Chit-Chat: The Feels

[Eri]

I understand - I wish this would end sooner rather than later :( -sigh-

May you have better luck in your elections, than we had in ours!

Edited March 23 by Eri

[Dimity]

7 minutes ago, Eri said:

May you have better luck in your elections, than we had in ours!

I'm going to have a stomach ache for the next month!

And the political commercials will begin (well they've already started).  PP (the leader of the Cons) has been airing a commerical showing him and his wife prancing through a meadow and then raising a Canadian flag.  It's, to quote my granddaughter, "barfy".

What's going to be interesting is seeing how the Cons will position themselves - they've spent 10 years being angry and blaming Trudeau for everything but in doing this they're on the record as calling Canada broken and Canadians stupid.  Pretty sure they're regretting this right about now.

[JustHereForFood]

18 minutes ago, Eri said:

It's nice to see some immediate unity and determination from the country in the wake of the tariffs and trade war. I think it's fine to bask a little in the schadenfreude of the immediate licks the Americans are taking because of the widespread ignorance as to what these tariffs actually mean in the immediate and short-term. 

I'm curious - are any of the Canadians a little leery about the reaction to a trade war with fascists to be a sharp increase in nationalist rhetoric? Is it a little bit eyebrow raising when six months ago someone flying a Canadian flag from their car window was more than likely a right-wing, trucker convoy hoser...but now is indistinguishable from a patriot taking a stand against Trump?

Is there any of dread for what the longer-term fallout of this will be? It's all unity and 'elbows up!' now, and there's a lot of pain to come if this continues for any meaningful length of time (understandably so). With the upcoming snap election announcement, are people fully prepared for it while being caught up in the immediate excitement of feeling united as a country like it's Game 7 at the Olympic Hockey finals? Haha :)

Not a Canadian, but I think it is a natural response to an outside threat for people to unite and if the threat is specifically against one's nationality, it is natural to become more patriotic because of it.

We've had similar problems in Europe, in several countries the far-right managed to steal the terms like "patriotic" and even the symbols like country flags, the same way they stole "conservative" values and traditions. I've heard people talking about feeling uncomfortable with displaying their country flags outside of sport events or talking about loving their country, so they wouldn't be associated with the far-right by accident. This probably varies a lot by countries, I believe the Nordic countries are better than most about balancing healthy patriotism and keeping extremism out of it. But now with the threat from Russia and everything else, it seems that things might move in better direction and at least some good might come of it all (hopefully), with people feeling more secure about their own nationality and about our shared identity as Europeans. It seems things have finally moved in terms of investing more into our defence, so hopefully we will keep the momentum.

[PRgal]

Well, it's official-official.  We're heading to the (federal) polls in just over a month (April 28).  I hope the turnout would be higher than "normal."  The snap ONTARIO election we just had was fairly low.  Being lazy, I'm going to vote by mail again.  I live in a Liberal-safe riding, but will still vote to ensure that the party has a higher chance.  My MP in the previous government was Chrystia Freeland and I'm expecting that she'll run again. 

The website to check what riding you're in/who the candidates are is currently down (not surprised, since the election was just called).

 

Polls currently say that the Liberals and Conservatives are basically tied, with some saying the Cons are slightly ahead and others saying the Liberals are.  

ETA:  This page shows the latest polls

Edited March 23 by PRgal

[dargosmydaddy]

For anyone still on Instagram, author and activist Sara Novic is a great follow. She is doing a weekly recap of all the terribleness going on specifically affecting disabled people and special education.

Her handle is at @photonovic

[Bookworm 1979]

Albertan here. Danielle Smith, our premier (and traitor to Canada) just did an interview with some right-wing radio program asking Trump to stop the tariffs until after the election so Timbit Trump can win. She has said that his political views align more with Trump's. If Canada votes for PP, we're no better than the USA.  I am really scared that Musk is going to rig our election. Danielle Smith would definitely help him to do that.

[Harvey]

We can't underestimate Russia's influence in all of this. Elon this Elon that... But he is not acting alone. 

[Dimity]

28 minutes ago, Bookworm 1979 said:

Albertan here. Danielle Smith, our premier (and traitor to Canada) just did an interview with some right-wing radio program asking Trump to stop the tariffs until after the election so Timbit Trump can win. She has said that his political views align more with Trump's. If Canada votes for PP, we're no better than the USA.  I am really scared that Musk is going to rig our election. Danielle Smith would definitely help him to do that.

