Chit-Chat: The Feels

[Is Everyone Gone]

41 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

Just tell her you never discuss politics. Why is she getting bullied (& why is this allowed by management?) 

She's a bit ... strange. She once asked me to make photocopies for her bc she's afraid of using the xerox machine. while I was running the copies she was standing next to me hysterically crying, saying she's a 'straightlaced Catholic woman' and that running copies is sinful.

So ... sort of eccentric and thus people at work make mean comments towards her. Not me, I'm always nice to her.

[Dimity]

Just now, Is Everyone Gone said:

she was standing next to me hysterically crying, saying she's a 'straightlaced Catholic woman' and that running copies is sinful.

As a Catholic woman (probably not straightlaced) I am shaking my head at this comment.  It makes absolutely no sense.  This lady might benefit from a few sessions with a good counselor.

In Canadian related news there has been a plethora of right wing pundits now moaning about how Trudeau "has taken a wrecking ball" to Canada with his recent resignation.  These are the same pundits who, last week, were demanding he step down.  And these pundits are the reason I will never believe a damn thing the right wing media spouts.

[peacheslatour]

From Politico today. I understand why the second half is being held back, because it concerns ongoing litigation against some co-conspirators. Looks like Mr. Garland finally found a piece of his spine in the sofa cushions or something.

Attorney General Merrick Garland intends to publicly release special counsel Jack Smith’s final report detailing evidence that Donald Trump criminally conspired to subvert the 2020 election and disenfranchise millions of voters.

But Garland will withhold from public release a second volume of the report describing Smith’s second case against Trump for amassing classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after leaving office in 2021.

[fastiller]

16 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

From Politico today. I understand why the second half is being held back, because it concerns ongoing litigation against some co-conspirators. Looks like Mr. Garland finally found a piece of his spine in the sofa cushions or something.

Attorney General Merrick Garland intends to publicly release special counsel Jack Smith’s final report detailing evidence that Donald Trump criminally conspired to subvert the 2020 election and disenfranchise millions of voters.

But Garland will withhold from public release a second volume of the report describing Smith’s second case against Trump for amassing classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after leaving office in 2021.

I sure hope Garland keeps a separate copy of that second volume, somewhere safe.

[Lugal]

On 1/7/2025 at 8:50 AM, tres bien said:

On Monday daddy posted on his social media that “that the people of Greenland will benefit tremendously if and when it becomes part of our nation.  Make Greenland Great Again!”

The funny thing is, Greenland is mostly Inuit used to Danish social democratic policies.  Looks like he's adding a new blue state.

18 hours ago, anony.miss said:

Like this liberalism run amok:

Watters: Canada... the fact that they don't want us to take them over makes me want to invade.  I want send a bunch of other, poorer Americans to fight and die to quench my imperialist thirst because I sure as hell won't be on the front lines!  Fixed it for you there, Watters!

And since Watters set me up so well, I'll just bust out one of my favorite quotes: To robbery, slaughter, plunder, they give the lying name of empire; they make a desert and call it peace.

4 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

Time and time again we hear them say "I didn't think it would  happen to me.  I thought only all those other people would be affected"

[peacheslatour]

Too bad about Zuckerberg banning fact checking from Facebook. So sad.

 

[bluegirl147]

59 minutes ago, fastiller said:

Wasn't Watters the one who committed vandalism to make a woman date him?  Whilst he was still married?

Yep that was him and that woman married him.

[Ohiopirate02]

20 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

Too bad about Zuckerberg banning fact checking from Facebook. So sad.

 

I am so glad that there are still enough people on Facebook to make this happen. I know Zuck mentioned switching to Community Notes similar to what Twitter does. One thing that cracked me up with those Community Notes on Twitter was how easily weaponized they were. Maybe still are, but I deleted the app back in November so I can't check. Tweets with obvious lies in them went viral not for the actual tweet but for the community note. It was glorious. I have no idea if Elon had his team figure out how to not make that happen or if the notes can still be used in this fashion.

[peacheslatour]

5 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

I am so glad that there are still enough people on Facebook to make this happen. I know Zuck mentioned switching to Community Notes similar to what Twitter does. One thing that cracked me up with those Community Notes on Twitter was how easily weaponized they were. Maybe still are, but I deleted the app back in November so I can't check. Tweets with obvious lies in them went viral not for the actual tweet but for the community note. It was glorious. I have no idea if Elon had his team figure out how to not make that happen or if the notes can still be used in this fashion.

I've never been on Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat. If I want to keep up with friends and family there are email, texting and phone calls.

[Bookish Jen]

On 1/6/2025 at 7:47 PM, Annber03 said:

So...don't read the thread. Problem solved. 

