The photos of the "crowds" at the tank parade remind me of when Bill Hicks would come on stage in an almost-empty club, scan the room slowly, and announce "I've had more people in bed than this" ...
When the president sends a cabinet member on TV to announce "We are using the military to liberate an American city from its elected leaders," where do you go from there. What is left to say. The idea of that being anything short of a near-universal "Wait, what the fuck is going on" moment proves how far we've backslid.
This is from 2022 but it was absolutely right. The practiced buffoonery of Trump 1, all the "just kiddings" and "seriously but not literallys" absolutely succeeded in desensitizing people who are hardly paying any attention to the harder stuff they always intended to do next. ...
The basic fallacy in chasing votes by being "tough on immigration" is that the modal American's position on the issue is "Deport the Bad ones and keep the Good ones," and they alone know who is which, and that simply does not translate into workable policy. So this kind of gestapo stuff horrifies some of the same people who cheered when Trump promised to do it. There are true sociopaths who love this, but "No, I meant only the BAD immigrants! Not my coworker/friend/neighbor!" is as likely a reaction as enthusiasm. You cannot do immigration policy that satisfies these people because what they want is nonsensical.
So by the time center-left parties fully commit to chasing the far right by "getting tough" on immigration, the backlash has already begun to build and they walk right into it. "I thought you people wanted this!" No, they want something impossible and convinced themselves they'd could have it - the "eat whatever you want AND lose weight!" of immigration policies.
It is hard to grasp but large masses of Americans are both racist/xenophobic AND not racist/xenophobic enough to applaud what Trump is doing. It's goldilocks shit, they want a level of racism/xenophobia calibrated exactly to their personal preferences, and you just can't make that policy. Don't try. ...
AP: Trump extends olive branch, invites Musk to White House cellar to taste some brand new amontillado ...
twiffer says:
go tesla death ray!!!
Elder Futhark says:
For the record, I was aiming for Paris.
J. Dryden says:
Actual telegram from Tesla to Edison on the morning of June 30th: "YO THIEVING PRICK STOP CHECK THE LOCAL NEWS FOR TUNGUSKA IN ABOUT AN HOUR I'LL WAIT STOP BACK YET? STOP GOOD STOP NOW KEEP IN MIND THAT COULD JUST AS EASILY HAVE BEEN MENLO PARK STOP FUCK WITH ME AGAIN AND IT WILL BE STOP YOURS NIKKI STOP PS DC CURRENT SUCKS BALLS STOP."
True story!
Prudence says:
Calling all X-Files nuts!
HoosierPoli says:
It's pretty convenient for everyone involved that this was the middle of Siberian nowhere and not central Moscow…or central London.
JohnR says:
That reminds me; what was the date again for the Philadelphia Mass Turbulence of 1947? I'm thinking August 2, but I might be confusing that with my marriage anniversary
Quixy says:
I actually found out about this from a really odd and slightly psychopathic video that Metallica did for "All Nightmare Long."
Ed says:
Sorry Hoosier, this is not a UFO sighting. It is a well-documented event, and it's rather lucky that it didn't happen over a populated area.
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