I wonder if PP is begging her to shut the hell up.  I mean his core are like the MAGA and nothing will ever change their minds but he's already lost a lot of support - mainly thanks to Trump.  Having someone in a leadership position actually coming right out and SAYING PPs views align with Trump's is not the look the Cons want going into this election.

But keep talking Danielle "Quisling" Smith, keep talking.

[Ohiopirate02]

54 minutes ago, Harvey said:

We can't underestimate Russia's influence in all of this. Elon this Elon that... But he is not acting alone. 

And Elon is not that smart nor organized to pull off massive voter fraud. He's rich and has a following who believe him to be the world's smartest man, but he is only an evil mastermind in his fantasies. His actions prove otherwise. From Doge firing those nuclear guys and having to immediately rehire them or having to recall every. single. Cybertruck because the stainless steel panels were attached to the body using glue. If Elon did try to rig an election, then the results would be laughable like a dead guy or Mickey Mouse winning. 

[Affogato]

9 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

I am just so done with the people that claim to hate Trump yet didn’t vote for Harris or spent more time running their mouth off about how horrible Biden and Harris were or blaming Democrats for everything to keep spreading voter apathy.

 

To be fair, and I did vote for Harris, I have trouble getting my mind around how bad things are going and fast. 

1 minute ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

And Elon is not that smart nor organized to pull off massive voter fraud. He's rich and has a following who believe him to be the world's smartest man, but he is only an evil mastermind in his fantasies. His actions prove otherwise. From Doge firing those nuclear guys and having to immediately rehire them or having to recall every. single. Cybertruck because the stainless steel panels were attached to the body using glue. If Elon did try to rig an election, then the results would be laughable like a dead guy or Mickey Mouse winning. 

He is going by an old libertarian principle that all you have to do is tear it apart. Things will get bad, really bad, and then it probably will be survival of the richest (in their strongholds, bought with their money and protected with their guns}. I think it is a real attempt to destroy democracy and that it is a solid attempt, there are a lot of people who do not believe in democracy as a positive political force. It doesn’t take subtlety to destroy it.

[Anela]

People can expect the democrats to do better in ways, and hate trump.  

[Dimity]

3 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh went after Carney in his first address of the race.

Singh said Carney has spent his career serving the rich and that he can’t be trusted to work for everyday Canadians.

Singh can just take a seat.  He knows the NDP will never get enough seats to form a government.  Trash  talking the liberals isn't going to change that.  The Cons are the ones he should be worried about. 

Edited March 23 by Dimity

[PRgal]

7 minutes ago, Dimity said:

Singh can just take a seat.  He knows the NDP will never get enough seats to form a government.  Trash  talking the liberals isn't going to change that.  The Cons are the ones he should be worried about. 

The NDP will likely lose seats, IMHO.  Basically, this time around, you're either Team Mark or Team Nerd Boy.

[Dimity]

2 minutes ago, PRgal said:

The NDP will likely lose seats, IMHO.  Basically, this time around, you're either Team Mark or Team Nerd Boy.

I agree.  I am really interested to see where Quebec goes.  If they don't stick to the PQ I can see a shift to the Liberals.  The Cons have not made themselves popular there, and being perceived as agreeing with Trump (and by extension Amazon) is not going to do them any favours.

[PRgal]

4 minutes ago, Dimity said:

I agree.  I am really interested to see where Quebec goes.  If they don't stick to the PQ I can see a shift to the Liberals.  The Cons have not made themselves popular there, and being perceived as agreeing with Trump (and by extension Amazon) is not going to do them any favours.

Bloc may lose a few seats this time as well.  The on-the-fence ridings are likely going to side Liberal more than Bloc.  And I could see the Greens getting more than one seat.

ETA:  I think the world may end up getting educated about our political system, including other countries who use the Parliamentary system.  Like which province tends to side with which party and what colours represent what side of the spectrum.

Edited March 24 by PRgal

[Dimity]

Just now, PRgal said:

Bloc may lose a few seats this time as well. 

Bloc!  Right.  Hmm now why did my mind go to PQ?  We may never know 😁

[Absolom]

https://www.axios.com/2025/03/21/social-security-lutnick-doge-checks

Quote

That's what Lutnick seemed to be getting at: *Anybody who's been in the payment system, in the process system, knows the easiest way to find the fraudster is to stop payments and listen, because whoever screams is the one stealing. ... 80-year-olds, 90-years-olds, they trust the government, they trust, ok, maybe it got screwed up, big deal, they're not going to call and scream at someone — but someone who's stealing always does."

