Chit-Chat: The Feels

[Dimity]

3 minutes ago, anony.miss said:

That insane tax plan is only going to cause the debt - and deficit spending - to explode.

Brought to you by the same genius who somehow thinks imposing punitive tariffs on other countries will  only negatively affect the other countries.

Edited Monday at 11:46 PM by Dimity

[ProudMary]

4 minutes ago, MostlyContent said:

I liked that bill.  Not all of it, of course, but that's compromise.  Both sides leave the room a little bit disappointed.  

Unlike the Border Bill which would have had unanimous consent, only a handful of Republicans voted "Yes" on the Infrastructure Bill, but after it passed, a large number of them who voted against it, then campaigned on it when their constituents liked what they saw. 😠

[bluegirl147]

22 minutes ago, Dimity said:

Any woman who did this would be pilloried by the right wing media.  Musk?  Nothing to see here...

If it was a woman of color child services would be called.

[kittykat]

More like if woman did what Musk did: CHILD NEGLIGENCE.  What if he gets hurt.

If woman carried him in arms down stairs: UGH this is why kids are so soft.  Why is she coddling him?

Edited Yest. at 12:15 AM by kittykat

[Lugal]

2 hours ago, MostlyContent said:

We are $36.22 trillion in debt.  In what world does that denote 'rich'?  

The US is tremendously rich.  We have a large population and a large amount of resources.  The question is how do we use them.

For all the problems you mentioned upthread, (homelessness, poverty, education, collapsing infrastructure) the "debt" is the excuse to not pay for those things.  I would argue those problems are the real deficits.  If we (well, the ones that control the government) wanted to pay for them, we would.  After all, we can give nearly a trillion dollars a year to the Pentagon and Trump's 2017 tax cut pumped money into the economy, unfortunately to the already rich.  Whenever it's something they actually want to spend the money on, the money's always there.  Always.  The US is the currency issuer, it will never run out of dollars.

[heatherchandler]

5 hours ago, MostlyContent said:

As HC said, it's okay to put on our oxygen mask first.  Okay, that's not precisely what she said, but you get it.  😂

I meant to say that!  🤣

[MostlyContent]

2 hours ago, Lugal said:

Trump's 2017 tax cut pumped money into the economy, unfortunately to the already rich.

After the ACA went into effect, my husband and I had to pay a couple of grand a year more for our health insurance between the rise in the cost of the policies for the company he was working for, and the increase in the copays.  It certainly wasn't something we were thankful for, but it did help a lot more people get health insurance, so it was fine overall.  

After the 2017 tax cut we received between $3-4,000 more in our refund than we had previously, so we kind of liked that it 'made up for' the increase in our healthcare.  I would sure hate for that go away, but if it does, it does.  I don't think we'd be considered 'rich' by any stretch of the imagination, though.  I suppose the definition of rich depends on who's defining the word.  

[SoMuchTV]

1 hour ago, MostlyContent said:

After the 2017 tax cut we received between $3-4,000 more in our refund than we had previously, so we kind of liked that it 'made up for' the increase in our healthcare. 

I’m sure you and most of us here realize this, but for anyone who isn’t aware: bigger tax refund does not necessarily mean lower taxes. It just means that you’ve been having more deducted out of every paycheck than was necessary to cover your final tax bill. Some people prefer to do this as a kind of forced savings, or because their circumstances are in flux and they want to err on the side of overpaying, but the size of your refund or payment is not necessarily a reflection of what you’re paying in federal income taxes. /end of PSA

[MostlyContent]

1 hour ago, SoMuchTV said:

I’m sure you and most of us here realize this, but for anyone who isn’t aware: bigger tax refund does not necessarily mean lower taxes. It just means that you’ve been having more deducted out of every paycheck than was necessary to cover your final tax bill. Some people prefer to do this as a kind of forced savings, or because their circumstances are in flux and they want to err on the side of overpaying, but the size of your refund or payment is not necessarily a reflection of what you’re paying in federal income taxes. /end of PSA

That's always a good point to reiterate.  

