And lo, there was much gnashing of teeth and rending of hair.
Trump’s human garbage, of course. A bully, probably a rapist, suffering from some sort of mental disability, incoherent and mean.
And those are his good points.
Trump’s destroying the remains of America’s empire. He’s probably accelerating America’s decline, though there’s a possibility he might slow certain aspects of it, if others (like the EU) let him.
But most of what Trump is doing is creating opportunity. Let’s take the cuts to science funding: they’re going to leave a lot of scientists out of work.
That means there are a lot of scientists that other countries could easily, trivially even, scoop up. If they have the sense of a gnat, which most of them don’t. University and research cuts have been the rage in many countries (UK, I’m looking at you) because of delusional austerity policies, but central banks like the ECB can print hundreds of billions, even trillions of dollars, it would be simple enough to print a few hundred million to set up a bunch of research positions.
Anyone who wants to can do this: Europe, Canada, Australia, various Asian countries. Scientists want to science, and if you offer them a credible opportunity to do so, they’ll emigrate to your country and work for you. Same thing with engineers, great philosophers, etc, etc…
So as Trump lays waste, glean the corn which lies in his wake.
Likewise Trump’s attack on his allies opens up possibilities which were not politically viable before. Leaving NATO, for example. Putting on your own tariffs, which is illegal, basically, but since Trump has just broken about every trade treaty the US is signatory to, why not? Give subsidies, also usually illegal, but who cares? Ignore trade rulings against you which favor the US, why not, they don’t obey those rulings. Run full fledged industrial policy, because while it’s still technically illegal, it’s now politically viable.
Stretch a little. Instead of, as some European symps are suggesting, offering Trump more anti-China policies, go to China and cut a deal with them instead: tariff America and cut a trade deal with China which allows you to build some industry, or gets your branch plants and so on.
Stretch a lot. Tell Russia you want the gas to FLOW and offer to help rebuild the pipelines. Send out your navy to patrol and make sure there are more accidents. This is your chance to save Europe’s remaining industry from being slurped down by America.
Trump has changed the world. He’s done, doing and will do things that were unthinkable to previous Presidents. But that frees you, he’s broken the Western consensus, and done so in a way which makes it clear he doesn’t care what harm he does to America’s allies/vassals/satraps.
So break free! The real chains are in your minds, politicians. You’ve spent generations doing thing one way, but now you don’t have to. Break the chains of your mind, and then break the chains of your nations.
Freedom awaits, along with the responsibility which comes from it. Fail to accept freedom and responsibility and America and Trump will decide what your country becomes.
If that’s what you want, if you want to avoid responsibility, be assured you’ll get what you deserve.
KT Chong
All 13 Canadian premieres have just gone to Washington to kiss Trump’s ring and sworn allegiance to him. Together, the 13 premieres called China as the “enemy” and sworn that they were ready and willing to be America’s pawns to fight China.
It is in the news today. Google it.
Link: https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3298445/unprecedented-us-visit-all-13-canadian-premiers-paints-china-common-economic-enemy
Sorry, but Canada *is* going to be the 51st state of America.
Ian Welsh
Pathetic.
KT Chong
CBC News: The National: White House official won’t rule out Canada as 51st state after premiers meeting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhrU6Op2yh8
The Canadian premieres did not even get to meet Trump. The White House just sent some middling staff to handle them after they had waited “an hour-long security screening.”
Ian Welsh
That’s good, actually. A little humiliation might give some of them a backbone.
Jessica
Is it possible that the Canadian premiers are doing what Putin has done in Ukraine: visibly make every effort toward peace, even though you know peace is (for Putin) or may well be (for the premiers) not really possible, in order to have the most support when the unavoidable conflict starts?
If nothing else, it will be much harder to carp at them that “you didn’t try hard enough to stay on America’s good side”. After all, any transition to Canadian sovereignty will start out being hard on Canadians and Canada will need its people to be willing to endure sacrifice.
Ian Welsh
It’s possible, but I don’t think most of them are that bright. OTOH, there may differing motivations between them. I was surprised to see Ford there, for example, since he’s basically running for re-election against Trump. But I suppose if they’d gotten something he could have said it was a win.
someofparts
I’ve heard that the written Chinese word for crisis is a combination of two other words which mean danger and opportunity.
someofparts
It sounds like the only nations that may take advantage of the opportunities Trump is creating will be the ones that have not been intimidated or bamboozled by the US. I’m trying to think of which nations might fit that description and Russia is the only one that comes to mind. Maybe Mexico or Brazil?
