Chit-Chat: The Feels

[Lantern7]

1 hour ago, peacheslatour said:

Pence tweeted -

"President Trump was right the first time...Senators, Vote No on RFK Jr.," he captioned the tweet, which has since amassed more than 400,000 views.

Notice he still manages to get "Trump was right" in there. Fucking bootlicker.

I figure he was too broken and/or scared to put in “for once.” He does that, the faithful come for him with paper-mache guillotines. If he’s lucky.

Quick question, not political: why would people not root for the Eagles in the Super Bowl? They got Saquon Barkley with them now. A win for Philly means another reason to point and laugh at the Giants for not keeping him. I get a hate for the Chiefs . . . familiarity breeds contempt, Mahomes is approaching rarified air at too young an age, and they always get the calls to go their way. I’d add the fans doing the whack-ass tomahawk chop chant, but I don’t think that’s a priority.

Edited 23 hours ago by Lantern7

[peacheslatour]

7 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

I figure he was too broken and/or scared to put in “for once.” He does that, the faithful come for him with paper-mache guillotines. If he’s lucky.

Quick question, not political: why would people not root for the Eagles in the Super Bowl? They got Saquon Barkley with them now. A win for Philly means another reason to point and laugh at the Giants for not keeping him. I get a hate for the Chiefs . . . familiarity breeds contempt, Mahomes is approaching rarified air at too young an age, and they always get the calls to go their way. I’d add the fans doing the whack-ass tomahawk chop chant, but I don’t think that’s a priority.

I don't care about sports, like at all. I only know my husband hates the Chiefs with heat of a thousand suns so I'll be rooting for Philly.

Edited 23 hours ago by peacheslatour

[Notabug]

10 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

I figure he was too broken and/or scared to put in “for once.” He does that, the faithful come for him with paper-mache guillotines. If he’s lucky.

Quick question, not political: why would people not root for the Eagles in the Super Bowl? They got Saquon Barkley with them now. A win for Philly means another reason to point and laugh at the Giants for not keeping him. I get a hate for the Chiefs . . . familiarity breeds contempt, Mahomes is approaching rarified air at too young an age, and they always get the calls to go their way. I’d add the fans doing the whack-ass tomahawk chop chant, but I don’t think that’s a priority.

From what I've seen here and elsewhere, I think more people are rooting for the Eagles than the Chiefs.  It seems mostly like it is Chiefs/Mahomes/Kelce fatigue that has turned people off the Chiefs.  That and the glaring fact that Mahomes gets way too many calls in his favor from the refs.  As for me, my bro in law is originally from Philly, so I will root for them on his behalf.  Not personally invested in Saquon Barkley or the Giants; so my Philly fandom has nothing to do with that.

 

[bluegirl147]

I'm rooting for Philly.  Actually I would have rooted for any NFC team against the Chiefs.  Can't stand them and one big reason why is that offensive tomahawk chop. How in 2025 are they still doing that? Although I did notice networks don't show it during the games anymore.

2 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

 

Meanwhile, I hear a few Senators are giving RFK Jr. the business today. Is it sad that the goal is to NOT have that guy in charge of our health, even if it means another Trumpanista in that role that's actively out to ruin us?

They went at him hard.  And he was so in over his head.  If he gets confirmed I shudder to think how fucked we are.

[Ohiopirate02]

19 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

Quick question, not political: why would people not root for the Eagles in the Super Bowl? They got Saquon Barkley with them now. A win for Philly means another reason to point and laugh at the Giants for not keeping him. I get a hate for the Chiefs . . . familiarity breeds contempt, Mahomes is approaching rarified air at too young an age, and they always get the calls to go their way. I’d add the fans doing the whack-ass tomahawk chop chant, but I don’t think that’s a priority.

I'm rooting for the team that would decline an invitation to the White House if they won. Not the team who's owners donate money to Josh Hawley and probably Donald Trump. Clark Hunt's wife just screams MAGA Barbie to me at least. It's the blonde hair and obvious plastic surgery. 

[Anela]

I don’t watch football. 
 

‘We’re not hurting anybody,’ says wife of immigrant taken from Georgia church He was one of at least 20 apprehensions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Atlanta on Sunday, according to one estimate

they arrested someone in a church.  

[bluegirl147]

This was probably his plan all along.

https://www.axios.com/2025/01/29/trump-guantanamo-bay-undocumented-immigrants

[partofme]

46 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

I figure he was too broken and/or scared to put in “for once.” He does that, the faithful come for him with paper-mache guillotines. If he’s lucky.

