Sigh. Flight schools

You've posted a bunch of funny posts today haven't you. The 911 attackers were not only in the country legally but they also had openly enrolled at first schools. Immigration knew they were here. They had their passport numbers written down and visas were issued. All this present policy would have done was to make id of the attackers earlier after the fact.

Really? You think criticism of your leader (that's also shared by at least half Americans) means that someone hates the US? And with your last statement there, it's no wonder you see so much apparent hatred in the world. That's the crux whole problem right there.

We don't really want to live without you, but Trump as a unreliable partner is making that impossible, much like an abusive spouse. So yes the world will have many problems without the US as it used to be, but Trump's given us all no choice really, so we move on and make the best of it. We're preparing for very difficult times. We all hope things will go back to normal where the US acts rationally, and recognizes that stability and world peace benefit it tremendously, but I don't see that ever happening, sadly.

Did I miss where Congress passed a bill to do this?

Definitely +1 accurate. Not Troll. Metamods, take note!

Ha I essentially said the same thing a while back and someone came out of the woodwork to say i cosplay as a conservative! So bizarre. It really is 1984 where words have now taken on opposite meanings. War is peace, freedom is slavery. Doubleplus good.

And I thought, that sounds about right.

Your Rome observation is so interesting. The fall of Rome is really only something that can be pointed to with the benefit of hindsight. For those living at the time, they may have been aware of the decline, but I doubt very many saw any one point in their present times as "this is the fall of rome." The United States will still exist in three years, but it will be irrevocably changed. The constitution will still exist, but it will have lost a great deal of meaning, at least where government is concerned. The civil service will still exist, but is now completely partisan and in the very unlikely event a Democrat should be elected, will be purged in their favor leading to all sorts of long-term problems.

And if we're honest, we'll acknowledge that over the last 30 years, there was a slow erosion of American principles. Although one party seems to be mostly responsible, Democratic administrations and judges also did their part to lay the groundwork for what we have now. In fact one of the most distasteful features of the GOP and Heritage foundation's plan is so-called unitary executive theory (elected kings), which received support from none other than Justice Kagan during the Obama years when she ruled in favor of Obama's use of executive power. She felt the president's power was very broad, although not unlimited. I'm sure now she regrets that position.

Is it, though? Yes I do blame voters for the destruction of the United States, but outside of the MAGA true believers, I don't think voters intended for Trump to do whatever the hell he wants. They expected, naively, the constitution to still be upheld and decent people in the administration to put the brakes on the unamerican things Trump is wont to do. That's what happened last time. Of course most of the rest of us saw all this rubbish coming like train wreck. Obviously Trump voters did not, unfortunately. And many of them are in denial, and will be until they die, even as the nation crumbles around them.

And even Republicans very upset with Trump are in complete denial. I talked with a relative who's a life-long republican a few days ago. Although he occasionally votes Democrat as a protest, he would never join that party, even though I try to tell him from an outsider's point of view the two parties are more similar than different on various economic issues. He thinks that in another three years the election will replace Trump and someone else will get in and things will go back to normal. But they won't! The republic has been irreversibly damaged by Trump supporters, and with guys like Vance waiting in the wings, the devastation will just continue. I'm not fatalist, nor someone that wishes for everything to collapse, but my breath is taken away by the speed at which Trump has torn down the constitution and the institutions of US democracy, and altered the entire the entire federal government which used to honor tradition by maintaining separations from the president. The fact he's been able to do that so quickly, and without even a peep of protest from the GOP indicates that a significant number of people in DC were already rotten, but held back by patriotic fellow civil servants who upheld the constitution (I'm sure they were evil democrats). I know how this is going to end but I'm still sad about it, and a bit angry because it's going to bring down my own country in a similar way---already politicians here are modeling themselves after trump and beginning the process of dismantling democracy a little at a time, starting with making voting more difficult.

Also laws in the USA apparently don't matter anymore. Don't forget no need to pay speeding fines, there's no identifiable victim so you shouldn't be punished anymore.

Absolutely wrong. What actually happens is that laws are strictly enforced, just not against the president and his friends, and those that curry favor with the president king. But you as a mere subject, if you do something wrong, expect the full force of the law to be used against you. This is how it works also in Russia or China, and all the corrupt countries on earth.

There was a time when banks' purpose was to safeguard depositors money and invest it carefully so it would grow, and then share those profits with the depositors. Interest was essentially payment for the money we loaned them. Now banks want to take my money for nearly free and then charge me for the privilege. All the while using my money to make tremendous profits, which they keep to themselves (and stock holders).

That said, there are serious issues with the whole ideal of infinite growth which is what everything is based on. Hey at least we can all go to the people's house in Washington DC and enjoy the new gilded ballroom and forget our troubles.

It does make sense. At least two generations of people never use them. My sister teaches in a university and says the emails she gets from students are atrocious. Even worse this sometimes carries over into their writing for course work. It's probably better now; this was all before the advent of AI doing students' homework for them. One wonders how they speak with each other if their written grammar is so bad. Turns out they don't speak with each other.

Yes sometimes taxes can alter consumer behavior. But most likely it just leads to consumers still buying but at inflated prices.

Interesting how Trump is bragging about how much money his taxes are bringing in, but never once mentions it's Americans who paid it.

The fact remains that many people got very rich off of Linus' work. Linus is not one of them. I believe he's okay with that. But it is distasteful so much money is being made with free software but those that are struggling to write and maintain it for the enjoyment of it, live in relative poverty comparatively.

Trump received more black votes than any Republican in history.

As blacks move up, they move right. Same for Hispanics.

Democrats need a positive agenda that addresses the concerns of working-class voters. They aren't gonna win by playing the race card.