Chit-Chat: The Feels

[Annber03]

2 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

Thank you. I don't like the idea that Dems have to dumb themselves down to appeal to more people.  It plays into the right's narrative that Dems are elitists. 

This. And it's also an insult to lower-class people like myself who aren't alienated by the Democrats' supposedly "elitist" way of speaking. Being lower-class doesn't automatically make you stupid, after all. 

I don't give a damn whether or not a political candidate is a "regular guy/woman" or went to an Ivy League school, or whether or not I can "have a beer" with them or any of that bullshit. I just want them to do their fucking job. I want them to protect people's rights and promote policies that benefit the country and the world at large. That's it. 

Edited March 7 by Annber03

[Milk-Eyed Mender]

5 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

Also shows why we desperately need comprehensive sex education in schools. 

By the time the current occupant of the White House is done dismantling public education and replacing it with looney faith-based charters, sex education will only occur when 17 year old Dick ravages 14 year old Jane underneath the bleachers. 

[peacheslatour]

3 minutes ago, Milk-Eyed Mender said:

By the time the current occupant of the White House is done dismantling public education and replacing it with looney faith-based charters, sex education will only occur when 17 year old Dick ravages 14 year old Jane underneath the bleachers. 

Just like Jesus would have wanted.

/s - just in case.

[bluegirl147]

1 hour ago, peacheslatour said:

What baffles me more than Trump's lets face it, scant education, is his father's immense wealth. His "gold" plated palaces and rich playboy lifestyle in NYC, doesn't even faze them. The "he's just like us" delusion is like a kind of blindness.

To put it bluntly it's because he is dumb and eats McDonald's. Let's face it. If he hadn't been born into a rich family he either would have died in Vietnam or he would be part of the poor white men crowd who thinks they should have accomplished more in life if not for the women and people of color who took things they should have had.

1 hour ago, Dimity said:

 

I remember with Bush it was "he seems like the kind of guy you could have a beer with" but with Trump let's face it even they must see that "he's the kind of guy who would expect you to pick up the cheque".

Bush was dumb too.  I'm seeing pattern here.

39 minutes ago, Anela said:

MAGA mocked AOC for being a bartender.  Her mother was a a house cleaner, and a school bus driver.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez#:~:text=After college%2C Ocasio-Cortez moved,Bronx in a positive light.

To be fair they would have hated her just for being a Hispanic woman.

 

[bluegirl147]

Maybe Andy Beshear Governor of Kentucky will run in 2028.  Democrats have had luck running Democratic governors from southern states.

[Dimity]

2 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

Musk leaving the White House after a contentious meeting in the Cabinet room with Trump and Rubio.

He's wearing a suit.  Wonder who told him to dress like a business man instead of a teen hacker.

[partofme]

2 hours ago, Yeah No said:

No, Dems. don't have a monopoly on elitism, but then again the Republicans have Trump who somehow doesn't come off as elitist despite his education, which is the reason why where he went to school doesn't matter to his base. He comes off like a "regular non-college educated guy" while Pete definitely comes off as college educated.

I don't think you can put Pete and Trump in the same universe intellectually and back when Trump went to UPenn pretty much any affluent white guy with connections could get into an ivy league school. And his first two years were spent at Fordham, which is my alma mater and not an ivy league school. We don't know what his grades were but we know he didn't graduate with any honors either. And no way could anyone put him on the same intellectual level with any Rhodes Scholar let alone Pete. Any elitism Trump benefitted from was due to his gender, race and affluence, not his education, his intellect or his demeanor. Which is why he doesn't come off as an elitist snob at all and why his base loves him.

And the only reason Vance seemed OK to the MAGA crowd is his trying to capitalize on being a poor kid that grew up in and knew all about poverty in Appalachia, which many people from that area complain that he didn't grow up in and doesn't know about. But is he really all that "relatable" to them? Not really, which is why he is basically riding the coattails of Trump's appeal to the "masses". Even among Republicans there is no one that appeals to them like Trump does.

And speaking of why Trump went to Fordham first, I am sure it was because back in 1964 it was easy to get into right before the Baby Boom kids came of college age en masse, and women and minorities started entering college in record numbers. When I went there in the late '70s through today it became much harder to get into. Although I could have gone to a tougher school I chose to go there for several reasons. I can see why he transferred out, though. It was definitely not the place for the likes of him!

