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Post by Merge on Jul 5, 2024 1:49:02 GMT
Just remember, that in a Trump / Putin axis, many places in Europe will not be safe. Welp, Colombia is also a (way less attractive) option for us.
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Post by Merge on Jul 4, 2024 19:23:00 GMT
Make good choices! US citizens will need sane countries to immigrate to if it all goes to hell here in November. 🤣 I would seriously immigrate to the UK in a hot minute, but in my research, it is virtually impossible without close familial ties. Actually this is true for most all of Europe unless you have $$$$ to contribute to their economy. Well, good luck in finding a country that will have you. Canada is really hard to get into. I live in Canada. I could get into Germany as there are family ties. Canada might have a sooner than planned Federal Election. Yeah, we've been researching expat opportunities for a while now. Ireland and Spain are actually leading the pack. We may go "homeless" for a while as we're establishing residency in one country, spending six months here and six months there as that's how long tourist visas usually last. DH is able to work as a digital nomad, and by the time we're able to do this, I will be able to fully retire. So it should work out. We're very fortunate.
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Post by Merge on Jul 4, 2024 17:18:00 GMT
Our water is safe to drink and I will drink it in a pinch, but I prefer the flavor of the water filtered through our fridge.
I generally only buy a couple of cases of bottled water as emergency supply at the beginning of hurricane season.
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Post by Merge on Jul 4, 2024 15:45:45 GMT
Girl, your candidate can't put together a coherent and truthful sentence at any time of day. Take several seats. It's hilarious to me that you don't realize the leopards are going to eat your face, too, when they come to power. So blind. Just look at how many people were churned through the revolving door of Trump’s administration in his four years in the White House. Here’s a link to an article about turnover during Trump’s reign: www.brookings.edu/articles/tracking-turnover-in-the-trump-administration/I think overall it ended up being like 92%! His supporters need to understand that the minute someone is no longer useful to Trump they are GONE. He has happily tossed dozens of people under the bus without so much as a second thought. When 40+ of his own former high level administrators and his former VP have all outright stated that they refuse to endorse him, that should speak volumes to people. Should, but Trump front-loaded the idea that any negative thing said about him is “fake news” and that Rs who don’t support him are “RINOs” or “confused radical leftists.” It’s one of the key tenets of the strongman ideology. Front-load the brainwashing so supporters can mentally justify ignoring what they see and hear.
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Post by Merge on Jul 4, 2024 15:35:34 GMT
Actually what it would mean is Alexander Hamilton and other Framers were right that the voters in a popular vote election could not be trusted to pick the best candidate for president . You can read about it in Letter No 68 in the Federalist Papers. The Washington Post Editorial Board… ”From the Editorial Board: If Biden stays in and Trump wins, Democrats will regret not thinking more carefully in this moment.” x.com/postopinions/status/1808880228447527090?s=61&t=j45uMgNk1i8O0YllKF58nwThe same can be said the other way - if Biden drops out and Trump wins, Democrats will regret … We have to make sure Trump doesn’t win. Period.
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Post by Merge on Jul 4, 2024 7:15:42 GMT
Make good choices! US citizens will need sane countries to immigrate to if it all goes to hell here in November.
🤣
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Post by Merge on Jul 4, 2024 0:29:12 GMT
I'm perimenopausal and live in the bowels of hell. I'm convinced there is no sheet that will feel cool all night. I sleep with no covers on allllll summer.
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Post by Merge on Jul 4, 2024 0:10:55 GMT
I got rid of most of the "good stuff" because it just sat there unused. I'd rather invest in my Fiestaware collection and just pull out certain colors for different holidays.
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Post by Merge on Jul 3, 2024 23:54:43 GMT
Our bathroom needs to be repainted (including cabinets and trim) and have some of the drywall patched. That will probably run about $1K. Or I could do it myself, but I don't want to.
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Post by Merge on Jul 3, 2024 18:53:53 GMT
Retail credit cards are a trap. Shop where you can afford to pay outright.
