Anyone else just utterly exhausted, beyond frustrated, and at a total loss?

[NewHendoLib]

I've posted very little here lately because, truthfully, I can't even form thoughts about the insanity we've been witnessing for a long time. We don't watch TV at all, so the only news I absorb is that which is brought here to DU, and on Slate, TPM and a bit of the NYT (though their Op Ed section is just drowning in bothsideserim and false equivalence).

From a court/justice system that seems rigged, bizarre beliefs in everything BUT science (all to own the libs, apparently), a nearly completely ineffective media that is either getting totally played by the right wing noise machine or just doing the bigging of their right wing, corporate owners, to a press and way too much of the public that is in the throes of TFG - they can't quit him (likely because of the income generated) - and this is before I even turn my brain to what we (our species, not just the US) are doing to the world/environment.

In my 65 years, I can't remember such a moment - when up is down, when lies are more accepted than truth - hell, when truth has become completely devalued. I just feel like those of us that are sane, that have empathy and common sense, that can understand things beyond 2 or 3 word memes or slogans, that can deal with the genuine complexity of issues - are becoming marginalized - shrunk - at rapid speed before our very eyes.

Try as I might, I can't really see a way through this, because unpunished crimes in broad daylight and the fallout from them are moving at a far faster rate than the slow grinding of (what we are all hoping would be) justice. Things are being broken far faster than they are getting fixed. We simply don't seem to have a way - an effective messaging system, effective political processes - to reverse this feeling of complete FUBAR. It feels like "they" are getting their way must more effectively than "we" are - and hell, we won the presidency and have the senate and house. I did NOT foresee this at all.

So - had to get that off my chest, because my typically optimistic self is finding it hard to be typically optimistic. The lunatics are running the asylum. Norms are being broken and modified - we are being dragged backwards to dark times - in fact, to some times that have only existed in the imaginations of those dragging us back.

Rant over...for now.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

1. Yes, yes, and yes!!! I feel the same exact way!!

[2naSalit]

2. Right there with you.

[SoCalDavidS]

3. Only Thing Keeping Me From Moving Elsewhere, Are My Parents

I fear that at 55, my options become more limited each day.

But I refuse to leave while my parents are still alive. They're in their 80's.

I really do not like it here, and I expect it to only get worse. Whatever sense of optimism and hope I once had for myself or the future, has vanished.

I realize those on DU are trying their best to make this a country worth living in, but the other side is too prevalent and powerful. I don't see any chance of normalcy for decades to come.

I'd rather not be known as a citizen from America. We're certainly an embarrassment worldwide at this point. We just don't see it while we're here, but I now completely understand why we're hated around the world.

[BigmanPigman]

19. You a good person and will be eternally glad

you stayed for them.

[SoCalDavidS]

39. Thanks. I Hate That I Feel The Way I Do.

I hear about how great America is, and how privileged I am to have been born here. I agree to an extent. There are absolutely places in the world I would not want to be. We're far from the worst place to live.

But ever since 2000, I've grown more and more depressed with what I've witnessed taking place, and the people I must live amongst.

The last 5-6 years put that in overdrive, and the last 20 months, with the Covid ignorance, and the insurrection which I have little doubt will go unpunished, has really pushed me over the edge. I have a deep seeded hatred towards those who make up 30-40% of the population, and that hatred goes far beyond the normal liberal-conservative disagreements. When facts and reason are no longer tolerated, I see no way forward for this country. When someone is willing to die, despite the possibility of saving themselves, there is no hope left for the rest of us, since we coexist with them.

I hear about how great America is, and how people would love to come here and live. I'm sure that's true for many, who live in countries far more impoverished. But I can't believe that many people in more stable countries, look upon America and feel shame, sadness and outright hatred. When it comes right down to it, we're really not "all that."

For now, Denmark is my goal. I know it wouldn't be easy, and perhaps it would be impossible, but someday I hope I have the chance to again travel the world, and see what else is out there. I look at many countries that did it right with Covid, and think there has to be something better than what we have here. I can't help but think that countries like Denmark & Canada, with vaccination rates approaching 80%, look at America's 58% with utter disgust. And I do not blame them one bit.

[BigmanPigman]

46. You're preaching to the choir with me.

I agree and feel the exact same way, even the 2000 date is the same. I had to take a year off/sabbatical in 2004 since I couldn't stand living in the US anymore, it disgusted and embarrassed me.

I vote for Denmark for overall quality of life. I have always likes the idea of living there. I just got an American/Italian citizenship so I could move to Italy and live there but my mom (87) lives near me now. She is 100% Italian but doesn't want to move there.

[SoCalDavidS]

52. Italy

In the not too distant past, they repeatedly voted in Berlusconi, their own little media minded fascist.

Then there were those whole WWI & WWII things.

