Haha wow. Thanks!

Does anyone have a link to that picture? I can’t find it anywhere.

I’m referencing the QAnon conspiracy theories. Sometime during Trump’s first presidency the Qtips believed that thousands of children were being held and trafficked in underground tunnels (a spin-off of Pizzagate), and Trump was about to free them momentarily. Which… yeah, the meme says the rest.

I do some volunteer work in a non-profit that operates globally. We hold an annual team meetup in changing locations. In the past few years we did Canada and several European cities. For a while now, the plan had been to hold 2025’s meetup in the US as we have several team members from there. But as it stands, we’ll choose a different location because too many team members have said they’re not comfortable travelling to the US under the current administration.

We’re talking some 20-30 people not travelling to the US and spending money there. Obviously a small number but as you said, it adds up.

https://apnews.com/article/rfk-new-york-ballot-access-lawsuit-e522e2348e54125420fffe8ca25a0d9f

I still can’t fathom that the US has a guy who eats roadkill and had a brainworm - the two of which might be connected - as their secretary of health.

Isn’t this also mostly about shipping routed which are expected to open up more and more due to climate change?

Another rare bread!

to stage a future coup

to stop the coup that is happening <-- FTFY

Youtube video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBOJAAujwb8

Yes, this is a nazi salute. How long until we see regular "Hail Trump!"s (and/or "Hail Elon!"s)?

I have a hunch she’ll be in prison before that happens.

So they just do it without an amendment. Who’s gonna stop them? The SCOTUS which has declared that Trump isn’t bound by law while president? The people, who happily voted Trump into power after he tried to overthrow the previous government? Congress? The military?

Maybe one of them will, but I would be very anxious these days if I lived in the US.

You’re asking this as if the majority of congress isn’t fully behind the Trumpist authoritarian agenda.

I didn’t mean “someone” this literally. In both cases, many people were directly involved or allowed things to happen by not intervening.

My point was the more general one that a system of government only remains in place for as long as those who have the power want it to. (Whoever that may be: an elite, the people, the military, the clergy, some combination…) The US seems to be entering a phase where a big part of those in power wants to move from liberal democracy towards authoritarianism. If they turn out to have a stable majority and follow through with their plans, then the US Constitution won’t be worth more than the paper it was written on.

Luckily, the process of repealing or changing an amendment likely won’t change anytime soon, even with a Republican trifecta at the federal level, as it requires overwhelming public support. As outlined in Article 5 of the Constitution, any such change requires at least two-thirds of the Senate and the House to agree on the modification, with that change then requiring ratification by a minimum of three-quarters of states in the nation.

I wouldn’t be so confident. If the majority decides to ignore it, then a constitution suddenly holds very little weight. Remember how the Roman Empire was once a Republic, until someone decided it wasn’t anymore? Remember how 1930s Germany was a democracy, until someone decided that had to end?

Trump might argue some weird logic regarding the 22nd and 12th amendment. Or he might just declare a state of national emergency because of a new migrant caravan or some such shit, and postpone elections indefinitely. If he tries anything of the sort, it will all come down to whose side the military is on.

Here was me hoping to never hear from this douche nozzle again.

100% this. And it frustrates me to no end because we’re having the exact same issue in Germany (although we’re still “behind” the US in the timeline). The extremist AfD has been gaining consistently over the past decade because they just present themselves as the alternative to everything establishment, so a lot of voters that are unhappy with the system for whatever reason flock to them (as one AfD politician put it, “the worse Germany is doing, the better for the AfD”). But instead of offering a different, more left-wing alternative to the status quo, all other major parties have been trying a centrist or even right-wing approach (e. g. the current government implementing hilariously useless stricter border controls), hoping to appeal to AfD voters by offering a watered-down version of their authoritarian agenda. And of course the outcome of this strategy is the same as in the US: The AfD just keeps on gaining ground.

Yes, you’re correct.

Just be aware that Germany is turning more and more right-wing, too…

At the debate his (painted) skin was literally a darker shade than Harris’s.