Chit-Chat: The Feels

[bluegirl147]

1 minute ago, tres bien said:

The MSM can just go to fucking hell

In a press conference of sorts yesterday a reporter asked President Biden if was going to pardon himself 

The president basically said for what which I interpreted as fuck off asshole

The only journalism experience i have is my high school newspaper but I could do a better job than a lot of these "journalists"

 

[annzeepark914]

8 minutes ago, tres bien said:

The MSM can just go to fucking hell

In a press conference of sorts yesterday a reporter asked President Biden if was going to pardon himself 

The president basically said for what which I interpreted as fuck off asshole

Wait 'til the wannabe dictator takes office & starts going after these reporters if they don't treat him right. Was that a Fox Entertainment Corp reporter who asked the question? I'm weary already of this felon & he hasn't even been sworn in yet.

[Dimity]

16 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

Especially the ones who said really uninformed things about Hamas.

And the ones, and sadly I am related to one of them, who in their zeal to support Palestine handwave away the evils that Hamas has perpetuated and are also turning into Holocaust deniers.  Our Christmas extended family get together was, to put it mildly, fraught, this year.

[peacheslatour]

Sanewashing! Hahahaha!

[bluegirl147]

2 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

Sanewashing! Hahahaha!

Voters:  it's all Biden's fault.

[Lantern7]

The impression that I get is that both sides have extremists in charge. If they were to back down, there might be a plan for the region that would last longer than months. That probably will never happen, though, so we’re stuck with chaos.

[PRgal]

2 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

The impression that I get is that both sides have extremists in charge. If they were to back down, there might be a plan for the region that would last longer than months. That probably will never happen, though, so we’re stuck with chaos.

The world is run by extremists now.  On both sides.

[tearknee]

The publishing of this map on Israel's official Arabic-language X/twitter account has sparked protests from Arab countries. The map shows the kingdoms of Judah and Israel as they were in the 10th century BCE. Apparently, the fact that there were not one but two Jewish kingdoms in the Land of Israel 2,900 years ago is a secret that cannot be revealed to the Arab world. Well sorry, Jordanians and Emiratis, history is history. Although the Biblical account no doubt inflates both the size and importance of these kingdoms, their existence is well attested archaeologically. The map of course says nothing about the legitimacy of modern states in the same area. Israel has recognized Jordan's borders since the Israel-Jordan peace treaty of 1994. As for a Palestinian state, the Palestinians have been offered statehood several times, but they have always refused because they won't accept any settlement that requires them to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

 

I reported this post, which overtly incites murdering Jews, to FB. Within a minute I got an auto-bot saying it didn't violate Facebook's standards. Which raises the question: what exactly are their standards...?


 

[peacheslatour]

2 minutes ago, tearknee said:

The publishing of this map on Israel's official Arabic-language X/twitter account has sparked protests from Arab countries. The map shows the kingdoms of Judah and Israel as they were in the 10th century BCE. Apparently, the fact that there were not one but two Jewish kingdoms in the Land of Israel 2,900 years ago is a secret that cannot be revealed to the Arab world. Well sorry, Jordanians and Emiratis, history is history. Although the Biblical account no doubt inflates both the size and importance of these kingdoms, their existence is well attested archaeologically. The map of course says nothing about the legitimacy of modern states in the same area. Israel has recognized Jordan's borders since the Israel-Jordan peace treaty of 1994. As for a Palestinian state, the Palestinians have been offered statehood several times, but they have always refused because they won't accept any settlement that requires them to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

 

I reported this post, which overtly incites murdering Jews, to FB. Within a minute I got an auto-bot saying it didn't violate Facebook's standards. Which raises the question: what exactly are their standards...?


 

But there are extremists on the Left! Wake the fuck up people.

[bluegirl147]

10 minutes ago, PRgal said:

The world is run by extremists now.  On both sides.

The right is doing a lot more damage.

[PRgal]

8 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

The right is doing a lot more damage.

I'd say the damage is coming on both ends and those of us in the middle are left with nothing.  And are shamed (bear in mind that by Canadian standards, I lean slightly to the right).  You might want to read my writing to get to know me a bit more.  

