Revolutions have a real tendency to get out of hand and devolve into petty personal bullshit conflicts, they’re just about the worst way to change a government. Sometimes they’re the only way, but I really would prefer to democratically elect a bunch of leftists who would pass laws through normal and transparent procedures if we still can do that.

This is a lot easier to do in a sustained fashion when you have the sympathy of law enforcement like right wingers do

It’s because Republicans fight and do shit like this, but for four years Biden kept saying a president has zero control over the government.

This really can’t be repeated often enough, the last four years was such a wasted opportunity for everyone outside of the wealthy companies that got climate money and CHIPS act money and other pork barrel crap. If doing that corrupt bullshit is the only way we get infrastructure and semiconductors then whatever, I’ll live with it, but pursuing that crap while ignoring the Republican threat was like baking a cake while the kitchen’s on fire.

While Presidents normally operate the Executive Branch in service of the people

Not in my lifetime they really haven’t, but that is the way it should be

“Using my own time for work stuff is unacceptable to me, and I am prepared to quit this job and get a different one that doesn’t ask me to work off the clock if you press this matter.”

Don’t try to reason them into accepting your way of thinking, just state your position and what you’re willing to do to pursue it

Incidentally, if “I am prepared to quit this job” does not currently apply to you, you should not be having this conversation.

e; partial_acumen had a way better answer

“Using my own time for work stuff is unacceptable to me. It was not enumerated in the job listing when I was hired that off-clock unpaid work was required to keep this job and I am prepared to quit this job and get a different one that doesn’t ask me to work off the clock if you press this matter if the company terminates me for refusing to work unpaid off the clock I’d be happy to raise that with the Department of Labor for a case of wage theft.”

e2; this is all assuming you’re ok with losing this job and waiting through a lawsuit and several years to get what you’re owed by this employer

They already routinely pretend that anyone who crosses a border is a criminal in their rhetoric and will find a random bullshit misdemeanor something in 99/100 cases where they want to, but, yeah, this would give them another way to do that. I struggled a bit with laughing at this one because there is a real sinister intent here (thank you for highlighting it btw), but it is also just such smooth brained fascist behavior that I couldn’t help myself.