Also, once again, I would really, genuinely appreciate people stop downplaying the reactions from those of us who are stressed out and having difficulty sleeping and eating and whatnot because of the results of this election. We are about to get a guy back into office who litterally tried to overthrow a democratic election because he couldn't deal with the fact that he lost in 2020, and did nothing to stop his supporters from violently storming the Capitol building.

We are about to have a party back in office that actively wants to get rid of the ACA, which will cause significant pain and stress for those who benefitted from it these past fifteen years, and who may wind up going back to being unable to pay their medical bills. You'd think the people who supposedly voted for Trump because they complained about the price of eggs would sympathize with that particular economic struggle. 

We are about to have a party back in office that wants to strip LGBTQ+ people and women of their rights or have already been doing so. Women no longer have control over their reproductive choices in a lot of states, and if the GOP has their way, that'll soon be the case on a national level. LGBTQ+ people saw Roe overturned and are genuinely afraid of the Supreme Court overturning the ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in this country. 

We are about to have a party back in power that is beholden to autocrats like Putin, and super rich guys like Musk, and who will do their bidding instead of what the people of this country want.

We are about to have a party back in power that refuses to do shit about gun violence in this country, even after numerous mass shootings. And whose leader grossly mishandled a deadly pandemic that left thousands dead. But hey, sure am glad they're rushing to protect those fetuses! 

Like, if you genuinely cannot understand why all of the above terrifies the crap out of people and is causing them a lot of stress and anxiety, I honestly don't know what to tell you at this point. I know people who will be directly affected by all of the above. I will be directly affected by some of this stuff as well. This thread was created specifically for us to have a space to vent about this stuff so that we wouldn't clog up other places with it. If you are going to come here and read this, I will thank you to quit acting like our stress and concerns, al of which are based in very valid fears, are "tedious" to wade thorugh. 

Remind me again what Obama has done that's on the level of all of the above things Trump has done that makes the right need "a break" from him. The two scenarios are not even remotely comparable on any conceivable level and for anyone on the right to imply otherwise is hilarious. 

You know why I can't stand the Republican Party? Because of all of the above things I listed that they are doing or want to try and do under Trump. When they actually decide to do this when an election doesn't go theri way...

...instead of supporting and encouraging a violent coup attempt on our Capitol, then maybe I'll actually bother to respect them as a party again. 

And no, I can't respect Trump supporters. I just can't. I do not understand anyone who looked at the last nine years of insanity he's brought onto this country and who still thinks he deserves to be back in office. I do not understand anyone looking at him after the horrors of January 6th, 2021, and still deciding he was worth supporting. I can't and won't respect that. There is no valid justification or excuse for supporting someone who allowed that to happen. 

I wish I could love your post and your rebuttals a thousand times. You pretty much summed up everything I've been thinking about since Trump was reelected back in November.

This past Monday, I sat around in a deep malaise. I thought it was due to the post-holiday slump. I thought it was due to the cold, dreary weather. But no. I remembered it was Jan. 6 and Trump's election was going to be certified, and it was four years since the MAGA crowd caused a insurrection at the Capitol (those traitors).

I'm trying so hard to be positive, but it's so difficult. We went through one Trump regime, and it was disaster in so many ways. This time a majority of his inner circle, cabinet, and staff are unqualified, sycophants who do not have the best interests of most Americans in mind. I'm numb and scared. 

[tres bien]

💯. What Bookish Jen said

MAGA has spawned the worst in every one who kisses his ass, believes his lies, is so afraid of retribution that cowardly follow him and give in to asinine and absurd demands.

The Senate republicans will confirm his nominees that are unfit. Governors will implement anti abortion laws, reverse voting rights, crackdown on immigrants by putting them on buses and sending them to blue states because haha isn’t that funny and making a mockery of the basic things we took for granted but I guess that was an ignorant thing to do 

This horrible man will be sitting in the people’s house when we celebrate our 250th birthday. What will he do to make it all about him.  There’s a dark cloud coming that will hang over our country because the people who could have put an end to this in 2021 were too weak to do the right thing 

[Anela]

2 hours ago, Is Everyone Gone said:

She's a bit ... strange. She once asked me to make photocopies for her bc she's afraid of using the xerox machine. while I was running the copies she was standing next to me hysterically crying, saying she's a 'straightlaced Catholic woman' and that running copies is sinful.

So ... sort of eccentric and thus people at work make mean comments towards her. Not me, I'm always nice to her.

I think it’s good that you’re kind to her.  I have a lot to say to trump supporters, but with her, I would probably just tell her, “you do you, but I really do not like Donald Trump, so can we talk about other things?” 

 

1 hour ago, peacheslatour said:

I've never been on Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat. If I want to keep up with friends and family there are email, texting and phone calls.