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Post by Merge on Jul 3, 2024 18:24:10 GMT
When it comes to The NY Times anything they say about the president is suspect. Only considered suspect by liberals when they’re not kissing Biden and the democrats asses. Girl, your candidate can't put together a coherent and truthful sentence at any time of day. Take several seats. It's hilarious to me that you don't realize the leopards are going to eat your face, too, when they come to power. So blind.
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Post by Merge on Jul 3, 2024 16:13:18 GMT
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Post by Merge on Jul 3, 2024 2:41:57 GMT
To be very clear, the Heritage Foundation (sponsors of Project 2025) was celebrating the decision yesterday as they understand very well what it would mean in a Trump presidency. x.com/mmfa/status/1808306913291260118"We are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be" So it will be bloodless if we just passively submit. That's who wants to run this country. I don't fucking think so.
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Post by Merge on Jul 3, 2024 1:07:59 GMT
Look on social media to see if your town or county has a Democratic group that you could be involved with.
I'd like to say I would have done differently. The fact is that I have deliberately surrounded myself with people who wouldn't think like that, because I have that privilege. In redder parts of Texas I'd honestly be afraid of getting death threats or other nasty surprises if it was known I'm a liberal. We used to think we'd retire to the Hill Country here, but now I couldn't do it.
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Post by Merge on Jul 2, 2024 23:22:19 GMT
One of the comments I read was that living under authoritarian rule is a lot more mundane and normal than people think. However, there is an impermeable cloud of distrust that makes normal functions difficult. And then that mundane life is interrupted with moments of violence and terror. True. In red states where women no longer have bodily autonomy, life is pretty mundane and normal until you or a loved one has a dangerous pregnancy complication or incomplete miscarriage and can't get the medical care you need. Where the ten commandments are required to be posted in classrooms (Lousiana) or every teacher is required to teach from the bible (Oklahoma), eh, no big deal until some kid gets beat up on the playground for not being a Christian. Or a teacher loses her job because she isn't comfortable proselytizing for a religion she doesn't believe in. Where DEI offices are required to close and diversity can no longer be a part of admissions or hiring processes (Texas), everything seems normal until the good ol' boy/nepo baby network kicks back in, and there are no women in the engineering department nor people of color in the history department. Not necessarily out of any malicious intent. But it's a fact that most people, given the latitude to do so, will hire or admit those who look and think like them because that's what's most comfortable. It's the reason DEI offices exist. And of course people are in favor of "show your papers" laws and mass deportations until an American citizen who happens to be brown-skinned and/or Spanish speaking gets caught up in the net and jailed or deported. Please trust and believe that the leopards eating people's faces party is alive and well, and you're next.
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Post by Merge on Jul 2, 2024 23:13:55 GMT
Merge I'm sorry, again, for what you're going through. Fortunately, I'm not going through it personally any more! Still fighting from the outside, though. I just want people to understand the reality from those of us who have a front row seat.
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Post by Merge on Jul 2, 2024 19:45:41 GMT
We are living under "strongman" rule in my school district right now. Our governor dissolved our elected board because of one troubled school out of 273, and fired our superintendent. He replaced the superintendent with a militaristic "strongman" who does not tolerate any dissent. The superintendent chose a "board of managers" that will rubber-stamp whatever he wants to do. We the voters have no recourse on any of this unless we can convince a majority of Texans to vote out our authoritarian governor in four years, at which point our district will already have been destroyed.
Here's what happens under "strongman" rule:
The "strongman" comes in and identifies a group of people that he thinks are enemies. He begins by firing (in the case of a president, could also be killing, imprisoning, "disappearing") those enemies to send a message. He also stages a propaganda rally to convince everyone how awesome he is and how anyone who dissents is a "naysayer" and should be ignored. (This literally happened - new supe staged a whole musical starring him to the tune of half a million dollars.)
The "strongman" chooses an in-group that is loyal only to him, to enforce the law as he wants it. Anyone who dissents or even questions is removed (killed, imprisoned, etc.).
The "strongman" realizes that bright, educated, and capable people are a threat to his rule, so he makes the environment so toxic that they will choose to leave of their own volition. If they don't, he will make up a reason to remove them.
The "strongman" jettisons a broad knowledge base, like a library, in favor of an approved set of facts (propaganda) that are delivered in lockstep.