My friend has talked about someday having a place outside of Florence. I think that would be nice, but I don't know if I'd want to live there on a permanent year round basis.

[BigmanPigman]

57. Their govt has always been screwed up

and that is why I would NOT like to live there full time. I think Bannon is involved in their BS.

[Larissa]

78. Awakening

Several years ago I went on a vacation to take a cruise of the Baltic states. The plan was to fly to Copenhagen and then cruise to St. Petersburg, Estonia, Germany and Sweden. Our hotel was in Copenhagen and we spent time checking out the sights. I was truly impressed by the healthy culture of bike riding encouraged by an infrastructure built around it. And, boy, did the people seem much healthier because of it. I stopped and thought: "Imagine that." Then such a gloom fell upon me because I was in a country that cared so much about its people; that was far from what the U.S. was/is about. All this grinding and sweating about providing some help in the Federal budget when everyone knows damned well that if the White House and Congress flips back to the GOP, all of that will be snatched back and the rich will be swimming in more tax breaks.

In the United States, the people (commoners) are at the bottom of the barrel while corporations and the super wealthy wield their power from above. The U.S. is dead last of all developed countries in this regard. It is shameful and it shows.

[alittlelark]

70. I am in the exact same situation.

I spent a month in Costa Rica looking at real estate 5 years ago - but did not do it due to parents.

[lark]

104. When drumpf stole the office, we lied about our country when overseas.

Got tired of the constant snark & sneers when we said we're from America, so became Canadians when asked. Even when we'd tel folks we didn't vote for drumpf, they still gave us shade because their media told them that America loved drumpf.

We told our friends the truth, but to the general public - no.

I feel like a misplaced person, and can;'t relate to so much of what's going down here. The worst is ahead and I fear we will be captured by the fascist right by 2024, they are already so close to doing this.

[Blues Heron]

4. It's like we've fallen into an instant new dark ages

It truly is mind boggling and frightening.

[canetoad]

15. Yes it is frightening

Even more so because the advanced technology that connects almost every person on the planet is driving the descent to a dark age.

[DENVERPOPS]

76. Or watching a continuous

sadistic Hologram, which has worsened for the last 20+ year, but now at an unfathomable level for the past 5+ years.
It's like we are living in a different dimension............

WASF

[Aristus]

5. Yeah, but that's just life in clinical medicine.

Abandon hope, all ye who enter the medical profession...

[hunter]

18. You sound like my wife.

Altruism is not generally respected in U.S.A. society.

People in the altruistic professions get hammered.

[Ocelot II]

6. Yes. It's like a bad acid trip. Or falling down the rabbit hole. An open-air lunatic asylum.

“But I don't want to go among mad people,” Alice remarked. “Oh, you can't help that,” said the Cat: “we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.”

I don't want to go among mad people either, but I don't know how to get away from them.

[triron]

102. That's it in a nutshell. Hoping for the intervention of ET (I know far-fetched).

[Srkdqltr]

7. Um ... while most of what is posted here is good to read.

A lot of it tends to be doom and gloom. A lot on here are the "hair on fire" type. One needs to be selective about what they read. Balance this with some others (not Fox).

[gab13by13]

26. So people talking about doom and gloom facts are the problem?

Got it. I will try.

I predicted the Appeals court would issue a stay turning over documents to the select committee, I stated the court wanted to make a ruling.

I was a little bit shocked that the court said that it wouldn't have a decision until Nov. 30. Oh well, I will just join the "be patient" crowd, no gloom and doom. Anyone know or have an idea when the Supreme Court can take up the case after the Appeals court rules? Does the SC work over Christmas? Will this decision drag on until election time where there are norms to follow so as to not influence an election?

Hey, I feel a lot better already. Patience is a virtue. Yeah I heard that no one of importance is going to obey a subpoena and appear before the select committee until after the SC makes its decision. It's not going to spoil my Christmas because I am now a part of the wait and see crowd.

Peace.

[Srkdqltr]

35. Ok ... I'm 80years old. I've seen things come and go.

Time has a way of putting things in perspective. A lot of what is happening now is bad but there is no way to see into the future where all this will work out one way or another.
When the Russians put missiles on Cuba and the president came on tv in the evening and told us he was working on making them go away, hopefully without a fight as Russia was threatening to bomb us. We lived several weeks in dreadful worry.
These things have a way of working out as we don't know everything that is going on.

[cachukis]

66. Sorry, that was external. This is what our country has become.

We are in predicament. We are not going to stop climate change. We can only manage with the tools we have. We are not going to stop the money's chase for more money. They have the money and the means to propagandize the unread. Most here, not DU, are unread. We know this is happening, but are unable to quit our search for wealth and comfort. We can have it all, fills our media. The great experiment was based on a social contract of honor to humanity's pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. The contract has been replaced by dishonor and shameless individuality. While there are pockets of rebuttal still out there, I'm beginning to feel that Warsaw Ghettos are all we have left. Fighting for survival is for the altruistic. Easier to go along to get along. Think of the rights we have worked to attain and consider their erosion. We can't even talk to a person without a battle, on the telephone. Tell me I'm wrong.

