Depends on when you count, but for the Iraq war specifically that’s about right for the official foreign coalition forces.

However, the Iraq war was just one front of the nearly dozen wars that were being fought as part of the “Global War on Terrorism” which NATO perpetrated, the short list of Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, but arguably also including Camaroon, Philippines, Libya, Kashmir, etc.

Sure, of Europe only UK and Poland were officially deployed to Iraq, but they were actively collaborating with the rest of NATO in a much broader conflict and don’t ask about where the mercenaries and security consultants that were used heavily during those conflicts came from.

It’s not a misconception, it’s misdirection.

Forgiveness can only be granted after an honest apology, acknowledgement of the harm caused, and an honest effort made to undo those harms.

Her acknowledging the harms that those surrounding her are causing is a step in the right direction, and a step towards forgiveness. But oooh boy does she still have a lot of aplogizing to do and acknowledging the harms that she herself has caused. Not to mention that her current plan isn’t to undo those harms but wipe her hands clean of it all.

Forgiveness is only on the table once she starts championing the causes of the black, hispanic and trans peoples she has victimized.

Oh, they are. But you underestimate the power of opioids, police state, etc. in preventing that hunger from turning into action.

take this opportunity to organize primary votes for someone who you think will pick a chair you want.

There is no candidate that represents me, or you. Nobody will pick a chair either of us want. That is not how that power structure works.

I am taking this opportunity to organize around rejecting the authority of the chair and encouraging others to put in effort themselves instead of relying on their local monarchs.

I hope your dissilussionement is painless, and not too late.

it doesn’t take a crazy amount of work to fix it

It does though, and the longer we pretend that garbage stop gaps like this “fix” it, the longer it will take before the actual work needed to fix it can be even started.

how Martin ran Minnesota for a decade

We must live in different universes because other than a color shift I’m not seeing the rosy picture you’re painting. Do you want to enlighten me?

An American neoliberal is someone who is pro-corporate (essentially pro-billionaire because they own the corps) and tries to appease voters by not wanting to exterminate minorities directly.

And how is that distinct from “liberal”?

If you’re trying to start using 27 different labels for various groups, that leads down a dangerous road to tribalism

My friend, you are already so deep in the tribalism you are unable to recognize it. That is part of why I’m focusing on the term “neoliberal”.

Then it’s worth the time to at least break it down along fiscal/so ial policy lines, so:

If your argument is that using terms to describe loose groupings of idealogies is a fundamentally flawed system I am fully on board, see the username.

If your argument is that acknowledging that complexity leads to tribalism and therefore its imperative to do a dimensionality reduction to 1-2d strawmen then we have a pretty fundamental disagreement.

you’re falling into the neoliberal’s trap where they just change their self identified label every 5-12 years and pretend they’re not a countable for the last group and totally different.

That’s my point, that’s what you’re falling for. To be more clear, “progressive” is just the latest mask that liberals are wearing.

the party’s purpose is getting Dems elected, elected Dems purpose is to represent the will of Dem voters

Yeah, you have a fundamental and comically naïve misunderstand of what/how American style democracy works and the function of political parties to where I have a hard time knowing where to start.

neoliberls

You’re using that term a lot. What is the distinction between liberal and neoliberal?

And “they” 100% learned their lesson by not picking a neoliberal chair.

Ken Martin? By what metric!? I’ll give you that he’s not some identity politiking DINO, but he’s still extremely, and fundamentally a capitalist liberal.

Why did billionaire owned media stop telling people the DNC is the only shot and everyone has to just accept the lesser evil?

What are you talking about? Go onto any mainstream social media, news outlet, etc. and this is very much still the line.

All I ask is you vote in Dem primaries

Sure, and all I ask is you vote for whichever candidate best represents you come election time, regardless of “how likely they are to win”.

We just can’t let neoliberals take the party back or this has all been for nothing.

They never left! All what has been for nothing?

At least for this cycle, we don’t have a DNC corrupt and/or crazy enough to try and campaign for the craziest republican

I wouldn’t count on that, they seem determined to not learn anything.

I think you’re underestimating the potential power of “vote for a woman to own the libs and show them we’re not sexist. They’re stupid!”

That seemed to have been Trump’s original plan and now here we are.

There’s a very particular game that’s heavily ingrained into the political establishment where they hedge claims that they have no intention of doing in order to simultaneously make “campaign promises” and still be able to say “I never said that”. There is a world of difference between:

When Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom, as President of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law.

And

I will bring back the bipartisan border security bill that he killed. And I will sign it into law.

Or

I will ensure America always has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world.

The first one hedges it against Congress doing it and provides an effective out, it’s a weasel clause. If you would like to claim those were her platform issues then please cite the primary source because for the vast majority of those I haven’t seen any where a weasel clause wasn’t included.

Part of the appeal of Trump is that he doesn’t pay this game. People are tired of it, it’s outdated, and it feels more dishonest. Instead he just blatantly and unapologetically lies which even though it’s objectively worse gives the feeling of “telling it like it is”.

The border bill was not a slight variation from what’s currently in place unless you consider billions upon billions of dollars making ice the larger than tons of other departments, then yes those billions upon billions were a slight variation.

The proposed bill that Harris promised to implement was an annual $20.2B increase

The “One Big Beautiful Act,” allocates approximately $170 billion over four years for immigration enforcement, with about $45 billion specifically for building new detention centers

Yes, it’s worse but the original bill was still “billions upon billions of dollars making ice the larger than tons of other departments”. It’s a difference in scale, not direction.

She had a platform, it was largely positive, to say otherwise is to disregard reality.

Sure, she had one and I apologize for being a bit hyperbolic with my language. But here is what her official platform was at the time. First, compare it to the list you made above and take note of what is and isn’t listed. Then, look at the number of weasel clauses scattered throughout many of those claims.

