I generally agree that he’s not a business man in the strictest sense. But he is undeniably “successful”. He’s lived the lavish lifestyle of his dreams, he’s never suffered any meaningful consequences, and he’s been elected president twice. Even if he is eaten alive by ants tomorrow, he’s already lived for 78 years, enjoying fame and attention, playboy interviews, committing crime with impunity, and seizing the nation itself to serve his pretty needs for vengeance. Hell, he has literally dodged a bullet. True justice is out of reach I’m afraid. It’s more like his measure of success is corrupted. Success to him is not synonymous with productivity. He is at his core, a rapist, getting what he wants is only technically the point. More important is taking it. Getting away with it. Stealing it. Breaking something. Exerting his will. That’s what he’s about. His business is spiritual, not material. It’s coercion, and force. And in this field, he is quite “successful” indeed.

Is this the red wave I remember hearing about?

Keeping a business running takes sustained effort. This sack of shit is more in the strip out all the copper and turn a quick buck leaving wreckage in your wake type of business man.

More like the gelded age.

Christofascists don’t take anything literally, they do frequently take things narrowly though. And where this narrow focus is trained shifts around dependent of their desired outcome.

More and more I feel like he’s just trying to get us embroiled in something that provides cover for him to ratchet into the next slot of dictator. If he can get a real crisis on his hands he’s plausibly cleared for all sorts of seemingly desperate measures. Such as third terms, and criminalization of “sentiments” (“doesn’t like me” turns into “supports the enemy”, opposition turns into enemy, temporary emergency actions turn into permanent dictatorship).

It should have never been close enough the first time for gamesmanship. And regardless, it’s academic. The first time he was an unknown quantity. This second time is completely unforgivable. We have sleep walked into the second term with absolutely no excuses.

If America were drowning, and a woman offered to throw them a life preserver, America would rather wait for a man to help instead and die. Perfect candidates? Maybe not. But both Clinton and Harris were abundantly qualified, and we chose, CHOSE, a dictator, an unapologetic misogynist, a criminal, a failed business man, a known Epstein associate, the playboy of the 80s, a bona fide piece of shit, instead, the same one, TWICE, even after his absolutely chatoic first term. I don’t want to die due to the ignorance of others, but it’s tough to argue we don’t deserve it.

Right-o, then: Protesty protest. Whoops, I got bagged by facial recognition and sent to El Salvador by gustapo. At least the media completely ignored the protest and no one even knows it happened.

A guy just got kicked out of Madison Square Garden. He was banned for life for a shirt he sold online that called for the removal of the MSG Ceo. He didn’t buy the tickets he was using, and hasn’t been to an MSG property in 20 years. They picked him out of the crowd using facial recognition, which was linked to his social media, which was matched to a list of banned people. This is just the actions of a private entity, how deep do you think the governments abilities reach?

Protesting these days is a lot bigger ask than it was even 20 years ago. Proper resistance even harder still. I agree we need action, drastic action, and soon. But I don’t fault ordinary people for being afraid to lose everything for what they believe.

The honest problem is that the hyper-wealthy just don’t go outside or do anything meaningful. They are in climate controlled buildings and vehicles 24/7. They don’t cook. They don’t feel price fluctuations in goods. Their home(s) are numerous and in the best areas, but even that is moot, as they are rarely at home. They travel and work constantly, and are never subjected to anything but the finest accomodations. Their world is very controlled, and orderly, and pleasant. They literally live in a different reality. They don’t get it. And yet, they control the environment us regular people live in/are subjected to. Our struggles are trivia to them. Mere inconveniences. We’re just obstacles in their way. Our displeasure is just a “notification” to clear. Whatever they can do to shut us up, or get us off their case, they do that. Right and wrong be damned. The future be damned. By the time it effects them directly and they are forced to deal with consequences, our corpses will be components of massive burning heaps.

focused on something other

Perhaps how constituents got absolutely hammered by extreme weather, tornados, etc, over the weekend as he simultaneously dismantles weather science funding and aid, while also denying that climate change is an issue. Or possibly deporting legal immigrants, against specific instructions not to, in some real transparent dictator type behavior.

I suppose what I’m trying to say is the less we rely on reddit, the faster those niche communities grow in the fediverse. The cost for splitting your energies is that it slows the growth of one and prolongs the antiquation of the other.

You’re most certainly part of the problem. You’re like someone who complains about local restaurants closing, but keeps buying drive through. Reddit isn’t better, it’s merely easier, but it’s also a terrible value and bad for your health.

There is nothing positive that Reddit is capable of, that Lemmy is not. It all comes down to shifting the audience. Lemmy keeps improving, while Reddit keeps getting worse. All Reddit has is inertia, the energy of which came from a distant, nearly forgotten push. Put some time and effort in, help build something rather than merely consume it.

Bravo

The snow report in question, since it was removed:

seasonally, I do not rely on this job for health insurance or benefits, and hey, waking up at 4:30 AM isn’t exactly sustainable. Therefore, I am using my relative “platform” as snow reporter, to be disruptive — I don’t have a whole lot to lose. We are living in a really scary and really serious time. What we do or don’t do, matters. This whole shpiel probably won’t change a whole lot, and I can only assume that I will be fired, but at least this will do even just a smidge more than just shutting up and being a sheep.

I am really scared for our future. Acting like nothing is happening here feels way scarier than losing my job. I want to have kids one day, and I want to teach them to ski. The policies and ideals of the current Administration, however, are not conducive to either of these things, because, at least how things look now, I’d never be able to afford a good life for a child anyway, and snow will be a thing of Vermont history. So please, for the sake of our future shredders: Be Better Here. It has truly been a pleasure writing your morning snow reports — I hope this one sticks with you. With love, peace, and hope, Lucy Welch

But hey, while we’re here…1-3” of fresh snow to kick off this interesting weekend. Chance of scattered mixed precip showers today, with warmer temps reaching 36 at the base and 28 at the summit. Right now, the snowpack is a mix of machine groomed and frozen granular, with more winter-like conditions near the summits, but the new snow may help nudge conditions into the powder/packed powder category in certain aspects and elevations. Enjoy 60 groomers and 100% open terrain today! For Saturday, we’ll be rocking 111 trails, 484 skiable acres, and 60 groomed runs. Temps are expected to be in the mid-20s and mid-30s under cloudy skies with winds out of the WNW ranging from 15-40 MPH. With all the new snow we saw this month, it is more important than ever to be diligent when skiing and riding in the woods — tree wells pose a greater risk with all this fresh pow.

More like a dog klaxon.

Conveniently enough, this quote is actually taken from an endnote.

Defining yourself in opposition to something is still being anaclitic on that thing, isn’t it? I certainly think so. And men who believe they hate what they really fear they need are of limited interest, I find.

Infinite Jest

Con: we’re under attack, and the waiting is insufferable. Pro: as the attacks become more direct, the number of possible responses collapse into a mere few and abundantly clear choices. The sinpler the choices, the easier it will become to ubify. The well worn Mike Tyson quote about everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face cuts both ways. Sometimes you punch the wrong guy. And nobody can take on multiple guys simultaneously. We are smarter than they are, we have greater numbers than they do. We can absolutely punch back.

If America is a car, MAGA is refusing to do routine maintenance and using that money instead to buy tacky plastic hubcaps, weather stripping, air fresheners, steering wheel covers, and stickers. By the time they’re done we’re going to be a half painted car with a seized engine and negative equity, with a bunch of metalized plastic crap attached to it and mismatched tires.

Not only are they form over function, but they have terrible taste.