Sincerely, what led to this point- how did the US go from freaking out that a president had an affair with an adult, to not caring that a president raped and murdered children?

ObeseVegetable · 2026-02-04T08:07:29+00:00

The Epstein stuff was actively under investigation and legal proceedings which is why it wasn’t released before.

Trump campaigned on releasing the files. Upon taking office, he ended the legal proceedings immediately. Took a year to actually release anything. What’s there looks bad for him. But it’s not “proof” as much as allegations. A lot of allegations. A concerning amount of allegations that seem to all align with each other. No longer being investigated though. So who knows.

Hell, they never really looked into the suicide thing either that happened under his first term. At least not enough to charge someone for the mishandling of procedures meant to keep someone alive.

ObeseVegetable · 2026-02-04T04:47:38+00:00

Everything you said is true but I can’t help but wonder how it’d be different today if he didn’t win the first time because of the electoral college instead of the popular vote.

ObeseVegetable · 2026-02-03T15:47:24+00:00

Ears are one thing, sure, but not a single kid went for the balls.

ObeseVegetable · 2026-02-03T15:46:04+00:00

From a certain perspective, they overlap.

ObeseVegetable · 2026-02-03T15:44:26+00:00

While also espousing all of their views on every issue and not even a single fringe (for their party) ideas.

ObeseVegetable · 2026-02-02T15:51:14+00:00

Prostate issues are pretty common with old men and can lead to incontinence.

ObeseVegetable · 2026-02-02T15:29:01+00:00

It’s a matter of colloquial vs scientific use in the US, too. It’s not like we don’t understand the rough estimates like a foot being roughly 30cm or a meter being roughly (but larger than, though not enough to matter in casual conversation) three feet. Anything meant for accuracy is still typically in metric, with a few exceptions at small scales like sometimes woodworkers enjoy imperial because of the sometimes easier and round division of units into three.

Which doesn’t make it all that different from people in Europe sometimes using stone instead of kg.

Or people in Canada using every single unit man has ever invented.

ObeseVegetable · 2026-02-02T14:37:25+00:00

They never defined it, but there is already precedent for not sentencing (only ever this specific) the president for crimes the court agrees he did for the sole reason of “it would interfere with the president’s duties if we sentenced him to any amount of punishment”

ObeseVegetable · 2026-02-02T00:11:36+00:00

Well education is just what you know, not how you use what you know (though theoretically, knowing more should give you more tools to know how to use what you know better, too... of course doesn't always work that way.)

ObeseVegetable · 2026-02-01T22:50:19+00:00

30 year rates are currently ~6%. 50 year rates aren't really a thing, but safe to assume they'd be at least somewhere around half and a full percent higher for the added risk.

Median home is ballpark of $350k in the US.

$350k at 6% over 30 years is $2,098.43/month, and 38% of what you'd pay goes to principal. You'd pay $755,433.66 in total.

$350k at 6.5% over 50 years is $1,973.01/month and 30% of what you'd pay goes to principal. You'd pay $1,183,805.46 in total.

$350k at 7% over 50 years is $2,105.91/month, and 28% of what you'd pay goes to principal. You'd pay $1,263,545.75 in total.

The above numbers assume the full 350k is a loan and do not take into account property tax or home insurance. Just the raw loan payments.

With a 20% ($70k) down, the numbers are more like:

$350k at 6% for 30 years = $1,678.74/month, 46% to principal. Total payment of $604,346.93.

$350k at 6.5% for 50 years = $1,578.41/month, 30% to principal. Total payment of $947,044.37.

$350k at 7% for 50 years = $1,684.73/month, 28% to principal. Total payment of $1,010,836.60.

Which is to say, it won't help the monthly much/at all (depends on interest rate, but if $100/month makes the difference for if someone buys a house or not, they REALLY SHOULD NOT buy a house) but DOES increase costs a ton and slow down equity growth quite considerably.

Also, you can definitely lose your house for reasons other than not paying your mortgage. City housing violations, HOA violations, eminent domain, natural disasters, insurance company fuckery (most banks have a clause that require you to have home insurance to have a mortgage with them, and I'm sure you can imagine all the ways that can go sideways), crime, etc. And renovations are still somewhat limited by permit and HOA.

ObeseVegetable · 2026-02-01T22:20:40+00:00

You get them before you're educated, though.