Oh I agree that Trump is nowhere near as bright as Pete, and it’s been rumored that Trump never showed up on campus at UPenn and had someone else take his tests for him, but he’s still an Ivy League graduate and since Republicans including Trump hate education, he shouldn’t be allowed to ignore this.  My mom is also a Fordham alum, she went for undergrad and her masters and my mom is a few months older than Trump so she may have overlapped with him there, but my mom went to a downtown campus that is no longer open.  I got into Fordham but I really wanted to go to college out of state, I hated the idea of being under an hour from my family at that age.  

[Soapy Goddess]

7 hours ago, Yeah No said:

No disrespect, but I just can't see how it's worth sticking with Trump when there could be so many better Republican candidates (and people) to take up those issues that you and many other Republicans are looking to have addressed. I see nothing wrong with being concerned about the American economy - so am I, but punitive tariffs that are going to create havoc and backfire anyway are not the way to do that. And many Democrats are concerned about immigration too, but again, Trump's heavy-handed, racist way of approaching it is again not humanitarian nor is it going to work in the long run.

I'm sure there will be plenty of better Rep candidates when the time comes. But in the meantime, DJT is our President...and like it or not, many of us respect the office. One may not like his policies or his in-your-face way of doing business, but IMO he's done exactly what he said he was going to do by closing the border. This was his biggest platform and he's doing precisely what 75 million U.S. citizens wanted and expected him to do.

[Dimity]

2 minutes ago, partofme said:

it’s been rumored that Trump never showed up on campus at UPenn and had someone else take his tests for him,

Had someone take tests for him, had other guys go to war instead of him.  Yep, that tracks.

[annzeepark914]

I just caught up on all the posts from this afternoon & good God Almighty...it's so damn depressing. "W", another Bush born with a sterling silver spoon in his mouth, being perceived by so many of my fellow Americans as a great guy "to have a beer with"?  I remember being shocked & disgusted, back in 2000, reading that gem. Trump, a total nebbish, causes six (6!) bankruptcies, but is perceived as a successful businessman? The same guy, who's constantly grifting/trolling for donations, is perceived by millions of Americans as a "billionaire"? (per Mike Blumenthal: "I know all the billionaires in NYC and Trump is definitely not one of them"). I'm worn out. Wish I could convince MrP914 to move to Canada (our good neighbors!) or Ireland or England. 🤬

 

[Soapy Goddess]

6 hours ago, Dimity said:

Only Trump gets away with being Trump.  It will be interesting to see if the Republicans actually figure that out for 2028.

I really hope so, because the division of our country is hurting all of us.

[Eri]

1 hour ago, Dimity said:

He's wearing a suit.  Wonder who told him to dress like a business man instead of a teen hacker.

Haha! The White House has really struggled to explain what lane Musk is occupying because they continue to say, he's the "face"/ "head" of DOGE whilst he is working side by side with cabinet members who have only been in office for a couple of days/weeks.  They convened the cabinet this week specifically to tell them very publicly that they, not Musk, are in charge of cuts at their agencies, and that Musk is only serving in an advisory role (on paper). In that same statement to the press, the president says "if they don't cut, then Elon will do the cutting." Kind of the opposite message. Who has the final say here when it comes to the federal workforce? TBD!

Oh, and Musk still hasn't divested from any of his businesses that conduct billions of dollars in federal contracts. Convenient conflict of interest...

Edited March 8 by Eri

[Soapy Goddess]

5 hours ago, tres bien said:

And yes stop cozing up to Hollywood. I don’t care who they support they don’t speak to people that lives depend on working for minimum wage and working more than one job. The average person can’t relate to them 

Agree 100%...starting with George Clooney. Like you said, the average person can't relate to any of the Hollywood crowd. And yet they sit in their mansions high on a hill preaching as if their word is gospel.

[kittykat]

1 hour ago, peacheslatour said:

True enough. Joe Biden was great because he really came from a blue collar town and a working class family. He was was the real deal. Guys (lets be real, it's gonna be a guy)  so this list of top contenders will never fly-

Gretchen Whitmer – Governor of Michigan - nope, woman.

