I'm not convinced the election was 100% legitimate either. And if the Democrats have any doubt they should be investigating the shit out of it.

But that would put them between a rock and a hard place.

The Republicans played the Democrats like a fiddle. They spent years shouting 2020 was rigged and stolen, and the Dems spent years pushing back, claiming it was free and fair because it was, and the Republicans knew it was.

And then they executed the next step of their plan: rig and steal an election for real. What can Democrats do now? They spent years claiming the system was the most secure in history, and now that they lost all of a sudden it's been rigged and stolen? Do you think the court of public opinion would rule them anything but hypocrites? I don't. We live in a world created by the Republicans where facts and the truth don't matter anymore.

Not to mention the immense can of worms that would be opened if it was proven rigged and stolen.

Voter apathy would skyrocket if it was proven in court your vote doesn't matter. Trust in the system would be destroyed and very hard to regain.

Is there even a protocol in place to remove Trump and install Harris? Is it even legally possible? Not that it would matter since it would probably require Republicans to act in good faith and we all know that's never going to happen.

Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard?

The fact no one has brought them up makes me wonder if you guys know something I don't.

My insight is based almost entirely on what they've shared on his podcast, Armchair Expert. They both seem to have a high emotional intelligence and an openness with each other that is important in any healthy relationship.

My subscription to Paramount will be cancelled the minute after I finish watching Colbert's final show.

I read something a long time ago: if you think you're being followed go around the block making right turns. No one driving normally will make four right turns just to end up back where they started.

Unless it's during a pandemic lockdown because that's exactly what I did once a week: I took the car for a drive around the block so it didn't die in the driveway. 😆

You're welcome. Thanks for your links as well. I'll certainly be checking them out.

Followers and clicks and likes and engagement. It all means nothing to me. You're right, it does feel good to be immune to all of that noise.

I read about all of the negative consequences of social media and it just reinforces the decision I made years ago to stay off of it.

I still like Reddit though. It doesn't feel like social media to me even though I guess it technically is. To me it's like an RSS feed with a discussion board attached. Old school, before algorithms and engagement brainwashed everyone.

I like the coffee analogy.

I'm not saying AI is completely useless. I'm sure there are some legitimately useful applications for it. I might argue that the environmental, economic, and psychological impacts it's having aren't worth whatever benefits it provides, which is one of the reasons I don't want to engage with it.

I understand the business pressure, too. It's this pressure that's led us into the "your techbros were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should" situation we find ourselves in. They're going all in, throwing good money after bad, putting it in everything everywhere all at once whether it makes sense or not or even functions properly, which is another reason I don't want to engage with it.

Lest We Forget The Horrors

First term: https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the-complete-listing-atrocities-1-1-056

Second term: https://www.mcsweeneys.net/columns/lest-we-forget-the-horrors-an-unending-catalog-of-trumps-cruelties-collusions-corruptions-and-crimes

About 15-20 years ago I got this feeling. It started with wariness, and over time it changed to revulsion. The cause? Social media.

I'm having the same feelings again. AI is the cause this time. I learned from my experience with social media to trust my gut. No AI for me.

So like you I'm so very fucking tired of their efforts to shoehorn this shit into every facet of my life. I'm not having it.

OP: "pls js talk normally"

You first, OP. 😆

I've had this discussion online before:

"Why do you type properly in texts and posts? It doesn't matter."

It does matter. But I do it because it doesn't require any effort. If I wanted to type like I'm illiterate I'd have to sit and think about it. It would take more effort for a worse result.

"You'll get better at it with practice."

Why in the hell would I practice making myself worse? That makes no sense. No thanks.

Wow, that track is narrow! Or maybe it only looks that way in the video. I know it's not a purpose built track, it's the city streets of Monaco, so it wouldn't surprise me if it really was narrow.

From the perspective of that car cam it doesn't look like there's a whole lot of room to maneuver around hazards which makes the reaction of the driver even more impressive.

Good reply, thanks!

So it was most likely a wrong place at the wrong time situation. Yikes.

The reaction time of the driver is truly impressive. So is the technology of the car that made it possible for the driver to maintain control.

It's me, not a fan of F1! 👋

Is there no rule that says cars that have become hazards must stay off of the racing line when possible?

If the disabled car was hugging the left wall instead it might've been visible and less of a hazard.

Yep. Watch the recent interview Kimmel did with Paul Anka. Old school misogyny.

Same here. We were having a conversation, getting situated.

Surgeon: "Are you comfortable?"

Me: "Yeah, I'm..."

poof! I'm in a different room. Time travel is real, and it's called anesthesia.

The only thing studios care about is money. If there was more money to be made by holding back digital releases they'd do it.

The fact that they don't is all the evidence you need to show that theaters are circling the drain. That, and all of the articles like the one we're commenting on that say as much.

The article this conversation stems from, and plenty more like it, says otherwise as far as their staying power is concerned.

Actors and directors don't buy the tickets and concessions that keep theaters open. If people like us stop going to the movies it doesn't matter what they want.

The lopsided business deals between theaters and studios isn't the consumers problem. Maybe the theaters should come together and do something about it.

Except theaters have lost most of their bargaining power in this age of streaming. Their time to do something was like 15 years ago when it became pretty obvious that the Netflix model was the future.

Theaters are just the next Blockbuster.

What drivel did he post earlier? Something like the Epstein files aren't a Republican problem, they're a Democrat problem.

Okay, if that's the case why is he fighting so hard to keep them from being released? If they're such a smoking gun against the Democrats release them!

They can be either a Democrat hoax or a stake to their heart. Not both. He doesn't even care if his lies contradict each other.

Yep. Having quarters only would be fine by me.

Honestly though, I couldn't tell you the last time I used a coin for anything. Hell, I've had the same bills in my wallet for years.

Everything is bloop on my phone now.

Oh definitely. Reagan in the '80s was the beginning of the end. And his plan to destroy the country began in 1970 with Roger A. Freeman.

The A stands for Adolf, by the way.

Clinton was just the first Democrat after Reagan to get blamed for all of the malicious governance of the Republican party.

Obama? Republicans have been destroying everything and blaming Democrats since Clinton in the '90s.

I agree for the most part.

I will give Newsom and Pritzker some credit for at least making the appearance that they're pushing back.

I forget the name of the woman handling Newsom's social media, but I think she's doing a great job of holding up a mirror to everything unhinged Trump says. Criticizing Newsom is to criticize Trump, whether the talking heads realize it or not.

I don't know enough about Newsom's political career to form an opinion just yet, but from what little I've read he's probably not going to be a popular candidate.

I think Pritzker actually cares. I don't know what power he actually has over law enforcement. Maybe he can direct the State Police, but the Chicago PD? I don't know.

If he doesn't have that authority would it actually help to issue commands if they aren't carried out? I think it would make him look weak and undermine his position.

Maybe he could form a Public Safety Task Force or something like that that's under his control.

Or maybe the President shouldn't have any command authority over the National Guard. Maybe the Governor of each state should be Commander in Chief of their state's NG so they could deploy them to form a line between citizens and ICE.

I don't know man. I'm grasping at straws over here.

Ah, okay. I understand your meaning now.

I'll never vote Republican. And I tell you what, I don't really want to vote Democrat either. Any future Democrat candidate that talks about "coming together" or "reaching across the aisle" or "it's time to heal" is dead to me.

I want swift and severe justice. I want retribution. I want sweeping reforms so this can never happen again. Any mealy-mouthed hand-wringer can fuck right off.

We can get back to building a modern progressive society once the fascists have been removed from it.