What do you mean Americans seem not to have noticed? We’re all living in fear and dread and rage. The corporate media doesn’t seem to have noticed, but they don’t speak for the people. I’m becoming more and more convinced that Musk’s teenaged tech bros meddled with the Pennsylvania election during the 67 “bomb scares” but who wants to he…
What do you mean Americans seem not to have noticed? We’re all living in fear and dread and rage. The corporate media doesn’t seem to have noticed, but they don’t speak for the people. I’m becoming more and more convinced that Musk’s teenaged tech bros meddled with the Pennsylvania election during the 67 “bomb scares” but who wants to hear that tired old “they stole the election? The emperors are shutting down the federal election commission, so there won’t be anymore feee and fair elections in America. You can say anything, but do not say that we do not care!
I, for one went to a Not My President's day demo today. Didn't want to go because I thought it would be pitiful. It wasn't. The instructions on where to go and when to be there took a bit of research, but I was pleasantly surprised at how many turned up. North Hollywood, CA. I'm not good at crowd counting, but we would not have fit into a very large lecture hall - upwards of 500? So no, encourage the people who are trying to make a difference. I went with 2 others. We will be going back to our pre-election groups to see what can be done (Indivisible, Swing Left). Traded ideas. We're small fry but I'll bet we find a way if we don't get insulted to death.
It’s accurate. Most Americans have not noticed, and that makes me sad and angry. I talked with a family member this weekend and mentioned I participated in a protest against the Trump administration’s actions. The conversation went something like the:
Relative: “Why would you do that?”
Me: “Because what they’re doing is illegal.”
Relative: “No, it’s not.”
Me: “It is, and I can explain why.”
Relative: “But he’s getting things done that no one has been able to do before.”
Me: Ended call because smashing my forehead on the phone usually disconnects calls.
Not all Americans are living in fear and dread and rage. Many are simply oblivious. Sarah’s focus groups have had people who approve of what Trump is doing because he’s “getting things done.” They either don’t know what he’s actually doing (or what the consequences are) or don’t care.
Legacy media are deliberately not covering the anti-Trump/Musk/Fascistization of America demonstrations taking place across the country. If you want that information you need to watch Rachel Maddow weeknights on MSNBC. Smaller, reader-supported media don’t have the staff to cover local demos but it would be helpful to make some phone calls and report the voice of the people. That CBS poll that showed that people supported what Trump is allowing Musk to do 53% to 47% could have been inaccurate by as much as 3.5% when you consider the 2.5% variability… and it was not a legitimate poll when you consider the way the questions were stated. Yet lots of headlines proclaimed that Americans say they support Trump’s performance. We are being snowed at every turn. Where are the Democrats? Why are any of them voting for Trump’s outrageously unqualified nominees? Some of them have been cowering under their desks since Jan.6/21.
No democrat voted for any of the most dangerous and unqualified of the nominee's. No votes for Hegseth, Kennedy, Gabbard or Voight and only one for Bondi.
Just one data point, but the photograpy blog Petapixel posted this fairly netural article about the AP ban (https://petapixel.com/2025/02/16/national-press-photographers-association-condemns-white-house-for-banning-ap-journalists/). Included in the replies are Netposer: "Liberals are non-stop cry babies that are uniformed." and Bill Johnson: "The amount of TDS on this site is unreal..." A quick check shows that these are real Disqus users that have photography-related posts in the past. Help!
Help? There's no help for people like that. They're not "part of the problem". They *are* the problem. In a nutshell. No pun intended. Well, actually...
Curtis Yarvin wrote about replacing democratic institutions with corporate governance structures. The goal is to transform power from democratic institutions to technical systems controlled by a small elite.
What’s happening inside the Department of Government Efficiency is
the final phase of this plan. He is laying the infrastructure with young operatives now wiring AI models into the systems to make democracy obsolete.
They created an environment so chaotic that traditional democratic decision-making would become impossible. They disrupted journalism, replacing truth to ensure the public lost trust in government.