Quick question, not political: why would people not root for the Eagles in the Super Bowl? They got Saquon Barkley with them now. A win for Philly means another reason to point and laugh at the Giants for not keeping him. I get a hate for the Chiefs . . . familiarity breeds contempt, Mahomes is approaching rarified air at too young an age, and they always get the calls to go their way. I’d add the fans doing the whack-ass tomahawk chop chant, but I don’t think that’s a priority.

I hate football so ti have no idea who Saquon is.  I’m rooting for the Eagles because I don’t like Taylor Swift’s football player boyfriend and also the only reason I’ve ever heard of Mahomes is because his wife went viral before the election for being MAGA so I hate him too.  

Edited 23 hours ago by partofme

[bluegirl147]

8 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

 

She also talked about how her mom would go on about how interracial marriage was a problem for the children, 'cause of how they always got made fun of for being from an interracial family, and my mom was like, "...so....tell the people making fun to stop doing so?" 

When my son was little I would hear people say it's so hard for biracial kids and I thought yeah because of people like you.  

[Avaleigh]

22 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

Regarding the talk about family members saying offensive things, my mom's talked about how, when she was a kid, her mom often used to say things like, "She's pretty for a black girl." And my mom would always push back when she said that, like, ">..what does that even mean, Mom?" 

I grew up hearing these sorts of backhanded "compliments" and it's a bummer when you realize that there are many, many people who are still in that racist mindset. When I was around 19 or 20, some 20 years ago, and standing in line at the grocery store, I once had a super old white lady softly ask me if I was a "negro" and followed that up with, "I wasn't sure because you're so pretty." The crazy thing is that she seemed to think she was being nice.

Also, these kinds of remarks unfortunately come from Black people too. A woman who used to do my hair back when I still was on the east coast recently told me how lucky I am that my daughter has "good" hair. Even one of my aunts told me that she was glad that my daughter's skin is light, and I know her well enough to know what she was inferring when she made that comment.

One of my friends is biracial and she recently had to put up with her mom telling her that she was an "idiot" for having a baby with a guy who has dark skin. (Also, her mom said it in a way that is much ruder than than what I've indicated above.) Her mom is Black and seems to think she deserves some sort of prize because she made sure to have kids with a man who isn't Black. Nevermind that he sucked as a husband and father. The main point in her head was that her kids had light skin and good hair. 

[Eri]

4 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

This is yet another way for them to scare immigrants, documented and undocumented. Could you imagine how traumatized a child would be if some ICE agent showed up and removed them from school? We heard how Trump refers to them.  He doesn't care how they are treated.

This is merely history repeating itself.

People have short term memories. If they bothered to reflect on the controversial and disastrous 2017-2018 immigration enforcement strategy that was implemented during his first term, they'd understand the significant impact it had? Including the separation of thousands of migrant children from their parents, which led to many being placed in detention centers and subsequently lost in the system (many of whom were never reunified with their families).

No, of course they don't. This administration implies that every American should "weather the storm" of all this enforcement because he knows it will cause chaos and it encourages racial profiling. He knows that some US citizens who will be "mistaken" for an "illegal immigrant" because of how they look or the color of their skin, whether they have an accent or a foreign name. And they should just be fine with it because this is all for the "greater good."

As long as you're "one of the good ones," you'll be fine.

Story of my life honestly.

Edited 21 hours ago by Eri

[Dimity]

2 minutes ago, Eri said:

And they should just be fine with it because this is all for the "greater good."

Musk the Unelected claimed a woman who, according to him, works for the federal government  told him she'd be happy to be fired if it meant that helped Trump further his agenda. 

[Lantern7]

1 hour ago, Anela said:

.  

Nice.

Wait .. . March?!? There might not be a republic by then! Drop the bombshells how!!!

Edited 21 hours ago by Lantern7

[Dimity]

8 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

Wait .. . March?!? There might not be a republic by then! Drop the bombshells how!!!

Yeah, this makes me think this is a bit of a fake, sadly.  Unless there is something about March I don't know about?  Otherwise why wait?

[Bastet]

56 minutes ago, Eri said:

Including the separation of thousands of migrant children from their parents, which led to many being placed in detention centers and subsequently lost in the system (many of whom were never reunified with their families).

