What’s happening is that the other two branches of our government have (mostly) abdicated to the Executive branch; therefore, absent the lower courts who can’t act in real-time for the most part, Donald has carte blanche to do whatever he wants without any meaningful accountability.

Some court or another may intervene, but it can’t happen quickly enough to stop what ICE is doing right now.

Things are different when you’re raised in it.

Christianity and the Democratic Party.

Yup, there were even black defense groups and militias (and are still many today), like the Deacons for Defense.

But you won’t learn about them in school, on purpose, and you’re taught the illegitimacy of Malcolm X’ ideology and the Nation of Islam on purpose. The state wants you to think that peaceful protest is the only acceptable and legitimate means of protest.

What comes to mind to me are two things:

1. The absurdity of religion. I was raised Christian but always asked tough questions, to which people responded with the various platitudes religious people love to use. (The most popular being “God works in mysterious ways.”) I missed out on a lot of sexual experience and mistreated a lot of people because I was taught to behave in certain ways, and I regret it deeply.

2. How much I was lied to or information omitted by my educators growing up, particularly on history. I read history books for fun, and have learned over time about many things that were deliberately withheld from my education, like the Tulsa Massacre and the Battle of Blair Mountain, or stories of the Black Panthers’ community building work, or the wholesale exploitation and destruction of indigenous people to make handful of people rich via the reservation system and Indian Ring.

Giant, wonderful snuggle babies. <3

Always fun witnessing another round of people arguing over whose church is dumber.

Yup.

What will get us the most amount of donations to spend on campaigns.

Donations that they can pocket by loaning their campaigns money at 20% interest.

I think you’re spot-on for voter priorities, but economy should be in the #1 slot.

As for leadership, it’s pretty clear what their priorities are: Do nothing and continue to enrich themselves off of conservative policies, and then blame the voters for being critical of them for doing so.

For me, the biggest benefits have been:

• Significantly-reduced lower back pain
• Better sleep, and I fall asleep more easily
• Mood. (Note that it only takes 20 minutes of activity to get endorphins flowing)
• I don’t get winded as quickly climbing stairs.

I wouldn’t really have a desire to change anything, unless this power allows me to prevent my own birth. I’d rather not exist than spend the first portion of my life poor and average-looking, and the latter portion mostly working every day.

But, if I can’t do that, there are a few things I’d like to experience again for the first time.

Sadly, you’d be wrong. In a country where many are too lazy to wash their hands, there’s a lot of crossover with being too lazy to exercise.

I used to weigh 350 pounds. What precipitated my weight loss was noticing that, when I got up from my chair, my hips would have to get right (sorry, that’s the best way I can explain it) before I’d be able to walk to the copier or go to the rest room. It was a huge early warning sign.

Walking makes a huge difference.

I average around 14,000 steps a day, and the health benefits to your heart, lungs, joints, and back can’t be overstated.

I like having the option to sit or stand, myself, but I’m very active physically so the negative effects of sitting all day are largely muted.

I use the Brave browser, so the ads don’t work thankfully, but yes, pirate all the things regardless.

We’re definitely already an autocracy.

I think the only thing separating us from a true dictatorship at this point is another 9/11-style event. If one of those happens in the next three and a half years, 99% of voters will be begging Donald to assume true dictatorial power. The 1% who criticize this in the moment will be labeled terrorist sympathizers, just as we were when the illegal invasion of Iraq took place after the 9/11.

We came to be good friends but were just Internet friends at the time. They were just a very patient person.

Yes.

I used to be very anti-gay because I was raised religious. One day, someone explained to me that gay people feel exactly the same feelings as straight people, it’s just they’re directed differently. Somehow, that made it all click and it just made sense.

I’m glad that age has given me the comfort to tell people when I just don’t know, and therefore, don’t have an opinion on some things.

Buying in bulk is a guaranteed return on investment, though. (And that’s especially true in the Donald tariff era.)