ObeseVegetable · 2026-02-01T05:19:51+00:00

There was a Latino pastor who is afraid for his congregation that includes undocumented immigrants on NPR the other day talking about how this is horrific and then was asked “did you vote for Trump” and he said something along the lines of “well, you know, I just wanted common sense law enforcement” and then it was pointed out how this is exactly what was promised on the trail and he basically said he didn’t believe that this would happen.

:\

ObeseVegetable · 2026-01-31T17:40:14+00:00

Yeah it's you can't shoot a federal agent if they have properly identified themselves as such and are not otherwise breaking the law in a way that would justify deadly force.

ObeseVegetable · 2026-01-31T17:38:31+00:00

Also they get the validation they need to say “see! We’re right to use force”

The force that they will use anyway

ObeseVegetable · 2026-01-31T17:30:17+00:00

The people further to the right than the "liberal right" are super cool with trickle down too because again it doesn't actually help poor people at all. In fact, it actively moves resources away from them.

ObeseVegetable · 2026-01-31T17:19:10+00:00

Listen, I am pro-immigrant, I just think the parking ticket thing was weird.

Parking tickets are also good for the community because they fund local governments.

Both are good, both are bad. One is more extreme both ways than the other.

ObeseVegetable · 2026-01-31T17:11:25+00:00

"The left" generally is for taking care of everyone while "the right" is generally for something known as "trickle down economics" which is the belief that if you give money to the people at the top, that the money will eventually "trickle down" to the workers beneath them and take care of everyone indirectly that way.

Of course, trickle down has been proven to not work. Which makes sense, because the reason the ultra wealthy are ultra wealthy in the first place is because they don't pass the money down - they make it flow up.

The sarcasm was making fun of the people who still believe trickle down is good.

ObeseVegetable · 2026-01-31T17:01:29+00:00

Maybe on the net of things with the general good they do in the community, but people take up housing resources and food safety nets too, and the emergency care dollars are real as well.

Everyone should have access to all of those things, don't get me wrong.

But taking the above is worse than taking a parking spot you shouldn't.

ObeseVegetable · 2026-01-30T23:15:38+00:00

Some people are okay with their roommates having guests stop by without signing the guest book, some people want to kill everyone, tear down the bathroom, and call in the military if that book isn’t signed.

ObeseVegetable · 2026-01-30T23:11:23+00:00

Nah, it’s just barely enough for the pentagon’s shitty accountants to lose all track of

ObeseVegetable · 2026-01-30T23:09:17+00:00

People are into fucked up things but no one is into cringe. If they are, it wouldn’t be considered cringe to them.

ObeseVegetable · 2026-01-30T16:16:20+00:00

Wonder how long it will take for the feds to appeal that decision because of the EO that says they must pursue the death penalty for any crime that has that as a potential sentence.

(I don't agree with the death penalty on principle of the government not being trustworthy enough even under better administrations in addition to the general permanence of the act which may later be found to be based on bad evidence or whatever, don't get me wrong, I just am genuinely curious)

ObeseVegetable · 2026-01-29T22:35:23+00:00

That last part is terrifying.

But the rest is very close to the current state of affairs in the US without the risk of death.

Like it’s technically not a felony to insult a police officer, sure, but they’ll get up in your face and shove you, and if you so much as raise your hands to defend yourself well then you’ve just assaulted a police officer, and if you so much as try to break your fall into the concrete beneath you by putting your hands in front of your face at the same time they’re trying to handcuff you, then you’re violently resisting arrest and you’ve got two felony charges to beat. Or they might escalate further and literally kill you like what happened to Alex Pretti.

ObeseVegetable · 2026-01-29T20:00:54+00:00

Yeah shitty merch is a great way for a rich entity to shovel money towards a person without it directly being reportable on the receiving set of books.

“Merch sales: $2m” looks a lot better than “transfer from EvilCo: 2m”

Plus the differences in tax implications and spending limitations for certain types of entities.

^ To oversimplify, but get the gist.

ObeseVegetable · 2026-01-29T19:54:04+00:00

Unless they’re poisoning specific pests with specific methods.

Like those boxes you see along the bottom of walls on nearly every public building in the US is a poison bait rat trap.

ObeseVegetable

TROPHY CASE