It's so obvious he knows not what he's talking about.  The fraudsters are the least likely to call as they don't want to draw attention to themselves and those 80 and 90 year olds do not mind using the phone to call if that check is even a day late.  My basis: talking to the 80 and 90 year olds and trying to help them understand why their check was late and that I couldn't just type them up a replacement.  I think the only case of fraud I saw while working at Social Security was a guy claiming he was disabled when he didn't appear to be when he didn't know he was being observed. 

So the last and biggest Trump fan I know may have given up even tolerating him.  Her daughter was let go from her job with less than 24 hours notice.  It was a simple don't come in tomorrow.

The daughter worked on contracts with the US Department of Education.  I managed to refrain from saying anything about the leopards coming after friends and family.  She was totally shocked.  

I feel for them.  I really do for her 50 year old daughter with a son who has one more year of high school and who has to start a job search with a background in a field that is currently not going to be viable for at least three more years if the Orange Menace and his doofus sidekick have their way.  It truly is a leopards eating faces situation as that daughter is the one who has shored up mama's Trump support when the rest of the family was against it.

[Dimity]

7 minutes ago, Absolom said:

The fraudsters are the least likely to call as they don't want to draw attention to themselves and those 80 and 90 year olds do not mind using the phone to call if that check is even a day late.

He has obviously not spent much time around people who are literally living paycheque (or SS cheque) to paycheque.  Bills need to be paid and groceries bought and if  like so many seniors  your life revolves around getting that cheque of course you're going to call!  What an enormous entitled jerk!

Edited March 24 by Dimity

[fairffaxx]

For those of you who are depressed about current developments in real life, I recommend focusing on positive news, which can be found on live animal cameras such as Raccoon Saloon (featuring an old abandoned house in Maine, full of raccoons).

Much like banishing some posters here with the "ignore" feature, spending your time with goofy animals who pay no attention to politics is guaranteed to divert your attention to healthier topics.

[Lantern7]

3 hours ago, Dimity said:

My response: “Well, stop making socialism and communism look better by comparison. And it’s weird you hate socialism since you’re acting like a N******l S*******t.”

[Anela]

1 hour ago, fairffaxx said:

For those of you who are depressed about current developments in real life, I recommend focusing on positive news, which can be found on live animal cameras such as Raccoon Saloon (featuring an old abandoned house in Maine, full of raccoons).

Much like banishing some posters here with the "ignore" feature, spending your time with goofy animals who pay no attention to politics is guaranteed to divert your attention to healthier topics.

This is one of the channels I follow on twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/alveussanctuary

Last year, I was watching two streamers who travel by bike, camping, and sometimes staying in hotels.

Sarah is training for a tour now. https://www.twitch.tv/sarahbridgewater She's also on youtube.

Her boyfriend is Hitch, who got her into it: https://www.twitch.tv/hitch

[Yeah No]

1 hour ago, Dimity said:

He has obviously not spent much time around people who are literally living paycheque (or SS cheque) to paycheque.  Bills need to be paid and groceries bought and if  like so many seniors  your life revolves around getting that cheque of course you're going to call!  What an enormous entitled jerk!

I went ballistic over that guy. I'm going to get my first SS payment in only a couple of months and let me tell you if it didn't get deposited I'd be on that phone in a hot minute! How out of touch can you BE? What a rich asshole!

1 hour ago, fairffaxx said:

Much like banishing some posters here with the "ignore" feature, spending your time with goofy animals who pay no attention to politics is guaranteed to divert your attention to healthier topics.

I just sent this to a friend that called me to rant about Trump.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1Pf6Vpw2UU/

There hasn't been much to ignore lately.

[Lantern7]

Republicans in Arizona will be holding a town hall on Tuesday . . . and they found a "work-around" to the pesky "liberals flood the zone and whine about their lives" thing.

Quote

Tuesday night, voters will have a chance to hear directly from their elected officials. U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen and Maricopa County Sheriff Jerry Sheridan — all Republicans — will speak at a town hall in Chandler.

There’s one catch: If you’re not a Republican, you can’t get in.