Edited January 12 by PRgal

[tearknee]

5 minutes ago, PRgal said:

I'd say the damage is coming on both ends and those of us in the middle are left with nothing.  And are shamed (bear in mind that by Canadian standards, I lean slightly to the right).  You might want to read my writing to get to know me a bit more.  

The real danger is from the far left not the far right.

At least the far right is open about its cruelty. The far left approaches you with a smiling face and an outstretched hand in welcome.

[PRgal]

3 minutes ago, tearknee said:

The real danger is from the far left not the far right.

At least the far right is open about its cruelty. The far left approaches you with a smiling face and an outstretched hand in welcome.

Correction:  they tell you you're welcome and say you can tell your story/talk about lived experiences but then berate you when DO tell them!  They even tell you you're "centering" (is this left-speak for being self-centred?) and "too anecdotal."  This is personal experience.  I am NOT alone.

[tearknee]

2 hours ago, Dimity said:

And the ones, and sadly I am related to one of them, who in their zeal to support Palestine handwave away the evils that Hamas has perpetuated and are also turning into Holocaust deniers.  Our Christmas extended family get together was, to put it mildly, fraught, this year.

Palestine is a [common] expression not a sovereign state with the full authority and control of its territory that is required for that status. We do the Palestinian people no favors by legitimizing the PLO's [a bunch of corrupt gangsters and murderous terrorists] fictitious Potemkin state.

Just now, PRgal said:

Correction:  they tell you you're welcome and say you can tell your story/talk about lived experiences but then berate you when DO tell them!  They even tell you you're "centering" (is this left-speak for being self-centred?) and "too anecdotal."  This is personal experience.  I am NOT alone.

I was thinking of "evil does not come with fangs and claws. Evil approaches you with a smiling face".

[Anela]

5 hours ago, isalicat said:

Watch MSNBC much? not "anonymous people on the Internet" according to an independent fact checking professional I heard interviewed on NPR a couple of mornings ago. He said that they actually found that MSNBC was *more* biased and full of incorrect info that Fox (Faux) News.

I don’t have MSNBC, and part of the reason we got rid of cable, was because they still carried faux news.  

Edited January 12 by Anela

[Anela]

31 minutes ago, tearknee said:

The real danger is from the far left not the far right.

At least the far right is open about its cruelty. The far left approaches you with a smiling face and an outstretched hand in welcome.

You actually say this as we’ve had white supremacists marching, since trump was elected the first time, and he is promising to deport millions of immigrants this time? Texas offered him land for camps, to hold some of them.  Texas also had wires and things to keep people from crossing water - killing some of them, as they got tangled in it.  

North Carolina is pushing the idea of women being given the death penalty if they have an abortion.  I think it’s NC that is also currently trying to prevent a newly voted-in Democrat, from taking office.  Texas has the bounty hunter law, re: anyone who has an abortion, and they want medical records from other States, if anyone who might be pregnant, travelled out of State. We had a little girl who had to travel to Indiana, to get an abortion, after she was raped, and the Ohio GOP tried to say that she didn’t exist.  Another woman was arrested after she had a miscarriage - a nurse called the police, after rubbing her back, and listening to her as she talked and cried.  This hospital that took forever to help her, in the first place, so she’d gone home. 

one state now wants to overturn the law that made gay marriage legal. And there is so much more! Too much more. 

but, hey, liberals are the problem. 

It’s been two months since, “Your body, my choice!” was making the rounds online and off, including in middle schools. Because a lot of boys and men assumed they won’t need consent, after January 20th.  

Edited January 12 by Anela

[Annber03]

4 hours ago, Avaleigh said:

Adding to what you said, when I see people use the word "cackle" to describe the laughter of people like Kamala and Hillary, whether intended or not, it feels like there's a misogynistic vibe in describing it that way. Men are rarely, if ever, described as having cackling laughter aside from the occasional cartoon villain.

It also comes across as a little dehumanizing. The inference is that Kamala is a witch and doesn't laugh the way typical people do. 

Also, okay, so she has a laugh that some don't like. The other candidate's over here trying to take away people's rights and says the most vile and misogynistic things about women.

