Scuttlebutt is already record breaking retirements across most federal agencies for January, and there’s going to be lots more that try it but dip out after a few months. And I’m not talking people discussing the possibility, I mean the process has already started.

Which is a really bad thing…

A lot of the goverment is perpetually understaffed, and all these ultra conservative department heads are just going to do hiring freezes, keeping it even smaller.

Republicans don’t have to cut government staffing when everyone always runs away rather than stay and do what they can.

Republicans sure as shit don’t resign when a Dem shows up. They stick around and obstruct what they disagree with and try to maintain any ground they can.

I don’t understand what you’re trying to say, but I’m not expecting you clarifying to help

Years ago they tried to pass a minimum amount of time you had to hold a stock before selling…

It was a fraction of a second and neoliberals and Republicans immediately united to tell everyone how antithetical to America that was.

For some reason, that wasn’t enough to show people that both groups have the same priorities and we can’t fight an oligarchy with fucking oligarchs.

We’ll never win if only a handful of politicians are actually on our side.

But it’s almost impossible to compete against dark money in a primary, and the people running the DNC know that. So they’ll never agree to get dark money out of primaries. It’s the only reason they’re still holding back progressives.

Why that would be huge:

It would incentize the rich to hold stocks long term, this would lead to corporations thinking more than what profits are in 3 months.

Which translates to greater stability for other investors and job security for the people who work there.

But it’s never going to happen as long as Smaug Pelosi and people like her who’s main priority is personal wealth is running the Dem party. Because we all know Republicans will never support it.

But if we don’t purge the Dem party of neo liberals, and fast, we’re all fucked. We can’t keep walking down the path of “the rich always get richer” like nothing is wrong.

Wealth is finite. And without taxes and regulations the people who already have a lot will always accumulate more faster than they can spend it.

With them hoarding all that wealth, no one else has any.

What OP is talking about has been a thing since the 90s and even 80s and earlier with ex-military.

Move to a cheap country where your pension/disability/passive income/whatever makes you wealthy.

Originally places liked it because it was an influx in cash. But then it became too popular and they were gentrifying places to the point locals couldn’t afford to live and these leeches never worked.

It became big again with the internet when people became able to work and American job while overseas remotely. But by now most American companies just won’t pay American wages. If they wanted someone overseas they’d pay them the low wage they always do.

With those younger people they added the “temporary” because they say they’ll move back someday.

What you’re talking about (if the job is in that country) would be a migrant worker.

But they also don’t like that label, they think they’re better than it.

I think it’s safe to say 1/3 will support the aliens, 1/3 will hate them, and 1/3 will just ignore the problem.

It feels like whatever the issue is, that’s the split.

I’d love to see countries mark “expat” as an option on forms…

Just as a trap to filter them all out.

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

The only right way to be an optimist about the big picture is to make sure you’re ready for when shit goes sideways on the day to day stuff.

For instance a big silver lining about four years of trump, this is one of the few scenarios people stay politically engaged after the election, thru the midterms, and onto 2028.

Republicans have the Oval, the House, and the Senate. There is not much they can do that people will blame on Dems.

Historically he’ll lose House or Senate in two years. Hopefully both, but ideally the Senate. There’s benefits to the other way around too tho.

Adjust your timescale you’re looking at this with. 4 years ain’t long, two years ain’t shit. Think of all the fucked up horrible shit we’ve done as a country. Realize that even if things get worse then they ever been in America (incredibly unlikely) we’ve bounced back before and we’ll bounce back eventually again.

This is going to suck.

But 20 years from now we might look back on this as the last speed bump before we finally fixed our political system. Empires burn down all the time, but ash makes fertile soil.

Yep, when trump dies his “movement” explodes. They won’t consolidate around one, and trump would never have a clear successor because then he risks everyone siding with them.

MAGA ain’t a movement it’s a person.

When he’s gone the knives come out and the party will balkanize itself

Turns out trump actually is smarter than Biden… He picked an AG that will do what he wants.

That or Biden knew that appointing Garland would lead to a wasted four years and American voters turning their back on his party.

I just wish trump was dumb enough to “reach across the aisle” as much as Joe did.

the possibility of this happening if we were to have ultimately gone to war directly over 9/11. Like if things broke out and we were in a WW2 or Vietnam-level conflict with Saudi Arabia or something

Mate…

If you don’t think OEF was a bad as Vietnam…

I mean, both were terrible, obviously, but if you don’t even think they’re at least comparable?

I don’t think we should be trusting your memory of 9/11 when you can’t remember as far back as 2013 when OEF “ended”. Especially since OIR immediately started.

Like, you realize Vietnam at least ended…

Right?

Feel free to stick your neck out any time, my friend.

The neat thing about the Internet is you could be talking to anybody…

My necks fucking on the block already.

Why do you think I care so much?

My only question to you, hero of the modern age, is if it’s as easy as you say, why the fuck haven’t you done it already?