[Beachnutt]

8. Same and contemplating leaving

the good ole USA

[Srkdqltr]

24. Question where would you go??

[SoCalDavidS]

45. If I Had A Choice

Right now, it would likely be Denmark. Progressive, with an excellent health care system.

Would it be easy? Probably not. But it would be a good place to live. They are normally in the Top 3 of the world's "happiest" countries. While America is something like 25th.

I've also heard positive things about Portugal, and also New Zealand. The latter just seems too remote, but the people there sound wonderful, and centered in reality. When they had a mass shooting, they did not spend decades arguing and doing nothing, like here. They took action. Another instance where we are an embarrassment to the rest of the civilized world, with our minute by minute gun violence.

[Srkdqltr]

56. New Zealand sounds like a great place.

What I have seen it is a beautiful place. Looks quite modern and they speak English.

[SoCalDavidS]

60. I've Heard That New Zealanders Are Wonderful People

I've gotten to know a couple of them on another message board where we discuss Covid, and have done so for the last 20 months.

They relay that the people there look upon America with a sense of pity. Such a great nation, with so many possibilities, yet FUBAR. The ones I've spoken to, while by no means the entire population, were almost as anxious and then excited last November, as all of us were. They were really pulling for us to escape from the hole we were in. But now, the last 11 months, they've seen that it's essentially a lost cause. Problems far more enduring than an election will set us free from. I can tell you that despite how great we feel America is, they would NEVER leave New Zealand to come here, if given the chance. They see the mess that lies ahead, and would want no part of that.

[Beachnutt]

103. You named the 3 I had in mind and possibly

Australia

[Slammer]

112. moving experience

I had an acquaintance prepare for moving his family to Portugal for something like six years, including learning the language. The preps included several trips to the country so he and his wife would get a realistic look at how the average person lived.

He sold everything, moved his family, and was back in the US three months later. It was just too alien of an environment for them to deal with every day.

I've heard nice things about New Zealand both in the media and from a native who I met in a forum.

[róisín_dubh]

97. I'm outta here in the Spring

I’ll be splitting my time between England (loads of problems but better than here), Scotland and Netherlands.
I can’t wait! I can have surgery I’ve put off because I can’t afford it here (despite insurance). I don’t have to worry about being shot or my neighbors having an arsenal.

[jimfields33]

9. No. I read DU and that's it.

I have to much other things going on to worry about things we can’t change at least until November 2022.

[QED]

10. Agree

Disheartening to see criminals not face consequences.

[doc03]

11. I am 73 myself up is down right is wrong

every day there is something. A Senator posts a video
of him killing AOC, that is ok. A Trump supporting far right Congressman votes for the infrastructure bill and they want to take away all their Committee assignments and primary them. A president tries to overthrow the government and they want him back in office WTF. It has been like a 5 year Twilight Zone episode.

[wnylib]

77. You've got one year on me and

I also have never seen anything so insane. I suppose this is how many of the German people felt in the late 1920s and early 1930s as madness overtook the nation. Spain and Italy, too.

I think that we will win out in the end but I also think that it will get very bad before that happens. So it is important to have ways to back away for a while to refresh ourselves with people and things we enjoy that help us unwind and keep perspective.

The reason that I believe that it will get worse is that the RW thugs are so fanatical and belligerent that they will not give up until or unless they encounter people who are equally firm and strong in resisting them enough to force them to stop. I don't know what that resistance strength might consist of. It could be the courts, but possibly not. Convictions of the criminal elements behind the thugs who are leading and instigating them could just result in them entrenching themselves further or could possibly become a trigger (excuse) for them to explode into violence. But they still need to be held accountable.

Resistance might just consist of building up enough political followers of our own to push the thugs back into the fringes and make people less inclined to follow them. Ridicule, exposure, and humiliation might work to accomplish that.

But sometimes I fear that their belligerence and fanaticism are so strong that only physical force will stop them.

[Elessar Zappa]

12. I try to periodically take breaks from DU and the news.

It does wonders for my mental health. I also try and take the approach that I can only do what I can do. Volunteer for Democrats, volunteer at my local animal shelter, donating to worthwhile causes. Beyond that I can’t control and try not to let it effect me.

[MustLoveBeagles]

13. You're not alone

I feel the same way

[Thunderbeast]

14. Bestest, Most efficientest, Friendliest Health Care System in the World?

NOT a system!

Just a directory of profit centers. In no other country is THE PATIENT supposed to integrate services and payment methods.

