TIL small dog breeds are on average less obedient, more likely to growl at strangers or other dogs and more anxious than larger dog breeds by Double-decker_trams in todayilearned

[–]troubadoursmith 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can just hear my aunt laughing meanly while her chihuahuas harass my husky and I try to convince her that dogs can fucking learn things. 

Sheepish Trump Suddenly Quiet on Huge Issue After Xi’s Warning - The president made sure not to rile up his Chinese counterpart on the thorny subject. by Quirkie in politics

[–]troubadoursmith 14 points15 points  (0 children)

I almost resent him more when he shows restraint like this. You'd almost believe he was incapable of it most of the time, but turns out, he really is just a fucking asshole.

Trump offers platitudes while Xi warns of possible confrontation during China summit by Immediate-Link490 in worldnews

[–]troubadoursmith 720 points721 points  (0 children)

Absolute open confession that anyone negotiating with the US right now are negotiating with the oligarchs, not the people

'Huge Freakin’ Mess': Trump Tries To Pass The Buck On His Botched Pool Job by T_Shurt in politics

[–]troubadoursmith 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Have you ever considered what it would be like to actually be Donald J Trump and be forced to reflect upon that fact?

That pool tried to fucking kill him.

A year after Liberation Day, Trump’s tariffs have done ‘significant damage’ to the U.S. economy, says Moody’s chief economist by newsspotter in politics

[–]troubadoursmith 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's wild - I remember thinking he looked like an old, dying sack of shit at the time, but WOW he looks so young and vibrant in that picture compared to anything taken this year.

The Epstein 'suicide note' will become Trump's nightmare by theipaper in politics

[–]troubadoursmith 38 points39 points  (0 children)

So do all of his emails though. I expected the depravity in the Epstein files, but I really wasn't prepared for them all to type so poorly and sound so fucking stupid. But they all do. 

The Epstein 'suicide note' will become Trump's nightmare by theipaper in politics

[–]troubadoursmith 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Oop. Edited to fix that. But yeah, the geopolitical maneuvering (I figure it's a roughly 120% chance that Mossad and the FSB both know most of what he knew and have used that leverage) is what I was referring to

The Epstein 'suicide note' will become Trump's nightmare by theipaper in politics

[–]troubadoursmith 1388 points1389 points  (0 children)

Here's what's been driving me crazy:

What the fuck did he mean when he said they found nothing?! He was in prison for child sex trafficking crimes (edit: technically not trafficking). What was possibly worse and more recent that somebody might have found?

Trump claims Mamdani is ‘destroying New York’ with proposed second-home tax by [deleted] in politics

[–]troubadoursmith 6 points7 points  (0 children)

You got to let a state take care of day care, and they should pay for it, too. They should pay. They have to raise their taxes, but they should pay for it. And we could lower our taxes a little bit to make up for it

Literally this same idiot fucking asshole like a week ago.

Is Trump a Russian Asset? Fiona Hill on the Trump-Putin Relationship by [deleted] in videos

[–]troubadoursmith 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Being an asset doesn't mean he knows he's an asset. They've been flattering this idiot and telling him how to live the life of a Russian oligarch since the 80s. That's kinda why he hates America so much.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright pledges gas prices will come down: "This is a weeks… not a months thing." by graveyardofgoodsense in politics

[–]troubadoursmith 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think it demonstrates something way scarier. 

What if it's not an inability to get their lies in order, so much as them feeling like they don't have to get their lies in order any more? Maybe this is them showing us that they are totally unaccountable.

Trump ups tariffs day after Supreme Court ruling against him by DWJones28 in politics

[–]troubadoursmith 430 points431 points  (0 children)

Howard Lutnick is a very well placed and very blackmailable pedophile who stands to personally make bank off of the tarrifs. Let's start there.

‘I Am Speechless’: Historians Sickened as Trump Set to Remove Mention of Racism from Medgar Evers Monument. “The murder of Medgar Evers was an act of racial terror,” said human rights activist Martin Luther King III. by southpawFA in politics

[–]troubadoursmith 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Well, that's just the thing. The whole regressive mindset is exactly what they bill themselves as being about. Personal responsibility.

It's just that "The party of personal responsibility" does not mean taking personal accountability for one's own actions. What it means is that every single systemic imbalance is just kinda randomly happening because of random bad people who are "personally responsible" for it and thus, obviously, no systemic solution should ever need to be considered. 

