I honestly didn't know that until I joined Substack and saw for myself.

I get that there's no such thing as a perfect online community, but FFS...people reach out and post things hoping for some kind of engaging reply -- a human connection -- and it's deflating when all you get is unkind responses.

Now I remember why I wasn't so keen on returning to Lemmy. I thought I really missed this place and the people here, you know? I do remember it feeling almost like home for a while, filling that void I felt when I left Reddit during the API exodus. But I see there's nothing for me here, and it's time to move on. Thanks for at least replying, novemberw@lemmy.vg.

I haven't been here since October, didn't remember Substack having such a bad rep. Then again, last fall feels like decades ago now. Ugh, I got banned from one of my favorite Blahaj communities, too.

Bloody hell. Welcome back to Lemmy, I guess

Thanks, the sarcastic title was a mistake I think.

It's easier to get behind and push for those American values when you realize you aren't really equal -- not because of anything you did, but because you simply exist. It's hard to not feel bitter about it, especially when part of the population wants you dead and is actively trying to persuade everyone else to get on board.

But we see our allies, we know who is standing up for us. We stand with you, for everyone's sake. Together we can overcome this.

I don't fault him for his 80s stuff. Actors gotta eat too, so they go where the work is. But beyond that? I dunno, maybe he got typecast and couldn't find any other kind of work? By Grabthar's Hammer...what a career.

I think it's an awful panel -- and it's not just the slur that is gross, but the slant-eyed "Jap face" that was meant to dehumanize just as much as the old comic caricatures of black people with big lips eating watermelon. It's incredibly fucked up, and I find it disturbing that so many people don't care to understand why these old slurs hurt so much. They look like ordinary harmless words today, but they once carried the weight of a punch to the face.

It wasn't that long ago when discrimination (of all types) was not only normalized in social situations but often went unchallenged, which only served to justify and reinforce discriminatory behavior as acceptable. American society isn't perfect today by any stretch of the imagination, but it was really different back then. I lived through the tail end of that shit when I moved to the Midwest in the 90s; I am of Japanese descent and clearly looked "oriental," so I got called and heard all kinds of ugly shit constantly, even by people who were supposed to be my friends. I tried to push back at first, but all I got in return was endless angry gaslighting about how these feelings were my problem because they didn't mean to offend and it was just a joke. Every time.

E.g. - I have a small dick but that's okay, I make up for it with math skills! I'm Asian so I can't hold my liquor. I talked too fast so now I'm Short Round from The Temple of Doom. I'm cooking dinner, ewww what is that stench? I can't possibly feel disrespected if someone takes a small bite of rice wrapped in seaweed and immediately spits it out with a loud "Bleah" because they're not used to "foreign" food. I'll try opening my eyes wider. Yes, I grew up in Hawaii but I'm in America now and things are done differently here. I'm so goddamn quiet, why don't I SPEAK UP? I jumped down from the truck bed, look out, brrrrr there's a Nip in the air! I'm so polite, so naturally you thought I was a fag when you met me. I shouldn't have corrected you about your "banzai" tree because it doesn't matter. The women in my family must be so hot! It's fine if you mispronounce my name for five years, you're not used to these different syllables. I should try showing more emotion.

It really fucked me up in the head for a while. Everyone thought Asian caricatures like Long Duk Dong in Sixteen Candles were absolutely hilarious, so of course I wondered if that was how they thought of me. And tbh, I think a lot of my friends at the time did. I never felt like I was a true equal. It was a lonely and depressing existence, and WWII was already 50 years in the past, FFS. But that's what it was like living in a white world as a minority. You can't know what it's like unless you have lived it.

Anyway. I digress. I think I really needed to vent. Flying Squid, in spite of my rant, I think you should leave the comic up. Don't feel bad. Don't delete it. It's not going to do any good if it can't be discussed.

For those on the fence about Borg Backup because it's a command line app, FYI there's a great frontend GUI for it called Vorta (yeah, in line with the Trek theme lol) that works really well. I don't see it mentioned often, thought I'd pass that along. Might want to avoid the Flatpak version if you need to back up stuff outside your /home dir.

It's interesting to me how recognizable and influential the style of a single director can become over time. I thought of Tarantino shortly after the movie started, impressive considering Pulp Fiction came out...what, 30 years ago now? Reservoir Dogs is even older than that.

