Board 8 > Politics Containment Topic 451: It Was a Pleasure to Burn

(+) Yeah! (+)

also I think it's okay to be upset at both the dictatorship and the people enabling it

AriaOfBolo posted...

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-radical-indoctrination-in-k-12-schooling/

sorry to interrupt the infighting but the president is trying to kill me again

Ah yes, the "teaching about slavery made my kid feel bad that they were white" argument.

The solution of course is to explain to the child that they don't have to feel bad just because they share characteristics with any historical figure(s) who did bad things, rather than to avoid teaching about important subjects like segregation and slavery.

.

And did they every fix the definition that biological sex was assigned at conception? Because if so we're all still women anyways.

Thorn posted...

and like elon i imagine no one who tries to take this will get paid

The union I belong to seems to agree. They're leery about the language and the lack of clarity, and they point out that the government is only funded through March. That means that Congress might not appropriate the funds for what might or might not have been promised (everything is so vague).

It's not so bad if we're all women. It simplifies things.

red_sox_777 posted...

The emails were a huge deal. Absolutely a huge deal.

Which is hilarious in hindsight since Trump and his team did the same thingg repeatedly and she doing the same thing right now.

Forceful_Dragon posted...

And did they every fix the definition that biological sex was assigned at conception? Because if so we're all still women anyways.

Not that I've heard!

Full disclosure, I fucking hate Hillary and I still voted for her back in 2016. Turns out between someone woefully out of touch with the average American probably would have been better than the-same-but-loud-and-oops-he's-incompetent, but we will never know.

Forceful_Dragon posted...

And did they every fix the definition that biological sex was assigned at conception? Because if so we're all still women anyways.

Considering that they're pushing plenty of other straight up lies about human biology, I suspect that this was not actually an oversight and is instead an attempt to establish sex differentiation as occurring at conception. And it seems like no one in government is willing to subvert them by, for instance, printing all new passports as Fs, so they probably just get away with it too.

(g) Members of the 1776 Commission shall serve without compensation but, as approved by the Department of Education, shall be reimbursed for travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by law for persons serving intermittently in the Government service (5 U.S.C. 5701-5707).

They're already running into budgeting issues with all these new expansions in federal power. This committee is supposed to be just 20 people and they can't even pay them.

I said before that 100% of the defense against this authoritarianism will come from the decentralization of the US, but it seems like a lack of liquid federal funds will also contribute to it. The Twitter takeover worked because Elon never expected a dime back from it, it was a purely a power play. But the federal government runs on cashflow moreso than any private company.

Are the "loyalists" who just wanted cheaper eggs really willing to work years without pay on an anti-woke task force?

I also anticipate a small crash in bitcoin prices as the US liquidates its reserves if they get desperate, in about a year or so. Apparently they only have around $20b though which is barely a drop in the bucket.

The galaxy brain option would be to actually divert military spending back to the federal government for the first time in like 150 years. Except instead of using it to pay for infrastructure and healthcare, it will be used to pay for anti-woke gestapo with advanced penis x-ray goggles and adam's apple detectors.

Uh just the US Army casually killing 60~ civilians at one of my most used airports

https://www.arlnow.com/2025/01/29/breaking-aircraft-crash-reported-near-national-airport

Trump blaming the military pilot (and air traffic controller) in his usual rants on social media going on conspiracy theories on "how could they not see the plane it was a clear night"

Meanwhile, last week - Trump gutted the aviation safety advisory committee

https://apnews.com/article/coast-guard-homeland-security-priorities-committees-trump-tsa-d3e4398c8871ada8d0590859442e092c

foolm0r0n posted...

That said, Trumpism specifically is all about maintaining misogyny and racism. No Trumper would go for a woman or a non-white. For a Republican woman to win, they would have to eradicate that part of their base. It's unlikely to happen in the next election (unless Trump fucks things up really bad... which actually makes it likely)

Yes this totally explains why Trump had significantly more non-white voters last year. Lets just keep any discussions about MAGA bigotry in 2016 where they belong.

Very sad about the plane and helicopter crash. Should have been avoided.

