Gotta say brovo. Awesome thread between you and Popehat dude.

Dayum.

Oh. My. God.

I am so embarrassed for them.

The Tsars, Soviet Premiers, Putin are all nominally different systems, but reveal both the same drivers (ambition that always exceeds actual power) and the same results (when you lack actual power, deception is your only option. Disinformation and reflexive control are all you have.

Excellent article and exactly correct. Putin exploits what are the key strengths of the West to undermine it - open flows of information, open debate - to paralyze it so that it can make incremental gains it could not otherwise by military power or moral suasion.

Sounds really libertarian

Exactly. The permanently financially insecure underclass isn't recent. It's AT LEAST back to the 90s, maybe farther back like you say, depending on how you measure it. For them, they WISH they had "great wealth and ease", and they aren't bored, they're often working 2-3 jobs and still can't make it

I think what you miss in this comment is that 59% of Americans cannot afford an emergency expense of more than $1000. 37% cannot afford an expense more than $400. So, while I agree for the upper/upper middle class, MOST people do not enjoy this "great wealth and ease" you speak of.

Allow me to finish for you

... ooooooooh, I get it ...

Damn bro.

Big difference between just hearing BS rhetoric and suffering the actual consequences of the BS.

We're getting that in spades now that Trump's election pitch is turning into his unique blend of stupidity, incompetence, and malice.

Blink twice if you're being held against your will ... lol

Well done. "these are tiny little peas ..."

It should be noted that beer and wine are not really growing in part BECAUSE OF the growing popularity of mixed drinks (i.e., liquor-based) as a substitute. A complete analysis would show the same chart for liquor.

WTF.

And by the way, I agree with you generally. I just don't think the "answer" is so obvious. There's a little more nuance needed here to get the whole or vast majority of the labor base in the boat.

And of course Trump/Musk will try to split the coalition as they always do.

Haha - not trying to "do" anything. Just making a point.

And I am a real person, lol

Sure. And by the same token, your opinion, or even your union's position, is only one of many.

That's all Im saying. It's not totally straightforward or easy.

Haha - fair enough!

But I imagine there's a diversity of viewpoints and I'm just pointing out that treading the line in messaging that will get the maximum traction across the whole population might not be simple.