You want me to explain to you why Joe Biden didn’t pick me as Special Counsel to prosecute trump?

Yeah, let me just send you my resume real quick and the disposition letter from WHS lol

The problem is that in doing that, the best outcome they can hope for is for them and their families to be doxxed and harassed by Trump supporters because they’re not MAGA enough. That’s the “good” outcome.

If being a hero was easy, then we wouldn’t celebrate heroes.

If they weren’t ready to be heroes, then why the fuck did they take a spot in Bidens admin knowing they’d be taking on the responsibility of fighting fascism?

Fuck em.

They didn’t do the job they took, which means someone who was willing to fight didn’t get it.

Now you want me to fucking feel sorry for them because there are consequences to them not doing their job?

There’s consequences for everyone, I only have so much sympathy to go around, and the people who failed to hold trump accountable are in the back of the line when I’m handing it out.

We tried fighting the facism.

Voters did, but voting for the only other option besides the fascist in 2020.

Unfortunately the only other option was an ineffectual moderate who appointed people like Jack Smith that just wasn’t ready to fight fascism.

And four years of that not working, led to a decrease in Dem turnout and Biden losing the election.

The reason “fighting fascism” hasn’t worked so far, is the only other option won’t fight.

That’s by design, it’s why billionaires donate to both parties.

On the other hand:

Name a president that lies as much as trump.

And I suspect that trump isn’t the first candidate to have said that.

People don’t remember how batshit crazy US politics used to be…

Like, you know federal politicians used to duel and kill each other? There’s been multiple fights in official chambers. Not just punches, elected officials beating each other with metal canes and putting each other in the hospital.

Hell, we literally had a civil war already, and a war of independence.

People who think we’re living in unprecedented times, just are ignorant of precedence.

It sucks that our lifetime has to be interesting, but it’s what it is

I’m old as fuck…

This isn’t the first time a republican has become president and everyone thinks they’ll never get to vote again.

I can remember thinking 9/11 meant GW would cancel elections.

If trump actually cancels elections, then it’s civil war. I’m not saying that I’ll start it, but there’s no way just flat out canceling elections is something all the states go along with.

And an American civil war over if trump gets to be dictator for life isn’t just going to be America fighting itself, it’ll jump to WW3 almost immediately.

Sucks to live in “interesting times” but it is what it is. This is what happens when the same small group of wealthy elites own the only two options. Voter turnout is depressed and the worst option wins because their voters are even worse people.

So hopefully next time there’s a general election, at least one of the candidates will be willing to do what it takes to fight fascism.

Biden was a waste of four years. Were worse off right now then when he took office according to you if this was the last election.

Not just that.

A general strike would be tough, but it would still be effective.

Hell, corporations have as much blame as anyone else.

A general strike doesn’t have to mean join a picket line. If enough people showed up and clocked in but never did anything…

They can’t fire everyone. Especially if trump really does deport millions of people and completely shuts the border. We don’t have the domestic workforce to keep things moving.

Tradition…

It’s another one of those things where we’re not going to codify it because Republicans want it as a pocket ace, and moderates control party policy and they just have a phobia of admitting anything actually needs fixed, let alone fixing it.

But the electors in a lot of states can do what they want

32 states + DC are legally required to vote for the party that nominated them as electors tho.

So some are “locked in”, the rest can pretty much do what they want. I know some states are on an “interstate compact” where once they get enough states it triggers them having to vote for the national popular vote winner.

But I’m not sure what the overlap is with the ones who already have the requirement to vote for the party that appointed them or how that will shake out.

Yeah, that stuff matters because trump won’t pardon himself day 1…

We put all our money behind ineffectual moderates in 2020, they failed, and that depressed turnout allowing trump to be president again.

I just hope 3x is the limit and we don’t fuck up 2028 by running another ineffectual moderate.

But considering the same group of wealthy elites fund our only two options…

We’re gonna have to do more than just hope the DNC finally pulls it’s head out of its ass and starts fighting.

Lead, follow, or get out of the way…

It’s going to suck to see all the resignations again instead of people staying and doing as much good as they can. Hell, even if they “quiet quit” and just stopped doing anything, Trump’s admin would have to devote time to getting rid of him. Time they’ll use instead to do more damage.

Like, if ever there was a time to be obstructionist it’s now.

But “moderates” and their appointees just don’t have it in them to fight, that’s why when one of two parties is openly fascist , they’re still fucking moderates.

If fighting fascism is the best time for obstructionism, it’s also the worst time for moderate politics.

Inb4” (short for “in before”) is used to predict something that will be posted by another user.

Right.

And I said:

Every onc and a while I’ll see a comment wanting him to run, but it usually only has one up vote, a shit ton of down votes, and comments from progressives explaining how Bernie shouldn’t run.

And to prove me wrong…

You linked a post where everyone was saying Bernie shouldn’t have won in 2028.

I dunno man, maybe I blocked some accounts and aren’t seeing the same thing on that link as you.

But it doesn’t seem like we’re going to work this one out.