AverageSalt_Miner: “There’s something uniquely perverse about cruelty performed by people who will never experience the consequences of their own ideology. Unlike the Somali pirates or the Taliban—groups operating in extreme conditions, driven by survival, ideology, or desperation—the architects of modern American cruelty live in comfort. They do not suffer. They are not struggling for food or security. And yet, they choose cruelty, not as a necessity, but as a luxury.
I am undergoing some really good therapy. Certain aspects of life have backed off enough that at least sometimes, the sense of threat is not as strong as it had been in prior years. What is strange for me, though, especially having been freed from the very old fashioned requirements of masculinity, and also I think biologically, compounded by the additional estrogen, is that the trauma tends to float up. What’s bizarre about that experience is that I can suffer what’s termed an emotional flashback.
Q: If you got to have a friend in Jesus so that he’ll recommend you to the Spirit in the Sky, then who is the Spirit in the Sky - in the theology of the song?
A: Within the song’s own logic, Jesus functions as an intermediary: you “gotta have a friend in Jesus … so you know that when you die / He’s gonna recommend you / to the Spirit in the Sky.
A young male, orphaned protagonist.
Sent to live with his aunt and uncle for safety,
an ordinary life in an isolated location.
He grows up completely unaware of his true heritage;
his uncle refuses to tell him what really happened to his parents.
He receives a special message & visitor that changes everything.
Against his uncle’s wishes, he leaves home for the first time,
Where he meets a mysterious, bearded stranger,
libraford: I’m at the pediatrician office watching two 3-year olds attempt to break the language barrier.
English-speaking child: baby! baby!
Spanish speaking child: jesta bebe!
[excited screaming from both]
Spanish: [produces a toy of some kind]
[excited screaming from both]
Spanish: do … do you … quieres … ahhh …
English: do you want to come pl-
Spanish: ¿Juegas conmigo?
[toy makes a sound]
[excited screaming from both] 🗒
From ChatGPT’s Deep Research.
Introduction Donald Trump’s political appeal has always spanned a spectrum of motivations – from conventional policy preferences and identity-based affinities to more divisive, conspiracy-fueled loyalties. This analysis compares the reasons voters supported Trump at two moments: during the 2024 U.S. presidential election and as of April 2025. By examining key policy areas – the economy, immigration, culture, and law enforcement/governance – we can see both the “civilized” motivations (principled, policy-based, or identity-affirming reasons) and the “uncivilized” ones (conspiracy-driven, hate-based, or authoritarian-leaning impulses).
force unhappy couples to stay married even if they're miserable together. make all abortions illegal - even if you're raped or might die from the pregnancy. take away your birth control pills and IUDs. give your tax dollars to billionaires while you struggle to pay bills. take more money from your paycheck if you're a regular worker. kill the organizations that fight for your fair pay and safe workplace. make you work until you're too old and sick to enjoy retirement.
Warning: IANAL but I’m lawyer-aligned. Here’s something for your stories, if you are an author:
Legalese:
This license is granted only on the condition that the licensee is not, and does not publicly present themselves as (in earnest or in support of those views), racist, homophobic, transphobic (including but not limited to gender-critical or so-called “TERF” ideologies), antisemitic, Islamophobic, or sexist, nor produces derivative works that depict my original characters or narratives in a way that glorifies or affirms such views.
@RetroAgent12: How did we get here? Donald Trump tanked the economy based on a book his son-in-law found on Amazon.
He told Jared Kushner to find him an economic advisor—someone who could make him “look tough” and talk tough on China. Jared searched Amazon, saw a book called Death by China, and thought the title was “cool.” So he cold-called the author, Peter Navarro, and gave him a job.
Navarro had no real economic credibility—just an obsession with tariffs and a made-up expert named “Ron Vara” whom he cited repeatedly in his books.
Worf: “Thinking about what you can’t control only wastes energy and creates its own enemy.”
Picard: “It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life.”
Troi: “Feelings aren’t positive or negative, they simply exist. It’s what we do with those feelings that becomes good or bad.”
Lwaxana: “Life’s true gift is the capacity to enjoy enjoyment.”
Wesley: “I’m never gonna feel this way about anyone else.
Stagflation is when an economy experiences two negative conditions at the same time:
Slow or stagnant economic growth (meaning the economy isn’t producing more goods and services) High inflation (meaning prices keep rising) Think of it this way: In a healthy economy, businesses produce more stuff, more people have jobs, and prices stay relatively stable. But during stagflation, the economy isn’t growing much (or might even be shrinking), while prices for everyday items like food, gas, and clothes keep going up.
So, I’m embarrassed, but not for a good reason. It’s been a TOUGH day. Said goodbye to my therapist. Then worked.
