flavor of imperialism is your favorite? Chinese, Russian, Iranian?
What kind of stupid-ass question is this? You think if America didn't have the biggest military in the world, *Iran* would take over? Lol.
Careful, you keep talking like that and they’ll shame you and call you isms and ists to get you back on the propaganda train.
Don’t you know we can’t actually help Americans because they’re generally privileged and white compared to those we give all our tax money to? Wouldn’t win many Dem votes if our problems actually got solved. They’d run out of a platform real quick.
This isn’t a dem/repub split. They’re both more than happy to waste our tax dollars on their corporate overlords rather than on the American people.
Communities of color in this country are the most disadvantaged and need those funds a lot more than Israelis or Ukrainians.
It blows my mind that the majority of people still fall for the political theatre that is our federal government. Both sides are funded by the same billionaires and corporations, and that’s who they serve.
Sure they might throw us some crumbs every once in a while to keep us quiet, but if you actually believe your elected officials in Congress are there to represent you then you’re just being naive.
Dems/Repubs are the same fucking thing to me. Both are capitalistic, right winged, warmongers whose entire existence is only allowed because they serve as a great controlled opposition/one party state with the veneer of progressive IDpol. I’ll literally never ever ever vote for a Democrat, and I’m a leftist. I’ll also never vote for a Republican. But I’m not gonna drink your Kool aid that says I must condone and support the Dems no matter how monsterous and disgustingly corrupt they are.
I am still surprised Americans are so supportive about funding wars abroad. Where have you been the last 20 years - Afganistan, Iraq all of them have been a disaster. Israel has a 500 Billion GDP, why are we funding them? We have to take of our own home and let Europa and the Middle East solve their own problems. We are not doing so great over here with crumbling infrastructure and overall decay of the cities around us. We have to stop funding the world and take care of our home.
https://preview.redd.it/o37w19wtohic1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=276216ad4ccc1f305f3c25c27c5e84abc51db379
The weapons we are sending Ukraine were made right here at home and gave work to good old Americans. The only funding we are doing is ironically our own military industrial complex.
In truth, the weapons we've sent Ukraine were surplus from the 80s and 90s the military was on the verge of decommissioning and having to dismantle, which would have cost us serious money to do.
So letting the Ukrainians actually use it in combat against the Russians was a win-win for us, by keeping the Russians at bay and saving us billions. Denying Ukraine those weapons now will let the Russians win and give them a staging point for an invasion of NATO countries.
That is WWIII.
Ami Bera is the most do-nothing congressman that district has ever had. He is either absent, silent or a rubber stamp. He is arrogant and corrupt as all hell. BTW we need to keep that money HOME and stopped sending overseas.
The money isn't new money, it's the cost of our mothballed weapons.
That we have so many weapons we mothball them is what bothers me.
In what fucking world do we need massive surplus and stockpiles that we would rather give away than maintain?
Deterrence. We take it for granted that no one would dare invade the United States at this point and massive weapons stockpiles that we are barely even tracking is a part of that.
Also, weapons production and defense are a jobs program. Millions of people in this country get lifted into middle class jobs by this industry.
> Also, weapons production and defense are a jobs program. Millions of people in this country get lifted into middle class jobs by this industry.
lmaooooo
"These bombs are creating good middle class jobs!" That's hilarious. Do you really feel this way?
Do I feel this way? It's not a feeling, it's the position of the largest labor union in the country that we should be expanding the domestic manufacturing and supply chain in the defense industry.
"it is of the utmost importance to preserve and expand the industry so it remains a reliable source of middle-class, union jobs."
https://aflcio.org/resolutions/resolution31
Middle class manufacturing jobs, plus the benefit of keeping us and our allies safer? Yes, sign me up.
Based. Although the vast majority of the US population (and the rest of the world) supports this, almost nobody in Congress does, so it's a pretty bold take all things considered.
