443 Comments

Strolling down Memory Lane, screenshots almost 5 years ago.

"How sad it must be-- believing that scientists, scholars, historians, economists and journalists have devoted their entire lives to deceiving you while a reality tv star with decades of fraud and exhaustively documented lying is your only beacon of truth and honesty." Most of today's republicans wouldn't recognize truth and honesty if it bit them in their fat a$$es.

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It really is in large part about a society that admires and emulates “grifting” as the how to get ahead methodology. It’s a strange mix of sociopaths (like Trump) wannabes and the huge number of psychologically aggrieved.

Seeing grifters like Trump actually winning by cheating, tax evasion and crushing would be competition ( like asking to be paid per contract agreement) is the perfect mental dream state for the actual “loser” masses.

These economic losers who have no understanding of how what they aspire to actually is their oppressor. They would literally rather die than examine the true nature of “Grifter Capitalism” that Milton Friedman, Friedrich Hayek other far right inspired in todays fascist loving Republican Party. Most of the rank and file have no clue about this grift in which they are willing idiots of their contemptuous sociopathic idols.

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Snake oil, and those that sell it, has always been a big, big part of the American experience.

Just imagine dictating an entire book while looking into a hat and then starting a religion based on what came out of hat? Sound amazing, go out to Salt Lake City and look around. It IS amazing.

Trump is just the latest iteration of Joseph Smith and others like him.

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So well said, Gigi!

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"This really is a BFD!" -Joe Biden. This is the best, most candid, and down right funniest comment I have herd from a public official in decades. It filled me with blue collar hope. Our democracy (okay, we actually live in a constitutional republic - for now) is MUCH safer today than it was on Sunday. That is a large reason why this is such a BFD. What the neo-con(federates) feared the most has come to pass - the passage of a bipartisan bill through the process of hard negotiation. Yippee ki yay! Sometimes the perfect is the enemy of the good. Please, let's work from where we are, progressing toward an ideal, rather than trying to jump right to that ideal.

Another bit of surprising news: "Today the central committee of the Wyoming Republican Party voted 31–29 that it would no longer recognize Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) as a member because of her stand against Trump for his role in the January 6 insurrection." 31 to 29. That means the Wyoming Republican central committee is divided almost in half. That was not the case a month ago.

Remember: "It will all be all right in the end. If it is not all right, it is not the end". - The Best Marigold Hotel. :)

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I feel that much gnashing of teeth will come before the end…. Why does anyone still refer to republicans as if they are a serious entity. They have become the enemy of us all. Sorry but a cult is not a tribe, a cult demands the suspension of any logic or empathy. A tribe has a positive vibe. Know the difference.

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I still can't understand the devotion, love, and adherence to the former president...

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And I doubt you ever will, because you have to be sexist and racist without self-examination. I will never understand it either, but I have seen it fiercely expressed a whole lot in the last five years, nearly always by white blue collar men. Warehouse workers and truck drivers. They see a guy who looks successful and wealthy, who is white and racist and sexist, and it makes them feel good about their identity as a white man. It’s rather shallow and dim, from our perspective, identifying so closely with one’s white race and male gender, but there it is. Put between 40% and half of the US in that circle, the circle of people who are comfortable and happy in their cushy little Hallmark channel bubble, where the whites and the men figure prominently and call the shots, and diversity agents (people of color or women in their power) are targets of suspicion. We live in a remarkably polarized society. Two completely different worldviews.

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Thank you for this reply, Roland. You didn't say anything I didn't know, but actually verified the truth. That actually helps me grapple with this atrocity of Drump love.

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You’re welcome Christi. We are all grappling with this abomination, and sometimes telling the truth about it is the only weapon we have.

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exactly, every word. two of my bros

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Oh, lucky YOU. Two of your brothers. For me, it’s my father.

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Missed you, Roland! Hope all’s well💙.

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You’re very sweet, Ashley, thank you 😘

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propaganda works, did Rupert ever show the worst from tfg. Would bet that Fox never showed clips of the word salad, and the Helsinki pic if have of Putin obviously in charge of the loser. Fox isn't stupid. They know how to slander and how to make a hero out of bull schitt

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Must we understand them? Can we rope, and throw, and brand them as the seditious criminals they appear to be?