Donald Trump is oblivious. He only cares about his own power. His presidency is merely a temporary battering ram against democracy. They do not care about an aging leader with a declining grasp on reality.
However J.D. Vance, the Vice President in waiting, has studied Curtis Yarvin’s work. Peter Thiel, his longtime patron, has been funding this vision for over a decade. The men who have spent the past decade engineering an exit from democracy are in power, with money, AI, and a plan. In the world they are building, the people have no voice.
Democracy has never been closer to the brink. And if we do not act now, we may wake up one day to find that democracy was not overthrown in a dramatic coup—but simply deleted, line by line.
Exactly. And terrifying. This should be the focus of every fight, but it's probably beyond where most people get their information. It will have to hit their pocketbook first, and I hope that happens soon.
Donald Trump doesn’t care a bit about democratic institutions or public health, that’s why he’s given Musk and RFK Jr. permission to “go nuts”, as he puts it. He’d rather take The Beast around the Indy 500 track to the acclaim of His People, and get himself on Mt. Rushmore as the President who finally made America great. (By his deductive reasoning, he must therefore remain President in perpetuity.)
Thank you! I have read about Curtis Yarvin and his connection with Vance and Peter Thiel and the move toward National Conservatism, which includes Christian Nationalism. Frightening, indeed.
Absolutely, everyone I know is so angry, except one friend who literally says she "loves" Trump because he's doing all these great things. She's from NC, but still I get you might like him because you watched his game show, but to say he's doing good things says to me she has no ability reason or no morality.
That line caught my attention too. I took a screenshot of it. I think Americans no longer read, or pay attention. When they feel physical pain, they might respond, similar to how lower life forms respond to physical stimuli.
Today I’ll be attending my local protest demonstration, sponsored by Indivisible and local Democrats. Given the new climate of fear, I have sent my adult children the location of my will, and also the contact info of my local friends. Both of them requested that I let them know when I’m safely back home.
This is our new reality, when attending a permitted peaceful protest feels like a life-or-death activity. But as an elder, I have less to lose than the young.
I'm fully with you on this. But it's spitting into the wind. Very few people with agency are bothering. Crockett, AOC, Frost, Murphy, McGovern and a bit from Buttigieg. Where are our ex-Presidents, candidates, leaders?
Keep calling your senators and House member. Support the Democrats who speak up and call out those who hide. Still looking for you, Cory Booker. Your state is roiling.
All of my representatives are Republican. I voted for none of them. Nobody represents me in the federal government. They ignore my questions and send me newsletters telling me what a great job they are doing for the people back home that voted for them. Winner take all and nothing for the losers!
Hang in there! Keep calling them every day and tell them how they are putting you and our country at risk by allowing a non elected official like Musk involved on our government. Remind them they will lose your vote if nothing is done to get Musk out and that they are abdicating their constitutional duty.
Well said, I think there is a question of whether the American people are ready to engage in mass protests, strikes, walkouts, work stoppages, and other actions that slow or stop society to signify a collective voice, saying none of this is okay. So far, there is little indication of people willing to do that. But I could also be wrong, as I'm not as plugged into the grassroots community as I once was. Maybe I can also be blamed.
There are huge rallies/protests going on all over the country, calling/emailing your senators, attorney general, governor and boycotting companies on Feb 28.
I don't know. I don't know anyone thinking of doing anything. But it takes awhile to build a movement. Hopefully, he'll lose support and hopefully we'll have another election, but who knows.
There are nationwide protests scheduled today “Presidents Day”. Our local one is sponsored by Indivisible and the Democrats. I will be attending (my post below), even knowing it could be quite risky, given the new immunity cloak enjoyed by MAGA. It’s time we got started.
For the most part, the vast majority of Americans still have power, Netflix, and their mobile devices; hence, they're placated and unlikely to do anything.