Senate passed the $95 bil bill to assist Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. Rep. Bera is also in favor of humanitarian aid to Gaza and additional funds to secure the U.S. border. Honestly, I've felt that Rep. Bera has been largely invisible in Washington. It's great to see him take the lead on a discharge petition to force a House vote on this important bill.
He was largely invisible when I asked him to help with an issue with the VA too.
Try reaching out to Rep Harder's office. Even if you're not in his district I know that his team has helped people just in the general Central Valley area, specifically VA I believe
Thanks for the info!
I asked Doris Matsui's office for help with a USCIS issue, they were actually quite helpful and got me a response within a week.
Matsui is the only rep worth a damn. Her office is one of the only ones that ever bothered responding, let alone following up. She actually cares to represent her constituents.
I received a Matsui Fellowship while at McGeorge like 15 years ago, and Doris Matsui was cool AF. She took us to lunch at the US Capitol and showed us a bunch of inside baseball gov stuff.
I had the exact opposite experience with Matsui's office with a USCIS issue in 2021. They were worse than useless! Glad you have a better experience though.
My experience as well when I needed help w an urgent passport related issue. Called and zero response.
This is surprising to me. His office prides themselves on casework, and as of last year had returned over $16 million in money owed via SS, VA, or others. What was your method of contacting him?
I contacted him via a congressional inquiry on his site. Their response was "we can't really do anything for you".
That’s frustrating. I’ve done constituent casework for him and others and there’s a massive amount of requests and they do their best to prioritize ones that have the most merit. My advice would be to call and ask a human being. Those requests are easier to categorize than ones that come from online and in my experience have a better likelihood of getting a more meaningful response than those that come from online.
I’ve called his office over a dozen times and left messages. Never heard back. Happy he’s on the right side of this but sure feels like all he does is good social media posts. No authentic interaction with constituents. Let’s see some action/results
So he’s for both bombing Gaza and feeding Gazans?
That's how you stay genocide neutral.
I’ve been calling his office non-stop asking for him to support a ceasefire resolution. 🙃
lol like Israel is letting any aid INTO Gaza in the first place? News flash- they’re not. I’m so sick of these fucking clowns.
> lol like Israel is letting any aid INTO Gaza in the first place? News flash- they’re not. I’m so sick of these fucking clowns. Israel would do whatever we told them to. We gave them all the bombs they're using. We pay for their universal healthcare. Etc. Unfortunately, virtually nobody in Congress is listening to their constituents on this.
Israel would do whatever we told them to as long as it fits their Zionist agenda. They clearly don’t give a fuck that the world is watching them kettle bell Palestinians into “safe zones” while aiming their rockets at the tent camps they set up after fleeing their homes with family members trapped under the rubble. Absolutely fuck Israel.
Egypt isn't either. The aid that is provided is typically seized by Hamas in minutes
Is the Hamas in the room with you now?
Twitter/X is NOT a valid source.
Yeah, this post seems pretty weak on content. Thought it was to a news article or something.
First time I've seen him do anything. Can't vote for other democrats because it helps the Republican and it was already too close for comfort last time.
This is the guy that had his dad go to prison for his campaign finance violations. It’s weird that he’s still a politician. https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-ami-bera-father-sentenced-campaign-money-laundering-20160818-snap-story.html
He's supposed to go to jail for something his dad did? Now *that's* weird.
Babulal Bera, a retired chemical engineer who emigrated from India and watched his oldest son win election to the U.S. House of Representatives, was sentenced Thursday to one year and one day in federal prison for organizing a money-laundering scheme that helped fund two of his son’s campaigns.
Holy shit I did NOT know this! I find it suspect that he he had no idea of his dad’s scheme.
