Apparently Normal

I need you all to know that my mother sent me this. 🤣 That is all.

YouTube video by MeidasTouch Trump in FULL BLOWN PANIC as MARKET COLLAPSE IMMINENT

The Fed Reserve announced they're going to stop buying mortgage backed securities, in order to purchase US treasuries, in order to keep the treasuries interest rates from rising, because foreigners don't trust the US less these days (cause we're not to be trusted a-holes) (from @unftr.com )

What they won't forgive is any appearance of weakness.

And if Republicans cave to democrats, that is what it will be.

What matters to them is the appearance of weakness. They follow Trump because he doesn't apologize and doesn't compromise, and they equate that with strength. They are fine with the felonies, and would forgive Trump shooting a man on 5th ave.

These are the types that thrive on the bullying and the culture war and imagining Trump to be some virile, powerful agent of retribution and not an 80 year old.

This isn't all Trump voters, but it is the core of the support for Trump and MAGA, I think. Nowhere near the plurality that voted for him, but maybe 20% of the electorate and about half of Trump's reliable base.

MewsashiMeowimoto's comment on "Democrats politically made a great move here" Explore this conversation and more from the FedEmployees community

Will Repubs negotiate on the shutdown?
“A lot of the base is also relying on SNAP benefits and wants to be able to fly to and/or put Thanksgiving on the table
But I do think that the the emotional core of Trump's base, the Own The Libs faction, is going to have problems swallowing Republicans caving

40 billion to Argentina.

40 billion.

The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.

“The destruction of U.S.A.I.D. [caused] public man-made death. And the cruelty and lethality will only grow as the Administration expands its rollback of public-health advances to the homeland.”
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...

Elon Musk is boosting the British right - and this shows how Elon Musk is boosting the British right - and this shows how

Vital piece of investigative reporting from Sky. They've uncovered the X algorithm which feeds users extremist right wing material from the moment they join the site. It is a far-right radicalisation engine, by design.

news.sky.com/story/the-x-...

Opinion | How to Be a Good Citizen of a Bad Country

Lots of folks wonder what they can do about ICE & military on our streets.

Masha Gessen is a brilliant human & thinker. Gifting their thought provoking article on this topic & more.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/o...

#Voices4Victory
#USDemocracy

In a way, I find the authoritarian takeover of our media system even more disturbing than the authoritarian takeover of our political system.

Our political system has been failing basically my entire adult life. But, the media system provided accountability and sort of worked. Now it’s collapsing.

It’s not a mistake when you have no process.

www.upi.com Berkshire Hathaway reports record $382B reserve, positive 3rd quarter - UPI.com

Berkshire Hathaway reports record $382B reserve, positive 3rd quarter

Ooops, that last part of the post was supposed to say 53%. No way to edit it.

And 55% of Americans agree with this:
"The only way our country can get through the crisis ahead is to get back to our traditional values, put some tough leaders in power, and silence the troublemakers spreading bad ideas"
Conincidentally (or not), this is exactly the sort of thing Putin says.

And 55% of Americans agree with this statement,
"Our country will be destroyed someday if we do not smash the perversions eating away at our moral fiber and traditional beliefs"

YouTube video by Culture, Faith, and Politics A Very Hard Truth About Christian Trump Supporters

62% of Americans agree with this authoritarian statement (which is big part of why Trump won):
"What our country really needs is a strong, determined leader who will crush evil, and take us back to our true path" ('true' probably meaning, old fashioned white Christian)

Billboards outside US Southern Command urge troops not to 'break the law’ in Caribbean strikes “Don’t let them make you break the law,” reads a billboard along the road to U.S. Southern Command, one of several set up by veterans.

"The new billboards are designed to inform troops of legal resources … 'The [Southern Command] strikes … represent the most blatantly illegal act that this administration has had the military carry out.'"

taskandpurpose.com/news/vet-group-billboards-caribbean-strikes/

Can't overstate how fucked up it is that unraveling what is arguably the greatest achievement in the history of humanity is now a motivating issue of one of the two dominant parties in the U.S.

Vladeck: Even if you accept the predicate that these drug cartels are foreign terrorist organizations, that still doesn’t get you anywhere close to legal authority to use military force. They’re trying to blur and sort of collapse the distinction between two regimes we have…

Too many Americans either didn’t care or didn’t believe. Hopefully they do now.👇

Never in the history of the US has any president openly and repeatedly called for the investigation, arrest & prosecution of his political opponents. While many continue to shrug these things off and normalize them, I will never stop pointing out that this is what autocrats do.

It is a choice to give Argentina a $40 billion bailout

It is a choice to use ICE in a way which terrorizes US citizens

It is a choice to tear down the East Wing of the White House and spend $350 million on a ballroom

Just as it is a choice to starve 42 million Americans by refusing to fund SNAP

JB Pritzker creating the “Illinois Accountability Commission” isn’t getting enough attention. Its focus is on immigration agents & it will document abuses, capture impacts on families and communities, & recommend actions to prevent further harm. We need more of these nationwide.

Mockery ensues as whispering Lindsey Graham's Siri loudly announces who he's calling Mockery ensued on Tuesday after Sen. Lindsey Graham's (R-SC) Siri loudly announced he was calling a primetime Fox News host. Graham was caught speaking quietly into his phone when his virtual assistan...

lol🤣

"Funny moment just now in the Senate: Lindsey Graham whispered something into his phone and then Siri responded with full volume: 'Calling Sean Hannity mobile,'"

www.rawstory.com/lindsey-grah...

Justin Wolfers: The Erosion of Democratic Institutions Podcast Episode · To The Contrary with Charlie Sykes · 10/26/2025 · 43m

“the most fundamental source of American prosperity is the value of our institutions”
“I'm not sure that most people have connected the dots between the institutional erosion and the danger to our future prosperity.”
(At about 29:40 in this podcast)

Quite a world when a federal judge has to call in a federal official to specifically tell him he can't use tear gas on children in Halloween costumes

The most disturbing thing about SNAP ending on November 1st and healthcare premiums increasing is that there are many people it will affect who have no clue as to what's going on.

These are the types who say: "I'm not into politics."

Well, politics are definitely into YOU.🔥☕️