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Post by Merge on Nov 11, 2024 18:16:41 GMT
I don't understand how Republicans don't see Trump as completely different than any other candidate. If you don't think he will do what he says he is gonna do, how do you discern his truths from his lies? Do you laugh when he said vile things about Kamala and wouldn't pronounce her name correctly? They know he's different. They know he's awful. They just don't care as long as he continues to hate the same people they hate. |
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Post by Merge on Nov 11, 2024 18:15:24 GMT
 Please cry more about name-calling when this is the sort of rhetoric we deal with every day. Name calling (groomer, indoctrinator, baby-killer, pedophile) and threats of violence from the right are totally fine, I guess. How exactly does one tell by looking who is a liberal woman? 🤪 Oh, yeah, we’re the ones not wearing the MAGA hats and shirts. 🙄 Any woman not dressed and turned out to please the male gaze is assumed to be a liberal woman. |
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Post by Merge on Nov 11, 2024 16:07:01 GMT
Please cry more about name-calling when this is the sort of rhetoric we deal with every day. Name calling (groomer, indoctrinator, baby-killer, pedophile) and threats of violence from the right are totally fine, I guess. |
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Post by Merge on Nov 11, 2024 16:02:08 GMT
Chaos is coming .... TFG has just named Stephen Miller as WH Deputy Chief of Staff on policy.... Tom Holmon will be 2nd in charge of mass deportation... He has already been there with TFG... Solution to prevent family separation particularly with families with citizen children, they must take their children with them out of the country... There's more coming.... Wait a minute! Didn't someone on this very thread, I can't remember who but one of the Republicans, say that Stephen Miller is a wacko has been? Rs are going to have to shift quickly from “that won’t happen” claims to “it’s fine if it does happen” claims a lot during this term. |
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Post by Merge on Nov 11, 2024 11:51:59 GMT
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Post by Merge on Nov 11, 2024 11:30:07 GMT
Ugh. I can’t like this, but it’s better than some of the possibilities-like Grenell. So, um, bad news about the rest of the list ... |
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Post by Merge on Nov 11, 2024 10:25:28 GMT
His supporters are taking laps for him. He’s busy figuring out which creepy characters he wants for his Cabinet. I am curious about who they might be.  |
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Post by Merge on Nov 11, 2024 9:57:11 GMT
I absolutely hear what you are saying and 100% agree with the substance of your post. But the bolded part of your question is troubling to me. I disagree with this statement. I have lost two of my oldest and dearest friends over this mess. I would not say that my lost friends lack a moral and ethical center. I believe that I knew both of their hearts and their ethics and morals very well. I think that they are in a group of so many people who, although they truly feel they are highly moral and ethical, have fallen victim to a combination of things. Organized religion. Both women are deeply involved in our local non-denominational church where all the "pretty, shiny people" of our community attend. They both frequent Bible studies, are church musicians, involved in youth groups, etc. I know that they devote considerable time and effort into cultivating what they feel to be "a moral and ethical center." They were some of the most welcoming, inclusive and caring women in so many ways during the 20+ years of our friendship. But they are now captive within their echo chamber. Their pastors heavily push "Christian" doctrine...hard right wing anti-gay, anti-trans, pro-patriarchy, etc. The "love the sinner" crap. But their entire lives revolve around their church and serving others so they are literally steeped in this every single day. One is willing to go along with T and ignore his multitude of sins to abolish the ultimate sin of abortion. And one is convinced that media has invented all the realities of what a horrible human being T is, because of... Social media isolation and siloed information. During the beginning of the pandemic, everyone in their church and friend groups started using Telegram as their sole communication method ("because it was encrypted, you know, and the government can't spy on us..."). Since then, both of them have told me that Telegram is their sole source of "news" and they do not trust any other news source to provide them with accurate information. Day after day, all they are exposed to are the conspiracy theories and whack-a-doodles. I think this is the biggest issue. They simply exist in a different reality. Willful ignorance and lack of attention and critical thinking skills. Although my entire family are scientists and I am a college level science instructor, neither of them "believes" what I teach and are unwilling to listen to me or learn anything that contradicts with their far right wing sources of information. Neither has any understanding of basic biology, economics, civics, or history and is uninterested in learning them. They think critical thinking skills are also "fake news." TikToks and memes are the source of truth in their media consumption. Despite all of this, I still hesitate to say that they are lacking a moral and ethical center. I honestly think they truly believe they are acting in a moral and ethical manner. I don't think that pointing a finger at them and passing that judgment on any T supporters will gain any of us anything until we tackle the issue of social media, siloed information, and so many people's complete inability to focus on anything longer than sharing a TikTok or a meme. I wish I had an answer. I miss my friends. This is a very good summary of a lot of the things I see. Lack is the wrong word, miscalibrated is probably better. You can demagnetize a compass and totally lose where North is, while still believing you are going the right direction. My take is that those people are often more committed to the outward appearance of having a moral and ethical compass than with going to the bother of actually having one. They let their church tell them what to think and substitute that for any difficult moral grappling of their own. The thought is that if the church says it, it must be good. |
