Chit-Chat: The Feels

[ProudMary]

This is good news. I think we all knew that Joy Reid's voice could not be silenced for long! I know I'll be following her on YouTube. Here's a quick promo. (1:48)

Joy-Ann Reid Lands New Series 'The Joy Reid Show' to Bring a Voice Back to the Silenced

https://www.ebony.com/joy-reid-new-series-the-joy-reid-show-launches-youtube/

You can't keep a good woman down for long. Acclaimed journalist and political analyst Joy-Ann Reid, whose brave and brash commentary was the voice for many, is launching a new platform, The Joy Reid Show, on June 9. And this time, no one can silence her. The new series will launch with a three-day stream every Monday, Wednesday and Friday across YouTube and all major podcast platforms.

Offering a mix of news analysis, commentary and special guests, Reid will open her series with comedian Amber Ruffin, who was axed from performing at the White House correspondents’ dinner after angering the current presidential administration, according to AP News. Ebrahim Rasool, the former South African ambassador to the U.S., will also appear. A special preview episode will feature Newark Mayor and 2025 gubernatorial candidate Ras Baraka, airing just ahead of New Jersey’s pivotal June 10 primary.

[luv2lurk]

2 hours ago, tres bien said:

Bad news for the Jake Tapper 

After being all over the cable news networks yapping about his book for two weeks and nonstop schilling by CNN allowing him to criticize President Biden Jake Tapper’s book is a bust

He’s been carrying on incessantly with few quoted sources that Biden was incompetent during his presidency 

In the first week of it’s release the book sold 53,737 copies or about 1/10th of the viewers of his show 

In comparison Bob Woodward’s book “Fear: Trump in the White House” sold 1.1 million copies in it’s first week when released in September 2018

This is interesting but maybe speaks more to how we read books. My library had 10 online copies available for borrowing the date the book was released. As of today it has 40.

[Ohiopirate02]

46 minutes ago, ebk57 said:

And she recorded that while walking through a cemetery.  She's awful.

 

On a brighter note, Penzey's is having a sale this weekend - for no special reason...

 

I both love and hate getting Penzys emails. The message is great, but then I want to buy spices I may not need. 

[kittykat]

Haha same but if I'm going to spend money I don't need to spend Penzeys can gladly take it.

I went to their spices A-Z page and I already have Aleppo and Anise seed in the cart.  I'm not even out of the A section people, cancel my card.

Edited June 1 by kittykat

[CheshireCat]

4 hours ago, Lugal said:

Respectfully, you're comparing apples to oranges here.  One branch of my family came over in 1696, the last was in 1864 and none came through Ellis Island.  There were no immigration laws then.  Basically once they stepped off the boat, they were legal.  The first immigration laws were the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.  Compare that to a friend of mine who tried to immigrate from France who filled out all the applications, consulted with immigration attorneys crossed all the T's and dotted all the I's only to have a thirty second meeting with the consulate only to be told no (she did eventually get in and opened a business here)

I was going to say something similar. I don't think we can compare the "legal" of then to the "legal" of today. 
According to what I read, immigration laws before the 1920s were largely intended to regulate citizenship eligibility and/or discriminatory and while quotas were introduced in the 1920s, there were very few restrictions, if any for immigrants from the Western hemisphere. Immigrants from Middle and South America, apparently, didn't have much in terms of restrictions until the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. All Cuban immigrants had to do was reach the US and they were considered to have legal status up until fairly recently. (I think Obama repealed that?)
This has a summary of immigration laws throughout the US's history. https://news.unm.edu/news/u-s-immigration-legislation-since-1776

I think that it's very likely that the majority of immigrants who immigrated any time before the 1980s would have difficulties immigrating legally today as well, for the simple reason that I don’t think they’d be able to meet the criteria for any of the limited immigrant visa categories. I believe that is the biggest hurdle to immigrating legally today, followed closely by the time and money that it takes to obtain a visa when it concerns refugees, whether they're persecuted or economic refugees.

Edited June 1 by CheshireCat

[Ohiopirate02]

31 minutes ago, kittykat said:

Haha same but if I'm going to spend money I don't need to spend Penzeys can gladly take it.

I went to their spices A-Z page and I already have Aleppo and Anise seed in the cart.  I'm not even out of the A section people, cancel my card.

Their taco seasonings are absolutely delicious and way better than any store bought taco mix. I am sorely tempted to get that chicken taco seasoning even though I have their fajita blend and regular taco seasoning.

[annzeepark914]

5 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

Their taco seasonings are absolutely delicious and way better than any store bought taco mix. I am sorely tempted to get that chicken taco seasoning even though I have their fajita blend and regular taco seasoning.

I don't need chicken taco seasoning but I may order it (along with some other spices) just for the fun of it. TACO Donnie...our unhero. *Squawk*

[DanaMB]

4 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

 

Wanna bet it will be the white guy?

The old white guy for sure.

2 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Joni Ernst makes a very condescending and sarcastic "apology" for her "we all die" remark. What a soulless ghoul.

“Hello, everyone. I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely apologize for a statement that I made yesterday at my town hall,” Ernst said in the clip, with a sarcastic tone. 

On Friday, the Iowa Republican was jeered after brushing aside life or death concerns about cuts to Medicaid, a public health insurance program for low income families and individuals with disabilities. 