The "strongman" cherry-picks data to try to "prove" that his way is successful. Again, anyone who dissents is removed. (This is where those who initially supported the "strongman" get screwed - it becomes obvious to anyone with a brain that he is not actually improving things and is, in fact, making things worse. But no one is allowed to say that. All of a sudden previous supporters are also losing their jobs, going to prison, etc.)
And this goes on until all that are left are mindless drones who are loyal only to the "strongman." Those who are able, leave and go somewhere else. Those who cannot (mostly the poor) are stuck living in a totalitarian environment where they have no choices and little hope.
I would hope that's not what anyone wants for America. We certainly don't want it for our school district. Americans value our right to vote and our freedom to speak out and question authority. To remove those things is antithetical to our way of life. It shouldn't happen.
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Post by Merge on Jul 2, 2024 19:31:36 GMT
Maybe one of our legal peas would be so kind as to answer this question for me: presidents are impeached for "high crimes and misdemeanors." Under this new SCOTUS ruling, for what, if anything, could a president be impeached, if nothing he/she does in an official capacity can be prosecuted?
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Post by Merge on Jul 2, 2024 16:16:29 GMT
For those of you saying that as a result of the immunity decision, President Biden should now take action against SCOTUS and trump: Heather Cox Richardson, in her politics talk yesterday, explained that what the 6 MAGAt SCOTUS judges did was to effectively “booby trap” President Biden. She said that any action he might take to counter any of their recent decisions or to try to stop the runaway trump train would ultimately be handed back to the SCOTUS to rule on. Therefore, his hands are tied - but trump’s won’t be. The difference between us and MAGA is that no one on the left actually supports Biden using this ruling in a corrupt manner. Trump world, on the other hand, is already talking about military tribunals and public executions for political opponents.
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Post by Merge on Jul 2, 2024 15:59:22 GMT
Watching here in SE Texas but our most reliable forecasters don’t think it’s going to be a threat here.
Scary to think what September might bring if this is now what we get in June, though.
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Post by Merge on Jul 2, 2024 14:09:41 GMT
Undergrad doesn’t matter as much as where you get your terminal degree.
Three years into your career, no one cares where you went to college.
Look hardest at placement rates for people in his planned field. What services does the school offer for job placement? Where do students tend to get placed?
(As an aside, Louisiana has a lot of issues, but I think your biracial son would be perfectly fine and fit right in at LSU.)
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Post by Merge on Jul 2, 2024 0:25:02 GMT
Kyle Griffin.. ”President Biden got a lot more power today and he just effectively rejected that power.” When they go low, we go high ... and thus our national experiment will be ended.
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Post by Merge on Jul 1, 2024 23:22:53 GMT
It's not generally a matter of the veracity of NYT's articles. It's the editorial choices about frequency and positioning of coverage, which has seemed very tilted against Democratic candidates for years now. I have to ask myself why the Economist has called for Biden to step down because of one bad night, when they have never done so for all the rallies where Trump has rambled incoherently, all the times his advisors have been convicted of crimes performed in his service, the insurrection he instigated and directed, or the 34 felonies for which he was convicted. How much credibility can they really have in asking Biden to step down in that case? My point in all of that is that it's not Dems sounding the alarm. It was initially some media of questionable intent, and MAGA jumped right up to amplify their message and make scary-sounding claims like this one: x.com/Alyssafarah/status/1807392958779375946This woman is a MAGA operative and the daughter of the World Net Daily conspiracy rag founder/owner. The likelihood that she even has "numerous friends who are lifelong Democrats" is vanishingly small, particularly in the wake of the 2016 election. And it's people like her who are sounding the "alarm" about voters jumping ship. Don't drink the Koolaid. I assure you that I'm not drinking that kind of Kool-Aid, nor any other kind. How much more do you want the Economist to denounce Trump? "Trump poses the biggest danger to the world in 2024" I don't get it. But I asked a question that I honestly would love an answer... So, genuinely curious then, where do you get your national and international news from? Where do you find truly unbiased political coverage? Serious question... No such thing. I can take most NYT articles for what they’re worth - a generally reliable source of information - while still being annoyed at the way their editorial board frequently bats for the other team in an effort to seem even-handed. Same with NPR and WaPo. Contrary to what the right would have us think, the legacy media outlets are not just spouting left wing propaganda. They are frequently reporting what Trump and his people say without comment or criticism, as CNN did with all Trump’s lies during the debate. And they are verrrrry careful to criticize the left often because they’re still playing “pick me” with right wing voters - which is a fool’s errand.
