MerryJaneDoe

joined 1 week ago
[–] MerryJaneDoe@piefed.world 13 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago) (1 children)

It's funny, I have very successful friends who used to say something similar. As one put it: "If you sell out at 20, you got no heart. If you haven't sold out by 30, you got no head."

That friend group are a great bunch of guys in their personal lives, family men and good providers, down to the last one. At the same time, they are 100% part of the problem. They are landlords and marketing execs. And every one of them has an exceptionally high EQ. (Except Jake. He's my favorite and he fixes industrial baking equipment. Used to be a bartender. You know the type - staring daggers when you interrupt his conversation with a regular customer. Jake didn't GAF about EQ.)

Anyway, it's not that they are evil. They are just the "normal" amount of selfish. They have comfortable lives. They read their newsfeeds without ever thinking any deeper. They aren't the Nazis - they are the people who empower Nazis by remaining laser-focused on their job and their family, ignoring politics unless their property tax is at stake.

I think it's possible to be a good husband and an overall good person, but not a good citizen. Zombies, if you will.

[–] MerryJaneDoe@piefed.world 5 points 14 hours ago (4 children)

Someone did. They missed by inches. I would imagine they beefed up security a bit since then...

And, in most cases, it's a good thing that our head of state is well-protected. Otherwise, we'd have a new president every week and the executive branch would be a mess...oh....hmmm....

[–] MerryJaneDoe@piefed.world 18 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago)

Edit: It's because I chose "Link" as the type of post. If I had chosen "Discussion", a URL wouldn't have been required.

I always do this - I ask questions first and click around later. JFC, I don't know if I've got ADHD or just come down with a case of boomeritis.


Thanks for this!

The field was marked required, with a red asterisk. I tried posting without a URL, and it did not accept the webform. Said I needed to fill in the required field.

I took a screenshot: https://imgur.com/a/gbF3jP3

(And if Imgur doesn't meet Lemmy standards, I'm happy to use a different service.)

[–] MerryJaneDoe@piefed.world 4 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago)

Totally agree with you, a handgun is no match for a tank. If the military wants to make war on citizens, they will lose.

However, there is more going on that meets the eye. Many members of the military would not want to shoot their own citizens. And armed citizens can still do more damage than unarmed citizens. In other words, the 2A forces an authoritarian administration to use violence in order to repress the citizens. It ups the stakes. And citizens can strike in ways that the military can't. Guerilla warfare tactics. They don't need to "win", they just need to disrupt, to spread fear.

But, yeah, with the current surveillance state, along with the culpability of the media, it seems a dubious proposition that armed citizens can save themselves from the fascists. Regardless, I have suddenly become a HUGE proponent of guns. Especially when I see the Black Panthers providing security for demonstrators. Respect.

 

Is it worth registering my number with the federal government (which presumably already has access to my information) to avoid spam calls? Does it work? Is there a downside?

And also, why does this sub require a URL to post a question? Like, what if my question was so truly stupid that there was no related website?

[–] MerryJaneDoe@piefed.world 42 points 15 hours ago (12 children)

This is interesting.

This memo is only relevant if Trump plans on staying in office past 2028, or installing another MAGA sycophant.

I mean, Trump knows that if a Democrat takes office, the DOJ will first clean house and then go after him for this shit. Yet he telegraphs his intention to break the law. Why?

[–] MerryJaneDoe@piefed.world 4 points 15 hours ago (3 children)

The Constitution allows for the possibility of a gangster Administration. Checks and balances. The hope was that the Supreme Court and Congress would keep the executive branch in check.

The Constitution also recognizes that no system is perfect, so it adds the right to bear arms. Not for sport. Not for defense. The Second Amendment exists specifically to fight tyranny. Just in case the elections get rigged and an extremist party takes control.

Such an unlikely scenario, amiright?

[–] MerryJaneDoe@piefed.world 7 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago)

With respect, it's also about who receives the money.

RTX makes the Tomahawk.

In 2016, the stock was at 59. Now it's at almost 200. A return of 338%. That's about the same rate of return as the S&P 500 in the same timeframe. The difference being, the worst performing stocks in the S&P are regularly swapped out.

So, yeah, these guys are pretty much a sure bet to make money.

[–] MerryJaneDoe@piefed.world 4 points 16 hours ago

When you're a billionaire, pretty much everyone else is a poor people... and, as an added bonus, you get to use Tomahawk missiles to hunt them.

[–] MerryJaneDoe@piefed.world 5 points 17 hours ago

And perhaps even show up to the White House after the mission for a photo op and some McDonald's. Thus crushing the dream of being an astronaut for many young persons in the US.

Child: "Mommy, I want to be an astronaut when I grow up."

Mom: "Oh, that's wonderful, honey, you'll see the moon and even meet the president!"

Child: "BUT WHY?!"

[–] MerryJaneDoe@piefed.world 10 points 17 hours ago (2 children)

Your head is really gonna hurt when you read about printer ink and printing presses.

CMYK ftw!

[–] MerryJaneDoe@piefed.world 8 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago) (1 children)

This is false.

The Pentagon hosts a Ramadan dinner (at the end of the holiday, to celebrate the conclusion of the fasting ritual).

The Pentagon has hosted Hanukkah menorah lighting ceremonies. (I'm not sure if they still do.)

The issue here isn't the sponsoring of a religious activity. The function of the military is to send soldiers to their deaths. Those soldiers who need spiritual support should absolutely have access to it.

The issue is that the president and the defense secretary have incorporated evangelical Christianity into their cronyism. Religion is being used as a litmus test for loyalty.

Signed,

A pragmatic (ex-militant) atheist

[–] MerryJaneDoe@piefed.world 5 points 17 hours ago

The Pentagon has invited more than 3,500 employees to attend a Good Friday service at its in-house chapel. Except it’s only for Protestants, not Catholics.

About 25,000 employees work at the Pentagon on any given day. So, it's pretty obvious that not everyone was invited. The article gives no information on how employees were chosen, which is concerning. It could be officers only?

“Just a friendly reminder: There will be a Protestant Service (No Catholic Mass) for Good Friday today at the Pentagon Chapel,” reads a Friday email sent by Air Force leadership, a copy of which was shared by an employee.

This states that the service will not include Catholic Mass. This seems pretty standard for a non-denominational observance of Good Friday. (Though, knowing Kegseth, it will probably be an evangelical service.)

The Pentagon Memorial Chapel is a 24-hour interfaith chapel that employees can use for prayer and reflection, and that is used for religious services.

The Pentagon Memorial Chapel only seats 80 people. SO WHERE THE FUCK ARE THE OTHER 3,420 PEOPLE GONNA SIT?!

All in all, some pretty shitty reporting on the part of Huff Post. Lots of unanswered questions here.

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