A Human Rights Watch report estimated around 1300 of the approximately 5000 children separated were never reunited. 

On his first day in office, Biden issued an executive order establishing an interagency Family Reunification Task Force.  The work was slow going due to the number of cases and the shoddy-to-nonexistent records kept, but reunification was happening.  Of course, one of Trump's first executive orders was to revoke that EO.

Trump also suspended refugee admissions, leaving nearly 1,600 Afghan refugees who had already been cleared for resettlement in the U.S. in immigration limbo -- among them, unaccompanied Afghan children trying to reunite with their families in the U.S.  (Also, you know, people who helped the U.S. during its occupation and now fear they’ll be punished or even killed by the Taliban government.)

Also in the first week came shutting down processing offices in Latin America that the Biden administration had set up to give certain migrants in four countries legal immigration options (to dissuade them from crossing the U.S. southern border without going through that legal process).  If you claim it's all about "illegal" immigration vs. "doing it the right way" but then get rid of the resources to help people from South and Central America who meet the criteria enter the U.S. legally, you make crystal clear what we've known: It's not about the method of entry, it is about keeping brown folks out.

[Anela]

1 hour ago, Eri said:

This is merely history repeating itself.

People have short term memories. If they bothered to reflect on the controversial and disastrous 2017-2018 immigration enforcement strategy that was implemented during his first term, they'd understand the significant impact it had? Including the separation of thousands of migrant children from their parents, which led to many being placed in detention centers and subsequently lost in the system (many of whom were never reunified with their families).

No, of course they don't. This administration implies that every American should "weather the storm" of all this enforcement because he knows it will cause chaos and it encourages racial profiling. He knows that some US citizens who will be "mistaken" for an "illegal immigrant" because of how they look or the color of their skin, whether they have an accent or a foreign name. And they should just be fine with it because this is all for the "greater good."

As long as you're "one of the good ones," you'll be fine.

Story of my life honestly.

I remember this. He had to be convinced to give children *toothbrushes* and toothpaste. 

Here's why the Trump administration says it's not required to give migrant children soap

Quote

As a Trump administration lawyer made her argument in favor of reversing a ruling that found the government had violated standards for detaining migrant children set forth by a 1990s court settlement, the judges on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals were visibly stunned. 

"You're really going stand up and tell us that being able to sleep isn't a question of safe and sanitary conditions?" Judge Marsha Berzon asked Sarah Fabian, the career Justice Department attorney representing the administration. 

"I find that inconceivable that the government would say that that is safe and sanitary," Judge William Fletcher weighed in.

"It's within everybody's common understanding: If you don't have a toothbrush, if you don't have soap, if you don't have a blanket, it's not safe and sanitary. Wouldn't everybody agree to that? Do you agree to that?" Judge Wallace Tashima asked when it was his turn to press Fabian.

 

[Annber03]

I just...truly cannot fathom this level of cruelty. Or being okay with this kind of cruelty. 

[MostlyContent]

Just taking a break to straighten the back after being hunched over for a time. I now hate not only Valentine's Day, but also, temporarily, Amethysts.  Apologies in advance to everyone born in Feb.  

Bluegirl, I haven't forgotten your question, and I've been thinking about it.  I have the most important one, I think.  Just give me a couple more days to finish this set so I can settle in and type without stress.  

3 hours ago, Annber03 said:

He didn't even get a majority of the popular vote this time around, either, he won with a lot of help from the electoral college.

Annber, I know you said way back-thread that you didn't really watch or read the news or whatever.  I just wanted you to know that this is incorrect.  It doesn't really matter here, but if you posted that in a less insular spot, people could give you some pretty harsh feedback about it.   :)   

[tearknee]

1 hour ago, Dimity said:

Yeah, this makes me think this is a bit of a fake, sadly.  Unless there is something about March I don't know about?  Otherwise why wait?

International Womens' Day

[Anela]

8 minutes ago, MostlyContent said:

Just taking a break to straighten the back after being hunched over for a time. I now hate not only Valentine's Day, but also, temporarily, Amethysts.  Apologies in advance to everyone born in Feb.  

Bluegirl, I haven't forgotten your question, and I've been thinking about it.  I have the most important one, I think.  Just give me a couple more days to finish this set so I can settle in and type without stress.  

