They should start calling it the Department of Government Efficiency Department.

I didn’t mean “someone” this literally. In both cases, many people were directly involved or allowed things to happen by not intervening.

My point was the more general one that a system of government only remains in place for as long as those who have the power want it to. (Whoever that may be: an elite, the people, the military, the clergy, some combination…) The US seems to be entering a phase where a big part of those in power wants to move from liberal democracy towards authoritarianism. If they turn out to have a stable majority and follow through with their plans, then the US Constitution won’t be worth more than the paper it was written on.

Luckily, the process of repealing or changing an amendment likely won’t change anytime soon, even with a Republican trifecta at the federal level, as it requires overwhelming public support. As outlined in Article 5 of the Constitution, any such change requires at least two-thirds of the Senate and the House to agree on the modification, with that change then requiring ratification by a minimum of three-quarters of states in the nation.

I wouldn’t be so confident. If the majority decides to ignore it, then a constitution suddenly holds very little weight. Remember how the Roman Empire was once a Republic, until someone decided it wasn’t anymore? Remember how 1930s Germany was a democracy, until someone decided that had to end?

Trump might argue some weird logic regarding the 22nd and 12th amendment. Or he might just declare a state of national emergency because of a new migrant caravan or some such shit, and postpone elections indefinitely. If he tries anything of the sort, it will all come down to whose side the military is on.

Here was me hoping to never hear from this douche nozzle again.

Sounds nice enough, but not really like an outsider position among the Founding Fathers. OP seemed to be saying that Paine differed substantially from the others in some way, which I would be interested to learn about (not American either, I only have cursory knowledge of the Founding Fathers).

100% this. And it frustrates me to no end because we’re having the exact same issue in Germany (although we’re still “behind” the US in the timeline). The extremist AfD has been gaining consistently over the past decade because they just present themselves as the alternative to everything establishment, so a lot of voters that are unhappy with the system for whatever reason flock to them (as one AfD politician put it, “the worse Germany is doing, the better for the AfD”). But instead of offering a different, more left-wing alternative to the status quo, all other major parties have been trying a centrist or even right-wing approach (e. g. the current government implementing hilariously useless stricter border controls), hoping to appeal to AfD voters by offering a watered-down version of their authoritarian agenda. And of course the outcome of this strategy is the same as in the US: The AfD just keeps on gaining ground.

Yes, you’re correct.

Just be aware that Germany is turning more and more right-wing, too…

Why, what did he say?

At the debate his (painted) skin was literally a darker shade than Harris’s.

Lichess.org is the best website to play and study chess on, hands down, and it’s entirely Libre/FOSS, with zero ads or trackers (e. g. read here: https://lichess.org/about).

Billionaires are a scourge of humanity.

Original art (paintings and sculptures) by local artists. They csn be checked out for three months at a time. It’s really nice to have some original art in your home even if it it’s not by a big name.

Also, I can easily access most of my country’s important newspapers’ online articles that are normally behind a paywall.

Ah, a fellow Krabbé connoisseur!

Libgen and scihub have done more for science than any of those shitty journal publishers.

Haha, I see. Good on you!

• The Village

• O Brother Where Art Thou

• Amélie

• Pride and Prejudice

• Shutter Island

to name a few.

Tbh I think I can understand why people do it. For some using various substances are a quick and simple way to relax/numb unwanted emotions/etc… Some start because of peer pressure. For others it’s just learned behaviour (you’re more likely to become a smoker if your parents are).

Personally, I’ve never as much as tried cigarettes because it just never appealed to me and I had mostly non-smoking friends and family. But I definitely have other bad habits I shouldn’t have gotten into and have trouble getting rid of, so I get the feeling.

Wait, even as a child? Where are you from if I may ask?

Never have I ever as much as tried anything you can smoke (cigarettes, joints, shisha…).