Chit-Chat: The Feels

[Gemma Violet]

2 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

As someone mentioned earlier the deportation process includes notifying the country of origin for the deportee.  They have to agree to have the person returned to their country.  What happens if a country says no? 

I read somewhere that any country who refuses would be banned from international trade with the U.S.  I can't remember where I read it and I don't know if it's been confirmed.

[bluegirl147]

3 minutes ago, Dimity said:

They will force poorer white kids into a choice between military service or working on farms for a pittance. 

That is what they want. 

Just now, Gemma Violet said:

I read somewhere that any country who refuses would be banned from international trade with the U.S.  I can't remember where I read it and I don't know if it's been confirmed.

Great more ways to punish consumers.

[Anela]

Trans-women were assaulted in Minneapolis, recently.  :(

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2024/11/two-trans-women-beaten-in-train-station-while-bystanders-cheered/
 

And I’ve just seen another post about people breaking down on TikTok, because they found out that Obamacare is the ACA, that provided healthcare for people they loved, or themselves.  

[peacheslatour]

18 minutes ago, fastiller said:

And they'll be astonished by just how expensive a plate of salad becomes.

Hahaha! Like they eat salad. When McDonalds triples theIr prices maybe they'll notice.

[bluegirl147]

3 minutes ago, Anela said:

Trans-women were assaulted in Minneapolis, recently.  :(

The trans woman from Maryland who was just elected to the House has to deal with Nancy Mace putting forth a bill that would make it mandatory members use the bathrooms for their gender assigned at birth.   Just when you think Mace can't go any lower she does.

5 minutes ago, Anela said:

And I’ve just seen another post about people breaking down on TikTok, because they found out that Obamacare is the ACA, that provided healthcare for people they loved, or themselves.

That has been happening for years.  Mitch McConnell purposely confused people in his own state.

[fastiller]

15 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

Hahaha! Like they eat salad. When McDonalds triples theIr prices maybe they'll notice.

Excellent point, well made.

14 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

The trans woman from Maryland who was just elected to the House has to deal with Nancy Mace putting forth a bill that would make it mandatory members use the bathrooms for their gender assigned at birth.   Just when you think Mace can't go any lower she does.

That has been happening for years.  Mitch McConnell purposely confused people in his own state.

So, I assume Nancy Mace will be okay with say, Elliot Page, or Chaz Bono, or Brian Michael Smith using the same restroom that she does.  Right?  I mean that's the logical conclusion.

[Anela]

I thought I saw something about Sherrod Brown asking DeWine to consider him for Vance’s senate seat, but I can’t find it now.  Sherrod says he hasn’t ruled out running for the seat in 2016.

[Dimity]

I keep reading about some Trump voters having buyer's remorse.  But is there one damn thing he's said post November 6th that he wasn't saying before then?  But these people, bad as they are, aren't nearly as bad as the ones still out there cheering him on with every cabinet pick and with every threat levelled against anyone who dared speak out against him.  Pure evil and they don't care.

Edited November 20 by Dimity

[bluegirl147]

3 minutes ago, Anela said:

I thought I saw something about Sherrod Brown asking DeWine to consider him for Vance’s senate seat, but I can’t find it now.  Sherrod says he hasn’t ruled out running for the seat in 2016.

Without Trump on the ballot Brown will probably win that seat.

[Ohiopirate02]

8 minutes ago, fastiller said:

So, I assume Nancy Mace will be okay with say, Elliot Page, or Chaz Bono, or Brian Michael Smith using the same restroom that she does.  Right?  I mean that's the logical conclusion.

Sadly, no they are not okay with transmen using the bathroom that aligns with the sex they were born with. It's about protecting women and girls from evil men, and anyone who presents as masculine gets caught in the crossfires. Cis women who suffer from PCOS and naturally have a mustache, butch lesbians, and nonbinary AFABs are all no longer safe in some women's restrooms.

[Avaleigh]

5 hours ago, Annber03 said:

He literally does not care that a supporter was shot and killed at one of his rallies. And his supporters still think he actually gives a damn about them. It's stunning.

How about the policemen who died as a result of January 6th? He doesn't GAF about these people or their families, but law enforcement still prefers Trump to Harris.

Same with the support he has for retired and active service people. He has made disgraceful comments about people who serve and have served our country, but they simply don't believe it even when other service people go on record saying that they heard this guy say these things about them being suckers and losers. They refuse to accept the evidence that suggests Trump has contempt for them especially those who have visible wounds and disabilities because of their service to our country.

At this point I'm starting to think if he took a dump on the lawn of one if his supporters they'd just say thanks for the manure.

