I’ll be honest, seeing this sudden shift to openness talking about this when knowing how controlled the narrative is even here, makes me think this might actually be part of the narrative they’re now trying to push.

I could definitely be wrong about that, but I’ve seen this brought up here a few times and even last night there was an AskReddit about what Americans would feel is the final straw to have Trump removed from power.

I actually was talking about this in a post a few days ago. If Vance suddenly succeeded Trump as president, it would not fix anything, and it would likely make things much worse

Trump manipulating the stock market!!! Say it ain’t so!

Well I am shocked, I tell ya, absolutely shocked! 😧😣

Just throwing this out here to remind people that the Department of Homeland Security, DOJ, and DOD have all made some very alarming threats to employees they believe are speaking to the press. They also seem very eager to remove or weaken civil rights protections for everyone, including American citizens.

DHS Secretary Noem has complained that offices of civil rights within DHS interfere with the DHS mission on immigration. However, only two of the three offices Noem has attacked, deal with immigration

The third office is the office of civil rights and liberties within the DHS, and applies to all civil rights issues regardless of immigration or citizenship status.

Noem’s attacks against Civil Rights Offices within DHS were made following statements that she plans to use polygraphs on ICE employees

You should be aware that many current ICE employees are federal employees who were removed from previous positions and have been diverted to ICE.

Diversion of federal employees is seen by many as a highly politicized move that first began in early February and seemed to be a blatant act of retaliation for January 6th investigations. Like a punishment for federal employees that they couldn’t force to quit or legally fire.

Despite the fact that polygraphs are known to have high false positives rates, Noem said she plans to use polygraphs to root out individuals leaking information to the press. Noem’s threat was followed by similar threats made against employees of the Dept. of Justice and Dept. of Defense.

Basically they are trying to crack down on dissent. Federal employees are witnessing them violate the law from the inside, and trying to warn the country what they are doing. If anyone should be charged with treason it should be the people actively dismantling democracy. Unfortunately, those are also the people who run the same country they are trying to destroy.

Don’t take it personally, China. He feels the same way about the majority of Americans including his own family. He’s got a chip on his shoulder bc he grew up among the peasant class, made it to the Ivy Leagues and has desperately been trying to claw his way into a social level he’ll never be accepted to bc he wasn’t born into it.

From his POV you’re either a peasant, or you’re an elitist. Unless you’re part of the 1% of billionaires and generational wealth. Somehow that makes you an average Joe, and that’s why you benefit the most from Vance’s policies and “beliefs” (whatever he may need them to be in the moment).

Vance is not dumb, but he certainly acts like a useful idiot.

Maybe elected officials that keep defending this moron out of some kind of false sense of protection can take hint?

I think it’s a bit more complex than that, because it still depends on the conviction.

Clearly he is not getting off from some kind of murder charge. I don’t know much about the trial, but I would assume his lawyers are arguing a state of physical and emotional distress which would have kept him from being in his right mind when he allegedly shot the guy.

It would be a pretty bold move for a “free country” to execute someone like that. Not saying it wouldn’t happen, but I know we’re already being monitored for human rights violations by other countries. It would seem to be a weak hand to play, but then again strongmen usually play pretty weak hands when they want to prove how powerful they are. We have entire histories worth of atrocities to prove it.

For a second I was going to say it’s like they’re trying to make us hate them more somehow. Then I realized, yeah, that’s probably exactly what they’re trying to do. Antagonizing people into violence is the goal.

I’m not sure if it’s to use it as an excuse to declare martial law, or kick off a civil war, or both? Idk I guess I’ve just been around enough passive aggressive pieces of shit in the past to recognize it when I see it.

Yep fuck Sinclair broadcasting too, but as you can see, the only news covering this is from local Indiana news reporting.

Yeah fuck the intercept, not really the point.

My point is that while big news networks are fucking around it’s the locals news and individuals who are getting fucked over the most by this bullshit who are actually trying to make sure this shit doesn’t get buried

True, there was not a whole lot of mainstream media coverage of assange but there were journalists from places like the intercept and I believe rolling stone or vice also covering it.

In this case, and many cases all over the country lately, I’m finding that tiny local news outlets are doing a better job keeping us informed than mainstream media or even larger less mainstream news outlets.

Also realized that if this was a case of spying it would seem very unlikely he would have a lawyer at his residence while it was being raided but who tf knows. Not us.

What are you talking about. State secrets are well protected by Elon Musk

Yeah, if only we had a free press that could keep the public informed about matters so we could know what the fuck is actually going on anymore.

It’s especially weird the university just didn’t release a statement about it or anything.

It definitely could go either way

If we actually still had a free press, you would expect this to be getting some coverage and for there to be some kind of statement from the University’s lawyers saying they were cooperating with the FBI if this guy was legitimately wanted for shady dealings.

It’s fucking sad that we all read this and have to think, is this the FBI handling a legitimate threat or is this why DHS keeps complaining about Civil Rights Offices standing in their way.

I do have face unlock option but it’s showing in settings it’s never been set up. No app permissions I wasn’t aware of except android system intelligence. I tried to switch it to always ask permission but it just disappeared

Yeah I went ahead and just deleted it, but I’m very confused why it’s showing any app associated with that email. It was literally just a throwaway email I used once so I wouldn’t have to use my main account.

