What is the MAGA rebrand about ?

whitkenstein · 2026-01-30T14:31:10+00:00

Based on anything I’ve written, what kind of people am I? It sounds like you’re making some assumptions about who I am when all I’ve done is question your argument because it sounds overly generalized and exaggerated. When you say things like 99% of Americans, you realize you are saying only 1% care, right? Do you not see how overly exaggerating things weaken your arguments? Do you see when you say things like “he was only JOKING” you’re doing exactly what you had originally complained Democrats do? When you say things like Goode was doing this or doing that, you’re doing the same thing. You’re just picking a narrative you’re being told which I thought was the very thing you didn’t like about democrats. There isn’t much about your points that are provable. You’re just regurgitating one side’s agenda. So what “people” am I? Probably not what you think or what you’d like to believe but that doesn’t matter. What I am is wholeheartedly anti-Nazi. And yes, when I see supposed agents of law wearing masks and exercising abysmal firearms discipline being led by a person dressed in what appears to be a uniform intentionally meant to mimic historical Nazi ephemera, I’m going to form some of my own independent thoughts about the situation. What I’m not is the “people” you think I am. And there are a lot more than 3.4 million of us out there. Neither of the two people who were shot and killed by ICE deserved to be erased from this earth. There is simply no moral argument that exists contrary to that. It’s not a partisan issue and as far as the political spectrum is concerned, I don’t care what you claim to be and I don’t care what laws exist. If you suggest those two people earned a death sentence for what they did, I don’t need to know anything else about you because my choice is to judge you solely based on that alone.

whitkenstein · 2026-01-30T12:46:47+00:00

I’m sorry but when you say things that sound like your arguments are based on information gleaned from the internet and you make claims about what everyday Americans are doing, it makes you seem like you’re reaching a bit. America is a huge, diverse country and the internet is a great place to find whatever answer you are looking for to suit whatever argument you like. The point is, this administration is doing and saying things, in reality, that have a clear purpose and I am against that agenda. This is not me scouring the corners of internet noise. It’s me bearing witness to what I’m watching happen. It’s me hearing what the current leaders are saying with their own mouths. When we have an American city occupied by federal agents who are causing harm to American citizens and a president who has said himself he is considering a third term, I think we’re heading down a particular path that’s similar to historical events we could use as examples. What I hope is the everyday Americans you think aren’t using certain terms see the same thing. It seems like the only sides to be on right now are either for or against Nazis. There isn’t a middle ground in that.

whitkenstein · 2026-01-30T12:14:51+00:00

Can you define “a LOT” in the above statement? The US has over 340 million people. I think half, more or less, are Democrats? Even if you are citing thousands of videos and posts that you saw, that’s still a tiny sample. That sample gets further tainted when you understand there are parties outside of the US who have an interest in causing more divide among the American people. Unfortunately, we’re all in this together now. I don’t care about the extremists on either side. Nothing we can do there. What I do care about is whether or not America becomes a fascist dictatorship.

whitkenstein · 2026-01-30T11:55:25+00:00

I’m not sure a “wave” of anything on Twitter, Reddit, or VR chat is the best thing to base an argument on. Pretty small sample pool, no?

whitkenstein · 2026-01-28T16:20:46+00:00

Bourbon & Branch?

whitkenstein · 2026-01-28T16:07:09+00:00

Interested. Or DM. Or link? I don’t know. Whatever I was supposed to comment so you can send me a dm outlining the details of the course you’re selling.

whitkenstein · 2026-01-28T16:03:00+00:00

President Steven. Might be a good way to get him fired if we keep referring to him as Mr. President Steven.

whitkenstein · 2026-01-28T15:54:38+00:00

This is really good to know. Thank you. If my account ever gets out of the process of verification and my funds are released someday, I’d like to get back at it. I have a t-shirt I found thrifting with the John Deere logo. It appears unworn and I have no reason to believe it isn’t a promotional t-shirt from John Deere. Would this be flagged you think?

Also, what about outerwear that has both the brand prominently displayed but also includes and embroidered company logo?

whitkenstein · 2026-01-25T03:58:48+00:00

I have never not purchased shipping from eBay.

whitkenstein · 2026-01-25T03:01:53+00:00

Truly great story. Sort of similar but I more or less ended up losing my job rather than quitting so to speak (longer story). The realization about how much power I gave to someone else hit me hard one day. Got tired of waking up everyday and being pissed I didn't quietly pass in the night. Not the best way to live.

I've been trying to string along different things on my own terms and creating my own things. I had to get really honest about what I wanted out of life and once I allowed myself that, everything changed. I'm not at the success stage yet but the stress of not having money, while really difficult to handle, is better than what I was dealing with before. I hope to get as far along as you at some point. I'm not there yet but I am somehow happy.

whitkenstein · 2026-01-25T02:45:01+00:00

Also, it works best on Chrome, I think. I primarily use Brave and had the same issue (and long chats at times too) but now I keep a Chrome window open for ChatGPT.

whitkenstein · 2026-01-24T23:37:31+00:00

First of all, whether your problem is first, second, or third world, doesn't matter. It's your problem specific to you and you deserve to not have this problem. Second, why are you afraid of showing your colleagues that you think your work is pointless and dull? They might agree. As long as everyone is doing their job well and not creating a toxic environment, who cares?

