If people are willing to splurge to appear fancy, the market will oblige. I think the problem is that when economists say "rational", ordinary people think the markets "make sense". That's something the markets don't do. The markets only match buyers and sellers at compromise prices. If you have nothing to begin with, you're fucked. Economics has nothing to say about whether this is good or sensible.
United States Politics Thread 47
-
rotting bones
- Posts: 2836
- Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2018 5:16 pm
Re: United States Politics Thread 47
Re: United States Politics Thread 47
Holy shit, someone just tried to assassinate Trump again at the White House conference dinner. The shooter was killed while still in the lobby and Trump was evacuated unharmed. Nonetheless this is still pretty terrible news and will undoubtedly give Trump a considerable boost. It really does astound me how Trump keeps getting lucky breaks like these. Just when it looked like the tide was turning against him.
Edit: What the fuck? I just heard a bunch of fireworks in the distance. Apparently the MAGAs around here are celebrating this as a stunning victory for Trump.
Edit: What the fuck? I just heard a bunch of fireworks in the distance. Apparently the MAGAs around here are celebrating this as a stunning victory for Trump.
-
Man in Space
- Posts: 2434
- Joined: Sat Jul 21, 2018 1:05 am
Re: United States Politics Thread 47
Two of the three alleged assassins (as in, the ones from two of the attempts) are dead, right? Ordinarily (ordinarily) I’d dismiss such thoughts as baseless conspiracy theories, but given the nature and behavior of the current administration, and the revelations from the Epstein files…one wonders if this isn’t an Adrian Veidt lobby move.malloc wrote: ↑Sat Apr 25, 2026 8:11 pm Holy shit, someone just tried to assassinate Trump again at the White House conference dinner. The shooter was killed while still in the lobby and Trump was evacuated unharmed. Nonetheless this is still pretty terrible news and will undoubtedly give Trump a considerable boost. It really does astound me how Trump keeps getting lucky breaks like these. Just when it looked like the tide was turning against him.
Re: United States Politics Thread 47
Condolences to the American people on the failed attempt to assassinate Trump, if that be what it was.
Re: United States Politics Thread 47
What in your opinion would count as an unlucky break? Is there *anything* which could happen to Trump which would not result in him becoming ever more popular and omnipotent?
So what if they are? Preaching to the converted, etc.
With a cautionary warning that if it's OK to assassinate Trump, it's OK to assassinate anybody, even someone on *your* side.
Last edited by alice on Sun Apr 26, 2026 2:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"But he had reckoned without my narrative powers! With one bound I narrated myself up the wall and into the bathroom, where I transformed him into a freestanding sink unit.
We washed our hands of him, and lived happily ever after."
We washed our hands of him, and lived happily ever after."
Re: United States Politics Thread 47
Good question. It really did seem like Trump was finally facing a losing streak over the past few months. Between the Epstein files, the war With Iran, and soaring gas prices, he was finally facing challenges he couldn't bluff through. But just he seemed on the precipice of defeat, he got a lifeline with this assassination attempt. His victory over American democracy feels like a canon event at this point. Every time he seems done for, something like this happens to bail him out.
-
zompist
- Site Admin
- Posts: 4007
- Joined: Sun Jul 08, 2018 5:46 am
- Location: Right here, probably
- Contact:
Re: United States Politics Thread 47
More God-Emperor worship without evidence. Just join the fucking Republicans and at least draw a salary for posting this shit.malloc wrote: ↑Sun Apr 26, 2026 4:47 pmGood question. It really did seem like Trump was finally facing a losing streak over the past few months. Between the Epstein files, the war With Iran, and soaring gas prices, he was finally facing challenges he couldn't bluff through. But just he seemed on the precipice of defeat, he got a lifeline with this assassination attempt. His victory over American democracy feels like a canon event at this point. Every time he seems done for, something like this happens to bail him out.
Re: United States Politics Thread 47
Does anyone really care that someone tried to assassinate Trump? No one really cared the last two times, why would they care now?malloc wrote: ↑Sun Apr 26, 2026 4:47 pmGood question. It really did seem like Trump was finally facing a losing streak over the past few months. Between the Epstein files, the war With Iran, and soaring gas prices, he was finally facing challenges he couldn't bluff through. But just he seemed on the precipice of defeat, he got a lifeline with this assassination attempt. His victory over American democracy feels like a canon event at this point. Every time he seems done for, something like this happens to bail him out.
