They do care about their political future. Trump's approval is in the toilet, so aligning with him has little value right now. Shutdowns play worse for the majority party and cause disruption which underscores the value of govt (not negate it). All reasons to play ball, but moot if Ds aren't united.

CRs also require presidential approval, so reversing it would be at least 4 years away. I'm not saying I like the idea of a shut down, but I think there's too much at stake with this CR. They need Dem votes, so Dems can and should force some concessions.

This CR is dangerous. It cedes a lot of the power of the purse to the executive branch. Many of Trump's EOs have been paused or struck down in court because they try to block, funding which they're not allowed to do. If passed, those court cases lose their teeth.

Cringeworthy.

Don't blame the consumer. Yes, we should be careful who we do business with. But the root of the problem is obscene profits for executives at the expense of living wages and for employees. These are unethical business practices that the consumer did not create, nor do they benefit from.

Travis Walton?

I mean maybe not aliens, but kinda seems like aliens.

I'm sure the DOGE will implode due to conflicting egos and personality, but it won't have anything to do with past quotes about each other. They both operate with the knowledge that public statements are 100% about posturing and in no way reflect genuine personal beliefs or values.

I predict their "friendship" will blow up before we even get to inauguration day.

Sure thing... as soon as I figure out how.

Humanity fulfills its evolutionary role by creating autonomous AI. Our species dies out fairly quickly, but its story is preserved by our creation which carries the mantle of scientific exploration and probing the depths of space.