#but not being energized to vote?

[justahumblememefarmer]

Putting some positivity out there about the election

Harris has raised a record amount of money from small donors after Biden dropped out, in addition to being able to access all the funds from their campaign they already had

Trump is deeply unpopular and people have already seen the chaos that 4 years of his presidency would bring. A lot of people have been energized to vote against him, even if they're not fond of Dems

Polling showed a red wave for Republicans in the 2022 midterms, and yet they only barely had control of the House, and couldn't even agree on a Speaker for a historic amount of time. Dems also increased their lead in the Senate. Historically, midterms favor the opposition party and have lower turnout, so this is a good sign for the House in 2024

Dems are fighting back in swing states. PA and GA both put in Democratic senators in the midterms

In my home state of PA, I am from Bucks County, which is a swing county for the state. Moms for Libery took over the school board and used it to attack queer students, enact book bans, and funnel money to themselves and the superintendent. At the most recent election, Dems turned out and took back every single open seat, ousting the board and superintendent. Worry about similar takeovers in surrounding school boards also increased turnout

Abortion rights are on the ballot in many states, which has been a winning issue for Dems and increased turnout

Republicans were prepared to attack a feeble old Biden who isn't the strongest speaker. I don't think they expected him to actually drop out, and they now have to put an 78 year old convicted felon up against a prosecutor

Awareness of Project 2025 and it's contents has entered the public sphere and is being much more openly discussed on the news. While Trump has insisted he has nothing to do with it, most of the authors worked in his administration and Trump has worked closely with the Heritage foundation

Feel free to add more things on this thread, but the most important thing is to get out there and VOTE

Vote for President

Vote for Senators

Vote for Congresspeople

Vote in your local elections

Vote Blue down ballot

[qqueenofhades]

I think its genuinely fascinating how Biden has somehow become the bad vibes sin eater for the party. I'm seeing people who were doing the whole "voting doesn't matter both old men are the same" pivot hard into voting as harm reduction. The anti voting rhetoric has COMPLETELY lost The Youths on tiktok. People suddenly remember the good things the Biden administration has done but don't associate Harris with any of the things they didn't like. In my swing state volunteers are signing up in droves. People feel ENERGIZED, the vibe shift pre and post Biden dropping from the race has just been insane

Y'know, that is a... good way of putting it. It's also why I'm quite sure that Biden has probably been planning it for a while. I don't think he was intending to step down, and didn't want to be forced out at the drop of a hat, but after he realized that the circus was never going to stop until he did, he did the honorable fall-on-his-own-sword thing and definitely, DEFINITELY spent some time choreographing this behind the scenes. Because while the roll-out has been very smooth, it could just as easily (as many of us were expecting) have been a total disaster, and that doesn't happen without SOME planning. It's also entirely possible that the campaign staff flipped from Biden to Harris are superhuman, to come up with a massive online roll-out, new branding, new signs (they had plenty of 'em in Wisconsin yesterday), new everything, but I'm guessing it's a combination of both. Biden has spent his entire political career being underestimated, and after we literally made a meme out of Dark Brandon juking the Republicans out of their shoes, we should definitely give credit where credit is due in how masterfully he pulled it off.

Because we have had eight years defined by the central question of Whether The President Is a God King Who Should Serve For Life (the MAGAts obviously think yes), the sheer idea of a president willingly giving up his power BEFORE he had to is also novel and admirable. It's sad that this is the case, but so be it. The Republicans also got a heaping helping of Be Careful What You Wish For that was undoubtedly brilliant; they've been yelling for years that Biden is old and frail and can't serve and should step down. Biden went "lol okay" and gave it to them, and now they're fucked.

Aside from that, on the most basic level, it's far, far easier to see the actual difference in the parties with Harris as the nominee, just because it shows that one party is willing to make progress and reflect the new demographic reality and social mores of America, and the other one is not. Now to be clear, Biden deserves an incredible amount of credit for coming out of retirement (he was ALREADY 77 years old when he became president and had had decades of a long and respected career in public service behind him) to fight, beat Trump, and deliver an incredibly successful presidency. He held the line against authoritarianism at home and abroad, he rescued the trashed American economy and managed a world-leading recovery from Covid, he stood up for democracy, he spent four years filling the benches with liberal judges to reverse even some of the Trump/McConnell hack job, he finally passed comprehensive infrastructure investment and the Green New Deal under the name of the Inflation Reduction Act -- and so on. Many of these priorities had been languishing for decades or were completely trashed under Trump, and he could not have done so much in just 4 years without all that age, skill, and experience. Hence why all the Ageism!!! was (aside from being a Republican/media smear job) dumb. He's able to do the job because he has had decades to study. Turns out that makes you actually pretty damn good at it.

Yes, Biden could not do as much as he wanted or originally planned, had to deal with MAGA Republicans and Joe Manchin/Kyrsten Sinema sabotaging him the whole time (lololol Manchin, possible possessor of the World's Biggest Ego and with Trump around that's saying something, popping out of obscurity to self-righteously announce he would not be willing to be Kamala's VP. YEAH ASSHOLE. LITERALLY NOBODY ASKED YOU. NOBODY WHATSOEVER. NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS AT LEAST WE WILL SOON NO LONGER HAVE MANCHIN IN THE SENATE). And yes, Biden made some serious mistakes of his own, because he IS from an older generation and a different style of doing politics/different beliefs that no longer resonate with the younger segments of the electorate. But this old white Catholic guy at the age of almost 80 still managed to be the most progressive president ever, coming in at a moment of incredible domestic and international crisis and getting us safely to the other side, and all cynicism, criticizing, and caveating aside, he deserves an incredible amount of credit for that. I mean that absolutely, and I am very grateful.

As I said, willingly relinquishing that power takes guts, and when Biden saw the writing on the wall that he had to sacrifice himself, he took his time, he didn't jump too early, and he didn't jump too late. On the most basic level, it becomes a hell of a lot easier to make the "both parties are not the same" argument when one is running a (comparatively) young brown woman and the other is still running their loathed felonious old demented orange traitor. Most Americans are not plugged into policy minutiae and details. They look at Biden-Trump, they see two old white guys. When you take one of those old white guys away (who goes in a self-sacrificially heroic manner and in sharp contrast with the coup-happy fascist) and put Kamala Harris in there instead, it generates an obvious jolt. People can see for themselves that there is a real difference that doesn't rely on closely reading news and tracking complex policy, because as noted, most Americans simply don't. The brown first-generation American daughter of brown immigrants is a quantifiably different story from "old white guy career politician," which for better or worse is how Biden was seen, especially the old part. We needed that establishment expertise to beat Trump in 2020; I still think Biden is the only one who could have done it, and as noted, we owe him a great debt for doing so.

