211–220 of 247 posts
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Americans aren’t “fine with it.” Trump’s approval ratings are very low. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/trump-approval-stays...
Which is weird because this is pretty much what they voted/abstained for. I think we have to trust the ballot box more than opinion polls.
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Tax revenue, local jobs, and the possiblity for entrepreneurs to build businesses around that possibility of tourists leaving the premise. With all that being said, I still think that overreliance on tourism is bad for a place in principle. Those places fossilize, the wealth of tourists overwhelmes local culture, it will create wrong incentives, draw in junk vendors, pick-pocketers, and AirBnB vultures making life mo…
The Netherlands prides itself on its coastline and dunes but by the time mass tourism arrived the country was already rich. The secret ingredient is always money. Spain looks the way it does because that country was desperate for foreign currency and jobs in the 60s and 70s. Economic development is hard and Albania does not have much going for it unfortunately.
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Certainly there is very little granularity in both election outcomes and yea/nay approval rating. That said, if people voted based on values or alignment for a candidate that said he would overturn civil service reform and conduct the bigliest deportation campaign in history, it'd be silly to think they'd reject the outcomes they voted for.
I think one of Trump’s greatest sleight-of-hands was convincing nearly every red triber that he represented their interests specifically, which is the ultimate goal of a populist. He was simultaneously a free market hero, while also highly protectionist. He was fair and sophisticated, while also highly retributive and humble. He became representative of their values, no matter what they were. I even still see it when…
And you point out the single-issue voters that the GOP has farmed for decades. The culture war was there but since he protrays himself as elite, he couldn't do the blue collar charade. Instead it was a really half-assed demonization of trans athletes and, of course, immigrants.
The thing I think has to be mentioned is that he seems to have manipulated people's need to feel like they are on a team that is winning. I think that's why you see the cult of personality stuff like flags and tattoos - he's more of a college football team than an administrator.
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I wonder, if I asked the next dozen people I meet, whether they would have any idea about this.
The only people this is relevant to are Albanians. I don't expect an Albanian to know about data centers being built in Texas. Hell, I don't expect Michiganders to know about them.
That's a short-sighted view. Nature destruction is relevant to people everywhere. The locals might not even care much (unlike in this case, fortunately).
What if this construction project would wipe out animal species x, y or z? That's a permanent, irreversible loss for the world as a whole.
What if some species loses its breeding ground, decimating a population elsewhere? Or takes out a stop halfway a migration route?
Destruction of nature always has 2nd order effects. Don't ignore just because you don't live there.
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Present America is real estate developers all the way down.
Real estate, Crypto and AI make up the 3 legged stool of US investment (from my perspective). In my area which is over 1/3 retired people this is where the majority of their investments seem to lie. Those who are simply relying on 401k or other investments are also at risk due to the lack of diversification. Since their investments are tied to those 3 things. If any of the legs of the stool go out...the whole thing g…
Jared Kushner tried a similar thing in Serbia[0] and failed after a public outrage. [0] https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/12/17/serbia-trump...
That Ivanka podcast interview about this island will go down as a masterpiece in tone-deafness. I assume there are already memes of it.
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You listed a bunch of names, in response to an article that contains factual reporting and sourced information to support the allegations that are being made. Excuse me for not being impressed. Whereas I recognize many of the names, the only one whose transgressions I am familiar with is Robert Menendez. He is in jail. The burden of proof rests upon the person who makes the allegation. "Do your own research" lol.
That was always going to be the outcome.
>The burden of proof rests upon the person who makes the allegation. "Do your own research" lol.
This isn't a court of law, I'll provide you with as much or as little evidence as I please.