Chit-Chat: The Feels

[ProudMary]

Earlier this afternoon:

 

[Anela]

1 minute ago, ProudMary said:

Earlier this afternoon:

 

I saw that.

i also just saw a post from a man who was fired from his government job. I’ll post it when I’m on my computer.  

[DrSpaceman73]

2 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Good news, Canadian friends.

From The Hamilton Spectator 13 February 2025-

 

Before Donald Trump retook the White House, polls in Canada indicated the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) led by Pierre Poilievre would win a massive majority government in 2025.

Many political observers felt Poilievre’s victory would rival the enormous victories won by former Progressive Conservative prime ministers John Diefenbaker in 1958 and Brian Mulroney in 1984.

But then suddenly, the entire political landscape in Canada changed.

Donald Trump won the 2024 American presidential election, took office and immediately began making threats of economically devastating tariffs and musings about the United States annexing Canada. And Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he was stepping down.

Since then, Poilievre and the CPC have been floundering.

 

Well happy for Canada. 

[Dimity]

10 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

Well happy for Canada. 

We're not out of the woods yet.  But one big difference here as opposed to the US is our PM doesn't have the kind of power that your president does. And he can't isolate himself in an oval office.  I'd  love to see how Trump would handle himself if he had to show up in the House of Parliament everyday and have the opposition shout at him. 

[tessaray]

4 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

Problem is the right doesn't have respect for anyone who makes different choices than them. 

Oh, I agree.  

With all the Constitutional principles the right are attacking, I am most sad about the erosion of the separation of church and state. It kind of enforced that "respect". I can't imagine who in their right (heh) mind would want to be the morality police. But here we are. 

[ProudMary]

This week, through Sunday, Feb. 23rd, the House of Representatives is on a "home turf" recess. This is a time period when they are *supposed to* interact with their constituents. Both Republicans and Democrats need to hear from us.

As they did during the previous DJT administration, Indivisible has assembled a toolkit to take action. I'm linking it here.

MUSK OR US RECESS TOOLKIT

https://indivisible.org/muskorus

 

[peacheslatour]

1 minute ago, ProudMary said:

This week, through Sunday, Feb. 23rd, the House of Representatives is on a "home turf" recess. This is a time period when they are *supposed to* interact with their constituents. Both Republicans and Democrats need to hear from us.

As they did during the previous DJT administration, Indivisible has assembled a toolkit to take action. I'm linking it here.

MUSK OR US RECESS TOOLKIT

https://indivisible.org/muskorus

 

Signed up. Thank you!

[PRgal]

31 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

Problem is the right doesn't have respect for anyone who makes different choices than them. 

I love hearing stories like this. 

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sheryl-crow-sells-tesla-donates-proceeds-to-npr_n_67b0f234e4b0c06e58fc7f0b

The left doesn’t either.  One of the reasons why I often feel ashamed.  Many are like “get with the program or else.”   The nicer ones just give you dirty looks when you tell them you don’t want to openly state your preferred pronouns.  

[bluegirl147]

11 minutes ago, PRgal said:

The left doesn’t either.  One of the reasons why I often feel ashamed.  Many are like “get with the program or else.”   The nicer ones just give you dirty looks when you tell them you don’t want to openly state your preferred pronouns.  

I don't see the left passing laws to restrict people's rights.  It's not like they are going to make people state their pronouns.

[Dimity]

15 minutes ago, PRgal said:

The nicer ones just give you dirty looks when you tell them you don’t want to openly state your preferred pronouns.  

Where are you experiencing this?  Because this has never been my experience anywhere. 

[Bookworm 1979]

2 hours ago, PRgal said:

MAGA and people like those you mention above make me embarrassed to admit that I'm more on the conservative side.  Not right wing conservative, but a "let's take progressiveness slowly" conservative (see David Roberts' post that went live today.  I relate to it quite a bit). There's A LOT that I'm uncomfortable talking about in many public situations, including here at times, fearing shame and embarrassment, you know what I mean?   

