Chit-Chat: The Feels

[peacheslatour]

3 minutes ago, Liddy52 said:

We need to be mindful of stereotypes.  I am at minimum a 5th or 6th generation Southerner on both sides of my family.  I am fiercely anti Trump. My husband who was born and raised out West worships the ground Trump walks on . Yes, many Southerners are racist, and some could fit the description of trailer trash but to label us all as such is terribly unfair. Just because your in laws fit this stereotype does not mean all of us do and that some people in other areas of the country do not demonstrate some of these characteristics.  

Not to be too personal but how does a marriage like that work?

[Mollywolly555]

34 minutes ago, Liddy52 said:

We need to be mindful of stereotypes.  I am at minimum a 5th or 6th generation Southerner on both sides of my family.  I am fiercely anti Trump. My husband who was born and raised out West worships the ground Trump walks on . Yes, many Southerners are racist, and some could fit the description of trailer trash but to label us all as such is terribly unfair. Just because your in laws fit this stereotype does not mean all of us do and that some people in other areas of the country do not demonstrate some of these characteristics.  

Please don't misunderstand or accuse.

These are NOT MY stereotypes but the generalities I see in public media about Southerners, in GENERAL. Of course, there are differing individuals and groups as  everywhere. 

My husband's niece, born and raised in Louisiana is a gay, married to a woman, Methodist minister, now living in the west. She does not talk to her mother who supports Trump.

My father-in-law was an Lieutenant Colonel who served in VietNam has a MS and a Ph.D from Stanford. My MIL was an RN, as is a SIL.

Just curious, are there any significant liberal pockets in the South now?  Atlanta? I remember reading about the Highlander Folk School for civil  rights training in Tennessee in the 1930s through 70s. Anything like that recently?  Idk. I was just wondering. 

Edited Saturday at 04:13 PM by Mollywolly555

[Mollywolly555]

I've been trying to understand why someone would support T for a long time.  

Edited Saturday at 04:14 PM by Mollywolly555

[Dimity]

16 minutes ago, Mollywolly555 said:

These are NOT MY stereotypes but the generalities I see in public media about Southerners, in GENERAL. Of course, there are differing individuals and groups as  everywhere. 

We have the same thing in Canada but in our case it's with Newfoundland.  The generalities are not unlike many of the ones you cited about the South.  What it seems to boil down to is 'ignorant hicks with thick accents'.  I think that is changing here though, at least somewhat.  I don't see my children's generation jumping to the same conclusions about "Newfs" that my generation did.   

[Anela]

5 hours ago, tres bien said:

The Proud Boys are suing the DOJ for $1 million claiming “Political Persecution”

In March Trump said he was considering establishing a compensation fund for the January 6 rioters because “they were treated horribly” blah blah blah

The J6 terrorists claused $1.5 million in damages to the Capital (as well as human lives and suffering)

We’re all reaping what these people sowed

I read that they're suing the DOJ for 100 million. 

It's so fucked up. 

I have that glitch again, where the "post" button doesn't seem to work, so you keep pushing it.

Edited Saturday at 04:24 PM by Anela

[peacheslatour]

17 minutes ago, Anela said:

I read that they're suing the DOJ for 100 million. 

It's so fucked up. 

I have that glitch again, where the "post" button doesn't seem to work, so you keep pushing it.

I wonder if they'll wear their ICE masks to court?

[tres bien]

Is there no one who can or will ever stand up to Trump 

His  rampage of destroying America and the American way of life may be the scariest thing for me to deal with 

Yesterday when he said he’s thinking of cutting off federal funding to California targeting the University of California system it was again so over the top for a president to even consider that every inappropriate thing he says and does everyday makes our future look bleak and hopeless to me

 This is what he’s willing to do because he’s a weird vengeful lunatic who shouldn’t be anywhere near the White House 

In April of this year California was ranked as the 4th largest economy in the world if it was a considered a separate country. It surpassed Japan with only China and Germany having larger economies 

The University of California system has over 250,000 employees making it California’s 3rd largest employer 

We lived in Southern California for 16 years but that was 30 years ago now so I don’t have particular ties although many relatives living there

It’s just another show of his I’ll make blue states pay for how they’ve done me wrong

It’ll be interesting to hear from the MAGAs there although from what I read Rep Darrell Issa already has

 

Edited Saturday at 06:37 PM by tres bien

[DrSpaceman73]

28 minutes ago, kittykat said:

I'm not surprised, there's a whole subreddit devoted to delusional people who think J6 was a peaceful protest and think absolutely no wrongdoing happened.  The mental gymnastics and media outlets they choose to expose themselves to is astounding.

