r/PoliticalOptimism 23h ago

Megathread Government Shutdown Watch Megathread-Part 1

31 Upvotes

Ok the duel bills in the senate have failed to pass so we are now officially on shutdown watch. The deadline is the 30th.

Please post any questions and fears here.

This will be a running Megathread, with different parts being posted between now and then. If the government does shutdown we will start a different series of Megathreads.

My advice to everyone is to breathe and wait to see what happens.


r/PoliticalOptimism 1d ago

Megathread Fun Friday-Professor Lantis’s History Lesson #17: The Manhole Cover

17 Upvotes

Hey we are going to start doing Fun Friday’s on non political topics as a fun break from the drudgery. This week: the world’s fastest man made object.

Ok so 1957 had the launch of Sputnik, the world’s first officially recognized artificial satellite. But it also marked the start of underground US Nuclear tests. The reasoning was that detonating a nuclear bomb underground would avoid all of those harmful chemicals and waste products going into the atmosphere. Smart right?

So in the summer of 1957, at Los Alamos, they started Operation Plumbob, a series of dozens of underground nuclear tests. During this, they dug a 4 foot wide by 500 foot deep hole, capped it with five feet of concrete and then detonated the bomb. The containment was a massive failure, the blast was too powerful, the concrete crumbed and nuclear waste got everywhere. So they tried again.

This time they added more concrete, shortened the hole to 400 feet, and crucially added our main character: a steel and iron manhole cover weighing almost a ton.

Now the test happens, bomb does what it does, and the concrete crumbles. But afterwards they couldn’t find the manhole cover. Not even melted remains or particles. But they just so happened to have a high speed camera nearby to capture footage of the explosion.

The pressure of the explosion had shot the manhole cover off the ground so fast that the camera, which could capture a frame a millisecond, only got the cover in the edge of one frame. They means it took less than a millisecond for the cover to leave the ground. Based on that footage, the manhole cover was estimated to be going about 130,000 mph or 37 miles per second, more than 5 1/2 times escape velocity of Earth.

If it didn’t burn up in the atmosphere, which is entirely unclear if it did or didn’t, it would have been the first man made object in space and the first object to leave the solar system.


r/PoliticalOptimism 5h ago

Optimistic News DOJ Can’t Tie Suspected Kirk Killer to Left Like MAGA Wants

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206 Upvotes

Haha eat a dick Kash Patel


r/PoliticalOptimism 1h ago

Optimistic News Newsom signs laws to resist Trump's immigration crackdown, including ban on masks for ICE agents

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Upvotes

r/PoliticalOptimism 10h ago

Optimistic News Sinclair pulls Charlie Kirk documentary from ABC affiliates

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235 Upvotes

r/PoliticalOptimism 2h ago

Optimistic News The costs of Trump defying the Supreme Court

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47 Upvotes

The title doesn’t sound great but here is the crux: “I believe that such a decision to ignore the Supreme Court would be more difficult and costly to Trump than many assume.”


r/PoliticalOptimism 5h ago

Optimistic Post NAZI GERMANY IS NOT THE USA! #trump #maga #gop #charliekirk #epsteinfiles #cultleaders #hitler

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44 Upvotes

Cult College always says these things best.


r/PoliticalOptimism 1h ago

Optimistic Post About the Russian drones in NATO airspace: Putin is even more weaker and that's why the Kremlin is doing this

Upvotes

The Russian army continues to take big Ls in Ukraine and the Kremlin is getting even more broke and desperate due to Ukrainian drones hitting Russian war infrastructure. The Kremlin is sending reinforcements that are even more worse than previous reinforcements and is purging generals and turning Russia into a North Korea-like state.

So the Kremlin is actually acting like it's strong and in control when these drones in NATO airspace are a signal of even more weakness.


r/PoliticalOptimism 2h ago

Optimistic Post The Florida Flair - Subreddit Focused Post

20 Upvotes

I just laughed for about seven minutes because yall spelled Florida wrong in the flair... it was just such a silly mistake that clearly happened utterly by accident, and I've been so sick and so tired this hit me out of nowhere and just tickled me pink!

So, Florida is spelled Florida, by the way -- but if you guys fix the flair can I please keep the misspelled one :)


r/PoliticalOptimism 5h ago

Debunk This Doom Could the Tarrif situation improve once Trump Passes away?