The town hall billing — written as “townhall” — comes from a flyer posted to the Legislative District 12 Republicans website. The Maricopa County Republican Committee is also listed as an organizer of the event, which will take place at 7030 W. Oakland Street.

The “town hall” tem generally connotes an open meeting with the public. But in a Tuesday morning email obtained by Phoenix New Times, LD12 First Vice Chair Patty Porter wrote that “tonight’s townhall is a private event. I have been reminded that only members of the Republican party will be admitted into the venue,” Porter wrote.

Nicely done. I'm hoping some left-leaning constituents have a few MAGA caps in their closets.

[peacheslatour]

23 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

Republicans in Arizona will be holding a town hall on Tuesday . . . and they found a "work-around" to the pesky "liberals flood the zone and whine about their lives" thing.

Nicely done. I'm hoping some left-leaning constituents have a few MAGA caps in their closets.

I think there will be quite a few pissed off Republicans there too.

[tearknee]

Popcorn?

Opera glasses?

 

[Kemper]

tres bien...your post sums up everything that is terrible about Republicans in Congress.  I would say the Representative is tone deaf, but that is way too flattering. She (and anyone who organized this event) basically insulted her own voters. The arrogance and craven play for money is shocking, even in these times. The Dems will hopefully milk it for all its worth. And run a true populist against her.

[annzeepark914]

35 minutes ago, tres bien said:

🎯

Then there’s this in local Minnesota news

Last week in Ottertail MN US Rep Michelle Fischbach (R) asked her constituents to pay $10 to see her but no one was allowed to speak. She arrived and left thru a back door. She didn’t walk thru the crowd, shake hands or smile She gave no interviews 

Ottertail is a small town in western MN and the event attracted over 100 protesters some carrying signs. Earlier this month she called similar protesters garbage instigated by outsiders 

The outside protesters outnumbered the  those that came to see her speak

Inside those supporting her were outnumbered by those who were against her 

Farmers, people interested in climate change policies, retirees and people with health issues, older poorer people than make up the rest of the state and a quarter of the people that rely on Medicaid make up the population of the district which is also home to vacation homeowners from other parts of the state 

The event was organized by a conservative organization that collected and kept the fee

Talk about a bunch of Repub snowflakes. This is truly pathetic (& unAmerican as well!)

[Yeah No]

Defunding the DOE originally started as an extreme right-wing position. Up until early this year supposedly only 40% of Republicans supported it according to polls. Now suddenly since Trump has been taking steps toward it that percentage has jumped to 70%?? I would post them but the polls are all over the map and I don't believe them. I do believe the percentage has grown recently but polls still show that 60% of Americans in general oppose dismantling it.

I just don't get how malleable Republicans are. I do believe that more of them now support dismantling the DOE, likely because their news media has had time to brainwash them into it. They don't realize how easily duped they are. Unfortunately that makes them more easily united on issues and politicians than Democrats. And yet they keep accusing Democrats of doing exactly what is being done to them.  But Democrats are not as united on anything as they are. And Trump and his crew are using that to their advantage. In order to fight this Democrats need to find common ground and stop being so fussy about who and what they will support. In our case that means compromising more toward the middle to middle-left Democratically speaking in terms of issues and politicians. Anything more extreme than that in either direction is doomed to fail for us. I don't believe that going more progressive is the answer especially if we need to attract independents. I've been saying this since early in this thread, BTW.

Also I haven't had the time or energy to address this lately, but there's a difference between a moderate Democrat and a moderate compared to ALL voters whether affiliated with a party or not. A moderate Democrat is already more left leaning than a moderate compared to all voters. I saw that confusion a few pages back but couldn't address it then. Maybe I will soon.

[fastiller]

31 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

Defunding the DOE originally started as an extreme right-wing position. Up until early this year supposedly only 40% of Republicans supported it according to polls. Now suddenly since Trump has been taking steps toward it that percentage has jumped to 70%?? I would post them but the polls are all over the map and I don't believe them. I do believe the percentage has grown recently but polls still show that 60% of Americans in general oppose dismantling it.

 

I wonder if the jump from 40% to 70% of Republicans supporting this is due to dwindling* numbers of overall membership in the party.

*nearly typed swindling; Freudian slip perhaps?

