It seems every time I watch a YT video recently i get hit with a advert about the midterm election voting capabilities as a expat with claims of 3M expats living outside the USA.

Anyone else living abroad getting constant YouTube ads telling expats to register and vote? Before filling out that absentee ballot, it’s worth looking closely at the real world results of the policies being pushed back home.

A recent piece in the NYP highlights how soft on crime strategies continue to impact major U.S. cities:

Times Square stabbing is just the latest proof progressives are the enemies of public order

"From innocents killed in broad daylight to the plague of homeless encampments to the violent crime that grips too many city neighborhoods, New York City has progressives to thank for its endemic disorder".

https://nypost.com/2026/09/02/opinion/times-square-stabbing-is-just-the-latest-proof-progressives-are-the-enemies-of-public-order/

The story is based on a NYP news report.

Edited September 2Sep 2 by riclag

Didn't notice any, receiving any, although they show up as I scroll thru YT shorts or FB reels.

USA is done, as just a matter of time, before the lazy lay abouts, get what they want, free sh!t. Then all the millionaires & billionaires will jump ship, or simply stop generationg income, including new jobs.

Reduction of employers and income opportunities, less taxes, will be the downfall, as they run out of other's money.

Reps put forword a house resolution, h res 1490, and it shows what Reps & Dems stand for. Who would go on record with a nay vote 🙄

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-resolution/1490

No suprises ... nuff said

Edited September 2Sep 2 by KhunLA

1 hour ago, KhunLA said:

Didn't notice any, receiving any, although they show up as I scroll thru YT shorts or FB reels.

USA is done, as just a matter of time, before the lazy lay abouts, get what they want, free sh!t. Then all the millionaires & billionaires will jump ship, or simply stop generationg income, including new jobs.

Reduction of employers and income opportunities, less taxes, will be the downfall, as they run out of other's money.

Reps put forword a house resolution, h res 1490, and it shows what Reps & Dems stand for. Who would go on record with a nay vote 🙄

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-resolution/1490

No suprises ... nuff said

Socialism is for losers.

12 hours ago, riclag said:

It seems every time I watch a YT video recently i get hit with a advert about the midterm election voting capabilities as a expat with claims of 3M expats living outside the USA.

Anyone else living abroad getting constant YouTube ads telling expats to register and vote? Before filling out that absentee ballot, it’s worth looking closely at the real world results of the policies being pushed back home.

A recent piece in the NYP highlights how soft on crime strategies continue to impact major U.S. cities:

Times Square stabbing is just the latest proof progressives are the enemies of public order

"From innocents killed in broad daylight to the plague of homeless encampments to the violent crime that grips too many city neighborhoods, New York City has progressives to thank for its endemic disorder".

Advertisement

https://nypost.com/2026/09/02/opinion/times-square-stabbing-is-just-the-latest-proof-progressives-are-the-enemies-of-public-order/

The story is based on a NYP news report.

I’ve got some real bad news for you.

Americans living overseas are also allowed to donate to political parties and candidates.

Our votes and our bid.

It’s not looking good for what’s left of your MAGA dreamworld.

13 hours ago, TedG said:

Socialism is for losers.

Socialism is what they called public power.

Socialism is what they called social security.

Socialism is what they called the growth of free and independent labor organizations.

Socialism is their name for almost anything that helps all the people.

—Harry Truman, 1952

20 minutes ago, gargamon said:

Socialism is what they called public power.

Socialism is what they called social security.

Socialism is what they called the growth of free and independent labor organizations.

Socialism is their name for almost anything that helps all the people.

—Harry Truman, 1952

Ignorance is Bliss with you ...

... "Socialism - is an economic system and political philosophy centered on collective or public ownership of the means of production, rather than private ownership." ...

... "Capitalism - is an economic system where private individuals and businesses own and control the means of production for profit" ...

Explain yes, help you understand, no. Here's simpliest explanation ...

Captitalism ...

... you keep what you earn, more you earn, the more you keep

Sociallism ...

... they take what you earn, the more you earn, the more they take

Edited September 3Sep 3 by KhunLA

19 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Ignorance is Bliss with you ...

... "Socialism - is an economic system and political philosophy centered on collective or public ownership of the means of production, rather than private ownership." ...

... "Capitalism - is an economic system where private individuals and businesses own and control the means of production for profit" ...

Explain yes, help you understand, no. Here's simpliest explanation ...

Captitalism ...

... you keep what you earn, more you earn, the more you keep

Sociallism ...