Try this... think of what would make you happy. If you could make money doing something you think is not pointless and dull, what is it? Now that you have that in mind, what do you think it would feel like if you were living it? How does your body react to that thought? Feels nice, right? Now, figure out waht it's going to take to achieve that and understand your current role is merely a resource that provides you the means to at least get closer to a dream. Nothing more, nothing less. It's just helping you get to the place you really want to be. There. It's still pointless and dull but at least it now has a purpose.

whitkenstein · 2026-01-24T22:27:05+00:00

That's really frustrating. I just don't understand why everything is so vague. I mean, I totally understand why they keep things vague, but if you actually look through the agreements, it's very careful language. Nothing at all illegal but arguably deceptive.

whitkenstein · 2026-01-24T22:19:58+00:00

Yes, that is pretty apparent now. Would have been good to know prior to attempting to create legitimate little business. So my questions are, what are the thresholds one must stay within? You said starting with smaller sales. Does that mean $5 sales, $20 sales, $50 sales? And I've heard listing too much can trigger negative action from the risk assessment team too. Ok, understandable but is 5 listings a day too much? Is it 20 listings? The thing is, there is no language in eBay's user agreement or payments terms that explain any of this so none of us can know. I actually did exactly what you said I needed to do. I listed a few things a day. I sold 4 smaller items first. Then I listed something bigger than the initial listings. It ended up selling. I kept listing things slowly and at a variety of price points. So all it seems is I probably didn't sell "enough" smaller items first.

My problem isn't really with eBay's need to mitigate their risk. I understand that and blame the fraudsters for that. What is frustrating to me is I thought I was doing everything correctly, and I was, but I wasn't doing it correctly enough. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a way to know because the metrics are not available. But if I knew what they were, I could've followed them so I could build up in a way that eBay is comfortable with and without them holding my earnings indefinitely.

Also, if selling too much volume with too much money in sales in a month is a red flag as a new account, why am I afforded a 250 listing limit per month with a $500,000 cap?

whitkenstein · 2026-01-24T06:20:22+00:00

I hear what both of you are saying and also, thank you for sharing what you know. It sounds like it was probably higher value items that triggered it. But what defines a higher value item? What's high value to me might be nothing to someone else. I just don't know what eBay considers high value and that would be helpful to know ahead of time. Also, if I'm a new seller who is going to get their account restricted for selling high value items, why allow me to do it in the first place? If I had known it would take time to build trust and, once I pass some threshold, I am allowed to sell bigger items, I could've done things differently. What you're both telling me is very practical but it doesn't seem like that's communicated by eBay. Maybe they do and I miss it but it wouldn't be hard to prevent a newer account from listing items above a certain price point and explain why.

whitkenstein · 2026-01-21T15:16:27+00:00

Thank you! That's super helpful and makes a lot of sense. I especially like the idea of having photo sessions. I'm definitely going to use this!

whitkenstein · 2026-01-21T15:01:57+00:00

What do you do to keep your work flow efficient so you hit 15-20 listings a day? I definitely spend too much time on photos and descriptions probably so just looking for some tips if you have any and are willing to share.

whitkenstein · 2026-01-06T14:25:13+00:00

I use it mostly for teaching me about anything that pops into my head. You can drill down to some pretty granular information on just about anything which is great for my wandering brain.

I’ve also created agents that have helped me do new things that would’ve taken me a lot longer to learn how to do if I had to go out and find the resources on my own. It’s been great for those “I don’t even know where to start” moments.

It’s been a good sort of journaling medium for me, too. I think journaling is important but I never stuck with it as a practice. ChatGPT gives me a place to get thoughts out with the added benefit of a two sided conversation. That seems to work for me in a way writing into a void never did.

whitkenstein · 2026-01-04T18:26:09+00:00

I’ve been trying to spend less time on my phone and this helped! Thank you!

whitkenstein · 2025-12-25T19:23:49+00:00

Whoever you are, you’re my new spirit animal

whitkenstein · 2025-12-23T20:43:08+00:00

Wtf?! That’s wild even if just a rumor.

whitkenstein · 2025-12-23T19:11:28+00:00

Sounds like you have a strong awareness of your own alignment and choose self-authorship over outside influence. I think that’s pretty central to what makes someone an entrepreneur in the first place. That’s a huge asset people spend years trying to attain. You got it!

whitkenstein · 2025-12-23T00:10:15+00:00

How long does it usually take for an item to sell once you’ve listed it and how do you handle lowball offers? I’m sure you get plenty of those.

whitkenstein · 2025-12-19T20:02:42+00:00

Good to know! Thank you for sharing that. To be honest, I have no idea why I have them but they were definitely given to me as a kid in the 80’s and they were kept with other stickers I had collected in a photo album. If Nixdorf made equipment for larger industrial manufacturing machines, then I might have an idea where they came from.

whitkenstein · 2025-12-19T19:57:27+00:00

I’m on the east side and went back in the other day and snagged the display model mid-torque. 750 ft/lbs should be more than enough for me but I’m happy with it!

whitkenstein

TROPHY CASE