When I tried to log in to Google play using that email it said I needed to accept the terms and conditions bc I’d never logged in before.

What’s weird is that’s a throwaway email address I made to sign up for something but never used otherwise. Like I had never actually logged into the playstore with that address

No, I used my lock code

I think one thing we’re all going to have to remember, is that living in unprecedented times means we’re going to have to start holding ourselves to unprecedented standards. We should all be very angry and demanding better as a society, but it’s important to give ourselves grace as individuals, remember it’s up to us to try and avoid the things that make us unhappy as much as we can, and be proud of ourselves when we do manage to find glimmers of happiness while living in a dystopian society.

I say that to remind myself as much as to give advice to anyone else. I remember dreading 30 as it approached, and feeling like I was nowhere near where I was supposed to be. It felt like I had done everything I was supposed to do, but just never saw the payout for doing it. I had gotten a college degree, then a graduate degree. This allowed me to get a 9-5 job that I dreaded going to everyday. I was under a mountain of college loan debt. I barely made enough to cover my rent, let alone ever consider buying a house. I felt like I was going nowhere fast, and when I looked at social media, it felt like I was way behind all of my peers.

That was also around the time I decided that if I couldn’t obtain the material things that were supposed to make me feel happy and successful, I would focus on maximizing the activities and relationships that made me happy while slowly (and sometimes painfully) cutting out the things that only made me more miserable.

Flashforward a decade as I begin to approach 40, and I wish I could tell you that the material things eventually all worked themselves out, but pretty sure you already know they didn’t.

Financially I’m in basically the same situation I was then, except now I have a child to take care of, so obviously that means less money. Even with cost of living and merit based raises over the years, with inflation and an even worse housing market, it just never seemed to work out to making much of a difference. I’m still buried under the mountain of student debt and barely make rent each month. I also found out this past week that I’m losing my job soon, and as a federally funded researcher, the prospects of me finding one to replace it aren’t great to say the least.

However, even though the stakes are more dire than ever, and hard times are only forecast to get harder, I don’t feel quite as pessimistic as I did when I was approaching 30. I actually feel a bit of comradery with the majority of Americans, because I think most of us are in a pretty similar boat. As far as my personal relationships and family, I’m happier than I’ve ever been.

Maybe it’s just a part of mellowing out with age, but I feel it’s also in part due to being very happy with my personal relationships, and the people that are in my life now vs a decade ago. I’ve gotten involved in community work in my free time, and as of 2025 I feel a drive to embrace that kind of work more than ever. In a lot of ways starting from scratch at almost 40 is scary, but in some ways it’s actually somewhat of a relief. The last of a mirage that was keeping me in my stable career has been destroyed, and it would feel a bit more delusional for me to jump ship to a similar job knowing it will eventually just meet the same fate.

Again, I want to stress I don’t say this as a way to get people to be docile and just accept what’s happening, but to channel your anger and frustration into something that gives you a sense of accomplishment. If anyone in your life is making you think that being unhappy with the current situation is strictly a you problem, and not a reflection of reality, that’s a good sign you should probably lessen your ties to them for now. If they want to do some self reflection and try to come back later, that’s always an option.

Finding others in your community that feel the same way, and working together locally to keep people informed and prepared for policy changes before they happen, is one of the easiest ways you can improve your immediate surroundings and feel some power in a situation where we’re all pretty powerless.

Most of the senators and representatives we’ve elected to look out for our interests are failing hard. It’s important to keep in mind that everything happening at a federal level is going to start happening at state levels. In many red states it has already begun. DOGE inspired taskforces are popping up all over the country. I’ve been keeping a list of them, but even since my most recent update a few weeks ago, more have been announced.

Here is the list so far if anyone is interested: https://pimento-mori.ghost.io/state-level-doge-inspired-task-forces-pop-up-across-u-s-promoted-by-republican-governors-love-of-small-government/

Regardless of where they’re located, all of these DOGE task forces have a common goal. Make up a dollar amount to show how much they’re saving tax payers, find excuses to cut money for social programs (and in some cases even cuts to government safety programs that help prepare for natural disasters like hurricanes and tornadoes) in order to make that dollars saves number a reality. Citizens suffer, their lives are made worse, and governors and their wealthy friends become even wealthier, all in the name of trimming wasteful spending and getting rid of bureaucracy.

It’s easy to get stuck in a mindset where you let the reality of yesterday influence the way you view your present, but it’s a mental trap. I haven’t used any form of social media that isn’t anonymous in almost a decade. No Facebook or Instagram. I don’t scroll by pictures of a lifestyle that never even came close to matching my reality. I think it’s no coincidence that I no longer feel left out among my peers, when I’m not acknowledging false public images people attempt to shape for themselves online. Instead, I feel more connected to a bigger chunk of America than ever before, and it’s helped me to realize how much we all have in common regardless of political identity.

She’s got a work on her sales pitch. “Probably one of the greatest… Oh it’s not for you, it’s more of a Shelbyville idea…”