US President Donald Trump signed the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into law Thursday, completing the passage of the largest military spending bill in US history—$901 billion, or over $1 trillion when combined with supplemental funding passed earlier this year.
The Senate voted 77-20 on Wednesday to pass the bill. The Democratic leadership, including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and Minority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois, voted for the bill. They were joined by Senators Mark Kelly of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, both of whom released a video last month calling on military personnel to disobey illegal orders—as Trump was sending the US military on a murder spree off the coast of Latin America.
Citing Trump’s statements about using troops to shoot protesters in America, Slotkin invoked the legacy of the Nuremberg tribunals, which convicted Nazi leaders for war crimes and crimes against peace. But when it came time to vote, this invocation was revealed to be completely meaningless. Slotkin voted to hand Trump the resources to pursue his military adventure against Venezuela…
I simple don’t understand why anyone buys the sentiment that you are an expressing here. The unfortunate truth is that, in every substantive way, it is true that the two parties are in lock step. I am aware that Democrats will sometimes use rhetoric that implies that they have more enlightened positions on some issues. However, it’s not credible when they consistently cave, pre-compromise, and shift rightward at nearly every opportunity. I’ve been observing the party, from within and without for 40 years. I’ve come to the conclusion that as an organization, the party as currently organized, has NOT A SINGLE principled stand on any policies whatsoever. Let me be explicit: there is no issue on which Democrats organizationally are not willing to compromise or flip on including: abortion, civil rights, democracy, and so on. They are a loose conglomerate of self-interested corporate sell outs, period. Are there a few individual exceptions, of course. But as a collective, the party is trash, and they are the reason that fascism has been allowed to progress in this country for decades.
What is needed is a wholesale reconstruction of that party. Replace nearly everyone in power and completely reject corporate funding. BTW, accomplishing that involves two things: 1.) voting, and 2.) rejecting the voices that demand that we lower our standards for short term political expediency.
They still do good things sometimes, they generally do fewer and less bad things. Definitely need to be entirely reformed, but practically that’s a future us problem.
Priority one is dismantling the other party. Blue collar Americans love socialism when you don’t call it that. Start a “right wing” party that’s just leftism wrapped up in Jesus and 'Murica. Split the right, let the neo-libs stabilize things for a couple cycles while the 'Murica party siphons the working class from Republicans. Then, after the Republican party is dead, hard shift on the left from Democrat to 'Murica, massive mandate, start passing sweeping socialist reform.
Passing electoral reform at the state level so more then two political parties can exist without a spoiler effect.
Electoral Reform Videos
First Past The Post voting (What most states use now)
Videos on alternative electoral systems
STAR voting
Alternative vote
Ranked Choice voting
Range Voting
Single Transferable Vote
Mixed Member Proportional representation
That would be included prominently in the “sweeping socialist reform”. Absolutely a high priority, but negligible odds of success under the current composition.
Priority one is achieving a Congress that will pass RCV.
Yea it seems like a lot people don’t want to face the fact that US politics are a theatre drama. And of course they also presume that you’re implying that means one shouldn’t vote, indeed a dangeous (and irritating) assumption. I believe one should vote based on a politicians actions and character, and try to notice when they’re bought and performing. The preponderance of evidence that anyone with any power is bought out is defeaning.
A 2014 Princeton study found that the US is not a democracy, and I remember thinking back then that it was already fairly obvious.
Bills like this come through when Republicans have power. It’s been more often than not lately because the DNC have had 48 or less Senators for over a decade.