But sure, it's HER likeability and sincerity that's the problem. 

If somebody refuses to vote for a candidate because they don't like their laugh, but is willling to overlook the violent and vile rhetoric from their opponent, then all that says to me is that that voter has supremely fucked up priorities. 

[tearknee]

To use a couple of examples, one from Down Under and one from the Palestinian Territories:

"Always was, always will be"

"From the river to the sea"

I do not operate under the assumption that those who say these phrases and believe what lurks behind them are nice or even rational.

[Bastet]

There is no equivalent of the far right on the left.

[Dimity]

1 minute ago, Bastet said:

There is no equivalent of the far right on the left.

Agreed.  There are certainly those on the extreme left who are just as whack-a-doodle as any QAnon or MAGA, but and it's a big but, few, if any of these extreme leftist people are in positions of power.  They are not the ones about to unleash hell.

[bluegirl147]

2 minutes ago, Bastet said:

There is no equivalent of the far right on the left.

No there isn't and I get tired of the false equivalency.  I'm no fan of the far left because of their insistence on Democratic candidates being perfectly in line with what they want but they don't have the power or desire to do real and extremely cruel damage to this country.  What does the far left want?  $15 minimum wage.  Paid family leave.  Medicare for all.  What does the far right  Republican party want?  Repeal the ACA.  Privatize or slash Social Security.  National abortion ban.  Making same sex marriage illegal again.  Shall I go on?

[tearknee]

Part of the explanation for this is of course that Israel now has a militantly right-wing nationalist government, which people on the left understandably dislike (as do I). But the anti-Zionist turn also reflects the long-term degeneration of the left as a political force. With the disappearance of the old industrial working class and the decline of the trade unions, the left is now dominated by a new intellectual class based in the universities and other institutes of tertiary education, whose main preoccupation is identity politics. Now that the left is completely divorced from whatever remains of the working class, the main focus of left activism is now "solidarity" with a succession of nasty Third World regimes and insurgencies. The Palestinians have successfully played up to this trend by posing as an oppressed people, while of course giving very short shrift to any symptoms of leftism or identity politics in the areas they control (as Queers for Palestine seem unable to notice).

Edited January 12 by tearknee

[tearknee]

What people also forget is that, in the course of winning that morally unambiguous victory of WW2, we killed something like 600,000 German civilians and well over a million Japanese civilians by indiscriminately bombing their cities. There is no way to win a modern industrial war, no matter how just the cause, without killing lots of people. And that is even more true in a war like the one Israel is being forced to fight in Gaza, where the enemy has no scruples at all about sacrificing its own people for propaganda purposes.

[anony.miss]

Hard at work getting those egg prices down!

Edited January 12 by anony.miss

[Annber03]

Shut the hell up, Greene. 

[Yeah No]

3 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

No there isn't and I get tired of the false equivalency.  I'm no fan of the far left because of their insistence on Democratic candidates being perfectly in line with what they want but they don't have the power or desire to do real and extremely cruel damage to this country.  What does the far left want?  $15 minimum wage.  Paid family leave.  Medicare for all.  What does the far right  Republican party want?  Repeal the ACA.  Privatize or slash Social Security.  National abortion ban.  Making same sex marriage illegal again.  Shall I go on?

I couldn't agree with you more, but I think the examples you give above are a little more moderately left than far left. The far left wants to radically restructure our government, reject capitalism altogether or severely restrict it, eliminate billionaires by taxation and can even be for eliminating as much private property as possible. 

Quite honestly when I joined this thread I felt that I was being criticized because my views on things weren't seen as far left enough. Now I am feeling much more in sync with the views expressed here, but my views haven't changed. So I find that interesting.

I found this very interesting quiz from Pew Research that categorizes political leanings into 9 categories from left leaning to right leaning. The quiz can be found and taken here:

https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/quiz/political-typology/ 

On the left are Progressive Left, Establishment Liberals, Democratic Mainstays and Outsider Left.

In the middle are the "Stressed Sideliners"

On the right, from left leaning to right leaning are: Ambivalent Right, Populist Right, Committed Conservatives and Faith and Flag Conservatives.