I don’t know what you’re age & social media habits are but there are quite a few people that really don’t care, either because they’re unaware or think it won’t effect them. Younger people specifically seem to be laughing at all of this & rolling their eyes.
Most young people who roll their eyes cannot even remember Trump‘s first president presidency. They have never lived through a war and have little knowledge of other countries in the world. Is it grass or ketamine or just a poor education that makes them unable to imagine what a dictatorship is like. The old trope of “it won’t happen to me“ appears to be believed.
I think since they’re constantly on their phones they’re inundated with misinformation that you or I know is BS. The right has completely dominated the content game when it comes to things like using younger influencers & comedians to have podcasts that use something other than politics to draw them in but then once they’re in, start hitting them with whatever propaganda they (the powers on the right) think they (the youth) need to hear. The youth aren’t really interested in politics so for the most part, they won’t care to follow up. That’s just how I’ve observed things the last few years .
Yes, I agree with you. They are always on their phones rehashing their dramas with their friends. Unfortunately, too few families eat dinner together anymore where we used to have cross-generation conversations. IMO, we need to scrap article 233 and regulate social media. In my dreams I would have a large electrical outage hit all purveyors of deliberate misinformation.
Don't worry, those young people blame us for that. And they're not completely off-base either. After all, it's the people with the most who make sure everyone else has the least.
What do you mean Americans seem not to have noticed? We’re all living in fear and dread and rage. The corporate media doesn’t seem to have noticed, but they don’t speak for the people. I’m becoming more and more convinced that Musk’s teenaged tech bros meddled with the Pennsylvania election during the 67 “bomb scares” but who wants to hear that tired old “they stole the election? The emperors are shutting down the federal election commission, so there won’t be anymore feee and fair elections in America. You can say anything, but do not say that we do not care!
I, for one went to a Not My President's day demo today. Didn't want to go because I thought it would be pitiful. It wasn't. The instructions on where to go and when to be there took a bit of research, but I was pleasantly surprised at how many turned up. North Hollywood, CA. I'm not good at crowd counting, but we would not have fit into a very large lecture hall - upwards of 500? So no, encourage the people who are trying to make a difference. I went with 2 others. We will be going back to our pre-election groups to see what can be done (Indivisible, Swing Left). Traded ideas. We're small fry but I'll bet we find a way if we don't get insulted to death.
It’s accurate. Most Americans have not noticed, and that makes me sad and angry. I talked with a family member this weekend and mentioned I participated in a protest against the Trump administration’s actions. The conversation went something like the:
Relative: “Why would you do that?”
Me: “Because what they’re doing is illegal.”
Relative: “No, it’s not.”
Me: “It is, and I can explain why.”
Relative: “But he’s getting things done that no one has been able to do before.”
Me: Ended call because smashing my forehead on the phone usually disconnects calls.
Not all Americans are living in fear and dread and rage. Many are simply oblivious. Sarah’s focus groups have had people who approve of what Trump is doing because he’s “getting things done.” They either don’t know what he’s actually doing (or what the consequences are) or don’t care.
The oblivion of the people in the country is both astounding and deeply depressing.
Oblivion is a nicer term than ignorance.
Oh no? They cheated?
I agree with so many things you're saying but many adore Trump.
THEN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!! Get out in the streets instead of whining at home. How do you think it's done in other countries?
Go look at the protests. We are showing up
Legacy media are deliberately not covering the anti-Trump/Musk/Fascistization of America demonstrations taking place across the country. If you want that information you need to watch Rachel Maddow weeknights on MSNBC. Smaller, reader-supported media don’t have the staff to cover local demos but it would be helpful to make some phone calls and report the voice of the people. That CBS poll that showed that people supported what Trump is allowing Musk to do 53% to 47% could have been inaccurate by as much as 3.5% when you consider the 2.5% variability… and it was not a legitimate poll when you consider the way the questions were stated. Yet lots of headlines proclaimed that Americans say they support Trump’s performance. We are being snowed at every turn. Where are the Democrats? Why are any of them voting for Trump’s outrageously unqualified nominees? Some of them have been cowering under their desks since Jan.6/21.