GrimJim
I can’t imagine the people of Nunavut being so eager to embrace extinction.
After all, Trump just wants Canada for Arctic access. Combine Alaska, Canada, and Greenland, and the US would have what, 50% of the border of the Arctic Ocean, and the deepest-penetrating territory into the ocean center? That guarantees ownership of the entire Northwest Passage.
I’m guessing Svalbard and Iceland are also on his list. That provides more control of the Arctic seafloor, as well as control over part of the Northeast Passage, plus some sort of leverage over the North Sea oil territories.
It would also leave the Arctic entirely in the hands of the US and Russia.
The Hell this man is going to put everyone through…
Soredemos
@KT Chong
‘The White House just sent some middling staff to handle them after they had waited “an hour-long security screening.”’
Reality emulates fiction:
A.J. Brown : Sure, sure. If we just get started, my assistant should be bringing in coffee shortly.
Malcolm Tucker : Your assistant?
A.J. Brown : Yeah. So, item. We need to have a conversation about the mood of the British Parliament, the bumps in the road ahead and what not.
Malcolm Tucker : I’m sorry, I don’t… This situation here is… Is this it? No offence, son, but you look like you should still be at school with your head down a fucking toilet.
A.J. Brown : Your first point there, the offence? I’m afraid I’m going to have to take it. Your second point, I’m 22, but item, it’s my birthday in nine days, so… if it will make you feel more comfortable, we could wait.
Malcolm Tucker : Don’t get sarcastic with me, son. We burned this tight-arsed city to the ground in 1814. And I’m all for doing it again, starting with you, you frat fuck. You get sarcastic with me again and I will stuff so much cotton wool down your fucking throat it’ll come out your arse like the tail on a Playboy bunny. I was led to believe I was attending the war committee.
A.J. Brown : Yes, Assistant Secretary of State Linton Barwick asked me to brief you on the work of the Future Planning Committee.
Malcolm Tucker : I’m away.
[AJ’s assistant walks in with the coffee]
Malcolm Tucker : And here we are. The fucking Vice President has also graced us with his presence. Give him a bottle of milk.
Revelo
>The real chains are in your minds,
Not so sure about that. USA military dwarfs combined militaries of rest of North America, northern tip of South America (Columbia, Venezuela, Guyana), EU (ex Baltics and Finland), west Turkiye, west Syria, Lebanon, Israel, north Africa. That is the core of the USA empire, the part Russia and China dare not occupy though they might meddle and start proxy wars there. Rest of South America, Africa, Asia, and west Pacific is contested territory. USA narrative was long that USA is a benevolent ruler of its core empire and even the whole world, but this narrative was always false. USA dropped a nuclear bomb on Japan, supported genocide in Indonesia, destroyed Iraq and Libya, instigated war in Yugoslavia, invaded or meddled constantly in Latin America, etc. Eventually, USA became a victim of its own narrative of itself as benevolent and over reached. Retrenchment back to core empire is long overdue and Trump’s erratic behavior might contribute to this.
Taking off the velvet glove to show the steel fist inside is a way of breaking that old “control the narrative” mentality and replacing by “reality politic”, same as Trump is crushing the gender fluid narrative with two sexes reality (plus the occasional abnormality with an extra X or Y chromosome). In reality based politics, ruler of the empire are s entitled to benefit, so vassals must be exploited, but exploitation must be “fair but strict” if the empire is to survive Those who contribute the most and cooperate fully get light exploitation. Rebels are made an example of: “If you want to be the alpha gorilla, then you need to throw one of the smaller monkeys up against the wall now and then.”
As far as I know, Canada did nothing seriously wrong. Maybe failed to spend 3% GDP buying USA weapons. In which case, explain that this is now a requirement. If Canada refuses, THEN and only then does it get thrown up against the wall (USA seizes Alberta, Saskatchewan, Yukon and other northern Territories and then arranges for some Quebec radicals to declare independence of that province). Similar for the other vassals.