... they take what you earn, the more you earn, the more they take

Oh, you're so much smarter than Truman. You should have been president.

6 minutes ago, gargamon said:

Oh, you're so much smarter than Truman. You should have been president.

Nah, pay sucks, no need for private life to be torn apart, along with losing right to privacy. Don't want a bunch of guys following me & family around.

Obviously, intelligence never was a requirement for the job.

Truman - member of Democratic party 🙄 ... nuff said

What wholly socialist (communist) country has been economically successful ? I believe the answer is none.

Edited September 3Sep 3 by KhunLA

3 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Nah, pay sucks, no need for private life to be torn apart, along with losing right to privacy. Don't want a bunch of guys following me & family around.

Obviously, intelligence never was a requirement for the job.

Yes, Trump got it after all.

12 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

What wholly socialist (communist) country has been economically successful ? I believe the answer is none.

Willful ignorance yet again.

Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland consistently rank near the top of global indices for happiness, standard of living, low corruption, and human development. Denmark: Leading the regional upgrades with strong GDP projection. Sweden: Showing increased resilience and upward growth revisions, supported by expansionary fiscal policy and stabilizing domestic demand. Norway: Norway's Government Pension Fund Global is the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, valued at approximately $2.3 trillion.

The difference is that all of them work for the people, rather than large corporations resulting in happy citizens rather than happy shareholders.

P.S. You've been told this numerous times before but I'll mention it YET AGAIN - socialism is NOT the same as communism but you keep banging that drum in an attempt to confirm your own bias.

6 minutes ago, johnnybangkok said:

Willful ignorance yet again.

Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland consistently rank near the top of global indices for happiness, standard of living, low corruption, and human development. Denmark: Leading the regional upgrades with strong GDP projection. Sweden: Showing increased resilience and upward growth revisions, supported by expansionary fiscal policy and stabilizing domestic demand. Norway: Norway's Government Pension Fund Global is the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, valued at approximately $2.3 trillion.

The difference is that all of them work for the people, rather than large corporations resulting in happy citizens rather than happy shareholders.

P.S. You've been told this numerous times before but I'll mention it YET AGAIN - socialism is NOT the same as communism but you keep banging that drum in an attempt to confirm your own bias.

Small, high taxed populations with strict social welfare conditions.

28 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

What wholly socialist (communist) country has been economically successful ? I believe the answer is none.

6 minutes ago, johnnybangkok said:

Willful ignorance yet again.

Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland consistently rank near the top of global indices for happiness, standard of living, low corruption, and human development. Denmark: Leading the regional upgrades with strong GDP projection. Sweden: Showing increased resilience and upward growth revisions, supported by expansionary fiscal policy and stabilizing domestic demand. Norway: Norway's Government Pension Fund Global is the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, valued at approximately $2.3 trillion.

The difference is that all of them work for the people, rather than large corporations resulting in happy citizens rather than happy shareholders.

P.S. You've been told this numerous times before but I'll mention it YET AGAIN - socialism is NOT the same as communism but you keep banging that drum in an attempt to confirm your own bias.

Not sure how to explain 'wholly socialist' actually means to your wrong, bias thinking. Or is it simply a reading comprehension with you and so many others.

I never stated social programs & capitalism can't co-exist, as USA has successful instuted housing, food & healthcare into the system for those needing. As other countries as you pointed out.

Edited September 3Sep 3 by KhunLA

1 hour ago, KhunLA said:

Ignorance is Bliss with you ...

... "Socialism - is an economic system and political philosophy centered on collective or public ownership of the means of production, rather than private ownership." ...

... "Capitalism - is an economic system where private individuals and businesses own and control the means of production for profit" ...

Explain yes, help you understand, no. Here's simpliest explanation ...

Captitalism ...

... you keep what you earn, more you earn, the more you keep

Sociallism ...

... they take what you earn, the more you earn, the more they take

Captitalism ...

... you keep what you earn, more you earn, the more you keep.

AND the huge corporations are given massive tax breaks that they don't deserve, AND they are allowed to park most of their capital overseas where it's not taxed fairly, AND they are allowed to cut back on customer service in order to increase stock value, AND they are permitted to ask their employees to work harder for less money while requiring more hours, AND any sort of consumer protection and oversight has been largely erased by the morally bankrupt leaders of late. While there are elements of capitalism that are positive, these days so many of them have been turned in to a negative and flipped on their head.

17 hours ago, riclag said:

Anyone else living abroad getting constant YouTube ads telling expats to register and vote?