Or that J6 was a false flag liberal plot to make maga look bad

Which doesnt even make sense because If true why would trump pardon them all?   He'd pardoned a bunch of liberals trying to smear him?

[SoMuchTV]

1 hour ago, Dimity said:

We have the same thing in Canada but in our case it's with Newfoundland.  The generalities are not unlike many of the ones you cited about the South.  What it seems to boil down to is 'ignorant hicks with thick accents'.  I think that is changing here though, at least somewhat.  I don't see my children's generation jumping to the same conclusions about "Newfs" that my generation did.   

Haha, I just got back from some driving where I was stopped at a light behind a car with a plate with something like "NEWF EH".  (I think there was a number in there as well, so I hope nobody will try to dox them.)

[peacheslatour]

Welcome to the Fourth Reich.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/06/los-angeles-ice-raids-immigration

City mayor Karen Bass joins governor Gavin Newsom and others in denouncing arrests of at least 45 people

The Department of Homeland Security conducted raids on multiple locations across Los Angeles on Friday, clashing with the crowds of people who gathered to protest and prompting widespread criticism from California leaders.

Masked agents were recorded pulling several people out of two LA-area Home Depot stores and the clothing manufacturer Ambient Apparel’s headquarters in LA’s Fashion District. Immigration advocates said the raids also included four other locations, including a doughnut shop.

There has not yet been confirmation of how many people were taken into custody during the coordinated sweeps.

At an afternoon press conference, Angelica Salas, executive director for the Coalition of Humane Immigrant Rights, said at least 45 people were arrested without warrants.

“Our community is under attack and is being terrorized. These are workers, these are fathers, these are mothers, and this has to stop. Immigration enforcement that is terrorizing our families throughout this country and picking up our people that we love must stop now,” Salas told the crowd.

The protest only grew as the afternoon wore on. By 6pm local time, hundreds of people assembled around the federal building in downtown Los Angeles, where those taken into custody during the raids are being held.

[tres bien]

Well well well 

Seems cry baby in chief is now threatening richest man in the world telling NBC News 

Elon Musk “will face serious consequences if he funds democratic candidates”

Note to Musk: Just Do It

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, tres bien said:

Yesterday when he said he’s thinking of cutting off federal funding to California targeting the University of California system it was again so over the top for a president to even consider that every inappropriate thing he says and does everyday makes our future look bleak and hopeless to me…

Just listened to this week's "Radio Lab" program in my car via NPR on my way home, titled(?) "Hot Worms" and/or "The Age of Aquaticus."
https://radiolab.org/podcast/hot-worms
It's about 45 minutes, but totally worth it. 
If science is hard for you to follow (like finance is for me), just listen to the last 10 minutes.
See also the transcript:
https://podscripts.co/podcasts/radiolab/the-age-of-aquaticus
including:

Quote

…Universities are suddenly having billions of dollars  of research suddenly pulled. You know, there was a big diabetes program. There was at Columbia, there was a program on, you know, studying chronic fatigue.

Starting point is 00:32:59
These had been going on for years. They're gone. No one's in those labs, just empty? They're gone, they're gone. No one's in those labs, just empty? They're gone, they're shut down. Things are happening on all fronts. Carl says a lot of the cuts to scientists and basic research are coming in the form of broad cuts at government agencies. For example, the Trump administration has put forward a budget in which NASA's science

Starting point is 00:33:22
budget would be cut in half, which experts have described as kind of an extinction level event for science at NASA. This is all the stuff that you read about in the newspapers, like what did we discover on Mars? Or there is a space telescope called the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. It is built.

Starting point is 00:33:46If it gets into space, it will be able to give us an incredible picture on the whole universe, including the evolution of galaxies and even better look at planets around other solar systems might help us find life on other solar systems. In the proposed budget, that telescope is dead. It gets no funding. It's just gonna sit there and do nothing.

Starting point is 00:34:06
Yeah. That's absurd. Then the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration's climate science program, that is being proposed to be shut down. Just shut down. Fully, fully. Shut down. The EPA.

Starting point is 00:34:22
At the EPA, they have research scientists who do science to understand the threats to human health. There's movements to have all 1,000 of them laid off. The EPA will not have a research science staff if this follows through. You know, the Centers for Disease Control, for example. The Centers for Disease Control used to have an office full of experts on lead poisoning. And in fact, Milwaukee has just had a lead poisoning emergency and they would like to have CDC send their experts. There are no lead poisoning experts at the CDC. They're just gone now. They've been fired.