I’m the opposite now, but it’s a combination of having been on social medias way too long. And not even knowing how to talk about everyday things anymore, because my life has been so messed up, and I hardly do anything.  It’s easier for me to comment on something, or quickly post something myself. I need to re-learn how to just email back and forth, text regularly, etc.  

1 hour ago, Bookish Jen said:

I wish I could love your post and your rebuttals a thousand times. You pretty much summed up everything I've been thinking about since Trump was reelected back in November.

This past Monday, I sat around in a deep malaise. I thought it was due to the post-holiday slump. I thought it was due to the cold, dreary weather. But no. I remembered it was Jan. 6 and Trump's election was going to be certified, and it was four years since the MAGA crowd caused a insurrection at the Capitol (those traitors).

I'm trying so hard to be positive, but it's so difficult. We went through one Trump regime, and it was disaster in so many ways. This time a majority of his inner circle, cabinet, and staff are unqualified, sycophants who do not have the best interests of most Americans in mind. I'm numb and scared. 

I’ve been envying everyone who got to have some fun, or just spend time with others, and shut things out, since thanksgiving.  I’ve spent most of it alone, but I think I did shift into denial for a little while.  I have that sinking feeling again, with numbness wanting to make a comeback, too. 

Edited 13 hours ago by Anela

[bluegirl147]

1 hour ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

I am so glad that there are still enough people on Facebook to make this happen.

I wonder if Zuckerberg will offer community notes to his AI bots that he says will be on FB.  The AI that he thinks people (you know actual living beings) will want to interact with and want to spend more time on FB.  That is what FB is to him.  He needs more users to gather data so there can be more ads and he can make more money.   There is more junk in my newsfeed than ever before.  He is going to drive away even more users.

1 hour ago, peacheslatour said:

I've never been on Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat. If I want to keep up with friends and family there are email, texting and phone calls.

I only do FB and mostly read posts. I rarely post myself. I've always thought nobody would be interested in anything I have to say. 

1 hour ago, Bookish Jen said:

I'm trying so hard to be positive, but it's so difficult. We went through one Trump regime, and it was disaster in so many ways. This time a majority of his inner circle, cabinet, and staff are unqualified, sycophants who do not have the best interests of most Americans in mind. I'm numb and scared. 

We have to stay hopeful.  They can take a lot from us but they are not going to take my hope. And my hope is they fuck up so much, which with this clown show won't be hard, the blue wave starts in 2026 and carries through 2028.

18 minutes ago, tres bien said:

MAGA has spawned the worst in every one who kisses his ass, believes his lies, is so afraid of retribution that cowardly follow him and give in to asinine and absurd demands.

One day someone is going to stand up to him and say no and my hope others see that and say yes he can be told no and they say it as well. It's everyone's capitulation to him that I find so nauseating.  

17 minutes ago, Anela said:

And not even knowing how to talk about everyday things anymore,

I also find politics coming into most conversations I have with people.  That didn't happen before 2015 and Trump's ride down the elevator.  But with Trump it's every single day, fuck every single hour, he does or says something that makes me think that motherfucker.....

 

 

[annzeepark914]

I've posted before how I've used Facebook & enjoyed it: only 16 "friends" (all related except for two friends); it's private (only the 16 can see my stuff); I've been able to watch our grandson growing up (he lives way across the country); I consider it a living photo album; and I keep up with what's going on in my hometown and love seeing beautiful photos of the Hudson Valley. No politics as we're a mixed bag. I get my news from legit sources, not FB. I'm not impressed with Mark Zuckerberg & this latest maneuver of his has me wondering if there's something similar to FB where photos can be shared with friends in a similar format. 

 

[PRgal]

I'm mostly on FB for groups I'm part of ones for recipient parents (of donor conceived children).  They're support groups and are fairly active.  Some members are indeed one-sided/my way or the highway types but many aren't, either.  I'm having trouble finding groups and resources that are culturally relevant (but I'm not surprised, since this isn't something a lot of people from my ancestral heritage are open about and find it quite shameful) but am working on it!

[bluegirl147]

26 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

I get my news from legit sources, not FB.

I cringe whenever I hear someone say well I saw it on FB when wanting to refute something I said.

[Dimity]

27 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

But with Trump it's every single day, fuck every single hour, he does or says something that makes me think that motherfucker.....

I am so sick of that face and that voice.  Even in the last four years it was the rare day when he wasn't in the news for some reason or another.  I know that someday he will be gone but that someday seems very far away sometimes.

[peacheslatour]

19 minutes ago, PRgal said:

I'm mostly on FB for groups I'm part of ones for recipient parents (of donor conceived children).  They're support groups and are fairly active.  Some members are indeed one-sided/my way or the highway types but many aren't, either.  I'm having trouble finding groups and resources that are culturally relevant (but I'm not surprised, since this isn't something a lot of people from my ancestral heritage are open about and find it quite shameful) but am working on it!