[bluegirl147]

1 minute ago, Dimity said:

I keep reading about some Trump voters having buyer's remorse.  But is there one damn thing he's said post November 6th that he wasn't saying before then?  But these people, bad as they are aren't nearly as bad as the one's still out there cheering him on with every cabinet pick and with every threat levelled against anyone who dared speak out against him.  Pure evil and they don't care.

The ones that get me are the people Trump has insulted, belittled, damaged their careers and here they are championing him and his policies.  Meghan Kelly said her number one issue was what she called "trans insanity" with regards to gender affirming care for children.  These people are so fucking crazy they will happily go along with whatever nonsense he comes up with.  Speaking of crazy Guilani is asking to have his defamation trial postponed so he can go to Trump's inauguration.  

3 minutes ago, Avaleigh said:

but law enforcement still prefers Trump to Harris.

There is a lot of misogyny in law enforcement.  We see it all the time with male domestic abusers not being arrested and their female victims being told can't you guys just work it out.  We see female rape victims being told are you sure you want to ruin that guy's life. 

 

[Dimity]

18 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

These people are so fucking crazy they will happily go along with whatever nonsense he comes up with. 

Anyone who once wondered how Hitler could have happened need wonder no more.  We often hear about the resistance but we don't hear enough about the people who went along with what was happening - not just turned a blind eye but who actively participated.  We are seeing this now in the US.   Stupidity and ignorance, yes, but also wilful cruelty, people who are delighting in what is to come and who will be cheering it on.

[Absolom]

6 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I agree. I also think some people think that if Trump is so popular he can't be all that bad or millions of people wouldn't be such ardent supporters. So they're engaging their own form of "sanewashing" with him. And when the media also sanewashes him it only makes some people think he's really not all those things the "angry left" says about him. 

It reminds me of car shopping with my 16 year old daughter and the salesman said we've sold 30 million of these cars (or some similar number) and 30 million people can't be wrong.  My daughter chimed up with that's ridiculous of course they can.  That's the kind of thinking people are up against. 

[PRgal]

If he's going to denaturalize some people, would that include his own wife AND his VP's in-laws?  Something to think about.  

[peacheslatour]

14 minutes ago, PRgal said:

If he's going to denaturalize some people, would that include his own wife AND his VP's in-laws?  Something to think about.  

Not to mention his good friend Elmo. 😆

[Ancaster]

On 11/18/2024 at 12:11 PM, PRgal said:

What could happen to immigrants has A LOT to do with the economy.  Not only do they contribute to your labour markets, but they are also spending and contributing to it.  They need to buy groceries and other discretionary items, after all.  I agree that RFK Jr. is a scary choice to health, but at least he is supposedly looking into banning certain ultraprocessed ingredients in food, aligning it to that of, say, European countries (I'm notorious with label-reading.  My parents think I'm OTT/crazy, but I want to know what I'm feeding my family).  That's pretty much the only thing I agree with.  Otherwise, Mr. Wormbrain is, well, Mr. Wormbrain.  

Groceries are not discretionary.

[fastiller]

1 hour ago, Avaleigh said:

How about the policemen who died as a result of January 6th? He doesn't GAF about these people or their families, but law enforcement still prefers Trump to Harris.

Same with the support he has for retired and active service people. He has made disgraceful comments about people who serve and have served our country, but they simply don't believe it even when other service people go on record saying that they heard this guy say these things about them being suckers and losers. They refuse to accept the evidence that suggests Trump has contempt for them especially those who have visible wounds and disabilities because of their service to our country.

At this point I'm starting to think if he took a dump on the lawn of one if his supporters they'd just say thanks for the manure.

=&=

1 hour ago, bluegirl147 said:

The ones that get me are the people Trump has insulted, belittled, damaged their careers and here they are championing him and his policies.  Meghan Kelly said her number one issue was what she called "trans insanity" with regards to gender affirming care for children.  These people are so fucking crazy they will happily go along with whatever nonsense he comes up with.  Speaking of crazy Guilani is asking to have his defamation trial postponed so he can go to Trump's inauguration.  

There is a lot of misogyny in law enforcement.  We see it all the time with male domestic abusers not being arrested and their female victims being told can't you guys just work it out.  We see female rape victims being told are you sure you want to ruin that guy's life. 

 

 

And racism.  Same with the military.  

 

57 minutes ago, Dimity said:

Anyone who once wondered how Hitler could have happened need wonder no more.  We often hear about the resistance but we don't hear enough about the people who went along with what was happening - not just turned a blind eye but who actively participated.  We are seeing this now in the US.   Stupidity and ignorance, yes, but also wilful cruelty, people who are delighting in what is to come and who will be cheering it on.