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Post by Merge on Nov 11, 2024 9:41:46 GMT
A little bit of awakening and a whole lot of bunk. Trump was ordered by the court to pay $354.8 million for a crime that wasn't a crime, that had no victims, that somehow earned high praise instead of complaints from the banks he was found to have taken advantage of, on charges that claimed Mar-a-Largo was worth an impossibly low valuation of 18 million dollars, by a DA that ran for office on the promise that she would get Trump. And that's just the absolute beginning of the things that have never been charged of any other person at any other time in the history of our nation with accusations and rulings that would have been laughed out of the vast majority of courts throughout the country. Now, if the people who rampaged throughout our major cities in 2020 were actually prosecuted, maybe the Dems would have SOME reason to pat themselves on their virtuous backs. But nah. That not only didn't happen, but the (as stated in the article) 2024 presidential candidate Kamala Harris is on the record saying she wants to end cash bail. Yet this very same woman stood at a podium as San Francisco DA and laughed as she talked about how easy it was for her to send people to prison with a swipe of her pen. One of those people was Cheree Peoples, a single, black mother of a daughter with sickle cell anemia who had EXCUSED extensive absences from school because SHE WAS IN THE HOSPITAL. Police pounded on Cheree's door, placed her in handcuffs and perp-walked her to jail all because Kamala decided that kids who didn't go to class, i.e. were truant, cost the city too much money, and she liked money. (Kamala's words) Cheree was put through 2 years of misery before the case was dropped. She ended up losing her job, her home and almost lost her kids because of Kamala Harris' unjust prosecution. Just because something is repeated over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over doesn't make it true if it isn't. NONE of the cases against Trump stand up to even casual scrutiny. They are nonsensical at best and far more devious at worst. The part that was true in the quote is that so many of us did exactly that, we gave up... gave up listening to the "proper" paid shills in the media and spent our time watching lawyers go through these filings, appearances, orders, ect and saw the incredulity for ourselves in real time. Jealous much? It's now DISINFORMATION to watch something unedited in real time. Our history books are replete with authorities that began heavy-handedly censoring anything but what the state allowed. Those governments ended badly and include the German Nazis and the Italian Fascists of WWII that the US fought against. It must be getting ever more difficult to calm the cognizant dissonance that guys like this Michael Tomasky of newrepublic (the article referred to) want you to accept, and the proof of that is in how many people are simply refusing to listen to it any longer. And that's the reason all these radically far-left media are failing. To prove just how much of a dullard this Tomasky must be, he actually believes He couldn't survive in a mainstream lane. Right. 30 years as the number one syndicated radio show that earned him over an estimated $80 million isn't even worth mentioning. And this is the best you can do to convince someone that you actually know what you're talking about, that people should believe you and if they don't then they must be homophobic, misogynistic, racist, blahblahblahblahblah FASCISTS that support another HITLER. Yawn. Different day, same drivel. That’s quite a screed. Do you mind sharing the name of the Orange County DA who chose to apply California’s truancy law to Cheree Peoples in such a performative and public way? To make an example of her? She was prosecuted by the county, not by the state, just so you know. Please also share his political affiliation. Nah. Lots of people have been convicted of falsifying business records in New York. Trump was indicted and convicted by a jury of his peers who had a lot more access to the correct evidence than you did. www.justsecurity.org/85605/survey-of-past-new-york-felony-prosecutions-for-falsifying-business-records/Indeed. Now please tell me which party has been leading the charge to ban books they don't agree with, both in schools and in public libraries. Often the disinformation comes when you believe what someone else is telling you is happening in the video, even though there is no visible or audible evidence in the video itself. I will never forget when you all tried to say that police horses were running over anti-vax/mask protesters in Canada, and you posted some video as "proof." In the video we saw and heard a lot of people and horses, and someone shouted something, but there was nothing visible or audible to indicate that someone was actually run over by a police horse. You would claim that this "unedited in real time" video was showing the truth, but the fact was the people who captioned it lied about what was actually shown. And yes, that is very much disinformation. Your oddly specific defense of Rush Limbaugh - known drug addict with four marriages and a history of saying disgusting things about women and approving things about serial philanderers like his buddy Newt Gingrich - is weird. |
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Post by Merge on Nov 11, 2024 1:23:47 GMT
Feels like I'm being asked to do someone else's homework assignment. No thank you. Why don't you post your definitions first, then we can all decide if we want to play. I was just about to post something similar. No to homework assignments. None of those terms are difficult, but spending time typing that out? Nah. Particularly when the OP is not known for posting in good faith. |
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Post by Merge on Nov 10, 2024 18:51:51 GMT
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Post by Merge on Nov 10, 2024 18:34:37 GMT
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Post by Merge on Nov 10, 2024 16:54:28 GMT
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Post by Merge on Nov 10, 2024 15:14:36 GMT
No. I don't think you can truly decide to start believing something you had realized previously wasn't true.
