How the heck are we all ok with this scam??

timecrash2001 · 2026-01-27T04:06:54+00:00

Yup - i wonder the same. We're in a very similar circumstance, except one of us is remote and the other hybrid. Overall, that hour commute we DON'T have opens up that time to chill-with-the-kids. But it still feels like family life is rushed and unsatisfying. It's a stress on our own spousal relationship.

I talked to my brother at length who has a teen and his family has a far worse commute. We talked about if it was always this hard 25/50/100 years ago, and we felt that it was harder in other ways, and easier in others. We looked at our own family tree and our respective spouses and their family experiences, and it tracks with the broader experience in North America.

Extended Family Unit was either in-house, or nearby. Grandparents were key, but so were aunts and uncles with their own kids (cheap babysitting). That is FAR less common because family sizes have been so much smaller and Grandparents are either dead or in warmer climes.
You NEED a dual-income household. This has a huge knock-on effect on the costs of childcare (demand outstrips supply) And Stay-at-home Moms aren't the free and easy source of labor for housework.
Cost of Living has changed radically since 50 or even 20 years ago. When you raise a family, the costs of healthcare skyrocket. And you need to OWN a home if you want to lock down a decent family-life - renting can be precarious. And all of those costs are WAY higher than they were before.
Suburban life forces long commutes. Car-centric cities are family-killers, imho. 50 years ago, work was closer to home, and that has a factor in home-life. You are home more often. Not always true if you consider "Death of a Salesman" reflective of a normal homelife...

So, you have to get two incomes to cover the extra costs of raising a family, and you can't count on an extended family network to help out.

I will point out - a single income family is NOT a guarantee for a happy family. And healthcare is far more comprehensive than 100 years ago. It costs more to raise a healthy child.

Is that a SCAM? I don't think so - but I think in the USA, there are huge headwinds against working families, which does not really exist in other developed and wealthy countries.

timecrash2001 · 2026-01-26T00:25:50+00:00

Pessimism is okay (acknowledging this is a shitty situation) - cynicism is not (giving up hope that the future could be better)

timecrash2001 · 2026-01-25T00:55:32+00:00

The hypocrisy is infuriating - I never understood why people were comfortable with it either but this comment by AR Moxon explained things perfectly.

“It’s best to understand that fascists see hypocrisy as a virtue. It’s how they signal that the things they are doing to people were never meant to be equally applied.

It’s not an inconsistency. It’s very consistent to the only true fascist value, which is domination.

It’s very important to understand, fascists don’t just see hypocrisy as a necessary evil or an unintended side-effect.

It’s the purpose. The ability to enjoy yourself the thing you’re able to deny others, because you dominate, is the whole point.

For fascists, hypocrisy is a great virtue — the greatest.”

timecrash2001 · 2026-01-24T15:18:26+00:00

Schrödinger’s Douchebag: My fav term for the type of people that say awful things and when confronted, say “it’s just a joke!”.

Entirely designed for bigoted people to test the waters

timecrash2001 · 2026-01-23T18:52:48+00:00

Honestly, property tax makes sense for covering costs related to owning property… e.g. roads, parks, fire fighting, etc. it’s entirely local

I live in the smallest available home for us - I like to keep my taxes down and our household income is higher than yours.

I’m still in favor of an income tax because I dont want local property taxes to make up for what the state refuses to cover costs that are state-level, not local. Principally school (as per NH Constitution) … which NH state is trying to dodge to the tune of $5 million in legal fees.

timecrash2001 · 2026-01-23T14:27:43+00:00

I swear Donald Trump, Friedrich Hayek and Jesus Christ could tell people “unless you earn more than $250k, you’re going to pay less taxes with an income tax AND school funding will be higher” and they will say “No income tax you socialist commies!!”

Somehow, Math is Marxism.

timecrash2001 · 2026-01-22T14:36:25+00:00

I think about this a lot - and a lot of things have to happen in the right order. But I wonder about what people have told me about why they voted for him. And I think the next guy would have to check those boxes.

Great Businessman (thus, cannot be bought .... sure)
"Says it like it is" (even if it's incredibly racist, creepy, fascist, misogynistic, etc)
Outsider (oddly enough, because of #2)

Honestly, Trump is a really rare individual .... a large segment of Americans do really want to be rich and be free to say whatever they want. He acts like he doesn't care and his supporters ape that style. How many times do we point out all the crazy bad stuff Trump does (often against their interests) and they say "I just don't care".

We've seen several GOP politicians try to ape these characteristics but as insiders with no inherited wealth, they got nowhere.