On the bright side, maybe your surgeon was able to get a tee time tomorrow!

[Kaleva]

16. No. Feeling rather upbeat. Biden is President, we have Congress.

I don't let others control my emotions.

[Mister Ed]

37. Same here. n/t

[SoCalDavidS]

43. How Did You Feel After 8 Years Of Obama & Biden?

Pretty good, I suppose.

How did that all work out?

[Kaleva]

58. About the same.

Like I said, I strive to not let others control my emotions.

[SoCalDavidS]

61. I Don't Always Let That Happen Either

But I'm able to bring my emotions to a boiling point without any outside help at all. Sadly, reality is powerful enough to enrage me on a daily basis.

[Kaleva]

63. I try to go by what I learend in AA long ago

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference.

[BlueIdaho]

80. H.O.W. True

Another friend of Bill W.

[BigmanPigman]

17. If anyone isn't feeling this way isn't paying attention.

I have felt like this for about 5 or 6 months. I definitely noticed the change in atmosphere.

[Kaleva]

59. The hell climate change is bringing will distract you from this.

[Scrivener7]

20. Yes. And I am frightened of what will happen in the next two elections.

[Sucha NastyWoman]

21. I don't think stopping watching the news is a good idea.

Just make sure it’s real news. As things escalate it could be dangerous not to watch the news.

But all things in moderation. Don’t watch it obsessively.

[NewHendoLib]

23. I turned it all off 17 years ago. It is 2% news, 98% entertainment (as in opinion).

no thanks. I don't want to give any support to such an awful system.

[Sucha NastyWoman]

27. Well you must be reading your news

Instead of watching it. Like at DU.

[NewHendoLib]

29. did you read my OP? It lays out how I get my news.

then again, seems like reading is such a lost art these days - even here.

[druidity33]

96. I also go to...

Talking Points Memo, Emptywheel, and Charlie Pierce at Esquire for my News. Just a few extra solid sources for you...

[SheltieLover]

22. Same here

Maybe focus more on pet, fiction, photo, & music groups?

I don't watch any TV, either, NHL. Trying to ignore it, but that will not make it all go away.

Feeling like Alice in Wonderland. 😖

[NewHendoLib]

25. Believe me, we are really busy hiking, gardening, cooking, books and music

My wife and I will be OK I hope) - not so sure of our daughters - things may all fall apart before too long.

But - our bubble of peace and happiness works well (as selfish as that often makes us feel)

[SheltieLover]

30. Don't feel selfish, NHL

Self-care is incredibly important!

Glad you are both doing well. I've been reading a lot of fiction.

But what we thirst for is justice. With a large "J!"

[SoCalDavidS]

41. Who Needs Fiction, When We Have Reality Masquerading As It Every Day? nt

[honest.abe]

28. Totally feel the same way.

I dont watch TV either but from reading DU and various news websites it just sounds like this country has completely gone crazy. Clearly 4 years of Trump set this off. He validated racism, hate, misogyny, ignorance, stupidity, lying, etc, etc, etc.

I dont know how we are going to recover from this. It may take a very long time.

[hunter]

31. I banished television "news and opinion" from my personal universe two decades ago.

The last "traditional" television we saw in our house was an episode of Chuck.

We'd moved the television and I hadn't bothered to attach anything permanent to the antenna input. Mostly my wife and I watched DVDs. Cable was long gone.

One of our children home from college, an enthusiast of small and medium budget movie making, later set us up with Netflix.

[Joinfortmill]

32. I hear you

[gab13by13]

33. Cable news pushes right wing narratives,

I listened to some Stephanie Miller and Thom Hartmann today.

[quakerboy]

34. Thats not a bug, its a feature

The system we currently have has been carefully molded to overwhelm as many as possible, to drive us to the edge and get us to hate it all and throw up our hands while those with power do whatever they wish.

[brewens]

36. I've brought it up with my therapist and will again. This reminds me to tell her how freakin'

stressed I was over the election too. I'm new to therapy and just figuring out how things go. So far I like her, and it's nice just knowing I get to go in again next week and talk some more.

[BlackSkimmer]

38. Be careful someone will accuse you of "trolling" if you dare express your opinion and it's not all

rainbows and butterflies.

[NewHendoLib]

67. .

I know!

[mucifer]

40. Honestly, I'm too exhausted to read your rant. But, I sure upvoted you. I just want to cry

[malaise]

42. Great post

Rec

[MerryBlooms]

44. I've been watching clips here and there,

But haven't watched a news show in ages. I already know I will vote straight ticket and don't need to be courted. There isn't anything I can do about the shitshows Republicans are pulling in republican states. I can do something in Oregon, so that's where I put my energy.