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I find that you can't find a solution to a problem unless you thoroughly understand the dynamics of the problem. In this case the dynamics are emotional. Anger, fear, relating to another white man who they think have all the answers to better their lives. Reality says this is not at all true, but that is where we divide. We understand the real 45, and the others don't care to understand and will create delusions to stay engaged.

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James, It's what kinder, open minded, peaceable people do. We always try to understand, to find reasons, attempt dialogue, etc. etc. It's not working to well for us lately! Reason cannot dialogue with emotion, especially with fear and hatred. We have been failing to adapt... Our well-funded and power-hungry opponents correctly view it as our fatal flaw.

Not this time! We won't fight them with their dirty tactics, but we are getting smarter. We are out-thinking them. We will use the very tools that they seek to destroy against them:

The LAW, and the VOTE.

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They are also the enemy of themselves!! As they destabilize the government they will ruin their personal fortunes (except the fortunes they have parked offshore). They scream about Biden causing this present inflation, but if they succeed with THEIR plan, the proverbial 'wheelbarrows of (their) cash' wouldn't much anymore. Don't they see that?

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Biden was clever to say “next year will be the first year in 20 years American infrastructure investment will grow faster than China’s.” That plays on us-and-Russia-against-China racism in the white electorate to get them behind the program.

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BFD is Joe's slogan. Remember that a mic caught him saying the real words to Obama when the ACA passed.

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I love this. So much for Biden's squeaky clean grandpa image. I also loved it when he came out a few days ago when the Bill passed and he was laughing and mocking tfg about "Infrastructure Week".

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Barbara, I saw that on a clip. It was sweet. My guy.

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"Squeaky clean grandpa image"? I learned to cuss from my grandfather who before WWI was the First Sergeant in a troop of cavalry. A grandfather isn't all piggyback rides and butterscotch candies, neither is a grandmother.

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I was speaking to the media perception they like to put out there.

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No, it will not (necessarily) be “all right” in the end.

There is a chance of things being “all right” if we take individual responsibility for understanding how we are being fleeced by an unending line of hucksters to vote against our own best interests in return for some feel good bullshit like the importance of feeling personally powerful by swaggering about with an AR45 anytime your dick feels limp or being uneducated, unhealthy and underemployed but at least the undeserving others are worse off than you are.

We have been competing for a race to the bottom, spurred on by the political donations by the likes of Koch Industries who getting ever wealthier and more powerful as we head for societal collapse.

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I'm surprised that the foam dripping from your fangs didn't short out your keyboard! ;) I can certainly echo your anger -- I've spent too much of the last, ...wow, 40 years quivering with rage and thinking bloody thoughts about various neighbors, family members, and fellow citizens.

Last week, after almost 10 years of swearing to myself that I would rather bite off a finger than be around my wealthy, highly-educated, Trump-voting family members, I had lunch with my cousin. He's a long-time lead legal counsel for one of the state Republican parties -- he doesn't need an AR-15 to feel powerful, since he actually is.

We talked. Some about family, but also about our differences. Not that we argued about them, it was more an exploration of the contours of our differences. He seemed surprised that I didn't know anyone who voted Republican, and that I really didn't understand why anyone would want to. He asked me why I was a Democrat (I'm not, really), and didn't answer when I said that at least the Democrats have a viable theory of government, while the Republicans don't seem to. I think my words were, "I can't imagine why the Republicans seem to prefer corrupt Business and corrupt Religion over corrupt Government. At least with corrupt Government, there's a chance you can vote the assholes out." And I was gratified by his silence, because I didn't take it to mean that he agreed with me, but that he was determined to avoid an argument, too.

I hope we can repeat our lunch and perhaps other discussions, too. And I'm glad I have a "safe" space here to vent my outrage over the crap my cousin's collegues spew into our political bloodstream every day. I don't want to vent that rage over my neighbors, my family members, and my fellow citizens (although pissing on Roger Stone's grave is on my bucket list). Instead, I want to work with him, because I'm quite certain that the next century will be very, very hard, and fighting each other will be deadly for a great many of us, regardless of religion or political belief.