“See I was in the process of answering a question that had been asked by an audience member, when a woman who was extremely distraught, screamed out from the back corner of the auditorium, people are going to die,” Ernst said Saturday. 

“And I made an incorrect assumption that everyone in the auditorium understood that, yes, we are all going to perish from this earth. So I apologize, and I’m really, really glad that I did not have to bring up the subject of the tooth fairy as well,” she continued.  

The Iowa lawmaker then encouraged viewers who want to see “eternal and everlasting life” to “embrace” Jesus Christ. 

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5327320-ernst-medicaid-comment-response/

 

What an asshole.

Edited June 1 by DanaMB

[StatisticalOutlier]

Quote

I’m sick of the Trump and non/third party voters whining to skate their own culpability in letting him win. They wanted this, they can suffer.

Unfortunately it's behind a paywall [edit: non-paywalled link below], but the New York Times has a story about a town of 10,000 people in a county in Missouri that voted 80% for Trump.  There's a woman called Carol Hui who's lived there for 20 years, working the breakfast shift at the local diner (among other jobs).  Or, she did work there, until she was arrested a month ago and is jailed awaiting deportation.

From the article:

Quote

“I voted for Donald Trump, and so did practically everyone here,” said Vanessa Cowart, a friend of Ms. Hui from church. “But no one voted to deport moms. We were all under the impression we were just getting rid of the gangs, the people who came here in droves.”

She paused. “This is Carol.”

 

They're having prayer vigils, meal deliveries to her family (a partner whose immigration status is "not clear" and their three U.S.-born children), and a fundraiser that raised $20,000.  It's a shame that instead of doing all this, they could have just voted for someone other than the guy who was telling them exactly what he was going to do if he won. 

I feel terrible for Carol, but I'm having trouble drumming up any sympathy for her "friends" in town.  The problem is that probably none of them will use this as a teaching moment for the next election.  That's why I've pretty much given up.

Here's a link (non-paywalled,  courtesy of @ebk57 ):

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/28/us/missouri-immigrant-trump.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Lk8.il5A.IgLXmGUubRq2&smid=url-share

 

Edited Sunday at 05:09 PM by StatisticalOutlier

[Absolom]

Those danged leopards.  

[ebk57]

22 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

Unfortunately it's behind a paywall, but the New York Times has a story about a town of 10,000 people in a county in Missouri that voted 80% for Trump.  There's a woman called Carol Hui who's lived there for 20 years, working the breakfast shift at the local diner (among other jobs).  Or, she did work there, until she was arrested a month ago and is jailed awaiting deportation.

 

Here's the article unlocked if anyone wants to read it.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/28/us/missouri-immigrant-trump.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Lk8.il5A.IgLXmGUubRq2&smid=url-share

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, CheshireCat said:

I think that it's very likely that the majority of immigrants who immigrated any time before the 1980s would have difficulties immigrating legally today as well, for the simple reason that I don’t think they’d be able to meet the criteria for any of the limited immigrant visa categories. I believe that is the biggest hurdle to immigrating legally today, followed closely by the time and money that it takes to obtain a visa when it concerns refugees, whether they're persecuted or economic refugees.

Probably a good 99% of those constantly bleating about needing to immigrate the "right" way have no idea what that entails and how many roadblocks have been intentionally built into the process, no idea about the conditions people are coming here to escape, no idea what they contribute to the U.S. economy and society (and how much they are exploited) -- and no interest in learning any of that.

[ebk57]

The president doesn't (or can't...) read

From NBC News, they are trying to figure out how to get the Daily Briefing to the pres since he doesn't know how to read.  Or has the attention span of a gnat.  Or is dumb.  Or all of the above.

Sorry if this has been posted.  If it has, I totally put it out of my head for my sanity's sake.

[annzeepark914]

30 minutes ago, ebk57 said:

The president doesn't (or can't...) read

From NBC News, they are trying to figure out how to get the Daily Briefing to the pres since he doesn't know how to read.  Or has the attention span of a gnat.  Or is dumb.  Or all of the above.

Sorry if this has been posted.  If it has, I totally put it out of my head for my sanity's sake.

Pathetic. We just have to make it to the midterms and pray that enough people will have felt the impact of these Nazis to get them to support Democratic candidates in the House & Senate. Every daggone day it's something hideous emanating from these administration creeps running roughshod over our government, endangering our lives. 

[shapeshifter]

Here's a free gift link to a NYT Opinion piece by David Brooks that does an outstanding job of explaining and describing the differences between the 2 sides that we've been hashing out: “I’m Normally a Mild Guy. Here’s What’s Pushed Me Over the Edge,” May 29, 2025: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/29/opinion/trump-vance-morality.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Lk8.0DRu.ylmIu3sdK3L6&smid=url-share

[peacheslatour]

Donald Trump shared a post to his Truth Social account Saturday night that made some wild claims about former President Joe Biden.

How wild?

Well, the post Trump shared, from an account that has just more than 2,000 followers, read, “There is no #JoeBiden — executed in 2020. #Biden clones doubles & robotic engineered soulless mindless entities are what you see. #Democrats don’t know the difference.”

https://www.pennlive.com/news/2025/06/donald-trump-shares-post-claiming-joe-biden-was-executed-replaced-by-clones.html

[Lantern7]

2 hours ago, ebk57 said:

The president doesn't (or can't...) read

From NBC News, they are trying to figure out how to get the Daily Briefing to the pres since he doesn't know how to read.  Or has the attention span of a gnat.  Or is dumb.  Or all of the above.

