Of course it isn’t just sitting around unused, it’s being reinvested to make more money. Billionaires typically put most of their net worth into assets and stocks and then live off of loans, just like the comic I posted alludes to. Just because they don’t have literal piles of cash sitting around doesn’t mean they aren’t absurdly wealthy.

And let’s be honest, if a billionaire wanted a Scrooge McDuck style gold pile they could have it arranged within a week at most.

An exceedingly dangerous activity indeed.

We need to be mad at non-voters, people who “lashed out” and voted for Trump, and people who let themselves be swept away by the lies of a grifter who we did nothing but warn them about. But we also need to be mad at the DNC

Please also try to funnel that anger into meaningful action. Staying mad at non-voters is understandable but also entirely unhelpful. Staying mad at the DNC however is both understandable and rational, and has the potential to drive change if you allow yourself to channel it into something productive.

I used to be interested in the things Andrew Yang had to say back in 2020, especially with regard to UBI, but I’m really put off by him now. His whole schtick is a libertarian technocratic utopian fantasy. The expansion of welfare while simultaneously sucking up to oligarchs is just a way to preserve the capitalist status quo. He wants to breathe new life into the machine that’s exploiting us and destroying the planet.

His vision for the future is basically just the UN as depicted in The Expanse.

Reminds me of this:

Not sure if this is real, but you know you’ve won at life when you can submit something looking like this and still get hired.

The problem is that meaningfully helping others often requires self-sacrifice. Solidarity is a shift in perspective, to extend the self around others and act in the collective interest.

Journalists are being systematically killed in both Gaza and the West Bank. We know for a fact that more journalists have been killed in this conflict than have died in the last 10 years of wars and conflicts. We’re past the point of scrutinizing every detail and nuance of a single journalist’s death before passing a verdict. It is clear that even if they are not intentionally targeting journalists, they certainly don’t seem to care if they happen to keep shooting them.

That’s because it’s exaggerated, and the kids play into it rather than cringing and moving on like you might have when you were a kid and adults tried using your slang. The reason is that unlike previous generations, gen Z has incorporated it into youth culture as a result of the current state of the internet and has a name to call it by: brainrot.

To me, the details of the arrest report scream parallel construction. A full setup and Luigi being a patsy suggests that every detail was chosen by whoever perpetrated the conspiracy, and there are a lot of details that strike me as very bizarre choices for them to make. I find it difficult to believe that the NYPD are simultaneously competent enough to find a believable patsy and execute an elaborate setup within a few days, but incompetent enough to accidentally turn the patsy into a relatable folk hero.

I have the same issue with the idea that this is a setup as I do with a lot of other popular conspiracy theories, I just don’t see any possible motive that makes sense. This entire situation has been a total PR nightmare for everyone who could possibly have been involved in the alleged conspiracy. That Luigi intended/expected to be caught seems to me the simplest and most likely explanation for the set of facts we have available. If I were to speculate further, I’d guess Luigi didn’t expect to get as far as he did and was weighing his options while on the run, and basically just decided to turn himself in and chose a public place for his own safety.

If you are trans then your existence is ammo to transphobes. That’s kinda just… how it works.

Anyone thinking about engaging in direct action of any kind should consider embracing the absurdity. Imagine how stupid it would make the police look to beat up on a bunch of protestors wearing puffy amogus suits. It’s more than a joke, it’s historically been effective in opposing authoritarianism.

I’m sure Trump’s concepts of a plan will fix healthcare in this country. Yup, definitely should have just waited for daddy Trump to give the healthcare industry a spanking. He’s definitely not a slimy conman who will just let the insurance industry line his pockets like every other politician.

But the military isn’t honoring the vote.

I disagree that it’s impossible for someone coming from a place of privilege to understand working-class politics. Of course, people with privilege do have a tendency to create or buy into justifications for the system that upholds their position, but at the same time privilege grants people the freedom to do what those without cannot. It’s admirable for someone with that background to use their privilege for the good of all, potentially even to their own detriment.

It seems your distaste for Hasan is based on surface-level appearances and vibes, but those same traits that put you off of Hasan are very appealing to a large number of young men who are otherwise susceptible to right-wing cultural framing. I also used to avoid Hasan because he just didn’t seem like someone I would identify with, and I was put off by the react content that made me associate him with shameless react streamers who leech off other people’s work. After actually listening to him I realized he is very knowledgeable and is actually adding value to the content he reacts to. He used his privilege to study political science and become a political commentator, and he has genuine passion for his work and a commitment to progressive values.

Edit: If you’re looking for someone with a similar perspective but without the aesthetic baggage try The Majority Report with Sam Seder

They didn’t say Russia wasn’t to blame, or that what Russia is doing is justified. They said - and I happen to agree - that conscription is always wrong. No one should, under any circumstance, be compelled by force to fight and die for their state or for any other reason. The choice to risk one’s own life for a cause - even a cause of defense - is your choice alone.

Should young Ukrainians volunteer to defend their independence? Probably, but that’s up to them, or at least it should be.

I grew up Southern Baptist and it was common for people to be re-baptized if they had doubts or left the faith after their first time. The theological justification is that they must not have truly accepted Jesus into their hearts if the first baptism didn’t “take,” so if you asked to be re-baptized the pastor would ask you a bunch of questions to make sure you’re actually serious this time.

I was baptized when I was 7 and have since left the church, but some of my family have begged me to come back and truly accept Jesus into my heart so I can be re-baptized.

Russia has long reached the end state of neoliberal capitalism, fascism. The US is currently transitioning.

*laughs in evangelical upbringing