Starting point is 00:35:00
What about, I mean, what about NSF, NIH? Yeah, NSF, their proposal is to cut it in half. And Department of Health and Human Services. That's the department that houses the National Institutes of Health. 10,000 people have been fired. That has included lots of people involved in doing basic research on biomedicine. And in one example, Carl told us about a group of scientists who've been working over the last several years. Trying to make a coronavirus vaccine

Starting point is 00:35:28
that is going to be able to give us some protection against other strains of COVID or maybe some entirely new coronavirus. They've made a lot of progress and a lot of their progress came with a deeper understanding of how the immune system works. So they've learned a lot of basic science along the way, and it has been delivering a lot of promise.

Starting point is 00:35:49
And that grant has just been pulled with no explanation. That research is now over. There are projects looking for antivirals for a range of different viruses that might start the next pandemic. That's been canceled, too, and those scientists aren't even sure if they'll be able to write up their results. Like you may not find out what they've done.

Starting point is 00:36:13
There's just too many to choose from. I mean, I've been talking with a researcher who has, you know, a massive program on understanding tuberculosis and the immune system. You know, this is the most deadly infectious disease we have these days. It kills over a million people a year. His grant was canceled and honestly, he's not sure why. This huge program that could give us new insights

Starting point is 00:36:36
about tuberculosis and might eventually lead to new treatments is just gone, just gone. So there are definitely very short-term impacts of what this administration is doing. Cutting off the supply of drugs for HIV or halting a clinical trial potentially give a treatment for cancer. These people are in the middle of these trials

Starting point is 00:37:01
and they're just stopping. So those are really short-term things. I mean, is there some chance that businesses, like the private sector in general, would come in and fund all of this, like pick it up? Get back up? That's not great business. You'd be waiting a long time for those drug companies to pick up all that basic research that governments

Starting point is 00:37:26like the United States have been covering for decades. And a lot of this stuff, you know, when it's dropped, it's really difficult to ever start it up again. You don't bounce back from this sort of shock to the system. And you know, a system of searching for knowledge, there is so much that needs to be ready to go. Equipment, materials, administration, all the gathering up of research subjects, and then the scientists themselves. You know, there was a poll that Nature did recently. They've asked hundreds of scientists about, you know,

Starting point is 00:37:57
what effect all of this chaos is having on them and their thoughts about their future. And 75% of these American scientists said they have been thinking about maybe moving. Wow. Other people may just leave science. 35 years of being a science writer. I haven't seen anything close to this.… 

 

[Liddy52]

3 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Not to be too personal but how does a marriage like that work?

I guess it works because of being together 50 plus years, having children and grandchildren together,  and more things in common than divide us. He knows I think Trump is the worst person to ever hold office, but we kind of just agree to disagree. I keep thinking that one of these days this normally reasonable, generous, caring man will see the light. He's probably thinking the same thing. In the meantime we each go to the polls and cancel out the other's vote.

[Anela]

59 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

Welcome to the Fourth Reich.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/06/los-angeles-ice-raids-immigration

City mayor Karen Bass joins governor Gavin Newsom and others in denouncing arrests of at least 45 people

The Department of Homeland Security conducted raids on multiple locations across Los Angeles on Friday, clashing with the crowds of people who gathered to protest and prompting widespread criticism from California leaders.

Masked agents were recorded pulling several people out of two LA-area Home Depot stores and the clothing manufacturer Ambient Apparel’s headquarters in LA’s Fashion District. Immigration advocates said the raids also included four other locations, including a doughnut shop.

There has not yet been confirmation of how many people were taken into custody during the coordinated sweeps.

At an afternoon press conference, Angelica Salas, executive director for the Coalition of Humane Immigrant Rights, said at least 45 people were arrested without warrants.

“Our community is under attack and is being terrorized. These are workers, these are fathers, these are mothers, and this has to stop. Immigration enforcement that is terrorizing our families throughout this country and picking up our people that we love must stop now,” Salas told the crowd.

The protest only grew as the afternoon wore on. By 6pm local time, hundreds of people assembled around the federal building in downtown Los Angeles, where those taken into custody during the raids are being held.

Stephen miller is calling this “insurrection”. 🙄 So, I guess they get to be arrested, pardoned, and then sue the DOJ for 100 million dollars.  (The people who are fighting ICE.)

https://x.com/allenanalysis/status/1931429358855479298

Edited Saturday at 07:52 PM by Anela

[Lantern7]

19 minutes ago, Anela said:

Stephen miller is calling this “insurrection”. 🙄

Stephen can shut the fuck up and go back to hunting for human flesh by way of toilets. Looking at his Xtter pic . . . he’s even creepy when he smiles.

