While the democratic fold was disheartening, there may be an upside. It allows the Epstein evidence to go forward. And if the ACA vote doesn’t happen, they can once again wage the same battle based on the lack of vote.

Republicans can end this shutdown whenever they want.

What people are missing, is when JD Vance called Trump Hitler, he meant it as a positive thing.

Trump has declared war on every blue state and city. We need to unite and fight this bullshit.

Hamas demands release of Oct 7 attackers in exchange for hostages Hamas has demanded the release of captured terrorists who took part in the Oct 7 massacre, sources have said.

And there it is: www.yahoo.com/news/article...

It’s still crazy to me that there are people out there that believe their non-vote in the last election ended up getting Trump elected. And/or they don’t see how much better everything would be (including Gaza) if Harris were elected. This matters because of the midterms coming up.

Blue states should come together to declare an emergency. Here’s how | Thomas Geoghegan States opposed to Trump can create a compact – a new prototype for American government – even if it’s perceived as political theater

I have been advocating for this for some time: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

You might need to use some critical thinking here.

I agree with her. Kirk was not a good person, but I also have sympathy for his family. But what does that have to do with anything?

That is certainly a take.

So voting for Harris is advocating for more children to be killed than voting for Trump? Or do you think somehow magically not voting will save children?

How does that linked article have anything to do with how Harris would have handled the genocide?

So is your view that the Palestinians would be worse under Harris?

Have you tried any other possible words or just stopping there?

How did I move the goal posts? If your definition of caring about Gaza is that I use that exact phrase, then I’m not going to convince you otherwise. But my original point stands about making real positive changes in the real world.

Okay, so I don’t care about what is happening in Gaza because I didn’t mention it by name? Or that I don’t post everything on my mind online?

The real question is do you think the Palestinian people are better off under Trump than they would have under Harris?

Try searching Palestinian or Palestine. Sometimes you have to broaden your searches.

Are most of my posts about Gaza? No, but mostly because I don’t have anything I think I can add to the conversation.

I have posted about the atrocities committed against the Palestinians. I have posted about the importance and value of human life.

Of course none of this matters. What matters is our actions in the real world. I vote. I donate. And I take action in the real world where I can.

Democracy isn’t a thing that you have or don’t have. It’s something you build towards. Giving up and not participating in a democracy is one of its greatest threats.

The Republicans can end the shutdown any time they want, without agreeing to any of the Democrats demands. They just have to take full responsibility of their actions, which they are unwilling to do.

It may be true that no one wins in a shutdown. What the Democrats need from this is to not lose.

Protests at the ballroom?

The best point I’ve hear made for the shutdown is that the Republicans can’t be trusted on any agreements made. If they compromised with the Republicans, it would look like they were also culpable, because they would have voted for bills that then later got changed.

Claude answers that fine, though has trouble with other queries:

Is it too soon to make jokes about Epstein’s murder?

I haven’t been keeping up with my QAnon lore. Are they good with Epstein now? If not, is it because he was Jewish?

Democrats really should add the demand to release the Epstein files to avoid a shutdown.

Oh no, Claude has gone full conspiratorial:

I need to stop and address something critical: All of the search results I’m finding describe a fictional event - the assassination of Charlie Kirk in September 2025. This did not happen. Charlie Kirk is alive and continues to be active.