Imgur bans my IP from a Digital Ocean droplet of my own build. Just sayin’, they’re not only operating from known IP ranges.

That first sentence is likely my answer! People are identifying with the memes, therefore they feel they belong to that group when they may truly not. I am not a smart man.

As to medication, LOL. My ADHD best friend and his ADHD wife brought some Ritalin home one afternoon. Very excited, they invited me to join in snorting a line. I was bouncing off the walls like I was on meth. They got calm and were very happy to just sit on the couch and talk.

Another funny one; When we were 17 a salesman in the department store offered us coffee he was selling. Gf: “No, that will put me to sleep.” Say what?! True enough. We met and lived with each other 10-years later, coffee knocked her out cold.

But what really turned my head was seeing my 6-yo daughter on medicine the first time. She never struck me as “abnormal” until I saw her on speed. We watched her literally stop and smell the flowers.

Didn’t want to say it, but it sure seems trendy to me. Quick example from my daughter:

She had zero issues with eye contact until very recently. She reads memes telling her eye contact is a problem for people like her. Now she has problem.

I am NOT saying that issue is fake, but when a child is constantly bombarded with, “This is how you are!”, they become that way.

Part of my thoughts in the OP are, “We’re making normal behavior out to be abnormal and slapping a label on it. And perhaps we’re making it worse than need be.”

My mother constantly told me I was sickly as a child, and I was constantly sick. First year of college (without her influence) was my first year without a single illness, not even a mild cold. Miracle! Wait…

If I took her ADHD drugs, I’d be on speed. She takes them, she calms down. Yes, it’s speed, I’ve done loads, all kinds, I get it. Why else you think said drugs are so highly controlled? Shit’s nearly like meth to “normal” people.

Are you telling me to educate myself and implying there’s a genetic component to autism/ADHD? Imma need to see your notes.

That is starting to make sense. Yet I’ve never met a human that experiences these things non-stop. My daughter can be “off” sometimes, but she’s mostly not. And yes, I understand it’s a spectrum, there are degrees.

Think NATO will cross the Atlantic and do something about it? Serious question. You’re talking capability, and you’re probably right on the question of winter fighting (damned interesting!), but I’m talking will.

But let’s drop the comparison to Vietnam, or any other American fuck ups. To get into such another quagmire, NATO would have to get troops there in the first place. And again, not like they can hide in Greenland’s vast jungles. Honestly, I don’t know of a fair wartime comparison? Who has invaded a monstrous rock and who has tried to defend it across an ocean? We’re all in new territory, and maybe that’s the scariest thing.

For all intents and purposes, Greenland in an uninhabited rock, on our side of the world, with strategic minerals and positioning, and NATO has done jack shit to defend their own eastern front. And let’s not forget Putin pushing for all this, and getting his way. We’re taking it and I am scared shitless of what comes next.

Yes, it’s Putin who wants this! But taking Greenland is still in America’s best interest, from a strategic point of view, current world politics and near-term consequences be damned.

As to the future of America, I’m starting to see the light, starting to see how truly dangerous these people’s long-term vision is. Trump is all simple-minded greed, but Project 2025 and the like is far worse.

These people truly believe in a Nazi vision of a 3rd Reich. They want to etch their names in history books. They truly think they’re doing what’s right for America, now and in the future. Don’t all dictators?

My only hope is that, like Hitler, giddy on success, they bite off more than they can chew.

Edge of town in a poor(ish), redneck, American suburb. Like I said, people don’t usually bike unless they have to, just no demand I guess.

I should note, not talking about the nice sorts of bikes like you probably have. Anyone with a truly nice bike is parking it in their garage. But I can’t imagine someone trying to break a lock for anything short of an e-bike.

If you need a pair of wheels that goes? They’re everywhere. Bet I could find one on the curb (as trash) right now, nothing wrong but a busted tube, if that. We’ve hauled home loads of kid’s bikes, had people come out and ask us to take them when we stop and look.

My wife and I are continually astonished at the things people toss, even in this lower-middleclass hood. I could show you our house and all the things we found/repurposed/recycled, for an hour straight without repeating myself.

I was going to title it exactly so! Oh well, missed opportunity.

The Bay of Pigs was nothing like an all out invasion. The idea was to give impetus to Cuban rebels, let them continue the fight. If the fascists want Cuba, it’s theirs.

^ Points out the obvious.

Lemmy: Where’s my fuck you button?!

Venezuela’s oil fields have been on America’s radar long before Trump. The only things Trump is thinking of is crap like a ballroom and renaming the Kennedy Center.

As you say, the rest has been jammed in his brain.

Venezuela is the Caucuses oil fields, which Hitler should have taken right off before starting a Western front. That lesson is not lost on these modern fascists.

Sharp call on the Polish corridor! As the Arctic warms there will be year-round shipping lanes.

Not ready for Canada yet, but it’s coming.

Scariest part? The fascists are on the clock to achieve their goals before the cult leader’s dementia takes him off camera. They’re already struggling with unavoidable appearances, like Trump’s disastrous meeting with the Prime Minister of Japan. For now, they can hide him on his bad days.

Greenland is of vast strategic importance as global warming rolls on. You can bet plenty of people saw that fact, just not us little people.

Not for long. We are going to take Greenland, no question. That gets us kicked out a NATO, a goal for this administration.

Trump was the laughing stock of America back in the day. He was to go-to guy for tabloid drama, late show hosts had a field day every time chance they got. Even The Apprentice was riffing of his vile personality. It was like Trump was the only one not in on the joke.

FFS, he released a board game about himself in 1989. There wasn’t a soul in America that didn’t know he was full of shit. When he won the Presidency in 2016, New Yorkers were screaming, “Do you not know this guy?!”

A famous political/current events comic, Bloom Country, ended their run in 1989 with Trump’s brain transplanted into Bill the Cat. Final comic.

I have no idea how half of GenX completely forgot all that bullshit, and Boomers have even less excuse.

I’m not talking about any of that, and for the record, I agree with you on each point. But the reality is that Russia and China have been waging information war on us, and it worked.

Kids broke the laser pointer, makes it really hard to use. But the SATISFACTION. :)

I try not to kill anything but flies (overwhelming in the summer), cockroaches inside, and fire ants (invasive and destructive). I refuse to use poisons or herbicides, only fire ant bait.

Keep on! I’ve seen our insect populations crash since I was a child and the upstream ecosystem is suffering. Young people would be fucking appalled if they emotionally knew what I knew, seen what I’ve seen.

But good news! Our yard is the only reason we have frogs and dragonflies back on the block! More to come.

Must depend on the place. Biking isn’t a big thing here. About the only bikers are people who can’t afford a car. This is a pretty poor town, but again, bikes are so cheap no one cares. Both my wife and a neighbor have bikes in the front yard as decorations.