I've joined Bluesky and have been pleasantly surprised to see a lot of people I know there.

[PRgal]

15 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

I've joined Bluesky and have been pleasantly surprised to see a lot of people I know there.

I've been shamed a few times there, so I don't really go on it too much.  Long story.

[fastiller]

45 minutes ago, Dimity said:

I am so sick of that face and that voice.  Even in the last four years it was the rare day when he wasn't in the news for some reason or another.  I know that someday he will be gone but that someday seems very far away sometimes.

I tried to read one of his SOTU addresses and couldn't.  Even reading his speeches sent me 'round the bend!

[Lantern7]

4 hours ago, tres bien said:

This horrible man will be sitting in the people’s house when we celebrate our 250th birthday. What will he do to make it all about him.  There’s a dark cloud coming that will hang over our country because the people who could have put an end to this in 2021 were too weak to do the right thing 

Don’t forget, if he completes his term, he’ll be the one to open the Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.

Right now, I’m seeing footage of California and waiting for the inevitable “Just watch, the Democrats will pin this on me” soundbite.

Edited 9 hours ago by Lantern7

[Ohiopirate02]

I can cut back my use of Meta platforms, but cannot quit them entirely. Facebook made it too easy for local governments and businesses to disseminate information that I still need it.

[peacheslatour]

4 minutes ago, fastiller said:

I tried to read one of his SOTU addresses and couldn't.  Even reading his speeches sent me 'round the bend!

I couldn't get through one of those word salads of his if you paid me. And that voice? Ugh. Not for a second.

[fastiller]

1 minute ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

I can cut back my use of Meta platforms, but cannot quit them entirely. Facebook made it too easy for local governments and businesses to disseminate information that I still need it.

Same.  FB is mostly for mindless REELS watching (IDK if the REELS are mindless or me/my watching of them is.  Prolly both!).  Same w/ IG.  

WhatsApp is how I keep in touch with family & friends in Ireland and elsewhere.

[Dimity]

5 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

I can cut back my use of Meta platforms, but cannot quit them entirely. Facebook made it too easy for local governments and businesses to disseminate information that I still need it.

I use messenger and I use FB as a conduit to some online games I enjoy (Hi my name is Dimity and I am a Candy Crush addict) but otherwise I rarely use the actual FB itself anymore.  I'd use it more if my friends and family were still posting stuff but most of them don't anymore.  Giving up Amazon is harder.  I admit I've come to rely on the convenience and I would miss kindle unlimited.

[Ohiopirate02]

4 minutes ago, Dimity said:

I use messenger and I use FB as a conduit to some online games I enjoy (Hi my name is Dimity and I am a Candy Crush addict) but otherwise I rarely use the actual FB itself anymore.  I'd use it more if my friends and family were still posting stuff but most of them don't anymore.  Giving up Amazon is harder.  I admit I've come to rely on the convenience and I would miss kindle unlimited.

I cannot currently give up Amazon because my tablet is a Kindle Fire. As long as that still works, I have no choice but to use it. When the times comes for me to get a new tablet or ereader, I will look into getting something not affiliated with Amazon and take the time to convert all of my Kindle ebooks into files that I can use there.

[peacheslatour]

12 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

I cannot currently give up Amazon because my tablet is a Kindle Fire. As long as that still works, I have no choice but to use it. When the times comes for me to get a new tablet or ereader, I will look into getting something not affiliated with Amazon and take the time to convert all of my Kindle ebooks into files that I can use there.

I have to keep using it because I'm disabled and I get my meds through them and other stuff too. My husband still works full time and there is only so much shopping he can do. I wish there were an alternative for people like me.

[ebk57]

I can't give up WhatsApp - all of my imaginary friends live in my phone!  

As for FB, I "inherited" the account when my sister died in 2021.  I never post because it would freak out all of her friends, but this week, I'm going through and downloading all the interesting pictures so I can close the account.  I find it incredibly boring.  I do wish I could figure out how to save all the lovely messages about her, but other than screenshots, I don't know how.  I will look into that. 

I also inherited her Twitter account, which I became rather fond of.  I opened a BlueSky account a couple of months ago, but haven't closed Twitter yet because I love reading the Menswear guy eviscerate the right wing nut jobs that come for him.  Fortunately, my feed there is mostly baseball and cute animals.  I don't know how I managed to keep most of the MAGAs away, but...yay. 

Edited 11 hours ago by ebk57

[Ohiopirate02]

Just now, ebk57 said:

I can't give up WhatsApp - all of my imaginary friends live in my phone!  