Raphael Warnock – Junior Senator of Georgia- nope, black

Pete Buttigieg – Former mayor and previous Transportation Secretary - nope, gay

Josh Shapiro – Governor of Pennsylvania - maybe but Jewish

Jared Polis – Governor of Colorado - remains to be seen.

Wes Moore – Governor of Maryland - ditto

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – U.S. representative of New York (and likely de-facto representative of the Progressive wing) - nope, woman, too progressive

So, who is it going to be ? Newsome? I don't think so.

Oh God not Newsom.  I'm from California originally and all my blue friends and family are not Newsom fans.  Too old guard establishment.

I think all of the above would be good contenders.  I just wish, as a whole, society that we could evolve to the point where we look at any potential candidate on just merit and not factor being black, female, gay etc. into their viability to win.  That shouldn't matter.  If I agree with your policies I'll vote for you.  Just because I'm a woman doesn't mean the woman automatically gets my vote.  Just because a woman is running doesn't mean men will lose stuff.  I know we probably have to run milquetoast white guy to procure any chance of taking the White House back but that shouldn't be the factor in our candidate.  But that means a lot of people in this country have to evolve in that line of thinking.

[Dimity]

1 minute ago, kittykat said:

Just because I'm a woman doesn't mean the woman automatically gets my vote.  Just because a woman is running doesn't mean men will lose stuff.

We are about to get a new PM because Trudeau has resigned and March 9 is when the decision will come down as to which of the candidates will get the nod.  Much as I want a woman to win I am rooting for a guy, partly because I do think he's the best candidate but also because I think he's got the best chance of keeping Trump Light (Poilevre) out of the PMs office in the next election.  Because, yeah, we're a lot more like the US than we'd like to admit sometimes.

[anony.miss]

47 minutes ago, Soapy Goddess said:

I really hope so, because the division of our country is hurting all of us.

Divisiveness is what happens when a rapist, convicted felon, and insurrectionist is voted into the presidency - that's an immoral circle that will never be squared.

 

Edited March 8 by anony.miss

[ebk57]

51 minutes ago, Soapy Goddess said:

 many of us respect the office.

Too bad the guy in the office doesn't respect it.  Hard for the rest of us to do so.

[PRgal]

32 minutes ago, Dimity said:

We are about to get a new PM because Trudeau has resigned and March 9 is when the decision will come down as to which of the candidates will get the nod.  Much as I want a woman to win I am rooting for a guy, partly because I do think he's the best candidate but also because I think he's got the best chance of keeping Trump Light (Poilevre) out of the PMs office in the next election.  Because, yeah, we're a lot more like the US than we'd like to admit sometimes.

Mark Carney is the ONLY ONE who can beat Nerd Boy.  As you know, Dimity, I was a long time Conservative voter.  I think I voted for Harper's government at least once.  To me, at that time, it was the lady-like thing to do because university really shook me and I had a distaste for anything remotely "liberal."  Maybe it was just my upbringing of never really having to worry about...stuff.  I dunno.  

[Soapy Goddess]

19 minutes ago, anony.miss said:

Divisiveness is what happens when a rapist, convicted felon, and insurrectionist is voted into the presidency - that's an immoral circle that will never be squared.

 

Hating 75 million Americans doesn't help the cause either.

Edited March 8 by Soapy Goddess

[Dimity]

14 minutes ago, ebk57 said:

Too bad the guy in the office doesn't respect it.  Hard for the rest of us to do so.

 

The White House just released a group photo of Trump and his new cabinet

[Annber03]

16 minutes ago, ebk57 said:

Too bad the guy in the office doesn't respect it.  Hard for the rest of us to do so.

Yep. I have much respect for the office of the presidency, but the person occupying said office has to actually earn my respect. And there is not a single damn thing Trump has done thus far, be it in this presidency or in his first go-round, that has made him worthy of earning any respect. 

Or, to put it more succicntly, we'll show Trump the same amount of respect the GOP showed, say, Obama when he was president. Fair? 

1 hour ago, bluegirl147 said:

Bush was dumb too.  I'm seeing pattern here.

Hell, we can go back as far as Quayle (and probably even earlier, for that matter). Quayle, Bush Jr., Sarah Palin, Trump...it's basically been a game of "Hold my beer" these last few decades with the GOP to see which presidential/vice-presidential candidate from their party can be the dumbest person alive. 