Trump will be stopped if he steps on the wrong toes. But there were some very smart (as far as politics concerned) lawyers and political operatives on that Plan 2025 commission and there might be method in Trump’s erratic behavior. If Republican oligarchs want to guarantee permanent control of the USA government, they can’t just plod along in the business as usual manner and allow fair eleven 2027. They have to destroy the old Democrat strongholds. State Department and foreign service was always more Democrat than Republican. CIA/FBI tried to be non partisan but non partisan is precisely what you don’t want if you want guaranteed permanent Republican oligarch control, because non partisan means a fair election in 2027. So maybe Trump’s bull in a china shop foreign policy is part of a plan to break Democrats. In particular, if Trump can get his hands on evidence that USA foreign policy money was used as a slush fund to benefit Democrats, he can then launch all sorts of criminal investigations (lawfare). The important thing to remember is that Trump is merely head of a huge team and surely there are lots of very smart lawyers and political operatives in that team who avoid the limelight but who may be moving very purposefully to cement permanent control of the government while Trump keeps everyone distracted.
Mark Level
This is hilarious!! These elites were obviously never children who got bullied on the playground, don’t realize what results when you grovel before a bully. (More abuse, nothing more or less.) I guess they bully their own people, are not used to being on the receiving end. (Let’s not forget when Justin grabbed the assets of people participating in the Trucker protests without any due process, illegally. Though the courts put a stop to that, & he was permanently discredited and is now a lame duck.)
As to someof’s question, I’d say, off the top of my head: Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, yes to Mexico and Brazil, Spain (which Donald lied was a BRICS nation and would be getting punitive sanctions), many African powers, hell, even the Jordanian puppet half-Anglo King, Egypt’s nasty dictator al-Sisi, the Saudis (they refused the ridiculous, thrown out idea of lowering their oil prices to $45 a barrel to hurt Russia, after hurting themselves), etc. etc. He blinked on Mexican tariffs when they promised more Mexican cops at the border.
Emperor Trump is as naked as Biden was, but is notably less a dementia patient. He needs attention, negative attention is as good to him as positive, he just wants to be the center of the World’s attention.
Hopefully as more and more would be victims rebuke and ignore him, the message will get across to the wider world. Now, on the other hand, note how few European countries I listed. Ireland is not in his crosshairs but I don’t think they’d blink.
This goes into the matter of inter-marriage by the Elites, or the capture of local Elites by the US Hegemon, which is certainly 100% complete in many cases– Germany is the most prominent, recall how Chancellor Sholz gave Biden their greatest Medal of Honor as he was exiting. A “reward” for bombing Nordstream and tripling their gas prices!!
Macron’s out to lunch these days (he snubbed Indian P.M. Modi at some recent big security Confab, walked right by without acknowledging him, Modi enraged!! France has not yet been targeted.
The U.S. is a Banana Republic these days (okay, Oil Republic might be a better metaphor)– I think his 2nd term, since as many pointed out he’s learned little or nothing from the failure of his first term, will look a lot like Bolsinaro’s. Same ideology, same mental and moral blindness.
Gaza and the West Bank are tragedies. The US and EUrope are pure farce at this point. If Canada wants to be the Slave of a Slave, let them. Living in Northern Minnesota for the last 4 years as I have, I would expect people in such a challenging environment to be a bit tougher and resilient in a strong (not spineless) way– but I’m no expert on Canada, have only been their briefly twice– the last time was c. 2005, Montreal is certainly gorgeous.
The French Canadians have working testicles from what I hear. It’d behoove Canadians to learn something from them, in my jaded opinion.
Feral Finster
LOL, the british and french had to call for the US to bail them out in Libya, which they originally claimed as an example of european resolve and determination to act as an independent voice in military matters.
Only took a couple of days and the europeans were begging for rescue.
Mel
From a polar map, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_claims_in_the_Arctic#/media/File:IBCAO_betamap.jpg
the old Northwest Passage, going northward west of Baffin Island and threading between Canadian arctic islands is narrow, crowded, and icy. The wide-open passage on the other side of the pole is what sea transport will probably follow.
But I wonder about the northern route. Without a huge recovery in Western Europe, there will be little in Europe to ship out, and few entities that could afford to ship anything in. The route might be a shorter way to west Africa — but the south route might not be much longer, and would have lots more ports of call.
