“The pathway to human thriving” - U.S. POLITICS NOVEMBER 2025

Let’s get after it

That reminds me, I need to renew my thriving license

Thriving Ms. Daisy

Take a break, Thriver 8

She Thrives Me Crazy

Rheumatoid Arthrivis

I can't thrive 55

Thrive Six Seven

Tired: Hive mind
Wired: Thrive mind

https://✧✧✧.tik✧✧✧.c✧✧✧@m✧✧✧.o✧.tra✧✧✧/video/7216555002733759790?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7565603487573771831

when the wicked rise to power, people go into hiding; but when the wicked perish, the righteous thrive.
Proverbs 28:28

i just thought "thrive always sounds so biblical why do i think that?" (because if there's a thing i don't know it's the bible)

i think the bible is clear about what needs to happen here

when are we going to do the general strike?

I see people posting about a general strike and the first thing I wonder is, who does anyone expect to organize such a thing? And who do you think is going to participate? For a lot of people with no job security, which is a big chunk of the U.S. population, a general strike could risk losing a job. There would be a huge push from the right to find and fire anyone who participates. And I just can't see it reaching a scale that could have much real impact. I get that people are desperate for effective action, and I am too, I just think that unless somebody has a practical strategy for organizing a general strike, posting wistfully about it (which I see a lot) doesn't really accomplish anything.

And to be clear, I'm not opposed to a general strike if there's effective organization and leadership. I just don't see anything or anyone out there showing that kind of capacity.

https://✧✧✧.tik✧✧✧.c✧✧✧@m✧✧✧.o✧.tra✧✧✧/video/7216555002733759790?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7565603487573771831

/sic

xp it would be an unprecedented action so its hard to visualize how it would go down.

putting this out there, maybe a blue state governor can encourage their constituents to not pay their taxes en masse. No government? No taxes!

trump threatening to invade Nigeria now

Those Princes should have returned his emails!

One has

Diamonds in his pockets

Man the military is going to be stretched thin invading all those countries and major US cities

Well they can always bring back the draft. Pete Hegseth would love to draft the kids of every woke libtard in the country.

Those kids aren't hetero enough for him tho.

But he’d love the hazing.

yup

Jasmine Crockett calling for a full investigation into the mad king's declining health

She's sent a letter to the White House physician as the kickoff.

Quotes:

Since his inauguration, President Trump has demonstrated concerning physical symptoms – including visible swelling in the ankles and lower extremities, and discoloration of the hands – that have raised legitimate medical questions that demand explanation. Equally troubling are repeated cognitive and behavioral lapses. The President has, on multiple occasions, demonstrated difficulty remembering basic facts about his own prior administration, such as forgetting that he appointed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The President also seems unable to explain his close relationship with convicted rapist and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The President may simply be an elderly, frail man with a poor memory.

President Trump is also known for his exceptionally short attention span and his well-documented disdain for reading briefing materials, often preferring verbal summaries in lieu of written intelligence or policy documents – which raises questions about his ability to absorb and retain complex information. Moreover, the President routinely appears lethargic – falling asleep during important events, such as the court proceedings where he was found liable for sexual
abuse and defamation. Or, when he appeared to struggle to stay awake during the funeral of His Holiness Pope Francis.

...

In recent years, vulgar outbursts have become common for President Trump. For example, on October 19, 2024, while addressing a crowd in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, President Trump began fantasizing over Arnold Palmer’s genitalia. President Trump stated, “Arnold Palmer was all man, and I say that in all due respect to women, and I love women [...] I refuse to say it, but when he took showers with the other pros, they came out of there, they said, ‘Oh my God, that’s unbelievable.” Separately, on November 01, 2024, President Trump pantomimed oral sex when speaking at a rally in Milwaukee. In another demonstrable episode of the President’s failing mental health, he seemed to believe that 88% of the American population died of fentanyl-related drug overdoses in 2024.

In an embarrassing attempt to conceal the President's inability to construct complete, coherent sentences, the White House has removed official transcripts of the President’s public remarks from its government website, replacing them with selected videos of his public appearances. As you well know, past presidential administrations of both parties routinely publicized the official transcripts of the president’s remarks – likely because the respective presidents had the wherewithal to coherently and constructively make it through a rudimentary sentence or pronounce the word “Acetaminophen.”