However.... 2024 is not 2020, and it is not 2016. There has been this HUGE and unbelievable swing to Kamala because she represents the antithesis of what the last eight years of Trump-induced anger, fear, panic, chaos, and hatred has stirred up. That's why people are so ready to rally around her, just as they were (I daresay) around Obama in 2008, after the exhaustion, chaos, war, and mounting economic misery of Bush. Trump has been out of office for the last four years, but his shadow over the American political landscape has been omnipresent. Now people know that we finally have a real chance at getting rid of him forever, and just as Biden was uniquely positioned to capitalize on that in 2020, so Harris is now. Which is why, however tough it will be, she has a real shot at winning. I can guarantee the Republicans know that, and are shit scared. Because the Black Lady Army of Democracy has indeed arrived in force to Get This Shit Done and I don't know about you, but I found that incalculably comforting:

Yikes! All lined up for Kamala pic.twitter.com/Dt4OCDp7WX

— Alex Cole (@acnewsitics) July 24, 2024

This, at the most basic level, is what scares fascists the most, it's exactly what we need now, and what Harris is uniquely positioned to mobilize, along with her gangbusters appeal to young voters:

This is the energy we need. This is what Biden saw and planned for and which he launched us into, and where all that experience and age paid off. This is why people, even people otherwise disengaged, disillusioned, or checked out of the tedious and mind-numbering drudgery and depression of American politics, are responding to it. Because it's easy to understand, it offers hope, and it tells a very simple story that is nonetheless long overdue:

Thanks so much, Joe. Go absolutely waste that orange fucker, Kamala. We got your back.

[cleolinda]

“Shaking off the stink of … ‘when they go low, we go high,’” is how one Democratic operative put it, as they celebrated the sudden vibe-shift and re-energized messaging strategy within their party in the days since President Joe Biden bowed out of the 2024 race.

According to an Democratic lawmaker on Capitol Hill who is regularly in contact with Biden-Harris (now just Harris) officials, one idea fueling this push is to hammer home an easily memorable point to swing voters about how Trump, Vance, and the GOP and MAGA elite are a bunch of “weird, sick freaks who everyone hates, and who want to take basic rights away.”

The lawmaker adds: “Put it on a bumper sticker.”

Meanwhile: Trump tells Christians they won’t have to vote after this election.

WASHINGTON, July 27 (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump told Christians on Friday that if they vote for him this November, "in four years, you don't have to vote again. We'll have it fixed so good, you're not gonna have to vote."

It was not clear what the former president meant by his remarks, in an election campaign where his Democratic opponents accuse him of being a threat to democracy, and after his attempt to overturn his 2020 defeat to President Joe Biden, an effort that led to the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

[traegorn]

With Trump’s plan to steal the election by having 100,000 voter deniers to keep certain votes from making it combined with no actual Palestinian speakers being on the DNC panel and so many ppl who aren’t gonna vote at all, I’m starting to panic and lose hope again. Idk what to do..

The Democratic party is split on how to handle Israel, so they were always going to avoid the topic at the DNC. Events like that are run by committee and everyone trying to find a compromise.

Trump can deploy whatever attorneys he wants, it won't work.

And the way you stop worrying is just make sure you vote, and convince the people you know who say they aren't voting to vote for Harris.

Trump wants you scared and hopeless, but the fact is the polls are no longer in his favor. We can't get complacent -- we still need to work to win this -- but we are doing better than we were a few months ago. We are far from behind, and victory is more than possible.

Eyes forward, don't look away from our goals, and we can do this.

Hell, when Harris had a rally in my town (Eau Claire, WI) recently it shut the main roads down. The base is energized as fuck right now.

So take a breath, enjoy the remaining summer nights, and get ready to vote November 5th.

[decolonize-the-everything]

I'm gonna be frank. I'm at the point where i want democrats to lose elections. I want them, as an institution, to die and be replaced by something further left, or i want them to nearly die and finally reform themselves into a more left leaning party.

These people have been going further right for decades. "Republicans are winning elections by being bigots and warhawks... Clearly the future of US policy HAS TO be bigotry and imperialism!" They don't understand that their voters stay home because it's not worth having Democrats in office if they're gonna do the same things as Republicans. In blue areas they take their victories for granted which means they can just pursue the machine's pre-programmed ends. In red areas they try to appeal to Republicans instead of trying to energize the people Republican policies hurt.

It's always "you faggots need to vote for us because if you don't, HE'S gonna hurt you even worse than i will!" It's never "we listened to what you said you want and we care more about you than corporations. We're your employees so we're gonna do as we're told." They're not our employees. They're our rulers. And they don't want to give that up, so they're desperately trying to appeal to the authoritarian voters, the self-loathing dipshits who want to be ruled. They refuse to acknowledge and understand that the authoritarian voters want to hunt them for sport. When we're angry at Democrats, it's because they lied and acted like Republicans. When Republican voters are angry at Democrats, it's because Republicans believe hilariously absurd lies about Democrats.

I'm tired. I used to believe in voting as harm reduction. I used to think American democracy could be harnessed for good, despite its flaws and ugly history. Now i think American democracy was always a lie and always will be.

Idk what the fuck to do about it though. Sorry if this puts you under more pressure, that's not my intent. If you're out protesting, stay safe. If you can't be safe, be bold.

No you're fine, after watching the DNC that's where I'm at too.

All we can do is organize. Like you said, people stay home cuz there isn't a point in voting. Let that inspire you to organize. People would go out and do Something if it was worthwhile. Why not let that thing be organizing.

Find the people around you that are staying home. It's 2/3 of the country so it can't be that hard. I bet you have tons more common ground than you think you do.

But I also get that maybe you didn't come to me for direction so yk.... Idk.

[karlachismylife]

I Need My Love To Be Here

Once again I couldn't help but do the second-most voted choice too. Why am I making my own life so much harder?

CW: fem!reader, reader and Price are married and have a daughter, long-distance relationship, my music taste projected once again, the tiniest bit of suggestive teasing, toothrotting fluff.

(Title from The Beatles' "Here, There and Everywhere")

Dealing with an energized six-year old refusing to go to bed was a battle alright, especially when your trusted partner with his commanding presence and a true Captain's voice wasn't there to help. You couldn't blame your little one for behaving herself better when John was around: isn't a natural law that the one parent that's often away and always comes back with gifts is the favourite one? It's not daddy who's forcing you to eat healthy food every day and go to sleep when you want another batch of cartoons.

It's the strict, stern-looking mum with her hands on her hips as she scolds you gently for throwing a fit over putting your toys back like promised.

Still, you'd want a little more appreciation and cooperation from Princess Price, sulking in her frog pjs - everything was frog since recently, you even got daddy a froggy hat for when he comes back from deployment.

He was away for a long time. Not somewhere dangerous, he told you as he called and texted regilarly, but he was constantly held back by one or the other thing that just couldn't be resolved without Captain's expertise.

That's what made his new phone call just the sweeter, since the first words you heard after closing priness's door hastly and moving to the living room, were:

"Guess who's coming home tomorrow, darling."

A relieved, longing sigh escaped you as you leaned onto the couch and stared at the ceiling with a dreamy smile.