Thought this was a very interesting take on Trumps attitude to Greenland:

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/b/b1fe6a6a.jpg

Trump now is probably the first major world leader in at least centuries to not be pretending to have a moral reason for what he does. Even Hitler faked attacks by Polish troops as a pretence to invade, Trump just openly wants another country for his own interest. So thats terrifying.

But most of the country is sick and tired of the Democrats moralising! Heck, even the Watergate scandal meant nothing to prevent Nixons reelection.

Moralizing at this stage meaning not openly wanting to invade another country or create concentration camps and being horrified by a nazi salute at the presidential inauguration.

LinkMarioSamus posted...

Yes this totally explains why Trump had significantly more non-white voters last year. Lets just keep any discussions about MAGA bigotry in 2016 where they belong.

Aw baby didn't actually understand my post but still tried to make a rebuttal

Removing the head of household filing is another fun way to raise tax revenue! And also greatly reduce the amount of children being born the next few years.

https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-tax-cuts-congress-republicans-plan-slash-benefits

All of you who have clowned on Bitcoin for 20 years seriously need to suck it up and buy some for safety. If the birth rate AND immigration rate all drop at the same time, the tax base will crater, and all the growth-based foundations of USD (social security, 401k, high interest loans) will crash. You NEED non-inflationary assets to survive that case.

foolm0r0n posted...

And also greatly reduce the amount of children being born the next few years.

I can't imagine most people are looking into their potential tax filing status when deciding whether or not to have a kid.

Speaking of, now is a really fun time to be adopting internationally and applying to USCIS...

Maniac64 posted...

I can't imagine most people are looking into their potential tax filing status when deciding whether or not to have a kid.

I think you'd be wrong here. Maybe it isn't "most" but it's definitely measurable. l i t t l e m o n e y is the leading reason for being below replacement level right now.

But fool, should I wait until the fed offloads its Bitcoin and the price drops or get it now?

Also Meta is paying Trump $25 million because they banned him after he attempted an insurrection.

make it make sense

Hes very litigious and they want to placate him while also not paying massive legal fees. Also Meta is terrible.

FFDragon posted...

Also Meta is paying Trump $25 million because they banned him after he attempted an insurrection.

make it make sense

No, they are paying 25 million so Trump will do their bidding.

It's called a bribe.

Maniac64 posted...

I can't imagine most people are looking into their potential tax filing status when deciding whether or not to have a kid.

You imagine very wrong lol

HanOfTheNekos posted...

But fool, should I wait until the fed offloads its Bitcoin and the price drops or get it now?

Good point, you might want to wait for another crash to get a large amount. But if you have 0 right now, it's definitely worth getting a little for safety.

foolm0r0n posted...

All of you who have clowned on Bitcoin for 20 years seriously need to suck it up and buy some for safety. If the birth rate AND immigration rate all drop at the same time, the tax base will crater, and all the growth-based foundations of USD (social security, 401k, high interest loans) will crash. You NEED non-inflationary assets to survive that case.

OK, let's assume you're right that the dollar is going to crash. Obviously this means people should put their money in something else, but why should it be Bitcoin? There are many options other than dollars and Bitcoin, and most of those don't have the issues Bitcoin gets clowned on for.

bitcoin has the "brand" name recognition. Thats the main thing.

Ya its a "currency", but its really just a stock. Right now the main things people invest in are stocks, gold/silver, and bitcoin.

Then you have the 20 to 50 year old loser males who are not just reselling, but actually investing in things like a Topps patch emblem baseball card, pokemon cards, retro video games, etc.

Metal_DK posted...

bitcoin has the "brand" name recognition. Thats the main thing.

Ya its a "currency", but its really just a stock. Right now the main things people invest in are stocks, gold/silver, and bitcoin.

Then you have the 20 to 50 year old loser males who are not just reselling, but actually investing in things like a Topps patch emblem baseball card, pokemon cards, retro video games, etc.

Pokemon is an amazing investment because of how popular it is.

note: people 'investing' in new releases and hoarding them can fuck off.

Xeybozn posted...

OK, let's assume you're right that the dollar is going to crash. Obviously this means people should put their money in something else, but why should it be Bitcoin? There are many options other than dollars and Bitcoin, and most of those don't have the issues Bitcoin gets clowned on for.