[peacheslatour]

From ABC News, November 19, 2024

 

LONDON -- The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv temporarily closed its doors on Wednesday out of "an abundance of caution," as it warned that a potentially "significant" air strike may be coming.

"The U.S. Embassy recommends U.S. citizens be prepared to immediately shelter in the event an air alert is announced," the embassy said in an update.

A picture shows a view of the US embassy in Kyiv on May 18, 2022, as the embassy reopens after closing it for three months due to the Russian invasion.

Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images

MORE: Russia claims it shot down US-made ATACMS missiles and issues nuclear threat

The embassy said it had received "specific" information about the potential strike on Nov. 20.

The warning arrived amid fears that the war could escalate, a day after Ukraine's military first launched U.S.-made long-range ATACMS missiles toward targets within Russia. U.S. President Joe Biden had earlier this week given Kyiv permission for such strikes, U.S. officials told ABC News.

[Moose135]

On 11/14/2024 at 11:57 AM, Yeah No said:

Were you ever in the South in the 1960's? My Jewish grandfather lived there and I visited him often. I never heard anyone use those words in front of me.

I wasn't in the South in the 1960s. I arrived in Columbus, MS in December 1984 (after growing up on Long Island) for Air Force pilot training. A couple of months after getting there, wife and I went to look at new cars. Had one dealership owner tell us about the n-word workman who worked in the lot for him. We looked at one another wondering if we heard him right. Not long after, we were on a tour of some antebellum homes, and the tour guide pointed out a section of a stained glass window that didn't match. She said an n-word worker accidently broke it. Said 'back then, they would have hung him, but we just fired him...' Another couple in the group gave one another a look, and I whispered 'Yes, she really said that...'

Maybe you didn't hear it visiting your grandfather, but casual use of that language was still widespread not that long ago.

[peacheslatour]

6 minutes ago, Moose135 said:

I wasn't in the South in the 1960s. I arrived in Columbus, MS in December 1984 (after growing up on Long Island) for Air Force pilot training. A couple of months after getting there, wife and I went to look at new cars. Had one dealership owner tell us about the n-word workman who worked in the lot for him. We looked at one another wondering if we heard him right. Not long after, we were on a tour of some antebellum homes, and the tour guide pointed out a section of a stained glass window that didn't match. She said an n-word worker accidently broke it. Said 'back then, they would have hung him, but we just fired him...' Another couple in the group gave one another a look, and I whispered 'Yes, she really said that...'

Maybe you didn't hear it visiting your grandfather, but casual use of that language was still widespread not that long ago.

My husband's Texas relatives were here just a few years ago and I was astounded to hear them call someone a "J-- boy". I had never heard that term before and I was appalled. I never saw them again. whenever they came to town I always "had to work" that day.

[Bastet]

5 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

As someone mentioned earlier the deportation process includes notifying the country of origin for the deportee.  They have to agree to have the person returned to their country.  What happens if a country says no?

He shoves them into a private detention center where they will be used as slave labor.  So we'll still have a migrant labor force working the farms, they just won't have the pittance they used to be paid.  Or, you know, their freedom.

2 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

The trans woman from Maryland who was just elected to the House has to deal with Nancy Mace putting forth a bill that would make it mandatory members use the bathrooms for their gender assigned at birth.

And Marjorie Taylor Greene saying she'll beat her (but, of course, MTG does not refer to McBride as "her") up if she enters the bathroom when MTG is in there.  I don't know many workplaces in which you can threaten a coworker with physical assault and just keep on keepin' on, but the U.S. Capitol is one of them.

2 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

Meghan Kelly said her number one issue was what she called "trans insanity" with regards to gender affirming care for children.

Imagine how absolutely nuts and hateful you have to be to have your number one issue be gender affirming care for kids.  The hateful is obvious, but so is the nuts -- from 2017 through 2021, a little over 120,000 children ages 6 to 17 were diagnosed with gender dysphoria.  Of those, less than 5000 were prescribed puberty blockers.  Post puberty, about 15,000 were prescribed hormone therapy.  Surgery is uncommon in patients under 18; there were about 775 "top surgeries" and 56 "bottom surgeries".  This data comes from insurance records, so these are the numbers out of about 330 million patients.  Just over 20,000 treatments out of 330 million patients.  That's 0.67 percent.  That's her biggest issue?

[Anela]

I can’t add a link, but I’ve just seen that trump wants republicans to kill a bill that would protect journalists from the government. The Tennessee Holler posted a link to the Seattle Times. 
 