As for FB, I "inherited" the account when my sister died in 2021.  I never post because it would freak out all of her friends, but this week, I'm going and downloading all the interesting pictures so I can close the account.  I find it incredibly boring.  I do wish I could figure out how to save all the lovely messages about her, but other than screenshots, I don't know how.  I will look into that. 

I also inherited her Twitter account, which I became rather fond of.  I opened a BlueSky account a couple of months ago, but haven't closed Twitter yet because I love reading the Menswear guy eviscerate the right wing nut jobs that come for him.  Fortunately, my feed there is mostly baseball and cute animals.  I don't know how I managed to keep most of the MAGAs away, but...yay. 

One of the things I really miss from Twitter is Menswear Guy and his glorious takedowns. I just don't miss him enough to maintain a Twitter account. I'm sure he's on Bluesky, but the posts won't be the same.

[ebk57]

Just now, Ohiopirate02 said:

One of the things I really miss from Twitter is Menswear Guy and his glorious takedowns. I just don't miss him enough to maintain a Twitter account. I'm sure he's on Bluesky, but the posts won't be the same.

He is on BlueSky, but you're right, it's not quite the same.  Same with Chris Evans (notcaptainamerica).  He's in both places, but somehow it's more fun when they're swatting away pests.  Ah well... 

[kittykat]

I've never done Twitter or Instagram.  Only Facebook and Reddit (which has its own pitfalls but I follow it more for entertainment and music stuff).  I'm rarely on FB.  If I'm lucky maybe a few friend posts gets through, it's all suggested pages and AI.  I miss the days when the most annoying notification was watering someone's Farmville crops.

[Anela]

That's another thing, re: Amazon. I spend a lot of time watching/listening to a handful of people on twitch. Different people, for different reasons. Amazon owns twitch. One of my favourite streamers just moved back to the site, from YouTube. 

[Ohiopirate02]

20 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

I have to keep using it because I'm disabled and I get my meds through them and other stuff too. My husband still works full time and there is only so much shopping he can do. I wish there were an alternative for people like me.

 

9 minutes ago, Anela said:

That's another thing, re: Amazon. I spend a lot of time watching/listening to a handful of people on twitch. Different people, for different reasons. Amazon owns twitch. One of my favourite streamers just moved back to the site, from YouTube. 

I really hate how difficult it is to divest from these various companies like Amazon. They have made things too convenient, and so many times the alternative is not much better ethically speaking. Wanna stream music, your options are Spotify, Apple, or Tidal. One went all in on Joe Rogan and one is owned by Jay Z. Disabled and need a company that can swiftly deliver things to your home, your options are Walmart, Target, CVS or Walgreens. None of these companies are any better than Amazon.

Late state capitalism flat out sucks.

[Avaleigh]

18 hours ago, Annber03 said:

It's not a party anymore. It's a cult.

It's true. This isn't an exaggeration. I witness it on a regular basis with people I actually know. Relatives, friends, co-workers, friends of my mom and stepdad, etc. The father of one of my best friends is a fairly typical Trump supporter from a red area of California. My friend and I noticed it years ago, but any time we questioned our parents on the Trump and/or right wing ideology, they would give the exact same talking points! Sometimes verbatim. To me, that's a huge sign that it's a cult like mindset. If we mentioned January 6th, they'd bring up the rioting that happened after the George Floyd murder. If we mentioned any of Trump's many crimes, then the cult line was what about Hunter and the Biden crime family. It's alarming to realize a loved one is up to their neck in a cult, especially when you realize you can't do anything about it. 

It comes up in ways I don't expect. For example, my mom and stepdad received slippers from friends that are from the my pillow guy. They loved them so much that over the holidays they decided to get my pillow products for me, my sister, her bf, and my hubby. So my husband and I both have these slippers from this douchebag Lindell, but feel like it would be rude to not accept them. 

A few months back, one of my colleagues actually went to see Ramaswamy speak because some Trump supporters from her church were going. Based on other stuff she's said in the past, she doesn't read books at all, but because of the magic power of the cult, she was willing to go out of her way and take time out of her schedule to watch this guy plug his book *and* buy it because he has the MAGA seal of approval.

We're currently dealing with two massive fires in SoCal, one is just four miles from where we live. So we've been hearing from my husband's family from back east to check on how we are. One of his aunts made some sort of comment about how hopefully the only homes that would get hit would be homes of the people from "Hollyweird". 🙄 At that point I just kind of started to rush off the call, but not before I gently said that I hope that they'd be able to contain the fires asap because I don't think anyone deserves to lose their home and belongings. So she's like, 'Oh, I agree, of course! I just meant that if homes have to be lost hopefully it'll just be the homes of liberals who've run their state into the ground." 