No. I run Ublock Origin on my browsers and I don't use the YT application at all in Andriod on the rare occasions that I use Android. So, "No," I don't get Youtube ads at all so I've never seen it.

39 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

I never stated social programs & capitalism can't co-exist, as USA has successfully instuted housing, food & healthcare into the system for those needing

Your definition of success and mine are clearly different.

15 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Captitalism ...

... you keep what you earn, more you earn, the more you keep.

AND the huge corporations are given massive tax breaks that they don't deserve, AND they are allowed to park most of their capital overseas where it's not taxed fairly, AND they are allowed to cut back on customer service in order to increase stock value, AND they are permitted to ask their employees to work harder for less money while requiring more hours, AND any sort of consumer protection and oversight has been largely erased by the morally bankrupt leaders of late. While there are elements of capitalism that are positive, these days so many of them have been turned in to a negative and flipped on their head.

All within the laws that 'everyone' votes for through their elected representatives in govt. That's what a free democratic, 'free market, capitalist' society is.

Freedom of choice, and you live with those choices. Nothing dictated to you by people you didn't elect or were simply born into leadership.

Present socialist countires; N. Korea & Cuba, both total failures economically.

The rest of your post, employer abuse, doesn't exist, as labor laws are enforced. Now you're just being silly.

Edited September 3Sep 3 by KhunLA

16 hours ago, KhunLA said:

USA is done, as just a matter of time, before the lazy lay abouts, get what they want, free sh!t.

Personally I don't want "free sh!t." What I do want is the ablity to afford a home, a car, and necessities - like back in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. Now here in 2026, sh!t is so expensive that you need social welfare programs in order to put a roof over your head and afford the bare minimums of life.

The social problem is that the 1% have hoovered the vast majority of wealth into their own pockets and left the plebs next to nothing, so now youth just give up because the they can work 3 jobs and still not make ends meet. That's just wrong.

Personally I think the greed will set in motion a deflationary depression - worldwide - and the grand reset. For those who manage to live through it, at the end of the ride you'll either be back to having a solid middle-class under capitalism, or a solid middle-class under Chinese-type Commo-capitalism.

I don't need YouTube, my Registrar of Voters sends a link where I can download my ballot for the Peoples Republic of Berkeley where I Iived for just short of twenty-five years as an active citizen including serving on commissions and suing when necessary.

The only issue I have had is the free fax service went away so I now mail in my ballot using ThaiPost first class airmail. After two weeks or so goes by the Register sends emails confirmation and acceptance.

1 hour ago, KhunLA said:

Not sure how to explain 'wholly socialist' actually means to your wrong, bias thinking. Or is it simply a reading comprehension with you and so many others.

I never stated social programs & capitalism can't co-exist, as USA has successful instuted housing, food & healthcare into the system for those needing. As other countries as you pointed out.

that means you just contradicted yourself

16 minutes ago, connda said:

Personally I don't want "free sh!t." What I do want is the ablity to afford a home, a car, and necessities - like back in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. Now here in 2026, sh!t is so expensive that you need social welfare programs in order to put a roof over your head and afford the bare minimums of life.

The social problem is that the 1% have hoovered the vast majority of wealth into their own pockets and left the plebs next to nothing, so now youth just give up because the they can work 3 jobs and still not make ends meet. That's just wrong.

Personally I think the greed will set in motion a deflationary depression - worldwide - and the grand reset. For those who manage to live through it, at the end of the ride you'll either be back to having a solid middle-class under capitalism, or a solid middle-class under Chinese-type Commo-capitalism.

It's a good thing that 1 - 5 - 10 - 20% earners have 'earned' all that taxable income, as they pay 80% of the income taxes, that fund social programs.

Everyone has choices, and can only use my family as examples. 3 brother went the corporate, investment route, and did quite well. I mixed it up, as employee & self employed, inverstor.

The 2 with children, their kids also did quite well. One bother's (3) kids, one son retired already from 'military' of all low paying jobs, and went into private defense contractor. Along with his kids doing well. Other 2 kids doing very well.

Other bother's son is also doing quite well raising his family, in high tax burden NJ. One of his kids in the work force and also doing well. No social assistance needed, buying houses & cars.

All putting in the effort & time, and succeeding. Live with your choices.

No different when I started out, married first time, low paying airline job, shared housing. Working 2 jobs or 80 hrs a week at one, just pay the bills & SAVE.

You earn it, you keep it, you build equity. Too simple, and it takes time.