...

The President appears unwell, and as the Physician to the President, you have a solemn obligation to inform the American people whether the sitting President of the United States of America is medically and cognitively capable of fulfilling his constitutional responsibilities.

good for her. this shit should really be a bigger story. the way he talks reminds me so much of people in nursing homes. yes I know Biden came off that way during the debate but at least what he was saying more or less made sense. Trump is barely coherent right now. I know he was not exactly a paragon of clarity in his first term but its way worse now. also, he's saying shit like this:

https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3m4osr6d7ji2p

I know Trump supporters have swallowed a ton of shit over the years but "I pardoned this crypto billionaire and I don't know why or even who he is" can't play well even with these people, especially since I know for a fact that they are literally just paying him for the pardon, I know because I know a person who has done it

posting wistfully about it (which I see a lot) doesn't really accomplish anything.

am i posting wistfully? how is anybody supposed to accomplish any real change if we don't at least talk about it? admitting defeat in advance isn't it. nor is it helpful to frame it as some kind of anti-poor, anti-working people stance. it's the status quo that's harming and indeed creating "people with no job security"

I know for a fact that they are literally just paying him for the pardon, I know because I know a person who has done it

Ok you HAVE to explain this

yeah i let that age overnight but that is good teaser shit

am i posting wistfully? how is anybody supposed to accomplish any real change if we don't at least talk about it? admitting defeat in advance isn't it. nor is it helpful to frame it as some kind of anti-poor, anti-working people stance. it's the status quo that's harming and indeed creating "people with no job security"

I don't know if your post was wistful, but I've seen a fair number of posts on social media about a general strike — including from people dismissive of the No Kings protests, saying, "Fuck this, we need a general strike!" I also saw a New York Times editor posting dismissively about No Kings (to justify the NYT's downplayed coverage of it), saying, "It's not like these people are organizing a general strike."

Which is a fine bit of internet hardmanning, but a.) it's not an either-or between other forms of protest and a general strike, and b.) I've yet to see anyone offer any kind of realistic strategy or scenario for what a general strike in the U.S. could like, who would organize it, what are the obstacles to it, none of that. If people want to organize a general strike, they should get to it! I just don't see any signs that anyone's serious about it, so far it's just a thing to say online, often by way of denigrating other efforts.

And yes I think worrying about people losing their jobs is a good thing to consider!

ok. it doesn't really matter to me what somebody from the NYT thinks. or what you've seen on social media. i am not dismissing No Kings. nor am i trying to be "hard" on the internet. i am having conversations in my circles about this, i'm encouraging you all to do the same. the practical considerations you have brought up are real but they are not insurmountable. we need to be working every day to build a movement that can produce real and lasting change. we don't have to worry about losing jobs right now, let's cross that bridge when we come to it. i trust that, if and when it comes to that, people will make the decision that works best for their own lives.

for now, general strike is going to be my tax returns. i want to know where and when the general strike is. thanks for asking thoughtful questions about it. i will give thought to what you have said. i am not a labor organizer or an anything organizer, so i do not foresee myself in a leadership role when it comes to this, but i don't think noting my interest and enthusiasm for this is without value

we don't have to worry about losing jobs right now, let's cross that bridge when we come to it.

I think you kinda do? Or at least explain to people what they risk.

an effective general strike would require collaboration among a mostly unionized workforce. idk try starting a union before you fantasize about a general strike (unless you're already in one)

idk maybe i'm wrong about this

i don't think noting my interest and enthusiasm for this is without value

Sure! And I'd be thrilled for somebody with organizing and leadership capacity to try to organize a general strike. Even just the effort could be useful, whatever it produces. I just don't see anybody remotely working in that direction, there isn't any infrastructure that I can see that could support something that large-scale, and almost all the chatter I see about it just feels like lefty cosplay to me, like "Well this is what they do in Europe ..." It's what they do in Europe sometimes, under specific circumstances that galvanize specific groups of people, it doesn't just materialize from some generalized dissatisfaction (although that's a necessary ingredient).

Mostly I don't think enough Americans are mad enough about what's happening to create the necessary conditions for a general strike. I wish they were. But that in itself gets back to the leadership void on the left. If there were more leadership out there making a consistent coherent case for public outrage, that could help create those conditions. Without leadership and organization, it's just really hard to do anything, and that's the situation everyone on the left is in now, from center-left Dems to labor to civil rights groups etc etc etc. There are a lot of good smaller-scale things happening, there are absolutely people resisting in various ways where they can, but there's very little cohesion or vision.

