I got one of these recently and it works well. Much smoother than whatever my Smart TV is natively running and it doesn’t crash constantly.

If it were just me I’d have set up a small HTPC with Kodi, but my family needs something that works without ever needing my intervention, and it needs to run the 100 streaming services we hemorrhage money to. These boxes are super cheap and let me run Jellyfin too.

I think both parts are doable, and I see no reason Republicans wouldn’t try. It seems likely that we are going to see Federal election laws over the next couple years to strengthen GOP control, in addition to the local and state level laws we are already dealing with. This is all going to further strengthen their hold and I think we could see 2/3 majority in both houses in 2026.

Honestly I think the 3/4 would be the easier part. Since it’s done by state instead of electorates he just needs 38 states, and he got 31 to vote for him. We’re also talking about state legislatures, not voters, which means the shenanigans above will also be effective here.

I don’t think this is going to be Trump’s first step; this is going to be the capstone on a campaign to secure power for the party forever.

I am sincerely hoping I’m wrong, but the last decade has shown me I am not nearly pessimistic enough.

I admire your optimism. It would take a constitutional amendment, which I don’t think he would have any issues getting past the GOP Congress. After that it’s less likely, but still possible with his shenanigans. I think the only reason it wouldn’t happen is he croaks first.

Gotta lean hard in the other direction to flip the gaslighting onto him. If he says he paid for your college then start insisting you never went to college. If he says you owe him for keeping your car running during X-Y years then tell him you didn’t even own a car.

More seriously, though, my mom was the same way. Hers was due to being extremely manipulative instead of memory issues. Either way you aren’t going to get through. Better to start distancing yourself now until you’ve reached a level of contact that isn’t detrimental to you. If that eventually means no contact then so be it; they bring it on themselves and you owe them nothing.

Agreed. There are really only two reasons managers do that. Either they want to deny raises or they want to fire you. Both need a paper trail, and neither is affected by what they say to coworkers. Either way it’s time to interview with other companies.

Also significant that the vast majority of solved murders are committed by someone you know. The FBI stats have <10% of solved murders being committed by strangers. It’s impossible to know what percentage of unsolved murders were committed by strangers, but it’s clear the odds are not in your favor if it isn’t somebody the police can add to their list just by asking around.