Today's youth go to Uni, take psych or liberal art course for an easy diploma that pays nothing, then expect to earn 100k a year at 1st job. Hello ... you're an idiot.

Edited September 3Sep 3 by KhunLA

You ever tried clicking on that rectangle in the lower right corner of the screen?

Says "skip" on it?

Try it sometime.

You're welcome. 👍

17 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Didn't notice any, receiving any, although they show up as I scroll thru YT shorts or FB reels.

USA is done, as just a matter of time, before the lazy lay abouts, get what they want, free sh!t. Then all the millionaires & billionaires will jump ship, or simply stop generationg income, including new jobs.

Reduction of employers and income opportunities, less taxes, will be the downfall, as they run out of other's money.

Reps put forword a house resolution, h res 1490, and it shows what Reps & Dems stand for. Who would go on record with a nay vote 🙄

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-resolution/1490

No suprises ... nuff said

In 1960, the average CEO's pay was about 25 times that of a shop floor worker. Now the ratio is 285:1. No-one can tell me a CEO is eleven times smarter, or works eleven times harder.

AI is only going to make a bad situation worse. Trickle-down economics never worked from the get-go.

Millionaires and billionaires can bend the tax system every which way, In his first stint as President, Trump paid less tax than one of his janitors.

Stigmatizing the poor as lazy layabouts is the sign of lazy thinking.

32 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

It's a good thing that 1 - 5 - 10 - 20% earners have 'earned' all that taxable income, as they pay 80% of the income taxes, that fund social programs.

Everyone has choices, and can only use my family as examples. 3 brother went the corporate, investment route, and did quite well. I mixed it up, as employee & self employed, inverstor.

The 2 with children, their kids also did quite well. One bother's (3) kids, one son retired already from 'military' of all low paying jobs, and went into private defense contractor. Along with his kids doing well. Other 2 kids doing very well.

Other bother's son is also doing quite well raising his family, in high tax burden NJ. One of his kids in the work force and also doing well. No social assistance needed, buying houses & cars.

All putting in the effort & time, and succeeding. Live with your choices.

No different when I started out, married first time, low paying airline job, shared housing. Working 2 jobs or 80 hrs a week at one, just pay the bills & SAVE.

You earn it, you keep it, you build equity. Too simple, and it takes time.

Today's youth go to Uni, take psych or liberal art course for an easy diploma that pays nothing, then expect to earn 100k a year at 1st job. Hello ... you're an idiot.

In 1970, I earned enough to pay off my house mortgage in eighteen months. I had no student loans. Our Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme started in 1948.

In America, the choice is crushing rentals, or a mortgage that is a life sentence. Student loans burden everyone wanting a tertiary education. Medications cost an arm and a leg.

The USA has a system problem. Chuntering on about saving has me wondering who the idiot is.

Riclag like Donald you are getting desperate , with the midterms just around

the corner ,he has kept none of his earlier promises , and in reality has renaged

on quite a few , you know what they are ,it's now a "let them eat cake " moment

in time, Trump has no interest in the peoples plight with all the mess HE has made

of everything , he said this in an interview .."people are angry with the Republicans,

BUT not with me "the words of a Narcissist ,everything is you're fault Donald. and

the people will make you pay for it...

regards worgeordie

7 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

In 1960, the average CEO's pay was about 25 times that of a shop floor worker. Now the ratio is 285:1. No-one can tell me a CEO is eleven times smarter, or works eleven times harder.

AI is only going to make a bad situation worse. Trickle-down economics never worked from the get-go.

Millionaires and billionaires can bend the tax system every which way, In his first stint as President, Trump paid less tax than one of his janitors.

Stigmatizing the poor as lazy layabouts is the sign of lazy thinking.

Irrelevant what they are worth, only what they can negotiate, and what the board willing to pay. No different than the employee & employer's negotiation on salary. Why I went self employment for majority of my income, as I pay better.

People have choices, nobody needs to accept what they offer after a certain point. Quit & move on. I had 30+ employers over ~15 yrs of playing revolving employee. Yea, that's a lot. ~15 yrs short term jobs, 6 yrs 100% self employed, 13+ yrs with NWA.

Only stayed with 1 employer over 1yr, and that was the last, NWA, for health & flight bennies, not really for salary, though almost fair, for what I did, $22 an hour 26 yrs ago. Since basically unskilled / 3 months OTJ training is all that was needed for anyone.

Didn't even need the health bennies, except when hurt on the job. Small amount I used for off the job healthcare, could have easily paid out of pocket.