Annber, I know you said way back-thread that you didn't really watch or read the news or whatever.  I just wanted you to know that this is incorrect.  It doesn't really matter here, but if you posted that in a less insular spot, people could give you some pretty harsh feedback about it.   :)   

Donald Trump Has Not Won a Majority of the Votes Cast for President

Donald Trump’s popular vote total has fallen below 50 percent, and his margin over Kamala Harris has narrowed considerably as all the votes are counted.

Trump falls just below 50% in popular vote, but gets more than in past elections

President-elect Donald Trump got very close to a majority of the vote in this presidential election, but not quite. It is not exactly the "unprecedented and powerful mandate" Trump claimed on election night.

In fact, this year's popular-vote margin is the second-closest since 1968 and still tightening. It shows just how closely divided the country is politically, and that any shift to the right is marginal.

 

[SoMuchTV]

3 hours ago, Annber03 said:

He didn't even get a majority of the popular vote this time around, either, he won with a lot of help from the electoral college. Why the hell does our country need to be held hostage by a guy who doesn't even have the support of the majority of the country? 

 

14 minutes ago, MostlyContent said:

Annber, I know you said way back-thread that you didn't really watch or read the news or whatever.  I just wanted you to know that this is incorrect.  It doesn't really matter here, but if you posted that in a less insular spot, people could give you some pretty harsh feedback about it.   :)   

I hate to step in the middle of this, but like that guy in that cartoon, “something is wrong on the internet.”

Annber is correct that he didn’t get the majority of the popular vote. He did get the plurality. As for her contention that “he won with a lot of help from the electoral college”, that’s more a matter of opinion, and I can see how one could make an argument either way. 

Edited 19 hours ago by SoMuchTV
Crossposted with @anela

[MostlyContent]

From your first link, Anela:  

"Trump’s still ahead of Harris in the popular vote."  

....and then I changed the channel and am now horrified by the plane crash.  Back tomorrow, hopefully.  

[fastiller]

Shared by a FB friend:

According to this leaked memo, the Defense Intelligence Agency personnel are ordered to suspend the observance of the holidays and events listed.

Edited 18 hours ago by fastiller

[Trini]

7 minutes ago, fastiller said:

Shared by a FB friend:

According to this leaked memo, the Defense Intelligence Agency personnel are ordered to suspend the observance of the holidays and events listed.

I don't even understand this. What are they afraid of??

[Anela]

Trump Fires Heads of TSA, Coast Guard and Guts Key Aviation Safety Advisory Committee

President Donald Trump has moved quickly to remake the Department of Homeland Security by firing the heads of the Transportation Security Administration and Coast Guard before their terms are up while eliminating all the members of a key aviation security advisory group

Eight days ago.

[Avaleigh]

32 minutes ago, Trini said:

I don't even understand this. What are they afraid of??

I think the goal is to upset and frustrate people. 

[Lantern7]

*whimper* Why can’t the bad/sad man go away?

[Lantern7]

There's been a collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter in DC.

Only 47 more hours to go for January 2025.

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, Annber03 said:

I just...truly cannot fathom this level of cruelty. Or being okay with this kind of cruelty. 

One of the most horribly indelible images of his first term:  kids in cages, from the zero tolerance policy that caused family separation, a deplorable situation still unresolved and now told to stop addressing.  Because some 77 million people actively said yep, bring it back and then some or didn't care that it would happen.

[CheshireCat]

On 1/28/2025 at 9:01 PM, Dimity said:

She is making this sound like it's something new.  It isn't.  Girls have always been able to get away with being tomboyish while boys were not given 'permission' to be feminine.  Guess why?   Girls can aspire to be boyish because that's considered the most desirable gender.  Boys wanting to be feminine are trading down and settling for less. 

If anything IMO anyway things are much better now.  Frankly, I know a lot of parents who have encouraged, if not downright insisted, on giving their sons a Barbie while refusing to even consider letting their daughter wear pink or take ballet.

That's an interesting point of view and one I never considered. I think that makes a lot of sense, however, I also wonder if that may apply to girls only and not extend into adulthood. From where I'm sitting, I'd say that once a girl becomes a woman, the majority of society still expects her to be "sufficiently feminine" and fill the role reserved for her by social norms. 

As far as boys are concerned, I'd say it depends on one's environment. My experience has been that it's okay for girls to be tomboyish but there's still prejudice against boys liking things associated with girls. 

This is an extreme example, but a teacher at the school my mom works at was of the opinion that a child couldn't be transgender because his favorite color was pink. 