Mark Level
Highly relevant– the very bright Nima of Dialogue Works has 2 senior American experts on economics and policies on to discuss what Trump’s real gambits may be, Richard Wolff & Michael Hudson (whose 2nd book was provided by the CIA to all of its agents on how to control the lessers via dollar dominance)– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lD_UrtPVpA
It looks like MoA was right early on. Localized Empire, across the Western Hemisphere, “McKinley” goes local. Let China and Russia become the other 2 ruling powers with their own Spheres of Influence. Yes, many of the insane China Hawks in the Trump admin will not like this!! But it is inevitable. Imagine that the US could provoke a war over Taiwan. Even assuming that Taiwan somehow succeeded in breaking away from Ghina, without the US fighting a full-scale war there. Even then that “victory” would be equivalent to, say, Canada fighting back against the US and somehow taking over New Hampshire. Would the Hegemon be in any way harmed by that? Nope.
The “tatters” of Europe will be split up between Russia in the East and the U.S. in the West. China gets major pieces of Asia and Africa. Perfidious Albion will become a theme park for Empire fans, 90% of its GDP from Tourists.
Oh, & since Israel is a pipsqueak and Trump hates Netanyahu, “we” will own Gaza. I saw a separate Trump segment where he told the press “it’s ours.” “We don’t need to buy it, we just take it”, etc. Speaking of Slave of a Slave, the Israelis might not like being the Palestinian Natives under a foreign boot in their made-up “homeland.” Perhaps that’s a who sows the wind reaps the whirlwind coming home to roost.
bruce wilder
My own reaction — visceral and otherwise — is mostly confusion. I wouldn’t expect Trump to do much that I would hope for. I do not feel I have good, solid information about many subjects at issue, nor access to the views of well-informed people offering considered judgment, for the many cases.
My own ignorance is like a vacuum sucking in prejudice and wishful thinking to fill the void. I have written here in comments many times about my frustration with the extreme information/judgment deficit with regard to the Ukraine War, despite some excellent voices (Mearshimmer, Jeffrey Sachs, as examples chosen from my pov, of course).
I do think Trumpian chaos-making is a persuasion tactic and one that is needed to break the hold the neoliberal consensus has on the minds particularly of the American “Deep State” and the political elites of “the Collective West”.
In the cause of realism, I have to hold myself back from injecting my own hopes for a return to sanity (by my lights) into the likely aftermath, an aftermath that I cannot possibly foresee and which will be shaped in part by personalities and movements just beginning to emerge in Europe and elsewhere.
Another commenter questioned whether the U.S. will have a 2027 (sic) midterm Congressional election. I would expect a 2026 election, just not any candidates I would enjoy voting for. ymmv More seriously, political and economic collapse to some remarkable degree is baked in for the U.S., given the structural foundations of the competency crisis and the implications of American economic hegemony coming apart. It is worthwhile to remind ourselves that — in a fundamental sense — Trump is NOT causing the crisis; he represents the panicked response to imminent collapse, or maybe — a better analogy — the implications of running off the edge of the cliff because of running on auto-pilot. In this last election, that was the choice on offer: autopilot or Trump.
In an earlier comment on another thread, I was groping toward this insight: that Trump, in his usually cracked way, is — in contrast to many leaders, domestically and abroad — responding to problems with “the system” or problems the system is causing, realistically. Probably I should put scare quotes around that last term: “realistically”. I certainly do not think Trump himself or most of the ideologues and youthful devotees to Musk that are leading his charge remotely know what they are doing, in the sense of competently pursuing an end-state many of us would regard as desirable or workable.
Here’s the thing though. I no longer share any faith in the institutional “normal” of the past. The ethical integrity that made some degree of faith in the benign functioning of the institutional superstructures of the West is gone. It isn’t just Trump and his allies who have jettisoned integrity. In an odd way, what motivates Trump is shock and surprise that he has not been able to rely on integrity in his opponents as he previously has during a long career spent cheating and putting over con’s.
It is hard work threading this narrative needle, holding in my head the contradictory thoughts that Trump is responding “realistically” to a failing system by making it fail, weaponizing the incompetence of his motley crew to challenge the incompetence of the establishment monoliths, such as the infamous “Deep State” or the Blob(tm).
I get that it is much easier to paint a picture in primary colors or just black and white. Ha, ha, says some moron to Wired, Elon doesn’t know the conventions of COBOL governing dates than to acknowledge that COBOL in 2025 is itself incompetence. The deep background to all this is that the boomers did not understand the architecture of the world but were more than happy to profit from letting it fall apart and adopted ideologies— not just glib libertarianism mind you — that rationalized letting it fall apart as it ran on autopilot. But, I digress.