Move to Alberta. They'll welcome you here with open arms. We're the Texas/Florida/Whatever Red State  of the North!

[PRgal]

14 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

I don't see the left passing laws to restrict people's rights.  It's not like they are going to make people state their pronouns.

No laws, but one camp I registered my son for didn’t allow for “prefer not to say.”  I still signed him up only because it’s an amazing camp and counsellors are well trained to work with kids (ie they’re not high school students or undergrads but people who have actual training).

14 minutes ago, Dimity said:

Where are you experiencing this?  Because this has never been my experience anywhere. 

During the pandemic, when I took part in a virtual get-together for interfaith parents.  

 

9 minutes ago, Bookworm 1979 said:

Move to Alberta. They'll welcome you here with open arms. We're the Texas/Florida/Whatever Red State  of the North!

How nice. 🙄

[Ceindreadh]

2 hours ago, Dimity said:

My husband's Scottish relatives have been talking about Vance and his speech there - full of threats and misinformation naturally - and all I could think about was whether he was in full eye liner mode while he was ranting.  BTW, no one can beat the Scots for insults.  Their posts have been fun to read 😄.

On threads, apparently the current popular one is
vanceisalyingbawbag

[Anela]

I didn't want to link to the man's personal facebook page, with his post, so I googled the first paragraph, and found a repost on reddit.

 

Quote

This park ranger used to come to our high school when I was younger to teach us all about the value of our natural world. He’d show us animals, take us on hikes, and teach us about how to take care of the planet. This was what he posted today:

https://www.facebook.com/share/15onFu4WUn/?mibextid=wwXIfr

I am absolutely heartbroken and completely devastated to have lost my dream job of an Education Park Ranger with the National Park Service this Valentine’s Day.

Without any type of formal notice my position was ripped out from out under my feet at 4pm on a cold snowy Friday. Before I could fully print off my government records, I was locked out of my email and unable to access my personal and professional records.

Please know and share this truth widely:

I am a father, a loving husband, and dedicated civil servant.

I am an oath of office to defend and protect the constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic.

I am a work evaluation that reads “exceeds expectations."

I am the "fat on the bone."

I am being trimmed as a consequence of the popular vote

I am a United States flag raiser and folder

I am my son's "Junior Ranger" idol

I am of the place where I first told my spouse I loved her

I am a college kid’s dream job

I am the smiling face that greets you at the front door

I am your family vacation planner

I am a voice for 19 American Indian cultures

I am the protector of 2500 year old Americian Indian burial and cermonial mounds

I am the defender of your public lands and waters

I am the motivation to make it up the hill

I am a generational cycle breaker

I am the toilet scrubber and soap dispenser

I am the open trail hiked by people from all walks of life

I am the highlight of your child’s school day

I am the band aid for a skinned knee

I am the lesson that showed your children that we live in a world of gifts- not commodities, that gratitude and reciprocity are the doorway to true abundance, not power, money, or fear.

I am the one who taught your kid the thrush’s song and the hawk’s cry.

I am the wildflower that brought your student joy

I am the one who told your child that they belong on this planet. That their unique gifts and existence matters.

I am an invocation for peace

I am gone from the office

I am the resistance

But mostly I'm just tired.

I am tired from weeks of being bullied and censored by billionares

I am tired of waking up every morning at 2am wondering how I am going to provide for my family if I lose my job

I am tired of wiping away my wife’s tears and reassuring her that things will be ok for our growing family.

Things are not ok. I am not ok. (This is the second time in under five years a dream job i worked has been eliminated. Now I may need to uproot my FAMILY again.)

Stay present, don't avert your gaze.

Untill our paths cross down the trail, Fare thee well.

Ranger Brian💚

 

Oh, I was trying to avoid posting anything with pictures of his child, but the post has one of them together.

[bluegirl147]

3 minutes ago, PRgal said:

No laws, but one camp I registered my son for didn’t allow for “prefer not to say.”  I still signed him up only because it’s an amazing camp and counsellors are well trained to work with kids (ie they’re not high school students or undergrads but people who have actual training).