Real estate works too. You just need like $100k down whereas Bitcoin is divisible down to about $1.50.

I don't think stocks work because they operate on top of the US economic system. Foreign stocks aren't good either because their economies are failing now too.

A priest did Elon's "my heart goes out to you" salute.

They immediately defrocked him.

A Statement on Calvin Robinson
At approximately 3:00 pm today (1/29) members of the College of Bishops of the ACC were made aware of a post made on X showing the end of a speech made by Calvin Robinson at the National Pro-Life Summit in Washington, DC. In it, he closed his comments with a gesture that many have interpreted as a pro-Nazi salute.

While we cannot say what was in Mr. Robinsons heart when he did this, his action appears to have been an attempt to curry favor with certain elements of the American political right by provoking its opposition. Mr. Robinson had been warned that online trolling and other such actions (whether in service of the left or right) are incompatible with a priestly vocation and was told to desist. Clearly, he has not, and as such, his license in this Church has been revoked. He is no longer serving as a priest in the ACC.

Furthermore, we understand that this is not just an administrative matter. The Holocaust was an episode of unspeakable horror, enacted by a regime of evil men. We condemn Nazi ideology and anti-Semitism in all its forms. And we believe that those who mimic the Nazi salute, even as a joke or an attempt to troll their opponents, trivialize the horror of the Holocaust and diminish the sacrifice of those who fought against its perpetrators. Such actions are harmful, divisive, and contrary to the tenets of Christian charity.

Finally, we pray that God will give us grace to lay aside our unhappy divisions, and we commend our nation and ourselves to his Almighty protection.

foolm0r0n posted...

Real estate works too. You just need like $100k down whereas Bitcoin is divisible down to about $1.50.

I don't think stocks work because they operate on top of the US economic system. Foreign stocks aren't good either because their economies are failing now too.

Why wouldn't stocks work equally well? Unless the company is holding a lot of dollars and most of them don't, a weakening of the dollar directly increased the stock price.

foolm0r0n posted...

Real estate works too. You just need like $100k down whereas Bitcoin is divisible down to about $1.50.

The point would be to invest in things that have inherent value rather than depending on the government, right? Basically any commodity would work for that. You're basically arguing for the old school libertarian "gold is the only safe investment" idea, except you've replaced gold with something that's even more useless.

SirChris posted...

Pokemon is an amazing investment because of how popular it is.

no its not.

red_sox_777 posted...

a weakening of the dollar directly increased the stock price.

isn't it the opposite?

If you have $1000 worth of stock and the dollar weakens the stock price is not going to magically double to account for the devalued dollar.

Anyways I still dislike the fact that Bitcoin is Proof of Work and functions terribly inefficiently compared to modern crypto assets. Ethereum still tracks Bitcoin pretty well and it's a Proof of Stake coin. I understand BTC has the name recognition, but it's just *worse* at being a digital asset for so many reasons that I'm still hoping people make the transition to something more sustainable.

we have sitting US Senators rugpulling memecoins right now

I don't think sustainable is going to happen for a while

e: he claims he was hacked now that I looked for an update

so tbd

red_sox_777 posted...

Why wouldn't stocks work equally well? Unless the company is holding a lot of dollars and most of them don't, a weakening of the dollar directly increased the stock price.

I mean I hold a lot of stocks and I think they are valuable, but not equally valuable in the worst case. There's some types of crashes that will cause stocks to go up, like regular currency inflation. But other types of crashes, like cascading debt defaults like in 2008, will cause them to crash as well.

Xeybozn posted...

The point would be to invest in things that have inherent value rather than depending on the government, right?

No because Bitcoin does not have inherent value. The most important thing is that it's a strong store of value, and it's usable as a currency globally in case you need to get out. I guess some commodities can do that? I'm curious which since it's a hugely complicated field that I haven't researched at all. Bitcoin is way simpler and checks all the boxes so it's easy to recommend.

Hey guys, what if we just completed eliminated the term "gender"? You guys cool with that?!?

invest in lego sets, those things don't go down in price at all

Forceful_Dragon posted...