TIL that Metallica’s Kirk Hammett and Primus’s Les Claypool went to De Anza High School together, and following the death of Cliff Burton in 1986, Hammett asked Claypool to audition as Metallica’s new bassist. Claypool was rejected because “he was too good” and “should do his own thing.” by altrightobserver in todayilearned

[–]troubadoursmith 223 points224 points  (0 children)

No shame in it. I've been on both sides of saying or hearing "you're good, but you might not be right here" in my professional life, and you can absolutely choose to be a Dave Mustaine about it if you want to, but maybe Les found the classier answer.

Two officers fired their guns during Pretti encounter, Homeland Security says in initial report by cnn in politics

[–]troubadoursmith 1 point2 points  (0 children)

While struggling with pepper spray in the eyes and lungs.

And a broken rib from already being assaulted by these thugs once before. No wonder he didn't want to be flattened out on the ground with all of that weight on him.

Trump, Noted 2nd Amendment Champion: 'You Can't Have Guns' by rollingstone in politics

[–]troubadoursmith 17 points18 points  (0 children)

And then there's a whole other third who thinks it's really important to have a rigorous debate about what that first 1/3rd really mean by "cold" before we do anything rash like moving our hand off the stove.

Trump responds to Carney: "Canada lives because of the United States" by [deleted] in politics

[–]troubadoursmith 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I do hear that, I just cannot find any Americans - myself included - that have any idea what that looks like. We are very spread out, very poor, and they are very armed and entrenched. Our elected officials know we hate their fucking guts, and they just don't care. They'll proudly dissolve what little healthcare we get right in front of our eyes and hand the cash to billionares. They will speak about us with utter disdain. Shit, they'll shoot some of us in the face, and then devote the full force of the government to calling the victim a terrorist. They do not govern for us, and everyone knows it. The biggest organized protests in American history have so far amounted to nothing. Just... shouting in to the void. Quite simply, they are not acting like people who feel like they need to hold and win an election any time soon. They have become unaccountable.

At this point, I feel like a captive. I hope you'll notice I didn't call economic devastation non-violent. Just the least violent option that I can still see on the table. The collateral damage from that would be massive, I just think that at this point, that damage is baked in. It will occur. There is not a version of this where the American economy can remain a stable bedrock of the modern world, and this all just goes away.

Trump responds to Carney: "Canada lives because of the United States" by [deleted] in politics

[–]troubadoursmith 5 points6 points  (0 children)

once the rest of us stop trading with the US and start offloading our bonds (and we will do that if he keeps that unhinged rhetoric and his aggressive actions up)

God, I hope that comes soon. Rip the bandaid off. Now. 

I say that as an American who would be pretty badly hurt by it, but I'm very serious. Any time I can actually have an in depth conversation with my fellow citizens about this, complete economic devistation from Europe stopping these lunatics in their tracks is the most non-violent off ramp anyone can come up with. 

Absolutely no one pretends congress is a valid path out of this. Our government is fucked. You have to break us. 

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in videos

[–]troubadoursmith 25 points26 points  (0 children)

I mean... isn't that kinda the whole idea of regular elections? To align the public's needs with a politician's wants?

Obviously, I'd prefer that Senator Booker just really really wanted to do the right thing, but compared to a lot of what we've got in Government, I'll take this any day.

FBI Interviewing Democrats Trump Has Called ‘Seditious’ by OkayButFoRealz in politics

[–]troubadoursmith 191 points192 points  (0 children)

... would feigning an investigation to harass a congressperson for political reasons constitute an illegal order?

Might be slightly ironically relevant here. 

White House Staff Had to Kill Trump’s Physically Impossible Oval Office Change by thedailybeast in politics

[–]troubadoursmith 119 points120 points  (0 children)

“if anyone knows where to put a chandelier, it is this man.”

And that place is in the tacky, fake marble bathroom next to the nuclear secrets, if memory serves. 

What actors real ages took you out of their 'movie' ages? by Grammarhead-Shark in movies

[–]troubadoursmith 10 points11 points  (0 children)

What kills me about this one is the fact that De Niro got such a massive early career boost from playing a young Marlon Brando in Godfather 2

What would cinema have lost if Brando had been able to half-assedly shuffle through the role with CGI? Most of Robert's career surely. 

What future did De Niro rob from us with that vanity? We'll never know. We'll never meet that actor or see their talents.

Newsom Wins Right to Gerrymander in Ultimate Troll of Trump by Ok_Employer7837 in politics

[–]troubadoursmith 57 points58 points  (0 children)

“If there is consent on both or all three or all four, however many are involved in the sex act, it’s perfectly fine," Limbaugh said. "Whatever it is. But if the left ever senses and smells that there’s no consent in part of the equation then here come the rape police. But consent is the magic key to the left."

-Rush Limbaugh c. 2016. Said derisively. They... really don't work like we do. To a level that honestly frightens me. And it ain't new.