During the pandemic, when I took part in a virtual get-together for interfaith parents.  

 

How nice. 🙄

I'm not dismissing what you are saying but you are giving anecdotal evidence.  There are no laws being introduced to force these things to happen with the threat of jail or fines. Meanwhile we have to worry about the SCOTUS taking away our right to marry someone of the opposite sex or of a different race.

[PRgal]

5 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

I'm not dismissing what you are saying but you are giving anecdotal evidence.  There are no laws being introduced to force these things to happen with the threat of jail or fines. Meanwhile we have to worry about the SCOTUS taking away our right to marry someone of the opposite sex or of a different race.

I didn’t know you wanted actual proposed laws.  And dismissing anecdotal experience is still dismissing, which I take as “your views don’t really matter and I don’t want to hear anymore of it.  Please sit down, ma’am.”

Edited February 15 by PRgal

[bluegirl147]

3 minutes ago, PRgal said:

I didn’t know you wanted actual proposed laws.  And dismissing anecdotal experience is still dismissing, which I take as “your views don’t really matter and I don’t want to hear anymore of it.  Please sit down, ma’am.”

We are going to have to agree to disagree.

[Eri]

@Anela Unfortunately, it's a Valentine's Day massacre for more federal agencies, particularly:

The National Nuclear Security Administration: https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/14/climate/nuclear-nnsa-firings-trump/index.html

The National Park Service: https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2025/02/update-one-thousand-national-park-service-staff-fired-seasonal-hiring-resuming

Which is crazy - we need our national parks to be run not just with part-timers, where is the "waste" when they bring revenue to states?

Edited February 15 by Eri

[Bastet]

17 minutes ago, Eri said:

The National Nuclear Security Administration: https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/14/climate/nuclear-nnsa-firings-trump/index.html

The "best" part of that is today's update:

Trump administration wants to un-fire nuclear safety workers but can’t figure out how to reach them

Quote

National Nuclear Security Administration officials on Friday attempted to notify some employees who had been let go the day before that they are now due to be reinstated — but they struggled to find them because they didn't have their new contact information.

In an email sent to employees at NNSA and obtained by NBC News, officials wrote, “The termination letters for some NNSA probationary employees are being rescinded, but we do not have a good way to get in touch with those personnel.”

The individuals the letter refers to had been fired on Thursday and lost access to their federal government email accounts. NNSA, which is within the Department of Energy and oversees the nation's nuclear stockpile, cannot reach these employees directly and is now asking recipients of the email, “Please work with your supervisors to send this information (once you get it) to people’s personal contact emails.”

 

[Dimity]

The complete and total incompetence is mindboggling - cue Trump or a MAGA mouthpiece now trying to blame Biden for this insanity.

[bluegirl147]

6 minutes ago, Dimity said:

The complete and total incompetence is mindboggling - cue Trump or a MAGA mouthpiece now trying to blame Biden for this insanity.

If it wasn't so incredibly dangerous it would be funny. At least last time he had semi competent people around him. This time their only qualification needs to be ass kissing. We are so fucked if a natural disaster or pandemic or terrorist attack happens on his watch.  I'm sure our adversaries are watching all this.

[peacheslatour]

I keep having this speech from Richard II running through my mind.

For God’s sake let us sit upon the ground

And tell sad stories of the death of kings: 

How some have been depos’d, some slain in war, 

Some haunted by the ghosts they have deposed, 

Some poisoned by their wives, some sleeping kill’d, 

All murthered—for within the hollow crown

That rounds the mortal temples of a king

 

[Eri]

24 minutes ago, Bastet said:

The "best" part of that is today's update:

Trump administration wants to un-fire nuclear safety workers but can’t figure out how to reach them

 

Hmph, I would refuse to return to work without a written contract guaranteeing my position and a pay raise.

[anony.miss]

2 hours ago, Dimity said:

I'd  love to see how Trump would handle himself if he had to show up in the House of Parliament everyday and have the opposition shout at him. 