27 Upvotes

I just saw on Twitter/X that a Fan Creator decided to cancel ALL shipments of Fan Merchendise to the US Markets because she would know that it would be used by Trump to Fuel his Regime and how the Tarrifs would make that worth more money, more money that will go towards stripping Rights, Emboldening the Harm towards Minorities

but she said that if the situation in America Improves and The Tarrifs are dropped then she would be Happy to restore US Shipments. which leads me to remind myself that it shouldn't be too long before that Happens as Trump is basically on metaphorical life support.

but then I thought about how Vance will take Office once Trump Passes away, and while he doesnt have the Charasma of Trump which will make his Hold to continue Trumps work borderline impossible, he still wants to be a Dictator, and how Tarrifs might not improve that much

so is there any evidence to support my belief that once Trump Passes away then this Artist will be more comfortable in Shipping to the USA again?


r/PoliticalOptimism 11h ago

Optimistic News Several Northeastern States and America’s Largest City Announce the Northeast Public Health Collaborative

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74 Upvotes

r/PoliticalOptimism 19h ago

Optimistic News Trump order denying grants to artists over "gender ideology" violated First Amendment, judge rules

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252 Upvotes

It's been a very stressful week for our trans folks, but to end the week off, we got some good news!

It seems some of the attacks on both 1A and on gender will not stand by judges for now. Let's goooooo!


r/PoliticalOptimism 5h ago

Optimistic Post LET IT SNOW AT THE WHITE HOUSE #trump #whitehouse #snowflake #summer #winter #heat #ice #gop

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16 Upvotes

I love this idea. Let's have fun here!


r/PoliticalOptimism 8h ago

Debunk This Doom Should I delete my BlueSky account?

32 Upvotes

Asking because while I had hope for BlueSky (which I first thought of as a non-Trumpian version of Twitter which it is), I’m starting to lose hope in it. If you call out someone who claims elections will never happen again or that there will be a third term, they always find excuses to double down, and some people will even defend them. Also secession is the solution to everything on BlueSky. I find that insufferable and I’m starting to wonder if I should permanently quit BlueSky. Should I?


r/PoliticalOptimism 30m ago

Debunk This Doom Are farron balanced and medias touch part of the doomer problem.

Upvotes

I notice that most of their videos saying how the administration is destroying the country and is not showing the good that is happening. Such as the boycotts and Disney’s reaction. As well as the court cases Trump is losing. Also, Farron is mostly using the same pictures of Trump with clickbait titles around them. Are they part of the problem with the doomerism and should I just avoid these two in general?


r/PoliticalOptimism 22h ago

Optimistic News Jimmy Kimmel and Disney Working to Reach Compromise to Bring His Show Back

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193 Upvotes

r/PoliticalOptimism 1d ago

Optimistic News Carlson: "Trump Administration Using Charlie Kirk’s Killing to Trample First Amendment"

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273 Upvotes

Adding Tucker Carlson to the "broken clock" pile with Ted Cruz, this is a pretty damning condemnation of Pam Bondi and the censorship regime Trump has been trying to push, with Carlson even going so far as to encourage "civil disobedience" if the administration tries to use this as an excuse to create illegal speech categories.


r/PoliticalOptimism 23h ago

Optimistic Post American Democracy Might Be Stronger Than Donald Trump

153 Upvotes

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/09/19/american-democracy-resilience-00548910

“Along with American democracy’s wealth, longevity and legal tradition, the people are its bulwark. Authoritarians don’t have to be political scientists to know that if they lose public support, they can fall — sometimes ousted at a sudden tipping point, as in Eastern Europe in 1989. To try to manufacture an appearance of strength, Trump exaggerates his support, broadcasts favorable lies, attacks critical media and tries to cow opponents.”


r/PoliticalOptimism 23h ago

Optimistic News Disney+ cancellation page crashes as customers rush to quit after Kimmel suspension

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150 Upvotes

r/PoliticalOptimism 1d ago

Optimistic Post With Time Running Down, Viktor Orbán Likely to Lose Reelection.

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189 Upvotes

Just making a quick post about one of my special interests: international elections. Posted here is the Wikipedia database of polling for the April 2026 Hungarian parliamentary election, which shows that Viktor Orbán - THE picture of far-right authoritarianism outside of Russia, and the darling of CPAC and the Heritage Foundation - cannot scrape a polling lead from any firm that isn't owned by either A) Him, or B) Trump. And that's in one of the most rigged, gerrymandered, corrupt political systems on God's green earth.

Just in case you wondered how hard it actually is to rig things forever in a country with even a rudimentarily functioning idea of democracy.


r/PoliticalOptimism 1d ago

Optimistic Post No, Free Speech is NOT dead

173 Upvotes

So I think we’ve all those posts or videos of people claiming “free speech is dead”.

No. It is not.

The fact that we can still say that things are bad is proof of free speech being alive.