It's not the pandemic that's killing our nation, it's the fight.

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Thanks for your comment Dirk.

You present a constructive way of dealing with the anger and hopelessness I am increasingly feeling. Talk out our differences.

I am fearful of becoming a parody of an angry old guy, alienating friends and being the butt of jokes. I do care, deeply, but is it always reasonable, considered, constructive? Watching the Kyle Rittenhauser trail really is making me choke on my own venom.

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I haven't watched a single minute of it. Forbidden to do so by shrink and daughter as I continue to recover from a near catatonic meltdown. I thought being a good citizen meant that I had to keep track of all the bad stuff happening right now. I can tell you it feels much better when you stop drinking poison and throwing sand and gore in your eyes, allowing one to be stronger, smarter, and a more effective citizen. activist, participant -- as opposed to wounded viewer. I'm not exactly there yet! But I have a chance since I turned the TV off. Almost as hard as quiting smoking....

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Thank you for that. I have been subscribing to Schweitzer comment “Think occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight.” It can take over one’s life, which does no good at all.

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I have never seen such a travesty. I'm old and I have seen plenty. Some network should show a pic of his Mom with her assault rifles draped on her. She drove him and guns to the protest. Wonder why. Puke

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Christian, Do you have speakers with you computer, so that you can hear music when opening a link which contains an outlet on which to hear music, such as You Tube?

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Fern, that is the most moving rendition.

I think it should be promoted as the anthem for this forum.

That is what friends are for. Thank you.

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Robert Hubbell’s newsletters for optimism grounded in reality: “Defeatism is contagious and toxic, so stop the super spreaders!”

roberthubbell.substack.com

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my bros are not wealthy or highly-educated, just never been more than 50 miles from rural NC. Still no excuse for falling for a cult, All Fox watchers are likely cult devotees. Your talk sounded productive, mine, not so much.

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Love your perspective. You might also like reading Robert Hubbell.

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Thanks, I'll check 'im out, and thanks for the recommendation!

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So restrained, Christian. I can't wait until you've warmed up. Eager for your next post, truly!

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😂😂, Fern! I’m right with ya’!

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Marlene, Christian won my respect and appreciation a while back. I replied to him with, I hope, a sense of humor and comradery.

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Fern; 🎵we belong to a mutual …🎶

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Are you able to play links to music from our computer, Christian?

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You absolutely did, Fern, and I so appreciated your clever response!

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Thank you, Marlene. That was a relief to hear.

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I think it depends on how one defines “the end”, Christian. Is it after the midterms, after the presidential? When, in realty, is “the end”?

IMHO, it will be at some later date, after the “smoke” clears. It may get REALLY bad in the interim, but right WILL triumph over might––or evil––or any other definition of the forces of darkness.

ITM, we must concentrate on the positive, the constructive! In addition to the political arena, there is much to be done at the ground-level, community stage. Our traditional institutions and organizations are in shambles, and seem destined to decay even further.

We need to organize our friends, family, neighbors, to buttress our educational systems, our public safety infrastructure, our moral/spiritual standards, and so much more! We must rebuild––reconstruct––the social order.

That is where victory lies!

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Thanks for your reply Bill.

I totally agree, there is a need for optimism and I believe there is never an end, only change.

My view of "The End" is greatly influenced by the events of the tyranny which forced my family out of our comfortable middle-class existence of many many generations in Germany. In our case not by oppression or victimization, but by shame and despair. Our family did not thrive after emigrating and all that generations had worked for as a family came to an end. Change was brought about in Germany which led to what I believe is a more just and introspective society and that is a good thing.

It was also "the End" for six million Jews, their families, their communities, their hopes.

It was "The End" for the soldiers and civilians who died in that conflict and the many other conflicts brought on by tyrants and other liars during my generation.