Nothing wrong with American socialism of Republicans need it.

9 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

In 1970, I earned enough to pay off my house mortgage in eighteen months. I had no student loans. Our Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme started in 1948.

In America, the choice is crushing rentals, or a mortgage that is a life sentence. Student loans burden everyone wanting a tertiary education. Medications cost an arm and a leg.

The USA has a system problem. Chuntering on about saving has me wondering who the idiot is.

And yet people trying, earning and succeeding every day, some millionaires that started with very little. go figure.

Other making wrong choices, or worse, no choices at all, failing miserably, go figure.

The others, making damn good money, but too busy trying to keep up the the Jones, failing again. Didn't learn how to live within their means. go figure.

Some are just dealt a bad had, at birth, or further down the line. That's what social programs are for, and I never minded paying taxes for those folks. sh!t happens.

Back to voting, you have 2 party system, and idiots are voting straight Dem, no matter who is running, usually someone they know NOTHING about. Yank voters are about the most ignorant that I can think of.

You get what you vote for ... why I left, as you can't fix stupid, and if wanting to retire early, you need to go elsewhere that doesn't tax you to death, and you can afford healthcare without silly insurance premiums ... IMHO

HELLO THAILAND

Once the house is built, bought & paid for, I don't have to rent it from the govt, via RE taxes for $584 USD a month. I can live on that in TH as a single person.

The current appraised value of house I owned ...

Edited September 3Sep 3 by KhunLA

2 hours ago, johnnybangkok said:

Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland consistently rank near the top of global indices for happiness, standard of living, low corruption, and human development. Denmark: Leading the regional upgrades with strong GDP projection. Sweden: Showing increased resilience and upward growth revisions, supported by expansionary fiscal policy and stabilizing domestic demand. Norway: Norway's Government Pension Fund Global is the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, valued at approximately $2.3 trillion.

That's a myth of course. When you talk to people from those countries they're just as happy or unhappy as everyone else. Except they're getting taxed and have feminism rammed down their throat like nobody else. Here's a post from a woman in Denmark:

"Then we moved to Copenhagen last year and boy oh boy....

I don't like it here. I'm deeply depressed. The general "keep to themselves" nature of the people and the food are what bum me out the most. The country is also not very pretty to me. I miss beautiful nature."

https://www.reddit.com/r/expats/comments/1ogcfvq/copenhagen_is_draining_the_life_from_me_where/

Scandinavian food is terrible across the board, bar a few exceptions.

But you're also mistaken about trying to get these passed as "communist", they are obviously not. They are socialist democracies, that is true, but obviously the European variant of social democracy is fairly far away from communism.

Must try harder, Johnny.

18 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

HELLO THAILAND ... Once the house is built, bought & paid for, I don't have to rent it from the govt, via RE taxes for $584 USD a month. I can live on that in TH as a single person.

The current appraised value of house I owned ...

Whoa, think I underestimated the value of my old house, as I know this house 1307, and a small twin house. My house was single detatched @ 2700 sqft, on a double lot, so more in the 335k range.

Holy crap ... more like $1169.66 a month taxes. That's eye watering, and for a crap school district. Almost half my Soc Sec, to rent my house from the govt that I already paid for

10 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

That's a myth of course. When you talk to people from those countries they're just as happy or unhappy as everyone else. Except they're getting taxed and have feminism rammed down their throat like nobody else. Here's a post from a woman in Denmark:

"Then we moved to Copenhagen last year and boy oh boy....

I don't like it here. I'm deeply depressed. The general "keep to themselves" nature of the people and the food are what bum me out the most. The country is also not very pretty to me. I miss beautiful nature."

https://www.reddit.com/r/expats/comments/1ogcfvq/copenhagen_is_draining_the_life_from_me_where/

Scandinavian food is terrible across the board, bar a few exceptions.

But you're also mistaken about trying to get these passed as "communist", they are obviously not. They are socialist democracies, that is true, but obviously the European variant of social democracy is fairly far away from communism.

Must try harder, Johnny.

Agree, and the world is pretty much the same. My niece, met exchange student, in NJ, from Sweden, went there got married, enjoyed the free uni, school teacher, husband in banking. I visited, very very nice house, nice lot, near tourist area, all lovely.

They flew the coup, moved to USA, had 2 kids, still in banking, NYC, actually in twin towers before it came down, one of the lucky ones, escaped immediately. She passed away, and they, hubby & kids, moved to CT, still there surprisingly, no desire to return to Sweden ... nuff said.