[Liddy52]

4 hours ago, Mollywolly555 said:

Please don't misunderstand or accuse.

These are NOT MY stereotypes but the generalities I see in public media about Southerners, in GENERAL. Of course, there are differing individuals and groups as  everywhere. 

My husband's niece, born and raised in Louisiana is a gay, married to a woman, Methodist minister, now living in the west. She does not talk to her mother who supports Trump.

My father-in-law was an Lieutenant Colonel who served in VietNam has a MS and a Ph.D from Stanford. My MIL was an RN, as is a SIL.

Just curious, are there any significant liberal pockets in the South now?  Atlanta? I remember reading about the Highlander Folk School for civil  rights training in Tennessee in the 1930s through 70s. Anything like that recently?  Idk. I was just wondering. 

I had a long reply typed out and poof it disappeared.  So I will try to remember all my " brilliant points!" 😂😂 Unfortunately I suffered a mild stoke 2 months ago and sometimes my short term memory isn't what I would like it to be. I am in rural Georgia.  Atlanta is indeed fairly liberal as I think Savannah can be. Macon and Augusta have lots of liberal voters. But even in my conservative rural area, I know many liberals,  both friends and family.  Remember that in 2020, Biden carried Georgia.  And our Republican governor and attorney General refused to bow to Trump's threats and demands to change the results.  And they both won reelection despite Trump backing other candidates and putting a bounty on their heads. They  certainly aren't liberal but they do at least have some principles! We do have that despicable Marjorie Taylor Greene and I am genuinely ashamed to have to admit she represents my district, although she is not from here. She moved here to get elected because she lived in a more liberal district.  And I can't figure out why people would ever vote for her, but they do. 

As an aside, everytime I see your screen name ( is that what you call it? I am not very tech savvy), it makes me smile. My daughter is Molly and has been called Mollywolly since she was little. Thanks for your thoughtful reply to my post.

Edited Saturday at 08:16 PM by Liddy52

[tres bien]

I hope middle and high schools are no longer advocating for STEM

There won’t be any science related jobs ever again at this rate in this country. We’ll have no medical research no scientific breakthroughs we’ll no longer be curious about the world around us or beyond us we’ll be a country of ignorant people that are pliable and that’s exactly what MAGA is counting on 

It’s truly heartbreaking in so many ways including for many of us personally 

[Annber03]

9 hours ago, tres bien said:

The Proud Boys are suing the DOJ for $1 million claiming “Political Persecution”

In March Trump said he was considering establishing a compensation fund for the January 6 rioters because “they were treated horribly” blah blah blah

The J6 terrorists claused $1.5 million in damages to the Capital (as well as human lives and suffering)

We’re all reaping what these people sowed

And again I ask, we're supposed to be kind and reach out to people like this...why? 

[tres bien]

I am a true believer that there aren’t any Trump voters that are having buyers remorse or that they will either never admit it will come up with excuses why the just couldn’t vote for Kamala or they’re low information voters who aren’t informed about the issues and don’t care anyway cause of her laugh or color or gender etc bs

Forget the voters that didn’t bother showing up because they might have been the ones that swung the election and I’m giving them less the time of day than the ones that thought it was a good idea to vote for him 

But what I feel certain about is that MAGAs are afraid of government that is more liberal and that trans people having rights or undocumented immigrants receiving due process is why we now have a government that is chaotic that our daily life is uncertain and that our president won’t stand up to tyranny 

Maybe Kamala wasn’t the perfect candidate but who is and at least she’s competent and she would have seen that America would have stayed on course and continued to be a place where people felt secure 

 

Edited Saturday at 08:55 PM by tres bien

[Annber03]

10 minutes ago, tres bien said:

I am a true believer that there aren’t any Trump voters that are having buyers remorse or that they will either never admit it will come up with excuses why the just couldn’t vote for Kamala or they’re low information voters who aren’t informed about the issues and don’t care anyway cause of her laugh or color or gender etc bs

Forget the voters that didn’t bother showing up because they might have been the ones that swung the election and I’m giving them less the time of day than the ones that thought it was a good idea to vote for him 

But what I feel certain about is that MAGAs are afraid of government that is more liberal and that trans people having rights or undocumented immigrants receiving due process is why we now have a government that is chaotic that our daily life is uncertain and that our president won’t stand up to tyranny 

Maybe Kamala wasn’t the perfect candidate but who is and at least she’s competent and she would have seen that America would have stayed on course and continued to be a place where people felt secure 

Yep. This is exactly how I feel, too. If any Trump supporters ever genuinely want to or do happen to finally see the light someday, fine, but yeah, I think the time for them to do so has long, long since passed. If fucking January 6th, of all things, wasn't the wake up call for them, then I can't think of anything that would be. 

