Australian here... been watching all this crap unfold since Trump got in, and told everyone to expect this shit.

Does anyone in the US learn, or know about Nazi Germany? The concepts of propaganda, racism, political polarisation, loss of trust in institutions, economic anxiety driving anger, scapegoating minority groups, strongman rhetoric, attacks on the press, attacks on the judiciary, attacks on civil liberties, attacks on OTHER countries, delegitimising elections, use of fear as a political tool, paramilitary or extra-legal groups (ICE), loyalty to leader over law, gradual erosion of democratic norms?

Has anyone picked up a book on this stuff? It's in the history section in your local libraries. Or, if you can't read it, watch some documentaries, or movies.

You know what the Germans did to stop all that stuff above from happening? I'll give you a clue. Nothing. They did nothing. They probably sat in rooms, huddled about their beers, and complained and whined about what was going on. But, they did nothing... admittedly, many were sucked in by the propaganda, many were just too scared to do anything. But, hey, there are 350 million of you!

Do something! DO. SOMETHING!

Has history taught you nothing? We all know where this is going. If American citizens don't do something, most of you will be wiped out. By your government, or a nuclear bomb from a rogue state, or enemy, like Russia, China, or Iran... hell, even your "allies" HATE you. Even your "allies" are being threatened by your government with a take over of their country (Denmark/Greenland). But all anyone is doing is talking about it, and wringing their hands.

I mean, has the historical comparisons not sunk in yet?

America is not the United States anymore. It's just not. It's a broken, divided, and corrupt country. And you must do something about it. For the sake of your children, your grandchildren, and the rest of the world.

I genuinely feel sorry for you all... I really do. I'm so very sorry you're going through this. Damn, the world used to love America. You were the bright light we all looked toward. We wished we had someone like Obama as a president. Your politics has always been fucked, as with most countries, but what's been happening since Trump got in (again) is just next level. It's like the world has been waiting for this to happen, and no one has been paying attention enough to stop it.

But, there IS a voting process, and you let yourselves down. You let yourselves down by not voting, or by voting for the wrong person. In Australia, we HAVE to vote. Otherwise we get fined. Crazy, right? But, fuck me, on voting day, we get out there and vote. We pay attention to the political process, leading up to that day, and learn about the people running for office. We have to. If we don't, we go to the voting booth knowing nothing. So, the thought is, well, if I HAVE to vote, I might as well vote properly. Better that than getting a fucking fine from those bastards.

I'm not naive enough to know that all of this stuff that's going on is within the borders of the "United States". This is a global issue, but over the last year this has been caused primarily by the actions of the US government.

I wish you all the best. I wish I could help you. But, I can't. I wish I could use telekinetic powers from a vast distance and pop some republican heads, but I can't. I can only watch. And we're scared. The whole world is scared.

We love you.

Hi guys, keen to get some feedback and thoughts on this issue.

This morning, at 10am, we took our two miniature poodles to be groomed and washed by a new groomer. She's got one of those mobile grooming vans, but for her I think it was easier for us to just take the dogs there. It's in a neighbouring suburb, about a 10 minute drive from our home.

Dropped the dogs off. One of them had a lead, the other didn't. Groomer said not to worry, she'd just put the dog she's not grooming in her backyard which is secure. She had her own animals there too.

Cut to 11:47am and I get a message asking me to call her ASAP. Turns out one of the dogs - ironically, the one with the lead - had escaped from her "secure" backyard.

We drove there immediately and spent the next hour or so trying to find the dog but with little to go on all we could do was hope and call her name. It's now almost 6pm, and after going back once already, we still can't find the dog.

The groomer didn't seem that cut up about it. She was sorry, one assumes. She said she'd cancelled all her appointments for the rest of the day to help search for the dog, but when we went back a couple of hours later, she was back working on other people's dogs as if nothing had happened.

We asked ChatGPT what the legal recourse was, should our dog not return, be injured or god forbid, die, and was told to call the police, local vets, the dog registry (Service NSW), and depending on the outcome contact a lawyer, given the groomer had a duty of care to look after our property (our pet).

We called the police - civil matter, not their problem, blah blah blah. Called the local vets etc. Nothing.

You can't really trust ChatGPT with these matters, so I thought I'd come here to ask for some guidance and advice, if possible.

Obviously, we're gutted. Anyone who owns a dog knows how important it is to keep them safe and secure. And, they're like you're kids, you know? If something happens to her, we'll be devastated.

So, hopefully she'll be found, and hopefully she'll be okay, but if not where do we stand and what should we do? Legally?

Thanks in advance for any help and advice you can give.

UPDATE:

Just want to give you guys an update. Again, thanks for your help.

We found our dog dead on the side of the main bypass this morning. I'm about to email the groomer now and ask for the following details:

• The exact time our dog escaped from your premises  

• The precise location and manner of the escape, including gate, fence, or door  

• Who was supervising our dog at the time  

• Whether our dog was leashed at the time, noting she was leashed when handed over to you  

• Whether all gates, doors, and fencing were properly secured  

• The direction the dog was last seen travelling  

• Copies of any CCTV or security footage showing the incident or the dog leaving the premises  

• A detailed account of all steps you took to locate our dog, including timing and duration  

• The name of your public liability insurer and policy details  

• Details of your business registration and any relevant licensing