No democrat voted for any of the most dangerous and unqualified of the nominee's. No votes for Hegseth, Kennedy, Gabbard or Voight and only one for Bondi.
Just one data point, but the photograpy blog Petapixel posted this fairly netural article about the AP ban (https://petapixel.com/2025/02/16/national-press-photographers-association-condemns-white-house-for-banning-ap-journalists/). Included in the replies are Netposer: "Liberals are non-stop cry babies that are uniformed." and Bill Johnson: "The amount of TDS on this site is unreal..." A quick check shows that these are real Disqus users that have photography-related posts in the past. Help!
Help? There's no help for people like that. They're not "part of the problem". They *are* the problem. In a nutshell. No pun intended. Well, actually...
This is an excerpt from a much longer article.
*********************
Curtis Yarvin wrote about replacing democratic institutions with corporate governance structures. The goal is to transform power from democratic institutions to technical systems controlled by a small elite.
What’s happening inside the Department of Government Efficiency is
the final phase of this plan. He is laying the infrastructure with young operatives now wiring AI models into the systems to make democracy obsolete.
They created an environment so chaotic that traditional democratic decision-making would become impossible. They disrupted journalism, replacing truth to ensure the public lost trust in government.
Donald Trump is oblivious. He only cares about his own power. His presidency is merely a temporary battering ram against democracy. They do not care about an aging leader with a declining grasp on reality.
However J.D. Vance, the Vice President in waiting, has studied Curtis Yarvin’s work. Peter Thiel, his longtime patron, has been funding this vision for over a decade. The men who have spent the past decade engineering an exit from democracy are in power, with money, AI, and a plan. In the world they are building, the people have no voice.
Democracy has never been closer to the brink. And if we do not act now, we may wake up one day to find that democracy was not overthrown in a dramatic coup—but simply deleted, line by line.
Exactly. And terrifying. This should be the focus of every fight, but it's probably beyond where most people get their information. It will have to hit their pocketbook first, and I hope that happens soon.
Donald Trump doesn’t care a bit about democratic institutions or public health, that’s why he’s given Musk and RFK Jr. permission to “go nuts”, as he puts it. He’d rather take The Beast around the Indy 500 track to the acclaim of His People, and get himself on Mt. Rushmore as the President who finally made America great. (By his deductive reasoning, he must therefore remain President in perpetuity.)
not to worry - the catastrophic mess we're making of the environment will make all our 'political' probs thoroughly moot
Can you share the link to the article to which you refer? Thank you!
https://substack.com/home/post/p-156755682
Note that many in the current administration are supportive of Curtis Yarvin's views! That's very fearful. Explains the support for what's going on.
This is also a very compelling video by Malcolm Nance
https://malcolmnance.substack.com/p/warning-we-are-in-a-national-security?r=3npa78&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=audio-player
Thank you! I have read about Curtis Yarvin and his connection with Vance and Peter Thiel and the move toward National Conservatism, which includes Christian Nationalism. Frightening, indeed.
Absolutely, everyone I know is so angry, except one friend who literally says she "loves" Trump because he's doing all these great things. She's from NC, but still I get you might like him because you watched his game show, but to say he's doing good things says to me she has no ability reason or no morality.
lotta soup-for-brains out there - wonder how they manage to cross the street without getting shmooshed
That line caught my attention too. I took a screenshot of it. I think Americans no longer read, or pay attention. When they feel physical pain, they might respond, similar to how lower life forms respond to physical stimuli.
Today I’ll be attending my local protest demonstration, sponsored by Indivisible and local Democrats. Given the new climate of fear, I have sent my adult children the location of my will, and also the contact info of my local friends. Both of them requested that I let them know when I’m safely back home.
