The more I read your comment the more insane it sounds. The Dems never had a majority in congress. They had the senate, not the house. The senate can’t do shit if the house isn’t aligned. A VP’s role is not the same as a president and her powers were very limited. Regardless we’re splitting hairs over these things.

ACA is on the chopping block with Trump in control of all executive branches of government. They have no healthcare plan.

We will see what happens, but please stop bullshitting me.

We will see how workers rights fare under Trump.

They passed the chips act and upheld environmental protections. What are you on?

With all due respect, the Gaza genocide is a moot point as it’s likely to get turbo charged under a Trump admin. If you talk to most American voters they want this, as well as us to stop funding Ukraine. I don’t agree with these positions but that’s what most people here think. They believe that those funds will be allocated back to them via tax cuts and/or economic stimulus payments.

For me; my issues surround the environment, healthcare, education and workers rights here in the USA. Protection of the BWCA and the CHIPS act are of grave importance to me. A Harris administration would have protected these things. The Trump campaign specifically targeted these things. So while it’s nice to imagine a just government that cares about every specific group of disaffected people in the world, we simply do not have that here, and likely never will.

This was a moment of disillusionment for me as well. I had faith that the country would pull together and do what I perceived as the right thing, but it seems greed and hate won in the end. Something shifted in me as the results came in. Something I can only describe as a loss of hope. Like I knew that whatever greater good we were working toward as a society was just thrown away for trivial reasons. Ever since I’ve had a more “glass half empty” feeling about the U.S. and the world as a whole and the outlook is just bleak.

Enshitification will continue until moral improves.

I never had regular crocs, but have had a pair of the sandals and slides. Longest lasting sandals I’ve had and they’re rather comfortable.

Medical bill

Too expensive. Not owner repairable. Too much unnecessary tech baked in.

There’s a path forward for EV’s, but I don’t think the current philosophy is it.

Spotify is an evil company. Bad for artists, bad for consumers. I’m glad to have quit using their service.

Some of my favorites are

“Trust” by LOW

“October Rust” by Type O Negative

“Welcome Oblivion” by How to Destroy Angels

“Dusk” by The The

and more recently “DECIDE” by Djo

One day at a time.

For me, it’s the massive medical debt that only seems to get bigger. The cost of living inching higher and higher, while wages remain mostly stagnant. The expectation to provide for others at the expense of time, stress and my own health. It’s not a good time to have a family with needs.

I’ve been on a few. My family loves them, but I am not particularly fond of them. They’re a super convenient way to see a lot of tourist attractions in a short period of time if you find the right one, but your time is limited at each port. I do feel guilty about the ecological impact of the cruise industry, not to mention some of the working conditions of the staff can’t be ideal. I am an introvert who dislikes crowds, I have a fear of open water, and I get motion sick easily. So they’re generally a pretty miserable experience for me, personally. It’s even worse if there’s high pressure sales or lousy patrons aboard. For example I was aboard one that really pushed jewelry and vacation package sales. The at sea days were just long super sale events. I kind of felt a side eye by some of the sales people, like they thought I was going to steal something. Truth was I didn’t want any of the crap they were selling. Dining can be hit or miss. The more affordable the cruise, the less tolerable the food is over time. I’ve had very few run-ins with grumpy people, but it happens. People overall can be rude following rules, such has hogging the sun chairs all day long, every day, or bringing noisy kids into adult only areas. If I can help it, I would prefer to not go on one ever again, but my family may drag me kicking and screaming again. I do think the right cruise could be fun if you were going with friends instead of family. A adults only party cruise could be fun in my mind. Keeping track of kids or boomer family makes the experience less enjoyable. If I were to do that, I would pack loads of Dramamine. Drink packages are a rip-off unless you’re an alcoholic. I had one once and it took a lot of drinking just to break even.

Sad truth is stores like these will be obsolete soon. They already have to operate on thin margins, but with most game sales going digital, there will be less demand for brick and mortar game stores. The existence of online stores like Amazon make their outlook even worse.

Dump-truck-ass Pixar Moms are my kryptonite.

03 Ford Focus. Terrible transmission, on board computer fried, all kinds of random engine and sensor issues. Finally found an honest mechanic that said it would cost more to fix everything wrong with it than to just take the L and get a new car. Took a loss on the loan and bought a Camry. Best decision I could’ve made. Nothing but Toyota since.

There are dozens of us!

“How Long” by How to Destroy Angels. It’s a better post-apocalyptic story than most theatrical productions in just under 4 minutes.

The reasoning they gave me is exactly that. People driving like crazy post pandemic, and the fact that cars have become exponentially expensive.