The daily reports of trump still being tru m p, isn't something I can do anything about. Same with DOJ, court proceedings on high profile cases... I can't afford the time or energy to invest. I am working extra hours for 1 client this week, because the other caregiver is ill. I was bumped into by an electric cart by my other client during a shopping trip, and my back is a bit wacky and am having spasms. I still have to take care of my sister... I can't afford the investment of time and emotions for all the stuff going on in the news. If I was retired, maybe, but I doubt I would have the desire.

I love DU, in part becauseof the news shared, but the familiar monikers, sharing of personal triumphs, pains and life experiences in general.

I'm sitting on my porch watching and listening to the birds. Soon, the feral kitties that survived the fire will be here for supper. Then, momma racoon and her 3 kits will be here for kibble and cookies. No news watching... the sights and sounds of nature's friends. I'm okay with not knowing all the horror humans inflict on each other, the environment, and critters. I can allow my heart to break just so many times a day.

[ancianita]

47. Good for you. Rant away. It's our new level of fight, needing more breaks and rants.

This is the crisis world we're in. All the more reason to listen and help each other.
There are hopeful actions happening that lighten my heavy heart and dark outlook.

A book I just finished lays them out. I couldn't believe I just read something that was as heavy on solutions as on laying out the problems. Doing something is a channeling of helplessness. Anyway, David Pepper's Laboratories of Autocracy -- its last four chapters provide 30 steps to saving our democracy.
It's got stuff we've never discussed here before.
It's badass.


Hang in there.

[traitorsgalore]

48. People will take things into their own hands, no reason to give up hope

That's the way through this, remembering that at least 70% of Americans feel the exact same way you and I do.

[stillcool]

49. we've been on this road for a long time...

but there is nothing familiar about it. Doesn't matter where I look, the scene is either obscured by clutter, or it's a frigging sci-fi show. I appreciate a good rant. Always nice to know I'm not alone.

[Orrex]

50. When I voice such concerns here, certain people leap up to scold me for my impiety

And I'm told articulating my anxiety, fully justified by all available evidence, is a waste of time.

The System, they assure me, is working, and who am I to question The System?

True, there's no outward sign that any significant member of the insurrection or Trump's criminal empire family is, has, or will face serious consequences, nor will any sitting Republican be held to account for their role in or support of the insurrection, but the real problem is my lack of faith in The System.


You are not alone in your concerns, or your frustration, or your exhaustion. Your feelings are entirely valid and reasonable, despite what others insist that you believe.

[ananda]

51. I know. It's reallyreally bad, pure evil and all like that.

But the only way I cope is through escapism.

I play bridge and it makes me really happy,
especially now that we can all play together
again and my game is really up there...
so I'll be moving up a rank before too long.

Still, I plan to to do whatever I can to make
things right....

[Poiuyt]

53. You hit my thoughts exactly!

[YoshidaYui]

54. I smoke way more weed not than when I did

during the Donald Trumps administration, because I knew he was lazy but now I am anxious more cause I don't want to constantly hear about Krysten Sinema having little fits and stalling out Joe Biden's plans for a country where the other side wants to burn down rather than have nice things!

[Jon King]

55. Your rant is right on, CNN seems to equate the end of democracy with high gas prices.

Its like these executives do not have kids and grandkids who need the country to exist as a democracy and the planet to have a livable climate.

They literally give more negative spin on Biden and food prices than they do the right wing turning the country into a dictatorship. 'In tonight's news, prices at the pump are high and what is Biden doing about it...and oh yeah, Republicans are advocating for an end to the American democracy experiment"

[Evolve Dammit]

62. It's not a rant. It's truth. Unprecedented coup on the U.S. We are at a critical time. Thanks

[Codifer]

64. Oh yes.

For me, I have defined these feelings as.... heartbroken.

[monkeyman1]

65. the only thing I want to read is TFG 's obituary!! nothing more ,nothing less

[marybourg]

68. Cut down on your news consumption even further.

And don’t read any opinion pieces. It works for me! I’m mellow.

[NewHendoLib]

69. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, y'all. Means a lot.

[slightlv]

71. As you can tell, you're not alone!

For me, it's not just the news of the country or the world. It's the incivility of people. Their rudeness. The outright meanness when there's no need to be mean. I've always been a sensitive person. The kind who has to turn away from the commercials for ASPCA because they make my heart ache too bad, even tho I've done rescue for decades. I've been making comments to hubby about moving out of country for a little while now, enough he's actually noticed... especially when he had to wake me from a nightmare the other night. I'd love to move to New Zealand, Canada, Ireland... but at our ages I don't think anyone would take us. But if we go totalitarian and social security gets trashed, we're screwed. It's always in the back of my mind, along with suicide with the worry of who would take care of my animals, and then come the night terrors. rinse, repeat. try not to have a panic attack. With a chronic medical condition, in addition to being elderly, I figure I'm about as low down on the usefulness hierarchy as repubs would place people. My only hope is that some country(ies) would offer refugee status to those like us if and when we become a failed state. Oh, and NHL.. like you, I'm ordinarily a very optimistic person. Have been all my life. But no matter what you do, just trying to maintain in this world today is hard enough!