Ironically, I think the only way MAGA supporters would ever actually break with Trump is if he became everything they hated - totally "woke" and being supportive of immigrants and LGBTQ+ rights and so forth. 

Regarding stereotypes, as someone living smack dab in the middle of "middle America" - the place that everyone loves to talk about as though we matter more than any other part of hte country - I can sympathize with the stereotypes others have to deal with about their part of the country. Yes, the states by and large here may often go red in elections, but I promise you there are plenty of us here in this part of the countrywho despise Trump and the GOP and everything they stand for, and who are very progressive minded. And I wish like hell the media and more policitians would actually acknowledge and focus on that fact, and give us more airtime for a change. We've already done the whole "interview rural Trump voters in a diner" stuff time and time again, you aren't going to learn anything new there, media outlets, they haven't changed, there's no deeper mystery to find beyond their support of the guy. How about a diner interview with those of us who live in smaller towns and cities and who can't stand what Trump and his cronies are doing to our country? Do our voices not matter, too? Maybe if we got more attention we might get enough support to flip our states to blue in more elections. 

The GOP thinks everyone in this part of the country naturally will agree with their stances on the issus, while the Democrats write us off as a lost cause 'cause they think their progressive/leftist views won't be welcome here. Both assumptions are wrong on so many levels. 

And we're not even going to get into the bullshit about how "middle America" is "real America", unlike those pesky "coastal elites". I hated that bullshit from the GOP during the Obama years and I hate it just as much now. Last I checked, we're all part of the "real America". 

[PRgal]

Just wondering: is anyone going to watch Goodnight and Good Luck on CNN tonight?  I have it preset to record since it starts just as we wrap dinner up.  

[annzeepark914]

Is anyone going to watch the live broadcast tonight of George Clooney's Broadway play, Good Night and Good Luck? 7:00 PM on CNN with a preview starting at 6:30 EDT. It's interesting that CBS didn't do this. Edward R. Murrow was the CBS News anchor in the '50s who took on Joseph McCarthy (when JM was smearing Americans, accusing them of being "commies"). I read that GC made a movie in 2005 that the play is adapted from so I looked it up at Amazon and clicked on the trailer. Wow...I want to see this movie. The tension in the CBS News dept seemed so familiar. It's in black & white. In 2005 we were dealing with Bush & Cheney and thought we had problems. 

[bluegirl147]

If there are any Trump voters with buyer's remorse it is/will be because they have personally been affected negatively.  They didn't think it would happen to them but they were fine with it happening to someone else. 

[tres bien]

19 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

Yep. This is exactly how I feel, too. If any Trump supporters ever genuinely want to or do happen to finally see the light someday, fine, but yeah, I think the time for them to do so has long, long since passed. If fucking January 6th, of all things, wasn't the wake up call for them, then I can't think of anything that would be. 

Ironically, I think the only way MAGA supporters would ever actually break with Trump is if he became everything they hated - totally "woke" and being supportive of immigrants and LGBTQ+ rights and so forth. 

Regarding stereotypes, as someone living smack dab in the middle of "middle America" - the place that everyone loves to talk about as though we matter more than any other part of hte country - I can sympathize with the stereotypes others have to deal with about their part of the country. Yes, the states by and large here may often go red in elections, but I promise you there are plenty of us here in this part of the countrywho despise Trump and the GOP and everything they stand for, and who are very progressive minded. And I wish like hell the media and more policitians would actually acknowledge and focus on that fact, and give us more airtime for a change. We've already done the whole "interview rural Trump voters in a diner" stuff time and time again, you aren't going to learn anything new there, media outlets, they haven't changed, there's no deeper mystery to find beyond their support of the guy. How about a diner interview with those of us who live in smaller towns and cities and who can't stand what Trump and his cronies are doing to our country? Do our voices not matter, too? Maybe if we got more attention we might get enough support to flip our states to blue in more elections. 

The GOP thinks everyone in this part of the country naturally will agree with their stances on the issus, while the Democrats write us off as a lost cause 'cause they think their progressive/leftist views won't be welcome here. Both assumptions are wrong on so many levels. 

And we're not even going to get into the bullshit about how "middle America" is "real America", unlike those pesky "coastal elites". I hated that bullshit from the GOP during the Obama years and I hate it just as much now. Last I checked, we're all part of the "real America". 