This is our new reality, when attending a permitted peaceful protest feels like a life-or-death activity. But as an elder, I have less to lose than the young.
I'm fully with you on this. But it's spitting into the wind. Very few people with agency are bothering. Crockett, AOC, Frost, Murphy, McGovern and a bit from Buttigieg. Where are our ex-Presidents, candidates, leaders?
Keep calling your senators and House member. Support the Democrats who speak up and call out those who hide. Still looking for you, Cory Booker. Your state is roiling.
All of my representatives are Republican. I voted for none of them. Nobody represents me in the federal government. They ignore my questions and send me newsletters telling me what a great job they are doing for the people back home that voted for them. Winner take all and nothing for the losers!
Hang in there! Keep calling them every day and tell them how they are putting you and our country at risk by allowing a non elected official like Musk involved on our government. Remind them they will lose your vote if nothing is done to get Musk out and that they are abdicating their constitutional duty.
Protecting their assets. :(
Meanwhile we are literally buried in snow. It just keeps coming down. Like Xitter bullshit from the biggest asshole on globe.
Well said, I think there is a question of whether the American people are ready to engage in mass protests, strikes, walkouts, work stoppages, and other actions that slow or stop society to signify a collective voice, saying none of this is okay. So far, there is little indication of people willing to do that. But I could also be wrong, as I'm not as plugged into the grassroots community as I once was. Maybe I can also be blamed.
There are huge rallies/protests going on all over the country, calling/emailing your senators, attorney general, governor and boycotting companies on Feb 28.
https://search.app/TJi33fmcn9Ecgm6p9
I don't know. I don't know anyone thinking of doing anything. But it takes awhile to build a movement. Hopefully, he'll lose support and hopefully we'll have another election, but who knows.
There are nationwide protests scheduled today “Presidents Day”. Our local one is sponsored by Indivisible and the Democrats. I will be attending (my post below), even knowing it could be quite risky, given the new immunity cloak enjoyed by MAGA. It’s time we got started.
For the most part, the vast majority of Americans still have power, Netflix, and their mobile devices; hence, they're placated and unlikely to do anything.
Very well put.
I don’t know what you’re age & social media habits are but there are quite a few people that really don’t care, either because they’re unaware or think it won’t effect them. Younger people specifically seem to be laughing at all of this & rolling their eyes.
Most young people who roll their eyes cannot even remember Trump‘s first president presidency. They have never lived through a war and have little knowledge of other countries in the world. Is it grass or ketamine or just a poor education that makes them unable to imagine what a dictatorship is like. The old trope of “it won’t happen to me“ appears to be believed.
I think since they’re constantly on their phones they’re inundated with misinformation that you or I know is BS. The right has completely dominated the content game when it comes to things like using younger influencers & comedians to have podcasts that use something other than politics to draw them in but then once they’re in, start hitting them with whatever propaganda they (the powers on the right) think they (the youth) need to hear. The youth aren’t really interested in politics so for the most part, they won’t care to follow up. That’s just how I’ve observed things the last few years .
Yes, I agree with you. They are always on their phones rehashing their dramas with their friends. Unfortunately, too few families eat dinner together anymore where we used to have cross-generation conversations. IMO, we need to scrap article 233 and regulate social media. In my dreams I would have a large electrical outage hit all purveyors of deliberate misinformation.
Chris, agree with this, and I don't necessarily blame them, but they are soon going to experience the FO part of FAFO
Is that true for the ones who can't afford to buy homes and whose rent and gas and food bills are all going up at an uncomfortably rapid pace?
I'm of the generation that has the most assets but I'm concerned about them seriously effing up economies so that they're worth nothing.
Well I can tell you my college age son is an exception. He is well aware and calls his Senators weekly.
His campus recently had a group of students protesting the colleges investments in Israel.
He told them they should be protesting what their President is doing to our institutions.
Don't worry, those young people blame us for that. And they're not completely off-base either. After all, it's the people with the most who make sure everyone else has the least.
Same