The autopilot process models that we previously pretended to adopt as a political settlement or consensus views no longer have enough integrity to keep them glued together. The “rules-based order” that the Collective West used to justify aggressive expansion of NATO and the EU against Russian interests without opportunities for good-faith negotiation for Russia is, to my mind, exposed. I am not sure that that model has entirely lost its grip on many minds. But its grip is loosening. It is not lost on me, at least, that Trump endured two impeachments because he did not go along with that particular set of lies. I remind myself of that, to try to keep perspective.
Oakchair
Trump, in his usually cracked way, is — in contrast to many leaders, domestically and abroad — responding to problems with “the system”…
—–
Yep.
The system has made 50+% of people chronically ill and 4% of children autistic.
The “establishment” response was to double down, insult, and censor.
Trumps response was to put anti-pharma Democrats into positions of power.
—–
It isn’t just Trump and his allies who have jettisoned integrity.
—-
In 2016 many people remarked that they liked Trump because unlike everyone else he “said it like it is”. This was misidentified as “he told the truth” Really what it meant was he didn’t didn’t provide bullshit moral and academic reasons behind his believes. We were there for the oil instead of to bring freedom and democracy. Mexicans were bad instead of how immigrants compete with poor Americans in the labor market.
bruce wilder
Here is a footnote to my comment above: a couple of data points regarding the grip of expired narrative frames.
John Quiggin, writing at Crooked Timber, argues NATO with Ukraine and without the U.S. is stronger than Russia.
Preston Stewart, posting on TikTok (and I suppose other social media platforms), has argued that Russia is the implacable enemy of the United States and Europe. In his view, Trump’s efforts to initiate negotiations with Russia are a betrayal of an ally equivalent in presumed moral outrageousness to calling up Hamas’ leader on October 8 and offering to mediate. (No word on whether Europe might be the implacable enemy of Russia.)
Alexander S. Vindman offers this view on X-twitter:
I look at these arguments and I despair of mere reason overcoming the vicious prejudice and self-righteousness, never mind the ignorance. My doubtful feeling that I do not know enough to judge the situation comes up against the self-assurance of these arguments and I wonder how other people work themselves into such dark rooms.
someofparts
Regarding passage through artic sea lanes on the Russian side, I would expect the full military power of Russia and China to be deployed to protect them if need be. Even if President Ahab and his minions lock in US control of the Canadian side, the Asians won’t let him do anything to impede commerce on the Russian side and there won’t be anything the “mighty” US military can do to stop them.
someofparts
Also, on a bright note, Ahab just cut all funding for the National Endowment for Democracy.
Purple Library Guy
It has been kind of surreal watching the European and Canadian elites on one hand rebuffing Trump’s actually existing US which has basically rejected the whole concept of treaties, alliances, ongoing relationships–and on the other still soldiering on trying to hold together the US-led world order of exploitation, without the US there to lead it. It’s like they’re hallucinating this conceptual “US the way it’s supposed to be” still somehow in its place.
Used to be, everyone was pretending the Emperor had clothes. Now, they’re busy pretending the nude emperor is still sitting on the throne when in fact he’s buggered off to a liquor store and is picking drunken fights with the other customers.
mago
There’s an assumption that the great DT has unbridled power and can break whatever he wants in his whackadoodle way.
The leash is long and his handlers are getting their chuckles, but he’ll be yanked back hard when he’s in danger of betraying their interests.
In the meantime little people like me are in imminent danger of becoming bug splat while the big players could give fuck all.
Good riddance and all that.
Rub just a little lower baby, and ease my itch.
See you on the road to hell.
And if these words make no sense, they’re in accordance with the times.
GrimJim
Who knew Trump would actually end up being Big Brother, the founder of the Three Empire System?
That’s what his demands for Greenland, Canada, and Panama have been about. Forming Fortress Oceana. I’d expect more push toward taking over South America soon; Australia and UK will fall in.
China gets everything in “Eastasia.”
Western Europe becomes the battleground between Russia’s “Eurasia;” Africa and Southwest Asia the battleground between all three.
