It’s almost like these folks are the real “enemy from within” (Trump’s words, not mine) the whole time.

“It could be anyone. Anywhere. Any time! God forbid my picture is plastered everywhere. All the bodyguard protection barely Donnie, protectafter all!”

lol Musk dumped triple this in PA on a whim.

After all, $60,000,000 to Musk is what spending $20 is to someone making 100k.

File that under when I care for your opinion.

If you had respect and do care, ask why.

Not quite the same gap but I grew to be good friends with a work buddy in his 40s when I was 25.

Throughout my life I tended to connect better with people older than me.

But if you have bad vibes beyond just the age then it may be worth talking candidly with your son about your concerns.

Carl Sagan wrote in 1995:

I have a foreboding of an America in my children’s or grandchildren’s time – when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what’s true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness…

The dumbing down of American is most evident in the slow decay of substantive content in the enormously influential media, the 30 second sound bites (now down to 10 seconds or less), lowest common denominator programming, credulous presentations on pseudoscience and superstition, but especially a kind of celebration of ignorance

While there were always idiots, they often lacked the capacity to engage or equip themselves with such a sophisticated web of lies to prop up their beliefs. As such, Joe Schmoe from Bumfuck, Alabama had a limited platform and so could go on his blissfully ignorant way without much harm beyond his county line.

These days? They all communicate together and domestic and foreign operatives can reach them all the same to stoke division.

Crazy to watch.

Honestly I’m all for it; then handing the keys to Trump lmao.

Or implement a No Fly Zone and fully commit NATO forces to air defense. See Putin squirm on what to do and how to react. Makes the Putin-Trump relationship tense. Trump backing down would be seen as weak. Putin wouldn’t retaliate because he wouldn’t risk losing his puppet.

I like this. Bonus: read children’s books and bilingual books; watch news or children’s shows in Spanish.

Find a good way to crunch vocabulary memorization with digital flashcard programs you can work during any downtime you have.

I’m mostly surprised by the “faces consequences” part.

✅- White

✅- Conservative

❎- Rich

❎- Male

Tough luck…

The more voter accessibility, the better vote turnout. It’s no different than going the opposite way with voter suppression strategy or Jim crow laws. Most states already utilize digital transfer of voting data to state secretary central branches to my knowledge.

Not only this but it (a) actually helps prevent voter fraud while (b) improving turnout by way of digital accessibility.

If we shot down every idea from the peanut gallery because it wasn’t simple on its surface we wouldn’t have a lot of things.

But what did I notice is that you’ve now twice dodged the fact that the thing you’re most scared about implementing this is already a reality.

So can you explicitly tell me what unavoidable downside it would bring that doesn’t already exist in reality?

Ironically, you’re accepting fascism is here by preventing us from advancing with a more secure election system that would permit a more responsible, accessible digital voting, are you not?

You’re holding us back for fear of what could be.

Even in the wake of what already is a practical reality as I showed.

Ok, Abed.

It’s no different than playing by the rules (or lack thereof) of the game like Bannon or Stone play in their strategizing with Trump: Perception is Reality. Ends Justify Means.

Maybe not along this issue, but yes Democrats must realize just how poorly educated and gullible the electorate is and start catering their message accordingly. In spite of moral reservations, fear & anger are powerful motivators.

Yes, Dems couldn’t pull it off because the coalition consists of a large number of ethically-bound and higher educated individuals who aren’t willing to play dirty as a means to an end… Even when that end is far superior than what the opposition seeks.

There’s a sizable number of people intentionally looking the other way because they think they can fight fire with fire, utilizing the same conspiracy theory thinking that the Right routinely gets away to shape public discourse.

I have to say, the thought crossed my mind. But Dems could never pull it off.

What’s so scary about that? While the reason seems obvious, I ask because if you know what sort of sophisticated voter identification models the parties have right now, they can easily ascertain your voting history with 90%+ accuracy and predict fairly well who you’ll vote for in the future anyway.

I was just thinking of this recently but if Trump utilized his immunity to the fullest extent and we descend into Kristallnacht territory, these voter models would be how they began purging, “the enemy from within.”

So given we already are at that point, then maybe the benefits of such a ledger could outweigh the cons.

Also goes for stories covering children, too.

As an aside, I always wondered if the opposite rings true in countries where the minority is white. Ethnocentrism?

I remember exploring how it could be a way to secure digital Democratic elections. Any thoughts on this?

Not them. For me, Buttigieg was my 3rd preference in the 2020 primaries. I like him. I think he has a grasp of what must be done. Fun fact, he wrote an essay that won a contest with the JFK library back in 2000, essentially praising Bernie Sanders. I think he has his own method by which he achieves a similar outcome, possibly.

That said he isn’t who comes to mind to win in 2028 because while I think he’s one of the best debaters, I’m not sure if he’s the most charismatic. In this popularity contest, charisma matters. He kind of suffers from Al Gore syndrome in that way.

I won’t be one of those gatekeepers claiming a gay guy can’t win, though. That just amplifies the bigotry more, and we shouldn’t get in our own way.

I appreciate the insight. So if I’m understanding you correctly, the AfD while they’re picking up fringe support, hasn’t really been able to broaden its coalition and lacks the capacity to hijack the government, even from a position of plurality.

I’m curious how the overall public perception of immigration will be for Germans going forward, considering the assimilation of the Syrian refugees Merkel took in, Germany’s aging workforce, as well as the existing need to fill jobs like medicine. Are there polling data trends available on this?

I’m glad we’re moving on, but the damage is done.

The xitter takeover to me seemed entirely planned to help suppress media for this election and it worked. It helped muddy the waters even more.