I came out a "Democratic Mainstay", and I thought I was answering the questions pretty liberally, so go figure.

I would find it interesting how others here would test on this.

 

[Yeah No]

4 hours ago, Dimity said:

Agreed.  There are certainly those on the extreme left who are just as whack-a-doodle as any QAnon or MAGA, but and it's a big but, few, if any of these extreme leftist people are in positions of power.  They are not the ones about to unleash hell.

So true. We don't have a president elect vowing to push through a radical measure to tax everyone to such a degree that we all end up with the same net income, or threatening to confiscate people's savings and private property and distributing it in a more "equitable" way to address income inequality, and when I put "equitable" in quotes it's because in whose opinion will it be done more "equitably"? Or giving some of that confiscated formerly private property and money to migrants, refugees from other countries or the very poor, especially minorities. Those are the radical far left positions that are only held by relatively few people out there. Most Democrats belong to a less radical left category like the ones on the Pew Quiz. Those people that are on the radical left comprise only a small percentage of all voters according to Pew Research (something like 6 percent) and have never ascended to positions where they can make such things happen. The fact that someone that far radical right as Trump has ascended to the presidency is the reason we are seeing what we're seeing coming from him now.

As I see it, radical leftists want to increase human rights, while radical right wingers want to curtail or eliminate human rights for certain people, but protect them for others. Radical leftists want to eliminate or radically curtail private ownership and eliminate the inequitable distribution of wealth while radical right wingers want to protect it to such a degree that it puts anyone but the very rich at an economic disadvantage.

[Soapy Goddess]

18 hours ago, Anela said:

Okay, Kamala got almost as many votes as he did. Why doesn’t this make her popular, too? 

19 hours ago, Annber03 said:

If being phony and unlikeable (or perceived as such, in Kamala's case, at least) ruins a woman's chances with the public, ithe same should apply to men.

It's the cackle that I was calling phony. Because we really haven't seen too much of it lately. And it was one of her traits that most people couldn't stand about her. Like what the fuck is so funny all the time? 

10 hours ago, anony.miss said:

Harris can see where the country is headed and it’s nothing to laugh about.

Exactly my point!!  Prior to the election, she was laughing her head off everywhere she went. Like what the fuck is so funny all the time? I guess losing the election was a sobering moment. Hence the disappearance of the cackle.

9 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

Is everyone who voted for Trump racist/sexist/anti-Semitic etc? No.  Did the majority of racists/sexists/anti-Semites vote for Trump?  I believe so yes. 

Having spoken with some Reps, for them it was the lesser of two evils. This according to their assessment.

 

[Soapy Goddess]

9 hours ago, Avaleigh said:

Adding to what you said, when I see people use the word "cackle" to describe the laughter of people like Kamala and Hillary, whether intended or not, it feels like there's a misogynistic vibe in describing it that way. Men are rarely, if ever, described as having cackling laughter aside from the occasional cartoon villain.

It also comes across as a little dehumanizing. The inference is that Kamala is a witch and doesn't laugh the way typical people do. 

You're making too much of a simple word. If you're associating cackle with women, it's only because some women tend to get overly excited when they find something funny...whereas men can barely muster a belly laugh. IOW, most men do not LOL. So don't over analyze a simple word to support sensitivity.

 

[Lantern7]

1 hour ago, anony.miss said:

Hard at work getting those egg prices down!

Honest question: does she do ANYTHING in Washington that's worthwhile? Anything all all? All she does is stir shit and be annoying. Yeah, she never tried to give a handy at a Broadway musical, but she's still the absolute worst.

I need to go to bed. Otherwise, I'd be venting about shit I have zero control over, and that's not really good.

[Soapy Goddess]

[tearknee]

3 hours ago, Annber03 said:

Shut the hell up, Greene. 

Where's Prof. Plum with the lead pipe when you need him?

[PRgal]

@Yeah No I came out as Ambivalent Right. I was sure I’d be “stressed sideliner” or democratic mainstay.  But then again, I was mostly replacing US with Canada, save for questions where it doesn’t make sense (very few.  Mostly those pertaining to super power). 