[BradAllison]

72. Yup

Our Democracy is on the clock. Some people here don't care, to the point they actually enable the Senators doing it with the fear that "the voters will make us pay in the next election" if we become "extreme".

It's idiotic. We are not far away from all voting ending.

[calimary]

73. MAN do I get that, NewHendoLib!

I can still remember thinking that “we’ll never have anybody in the White House like Nixon.” And unfortunately after that, it became “at least there can’t be anybody as bad as bush/cheney (emphasis on the “cheney” part)”.

And now it’s trump. And all I can think of at this point is - “okay, so should I start bracing for somebody worse than trump?” I cannot imagine ANYBODY worse than trump. But third time’s a charm, I guess….

[gldstwmn]

74. If the arrests and indictments don't start

flying soon Trump is going to mount a campaign to run for president in 2024. They are going to try again.

[hay rick]

75. Some days I just want to curl up into a fetal position...

other days I am ready to fight the good fight, regardless of the odds or cost. One of my greatest concerns is that too many people seem to be withdrawing instead of resisting. The trip to catastrophe may be a simple demonstration of self-fulfilling prophecy.

[brooklynite]

79. I went to a museum and took a walk in Central Park...

…then worked on a presentation I’m giving at Cooper Union and made dinner. I don’t obsess about the state of of the world…like most Democratic elected officials and clearly most voters don’t

[Skittles]

81. it feels like Bizarro World

to see me great country torn apart by the likes of Donald Fucking Trump - it is extremely disturbing

[CrackityJones75]

82. Get hold of yourself.

This is no time for downers. I feel ya though. At times it can be overwhelming. But we are going to need all hands on deck!

[BobTheSubgenius]

83. I feel much the same way, except worse.

Unless something significant happens VERY soon to start changing the course of the lumbering ship of state, things may only continue to deteriorate until the end of my life.

Not that that will be all that long, but still. It's a dreadful thought.

[IcyPeas]

84. To quote you...

We simply don't seem to have a way - an effective messaging system, effective political processes - to reverse this feeling of complete FUBAR. It feels like "they" are getting their way must more effectively than "we" are - and hell, we won the presidency and have the senate and house. I did NOT foresee this at all.

This is how I feel too. I thought things would be better after TFG was gone from office. But he and his disciples are everywhere.

Right wing criminals are being held up as heroes or victims.

Subpoenas being ignored.

Manchin, sinema, McConnell...

Abbott, DeSantis, womens rights

fox, hate radio.....

we won... but we can't win.

And if they win 2022 they will stop all January 6 investigations. They'll all go scot free.

[mchill]

85. For awhile now and why I'm doing paperwork for Canadian Citizenship

[GusBob]

86. Nope not at all

Oh look another DU chicken little thread
The last one made me laugh my ass off ‘is your life full of dread?’

Come on people pull yourselves together! Make a difference if you are so miserable

[hamsterjill]

87. I shed tears every single day.

I think some of us understand more than others exactly what we are losing and have already lost. Life is never going to be the same as it was before Trump, and until he is no longer a threat, I won’t feel safe.

[BootinUp]

88. It just takes a awhile for your perception to become the

majorities perception. I think its attributable to some kind of unknown inertial factor.

[MyMission]

89. With all the recs and replies for this post, you are so not alone

I've also been fighting exhaustion, frustration, and feeling a bit lost, confused, angry, impatient, and unsure about the things you mentioned, and other stuff. I've wondered if part of it is the change of seasons, as I do hate to see the days get shorter and colder. But I always have to deal with that, and this year it seems to add a layer, making it harder.

I've observed that life often cycles, history often repeats, and I often say "the pendulum swings"
Politically I've observed that for decades now. Many of us have. The awareness that it will swing in the other direction is a real concern. My hope and prayer is that it won't swing back yet, and won't be as forceful when it does.

There are more of us than them. But they are incorrigible; loud, angry, gullible, defiant, delusional, and they have guns and believe in violence and fascism; and don't believe in science or climate change or justice. The rest of us are a mixed group; and might or might not be pacifists, gun owners, prepared or unprepared to deal with 1/6 or any future insurrections, or fascists taking charge, or climate change. How does one prepare for any of that? I ask myself.

We keep fighting the good fight, and retreating when we need respite, and we seek like-minded people for support. I don't watch the news, and I don't watch TV either. I also get my news from DU, and reading assorted websites and headlines. I appreciate this community, and I appreciate your rant. You are not alone! (Due to an interruption I'm posting this 3 hours after I started it. I can only imagine how many more have chimed in.)