"Good. Someone here needs a reminder how to listen to what she's being told."

"Is princess being a bad girl?" John's hearty chuckle warmed you even through the phone. You bit your lip, trying to save your own face from splitting in two with the horribly wide smile - same was gracing Price's face for sure, you could hear it, his plump cheeks all big and round, almost hiding his happily narrowed eyes.

"Not necessarily bad. But we have attitide and no respect for mummy's authority. Maybe I should start calling myself Captain too, just for her to listen to me."

"I'm afraid, impersonating an officer is illegal, love," he huffed and chuckled again, gruff, big, bear-hugging sound. A pause. "Are you being a bad girl?"

You pressed your phone closer you your ear as a warm tingling flooded your cheeks and held your breath.

"I'd like to report I'm being perfectly good, sir," if only you could see the way his kind eyes twinkled in the dim lighting of wherever he was, sitting on a chair with knees wide apart, one hand holding the famous cigar.

"That's good to hear. I have a little something for you. A reward for being so good for me and waiting while I'm in this shithole."

"The only reward I need is you back home, John," you weren't even being coy, just honest. It was so long since you last felt his rough palms slide over your sides and lock together as he pulled you into a tight hug from behind, pressing ticklish kisses into your nape.

"I know, sweetpea. Consider this an apology gift then, for taking so long," he didn't let you argue a single word, clearly set on having you accept whatever he prepared, as if him being alive, well and home wasn't enough. "Got us tickets to that McCartney concert, love. For all three of us. Gotta start teaching our princess what good music is."

You gasped, jumping in your seat - your heart did a little flip, cheeks burning now, butterflies that never went away even after years of marriage flocking to your lungs.

"But it's so close, how did you even- oh, I just wanna kiss all hells out of you, John!" His laughter dripped through the phone like spicy honey, sweetening already increbibly sweet deal.

"Oh, I can tell, love. Hope you feel the same way tomorrow."

"Why is tomorrow so far away?" You allowed yourself to be just as sulky and pouty as your little one snoring softly in the other room. Of course you could wait another day, you've waited for months already. But now every minute felt like a whole month itself.

"That's so you can get enough sleep before I make you forget about it for several nights."

[ay0nha]

The Ritual of Chaos | N.K.

SUMMARY: You refused morality just for the sake of being difficult. You made a habit of it. There were reasons habits quickly morphed into vices, something immoral and wicked. You were lethal, the definition of torment. Your silhouette alone was enough to send Nananmi spiraling.

PAIRING: Nanami Kento x f!reader (anti-hero of sorts)

WORD COUNT: 2K

WARNINGS: Introduction to story/reader/plot, higher-ups after reader, Nanami being a softie deep down, description of fighting/related injury, jjk typical things, tad angsty, made-up cursed objects, etc.

A/N: Posting from the drafts. Enjoy.

Nanami tags:

@chimamire-ga @eliuriastwo @moon-taffy @thefutureastronaut @planetahmane @musababy @khaleesihavilliard @vee-ai @killlerqween @nokkoongie @anti-heroism @nanamin94 @hatsunemitskislobotomy @mischiefmanaged71 @darkstudentsaladbakery

“Answer the question.”

The brief and concise statement thrown at you mimicked the ones prior. Your reluctance to answer was anticipated; everyone seated before the Jujutsu higher-ups reacted similarly. But the jury surrounding you didn’t have the same empathy for you.

“The answer is obvious, isn’t it?” You were oddly relaxed in the stiff wooden seat. The eyes on you hadn’t made you nervous but instead energized your subtle rage. “Or is our system that dull? Have you truly failed to see who is behind this?”

“Be mindful; your responses have repercussions.” The Jujutsu Commander warned. His position saved you from a scornful vote against your innocence. Yet, those who looked on weren’t too far off. “Were you or were you not responsible for what happened?”

The framing of your trial was spectacular. All evidence was vindictive, and the story was so perfectly skewed there was no way to worm your way out. Your fate was already sealed.

“You lot ask the wrong questions.” Your laugh was bitter.

“Your admission. Only.” His patience was running thin, and his politeness was only formality, as his tone opposed it entirely.

The truth was a volatile thing. Children were taught that it was essential in life, valued so highly that corrupt justice could manipulate it so finely that you almost believed it yourself. 

Lying, therefore, became a habit. It came naturally as if it was second-hand nature.

The twitch of your lip was poisonous. “Guilty.”

The others murmured at your feigned candor. The whispers were silly, as anonymity never existed for those behind the walls. Every face was bared, burned into your memory by resentment.

—

Your wrists itched. 

It was as if phantom threads tethered you down. When the knots tightened due to resistance, you became a marionette for those who put you in your place. You’d move with talent as a puppet controlled by those ranked above you. 

Your exhaustion created a silly—delusional— image. Your cheeks were rosy with red paint, and your eyes brightened with Pierrot-styled tears. You performed on a stage silently, an alienated observer of the mysteries and shadows of sorcery.

You took on a second life, reciting an alert, troubled, swaying, and deliberately uncertain verse. It didn’t matter if the audience understood; they considered what you said genuine art. Then, when it all ended, the standing ovation wouldn’t bring you joy but the flowers that waited for you. 

It wasn’t until the third time your name was called that you acknowledged its source. 

“Let’s go.” Nanami’s tone was sterile, but you knew he was fighting frustration at your closed eyes. Ignoring his instruction, you languidly rolled your head in his direction to finally acknowledge him.  “The car is outside.”

“Nanami…” You yawned through his name with teasing indifference. Although you were in the office under other pretenses, you would have been content toying with him. “I’ve missed you, you know.” 

It was as if you knew how your words tickled Nanami’s sides. They taunted him with childhood memories that made the tips of his ears heat. However, your words cemented that you siphoned your humor through affection. 

Nanami remained practical; any endearment had to be taken at face value. 

“You look good,” you commented politely as if years had passed. In reality, you saw each other often, but conversation was rarely exchanged past regulation directives. 

Your compliments continued to flow while you met where Ijichi waited. You noted how Nanami filled his suit well, age defining his features in a way most found enviable. There was hope in your voice that Nanami would return the favor to catch up with you. 

Yet, you knew criticism riddled his thoughts. 

Ijichi wasn’t as skilled at hiding his impression of you. He caught your eyes more than once through the mirrors as Nanami highlighted the dangers of the mission. Ijichi looked nervous to be so close to you, as if another one of your mistakes would cost him his life. 

“Ijichi, expect her to accompany us on several missions...” Nanami hadn’t looked up from the case file, but his intuition knew how to calm his coworker “...until I say otherwise.”

“Don’t be afraid to say it, Kento…” You mused coarsely.  “One oversight and mediation doesn’t apply to me…” 

The scenery slowly started to shift from highrises to foliage. The missions on the outskirts were always more discreet. The fresh air was too pure for the deadlier cursed spirits. Their strength had little to latch onto without a dense population to feed on. 

