Epstein-related services, I guess...

Neither do I—especially since this ridiculous decision is by no means the only thing that should have triggered mass civil resistance.

I mean, aside from all the outrageous, completely blatant corruption, it’s just as obvious, for example, that state power is being used to cram hundreds of thousands of people into concentration camps and even to protect a pedophile ring of the super-rich. These are just two more examples among countless others.

Well, unfortunately, that’s just the way it is: even the most horrific crimes are apparently not enough to mobilize the American people. And so the most unscrupulous among Americans get their way.

Unfortunately, this affects the entire world in one way or another; but the world can only watch in disbelief and wonder how a people can allow themselves to be exploited to such an extent. Other countries can do little about it except turn away in disgust, because the U.S. cannot be defeated militarily, especially since the monsters who lead it would stop at nothing.

So it is entirely up to the American people to hold their criminal regime accountable.

Unfortunately, I have now given up all hope that U.S. citizens will rise up. Since that hasn’t happened yet, despite all the outrageous crimes of the regime, I don’t see what else would have to happen for U.S. citizens to get it together and finally take action.

This country has obviously been an oligarchy for so long that the people have given up and no longer defend themselves, even though their overlords have completely abandoned any pretense by now.

No lobbying is necessary, since Chris Wright—like everyone else in Trump's cabinet—is simply abusing his position to enrich himself directly: He made his fortune in the shale gas industry. He founded Pinnacle Technologies in 1992, later led Stroud Energy, and in 2011 founded Liberty Energy, which was valued at $2.8 billion in 2023. As CEO of Liberty Energy, he earned $5.6 million that year.

Wright himself is a billionaire and, in his position, represents only his own interests. The entire U.S. regime is organized this way—it has as little to do with a democratic government as the oligarchy in Russia does.

However, if you're referring to the orange mafia boss: His decisions, too, are obviously not based on lobbying, but simply on outright corruption.

FYI:

US Energy Secretary: “I'm thrilled to report that tomorrow morning, on July 4th, we will end subsidies for wind and solar projects”

Wow, the billionaires seem completely convinced that U.S. citizens will go along with anything... well, hmmm... who's going to argue with them... it's true, after all, that they do...

Wow, the billionaires seem completely convinced that U.S. citizens will go along with anything... well, hmmm... who's going to argue with them... it's true, after all, that they do...

Yep, sorry. But hey, this thread definitely has its fair share of mudslinging. Hope you're getting your money's worth.

That is the likely scenario.

It is, after all, quite obvious that state power is not only being abused to protect these criminals, but that it is what makes the most serious crimes possible in the first place. That is simply how things are in a corrupt state—here, the legal system does not serve to enforce the law at all, but rather to facilitate crime, just as is happening in the U.S. on a daily basis. There are countless other examples: a secret police force in the form of ICE, life sentences for opponents of the regime based on fabricated terrorism charges, the embezzlement of billions by unscrupulous opportunists, and so on and so forth.

This country is done for, especially since its citizens have apparently resigned themselves to the status quo. If that weren’t the case, the regime would have been behind bars long ago—it would never even have risen to this position in the first place. The U.S. president has a criminal career stretching back decades. The fact that he was able to assume office at all—and twice, no less—says everything there is to know.

Now he’s doing exactly what was to be expected, and the citizens still aren’t holding him accountable—even now, when it’s completely obvious that their country is ruled by organized crime of the worst kind.

Unfortunately, this is a massive problem for the entire world, as the regime itself tirelessly demonstrates by blackmailing other countries and committing the most egregious war crimes alongside its genocidal counterpart in Israel.

It would be very much in the interest of all reasonably decent people if U.S. citizens would finally hold their inhumane overlords accountable, but that’s about as likely as the Russian people rising up against their dictator.

So we're all pretty much screwed, because this rogue state, armed to the teeth, can be defeated by no one other than its own citizens.

...yes, appropriate for protecting Epstein's billionaires clients and accomplices, some of whom quite obviously make up this criminal regime.

This case really shows all too clearly what a lawless oligarchy the U.S. is. A true rogue state ruled by the scum of humanity.

Hmm, well, the moderation workload does need to remain reasonably manageable for you guys.

I can’t really judge that, of course, but perhaps you could identify specific topics from the modlog that have repeatedly caused problems in the past. For example, posts about political parties (such as the two U.S. parties or the far-right AfD in Germany, etc.), political movements like MAGA, politicians like Trump and his allies, wars (such as the current U.S.-Iran conflict), or technologies like LLMs.

You could also try surveying the community itself to identify such “controversial topics,” perhaps in a pinned post, where you could set a minimum number of upvotes per suggestion for a suggestion to be included.

I think this would yield a number of concrete examples that illustrate what is meant by "no politics." The more examples there are, the clearer it would probably be.

Thank you very much for the background information. And also for the time you spend moderating—that is truly commendable and is indeed very much needed.

Perhaps I should have reached out to you directly, but I was so outraged that I didn’t, especially since this wasn’t the first post of mine you’d removed for the same reason.

Well, looking at all the downvotes here, it seems your approach to "showerthoughts" is being liked and even vigorously defended by many.

As I said, I see it differently and consider it very dangerous to define community rules so broadly that they simply leave the decision of what’s allowed and what isn’t exclusively up to the moderators. In your case, this seems to be done with caution and reasonable consideration. Nevertheless, I believe that rules must be clearly defined and transparent from the outset so that it’s clear what to expect. Likewise, to ensure that decisions are not made purely on a whim.

As I said, I consider the "no politics" rule unsuitable for this, since there’s simply no such thing as a topic that might not be political to someone.

But since many here seem to see it quite differently, I’m probably wrong. Still, I simply can’t accept that it’s a lottery whether my posts will be allowed or not in a general community that doesn’t have a fixed topic.

Therefore, I have to accept the rules and just post elsewhere, where there is no such rule. I think that’s better for everyone, since my posts at your community only seem to lead to conflicts, which is certainly not my intention at all.

If you’d like, I’ll delete this post here right away, but it seems to me that it might be a good way to gather some more opinions on the rule in question.

Please let me know if you see it differently—in that case, I’ll delete this post here immediately.

Of course, there’s simply no business that’s inhumane enough that this unscrupulous, asshole corporation wouldn’t pounce on it.

This corporation has always been a shady one, but since its 2018 acquisition of the seed giant Monsanto, its business practices have become even more antisocial.

It’s just the way it is: When a company gets too big, it’s always taken over by unscrupulous profiteers who have no morals whatsoever—only boundless greed.

Disgusting!