Quote

UPDATE: Trump is demanding Republicans kill the bipartisan PRESS ACT, which would ensure federal protection for journalists. “It would prevent authorities from abusing subpoena powers and protect reporters from being forced to reveal their sources.”

 

[Ohiopirate02]

13 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Imagine how absolutely nuts and hateful you have to be to have your number one issue be gender affirming care for kids.  The hateful is obvious, but so is the nuts -- from 2017 through 2021, a little over 120,000 children ages 6 to 17 were diagnosed with gender dysphoria.  Of those, less than 5000 were prescribed puberty blockers.  Post puberty, about 15,000 were prescribed hormone therapy.  Surgery is uncommon in patients under 18; there were about 775 "top surgeries" and 56 "bottom surgeries".  This data comes from insurance records, so these are the numbers out of about 330 million patients.  Just over 20,000 treatments out of 330 million patients.  That's 0.67 percent.  That's her biggest issue?

Do those figures also contain the surgeries done to intersex children and any gender affirming care given to cisgender kids to make them present more in line with current gender societal expectations? The second is worded badly, but I do know cisgender kids do receive gender affirming care all the time there's just no fuss about it. Probably because the care is designed to make the children more like your typical boy or girl, or your typical man or woman. Because a lot of procedures done by plastic surgeons are technically gender affirming care like breast implants or hair transplants.

I also think we needs to be more up in arms as a society to circumcisions done by non-Jewish parents because "foreskin, ew" than less than 1,000 kids getting gender affirming surgeries.

[Dimity]

Sigh,  the only positive in all this is my sister has finally stopped bitching about Trudeau.  It took putting a fascist in the White House so silver lining...

[EtheltoTillie]

6 hours ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

From what I have gathered so far, the first wave of people to get denaturalized would be those born in the US from "illegal" parents. I really don't know the criteria that will be used to differentiate those born from undocumented immigrants or non-citizen parents.

It's not going to be people born in another country who followed all of the byzantine rules to become citizens that are going to get denaturalized at least at first.

You can’t really call that denaturalization. Those people have birthright citizenship, so they were not naturalized. I know they want to end birthright citizenship for so called anchor babies, the US born children of undocumented people, but can they go back and retroactively remove those citizenships of zillions of people or just attempt to change it going forward?  That might be an impossible goal. I won’t go into more legal details. It’s a mess really but the law has always been interpreted to allow it.  they just don’t like it and call them anchor babies. Denaturalization is reserved for people who obtained naturalized citizenship by fraud such as green card marriage. 

[peacheslatour]

17 minutes ago, Anela said:

I can’t add a link, but I’ve just seen that trump wants republicans to kill a bill that would protect journalists from the government. The Tennessee Holler posted a link to the Seattle Times. 
 

 

From NPR, November 20, 2024

Heading into a second term, New Yorker editor David Remnick says Donald Trump's anger "has been never so intense as it's been against the press." The president-elect has referred to the news media as the "Enemy of the American people," has threatened retribution against outlets that have covered him negatively and has suggested that that NBC, CBS and ABC should have their licenses revoked.

Marty Baron, the former executive editor of the Washington Post, says he expects the incoming administration "to go after the press in every conceivable way ... [using] every tool in the toolbox — and there are a lot of tools."

"I think [Trump's] salivating for the opportunity to prosecute and imprison journalists for leaks of national security information — or what they would call national security information," Baron says. "I would expect that he would deny funding to public radio ... and TV. And that he will seek to exercise control over the Voice of America and its parent company, the U.S. Agency for Global Media, as he did in his previous administration, trying to turn it into a propaganda outlet."

[Anela]

2 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

From NPR, November 20, 2024

Heading into a second term, New Yorker editor David Remnick says Donald Trump's anger "has been never so intense as it's been against the press." The president-elect has referred to the news media as the "Enemy of the American people," has threatened retribution against outlets that have covered him negatively and has suggested that that NBC, CBS and ABC should have their licenses revoked.

Marty Baron, the former executive editor of the Washington Post, says he expects the incoming administration "to go after the press in every conceivable way ... [using] every tool in the toolbox — and there are a lot of tools."

"I think [Trump's] salivating for the opportunity to prosecute and imprison journalists for leaks of national security information — or what they would call national security information," Baron says. "I would expect that he would deny funding to public radio ... and TV. And that he will seek to exercise control over the Voice of America and its parent company, the U.S. Agency for Global Media, as he did in his previous administration, trying to turn it into a propaganda outlet."

Thank you.  I don’t know why I can’t link with my iPad, most of the time.  