Glad to hear you're enjoying your life in our little town.
It's been a beautiful fall, despite the doldrums.

[Cosmocat]

90. We passed the tipping point the day 45 won the presidency

Its just a matter of how bad it gets now.

[Cetacea]

93. Its going to get very bad exponentially

And bigger and more effective distractions will be fed into the system via AM Hate Radio, Fox and the other "liberal media", and the web.

We don't have a messaging problem. We have a broadcasting problem.

[TheAnnoyedAgnostic]

91. I definitely feel very frustrated with

a lot of voters who have fallen for the recent RW backlash/CRT nonsense. It comes down to the average person not being that ideological, combined with a relentless, unrelenting RW media that is everywhere pushing negativity and Biden bashing. We need to bass the BBB and brag our asses off!!!!!!

Look what happened in Virginia(supposedly a safe blue state), and then Youngkin. I'm quite young, not even 30, but Democrats have to turn this ship around fast or the 2022 midterms will be a bloodbath!

We have to defeat the GOP. They DO NOT CARE about climate change, public health, or racism!
We can't give up!

[Snackshack]

92. Yes

Mostly I am beyond frustrated and at a total loss of how all that you mention is happening, this wave of anti-intelligence, anti-science, anti-government, anti-common sense and there is no counter wave pushing back against it. It seems to have free will to continue to its ultimate conclusion. There is zero accountability. The DOJ is doing nothing about it beside picking up the low hanging fruit and completely ignoring the tree that fruit fell from. Dems are not doing anything about it. Why they are not in front of TV cameras every day reminding Americans just what the reality is I don’t understand. The media is fanning the flames. The business community is silent…

History has shown clearly what happens when a state or nation turns authoritarian and we are quickly heading in that direction. The opposition is quickly silenced. I don’t know what the military would do…they sat back did nothing as they watched their Capitol being attacked and knew full well that the normal plans for such an event were not being done.

So yes for the 1st time in my life the thought of a dramatic change in locations has cross my mind. If DT does get back into the WH and I can’t even imagine what life would like.

[Aussie105]

94. This is a time to confirm your own personal standards and values.

Don't be afraid to say a loud NO!!! inside your head when the dross around you come out with their twisted thoughts.

Just play dumb in the face of lies and stupidity, and think 'I know better than that!'

Go quietly where others make useless and empty noise, tread lightly where others stamp their boots for attention.
You know different, you know better.

[BlueJac]

95. I am feeling the same way!

[emily333]

98. Right there with you, on some days

I hear you. On some days I'm able to hold on, other days I feel like we're circling the drain. Hang in there. The good guys need you to not give up.

[denvine]

99. You are not alone!

It is so damn frustrating! Why are we so bad a messaging and why is the public so gullible to the lies. I feel as though I'm living in an alternate reality or living in the movie "Invasion of the Body Snatchers".

[nebby70]

100. you said it beautifully....

.... all of you ....
.... at 72 I was starting to worry that perhaps I'd drifted off into the mist of 'cranky old'...
.... I can't process the news in any more than small bits, because I've run out of outrage, anger and frustration ...
.... all of this DU family gives me comfort; because if I've gone around the bend, at least I'm with y'all....

[twodogsbarking]

101. I think it is quite normal to feel this way.

If you don't then maybe you have a problem.

[samplegirl]

105. I'm depressed most of

the time as I feel the reality. I live the reality daily.
Some people are able to block out what’s happening.
I’m not one of them.
A lot of us are slipping further towards poverty.

[Bettie]

106. Yes

I try to stay positive, but every day is a relentless stream of crap.

Criminals get to do what they want, congressional subpoenas mean nothing, and the media is cheerleading for the insurrectionists.

But, I live in a stupid little town filled with magats so it is hard to find light.

[Loge23]

