77 million / 155 million eligible voters.

this is what the ultra wealthy made them want. the lumpen’s desires are as manufactured as the hot cheeto dust caked upon their lips.

Now, say it all together class:

FUCK.

THE.

OLIGARCHY.

they knew what they were signing up for.

godspeed you glorious kamikaze children!

far as I know, you can’t. they want your sweet sweet monetizable personal data. for Meta, every human interaction needs to be commodified, sold for ad revenue, and charged back to you as a subscription or AI pump and dump scheme.

I use Craigslist personally, the founder has repeatedly refused to sell his business or users data.

‘I Don’t Need Billions. You Should Know When Enough Is Enough’ – Craig From Craigslist Says He Rejected Billions To Redesign The Platform

from the article:

By design, the company doesn’t make a single cent on most transactions. … If you’ve ever used Craigslist, you’ve probably noticed it hasn’t changed much since the 1990s. No sleek designs or flashy updates – just a simple, functional interface. “People want it simple, fast and effective,” Craig said.

Over the years, venture capitalists have approached Craig with massive offers, urging him to monetize more aggressively or sell. They saw a gold mine in Craigslist’s scale and suggested ads, subscriptions or transaction fees. But Craig wasn’t interested.

“I don’t need billions,” he said. “I’ve met a bunch of rich people and none of them are all that happy.”

most people aren’t aware that Air Traffic Controllers are forced to retire at 55. no old, slow reaction employees allowed.

when Reagan fired thousands of ATCs in the 80s, then hired and trained all new scabs, he inadvertently created an enormous cohort who would all be retiring at around the same time due to forced retirement.

fast forward to today,

• thousands of ATCs were aging out and being replaced with less experienced people (less of a prob now than 10ish yrs ago but still staffing is extremely lean due to Reagan)
• add to that the obsolete legacy tracking tech
• add to that cost saving (corner cutting) by aerospace corps like Boeing
• add to that major dysfunction in pilot training, screening out baddies, inexperienced pilots, and dissatisfied airline workers and unions
• add to that Trump administration purges and demoralization of federal workers
• add to that Musk getting his SpaceX cronies hands all over the system to make ‘upgrades’

data nerds can point to historical accident statistics from the past 20 years up to what, 2020? all you like. trend lines don’t often accurately predict the future, they merely describe the past.

I recommend thinking twice before placing all your loved ones on a plane over the next couple years. there’s going to be more of this.

that’s kind of incredible.

facts.

sadly though, even if they stop one thing, they will not stop em all. he’s setting a precedent every future President king of America will use to further the agenda of the ruling class (unless an FDR figure emerges to redirect that power at wealth redistribution).

the president may in fact now be a king and both parties (one party really - the ultra rich) has either actively enabled or done almost nothing to dismantle executive authority since at least Reagan.

the monarchists won control of the country, backed by corporatist billionaires. time will tell if it’s reversible or even salvageable. might be wise to begin building the figurative life rafts.

no, i do not mean Hollywood… that’s weird… why would anyone think corporate media means what, marvel movies?

I’m talking about Time Warner, Sinclair, CNN, Netflix, Comcast, Amazon, NBC, Fox, every single source of online professionally written articles, video segments, the evening news, and mainstream platform owned by someone with a net worth exceeding $1 billion dollars. the corporate media, ya know, the ones who manufacture the consent as described in “Manufacturing Consent” or a dozen different media criticism books available at your local library or on youtube (if you prefer).

I’m hoping that too. either way, I’m not advocating hopelessness or doomerism. I’ll be working harder than ever this year to decouple my life from corporations and govt reliance. community building, strengthening friendships, helping others when I can. it’s going to be a long road ahead and we won’t survive as isolated individuals.

I don’t think you realize just how long it takes to hire federal employees, or reconstitute entire agencies (like CFPB).

tens of thousands of people forced out, thousands of research grants and projects canceled, hundreds of programs stifled…

this is the end of the federal government as we know it, and it will take a generation (20+ yrs) of back to back Democrat administrations to rebuild it. that’s not going to happen.

the oligarchs won dude. kids growing up today will never know how much has been lost. the corporate media will make sure all they know is ‘we’ve always been at war with eastasia’’

(not a financial advisor) unless you’re making orders of magnitude more money than the rest of us plebs on Lemmy, you don’t get taken to jail for minor tax evasion. you just get a bill at most a couple grand. at this point I’m starting to think millions of Americans should consider the option, even as as form of protest against an injust tyrannical government.

if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck…

the overarching goal of the administration is to enrich US based billionaires and business elites… if regular Americans need to suffer in the short and long term, then so be it. the rest of the media blitz is smoke and mirrors to distract from the pilfering of the masses and inevitable privatization of public services.