[peacheslatour]

Just now, Anela said:

Thank you.  I don’t know why I can’t link with my iPad, most of the time.  

I can't with my Chromebook either. Because I'm an idiot, mostly

[Ohiopirate02]

1 minute ago, EtheltoTillie said:

You can’t really call that denaturalization. Those people have birthright citizenship, so they were not naturalized. I know they want to end birthright citizenship for so called anchor babies, the US born children of undocumented people, but can they go back and retroactively remove those citizenships of zillions of people or just attempt to change it going forward?  That might be an impossible goal. I won’t go into more legal details. It’s a mess really but the law has always been interpreted to allow it.  they just don’t like it and call them anchor babies. Denaturalization is reserved for people who obtained naturalized citizenship by fraud such as green card marriage. 

From what I have read, this is what the Trump team is calling it. I know words have meaning especially in the legal world, but this is Donald J. Trump here. He's never going to use the correct terms and he will change the definition of a word to fit his agenda. And so will his team. They want to strip birthright citizenship from the people they deem "unworthy." I truly do not know if they will succeed on this because once the lawyers get involved the words will actually matter. I also wonder how far back they are going to go to figure out who has the right to be an American citizen. Are they just going to look at the status of the parents when the child was born or are they going to go back further? Back to a time where immigration was more free because that can pose some problems for many white Americans

This is also an issue I see with the Right when it comes to abortion. The medical field also has a dictionary where words mean specific things and you cannot differentiate between a D&C done after a spontaneous abortion (miscarriage) and a D&C done for a scheduled abortion. It's the same exact thing, but try telling that to the pro-lifers.

[Lantern7]

Saw a truck trailing a Trump flag. Saw another truck parked and probably selling merch.

What can be said to those people? They fucking won. “I hope your wives run away with men more ethnic and endowed than you”? “I hope your kids explore ‘forbidden’ lifestyles”? That would be petty. Also, I’m hoping guys like that have no one in their lives.

[EtheltoTillie]

23 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

From what I have read, this is what the Trump team is calling it. I know words have meaning especially in the legal world, but this is Donald J. Trump here. He's never going to use the correct terms and he will change the definition of a word to fit his agenda. And so will his team. They want to strip birthright citizenship from the people they deem "unworthy." I truly do not know if they will succeed on this because once the lawyers get involved the words will actually matter. I also wonder how far back they are going to go to figure out who has the right to be an American citizen. Are they just going to look at the status of the parents when the child was born or are they going to go back further? Back to a time where immigration was more free because that can pose some problems for many white Americans

This is also an issue I see with the Right when it comes to abortion. The medical field also has a dictionary where words mean specific things and you cannot differentiate between a D&C done after a spontaneous abortion (miscarriage) and a D&C done for a scheduled abortion. It's the same exact thing, but try telling that to the pro-lifers.

I understand what you mean about the language. We will see.  They have been proposing to end birthright citizenship for undocumented people for years but they really have never got past shouting about it, because the legal process would be impossible to even figure out where to start. 
As for the abortion problem, I really want to see some civil disobedience by the medical providers for these people. What would happen if such a doctor were arrested for murder for helping a woman with a failed pregnancy. My husband, who is a doctor, said this morning that it would be like the Scopes trial. 

Edited November 20 by EtheltoTillie

[Moose135]

12 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

What can be said to those people?

Say to them? I avoid even making eye contact with them.

[peacheslatour]

15 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

Saw a truck trailing a Trump flag. Saw another truck parked and probably selling merch.

What can be said to those people? They fucking won. “I hope your wives run away with men more ethnic and endowed than you”? “I hope your kids explore ‘forbidden’ lifestyles”? That would be petty. Also, I’m hoping guys like that have no one in their lives.

Go right now, this minute to Youtube and watch a video called You're Getting the Finger for Christmas by Dan Warren. It has some lovely things you can say to these people.

Edited November 20 by peacheslatour

[EtheltoTillie]

1 hour ago, Moose135 said:

I wasn't in the South in the 1960s. I arrived in Columbus, MS in December 1984 (after growing up on Long Island) for Air Force pilot training. A couple of months after getting there, wife and I went to look at new cars. Had one dealership owner tell us about the n-word workman who worked in the lot for him. We looked at one another wondering if we heard him right. Not long after, we were on a tour of some antebellum homes, and the tour guide pointed out a section of a stained glass window that didn't match. She said an n-word worker accidently broke it. Said 'back then, they would have hung him, but we just fired him...' Another couple in the group gave one another a look, and I whispered 'Yes, she really said that...'

Maybe you didn't hear it visiting your grandfather, but casual use of that language was still widespread not that long ago.

