I think you’re right to a degree, I do think Covid wouldn’t have been AS bad as under Trump. And the GOP still could’ve marched right into a win in 2020, but those years prior when he was president were still extremely damaging to both the sanity and structure of this country. The Supreme Court nominees alone would leave us in a wildly different state not to mention everything else he did to fan the flames of xenophobia and bigotry

Definitely hope everyone in the area stays safe… couldn’t help but think how crazy it would be for an earthquake in northwest Indian Ocean right now

This is both accurate and upsetting, and a step further, had he lost in 16, to anybody. I don’t think he’d have had a chance in 20 if he even ran.

I think that is what made Trump decide to highjack the fascist movement in American that had been being cultivated for years. Who knows how ‘16 would’ve gone with Paul Ryan or whoever they trotted out against Hilary

Waho is almost cheating, everything there is great hangover and drunk food

Goddamn it, now I know I have something in common with Kash Patel

Anybody ever see Battleship Potemkin?

Correct, I’m from the south, my school was actually well funded especially in comparison to most, and if I weren’t naturally curious with an eye for the spurious I wouldn’t know about any of the riots all across the south, not about race but about wages and taking down bosses. Shit I just recently found out i had kin take part in the textile strikes and riots during that time that was just never discussed

At this point I seem to get sick once a month from having to go into the damned office

Sinners was great

I pretty much have to leave any conversation when people younger than 50 are talking about retirement. I was at a small QA with a recently semi successful congressional primary candidate on how she was able to get as many votes away from the DNC candidate. There was a guy there that couldn’t have been more than 20-22 who asked her about what she thought a good investment strategy was for young people that want to save for retirement.

It broke my heart, both because that young man and everyone else like him is absolutely fucking cooked AND that far too many people do not or cannot realize, that in the future that is coming for us, survival will be the biggest barrier to retirement.

Goes to show you how much he actually reads and knows about the Bible, I assumed all of us with access to a Bible looked up Ezekiel 25:17 after the first time we watched Pulp Fiction to see if Sam Jackson’s “cold blooded shit to say to a motherfucker” was a real verse.

Shit my health teacher in 2003 taught us that, showed us James Dobsons interview with Ted Bundy where he claimed that’s what made him a violent monster, in retrospect it’s very clear that Bundy is playing Dobson and telling him exactly what he wanted to hear.

Ultimately I think it’s deeper but simpler than that, they are all very very very afraid of the reality of our existence, and additionally intimidated by how much they don’t actually know about the nature of reality. They get an explanation and stick to it like superglue, any suggestion that explanation is wrong bring the fear of the unknown and their own powerlessness back to their conscious minds and lash out violently to protect their simple and easy to understand worldview

I’m similarly inclined from experience but before my favorite sports team won back to back championships they let me down and broke my heart for 30 years. I guess I’m a glutton for disappointment but I want to be hopwful

They don’t even need to do that, does anyone actually know how much gold they have? Not to mention precious stones and the vast number of antiquities, they literally have god tier money

I’ve seen a bunch of reports, none were live streamed so they haven’t broken through. Some are probably actually accidental but I doubt they all are, additionally the Molotovs thrown at Sam Altman house and a Tesla dealership. I believe I heard something about one at a Raytheon office.

There’s a lot of chaff I haven’t completely sorted through but again im hopeful

I’d say the majority of equipment and devices in the POS sector of IT make this version of the bill wildly impractical and doomed from the start. They’ll either have to redraft it to specifically be about consumer devices or the retail, restaurant, and c-stores sectors will be up shits creek.

Generally you’re correct, but the string of warehouse fires over the past week all across the country has me hopeful that folks are finally hitting the long long long long long overdue breaking point.

Anyone that got a MMR before 1989 absolutely should get their immunities tested, they changed the vaccine regiment that year, I went and got checked shortly after the idiots we’re sworn in and my immunity to mumps had lapsed and my doctor insisted I get the first round that day.