I think if they need an extra income stream, it should be physical manuals, discs/disks, boxes, and feelies. Say that GOG has System Shock, Ultima VII, Thief Gold, and TIE Fighter planned for a limited edition boxed edition, but needs pre-orders. Plonk down $20-40, get those things when the funding goal is reached.

I hope a traffic controller guides Elon’s jet into the tarmac.

I just hope that the EU and other major powers blacklist Yarvin’s Cabal from living or operating in their territories. The 1%'s money is tainted, as it would surely be used to corrode and destroy countries as it had the US.

I was raised in a rural area. The amount of friends I made in life after forty years is…zero. Aside from a sibling, I don’t have anyone to count on. I am also too poor to afford visiting bars or other social things, so I can’t learn how to be around people, let alone establish ties. It is my belief that America’s shitty economy is the source of these issues, because a person can’t blossom if they don’t have the fiscal agency to escape a tiny bubble.

The internet let me develop as a person, but that can only go so far. I can’t afford risks, such as trying beer, an escort to lose my virginity, or travel. Poverty is a prison without walls.

I think it is because the wealthy have constantly reduced the wealth of the average American. Each individual has to spend more time working, for less pay. This deteriorates their mental and physical health, prevents socialization, saps energy, limits the amount of money, time, and travel they can spend on politics.

IMO, the “lazy” European gets about 95% of an American’s work efficiency for the time spent, but are not nearly as damaged by their work/life ratio. This lets them have far greater agency in the politics of their land. If this continues, I think the assorted cultures of Europe will be far more documented in history than their American peer. The corrosion from beating the good life out of American workers, means that there is little incentive for Americans to want their culture to survive nor spread.

Current politics are partially driven by apathy, one born from the learned helplessness that life won’t get any better. We will need French cutlery to be deployed, so that the blood of tyrants can water the tree of liberty. Just as with the French, I think America can recover from a dead end. Whether that happens…well, we will see within a decade.

Here’s hoping the good guys destroy Dogey America, and replace it something that people can take pride in.

The one cold comfort I take away from this, is that the civil war against Dogey America would end faster than if the bastards were competent.

Personally, I would like a Japanese karoke-style room system for the theater. Sit back, relax, and watch the video in peace. Order snacks and drinks for delivery, and maybe snuggle up with your partner. No children, just you and a time away from life.

I think “Roosevelt Party” has potential. You can make two mascots for the ads, one being Theodore and the Franklin, each designed to appeal to the right or left among Americans. Theodore, for example, using guns to hunt down moose, advocating for national parks and peace with Canada.

Also, someone can commission an Epic Rap Battle between the two, who then dunk on Trump and Elon.

I think that UBI and capitalism can be combined, in a specific way: UBI gives everything a person ever needs for survival and general wellbeing, but is boring. Money isn’t used for survival, but instead to purchase goods that are more suited to an individual’s interests. Instead of the Generic Dress #2 that everyone may order for free, you can spend money on getting a dress with polka dots, made of silk, and so forth.

Capitalism is really good at producing entertaining items, such as music, branded foods with a twist, or Pokemon cards. However, it utterly sucks at ensuring the wellbeing of people. Thus, we should separate the concepts of survival and luxury.

I think under a UBI scenario, people should get to pick the city they want to reside in, then get assigned a public housing unit(s) for their immediate family. They can also be provided free public transport, and a basic UBI vehicle with free fuel.

Ideally, people would have a bedrock of UBI services to rely upon for their wellbeing, and money is turned into something solely used for lifestyle upgrades: Buying a house of the quality, size, and location you want, a fancier non-UBI car, brand-name food or supplies, private school, ect.

By making America seem like a good neighbor. Would you lend a hand to someone who doesn’t treat you decently?

Treaties, military aid, investment, all of them requires the feeling that things will turn out alright if you get involved. A dickhead like Trump makes it clear that he would shank you and fuck your mother, just because he feels likes it. To say the least, no reasonable or good person would want to associate with a Trumpian nation.

Nations within and without, are built on relationships.

Honestly, I would be alright with this if the AI companies paid Github so that the server infrastructure can be upgraded. Having AI that can figure out bugs and error reports could be really useful for our society. For example, your computer rebooting for no apparent reason? The AI can check the diagnostic reports, combine them with online reports, and narrow down the possibilities.

In the long run, this could also help maintainers as well. If they can have AI for testing programs, the maintainers won’t have to hope for volunteers or rely on paid QA for detecting issues.

What Github & AI companies should do, is an opt-in program for maintainers. If they allow the AI to officially make reports, Github should offer an reward of some kind to their users. Allocate to each maintainer a number of credits so that they can discuss the report with the AI in realtime, plus $10 bucks for each hour spent on resolving the issue.

Sadly, I have the feeling that malignant capitalism would demand maintainers to sacrifice their time for nothing but irritation.

I think Mexico is the most likely candidate for attempted 1st annexation. Trump hates colored people, thus he thinks it is an easy win on multiple levels. It wouldn’t surprise me if Mexico ends up as a proxy combatant on the behalf of Canada and the EU, and likely using their cartels to kill members of Yarvin’s Cabal to send a message.