I thought I posted this response earlier but it maybe didn’t go through. My husband has a sibling who used to use the N word as did his late wife. We objected. He no longer uses it at least around us. Anyway this is New York, not the South. He did not learn this at home, as my husband didn’t learn it.  It was from neighborhood dirtbags.

Edited November 20 by EtheltoTillie

[MostlyContent]

32 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

but can they go back and retroactively remove those citizenships of zillions of people or just attempt to change it going forward?

I believe you are referring to the Citizenship Clause Doctrine in the constitution?  

https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/amdt14-S1-1-1-2/ALDE_00000812/#:~:text=Fourteenth Amendment%2C Section 1%3A,the State wherein they reside.

Changing that would require a constitutional amendment:  Amendments proposed by Congress or convention become valid only when ratified by the legislatures of, or conventions in, three-fourths of the states (i.e., 38 of 50 states).

I certainly can't foresee that happening, nor the need for it.  It seems to be one of those issues that only the more radical outliers that exist on both sides care to argue about.  (my opinion only)

[EtheltoTillie]

22 minutes ago, MostlyContent said:

I believe you are referring to the Citizenship Clause Doctrine in the constitution?  

https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/amdt14-S1-1-1-2/ALDE_00000812/#:~:text=Fourteenth Amendment%2C Section 1%3A,the State wherein they reside.

Changing that would require a constitutional amendment:  Amendments proposed by Congress or convention become valid only when ratified by the legislatures of, or conventions in, three-fourths of the states (i.e., 38 of 50 states).

I certainly can't foresee that happening, nor the need for it.  It seems to be one of those issues that only the more radical outliers that exist on both sides care to argue about.  (my opinion only)

Thank you. I knew it was a constitutional provision  but I didn’t add that. It’s the interpretation of that one clause, subject to the jurisdiction thereof, that is at issue. That’s what they’ve been talking about.
 

.  They  could attempt to have it litigated without an amendment. The current Supreme Court might bite.  They ended up interpreting the Second Amendment that way. But it would require them to start picking people and trying to remove their citizenship. And then what do you do with them? They were born here. What country will take them?   It’s a mess but all bets are off right now. Scary. 

Edited November 20 by EtheltoTillie

[EtheltoTillie]

Here’s a chilling thought. We went to the funeral of my cousin’s stepdaughter today.  Our Trump-supporting cousins, who live in another state, did not even call with a condolence or post on the Facebook page. Because they were miffed at the posts the first cousin had made regarding the election. We were all heartbroken and appalled. 

[tearknee]

2 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Here’s a chilling thought. We went to the funeral of my cousin’s stepdaughter today.  Our Trump-supporting cousins, who live in another state, did not even call with a condolence or post on the Facebook page. Because they were miffed at the posts the first cousin had made regarding the election. We were all heartbroken and appalled. 

I know people from both the left and the right in RL who do not like that i call out both of their sides things which are... economical with the truth.

 

I consider myself a hard-boiled pragmatist. Given my ABI and other life altering things, maybe that isn't surprising :(

Although my mom was my first bully and abuser, she was not the last.

[Eri]

10 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Saw a truck trailing a Trump flag. Saw another truck parked and probably selling merch.

What can be said to those people? They fucking won. “I hope your wives run away with men more ethnic and endowed than you”? “I hope your kids explore ‘forbidden’ lifestyles”? That would be petty. Also, I’m hoping guys like that have no one in their lives.

Those type of folks are sad and lonely people because they've alienated their families so instead they "speak" to random people, it's all they have. The best explanation I've come across is that individuals who are susceptible to this kind of thinking may be seeking to fulfill an underlying psychological need, such as a sense of community, alleviating loneliness, or finding a sense of purpose. 

 I recall a friend of mine was telling me how her brother's car broke down and the mechanic that helped them started rambling about Trump. This man didn't know them from Adam nor their political affiliation but felt compelled to rant anyway. He also mentioned how his daughter wouldn't talk to him anymore but he was going on and on about Trump. Gee, I wonder why? 🫠

11 hours ago, Bastet said:

He shoves them into a private detention center where they will be used as slave labor.  So we'll still have a migrant labor force working the farms, they just won't have the pittance they used to be paid.  Or, you know, their freedom.