Another "End" I fear is climate change. Not a problem in my lifetime, in fact I will most likely benefit, but the effects talked about at the Glasgow Conference focused mostly on conservative projections. Glacial fissures have not been factored into most climate change modelling which will cause much more rapid melting of glaciers and icecaps and subsequent sea level rises and flooding of all coastal cities, melting of permafrost in the arctic will release trillions of metric tonnes of methane which could advance us to a tipping point where things will be "all right" again, in perhaps half a million years.

To blindly believe things will be "all right" without seriously looking at what can happen and what we should be taking responsibility for is not all right with me.

I do believe there is hope though and a way out of the mess we are digging ourselves into. It was shown to me by a friend in this videoclip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyTpu6BmE88

Hope, Thats what friends are for :).

That's what this forum is for. Thanks for being here.

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... to add to the above I recommend Timothy Snyder's "On Tyranny", which has been cited in this forum before, for another look at what "the end" can look like.

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Christian, I appreciate your response and the “back story” of your viewpoint. My heart goes out to you and your family for the calamitous experience you all faced. It is a tragic occurrence that has been a part of human history for all time.

My personal and family history is also catastrophic. My ancestors were brought to these shores in chains. They and their progeny suffered centuries of unspeakable horrors and terror, and a continuing denial of their humanity.

My personal perspective probably would be considered pollyannaish, especially given my background, but I discovered a spiritual “movement” about 45 years ago that lays out a blueprint for humanity’s future that, though incredibly optimistic, makes a solid case for the redemption of the human race.

Imagine, if you will, humanity as an individual; it began as an infant and has now grown into adolescence. The upheaval that we have been experiencing is much like the orbit of a teenager leaving childhood and struggling to become an adult. Humanity is throwing tantrums one moment and claiming to be a grownup in the next.

We have to navigate this terrifying but necessary passage, alternating between childishness and maturity in fits and starts. But grow up we will! Battered and scarred we will rise above the carnage and wreckage of this transition and enter a new period of reconstruction and reconciliation.

I know it is a difficult perspective to accept, but the plan exists and we can all contribute to its success.

But in the meantime, these words from Winston Churchill early in WWII seem particularly apropos: “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”

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Thank you. I reread ‘On Tyranny’ once in a while and subscribe to ‘Thinking about….’.

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My family, too, Christian, Poland and Hungary,

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When what and/or who's 'smoke clears'? Which states, in terms of educations, for instance, Texas, Florida, Wyoming, Mississippi, Alabama... ? Why isn't getting the national voting acts passed and strong public lobbying of DA, Merrick Garland, to prosecute those who have committed treasonous acts the first order of business?

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Fern, I think you may have misunderstood me. What I am suggesting does not replace voting rights or the prosecution of these criminals. And it is not state or region specific as far as education or any other issue is concerned. I suspect that we face massive disruption of various sorts throughout the nation.

What I believe is that we must, in parallel with the efforts to stem the ruinous political tide, is to establish fresh initiatives in terms of recreating the human infrastructure that is under assault from the same forces that seek to destroy our political and other institutions. Most of these attacks are national in character and, whereas you may be able to identify “hot spots” politically, much of the danger in other areas is shared, or will soon be shared, by all of us.

It is critical that we construct new entities that can repel the sorts of propaganda that has been used over the past several decades. Truth and reality must be reestablished is such a manner that the “slings and arrows” of the outrageous are turned back.

We are, for the most part, alert and aware of the legislative felonies that are being committed on an almost daily basis. Treason and traitors can be easily identified. What is also an existential wildfire is the undermining of our educators, scientists, experts in every field, by the duplicitous felons who turn our language into tools and weapons to dismantle our civilization.

Now is the time to rush to the aid of those who are dedicated to help our children and youth to understand their world and to discover the ways and means to navigate it. Reality has been targeted by the malicious fear mongers and spreaders of hate. But we can erect the “ramparts” of reality to turn back these nether forces.

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If I understand your comment, Bill, you are seeking ways, which you have termed 'entities', to address the lies/propaganda/conspiracies/destabilizing factors infecting our society. Two of the people I believe to be in the forefront of understanding the tyrannical forces at large in our country are Timothy Snyder and Jonathan Haidt. You may be interested in their work.

