Unfortunately, they choose to use the Bully Pulpit like this vignette…

Linkara: Should we do something?

More than fair. It would be nice to rub the back of my neck and feel embarrassed for overreacting. Here’s hoping your timeline is what happens.

The idea here with the VM is two-fold: First, to keep a potential Windows Big Brother update from spying on my documents and whatnot, while also preventing it from tampering with the security of my PC. Secondly, to maximize compatibility, since I lost trust in Linux to not have technical issues with my gaming. That means mods, Japanese games, emulators, and so forth. Windows is simply more reliable and documented, unlike Linux. If something goes wrong with a game playing on Windows, there is decent odds of me troubleshooting. My hardware should be able to handle a VM, it being a 5950x with a RTX 4090+3060, and 128gb of RAM.

Anyhow, I don’t really remember the specifics regarding how my efforts with Lutris, Heroic Game Launcher, and so forth went: I don’t like remembering unpleasant things. All that I recall is assorted errors or lack of features that rattled my willingness to trust Linux for gaming. I will try again some years for now, if I hear Linux has become more suitable to the task.

I have an ABLE account, for people on SSI. It is untaxed, though there is a small fee for just the money to be managed. It is handy, since there is a $2,000 limit on the wealth beneficiaries can have - the ABLE account allows for up to $100,000 to be in there before most benefits are lost. It also invests the money into a stock/bonds/FDIC portfolio of your choosing. If you have enough wealth, you can just deposit money in there until you reach $500,000ish cap for what you can add.

It is really helpful for the poor, since we don’t have many methods for storing wealth that doesn’t involve a mattress. Also, ABLE accounts should be state owned - theoretically insulating them from Musk’s grubby paws. Unfortunately, my state’s ABLE program doesn’t permit Euros, so I suspect no ABLE to be safe from hyperinflation.

I think economy, in the sense of money as a concept, is an illusion. We all just agree that money is worth something. When our belief in the American Dollar fails, so would follow any stocks tied up in businesses that rely upon it. Those trillions and tax cuts that Musk has? Worthless.

shrug

That is my hypothesis, anyways. My guess is that we are into a Weimer Germany sort of scenario. I have been converting my money into Euros, with the assumption that America as we knew it is going to die horribly within years. Hopefully, my efforts are pragmatic, not paranoid. 😕

Seems like an opportunity for Musk to create plausible deniability for taking the throne.

I am already on a Internet of Things edition, which is the debloated version of Windows. However, that still leaves the possibility of Microsoft going fascist and sending out a Big Brother update.

Regarding Linux, it was indeed Mint that I tried to use - it seemed similar to Windows, at least visually. Getting standard software was easy enough, and things seemed promising until I started to migrate my gaming. I mod my games a fair bit of the time, or play niche stuff that hardly has support on Windows. It became very apparent that Linux can’t handle that, not yet. In a couple of years I will revisit Linux.

I tried to switch to Linux several days ago, but there were clear issues regarding games that weren’t tied to Steam. Heroic Games Launcher, Lutris, Bottles, and so forth all had shortcomings regarding compatibility, handling of DLC, or lack of user-friendliness. Then I tried to use a VM, which was a frustrating rabbit hole. Virt-Manager supports GPU passthru, but you have to jump through hoops to identify PCI addresses and to configure correctly. Boxes initially seemed promising, but had no apparent way of storing the VM on my gaming drive. (Linux terminal commands are beyond my understanding.) Considering how big games are getting, and the size of my collection, that is a bad combo. Virtualbox doesn’t have GPU passthru, so the performance sucked.

As a gamer, I currently find Linux to be insufficient. I was wanting to switch due to security concerns regarding Microsoft, especially in light of the Trump Regime’s willingness to ignore law and norms. My concern is that they could use Windows as a spy, or to seal up my computer to punish those who go against Dogey America. As it is, I will have to use some scripts from Github to break Windows Update if I hear of Richmond being infiltrated by the Xitler Youth.

Here’s hoping that Gabe decides to invest much more heavily in Linux to make it casual friendly - I want my mods, cheats, Japanese locale games, emulators, and so forth to all work seamlessly and without compromise. I would seriously pay $400 smackers to have an OS that is capable, flexible, compatible, friendly, and most importantly, MINE.

The days of just buying Windows 7 Ultimate and not thinking about Microsoft was glorious.

Canadian Moose Cavalry, anyone?

Having term limits on politicians (including judges) would be key. At some point, an old person simply can’t relate to the world that younger people grew up in. More importantly, they either become angry codgers (Republicans) or domesticated sheep (Geronocrats), which is innately an imbalance in political influence. An assertive person, in most situations, gets a bigger piece of the pie, be it political, fiscal, sexual, or some other thing.

I think if there is a new Constitution, it would need to incorporate economic rights. People can’t abandon work to strike or protest, which negates the voice of the poor and working man alike. The wealthy can afford to voice their politics, which is likely the biggest reason why Yarvin’s Cabal succeeded. Ordinary people simply can’t dedicate the time to research nor influence politics.

Bullet box has yet to be opened. But I can hear the hinges creaking.

I would say so. The only question is whether the good guys win a civil war. My money is on ‘yes’, since Yarvin’s Cabal is hellbent on exiling all of the competent people from their society, along with being jackasses who have alienated many peoples. It will be a bloody struggle, but I think that Dogey America will ultimately receive the Old Yeller treatment. I only hope that every member of Yarvin’s Cabal are executed - Elon, Thiel, ect.

Let’s not make the mistakes of the 1st Civil War, 1st Business Plot, and 2nd World War, where many high ranking members were permitted to escape justice.

Yup.

Xitler Youth, and the inevitable Xitlergruupen when they are militarized. I would call the fascist nation, “Dogey America”. Like ‘Vichy’, but made suitably stupid enough to accurately represent the Trump Regime.

I think “seize the means of production” is an supplement to Luigi. If protesters take over the Xitter servers, for example, they can change the algorithm. Ditto for Faux News. This would catch a great deal of attention. Same with federal workers seizing the US Treasury, DOGE offices, and so on. Make our own t-shirts, manage the diners, run the farms, hospitals minus unreasonable costs, and so forth.

The big problem is getting enough people for it, and coordinating their supply chains to replace corporate-controlled shackles on cooperative commerce. The way Dogey America is going, however, has freed up many civil servants who are familiar with what it means to keep things running smoothly.

There is a chance that we will be able to have a reset of America, depending on how capitalists and cooperatives play their respective hands.

I would like them to be imprisoned on a island. It would be a Battle Royal that I can get behind.

Her messaging changed midway through her campaign, to one that was friendlier to a center-right disposition. She lost a good deal of her mojo because of that, since she became Biden v2.0. While obviously better than Trump, she was rejected for being more of the same. Many politicians across the globe felt a backlash in 2024 for not trying to rock the boat.

I personally would prefer a Bernie/AOC ticket, with Bernie giving a public contract that allows her to have him resigned if his mind starts going. IMO, it would be ideal if we could get 16 years of Bernie/AOC, and more if they can raise worthy successors.

I would argue the biggest factor is the lack of a primary. Kamela didn’t get to prove her 2024 chops, along with not having nearly enough time to organize a campaign. Biden and his handlers really screwed the pooch.

What it really comes down to, though, is corporate donors. Never forget that most of the high democratic leadership are a feckless and dependent lot. Kamela, like the rest, listened to the demons.