“I’m dangerous, don’t you know?”  You taunted your driver, eye sparkling with amusement. “So they ship me off to the countryside.” 

“We’re still within Tokyo limits.” Ijichi recited, thinking his misplaced comment would be helpful. “Mr. Kento specifically requested that—

“Notice how this never happens to Gojo?” You ignored him deftly. You scoffed tightly, your reprimands still fresh.  “How many buildings has he totaled? And yet, he doesn’t have a babysitter.”

“Twenty-four—” Ijichi’s answer flew out of his mouth before he could stop. You watched him shrink under your glare. “Excuse me, I didn’t—

“Enough. Focus.” In a tired tone, Nananmi reminded you both of your purpose. “The locals believe the church is haunted. Records say an occultist died there a few years ago…” 

Taking advantage of the car’s sway, you moved to see the file. The church was made of dilapidated stone that belonged to centuries prior. It only just started hosting more curses than humans could handle. Analyses were taken, proving that first-year students could handle it well. 

Yet, there was something off.  Nanami always read residuals uniquely. 

The blood looked fresh, scattered, and so beautifully patterned that it was clearly intentional. It swirled hypnotically, challenging anything rational. There was no use in prayers. The gore set the air with dust that could never settle; a blood-warm heat had set into your marrow, never to be forgotten; it had been dragged to your doorstep like a cat bringing in fowl. 

“Shit…” You finger traced the photo of some faint carvings. Your shoulder pushed into Nanami’s, your interest outweighing personal space. “This has to be one of us…”

One of us. Nanami flinched at the thought. It was this thought process that represented the rift you created. This mission was to determine your morality and whether Nanami was wrong to advocate for your reinstatement. 

You refused morality just for the sake of being difficult. You made a habit of it. There were reasons habits quickly morphed into vices, something immoral and wicked. You were lethal, the definition of torment. Your silhouette alone was enough to send Nananmi spiraling. 

However, you weren’t more than a wolf in sheep’s clothing to him. He struggled himself with his decision, he struggled with the blind faith he had in you. This was different, he decided. 

Nanami learned the hard way of earning your loose alliance. The scar you left behind cinched on his side, and sometimes, if he found you lingering in his mind, he swore he felt it ache. Yet, being in your presence seemed to be the closest thing to a remedy.

—

“What do you see?” Nanami’s tone was sterile, but you knew he was fighting frustration at your languidity. 

You felt childish and undermined, but you knew Nanami was following orders. Yet, your core frustration came from being in the countryside. The higher-ups slowly pushed you out of the city with each mission you were attached to. Away from real problems, you were no longer deemed theirs. That distance kept you busy with the unwanted chores of dealing with low-grade curses who were scared of their own shadows. 

The stone walls of the church were icy, and the lack of sunlight nurtured the cold. Nature started reclaiming every pew, and the stained glass became disfigured. Its evidence of abandonment seemed uneventful—normal. 

“Graffiti.” Your response was dull, your attention fragmented by your thoughts. 

Effort was a comical notion.

Sorcery required effort at times, just as breathing did. The icy air that reached the ends of your lungs stung. Yet, each breath was quieter, the effort only coming in the form of physical mechanics of pushing a warm breath back out that the air around you marked.

Although studied meticulously, sorcery’s fundamental trait was its vitality.  It shifted and molded. Evolved.  It made even more concrete things seem like rubber, rejecting electricity with an uncanny ability to mold into shapes unknown. It was the type of thing that could be so exciting to happen just to become something so vague that it no longer held value to it.

“No.” Another wrong answer.  “Look closer.” Nanami urged you, hands tucked away and nodding ahead. “The carvings are in a pattern. Do you recognize it?”

It was an ancient incantation, one whose effectiveness had lessened with time. Most charms were for protective measures, but the spiraled swirl of lettering was fresh. You traced your fingers across the symbols, feeling their lingering heat, only freshly scorched. 

“Cursed user?” Your breath was just shy of being transcribable in the air. 

The temperature was dropping by the second. Something dense settled on your skin as a warning. The cursed energy came from multiple points and was not able to find a convergence point. Instead, its disharmony grated against itself, creating such pressure that its purpose became overt. 

 In hushed tones, you were careful with your words. “Something is trying to get out.”

“Precisely.” Nanami’s voice echoed lightly, as did his footsteps.  “It has been entirely overlooked…” He explained leading you to the heart of the church. “...I’ve been monitoring this place for months—  

“So this is where you disappear to?” You bubbled, Nanami's whereabouts unintentionally drawing a smile out of you. Your laughter started to grow gently. “…and here I thought someone—a man like you, of your stature, would have—well, you know.”

“I don’t follow,” Nanami answered absentmindedly. His focus was still following the etchings and hoping to find any residuals.   

“You value your privacy,” You weighed earnestly. “I don’t blame you for handling your more intimate business away from, well, everything else.” 

Nanami paused. 

After a few heartbeats of hesitation, he caught onto your implications.  There was no reply save for a subtle retexturing of his breath, the gap between inhalations infinitesimally smaller, the length of his exhalations protracted.

It was nearly imperceptible as Nanami fought to smother it. It may have gone unnoticed, mistaken for concentration. However, to an experienced eye, you watched your words ripple an ever-still puddle of emotions.  

With a gentle clear of his throat, Nanami quelled your suspicions. “You’re the only other that knows this exists.” 

“Not even those old conservatives?” You were impressed by his discretion. “Breaking the rules for me, Kento?” 

It was as if you knew how your words tickled Nanami’s sides. They taunted him with childhood memories that made the tips of his ears heat. However, your words cemented that you siphoned your humor through affection. 

Nanami remained practical; any endearment had to be taken at face value. 

“Our visit is to resolve this before they find out.” He ignored you, reaching for his blunt blade. “Now, stand back.”

Cursed energy fluidly surrounded his stature as he conjured his technique.

With sharpened eyes, you took Nanami’s presence in. The suit he wore was filled well.  Even late into the evening, he was always so poised. Professional.  It worked silently, exuding from his presence alone. That magnetism couldn’t be credited to sorcery but to how he evolved, becoming pointed and moving without fault. 

It channeled well into his movements; the swipe of his blade was swift in finding the wall’s weak point. Everything was so well calculated. Nanami remained standing, untouched by the debris that floated around you. 

“Stay close,” He instructed, knowing curses fed off the unanticipated. “Please understand this is for information only.” 

Very little light penetrated the swamp of shadows. That gleam revealed etchings of connected hands. They were conjoined by a thin tongue of brilliant flame that wound around the hands like a red-hot wire.  

You stepped carefully, tracing the path Nanami created for you. He mumbled warnings that always came with the unknown, but his voice slowly warbled into a tune you could barely make out. The walls seemed to pull you in, their dissonance filling your senses. 

“It’s warm…” You noted the oddity, furthering your curiosity. Your fingertips burned against the markings.  “It’s like the cursed energy is…is it? It’s–It’s moving.” 