 

15 hours ago, Anela said:

immigration rules are strict here. A guy I used to know, has a Polish wife, and he said they put her through a lot, and that it was understandable that people would find another way to come here first. She was employed, they both had money. 
 

I share that sentiment. The immigration process takes time, money and a certain amount of luck. 

I've put the details into spoilers for anyone who wants to skip them. 🙂

Spoiler

First, you have to qualify for one of the visa categories. There are many but it's also really hard to qualify for one.

Even if you have a job, it can be tough for your employer to sponsor you because they have to provide proof to USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services) that no American citizen can do the job and that includes the requirement that they have to take out two ads, either in two major newspapers or twice in one, I don't remember which. I've heard that one ad can cost up to $2,000. 

I've only been through the process for immigrant visa. As far as I know, the process is slightly different for non-immigrant visa.

But once you qualify for an immigrant visa, you have to apply which costs money. 

If there is a sponsor involved, you don't file for a visa but the sponsor files a petition. That, too, costs money. That was the case for me. I went through the family reunification route, so, my parents were my sponsor.

Then you wait. Your petition needs to be approved and once it is, you have to wait for your case number to be eligible to apply for the immigrant visa. 

Wait times differ. Family reunification is separated into different categories and they all have different wait times, although, it's probably a year on average that they differ. But as the wait times depend on the applications filed, it's hard to tell which category is faster and sometimes, a category with a higher priority can actually be slower because more applications were filed. 

For anyone who doesn't know, that wait time is the result of visa allocation. Each visa category gets a number of visas per fiscal year and each country also only gets a certain percentage of these visas per fiscal year. 
As there are more applications than visas available per fiscal year, the non-processed applications gets carried over into the next fiscal year, so they build up. 

By the time I applied, the average wait time was 5-8 years, more on the 8 years side of things with a tendency to shorter wait times.

The longest wait times are currently for potential immigrants from India, Mexico and Phillippines (I believe). Their immigrant visa wait time is around 20 years.  

I believe the shortest wait times for family related visas are for fiancé and spousal visas. 

Employment-related immigrant visas are processed faster but they're harder to get and there are fewer of them. 

Back to the process: I don't remember for sure if the application cost money but I think it did. I would be surprised if it didn't because, at the very least, there surely is a processing fee. 

You wait again but this time, the wait time is shorter, at least, it was for me. I think it was around 7 months until my interview was scheduled. 
Interviews are held at select locations only. I believe they're usually done at the embassy, however, while non-immigrant visa interviews are held in Berlin, immigrant visa interviews are still held at the consulate in Frankfurt/Main as the US never moved them to Berlin. (Don't ask me why). 
Either way, if you don't live at the location where the interview is held, you have to have the time and money to travel. More often than not, that would include an overnight stay.
I don't know what I paid for at the interview location but I did pay for something. Possibly the visa. 

You also have to have a medical exam. That is done by approved doctors only. Luckily, those are located in Berlin but I have no idea how it is for other locations, so, it's possible, there's travel involved again. 
What I know for sure is that you have to pay for it, so, it costs money, again. 

Then you wait again. Fortunately for me, I knew somebody who could make an inquiry, so, my wait time between medical exam and notification that my visa had been issued was only 6 or 7 weeks. (You get processed only after you've given proof of the medical exam and have had the interview and my medical exam was after the interview). 

At one point, I also had to provide police records for all the countries I lived in. They cost money, too. 

I also had to have a birth certificate and bring copies as well as the originals of all of the documents to my interview. Additionally, I needed copies of my parents' IDs and it was recommended to bring proof of relation. I didn't need to show it but I don't know if that was because I had copies of my parents' IDs and their names matched the names on my birth certificate or because of the circumstances of my application or because of where I was from or all of the above... 

I've also heard that immigrants from certain countries can have more than one interview/background check but I don't know the exact circumstances under which that might be true. 

Once I was notified my visa was approved, I had to wait a couple of days before I could pick up my visa. Then I booked my flight and entered the United States. It was only then, at the USCIS checkpoint, was I admitted as an immigrant and my permanent resident card was approved.
At any time before that, I could have been denied, even the CBP officer could have denied me entry. (Although, that usually only happens if you commit a crime between the point your visa was issued and the time you enter the United States). 

Anyone here on a non-immigrant visa who can file for a change of status (as far as I know, not everyone is eligible) and can remain in the country while it's processed. But they have to go home for the interview, at least, I would have had to. 

