US Politics, May 2024: They Shoot Puppies, Don't They?

make your money work for you as they say

Like, I understand the point being made, but think that leaving it at the latter part— that Trump will never know peace— is sufficient without making it a truism about material comforts that is grossly simplistic and also, funnily enough, untrue

agree with you but would also say that if anyone demonstrates the truth of the phrase "material comforts or external rewards are no guarantee of contentment," then surely it's trump. it doesn't mean that it's always true or that lots of us, myself included, would prefer some fucking money

*wouldn't prefer

oops i accidentally posted in a rolling politics thread

It’s still a bummer because I think this stuff hurts him a lot electorally

If he wins, what powers does he have exactly to quash these charges?

I know this observation doesn't mean squat to the masses of people who have next to no financial security, but the kind of money Trump commands provides very little additional benefit compared to anyone who could reasonably be called middle class. The main thing he gets beyond that point is lots of "fuck you" money. He doesn't even eat that well and on top of that he's a teetotaler so he can't even enjoy $400 bottles of wine, so he spends it on soulless rococo apartments full of gold leaf curlicues.

oh no, the curse of lots of "fuck you" money, don't throw me in the briar patch

if Trump is unhappy at his core rn it's because he doesn't have time to fuck over as many ppl as usual, not because he's cognizant of the suffering he has caused them in the past

Rest assured that Trump's life is a total nightmare and the inside of his head is a miserable mess of paranoia, fear, self-loathing and anxiety and will be until the day he dies.

Trump doesn't feel remorse; he has no sense of interiority, so how can he be conscious of the self-loathing, anxiety, and the rest? Like an animal he has no capacity to brood, except I've known pet lizards with more empathy.

good points all around here, but I do think being in debt to Putin (in more ways than one) must wear on him, unless he has actually sold his soul to the devil which seems more and more plausible

oh no, the curse of lots of "fuck you" money

If you think that having a mountain of "fuck you" money would make you a very happy person, then I guess you are welcome to your priorities.

Remember: all the fancy people that have luncheons in the Hamptons would never invite him to anything.. he was Queens trash to them. That's why he basks in the glow of Trumpers, he desperately seeks approval, from his father and all the Old Money New Yorkers that quietly mocked him for all these years

I mean, given the option of dealing with the problems caused by “fuck you” money vs the problems caused by “fuck, where is it” money, I will take “fuck you” money 100% of the time as that guarantees I can afford food and shelter, which will go a long way towards interior happiness

I know this is a little late in the century for psycho-analyzing Trump, but I'm with Alfred on this one, there is no reflection because with Trump there is only the present day, there is no past and no future

Regarding the point made by Table about Trump never knowing peace. Depends how you define these things but I'm don't think peace is valued here. The energy that comes from conflict has a higher value.

Like no, tons of money isn’t a cure-all for clinical depression, but life is a lot less stressful when you never have to worry about being able to feed your family and keep them out of the rain. It’s a facile and obvious point but sometimes it’s worth repeating.

if all of my debt was gone my heart palpitations would probably not be here

life is a lot less stressful when you never have to worry about being able to feed your family and keep them out of the rain.

I think everyone here is in violent agreement with DJP's point.

yes, I worry about Campari supplies running low too

not on my watch

(I can't afford real Campari, that's why I buy the Trader Joe's knockoff PRONTO!)

Honestly I want to hear more about Alfred’s lizard …

Lots of good, well-intentioned points here. Tough to generalize but i think we can all agree that there are those who would benefit big-time, spiritually, from financial security and there are those who are fucked up by too much money.

I have an acquaintance with fuck you money. She’s currently shopping for a jet. She behaves in ways that can only be described as evil, including towards family members who she’d claim to love. In her private life, she has behaved in ways eerily similar to Trump. I hate her guts but hers is the first face that pops into my head during loving kindness meditation. The vibes I try to send her don’t appear to be working.

the kind of money Trump commands provides very little additional benefit compared to anyone who could reasonably be called middle class.

I have an acquaintance with fuck you money. She’s currently shopping for a jet

I misread this as acupuncturist and nodded along in acknowledgement even though I've never met one

I know an acupuncturist but she drives a prius and lives in a not-great neighborhood and definitely doesn’t have fuck you money

She has a really cute yard tho

I’d rather have an acupuncturist than this acquaintance in my life for sure. Even if they dont have a jet.

Honestly I want to hear more about Alfred’s lizard …

― sarahell, Wednesday

only in the TMI thread

Did it kill the worm in rfk jr’s brain?

no that was sirhan sirhann jr.

Guilty lols

If you think that having a mountain of "fuck you" money would make you a very happy person, then I guess you are welcome to your priorities.

"You only think that working fewer than 72 hours a week would make you more relaxed because your priorities are below me." good point, I feel way happier now.

Do not, my fellow ilx0rs, become addicted to water! It will take hold of you, and you will resent its absence.

You require hundreds of millions of dollars in order to work less than 72 hours a week? You may be spending too much on candles!

MTG is doing an MTV after all

Biden gave an interview to Erin Burnett at CNN that will be airing in a couple of hours. It's starting to seem like "fuck the New York Times" is official White House policy.

As if CNN were better?

they're just gonna talk about how it's great that Cillizza is gone and nobody reads his substack

As if CNN were better?

I can't remember the last time I watched CNN. Maybe when I had to fly to Boise back in September? I just think Biden's absolute refusal to give the Times the interview their publisher craves (and views as his due) is funny.

The stunt is punted

The House easily quashed Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene’s resolution to oust the Republican speaker, Mike Johnson, on Wednesday, as members of both parties came together in a rare moment of bipartisanship to keep the chamber open for business.

The motion to table Greene’s resolution was 359 to 43, with 196 Republicans and 163 Democrats voting to kill the proposal.

they're just gonna talk about how it's great that Cillizza is gone and nobody reads his substack

You require hundreds of millions of dollars in order to work less than 72 hours a week? You may be spending too much on candles!

….in your head, without looking anything up, what do you think of as a “middle-class” income

Dolores O'Riordan's worst lyrics

iiiin-come
iiin-come
Innnnn-come-come-come

With their stocks and their bonds

….in your head

during this exchange you've consistently reduced whatever I've actually said to a caricature that allows you to pretend you've scored points on me, so I've simply returned the favor

fwiw, any number I named would be wrong, because a 'middle class income' supplies a minimum level of financial security and the required income is whatever delivers that reality. we both know the ascendance of the 1% has taken a fuckton of people with middle class expections and aspirations, loaded them with debt, and destroyed those expectations. it doesn't matter how much you make if it all goes to line the pockets of the rentier class.

These cartoon versions of economic classes are actually making me wish we can return to arguing about the value of voting for Biden in November

i read this! i was bored. it was kinda interesting.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/08/magazine/401k-retirement-crisis.html