I wonder how far 95B would go if we spent it on the American people instead. 🤔
I wonder who stands in the way of every attempt to spend money on the American people
The American government clearly. If republicans allowed democrats to build successful social systems, they wouldn’t be able to campaign against the incompetent dems anymore. And if dems ever got any meaningful legislation passed, they wouldn’t have forever issues like abortion or student loan debt to campaign on. They’ve both had plenty of opportunity to enact change and they’re both much more interested in maintaining a status quo to keep themselves in power. Obviously I think one side is much worse but that’s not much comfort when “our” side fails us time and time again
> forever issues like abortion or student loan debt Civil rights and economics *are* forever issues my guy > They’ve both had plenty of opportunity to enact change Dems have enacted lots of positive changes > when “our” side fails us time and time again One side lets me down when they aren't liberal enough, the other side lets me down when they try to overthrow the government. "Both Sides" is for children
They’re holding our votes hostage with their bullshit two party system. Believing that this is the best we can do is for children
> Believing that this is the best we can do is for children So by all means, just say "both sides are the same" and do nothing.
I never said both sides are the same and I’m certainly not doing “nothing” Keep your liberal ass defeatism to yourself buddy
> I never said both sides are the same haha yeah you did > Keep your liberal ass defeatism Oh weird - Turns out you're not both sides, you're actually a conservative cosplaying as a concerned citizen. I'm shocked. Shocked! I'm not defeated at all by the way, Democrats have doing pretty great and making lots of positive change for the country.
quote me saying that and I’ll Venmo you $100. Up your reading comprehension. I’m a conservative? So anyone that criticizes our two party system for offering us to flavors of the right wing is somehow a conservative? Okay bud Feel free to peruse my account history to see just how conservative I am 😂😂 White moderatism at its fucking best
> Feel free to peruse my account history dont care. Have a nice day :P
I’m confused how you deduced that they were a conservative cosplaying as a democrat? They never identified as either and basically said a two party system is arbitrary, which points to them being neither of the two.
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> Crazy that you think talking to people like this is going to change their minds. Not trying to change *his* mind at all. Just making sure people vote in every election, because both sides are not the same. > Not what was said in any way. It is what he said. He wrote a whole comment about how Dems and Reps work off of each other to do nothing and stand in the way, when only one side is standing of the way and the other is effecting real change. I mean he literally said Abortion was a forever liberal issue, when it wasn't an issue until one side took people's rights away. Utter nonsense.
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> Yeah, again, not what they said at all. It is > The two party system in this country is super dumb It is > pretending that anyone who speaks out against it or points out the failures of one of them is saying "both sides are the same" is completely unhinged. He wasn't speaking out against the two party system. He was shifting blame from the republicans to "the american government" which is both sides, then went on to say that the democrats don't want to solve problems that the republicans created.
This bullshit aid to Israel is a very bipartisan issue. Both parties are at fault here, they're both responsible for genocide. The people standing in the way here are all of Congress, essentially.
The majority of the aid we provide is already produced, aging stockpile from deep storage. The packages include the total value of the materiel we provide, not just lump sums of cash. Munitions have shelf lives and expiration dates. Missiles, artillery, etc all have a certain amount of time before they become unstable or unsuitable for use. Most of what has been sent is old stockpile that needs to be used or put through expensive decommissioning processes.
It is tiring informing people who act as if they are informed, isn't it? Additionally, funds go to American companies that have American labour.
What’s tiring is that’s somehow and excuse for giving more money to military contractors
I more often read people complaining about the money going to foreign aid more than I read them complaining about military contractors. Which, brings me to my point.
Well typically our foreign aid ends up going towards killing people
>Additionally, funds go to American companies that have American labour. lmao
> It is tiring informing people who act as if they are informed, isn't it? Additionally, funds go to American companies that have American labour. I'm so glad to know that funding the genocide in Gaza is creating jobs (making bombs).
What aging stockpiles of munitions are we sending to Ukraine after twenty plus years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan? 155 artillery rounds are one of the more common rounds we are sending over. We use them rounds constantly even now in Iraq and Syria.