I know Trump supporters have swallowed a ton of shit over the years but "I pardoned this crypto billionaire and I don't know why or even who he is" can't play well even with these people

It will play just fine with his supporters. They want Trump to get richer and they want Trump to get more corrupt, not less

The more out in the open it is the better and the more the people who dislike it dislike it even better

otm

this feeling that there's going to be a straw that broke the camels back doesnt work for camels that are straw enthusiasts

If anybody remembers Sgt Bilko and his gag where he'd say "hold me back", that's what 2025 discussion around general strikes reminds me of.

General strikes work, that part is unambiguous. Saying "they'll never work here" as a repeated kneejerk defense is thought-terminating defeatism (nobody is doing that *here*, but I see it in the wild a lot).

However - the loudest cries for a general strike 9-10 months ago were from organizers who were seriously talking about looking into a long-term strategy for them. Now, the loudest cries come from people who prefer to legitimize doing nothing while maintaining righteous indignation.

How many times do we see "<xxx> is pointless, we need a general strike or nothing will happen" as a means of discrediting protesting. Do I think in my heart of hearts that the people saying this, when asked point blank, have actually considered the scope of the sacrifice they'd be making? Not at all.

Many of these people don't get that part of making a general strike work is creating a community that can provide for and help mitigate the individual damage people and their families will suffer. Otherwise, all oligarchs would have to do is just wait you out until you had no food left to eat, or have AI do your job and proclaim business as usual. That shit doesn't happen overnight, and a badly planned general strike would be more damaging than not having one at all.

We come from a culture that has successfully villainized unions and community organizers for centuries, and things aren't bad enough for such a large chunk of the country to be willing to make the sacrifice, so the effort to have one of these will probably take a few....years, I would say. that doesn't mean it shouldn't be pursued, though. it just means people saying "where's the general strike?" every 5 minutes should maybe stfu for a second.

yup

xp @ tipsy: yeah. there are a lot of good small-scale things happening. i'm part of some of them, i'm sure you are too. but as i said, i think that voicing a preference, or articulating a preferred vision for action on a national scale, is not without value. and i'm expressing this, and asking others to do the same, precisely because i'm hoping it will make a course of more action more legible and thereby facilitate meaningful leadership.

xp @ Alfred: my point is that we don't have to wring our hands about a hypothetical before we even have a hint of an embryonic plan. people have been making gains through strikes for a long time, and strikes also carry risks. i understand this. like i said, i am not a labor organizer. i am also not waving away anyone's concerns. i'm just saying let's talk about it. "but people could lose their jobs" seems like a bad reason not to talk about a strike, since this is risk of every strike that has ever occurred.

it's the same thing as 'why isn't every American in the streets?'.

yes, of course the math checks out, if there were 200 million Americans that all walked out into the streets right now, that would terrify the government. but part of being willing to be out there is risk analysis. the average person is more willing to take larger risks if you are more confident in the outcome of the action you are taking, plus there is a greater number of people also taking the risk with you.

the diehards show up first, the people who show up later are the ones who tentatively watch the television to decide if they want to join. If they see big numbers showing up on tv broadcasts, this might galvanize them to show up, be more confident, possibly feeling ashamed that they're not already out there. Conversely, if people see footage of teargas, people being hit with batons, or being shot by ICE or an armed agitator, they might decide to pump the brakes.

this is why the No Kings protests keep growing in size, because organically people are seeing the benefits outweight the risks and are leaving their comfort zones more and more to join. but we also do no favors by screaming in frustration that everybody isn't out there all at once.

saying "where were you 10 years ago" is the type of razz you give someone for like, not being into Metallica until the Black album, not like....this.

part of making a general strike work is creating a community that can provide for and help mitigate the individual damage people and their families will suffer

this is 100% correct.

i'm not aware of the kind of "discrediting" discourse that you're referring to, so all i ask is not to be lumped in with social media posts that i haven't read and am not responsible for

i'm definitely not referring to you w/ my comments, to be clear

xp

Yes, that's fair, but as Neanderthal says, that's the context a lot of us in which a lot of us are seeing talk of a general strike.