Hmm yeah, regarding PF's age: I can see how Strange Darling would be more appealing today. It's more modern and... probably more relatable if I had to guess? Yeah it is a gorgeous film. I mean, it's an outstanding movie, and it's a shame it's still relatively unknown.

Saw Strange Darling the other day. It's stylish, well shot, and pretty intense, I think I held my breath during several scenes. And yeah disturbing. The two leads are amazing. I highly recommend it, it's great for October spooky movie viewing.

This is a hell of a thing to read with morning coffee. I think I'll go back to bed now.

Everyone's overlooking the fact that she legitimized gender-affirming healthcare as medically necessary on live tv. And refused to walk it back. She's not really what I'd consider a true ally, but she did us a real solid there.

Bless this man, he does appear to be the real deal. Someone please buy him a drink

Ah, I see what you mean. Yeah, sometimes one little key observation can kickstart a new era. All without the aid of navigational instruments, too, which is wild to me.

In the beginning, probably yeah. The Polynesians eventually became expert navigators, but they had to start somewhere. The Pacific Ocean is frickin massive, I can't imagine being stranded out there with no way home.

Yeah, but OG Cliffjumper (I'm sure you probably remember) was voiced by the legendary Casey Kasem, which is really cool. Like...this battlefield is freakin me out, I gotta transform and roll out, Scoob!

Did you mean "empathizing"? I'm having difficulty empathizing with cases like that too. I mean, ugh, it's mind-boggling, $10k is a life-changing amount of money for most people and this guy threw it away on a video game that's not even out yet. Still, people like him are being exploited for personal gain, and that is also wrong.

Brother has got balls of steel balancing on the roof of Pele's house like that. Oh, I just realized this was shit over a decade ago... er, I'd imagine this kind of photographyis done with drones now?

Try this archived link: https://archive.is/20241019061736/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/10/18/donald-trump-election-interference-case-new-evidence/75714784007/

Copypasta in case that's not accessible to you:

New evidence unsealed of how Trump's Jan. 6, 2021 rally was funded

Bart Jansen, Josh Meyer, Aysha Bagchi

USA TODAY

Published 2:45 p.m. ET Oct. 18, 2024

Updated 5:12 p.m. ET Oct. 18, 2024

WASHINGTON – A trove of new records released in the federal election-interference case against former President Donald Trump described how money was spent on Trump's "Stop the Steal" rally near the White House on Jan. 6, 2021.

The revelations were among 1,900 pages of evidence for federal charges against Trump that he tried to steal the 2020 election. The evidence also includes details of how his supporters spent election night at the White House and how Trump reacted to the riot at the Capitol.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan is weighing the evidence to determine whether Trump is immune to federal charges, based on a Supreme Court ruling in July.

Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, opposed the release less than three weeks before the election as an example of prosecutors publishing “cherry-picked materials” that “would prejudice potential jurors and endanger potential witnesses” three weeks before the election.

But Chutkan ruled that keeping the documents confidential could also be considered election interference.

Steven Cheung, a Trump campaign spokesperson, called the release of evidence in the case interference in the election and said the case should be thrown out. He said “the entire case is a sham and a partisan” that “should be dismissed entirely.”

Budget documents show as much as $3 million for Jan. 6 rally and related events

The newly released documents also show that an unnamed organization budgeted as much as $3 million on the Jan. 6 rally and related events, including for bringing VIP guests and protesters to Washington and ad buys for a show of force.

Several versions of the “Confidential – Not To Be Disclosed” document are included, with some redactions, and appear to have been prepared for House Jan. 6 Select Committee investigating the attacks, which disclosed some of the information.

But the documents released Friday show that $1 million was budgeted for Turning Point Action, a grassroots non-profit group founded in 2019 by Charlie Kirk to embolden young conservatives “through grassroots activism.”

The money was earmarked for having TPA deploy social media influencers and students from around the country to Washington to attend the rally, to produce “all the video content at the event” and to run nationwide ads “educating millions about the significance of January 6th for President Trump.”

Another $500,000 was budgeted for a group founded by Donald Trump Jr., “Save the U.S. Senate,” to stop alleged voter fraud in Georgia and help re-elect Republican Senate candidates Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue. The document said the investment would “help support attendance" at a Jan. 4 rally with Trump in Georgia and to make additional ad buys featuring Trump’s eldest son “to encourage Senators Loeffler and Perdue to vote to stop the steal in Georgia on January 6.”

