Not really. The Fediverse has a slant towards american left/far left and moderation tends to reflect this in larger communities. Particularly the americentrism and hostility to different perspectives can make it difficult to have meaningful discussions on certain topics.
(For context, I’d be impressed if I have more than ~30 countrymen active in the fediverse)
Honestly, I would recommend not books on atheism per se, but rather ones exploring non-theistic philosophy. Schools of thought amongst atheists and agnostics are just as diverse, if not more so than amongst theists. My world view is made up of many things, humanitarianism, empiricism and so forth. Ideas that build a foundation.
There is also the more emotional side, finding beauty and purpose in life. Personally I find myself coming back to the works of Carl Sagan, particularly “The pale blue dot”. Capturing, at least for me, a lot of essence.
Here is a short excerpt that he read. Just, wow.
Idk if I’d call it 5d chess, more like a showman that uses drama with the intent of social manipulation without any scruples. That’s how he managed to win both the 2016 & 2024 elections.
No, I highly doubt that. For one, it isn’t feasible. A declaration of war wouldn’t make it through congress, and is highly unlikely that the US military would actually execute such orders.
The primary purpose of Trumps posturing - at least in my analysis - is a retarded way of intimidating EU countries into militarization to enable shifting US troops to other theatres (Middle East, Asia).
Well, that’s just called lying - US politicians haven’t been fiscally conservative in a long time.
Compared to Sweden
Usually fiscal irresponsibility comes in the form of lavish promises (subsidies, tax cuts, projects etc.) with a jarring absence of an answer to the question “How are we going to finance this?”
Euro perspective - When I hear fiscally conservative, that means supporting a governmental policy that is frugal with spending and responsible with public assets and finances.
This has several parts, here are some of the most important:
a) Keeping a balanced budget - the government should not be spending more than it is collecting from taxes and income. (A little debt in dire times is fine, but that should be payed off when possible)
b) Responsible management and long term planning - the planning horizon should be counted in decades
c) Focusing on core tasks: national security, infrastructure, healthcare, education etc.
d) Not raising taxes unless strictly necessary, lowering them if it is permissible according to the above.
Socially liberal => supports personal liberties
Now why does government debt even matter? Well, because debt is owed somewhere, and if it becomes large may mean that the government is beholden to other parties for the debt.
Agreed - all Ghibli movies are beautiful in their own right, but taking that cinematic mastery and applying it in what is essentially a film about the tragedies of war?
Shivers.