I'd pay good money to see that ; )

4 hours ago, PRgal said:

I feel like at times, people here criticize those who "have" (and I'm no means even close to billionaire status) " 

Please don't take it personally - there's a longstanding tradition in the U.S. of wealthy people being criticized, going back to the days of the robber barons (and before). Plus the wealth disparity in the U.S. is vastly greater than in Canada, so that context is also in play. Billionaires and trust fund babies are not paying their fair share of taxes here, and haven't for decades. And that tax imbalance is happening in a country full of people worried about losing crucial parts of their economic stability  (health care, jobs, homes, medicaid, social security, group penison funds invested in the market) even as people with less financial stability are often paying more taxes than the "haves".  And  multiple generations are being adversely affected; younger people seeing their futures becoming increasingly narrow and unprosperous, even as their elders worry about holding onto what they've managed to build. The lifestyle my nephew and his wife and kids have in Canada would require a salary of at least 400 k here (he's a teacher, and makes nowhere near that).  All to say, frank discussion of the wealthy here getting away murder is not directed at you, PrGal - it's just that Americans are grappling with a core crisis in the economic structure of the nation, one where the wealthy are eating up all the resources once shared far more equally among Americans of every background.  Much more of this profound inequity, and we'll be storming the Bastille.

Edited February 16 by anony.miss

[PRgal]

@anony.miss I don’t know if your nephew is in a big city like Toronto or Vancouver nor do I know what his wife does, but in these cities, there is no way a teacher and spouse can maintain a middle class lifestyle with kids the way they could have in the, say, 90s.  My sister-in-law is in Vancouver, a teacher married to a teacher and they’re just there.  And only because they have one child and they bought their house like 20 years ago before things went crazy.  When you factor in mortgage, car payments, utilities, phone/internet, groceries (possibly a Costco membership), etc…it requires a lot of good budgeting skills.  

[anony.miss]

6 minutes ago, PRgal said:

@anony.miss  in these cities, there is no way a teacher and spouse can maintain a middle class lifestyle with kids the way they could have in the, say, 90s. 

Well, he and his wife are doing it - and in a major city -  so yes, it can be done  ;)

Edited February 16 by anony.miss

[Dimity]

5 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

Fuck me, we're screwed. Will no one rid us of this turbulent South African idiot?

From Splinter 14 February 2025.

Termination notices going out this afternoon to more than 300 employees of the National Cancer Institute. Access likely ends today. Four weeks paid leave and that’s it. Strong power move for Team Cancer.

He talks about social security being a scam - and apparently even whined somewhere that there are 150 yr olds receiving it (I am assuming he means people are getting it who presumably are dead but their estate or someone is still collecting it - but who knows with this idiot what he actually means about anything) anyway he wants to cut social security but to be on the safe side he also wants to make damn sure very few people live to collect it.

And where are the Republicans in Congress and the Senate?  I am sick and tired of hearing how the Dems need to do something.  Its the Republicans in an actual position to do something.  But so far they haven't.

[PRgal]

21 minutes ago, anony.miss said:

Well, he and his wife are doing it - and in a major city -  so yes, it can be done  ;)

Those who have help with the downpayment certainly can.  :) A house around here is $1.3M or thereabouts.  But that's a single family home.  Duplexes, townhouses and condos are more budget-friendly.  But condos are also not all that family-friendly if you have different gender children (since most max at two bedrooms).

[bluegirl147]

33 minutes ago, Dimity said:

He talks about social security being a scam - and apparently even whined somewhere that there are 150 yr olds receiving it (I am assuming he means people are getting it who presumably are dead but their estate or someone is still collecting it - but who knows with this idiot what he actually means about anything) anyway he wants to cut social security but to be on the safe side he also wants to make damn sure very few people live to collect it.

And where are the Republicans in Congress and the Senate?  I am sick and tired of hearing how the Dems need to do something.  Its the Republicans in an actual position to do something.  But so far they haven't.