[Annber03]

5 hours ago, Soapy Goddess said:

It's the cackle that I was calling phony. Because we really haven't seen too much of it lately. And it was one of her traits that most people couldn't stand about her. Like what the fuck is so funny all the time? 

But Trump can be phony as hell and that's perfectly okay? 

Also, I mean, she lost an election and gets to join the rest of us in watching our country march straight towards authoriatiran rule. Prior to that she was more likely to laugh because, y'know, she was all hopeful and excited about the potential fturure in which our country elected our first woman as president and where we might be able to push back on all the insane shit the right keeps trying to make policy. 

Also, she needed to put on the happy face on the campaign trail because if she went around looking all dour all the time, she'd get criticized for that. 

Like, really, of all the things one could critique about her, her laugh shouldn't even be on the list. And the fact that people are more bothered by her laugh than they are about all the insane shit Trump's said and done, and all the obvious phoniness he's exhibited- again, it just proves how dumb this country is and how fucked up its priorities are. It's a laugh.  Get over it. 

[tres bien]

Why is one person (at least on this board) criticizing Kamala’s laugh because of MAGA’s description of it being a cackle (and before Kamala it was Hilary)

Because they have nothing else.They only have personal insults to hang onto 

 

Edited January 12 by tres bien

[annzeepark914]

We have an incoming president who's been talking about invading & taking over countries (e.g., Greenland, Canada) a la Putin...and someone was bothered by KH's laughter? We have big problems in America & they start with a large percentage of our people.

[bluegirl147]

7 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

We have an incoming president who's been talking about invading & taking over countries (e.g., Greenland, Canada) a la Putin...and someone was bothered by KH's laughter? We have big problems in America & they start with a large percentage of our people.

The media is calling it US expansion.  Can they ever accurately describe what Trump is doing?

[Anela]

8 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I couldn't agree with you more, but I think the examples you give above are a little more moderately left than far left. The far left wants to radically restructure our government, reject capitalism altogether or severely restrict it, eliminate billionaires by taxation and can even be for eliminating as much private property as possible. 

Quite honestly when I joined this thread I felt that I was being criticized because my views on things weren't seen as far left enough. Now I am feeling much more in sync with the views expressed here, but my views haven't changed. So I find that interesting.

I found this very interesting quiz from Pew Research that categorizes political leanings into 9 categories from left leaning to right leaning. The quiz can be found and taken here:

https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/quiz/political-typology/ 

On the left are Progressive Left, Establishment Liberals, Democratic Mainstays and Outsider Left.

In the middle are the "Stressed Sideliners"

On the right, from left leaning to right leaning are: Ambivalent Right, Populist Right, Committed Conservatives and Faith and Flag Conservatives.

I came out a "Democratic Mainstay", and I thought I was answering the questions pretty liberally, so go figure.

I would find it interesting how others here would test on this.

 

Sometimes I think these are put out to divide us even more.  They all need to get together, and make a list of basic things we all agree on. Start there.  Health care for everyone, abortion rights, housing for the homeless.  In the past, some moderates didn’t think we should go with national health care - including friends of mine, who are now on board. 

6 hours ago, Soapy Goddess said:

ICYMI: “Biden to Release 1 Million Barrels of Gasoline to Reduce Prices at the Pump Ahead of July 4”

FACT CHECK: Trump Raised Oil Prices on Americans to Bail Out Big Oil By Cutting a Deal with Putin and OPEC

Quote

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Donald Trump spouts nonstop lies about energy costs because he can’t defend his own record of intentionally increasing oil prices to bail out his big oil donors. Here are the facts, followed by the footage: 

FACT: Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking vote to triple American clean energy production that is projected to lower electricity bills and gas prices by up to 9% and 13%, respectively.

FACT: In April  2020, Donald Trump cut a deal with Vladimir Putin, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and OPEC to intentionally increase oil prices and bail out his biggest oil donors after a price war between Russia and the Saudis sent oil prices plunging. 

FACT: Trump cut the deal after his biggest fossil fuel backers lost billions from their net worth in just weeks, including Trump’s most crucial oil donor, Harold Hamm, who convinced Trump to bail the oil industry out after he lost $3 billion in days.  

