Yup. UFOs are definitely a major concern. Certainly more important than fascists taking over our government.

The answer is that conservative thinking is driven by fear. It’s not that liberals don’t fear things, it’s that liberal thinking isn’t driven primarily by fear.

It’s a good piece and I think the analysis is largely accurate. But there’s one thing I think Kagan missed: Trump isn’t the only would-be dictator who could take power. He lists DeSantis and Haley as the closest competitors to Trump within the Republican Party, but he doesn’t point out that even if, by some miracle, one of them becomes the party nominee, they would assume the very same dictatorial powers Trump is threatening to wield. Neither of them is going to defend democracy when offered the reins of tyranny, and both could easily hold power for decades. Trump maybe has a single decade at most.

The problem isn’t simply Trump wanting to be President for Life. The problem is that the path has been cleared for any Republican to assume that role the next time one is elected. Project 2025 won’t work for Trump only. The next time we have a Republican President, expect it to be the last time we have a fair election.

https://youtu.be/ohgTEk9h1kc?si=RP3DiYmUxUooBnPH

It took me seconds to find video proving this is a lie.

I feel it’s important to point out that gullible and mentally ill should not be conflated. He’s an easy mark for Trump’s rhetoric, a sheep eager to be fleeced. That doesn’t mean he has a mental disorder.

Funny how Biden turned out to be a lot less centrist than we were expecting. The pendulum is swinging left, and if we don’t keep pushing in the right direction the progress will stop. Just because we’re not getting everything we want right now doesn’t mean we’re not in the process of getting there. So stop bitching about how you don’t have the perfect candidate right now. Vote in the primaries for the most progressive candidates you can find, and then in the general election vote for the best candidate, even if it’s not your preferred choice.

Adulthood is about dealing with the world as it is, not the world we insist we should have. We have to be the adults in the room when no one else is willing.

I find this excerpt fascinating:

Today’s firearms are also far deadlier than Colonial-era firearms: In about two-thirds of fatal mass shootings between 2014 and 2019, the perpetrator either killed at least one partner or family member or had a history of domestic violence, according to an amicus brief filed by a gun safety group. In the context of a real-life epidemic of deadly intimate partner violence, the fact that the Framers did not disarm abusers in 1791 does not mean they would not have done so if abusers in 1791 murdered as many people as they do in 2023.

Tell me again how any and all restrictions on gun rights should remain unconstitutional in light of the damage being caused by unfettered access to firearms.

There’s no point in refuting Republican talking points that were discredited thirteen years ago. The Democrats had their supermajority for a total of two weeks at the end of 2009. Not nearly enough time to pass anything and everything they wanted. That talking point is dead and buried and is more than enough evidence that I’m not dealing with someone arguing in good faith.

Is that your intent as well? Sealion me so I waste my time rehashing old, dead arguments?

Well, I see the Russian disinformation crew had joined us. Congratulations to lemmy for growing enough to become a target!

We’ve seen how the government works when Democrats have control. No one will call it perfect, but it works and they generally try to help people.

We also see repeatedly how government works with Republicans in power. They don’t do shit to help anyone but themselves and their donor class.

Until we fix the first past the post electoral system, these are our choices. Whining about it won’t fix it. We first have to eliminate the fascist threat posed by Republicans, then we can talk about reform.

Just because you’ve never heard a Republican declare they’re the same as a Democrat doesn’t mean you aren’t repeating Republican propaganda. They don’t care what you think of them. If you have no faith in government, they win. If you think Democrats are just as bad, they win. Shrinking government until it can be drowned in the tub is the point. Then they can break up its functions and sell them off to private interests. If you want to see a return to feudalism, keep repeating this bullshit. Just don’t think you’re going to be welcomed into the new nobility.

Please stop with the “both sides are the same” bullshit. We don’t need repetitions of Republican talking points.

The Narcissist’s Prayer:

“That didn’t happen.
And if it did, it wasn’t that bad.
And if it was, that’s not a big deal.
And if it is, that’s not my fault.
And if it was, I didn’t mean it.
And if I did, you deserved it.”

A vote for a Republican is a vote for misogyny, bigotry, racism, authoritarianism, and class warfare on the side of the rich and powerful. There isn’t a single Republican leader looking to move the nation forward, only backward to preserve the privileges they’re losing.

If you know this and you vote for them anyway, you’re an asshole. If you didn’t know this and were just voting for them because that’s how you were raised, here’s your opportunity to not be an asshole.

While surrounded by children? Really? And after Boebert spent so much time touting family values and Christian morality?

also our government would probably get a whole fucking lot more done.

That’s not on their agenda. They don’t want the government getting anything done. That would restore faith in the institution, and they don’t want that. They’ve spent too much time and energy trying to tear it down.

I find it sad that we treat celebrity gossip as newsworthy. Sure, they’re hypocrites. That’s like telling me touching water will get you wet. What else is new?

I’m looking for a way to block everyone registered through an instance like hexbear, so when they brigade our forums I can easily ignore them.

I get disfederation keeping people from finding an instance, but blocking an instance apparently doesn’t stop me from having to deal with the users of that instance showing up here.

From your link:

Posts from users of blocked instances are still visible in other places.

That doesn’t seem to be a solution for this particular problem.

And for those who don’t have the access to disfederate from them, you can block the ones who show up here.