Fuck with social security at your own peril. People do not like having things taken away from them.  

And of course Democrats are getting blamed for not doing anything to stop them.  They always expect Dems to come in and clean up the mess.

[peacheslatour]

14 minutes ago, PRgal said:

Those who have help with the downpayment certainly can.  :) A house around here is $1.3M or thereabouts.  But that's a single family home.  Duplexes, townhouses and condos are more budget-friendly.  But condos are also not all that family-friendly if you have different gender children (since most max at two bedrooms).

It's insane, really. I sold my parent's house in 2021 for 1.4 mil. They paid 19K for it in 1968 and put a 40K addition on in the early 70s.

[JustHereForFood]

3 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

And of course Democrats are getting blamed for not doing anything to stop them.  They always expect Dems to come in and clean up the mess.

This used to be a huge hit on another website I used to visit for US news and politics. Apologies if it has already been posted here, I still have about 20 pages to catch up on.

[bluegirl147]

15 minutes ago, JustHereForFood said:

This used to be a huge hit on another website I used to visit for US news and politics. Apologies if it has already been posted here, I still have about 20 pages to catch up on.

No lies detected.

[Anela]

19 minutes ago, JustHereForFood said:

This used to be a huge hit on another website I used to visit for US news and politics. Apologies if it has already been posted here, I still have about 20 pages to catch up on.

I’m borrowing this.  

[Dimity]

54 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

Fuck with social security at your own peril. People do not like having things taken away from them.  

10 or so years ago the Conservatives here lost the election at least in part because they raised the retirement age to 67.  That did not go over well.  Unless Trump really does manage to get rid of pesky things like elections there will for sure be a day of reckoning if he and his billionaire buddy starts messing with social security. 

[ProudMary]

1 minute ago, Dimity said:

Unless Trump really does manage to get rid of pesky things like elections 

Top US Election Security Watchdog Forced to Stop Election Security Work

https://www.wired.com/story/cisa-election-security-freeze-memo/

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has frozen all of its election security work and is reviewing everything it has done to help state and local officials secure their elections for the past eight years, WIRED has learned. The move represents the first major example of the country’s cyberdefense agency accommodating President Donald Trump’s false claims of election fraud and online censorship.

 

[suomi]

4 hours ago, ProudMary said:

Earlier this afternoon:

 

He and his henchmen will rue the day he uttered these words. He/they handed out defense pleas.

[SoMuchTV]

4 hours ago, PRgal said:

No laws, but one camp I registered my son for didn’t allow for “prefer not to say.”  I still signed him up only because it’s an amazing camp and counsellors are well trained to work with kids (ie they’re not high school students or undergrads but people who have actual training).

This one has me curious. Is this regarding preferred pronouns for kids? Maybe they just want to be clear on how to refer to them (if they’re not already asking for gender or sex). I mean, even if little Alex or Casey has a buzz cut or wears earrings and a pink tutu, I don’t think they’d want to guess. Now if it’s for you, yeah, that sounds like a coding error if they’re making it non-optional. They can always send the bill to “Parent(s) of Kid PR.”

In my opinion, the whole “asking for pronouns “ thing sounds a lot like carding someone for buying alcohol or whatever. A lot of the time it’s obvious they’re old enough (or they’re a “he” or a “she” based on name and/or appearance) but rather than put the front line staff on the spot to decide who to make assumptions about and who to question, they make the policy to ask everyone. 

And I want to make it clear I’m engaging/responding to you, not judging or eye rolling. I think posters here are very good at that.  Pretty much the only times I’ve ever seen someone “judged” is when they present opinions based on provably false information. Saying “I haven’t seen that in my experience, here’s what I see” is not the same as dismissing your experience. 