Sorry if this has been posted.  If it has, I totally put it out of my head for my sanity's sake.

He was elected to lead, not to read.

35 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

Donald Trump shared a post to his Truth Social account Saturday night that made some wild claims about former President Joe Biden.

How wild?

Well, the post Trump shared, from an account that has just more than 2,000 followers, read, “There is no #JoeBiden — executed in 2020. #Biden clones doubles & robotic engineered soulless mindless entities are what you see. #Democrats don’t know the difference.”

https://www.pennlive.com/news/2025/06/donald-trump-shares-post-claiming-joe-biden-was-executed-replaced-by-clones.html

You're screwing with us, right? Please tell me you're screwing with us.

(hitting Facebook, reading first post: a Friend sharing a post about the President's post)

Holy living fuck.

We're screwed. We're all screwed. It'd be great if the Republicans would swap out the real thing for a puppet, but too many of them are in love with him to ever think about replacing him, even if it means getting more free reign in how they can run things.

Seriously, they could bring out James Austin Johnson or Sean from What We Do In The Shadows for Dave-type shenanigans, and barely anyone would notice because the real thing is already a grotesque parody of a human being.

Edited June 1 by Lantern7

[Lantern7]

1 minute ago, anony.miss said:

Before it's scrubbed, here it is:

Over twelve thousand likes. Over five thousand shares.

I keep wanting thing to be a thing where the body decays if the head is taken out, but I don't think that's the case at all. Holy shit.

I'm not using that word. I think it was John Oliver who called that word "Orwellian."

[Soapy Goddess]

21 hours ago, Annber03 said:

but it sure says something that none of that seems to bother or concern you.

You really need to stop making assumptions about me. You know absolutely squat about me, so knock it off!

21 hours ago, Annber03 said:

Also, who the hell cares that those people had underlying conditions already? They still died unneecessary deaths because they were exposed to a virus

And that happens with a virus all the time. People with underlying conditions will even die from the regular flu! It's not that unusual. This was a pandemic...and I'm surprised even more people didn't die.

21 hours ago, Annber03 said:

Trump fucking suggested injecting bleach as a solution to the pandemic, for god's sakes. Remember that? He did an absolutely shit job of managing a serious situation and a whole lot of people died that didn't need to die as a result. Their deaths are on his administration's hands. 

Yes, I remember at the time thinking it was an idiotic statement. But you seem to forget that he fast-tracked the vaccine. What no credit? Figures.

21 hours ago, Annber03 said:

what did you have to "live with" under Biden and Obama that's apparently on the level of the shit Trump's done and is doing? 

Go back 300 pages and find out for yourself. I'm not getting into another argument with you over this shit.

21 hours ago, Annber03 said:

what about the people who didn't survive his first term, or won't survive this one?

What about them? I have no idea what you're talking about. Stop being a panican.

18 hours ago, tres bien said:

Not a fly on the wall here but tactics like dems telling him not to say a word to anyone sound pretty MAGA to me

Did you watch the show?

17 hours ago, Affogato said:

This is remarkably incoherent. No one agrees completely with the policies of any party, a party is a committee. No one, ever, anyway. 
 

Who are you calling incoherent? 

Did you watch the show or is this just the usual mantra?

Edited June 1 by Soapy Goddess

[Soapy Goddess]

16 hours ago, Dimity said:

Were you aware that: "In the first year of the pandemic alone, over 3,600 healthcare workers in the US lost their lives, with nurses and support staff being at a significantly higher risk"?  Within health care these people are being called "the sacrificial lambs". Or is this a trifling point that makes no difference to you?  Coming from a family of nurses I can assure you it is a sobering statistic to me.

With regard to underlying conditions - the most significant one was age.  So do you agree with the "Grandma had a good run" mentality then?

 

Yes, I don't live under a rock. And of course I don't consider ANYONE a "sacrificial lamb" or "having a good run". How ridiculous.

All I said is that a lot of people who died had underlying conditions, which is the TRUTH! So, I have no idea what you expect me to say.

[Soapy Goddess]

16 hours ago, tres bien said:

Of course Trump isn’t making a dime not profiting in any way his bitcoin or those $1 million MAL dinners that aren’t in any way influencing his decisions 

And why do you think there were nefarious things going on behind the scenes in the Biden White House that now all MAGAs are waiting with baited breath and to come out

Because Jake Tapper wrote a right leaning book to make a buck and ingratiate himself with the MAGA world and it’s taken as gospel?

They ALL make a profit in the WH. Both sides are guilty of that. If these few issues came out in less than 4 months, I'm sure something else will surface in less than 4 years. Call it a hunch. And no one is waiting with baited breath. It'll happen when it happens. 

If Tapper is writing falsehoods, then he will be sued for defamation and possibly other things. That's the law...and since most of you are so well versed, then you know I'm right. So, until he's proven guilty, it will be taken it as gospel.

15 hours ago, Yeah No said:

is that some kind of excuse for why the Pandemic was less of a big deal than Democrats said it was?

I don't even remember what my original post was, but to answer your question NO...that's not an excuse. Just a medical fact, as with ANY virus.

[Soapy Goddess]

15 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

This is the type of response that shows me despite your claims of not supporting everything trump does, you will never change your mind

I'm not here to have my mind changed. Are you??