Wait times are usually shorter for that process but you have to have that non-immigrant to immigrant visa first. 

I was lucky because Obama had made some changes to streamline the process and by the time I went through the process, those changes took effect for my visa category and reduced my wait time to five years.
There's also a chance that I benefited from Trump as I heard that a lot of applications had been withdrawn during his tenure but I never bothered to look into it and confirm it.

I found the wait time stressful mentally as I felt like I had one foot in and one foot out and wasn't really here nor there. Additionally, Trump was talking about abolishing family reunification visas and I didn't know if that would mean that anyone who was waiting to be able to apply would automatically be denied. 

Still, I consider myself privileged because I could afford to go through the process. I had the time, I had the money, I had a passport, a visa category I qualified for and I either had all the records I needed or could get them easily. 

Many of the undocumented immigrants who cross the border at an unauthorized location don't have the luxury. They walk through several countries on foot and/or pay coyotes to smuggle them across the border even though they know the risks involved. 
I've asked myself many times just how afraid or desperate you must be if you think taking all of those risks is worth it. 

Overstaying a visa is easy. But once you overstay, you're at constant risk of deportation.
I'm sure that it's not something you think about every day and you probably tell yourself that the odds are low and with time, I'm assuming, the fear will drift to the back of your mind. 
Still, there's that knowledge and there's that risk. 

For any undocumented immigrants, life is restricted to what the person is comfortable doing and their unlawful status allows them to do. (For example, for those who could afford it, no travel out of the country, limited work options etc).

So, as draining as the process was and as expensive as the process was, I wouldn't want to trade places with an undocumented immigrant for the world. Because the fact that I was able to go through the process means I don't have any of the fears, desperation, living conditions, life circumstances and restrictions that they have. And for that, I'm grateful! 

 

14 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

I feel like Musk ordered the freeze.

I'm not sure I agree. It's possible. But Trump has shown a disregard for the Constitution and talked about the things he's doing now long before Musk got involved. 

 

13 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

This is yet another way for them to scare immigrants, documented and undocumented. 

I think it's also short-sighted. Currently, children of undocumented immigrants are enrolled in schools. That means, they'll get a proper education that will allow them to get as good a paying job as they can and that means revenue for the government, both state and federal. 

Children who go to school have friends and do activities with them after school. If they play sports, they need equipment. Parents will accompany those children and possibly buy things like food and drinks. 

The more children there are in schools, the more teachers are needed. 

Undocumented immigrants contribute to the economy. If we push them into hiding, they won't do that anymore. 

Slightly different but related: friends of parents at the school my mom works at were denied entry over the weekend. They're dual citizens, Columbian and Swiss. Their visa is sponsored by the World Bank. But because the visa is in their Columbian passport, CBP denied them entry. 

The Latino cleaning lady was harrassed by a grandmother, to the point that she was so afraid the next day that she waited for the principal to arrive before she entered the building. She's legal. 

On a general note, only 52% of the ICE arrests are reportedly so-called "criminal arrests". The rest had either non-violent offenses on their record or their only offense was to be in the country illegally and that's not a crime but a civil violation. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/trump-immigration-raids-citizens-profiling-accusations-native-american-rcna189203

 

12 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Notice he still manages to get "Trump was right" in there. 

If the end result is that RFK Jr isn't confirmed, I'm good with it. 

 

6 hours ago, fastiller said:

Shared by a FB friend:

According to this leaked memo, the Defense Intelligence Agency personnel are ordered to suspend the observance of the holidays and events listed.

 

Can a federal agency just ignore federal holidays? 

Edited 12 hours ago by CheshireCat
Spelling and adding things I forgot

[tearknee]

Of course, Hitler never formally repealed the Weimar Constitution.

 

 

[Soapy Goddess]

15 hours ago, Dimity said:

And in another example of stupidity that I feel comfortable mocking:

 

That's because they now realize that the latest increase is due to the bird flu.

[PRgal]

Growing up, I heard that it was tough to be mixed race.  I think a lot it, at least from the Asian perspective had to do with kids who were the result of local women and foreign military personnel?  The musical Miss Saigon has a song about these kids and how discrimination was “printed on their face.”  That said, the current production of Madame Butterfly by the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto (which Miss Saigon is based on) has an interesting take on casting.  They decided to do it a la Hamilton.  Pinkerton (the US naval officer) is sung by a tenor of Chinese heritage.  There’s no change to the time period the opera is set, nothing.  Just casting. 
 

https://www.coc.ca/tickets/2425-season/madama-butterfly

 

Edited 11 hours ago by PRgal

[bluegirl147]

11 hours ago, Dimity said:

Musk the Unelected claimed a woman who, according to him, works for the federal government  told him she'd be happy to be fired if it meant that helped Trump further his agenda. 