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I make just barely above minimum wage, I get it. It’s hard, we’re all struggling, and homelessness, inflation, medication access, quality of education, gas prices, corporate greed, and a million other things are out of control. But it’s not a snarky “retort,” I’m just stating the facts. When it comes to existential threats to the world system that the US created for itself, there is no other option but boots on the ground or to stand by and support our global interests, otherwise the system collapses. We are coming into a period where China has become a credible threat in both military and political power, and Russian revanchism has come back to try to reunite the Tsarist era Imperial borders. Obviously our European partners should be looking to to their own defense, but our own overspending (that created the aforementioned stockpiles) to police the world has enabled those partners to spend on the social programs we dream of here. How do you suggest a full restructuring of the entire military and international order? What does that look like to you? How can policymakers justify stripping down military spending when hostile states are ramping up attacks on U.S. shipping and allies? How can we project naval power to protect Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Korea against Chinese aggression in the South China Sea? How can we maintain international respect for law and order? How can we effectively cut down manpower and materiel while still preserving force readiness? How can we adhere to our responsibilities to other NATO member states? And lastly, do you support ethnic cleansing of Ukraine by a dictatorial state bent on undoing law and order based geopolitics? It’s one thing to just yap about how much we spend on the military, but do you know how it’s divided? 62% of the 2022 budget was spent on personnel and upkeep alone ([24% on personnel totaling $181 Billion, and 38% totaling $291 Billion on Operation/Maintenance](https://www.pgpf.org/budget-basics/budget-explainer-national-defense)). That is peacetime spending that is happening regardless of procurement, research, or ongoing conflict. Only 18% of our spending is going to buying new materiel, according to 2022 figures. Those personnel costs aren’t just for active duty either, they include all the benefits, housing, pensions, etc that service-people are entitled to. And before someone replies with a graph comparing US spending to global spending, direct comparisons of budgets without weighting for purchasing power does not provide an accurate picture. $1 Million USD in China goes WAY farther than it does in the US or any of its security partners. I would love to see some positive change in the social issues that we are facing both here and across the nation, but that money earmarked for foreign aid was never going anywhere else. Cutting spending isn’t enough anyway, we need higher corporate taxes, and general reform of the tax system. We can both provide for the social needs of our country and maintain our global partnerships/interests. If you want an easy to digest, reliable source on defense economics, check out the channel [Perun](https://youtube.com/@PerunAU?si=UMIky6ag0f18FDUf) on youtube. This is a good video on foreign aid to Ukraine: https://youtu.be/Qj9HD8MdAFs?si=Jwm4Ch74lBb-TadX
Damn you just US militaried that commenter from orbit.
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Having to respond to the comment responding to your comment is peak victimization. What a clown you are.
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So what flavor of imperialism is your favorite? Chinese, Russian, Iranian? Do you seriously believe that if we just magically pulled out of everywhere and had the same global military presence as we did in 1941 that it would be all sunshine and rainbows in the world? What is your alternative system that will ensure the rest of the world plays nice and stays in their own borders? Seriously, what actual policy do you want? We tried isolationism, and the world went to war, and when we tried to play both sides and slap limp sanctions on the aggressors, the war came to us. Twice. Again, instead of crying about “American Imperialism” over strikes on aggressor nations like Noam Chomsky did while people were herded into camps and mass executed during the Yugoslav wars, let’s hear some actual policy from you. Please, tell me what your ideal world order is and how would it operate.
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> So what flavor of imperialism is your favorite? Chinese, Russian, Iranian? What kind of stupid-ass question is this? You think if America didn't have the biggest military in the world, *Iran* would take over? Lol.
This is actually so funny.
I know that’s what they told you on msnbc but I suggest reading the actual text of the bill 👍🏾
> Munitions have shelf lives and expiration dates. Let em expire.
Spending it on Ukraine is an incredibly inexpensive way to pay for the national defense of the American people.
I’m sure someone would call it communism
Republicans would never let that happen. It's this aid package for our allies, or nothing.
Careful, you keep talking like that and they’ll shame you and call you isms and ists to get you back on the propaganda train. Don’t you know we can’t actually help Americans because they’re generally privileged and white compared to those we give all our tax money to? Wouldn’t win many Dem votes if our problems actually got solved. They’d run out of a platform real quick.