This

When CNN decided to have Kaitlyn Collins moderate a Town Hall in May of 2023 with Trump they lost me forever 

He bulldozed over her other republican candidates were ignored and the next day Anderson Cooper sat in front of the camera like a hostage lecturing us about getting out of our silos

We in middle America are always who they refer to as living in fly over country but the dems keep forgetting that the blue wall isn’t what it used to be 

Edited Saturday at 09:34 PM by tres bien

[fairffaxx]

5 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

Wow...I want to see this movie.

I rented a video of it soon after it was released & we enjoyed it.  My dad watched the Army-McCarthy hearings live on TV in 1954 (I was 7).

[fastiller]

I plan to watch tonight's broadcast.

I saw the original film in the theater and came out feeling like I reeked of smoke (there was a lot of smoking in the film). I wonder whether there's any/as much in the play.

There's a topic for it here.

[shapeshifter]

49 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

And again I ask, we're supposed to be kind and reach out to people like this...why? 

“Kill ‘em with kindness”?

Today when I was at my daughter’s house for a few hours, she and the littlest and I were in the kitchen while the 3-year old was whining at Dad in the adjacent living room; Dad called out the whining; immediately we heard the 3-year old calmly request to be picked up (which led to a snuggle in the recliner while watching TV together).

I remarked to my daughter how great their parenting style is (she smiled appreciatively) and added: 
I guess trump always had to yell and demand to get attention.

[peacheslatour]

5 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

“Kill ‘em with kindness”?

Today when I was at my daughter’s house for a few hours, she and the littlest and I were in the kitchen while the 3-year old was whining at Dad in the adjacent living room; Dad called out the whining; immediately we heard the 3-year old calmly request to be picked up (which led to a snuggle in the recliner while watching TV together).

I remarked to my daughter how great their parenting style is (she smiled appreciatively) and added: 
I guess trump always had to yell and demand to get attention.

When my son was small, he was not allowed to whine. All I had to say to him was "tone of voice" and immediately shut it off and it only happened a couple of times. He never did it again.

[Cementhead]

The only people that confound me more than the Americans who still support Trump are the Canadians who support him.  I just don't get it!  I work with an otherwise decent woman who is still defending him.  I wanted to scream at her last week, "why are you still carrying water for this man??!!" If I was a mean person I would remind her that Trump would think she was "too old and ugly" (like what he said about E. Jean Carroll, for example) to even matter, yet here she is defending his honour.  Unreal.

Edited Saturday at 10:15 PM by Cementhead
clarifying that I don't think she is old and ugly but that Trump would disparage her in that way like he has to other older women.

[lookeyloo]

25 minutes ago, PRgal said:

Just wondering: is anyone going to watch Goodnight and Good Luck on CNN tonight?  I have it preset to record since it starts just as we wrap dinner up.  

We are traveling but set it to record

[ProudMary]

1 hour ago, Liddy52 said:

I had a long reply typed out and poof it disappeared.  So I will try to remember all my " brilliant points!" 😂😂 Unfortunately I suffered a mild stoke 2 months ago and sometimes my short term memory isn't what I would like it to be.

When I know that I'm going to write a lengthy reply, I open the Notes app on my phone and write it there. As it saves what I've written automatically, I don't have to worry about it getting lost. When I'm finished writing, I just copy all I've written and paste it in the reply box here. Even if something goes wrong when I'm submitting it, I can always go back to the copy in my notes.

 

48 minutes ago, tres bien said:

Forget the voters that didn’t bother showing up because they might have been the ones that swung the election and I’m giving them less the time of day than the ones that thought it was a good idea to vote for him

While I completely agree with you about MAGA voters, I think the "Did Not Vote" people are the specific group we have to encourage. Of course, the Democrats are once again messing this up, as they seem to think that moving to the right is the way to win an election. This Politico piece is the one thst set my hair on fire the other day. With the exception of Pete Buttigieg, every other Democrat in this "think tank" might as well be an old-school Republican. Those who did not vote are looking for someone to vote "for", not against. 

😡

New think tank ‘Searchlight’ pushes Democrats toward more popular positions

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/03/dems-are-quietly-forming-a-think-tank-to-help-them-win-again-00381601

 

I saw the film version of Good Night and Good Luck in the theatre years back. Great film. I bought the DVD. David Strathairn played Murrow, with Clooney, who wrote and directed the film, playing CBS President Fred Friendly. I'll be watching the Yankees play the Red Sox, but I'm recording the live production for later. Strathairn was amazing as Murrow. It'll be interesting to see what Clooney does with the role, but the topic is so pertinent, it was important to bring it back.