If I'm not mistaken Trump told that same story.

[lookeyloo]

13 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

They went at him hard.  And he was so in over his head.  If he gets confirmed I shudder to think how fucked we are.

I listened to a chunk of that hearing.  When they adjourned the chairman thanked RFKJr and said something to the effect of looking forward to him being confirmed.  So the fix is in.  He is a scary fellow.  "I have your book with a quote".  Him. "I never said that". He also doesn't know the difference between correlation and causation or he pretends.

[bluegirl147]

10 hours ago, Annber03 said:

I just...truly cannot fathom this level of cruelty. Or being okay with this kind of cruelty. 

And so many of these people consider themselves "Christians".

 

"I told you once that I was searching for the nature of evil. I think I've come close to defining it: a lack of empathy. It's the one characteristic that connects all the defendants. A genuine incapacity to feel with their fellow man. Evil, I think, is the absence of empathy." ~ G. M Gilbert

It's the lack empathy that is going to kill us all.

[bluegirl147]

13 minutes ago, lookeyloo said:

I listened to a chunk of that hearing.  When they adjourned the chairman thanked RFKJr and said something to the effect of looking forward to him being confirmed.  So the fix is in.  He is a scary fellow.  "I have your book with a quote".  Him. "I never said that". He also doesn't know the difference between correlation and causation or he pretends.

And this is one of the biggest problems with Trump.  Once he decides something he will not back down.  RFK Jr is not only woefully unqualified which he showed yesterday but also dangerous.  But Trump will forever say he is the best person for the job and if he is confirmed and he fucks up and you know he will  Trump will be telling all of us he is doing a tremendous job.

Remember when we had presidents who handled disasters like an adult?  And now we have Trump. 

https://fortune.com/2025/01/30/trump-helicopter-pilot-air-trafficblame-fatal-crash-american-airlines-washington-dc/

[Annber03]

14 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

And so many of these people consider themselves "Christians".

Jesus looking around at all the chaos going on and being like, "...I don't know how I could've made myself any clearer, guys...". 

I agree with you on the lack of empathy. 

[laurakaye]

8 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

There's been a collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter in DC.

Only 47 more hours to go for January 2025.

How jarring it is to see Sean Duffy from The Real World speaking about this horrible tragedy in his new position as secretary of transportation.  I sure hope he's ready and qualified......

The desire to disconnect and go completely numb is overwhelming me, but I also feel like I have to stay vigilant because it seems there's danger everywhere.

Edited 9 hours ago by laurakaye

[Ohiopirate02]

5 hours ago, CheshireCat said:

Can a federal agency just ignore federal holidays? 

No. The federal holidays are still happening, the DIA just won't talk about the reasons for the holiday. There is an asterisk next to MLK day and Juneteenth to denote that.

I honestly don't know why they just cannot declare July or August "straight, cisgender, white man month" to level the playing field so to speak. Or highlight the many other federal holidays that do celebrate that demographic like Presidents Day or Thanksgiving or even Memorial Day or Labor Day.

[bluegirl147]

1 minute ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

No. The federal holidays are still happening, the DIA just won't talk about the reasons for the holiday. There is an asterisk next to MLK day and Juneteenth to denote that.

I honestly don't know why they just cannot declare July or August "straight, cisgender, white man month" to level the playing field so to speak. Or highlight the many other federal holidays that do celebrate that demographic like Presidents Day or Thanksgiving or even Memorial Day or Labor Day.

Every year i see comments whining about Black History Month. And I'm always tempted to respond don't the other 11 months celebrate White History?

[Annber03]

4 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

No. The federal holidays are still happening, the DIA just won't talk about the reasons for the holiday. There is an asterisk next to MLK day and Juneteenth to denote that.

Just...imagine thinking this is any sort of decent use of the goverment's time. Imagine being so utterly fragile that the mere idea of these holidays existing is enough to cause people to react like this.

But it's the liberals who are supposedly the senstitive snowflakes. Okay. 

[laurakaye]

5 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

I honestly don't know why they just cannot declare July or August "straight, cisgender, white man month" to level the playing field so to speak. 