“It’s growing,” Nanami stated. A feeling of regret bubbled behind his words as if reprimanding himself for thinking aloud.  “These confinements can no longer hold it.”

The continued touch burned. 

You flinched, drawing your hand to your chest. The walls were upset by the action, groaning with age and anger. The sound was sharp and tonal, lacking an echo, its mournful cry resonating with despair. 

“Do you hear that?”  Your question dissipated lamely. Although words were spoken, the sounds around you overlapped, creating a deep and thunderous sense of urgency. 

The noise was luring you into a past that never was. This was the moment before a ship could crash onto the rocks. Your arms felt like lead, weighing down with poisonous consequences. 

The cursed energy pressed into your abdomen from all directions; the air was pushed from your lungs, your ribcage about to crack; your eyes felt forced back into your head; your eardrums swelled, pounding within your skull, and then with a crack like a whip you—   

“Are you alright?” Nanami watched you return to yourself. He called for you, but you were lost under the curse’s lure. It wasn’t until he reached for your palm that you sucked in air. “What happened?”

You felt a needle of pain in your nose like you were near tears. “It’s—crying.”

The missions on the outskirts were always more condensed. The fresh air was too pure for the deadlier cursed spirits. Their strength needed more to latch onto with a dense population to feed on.  This, however, deviated at the core. It was a mistake that relied on the distance to stay hidden. It was an anomaly that should have never been touched. And yet, it found its new prey. 

Nanami’s grip on you tightened with regret. “This was a mistake—

“No, wait…” Your brows furrowed as you pulled away. “There’s something in here,” You continued, hands reaching for the inner wall’s deterioration. The walls became silent, unwilling to guide you any further.  “We need to exorcise this—

“This was to survey only.” Nanami checked his watch, the hands taunting the idea of overtime. A sinking feeling swirled in his chest. “Exorcising an unknown, most likely, unregistered curse is too unpredictable.” 

A quick solution was never appealing when you were capable of unearthing hidden answers. That novelty fed your reputation of being offensively bold. Even now, as you moved through the unknown, you weren’t afraid of the repercussions. 

“Why did you bring me here, then? Huh?” The anger you carried felt foreign. Rarely, if even, had you directed it towards your counterpart. “Pity? To make me feel better about being benched?”

Although you were still present, Nanami watched you flee. Your guard returned stronger, but he didn’t regret his words. Nanami’s eyes were pleading, and you went to chastise him, but you found something distinct there. You didn’t know what to do with it, but to muse a buried thought. 

“You know that’s not—

Years worth of vexation simmered on the surface of your skin. “Save your lecture.”

You weren’t lucky like the others. There wasn’t a defining moment that made you who you were, or something so tragic that its vengeance led to motivation. Your birth was uneventful, your existence logged by a series of numbers, and your childhood consisted of mediocre memories. 

Even now, the memory of arriving at Jujutsu Tech was muddled with an indifference put upon you.  It wasn’t for a lack of enthusiasm but for the way, even there, with its rarity and quaintness, you were ignored so blatantly. 

There was never any demureness in how you spoke out.  You dissected the obvious flaws of the teachers and higher-ups, but your voice wasn’t considered the way others were. Your presence only became perceived insolence. You hadn’t cared about the threats offered, even when you were removed from the curriculum entirely.

The lack of lineage attached to your name and rare technique led to reprimands even in adulthood. Your presence with Nanami was one of them. 

Although not on an official mission, Nanami’s current company was obligatory. Where he went, you were required to shadow: learn from your mistakes and behave like a true first-grade sorcerer.   

After a so-called catastrophe, you were put before the higher-ups. Every grievance was brought forth and judgment determined you were unfit to even advocate for yourself. It was then those imaginary-thin strings wound around your wrists with permanency. 

You pulled at them the further you ignored Nanami’s warnings. 

“This is why you brought me…” You reminded him of your punishment. For you, even this, was to keep an eye on you. “...isn’t it?” 

With Nanami’s cemented frown, his intentions were further concealed. It didn’t have the capacity to speak of the trip’s impulsivity. It ignored the uncharacteristic apprehension that created knots between Nanami’s shoulder blades, new to the sorcerer celebrated for composure. 

It was rash, but the innate desire was clear; Nanami wanted to be behind your reprieve. 

“There are rules and regulations. ” He swallowed any lingering remorse. “They don’t stop for you.”

He mistook his demeanor for bravery, but his true bravery formed by being across from you. The only barrier seemed to be Nanami’s incorruptible moral code, a space where you couldn’t quite freely exist.

“Nanami Kento, the reluctant hero…” You tutted with tender sarcasm. A hand rested above your heart like the elderly read the headline that exploited your name, “...how kind of you to pity a recluse like me.…” 

Your words carried back to Nanami’s core, becoming distant as you furthered into the mess he’d created. The darkness succumbed to your presence, your cursed energy steady as it unknowingly created space for the spirit that lurked. 

Nanami’s lips shaped your name, but all you could hear was a mild ringing, a buzz. Your anger dissipated into a murky haze; the harder you blinked, the more the argument dissipated. Even if you had held onto it, the lump in your throat wouldn’t allow it to exist. 

The longer you lingered with the feeling, the more your surroundings slowly morphed. 

All you could hear was your shaky breaths, and all you could see was a faint familiarity with your surroundings. Even your stumbling steps forward felt practiced. 

“Keep up…” A disharmonious voice called for you. It was airy, like a child filled with excitement. “Hurry!”

The environment was damp, still reflecting the country’s dreariness. It was a good hiding place to play, to sneak, and for you to abuse. But the fog in your mind started to swirl. The colors became deeper, more like shadows that soon transformed into familiar figures. 

The curse’s magnetism was a warning you ignored, causing your pupils to blow large at the burden before you. 

The scene was explicit—nothing could be saved from the carnage. 

There was no use in prayers. The gore set the air with dust that could never settle; a blood-warm heat had set into your marrow, never to be forgotten; it had been dragged to your doorstep like a cat bringing in fowl. 

You recognized your own body from the anguish of your shoulders. Hunched over Nanami’s body as you held him tightly, that lump formed in your throat again. 

The fabricated illusion scratched at subconscious emotions and controlled your movements. Your sentimentality was your weakness. Even your stubbornness couldn’t block the overwhelming flood of anxieties and longing.

You watched yourself stuck in a loop, hand rhythmically gliding across the fabric of his shirt in hopes of softening it. To revive something that was determined to remain still.  Its structure was that of a fever dream, its kaleidoscope quality provoking you to interpret it. 

“Nanami?” You couldn’t tell which version of you spoke. Regardless, his name was like torture. “Nanami—please.”

Your defenses damped, your cursed energy draining the further you succumbed to the hallucination. 

“You can’t leave me—” The wails you let out grated against your skin, unrecognizable as your own. “I can’t do—please, Nanami!”

