Just finished the article. It was a great read and I appreciate you sharing it.

I understand that not everything can be easily transitioned to renewables, but my gosh when sanctions started I stupidly thought in addition to throwing money at the war effort, we would throw money into energy independence through solar, wind, and renewables. We didn’t, of course, so now we’re back to square one, minus so many lives needlessly taken.

Yes. Really sick of people pretending it’s about the money. They want them to be miserable so they don’t come back and so people stop associating America with a place of refuge. If they could get away with actually torturing them before sending them back they would, just to send a message that they are viewed as less than. It’s gross, but it’s literally the point?

Honestly, this is a strawman. There are so many reasons this is bad, we don’t have to pretend they are logically inconsistent if they aren’t actually. If you believe taxes should only be used for national defense/sovereignty/enforcing individual liberties on a national scale, then that is completely consistent. I’m not saying it’s good, but if people are here illegally and their kids are getting free public education, then they are using resources “meant for Americans/legal residents” and they are “stealing” them. Wanting to stop that isn’t inconsistent with not wanting M4A. M4A is good, and what Trump is doing is bad, but it’s bad policy, not inconsistent.

Kind of, but you generally don’t “expect different results” as the phrase goes. If anything you expect similar results and different results indicate something might have been done wrong. So science uses repeats to validate results, basically the opposite of the saying.

That’s just it though. Like, ok my racist uncle wants RFK, but why do people with the power to make or break politicians care? My racist uncle is dumb and hates vaccines, but what is RFK promising to do for these other people? I just don’t believe Elon musk and his ilk are actually antivax, so why are they pushing RFK so hard? I get playing to your base, but if it was just about getting someone who is antivax so Rs feel seen, then why does it seem like it’s RFK or bust for these people?

Maybe I’m too peace pilled for this, but I really don’t get tankies or anyone who simps for any government. Like, I have no personal problem with people from any country, so why can’t we all just be chill and not slob on the knob of governments. All governments have done bad stuff. The us had literal slaves. Really wish governments would just come out and say “yo, we messed up a lot, don’t take it out on other people though”. And then we could all just hug and eat cake or whatever. This is only tangentially related to your comment, but I’m just sick of people doing government posturing for the government so I’m just gonna leave the comment anyway. Hope you have a great day.

I’m legitimately confused. Maybe I’m even stupider than I look, but I really thought that a lot of this was just grifting. It’s one thing for Trump to drum up his base by nominating antivax guys, but why are other people so into this? I just don’t get the connection and obsession with RFK Jr. It’s one thing if bad state actors have blackmail material and are trying to make America responsible for the next pandemic or maybe just kill off Americans in general, but do people with money actually believe this stuff? I swear I really thought they all knew they were lying this whole time.

Wow, you weren’t kidding. $4 a can is a bit rich for my blood, but I will take your word that they’re good cuz I don’t know how else they can stay in business like that. I buy tea for my family by the gallon and it’s less than $4 vs an equivalent $32 worth of cans if I did the math right. It seems like they’re only available offline at Nordstrom. Hope you’re able to find them locally.

Mind sharing what kind it is? I generally drink hot tea, but my family likes cold tea so I like to keep some on hand. Would be nice to be able to also drink it myself, but it’s just so sugary (and I’m from the south, so I know my sweet teas) it’s hard to feel refreshed.

Thanks for keeping it positive. Really hope you’re right and this is just the start of a total reversal.

I’ve never heard of or seen that before. Thank you for passing along your white whale lol. Now I need it too. Tbh, all their flavors are pretty good if you haven’t tried the others, I’d suggest giving them a shot. My local grocery store (it’s very local so not naming it so I don’t dox myself) has a very good alternative store brand. I like berry flavors, and their in house brand is just as good as polar if not better. Worth trying your local store brand just in case you get lucky and find a new favorite!

Lmaoo at the thought that they are planning on hiring anyone in their place. They don’t want to restaff, they want to destaff. It’s what musk did at twitter. Just fire everyone and if things are buggy then who cares.

I don’t feel as strongly about la croix, but if I have a choice I’m getting polar water instead. If you’re looking for flavored water, it’s the best imho.

The special election had 9304 votes, where the 2022 election had 23850. I couldn’t easily find the number cast for the general this year, but I’m guessing most of the win can be chalked up to Rs feeling like they didn’t need to vote and Ds desperately trying to find ways to change things. Just very low turnout rather than buyers remorse I would guess.

In the handmaids tale show, (spoilers) the main guy whose wife helped him write and institute all the policies ends up cutting one of her fingers off for reading the Bible, since she shouldn’t be reading at all. Eventually, they’ll see that they were just useful tools, but by then they’ll have lost their usefulness and there will be no one left to speak up for them. Honestly, I wish we could just give them a little plot of land to act out their BS, but obviously the children would be harmed in the process and that’s not really right.

As a fellow reluctant Harris voter, I wonder if people like them think that anyone who criticized Harris/the campaign didn’t vote. I know A LOT of hardcore leftists that are left of even me and every one of them voted. Some would maybe not say it out loud in a group, but they all did just in case Trump had the votes lol. It’s a shame they sacrificed their morals not only for Harris to lose, but now they’re also being blamed for it. If people had anti lib energy the way they had anti leftist energy, we’d have M4A by now lol.

Fellow bi here, hi! I don’t use that term, but I get it. Not super sure what you’re bringing up here though? If you’re not making them uncomfortable it’s ok to be attracted to them. If talking to them for prolonged periods makes you uncomfortable it’s ok to keep it short/professional with them. Am I missing something?

Did you mean to reply to me? Not sure what this has to do with my comment.

For what it’s worth, a non zero amount of republicans and conservatives didn’t vote for Trump, probably in no small part due to the people in their life who remind them of their humanity. You might not be surprised to hear of estranged family becoming more radicalized by the right once they’ve been cut off. I have people in my life who are conservative and will never believe that abortion is acceptable, but I have been able to share stories of where it was medically necessary and they have changed their mind on supporting a total ban. Is that great? No, not really, but it’s certainly something. I don’t know that I’d call these people “friends” because I don’t really like them or share with them in the way I would my actual friends, but I have had them in my home. Unfortunately, changing hearts and minds requires a little buy in. It’s not always safe for everyone to do, and I get that, but people love to show stories of people becoming deradicalized while hating on people engaging in deradicalization. There are people out there who say “conservatives are good people they’re just misguided”, and I don’t really believe that, but I do believe they can BECOME good people. Obviously, some are a lost cause, but some can be pulled back to reality. I had a Hollywood is all trans/they’re hiding the true science (not a flat earther, just not a believer in the globe??) coworker I eventually turned into a socialist. That doesn’t happen overnight, and if they don’t at least consider you friendly, you’re not gonna see any movement.