 

Edited March 8 by Annber03

[annzeepark914]

2 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

True enough. Joe Biden was great because he really came from a blue collar town and a working class family. He was was the real deal. Guys (lets be real, it's gonna be a guy)  so this list of top contenders will never fly-

Gretchen Whitmer – Governor of Michigan - nope, woman.

Raphael Warnock – Junior Senator of Georgia- nope, black

Pete Buttigieg – Former mayor and previous Transportation Secretary - nope, gay

Josh Shapiro – Governor of Pennsylvania - maybe but Jewish

Jared Polis – Governor of Colorado - remains to be seen.

Wes Moore – Governor of Maryland - ditto

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – U.S. representative of New York (and likely de-facto representative of the Progressive wing) - nope, woman, too progressive

So, who is it going to be ? Newsome? I don't think so.

You forgot Pritzker. Is he "baggage"-free? His State of the State address was quite impressive, considering the dicey situation our country is in right now. I agree...no women candidates (and that sickens me 🤬). But this is war, now. No more of that, "When they go low..." blah blah blah. We need tough as nails candidates who can take on the wussy maga candidates...and beat 'em!

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, anony.miss said:

Divisiveness is what happens when a rapist, convicted felon, and insurrectionist is voted into the presidency - that's an immoral circle that will never be squared.

 

He is only doing what Putin tells him. A dived America is Putin's dream come true.

[Makai]

1 hour ago, Soapy Goddess said:

Hating 75 million Americans doesn't help the cause either.

Since one of their causes is to hate me, I’m good with it. - Sincerely, a non-white, woke, childless cat lady

[peacheslatour]

2 minutes ago, Makai said:

Since one of their causes is to hate me, I’m good with it. - Sincerely, a non-white, woke, childless cat lady

It's not just a matter of how they feel about others. I could live with that and never give it a thought. It's what they DO to people. Bringing their religion into public schools, don't like it? We'll just get rid of public schools. Crawling into women's bodies? Don't like it? Don't try to leave the state if you're a female human of child bearing years.  Throwing normal, hardworking Americans out of work. Don't like it? Don't be brown.

[Yeah No]

6 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – U.S. representative of New York (and likely de-facto representative of the Progressive wing) - nope, woman, too progressive

And also a minority to boot.

6 hours ago, Annber03 said:

This. And it's also an insult to lower-class people like myself who aren't alienated by the Democrats' supposedly "elitist" way of speaking. Being lower-class doesn't automatically make you stupid, after all. 

I don't give a damn whether or not a political candidate is a "regular guy/woman" or went to an Ivy League school, or whether or not I can "have a beer" with them or any of that bullshit. I just want them to do their fucking job. I want them to protect people's rights and promote policies that benefit the country and the world at large. That's it. 

I'm with you but obviously it matters to a lot of voters out there so it's a problem the Democratic party will have to address in order to be successful at winning the White House again. 

And it's not necessarily all about "stupidity" either. It's about "relatability" and being "down to earth" versus acting like a snob and above the average person. And that is irrespective of intelligence or economic class level.

My parents were not college educated (my mother eventually went to college and grad. school over the age of 40) and didn't make much money but they were both extremely intelligent. So I am well acquainted with this issue first hand.

5 hours ago, partofme said:

 My mom is also a Fordham alum, she went for undergrad and her masters and my mom is a few months older than Trump so she may have overlapped with him there, but my mom went to a downtown campus that is no longer open.  I got into Fordham but I really wanted to go to college out of state, I hated the idea of being under an hour from my family at that age.  

I couldn't afford to go away to college unless I went to a state school but Fordham interested me for several reasons and it was more affordable so that's where I went. And I did enjoy it despite some issues with the place. I also worked there for 10 years in undergrad. admissions while going to grad. school there so I had a long relationship with the place. It's hard to believe I entered the Bronx campus 10 years after Trump left. But thanks to a lot of social change that happened in that decade it was a very different place than when he went there. He definitely wouldn't have liked the socially liberal views and values the Jesuit professors I knew had at that time. Perhaps that's one reason why he left.