The budget documents show another $400,000 was budgeted for Tea Party Express to create a centralized website to promote the rally events on January 5th and 6th, including targeted ads and a television, radio and digital campaign to promote the January 6th rally and encourage attendance.

Another $200,000 was budgeted to a person whose name and company were redacted, “to assist with his organization efforts.” And a separate group whose name was also redacted was budgeted to receive $100,000, the estimated cost of their hotels, private flights, car services and private security for about 10 to 15 of its members.

The Republican Attorneys Generals (RAGA) Rule of Law Defense was budgeted to receive $200,000 to fund their legal efforts to fight the election fraud nationwide and file lawsuits.

And $300,000 was budgeted for speaker fees and travel for VIP speakers and a busing program to bring in rallygoers within a 180-mile radius. Witnesses describe White House uncertainty on 2020 election night

Many of the unsealed documents are transcripts of depositions from the House committee that investigated the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021. The testimony documents the uncertainty at Trump’s White House election-night party about who won the race and Trump’s reaction to the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021.

A guest who had been in the residential part of the White House on election night described 15 or 20 people moving down to the Green Room to await results with Trump. The witness described someone telling the president loudly that the election was stolen, while others said, “whoa, whoa, whoa, just let’s go out and say there’s still time, we need to do this count, we’ll see you in the morning.”

Later, on Jan. 6, a White House staffer said he told Trump at 1:21 p.m., when he returned from giving an outdoor speech on the Ellipse, that television coverage cut away at the end of the speech to cover the rioting. Trump was incredulous, the staffer said.

“I get the TV, like, ready for him and hand him over the remote, and he starts watching it,” the staffer said. “And I stepped out to get him a Diet Coke, come back in, and that’s pretty much it for me as he’s watching it and, like, seeing it for himself.”

Why were the documents released now?

Trump is charged with conspiring to steal the 2020 election by urging state lawmakers to change election results in their states, recruiting alternate presidential electors in states President Joe Biden won and obstructing Congress in counting Electoral College votes on Jan. 6, 2021. He pleaded not guilty.

The evidence, such as transcripts of witness testimony, was part of Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith’s explanation of the case against Trump filed last month. The 165-page public filing included an appendix of sealed evidence that has remained confidential while Chutkan decides whether to release it publicly.

The fight over the evidence is likely the last opportunity before the Nov. 5 for revelations in the case that might not be tried for months or years.

The Supreme Court ruled that Trump should be shielded from charges for official duties but is vulnerable to charges for private actions. Trump has argued he is immune from all charges. But Smith contends Trump's actions were private because they electioneering to remain office after losing the election.

Using Trump's own words against him?

The documents include scores of Trump social media posts casting doubt on the validity of the 2020 election, despite the failure of Trump and his allies to ever prove widespread fraud in court and numerous of audits and recounts showing President Joe Biden won.

The posts may indicate how Smith plans to use Trump’s own words to illustrate the alleged strategy for overturning the 2020 election, if the case ever goes to trial.

In a tweet Nov. 6, 2020, for instance, Trump appeared to call for tossing out votes and letting the Supreme Court decide the victor.

"The OBSERVERS were not allowed, in any way, shape, or form, to do their job and therefore, votes accepted during this period must be determined to be ILLEGAL VOTES," Trump posted. "U.S. Supreme Court should decide!"

By the day of the attack on the Capitol, Trump indicated he wanted Mike Pence to toss out the results and then to get state legislatures involved.

“Many States want to decertify the mistake they made in certifying incorrect & even fraudulent numbers in a process NOT approved by their State Legislatures (which it must be). Mike can send it back!” Trump tweeted, tagging his vice president in the Jan. 6, 2021 post.

Smith may even be hoping to use Trump's pledge to "free" the many defendants who have been convicted of Jan. 6-related crimes to argue that Trump was in on a criminal plot back in 2020 and early 2021.

"My first acts as your next President will be to Close the Border, DRILL, BABY, DRILL, and Free the January 6 Hostages being wrongfully imprisoned!" Trump posted on Truth Social on March 11 of this year. That post is included in the documents.

I'm guessing the Absolute line is supposed to be like Marvel's Ultimate line or something? I saw some pics of the Absolute Wonder Woman yesterday... it's wild, she has a tattoo covering her arm and a massive Cloud Strife sword that is bigger than her. The art is frickin beautiful

JFC, I didn't have to read the details. I feel sick. What a fuckin piece of shit.