Supervisor194

I think we may have to agree to disagree, but I don't think having the Marshal Service, which is run by the Executive, issue them a subpoena is what I would call an "enforcement mechanism" that could "lead to a lot of death." It is nothing more than something for the Executive to tell the Marshals to ignore and barring that, for the Executive to ignore itself. There is no "enforcement" here. Judicial has recourse against you and me (it can have the Marshals jail us for contempt - unless we are under the protection of the Executive), but not against the Executive. The only recourse against the Executive is impeachment and conviction from Congress. End of story.

[citation needed]

They're not defying Trump, they own Trump ffs. There is no useful mainstream media.

And of course whatever they want to be true will be true.

She wrote me a personal response by email to apologize, published my response in the paper, and published a retraction of her editorial.

I'm sure she'd do the same today. The Internet has made us all so much better at engaging in constructive dialogue.

It the right really comprised 100% of self-loathing homosexuals and their beards?

MAGA people can't feel shame over any of this, they are incapable. This is a wealth and religion thing, you'll notice MAGA people are nearly universally either wealthy, religious or both.

Particularly in America (because of the historical confluence of wealth and religion) these two types of people don't experience shame the same way normal people do. Wealthy people's sense of superiority over their position in society has bred in them the notion that shame is for their lessers. The richer they are, the worse this is. Religious people feel that nothing in the world is more righteous than sticking it to nonbelievers and no effort put forth in pursuit of that goal can be considered shameful. In fact, the opposite. In any case their shame quotient is sodden with their own repressed sexuality.

If I'm in a generous mood, I think I can sort of explain it, but none of it comes from Trump, he's just not smart enough to give much of a shit. This is more the Project 2025 types.

It seems to me that Republicans have decided that a series of decisions that were made in the 90s (largely authored by big business and therefore, Republicans) that... for lack of a better term - liberalized global trade - were a mistake, and they are intent on reversing them at all costs.

Decisions like NAFTA, PNTR/WTO for China, etc. These things led to cheap goods which kept inflation low and profits high for US corporations. But they also largely wiped out domestic manufacturing and led to reliance on China for a lot of really important shit. It's hard to understate that by 2020, China controlled 80% of rare earth supplies and 90% of global electronics manufacturing.

They want to bring us back to the way things were in the 1910s for social policy (eliminate both abortion and a woman's right to vote) and they want us back in the 80s when it comes to like domestic trade policy and manufacturing.

The problem, of course, is a) Republicans created the problem in the first place (granted with Democrats' help) and b) "at all costs" means "without regard to whether or not it fucks the average US citizen" which it most certainly will. So we all get to suffer yet again so that the billionaire class has its cake and eats it too.

You mis-spelled "belligerently doubling down."

Yep. Oh it will open down bigly. But I expect the day to end up sideways or marginal. If Cramer ends up being right about anything, then I'm certain I've switched timelines.

I've not read Spinoza, but this idea has for most of my life seemed fairly self-evident. Something clearly seems to exist, I'm not the biggest most important thing in the something, though I am a part of it. Do I believe in God? Not per se - but I do believe there is something incomprehensibly larger than I am, and that in and of itself deserves a little respect and contemplation.

My religious parents didn't see it that way of course.