Ok, so he’s ineligible to run again I guess.

Looks like it’s the consequences of their own actions circling around again. Time to blame liberals/trans/minorities/foreigners/anybody else!

I’m actually in the first camp as well, I’d rather have some amount of control over who the opposition is, and I like to keep tabs on what kind of rhetoric/propaganda the other side is pushing on their base. It looks like the shooter may have been in this camp as well, based on the reporting I’ve seen. A BBC story notes he was a registered Republican, but that he had made a donation to a liberal political group, ActBlue, in 2021. So I think it’s probably going to be pinned on Democrats trying to be the violent ones, even though it has literally been Trump & co stirring up shit for years and basically guaranteeing that something like this would happen.

Of course they have to identify the shooter with his First, middle, and last name, as is tradition… and it was a 20 yr old registered Republican? Wonder what the story on that will be?

He’s going to act all goody-too-shoes, like he’s above that. Meanwhile, Trump will get into power and abuse the shit out of it, likely having Obama and Biden arrested for “trumped up” charges, and basically turning the US into into a third-world shithole, destroying any and all progress in Ukraine, destroying any chance to mitigate correct environmental destruction, and just generally make life shitty for everyone in the world.

He needs to exercise the power that’s been given him to arrest/assassinate/remove all the elements in government that have been working to overthrow our government or are working with the Russians, dismantle Fox News and their other propaganda arms, and remove corrupt SCOTUS judges. Then, he needs to announce he’s stepping down and call for a new election. Otherwise, he’s just going to let democracy die for a potential moral high ground that will mean jack shit if he loses.

It feels so Game of Thrones-ish. Democrats are going to act all high and mighty and virtuous, while Republicans are just going to be like Cersei Lannister, “Is this meant to be your shield, Lord Stark? A piece of paper?” Republicans will run them through and sleep well knowing they won, without a guilty conscience. The President should be acting now to protect the country, not waiting for the wolves to get into the hen house and then wringing their hands that there was nothing they could do about it.

I think most people who come into money probably say the same thing, but I think it probably depends on a few factors, sociability and impulsivity probably being up there. I think as your standard of living rises, it’s just going to change most people who aren’t well-grounded. Some people blow it all at once, wanting the money to change them because they weren’t happy with their life before, others change over time, but both are changed just from the experience of not having to deal with the anxiety of “survival” anymore.

When you’re not worried about making your rent/mortgage or getting all your bills paid each month, that’s just naturally going to free you up to think about other things. When barriers to life dissolve away like that, you stop having reasons to not do things what you feel like doing. “I’ve always wanted to see London/France/underpants, I should just do it,” or “I could get a nice entertainment system in the living room… and my bedroom… and the bathroom…” At some point, your standard of living is so far removed from “normal” people, that “it” has already happened, money changed you.

“Austerity” = Take money away from social programs so we can cut taxes for the rich

Kamala Harris cannot win. I hate Trump, but Kamala Harris won’t win against Trump and shouldn’t even be Biden’s VP pick in the first place.

I just think it’d be a hilarious way to piss off Conservatives as another way to get an Obama back in the White House. And we’d have Barack there again too as First Gentleman.

That’s how we’re still using my Dad’s account, it’s mostly used by my brother, but shared with the other gamers in the family

Why don’t YOU go ahead and write me up a 2-page essay on why Trump isn’t planning a dictatorship, cite your sources. That’s essentially what you’re asking me to do and it’s guaranteed you’ll give a short, flippant remark that doesn’t actually address any of the issues brought up, basically wasting my time. It’ll be a bunch of whataboutism, gaslighting, misdirection, and BS, that’s the standard MO.

I can waste my time going through that exercise, but it’s pretty clear to any thinking person that that’s what the plan is on the Republican side, just look at the words, rhetoric and actions they’ve been taking for the past 10+ years. Otherwise, you’re maliciously asking me to go through the mental effort of writing up an attack on Trump that you’ve already decided to ignore and/or counter with some feeble bad faith argument. You’re a waste of my time and everybody else’s.

Biden is well past his prime, had a shitty performance last night, hate his record on Israel, but I’m still voting for him because he’s not Trump and I’d prefer that our representative democracy continued. Moving to a braindead, functionally illiterate dictatorship just seems like an all-around worse move in every respect. Not sure about his chances, but whatever, there’s not really any other alternative at this point.

I’m voting for Biden still bc Trump is a piece of shit, but Biden is coming off old and weak in this debate. Trump is lying his ass off about everything and not getting called out on any of it, and because he’s spouting so much of it so quickly rapid-fire, it’s obfuscating and confusing the issues.

Huh… if they can attach it to the face… could they attach it to… other places?

Gesundheit

After living 7.5 years in an Ecuadorian embassy, I wonder if he feels like that portion was all a waste of time, going to those lengths to avoid extradition. Though maybe the timing worked in his favor in this case, given its been years since Wikileaks was relevant, whereas had he been extradited years ago he might’ve be faced a harsher situation.

It’s cool guys, I asked ChatGPT and it said:

The term “AI bubble” suggests a speculative frenzy similar to previous bubbles in tech. While there’s certainly a lot of excitement and investment in AI, it’s unlikely to cause an economic crash on its own. However, if promises aren’t met and investments don’t yield expected returns, there could be adjustments in the market. AI’s impact is profound, but its realization takes time and nuanced understanding.

So we just might see an “adjustment”, no way this is a bubble.

Millennials killing yet one more thing I guess. Really though, you can’t blame them, given the state of affairs, we should really be placing blame where it’s due, on the people who are driving up house prices, rents, and general prices overall. A friend’s rent just went up $150 this year (~10% increase), and it’s the exact same shithole it’s been for the past year. Meanwhile, annual raises are typically only 2-4% if you’re lucky…

“Rich Elites Cause U.S. to Drop in Global Happiness Ranking” is a more apt title.