Just because I don't support certain issues doesn't mean I'm going to become a die hard Dem. Whatever gave you that idea?

13 hours ago, Affogato said:

And, really, it is taking advantage of poor people to sell Trump bibles

Ok, you got me on that one. It's just as laughable as the gold sneakers. But at least I have a sense of humor about it. Because if the tables were turned, everyone here would be up in arms trying to justify it. 

[Soapy Goddess]

11 hours ago, Lugal said:

There were no immigration laws then.  Basically once they stepped off the boat, they were legal.  The first immigration laws were the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. 

But this was after 1882. Regardless, there was a process. I have a written legal document that my grandparents received, timed and dated. 

 

 

[Yeah No]

10 hours ago, tres bien said:

Following the death of Rep Gerry Connelly the House democrats will hold a caucus election on June 24 to fill the top seat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee 

Currently four candidates are running:

Jasmine Crockett (TX) age 44

Stephen Lynch (MA) age 70

Kweisi Mfume (MD) age 76

Robert Garcia (CA) age 47

Notice the absence of younger Boomers and older Gen X in that group. Where are they and why are there so few of us as candidates these days? I'm noticing this a lot lately.

10 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

A lot of Bernie supporters from 2016 became Trump supporters.  Could have been because they didn't trust Democrats anymore.  Could have been they just like supporting people they think will upend the status quo.

What I do know is more and more people are voting against candidates rather than voting for candidates.  People voted against Hillary in 2016.  People voted against Trump in 20 and 24.

In 2028 I truly hope we have candidates on both sides that people will want to vote for.  

Wanna bet it will be the white guy?

I think after what we're witnessing now even a lot of independents might hold their nose and vote for anyone that isn't a Republican if they're still running MAGA candidates. I know my liberal friend and I both would hold our noses and vote for someone as liberal as Bernie if that were the case. But I don't know where people in general would draw the line. People center-right or slightly right leaning independents that detest MAGA might sit it out rather than vote for anyone. 

8 hours ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

I both love and hate getting Penzys emails. The message is great, but then I want to buy spices I may not need. 

LOL, I have a huge Penzey's collection. I am almost embarrassed to admit that I have at least 72 spices in my collection from them! I know because my spice cabinets total that amount, LOL.

7 hours ago, kittykat said:

Haha same but if I'm going to spend money I don't need to spend Penzeys can gladly take it.

I went to their spices A-Z page and I already have Aleppo and Anise seed in the cart.  I'm not even out of the A section people, cancel my card.

It's a slippery slope, LOL. I'm a big home cook and I use all of my spices so it's worth it for me. I take advantage of the $50 gift card for $35 offer, which comes around often, and wait for a sale so I can stack the savings, then stock up.

6 hours ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

Their taco seasonings are absolutely delicious and way better than any store bought taco mix. I am sorely tempted to get that chicken taco seasoning even though I have their fajita blend and regular taco seasoning.

I agree. I have that chicken taco seasoning and it is just right for chicken. You won't regret it. I also use it when making chicken quesadillas, enchiladas, and burritos.

6 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

I don't need chicken taco seasoning but I may order it (along with some other spices) just for the fun of it. TACO Donnie...our unhero. *Squawk*

Sure, go ahead, Bill Penzey has taken a hit in sales because of his vocal political statements so he needs the business!

 

[Yeah No]

 

48 minutes ago, Soapy Goddess said:

I don't even remember what my original post was, but to answer your question NO...that's not an excuse. Just a medical fact, as with ANY virus.

(Re: your quote saying that most of the people that died from Covid had underlying conditions) -

But what was the point of that statement? You're not explaining that. You offered that fact at a point in the discussion as if to explain away the severity of the pandemic or Trump's responsibility in their deaths - that these people were on the edge anyway so either they were expendable or you can't blame Trump or anyone for their deaths. You didn't just offer that fact for no reason other than to offer a fact. That wouldn't make sense in the context of your post. Go back and read it if you can.

[PRgal]

It’s too bad Ms. Hui wasn’t in Canada because it would have easier for her to even become a citizen :

 

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/hong-kong-residents-permanent-residence.html

Not sure how qualified she’d be since she doesn’t seem super well-educated, likely from a similar socio-economic background as the others in her adopted hometown.  

[Affogato]

6 hours ago, anony.miss said:

Before it's scrubbed, here it is:

eta: ...and Biden is the one with the worrisome mental issues? Hey Tapper, wanna do your fucking job for once? Try reporting on the mental stability of the man signing off on the idea that Biden was executed and replaced by clones and robots. That's the man who currently has the power to launch a nuclear attack, not Biden, you fucking shit for brains "journalist".

I was having difficulty interpreting that. Boy. He watched some black and white ‘50s sci fi last night. Also that picture is from three decades ago. 

Edited Sunday at 11:42 AM by Affogato

[Browncoat]

5 hours ago, Soapy Goddess said:

Just a medical fact, as with ANY virus.

Not true, unless you consider age (very old or very young) an "underlying condition."  Also not true at all in the case of the flu pandemic in 1918.  Most of the people who died from that were young and healthy with perfectly functioning immune systems.  Smallpox is another example of a virus killing otherwise healthy people, many of them under 20.  Polio primarily affected children under five, regardless of health otherwise.

[Affogato]

5 hours ago, Soapy Goddess said:

You really need to stop making assumptions about me. You know absolutely squat about me, so knock it off!