FACT: Hamm leveraged his years of support for Trump, convincing him to host a whole roomful of oil executives at the White House to hash out the deal. [VIDEO]. Attendees included Kelcy Warren, Jeff Hildebrand, Vicki Hollub, and, of course, Harold Hamm.  

FACT:  If any of those names sound familiar, that’s because they all responded to Trump’s April request for $1 billion by cohosting multiple fundraisers for him over the past six months. That includes the CEO who told Trump that she was upset at the FTC for requesting her cell phone record while they were reportedly investigating her over allegations of potential collusion with OPEC to raise gas prices.

FACT: NBC, “Trump Wanted Lower Oil Prices, But Now He’s Meeting With Industry Executives To Discuss How To Raise Prices.”

FACT: Bloomberg, “Trump Forced by Oil War Into Unthinkable Push for Higher Prices” … “Donald Trump is trying to do something no U.S. president has dared to do in decades: Drive up the price of oil.”

FACT: A USA Today editorial asked, “Amid coronavirus pandemic, why is Donald Trump trying to push up fuel prices?”… The editorial board wrote that  “the most unambiguous winners of higher prices are countries like Russia and Saudi Arabia, not the United States, which is still a net importer. What’s more, his move attempts to help oil companies by imposing higher costs on U.S. consumers, workers and fuel-reliant businesses.”

FACT: Reuters, “Special Report: Trump told Saudi: Cut oil supply or lose U.S. military support – sources”

FACT: Bloomberg, “Trump became the first American president to push for higher oil prices in more than 30 years, reversing his personal opposition to the cartel.”

FACT: The Washington Post, Dan Drezner, “Why Does Trump Want Higher Oil Prices?”

FACT: CNN, “Instead of slamming OPEC for artificially restraining production, Trump is urging the cartel to do just that.”

FACT: Chicago Tribune, Steve Chapman, “Column: Trump’s push for higher gas prices is misguided”

FACTS AND FOOTAGE: Trump has regularly bragged about the deal at rallies and events. There’s even video:  

Iowa, March 2023:  “In fact, I got the oil down so low I had to save the oil companies. How about that one? Remember that little period when you were getting almost free gasoline? We had to save them. We had a call OPEC and we had to call Russia, frankly, and Saudi Arabia. We said, ‘We have to get the price up.’ But we saved all those companies.” … “What caused inflation? The oil price. The oil. Energy.  Energy became so ridiculously expensive, it drove everything up. Now everything is inflated.”

North Carolina, June 2023: “We had the worst, the worst problems and the worst cost of energy in 60 years. We had it down to $1.87 three and a half years ago, a gallon. And we actually had it lower than that, but we won’t even talk about that because I had to save the oil companies that we were all going to go bust. I said this is the first time I’ve ever said we got to get it up a little bit.I actually called Russia and the king of Saudi Arabia.”

Georgia, June 2023:  “Gas prices were at $1.87 a gallon. We actually had them lower than that for a little while, but I had to get them up. We were going to lose the oil companies. They were going so low they were getting killed.”

Texas, July 2020: “But we really did — we did a great job. And I want to thank, frankly, Saudi Arabia.  I want to thank Russia.  I want to thank Mexico.  And I want to thank OPEC, as they call it, Plus.  It’s called OPEC+.”

 

Iowa, March 2023:  “In fact, I got the oil down so low I had to save the oil companies. How about that one? Remember that little period when you were getting almost free gasoline? We had to save them. We had a call OPEC and we had to call Russia, frankly, and Saudi Arabia. We said, ‘We have to get the price up.’ But we saved all those companies.” … “What caused inflation? The oil price. The oil. Energy.  Energy became so ridiculously expensive, it drove everything up. Now everything is inflated.”
 

is one of the quotes in that article.  He had to save his billionaire buddies, not us.  Trump, that is. He admitted it, yet his supporters still run around claiming that it’s all Biden’s fault.  If they did their own research, they would have found the same information.

Edited January 12 by Anela

[bluegirl147]

20 minutes ago, Anela said:

Sometimes I think these are put out to divide us even more.  They all need to get together, and make a list of basic things we all agree on. Start there.  Health care for everyone, abortion rights, housing for the homeless.  In the past, some moderates didn’t think we should go with national health care - including friends of mine, who are now on board. 