Timothy David Snyder is an American author and historian specializing in the history of Central and Eastern Europe and the Holocaust. He is the Richard C. Levin Professor of History at Yale University and a permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna. (Wikipedia) His newsletter on substack is called, 'Thinking about... ' List of his books are below.

On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century (2017)

Bloodlands (2010)

Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning (2015)

The Road to Unfreedom (2018)

https://www.timothysnyder.org/

Jonathan David Haidt is an American social psychologist, Professor of Ethical Leadership at New York University Stern School of Business, and author. His main areas of study are the psychology of morality and moral emotions. (Wikipedia) List of his book is below.

The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion

2012

The Happiness Hypothesis

2006

The Coddling of the American Mind

2018

Why Do They Vote That Way? From The Righteous Mind

2018

Can't We All Disagree More Constructively? From The Righteous Mind

2016 (Links to some of articles by and about Haidt are below)

https://muckrack.com/jonathan-haidt/articles

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/12/social-media-democracy/600763/

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/05/jonathan-haidt-pandemic-and-americas-polarization/612025/

I look forward to our future exchanges.

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“In realty”, the end is when you close on a property, I think. In REALITY, the end is much harder to define! (Har, har.)

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Hi, Bill! You’ve been missed; hope all’s well💙!

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Things are fine, Ashley. Thanks for responding. I’ve been preoccupied recently.

On a more personal not, what section of TN is home to you. I had an E. TN connection eons ago.

Hope you are sell, also.

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Western TN (the 💙Blues💙 end) is where I reside, Bill.

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Actually, Steve, it may have been while reading your comment that I finally figured out what BFD meant! Funny, huh!

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The Republicans are FUBAR!

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F’d up beyond all recognition.

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Michael. Having not served in the military, it is on the Forum that I first faced this collection of acronyms. I am making a copy of the list and will keep it close to the computer when on the Forum. TQ!

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WHAT?! Please spell it out

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Military slang: "F'd up beyond all recognition. WW2 or Korean War vintage, I think.

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The earlier acronym was SNAFU. Came into common usage during construction of the Alaska Highway thru northern Canada.

Situation Normal All F**d up!

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All 3 phrases were standard comments during my 25 years in the USN. Often had to explain to new butter bar wearers.

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The BAR is 'beyond all recognition.' You can figure out the beginning...

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Thanks, John. Humans are the best detectives and caregivers.

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Ask Siri. She knows everything...almost!

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I had to look that one up too. And I agree!

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Fern, love your comment, especially since you are the one always asking us to 'spell it out'...you made me smile😊

This is a BFD!

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LOL! Oh, I love all of your comments. It makes my day to find so many folks that feel the same as I do! Love and hugs to all!

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Thank you, Laurie. It would not have been any good to ask HCR to spell it out, but another comic note for sure. Next time, I will asked her. If you want to know about one of the ways Reagan f____ed, NYC read my comment. It wasn't funny.

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Laurie I am overwhelmed by the intellectual level of this exchange. Are we sprucing up our language to better communicate with the despicables? I suggest that you use capital letters and highlight FALSE FACTS so that there will be a level playing field.

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Had to laugh reading these comments! Surprised that so many didnt know what BFD means! Maybe I've been around too long.

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Okay, Prof.

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Fern, don’t forget WTF, or my personal fave, WTAF?

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Marcy, You're killing me, and SPELL THEM OUT!

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What the f*ck

What the actual f*ck.

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Thank you, teach! What the f*ck! How*re my doing?

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All y'all have to watch your f___ing language! WTF!

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I had to ask Siri what BFD was? LOL

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As I've said now multiple times, Biden worked very hard and smart for this, and now it's law. I don't agree with him on everything, but I've learned over many years that one never agrees with a politician on everything. I am more confident this morning, though, since passage was bipartisan, that we are going in a good direction overall.

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A remembered line from a favorite movie. ❤️🤍💙

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You made my day. Thank you 😊

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A golden comment Steve. Thank you.