There was a disillusioned passion you felt. It grounded you within the false reality. Even if your mind wasn’t your own, your body moved with muscle memory. Your cursed energy crawled from your core to your fingertips, using the little amounts to start your technique. 

The blue energy extended like nails. You stalked forward until they met your second self’s back, piercing through your back until you could feel the breeze on the other side.  

The puncture flashed an image, revealing the truth of your damage. The spell you were under broke. The veil was no longer misguiding you. 

“Nanami—” You cursed his name as he grunted in pain. Your hand was warm with his blood. “Fuck. Fuck—” The words tumbled from your quivering lip. You couldn’t think of anything else, repeating the curse. “I’m so sorry—I—

Guilt crawled up your throat when you recognized his hold on your wrist. Nanami’s grip was the only thing keeping your strike from being lethal. Your mouth was dry, shallow breaths passing your lips with a bargaining plea.  

“No, no, no—” Your vocabulary became limited the further you panicked. “Nanami—

Nanami’s breath struggled, but there was determination on his brow. The copper taste took over his tongue; any warning could never make it out in time. 

Your body froze, and you were more aware of your surroundings than your mind. It happened too quickly for you to realize the position you had put yourself in; in a flash, you pushed Nanami to endure the hit from the curse that had forced your hand.

[jaythelay]

What's funny with Kamala swapping in, is that while messaging and morale improved, the real damage to R's was that they can only be unlikeable, specifically because it's a biracial woman, they can't help themselves.

They're continually making rape and sex jokes and at some point they gotta recognize all that's doing is severely energizing non-voting dems into voting dems. Specifically to spite them. It turns some undecideds away, and R's are draining in supporters from it aswell.

It's genuinely pathetic how hard they fell for what wasn't even a trap or ploy, but a plan. Simply make it so R's can only be racist misogynists and there's nothing they can or will do to change that.

Just to stress, all it took to take R's down was a non-white woman. She could've literally said nothing up til now and R's would still make no efforts to make themselves even slightly presentable. While daily leftists get average news with positive politics, R's go weeks with old misinformation before any of their talking heads can say anything of worth, because they have to obscure what the talking heads are saying as much as possible.

There's simply nothing left to R's but themselves. No new ideas will enter their minds, because as leftists were with Dump in 2016, R's are with Kamala now, they see someone and genuinely have no respect nor belief they can win. The differences is obvious to leftists, but to R's, it's not due to history or beliefs that they think this way, it's simply, and solely, because it's a non-white woman.

They cannot fight that in their minds, and thus, think it's in the bag, they don't need to put effort into discussing anything tangible about the opponent, they're a woman! A Black Woman at that! And so obviously expending efforts would be a waste of time, I mean, it's obvious! Just look at her!

That mentality has shackled the republican party into apathy and incapability to even try. They have no policies. They have no positive history to bring up, they have nothing but bigotry, and lies that seethe that same bigotry bleed through to even the most casual of onlookers.

All it took. Was it not being a white old dude. Kinda nuts to think this is genuinely the plan that we should keep using, because wow. R's didn't fall for shit, they're just themselves, and that, that will cost them the elections from here on. Exploit their reactions, it will always be the worst possible.

[hyenabeanz]

Can you dumb motherfuckers stop trying even now to SHAME people into voting how you want and instead talk about the good your candidate will do instead?

Fuck.

Democrats, liberals, and "leftists" can't read the room or strategize their way out of a wet paper bag.

Even now, with Biden out and Harris as a prospective new nom, I'm already seeing "yeah our guy sucks but <insert fear tactics here>"

That is not how you get people to the polls for your candidate.

That's why Trump is a threat. He is saying "this is what I'm gonna do." His followers and campaigners are going "this is what he's gonna do." THAT is what the average voter cares about. Is what he says he's gonna do lies or terrifying fascism? Yes. But when people are scared, insecure, full of despair or frustrated, they want hopeful things to cling on to, promises of change and action, what their candidate is gonna do for them, not "they suck but they suck less." And while wildly misplaced and sick, an action plan is what Trump promises, and his followers spplaud. So this shame shit isn't going to move them.

And as for those who are educated enough to see Trump as the horrific mess he is and will never vote for him, but not satisfied with the other option, shame STILL doesn't work. Because despair kills motivation. And "we suck slightly less" is just despair fuel. Why bother if everyone sucks? And no, a litany of horrors isn't motivation. We live in a litany of horrors, that ain't special. Again: Despair = hopelessness and helplessness = why bother?

Some of you may be too young to remember, but for those who aren't: Think of the Obama campaign. He wasn't some amazingly progressive angel with all the best policies (some were horrible.) But he was a hell of a speaker who promised hope. fucking learn from history. That promise, that fire for hope, got so many young people to the polls. It energized. And he won in a comparative landslide.

So Ok, you got rid of the guy who elitist donors and insufferable people on the Internet said they wouldn't vote for. K. Fresh start. Kamala ain't no Obama in terms of gifted speaker, but those of you talking about her NEED to treat this like the new opportunity it is, and start talking up the reason to be hopeful for Kamala Harris.

Here's a starter for you, for one of the big ones:

Harris has already been vocally more critical of Israel than Biden was, and did so much sooner. Has she said Free Palestine, abolish Israel? No. Of course not. No one in this election is going to. It's not gonna happen. So your options here is someone who has said they want to give Israel enough aid to turn Gaza to glass, or someone who at the very least acknowledged back in March that Israel's conduct is unacceptable. She doesn't have the personal connections to Israel that make her have a soft spot for people ordering war crimes.

I've already spent too long this evening writing this considering I mostly use Tumblr for fun stuff vs. my other social media, but that's how irritating some of y'all are being. I'd love to see and challenge others to reblog and tack on more of the reasons to vote FOR the presumptive nom here, vs. voting against the toupee'd terror.

[socialistexan]

Say it with my folks: the combonation of class and racial privilege will always outweigh any other concern.

There are no social issues, scandals, or what have you, nothing is going to dissuade these voters from voting for Trump.

They will continue to vote for the leopards eating their faces as long as they are: 1) pro-rich, and 2) pro-white. Period.

These are not the swing voters that the Democrats were banking them on being. They might vote for a Democratic pro-choice senator or governor, but they'll run through hell and high water to pull that lever for Trump.

The key is, and has been for some time in this hyper-partisan time, to energize, excite, and activate your base. And Biden hasn't been doing that, in fact he's one of the weakest incumbent Presidents with his voter base in modern history. He's been playing for these mythical swing voters that will never meet him in the middle and he's going to get steamrolled for it in November.

It's getting close to being a little too late to change strategy, the die has been cast.