108. We're witnessing the collapse of our country.

Our country never did live up to its' well-intended and lofty aspirations - aspirations largely dreamed up by landowning, white, slaveholders however well-intended. Some will say that that was just the way it was back then and some time in the future the same may be said about these days.
WWII, for all of its' horrors and cataclysmic casualty counts may have represented the apex for the country in terms of a promising future, but then you realize that that future conveniently omitted a sizable portion of our population - the Civil Rights Act was still a couple of decades away.
Still, it seemed hopeful in the 60's again - the Act signed and codified, but the lingering darkness of Vietnam serving as the curtain of separation between the idealists and the regressives.
We've repeated the mistakes of Vietnam several times since and the resurgence of public idiocy (read: racism, which apparently has become socially acceptable in some circles) has blunted the Act to the point where we can't even pass a Voting Rights Act - in the alleged greatest democracy in the world.
In the meantime, labor was attacked and oligarchs began their climb into the infamous 1%. Wages stagnated while vast fortunes were built upon arguably useless products. A conman - a real one! - was elected President. His inept Cabinet set upon destroying the very institutions they were sworn to protect. Hopelessness reigned among the masses and some, even many, opted to associate themselves with the regressives, fearful of moving forward from the perceived safety of their distorted memories.
Perhaps the last of those set-upon institutions to fall now that we're firmly ensconced in poor-to-middling international rankings in things like infrastructure, education, and health care, is justice. Once we lose justice, we're officially toast as an ideal of a democracy - let alone a functioning one. They'll be no more pretense about who and what we are as a nation. Justice, as we all need to acknowledge, is hanging by one of the last hanging threads of our social fabric.
Those of us of a certain age are faced with living through this collapse or fleeing to the relative calm of a third-world country, an uncertain and darkening Europe, or the steely embrace of the northern climes. Those who are truly the future must decide what their country will be now become and what's left to build on.

[Amishman]

109. remember what is really important

and do more of that instead.

For me that it is getting out the really big slingshot and lobbing tennis balls out into the yard for my kids and the dogs to chase. In a month or two, that will be traded for snowball fights.

[Paladin]

110. This is what happens when evil motherfuckers do as they please.

And pay little or no price for it.

[Slammer]

111. enforce the laws on officials

In my opinion. this is why you should prosecute all the little nit-picky crimes which public officials commit.

So we instead are saving prosecution for the big crimes.

But the DOJ is reluctant to investigate the big crimes because they're often committed by bigwigs.

Congress is reluctant to nail hides to the wall when it comes to getting cooperation from witnesses so they can gather evidence of crimes.

We have this false idea that the founders of the country intended it should be vanishingly rare for an impeachment (with removal from office and barring from holding future office) to happen rather than intending for it to happen each and every time it was needed.

Because we almost never hold any politician responsible for his actions. politician realize they can routinely away with unsavory things. And Trump bragged that he could gun down someone on the streets and no one would prosecute him.

Figure out what rules you want for public officials then rigorously hold public officials to those rules.

Fill the prisons with Democrat politicians.

It'll be okay because their cellmates will be Republican politicians.

If we set up that kind of environment, politicians won't try to get away with big things...or small things.

Getting historical:

Hillary when she was being investigated turned over tens of thousands of her work emails to the State Department. She told us so on TV in interviews. Her lawyer told us that. The State Department told us that.
n
Her having sole possession of her work emails violated the written text in the FOIA law (which her husband amended to include emails), the National Records Act, and the actual written text of federal embezzlement law.

At one point I calculated the number of emails she said she gave over then the sentence per email (which is how violations are calculated) then the number of years in prison she could be sentenced to and it was well over 100,000 years...just on the violations she admitted to on national TV.

Don't get me wrong. I campaigned and blogged for Hillary's presidential campaign twice. But the country would have been better served by holding her accountable...so we have precedent for holding other high profile people accountable.

As for Trump:

During his 2016 campaign, he was careful to spend each night at one of his properties. Since he had Secret Service protection, the agents stayed on his properties as well. And Trump charged them the going rate for their rooms and pocketed the money.

It wasn't a secret at the time and it was perfectly legal, if an unethical way to line his pockets at our expense.

So he gets elected president and two weeks after he got sworn in, he took a vacation at one of his properties and naturally his Secret Service detail followed.

I go batcrap crazy because I knew with a metaphysical certainty that he continued charging his Secret Service detail for their rooms. Now it might have been legal for him to do that as a candidate but it was a direct violation of the Constitution for him to receive money from the government for goods or services while president, and particularly when he was solely responsible for arranging the circumstances of it happening (it's a violation of the emoluments clause).

Two weeks into Trump's presidency, he should have been impeached. Any investigation would have easily found that the Secret Service cut a check to Trump's property to cover the room expenses for the agents.

Win or lose in the impeachment trial is a win overall. Trump is removed from office and barred from ever holding any federal job again or his administration is crippled from the start since we could be as obstructionist as we wanted to someone who was illegitimately in office. (Personally, I think the Republicans would have been perfectly willing to throw Trump under the bus. At that point, they weren't enamored with the crazy and had hopes of governing a country rather than creating a circus. People like Cruz, Rubio, Pence, and Graham hadn't turned into hopeless suck-ups.)


If we nail officeholders to the law on a regular basis and each time they break the law, we'll create an environment where impeachments work and the threat of them will stop presidents from behaving badly.

We'll create an environment where no one would dare defy a Congressional subpoena because they know doing so is a one-way ticket to jail (rather than having our current circumstances where we don't actually know if a Congressional subpoena actually means anything or not).

[samsingh]

113. yes

i'm tired of no laws for repugs

[AKwannabe]

114. Might as well get stoned

https://m.