And that happens with a virus all the time. People with underlying conditions will even die from the regular flu! It's not that unusual. This was a pandemic...and I'm surprised even more people didn't die.

Yes, I remember at the time thinking it was an idiotic statement. But you seem to forget that he fast-tracked the vaccine. What no credit? Figures.

Go back 300 pages and find out for yourself. I'm not getting into another argument with you over this shit.

What about them? I have no idea what you're talking about. Stop being a panican.

Did you watch the show?

Who are you calling incoherent? 

Did you watch the show or is this just the usual mantra?

I don’t need to ‘watch the show’ because what I pointed out was that of a democrat says something I disagree with, I disagree with it. 

your argument was a nonstarter, and I was not the inly person you askedbif they had ‘watched the show. ‘  

I think the trans athlete thing is a very small non issue, even if it were absolutely true that there was a slight measurable difference. It is so rare. Also the outrage is targeting children. So stop targeting children. 

You are right that we make assumptions, I would assume you are a middle to older aged white woman, probably blue collar but with a college education, but you could be an 18 year old gay black boy trolling us. I will not know. But yes, it is hard not to make assumptions about each other’s lives and circumstances. On this group it does not seem to be nasty, just wording. 
 

[annzeepark914]

57 minutes ago, Affogato said:

I was having difficulty interpreting that. Boy. He watched some black and white ‘50s sci fi last night. Also that picture is from three decades ago. 

Well, at least Donnie's in the right political party to be making such wild ass comments.  He fits right in.

Edited Sunday at 12:39 PM by annzeepark914

[tres bien]

This is unhinged and perfectly acceptable to the MAGA party 

Edited Sunday at 12:58 PM by tres bien

[Annber03]

6 hours ago, Soapy Goddess said:

You really need to stop making assumptions about me. You know absolutely squat about me, so knock it off!

We're all making assumptions here. You've made plenty about people here, and in general. If you don't want people making those kinds of assumptions, then maybe quit constantly defending the guy who's responsible for all that stuff happening and share in our horror and anger over it for a change. 

Quote

And that happens with a virus all the time. People with underlying conditions will even die from the regular flu! It's not that unusual. This was a pandemic...and I'm surprised even more people didn't die.

But that doesn't address my larger point, which is that he refused to take seriously a deadly virus that affected and killed people, whether they had underlying conditions or not. He is objectively responsible for his failure to take the pandemic more seriously and to try and keep the death toll as low as possible. He could've been out there activley confronting and shutting down all the conspiracy theory bullshit about vaccines and masks. He could've told people to quit harassing Fauci. He could've encouraged and promoted mask usage, instead of constantly holding rallies, or at the very least, encouraged people who came to his rallies to wear masks and lead by example. He could've, y'know, not suggested injecting bleach as a way to treat the virus. 

But he did the complete opposite of all of that. When the pandemic first started he was out here whining that it was some kind of plot from the lDemocrats to take him down. He got mad about and tried to stop mail-in voting, despite that being the safest way for people to vote during a freaking pandemic. He treated his own brush with the virus like he was some kind of ridiculous superhero and put his own Secret Service agents' health at risk in the process. He attacked Democratic governors who were trying to follow safety protocols, and said nothing when right-wingers were out there literally trying to kidnap them, like what happened with the governor of Michigan. 

So some of the people who died had underlying conditions already. So what? The fact remains their underlying conditions were further exacerbated in ways they didn't need to be, and they died from a virus they didn't need to die from, all because the guy in charge during the pandemic refused to take it seriously and fanned the flames and emboldened his party and his supporters to not take the pandemic seriously, either. 

Quote

Yes, I remember at the time thinking it was an idiotic statement. But you seem to forget that he fast-tracked the vaccine. What no credit? Figures.

I mean, again, it's hard to give him too much credit when he did all of the above, but even then, that vaccine was happening no matter what precisely because of the hard work of all the medical experts. 

(I'd also note that when he did try to suggest people get hte vaccine once it came out, his attempts didn't work because the well had been too poisoned by anti-vax rhetoric by then, and his own supporters didn't listen to him because they'd been too brainwashed by said anti-vax propaganda by that point. Maybe if he'd done more to stop that kind of misinformation and conspiracy bullshit running rampant a lot sooner, it'd be easier to give him credit for any role he may have played in getting the vaccine out there.) 

Quote

Go back 300 pages and find out for yourself. I'm not getting into another argument with you over this shit.

Im not expecting an argument, just a simple answer. You're the one who keeps bringing it up, don't be surprised when people ask what exactly you mean by that. 

Quote

What about them? I have no idea what you're talking about. Stop being a panican.

My point was that no, not everyone did survive Trump's first term in office, and there are many people who won't survive this one, either, because his policies have and will literally put a lot of people's lives at legitimate risk. When you've got anti-vax and anti-science people in charge of our healthcare system, when you've got people who sit by and do nothing when measles outbreaks are happening, when you've got people gutting important orgnnizations that citizens rely on for important information like, say, weather warnings, when you've got groups of people losing their rights and being harassed and threatened because of Trump's support of anti-LGTBQ+ policies, or women dying because they can't get an abortion thanks to the GOPs abortion bans, when immigrants are being sent to dangerous prisions and violentl rounded up, people are going to literally get sick, hurt, and die as a result of all of that. 

And it will all be on this administration's hands. His policies will kill people. They have in the past, and they will do so again. 

