The voice came from an oblong metal plaque like a dulled mirror which formed part of the surface of the right-hand wall. Winston turned a switch and the voice sank somewhat, though the words were still distinguishable. The instrument (the telescreen, it was called) could be dimmed, but there was no way of shutting it off completely.

– George Orwell

Oh, I don’t know about that. The best gaming came out during the millennial’s time. Gen X may have got the gaming ball rolling, but the 90’s and early 2000 really saw things take off in that department.

Still waiting for the lyme vaccine to finish and become available.

Try being Gen X, lol.

It’s worse than the 1800s. We used to have an expansive rail network. We had, at the peak, 400,000 or so miles of rail in the US. Today there is less than 140,000 miles of rail. Less than half of what we used to have. Sure, we’ve got more buses and light rail like subway, but overall it’s still a loss in total miles.

Wow. How’s that gun ownership working against the fascist takeover of the US?

It isn’t?

Gun ownership has, in fact, been usurped by fascists and their supporters in furtherance of the takeover?

Next argument, please.

People riff badly off each other thinking they’re funny with maybe only a few minutes of opinion devoted to the actual topic while recording themselves and calling it a “podcast.”

What a surprise.

Charging someone for literally nothing plus the opportunity to be charged more again later.

I fucking despise that this is right.

But the last statement is correct, that’s how the Republicans are doing the most damage. Your book bans, religion being crammed into schools, your laws that enable protesters to be driven over, anti-lgbtq laws…anything not federal is state and local. The republicans have weaseled their way into local positions of power that affect us every bit as directly. Push for the alternatives locally when you can.

They won’t be cranking out extra solar panels for anyone but themselves.

I don’t think people realize how fucked we are with the strait closed and refineries being targeted. This isn’t just a dollar or few more at the pump and higher average food costs. There is a real likelihood of energy rationing, temperature death, starvation (at least in poorer countries), and economic depression levels of fucked. This isn’t “buy an EV and you’re good” kind of situation. Goods are going to be unaffordable and solar panels will be nowhere to be found. Refineries take years to rebuild. Trump is raping, pillaging, and bankrupting us for his ego and his insider traders.

They don’t need to plan for that. The climate crisis will force societal regression and poverty, limiting job opportunities. They’re already anti-anthropogenic climate change so they’re doubling down on the (likely) inevitable.

Force consumers into US made, AI-laden, crappy hardware full of backdoors for the regime.

It could only be more 1984 if there were no war but the government made up lies, took lives, and wrote articles about it anyway.

He just wants it to go away. No, I don’t think he wants Ukraine to win at all, he’d hand it all to Putin yesterday if he could. I think there are a few operating braincells in the administration that are preventing him from doing so, whatever the reasons are.

Oh no…it gets better.

He also lifted sanctions on Russian oil, thus giving money to the country that is sending troops and arms that are fighting against US backed operations in Ukraine, and also supplying Iran with weapons.

It is. But nonetheless, we’re seeing it.

Incel language has become mainstream.

I note the school signs. Is this a line of parents queued up to pick up kids vs people actually parking cars in the bike lane?