[tres bien]

1 hour ago, Kemper said:

tres bien...your post sums up everything that is terrible about Republicans in Congress.  I would say the Representative is tone deaf, but that is way too flattering. She (and anyone who organized this event) basically insulted her own voters. The arrogance and craven play for money is shocking, even in these times. The Dems will hopefully milk it for all its worth. And run a true populist against her.

Ottertail MN is approximately 180 miles NW from Minneapolis where I live. I’ve never been there but based on the reported demographics in that news report from the MN Star Tribune I don’t know if anyone different than the current rep would be able to win an election there 

However Senators Klobuchar or Smith or Governor Walz (if he would stay in MN and stop rallying around the country in red districts) should show up sooner rather than later 

[bluegirl147]

1 hour ago, Yeah No said:

I just don't get how malleable Republicans are. I do believe that more of them now support dismantling the DOE, likely because their news media has had time to brainwash them into it. They don't realize how easily duped they are.

I don't think most of them understands what getting rid of the DOE means.  For a lot of them they probably think without the DOE they can now ban books in their kid's school without anyone pushing back. They can now prevent transgender kids from everything.  That they can use the Bible as a teaching guide.  Or they can hang up the Ten Commandments.  Even though a lot of school districts already do all those things.  How many of them will care when their special needs child won't have an aide?  How many of them will care when their property taxes go up to make up the lost federal money no longer being part of their budget?

2 hours ago, tres bien said:

The outside protesters outnumbered the  those that came to see her speak

Inside those supporting her were outnumbered by those who were against her 

Was this the event where the Congresswoman laughed at the people there?  What pisses me off so much is Republicans dismissing anyone who shows to these townhalls as Democratic activists.  They either simply can't fathom that they and their fealty to Trump are truly despised or they are simply lying to their Fox News watching  MAGA base.

[Makai]

33 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

I don't think most of them understands what getting rid of the DOE means.  For a lot of them they probably think without the DOE they can now ban books in their kid's school without anyone pushing back. They can now prevent transgender kids from everything.  That they can use the Bible as a teaching guide.  Or they can hang up the Ten Commandments.  Even though a lot of school districts already do all those things.  How many of them will care when their special needs child won't have an aide?  How many of them will care when their property taxes go up to make up the lost federal money no longer being part of their budget?

This is exactly what I am seeing in interviews and the arguments from conservative media. Unsurprisingly they are framing it as a state’s rights issue knowing that most people don’t know that the state is already responsible for most of the things they want to see changed. Some people are going to be in world of hurt when they discover that IEPs and FAFSA is going to be negatively impacted. 

 

2 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Also I haven't had the time or energy to address this lately, but there's a difference between a moderate Democrat and a moderate compared to ALL voters whether affiliated with a party or not. A moderate Democrat is already more left leaning than a moderate compared to all voters. 

There’s also a difference between states. I am surrounded by California conservatives and they are well left of most other states and done even realize it. 

Not long before the election there was a Hispanic family on social media who made a big show out of leaving awful, woke California for Utah. Before long they were moving back absolutely shocked to find that they weren’t welcomed with racism rather than open arms. 

Edited March 24 by Makai

[annzeepark914]

Wow! I had a Trumpmare just before waking up this morning 😵‍💫. All I can remember is that people were running around in a panic. The orange menace was threatening to press "the button" to start a nuclear war. Thank God I woke up. Has anyone else had one of these nightmares? I can't remember *ever* having anything like this before. How many days before the next presidential election? 

[Absolom]

Disbanding the Department of Education will result in Special Ed mostly becoming a thing of the past.  With no federal mandate, regulations, timelines, etc., local school boards can and many will decide that money can be used somewhere else.  While I have examples of Special Ed gone wildly wrong, most of the students need and benefit from the program and resources.  It's going to impact regular classes also as without special classes and resources, those students will be mainstreamed with no support for them or the classroom teacher. That's just one portion of how things will go off the rails.

Edited March 24 by Absolom

[Ohiopirate02]

8 minutes ago, Makai said:

This is exactly what I am seeing in interviews and the arguments from conservative media. Unsurprisingly they are framing it as a state’s rights issue knowing that most people don’t know that the state is already responsible for most of the things they want to see changed. Some people are going to be in world of hurt when they discover that IEP’s and FAFSA is going to be negatively impacted. 

