The little smile after "For what," relishing the opportunity to seem cold-blooded, and from someone who pretends to be a pious Catholic toward a man whose death was mourned by the Catholic Church. Vance is an awkward dork who just decided to don the mask of the King of the Online Right. Before that, he was Thoughtful Christian Populist. Before that, he was a "Trump is literally Hitler" guy. What Vance really is at heart is a hollow shell of a man who defends the murderers of American citizens more vigorously than he has ever defended his own family from the bigots he's trying to court for 2028. There has never been such a pathetic figure in public life.
I grew up Republican. Still am in many ways. But MAGA pushed the party so far right that I get called a liberal now.
Let me explain the difference:
Traditional Republicans believe in:
• Fiscal responsibility (balanced budgets, not exploding deficits for tax cuts)
• Limited government (actual small government, not big government that punishes your enemies)
• Strong institutions (courts, elections, constitutional norms matter)
• Personal responsibility (your actions have consequences)
• Free markets (not tariffs and trade wars)
• Strong alliances (NATO, international partnerships)
• Rule of law (no one is above it, including the president)
MAGA Republicans believe in:
• Whatever Trump says today (even if it contradicts yesterday)
• Loyalty tests (agree 100% or you're a traitor/RINO)
• Conspiracy theories over facts (stolen election, deep state, QAnon adjacent stuff)
• Grievance politics (owning the libs > actual policy)
• Personality cult (Trump loyalty above party, above country, above truth)
• Performative outrage (culture war theater instead of governance)
• Ends justify means (storm the Capitol, ignore election results, whatever it takes)
I didn't move left. The party moved off a cliff.
I still believe in conservative principles. But when you say "maybe we should respect election results" or "fiscal responsibility matters" or "rule of law applies to everyone," you get called a liberal.
That's not conservatism. That's a cult.
"Your side did X..."
My "side?"
I'll be honest, man, I don't know what this means anymore.
My "side" is people who wouldn't invade a neighbor or murder others over a difference of opinion, skin color, or sexuality. My "side" is people who read and think and don't let obvious propaganda work them up into a murderous frenzy over contrived nonsense. My "side" sees one big human family, not us and them, not warring tribes. My side isn't a side, it's simply the daylight of reality upon leaving the culture-war theater, and it's open to anyone who strives to be less ignorant and malicious.
To their credit, the Founding Fathers always suspected a king-like tyrant would one day try to rule as personal dictator and use the powers of the presidency to live above the law.
But they never foresaw an entire branch of government abdicating oath in favor of partisan complicity, cravenness, and grift, and they certainly never foresaw algorithmic media producing a citizenry so manipulated by obvious deceit.
Your brain thinks all info is good info, so scrolling feels like it’s making you smarter, more current, more connected. But the average tweet doesn’t expand the mind—it dilutes it—dispersing the focus that’d actually make you smarter.
ICE, Trump’s domestic army, is now attempting to occupy Minneapolis.
Let’s be clear: This is a Trump authoritarian power grab — an open attempt to suppress dissent and heighten conflict after ICE shot and killed a mother of three in broad daylight.
I am not opposed to deportation of criminals. I am not opposed to deportation of immigration law violations, period. I am opposed to random “show me your papers” demands by fake police based solely on things like the color of people’s skin and their accents.
No JD I think normal Americans are just mad about you dancing on the grave of a dead mother because you microwaved your brain with online right content. People want sane immigration policy. They don’t want stupid cruelty, including against American citizens.
You know things are bad when the most boring person doing the most boring job for decades has to come out and say, “Stop trying to arrest us for doing math”
AOC: “I understand that VP Vance believes shooting a young mother of three in the face three times is an acceptable America that he wants to live in, and I do not. That is a fundamental difference between VP Vance and I. I do not believe the American people should be assassinated in the street.”
Maybe I’m too much of a European, but I honestly can’t understand how so many Americans find it perfectly natural to be shot in the head on the spot for the slightest act of disobedience toward any sort of law enforcement. You might wanna revisit that "land of the free" thing.
To my Republican colleagues, the Vice President is spitting in your face and openly flouting your constitutional authority.
Time to decide if you came here to be a Member of Congress or a cheerleader for whatever Trump wants.
I don’t understand why Kristi Noem didn’t just say the investigation is ongoing and give her condolences
Instead she made up an entire lie and tried to justify a murder.
most people are pussies. they keep waiting for the "right time" to start. they're "preparing" and "researching" and "getting ready" while the years slip by. sartre nailed it - you're reserving yourself for later and then one day you wake up and realize later never comes. the teeth are gone. the window closed. you spent so long sharpening the axe that you forgot to swing it. i see this constantly. guys who've been "about to launch" for 3 years. founders who need "just one more feature" before they can ship. people who won't post content until their brand is "ready." ready for what? ready for who? nobody is coming to give you permission. nobody is going to tap you on the shoulder and say "ok now you're qualified." the market doesn't care about your preparation. it only cares about what you put in front of it. the difference between people who make it and people who don't isn't talent or intelligence or connections. it's the willingness to look stupid in public. to ship something embarrassing. to fail where people can see you. most people would rather protect their ego than build something real. they'd rather be a "future founder" forever than an actual founder who shipped something mid. but here's the thing - everything is mid at first. your first product will be bad. your first content will be cringe. your first sales calls will be awkward. that's the point. you're not supposed to be good yet. you're supposed to be in the arena getting punched in the face and learning. the guys winning right now aren't smarter than you. they just started earlier and failed more times. they have scar tissue you don't have because you've been on the sidelines "preparing." every day you spend waiting is a day someone dumber but more aggressive is taking your market share. the best time to start was 5 years ago. the second best time is today. not tomorrow. not next week. not when you finish that course or read that book or save that money. today. send the cold email. post the tweet. ship the landing page. make the call. you will be bad at it. you will feel like a fraud. you will get rejected and ignored and laughed at. good. that's the curriculum. that's how you earn the skills that actually matter. the people who "made it" aren't special. they just refused to stay on the sidelines. they bit into life with whatever teeth they had left instead of waiting for a perfect set that was never coming.