“And how we burned in the camps later, thinking: What would things have been like if every Security operative, when he went out at night to make an arrest, had been uncertain whether he would return alive and had to say good-bye to his family? Or if, during periods of mass arrests, as for example in Leningrad, when they arrested a quarter of the entire city, people had not simply sat there in their lairs, paling with terror at every bang of the downstairs door and at every step on the staircase, but had understood they had nothing left to lose and had boldly set up in the downstairs hall an ambush of half a dozen people with axes, hammers, pokers, or whatever else was at hand?.. The Organs would very quickly have suffered a shortage of officers and transport and, notwithstanding all of Stalin’s thirst, the cursed machine would have ground to a halt! If…if…We didn’t love freedom enough. And even more – we had no awareness of the real situation… We purely and simply deserved everything that happened afterward.”

Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn , The Gulag Archipelago 1918–1956

Huh. For some reason all I see is *******.

You’re right that immigration brings complexity, it always has. But what you’re describing isn’t a reason to reject immigration. It’s a reason to invest in integration, civic education, and community infrastructure, the very things that made past waves of immigration ultimately successful. The challenges Irish, Italian, and Eastern European immigrants posed didn’t prove immigration was a failure, they proved that assimilation is a process, not a plug-and-play switch. And they eventually helped redefine the idea of who counts as “American.” That doesn’t mean there weren’t tensions, but it does mean people changed, adapted, and became part of the whole.

What I hear in your argument is a belief that culture is static, and that outsiders are always permanent outsiders. That’s a dangerously pessimistic view of human beings. It treats people as incapable of growth, and societies as too fragile to absorb change. But that’s not how culture works, not unless you let fear do the steering.

And yes, importing labor from poorer countries can create tension, especially if the host society is structured in a way that stratifies opportunity. But then the issue isn’t immigration, it’s inequality. The problem isn’t that “the poors” look different. It’s that we’re failing to create systems where they can become something else.

Extremist sentiment is rising in Europe not because immigrants are inherently dangerous, but because politicians and media figures are stoking fear and resentment instead of investing in cohesion. We’ve seen this movie before. It never ends well.

It’s not xenophobic to be concerned about cultural change, but it is misguided to assume that culture is a fixed object that only flows in one direction. America, and much of the West, has always been shaped by the beliefs, values, and adaptations of immigrants. People change, adapt, and contribute in complex ways. Immigrants don’t arrive with a USB stick labeled ‘final values.’ They raise kids here. Their kids go to school here. They vote here. And yes, they bring different perspectives, but so did Irish Catholics, Italian immigrants, and Vietnamese refugees. The melting pot doesn’t mean erasure, it means evolution."

Also, beware of confusing correlation with cause: conservative religious values exist in all societies, not just ‘third world’ ones. We’ve got plenty of evangelical pushback on rights from people born and raised here too. If we’re going to have a conversation about values, let’s do it honestly and not use fear of ‘the other’ as a smokescreen for deeper social anxieties.

Immigration isn’t ‘outsourcing childbirth’, it’s investing in the future of our country. People who come here, build lives, and raise families contribute just as much to our communities as anyone born here. Their children are American in every meaningful way. That’s not a loophole, that’s the foundation of our nation. If we start drawing lines around who counts as a ‘real’ solution based on origin, we’re moving away from what has always made America strong.

Don’t worry. Trump is gonna remove taxes on tips. That’s like, so much money! /s

Also, it’s a terrible idea.

How long do you think the Supreme Court is gonna wait to wipe their ass with constitution again and overturn the ruling? Any bets? I say about 2 weeks.

Check out the youtuber “Neural Viz”. Using multiple AI tools, he has built an incredible universe of consistent characters. As @tjsauce pointed out, it ultimately comes down to how much you care about what you publish. You can spend hours trying to get AI systems to produce the exact effect you’re aiming for—but few people are truly searching for something specific. That’s where the artist becomes a designer: someone who not only creates, but curates with intention. Most people aren’t thinking that way.

As far as I can tell, it seems that way. But take that with a grain of salt. I haven’t contributed anything of my own. I only speak as an experienced user.

Why not just continue down? Lots of people post long panel comics. Something like this:

Conservatives love to say Trump keeps his promises and, in a way, that’s what makes him so dangerous. Weaved between the nonsense, there are times he is true to his word. But far too many people never really listened to what those words meant. They didn’t question the promise to ‘run America like a business’ because they never questioned the man making it. They embraced The Art of the Deal not because it was a good book with any actual wisdom, but because they believed a rich man must be a smart man. That success equaled wisdom. That wealth was proof. But the book was never a blueprint, it was a warning. A gospel of ego, smoke, and debt. And now, with trillions wiped from the market, we’re living the consequences of their taking that promise seriously. Promises made. Promises kept.