[peacheslatour]

Such poise and dignity.

https://www.rawstory.com/elon-musk-2672236292/

A physical altercation between Elon Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent precipitated the Tesla founder's quick ouster from the Trump administration, according to a report.

The incident was previously reported as a "screaming match" between the two men, but the physical aspect has since been confirmed by The White House.

The U.K.'s Daily Mail interviewed former Trump adviser Steve Bannon about the DOGE-related scuffle.

 

"'Scott Bessent called [Musk] out and said, 'You promised us a trillion dollars (in cuts), and now you're at like $100 billion, and nobody can find anything, what are you doing?'' Bannon recounted. "And that's when Elon got physical. It's a sore subject with him. It wasn't an argument, it was a physical confrontation. Elon basically shoved him."

The altercation was confirmed by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Friday, the Mail reported.

EXCLUSIVE: Trump accused of new grift that puts Qatari plane in shade

In a statement, Leavitt said, "'It's no secret President Trump has put together a team of people who are incredibly passionate about the issues impacting our country. Disagreements are a normal part of any healthy policy process, and ultimately everyone knows they serve at the pleasure of President Trump."

[ProudMary]

17 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

A physical altercation between Elon Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent precipitated the Tesla founder's quick ouster from the Trump administration, according to a report.

So, maybe Bessant gave Musk the black eye? My money's still on Stephen Miller. Has anyone checked on Katie Miller's whereabouts?😄

[tres bien]

All of it fits right into the persona Trump likes to portray 

Tonight he’s going to a UFC match in NJ

[ProudMary]

1 minute ago, Bastet said:

Musk is an overgrown toddler, so of course it could have happened, but this is a tabloid interviewing a lunatic, verified by a known liar whose boss is currently involved in a twitter war with the (other) overgrown toddler. 

As so often is the case lately, I don't know if I should hit the cry reaction, the angry reaction, or the laugh one. They all could fit.

[ebk57]

1 hour ago, PRgal said:

Just wondering: is anyone going to watch Goodnight and Good Luck on CNN tonight?  I have it preset to record since it starts just as we wrap dinner up.  

I am watching.  I've also set it to record, but I think I'll watch on Max - just in case something breaks out in Los Angeles and CNN has to pretend they're an actual news channel.  Sigh...

[Anela]

I only have the CNN that's available through HBO Max, which apparently isn't what cable gets, so I don't know if I can watch tonight. 

Oh, it's 7pm now. I'm so tired. 

[ebk57]

3 minutes ago, Anela said:

I only have the CNN that's available through HBO Max, which apparently isn't what cable gets, so I don't know if I can watch tonight. 

Oh, it's 7pm now. I'm so tired. 

You should be able to watch on HBO Max.  

[Mollywolly555]

Thank YOU, Liddy 52, for the kind and extremely informative reply.

I am from a Midwestern state like Annber03, whose post I totally agree with.

I'm sorry to say that those same or similar stereotypes of the South are applied  to the Midwest, with the  addition of hick farmers, cows, and jokes about European immigrant settlers.

Sarah Smarsh is a great journalist raised in a poor rural area of Kansas. Her book,  Heartland:A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth, helped me see how white people, mostly  women, managed their lives to the best they could in a microcosm of patriarchal power and very low economic opportunities that world enable them to get ahead or get out. It's an eye-opening story of those flyover states and generational poverty  due to Big AG despite female strength. Smarsh also wrote a very enjoyable book about Dolly Parton and how her music inspired the women in her family. 

My family was suburban, barely middle class, in the state's largest city; typically the largest cities skew more liberal, and the outlying towns more conservative,  but not always.  I got away through higher education, and, much later moved to a big city in another state. Most of my family back there support T. They don't trust big government or women in power. They weren't racist before T, wth friends of color, but now they say they don't like immigrants getting more than them-- Thanks to Fox News. 

 

Edited Saturday at 11:15 PM by Mollywolly555

[Annber03]

1 hour ago, fairffaxx said:

I rented a video of it soon after it was released & we enjoyed it.  My dad watched the Army-McCarthy hearings live on TV in 1954 (I was 7).

Fun fact, Joseph Welch, the Army counsel who famously said this to McCarthy at those hearings:

Quote

Senator, may we not drop this? We know he belonged to the Lawyers Guild ... Let us not assassinate this lad further, Senator; you've done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?

...was from Iowa :). 

Where's our current Joseph Welch? Where's the person who can call out Trump and the pitiful cult members in Congress who are bending to his every whim like this? 