This is not hard to understand. It really, really isn't. 

[bluegirl147]

1 hour ago, Affogato said:

I was having difficulty interpreting that. Boy. He watched some black and white ‘50s sci fi last night. Also that picture is from three decades ago. 

I remember after Biden won in 2020 but before the Inauguration there was some crazy ideas going around that Biden and other Dems were dead from being found guilty of treason or in Gitmo and the Biden we saw was a hologram. They didn't explain why if that were true who was in charge of making that happen.

 

[Yeah No]

11 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

I mean, again, it's hard to give him too much credit when he did all of the above, but even then, that vaccine was happening no matter what precisely because of the hard work of all the medical experts. 

(I'd also note that when he did try to suggest people get hte vaccine once it came out, his attempts didn't work because the well had been too poisoned by anti-vax rhetoric by then, and his own supporters didn't listen to him because they'd been too brainwashed by said anti-vax propaganda by that point. Maybe if he'd done more to stop that kind of misinformation and conspiracy bullshit running rampant a lot sooner, it'd be easier to give him credit for any role he may have played in getting the vaccine out there.)  

I don't know if anyone else noticed this, but I got the impression at the very beginning of the pandemic that Trump really didn't know which way to lean with it. At times he seemed to minimize it and that's what lead to the country not locking down soon enough to prevent what happened in NYC, while at other times he seemed to be pro-vaccine and pro-mask, which is one reason he might have fast-tracked the vaccine. Let's not forget that he is at heart a germaphobe. I even remember video of him telling the press that he had no problem with masks even if some people did. But as soon as he got wind of the fact that much of his base was anti-vax (or vax skeptical) and anti-mask, and that they were politicizing the issue, he stopped calling for people to wear masks and get vaccinated. So the bastard was not concerned with the welfare of the public but with pleasing his base so he could get their approval and votes in the next election. And he and those idiots have the deaths of millions on their hands, including many of their own families and loved ones. It's still something I cannot believe - that anyone who had someone close to them die in the pandemic didn't see the cause and effect relationship between Trump and their deaths.

[tres bien]

I can’t even read beyond the headline of stories like this anymore 

Universities quietly negotiating with WH aide (Stephen Miller) to try to avoid Harvard’s fate

[Browncoat]

31 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

that vaccine was happening no matter what precisely because of the hard work of all the medical experts. 

Whose funding has now been slashed, and much of their work has come to a screeching halt.

[Dimity]

1 minute ago, Browncoat said:

Whose funding has now been slashed, and much of their work has come to a screeching halt.

A recent article I read stated outright that "nearly 3 million extra deaths by 2030 could result from HIV funding cuts" and this came out before the cuts to research that were made a few days ago.   Cuts, BTW, that will not just affect all those "others" in foreign countries MAGA can barely pronounce, they will affect people right in the good old US of A.  But predictably I suspect this will be handwaved away.  These people are expendable.

18 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

It's still something I cannot believe - that anyone who had someone close to them die in the pandemic didn't see the cause and effect relationship between Trump and their deaths.

@Soapy Goddess opined "This was a pandemic...and I'm surprised even more people didn't die."  So I think they do see the cause and effect relationship, they simply choose not to care.  BTW, Soapy, the US led the world in Covid deaths by the end of Trump's first Presidential term.

[Yeah No]

8 minutes ago, Dimity said:

A recent article I read stated outright that "nearly 3 million extra deaths by 2030 could result from HIV funding cuts" and this came out before the cuts to research that were made a few days ago.   Cuts, BTW, that will not just affect all those "others" in foreign countries MAGA can barely pronounce, they will affect people right in the good old US of A.  But predictably I suspect this will be handwaved away.  These people are expendable.

@Soapy Goddess opined "This was a pandemic...and I'm surprised even more people didn't die."  So I think they do see the cause and effect relationship, they simply choose not to care.  BTW, Soapy, the US led the world in Covid deaths by the end of Trump's first Presidential term.

I still can't believe that people who had close relatives die of Covid during the pandemic wouldn't care that Trump had something to do with it. As one myself it's something I can't fathom. Unless they're fatalists telling themselves that "these things happen" and don't expect people in government or the medical community to solve such problems. "It's all in God's hands" or something like that. Like the religious people that refuse transfusions because it's "God's will" that the person live or die and we shouldn't interfere with it. It's a very different attitude toward life and death. But I still think that in the case of most American Trump supporters it involves a huge case of denial and that if they could take their heads out of their asses about him they would be shocked into reality.

[Mollywolly555]

SG, No matter how many times you deny it, you are defending him.

Whatboutism is defense.

Blaming previous administrations or persons is defense.

Claiming semantics to define your own idiosyncratic definitions is defense. 

Piecemealing portions of his platform that you support or not is defense. 

Using slurs like 'panican' or 'autopenbiden' is defense.

Employing vague generalities or fuzzy logic to obfuscate your stance is defense.

Not answering questions to clarify your own position is defense.

Telling others to stop 'piling on' when they are  trying to have a real dialogue is defense. 

Yet criticizing others as you do to them is defense.

We get it. You support him.

The 2 issues of stopping trans-folk and building more bigger borders have ramifications far beyond your simplification and justification. Although you jump in on other issues to "defend" using above methods. So maybe just be honest with yourself. 

Defend yourself. 