[tearknee]

8 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

True enough. Joe Biden was great because he really came from a blue collar town and a working class family. He was was the real deal. Guys (lets be real, it's gonna be a guy)  so this list of top contenders will never fly-

Gretchen Whitmer – Governor of Michigan - nope, woman.

Raphael Warnock – Junior Senator of Georgia- nope, black

Pete Buttigieg – Former mayor and previous Transportation Secretary - nope, gay

Josh Shapiro – Governor of Pennsylvania - maybe but Jewish

Jared Polis – Governor of Colorado - remains to be seen.

Wes Moore – Governor of Maryland - ditto

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – U.S. representative of New York (and likely de-facto representative of the Progressive wing) - nope, woman, too progressive

So, who is it going to be ? Newsome? I don't think so.

Do you think i want any of this? No, I don't. To quote the third Doctor Who, I'd give anything to save you all. But what happened to me over the last several decades has left me with a rough and hard vision of what people are actually like (that because of the stroke damage and my autism meaning i cannot see the psychological masks people use does not help in a lot of ways - people become unsettled and hostile about that :'( )

7 hours ago, Annber03 said:

This. And it's also an insult to lower-class people like myself who aren't alienated by the Democrats' supposedly "elitist" way of speaking. Being lower-class doesn't automatically make you stupid, after all. 

I don't give a damn whether or not a political candidate is a "regular guy/woman" or went to an Ivy League school, or whether or not I can "have a beer" with them or any of that bullshit. I just want them to do their fucking job. I want them to protect people's rights and promote policies that benefit the country and the world at large. That's it. 

the way people vote in secret in the booth is a better indication of how they actually think. Yes, you are lower class - but Amanda Marcotte, the blogger, grew up in rural Texas. Her views as an adult are not typical of the area she grew up in.

[tres bien]

There isn’t a MAGA in America that will accept the facts that Joe Biden won the 2020 election fair and square (and plenty of “republicans “ too)

They still insist the election was stolen and that for four years someone or other people were running the government 

When people are fed these insane lies 24/7 by their #1 source of news and believe them with a weird conviction then how’re the rest of us expected to get through to them. If they don’t hear news from those news sources it’s fake news

Looking at the democrats landscape today for 2028 it’s a desert. It’s almost like Joe Biden was the dems last chance of a white male candidate that is just a regular guy. The overall electorate seems to abhor any one of color, a female or a non straight person being fit to be president 

 

Edited March 8 by tres bien

[anony.miss]

13 hours ago, kittykat said:

Exactly I'm so sick of the double standards the parties are held to. .

Preach! MTG and Boebert screamed at three SOTUs - where were the right wing calls for censure due to respect for the office of the presidency? And can you imagine the level of right wing fury if AOC had been caught groping her date's genitalia in a theatre with kids in attendance?

 

Edited March 8 by anony.miss

[tearknee]

6 minutes ago, tres bien said:

There isn’t a MAGA in America that will accept the facts that Joe Biden won the 2020 election fair and square (and plenty of “republicans “ too)

They still insist the election was stolen and that for four years someone or other people were running the government 

When people are fed these insane lies 24/7 by their #1 source of news and believe them with a weird conviction then how’re the rest of us expected to get through to them. If they don’t hear news from those news sources it’s fake news

Looking at the democrats landscape today for 2028 it’s a desert. It’s almost like Joe Biden was the dems last chance of a white male candidate that is just a regular guy. The overall electorate seems to abhor any one of color, a female or a non straight person being fit to be president 

 

"Big picture" versus "for all of us" hurts marginalized politicians and activist leaders there.

Few voters anywhere in the anglosphere believe any claims that you will govern for Podunk, AR when you are going on about giving marginalized people fistfuls of cash as 'reparations' for something that is inchoate and incomprehensible to Struggle Street -- and most importantly, lots of cash that these majority of voters *know* that *they* won't be getting.

Thinking like an intellectual and not like a normal person who thinks with emotion is why things have got to this point (and also why Take Our Daughters to Work Day happened, and the Ms. Foundation's (that created it) intended -- and very much *wanted* parallel day for young boys, didn't.).

