Not sure either of these counts fully as what OP is looking for, but -

The idea of the technological singularity feels right to me. There’s a whole section on the wikipedia page about scientific objections to it, and I get that, but if we don’t kill ourselves before then, it seems like an event that almost has to occur at some point, to me. And maybe it zigs instead of zags and we get star trek. Or maybe it zags and we get terminator. But probably neither of those I’m guessing, and these days it’s hard to imagine that it would put humanity on a worse trajectory than we seem to be on today.

Similarly, but less seriously (for me) I like to consider the whole “maybe we’re in a simulation” theory.

Trump has lost several court cases already, and many are just getting started.

I feel we define consequences differently.

If you expect the judicial system to broadly restore the status quo under Biden

I expected the judicial system to have him in prison, or have made a credible attempt at such, before his cultists could re-elect him. That’s why nothing about what it might do in the future has meaning to me. When it does something that matters, that will be fantastic. I hope I’m alive to see it.

Right now we’re coming up on 5 years of fluff and Trump pulling change out of his couch cushions then replenishing it with NFTs, gold shoes, and other grift.

So all these assurances ring hollow if I’m to take them as any indication that he won’t be able to continue raw dogging the US and the world until he gets sick of it or until arteriosclerosis finally does us all a favor.

Do you not comprehend that I no longer feel any sense of hope from what our justice system could or might do in the future, since it has utterly failed to impede him in any substantive way to date? I’m not saying you are wrong, I’m saying it is meaningless given what has happened to him so far (no substantive impact) until something different happens (substantive impact).

Because so far, he seems to be gaming things really well, and I see no reason to think that will change.

I (and all of us) waited for what our justice system could do for four years. And it did nothing that mattered. I say again:

So, you’ll forgive me if I’ll wait until I hear about bank accounts being drained and that it has any measurable impact on the rate of progress at https://www.project2025.observer/ before I lull myself back into to believing Trump is in any way not untouchable.

I don’t mean this to sound argumentative, but every time I make a statement like you replied to I feel like no one gets what I’m saying.

I understand there are reasons things take awhile. I understand our justice system is supposed to be set up that the state needs to make a solid case.

I also understand that Trump has managed to fall through every loophole in every layer of our justice system so far, and avoided any consequences that would cause him actual financial hardship, any sort of punishment whatsoever for his 34 felonies, and any kind of consequences for Jan 06.

So, NOW, when he’s at the height of his power, I take no comfort from how our justice system can or should or might work. I will take comfort when I see it actually doing something to meaningfully impede Donald Trump and Elon Musk, which so far I have not seen.

And judges will target his employees, until nobody is willing to break the law for him.

And when they do, I’ll applaud for them as loudly as anyone else.

Until then, as they say, it’s vaporware.

I keep hearing arguments like this, and I’d love to be reassured by them, but they come after watching Trump receive 34 felony convictions with no actual punishment for those convictions, after which he was elected President of the United States of America. It also comes after watching a 4 year long failure to attach (or even try to attach) any consequences to him for Jan 06.

So, you’ll forgive me if I’ll wait until I hear about bank accounts being drained and that it has any measurable impact on the rate of progress at https://www.project2025.observer/ before I lull myself back into to believing Trump is in any way not untouchable.

There are a lot of things the system can do to stop something like this. So far it’s not doing very many of them.

Now convince the democratic party leadership that serving their constituents is more important that kissing donor ass.

Convince them of that, and the winning elections thing will solve itself.

Not to be overly flippant, but it’s very clearly Russia, IMO. We don’t even need to wade into the current “Krasnov” discussion or talk about Trump on the Ukraine war to see it.

2021 article

The report, drafted by the CIA, the FBI, and several other agencies, was released in unclassified form on Tuesday, but it was presented in classified form on Jan. 7. In other words, it was compiled, written, and edited during Trump’s administration. It destroys his lies about the election, and it exposes him as a Russian asset.

Miraculously the report is still up: https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/ICA-declass-16MAR21.pdf

Ice Cube had it worked out in 2017 though. 😁

The “good” news is it’s been stuck at 36% for a few days. But yeah, I see what you mean and had a similar thought.

That thing reads like they are trying to destroy social cohesion, the environment, and probably the economy.

It sure does. Almost like he was an asset of an adversarial foreign government.

Is it just me or is the US heading into an economic recession?

Everyone but Trump, 77million magas, and Musk thinks so too.

I now want one of those “better dead than Red” shirts, but with an entirely different meaning than the folks who were wearing them in the 80s.

First they came for the immigrants, but I was not an immigrant.

Then they came for the trans folks, but I was not trans.

Then they came for gay people, but I was not gay.

…

Edit:

A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) unit has eliminated policies preventing staff from gathering intelligence on an individual or group based solely on their LGBTQ+ status

DHS quietly eliminates ban on surveillance based on sexual orientation and gender identity

For those who want to watch as the progress bar of doom slowly progresses…

https://www.project2025.observer/

Edit - well I’m now deleting my entire response because I misunderstood yours lol. In any case - all good! :)

Maybe I gave up too early in the thread. I saw nothing more than lukewarm criticism of Trump/Vance, and the anti-Ukraine comments were as you describe.

I like to keep a feel for whether any of them are starting to wake up, but I have to limit my exposure over there because the things some of them say just really disgust me, and it’s all just so at odds with the values I was taught we had as a nation growing up, I just can’t take more than a few minutes of time there before I have to bail.

I shudder to now realize I’m walking around with 77 million people who continue supporting this jackass and what he’s doing to our country. It’s literally a nationwide cult. I’ve lost friends and family to it, as has everyone in the nation. It’s really just too much to handle sometimes.

(sorry for the rant, I didn’t intend it when I started typing)

Republicans are the DARVO party.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DARVO

Maga:

meh. This is fine.

edit - no, they are celebrating it. You know where to look. I wonder how bad it will get before that place finally realizes he’s not just hurting the people they want him to hurt.

Thank you for the reminder to rewatch Easy Rider!

I can’t find a good summary and am not in any way an expert in this field. But I think these generations are technically based on defining events in the world and likely common experiences more than a close tie to biological generations. If you look at the page for the Silent Generation wiki page there is some explanation of that. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Generation#Terminology

TL;DR it’s all very loosey goosey.

When they do, I’ll come back to acknowledge I was wrong. In the meantime, I’m not holding my breath. 4 years of that was enough.

You’re missing the point.

No, you are missing mine.

My point is that nothing that happened with Trump over the course of four years that gives me ANY confidence regarding how the system will work now. (see 34 felonies case)

Your “well okay, Trump is above the law, but the folks below him might not be” is not the confidence builder you seem to think it is. When folks start going to jail (and staying there) I’ll share your enthusiasm.

Edit: And it doesn’t count if they are going to jail after we’ve reached the “rebuilding our nation from rubble” stage.