The Toll Its Taking

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree OP, and it's hard to watch. All I can do is focus on my own sphere of influence. I'm trying to be more mindful of where I spend my money. We're focusing on simple inexpensive joys. Walks in the park, afternoons at the library, potluck dinners with friends and neighbors. When my spouse gets home in the evening we spend about 10 minutes venting about the days craziness, then we do our best to drop it for the evening and just enjoy the time we have to spend with each other.

It's sad and terrifying what is happening to the country. I've protested and canvassed. I voted. I try to talk to people and get them to see what's happening. But at the end of the day, people voted for this and continue to say that this is what they want.

The bees are dying, the ice caps are melting, diseases are spreading. Humans are selfish, short sighted, and greedy creatures, and it's hard to watch all of this unfold. But I can't stop it. So I'm going to enjoy what I have while I have it.

IDK where you’re getting this from. Trump is now underwater in polls and the policies all poll like crap as well.

[Anonymous]

Folks, stop trying to debate MAGA sociopaths.

They have no logical arguments and they think its funny to hurt people.

[Anonymous]

Don't worry. There will soon be robots to do all the work that you currently have being done by illegal immigrants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every day our hearts break as we read of people being abducted and detained by ICE.
We wake up and worry about our parents' Social Security.
We fear the repression of thoughts and knowledge that is occurring.
We observe major law firms and universities caving.
We hear insane comments about Greenland and Canada.
We watch as they reverse our diversity, equity, and inclusion gains and then go one step further and try to erase and rewrite our true history.
We know we can't afford the tariffs being imposed.
We feel alarm at the information that DOGE and its improperly vetted employees has amassed and shame at the information that has been carelessly shared.
We wonder if we can survive the damage being done to the environment and whether the removal of regulators and independent overseers will lead to increased illnesses and accidents.
We are watching the dismantling of democracy in real time as this administration accepts no checks and balances and honors no legal rulings.

It is taking a toll on the psyche of this nation. Too much, too quickly, overwhelming us so that we can't focus on any issue for too long and leaving us confused about where to start.

Concentrate on the wins.

Canada seems to have rearranged Donald’s attitude. Vance was mocked mercilessly in Greenland. Russia continues to lose. The judiciary is dragging most of the stupid ideas to a halt. Elmo is one of the world’s most hated human beings and he couldn’t sell one of his Nazi junk mobiles even with a White House commercial. The good guys are winning the special elections. Administration appointees are worldwide laughingstocks.

It’s turning.

Thanks for this. I'm hoping all of this is enough and it doesn't come to fighting in the streets.

It will only "turn" if those of us who care about our democracy continue to fight in ways large and small and never let up, never relax until we have defeated them, voted them out of office, and changed the laws so these people can never take over our government again. This is a long, difficult road we have to travel, and none of it will be easy.

I can't do much, but I'm doing what I can. And I'm speaking out, calling my representatives, talking to any MAGA folk I can, listening to their concerns and not trying to talk over them or tell them how wrong they are. Just listening. If each and every Democrat does this, we can turn the tide. We can convince the MAGAs to come back to our side, no matter how petty their prejudices, we can still welcome them and find common ground with them. We all want lower prices, better jobs, health care, a safe place to live, less crime. We don't agree on everything, but on those things we can and do agree. So let's start there. Reach out to a MAGA you know and just listen to them. Most of their craziness is based on fear. Listening is a good start.

Stay the course, Democrats. We must fight until we've stopped all the horror this regime is inflicting on our country and the world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is taking a toll. Mostly on our kids and young people who don’t have the life experience to put any of this in context, and then on the people that are trying to raise them to be good people in a suddenly extremely hateful and zero sum society. It’s hard OP and you’re coping fine, so am I. But let’s not pretend this detour into a dictatorship won’t have lasting consequences.

Teaching your kids that we live in a "suddenly hateful and zero sum society" because the political party that you don't support won an election doesn't sound like a great thing to do to your kids. For their sake, I hope you get a grip.

You’re way oversimplifying the obliteration of social, political and institutional norms, and the loss of many protections. This is so much bigger than a political party or a single person. This is the reversal of many decades of American progress. This is a revision of American ideals and policies. The America we grew up in is disappearing before our eyes with astonishing speed. Our standing is the world is being fundamentally altered. I don’t care about a Republican in the WH, but I’m anti Project 2025.