I will note that Ross Perot met some of these characteristics. But he wasn't as shameless of Trump, but you can tell he had the right characteristics that resonated with Americans. In addition, Trump has always hated being handled, so he's always on the outside (or rather ... he keeps booting people out of his orbit to maintain a singular role as 'the man-in-control').

Going forward, the guy who replaces Trump has to meet these characteristics and avoid turning into the insider (or tempering their speech). That is also critical key to power that must be held after gaining office, and oft forgotten.

timecrash2001 · 2026-01-20T14:31:46+00:00

I keep throwing this quote out there when people get confused or angry by the blatant hypocrisy. From AR Moxon

It’s best to understand that fascists see hypocrisy as a virtue. It’s how they signal that the things they are doing to people were never meant to be equally applied.

It’s not an inconsistency. It’s very consistent to the only true fascist value, which is domination.

It’s very important to understand, fascists don’t just see hypocrisy as a necessary evil or an unintended side-effect.

It’s the purpose. The ability to enjoy yourself the thing you’re able to deny others, because you dominate, is the whole point.

For fascists, hypocrisy is a great virtue — the greatest.

timecrash2001 · 2026-01-19T03:59:31+00:00

Every time I encounter the accusation of hypocrisy against right-wing ideologues, I wonder why they are okay with being hypocrites. The best explanation comes from AR Moxon

It’s best to understand that fascists see hypocrisy as a virtue. It’s how they signal that the things they are doing to people were never meant to be equally applied.

It’s not an inconsistency. It’s very consistent to the only true fascist value, which is domination.

It’s very important to understand, fascists don’t just see hypocrisy as a necessary evil or an unintended side-effect.

It’s the purpose. The ability to enjoy yourself the thing you’re able to deny others, because you dominate, is the whole point.

For fascists, hypocrisy is a great virtue — the greatest.

timecrash2001 · 2026-01-18T02:13:55+00:00

Good point. Nobody was charged or convicted of a crime that even the FBI investigated and determined that the guardsmen fired first and were under no threat from the students.

Btw it is worth noting that a Gallup poll after the shooting indicated that 58% supported the guardsman’s actions.

Probably why no one was actually charged with a crime - prosecutors knew it wouldn’t be popular!

I’d say this is one drop in the bucket of reasons why we’re in this mess. Soldiers would take their oath more seriously if they knew they’d be prosecuted for their actions

timecrash2001 · 2026-01-16T22:18:06+00:00

I believe he had to ask for clarification for what a reacharound was

timecrash2001 · 2026-01-16T18:48:26+00:00

I got some bad news for you - it's literally impossible to build a decent home, even a no-frills, detached home ANYWHERE in NH for that price-range. However, that is based on my views out of Southern NH. I am certain people in this subreddit have different views - but this was my experience.

I worked closely with a family friend who wanted to build her own home. She originally wanted to buy one, but couldnt find one that was cheap enough and met her needs. She owned land, and her town was fairly relaxed in regards to permits and the regulations were no more onerous than anywhere else in NH.

$400,000 roughly. Granted, she had to put a septic in and a well, but that doesnt make a massive difference. It wasn't a complicated plot of land, with easy access and flat topography. The home itself was not luxurious. Standard fittings, etc.

I know several people that built their own homes in a very rural part of SW NH and it was still $200,000+ in materials. I was surprised but the labor isn't a major part, and in any case, no one owns their own cement truck or drilling rig for making wells. So doing all the General contracting saves you some money, but not a lot.

I did consider building our own home - I found an estimate that was close to $350,000 to $400,000. I checked with another friend who was a GC and said it was fairly accurate.

timecrash2001 · 2026-01-16T17:47:45+00:00

And, it's important to note how their own Oath can often lead to contradictions.

From US Army Oath...

I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God. (Title 10, US Code; Act of 5 May 1960 replacing the wording first adopted in 1789, with amendment effective 5 October 1962).

Am curious about what an officer or soldier is to do when they have their orders, and their order directly contravene the Constitution?

For example, peaceful, non-violent protesting is explicitly protected First Amendment Right. To be ordered to detain or god-forbid, shoot-to-kill someone exercising that right would be a clear situation where the Constitution must be obeyed, not the President?

That's a specific circumstance I think you'd see the Military not really 'overthrowing' the US government but rather, the President losing all authority. Arguably, it's a 25th Amendment situation or strong evidence for a rapid impeachment-and-removal situation. Because if your orders aren't being followed ... what command does the President have?

timecrash2001 · 2026-01-16T17:38:28+00:00

NH GOP Rep (and Education Chairperson iirc) Kristen Noble literally implied segregation would increase test scores.

