CURRENT EVENTS - JANUARY 2026

[Mulberry Heel]

What they have done to science and medicine in this country is criminal, and a good many people are going to die because of it. And all because his base hates and resents and is jealous of people with college and graduate degrees who support mainstream science and medicine and make good money. Pure lunacy and idiocy at work, and they don't care.

 

[1moretimeagain]

 

[Mulberry Heel]

I agree with this to a point. I would add that about half the country certainly doesn't agree with this attitude and view, and never will. And I also don't think, despite what this post says, that Democratic Presidents have given any indication that they will at similarly to Trump. Biden, Obama, and Bill Clinton certainly didn't behave the way that Trump (and to a lesser extent) Dubya has.

I do agree with the post that one very serious problem that will continue to exist even after Trump has left office is that no one outside the USA is going to trust us again for a long while, because everyone now knows that someone like Trump could always get elected again in four or eight years and start Trump's wildly reckless and destructive cycle all over again. If Trump hadn't been elected in 2024 then I don't think the damage to our foreign image and standing would have been nearly as lasting or as great. But when he got elected again in 2024 and followed his current course of deliberately isolating the USA from pretty much everyone else it is going to make it extremely difficult for future US Presidents to have much credibility in foreign policy, at least for a long while. Trump 2.0 has done more to damage our international standing and credibility than the old KGB or any hostile foreign power ever has.

 

[nycfan]

 

[nycfan]

 

[pspsps]

I agree with this to a point. I would add that about half the country certainly doesn't agree with this attitude and view, and never will. And I also don't think, despite what this article says, that Democratic Presidents have acted this way, or given any indication that they will. Biden, Obama, and Bill Clinton certainly didn't behave the way that Trump (and to a lesser extent) Dubya has.

I do agree with the article that one very serious problem that will continue to exist even after Trump has left office is that no one outside the USA is going to trust us again for a long while, because everyone now knows that someone like Trump could always get elected again in four or eight years and start Trump's wildly reckless and destructive cycle all over again. If Trump hadn't been elected in 2024 then I don't think the damage to our foreign image and standing would have been nearly as lasting or as great. But when he got elected again in 2024 and followed his current course of deliberately isolating the USA from pretty much everyone else it is going to make it extremely difficult for future US Presidents to have much credibility in foreign policy, at least for a long while. Trump 2.0 has done more to damage our international standing and credibility than the old KGB or any hostile foreign power ever has.

I read that screed and thought “what do you want from me? Armed rebellion? I am not that guy. Sorry.” I have been to numerous demonstrations, written and called members of congress dozens of times, go to town halls, and encourage others to show up and be counted. Maybe that guy has the expectation we mass in the streets like South Korea did? But there is a huge difference in expanse and density.

It is disappointing though that Americans do not see the grave dangers we face at scale needed.

 

[EyeballKid]

I read that screed and thought “what do you want from me? Armed rebellion? I am not that guy. Sorry.” I have been to numerous demonstrations, written and called members of congress dozens of times, go to town halls, and encourage others to show up and be counted. Maybe that guy has the expectation we mass in the streets like South Korea did? But there is a huge difference in expanse and density.

It is disappointing though that Americans do not see the grave dangers we face at scale needed.

It is frustrating that we Americans don’t know how to protest.

I’ve got several friends from European and Latin American countries. Each of them has noted differences in our approach to public protest and civil disobedience.

Perhaps it’s that we’ve not really had a cause for mass protests in 60 years or so. Or maybe it’s that we’re a “new” and relatively stable country that has been largely unified since the civil war.

But we don’t take to the streets on a daily basis in numbers that make a difference. We don’t stage nationwide walkouts and shut down the entire economy like we could, to force change.

Instead, we go to a No Kings rally once a month on a weekend. And we call our congresspeople—who largely don’t give a fuck what we say.

And we say “welp, I did my part!” And we watch our country burn to the ground around us.

To be fair, I’m part of the problem. I do it too.

 

[Icky Mettle]

And Trump wanted him to be AG! Thank god that didn’t work out and instead we got someone with strong character and great integrity in Pam Bondi.

 

[Mulberry Heel]

It is frustrating that we Americans don’t know how to protest.