All this obliteration has been happening for the last 4 years. It just didn't affect you because you didn't disagree with any of it. You fully believe you are morally superior

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Every day our hearts break as we read of people being abducted and detained by ICE.
We wake up and worry about our parents' Social Security.
We fear the repression of thoughts and knowledge that is occurring.
We observe major law firms and universities caving.
We hear insane comments about Greenland and Canada.
We watch as they reverse our diversity, equity, and inclusion gains and then go one step further and try to erase and rewrite our true history.
We know we can't afford the tariffs being imposed.
We feel alarm at the information that DOGE and its improperly vetted employees has amassed and shame at the information that has been carelessly shared.
We wonder if we can survive the damage being done to the environment and whether the removal of regulators and independent overseers will lead to increased illnesses and accidents.
We are watching the dismantling of democracy in real time as this administration accepts no checks and balances and honors no legal rulings.

It is taking a toll on the psyche of this nation. Too much, too quickly, overwhelming us so that we can't focus on any issue for too long and leaving us confused about where to start.

It’s taking a toll on liberals, not the psyche of this nation. You are using “we” when many Americans do not share your thoughts and feelings at all. I voted for Trump, because I wanted to see things like an end to DEI and more deportations. I am thrilled with a lot of what he has done. He can’t fix Biden’s disaster economy overnight, but he’s already fixed his disaster border crisis and much else of the damage Biden was doing to this country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is taking a toll. Mostly on our kids and young people who don’t have the life experience to put any of this in context, and then on the people that are trying to raise them to be good people in a suddenly extremely hateful and zero sum society. It’s hard OP and you’re coping fine, so am I. But let’s not pretend this detour into a dictatorship won’t have lasting consequences.

Teaching your kids that we live in a "suddenly hateful and zero sum society" because the political party that you don't support won an election doesn't sound like a great thing to do to your kids. For their sake, I hope you get a grip.

That's not why and you know it. Liar. Just another MAGA liar. If this were an old school GOP president respecting the rule of law, respecting the courts, following due process, allowing Congress to do their jobs, etc etc etc WE WOULD NOT BE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION.

Stop with your gaslighting BS. If you support what is happening, you are a traitor and a liar and you deserve no respect whatsoever. FFS SDASU.

[Anonymous]

IT'S. IT'S. Get it right, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every day our hearts break as we read of people being abducted and detained by ICE.
We wake up and worry about our parents' Social Security.
We fear the repression of thoughts and knowledge that is occurring.
We observe major law firms and universities caving.
We hear insane comments about Greenland and Canada.
We watch as they reverse our diversity, equity, and inclusion gains and then go one step further and try to erase and rewrite our true history.
We know we can't afford the tariffs being imposed.
We feel alarm at the information that DOGE and its improperly vetted employees has amassed and shame at the information that has been carelessly shared.
We wonder if we can survive the damage being done to the environment and whether the removal of regulators and independent overseers will lead to increased illnesses and accidents.
We are watching the dismantling of democracy in real time as this administration accepts no checks and balances and honors no legal rulings.

It is taking a toll on the psyche of this nation. Too much, too quickly, overwhelming us so that we can't focus on any issue for too long and leaving us confused about where to start.

It’s taking a toll on liberals, not the psyche of this nation. You are using “we” when many Americans do not share your thoughts and feelings at all. I voted for Trump, because I wanted to see things like an end to DEI and more deportations. I am thrilled with a lot of what he has done. He can’t fix Biden’s disaster economy overnight, but he’s already fixed his disaster border crisis and much else of the damage Biden was doing to this country.

You are a moron. Biden didn't have disastrous economy. We will now thanks to your man Trump. I had a lot of issues with Biden, but if you can't see that what Trump is doing is bad for the country and regular people, you are a frickin idiot. This goes way beyond normal political differences. This is a dismantling of democracy.

If you support that, you are a traitor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every day our hearts break as we read of people being abducted and detained by ICE.
We wake up and worry about our parents' Social Security.
We fear the repression of thoughts and knowledge that is occurring.
We observe major law firms and universities caving.
We hear insane comments about Greenland and Canada.
We watch as they reverse our diversity, equity, and inclusion gains and then go one step further and try to erase and rewrite our true history.
We know we can't afford the tariffs being imposed.
We feel alarm at the information that DOGE and its improperly vetted employees has amassed and shame at the information that has been carelessly shared.
We wonder if we can survive the damage being done to the environment and whether the removal of regulators and independent overseers will lead to increased illnesses and accidents.
We are watching the dismantling of democracy in real time as this administration accepts no checks and balances and honors no legal rulings.

It is taking a toll on the psyche of this nation. Too much, too quickly, overwhelming us so that we can't focus on any issue for too long and leaving us confused about where to start.

