Breathe

Kyle talked about this very thing today:

Ok, this is really fucked: The whole Greenland thing may actually be an effort for a Peter Thiel backed network state to build its own country. First, Usha Vance visiting Greenland is likely a setup: https://bsky.app/profile/timothysnyder.bsky.social/post/3ll7hphgxzs2d Tracing through the comments we arrive at arrive at a compelling objective: https://bsky.app/profile/jennycohn.bsky.social/post/3levv4j35xk2b

It's not one guy

I suspect this is something you project onto everyone. Maybe you haven't been paying attention, but most of my free time is dedicated to health practices right now. This is a time of rest for me. It's not what I want, but it has to be done.

MAGA encompasses a lot of different characteristics. You have your wealthy greedy MAGAs, your uneducated rural MAGAs, and swing voters, guns and Jesus MAGas. Maybe others, that's all I can think of right now. Not many of them are going to do consciousness work. They'll change their minds once their lives are turned upside down. Financial ruin, self or family members deported, loss of family members lives due to shitty health policies, anti-vax deaths. Many will never change, regardless. It's a cult.

OMG that is funny

For anyone else, my anti-fascist friend recommended the book: How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them by Jason Stanley. It's about modern day fascism. I just picked up my copy today.

Agreed I'm educating myself. Fear may continue to come up or not. My life is full as it is. As for everyone else, I think people need to be somewhat more strategic about the bigger decisions they make right now.

You could be right. I'll consider that. I think it's going to be worse than you think it's going to be. Partially because of because of where you're at in life but maybe something else. The sick, the elderly, the poor, and non-whites are really at risk. We now have to contend with AI, we're isolating as a nation, and threatening war with allies. Jobs are being lost, services are being cut, prices are going up. This may not be the fascism of old, but this is way worse than anything we've seen in the last 50 years.

That's my take as well. When I was healthy I could relate to Leo's position, but after a freak accident I couldn't work more than 2 hours a day for almost 10 years. I fear for those that aren't healthy. I'm a first generation American, the rest of the family are legal immigrants (citizens now). I look white, but they are being super cautious about being profiled because they look Mexican as hell. I have family that DID work for the government, one was forced to retire early because of DOGE. The other is just looking for something new now. This was just in the last month Also, I work in tech, and right now, there are very few jobs. The market has been highly competitive since around when Biden took office. Who knows what's on the horizon. All my coworkers are terrified of being laid off. I do think Leo is underestimating the economic situation that's going to unfold. Comparing this to the Biden+Trump 1.0 era is comparing apples to oranges.

That's a bold statement. When the UK isolated the economy their economy took a hit. But they weren't threatening their neighbors or deporting immigrants to places like Gitmo and El Salvador's mega prison. The UK just simply their borders. We were the leader of the free world and now we are eating ourselves form the inside out. Our economy is going to take a hit, but unlike the UK we brazen existential threat to the rest of the world. What else do we even have to compare this to? This is a different beast. I think we need wake the fuck up just like our allies have.

I'd consider Europe or Canada but fascism is on the rise everywhere and the global economy is also taking a huge hit from the USA's betrayal and chaos. Europe also has to worry about aggression from Russia now, so there's that. I'm not sure it's safe to go anywhere

This.

I can relate, I think I was away for a few years, if not longer. Leo's way of teaching of non-duality is not for me. But he did turn me on to psychedelics and politics. This would not be my choice for finding love and acceptance. I come from a Zen background, which I never felt at home at either. I found a small, politically engaged, Theravada group that I have come to call home. If you're serious about this stuff, seek out a city with a rich spiritual and creative culture. Also, don't discount some of the intimate communities online if that's the best you can do. There are teachers out there that have a smaller following, and they can be solid. Ultimately, there are no ideal communities or one-stop shops. But also be careful about mixing and matching conflicting teachings. It will only lead to confusion. Use discretion and don't put anyone on a pedestal. Be well.

@carterfelder We try to be open minded here but there aren't many on this forum that support corrupt, bankrupt, racist, war-mongering, rapists on this forum. This isn't 4chan

The majority of dems are corrupt.

Sarah Kendzior: https://substack.com/@sarahkendzior/p-157988203

Exactly. But right now, even the Democratic party is rife with corruption. The dems knew this was coming and did nothing. They still remain silent except for a few brave souls. I'm just not sure how long they will be able to keep this up before they are silenced, jailed, killed, etc. The illusion that most people hold is that there is someone that can or could have saved us. We have lived in an oligarchy for some time. What we really needed was to find a way to get corporate interests out of our politics. But, we saw what happened to Bernie. A Bernie would have been bad news for "democratic" donors. The reality is that both parties have a many of the same donors. That's who has really run this country. There is no one that can save us from this mess because they don't exist. Something radical is going to have to happen in order for the US to re-emerge as a democratic country. I heard a professor of political science say, "The constitution means whatever he majority of the supreme court says it means." With the current judicial system, it doesn't hold much weight anymore given that it consists mainly of Trump loyalists. We are headed to a future where the constitution means whatever the prez says it means. I don't think it's that people love authoritarian regimes. They just want someone in power that' espouses similar values. Or, they are looking for some kind of savior, or someone to keep them safe. And if it's an authoritarian regime, so be it. But the thing to keep in mind, Russia actually holds elections to give the appearance of democracy. It's called an "Electoral Autocracy".

You say this as if we still live in a functioning democratic society. We are slipping at breakneck speed. https://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/25/us-is-no-longer-a-full-democracy-eiu-warns.html

One thing we really need to keep an eye on is if we can no longer access services such as Proton Mail, VPN services, Tor, Signal. If any of you are on any social media platforms I would advise you to follow the ones that I mentioned and keep an eye on the happenings. Maybe subscribe to slashdot and one or two popular cybersecurity groups. We already live in a surveillance state, the question is, how far are they going to take it? FYI: Timothy Snyder is advising us to stay off of social media.

How willing are you to go to jail if shit really hits the fan? Protesters are already fucking scared.

I do think that people need start being careful about what they post on big tech servers (google, facebook, twitter, etc). We already know that DOGE is harvesting data and using AI to analyze it. Here's one example: https://substack.com/@olgalautman/note/c-100390154

@carterfelder No he does not. The constitution was drafted to protect against leaders like him. That's literally what it is for. @PurpleTree Damn good question. I'm just waiting for him to declare non-supporters enemies of the state. Keep in mind, we are becoming Russia. Ask yourself, WWPD (What would Putin do)?

Maybe someone else can chime in here, but I think Putin has something on Trump. He owes Putin. It may be because of Putin's assistance in the 2016 election but it could be some sort of blackmail as well. That said, I still think that Trump thinks Putin is his friend. He's not.

I wouldn't be so sure about that. Putin is playing Trump. Trump wants people to think that he's in charge, telling Putin what to do, when in fact, it is quite the opposite. Trump has been groomed by Russia for a long time, primarily because of his influence here in the US but also because he's easy to manipulate.