Then accidentally spilled soda on my power strip enough that it literally began buzzing and smoking. Cautiously but frantically (until today, I would not have thought you could do something both cautiously and frantically, but sure enough, it is possible), I unplugged every single plug on that strip and moved it to the other room, then called 911, keeping my cool, and they said as long as it was unplugged, it was cooling, and the wall platform was not hot, I shuld be okay.
Erik Veland: The Hegseth Signal Scandal is not just a mistake. It’s a sign that the fascist coup is sloppy, dangerous, and fully operational. This wasn’t “oops, wrong text.” It was Project 2025 protocol in action.
Here’s why this has intelligence vets raging and democracies trembling: The U.S. government—yes, the one run by Trump’s handpicked fascists—accidentally added a journalist to a group Signal chat where they were actively planning strikes in Yemen.
A: This is how Tony Stark figured out time travel, because we know in Endgame he uses a Möbius strip as the shape to figure out time travel, but the reason why Marvel and the Russo brothers use this shape is actually crazy.
B: To be fair, I have no idea what a Möbius strip even does.
A: Okay, so if you look at this, right, it’s just a regular loop.
I do not understand why Trump’s executive orders are currently being treated as faits accomplis, even by those challenging them.
EOs have to stay inside Constitutional boundaries (Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer); they can’t contradict or override federal laws or even spend money without Congress’ OK (Chamber of Commerce v. Reich (1996); Dames & Moore v. Regan (1981); Louisiana Public Service Commission v. FCC (1986)); they can’t commandeer state officials (Printz v.
Q: By American law, what would happen if a President was determined to have fraudulently altered vote counts to gain the Presidency?
A: Under American law, if a President were found to have fraudulently altered vote counts to secure the presidency, several legal consequences could ensue:
Criminal Charges: Engaging in election fraud is a federal crime.
For instance, 52 U.S.C. § 20511 stipulates penalties for anyone who knowingly and willfully deprives or defrauds residents of a fair election process by procuring, casting, or tabulating fraudulent ballots.
D.L. Mayfield: Here’s my pep talk after studying authoritarianism:
They never truly expect a long-term resistance movement be they think people are a collection of trauma triggers who are easily controlled thru terror.If they can't terrorize you 24/7 in your mind, they have already lost the war.The single best way you can resist fascism is to not let them terrorize you constantly. Protect your mental health to ensure you are not constantly ina terrorized state.
The terms red-nosed comedian and white-faced comedian are recognized in comedy, drawing from classic clown typologies.
The red-nosed comedian (like Robin Williams) typically embodies:
A chaotic, improvisational styleHigh energy and physical comedyOften vulnerable, emotional, and self-deprecatingWilling to expose personal flaws and weaknesses for humorEmbraces failure and vulnerability as comedy sources The white-faced comedian (like Steve Martin) generally represents:
A more controlled, intellectual approachDeadpan delivery with precise timingAn air of superiority or detachmentMore structured material and calculated personaOften uses irony and observational humor These terms reference classical circus clown archetypes: the Auguste (red-nosed, emotional fool) and the white-faced clown (sophisticated, controlled straight man).
The enemy is laughably weak but so incredibly strong that we need to unite with the full force of the state to fight them.Helping people hurts people.We need free market competition to stop the monopolies created by free market competition.The victors are the real victims.Your labour is required for society to function, but you don't deserve to be compensated fairly for it.Tyranny is when the public decides where our collective resources should go.
His VP ... warned you.His Chief-of-Staff ... warned you.His Defense Secretary ... warned you.His Joint Chiefs-of-Staff ... warned you.Historians ... warned you.Pundits ... warned you.Former Presidents ... warned you.His sexual assault victim(s) ... warned you.World economists ... warned you.Judges ... warned you. WE ALL WARNED YOU.
You looked the other way.
You said it was ALL fake news ... because he told you it was.You said he was a great President .
I am allowed to spend my time creating things, even if they are not beautiful.There is no such thing as a "real job." All forms of work are real and valid.There is nothing that I need to accomplish to be worthy. I am already worthy.Doing nothing is good for my soul.I am not defined by what I produce.My worth cannot be measured by my paycheck, my job title, or a list of professional or academic achievements.
“I’ve never owned a kitten before this one, and I always kind of assumed that baby animals were born with implicit understandings of things like heat and what water is, but he’s really proving me wrong at every turn. This tweet was prompted by him sticking his arm shoulder-deep into my hot tea just now to see what it was.
“This was honestly one of my favorite things about getting a kitten.
Man: Hey girl. The longstanding social arrangement in which heterosexual men found purpose by providing security for a family has been altered by modern women’s self-sufficiency. The increase in service-sector employment along with women’s higher average social networking ability has resulted in a world where typical men like me no longer feel needed and are struggling to find meaning.
Woman: Wow, are you going to perhaps join a men’s club where you can meet friends and mentors, acquiring practical and life skills in order to gain the confidence tempered by wisdom that would make you a whole person and a desirable life partner?