[suomi]

Representatives of Doge gained access to the Atlanta offices of the CDC last week [snip]

Doge-affiliated officials also gained access to payment and contracting systems at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) [snip]

Doge representatives have also sought access to the HHS payment systems that process billions of dollars in healthcare funding, and seem to have gained access to at least some of them [snip]

One of the requested systems, the Healthcare Integrated General Ledger Accounting System, contains financial information about all of the hospitals, doctors and other health organizations participating in federal programs like Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/15/musk-doge-bird-flu-pandemic

[Dimity]

[Is Everyone Gone]

I really, really am nostalgic for Trump 1. Not that he was great (he was awful), but he was so chaotic and the admin so disorganized that not many things got done. But this time they're frighteningly organized and operating out of the Project 2025 playbook.

[Yeah No]

9 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

Whereas former presidents were rightly leery of Russia our current president wants to emulate Russia. The dictator the oligarchs imprisoning rivals and dissadents that is where Trump and Musk are headed.

Yes, and I have thought that he is in a strange way trying to "impress" Putin with his "power" by threatening to take Greenland by force or making Canada a state. Like he wants Putin to think he's like him and can just annex and take over whatever country or territory he wants, "by force if necessary" - Trump's words.

8 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

I'm right there with you.  Up until about 15 or 20 yrs ago I would have said I'm pretty far left but then the left started moving more left. 

Yes, this is a lot like me although I don't think I would have ever said I was "pretty far left". I thought of myself as fairly liberal. Now I feel like more of a middle of the road Democrat (as opposed to middle of the road in general politically, which is actually a little further to the right of that and what is now considered "Independent").

7 hours ago, tessaray said:

No doubt there are many decent "trust fund kids" out there. There used to be a lot of old-fashioned liberals who had trust fund backgrounds and were known for giving back to their communities.  But there is a special kind of cruelty attached to a type of rich person who isn't satisfied with just having, they also want to make sure that poorer people have nothing but crumbs. Crumbs that they then want to charge full-price for. 

One of my best friends is an old fashioned trust fund liberal who made big sacrifices to give back to his community. And he got screwed out of a lot of his inheritance by an evil sibling and now is afraid he doesn't have enough money to retire. Of course, nice guys finish last...😢

7 hours ago, Dimity said:

We're not out of the woods yet.  But one big difference here as opposed to the US is our PM doesn't have the kind of power that your president does. And he can't isolate himself in an oval office.  I'd  love to see how Trump would handle himself if he had to show up in the House of Parliament everyday and have the opposition shout at him. 

Our president isn't supposed to have the "power" Trump thinks he has. He is taking power that isn't due him to make changes that should involve an act of Congress and more. And lawsuits are being filed but he's doing it anyway thumbing his nose at Democrats and government as if to say, "Try and stop me". Most presidents don't fly in the face of these laws and rules (at least not as dramatically and to such an extent) so there aren't quick and effective ways to stop him. Unless the Republicans grow a spine and put pressure on him to stop and roll some of this crap back. But we all know they've sold their souls to him and would rather go down with the ship and take us all with them than do the right thing.

3 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

Fuck with social security at your own peril. People do not like having things taken away from them.  

Especially us older people. And we tend to vote more than the young'ns. And they know that.

[Lantern7]

7 hours ago, ProudMary said:

Earlier this afternoon:

 

Are massive blackouts in play nowadays? i just want a break from him. Then again, anything he says is painful to read. He could go, "Save the cheerleader, save the world," and I'd still hate him.

[suomi]

Shoot, I remember when moderate Repubs existed on the spectrum where centrist libs are today. I can't recite exactly when it was but I do recall how it was. 

"Can it be that it was all so simple then?

Or has time rewritten every line?"

[Lantern7]

While I'm thinking about it . . . if Elon were to take time out of his busy schedule of undermining our government to swap out his best pal's devices with Etch-a-Sketches, he might go down in history as a real hero. Just a thought . . . I know his kid was probably ten times more mature than the two alleged adults in that "scene," but it's fun to imagine good things.