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Yup. Just yup.

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I hear you, Steve.

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Hopefully Democrats will call out every lying hypocrite Republiscum who touts what the infrastructure bill will do for their state, who voted against it. The campaign ads write themselves for those turds.

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The Lincoln Project is on that. The Democrats also need to buy long term, at least through the mid-terms, billboard space on major roads with an X through the face of the Senator or Congressman who’s district the billboard is in and an explanation that they voted against job creation and economic benefits for that district and state. They need to be left up to remind people on a daily basis what they will never see on fox. The Democrats need to get creative in a hurry and sharpen their knives 🔪 or we can kiss our democracy goodbye.

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Yes to billboards and /or banners. On our August drive along I-80 from Colorado to Michigan several banners along road construction projects caught our eyes: 'Thank the Democrats for Your New Road' ( ex). We cheered.

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That's an excellent idea.

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Over my lifetime, I came to realize that "white privilege" was a long list of economic, social and political benefits that white Americans unknowingly obtained over hundreds of years of sidelining indigenous people, people of color, non-Christians and women.

I am now realizing that this system was actually built and perpetuated by white men able to get away with murder and crimes against the country, like Trump, Bannon, Meadows and Flynn with facilitators like the Trump Republican Party. Until we have justice, law and order protecting every American from these white collar political criminals, there will be no peace or prosperity for most Americans.

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If you haven't read "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents" by Isabel Wilkerson, hurry over to your nearest library or bookstore and get a copy. She lays out the "long list" in superb fashion. It's a lengthy book but very readable.

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“Caste” is in my kindle; am now reading “White Rage” by Carol Anderson and I get rageful just seeing in print what the formerly GOP has done to our country…not sure we will recover and I am fearful as to the midterms…they have such control over so many states.

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Readable, informative and heart breaking. And it gives us a chance to do better, now that we know where we are.

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Ann, thanks for another book recommendation. Order sent together with study guide.

I do suspect this whole crowd of commenters on Substack's "Letters From an American" to be schilling for Amazon. My ever supportive wife is eyeing my Amazon account suspiciously since I became a subscriber here.

Oh well, I feel better abought making Bezos richer than I would making Zuckerberg wealthier. And I am not as exposed to the inanities of facebook.

I keep hoping that with just a bit more reading, a bit more knowledge, a bit more insight and with encouragement from Fern, I will learn to express myself more succinctly.

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Independent bookstores should be treated as institutions.

From On Tyranny:

2.

Defend an institution. Follow the courts or the media, or a court or a newspaper. Do not

speak of “our institutions” unless you are making them yours by acting on their behalf.

Institutions don't protect themselves. They go down like dominoes unless each is defended

from the beginning.

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Christian, I have found many of the books recommended here at my online library (Libby). And many can be downloaded to my kindle.

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I don’t think you would approve of Amazon’s labor practices. Hopefully, you and or your wife will find other book sellers. I will post a few along with articles about Amazon, if your interested. Cheers, Christian.

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I’d be interested in the articles Fern, not sure they would dissuade me of the convenience of Amazon though. Definitely concerned about their monopoly power but also concerned that all positive things have to be perfect before they are good.

Dorothy needs no convincing. She is a consumer Luddite.

We really enjoyed the Dionne Warwick Compilation Album. Thanks again for the link.

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Hi Christen, I posted links to articles about Amazon's Labor practices from your Yeats comment about 15 minutes ago. . Just post that you received it when you have a chance. Thanks. Salud!

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Did receive. Thanks Fern.

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Hi Christen, it is good to hear from you. I will reply tomorrow or Friday with several in-depth pieces, but haven't done any recent research about the Amazon. I'll look to see if anything worthwhile was recently published. '... concerned that all positive things have to be perfect before they are good.' I didn't understand that line of yours, Christian. Perfection isn't my goal in life, but occasional ecstasy, bountiful harvests, natural beauty and captivating art, top-notch journalism, a long swim in a clear lake, generosity, basketball, good humor, love... yes, there is much to appreciate. Cheers, Fern

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