And to be clear, I'm not saying anyone shouldn't talk about a general strike just because it could lead to some people losing their jobs. I'm just saying that the prospect of people losing their jobs is one of the things that has to be baked into any such conversation, especially in an almost entirely nonunionized workforce.

Anyway, the leadership void, the lack of an energetic, coherent, consistent voice and force out there with a real counter-agenda is to me the real issue. Because whether you want a general strike, a solid electoral strategy, an effective communications front, none of those can happen without good leadership.

that's the context a lot of us in which a lot of us are seeing talk of a general strike.

Ok you HAVE to explain this

― This dark glowing bohemian coffeehouse (Boring, Maryland), Sunday, November 2, 2025 11:16 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

yeah i let that age overnight but that is good teaser shit

― beige accent rug (Hunt3r), Monday, November 3, 2025 11:13 AM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/28/trump-pardon-bitmex-crypto-exchange-money-laundering.html

I know all three of these people. one better than the other two. I'm not sure about the whole story but apparently they happened to know the same lawyer who got Ross Ulbricht a pardon who I guess was connected with Pam Bondi who basically told them straight up that a sizeable donation will get you a pardon. not just the people involved but the company as a whole, apparently this is the first time in history an entire corporation got a presidential pardon

tbh might as well wait to see if the GOP even takes this deal before getting mad

That's bad but better than "a vote." A one-year extension lets them run on it in the midterms.

Didn't the Republicans already reject that offer?

it lets them run on it in the midterms, yes, but even if they retake the house and senate (which admittedly is looking increasingly likely) they will not retake it with enough numbers to override a Trump veto (unless republicans suddenly have some change of heart) so it seems like a dumb gamble to me.

The Republicans have already rejected the offer, yes

I guess it shows they're being 'reasonable' while the GOP are cruel & heartless

whats the republican plan here

they don't make 'plans' anymore, its all about vibes

thats fair

republicans rejected a reasonable compromise but if the dems just give in and sign the CR the republicans will definitely make a deal with them later

afaict the GOP "plan" seems to be:

1. Cull the poor

2. ....

3. PROFIT

“Commissioner Gordon has *plans*”

it lets them run on it in the midterms, yes, but even if they retake the house and senate (which admittedly is looking increasingly likely) they will not retake it with enough numbers to override a Trump veto (unless republicans suddenly have some change of heart) so it seems like a dumb gamble to me.

I dunno, all this is games of inches unless/until they retake the House. So something that could help them take the House is valuable. If they don't win the House in '26, none of this will matter because the GOP will just rescind any deal they don't like anyway. Politically/strategically, the Democrats cannnot end the shutdown without something real. If they do, they'll just look pathetic again, like they dragged everyone through the shutdown for nothing. Funding for 2026 is something real, and it creates an immediate base of voters who are immediately aware of who helped them and what could happen next year.

I've never heard a hint of an ACA replacement from the GOP, they don't even pretend to have a coherent alternative

yeah oh well, Thune rejected it, so I guess this paid off

I suppose there is always abolishing the filibuster ...

Republican plan is "do we really need a federal government anyway?"

This seems like a good thing, for anyone here who’s in the creative arts

https://www.falloffreedom.com/

Yeah I wasn’t kidding when I said that the Republicans could extend the shutdown forever because they have what they want: An unaccountable dictator, the government reduced to the army and the security services, and poverty for the rest of us.

lawmakers still getting their paychecks

Republicans can't extend it forever. People are already pissed and it's just going to get worse. Trump betrayed Thune by demanding an end to the filibuster, which is basically his loud and stupid way of begging them to end the shutdown now. I think they absolutely should nuke it, it will be deeply hilarious to see how well that goes over.

It feels like Barron introduced his father to “Let’s just do it and be legends…”

My direct flight tomorrow home from Asheville got cancelled so now we’re flying through Atlanta and getting home near midnight. Helluva job, Trumpie.

Ugh. I'm worried about that, flying to Chicago in the morning and then back on Tuesday. Our morning flight is still scheduled, but who knows about the return.

