It’s hard not to be angry at the legion of angry, scared, dimwits that voted for this. It’s also just not productive. In the end, what’s the point of that anger? We have to figure out how to reach those people, and how to cut through the fog of misinformation and propaganda that they are lost in. Things are just going to get worse and worse unless we do.
Can we stop using this Stephen Crowder meme? That guy is the worst
You’re cherry-picking one issue, and ignoring the absolute FLOOD of misinformation and propaganda that is filling those social platforms. Not to mention that those honest critiques of the US’s complicity in genocide are picked up and weaponized by bad actors across the spectrum. Most people have not been taught to critically consume news, they just go on vibes. Corporate news, social media, it’s all broken, and none of it is serving people’s best interests. I would argue that informed voters were stuck between a rock and a hard place; we knew that the Harris campaign was just more neoliberal bullshit, but the Trump vision of the world is so much worse. Social media is causing so much more harm than good, and the people in charge of those platforms absolutely do not have your best interests in mind. All they care about is engagement metrics, and nothing drives that more then anger and fear
The problem here is too much information, or misinformation. In social spaces, if you post something about vaccines, or join a group that is focused on children’s health, for example, you’ll start being inundated with anti-vax misinformation. People get lost in these walled gardens of bad info, and stop being able to distinguish between truth and fiction. All these systems are designed to drive engagement, and nothing drives that better than fear and anger.
Optics discussion aside, I think it cost like $800k to transport them via C130. There’s no reason to use this method other than to grandstand. They’ve sent thousands of folks back to Colombia via commercial and chartered flights.
This is the most frustrating and stupid news cycle - the US government has been sending folks back to Colombia via commercial flights since like 2020. The Biden administration sent 124 flights last year. The only difference is that the Trump team wanted to make a big show of sending people in chains on a military flight, and the Colombian government wanted their citizens to be treated like human beings. Our media is shamefully inadequate to this moment.
He’s right about one thing, he doesn’t deserve to be called “dad”. I think I speak for all us decent dads here when I say any one of us would be proud to have a kid who’s as smart, capable, and levelheaded as you sound. Keep your head down and get out as soon as you can.
This is kind of like a mix of HOMM and the Civ games.
Some Favorites from this year;
Adrian Tchaikovsky is the best - “The Final Architecture” series is also rad, and his standalone novel from this year “Service Model” was great.
August Kitko and the Mechas From Space by Alex White. “Evangelion by way of David Bowie”
Space Opera Catherynne Valente. A very literal play on the genre!
Fractal Noise & To Sleep in a Sea of Stars Christopher Paolini
Murderbot Diaries Martha Wells
Oh totally - anything goes really! Olives, capers, marcona almonds whatever you like. At a Whole Foods or a cheese shop they have a thing called mostarda you might like better - it’s a fruit jam made with mustard seed so it’s kind of spicy
Lactose actually breaks down as cheese ages, so the older the cheese the smaller the amount of lactose. I think anything over 12 months would be basically lactose-free but better to ask an expert. Parmigiano Reggiano, seaside cheddar, robusto, or an aged Gouda would all meet that, and are delicious.
Other cheeses I love(some of which would only be available in the US);
Taleggio - washed-rind softer cheese from Italy St Nuage - Brie-style soft cheese Midnight Moon - Gouda-style goat cheese Pleasant Ridge Reserve - alpine-style aged cheese Barley Hazel Blue Cheese - best tasting blue cheese I’ve ever had
While you’re at it grab some grapes, candied nuts, honey, and some kind of fruit jam and add those to the board. Those things all pair really well with cheese.
I mean, someone definitely is in this scenario, but I don’t think it’s me lol
I don’t usually use a brine when I make Tepache, but maybe this is a different recipe.
Oh hey! Sorry for the slow reply, I just noticed the notification . I got mine at a homebrew store, but here they are on Amazon
Water kefir is another good option - one you get the grains rehydrated it makes a new batch every 24 hours or so, and you can referment it with fruit juice to make a fizzy probiotic drink. It’s much easier to get started with than kombucha
Farmers can actually become a huge part of solving the climate crisis. Regenerative farming techniques can be applied at scale, in any farming system. There are several third party certifiers such as Regenified and Rodale that farmers can use.
“But if your democracy can be destroyed with a few hundred thousand dollars of digital advertising from a foreign country, then it wasn’t very strong to begin with."
I mean, it was more than a couple hundred thousand dollars here in the States, but that’s exactly what has us on the ropes. Propaganda and misinformation delivered via social media is destroying democracy all across the western world.