I've understood that from parental lectures since I was 16 or so.  lol! 

Everyone should pay attention to their withholding, for sure.  

ETA:  I should not have used the word 'refund'.  We were just used to getting a little back or paying in a little.  It was really different to get a pretty nice deposit since we hadn't  adjusted for 2017 tax cut in our withholding and our tax burden was less.  :)  It was rather like Christmas.  

Edited Yest. at 06:09 AM by MostlyContent
a word annoyed me

[Soapy Goddess]

14 hours ago, Dimity said:

As a popular meme suggests, this all makes sense when you realize Trump and Musk are not working for you.  They work for him.

Do you have proof of that statement?

13 hours ago, Notabug said:

In his first month in office, Trump spent over $10 million flying back and forth to Mar a Lago to play golf and up to $20 million just to attend the Super Bowl.  Presuming he keeps taking these pleasure trips at government expense, as he did during his first term; he will cost taxpayers about 1/3 of a billion bucks just this year and well over a billion during his four year term.

Not bad for someone who isn't taking a salary!

And yes, I'd rather he get perks than a similar amount of money always going to foreign countries.

13 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

And if you say this to a Trump supporter they will respond with "Yeah well he doesn't take a salary."

BINGO!!!  You win the internet!!! 

12 hours ago, Dimity said:

While I appreciate the sentiment in the meme I am including here, the reality is that most of his supporters will never admit they were wrong.  Not even if that means giving up their Social Security, their paycheques and their personal freedom.  They won't be happy about this but they will find a way to blame anyone but Trump.

 

We'll let you know if/when we get there.

[Soapy Goddess]

9 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

No, we voted for closed borders, not funding transgender surgeries, and billions of dollars wasted overseas for absurd programs (too numerous to mention).

9 hours ago, Ceindreadh said:

What's it they say, every accusation is a confession? 

Just because you don't have flexible bosses who give you the option to work from home, doesn't mean you have to take it out on those more fortunate. 

 

Honestly, I have no problem with working from home. It's paying for empty buildings that are waiting for the occupants to return. 

And don't you find it interesting that Biden gave them a 5-year extension right before the end of his term?  Why was that necessary? And why didn't he suggest they return to the government building offices that we're all paying for?

[Soapy Goddess]

8 hours ago, MostlyContent said:

I'll be more interested in aiding other countries when we get serious about helping our own. 

Brava!! That's all I've been concerned about from day one. As John Lennon said, "Imagine all the people, living life in peace"  IOW, if everyone had a home, good health care, etc. we wouldn't be having these arguments about right or wrong.

Instead of trying to be the hero of the entire world, we really need to help our own citizens, neighbors, veterans, unhoused, etc. FIRST. Now that's empathy!

8 hours ago, partofme said:

The Democratic party is far from perfect but you are much more likely to get policies that help poor Americans if you vote for Democrats.  There is no reason why a country as rich as the US can’t support its own citizens and aid poor people overseas.

I have to disagree. If the Dems really want to help poor people, why not start in our own country?  Have you ever heard of "charity begins at HOME"?  

Just think about those billions of dollars that could have helped our citizens, and how being part of the system would add to our coffers so THEN we can help overseas and STILL be their hero and savior.

[Soapy Goddess]

8 hours ago, Notabug said:

I haven't heard of any new programs he is proposing to prevent or treat substance abuse. Trump falsely claimed Hunter Biden was dishonorably discharged from the military for drug use and Don Jr. has repeatedly referred to him as a 'crackhead'.  This doesn't strike me as showing empathy for those with substance abuse issues.

Why shouldn't he call a spade a spade? (old saying for those born after the turn of the century). It's hard to show empathy for an almost 50 year old man who had to be pardoned by his father because even Joe doesn't know what his son is/was capable of. 

I wouldn't doubt (once he gets the country back on track) that he might implement such a program. He has very strong feelings about this because it took his brother's life at an early age.

8 hours ago, partofme said:

But the US is a rich country now, it just doesn’t help its own citizens due to Republican politicians.  

How are we rich when we are trillions of dollars in debt? 