[anony.miss]

3 hours ago, Soapy Goddess said:

It's not about me or you

But for millions of people, it is.  Trump being elected has created chaos; financial insecurity, a lunatic in charge of public health, a Russian asset  heading up national intelligence, a hard core drunk in charge of the military, thousands upon thousands of hardworking people fired for no good reason, even as Musk makes bank at astronomical rates. Millions of us take Trump's destruction and corruption very much to heart; it's not a theoretical, it's not a thought experiment, it's horrifically real. And it could not possibly be more personal.

Edited Sunday at 09:54 AM by anony.miss

[Soapy Goddess]

6 minutes ago, anony.miss said:

But for millions of people, it is.  Trump being elected has created chaos; financial insecurity, a lunatic in charge of public health, a Russian asset  heading up national intelligence, a hard core drunk in charge of the military, thousands upon thousands of hardworking people fired for no good reason, even as Musk makes bank at astronomical rates. Millions of us take Trump's destruction and corruption very much to heart; it's not a theoretical, it's not a thought experiment, it's horrifically real. And it could not possibly be more personal.

I understand and respect your feelings. It would be nice if those same feelings were reciprocated. Not that we're going to change the other's mind, but maybe try to communicate without pointing fingers at each other. 

Speaking for myself, I've had to learn to sit on my hands for having a different opinion. I've also had to tread lightly as some of my posts 'go missing'. It's no fun  being a lone wolf, but I don't give up easily. Not for the masses, but for myself.

And contrary to popular belief I DO have integrity. But this thread sometimes brings out the worst in all of us due to its sensitive nature. I get that...and hope others can respect that too, if nothing else.

[tres bien]

Last week the US Forest Service and National Park Service came under the chopping block when it was announced that 1000’s of workers would be fired 

So we return to the moderate republican enablers and whiners who voted for Master MAGA and everything he said he would do but are now complaining because it now affects their constituents 

Point in case Senator Murkowski (R Alaska). She took to the senate floor to voice her opposition to Trump naming Denali back to McKinley

Then yesterday she was upset for her potentially 100 Alaskans that will loose their jobs with US Park and Forest Services. 
 

She doesn’t know how Alaska will be prepared to manage summer wildfires if they can’t support firefighters. Tourism and the economy will be damaged if they can’t maintain world class national parks and forests 

Now you’re upset? Did you not think he would do exactly as he promised? 

We told you what he would do but you all didn’t believe us?

[Yeah No]

I don't assume that all Trump supporters lack integrity, I just don't understand how they can support a president who DOES. He has more than proven his lack of integrity in his personal, business and political life. Examples abound everywhere, from screwing over people in his personal and business dealings to harboring vendettas against enemies and screwing over (or vowing to screw over) politicians, entire countries, populations and even former employees. Those things are undeniable based on what has come out of his mouth many, many times over (and yes, I have been paying attention to what he says). He is all about putting his "enemies" down, squashing them and confirming grievances by fanning the flames of hatred for anyone and anything he doesn't like. There is no "spin" that can be put on his words to make them anything else. Trump is not a "nice" or "decent" person that is ultimately interested in helping anyone but himself. If he can convince some "suckers" to think he's going to help THEM because they're SPECIAL, well I think they're living in a delusion. Because it doesn't work that way with a person like Trump. Ultimately he will use you and leave you for dead if it suits him. Understanding people and their motivations is my wheelhouse. But don't take my word for it and see where it gets you. In the end you won't get anything he promised you and you will end up much worse off. Don't say you weren't warned.

And integrity counts in leadership. Thinking a lack of integrity and compromised values don't compromise Trump's ability to make sound decisions for the country is short sighted. I didn't spend years of effort and study in Psychology not to know that there's a very real connection there. It goes without saying. Look at any website on how much character figures into good leadership. It matters a LOT. And there is no magical separation between what a person will do in their personal life and what they will do in their professional or political life either.