Anyways I still dislike the fact that Bitcoin is Proof of Work and functions terribly inefficiently compared to modern crypto assets. Ethereum still tracks Bitcoin pretty well and it's a Proof of Stake coin. I understand BTC has the name recognition, but it's just *worse* at being a digital asset for so many reasons that I'm still hoping people make the transition to something more sustainable.

I'm talking about a worst case scenario. PoW has extremely powerful defenses against a 51% takeover. PoS does NOT, since a single 51% attack can permanently compromise the coin. For ETH it would only take $200 bil to do that. Bitcoin's PoW is actually large enough now that not even the US budget could sustain a takeover. They would need to join up with the EU and China or something to make it work.

I hold ETH and like it a lot, but it's not enough for an emergency plan.

Wanglicious posted...

invest in lego sets, those things don't go down in price at all

if that's the case, put all your money in nintendo games

If you're trying to defend against economic depressions, I think bitcoin would most likely go down there too. The value of bitcoin is a reflection of the global economy in that it lacks value independent from representing the global economy, so if we have worldwide economic collapse I doubt it'll be spared.

Forceful_Dragon posted...

isn't it the opposite?

If you have $1000 worth of stock and the dollar weakens the stock price is not going to magically double to account for the devalued dollar.

No because the value of most companies comes from their future expected profits, which will be paid in future dollars. With a weaker dollar, the price of everything goes up so both revenues and expenses go up in nominal dollars. For a profitable company, profits in nominal dollars go up and thus stock prices as well.

Incidentally, hyperinflation would be a way for the government to generate a lot of capital gains tax. Taxes are calculated based on nominal dollars without adjusting for inflation. So if you just magically depreciated the dollar 10:1, people would suddenly be sitting on 900% gains with no gain in real economic value. When they sold they'd be effectively paying some significant fraction of their wealth as a wealth tax. And it would be constitutional unlike Elizabeth Warren's plan.

HeroicCrono posted...

If you're trying to defend against economic depressions, I think bitcoin would most likely go down there too. The value of bitcoin is a reflection of the global economy in that it lacks value independent from representing the global economy, so if we have worldwide economic collapse I doubt it'll be spared.

We have evidence that this is exactly the case. It tracks the stock market pretty closely which is exactly what you would expect it NOT to do if the hype was real.

Bitcoin would definitely go down in real value. But it scales very differently from any inflationary currency is far from country-specific like US stocks.

But yeah something like real estate will always retain more real value (if it's in a good location and not going to burn/flood). But that value is specific to 1 location. It's useful to have a global store of value as well.

FFDragon posted...

I think you'd be wrong here. Maybe it isn't "most" but it's definitely measurable. l i t t l e m o n e y is the leading reason for being below replacement level right now.

I've seen this said a lot, and I'm not sure it's accurate. People have been pumping out kids like hotcakes throughout history even when they were poor - especially when they were poor, actually. Families and countries with more money tend to have less children on average.

The bigger underlying reason, I believe, is simply due to female empowerment. It used to be that women were expected to have kids. It was their role, their life duty, and they ususlly didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Nowadays women have more independence, with option of having their own life and career outside of child-rearing. And as it turns out, a lot of women don't want to go through the physical and emotional turmoil of raising a child when society gives them other choices.

The only way to significantly raise replacement level would essentially be to make women second-class citizens again. Since I imagine most people on the left don't want that, we should instead prepare to adjust to lower birth rates as a long-term norm.

Trump already blaming the DC flight crash on DEI "because I have common sense, ok?"

https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:4llrhdclvdlmmynkwsmg5tdc/post/3lgxx5xvep52q

Fucking trashfire of a press conference.

Thorn posted...

Trump already blaming the DC flight crash on DEI "because I have common sense, ok?"

Trump logic: It was a blackhawk helicopter. DEI!!

KamikazePotato posted...

The only way to significantly raise replacement level would essentially be to make women second-class citizens again

That's one way to incentivize it, but tax credits are a much easier way to incentivize it. And conversely, increasing taxes on having more than 1 child is a great way to disincentivize it. It's all about incentives at the end of the day, basic economics.

The problem is that everywhere that has tried financial incentives hasnt actually seen it work. Overall people just dont want to have as many children as they used to for a whole host of reasons. It makes more sense to prepare for a lower population future than to try and reverse it.