Please understand: trimming a cat’s nails is not the same as declawing. Trimming is like cutting your own nails—quick, painless, and healthy. Declawing is a surgery that removes part of the bone, like cutting off the tip of your finger. They are completely different. My cat lays in my lap and purrs when I trim his nails.

Millions of cats are born and raised indoors and never go outside. For those cats, keeping their nails trimmed is necessary. It helps prevent painful overgrown claws, reduces accidental injuries, and keeps their paws healthy. That’s not cruelty—it’s just responsible care.

Cats can absolutely stay healthy and happy indoors with trimmed nails. It takes time, patience, and positive reinforcement—treats, love, and trust. That’s not “Stockholm syndrome,” that’s training and bonding, just like with any pet.

You’re right that cats are predators by nature—but domesticated cats are not wild animals. That’s what “domesticated” means. Any animal whose natural life cycle has been altered by humans lives a different kind of life, and it’s our job to care for them in the environment we’ve created.

Trimming a cat’s nails is completely different from declawing—it’s more like giving your cat a manicure than anything drastic.

Regular nail trims are important for indoor cats. They help prevent damage to your furniture, reduce accidental scratches, and keep your cat’s paws healthy by avoiding painful overgrown nails.

It’s also a great opportunity to bond with your cat. With time, patience, plenty of treats, and snuggles, nail trimming can become a calm, positive experience for both of you. Start young if you can, and make it part of your routine—it’s well worth the effort.

Amen. At least half the voting public did something—showed up, voted, protested, filibustered, and fought every step of the way. Democrats and countless others have been in the trenches, blocking, delaying, and overturning what they can.

This meme? It does nothing. No encouragement. No solution. Just cynicism and blame. Maybe OP should take a long look in the mirror before calling everyone else out.

One button. Endless possibilities.

!That’s why the Trump administration’s Signalgate blunder was all anyone could talk about on news shows and social media, in workplaces, even in schools, said New York University psychology professor Tessa West.

Even West’s 11-year-old son came home from school Monday and confessed that he, too, had once added the wrong person to a group chat. “Mommy I did that, I did exactly what those Trump people did,” he told her.

“For 11-year-old boys, this is the most relatable thing that the Trump administration has done, which just shows you just how ubiquitous this experience is from Slack channels to group chats,” West said. “We’ve all done this.”!<

What a trash article. It reads like propaganda. This kind of reporting is frustrating. Framing a serious security breach—like the Trump administration’s Signal group chat blunder—as relatable because “even an 11-year-old has done it” feels disingenuous at best. Using a child’s anecdote to soften the impact of a significant government mistake trivializes the issue and distracts from the consequences of the breach.

We’re not talking about accidentally texting the wrong person in a school group chat. We’re talking about high-level officials mistakenly including someone in a discussion tied to sensitive military operations. That’s not “relatable”—that’s a failure in operational security, and it deserves scrutiny, not spin.

Why would they discuss classified military plans on an app where outsiders could just “add themselves”. That argument isn’t helping their case…

Nevermind. I need to stop thinking about things. The sheer stupidity hurts my brain.

I honestly have no idea what any of this means…

Depends on where you go. America is REALLY big—like, continent-sized big. States still have a lot of autonomy, so the experience can vary quite a bit depending on the region, city, or even neighborhood. It’s not as different as going between EU countries, but there’s still a meaningful shift in culture, policy, and general vibe from place to place.

That said, I totally get the fear and frustration. The U.S. is going through a really turbulent time right now. There’s rising political extremism, deeply entrenched polarization, and yeah—an increasingly authoritarian tone at the highest levels of leadership. For people outside the U.S., it’s not unreasonable to see that and feel like it’s unsafe or unwelcoming to visit. Depending on where you go and what your background is, it can be dangerous.

But the full picture is more complicated. There are millions of people here actively fighting for justice, creating inclusive communities, and resisting that slide into authoritarianism. There are cities that are vibrant, diverse, and far more aligned with global democratic values than the loudest voices might suggest.

So yeah—it’s a mess, but not a monolith. And while it’s okay to be critical, it’s also worth remembering that there are still people here trying to make things better.

Everytime I see this guy, this is all I can think of.