ICYMI: “Biden to Release 1 Million Barrels of Gasoline to Reduce Prices at the Pump Ahead of July 4”

FACT CHECK: Trump Raised Oil Prices on Americans to Bail Out Big Oil By Cutting a Deal with Putin and OPEC

 

Iowa, March 2023:  “In fact, I got the oil down so low I had to save the oil companies. How about that one? Remember that little period when you were getting almost free gasoline? We had to save them. We had a call OPEC and we had to call Russia, frankly, and Saudi Arabia. We said, ‘We have to get the price up.’ But we saved all those companies.” … “What caused inflation? The oil price. The oil. Energy.  Energy became so ridiculously expensive, it drove everything up. Now everything is inflated.”
 

is one of the quotes in that article.  He had to save his billionaire buddies, not us.  Trump, that is. He admitted it, yet his supporters still run around claiming that it’s all Biden’s fault.  I guess if they did their own research, they would have found the same information.

I used to have a coworker who during that time argued in favor of bailing out the oil companies. Said basically that the world economy depended on them.  I had flashbacks to 2008 and hearing too big to fail about all the Wall Street companies that played fast and loose with mortgages and other things that after watching the Big Short still barely understand.  Oil companies make record profits pretty much every year. They get subsidies because they donate millions to politicians.  They do their best to curtail any other cleaner energy. Trump told oil companies this last campaign if they donated to him they could do whatever they wanted.   And yet I seem to remember him saying our energy prices will go down on day one of his next term.  If only liar liar pants on fire was real.  The man would have incinerated decades ago.

Edited January 12 by bluegirl147

[Dimity]

1 hour ago, tres bien said:

Because they have nothing else.They only have personal insults to hang onto 

People criticize her laugh but embrace Trump's mocking cruelty when he speaks of anyone who dares to disagree with him.  I will never understand people.

[Yeah No]

49 minutes ago, Anela said:

Sometimes I think these are put out to divide us even more.  They all need to get together, and make a list of basic things we all agree on. Start there.  Health care for everyone, abortion rights, housing for the homeless.  In the past, some moderates didn’t think we should go with national health care - including friends of mine, who are now on board. 

I never really thought about national health care until about 10 years ago and wondered why more people weren't on board with it. Then I started to hear more moderate Democrats calling for it as the years progressed. Now even my Independent husband who has voted for quite a few Republican presidents is fully on board with it. So it has been spreading.

Speaking of my husband, I intend to give him that Pew quiz to see where he lands politically according to their categories. That should be interesting because I think his views are generally more Democratic than Republican.

[atomic]

2 hours ago, Annber03 said:

But Trump can be phony as hell and that's perfectly okay? 

Pretty much. Latest phony stunt by the Trump team:

Quote

 

Trump’s oldest son visited Greenland this week as his father expressed interest in buying the island — despite officials making it clear it’s not for sale.

Danish public media organization DR News reports that many of the Trump supporters pictured dining with the president-elect’s son were unhoused and “socially disadvantaged” people asked to wear MAGA merch and offered a free dinner at Hotel Hans Egede in the town of Nuuk.

After his visit, Trump Jr. said Greenland residents “[love] America and Trump.” But multiple employees told DR News that Trump Jr.’s team handed MAGA hats to several people in front of Brugseni, a nearby grocery store, while inviting them to a free lunch at the hotel.

Brugseni employees and long-time town residents told DR News they recognized many of the people photographed dining with Trump Jr.

Tom Amtoft, a Nuuk resident of nearly three decades, told DR News that they are unhoused and elderly people who have difficulty making ends meet.

“All they have to do is put on a cap and be in the Trump staff’s videos...it is deeply distasteful,” Amtoft said.

 

https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-jr-greenland-visit-supporters-b2676937.html

 

[Dimity]

2 minutes ago, atomic said:

Tom Amtoft, a Nuuk resident of nearly three decades, told DR News that they are unhoused and elderly people who have difficulty making ends meet.