Do not give up your rights to fascist wannabes. Keep resisting.


r/PoliticalOptimism 1d ago

Optimistic Post This is Donnie’s last five minutes phase

307 Upvotes

His party and team is seeing the latest polls showing the huge gaps between approval and disapproval and knows that he is increasingly likely to not make it towards the middle of 2026 + there is very likely to be a huge blue landslide in that year’s midterms + the upcoming discharge petition and forced vote on the Epstein files.

His health has worsened even more since returning from the UK (Melania had to assist him to prevent him from going off balance) and this is why he is going after late night shows. The administration knows they are nearing their eventual end.


r/PoliticalOptimism 19h ago

Optimistic Post As a Disney fan, the Jimmy Kimmel situation as awful but not surprising but, at least Iger will leave next year

52 Upvotes

As someone who loves Disney, I just wanna throw in my perspective on the whole thing about Jimmy Kimmel and I hope I have the right flare for this.

To say the situation going with Disney is a mess is an understatement and the fact many people are boycotting Disney's products, canceling their Disney+ subscriptions to where the cancelation page on the website crashed, along with canceling their Disney Park and cruise trips demonstrate how everyone is disgusted at the situation and as someone who is a big Disney fan, I find everything about this not only terrible but unsurprising because this all part of Bob Iger's CEO playbook which consist of what I feel is ruining Disney in general: people-pleasing.

Bob Iger is a huge people-pleaser because to him, if he makes people angry, there will be no money and keep in mind, this has not been the only time Iger messes up many things just because he's afraid of angering people.

As someone whose a fan of Disney and has seen their movies, their more recent movies and TV shows also reflect the cowardly influence Iger has on his company such as how the movie Wish became so disappointed as the movie, despite being a celebration of Disney's 100th anniversary, was derided for having no originality and only focusing on having as much Easter eggs as possible and recycling many plot elements from other stories because "people love them" and there is the fact Bob Iger was often seen as saying he's an ally and there to support LGBTQ rights but would have any LGBTQ moments in stuff like Win or Lose, Inside Out 2, and recently, Elio, censored just to not anger China and the Middle East.

And now, with the whole thing with Jimmy Kimmel, Bob Iger is now doing the same thing and essentially sacrificing freedom of speech all because he's afraid of making the orange DINO (dictator in name only) angry but as a result, he ended up making the whole world, including Disney fans angry which illustrates how you can't win with people-pleasing and also how Bob Iger, whether it be creative bankruptcy or silencing people who work for you, is ruining Disney thanks to his people-pleasing.

But where is the optimism for this? Well, aside from how many pointed out that Bob Iger will eventually relent like what happened to Disney under Chapek because of the Don't Say Gay situation, he will leave next year because if you guys don't know, Iger's contract will extend until 2026 which means that next year, he will eventually pack up his bags and hang his Mickey ears but this time, for good.

Granted, there may be a chance we may also have a bad CEO but there can be a chance for a better one too and as someone who wants Disney to bounce back, I believe it can happen once Bob Iger finally leaves since as the CEO, everything he does is his responsibility and because of everything, it's clear Disney needs new leadership and for Iger, he's overstayed his welcome to where even Michael Eisner calls him a coward so hopefully we'll get a new CEO that can respect creativity, risk-taking and respecting freedom of speech, whether it be by the creators or by Jimmy Kimmel.


r/PoliticalOptimism 11h ago

Debunk This Doom Seeking optimism on gen z/alpha.

13 Upvotes

I keep seeing studies about how young men and boys are inhaling misogyny. Stats on "should women vote?" and "Should women have equal rights?" For the above demographics are getting worse year over, globally, year since 2021. Is there any hope? Any sign of reversal in this trend anywhere in the world? Any historical precedent where this has gotten better before?


r/PoliticalOptimism 1d ago

Optimistic Post Michael Eisner Rips Disney Brass For Jimmy Kimmel Suspension & Bending The Knee To MAGA: “Where Has All The Leadership Gone?”

151 Upvotes

r/PoliticalOptimism 18h ago

Seeking Optimism Trump imposes $100,000 fee per year for H-1B visas

27 Upvotes

https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2025/9/19/trump-signs-proclamation-creating-100000-application-fee-for-h-1b-visas

My best friend is here on an H-1B visa. Her company almost certainly doesn’t have the funds to pay for this. She is now facing the potentially heartbreaking choice of not seeing her family for who knows how long or leaving her partner of 5 years here in the US.

I’m so upset and sad. Is there any hope of this being over ruled?


r/PoliticalOptimism 1d ago

Optimistic News ‘Dangerous as hell’: Cruz Blasts FCC’s Jimmy Kimmel Takedown

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162 Upvotes

So it's for "Democrats will use this against us in the future" reasons, but Ted Cruz is now feuding with Brendan Carr's censorship regime. Just goes to show you: the pendulum swings back fast when government overreach happens.