Cope.

I also don’t know what you mean by embracing his platform?

Her platform was to have no explicit platform other than “Not Trump”. The notable exception was during her commencement speech where the promises were to:

• a. building the middle class (sic) grow our economy and lower the cost of everyday needs (sic) [Through a] middle class tax cut.
• b. Bring back the bipartisan border security bill that [Trump] killed. ^a slight variation of the one currently being used to turbocharge ICE^
• c. Ensure America always has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world.
• d. Make sure that we lead the world into the future on space and Artificial Intelligence
• e. Always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself

Feel free to point out any that I missed. There’s at least one I explicitly didn’t mention because of the weaseliness surrounding it.

Regime change?

C, D and arguably A

Cutting taxes for the rich?

A

Pro corporations and monopolies?

C and D

she didn’t embrace her platform at all.

She did though.

Lol, I literally could not tell it was meant as a parody because it is identical to many, dead serious, Lib responses ive gotten in the past.

When you embrace him and his family and platform them on your campaign trail?

Yes.

Why do people like you always insist that anything conflicting with your worldview must be foreign and/or artificial?

Spoiler. The specific xenophobic call you’re playing telephone with is coming from inside the house and it’s coming from fuckers like Cheney.

Yes. So anybody who chose to not vote for Harris due to her and her campaign actively embracing and attempting to rehabilitate Cheney is 100% validated now. Right?

To stretch the metaphor; If you leave your door open and collaborate with the robber in order to commit blatant insurance fraud it’s both your fault.

The Democrats also have agency, they are the friends and coworkers of “the worst people on earth”.

ICE NOW HAS A BUDGET LARGER THAN THE MARINES, IS COMPLETELY EXEMPT FROM ANY LEGAL ACTION BECAUSE TRUMP HAS THROWN OUT THE CONSTITUTION, RAMPIDLY BUILT CONCENTRATION CAMPS AT A RECORD PASTETHAT ARE MORE RESTRICTED TO THE PUBLIC THAN EVER, AND NOW ARE MASS ARRESTING LEGAL IMMIGRANTS AND CITIZENS ALIKE.

The same can be said between Trump’s first term and Biden’ presidency. The level of funding and militancy isn’t a function of R vs D, but a function of time as they because increasingly less cost effective and require increasing force to attempt to maintain/increase the level of eliminations.

All while the rule of law has been entirely abandoned.

You’re delusional if you believe in the “rule of law”, that’s never been how the justice system has worked in the US.

It was bad for immigrants before, it’s actual Hell for everyone now.

Sorry you can no longer sleep through brunch and now have to face the realities that immigrants and others have been facing for decades.

Not to mention it’s gotten so much worse that you can actually observe it on national economic data.

… What? Can you clarify what you mean by this and what data? This feels like Facebook level finger pointing and not based on any actual data or proper analysis, but I’m happy to be proven wrong there.

I think any marginalized community would prefer having the wiggle room of being able to exist and organize under hollow virtue signals than ACTIVE AND RAPIDLY EXPANDING GENOCIDE.

Your “group” being spared genocide as a tool to influct genocide on others is not the “easy moral dilemma” you make it out to be.

REPUBLICANS BANNED ABORTION

The bipartisan nominated supreme court banned abortion during a democratic party trifecta.

Blaming the Republicans primarily for that is as asinine as blaming the Democrats primarily for the current government shutdown.

Dems, believe it or not, fucking didn’t.

No? So they’re just completely powerless and their votes were forced even though they really, really didn’t want to?

The only people you are helping by spreading this “both sides” BULLSHIT is the fascists.

The difference is who we say are fascists. Yes, the Republicans are fascist, but so are the Democrats.

Take Trump’s tiny cock out of your mouth and smell the shit around you.

If there’s one thing we can agree on it’s that the elephant in the room is absolutely covered in shit. However, I’m busy trying to take the fucking animals outside and am currently begging for you to please, please stop sucking donkey cock, realize the problems, and help.

The difference is method, not end result.

The main purposes of DACA was to get immigrants to “come out of the shadows” and have individuals self-report and turn themselves in, in exchange for temporary benifits to, primarily, their children. As stated at the time:

“Deferred action is not a pathway to citizenship. It is not legal status. It simply says that for three years, you are not a law enforcement priority and are not going to go after you, It is temporary and it is revocable.”

It was part of a series of incredibly smart, effective and efficient moves which resulted in record high deportations without needing a bunch of jackbooted thugs cracking skulls in the street.

For a while. Now we’re in the “jackbooted thugs” phase which is less efficient, but plays better with the base it’s trying to appease. It’s less efficient and less people are getting deported overall, which is good. But the majority of those are switching from self-deportations to direct expulsions which are getting increasingly violent, a process that started back in 2021.

I submit that the Democrats are at least 1% better than the Republicans, and that this proves the meme is fake news.

You can’t just state something as fact and not show your work. You are making a claim it’s up to you to support it. You can’t just go around saying “I’m right unless you prove the negative”.

You have not placed any goalposts to begin with, what is your definition of “better”? By what metric are you using? What do you mean by “under the Democrats”?

How about we define “better” as “death rate per capita within immigration detention centers”? And “under the Democrats/Republicans” as “who holds the executive branch”? We should see an increase during the Bush years, when ICE was first created, a decrease during the Obama years, followed by an increase during Trump’s first term, decrease during Biden, and increase under Trump’s second term right?

Is that what happened?

If you don’t like my attempt at making your claim falsifiable, which I suspect you won’t; especially when you see the results, feel free to redefine your lose language into something else rigid and falsifiable. Set those goalposts.