Very cool, thank you so much for sharing! One thing that hit me as a European is that you consider president inaugurations interesting enough to put in there! I mean, its a great point of reference, but still interesting to me. I couldn't tell you from when to when Merkel was chancellor, and I couldn't care less.
For me, I employ presidential terms as memorable 4 year labels, much the same as Olympiads (Beijing 2008, Sydney 2000, Barcelona 1992). It’s got zero to do with (geo) political influence. The Olympiads work as point in time “beats”, while presidential terms are “long tones”. Weird memory functions.
The news in the media (and outside) is so full of this that I might even be better at naming US presidents and their terms in reverse than German chancellors. The two term limit helps, to be fair. We're only on the fourth since I was born, vs 8 (counting non-consecutives) in the US. (Like, of course I can name ours, but not the exact years)
Politicians in the states have more influence and can still do something and effect change.
In Europe we're way past that, they are just bureaucrats spinning wheels, extracting value and doing minor changes (some good, some bad), gradually boiling us alive until they extracted any value from society and we collapse.
In Europe legislative bodies are responsible for moving things along. The executive takes care of filling in the gaps, taking care of current affairs and international diplomacy. This is by design.
I like gradual change. I see things here in France changing (for the better mostly) here and there but yes no dramatic shifts. The US model seems irresponsible by comparison.
What are you talking about, what value did Merkel extract for example?
I think Europe has done more good for the world than bad in the last few decades. On the other hand we're still feeling the effects of US involvement in the middle east.
As for politicians in the states having influence... congress is supposed to make the laws that the president executes. The joke is that the US is now operating in complete opposition of that. The president rules by decree, congress members have no real influence and would get decimated in a re-election campaign if they act out of favor of the president. I'd say politicans in the US have less influence do effect change, not more. In fact non-politicians like Musk/Thiel have more influence than politicians, that's more the case than it has been in many decades.
OP is a homosexual ( pls suggest the correct word here) so i think its of special importance to her. i would bet most ppl won't put "cheeto inaugurated" on their life in weeks.
Yes and no. All Presidents have been more or less hostile to gay people at least when they were inaugurated until weirdly enough Biden.
Clinton signed the “Don’t Ask or Don’t Tell” legislation and Obama was originally in favor of the the protection of marriage act. They both have changed as the winds have changed.
Also she called out that prop 8 banning gay marriage was signed in California.
