IMO there’s “the Internet before Canter and Siegel” and “the Internet after Canter and Siegel”.

On the pre C&S Internet, not only was nothing monetized, there was a sense that even having an ad for something commercial was against the culture. The downside was that the pre C&S Internet was small, slow and limited.

Overall, I think the 2025 Internet is much better than 1994. But, there were certainly things to appreciate about an Internet without ads, without algorithms trying to win the attention economy, etc.

I mean, the dude used to be at Binance. This isn’t someone making good decisions.

I’ve never thought Trump was smart. He sounds stupid when he talks. He doesn’t seem to have a grasp of even basic things. But, now I’m thinking that somehow as stupid as he sounds, he’s actually even dumber. Like, he’s fooling people like me into thinking he has an IQ of 80 when it’s more like 60. In a way that’s impressive.

I wouldn’t use the word “tunnel-visioned”. That implies focused on something and ignoring the things nearby.

I think it’s more accurate to say “ignorant”. Many, probably most Americans just have no clue about most things outside the USA. You’ve travelled abroad, most Americans have not. The US is such an insular society that people can get away with saying things like “Canadians hate their healthcare” and people actually believe them.

While it’s true that publishers do something of value, the amount they charge is absurd.

What makes it even worse is that so many of the people involved are donating their labour. It reminds me of college sports in the US. The actual people doing the work, the athletes, are forced to do it for free. Meanwhile, a few select groups: coaches, TV networks, etc. are making huge amounts of money.

This is why I hate the recent trend where people are saying “If buying isn’t owning, piracy isn’t stealing”

“Piracy”, or more accurately “copyright infringement” was never stealing. What you’re doing is violating the government-granted monopoly on copying something. That’s so different from stealing.

There’s a reason I didn’t say “hairs”. I believe he has one and it gets wrapped around and around and around and around and around…

Yes, electric cars are just like trains

• They run on steel rails, just like trains
• They hold 50+ people per cabin, just like trains
• They have their own dedicated travel paths, only stopping at loading and unloading platforms, just like trains
• They have enormous, efficient engines and pull multiple passive trailers, just like trains

It’s going to take a while to weed all the competent people out of the secret service.

Many countries saw the US as an ally, they don’t anymore.

What world do you live in where you don’t understand that the US has many enemies?

He’d know what it would do to his hair, he’d never risk that.

What country would want him shot? He’s destroying the US more effectively than any enemy could ever hope to do.

I don’t think it’s at all likely. Trump knows he’s hated, and he isn’t about to go and do a parade in a convertible. More importantly, the secret service knows he’s hated and know they screwed up huge in letting someone take a shot at him, so they’ve dialed security up to 11.

Reagan and JFK were shot at a time when they had extremely high approval ratings. It was probably harder for the secret service to stay focused and for everyone to take threats seriously when that was the case.

This isn’t a Hollywood movie where a billionaire can go on the dark web and hire The Jackal or something. If they were to try to place a hit, most of The Jackals out there are probably feds posing as hitmen.

But, let’s say somehow a billionaire could find people willing to make the attempt. Trying to assassinate the US president is a suicide mission. If someone tries to do it as a lone gunman, they’re going up against the entire secret service. They may get the attack in, but they’re almost certainly not going to get away. If it’s a group of attackers, the more people, the more communications, the more communications, the more opportunities for the NSA to spot them.

And, this is one time we don’t have to worry about nation-states attacking the president. The US is punching itself in the dick over and over right now. If you’re someone who wants the US to fail, you just have to stand by and watch. In fact, if an enemy’s surveillance of the US turned up a plan to kill Trump, they’d probably warn the secret service to make sure Trump stays in power as long as possible.

That’s a pretty meaningless comparison.

I don’t think I’m the confused one here, to be honest with you, as shown by the other answers and upvotes in this thread

Yes, other people were confused. That doesn’t mean that you’re not confused.

The question is clearly asking if Americans are aware that they’re now a rogue state, and I answered appropriately.

No, what you answered was “How do Americans feel about being a rogue state?” That’s a completely different question, even though it’s the one most people answered.

I fully understand and acknowledge that we’re seen as a rogue state externally

The question was whether Americans in general understood and acknowledged that. I would say no, because most Americans don’t follow foreign news sources. People who are getting their news from Fox News, OANN and Newsmax are probably not aware of that. Instead, they probably think the US is even more respected than ever.

How can you be this confused?

You’re basically proving the point of this meme.

The question is basically “Are Americans aware of how the world perceives them?”

Possible answers to that question are: “Yes, I read DW news in English, and BBC news too. I’m aware of how the world perceives the US.” Or “No, I can imagine how the world must view the US, but I only read US news so I can only guess.”

Are people in the US

Yes, go on…

aware that they are now definitely a rogue state

The question isn’t your awareness of what the government is doing. It’s your awareness of how the US is perceived by the rest of the world. A rogue state is “a nation that is considered very dangerous to other nations”. To answer that question, you have to reference other nations views on the US.

Saying what is inevitable? That other countries will consider the US a rogue state?

You’re one of the few people who actually understood the question. As a result, you’re one of the few who actually got the right answer.