Traitors hate this one trick. Embody the values you hold dear and boldly call yourself a patriot whenever you do. Be better & call it patriotism. Be bold. Maybe wear a Tshirt that says things you believe in. Or a Gadsden snake breathing flame on a block of ice. Start small & build up from there.
If somehow an active Democratic politician sees this, the plea to "do something" can be very simple things like attempting to redistrict, to our favor, even if the attempt is doomed to fail. Make the Republicans stop you, make THEM have to be on the defensive. Call it "Temporary, but necessary".
Every Dem that stands up for democracy isn't a contender for 2028 yet, and trying to draw hard lines now is insane considering how hard the fight for the ability to cast a meaningful vote is going to get during the next year or so. Really not up for anything beyond "they're fighting & I like that".
Good Advice! Take It.
Thanks, I did read this. Though my 1st thought is whether the Finnish model could be replicated wherever a population is as a whole less culturally homogenous, and is also much larger (both size & population) such as the US. That lack of a semi-common baseline is weighty, but likely surmountable.
Honestly, even if Texas immediately implemented fair maps for all, I would still want CA + every blue state to redistrict Republicans out of having any seats. Gloves are off. No more playing, make things so unfair that Republicans have to be the ones to implement a national ban on gerrymandering.
That's definitely part of why I hate them and all their whining. It takes barely any effort to out them as hypocritical whining chuds. There isnt a single thing Republicans claim to believe in that they won't abandon in a heartbeat. "Masks are tyranny, unless I need to wear one to enact tyranny!"
For me that won't be a test, that'll be when it's clear that we have no other choice but to cross that final line. Violence won't simply make things better on its own, it will likely make things much worse at the outset. But that's what remains, the path of violence. If votes are stolen, violence.
And for the heck of it, I'll ask. Can you please clearly define what you mean by "something". Because it sounds like you know exactly what can be done successfully but are being annoyingly/smugly vague about it. Just one example, just one. And then we can actually see if that something has merit.
I hope everyone nearby remembers to also call them goons, spineless cowards, losers, trash, etc. For good measure also question the presence of certain body parts or their relative size. Also say scary things that probably aren't true like, "we use AI software to reveal your face under that mask".
Also, I'm bad at social media and have no idea how to turn this into a single thread.
So when you see trillion dollar debt numbers, don't think of that $$ as owed to some other country, think of it as owed to you personally. Also, if your country isn't paying everyone what is owed, then it's time to be loud and call in that debt. You are owed much more than what has been received.
If trillions of dollars were owed to other countries or groups of already rich people, they would be calling in that debt. They wouldn't be demanding further tax breaks that equal a smaller percentage of what they were owed they would want the whole ledger cleared ASAP, and would be loud about it.
The most important lesson I learned in economics long ago is the idea that any country's national debt is money owed to it's own citizens. That debt was taken on ostensibly for the needs of that nation. I.E. the citizens. The only question then, is what did that debt do for YOU. What is your ROI?
I suspect that a significant portion of people who get their news from "non-traditional" sources is simply because they don't come with a paywall to get info, just a pitch to "like and subscribe". To reverse this trend, it starts with giving news first, instead of hiding it behind a subscription.
BTW Dems, I will literally ignore every single maga complaint they ever make until the day I die. You no longer need to do anything based on avoiding smears from the right. They are liars and completely pointless to listen to. And I suspect every voter who cares about truth no longer cares either.
That it would be great to release the Epstein files and let everyone know who else is in there that deserves jail time.
Every time I see some post about how "the two party system is so bad blah blah lesser evil is still evil" I tune it out and move on. Give me a clear-cut comparison between a country currently using a multi-party system who has solved the problems often ascribed to two-party systems and I'll listen.
Honestly, what we need is for regular people who are determined to break things to start signing up to be ICE agents. Promptly start the job by skipping work & clicking every spam email attachment & sharing any data you can get your hands on. Take their signing money and use it to gum things up.
Just took a moment to remember the shape of the wound in the backs of Americans from Manchin & Sinema from the filibuster flight. Has anyone asked those craven a-holes "was it worth it?" Do they even know how much blame they hold? I hope they feel immense shame & guilt for their part in all this.
For anyone wondering what Dems could do (with the power of a solid majority), other than NOT doing *gestures broadly*, here's a list. Medicare for all. Worker protections. Accountability for masked federal goons. The Epstein files. Ending Citizens United. Judicial appointments. And more.
IDGAF who you won't vote for in a mythical future election lineup (considering how tentative it is that we will be able to vote at all). Tell me who you plan to canvas for, tell me who you do support and why. Convince me. But if all you have is whinging about who you can't vote for, kick rocks.
MAGA people are still pretending they actually care about the Epstein files, when we all know there's no chance they do anything but STFU and fall in line like they did with everything before it. They're gonna fall in line and bend those spines just like every other time. No morals. No backbones.
I hope none of my friends are in the "two wrongs don't make a right" camp re: retributive redistricting by Dems. It would be really hard to explain why I just savagely backhanded someone I still care about, before immediately berating them about the current precarious state of democracy.
Totally unrelated to anything, but we are going to need you all healthy, fit, limber, and strong for the days ahead. Stretch daily, phone in hand if necessary, take a walk, do some pushups, find something heavy and lift it a bit, repeatedly. Find someone as mad as you are, and compete to fitness.
"We"? No. No no no. Them. You know the name, use it. Republicans. Republicans did this. There's no "we" on this, 49% of us (maybe more if the election interference is true) actively tried to do the opposite in Nov24. A slim majority in a handful of states brought this scourge upon us.
Really, is there anyone thinking... "I plan to vote Democrat every time it's possible... Unless they attempt an impeachment that doesn't result in success in the end. If it fails I'm going to gripe about wasted time and other nonsense and not vote ever again"? F that, new day, new (same) articles.
