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No and not enough to warrant taking on another unless it is something super fancy.

Apparently I am. crying

I have seen a decent uptick in people questioning why the government even has the powers they do to cause damage to lives on a whim, so it's a start. The AntiFa groups are a bit questionable though because I fear their unfocused violence is going to have more of a detrimental affect and result in militarized police action/suppression and discouraging the larger mass to stand up against what they need to.

But yeah, at the moment, I am seeing inklings of what I thought would maybe happen in six months unfolding in what has been just over two weeks. So I have some cautious optimism.

And you know I am largely incapable of optimism, so that is saying something.

What can I say? I have gone through hell more times than I can count; I have weird optimism supplies for when things are at their worst.


I agree. Though part of that speaking out involves themes that seem to be flying past the radar or the state as well, so I don't know if they can gauge things accurately. Much like how people were amazed that Trump won simply because they had spent months ignoring (and even traumatizing) people instead of listening to them, the agents at work seem to be ignoring some of what people are actually saying. That's where a lot of my optimism springs from, not the riots or the resistance, but the people talking about things outside the state's myopic vision.


I fear that the judicial wins and the stomping of impotent politicians are more placation. That you're right in that it may placate the citizenry. But on the flip side, it is showing that, if the people just take the reins and keep pushing, the system can be bent to comply with human needs. So I guess on this front it is a question of if the people have more stamina than we give them credit for.

As the saying goes, "Anger is a hell of an anesthetic." If they are angry enough, they'll push through more pain than we imagine.


This is something I figure would come regardless of who was in office, just sooner rather than later in Trump's case. Which arcs back to stamina. Better to fight martial law now than to have no energy when it pulls up twice as entrenched later. Though I feel the judicial branch might not be delegitimized if we go towards martial law. I think the coercion of the higher courts would be necessary in this day and age to properly bring martial law into effect in a country as large as the US – both physically and by population. You could lock down on the major cities, but the major cities are the most likely to not comply, so unless the higher courts bow to and legitimize the martial law, you'd be more likely to see... well... essentially miniature civil wars.


Yes, that has become a growing concern that I had not factored in originally. I did not think of the possibility that he'd be thrown under the bus and was more focused on the push bak against what he would foment.


Considering that the Obama, Bush, and Clinton administrations all "leaked" and rumored various EO elements to test the waters, it is likely. Part of why Obama was seen as such an EO spewing president was that they were so openly out there in the public eye. So I would say that yes, it's putting out feelers, but not just to test the populace's response, but the responses of other, more covert, agents at play. So they can see if it sends ripples through certain aspects of an economy sector or such.


That's what I am hoping. I have seen so many little things popping up. People slowing down and looking to see if there is anything they can do in the moment. People talking about how they can do something instead of relying on the government to maybe do something in their stead.


Which has been the mantra since 2000, it's been building up so much that it is now obnoxiously obvious and we can't easily ignore it.


It's exhausting trying to divine out actual news today. I end up aggregating news from all across the world and seeing what is the most reputable common threads. I figure by June, I will have ruled out all American news outlets as worthless.

Happy to be of service. xd



I think they are most likely to support Trump or, even more so, themselves. Would that be a coup or a junta?

But in this vein, I have noticed something occurring the last two days as this muslim travel ban unfolds and as various other aspects of the Trump presidency hit the fan. It was asked, "What would the purpose of a Trump presidency be to serve the elites?" Most people were saying that it was to militarize this or destabilize that, but what if it is to legitimize a government that has lost the faith of the people and to delegitimize non-politicians from office? The government can safely oppose anything Trump does while making anyone outside their group seem like a bad idea in the future, thus growing their political capital. The type of people in politics are just the type to destroy a nation for a few brownie points, so it is not that unplausible.

We've had almost 50 years of the AG and courts basically making whatever the executive and legislative branches do legal, now they suddenly stand up to the president?

So with that as a preface;

what happens when the court rules against Trump and he decides to ignore the ruling and do what he wants anyway?

This will put the state in an awkward position because if they oppose him, it sets a precedent that checks and balances are in action again, and thus when a shitlord on their side does something, it will be harder to just let it slide. But if they do not oppose him, he'll let loose all sorts of problems.

The court can hold him in contempt of course but what if that isn't enforced?

This is likely what they would want, because then they could portray it as out of control. They get the illusion of checks and balances, while the onus is on the executive branch for the mess. Pence is on their side, so there would be a strong angle to burn Trump out and take him down to show the people how they can be tough on tyrants or something – it's flimsy as hell.



I would say that the number that have embraced him entirely is small, the number that embraced little parts of him is huge, but the ones to worry about are a tiny group that are just very vocal and finally being heard. They've been ridiculed, shoved into the shadows, and left to radicalize for 16 years, now with Trump in office they are not only fired up themselves, the media is all too eager to give them a pulpit to terrify everyone and then in turn, you'll hear more people agree with them. It's not that they did not agree with them before, it's that they were not given the choice to agree and were just silent racist-bigots under your nose.

What I am more afraid of is the laziness. On tumblr, there is a theme of punching nazis as of late for instance. Everyone wants to punch nazis. But nobody wants to listen to people who are not nazis, they don't want to find definitions of nazis, and they definitely do not want to exert the effort to deprogram nazis. They're gung-ho about violence against them, but all it gets is a punched, resentful nazi. Congratulations, now the nazi has a chip on his shoulder and you've not actually put in the work to make nazism go away.

In turn, one thing I was hoping for in this vein is so far not turning up. Namely that people take Trump's bringing these people out of hiding as an opportunity to reach out to these people, find out their grievances, deprogram the nazism, and work towards a better existence that does not ostracize people to the point where they are hopeless and radicalized.

Damn!! Good for you. I'm impressed 3nodding also (((((hugs))))
Seems like your life is still shitting on you on a regular basis but you're starting to give some hell back too.

I need to reply to the previous post but can't deal with the politics tonight. Going to bed and read a good book for a bit. Stay strong! heart

Wow! I'm so happy that things are so much improved for you. Having read your awesome postings for years now I understand how significant this is.



Oh totally! Yes to you needing to take the throne around here - and yes to there being a political safe area. To be honest the only reason I've been so blatant about political talk in general chat recently is because we're pretty much the only ones here right now. But I completely agree that it wouldn't be appropriate if it was busier.

So to address the earlier post about reaching out to those who are radicalized..

In my opinion, the best way - and perhaps the only true way that people can relate to each other is to actually interact with them on a daily basis in person. People need to have neighbors, friends, coworkers, and inlaws that are different than them. Folks don't change ingrained beliefs because things are explained to them on the internet. They need to see actual examples in their personal lives.

I really worry that this has become harder to do. It's the "bubble" that people love to talk about. It's so easy to simply find other folks exactly like you on the internet. I worry that segregation of communities is still becoming worse.