Anonymous wrote:There won't be a draft. Most 18 year olds are too unfit, too addicted, too medicated, or too criminal to serve anyway.

My biggest concern is Elon Musk and the other tech billionaires - Zuckerberg, Bezos, Thiel, etc. They are systematically destroying the federal government. We are only in week 3 and already it's carnage out there. Silicon Valley sees an opportunity to plunder the US government and replace it with AI and libertarian mayhem. For the tech wealthy, it will be Elysium. For the plebes, it will be Law of the Jungle.

I would tell teenagers today that their generational enemy resides on their phone. It's instagram, tiktok, WhatsApp, SnapChat, facebook, and every other popular app they use. The iPhone today is the modern version of Joseph Goebbels - a propaganda device designed to manipulate minds. Teach them to be wary of their phones and their apps. Silicon Valley is their mortal enemy.

Anonymous wrote:Since this is a parenting site I figured that we should discuss the best ways to prepare our children for the Oligarchy?

Should we plan to flee? Should we teach them more about world history and economics? Should we set up accounts that they can access overseas?

I obviously have no idea so help me out here!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do think it's true most of the country doesn't understand how bad this is. Even most Democrats. And that's part of what is so scary.

Yep. Everyone I talk to thinks I’m reading crazy conspiracy $hit when I simply inform them of what’s really happening everyday. They have no idea.

its like when I tell people about the OPT program. created without a vote. to help business replace US workers with cheap foreign labor. no one believes it.

but Democrats have been expanding it for years. (with republicans help but republicans have always been evil, it is democrats who should be helping the working class first).

inhumane to US workers. Obama quadrupled the number of workers under OPT visas by expanding the job titles.

The troubling fact is that the OPT program was created entirely through regulation with no authorization from Congress whatsoever. It has been going on for so long, that many people assume that Congress authorized OPT when in fact, Congress has explicitly changed the law to prohibit it.

Here is a history of how OPT came about. In reading this history, keep in mind that the regulations described here employ the euphemism "practical training" to refer to work.

In 2007, Microsoft concocted a scheme to use OPT as a means to circumvent the H-1B quotas. Microsoft's plan was to extend the duration of OPT from a year to 29-months, so that the duration would be sufficient to serve as a guestworker program, rather than just an internship-type program. Microsoft proposed this scheme to the Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff at a dinner party at the home of the owner of the Washington Nationals baseball team. (See pp. 229-230 in my book Sold Out, co-authored with Michelle Malkin.) From there, DHS worked in absolute secrecy with industry lobbyists to craft regulations implementing Microsoft's plan.

In a classic example of Washington cronyism, the first notice that DHS was even considering such regulations came when they were promulgated as a fait accompli, without notice and comment, on April 8, 2008 (73 Fed. Reg. 18,944). These regulations made three major expansions to OPT. First, they allowed aliens to remain in student visa status while they were unemployed so they could look for work. Second, they allowed aliens working under OPT to remain in student visa status from the time an H-1B petition was filed on their behalf until a final decision was made on the petition or the start date. This adds a maximum of 6 months to the OPT duration. Finally, they authorized a 17-month work period for aliens with degrees in fields DHS designates at Science/Technology/Engineering/Mathematics (STEM). This gave a maximum OPT duration of 35 months.

The OPT program has been the subject of continuous litigation since then where, after nearly a decade, the federal courts have been unable to come to a decision on whether it is lawful. However in 2015, the D.C. District Court held that the 2008 OPT regulations had been promulgated unlawfully without notice and comment. In response to this opinion, DHS promulgated new regulations that did the same as the old regulations except that they expanded the STEM work period from 17 months to 24 months, giving a maximum OPT work period of 42 months (24+12+6).

OPT is an example of the administrative state run amok. Instead of law coming from Congress, we have law coming from bureaucrats working hand-in-hand with lobbyists. OPT also illustrates the slippery-slope problem of regulation. Work on student visas started innocently as an integral part of a course of study to give foreign students an experience not available in their home country, but eventually was transformed into a full-blown guestworker program whose stated purpose is to provide labor to American business.

https://cis.org/Report/History-Optional-Practical-Training-Guestworker-Program

To make matters worse, a federal court has decided that the government does have the power to exempt OPT workers from Social Security and Medicare taxes, making it even cheaper for employers to hire them.