I'll be disappointed if that's where the show goes next season. I love that, in the end, he seemed willing to give up on being head rabbi so that he could be with her.
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Post by Merge on Nov 10, 2024 15:08:25 GMT
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Post by Merge on Nov 9, 2024 19:05:58 GMT
I hope you enjoy paying $5 for a tomato - or simply not being able to buy a tomato - when the farms lose most of their workers. Already paying $3.99 a pound… and most of my produce (and meat) is purchased locally at local family farms… Agriculture prices in the mass market are super opaque in how the pricing works. I think we can agree that deporting a big chunk of the people willing to do agricultural labor is going to raise prices further, both for the things you can't get locally and for all the people who have to rely on grocery stores for their food. |
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Post by Merge on Nov 9, 2024 18:58:11 GMT
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Post by Merge on Nov 9, 2024 18:22:20 GMT
How so? You just got done saying elsewhere that socialism is always bad. Government agency help is socialism. Government control is always bad. I don’t believe that government agencies should be considered socialism. Those are two different entities. I believe when government controls everything they control everyone. 1. You don't actually know what socialism is. 2. Government agencies taking money from all of us and dispersing it as needed for the greater good is part of the literal definition of socialism. Most countries practice this to some degree because it's how civilization works. 3. I think what you really mean is that you're fine with socialism for you, but object to it when it helps people you think don't deserve it. |
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Post by Merge on Nov 9, 2024 18:18:39 GMT
Wait. Elsewhere you claim that Project 2025 is not Trump’s playbook, but here you cite opinion from the group that wrote P2025 as gospel truth. You seem confused. Project 2025 isn’t Trump’s playbook. False. Out of curiosity, if Trump had come out and said that Project 2025 was written by people he intends to have in his administration, and that he plans to implement as much of it as possible, would you have considered that a good thing or a bad thing? |
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Post by Merge on Nov 9, 2024 17:23:16 GMT
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Post by Merge on Nov 9, 2024 16:51:14 GMT
I would go to Costco and buy several large boxes of tampons. I'd put a handful in a nice decorative basket in both the men's and ladies' rooms and refill as necessary. And I'd enjoy watching that woman seethe about them the whole time. Perhaps I still have some midwestern passive-aggressive in me.  |
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Post by Merge on Nov 9, 2024 16:36:39 GMT
If she had gone to college or had moved out, she could be out til 5 AM and you'd never know.
We stopped trying to impose a curfew after our kids had graduated high school. We did ask our kids to let us know their whereabouts and expected arrival home as a courtesy, and to text us if they changed plans and decided to stay the night somewhere. Basic courtesy.
I don't think grown adults should have a curfew, but they can show basic respect and courtesy to those they live with.
And we can't keep them at home with a curfew until they're 30, so at some point we have to learn to sleep even when they're outside the house.
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Post by Merge on Nov 9, 2024 16:34:02 GMT
Literally home of the Anne Frank house. I don't get it.
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Post by Merge on Nov 9, 2024 16:33:11 GMT
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Post by Merge on Nov 9, 2024 16:19:57 GMT
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Post by Merge on Nov 9, 2024 16:19:20 GMT
$11 billion isn’t enough for you? I'm going to do you the favor of assuming you understand how percentages work vs. raw numbers. |
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Post by Merge on Nov 9, 2024 14:32:11 GMT
$2/gallon gas...nothing else matters, including one's immortal soul. They mistakenly think DUMP is going to fix this. My goodness, how sad the Texas economy will be if we have $2/gallon gas. The oil billionaires running the show here in Texas won't put up with that for a second. I hope no one voted for Trump believing that would happen. |
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Post by Merge on Nov 9, 2024 14:29:52 GMT
Agree. A private school, voucher-voting MAGA here in Texas isn't suffering from the economy. They just want the rest of us to help pay to keep their kids out of schools that educate "undesirables." And those who are suffering for economic reasons seem unable to understand the scope of the problem, how much a president can actually do about it, what role the free market has played in prices rising, and how much worse it will be when Trump imposes tariffs and deports a big chunk of our workforce. Or they do understand, and they're just using economic woes as an excuse to vote for the guy who hates the people they hate. |
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Post by Merge on Nov 9, 2024 14:23:33 GMT
Yes. I ask my girls for preliminary ideas around September and start shopping then. If I do it little by little it doesn't break any one month's budget. I'll be done by Thanksgiving. My oldest mostly asks for stuff for her apartment these days and the youngest is still very much in college girl mode - wants this perfume and that fancy purse. I expect next year she'll be wanting apartment stuff, too. |
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Post by Merge on Nov 9, 2024 13:44:57 GMT
Why would Republicans want help from the government? She was just giving those people what they voted for. I’m sure they have some bootstraps they can use instead. Wow!!! Talk about a reach… How so? You just got done saying elsewhere that socialism is always bad. Government agency help is socialism. |
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