Hypothetically speaking, what IF the Rep decided to used any "saved" money to help its citizens, would that change your mind about DJT?

[Annber03]

So letting our country fall into a fascist state is totally fine so long as we odn't have to fund pesky thingsl ike transgender surgeries. 

Imagine thinking this sort of thought process is even remotely logical or acceptable. Just. Unbelievable. 

[Soapy Goddess]

6 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

So letting our country fall into a fascist state is totally fine so long as we odn't have to fund pesky thingsl ike transgender surgeries. 

Imagine thinking this sort of thought process is even remotely logical or acceptable. Just. Unbelievable. 

That's not going to happen. Don't worry, be happy.

[tres bien]

It seems like everyday devolves into picking apart everything anyone says or misunderstands or makes a trivial mistake is analyzed and picked apart and criticized into minutiae because someone spends their time looking at things to attack and it becomes a never ending back and forth 

I saw an in interview with Trump voters in CO.  Some are giddy and don’t think he’s moving fast enough over what he’s done this past month.  Some are  leary and some that want it both ways

I also read an article yesterday that was a case for democrats to start running hard for 2026 now. Except for Senator Chris Murphy (D CT) I never see or hear from the democrats 

Hakeem Jeffries vows that the House democrats will not lift a finger this time around to bail out the republicans. I hope that’s true because two years of that didn’t help the democrats in 2024

 

 

Edited 16 hours ago by tres bien

[Dimity]

If we want to keep this thread I really urge everyone to  use the ignore feature and to move on rather than engage.

[Annber03]

5 hours ago, Soapy Goddess said:

That's not going to happen. Don't worry, be happy.

Except it literally is. Right before our eyes. 

[lookeyloo]

Sometimes I think Kellyanne conway is on this forum

[annzeepark914]

8 minutes ago, lookeyloo said:

Sometimes I think Kellyanne conway is on this forum

Oh, yes. Alternate facts. 

[bluegirl147]

7 hours ago, Soapy Goddess said:

And yes, I'd rather he get perks than a similar amount of money always going to foreign countries.

Those perks cost millions of dollars.  And for someone who keeps crowing about wasteful spending I think his trips to a NASCAR race and the SB and his endless trips to Mar A Lago qualify as wasteful.

6 hours ago, Soapy Goddess said:

I have to disagree. If the Dems really want to help poor people, why not start in our own country?  Have you ever heard of "charity begins at HOME"?  

The same could be said for Republicans.  They are always the first to want to cut the safety net.

6 hours ago, Soapy Goddess said:

It's hard to show empathy for an almost 50 year old man who had to be pardoned by his father because even Joe doesn't know what his son is/was capable of. 

And it's hard for me to have any empathy for January 6ers Trump pardoned. And he doesn't know what they are capable of. Or maybe he does and that is why he pardoned them. Either way it's scary.

6 hours ago, Soapy Goddess said:

I wouldn't doubt (once he gets the country back on track) that he might implement such a program. He has very strong feelings about this because it took his brother's life at an early age.

According to his brother's children their uncle didn't really care when their father, his brother died.

2 hours ago, tres bien said:

Hakeem Jeffries vows that the House democrats will not lift a finger this time around to bail out the republicans. I hope that’s true because two years of that didn’t help the democrats in 2024

 

There is a looming shut down in March if they don't pass a budget or at least a funding resolution to keep the government running.  And with all the Republican infighting in the House we shall see which faction comes out on top. What is that saying? When your enemies are destroying themselves let them?

 

 

[Dimity]

In a feel good story a Michigan couple paid for all the meals in a Windsor Ontario restaurant the other day as their way of apologising for Trump and to show their solidarity with Canada. Nice to know that Trump does not speak for all Americans.

[annzeepark914]

49 minutes ago, Dimity said:

In a feel good story a Michigan couple paid for all the meals in a Windsor Ontario restaurant the other day as their way of apologising for Trump and to show their solidarity with Canada. Nice to know that Trump does not speak for all Americans.

