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Mark Shields's avatar

;) had to look up imprescindible!

Always appreciate a vocabulary extender.

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John P's avatar

Trump is a blatant and completely transparent liar, but it doesn't matter because so many don't care. But thinking that all means are justified by worthy ends amounts to moral failure, an outrightly an assault on human decency. Unfortunately for us all, there will always be consequences.

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Susan Guare's avatar

He's propped up by Fox News. The few people I know who support him spout precisely what's said on FNC, and if I ask a question outside that realm, they can't answer.

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Anne B's avatar

I agree, he is propped up by Fox. It is also crucial for me to remember that his margin really was small, and that the primary driver for right wing gains worldwide in recent elections was inflation. The second driver, in the US and Europe, was immigration. Although I thought Biden was very good, he was tone-deaf on immigration until the end. In other words, I don't think Democrats could have won, but it was no landslide. Inflation and immigration will be slipping as key points.

I say these things because it is crucial to keep hope alive. Cynicism and hopelessness are seductive. I know this from personal experience. There are many, many ways for MAGA to crash, and it is far more likely to crash if we value our own mental health as our top priority, and stay steady.

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Gail Adams VA/FL's avatar

Exactly. The OAN watchers are even worse.

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Kathy Hughes's avatar

Unfortunately, these consequences fall on the people who are least able to bear them.

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MLMinET's avatar

I used to feel empathy for them. Now I think they chose the bind we are in. No pass for not knowing.

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MLRGRMI's avatar

MLMinET, your comment stops me in my tracks this morning. I struggle to resist accepting that тАЬtheyтАЭ intentionally тАЬchose the bind we are inтАЭ. Yet, everyday it seems to become more apparent that this is so. I feel in the company of Cassandras here. All the work and shouting and ringing of alarm bells we have done, and the greater number of Americans chose to worship the golden calf. And often just to spite us. If they were the only ones to bear the burden, I would say тАЬGood Riddance!тАЭ. But they are dragging us all into the lower pits of Hell. Damn them.

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MLMinET's avatar

I agree with you but I donтАЩt think it was done out of spite. I had long discussions with a friend about this. Trump voters, for their own reasons, chose Trump. Therefore, they also chose the consequences whether they knew it or not. I canтАЩt cut them slack if they were тАЬtoo busy тАЬ or whatever excuse they had for not knowing. As a voter, one is responsible for some amount of knowledge about the position of the person theyтАЩre voting for. If the voter doesnтАЩt know, he or she is still responsible for his or her voteтАЩs outcome. So donтАЩt complain to me if Trump cuts your food stamps, takes away your ACA medical insurance or whateverтАФYOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR VOTE AND THE CONSEQUENCES THEREOF. But yes, we must suffer too. And that makes me angry.

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Terry's avatar

Worthy ends? No such thing with the felon / rapist...it's all about revenge, destruction and robbing the country blind.

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MadRussian12A's avatar

The "felon" is only interested in getting a nut. Pretty obvious.

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Sophia Demas's avatar

Lying is the least of trump's character traits. In this newsletter Heather makes it very clear that for the next four years we should fear for our safety.The MAGAs will be affected as well. The question is will they be too stupid to wake up?

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MadRussian12A's avatar

C'mon Sophia.., they're not asleep. They're just "drivin while blind". Surely, you see? So, we need to keep on truckin. Be cool, give thanks for The Grateful Dead, but don't cash in your chips yet.

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Sandy's avatar

I couldnтАЩt find that word. Can you tell me what it means?

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GJ Loft ME CA FL IL NE CT MI's avatar

essential or indispensable ЁЯЩВ

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MLRGRMI's avatar

Essential

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Paula Dean Coykendall's avatar

Much easier to use and say. I like learning new words, but I prefer that they be useful - otherwise, I will forget them again.

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Mark Shields's avatar

Well, some words are useful, but some are iMprescindible! ЁЯШЙ

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Doug G's avatar

It's spelled "iMprescindible", not "in..."

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Rex Page (Left Coast)'s avatar

тАЬImprescindibleтАЭ is a word in Spanish. It does not appear in the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary, which I think is enough to disqualify it as a word in American English. The terms тАЬessentialтАЭ and тАЬindispensableтАЭ are commonly used and shorter. I conclude that тАЬimprescindibleтАЭ is useless in American English and hope that anyone tempted to use it in the future will find the strength to resist.

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Doug G's avatar

But Rex, тАЬtacoтАЭ is a word in Spanish, and it's delicious. ЁЯШД

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Mark Shields's avatar

Lived and worked on 5 continents, including one externally defined country of 10 million with 9 major language groups, and 92 distinct language dialects at the turn of the millennium (an agrarian collection of ancient societies with LOW mobility until Cecil B. Rhodes ran a train through it about the time a Dr. Livingstone was 'rediscovered' there).

Resistance to the evolution and merging of language leaves one with Babel, the archetypical failed communication state.

This externally defined nation, my home for 14 years, became a functioning modern state with a longer intact series of democratic transitions than the US (given Gore v Bush, & assassinations), ON THE BASIS of adopting a foreign colonial language as an official language, since it was the only common tongue of a majority of the educated class at independence 61 years ago.

Mr. Chiluba, the father of my first hire, who spoke 'the King's English' and employed Robert's rules of order in government meetings, was responsible for translating this constitution into Bemba, the most common of these 9 major language groups understood by a 30% population minority, and into Nyanja, the second most common 'language', which by then was actually a creole (mix) of many of the the others, but native to a small 4.5% population group called Chewa.

One comes to deeply appreciate the tolerance (and the emphasis on relationships between tribes) of the people of this nation, when one finally comes home to the US.

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Mark Shields's avatar

(Would have answered, Sandy, but others saw the questions first, and did fine!)

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Frank Loomer's avatar

new one for me, too, and to think as a kid then teen i read into the dictionary to "find new words" lol This isn't one i need to Wordle about however :)

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Anne-Louise Luccarini's avatar

And a good speller, to boot!

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Susan Guare's avatar

I also looked it up.

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Dick Montagne's avatar

I thought at first it had to be a typo, I got the drift, but Gary saved me having to look it up ЁЯЩП it was for sure a new word for me, we continue to learn, those of us with our eyes open anyhow.

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Ally House (Oregon)'s avatar

Likewise!

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Doug G's avatar

Me too, Mark! I'll likely never use it, as I'm not sure it's necessary vocab addition when the word necessary is already firmly in my brain. But thank you, Ricardo, for introducing me to it!

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MadRussian12A's avatar

Yes.., thanks Ricardo, doggone it. I was getting quite tired of just using "Right", "like', and "you know". ??? Right? Yeah.., like you know, right. Forget whatever the hell we were talkin about in the first place.. you know.., right (?) like you know, right. Awsome! Yupp, rock on.

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Doug G's avatar

MadRussian, I meanтАж

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MadRussian12A's avatar

Doug!! Like.., you know. right? Like..

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