 

The thing that kills me about dismantling the DoE is the timeline. Killing it now means the states are not going to have the time and money to put in replacements for IEPs before school starts again in August. Some school districts will be able to pivot quickly, but others will struggle. There are going to be a lot of irate parents come next school year when they find out their kid(s) are no longer going to get the help they need because all federal funding is gone or the federal requirements are gone. We all know some great teachers and public schools and we also know of the horrible teachers and administrators who only do what they are legally required to do. If the DoE goes away, there will be kids who suffer because their local public school sucks.

[PRgal]

Your country's variance/"diversity" in beliefs on how kids are educated astounds me.  Our education system is controlled by the province and we are doing okay.  I guess it's also how schools are funded up here versus you guys.  Yes, there are "good" versus "bad" schools, but that's really based on how families are in various neighbourhoods.  Sure, a school in a low income part of Toronto may get the same funding from the province as one in a high income area, but EQAO (provincial testing) scores are likely very different.  Kids from broken families versus not, family involvement (including advocacy and fundraising), etc...make a huge difference.  

ETA:  Despite a more equal footing, I do notice that there's a difference between my son's (private) school and the typical public school, perhaps even in high income areas.  Class sizes, for one.  My son's class has 21 kids (that's already "big"), with a main classroom teacher and an assistant teacher who spends her time between his class and the other class in his grade. Public schools often have more (beyond the cap/recommended cap) with ZERO help for the teacher.

Edited March 24 by PRgal

[bluegirl147]

34 minutes ago, Makai said:

2 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Also I haven't had the time or energy to address this lately, but there's a difference between a moderate Democrat and a moderate compared to ALL voters whether affiliated with a party or not. A moderate Democrat is already more left leaning than a moderate compared to all voters. 

There’s also a difference between states. I am surrounded by California conservatives and they are well left of most other states and done even realize it. 

In my state Joe Manchin was considered a moderate.  In the Democratic party (voters not politicians)  he was considered a Republican.  I just watched something earlier where someone was asking what exactly makes someone a moderate?  Is it someone who has some progressive beliefs and some conservative beliefs? My best friend, a gay man, always said he was fiscally conservative and socially progressive.  Would he be considered a moderate?

22 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

We all know some great teachers and public schools and we also know of the horrible teachers and administrators who only do what they are legally required to do. If the DoE goes away, there will be kids who suffer because their local public school sucks.

When I was in school my school district was one of the best in the state. By the time my son went 10 years after I had graduated you could already see the decline.  Now 14 yrs after he graduated it is even worse. I think part of is population decline. Less people means less funding.  And now with federal funds gone it will get even worse.  I also think technology, while useful, has also hurt kids' ability to learn.  Forget algebra being hard how many kids can do simple arithmetic without a calculator?  And don't even talk to me about reading levels.   54% of American adults read below a sixth grade level with nearly 20% at below a third grade level.   And reading comprehension it's the same 54% but it's 21% of people are functionally illiterate.  Of course Trump loves the uneducated.  Now without a DOE and all that entails we will have a whole new generation of MAGA.

6 minutes ago, Dimity said:

Sad thing is there were people who thought that about Obama.

[Dimity]

1 hour ago, PRgal said:

Our education system is controlled by the province and we are doing okay. 

While this is definitely true, the federal government does play a role in education, primarily through transfer payments where the "payments are meant to guarantee "reasonably comparable levels" of health care, education, and welfare in all the provinces".

Of course the reality is that it is up to each province to decide how that money is allocated.  And I can only speak for Ontario but they seem very reluctant to fund special education and it's been like that since my own kids were in elementary school.

[PRgal]

2 minutes ago, Dimity said:

While this is definitely true, the federal government does play a role in education, primarily through transfer payments where the "payments are meant to guarantee "reasonably comparable levels" of health care, education, and welfare in all the provinces".

Of course the reality is that it is up to each province to decide how that money is allocated.  And I can only speak for Ontario but they seem very reluctant to fund special education and it's been like that since my own kids were in elementary school.

A friend of mine has a special needs kid and found that it was easier for her to get help (as in an IEP) once the family switched the child to the Catholic system versus public.  Maybe it’s also a board thing.  

[Anela]

2 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Wow! I had a Trumpmare just before waking up this morning 😵‍💫. All I can remember is that people were running around in a panic. The orange menace was threatening to press "the button" to start a nuclear war. Thank God I woke up. Has anyone else had one of these nightmares? I can't remember *ever* having anything like this before. How many days before the next presidential election? 