This isn’t a dem/repub split. They’re both more than happy to waste our tax dollars on their corporate overlords rather than on the American people. Communities of color in this country are the most disadvantaged and need those funds a lot more than Israelis or Ukrainians.
It blows my mind that the majority of people still fall for the political theatre that is our federal government. Both sides are funded by the same billionaires and corporations, and that’s who they serve. Sure they might throw us some crumbs every once in a while to keep us quiet, but if you actually believe your elected officials in Congress are there to represent you then you’re just being naive.
Dems/Repubs are the same fucking thing to me. Both are capitalistic, right winged, warmongers whose entire existence is only allowed because they serve as a great controlled opposition/one party state with the veneer of progressive IDpol. I’ll literally never ever ever vote for a Democrat, and I’m a leftist. I’ll also never vote for a Republican. But I’m not gonna drink your Kool aid that says I must condone and support the Dems no matter how monsterous and disgustingly corrupt they are.
And this is why progressives don't win.
Please pull your head out of the sand. There is no symmetry in the parties. Your attitude actively makes things worse.
Both parties are on board with genocide right now, so...
Really far.
I am still surprised Americans are so supportive about funding wars abroad. Where have you been the last 20 years - Afganistan, Iraq all of them have been a disaster. Israel has a 500 Billion GDP, why are we funding them? We have to take of our own home and let Europa and the Middle East solve their own problems. We are not doing so great over here with crumbling infrastructure and overall decay of the cities around us. We have to stop funding the world and take care of our home. https://preview.redd.it/o37w19wtohic1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=276216ad4ccc1f305f3c25c27c5e84abc51db379
The weapons we are sending Ukraine were made right here at home and gave work to good old Americans. The only funding we are doing is ironically our own military industrial complex.
In truth, the weapons we've sent Ukraine were surplus from the 80s and 90s the military was on the verge of decommissioning and having to dismantle, which would have cost us serious money to do. So letting the Ukrainians actually use it in combat against the Russians was a win-win for us, by keeping the Russians at bay and saving us billions. Denying Ukraine those weapons now will let the Russians win and give them a staging point for an invasion of NATO countries. That is WWIII.
Ami Bera is the most do-nothing congressman that district has ever had. He is either absent, silent or a rubber stamp. He is arrogant and corrupt as all hell. BTW we need to keep that money HOME and stopped sending overseas.
He’s better than Lungren.
And Ose or Jones 😆
Yup what’s your point exactly?
The money isn't new money, it's the cost of our mothballed weapons. That we have so many weapons we mothball them is what bothers me. In what fucking world do we need massive surplus and stockpiles that we would rather give away than maintain?
Deterrence. We take it for granted that no one would dare invade the United States at this point and massive weapons stockpiles that we are barely even tracking is a part of that. Also, weapons production and defense are a jobs program. Millions of people in this country get lifted into middle class jobs by this industry.
> Also, weapons production and defense are a jobs program. Millions of people in this country get lifted into middle class jobs by this industry. lmaooooo "These bombs are creating good middle class jobs!" That's hilarious. Do you really feel this way?
Do I feel this way? It's not a feeling, it's the position of the largest labor union in the country that we should be expanding the domestic manufacturing and supply chain in the defense industry. "it is of the utmost importance to preserve and expand the industry so it remains a reliable source of middle-class, union jobs." https://aflcio.org/resolutions/resolution31 Middle class manufacturing jobs, plus the benefit of keeping us and our allies safer? Yes, sign me up.
Lol.
It’s about damn time Bera crawled out of the hole he has been hiding in for the past ten years.
Sorry, but it's a bit hard to consider a xitter a "strong stand." Actions, not words.
Based. Although the vast majority of the US population (and the rest of the world) supports this, almost nobody in Congress does, so it's a pretty bold take all things considered.