I’ve got several friends from European and Latin American countries. Each of them has noted differences in our approach to public protest and civil disobedience.

Perhaps it’s that we’ve not really had a cause for mass protests in 60 years or so. Or maybe it’s that we’re a “new” and relatively stable country that has been largely unified since the civil war.

But we don’t take to the streets on a daily basis in numbers that make a difference. We don’t stage nationwide walkouts and shut down the entire economy like we could, to force change.

Instead, we go to a No Kings rally once a month on a weekend. And we call out congresspeople—who largely don’t give a fuck what we say.

And we say “welp, I did my part!” And we watch our country burn to the ground around us.

To be fair, I’m part of the problem. I do it too.

On a more basic level that's been happening for awhile in our political system, and it's one of the reasons why Democrats are in the shape they're in. Nobody wants to canvas door-to-door or do the grubby details of grassroots campaigning anymore, even though it's still an effective way to meet and motivate voters. I've read that one of the real problems with the DNC is that many of the people who work there don't want to leave their comfy offices in NYC or DC and travel to red or purple states to see what's actually happening on the ground - they think if they do a Zoom meeting with some Democrats in Ohio or Wisconsin or Arizona that's the same as actually flying out there and meeting voters and local officials face-to-face and getting a real feel for what's happening in those places.

There are huge sections of the country where the Democratic Party effectively doesn't exist anymore as a competitive political force. Democrats are going to have to rebuild their party from the ground up, which is one reason why I like the young NC Democratic Party Chair, Anderson Clayton. She really seems to get it, and so does Jeff Jackson for that matter.

 

[Kingpin]

It is frustrating that we Americans don’t know how to protest.

I’ve got several friends from European and Latin American countries. Each of them has noted differences in our approach to public protest and civil disobedience.

Perhaps it’s that we’ve not really had a cause for mass protests in 60 years or so. Or maybe it’s that we’re a “new” and relatively stable country that has been largely unified since the civil war.

But we don’t take to the streets on a daily basis in numbers that make a difference. We don’t stage nationwide walkouts and shut down the entire economy like we could, to force change.

Instead, we go to a No Kings rally once a month on a weekend. And we call our congresspeople—who largely don’t give a fuck what we say.

And we say “welp, I did my part!” And we watch our country burn to the ground around us.

To be fair, I’m part of the problem. I do it too.

I go to No Kings Rallies and all that stuff. But I was telling my wife tonight we need a nationwide strike to shut down everything to make a point. The majority disagrees with Trump and sees his danger. They need a way to show it.

 

[Icky Mettle]

I go to No Kings Rallies and all that stuff. But I was telling my wife tonight we need a nationwide strike to shut down everything to make a point. The majority disagrees with Trump and sees his danger. They need a way to show it.

Yep. You need something that matters to people. All the NFL players still in the playoffs should refuse to play.

 

[1moretimeagain]

 

[Mulberry Heel]

The double standard that now exists for Republicans and Democrats is appalling. MAGA politicians and reporters can pretty much say and do anything and the media just shrugs, let a Democrat say even the mildest critical thing about Republicans, or make a single public mistake or verbal slip or flub and it is treated as the worst thing ever said or done.

 

[nycfan]

 

[pspsps]

I go to No Kings Rallies and all that stuff. But I was telling my wife tonight we need a nationwide strike to shut down everything to make a point. The majority disagrees with Trump and sees his danger. They need a way to show it.

We appear to fail to elect the people with the courage to coordinate and market such collective actions.

Though more folks like Crockett or Talarico might raise the possibility. Or if Obama was willing to truly get involved again.

 

[LeoBloom]

The double standard that now exists for Republicans and Democrats is appalling. MAGA politicians and reporters can pretty much say and do anything and the media just shrugs, let a Democrat say even the mildest critical thing about Republicans, or make a single public mistake or verbal slip or flub and it is treated as the worst thing ever said or done.

Imagine the outcry if Obama flipped the bird at a Ford Motor Company heckler.

 

[Icky Mettle]

That’s a sad story. It’s a story of someone who evolved from being a down-to-earth, well-intentioned person who was uncertain about her future to that same person but with more ambition to a spineless opportunist to a grifter to a cultist.