Federal gov makes it cheaper to hire F1s and OPTs than US citizens. Also employees are effectively slaves to one company

About 10,000 per year subsidy. It is a disgrace

Just one example out of thousands of Deep State and waste in the federal government.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do think it's true most of the country doesn't understand how bad this is. Even most Democrats. And that's part of what is so scary.

Yep. Everyone I talk to thinks I’m reading crazy conspiracy $hit when I simply inform them of what’s really happening everyday. They have no idea.

its like when I tell people about the OPT program. created without a vote. to help business replace US workers with cheap foreign labor. no one believes it.

but Democrats have been expanding it for years. (with republicans help but republicans have always been evil, it is democrats who should be helping the working class first).

inhumane to US workers. Obama quadrupled the number of workers under OPT visas by expanding the job titles.

The troubling fact is that the OPT program was created entirely through regulation with no authorization from Congress whatsoever. It has been going on for so long, that many people assume that Congress authorized OPT when in fact, Congress has explicitly changed the law to prohibit it.

Here is a history of how OPT came about. In reading this history, keep in mind that the regulations described here employ the euphemism "practical training" to refer to work.

In 2007, Microsoft concocted a scheme to use OPT as a means to circumvent the H-1B quotas. Microsoft's plan was to extend the duration of OPT from a year to 29-months, so that the duration would be sufficient to serve as a guestworker program, rather than just an internship-type program. Microsoft proposed this scheme to the Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff at a dinner party at the home of the owner of the Washington Nationals baseball team. (See pp. 229-230 in my book Sold Out, co-authored with Michelle Malkin.) From there, DHS worked in absolute secrecy with industry lobbyists to craft regulations implementing Microsoft's plan.

In a classic example of Washington cronyism, the first notice that DHS was even considering such regulations came when they were promulgated as a fait accompli, without notice and comment, on April 8, 2008 (73 Fed. Reg. 18,944). These regulations made three major expansions to OPT. First, they allowed aliens to remain in student visa status while they were unemployed so they could look for work. Second, they allowed aliens working under OPT to remain in student visa status from the time an H-1B petition was filed on their behalf until a final decision was made on the petition or the start date. This adds a maximum of 6 months to the OPT duration. Finally, they authorized a 17-month work period for aliens with degrees in fields DHS designates at Science/Technology/Engineering/Mathematics (STEM). This gave a maximum OPT duration of 35 months.

The OPT program has been the subject of continuous litigation since then where, after nearly a decade, the federal courts have been unable to come to a decision on whether it is lawful. However in 2015, the D.C. District Court held that the 2008 OPT regulations had been promulgated unlawfully without notice and comment. In response to this opinion, DHS promulgated new regulations that did the same as the old regulations except that they expanded the STEM work period from 17 months to 24 months, giving a maximum OPT work period of 42 months (24+12+6).

OPT is an example of the administrative state run amok. Instead of law coming from Congress, we have law coming from bureaucrats working hand-in-hand with lobbyists. OPT also illustrates the slippery-slope problem of regulation. Work on student visas started innocently as an integral part of a course of study to give foreign students an experience not available in their home country, but eventually was transformed into a full-blown guestworker program whose stated purpose is to provide labor to American business.

https://cis.org/Report/History-Optional-Practical-Training-Guestworker-Program

To make matters worse, a federal court has decided that the government does have the power to exempt OPT workers from Social Security and Medicare taxes, making it even cheaper for employers to hire them.

Federal gov makes it cheaper to hire F1s and OPTs than US citizens. Also employees are effectively slaves to one company

About 10,000 per year subsidy. It is a disgrace

Just one example out of thousands of Deep State and waste in the federal government.

Anonymous wrote:Teach your kids to think critically, examine and appreciate multiple sources and multiple points of view. Cultivate flexibility and develop multiple streams of income. Pray and attend Church regularly.

Maybe let go of the T20 college obsession? It may not wind up being a relevant question.

Anonymous wrote:I am stockpiling plan b for my girls, making sure they get As and know civics, saving every penny of my modest salary so they can go to college overseas with all your rich kids, and i don’t know! What else should I do? I am in a red state. Maybe I should enroll them in krav maga or show them how to use guns properly in case they ever need self defense.

Hahaha. DD age 13 has told me for a year now that her intention is to go overseas for college and stay there post grad to leave US. She recognized having travelled to various destinations on holidays how behind in so many fronts US has become. It's the land of opportunity but so many things we are now doing is not progressive and our infrastructure, food quality, culture, healthcare and education are subpar.