...a strategy that limits fossil fuels in the short term or encourages people to limit consumption is “doomed to fail”.

Maybe, but the world has to reduce global carbon emissions by half, within a relatively short amount of time, to have any chance of limiting warming to a level that gives us the best possible chance of not passing critical climate tipping points, and the only way to do that is to significantly reduce our use of fossil fuels. Carbon capture will likely also be necessary, and maybe so will be geoengineering (god help us), but there is no possible strategy for limiting warming and hopefully avoiding passing critical tipping points that doesn't involve rapid and dramatic reductions in fossil fuel use. So, if that's doomed to fail, then the world not passing critical climate tipping points is also doomed to fail. I think a lot of people just figure that's a foregone conclusion at this point, and maybe it is, but if that's the case then let's just be honest and say that what we're facing in the latter half of the 21st century, and possibly sooner, is significant catastrophe.

We had a 22 percent increase in domestic investment.

That's good, it really is, but that in and of itself doesn't mean much. Industrial production left the US for a reason. What's changed? The cost of living has only gone up, especially housing, which means the cost of domestic labor is still going to be much higher than many other countries, so how do these US producers plan to turn this new capital investment into a profitable enterprise? How are they going to profitably produce quality goods that Americans can actually afford? Are they only going to make luxury goods for the highest income Americans? If so, who's going to serve the middle and the bottom income levels?

If a game requires that you install what basically amounts to a rootkit in order to play it, I don't think I want to play that game.

Tbh the people are not educated properly, too enslaved to debt service and bills, and so brain conditioned to individual greed that forming a cohesive army to restore democracy is a laugh.

That's very true. Our problems don't only exist at the top. We have fundamental, critical problems at every strata: top, bottom, and middle.

This country is so fucked.

Call me the Dude, because I hate the fuckin' Eagles. Good for Jalen Hurts, though. I mean, I don't know if he's making a political statement or he just doesn't like Big Macs, but, either way, cool.

Down in a hole, feelin' so small
Down in a hole, losin' my soul
I'd like to fly
But my wings have been so denied

Ideologically speaking, dozens of studies and surveys have shown that Americans are actually not very ideologically separate

Maybe Americans are generally ideologically homogeneous, but there's enough variability within that shared ideology for there to be significant disagreements between the various ideological subgroups. Even if Americans broadly agree on the matter of individual rights, liberties, and freedoms, they may not necessarily agree on which rights should be prioritized or for whom.

But maybe the problem is in the shared ideology itself. A country that is adamant that people should have the right to be ignorant and misinformed, shouldn't be surprised when large numbers of people are ignorant and misinformed.

Political tribalism is so crazy in this country. It's like Republicans and Democrats live in two different countries. I suppose in some ways they do.

Tesla cannot be saved until and unless Musk sells his share of the company and completely divorces himself from it. Even that may not be enough, as the brand is so closely associated with Musk that his stain may not wash off, but it's their only chance.

Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) has urged her Democratic colleagues to stop attacking the “oligarchy” on Thursday, arguing that the word did not resonate with most Americans

Everyone believes that their politics are the politics of MOST Americans, but reality is more complicated than that. I'm not sure that anyone can say what most of the roughly 260 million voting age Americans think, about much of anything, really. Yes, polling can give us some insights, but polls are inherently flawed.

The fact is, the American people are complex. They believe many things, and some of the things they believe contradict other things they believe; and just because an American thinks a certain way today, that doesn't mean they'll think that way tomorrow. Plus, we just have such a large and diverse populace, spread out across fifty states. It's difficult, if not impossible, to point to any one American and say, "that person represents most Americans."

If I had to guess, I'd say that most Americans don't give a rats ass about oligarchy or kings. If they could live their lives the way they wanted under an oligarchy or a king, they'd be fine with it. Kings, oligarchs, emperors, despots, who gives a shit, as long as the price of eggs doesn't go up too much. I think what matters to most Americans isn't semantic, philosophical or ideological, but material. I think most Americans would be perfectly content to live under a king, if under that king they were able to live a decent, middle class life.

But, that's just my guess. Again, it's hard for anyone to say what most Americans want or think or believe.

If you're still on Earth...

Firefighters, EMTs, and police are all first responders, and so it's necessary for them all to have at least emergency medical training. Yet, they are distinct agencies, because each job requires unique skills and training. I think police, and for that matter all first responders, should have mental health emergency training, just as they have medical emergency training, but I also think it would be useful for there to be a distinct agency that specializes in mental health emergency response, just as there are agencies that specialize in fire emergency and medical emergency response. I don't think it's reasonable to expect the police to fill this role, just as I think it would be unreasonable to expect the police to fight fires or provide all of the services of an EMT.

We need an option other than the police for people experiencing a mental health crisis. The police are not mental health professionals, and we shouldn't expect them to be. The police are enforcers, emphasis on "force." We need to establish a new agency of responders who are trained to deal with people who are experiencing a mental health crisis.

I think one of the greatest mistakes you can make in war is to underestimate your enemy.

I've figured out a lot as I've gotten older, but In many cases it has taken a lot of time and a lot of mistakes to get there. Plus, just because you've figured something out, that doesn't necessarily mean your life will be any easier or better. One of the things I've figured out is that many things are outside of my control, and there isn't a damn thing I can do about them. I've also figured out that there are a lot of things that are within my power to change, but knowing and doing are two different things.

I'm 42 years old and if my younger self could see where he would end up, he would probably be furious that he hasn't accomplished more, that he isn't more of a success, but that idiot can kiss my ass. He doesn't know shit.

What does that mean?

Edit: I guess they're not going to answer. If you're not capable of completing a coherent thought, maybe just stay out of the conversation.