Yaaludinuya siima d'at yiseka wohadetafa gaare.
Ennadinut'a gaare d'ate eetatadi siiman.
T'awraa t'awraa t'awraa t'awraa t'awraa t'awraa t'awraa.
Ennadinut'a gaare d'ate eetatadi siiman.
T'awraa t'awraa t'awraa t'awraa t'awraa t'awraa t'awraa.
Re: United States Politics Thread 47
This time there were literally thousands of journalists watching the assassination attempt. Imagine the kind of coverage that will generate over the next few weeks. It would astound me if thousands of reports on the attempted assassination of a US president made no impact. It's worth noted that Trump went on to defy polls and win the 2024 election after the first assassination attempt.
Quite the contrary, I noted that Trump was on the precipice of defeat, hardly what anyone could call worship. But alright then, how do you recommend that I call attention to enemy victories and threats without it sounding like praise?
Incidentally what does everyone think about the claims that this assassination attempt was staged? I have never given much stock to conspiracy theories. Nonetheless it does seem weird how common leftist assassinations have become over the past few years, particularly given their historic reputation for avoiding guns. That hardly proves that these assassinations are staged of course, but they do seem quite out of character for the contemporary left.
-
zompist
- Site Admin
- Posts: 4007
- Joined: Sun Jul 08, 2018 5:46 am
- Location: Right here, probably
- Contact:
Re: United States Politics Thread 47
Was it necessary to call attention to it? Were you afraid that no one else would see the news and rush to lick his boots? Was it necessary to declare his "victories"? Was it necessary to confabulate a "considerable boost" to his cratering popularity?
It sounds like praise because it is praise. You have no objectivity; everything that happens is a fantastic victory for the unstoppable God-Emperor.
Re: United States Politics Thread 47
Perhaps it's a feeling that the world would be better off if the US presidency were under the direction of Peter Thiel rather than Donald Trump.
Re: United States Politics Thread 47
So you're saying he has a rigged d20 with which he makes all his saving throws? His own portable Deus Ex Machina, which never breaks down?malloc wrote: ↑Sun Apr 26, 2026 4:47 pmGood question. It really did seem like Trump was finally facing a losing streak over the past few months. Between the Epstein files, the war With Iran, and soaring gas prices, he was finally facing challenges he couldn't bluff through. But just he seemed on the precipice of defeat, he got a lifeline with this assassination attempt. His victory over American democracy feels like a canon event at this point. Every time he seems done for, something like this happens to bail him out.
There's a potentially stimulating philosophical exchange in here somewhere: the ZBB thinks up realistic scenarios in which Trump cannot possibly save his political skin, and malloc points out the obvious logical flaw in each of them which mean that Trump Always Survives With Increased Popularity.
(TASWIP. Now that's what I call an acronym.)
"But he had reckoned without my narrative powers! With one bound I narrated myself up the wall and into the bathroom, where I transformed him into a freestanding sink unit.
We washed our hands of him, and lived happily ever after."
We washed our hands of him, and lived happily ever after."
Re: United States Politics Thread 47
Well not literally, but metaphorically perhaps. He has consistently snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, shrugging off scandals and crises that would have ruined anyone else. You can call that praise and worship all you like, but you cannot deny the obvious fact that Trump currently sits in the White House and his followers control the other two branches of government. This despite having no redeeming qualities or even basic competence.
Unfortunately this latest assassination attempt is getting considerable traction in the news. I really do worry that all the progress we've made in turning public opinion against Trump is evaporating.
Re: United States Politics Thread 47
It's the news cycle. This will soon enough disappear from the news, just lack the last two assassination attempts did. However, gas prices won't just evaporate on their own, and gas prices are the sort of thing that people simply don't like.malloc wrote: ↑Mon Apr 27, 2026 8:29 pmWell not literally, but metaphorically perhaps. He has consistently snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, shrugging off scandals and crises that would have ruined anyone else. You can call that praise and worship all you like, but you cannot deny the obvious fact that Trump currently sits in the White House and his followers control the other two branches of government. This despite having no redeeming qualities or even basic competence.
Unfortunately this latest assassination attempt is getting considerable traction in the news. I really do worry that all the progress we've made in turning public opinion against Trump is evaporating.