I mention this because even when it comes to a disaster like this, there are some Trump supporters who can't let up on the political rhetoric, not even to have a standard amount of sympathy for people who are dealing with something that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. 

I didn't have power last night for about 5 hours and did not have any this morning/afternoon until about an hour ago. Had to cook dinner by candlelight for my family. We're quite lucky we have a gas stove that I can light by hand. We gave a couple of our candles to a neighbor because he didn't have anything to tide him over. 

We're all trying to help each other and it's sad to know that there are people in this country who are happy that this is happening to us because we live in a blue state. I'm mostly able to ignore it, but sometimes stuff like this really stings. 

Edited 10 hours ago by Avaleigh

[ProudMary]

1 hour ago, bluegirl147 said:

One day someone is going to stand up to him and say no and my hope others see that and say yes he can be told no and they say it as well. It's everyone's capitulation to him that I find so nauseating.  

I admire your optimism. I really do, and I hope that someone in his party will stand up, but how likely is it that others will follow suit after that first brave individual falls from a fifth floor balcony? SCOTUS cleared the path for the "dictator on day one" to follow the playbook of his role models in Russia and North Korea without fear of prosecution. 

(Please don't chide my cynicism when we still don't know why Jared Kushner and Steve Mnuchin received patments of $2 billion and $1 billion, respectively, from the murderers of Jamal Khashoggi.)

2 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

I get my news from legit sources, not FB.

Me too, but high on my list of fears is how much longer we will have legit journalistic sources available to us. WaPo, NYT. WSJ, LA Times, etc. are all compromised to varying degrees; not to mention that 90+% of legit mainstream media sources are behind paywalls while right-wing media sources are all free. I don't know if other have seen this yet, but AP News is now asking its readers for contributions. That's new, and there's good reason. I'm linking a Substack essay here, with attributable sources, describing how AP is under attack.

Wall Street declares war on the Associated Press

Lastly, as this forum is about "the feels," I watched live on PBS News last night, as President Carter's casket was brought into the Capitol's Rotunda. I shed many tears listening to the beautiful Naval Choir singing songs of patriotism during the ceremony. My first presidential vote ever--and my second--was for Jimmy Carter, whose humanity touched me right from the start. In light of what is coming our way in twelve days, it's difficult not to equate the funeral of this good and decent man, with a funeral for the nation I love.

[Bastet]

40 minutes ago, Avaleigh said:

So she's like, 'Oh, I agree, of course! I just meant that if homes have to be lost hopefully it'll just be the homes of liberals who've run their state into the ground."

James Woods is one of the celebrities who lost his home in the Palisades fire.  James Woods is an asshole, but when I read about him relaying the experience of getting notifications on his cell phone from all his smoke detectors, and of watching things burn on his home's security cameras, my only thought was that's a sad, surreal experience to have.  I kept reading, to see he'd chosen to blame the fire on liberal politicians and DEI initiatives.  Dude, seriously.  Give it just one moment's rest.  You just lost your home and your priority is still right wing ranting?

Edited 10 hours ago by Bastet

[PRgal]

Meta is what I use to promote my writing.  Plus my parents are Android users while my husband and I have iPhones.  So we use WhatsApp to communicate as a family.  And my son's class has a WhatsApp parent group.  I'm otherwise on Substack (which is where I blog now).

Edited 10 hours ago by PRgal

[Dimity]

2 minutes ago, Bastet said:

You just lost your home and your priority is still right wing ranting?

During Covid we had a local columnist who was very vocal about how Covid was just a flu and the government was taking advantage to further their own agenda (unspecified agenda) and then their parents both got Covid and died.  You would have thought this would have wised them up, or at least shut them up.  Sadly, no.  If anything it got worse.  I suspect because they knew damn well they were wrong but were never ever going to admit it.  Not sure if this is the case with the MAGA crowd or not. 

[peacheslatour]

16 minutes ago, Bastet said:

James Woods is one of the celebrities who lost his home in the Palisades fire.  James Woods is an asshole, but when I read about him relaying the experience of getting notifications on his cell phone from all his smoke detectors, and of watching things burn on his home's security cameras, all I thought that was a sad, surreal experience to have.  I kept reading, to see he'd chosen to blame the fire on liberal politicians and DEI initiatives.  Dude, seriously.  Give it just one moment's rest.  You just lost your home and your priority is still right wing ranting?

I saw a tweet or whatever they call it from some rich asshole down there who just a couple months ago wanted his property taxes cut because he didn't want to fund public services. Now he's begging for a private fire department "Money is no object!". Keep crying motherfucker, you'll find no sympathy here.

[Lantern7]

*sigh* I didn't want to go on Facebook. I heard bad stuff, and I tend to get pulled into stuff easily. I wound up cover a comic book convention for a website, and I had to get Facebook so that we could coordinate.

