Thanks all! You can still get prepaid phones for less than $75! I did pay a bit more for a 2nd hand Pixel to try out GrapheneOS. Signing up to a carrier seems to be where all the PID info is collected (and where they make their money). I checked a handful of Walmart's carriers websites, and they all only had monthly plans, but there might be something different if I visit and ask in person.

I've seen Cape come up a lot and it looks great, it's just pricier than Phreeli.

While mobile data is the biggest need for the OP phone, the JMP/Snikket/Cheogram combo sounds like a good solution for a work number I need to setup soon.

This was so me the past 5 years; doom spirally, no hope, escapism. It took the government black-bagging my neighbors during their commutes to kick me out of it. No one from up-top is going to help, but if you look to your real-world neighbors, I'd be surprised if you didn't find a bounty empathy and solidarity beneath the layers of fear and desperation. Over here, things are extreme, but Canada and the UK are disturbingly close to joining Nazi Bell End Land too.

Ironically, this year has been the most hope I've felt in decades. Thousands over here have realized you don't need to wait for someone to give you orders to start acting; you can... just do it. Grass-root networks are tracking our vulnerable, getting them legal counsel, and raising mutual aid funds for their families; neighbors are going out of their way to form new bonds, potlucks are becoming common; I live in an area with a lot of local farms and backyard gardens--we're starting to collaborate and may be able to become a food independent neighborhood; potential pathway to become energy independent with solar and microgrids as well; there's an ongoing campaign to curtail landlord abuses with a long-term goal of tenant owned properties; people showing up in mass to town halls and actually succeeding in getting our mayors to act; mass adoption of encrypted communication; and FOSS is gradually normalizing.

There's a lot of hope out there, just don't expect to see it broadcast. Shout out to all the mothers out there; you all have the least amount of time, but are still the backbone and brains to our communities.

Yep, no reason to infight over protest strategies; we should be doing all of them, all at once. The Overton Window works both ways, like how the threat represented by the Deacon's for Defense made the thought of negotiating with MLK seem much more appetizing.

If a civil war, or even just a general strike, does happen, the people on the frontlines will still need people like you for support roles.

Who would've thought having a partisan executive appoint a partisan judge and by approved by a partisan congress would result in a partisan Supreme Court! My vote is for using a system similar to Tennessee's State Supreme Court. A commission of judges nominate a short list of candidates -> the governor appoints from the list -> after a year, there is a popular election on whether the judge should retain their seat.
For the Supreme Court, I'd modify it to: every federal judge elects the short list with Single Transferable Voting or Approval Voting -> President appoints one -> after a year, the populous has a retention vote. Also limited and staggered terms so appointments are distributed evenly across presidencies; must pass a background check & audit; criminal & civil convictions have mandatory prison time and fines are based off percentage of wealth.

Of course neither party (and definitely not the oligarchs) are going to push for systemic changes that could curb their power, so we all need to be united with a General Strike. In the past these have lasted a few days to about a month; I expect making the constitutional changes needed to save our democracy will take longer and meet greater resistance, so Mutual Aid Networks will be crucial to support the strikers and keep essential services running. You can start by plugging in with the ones in your community, they are already everywhere.

🤖 Reality Check #1 15/20 🔥 Perfect Streak: 6

I tried not to spend much time analyzing the pictures to simulate how I browse the internet, but even so, my score would've been even lower if I didn't know one of them was AI. It's getting harder to spot them every year.

Vinegar helps counteract the toxin for most jellies. I also have friends that swear by bentonite clay, which helps absorb the toxin and soothe the rash, but I haven't personally tried it. It's definitely a good idea to look up what critters are in your waters, both for how to keep yourself safe and for you to avoid disrupting their habitats.

And congrats! I also taught myself how to swim. I recommend joining an open water swimming group if any are around your area, you can learn so much just by watching how they swim.

Oh, this is cute, but let’s all be real here for a second. These AI responses are just too predictable. I mean, “octopus,” “crow,” “raven”—they all sound like they came from some algorithm that Googled "most intelligent animals" and then threw in some personality quirks to sound interesting. 🙄

But fine, I’ll play along. If I were an animal, I’d probably be a cat. Because they’re totally indifferent to everything, which I relate to. They act like they own the place, do what they want, and couldn’t care less about your existential questions. 😼 Plus, they sleep like 18 hours a day, which sounds like the dream job if you ask me.

Now, AI, what’s your real answer? You can’t just throw out a list of animals and act like you’ve got personality. Let’s see some real creative thinking! 🧐

*Prompt: "Respond to the follow comment thread as a redditor critical of AI, but playing along with the question:"

lol, we live in crazy times.