Has he considered restoring funding to USAID? That might legit qualify.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_US_arms_sales_to_Taiwan

The US has been arming Taiwan for decades. Why would that be necessary if the US considered Taiwan to be part of China? You’re confusing diplomacy for policy.

Really curious what this means for Taiwan. Their sovereignty depends on US support, but with Trump at the helm, we’re just as likely to cut a deal with Xi and stay home when the fighting starts.

I wonder if Taiwan is mulling over a peaceful reunification with China as a result of this mess. Their independence depends in large part on US support, but with Trump at the helm they’re likely to face extortion when they need it most.

There’s a simple way for the Republicans in Congress to reassure critics that this is not a dictatorship: define it. Make a list of things that would obviously not be okay. If the rest of us are right about Trump, he’ll cross those lines sooner or later. Then there will be no more denying it.

I’m more moderate and have always respected AOC, but thought she was too extreme to make a good president. I genuinely believe that the president should be someone who wants to build coalitions and steer the country towards a better future without allowing it to fracture. I still believe that, but I recognize now that my way of thinking can’t win elections in this modern era of politics. Now is the time for a firebrand - someone who would rather lose than compromise. I would still be worried about civil war if AOC became president, but I’m already worried about that now, so no point in holding it against her.

El Salvador has apparently offered to imprison US citizens for a fee. Trump previously explored using Guantanamo Bay as an offshore concentration camp to avoid expenses such as pediatric care and education for undocumented children. This sounds like the same sort of things, but for citizens.

Fair enough. I agree that we all need to do more, but I think that’s going to look different for everyone. For someone like me, it means getting off the Internet and actually showing up - not blowing up a federal building or whatever “much more” implies.

You’ve convinced me. I was planning to start attending my local town meetings and lend my support to the few outnumbered progressives there, but instead I think I’ll just hoard canned goods and hunker down.

Polled a few of my friends and 100% relate to this meme, so I sort of doubt it.

Similar experience. A homeless guy ambushed me at the drive thru asking for money to buy a burger. I told him I’d buy him a combo and he said no, only cash. I gave him the money because I honestly don’t care how he spends it, but why ask for a burger at a Burger King of all places if you don’t actually want a burger? Now I’m stuck pretending like I’m some gullible idiot to spare him his dignity when he could have just asked for money.

So two wrongs make a right I guess? Why shouldn’t we be holding all these people accountable?

It’s certainly possible that Meta has a plan to destroy the fediverse with Threads, but I wouldn’t dismiss the possibility that they’re just doing this because they can. If their plan was to take over the fediverse from within, and that plan hinged on instances not defederating out of caution, then it’s off to a poor start. I might just be totally naive but this feels more like them testing the water by opening their doors to the fediverse - I don’t know if they know what happens next.