1 hour ago, tres bien said:

He bulldozed over her other republican candidates were ignored and the next day Anderson Cooper sat in front of the camera like a hostage lecturing us about getting out of our silos

God, yes, the "getting out of our silos" bit bugs me, too. The whole idea that those on the coasts need to temper their way of explaining issues or whatever 'cause those of us here in flyover country just couldn't possibly understand or relate to what they're talking about unless they explain it in "plain, simple folk" language is just...so condescending. 

[isalicat]

9 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Anyone that knows me, even here on this board, knows that I am a big proponent of personal responsibility. Just because I think it's only fair to consider a person's circumstances, which may involve victimhood to some degree, doesn't mean I excuse away their ultimate responsibility for their actions. I just think it can be mitigated somewhat in light of those circumstances and how they felt about them. I don't believe in throwing out one aspect in favor of the other. But of course the moderate "middle of the road" position is not popular these days. Either you're labeled a "bleeding heart" that excuses away all responsibility or you're 100% for blaming real victims for their problems. I'm not and never have been either one. I do understand your frustration with people that excuse away all personal responsibility but I don't believe that the answer is to go in the opposite direction and I just felt from what you have written that you were getting close to doing that. Just my opinion!

An excellent response...it is hard to have truly nuanced conversations via posting on a forum, particularly with the delay between posting and response. 

Nonetheless I would want to delve deeper into what you mean by "mitigated somewhat" and what that implies. In real life I always tend to give people the benefit of the doubt (not so much on line...) and I am rather moderate politically (which is why I can't support any of our U.S. political parties currently). So thank you and I wish all of us could sit down over a nice cup of tea and hash these things out.

 

[bluegirl147]

39 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

 

 

 

39 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

God, yes, the "getting out of our silos" bit bugs me, too. The whole idea that those on the coasts need to temper their way of explaining issues or whatever 'cause those of us here in flyover country just couldn't possibly understand or relate to what they're talking about unless they explain it in "plain, simple folk" language is just...so condescending. 

This.  That things need to be dumbed down so the "middle of the country" can understand is insulting.

[peacheslatour]

So, it begins.

https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/la-protests-ice-raids-stephen-miller-insurrection-b2765792.html

President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, said he plans to send the National Guard to Los Angeles to combat protests against ICE that began this weekend following immigration raids in the city.

“We are making Los Angeles safer. Mayor Bass should be thanking us. She says they are going to mobilize—guess what? We are already mobilizing. We are going to bring the National Guard in tonight,” Homan told Fox News.

His comments come after Senior White House adviser Stephen Miller railed against the protests, calling them an “insurrection” against the United States.

[Dimity]

5 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

“We are making Los Angeles safer. Mayor Bass should be thanking us. She says they are going to mobilize—guess what? We are already mobilizing. We are going to bring the National Guard in tonight,” Homan told Fox News.

Which National Guard?  Isn't this the call of the governor?

[ProudMary]

24 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

So, it begins.

Yes. Homan provides the might. Miller, the verbiage.

Meanwhile, in Washington D.C., the propaganda.

 

Edited Sunday at 12:46 AM by ProudMary

[annzeepark914]

How the hell many tanks? All for the parade? This is surreal.

[Absolom]

I'm praying for an almighty thunderstorm.

[ProudMary]

Californians and the rest of the US need more info than this,  Governor.

Feds moving to 'take over' California National Guard, Gov. Newsom says

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/live-blog/paramount-california-home-depot-protest-rcna211650#rcrd80997

As to the federalization of the National Guard, it's complicated.

The President’s Power to Call Out the National Guard Is Not a Blank Check

https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/presidents-power-call-out-national-guard-not-blank-check

 

[ProudMary]

29 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

How the hell many tanks? All for the parade? This is surreal.

This is from The Guardian as of May 30th:

We’re minimizing the horror of Trump’s military birthday parade

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/may/30/trump-military-parade-fascism?CMP=share_btn_url

The Washingtonian described in detail the street-damage-preventive measures the army is installing: metal plates under the parade route, rubber padding on the tank treads – though transportation experts warn that running, at last count, 28 Abrams tanks, 28 Bradley fighting vehicles, 28 Strykers, and four Paladins, each behemoth weighing as much as 70 tonnes, could buckle the asphalt and smash power, water and telecom lines underneath.

[ProudMary]

I follow many attorneys on BlueSky and this is what I've got so far. Trump invoked Title 10 to federalize the Guard. He did not invoke the Insurrection Act. 

Here is Joyce's Substack piece about the Insurrection Act.

https://joycevance.substack.com/p/the-insurrection-act

 

This is the Presidential Memorandum. 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/06/department-of-defense-security-for-the-protection-of-department-of-homeland-security-functions/