That was in 2016. I'm still on it. About half of what I do is bitch about my life, bitch about the world, and share funny animal clips. I seldom post in public. I have 158 Friends total. I like going there, but I'm aware it could become a total cesspool in the coming months. My problem is that I don't know where to go. I keep hearing about BlueSky, but that seems more of a destination for refugees from Twitter, a platform I never used. I don't know of a "worthy" replacement for FB.

[peacheslatour]

Just now, Lantern7 said:

*sigh* I didn't want to go on Facebook. I heard bad stuff, and I tend to get pulled into stuff easily. I wound up cover a comic book convention for a website, and I had to get Facebook so that we could coordinate.

That was in 2016. I'm still on it. About half of what I do is bitch about my life, bitch about the world, and share funny animal clips. I seldom post in public. I have 158 Friends total. I like going there, but I'm aware it could become a total cesspool in the coming months. My problem is that I don't know where to go. I keep hearing about BlueSky, but that seems more of a destination for refugees from Twitter, a platform I never used. I don't know of a "worthy" replacement for FB.

To me, Bluesky feels more like Reddit. Only with no r/conservative. It's nice.

[Lantern7]

3 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

To me, Bluesky feels more like Reddit. Only with no r/conservative. It's nice.

I've never signed up for Reddit, either. 🤷‍♂️

Edited 9 hours ago by Lantern7

[Dimity]

14 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

I've never signed up for Reddit, either. 🤷‍♂️

I went on Reddit a few months ago because someone said there was a sub forum devoted to primetimer.  It was dead as the proverbial doornail.  Anyway I stuck around for a little while but never found my niche.  I used to really like FB back when it really was all about connecting friends and family.  I don't know exactly when that changed but it's just a wall of memes and fake accounts and AI generated crap now.

[Annber03]

1 hour ago, Dimity said:

During Covid we had a local columnist who was very vocal about how Covid was just a flu and the government was taking advantage to further their own agenda (unspecified agenda) and then their parents both got Covid and died.  You would have thought this would have wised them up, or at least shut them up.  Sadly, no.  If anything it got worse.  I suspect because they knew damn well they were wrong but were never ever going to admit it.  Not sure if this is the case with the MAGA crowd or not. 

I think this is one big reason they pull their, "Yeah, but what about...?" BS by trying to frantically find any faults with the Democrats. Like, if they can point to something that makes our candidates look not-so-great, it'll make them feel less embarrassed/guilty/regretful about the fact they voted for and supported Trump. 

Except what they don't understand is that people on the left have a far easier time holding their side accountable much of the time than the right does. Almost to a fault, actually, in some cases. And even if people on the left are too wiling to defend shitty behavior and policies from their candidates? That still doesn't absolve Trump supporters of their support for him, or make it any less worse. Most politicians' scandals and crimes are generally pretty typical, but Trump is on a whole other level of corruption. When a Democratic candidate pulls a January 6th in response to losing an election, then Trump supporters can get back to me about how, "See! Your politicians aren't great, either!" Until then we're not operating on even remotely the same level of awful. 

(Not to say the left doesn't have its own blind spots, either, it certainly does, but at least politicians in our party aren't out here censuring someone for daring to call out Biden or any other high-ranking Democrats when they do something that others in the party don't support or agree with.)

1 hour ago, Avaleigh said:

We're currently dealing with two massive fires in SoCal, one is just four miles from where we live. So we've been hearing from my husband's family from back east to check on how we are. One of his aunts made some sort of comment about how hopefully the only homes that would get hit would be homes of the people from "Hollyweird". 🙄 At that point I just kind of started to rush off the call, but not before I gently said that I hope that they'd be able to contain the fires asap because I don't think anyone deserves to lose their home and belongings. So she's like, 'Oh, I agree, of course! I just meant that if homes have to be lost hopefully it'll just be the homes of liberals who've run their state into the ground." 

I mention this because even when it comes to a disaster like this, there are some Trump supporters who can't let up on the political rhetoric, not even to have a standard amount of sympathy for people who are dealing with something that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. 

I didn't have power last night for about 5 hours and did not have any this morning/afternoon until about an hour ago. Had to cook dinner by candlelight for my family. We're quite lucky we have a gas stove that I can light by hand. We gave a couple of our candles to a neighbor because he didn't have anything to tide him over. 

We're all trying to help each other and it's sad to know that there are people in this country who are happy that this is happening to us because we live in a blue state. I'm mostly able to ignore it, but sometimes stuff like this really stings. 

Wow, that aunt sounds absolutely charming! Good lord.

But yeah, that's the MAGA mindset. That's why they voted for him. Because they think he's going to get back at all "those other people". Because clearly women and minorities and liberals have just had it SO good for so long, you know. 