[lakesbian]

just read the scene in book seven where they get into a little spat after jake brings up rachel skipping school to fly around as a hawk all day & i think it's fun how after the ellimist places them in the extremely traumatizing quandary of being solely responsible for deciding the entire fate of all of humanity part of their stress response is boiling over & rejecting the individual burdens it is usually their job to carry for the rest of the group.

it's previously been explicitly jake's job to carry the burden of everyone else in the group viewing him as responsible and stalwart. the burden of being willing to claim responsibility for difficult decisions that no one else can sign off on because they're paralyzed by the notion of how they'll feel if the decision gets someone killed--even if everyone else voted for the idea, they can't stand to be the one who approved it. jake is the one who, when cassie "jokingly" states that she just wishes he could make the difficult decision about executing a dangerous plan for her, solemnly asks if she wants him to. because if she needs him to be the one who feels like they have their friends' blood on their hands if it goes wrong, he'll be that for her. & then when jake is stressed by the idea of having to make that sort of decision but for potentially having all of humanity's blood on his hands, he steps back from reflexively trying to manage rachel's safety and instead reacts with--

"I don’t know, Rachel. I don’t have any answers. I’m sick of trying to have answers. You decide. I don’t want to argue with you. I don’t know what your problem is, but you know what? You deal with it."

& then of course there's rachel, who has a fight reflex more intense than a beaten dog--okay, wait, no, now it sounds like i'm talking about rachel lindt (of worm) (cooler rachel), let me start over. who has a fight reflex more intense than a cornered stoat, but only when she's cornered. now that she sees an out, the question of whether or not to go for flight instead is profoundly ethically complicated and disturbing for her. she reacts with anger to marco attempting to call her 'xena, warrior princess' again, because being the warrior who won't go down unless killed (& consequently motivating everyone else to do the same) is usually her burden to carry, but the weight of the ellimist's question (& the possibility of moving to a different city) make it impossible for her right now. how is she supposed to keep up a brave face and insist on a seemingly endless fight against all odds when there's a way out?

and marco Also has his little moment of stating that he's tired of his jokes, too. no humor left in him. there was previously an interaction where rachel, like, explicitly told him to keep up the humor because it kept her going, so i think it's interesting that it's specifically right after rachel insists she's not "xena warrior princess" & that in fact she's tired and scared and confused and wants to escape that marco tells her that he's tired of his jokes, too, and is taking her "losing it" as a sign to throw in the towel. he's like...genuinely filling the role of reinforcing and energizing her--who in turn serves as a marker of motivation & their ability to continue fighting--and when she drops the role, so does he. (and being willing to Give Up and take the ellimist's offer has particularly disturbing implications wrt how broken-down he feels given that it was only a bit ago that he was full-send on fighting to free his mother. he evidently sees that as hopeless/impossible now, to the point of being ready to quit and accept that she's just consigned to a fate worse than death forever.)

cassie it does not look like deviates from her general role Particularly explicitly here, but i do think it's noteworthy that she's going from mediating to just reaaaally starting to firmly argue a point. and specifically the point of trying to escape, at that.

[mariacallous]

I think people need to stop paying much attention to the polls until September. Polls are being conducted everyday (through largely dubious methods) to try and produce a horse-race for the media. They’re essentially trash polls. Just assume the races in the swing-states are tight and prepare accordingly.

Most importantly, I’m gonna need the doomerism among people to stop. No, Trump is not “crushing” Biden in the polls. The Democrats have been consistently overperforming ever since 2020. The Red Wave of 2022 never came. Democrats are flipping seats in special elections, especially at the local and state levels. Republicans are, at best, holding onto existing incumbencies, and some of those are by the skin of their teeth. Actual election results matter more than polls.

Not saying that to make people complacent, but to emphasize that liberals are energized right now and we need to keep flaming that energy. We need it especially in order to keep the US Senate this election. People in Tennessee, Maryland, Texas, Ohio, and Arizona especially need to do their part to make sure the GOP don’t flip the Senate (everyone knows West Virginia’s a lost cause for the Dems now that Manchin’s retiring).

And things are looking pretty good for Democrats to flip the House since not a day goes by without the House GOP showing everyone what a circus they’ve turned the place into. But again, we need people to actually get out there and pump up Democratic challengers of vulnerable Republican seats.

If people are scared of a Trump presidency, they need to not only make sure they vote for Biden, they need to make sure that the Democrats get control of both houses of Congress.

^

[cl0wncakez]

fun fact about me i used to hate tenko chabashira for the longest time until recently when i got back into danganronpa a few months ago.

what i really really really didn’t like about her was when she kept going on and on about “degenerate male” this “degenerate male” that.

but last month when i binged watched a youtuber playing v3, he pointed out how when she wasn’t showing her worst traits, she’s actually a really interesting and solid character.

in particular, her last moments before her death. just hours before, she and himiko had a bit of a falling out. tenko was frustrated with her friend constantly bottling up her feelings. she’s seen himiko constantly give up too quickly, ignore her own self worth, and think that everything is a pain. and angie, though she had good intentions with the student council, didn’t make the situation much better.

so when she was presumably going to be possessed by angie’s ghost, tenko gave himiko the advice she had been needing to hear from the start: to be herself, to not hold back on her feelings. because letting herself experience what’s going on inside was healthier than bottling them up like she has been doing up to this point, even after angie was found dead not even a few hours prior.

in my opinion, this one scene saved tenko’s character. because on the surface, she has really annoying moments with the whole “degenerate male” thing. but when you look at her through a scope, especially during her free time events, she’s an overly energetic, passionate person with a big heart.

and her final moments really did leave an impact on everyone, and the tone of the remainder of the game. after the third trial was done and everyone had a moment to breathe, himiko remembered her final words to her, which is what finally made her break. himiko, and the remaining students let everything out, because they were all grieving deep down, but weren’t able to get a moment to actually FEEL that grief that was chewing them apart inside, because they were in constant survival mode. and it was after this, when himiko remembered tenko’s words, that she finally decided that she was going to fight to survive. if it wasn’t for tenko (and shuichi, but he gave himiko that speech during the trial because of tenko’s words), she might’ve continued to bottle everything up, which could’ve very likely resulted in her wrongly being voted as the blackened, which would’ve gotten her and everyone else killed.

and for the rest of the game, you could really see a change in himiko. she was more energized, she helped with investigations and class trials, and didn’t give up as quickly. even in chapter 5 when they all contemplated self deleting themselves, she and everyone else was able to get back up again, and i strongly believe that tenko played a strong role in this, even in death.

so yeah i really like tenko now. while she is super annoying she’s MY loveable annoying character. and the moments where she really gets to shine i feel are some of the most important moments of the game.

live laugh love tenko chabashira

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Musk’s Right-Wing Allies Seize on Brazil X Ban Heading Into Elections

Brazil’s ban of social-media platform X may be an economic setback for owner Elon Musk, but it’s also a potential political opportunity for the billionaire and his right-wing allies.

Since the network’s shutdown over the weekend, heated arguments about freedom of speech, fake news and online censorship have erupted in Brazil and the US — energizing conservative political movements just as they head into elections in both nations.

Musk’s feud with a top Brazilian judge leading the charge against disinformation is being portrayed as a dangerous example of state overreach.