Thanks for sharing this. The nasty threats directed at our good neighbor by that tool in the White House (& his sidekicks) are so damn embarrassing and infuriating to real Americans. 

[Dimity]

This quote in light of recent events in the US is all too apt.  And if you aren't absolutely furious about that happened then I don't think we have any way to have a civil 'meeting of the minds'.

Quote

The people who watch as you're zipped tied and dragged from a public meeting would also watch as you're thrown into a concentration camp.

 

Edited 15 hours ago by Dimity

[bluegirl147]

5 minutes ago, Dimity said:

This quote in light of recent events in the US is all too apt.

 

The security guard who dragged her out was fired.  I'm sure there is a position waiting for him at ICE.  But for all those men who sat there and did nothing shame on you. And they wondered why we chose the bear.

[Harvey]

2 hours ago, Dimity said:

If we want to keep this thread I really urge everyone to  use the ignore feature and to move on rather than engage.

For real. I already put them on ignore like 10 days ago and life is so much better

[Dimity]

25 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

The security guard who dragged her out was fired.  I'm sure there is a position waiting for him at ICE.  But for all those men who sat there and did nothing shame on you. And they wondered why we chose the bear.

Exactly.  There have been a lot of articles written recently comparing what is happening in the US to what happened in Germany in the '30s.  We have just seen first hand who would have been in the resistance and who would have stood by and done nothing.  Utterly shameful.

 

Edited 15 hours ago by Dimity

[Dimity]

[tres bien]

Dusty Johnson (R  SD) “it’s on the democrats to keep the government open. The republicans do not have the votes to keep the government open on our own. So if the democrats want to shut it down they can”

Today the republicans are voting on their budget. It includes cuts to Medicaid for 72 million people and threatens SNAP benefits  to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. Democrats don’t give them one vote

I wonder if I’ll vote in 2026 because if the Democrats back down and get nothing pretty much like in the last congress ( Mike Johnson wouldn’t be speaker today without them) then yeah I’m staying home.

My rep Ilhan Omar has a snowball’s chance in hell of loosing to a republican so it’s not much of a threat from me but it’ll be a personal statement 

[annzeepark914]

4 minutes ago, tres bien said:

Dusty Johnson (R  SD) “it’s on the democrats to keep the government open. The republicans do not have the votes to keep the government open on our own. So if the democrats want to shut it down they can”

Today the republicans are voting on their budget. It includes cuts to Medicaid for 72 million people and threatens SNAP benefits  to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. Democrats don’t give them one vote

I wonder if I’ll vote in 2026 because if the Democrats back down and get nothing pretty much like in the last congress ( Mike Johnson wouldn’t be speaker today without them) then yeah I’m staying home.

My rep Ilhan Omar has a snowball’s chance in hell of loosing to a republican so it’s not much of a threat from me but it’ll be a personal statement 

Please...no more personal statements from voters. That's how we got to this horrid situation.

[Dimity]

Did Elon Musk really call people getting govt benefits "the parasite class"?  This meme seems to think so, but I know that there has been misinformation on both side of the political divide.

 

[fairffaxx]

3 hours ago, Dimity said:

If we want to keep this thread I really urge everyone to  use the ignore feature and to move on rather than engage.

If everyone were to ignore pushy posters, those persistent pests could only talk to themselves & the rest of us would just see "you've chosen to ignore content by [xxxx]" over & over.  😸

[partofme]

5 minutes ago, Dimity said:

Did Elon Musk really call people getting govt benefits "the parasite class"?  This meme seems to think so, but I know that there has been misinformation on both side of the political divide.

 

I have no idea if he said this but I’m sure he thinks it.  He the richest man in the world said before the election that if Trump won that the American people would be in for a lot of suffering.   It angers me that people voted for this.  

[Eri]

7 minutes ago, Dimity said:

Did Elon Musk really call people getting govt benefits "the parasite class"?  This meme seems to think so, but I know that there has been misinformation on both side of the political divide.

 

In general, I would take unsourced screenshots with a grain of salt. No one is visibly credited for having written the posts in the screenshot, and the warnings contained within, while clearly from a place of genuine concern, can fall apart under scrutiny.