Yaaludinuya siima d'at yiseka wohadetafa gaare.
Ennadinut'a gaare d'ate eetatadi siiman.
T'awraa t'awraa t'awraa t'awraa t'awraa t'awraa t'awraa.
Ennadinut'a gaare d'ate eetatadi siiman.
T'awraa t'awraa t'awraa t'awraa t'awraa t'awraa t'awraa.
Re: United States Politics Thread 47
(1) Almost getting killed is not a "victory".malloc wrote: ↑Sun Apr 26, 2026 9:01 pmThis time there were literally thousands of journalists watching the assassination attempt. Imagine the kind of coverage that will generate over the next few weeks. It would astound me if thousands of reports on the attempted assassination of a US president made no impact. It's worth noted that Trump went on to defy polls and win the 2024 election after the first assassination attempt.
Quite the contrary, I noted that Trump was on the precipice of defeat, hardly what anyone could call worship. But alright then, how do you recommend that I call attention to enemy victories and threats without it sounding like praise?
(2) People supported George W Bush after 9/11, because it was perceived to be an enormous unprovoked attack on America itself by evil foreigners. The attempted assassinations of Trump are perceived to be none of those things.
(3) My grandmother disliked Trump before the assassination attempt. I asked her what she thinks of him now, after the (latest) assassination attempt, and she said she still dislikes him. Contrary to how you think people do/should act, she's not putting on a MAGA hat and bending her knee to him just because he almost got killed (again (again)).
Re: United States Politics Thread 47
A bit off-topic, but this is a rather good mixed metaphor I just have to highight
I do think we have to cut malloc a bit of slack, though; he probably only encounters non-Trumpists very rarely in real life, so he's a bit like Bilbo climbing the tree in Mirkwood and seeing nothing but other trees in all directions.
"But he had reckoned without my narrative powers! With one bound I narrated myself up the wall and into the bathroom, where I transformed him into a freestanding sink unit.
We washed our hands of him, and lived happily ever after."
We washed our hands of him, and lived happily ever after."
Re: United States Politics Thread 47
Sure this might not change the minds of people who already oppose Trump but it could certainly make an impact on undecided people or those who simply don't follow politics closely. If the last major political event you recall is Trump nearly getting assassinated, that will color your view of him and his opponents. Trump hardly needs to win over everyone to maintain power. As the last election showed, he can get pretty far simply by appealing to people in the middle. People are increasingly convinced that left wing violence is a genuine problem and increasingly willing to tolerate MAGA dictatorship to deal with it.jcb wrote: ↑Tue Apr 28, 2026 2:05 pm(3) My grandmother disliked Trump before the assassination attempt. I asked her what she thinks of him now, after the (latest) assassination attempt, and she said she still dislikes him. Contrary to how you think people do/should act, she's not putting on a MAGA hat and bending her knee to him just because he almost got killed (again (again)).
Edit: Shit, the supreme court just axed the Voting Rights Act. This will make winning the midterms even harder than ever. It also leaves me increasingly convinced that common law is a terrible legal system.
Re: United States Politics Thread 47
I don't mean to be rude, but does malloc even try to surround himself with non-Trumpists? How many No Kings rallies has he been to? If he just locks himself in his room all day, of course he's going to feel hopeless, isolated, and depressed. As the kids say nowdays, he needs to "touch grass".alice wrote: ↑Tue Apr 28, 2026 2:24 pmA bit off-topic, but this is a rather good mixed metaphor I just have to highight
I do think we have to cut malloc a bit of slack, though; he probably only encounters non-Trumpists very rarely in real life, so he's a bit like Bilbo climbing the tree in Mirkwood and seeing nothing but other trees in all directions.
Re: United States Politics Thread 47
Actually yes, I have attended rallies and even canvassed for socialist candidates. Nonetheless you must remember that Missouri is one of the most conservative states in the country. There honestly aren't many people around here who oppose Trump and that won't change simply by touching grass.jcb wrote: ↑Thu Apr 30, 2026 12:37 amI don't mean to be rude, but does malloc even try to surround himself with non-Trumpists? How many No Kings rallies has he been to? If he just locks himself in his room all day, of course he's going to feel hopeless, isolated, and depressed. As the kids say nowdays, he needs to "touch grass".
Meanwhile it looks like US democracy is already in checkmate. Call me a doomer all you like, but I can't see any path to victory now.