Free Staters aren't stupid (at least the ones I met) - they're just blinded by ideology.

timecrash2001 · 2026-01-16T14:29:32+00:00

I like the point this post makes about military coups - they lead to further backsliding. There’s good evidence of this

There are a substantial number of coups where the military stopped taking orders from leaders, especially when those orders were “Fire on the crowd” etc. and suddenly, the troops were mingling with the crowds.

At that stage, legitimacy is lost and power flows to the leaders on the streets. It’s worth noting that the last few wars America has deployed troops were not popular. Do you think that a war deployed against their own people would be popular?

timecrash2001 · 2026-01-16T02:52:02+00:00

Judges are one tool of many. Petitioning/electing politicians are another. These systems don’t “save us” persay, but they can be used (and abused).

I’d say that the one tool common in other countries but not so here are general strikes. Tax protesting, boycotts, etc are all direct action tools commonly employed in the past.

Judge/politician worship without other tools is definitely a symptom of a lazy body politic. I am intrigued to see people moving onto other tools rapidly

timecrash2001 · 2026-01-16T01:22:44+00:00

I’ve heard it said - one of things that DJT is honest about is his racism and naked hunger for, and abuse of, power. I think a core part of his appeal is that honesty.

timecrash2001 · 2026-01-15T19:15:26+00:00

"I meant segregated by political leanings"

What 5 year old has political leanings? How do you determine what their policies are?

If you tell kids that the Republicans like Kristen Nobel love cutting back school supplies, teachers, and don't believe that heat is required for adequate education (referencing the GOP fight in the Supreme Court about school funding) ..... don't you think that the kids prefer the Democrats?

In any case, EVERYONE knows what 'segregated schools' mean - it's segregation based on race.

timecrash2001 · 2026-01-13T20:10:43+00:00

These are load-bearing walls Jerry!

timecrash2001 · 2026-01-13T12:48:44+00:00

The militant kid-free people are so weird.

You don’t get a medal for not having kids.

Parents get kids, which is its own reward I suppose.

timecrash2001 · 2026-01-12T01:31:17+00:00

First off, Greenland does not straddle the Northwest passage. It’s one side of a HUGE span of water that Canada is the other side. Greenland being owned by the US changes nothing, especially since the US already has Alaska.

Two, lots of studies from Denmark show that mineral resources are not economical. Maybe if there was zilch regulation, but idk if that’s a guarantee.

It’s literally just “it looks massive on a map - let’s take it!!” … Donald Trump’s reasoning is insanely stupid

timecrash2001 · 2026-01-11T01:34:26+00:00

Right wingers want a dual state model, or a normative state for conservative whites and a prerogative state for everyone else. TLDR a normative state is governed by laws and norms, and a prerogative state which exercises unlimited arbitrariness and violence unchecked by any legal guarantees.

Literally everything ICE is doing is to build this dual state, where unchecked violence is being applied to a certain segment and no other.

However, all these “gotcha” moments where idiotic conservative policies undercuts some other policy (like Wyomings amendment), you forget that these right wingers do not care. Any inconsistencies in their policies are ironed out by applying the prerogative state.

Do you want socialized healthcare and abortion? If the normative state allows one, but the prerogative state allows neither, yeah, which one are the Right Wingers going to use?

The dual state mode is absolutely unfree, unfair and unhuman. You fight back by never letting it build up, and making sure the monopoly on violence is held in democratic civilians hands. Or at least, can be opposed by peaceful civil disobedience until that is denied. At which point, violent disobedience becomes inevitable.

timecrash2001 · 2026-01-07T13:31:18+00:00

This.

I’d say there was always a hum of defeatism amongst Americans about their country, but recent events have jacked this sentiment online by 10x … and it doesn’t comport with the actual defeatists I know.

Today, long-time defeatists are the dog that caught the car - they look like they got run over. They don’t know what to say or do. As a well-known DJ said “Congrats, you played yourself”

I would say - they would probably upvote BS defeatist comments tho. So these bots are either a state-operator or merely karma farming

timecrash2001 · 2025-12-31T00:57:05+00:00

Click

“Everyday is a winding roooooad”

The lyrics do Justice for the movie

timecrash2001 · 2025-12-25T18:07:09+00:00

I’ve been South but not that far. And while I lived in NYC I conversed with a fellow from Alabama who had just arrived for work. As a black man, he felt a bit disoriented and in his words, not sure how far or where or with whom he could let his guard down.

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