We all thought we were going to end up with “Brave New World,” but it is going to end up being “1984” with a heaping helping of “Fahrenheit 451” and “If This Goes On…”
Instead of INGSOC we have MAGA, which has more than a slurp of “Animal Farm” and “Handmaid’s Tale” in it.
Dang. I would have preferred “Brave New World”…
different clue
Are we little people doomed to be bug splat in the Newest World Order forming up?
What if we were able to toughen ourselves up so that we could be bug bounce instead?
Bug bounce? Yes. Being tough enough and flexelastic enough to bounce off the windshields as they hit us. ” Well look at that. Bug bounced right of my windshield.”
different clue
Here is an interesting ” look what Trump’s done” type article, titled : ” Trump officials fired nuclear staff not realizing they oversee the country’s weapons stockpile, sources say ” Here is the link.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/14/climate/nuclear-nnsa-firings-trump/index.html
If there were a long standing leftish wingish worker power movement already fully in existence in this country, I can imagine some ways it could respond to this. What if all the Bernie small donors were to donate their cumulative millions of dollars to these workers to stay off the job until whatever conditions those workers set for returning were met? What if those conditions were really big?
What if those nuclear workers were Bernie-small-donor subsidized to stay off the job for years to come unless EVERY fired Federal worker were re-hired and DOGE itself were disbanded and all its people, including Musk, fired or at least ‘fired’?
What if a few million more people were inspired by that display of targeted pain-point power to give money every month for years to all the Air Traffic Controllers if they would all resign and stay resigned unless all the above conditions were met?
What if enough militant millions of small donors could small-donate enough money every month for years to fund all expenses for every VA worker, nurse, doctor, orderly, every single one so that every one of them could take that resignation offer and let the clock tick down to their resignations unless all of them, including the fired probationary ones, were hired back? And of course unless DOGE were fired? And until then, no medical care for millions of veterans, some of whom still own guns and still remember their combat skills and training?
Of course there is no way a leftish-wingish movement could organize itself into existence from zero starting now to be able to make the least difference to the progress of Trump Train events.
different clue
Most of us American readers here in America will be staying in America for the duration. So we who are here and will remain here will have to look at the Trump events to see if we have any opportunities here for ourselves or a future right here . . . either a different America or the end of America and the Return of Turtle Island, or whatever it might be. That future might involve a return to power and effectively excercised functioning sovereignty of some of the Indian Nations. It might involve millions of Americans renouncing their American citizenship and seeking citizenship in their friendly neighborhood Indian Nations. If that requires being a Second Class Indian-Nation citizen, that might be preferable to being a Last Class subject of Genghis Musk. Or being helpless to survive a possible coming White Power ChristiaNazi SatanoFascist MAGA Trumpanon Gilead Republic. (That kind of language would get you banned as a ‘bigot’ over at Naked Capitalism for being “mean” to the Trumpanons. Not that I would know . . . having been banned over their years before this most current shutdown).
Ran Prieur ( once again) offers some interesting thoughts, which I will copy-paste.
. . . ” New subject. 50501 is a subreddit about all the protests. I’m probably going to whatever local one they have tomorrow, and I want to be clear about strategy. Nobody thinks this is about influencing Trump. At this point he’s moving with the relentless inevitability of a fire. It reminds me of this line from Thaddeus Golas: “When your consciousness is open, any action you take in reference to evil has no more significance than digging a ditch to channel floodwaters away from a house.”
For me, the “protest” doesn’t even have to be against something. It’s about local solidarity, people of the city making other people of the city feel like this is our place, that we’re going to be strong for each other in these dark times. Future historians will not say that Trump made America great again, but they might say he knocked America down and then other people rebuilt it not as bad.” . . .
http://www.ranprieur.com/
Yves Smith recently mocked and derided “protests in all 50 states” as merely performative when only a General Strike shutting down the country by shutting down basic services would achieve anything at all. But if protesters are seeking Ran Prieur’s type of achievement, then finding eachother and staying in touch and in-plan and in action to create a Survivalist Future after the Great Bonfire, then they are laying the basis for future achievements of a Survivalist kind.
shagggz
@different clue,
“That kind of language would get you banned as a ‘bigot’ over at Naked Capitalism for being “mean” to the Trumpanons”
If used as an ad hominem, not speaking generally like you are here. However, making false statements like that would fall under Making Shit Up and thus be ban-worthy.