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Post by Merge on Jul 1, 2024 23:17:00 GMT
How about declaring 6 Supreme Court justices a threat to the country and taking care of them...with complete immunity. How about both? Otherwise, I fear this is the death knell of the great experiment. Even if Biden wins, I believe that TFG will again try to take over by force. Meal Team Six is standing back and standing by to try their coup again, of course.
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Post by Merge on Jul 1, 2024 20:44:45 GMT
My son, age 25 and registered D, says yes. He called Trump the felon geriatric and Biden the geriatric geriatric. Lisa My 21 and 23 year olds will still be voting for Biden. Here in Texas, we have a front row view to what Rs intend for the whole country if Trump is elected. They understand what is at stake. We have to make young people in blue states who haven't yet felt the oppression of the religious right understand what is at stake for them, too.
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Post by Merge on Jul 1, 2024 19:16:46 GMT
Have either of those journals called for trump to leave the race or give way to an alternative candidate? I don't think so. So I'm not about to listen to them now. So, genuinely curious then, where do you get your national and international news from? Where do you find truly unbiased political coverage? Serious question... The Economist has published countless articles and features detailing exactly what devastating effects Trump's re-election would have on our nation and the entire world. They have been sounding the alarm bell for a very long time. It's not generally a matter of the veracity of NYT's articles. It's the editorial choices about frequency and positioning of coverage, which has seemed very tilted against Democratic candidates for years now. I have to ask myself why the Economist has called for Biden to step down because of one bad night, when they have never done so for all the rallies where Trump has rambled incoherently, all the times his advisors have been convicted of crimes performed in his service, the insurrection he instigated and directed, or the 34 felonies for which he was convicted. How much credibility can they really have in asking Biden to step down in that case? My point in all of that is that it's not Dems sounding the alarm. It was initially some media of questionable intent, and MAGA jumped right up to amplify their message and make scary-sounding claims like this one: x.com/Alyssafarah/status/1807392958779375946This woman is a MAGA operative and the daughter of the World Net Daily conspiracy rag founder/owner. The likelihood that she even has "numerous friends who are lifelong Democrats" is vanishingly small, particularly in the wake of the 2016 election. And it's people like her who are sounding the "alarm" about voters jumping ship. Don't drink the Koolaid.
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Post by Merge on Jul 1, 2024 16:05:34 GMT
Right. The NYT has never helped Trump by publishing endless negative articles about Hillary’s emails or questioning Biden’s age, while burying stories about Trump’s crimes on page 13. Liberals are dumping their subscriptions in droves. That editorial board is the worst kind of wolf in a whole herd of sheep’s clothing.
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Post by Merge on Jul 1, 2024 15:40:48 GMT
Lest anyone think I’m being hyperbolic about the danger this decision poses, Justice Sotomayor states the exact same concern in her dissent.
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Post by Merge on Jul 1, 2024 15:24:42 GMT
So it seems Biden could declare Trump a terrorist and send Seal Team 6 to take care of him, with complete immunity. Make it so. (And before anyone gets all high and mighty about what is implied here, ask yourself if you think Trump will hesitated to have political rivals or protestors assassinated, knowing he cannot be held accountable. That would be a dream come true for him.) That might not be considered an official act though... He’s the commander in chief! Obama directed the Seals to take out Bin Laden, after all.
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Post by Merge on Jul 1, 2024 15:23:43 GMT
So it seems Biden could declare Trump a terrorist and send Seal Team 6 to take care of him, with complete immunity. Make it so. (And before anyone gets all high and mighty about what is implied here, ask yourself if you think Trump will hesitated to have political rivals or protestors assassinated, knowing he cannot be held accountable. That would be a dream come true for him.) How about declaring 6 Supreme Court justices a threat to the country and taking care of them...with complete immunity. Anything is possible now!
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