The government out spends the public. Dont expect gun lobbies to side with the people - they know where their bread is buttered.

Yep

https://reason.com/2025/12/31/dhs-says-real-id-which-dhs-certifies-is-too-unreliable-to-confirm-u-s-citizenship/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdzrrWA8e7A&list=PL7XML_P2KIyA8DHmBwMcVxP8LCoON4wgM&index=34

tunnel through things using paint

People who expatriate from their home country typically dont have nice things to say about it. Its scary to me that so many people uncritically accept their opinions as fact.

cold

So it is more harm reduction than systematic change? Completely reasonable.

I didnt mean to imply this is somehow not enough - Im just a ponderer and wanted to know if there was some general consensus on the issue because the whole endeavor appears impossible in the modern world (we have little power over where our food comes from or how it is produced), something the meme seemed to allude to.

Thanks for your insight.

Im not a vegan but I imagine avoiding animal products is a herculean task. For instance, how do vegans account for things like bone meal, blood meal, feather meal, fish meal and even manure. Which are commonly used to fertilize crops?

This is why I couldnt be vegan, cause I would over-consider everything I consume - it is impossible to be truly moral in this hell world. You have my respect for trying though.

I think actions like this, unfortunately, are a necessary evil. It is too easy for moneyed interests to astroturf in a bid to alter public opinion and the us state dept, the billionaire class, and other various actors have very deep pockets. Whether the users in question are themselves the bad actors or just victims of these campaigns, who knows, but if unchallenged it will just metastasize and the internet becomes just like twitter and reddit.

I doubt there is a perfect solution to combat this - but the solution proposed here seems well considered and reasonable to me.

the switch to linux felt like getting out of an abusive relationship

I would start (if you havent already) with an introduction to CS. You can take CS50 for free online - https://cs50.harvard.edu/x/2025/.

I dont think they cover much C# (I took the 2020 course and they didnt) but they do introduce you to C, C++, Python, html, etc. They provide github codespaces available for anyone for free, so you can complete the weekly labs and problem sets offered in the course. It really is a good jumping off point.

To all the upvoters: Average disillusioned leftie here.

Saying “I won’t support Biden in the primary.” is not the same as "i sTILl not goNna vOtE”.

I do not want ANY GOP to win any power, ever, anywhere.

We were saved by the young vote in the midterms and Biden has almost entirely lost those voters. Like it or not Biden is deeply unpopular. And I believe Biden would likely lose to Trump.

So how is pleading for a candidate from the DNC who stands a better chance at winning against the GOP an irrational position?

Please reexamine your politics - I am not your enemy.

Please, reexamine your politics. I am not your enemy.

Why is this being downvoted?

Our only option is a guy who was, and continues to, be deeply unpopular? Who only won last time because (4?) establishment candidates rallied around him in the primary. Oh and who could very well die of old age before finishing his term…

Trump is a threat to anyone who is not a fascist. So why is the establishment(the DNC) continuing to prop up a candidate who is as unpopular Hilary Clinton: a candidate who already lost to Trump?

It does not matter if the economy is doing ‘better’, inflation is down, crime-rates are down, unemployment is down, etc etc etc. You’re average idiot does not pay attention to any of this - its all team-sports to them. They will sooner not vote at all - voter turn out was only 66% in the last election - the highest rate for any national election since 1900.

And all this before we even get to his foreign policy… what the fuck

I do not accept this is the only option. Find another candidate DNC.

profit over everything

humanity is too dumb to survive

Dont be obtuse. That minority gets the shit they want, regardless of public opinion.

Look at the supreme court. Look at climate policy. Look at the popular vote. Look at gun policy. Look at reproductive rights. Look at trans rights. Look at the fairness doctrine. Look at health-care. Look at infrastructure. Look at public education. Look at higher education. Look at privatized-prisons. etc etc etc

Im suggesting the democrats should do what they were elected to do; pass progressive policy and legislation.

You missed the greater point, in exactly the same way Dems do. I will try to put it a better way:

Your thinking and planning is constrained by rules. Their thinking and planning is not. You play fair, while they cheat. This is a losing strategy.

I swear the finger-wagging will work this time! Come on everyone, behave and follow the rules! /s

Seriously though, when will Dems key into the fact that the right doesn’t give a fuck about rules or institution? They’ve been doing obstructionist politics since Obama. They are obviously not interested in playing fair or governing effectively.

So, at what point do Dems become complicit?..

*I am not saying; don’t vote blue. Im saying we have to demand more from those who we elect before it is too late.

Its almost too late.

I initially thought this was the way to go too, but imo theres a problem: the only individuals who could produce high-level unwatermarked content would be those with access to GPU clusters—state actors and corpos, who would undoubtedly use it to manipulate the masses that have been trained to trust the watermark

I think in the best-case scenario, we’re just going to have to ride out a couple of very strange years while people adjust to a new reality. Shits gonna get weird

You’re not wrong. Turkey would support the US vs Russia. idk about US vs China though. Still, I’d say its a “dont put all your eggs in one basket” mentality from the defense dept. Then again, Im just some dumb guy on the internet so take it with a grain of salt lol