I don’t buy civ games until they release all the DLC. Since CIV 5 it seems like they have released unfinished games that lack major game mechanics on launch and the game only gets finished through DLC.

Poor adoption and sales with CIV 7 is their own fault. They have conditioned the market to wait for the DLC.

22 is too young. From a purely clinical point of view your brain isn’t done maturing and you haven’t hit the prime years of your life.

But there is no option in the US for male birth control and there is a chance that the vasectomy can be reverse, so do what you think you need t so. It’s not a chance I would take though.

No argument here, a corrupt asshole is still a corrupt asshole no matter what they make think of themselves.

But because they can genuinely believe whatever bullshit comes out of their mouth others have no problem buying into it as well.

Trump cheats, lies, rapes and steals. But I don’t think HE consciously thinks of anything he does as cheating, lying, raping and stealing.

People don’t tend to want to think of themselves as the bad guy. So they make up excuses to justify their behavior.

I worked for a small company and traveled with the owner frequently. Somehow we got on the subject of bonuses for the sales staff and he told me he often finds ways of reducing their bonus if they ever got a massive deal because they are salespeople and they would just waste the money and hurt themselves… In his mind he was responsible enough to handle the money rather than waste it. I’ve encountered similar altitudes and behaviors with more than a few business owners and wealthy people I’ve encountered. They hide behind many excuses for bad behavior.

The only reason Trump is scared is he knows how his base will see this.

It’s usually superficial chit chat. Just weather, sports, clothing the person is wearing and family. All easy and relatable subjects that can be used to break the ice.

The fact that your German is a great talking point to bring up!

Well I won’t buy one now.

No they want their guy in power to make the rules and punish people who they think need punishment.

They think that they will always be the chosen “good people” because they support him and nothing bad will happen to them because of his decisions.

I’m glad Trump went for Tariffs first. These mother fuckers are going to learn with their pocket book what fielty to an unchecked dictator really earns you.

Others are more cynical. They know what Trump is and think they can gain power for their movement. And dominate society I.E. Christian Nationalists.

It’s a comedy, they are trying to make you laugh.

Save your righteous indignation for something that matters.

Just look up the movie “Office Space” it pretty well summarizes it all.

JD Vance is a douche canoe who would ramp it up 2x or 3x and would likely do the bidding of whatever master he follows now.

But no one likes the guy and I doubt he could inspire Trumps followers to the same degree Trump does. Without that rabid core base his power falls apart. Without a true leader, MAGA will start going at each others throats. There are too many factions both held together and held in check by Trump.

Consistency is the reason.

Chipotle is great for kids and people who want the same flavor profile. My kids love Chipotle mostly because they don’t want strange foods or new flavors. Most kids (and some adults) eat a handful of foods and don’t want surprises. My eldest is starting to branch out to new foods now that he is firmly in his teens. But the youngest won’t touch anything new.

The independent Mom and Pop Mexican restaurant may have much better food, but it doesn’t taste the same. Which is great for people who have much more varied pallets, not so much for kids and adults who don’t.

Pull your money from the stock market. Park it in gold or other inflation resistant assets.

Boycott the economy in general. Think what did your grandparents or great grand parents do during the Great Depression. Buy from thrift shops or make do. Do not buy consume more than you need to. Stop taking trips or other extravagances.

Obstruct the agenda at every level attend rally’s and town halls. Become politically active. Buy a burner phone and only use that it for those activities. Put it in a faraday bag when not in use, never use it in and around your home.

Stock up on guns bought from independent parties. Buy your ammo with cash. Learn to use your weapon find groups of like minded people and team up with them.

Parties and what they represent evolve over time. America is going through a rapid evolution currently.

Since the end of the Cold War America has pursued or engaged in free trade and Neo Liberalism and the War on Terror.

The result is there are significant sections of the populace that feel left behind by our economy as wealth inequality builds. They see their jobs going over seas and an ineffectual government that has failed at protecting them economically and has failed in the War on Terror. Add to it a powerful propaganda machine in the form of our news and social media and it is a recipe for change… What that change will end up shaping into may not be the future you want.

This is the backlash. After the Democratic establishment has ignored unions and the working man. Leaving them open to the populist out reach of Donald Trump.

Never mind that Trump will never deliver any of what he promised. The fact is he now has the power and is using it to break up the system that has been in place since WW2. Which benefits a small number of oligarchs who want to cement their power over the US.

I suspect we will see a shift in the next mid-term election (if it takes place) and a realignment of the Democratic Party toward populism. We as a people have to figure out how to fight corporate propaganda and their hegemony over social media.

That is if Trump doesn’t kill our Democracy first.

I cashed out in November.

Its painfully obvious to anyone who can do math that Trumps policy’s would destabilize an already weakening market.

Buffet has a long history of stockpiling cash when the market becomes far too speculative. He’s also flat out said millionaires and billionaires aren’t taxed fairly compared to the working class.

I think Trump is trying to appeal to blue collar workers who have seen their jobs disappear. Tariffs are his ham fisted way of trying to appeal to them.

Trump is a fool though. It isn’t the 60s anymore and manufacturing won’t work in the US without inputs from Canada and Mexico.

One day won’t do much. I took it as a sign it was time to delete the Amazon and Walmart app from all my devices and move onto other services.

Trump’s popularity is lower than any President at this point in their presidency. I think there are a lot of “moderates” and uninformed voters who are starting to regret their choice.

Once he starts axing Medicare/medicare and going after social security and other popular programs it is only going to get worse.

Just remember there will be roughly 20 to 30 percent who are hard core MAGA who will never change their minds no matter how bad it gets.

Give it 30 to 60 days and the Trump Presidency will collapse.

He’s pissing off too many people. He has the lowest approval rating at this point in his Presidency. He has MAGA stalwarts like the New York Post running front page articles against his dealings with Russia.

The stock market is starting to show cracks because of his malfeasance on tariffs and his treatment of allies.

He’s going after the FBI, CIA, and every other alphabet agency. Say what you want about them, they are filled with people who now fear for their jobs in a way they have never had to. That is not how a large agency runs long term.

Finally they need to pass a budget and raise the debt ceiling. All things Republicans have proven incapable of on their own. At some point they will need to come and ask the Democrats for help in doing this or the government will default on the Republicans watch. At that point it will be game over. Trump will look weak and impotent.

I don’t think Trump will have taken over enough of the government to overcome all of these challenges and hold onto power on his own.

If he slows down and consolidates power maybe there will be a different outcome. But that’s not what project 2025 outlines. They want to break everything in the first 100 days. Hopefully he will have broken his own base in the process.

This is the pump before the dump. Institutional investors are slowly exiting and retail investors are making up most of the volume.

We were due for a correction or crash but Biden and the Fed held it off long enough for the election. There is a lot of money sitting on the sidelines waiting to grab assets, housing etc on the cheap.

Grifters like Trump can’t wait to get it started. In every crisis there is opportunity what Trump does with this crisis will likely reshape our government.

FDIC insured up to $250,000 per account. So it’s mainly the little guys who enjoy the protection. FDIC did make all accounts even those over $250,000 whole.

But yes if the Orange Baboon and Electric Hitler decide to fuck with the FDIC I would pull the bulk of my funds and look for offshore safe havens.