I'm so sorry you guys are going through all of this with the fires. I've been seeing the footage on the Weather Channel and it's...apocalyptic, honestly. I hope you guys, as well as everyone else in the path of those fires, will be okay. Stay safe and take care of yourselves and feel free to check in when you're able and have a moment to let us know you're all right. And I hope the firefighters are able to finally get a chance to contain the fires as soon as humanly possible. My heart goes out to them, too, they have their work cut out for them. 

Regarding social media, I'm on Reddit, but I only hang out in TV show subreddits on there, and even then, I lurk more often than not. And I have my Facebook accoutn, but as I've mentioned before, I haven't been on it in ages, and recent develpments don't exactly have me eager to go running back. 

Otherwise, I am just not a social media person. I wasn't even before all this mess with the way social media's become in recent years - I'm just not good at keeping up on that sort of thing and my life's too damn boring to have much of anything of interest to post much of the time :p. 

But yeah, current events certainly make me all the more glad I'm not one for social media. 

Edited 9 hours ago by Annber03

[bluegirl147]

I consider this place social media. Especially this thread.  At least here we aren't being inundated with ads masquerading as posts.

Thinking about what would have happened with Jimmy Carter's funeral if he had died after Trump was inaugurated.  I wouldn't have been surprised if he had threatened to invade Greenland just to take attention away from President Carter.

[nokat]

I'm watching Spirited Away,  a Miyazaki movie if you aren't familiar, and there was a song being sung when no face was eating everything in the bath house.

His ass keeps getting bigger, so there is more of it to kiss.

I came close to choking on my drink, I was laughing so hard.

[FilmTVGeek80]

My first instinct after Zuckerberg's latest capitulation was that I wanted to shut down my Facebook account, but I have too many relatives on there that I couldn't keep up without it. Before the 2016 election, I started to post political things, but it created such conflict with my in-laws. Eventually, I stopped. I mostly look at family member's posts. And after this year's election, I haven't been back there. I have almost 200 notifications, but I can't stomach going back there yet. Other than when I get notifications from people I follow, I haven't been on Twitter, either. Other than this board and Bluesky, I've tried to limit my political activity. I've never been able to get into TikTok or Reddit much.

[Anela]

4 minutes ago, FilmTVGeek80 said:

My first instinct after Zuckerberg's latest capitulation was that I wanted to shut down my Facebook account, but I have too many relatives on there that I couldn't keep up without it. Before the 2016 election, I started to post political things, but it created such conflict with my in-laws. Eventually, I stopped. I mostly look at family member's posts. And after this year's election, I haven't been back there. I have almost 200 notifications, but I can't stomach going back there yet. Other than when I get notifications from people I follow, I haven't been on Twitter, either. Other than this board and Bluesky, I've tried to limit my political activity. I've never been able to get into TikTok or Reddit much.

I'm on facebook for the friends I've made online, and my friends and family overseas, and in California. I was checking on them, this morning. 

I used to argue with one older cousin, who was a trump supporter, but he stopped posting when he got married, and then last Summer, I was informed one morning that he'd died. :/  I wish that most of my American family, weren't trump supporters. 

[Anela]

1 hour ago, peacheslatour said:

I saw a tweet or whatever they call it from some rich asshole down there who just a couple months ago wanted his property taxes cut because he didn't want to fund public services. Now he's begging for a private fire department "Money is no object!". Keep crying motherfucker, you'll find no sympathy here.

I saw that, this morning. I think he was bragging about not paying taxes, in another post from the past.

I saw another post from a rich man - I think he was quoted by the guy you mentioned - who was sure that the fire was started by "a homeless criminal". That pissed me off, too. 

54 minutes ago, Dimity said:

I went on Reddit a few months ago because someone said there was a sub forum devoted to primetimer.  It was dead as the proverbial doornail.  Anyway I stuck around for a little while but never found my niche.  I used to really like FB back when it really was all about connecting friends and family.  I don't know exactly when that changed but it's just a wall of memes and fake accounts and AI generated crap now.

It looks like the poster who started the PT reddit, deleted their account, so nothing new can be posted. I have a few places I visit on reddit, but I mostly forget that they have subs for TV shows, too. I thought I saw @Annber03 in one for a show that we both watch, and I saw a few more that looked like the same posts from threads here, but I didn't say anything. My name is different over there, and I'm just used to posting about shows here. 

I miss when social media wasn't monetized. Blogs, too. I also know that it's the only way some people can make money (it would be ideal for me, but I'm not a content creator). 

[Annber03]

5 minutes ago, Anela said:

I thought I saw @Annber03 in one for a show that we both watch

Ooh, which show? It'd be neat if we crossed paths over there at some point.