Last month, I had a dream that we were in a civil war. It had the tone/image of a movie or war zone from the World Wars. Grey, dim, like a winter day. I was with one group. One person shot at someone in a house across the road, then put something back over the window. We were getting orders on a radio, to move somewhere else. 

[Mollywolly555]

I've had dreams that were combinations of Mad Max brutality of mob rule,  and Red Dawn where Russian troops are parachuting onto the park behind my house. 

I now make sure to read or watch something positive before bed. 

[peacheslatour]

18 minutes ago, Mollywolly555 said:

I've had dreams that were combinations of Mad Max brutality of mob rule,  and Red Dawn where Russian troops are parachuting onto the park behind my house. 

I now make sure to read or watch something positive before bed. 

I do the same thing because of these kinds of nightmares. I look at pictures on my tablet of beautiful old houses and gardens, to remind myself that there is still beauty and grace in this world.

Edited March 24 by peacheslatour

[bluegirl147]

22 minutes ago, Mollywolly555 said:

I now make sure to read or watch something positive before bed.

During the start of the pandemic when it seemed like the world was on fire I would watch the Golden Girls before bed.  It was like comfort food.

[Dimity]

7 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

During the start of the pandemic when it seemed like the world was on fire I would watch the Golden Girls before bed.  It was like comfort food.

I'm at a point now where I've retreated to children's books for bedtime reading.  I can't go to sleep without reading something and lately, as things get tenser and tenser, I'm reaching for old favourites for my comfort food.

[tres bien]

Remember this guy? MN state senator Justin Eichorn who introduced a bill to make Trump Derangement Syndrome classified as a mental illness and last week was arrested for attempting to solicit sex from a minor is being held without bail

Following his arrest the MN GOP pressured him to resign

Until a special election is held the Democrats hold a one seat advantage in the state house. Governor Walz will announce the date for the election tomorrow 

 

[Cementhead]

I started listening to my first podcast last week to avoid the world.  I went with a true crime podcast.  Serial: Season One. Positively captivating.  Problem is, instead of laying in bed every night thinking about how the world is coming to an end, I've just traded it with laying in bed wide awake going over all of the evidence and facts of the case trying to determine what I think happened. 

Last night I watched the latest Bridget Jones movie with a double shot of rum & coke. 

[peacheslatour]

8 minutes ago, Dimity said:

I'm at a point now where I've retreated to children's books for bedtime reading.  I can't go to sleep without reading something and lately, as things get tenser and tenser, I'm reaching for old favourites for my comfort food.

That reminds of a few years ago, when I was down with whooping cough and mono. I was in bed for three solid days and read a stack of my old Nancy Drew books. Boy, some of those things were racist.

[ProudMary]

I'm so sorry for everyone here who is having these terrible nightmares. I am also.

A few nights ago I woke up screaming from a nightmare in which I was being tortured. No doubt it's because I am so incredibly upset about the Venezuelans who were captured, tortured, shipped to El Salvador illegally,without due process and are now in a maximum security prison.

I thank you all for sharing because at least I know I'm not the only person experiencing this.

[Dimity]

Just now, peacheslatour said:

I was in bed for three solid days and read a stack of my old Nancy Drew books. Boy, some of those things were racist.

Definitely were of their time.  That said I think the original Nancy Drews and Hardy Boy books were way better than the rewrites!  I recently read a book called The Ghost of the Hardy Boys, written by the ghostwriter for the first 20 or so Hardy Boy books.  I'd heard of the Stratemeyer syndicate of course but had no idea how little they paid!

[Bastet]

4 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

I just watched something earlier where someone was asking what exactly makes someone a moderate?  Is it someone who has some progressive beliefs and some conservative beliefs? My best friend, a gay man, always said he was fiscally conservative and socially progressive.  Would he be considered a moderate?

I have two friends who describe themselves as moderate, and that's how they are -- socially progressive, fiscally conservative.  Maybe one or two social issues where they're somewhat conservative.  I know they've voted both parties for governor, but I'm not sure about president (I know they didn't vote for Trump either time [we wouldn't still be friends if they had]).

My best friend initially registered as a Republican based entirely on fiscal policy, but then she realized, duh, the government is supposed to tax and spend for the general welfare, all the things she values cost money to create/maintain, and she was being way too rigid in her calls for cutting government spending.  She switched parties as of the '94 midterms, because she was so disgusted by Newt Gingrich's "Contract With America".