 

[Yeah No]

18 hours ago, Lugal said:

Respectfully, you're comparing apples to oranges here.  One branch of my family came over in 1696, the last was in 1864 and none came through Ellis Island.  There were no immigration laws then.  Basically once they stepped off the boat, they were legal.  The first immigration laws were the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.  Compare that to a friend of mine who tried to immigrate from France who filled out all the applications, consulted with immigration attorneys crossed all the T's and dotted all the I's only to have a thirty second meeting with the consulate only to be told no (she did eventually get in and opened a business here)

Not to pick at your argument because I appreciate your point, but before immigration laws there were restrictions on who was eligible for citizenship prior to 1882. The Naturalization act of 1790 limited it to "Free white people" who were residents for at least two years.

From this website:

https://www.boundless.com/immigration-resources/the-history-of-us-immigration-policy-explained/

Quote

Early American Immigration Policies (18th-19th Centuries)

In the early years of the U.S., immigration was largely unrestricted and featured open borders. The country was vast and sparsely populated, and the government encouraged immigration to help settle the land and build the economy.

Citizenship, however, was only available to free white men who had lived in the U.S. for at least two years. The first major piece of U.S. immigration legislation, the Naturalization Act of 1790, established rules for U.S. citizenship and a pathway for immigrants to attain it. It limited citizenship to free white people, male or female, who had lived in the U.S. for at least two years, as well as their children. Black, Indigenous, and Asian individuals were not eligible for citizenship.

 

[tres bien]

1 hour ago, Dimity said:

But future historians will be quick to note that Kamala had a laugh that some found annoying.  It really explains it all.

First off to the from the “this was a pandemic I’m surprised more people didn’t die” comment 

Like your MAGA darling Joni Ernst said “we’re all going to die” 😡

As far as the hundreds of absurd excuses why people couldn’t vote for Kamala they have a problem saying the truth in public. She’s a woman and she’s a woman of color. Which I don’t understand because they usually will say anything and everything out loud 

But I guarantee that if she would have won she would have worked everyday to try to full fill the promises she made and not spent everyday destroying our country destroying our lives and lining her pockets off the government and people of America 

Edited Sunday at 04:03 PM by tres bien

[Dimity]

2 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

It's a very different attitude toward life and death. But I still think that in the case of most American Trump supporters it involves a huge case of denial and that if they could take their heads out of their asses about him they would be shocked into reality.

I keep waiting for the One Big Unforgivable Thing to happen that will shake most of them up enough to realize they've been had for fools.  Every now and then something happens - like that horrible post he shared about Biden having been executed in 2020 (good god) and I think "yep, that'll do it".  But it doesn't.

I think what it may come down to is no one wants to think of themselves as gullible or stupid.  They'll go down with the ship rather than admit they made a mistake.  A huge mistake.

[Yeah No]

10 minutes ago, Dimity said:

I keep waiting for the One Big Unforgivable Thing to happen that will shake most of them up enough to realize they've been had for fools.  Every now and then something happens - like that horrible post he shared about Biden having been executed in 2020 (good god) and I think "yep, that'll do it".  But it doesn't.

I think what it may come down to is no one wants to think of themselves as gullible or stupid.  They'll go down with the ship rather than admit they made a mistake.  A huge mistake.

Yep, me too on all counts. I keep thinking the next big thing will be the one that turns his supporters around en masse! But if the statistics posted above about his base's shrinking approval of him are any indication, it may be happening in small doses. Every person has their specific limit and pivotal "straw" that breaks the camel's back for them and as time goes on he keeps giving them more and more straws. I have to keep reminding myself that Rome wasn't built nor burned in a day. Bad analogy, I know!

[peacheslatour]

28 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

Yep, me too on all counts. I keep thinking the next big thing will be the one that turns his supporters around en masse! But if the statistics posted above about his base's shrinking approval of him are any indication, it may be happening in small doses. Every person has their specific limit and pivotal "straw" that breaks the camel's back for them and as time goes on he keeps giving them more and more straws. I have to keep reminding myself that Rome wasn't built nor burned in a day. Bad analogy, I know!

I'm so naive, I thought the Access Hollywood tape would do it. Boy, how far we have fallen.

[Yeah No]

28 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

Early American Immigration Policies (18th-19th Centuries)

In the early years of the U.S., immigration was largely unrestricted and featured open borders. The country was vast and sparsely populated, and the government encouraged immigration to help settle the land and build the economy.

I just wanted to address this briefly from that website I quoted in an earlier post. The Founding Fathers of our country struggled to live up to the highly universal ideals of the Declaration of Independence, which asserts that all men are created equal and endowed with certain unalienable rights, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. They understood that living up to these ideals was not easy in their time and place and they could only hope to aspire to it. It's something we still struggle with today, obviously. They knew that to be consistent with its sentiment, "men" would have to include women and that "all men" meant everyone on American soil and even beyond. They saw this country as a refuge from persecution and hardship of all sorts, political, religious, financial, etc. and they did not want to restrict people from coming here.

Thomas Jefferson, who penned those words is often criticized as a "hypocrite" as he was a slave owner that did not free most of his slaves even in his will. But he was struggling to live up to the very ideals he believed in and felt like a failure where he couldn't. Unfortunately, although he tried to introduce the abolishing of slavery as early as the Declaration he was shot down by others. He tried a few times and then gave up. Being a southerner, he knew he would die on that hill if he pushed to end slavery in his time, but he did hope that it would happen eventually. He was not up to that and some people consider that a failing, but he also knew he had other things to accomplish on behalf of the future of this country which would not have been possible had he dedicated himself to ending slavery. And for those things we should be grateful to him. After all, even decades after his death it took a bloody civil war to end it. But he took to heart what those words meant even though he couldn't be the one to put them into action, at least as far as that was concerned. So in that sense I forgive him.