Guess everyone better hope a Democrat wins '28 so they can take the blame for fixing all of the problems caused by Republicans cutting taxes, like with Reagan, Bush, Dubya, & now Trump #1 and #2. Politico - please stop treating Republicans like they have an actual plan beyond "more for me and mine"
What lost the election was underestimating the hatred some citizens hold toward "others", and vastly overestimating the altruism & attention span of most voters. There's no mystery here to unravel. Either you win, or you claim the moral high ground that's always conveniently right under a boot heel
"The politics" aren't broken. Even if we had a "perfect" system, it would mean jack sh*t when a majority of the participants ignore any rules beyond "we only do what we want. If you try to stop us our goons will kill you". What laughably fangless "fixes" do you expect/believe will work vs this?
Honestly, it feels like they're trying real real hard to get us angry and into the streets so they can claim martial law with no pushback. It feels like bait. It feels like intentional BS designed to make us violently push back so they can violently push back to the maximum. Road maps are needed.
Yes, they did. And they'll keep voting red because how they vote is a cultural feature. If your whole life you're told that you and everyone else you know will always vote Republican and anyone else is an outsider, then you won't ever believe your vote matters for your future as much as conformity.
I need to get better at social media, this first response looks like it's my last one instead. To reiterate, I don't feel like chomping on word salad, so if you need to feel like you've won, go for it. I genuinely wanted examples and won't get any, so I am moving on and won't reply again.
I ran out of space, but if you have any examples please feel free to expound, but I'm definitely done with this interaction, I'm not going to learn anything new it seems, I'm just going to get more excessively syllabic retorts. You can be "right" or "win" this interaction if that helps you move on.
No, it doesn't. Not if the values you hold have already held up to many MANY challenges the world puts forth, and does so in a way that leads to more understanding. I change my thoughts all the time when presented with new information. This exchange just didn't rise to that level tbh. GL out there
Yeah, definitely looking for examples, you just can't give any. "Semantically-driven"? That's literally everyone on earth who communicates if you knew what those words meant. But the amusement I got from "you wanted to argue and feel correct" was great! I do enjoy seeing pure projection.
Though I shouldn't phrase it like that, since you never had the ability to convince me of anything tbh, that's not what I converse with people online for. I do it to gain an understanding of others thought processes. My thoughts & beliefs are solid enough that I don't seek external reinforcement.
Nah, just saying this long thread was word salad that didn't really make a solid argument for a set of actions or goals. Tried to give the benefit of the doubt and asked if you could clarify, and you didn't, so that tells me what I wanted to know. I can't be convinced to support vague.
I don't know if you were responding to me, as I didn't make any predictions for the future. But definitely do anything and everything possible to fight Republican destruction. Just remember they don't spend any of their time blaming their "team" for anything, ever.
The GOP also has a base that for 50+ years has reacted reflexively to any criticism with 100% solidarity and 0% infighting. A Republican voter criticizing their politicians looks like "I know a liberal is to blame, but they shouldn't be voting to end things we like, all liberals are bad btw."
This is why they all probably seem blindsided when you talk with them and point out any truth you just assumed is common knowledge. Anyone exposed to RW talk radio daily is *never* presented with the raw truth of any matter. It's always "something something, those evil liberals are to blame again"
RW talk radio. That one network that owns basically every radio broadcast in rural everywhere (Sinclair?) ensures that all anyone hears all day every day every commute or break time is RW friendly. They refuse any advertising that isn't "friendly". Your calls get blocked if you push back.
Well, the government exists because a bunch of ordinary people decided that we should vote on everything, especially who our leaders are, 2.5 centuries ago. Then, they outlined how to do this every few years, and left it to regular citizens to become politicians to enact the changes they desire.
No one is "kept" from being taught how their government works. People can *choose* not to educate themselves on their government, but that information was always available to anyone who wanted to learn. At a minimum on Wikipedia. Only imaginary dem voters are excusing people from doing their jobs.
Can you give some examples of "negligent absentee behaviour"? The sentence doesn't really make sense to me so I figured it's better to ask for actual examples instead of vague platitudes. I'm also not sure what "standard" they campaigned for beyond "don't vote for the liars, they're lying to you".
That's actually a seriously great idea. You've got me sold on it.
The Republicans have the votes to advance everything they want with only Republican votes. What do you expect to happen differently from and contrary to that reality?
Isn't getting arrested one of the main ways to prove that you are serious? Past protest movements were helped by the sympathy the arrests generated. American Civil Rights protesters went out expecting arrests. If you know for sure arrests will happen but still stand by your beliefs, mucho respect.
Good, being consistent lets people know they actually care and were serious about their position. Use the same level of energy to demand change no matter the opponent and even those who disagree will at least accept your resolve, or at a minimum cannot make any (valid) accusations of hypocrisy.
None need to, Republicans using their numbers advantage that voters gave them can move every thing they want forward. The real number that matters is "ZERO Republicans trying to stop this".
That criticism is probably a natural "endpoint thought" from people who understand there's a massive problem, but then lack a mental roadmap about how to resolve problems of this magnitude. Problems that, quite frankly, no one has had to solve before right now. Keep doing what you do, it helps us.
Trump is a bully and a moron, simple terms for a simple man. He probably imagines this as revenge for something, or because his wife had the hots for Trudeau in that one pic. Nothing special from him, just more of the same lack of knowledge about the world that's been his M.O. since always.
This was likely seen by the admin as an "easy win". If the tariffs do whatever the heck Trump thinks they could in theory do... Declare victory. If they backfire and have to be rescinded and negotiations occur to hash out some new "micro-deal"... Declare victory.