[tres bien]

10 hours ago, Dimity said:

We are about to get a new PM because Trudeau has resigned and March 9 is when the decision will come down as to which of the candidates will get the nod.  Much as I want a woman to win I am rooting for a guy, partly because I do think he's the best candidate but also because I think he's got the best chance of keeping Trump Light (Poilevre) out of the PMs office in the next election.  Because, yeah, we're a lot more like the US than we'd like to admit sometimes.

I sincerely hope the next Canadian PM has the balls to go face to face with Trump and tell him to go to hell

As your neighbor to the south in Minnesota we have a a kinship with our northern neighbor 

His constant bullying of Canada is so over the top crazy it practically makes my head explode 

This week the NYT reported that Trump signaled in trade talks with Trudeau that he was looking into annexing the Great Lakes and possibly eastern Ontario because he doesn’t believe that the 1908 treaty that set the boarder between the two countries was valid 

I’m sure he can’t achieve that with an EO and if it requires an act of congress probably 60 votes the chances of that happening are low. But the fact that he says these ignorant kinds of things every day the fact that the NYT and the like report these fever dreams by an incompetent man serving as president is unbelievable

Maybe while he holds court every day sitting behind the Resolute Desk disgracing the office and the country the press should go chase ambulances instead 

[bluegirl147]

1 hour ago, tres bien said:

 

His constant bullying of Canada is so over the top crazy it practically makes my head explode 

This week the NYT reported that Trump signaled in trade talks with Trudeau that he was looking into annexing the Great Lakes and possibly eastern Ontario because he doesn’t believe that the 1908 treaty that set the boarder between the two countries was valid 

I’m sure he can’t achieve that with an EO and if it requires an act of congress probably 60 votes the chances of that happening are low. But the fact that he says these ignorant kinds of things every day the fact that the NYT and the like report these fever dreams by an incompetent man serving as president is unbelievable

 

The media reporting his insane ramblings with a straight face is a big problem.  There are people who aren't dialed into politics and current events the way all of us here are and when they hear about the ludicrous things he wants to do being reported like it's just a simple news story and not the delusions of the idiot in chief it gives it a serious consideration it doesn't deserve.

2 hours ago, tres bien said:

 

Looking at the democrats landscape today for 2028 it’s a desert. It’s almost like Joe Biden was the dems last chance of a white male candidate that is just a regular guy. The overall electorate seems to abhor any one of color, a female or a non straight person being fit to be president 

 

I would love for Sherrod Brown former senator from Ohio to run.  But he doesn't have a high profile outside of the tri state area. 

[tres bien]

Well hooray for Bernie who’s been on his fighting oligarchs tour!

[PRgal]

On 3/7/2025 at 5:54 AM, anony.miss said:

Trump's America:

"According to research from the University of Alabama, Alzheimer's disease disproportionately affects the Deep South, where states like Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina see significantly higher rates of dementia."

https://www.newsweek.com/map-shows-states-highest-alzheimers-deaths-1968557

...he's conning the people who voted for him, who would have benefited most from the "transgender mice" studies.

This has me wondering:  are these states not only lower income on average, but have more so-called “food deserts?”  Nutrition plays a big role in lowering instances of dementia, they say.  
 

That said, I didn’t realize the US didn’t have an “official” language until maybe a few years ago, and I had to look it up to find out.  English and French are Canada’s official languages and it’s in our constitution. 

[Milk-Eyed Mender]

Per the BBC, a pro-Palestinian group has vandalized the president's Turnberry golf property. I don't approve of this sort of thing, but I understand it. Since he's loudly and proudly declared a desire to raze Gaza and turn it into a playground for the wealthy, actions such as this are bound to happen. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr52q7l6drdo

Edited March 8 by Milk-Eyed Mender
Reworded for clarity

[Is Everyone Gone]

About ACB, she's pro-life, but she has voted several times in ways you wouldn't necessarily expect. For one, she voted to uphold a ban on conversion therapy. She was one of 4 dissenting justices in a capital punishment case.

In other words, she doesn't rubber stamp any MAGA talking point. So of course the MAGAs now hate her.

[Milk-Eyed Mender]

18 million in 7 weeks? Does anyone have the phone number for DOGE?

[Dimity]

18 minutes ago, Bliss said:

On his first trip after retaking office to California, Nevada, and, ultimately, his Doral golf resort, reporters aboard Air Force One asked Trump if he would be playing golf on that trip. “No. I don’t think so. I’m busy,” he said.