For sure, all politicians are flawed as are all humans, but the degree that Trump is flawed in just about every way when it comes to character is on a new level from just about any politician I've seen on the national scale in my lifetime. And it's downright scary. And even scarier is how his followers refuse to see it! I was trained not to delude myself on stuff like this. I can be fooled for a few minutes but quickly wake up and realize the real story. And the real story here is frightening. I don't even care if Republicans find another candidate to get behind, as long as it's not another MAGA extremist. If they could rewind themselves to support someone like John McCain I'd be happy. I don't care about "reforming" them and their political beliefs. There will always be people who disagree with me on politics and I accept that. They just need to wake up and see that they're supporting a depraved, psychologically compromised monster in Trump. Find someone else that doesn't embody the morally repugnant values of Trump.

I used to tell my husband to "find a new candidate to support". I knew I wouldn't get anywhere telling him not to be a Republican. It wasn't even about that, although in time he stopped considering himself one. It was about Trump himself. But Republicans think we all hate them for being Republicans. Hate is a strong word. I never hated Republicans. I know they've been brainwashed into hating liberals but most liberals that I know of never hated them in return, at least not to the same degree. And not before Trump, anyway. It's about Trump. He is the divisive figure more than anything else.

Psychologists are overwhelmingly anti-Trump. It's not because they're all "brainwashed liberals" or whatever the right thinks they are. It's because they understand how character and character disorders (which in Trump are easy to spot even without a degree) factor into leadership ability and negatively affect making sound decisions, especially those that affect other people. Forget about politics, even on that alone I wouldn't want Trump running my ice cream stand let alone my country!

[bluegirl147]

8 hours ago, suomi said:

Shoot, I remember when moderate Repubs existed on the spectrum where centrist libs are today. I can't recite exactly when it was but I do recall how it was. 

"Can it be that it was all so simple then?

Or has time rewritten every line?"

I think moderate Republicans were a thing when those song lyrics were being sung by Streisand.

5 hours ago, anony.miss said:

But for millions of people, it is.  Trump being elected has created chaos; financial insecurity, a lunatic in charge of public health, a Russian asset  heading up national intelligence, a hard core drunk in charge of the military, thousands upon thousands of hardworking people fired for no good reason, even as Musk makes bank at astronomical rates. Millions of us take Trump's destruction and corruption very much to heart; it's not a theoretical, it's not a thought experiment, it's horrifically real. And it could not possibly be more personal.

Who was it that said all politics are local? Everything Trump/Musk does affects all of us.  Maybe not immediately but eventually.

2 hours ago, tres bien said:

Last week the US Forest Service and National Park Service came under the chopping block when it was announced that 1000’s of workers would be fired 

So we return to the moderate republican enablers and whiners who voted for Master MAGA and everything he said he would do but are now complaining because it now affects their constituents 

Point in case Senator Murkowski (R Alaska). She took to the senate floor to voice her opposition to Trump naming Denali back to McKinley

Then yesterday she was upset for her potentially 100 Alaskans that will loose their jobs with US Park and Forest Services. 
 

She doesn’t know how Alaska will be prepared to manage summer wildfires if they can’t support firefighters. Tourism and the economy will be damaged if they can’t maintain world class national parks and forests 

Now you’re upset? Did you not think he would do exactly as he promised? 

We told you what he would do but you all didn’t believe us?

Susan Collins is another one.  Worried about Maine.  Did her and Murkowski think their states would be exempt from it all?

ABC This Week is having Markwayne Mullin Republican senator from Oklahoma as a guest.  He isn't widely known but full on Trumper.  My guess is there isn't a lot of Republican senators who want to publicly support Trump. 

[krankydoodle]

This is how much care is being taken in the rush to cut supposedly wasteful spending:

Trump administration wants to un-fire nuclear safety workers but can’t figure out how to reach them

Quote

National Nuclear Security Administration officials on Friday attempted to notify some employees who had been let go the day before that they are now due to be reinstated — but they struggled to find them because they didn’t have their new contact information.

...

President Donald Trump’s administration has acted with unprecedented speed — and in some cases, questionable legality — in seeking to cut large portions of the federal government, laying off staff and ending contracts. But that speed has resulted in complications, including firing people agencies actually want to keep.