How are we the best country again?

It’s a lie that Americans have been telling themselves for a few centuries.

The large retailers were trying to hide the price increases initially.

I’ll call it backfiring when anyone does anything effective to stop them.

America hasn’t won a war in almost a century

The last war America won without help was a war against itself.

I know Americans like to claim they personally won WW2, but they only joined the fight in the 11th hour after everyone else had been fighting for 4 years.

what in the ever loving fuck is up with this obsession over Lee Greenwood from the right?

They have almost nobody else to choose from. The vast majority of artists lean left (or at minimum lean away from the rightwingnuts).

Powerline adapters are almost always a “last resort” option.

It’s always possible, but not often practical, especially when you don’t have permission to drill holes in those concrete walls.

I suppose you could do surface runs, but those are ugly and more vulnerable to physical damage.

“The issue before us now is very simple and clear. There is a large and growing movement of leftwing terrorism in this country,” he claimed.

Bullshit.

"It is well organized and funded.

More bullshit

And it is shielded by far-left Democrat judges, prosecutors and attorneys general."

Lies, and more lies.

Not a single honest sentence in his entire statement.

Freecad has gotten much better with the recent updates.

It’s UI is (obviously) different than fusion, but so are other CAD programs.

Sure, it may not be at the stage where it could be used to do 100% of the mechanical and electrical design on a jet helicopter, but how many people need that level of complexity for their projects?

Nearly a third of Americans – 30% – say people may have to resort to violence in order to get the country back on track,

Did the survey question specify what “the right track” is?

Because MAGA has a very different definition than progressives do.

To be fair, I stole the idea from Top Gear’s final show.

The Russians claimed they have not been over NATO territory.

Only because they believe it should be their territory.

I don’t think there really is a third option. If he decide to not address this

He could intentionally avoid mentioning it while an elephant slowly wanders around behind him.

The same logistical situation is why so many POWs captured by the Allies in Europe and North Africa were brought back to the United States

Well, that and the fact that it completely takes them out of the theater of war. They’re not going to be rescued and released from a camp in the middle of Montana.

And even if a few do escape, they’re a few days walk from anywhere, and will stick out like a sore thumb if they did encounter a local.

Maybe he can get picked up in the UK or EU or Canada instead.

Don’t look to us to solve your self-inflicted problems for you.

We’re already too busy protecting ourselves from the chaos of the USA’s implosion.

How about having the self-cleaning mode on the oven require you to use the app?

Yes, that was one example we saw when we were appliance shopping.

just because the appliance you bought offers an internet connection, it most likely doesn’t need it for core functionality.

…until it does.

It’s not unprecedented for manufacturers to lock hardware capabilities behind software controlled paywalls.

When I was shopping for stoves, there were a couple of models with “features” that were not available unless you connected to the internet and used their app on your phone.

We chose a model that didn’t have any networking at all.

Advanced compliance won’t save you.

To expand on that, I will borrow Timothy Snyder’s words from his book “On Tyranny”:

1. Do not obey in advance. Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.

2. Defend institutions. It is institutions that help us to preserve decency. They need our help as well. Do not speak of “our institutions” unless you make them yours by acting on their behalf. Institutions do not protect themselves. So choose an institution you care about and take its side.

3. Beware the one-party state. The parties that remade states and suppressed rivals were not omnipotent from the start. They exploited a historic moment to make political life impossible for their opponents. So support the multi-party system and defend the rules of democratic elections.

4. Take responsibility for the face of the world. The symbols of today enable the reality of tomorrow. Notice the swastikas and other signs of hate. Do not look away, and do not get used to them. Remove them yourself and set an example for others to do so.

5. Remember professional ethics. When political leaders set a negative example, professional commitments to just practice become important. It is hard to subvert a rule-of-law state without lawyers, or to hold show trials without judges. Authoritarians need obedient civil servants, and concentration camp directors seek businessmen interested in cheap labor.

6. Be wary of paramilitaries. When the men with guns who have always claimed to be against the system start wearing uniforms and marching around with torches and pictures of a Leader, the end is nigh. When the pro-leader paramilitary and the official police and military intermingle, the end has come.

7. Be reflective if you must be armed. If you carry a weapon in public service, God bless you and keep you. But know that evils of the past involved policemen and soldiers finding themselves, one day, doing irregular things. Be ready to say no.

8. Stand out. Someone has to. It is easy to follow along. It can feel strange to do or say something different. But without that unease, there is no freedom. Remember Rosa Parks. The moment you set an example, the spell of the status quo is broken, and others will follow.

9. Be kind to our language. Avoid pronouncing the phrases everyone else does. Think up your own way of speaking, even if only to convey that thing you think everyone is saying. Make an effort to separate yourself from the internet. Read books

10. Believe in truth. To abandon facts is to abandon freedom. If nothing is true, then no one can criticize power because there is no basis upon which to do so. If nothing is true, then all is spectacle. The biggest wallet pays for the most blinding lights.

11. Investigate. Figure things out for yourself. Spend more time with long articles. Subsidize investigative journalism by subscribing to print media. Realize that some of what is on the internet is there to harm you. Learn about sites that investigate propaganda campaigns (some of which come from abroad). Take responsibility for what you communicate to others.

12. Make eye contact and small talk. This is not just polite. It is part of being a citizen and a responsible member of society. It is also a way to stay in touch with your surroundings, break down social barriers, and understand whom you should and should not trust. If we enter a culture of denunciation, you will want to know the psychological landscape of your daily life.

13. Practice corporeal politics. Power wants your body softening in your chair and your emotions dissipating on the screen. Get outside. Put your body in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people. Make new friends and march with them.

14. Establish a private life. Nastier rulers will use what they know about you to push you around. Scrub your computer of malware. Remember that email is skywriting. Consider using alternative forms of the Internet, or simply using it less. Have personal exchanges in person. For the same reason, resolve any legal trouble.

15. Contribute to good causes. Be active in organizations, political or not, that express your own view of life. Pick a charity or two and set up autopay.

16. Learn from peers in other countries. Keep up your friendships abroad, or make new friends abroad. The present difficulties in the United States are an element of a larger trend. And no country is going to find a solution by itself. Make sure you and your family have passports.

17. Listen for dangerous words. Be alert to the use of the words extremism and terrorism. Be alive to the fatal notions of emergency and exception. Be angry about the treacherous use of patriotic vocabulary.

18. Be calm when the unthinkable arrives. Modern tyranny is terror management. When the terrorist attack comes, remember that authoritarians exploit such events in order to consolidate power. Do not fall for it.

19. Be a patriot. Set a good example of what America means for the generations to come.

20. Be as courageous as you can. If none of us is prepared to die for freedom, then all of us will die under tyranny.

The only foreigners coming into America should be members of an intervening military coalition.

Americans need to fix their own shit.

Don’t be expecting the rest of the world to rescue you from all this foot shooting that your country is doing to itself.

anyone who has people in their life that they protect, knows how dangerous Protection Mode can be.

And if you don’t, just ask a mama lion protecting her cubs…