Two days later, a Fox News reporter posted photos of him playing golf at his Doral course.

When even Fox news shows you up as a liar...

[tres bien]

4 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

We told you. We all told you. 

Yes we did 💁

And I have no sympathy or feelings of empathy for any of them 

[Dimity]

It's International Women's Day - too DEI for the Trump White House to acknowledge or will they at least be going through the motions?

[Ohiopirate02]

24 minutes ago, Is Everyone Gone said:

About ACB, she's pro-life, but she has voted several times in ways you wouldn't necessarily expect. For one, she voted to uphold a ban on conversion therapy. She was one of 4 dissenting justices in a capital punishment case.

In other words, she doesn't rubber stamp any MAGA talking point. So of course the MAGAs now hate her.

Well technically, being a pro-life Catholic means from the womb to the tomb, and the Church is against capital punishment. She just may well be someone who read past the anti-abortion section. 

[Ohiopirate02]

4 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

"Let's be clear on the facts," Richard Grenell, a Trump administration diplomat, said in a post via X. "Seller and Lin Manuel first went to the New York Times before they came to the Kennedy Center with their announcement that they can’t be in the same room with Republicans. This is a publicity stunt that will backfire."

The only poltiical stunt that will backfire is the purging of the Kennedy Center board and replacing it with Trump loyalists. Now they can have their own performing arts center for Kid Rock and Lee Greenwood to perform. Broadway still exists and people can still get their musical theater fix there  or catch a touring company in another city. 

[Makai]

3 hours ago, fairffaxx said:

Would ignoring the person who quoted the ignored poster prevent the ignored content from being displayed?  I'm going to try that.

Yes. There is another option that does require some work and vigilance when you are scrolling, Check the username on quoted posts before you read the content and if it someone you want to ignore hit the down arrow next to the quote heading and the quote will fold up. 

1 hour ago, tres bien said:

Yes we did 💁

And I have no sympathy or feelings of empathy for any of them 

Send them thoughts & tariffs. 

[Milk-Eyed Mender]

Peaches, those are brutal. Here is the perfect addendum to the last one, from columnist Doug Saunders, @dougsaunders.bsky.social

"I’d like to announce my forthcoming US history book, covering a decisive but tumultuous era in that country’s history, titled “The trade policies of the United States: 10:30 am to 1:30 pm on Friday, March 7, 2025” It will be 400 pages."

[Is Everyone Gone]

35 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

Well technically, being a pro-life Catholic means from the womb to the tomb, and the Church is against capital punishment. She just may well be someone who read past the anti-abortion section. 

She might also be pro-life in thinking that all lives have value, including LGBT people.

[tearknee]

Trump just signs whatever gets put in front of him and then the real rulers laugh once they are out of the room.

[Dimity]

40 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

The only poltiical stunt that will backfire is the purging of the Kennedy Center board and replacing it with Trump loyalists. Now they can have their own performing arts center for Kid Rock and Lee Greenwood to perform. Broadway still exists and people can still get their musical theater fix there  or catch a touring company in another city. 

I'm still not sure how he thinks this will backfire on Lin-Manuel.  Along with winning a Pulitzer, a few Tonys and a handful of other awards he's already a Kennedy Centre  Honouree. 

Oh no maybe Trump won't invite him golfing...

Edited March 8 by Dimity

[Notabug]

12 minutes ago, Dimity said:

I'm still not sure how he thinks this will backfire on Lin-Manuel.  Along with winning a Pulitzer, a few Tonys and a handful of other awards he's already a Kennedy Centre  Honouree. 

Oh no maybe Trump won't invite him golfing...

Lin-Manuel's Hamilton has already grossed over $1 billion at the box office.  As author of the piece, he has earned over $100,000 weekly during the Broadway run, not counting any of the touring companies which also pay him part of their take.  Hamilton is now in its 10th year on Broadway, we can all do the math.  He also starred in the original Broadway production and the Disney channel special, but that's small potatoes compared to the rest.

I really don't think Lin-Manuel Miranda is worried that MAGA is going to bankrupt him or destroy his career or legacy.