And the same for immigration. Many people forget why their ancestors came here. I have ancestors that fought and died in the Revolution, some pretty well known. Some came here fleeing religious persecution and founded Hartford, CT. I have relatives that came here fleeing the Mafia and some who fled anti-Semitism. We dishonor our Founding Fathers as well as our ancestors when we demonize people that come here fleeing whatever they're fleeing even if they come in undocumented. I am not one that loves open borders and think we need to reform our immigration system, but I am very against the xenophobic, frankly racist attitude of MAGA. 

Also note that the principal reason Jefferson didn't free his slaves is that he was so in debt that he needed them to pay his estate's debts. It was something that made him feel like a failure. But in spite of that failing I think we still owe him a lot. The descendants of those slaves are enjoying the fruits of his labor now as free people. Jefferson and all the Founding fathers were ahead of their time and I think at least some of them knew it.

[shapeshifter]

57 minutes ago, Dimity said:

I keep waiting for the One Big Unforgivable Thing to happen that will shake most of them up enough to realize they've been had for fools. 

Experience (Nazi Germany, Cambodian Khmer Rouge, etc.) indicates that those complicit in the acts of a despicable regime need to see quantities of bodies of victims on their own country's soil to snap out of their delusion. 
And often not even that, with the US Civil War as an example.
Of course, with video media today, it could be different, but now AI-generated content makes it easy to doubt actual reality.
And as a country that already has what should be a mind-bogglingly high incarceration rate (statista.com/statistics/262962/countries-with-the-most-prisoners-per-100-000-inhabitants) — that serves in part to anesthetize us, I doubt the current generation of MAGAs will ever wake up. 
Rather, it seems there is an evolutionary advantage to emerging young adults rebelling against their parents' and grandparents' ways. 
Let's hope for that future.

Edited Sunday at 03:27 PM by shapeshifter
changed adjective to adverb

[StatisticalOutlier]

8 hours ago, Soapy Goddess said:

Quote

And, really, it is taking advantage of poor people to sell Trump bibles

Ok, you got me on that one. It's just as laughable as the gold sneakers. But at least I have a sense of humor about it. 

Maybe that's the dividing line--people who find that funny and people who don't.

[Dimity]

12 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

Maybe that's the dividing line--people who find that funny and people who don't.

Another dividing line, people who consider that acceptable behavior in their president and people who cannot believe anyone finds that  acceptable in their president.  

[shapeshifter]

13 minutes ago, Shrek said:

Actually anyone using these as a defense is pathetic because no matter what side you're on these 2 "defenses" are just extremely childish insults that belong on a playground rather than in an adult world. Just like the "let's go Brandon" & "TACO Trump" childishness.

True.
But also, as US Senator Cory Booker of NJ (who recently stood and delivered for 25 hours in eloquent protest of the policies of the current regime without resorting to childish name-calling) said this week:
“…politicians are important but poets are more important; artists [Comedians, musicians] are more important and…are vital to our community sustaining, but also to be inspired and engaged and activated in dealing with all the outrageousness that's going on” (https://youtu.be/FK74qsCysWY).

[Absolom]

10 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Donald Trump shared a post to his Truth Social account Saturday night that made some wild claims about former President Joe Biden.

How wild?

Well, the post Trump shared, from an account that has just more than 2,000 followers, read, “There is no #JoeBiden — executed in 2020. #Biden clones doubles & robotic engineered soulless mindless entities are what you see. #Democrats don’t know the difference.”

https://www.pennlive.com/news/2025/06/donald-trump-shares-post-claiming-joe-biden-was-executed-replaced-by-clones.html

 

10 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

He was elected to lead, not to read.

You're screwing with us, right? Please tell me you're screwing with us.

(hitting Facebook, reading first post: a Friend sharing a post about the President's post)

Holy living fuck.

We're screwed. We're all screwed. It'd be great if the Republicans would swap out the real thing for a puppet, but too many of them are in love with him to ever think about replacing him, even if it means getting more free reign in how they can run things.

Seriously, they could bring out James Austin Johnson or Sean from What We Do In The Shadows for Dave-type shenanigans, and barely anyone would notice because the real thing is already a grotesque parody of a human being.

 

10 hours ago, anony.miss said:

Before it's scrubbed, here it is:

eta: ...and Biden is the one with the worrisome mental issues? Hey Tapper, wanna do your fucking job for once? Try reporting on the mental stability of the man signing off on the idea that Biden was executed and replaced by clones and robots. That's the man who currently has the power to launch a nuclear attack, not Biden, you fucking shit for brains "journalist".

All of this I recognize.  It's exactly like my mother in stage 4 Alzheimer's with psychosis.   She would tell us how the FBI had taken over her computer, how a neighbor had his legs removed and reattached shorter, and how at an intersection with a stop light she always had the right of way.  Yep, Biden was a robot fits the bill exactly.  

Please to the world, anyone talking about Biden's mental issues, please wake up and smell the coffee.  It's hot and plenteous.