Exactly - the prison pipeline is quite an enterprise and it wouldn't surprise me if private prisons stand to make a lot more money from all these deportations. It's all a business to them. I recall a fascinating radio segment I was listening to a few months back that was explaining how sheriff's offices are given outsized jurisdiction to become de facto "border agents" to question and detain any immigrants they deem "suspicious" until ICE could collect them. Basically, they are paid per diem to house undocumented immigrants in their jails, and in turn this makes them money for their county (jails cost a lot to upkeep after all). Their powers go unchecked and fly under the radar mostly too. I suspect now that Trump is back in office, he will rely more heavily on local law enforcement agencies for this plan because enforcing a police state is the only way to pull this off - more money pouring into immigration enforcement  translates into big bucks for these sheriff's departments, particularly for rural counties.

The book is called "The Highest Law In The Land: How The Unchecked Power Of Sheriffs Threatens Democracy" by Jessica Pishko if anyone is interested.

11 hours ago, Bastet said:

Surgery is uncommon in patients under 18; there were about 775 "top surgeries" and 56 "bottom surgeries".  This data comes from insurance records, so these are the numbers out of about 330 million patients.  Just over 20,000 treatments out of 330 million patients.  That's 0.67 percent.  That's her biggest issue?

You know how much anti-LGBTQ legislation was passed before 2021? Zero. Because this was a non-issue, before instigators like DeSantis and Abbott spent their time formulating a culture war bogeyman to distract people from the real issues.

Edited November 21 by Eri

[Spartan Girl]

1 hour ago, peacheslatour said:

Go right now, this minute to Youtube and watch a video called You're Getting the Finger for Christmas by Dan Warren. It has some lovely things you can say to these people.

Bless you.

 

[bluegirl147]

For all his talk about deporting immigrants I wouldn't be surprised if the end game wasn't always slave labor in private prisons.  These people are evil.

Whoever posted Elon Musk was going to fund primaries against senators who don't vote to confirm Gaetz you were right. ABC News had a quote from a Trump official saying just that.  My question is why do they have such a hard on to have Gaetz AG?  What the fuck do they have planned?

[Annber03]

3 hours ago, Moose135 said:

Not long after, we were on a tour of some antebellum homes, and the tour guide pointed out a section of a stained glass window that didn't match. She said an n-word worker accidently broke it. Said 'back then, they would have hung him, but we just fired him...' 

...wooooooooooooooooooow...

Holy shit. 

2 hours ago, Bastet said:

He shoves them into a private detention center where they will be used as slave labor.  So we'll still have a migrant labor force working the farms, they just won't have the pittance they used to be paid.  Or, you know, their freedom.

And the same people who support this are shocked, shocked, I tell you, when someone refuses to stand for the national anthem. I dunno, cal me crazy, but it's kind of hard to stand for an anthem whose lyrics are all about "the land of the free" when portions of the country's population are, y'know, NOT free. 

Quote

And Marjorie Taylor Greene saying she'll beat her (but, of course, MTG does not refer to McBride as "her") up if she enters the bathroom when MTG is in there.  I don't know many workplaces in which you can threaten a coworker with physical assault and just keep on keepin' on, but the U.S. Capitol is one of them.

SERIOUSLY. If I behaved like this at my job I'd be out so fast my head would spin. How and why the fuck are people like her allowed to get away with this shit without someone just coming in and tossing them out on the White House lawn? 

Also, Marjorie Taylor Greene really is a special kind of stupid. 

Quote

Imagine how absolutely nuts and hateful you have to be to have your number one issue be gender affirming care for kids.  The hateful is obvious, but so is the nuts -- from 2017 through 2021, a little over 120,000 children ages 6 to 17 were diagnosed with gender dysphoria.  Of those, less than 5000 were prescribed puberty blockers.  Post puberty, about 15,000 were prescribed hormone therapy.  Surgery is uncommon in patients under 18; there were about 775 "top surgeries" and 56 "bottom surgeries".  This data comes from insurance records, so these are the numbers out of about 330 million patients.  Just over 20,000 treatments out of 330 million patients.  That's 0.67 percent.  That's her biggest issue?

But remember, everyone! The reason Trump won this election was TOTALLY because of "economic anxiety" and the price of eggs. No racist/sexist/xenophobic/transphobic/homophobic reasons behind that support at ALL, nor any need to focus on the super creepy cultish devotion people have to him for some inexplicable reason, nope. Just people who are so concerned about their wallets. Y'know, like the last time he was in office. Every Trump supporter I've ever encountered immediately started in on ranting about women and minorities and transgender people and so on and the economy didn't come up once (at least, not in the way the media seems to believe it would for them. If it did come up, it was always in terms of what "those people" were supposedly getting in terms of financial/government aid and all the jobs they were apparently taking and whatnot).

But yeah. Sure. It's totally the economy. 

2 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Saw a truck trailing a Trump flag. Saw another truck parked and probably selling merch.