I mean, look at these ICE assholes patrolling a beautiful street on a beautiful day

https://bsky.app/profile/royalpratt.bsky.social/post/3m535cbqen227

truly psychotic shit

Yeah I wasn’t kidding when I said that the Republicans could extend the shutdown forever because they have what they want: An unaccountable dictator, the government reduced to the army and the security services, and poverty for the rest of us.

― This dark glowing bohemian coffeehouse (Boring, Maryland), Friday, November 7, 2025 4:19 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

yes. and neither is the threat of drastic economic consequences a deterrent. the admin has explicitly stated from the beginning that their goal is to tank the economy. every day i read takes from people who seem unable to grasp that the point is to fuck it all up

xxp why the fuck are they patrolling a norman rockwell street like that? Maybe some mexicans hiding out there?

i think thats one plan within the admin the stephen miller camp if you will, but there are parties with other views too, trump for one doesnt seem too stoked about how the shut down is playing, ordering the senate to go nuclear and get back to work which the promptly ignored, prob various elected officials worried about their ability to stay elected too xp

Ugh. I'm worried about that, flying to Chicago in the morning and then back on Tuesday. Our morning flight is still scheduled, but who knows about the return.

― paper plans (tipsy mothra), Friday, November 7, 2025 6:33 PM (seventeen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Things can change, but like I said uptrend I had no problems. I felt bad for those local flights. I'm more worried now about snow on Aunday morning

saw a thing that said so far only like 3% of flights had been canceled

Just the racist ones.

So Trump’s making the Supreme Court work Friday night begging them to let him refuse to feed poor people. Let’s see just how villainous those creeps really want to get.

wait, a shadow docket on the SNAP benefits? Their appeal was just denied.. by the 6th Circuit or something

If they take this case, a pox on all all their homes.. may the fleas of a thousand camels invade Roberts' robe

Yeah they asked for a ruling by 9:30.

I feel bad for Trump... just helplessly watching all those EBT cards receiving funds, slackers out there buying eggs, bread and broccoli for their children... he doesn't deserve this

Do they have ANY idea of the optics? Or is it just a simple "Poor people getting food is a Dem victory and must be stopped at all cost"

That plus also it violates their basic operating principle of "We do whatever we want."

They live in their own demented, deluded reality. They don’t know anyone on SNAP personally and they think everyone on it must be undeserving welfare queens or something. Also the cruelty is the point

Whether they succeed or not, this just looks really bad. So many unforced errors.

uh?

#BREAKING: Justice Jackson has issued an "administrative" stay, temporarily pausing a district court order that would've required the USDA to continue using contingency funds to pay SNAP benefits.

The stay expires 48 hours after the First Circuit rules on USDA's request for a stay pending appeal.

Popehat says this is a normal administrative ruling, but obviously bad for people waiting for money for food.

Yup -- thread:

https://bsky.app/profile/kenwhite.bsky.social/post/3m53kwn2m3k26

But it's a part closing-the-barn-door at this point I figure, at least for some states.

But separate good news here:

https://www.opb.org/article/2025/11/07/portland-oregon-national-guard-trump-politics-karin-immergut/

The flight my wife and I are taking to Florida tomorrow is still going, thankfully; we’ll see about the flights back.

Do they have ANY idea of the optics? Or is it just a simple "Poor people getting food is a Dem victory and must be stopped at all cost"

I think the strategy goes beyond that. I think the plan is to extend the shutdown for as long as possible until there's no one employed to run SNAP, Social Security, or much of anything. Will Social Security even work if there's no one there to run the place?

It’s probably about putting pressure on Dems to cave, since they care about things like poor people starving

Saw this

KBJ threaded the needle thanks to CA1’s unfinished business.

-if she denied the admin stay, the full SCOTUS woulda stepped in to override her.
-if she immediately referred the case to the full Court, they coulda dragged feet.
-instead she boxed them in to act quickly once she does refer the case.

Of course Roberts et al could choose to extend the admin stay or, more likely, will just straight up stay McConnell’s order before KBJ’s deadline passes.

But she did what she could to control the process tonight and let CA1 put its reasoning on the record before Roberts et al disregard it.

It’s probably about putting pressure on Dems to cave, since they care about things like poor people starving

― A floating crown, but an extremely small one (President Keyes), Friday, November 7, 2025 10:46 PM (eighteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

it's pure evil but I think this is actually what the GOP is doing, they are in way too deep and you don't see the second Trump admin ever compromising the way the first one did