-
ICE activity/raids
I hear ya. It took me some practice to get there when dealing with my family. The situation I don't want to put myself in is with protesting and seeing ICE or cops start fucking with people. I absolutely don't trust myself to keep my cool in that kind of situation.
-
ICE activity/raids
Yep. The Vance-Thiel-Yarvin connection has been really effective on two GOP voting friends. It helps that they're both conspiratorially minded, which I knew and why I brought it up to them in separate conversations. I also let them know about the data collection that Elon and DOGE did. Both have come back to me after doing a bit of research and have said something to the effect of "That's some scary shit, man." What makes that a good one to bring up is that they go in knowing nothing and haven't been battered by endless talking points from all their shitty podcasts and Fox News. Also, it doesn't attack Trump directly but places strong doubts in their minds and nudges them to put pieces together on their own. This isn't hard if you can keep your cool. Edit: Also, be sure to mention Palantir and what they do and all the contracts they have. Add in that shiny globe thing, reminding them what it does in LOTR, is where that word comes from and they really start spinning.
-
Minneapolis ICE Murder
That is a very, very good point.
- 2026 Peach Bowl - Oregon vs. Indiana (CFP Semifinal #2)
-
Minneapolis ICE Murder
Pretty sure there are a shitload of killers who've been charged on flimsier evidence. Make him a fugitive.
-
Trump’s America
DOGE helped with all this, of course. As you know, each federal agency kept its data siloed from other agencies to prevent this type of skullduggery, but that's all gone now.
-
ICE activity/raids
Yeah, that's generally my approach. I never bring up politics first, but when someone starts, I'm ready and stay calm, pointed, and precise. Unlike on here, I don't lose my cool or go off on rants.
-
Trump’s America
Yeah, that all sounds about right and the type of fuckery we should expect. The cruelty is the point.
-
ICE activity/raids
I get it, and it sucks. From the time that I became politically aware in the late 1980s, I've been the only progressive/liberal in my entire extended family, except for my ex-wife and daughter. Just stand your ground at family functions and ask that they respect your beliefs and to not discuss politics in your presence. If they don't, be hyper prepared to calmy defend your position. If they continue, you've got some choices to make about how much you want them in your life. By the time my dad died stupidly of Covid from not following precautions, I didn't have much of a relationship with him, but my mom was generally cool about our differences, especially after he died.
-
Trump’s America
I don't think there's any way they can tie you to a vote in the general election, but they'll probably know which primary you voted in.
-
Things not going well in Venezuela
Hollup. There's hard power, and then there's soft power. You're thinking all hard power. You need both. Sure, you've got to have hard power initially as an implicit threat to enforce rules, norms, and such. But over time, you build trust and gain buy-in from others who decide to join your side willingly. And, well shit, then you really prosper through all sorts of creative and productive trade (if managed wisely and fairly). You don't fuck that up by using only hard power, because then you always have to waste resources to keep others in line, and the only "gains" made are through forced exploitation and suffering. You also might lose your soul.
-
Things not going well in Venezuela
It's sorta like CHIEF up above playing chess: "I don't care if I lose my queen, I'm gonna take that goshdurn pawn!" They just don't think things through.
-
Things not going well in Venezuela
I've lived out in the West Texas patch for a couple of years now, and there are some real fucking idiots out here who were making stupid money, so they got bored and went all in on the idiotic culture war shit, acting like they were some sort of oppressed minorities. My backyard looks out over from a ridge, and today, a couple of miles away, I can see five idled rigs on the other side of town, just standing there. Depending on how you count all the knock-on effects (direct, indirect, and induced) for each rig, that's probably a total of 400-500 great-paying jobs now gone. But hey, the local private prison might reopen because of a new ICE contract, producing about the same number of jobs, but those guards only make about $40K a year. Had to get gas today: $2.22.
-
Trump’s America
I mean, fuck the Danish whites, because Greenland. But I will never recognize those Dutch bastards.
- 2026 Fiesta Bowl - Miami vs. Ole Miss (CFP Semifinal #1)