 Interesting. These are the very people who will suffer the most under his presidency.

[peacheslatour]

9 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I couldn't agree with you more, but I think the examples you give above are a little more moderately left than far left. The far left wants to radically restructure our government, reject capitalism altogether or severely restrict it, eliminate billionaires by taxation and can even be for eliminating as much private property as possible. 

Quite honestly when I joined this thread I felt that I was being criticized because my views on things weren't seen as far left enough. Now I am feeling much more in sync with the views expressed here, but my views haven't changed. So I find that interesting.

I found this very interesting quiz from Pew Research that categorizes political leanings into 9 categories from left leaning to right leaning. The quiz can be found and taken here:

https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/quiz/political-typology/ 

On the left are Progressive Left, Establishment Liberals, Democratic Mainstays and Outsider Left.

In the middle are the "Stressed Sideliners"

On the right, from left leaning to right leaning are: Ambivalent Right, Populist Right, Committed Conservatives and Faith and Flag Conservatives.

I came out a "Democratic Mainstay", and I thought I was answering the questions pretty liberally, so go figure.

I would find it interesting how others here would test on this.

 

I couldn't complete the survey because I don't believe any country should be a military super power.

[Anela]

Someone posted on twitter, that this is a national abortion ban.  
 

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/78/all-info?s=2&r=58&q={"search"%3A"actionDate%3A\"119|2025-01-03\"+AND+(billIsReserved%3A\"N\"+OR+type%3A\"AMENDMENT\")"}

All Information (Except Text) for H.R.78 - To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit certain abortion procedures, and for other purposes.

https://x.com/saddymayo/status/1878224710804082688

one of the twitter links.  Someone commented in the first post I read, that they would need sixty votes in the Senate, so it won’t pass.  

[Dimity]

9 minutes ago, Anela said:

Someone commented in the first post I read, that they would need sixty votes in the Senate, so it won’t pass.  

On the further plus side, keep it up Trump and the House will definitely not be staying Republican in 2026.

[partofme]

31 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

Speaking of my husband, I intend to give him that Pew quiz to see where he lands politically according to their categories. That should be interesting because I think his views are generally more Democratic than Republican.

I didn’t like that the survey asked nothing about US domestic policy.   Still I got Progressive Left, which is accurate even though I prefer the term liberal.  

[Absolom]

9 hours ago, Yeah No said:

 

I found this very interesting quiz from Pew Research that categorizes political leanings into 9 categories from left leaning to right leaning. The quiz can be found and taken here:

https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/quiz/political-typology/ 

On the left are Progressive Left, Establishment Liberals, Democratic Mainstays and Outsider Left.

In the middle are the "Stressed Sideliners"

On the right, from left leaning to right leaning are: Ambivalent Right, Populist Right, Committed Conservatives and Faith and Flag Conservatives.

I came out a "Democratic Mainstay", and I thought I was answering the questions pretty liberally, so go figure.

I would find it interesting how others here would test on this.

I found the quiz interesting and my results surprising.  Before taking it I would have thought I was near the middle with left leaning tendencies.  I came out as Establishment Liberal.  That's in the 19% most liberal (13% in that group plus the 6% more liberal).  No wonder I find political discussion so disturbing.   I had no idea I was that far away from so much of the country.  If they had asked different questions, I might have swung a bit more to the middle.  But if they brought up women's health rights, I might have been as far left as one can go.  

Edited January 12 by Absolom

[bluegirl147]

1 hour ago, partofme said:

I didn’t like that the survey asked nothing about US domestic policy.   Still I got Progressive Left, which is accurate even though I prefer the term liberal.  

I got the same results and was a little surprised.   I would have thought Establishment Liberal but you say potatoe I say potahto.  And I will always consider myself a liberal.

[Kemper]

What I wonder about is the mindset of MTG's constituents. Have they given any thought to what she has accomplished for them during her tenure? Has she worked on proving she has their interests at heart...and not her own childish, look-at-me agenda? Introduced any legislation that would show that she cares, even a wee bit, about their daily lives and struggles?

Getting her name and face in the news; working on how she "presents" re hair and makeup? That she has attained. But to her voters? Epic fail.