[Dimity]

superfluous post!

Edited 14 hours ago by Dimity

[peacheslatour]

19 minutes ago, Eri said:

In general, I would take unsourced screenshots with a grain of salt. No one is visibly credited for having written the posts in the screenshot, and the warnings contained within, while clearly from a place of genuine concern, can fall apart under scrutiny.

Yes it's real. From Snopes-

The claim spread across multiple platforms, including Instagram, X, Facebook and Bluesky. Media outlets such as The Daily Beast, The Atlantic Black Star and Times Now News also published stories about the post. An episode on the podcast "On With Kara Swisher" discussed the post, as well, calling Musk himself a parasite; Swisher claimed that by 2015, Tesla had received almost $5 billion in government support.

The X post is real; Musk did repost the meme (archived) with his own pro-DOGE caption and a laughing emoji on Feb. 12, 2025, at 10:35 p.m. (ET).

[bluegirl147]

Snopes says it's true.

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/musk-parasite-class/

 

@Dimity @peacheslatour  Seems the three of us are of the same great mind.

Edited 14 hours ago by bluegirl147

[Dimity]

[peacheslatour]

This, however is not real but it is not far off either.

 

[bluegirl147]

At what point does Trump get tired of so many people laughing at him? He is not someone that can shrug things off. He is not self deprecating.  He does not have a sense of humor.  All this has got to get to him.

[Dimity]

Just now, bluegirl147 said:

At what point does Trump get tired of so many people laughing at him? He is not someone that can shrug things off. He is not self deprecating.  He does not have a sense of humor.  All this has got to get to him.

I didn't think he'd last this long with people paying more attention to Musk than to him.  Which in and of itself is a disturbingly sinister sign.  Trump is not one to share the spotlight.

[peacheslatour]

8 minutes ago, Dimity said:

I didn't think he'd last this long with people paying more attention to Musk than to him.  Which in and of itself is a disturbingly sinister sign.  Trump is not one to share the spotlight.

Between Putin's kompromat and Musk's bankrolling his entry into the White House and out of prison, something has got to snap.

[bluegirl147]

I think he can live with the blackmail but the humiliation is what will get to him. I say we keep it up.

[ECM1231]

“We will not use our skills as technologists to compromise core government systems, jeopardize Americans’ sensitive data, or dismantle critical public services,” they wrote. “We will not lend our expertise to carry out or legitimize DOGE’s actions.”

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/doge-staff-resign-critical-public-services_n_67bde9f3e4b0659288fe1eb1?d_id=8770512&ref=bffbhuffpost&ncid_tag=fcbklnkushpmg00000063&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&utm_campaign=us_main&fbclid=IwY2xjawIq4ItleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHZiodu8DTA7IFeVv8oZFJhWQii964VrD3xq5hu-EcA6FY8FAbLJ3isST2A_aem_aFjYQKqLSd_asBBDpWgLcg

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, fairffaxx said:

If everyone were to ignore pushy posters, those persistent pests could only talk to themselves & the rest of us would just see "you've chosen to ignore content by [xxxx]" over & over.  😸

I only have a couple posters on ignore. Just to keep the flow from grinding to a halt every time people feel the need to argue fruitlessly with them.

[fairffaxx]

Me too -- I wonder if they're the same people? 🐱

[DXD526]

Quote

If everyone were to ignore pushy posters, those persistent pests could only talk to themselves & the rest of us would just see "you've chosen to ignore content by [xxxx]" over & over.

Don't feed the trolls. They just want attention. Block them.

[Bookish Jen]

This is not normal.

And thousands of friends? More like thousands of cult members.

[Dimity]

I hate to break it to Peachy Keenan but 78 is hardly a vast age at which one can start bragging about achieving longevity.  Isn't this usually reserved for those hardy souls who make it to 100?

[tres bien]

5 hours ago, Dimity said:

If we want to keep this thread I really urge everyone to  use the ignore feature and to move on rather than engage.

ITA 

I have posters from this board on my ignore list they are not however people that I disagree with philosophically on this board