It’s taking a toll on liberals, not the psyche of this nation. You are using “we” when many Americans do not share your thoughts and feelings at all. I voted for Trump, because I wanted to see things like an end to DEI and more deportations. I am thrilled with a lot of what he has done. He can’t fix Biden’s disaster economy overnight, but he’s already fixed his disaster border crisis and much else of the damage Biden was doing to this country.

It will take a toll once you idiots start to feel the pain. And oh how I hope you feel it HARD. You deserve every once of it. You did this, because you believe lies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't worry. There will soon be robots to do all the work that you currently have being done by illegal immigrants.

First Republicans will lower the working age so that American kids can take the illegal immigrant jobs, then discard them when the robots take over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is taking a toll. Mostly on our kids and young people who don’t have the life experience to put any of this in context, and then on the people that are trying to raise them to be good people in a suddenly extremely hateful and zero sum society. It’s hard OP and you’re coping fine, so am I. But let’s not pretend this detour into a dictatorship won’t have lasting consequences.

Teaching your kids that we live in a "suddenly hateful and zero sum society" because the political party that you don't support won an election doesn't sound like a great thing to do to your kids. For their sake, I hope you get a grip.

You’re way oversimplifying the obliteration of social, political and institutional norms, and the loss of many protections. This is so much bigger than a political party or a single person. This is the reversal of many decades of American progress. This is a revision of American ideals and policies. The America we grew up in is disappearing before our eyes with astonishing speed. Our standing is the world is being fundamentally altered. I don’t care about a Republican in the WH, but I’m anti Project 2025.

All this obliteration has been happening for the last 4 years. It just didn't affect you because you didn't disagree with any of it. You fully believe you are morally superior

In fairness, almost everyone is morally superior to Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and the architects of Project 2025. Probably even you are.

[Anonymous]

I was a having an argument with someone about the planes to El Salvador. I remembered in high school learning about the hostility to the alien and sedition acts when they were passed originally. Anyway, I looked up the enemies act (the only one remaining). Backlash to these laws helped elect Jefferson. The Alien Enemies Act does refer to invasions and predatory incursions in the absence of declared war, but those words were understood to mean something (based on legal dictionary definitions of the time) other than how they are being used. They also refer to people being given the opportunity to arrange their affairs if they are forced to leave the country, and refer to " the dictates of humanity and national hospitality." They also refer to "conveyed before such court, judge, or justice; and after a full examination and hearing on such complaint, and sufficient cause appearing, to order such alien to be removed out of the territory of the United States, or to give sureties for his good behavior, or to be otherwise restrained, conformably to the proclamation or regulations established as aforesaid, and to imprison, or otherwise secure such alien, until the order which may be so made shall be performed."

If that's what the law says, then what is happening in terms of that particular EO is a clear travesty, even aside from how rarely the law has ever been invoked and the fact that it was always invoked in the past in connection with actual hostile nations. Yet if I point to the law I am told I am defending gang criminals.

My fear is that we are going into a slide into repression with the likelihood it will take years, even decades, before as a country this is acknowledged and rectified. Trump has been given so much cover by SCOTUS and his party and is underpinned by a very deliberate creation of institutions (Heritage Society, Federalist Society, etc) that it will not easily be undone, and as a country we will have lost whatever moral high ground--even if only in the form of stated ideals--I don't think we can ever go back and reclaim it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is taking a toll. Mostly on our kids and young people who don’t have the life experience to put any of this in context, and then on the people that are trying to raise them to be good people in a suddenly extremely hateful and zero sum society. It’s hard OP and you’re coping fine, so am I. But let’s not pretend this detour into a dictatorship won’t have lasting consequences.

Teaching your kids that we live in a "suddenly hateful and zero sum society" because the political party that you don't support won an election doesn't sound like a great thing to do to your kids. For their sake, I hope you get a grip.

That's not why and you know it. Liar. Just another MAGA liar. If this were an old school GOP president respecting the rule of law, respecting the courts, following due process, allowing Congress to do their jobs, etc etc etc WE WOULD NOT BE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION.

Stop with your gaslighting BS. If you support what is happening, you are a traitor and a liar and you deserve no respect whatsoever. FFS SDASU.

Nonsense. You would be having a meltdown regardless of the format of how any policy is being implemented.

Your elaborate plan to use CBO and an endless series of government audits is nothing more than a guarantee that nothing will ever be cut and nothing will change.

Let’s see how all this goes. The American people can vote trump politics out in 4 years if they don’t like it. And no, there won’t be an end to national elections - since I’m sure that also something you believe while wearing a tin foil hat.

[Anonymous]

And it’s only been 2 months!