I feel like every day since Jan. 20 is now straight white man day.  Does Hallmark make enough cards for us to send out?  They should get on that. 

[AgathaC]

My state made Robert E Lee Day a state holiday — tied to Martin Luther King Jr Day. It’s been that way for years, despite occasional efforts to drop Lee or at least unlink them. Nope. Only way the racists will tolerate the holiday around here.

[Bookish Jen]

15 hours ago, Annber03 said:

I just...truly cannot fathom this level of cruelty. Or being okay with this kind of cruelty. 

"Thanks" to Trump and MAGA, cruelty is celebrated and empathy is demonized. One Trumper one Twitter referred to "the sin of empathy." Empathy is a sin? I never learned that in CCD.

Edited 4 hours ago by Bookish Jen

[PRgal]

1 hour ago, bluegirl147 said:

Every year i see comments whining about Black History Month. And I'm always tempted to respond don't the other 11 months celebrate White History?

May is both Jewish and Asian whatever other culture falls into this category Heritage Month (in Canada, we just say Asian Heritage Month and Jewish Heritage Month.  Much easier).  Mid-October to Mid-November is Latin American Heritage Month.  I think there's an Italian Heritage Week as well?  

I don't know why Jewish Heritage Month and Asian Heritage month are both in May other than the fact that both cultures have a weird obsession with education.  #sorrynotsorry

[Dimity]

56 minutes ago, AgathaC said:

My state made Robert E Lee Day a state holiday — tied to Martin Luther King Jr Day. It’s been that way for years, despite occasional efforts to drop Lee or at least unlink them. Nope. Only way the racists will tolerate the holiday around here.

I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not but this thread is teaching me things about the US that I had been unaware of up until now.

[PRgal]

1 hour ago, bluegirl147 said:

And this is one of the biggest problems with Trump.  Once he decides something he will not back down.  RFK Jr is not only woefully unqualified which he showed yesterday but also dangerous.  But Trump will forever say he is the best person for the job and if he is confirmed and he fucks up and you know he will  Trump will be telling all of us he is doing a tremendous job.

Remember when we had presidents who handled disasters like an adult?  And now we have Trump. 

https://fortune.com/2025/01/30/trump-helicopter-pilot-air-trafficblame-fatal-crash-american-airlines-washington-dc/

I know that You Know Who has always been (to put it nicely) an oddball, but this is seriously cognitive decline.  You know that "all the world's a stage" monologue from As You Like It (yes, I had to look it up - it's not something typically read in high school English classes)?  Where the speech goes through the many stages of human beings, from infancy to, well, extreme old age?  I think Trump is either heading towards the seventh (and final) age or already in it.

Here's an excerpt from the final two ages:

The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slippered pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything

[Ohiopirate02]

1 hour ago, AgathaC said:

My state made Robert E Lee Day a state holiday — tied to Martin Luther King Jr Day. It’s been that way for years, despite occasional efforts to drop Lee or at least unlink them. Nope. Only way the racists will tolerate the holiday around here.

Are you in Virginia or another former Confederate state? I know for years Virginia celebrated Lee-Jackson Day in January. Virginia went hard on preserving Confederate history with Monument Ave in Richmond with all of those Confederate generals on horseback with the position of the horses' legs denoted how the general died--in battle, from wounds sustained in battle, or from natural causes after the war. My older brother went to VMI where their museum had the taxidermied horse belonging to Stonewall Jackson was on display. I'm blanking on that particular horse's name, but I do remember Lee's horse was named Traveler because it was also the name of a bar in Lexington, VA.

[Browncoat]

3 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

Are you in Virginia or another former Confederate state? I know for years Virginia celebrated Lee-Jackson Day in January. Virginia went hard on preserving Confederate history with Monument Ave in Richmond with all of those Confederate generals on horseback with the position of the horses' legs denoted how the general died--in battle, from wounds sustained in battle, or from natural causes after the war. My older brother went to VMI where their museum had the taxidermied horse belonging to Stonewall Jackson was on display. I'm blanking on that particular horse's name, but I do remember Lee's horse was named Traveler because it was also the name of a bar in Lexington, VA.

I think Traveler is taxidermied and on display somewhere.  I thought it was VMI, but maybe it's Washington and Lee.

When we still had Lee-Jackson-King Day, I would say it's Spike Lee, Jesse Jackson and Martin Luther King.