What can be said to those people? They fucking won. “I hope your wives run away with men more ethnic and endowed than you”? “I hope your kids explore ‘forbidden’ lifestyles”? That would be petty. Also, I’m hoping guys like that have no one in their lives.

And those same guys will sit there and whine about how they can't understand why women aren't flocking to them and seeing them as a valid dating option. Gosh, yeah, it's a real mystery. 

2 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

From NPR, November 20, 2024

Heading into a second term, New Yorker editor David Remnick says Donald Trump's anger "has been never so intense as it's been against the press." The president-elect has referred to the news media as the "Enemy of the American people," has threatened retribution against outlets that have covered him negatively and has suggested that that NBC, CBS and ABC should have their licenses revoked.

Marty Baron, the former executive editor of the Washington Post, says he expects the incoming administration "to go after the press in every conceivable way ... [using] every tool in the toolbox — and there are a lot of tools."

"I think [Trump's] salivating for the opportunity to prosecute and imprison journalists for leaks of national security information — or what they would call national security information," Baron says. "I would expect that he would deny funding to public radio ... and TV. And that he will seek to exercise control over the Voice of America and its parent company, the U.S. Agency for Global Media, as he did in his previous administration, trying to turn it into a propaganda outlet."

That's really, really fucking terrifying. 

[EtheltoTillie]

42 minutes ago, tearknee said:

I know people from both the left and the right in RL who do not like that i call out both of their sides things which are... economical with the truth.

 

I consider myself a hard-boiled pragmatist. Given my ABI and other life altering things, maybe that isn't surprising :(

Although my mom was my first bully and abuser, she was not the last.

What is ABI? 

[Blergh]

OK, I've been thinking about some of the stuff what's intended for the future, and I need to get this out: if anyone has first edition history books (complete with documentation), textbooks and/or documentaries on DVD [especially dealing with this histories of different ethnic groups,etc.] SAVE them as carefully as possible! Moreover, if one is a teacher, parent or guardian who doesn't want their children to have only a sanctioned bland bowlderized propaganda taught, please USE these materials whenever possible to teach as broad a scope of history as possible so that the youth will want to seek knowledge outside a tiny box that might be placed upon their imaginations.  And note that I said hard copies and personal CD's,etc. as I wouldn't be surprised if Musk were to attempt to wipe out as much electronic and online data that's contrary to propaganda as possible.

OK, as a child of academics, I HAD to get this out as best I could.

 

All right so that my post isn't entirely a bummer, I leave suggesting that posters might consider keeping the Serenity Prayer ( 'Accept what cannot be changed, change what I can and give me the wisdom to know the difference') and/or for those who might not want to consider that option, I think one might ponder what the late Christopher Reeve said he did after his horrific accident: he said that when he woke up  he ACKNOWLEDGED and screamed (as best he could) that his condition 's uck ed' for X number of minutes THEN after venting those emotions, he  would do his best to plan his day even and concentrate on what he COULD do!

I'm just asking everyone to try to keep from getting overwhelmed and gloomy so that we (and/or our progeny) may survive and overcome as much as possible.

That's all for now!

Edited November 22 by Blergh

[fairffaxx]

When I asked, I was told it meant "acquired brain injury".

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

Do those figures also contain the surgeries done to intersex children and any gender affirming care given to cisgender kids to make them present more in line with current gender societal expectations?

The linked study was limited to pediatric patients with a gender dysphoria diagnosis. Practitioners may not log this diagnosis when prescribing treatment.  Plus, because this was done studying insurance records, it does not include treatments not covered by insurance.  So the number is likely a little higher.  (But, of course, we're still looking at something that affects less than one percent of the U.S. population being the number one "issue" for someone who is not transgender and does not have a transgender child.  This is, as @Eri aptly put, "a culture war bogeyman to distract people from the real issues".)

[EtheltoTillie]

56 minutes ago, fairffaxx said:

When I asked, I was told it meant "acquired brain injury".

Thanks.  I actually could not find it by googling. I am familiar with the term TBI but not ABI. 

[bluegirl147]

26 minutes ago, Bastet said:

  This is, as @Eri aptly put, "a culture war bogeyman to distract people from the real issues".)

They always have a boogeyman to distract from the real issues.   And their base falls for it every time.  They don't care that real people are hurt.  Just a means to an end for them.

[fairffaxx]

12 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Thanks.  I actually could not find it by googling. I am familiar with the term TBI but not ABI. 

Google was no help for me either -- TBI is what I've always seen, not sure whether it's the same thing.  Initialisms & acronyms often throw me, I've only just  lately begun to accept NASA & DUI.....