Edited March 8 by Notabug

[Lugal]

1 hour ago, tearknee said:

Most importantly, "Palestine" has no territory over which is exercises sovereignty, which is the most basic requirement of statehood. All of Judaea and Samaria (the West Bank) is controlled directly or indirectly by Israel, and Gaza is currently being fought over by Israel and Hamas. It is a puzzle how the "friends of Palestine" can on the one hand assert that Palestine is a sovereign state, while on the other hand denouncing the Israeli occupation of that state's territory.

Palestine is a state in Gaza and the West bank, but Israel has been undermining that sovereignty by illegally occupying and settling the West Bank since 1967 in violation of international law (UNSC Resolution 2334) and it illegally occupied and settled Gaza until 2005.

1 hour ago, tearknee said:

The main argument against recognition is that it would reward the Palestinian leadership for their decades of rejectionism and refusal to negotiate seriously with Israel to secure a real, as opposed to fake, Palestinian state. If the Palestinian leadership had been willing to give up their fantasy of destroying Israel and driving the Jews into the sea, there would have been a real Palestinian state decades ago - and a much bigger one than any they are likely to secure in the future. Rewarding Palestinian rejectionism with diplomatic recognition of their fantasy state would send exactly the wrong message.

The Palestinians rejected UNGA 181 because it violated the right to self determination of the Arab majority in Palestine (which was backed up by the 1947 UNSCOP Report in Chapter II, Paragraph 176). Because the Arabs rejected the takeover of half their country, Ben-Gurion used it an excuse to take more than half.  Palestinians did accept the 1967 borders and limited return of refugees.  Netanyahu has promised there would never be a Palestinian state for over a decade, and any limited self-rule arrangement would involve an IDF permanent presence in the West Bank.

For all the talk of Palestinian rejectionism, the counteroffers and proposals that Israel has rejected are never mentioned.  Shlomo Ben Ami, Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs and one of the main negotiators at Camp David later said: “Camp David was not the missed opportunity for the Palestinians, and if I were a Palestinian I would have rejected Camp David, as well.”

[ProudMary]

6 hours ago, tres bien said:

Looking at the democrats landscape today for 2028 it’s a desert. It’s almost like Joe Biden was the dems last chance of a white male candidate that is just a regular guy. The overall electorate seems to abhor any one of color, a female or a non straight person being fit to be president 

Many others here have shared this same opinion. I only quoted yours because it's fresh.

I disagree. US voters have already proven that they'll elect a person of color, not just once, but twice! Kamala Harris didn't lose because she's Black/Asian. She lost because she has a uterus. 

I first started to worry that VP Harris might lose when early voting opened in GA. Turnout was amazing across almost all the groups Dems would want to see, except one: Black men were turning out well below 2020 and nowhere near their turnout for 2008 and 2012. 

The majority of men in this country don't want a woman as president. Racism will always be an issue, but misogyny is also incredibly strong. I think the Dems should run a Black man in 2028. My personal choice would be Cory Booker, but others may emerge.

However, I'm kind of tired of reading about how the Democrats lost because they did this wrong, and this wrong, and this wrong. The Democrats lost because the Republicans suppressed the vote at every level. First, Citizens United. Then, SCOTUS gutting the Voting Rights Act because America dared to elect a Black man to the presidency twice. That made it easier to gerrymander CDs making it harder for Dems to keep the House. Purged voter rolls. Voter ID requirements. Polling places eliminated in areas where public transit exists, moving the new polling places to areas only  accessible by car. Not allowing church groups to bus voters to polling places on Sundays in areas that had early voting on Sundays. Ridiculous laws prohibiting people from distributing water to voters waiting in the resulting, incredibly long lines. Threats against election workers. SIXTY, count em, SIXTY bomb threats at Georgia polling places in predominantly Black districts. And much more.

If there is any chance of outvoting the suppression, the Democrats must find ways to sway the huge group of eligible people who consistently do not vote. I think this needs to be at a one-to-one level and truthfully, ups the tension a bit. When canvassing/door knocking, one is given a list of addresses in the area for residents who at some point in the past have shown themselves to lean Democratic. The conversation the canvasser engages in is probably going to be with a like-minded person. Moving forward, Dems need to engage with people who never vote. That's much tougher to do. More than a third of voting-age Americans just don't vote. I hope smarter people than I am are thinking about ways to reach them.