Donald Trump’s son warns that the US faces a similar fate if the Democrats defeat his father in November. In Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro’s supporters are seizing on claims of “censorship” a month ahead of a municipal vote that will be a key test of support for the governing Workers’ Party nationally.

Continue reading.

[darkmaga-retard]

America Is Entering End Times

Paul Craig Roberts

Does anyone remember the 2020 presidential campaign? Trump campaigned widely and had massive audiences. Enthusiasm was everywhere. Biden ventured out of the basement a few times and no one attended his campaign rallies. Trump got more votes in the 2020 election than he got in the 2016 election, but Biden got more votes than any president in history. Somehow the people elected an invisible candidate.

In the swing states vote counting was stopped in the middle of the night while truck loads of boxes arrived, some from out of state, in Democrat controlled vote counting centers. The votes were almost entirely for Biden, and when counting resumed, Trump’s lead disappeared.

The same thing is going to happen this November. Trump supporters, clearly a majority of legitimate voters, think Trump is going to win. Trump voters are energized and enthusiasm is high. Has anyone seen a Trump-sized turnout for Kamala? Trump will again win as he did in 2020, but Democrats count swing state votes, and Kamala will “win.”

As I have reported, the presstitutes are busy at work building Kamala into a formidable candidate who is in the lead, especially in the swing states. Fake polls are being reported that Kamala is the favorite. No one has explained why American voters want open borders, war with Russia and Iran, LGBT+ celebrated and normalized, white school children taught that they and their parents are racists, and that they could be born into the wrong body.

As the Democrats have made completely clear, this is what Americans are voting for if they vote for Kamala. Unless the American people are further gone that I think, a majority are not voting for Kamala.

She will win anyway.

[theculturedmarxist]

thoughts on the democrat party

Personally I think the Dems are doing "their best" with Biden. From what I can see the shape that American society has taken due to corporate monopolization has influenced the party in such a way that it has divested itself from the necessary talent to either govern or develop a new intellectual framework to deal with emerging circumstances. Biden is the best they've got because party power has been monopolized by all the geriatric party bosses, who have spent decades weeding out any potential party rivals and self selecting for mediocrity and the kind of intellectual narrowness necessary to carry the nebulous Dem party line.

The Dems have been outfoxed at every turn in spite of their comparative popularity to the Reps because as awful as it is, the Reps at least have a vision of the future and how to get their, which the Dems absolutely lack, and you can't beat something with nothing. So the Dems default to the "norms" set by the Republicans whenever the Ds manage to get power, which only serves the Republican agenda as eventually they'll just get in power again and pick up where they left off.

Biden is actually the best they can do, because they have no one of any vision to energize the base, and even if they did they don't have the clout to either direct the party or attract investment from donors. The fact that an octogenarian with dementia is at the head of the party and nothing can be done about it points to how serious the problems in the party have become.

>At what point do the Dems just collapse from the institutional rot you're describing?

I'm not sure, really. I haven't really thought about it.

I suppose we might be seeing the first indications of such a collapse now. I think the marks of a healthy institution are for it to a) be able to identify, incorporate, and cultivate new talent, b) to have an internal well of theoretical and practical knowledge to draw from, and c) to utilize the previous two in novel ways in order to work towards some kind of future ideal and/or to deal with novel circumstances, both benign and malignant.

It's much more complicated than just Trump as a person, but him and the circumstances surrounding him are a novel, malignant circumstance as far as the Democratic Party is concerned, and one that it had failed to deal with after 8 years of wrangling with it. Bernie Sanders is another facet of this malignant novelty, and the party's manner of dealing with him is ironically why they're incapable of dealing with Trump. As far as the party runners are concerned, Sanders and other members of the 'progressives" in the party are a tumor to be combated. Even their mild reforms run counter to party orthodoxy and are not to be tolerated, and anywhere they might seriously challenge that orthodoxy, like we saw when they prevailed in Nevada, they have to be crushed. They're allowed to showboat and make their little tirades, but when it comes to any sort of actual challenge to party policy there are various means of chastening them, like we saw recently with AIPAC crushing the "squad" and making AOC cry.

So this rigidity has made adaptation and innovation basically impossible. There's just the status quo, and if you want to get anywhere in the party you have to serve that status quo with a practically religious devotion. The party is now overflowing with empty suits like Kamala and Buttigieg, the sort of mediocrities that have no real values, no real intellect, and whose only talent is being able to say with some level of conviction whatever currently serves the party's interests. Unfortunately for them, the party's interests are diametrically opposed to the general population's interests, so while they might be able to get up in front of a tv and deliver a speech someone wrote for them which will make PMC types on twitter and the MSNBC hosts they follow swoon, there's nothing there to attract average people and convince them to vote for them. They've heard it all before and because there's very little material difference to them in being fucked by a Republican or Democrat president, they don't really care.

So the crisis now is that they have nothing to beat Trump with, and no way to fix this situation. Even if they had the talent to fall back on, Biden himself represents a significant amount of clout within the party itself, and the party's convention rules mean that all the delegates they gave him are his to do with as he pleases, and for whatever reason refuses to give them up, probably because he's a) a bastard and b) his progressing dementia is bringing out all his worst qualities, and making the magnanimous play for the benefit of others is not something that Biden would ever, ever do.

Right now we're witnessing all the powers and interests behind the party trying to come to grips with these circumstances. The young, attractive party members that would be worth funding like AOC are unacceptable because the donors won't accept their politics, so giving them actual power within and over the party is out of the question. The old party hacks like Clinton or Pelosi wouldn't accept this either because it would threaten their own power and security. Anyone that would be acceptable to the party bosses lacks the ability to attract enough sections of the party donors and voters to be viable. They lack the charisma to appeal to the people, and Obama's ability to line them up behind themselves with "it's me or the pitchforks" type of rhetoric.

However this election shakes out, it won't change the fact that the Democratic party is in the grip of a small number of extremely powerful party bosses that can't be dislodged for various reasons, and that as long as they're alive they're going to do whatever it takes to maintain their positions. As long as they do, no one of any real talent is going to make it anywhere in the party, and as long as that's true it's only going to continue to stagnate. And even if Obama, Pelosi, Biden, Clinton, and the rest of the bosses died tomorrow, that still wouldn't bring much effect because the ideology of the bourgeoisie behind the party is rigidly devoted to the status quo out of political and economic necessity. With all that said, their party remains viable only as long as the status quo remains viable, and that is quickly becoming not the case. They've been able to indulge in this stagnancy only because they've been able to minimize or externalize all the worst effects of it, but between climate change, the ascendancy of BRICS, the war in Ukraine they're losing, the war in Palestine they're losing, the cold war over Taiwan they're losing, the ongoing COVID pandemic, the incipient Avian Flu pandemic, and many, many other very severe problems developing in and around the country, that indulgence becomes increasingly untenable.

So to sum up, we might be witnessing the early stages of an ongoing and possibly irreversible collapse at this very moment.