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Thank you Professor Richardson.

The implications of another Trump Presidency are profound for the United States and the rest of the world. Too many rabid cult followers who have little understanding of foreign and domestic policies consider the election to being an abstract sporting event with no bearing on their quality of life, or the future. They want their "team" to win to "Own the Libs" without an understanding that the harm to the most vulnerable -children, seniors, women, BIPOC, and the impoverished will be real and the harm will have no concern as to the political ideology of those in its path.

The election is a navigation point in which we choose a path for our society. Are we to repeat the history of 1929 by implementing the same economic policies? Are we to repeat the history of the 1930's in which the world was at war (and this time we can momentarily see if Daniel Ellsberg was right about human survivability in the face of a nuclear winter).

This is not about Red v. Blue. It is not about conservative v. liberal. This is about good governance and building upon a foundation of economic growth driven by the middle class versus a self-enriching corrupt criminal organization that seeks to continue to divide and weaken the United States while shifting as much wealth as possible to the Elon Musk's, Donald Trump's and JD Vance's of the world.

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Many do indeed want their team to win in order to own the libs. Some single-issue voters want Trump because of abortion.

I swear, if Hitler were pro-life and Gandhi were pro-choice, many of these folks would choose Hitler.

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They are choosing a hitler wanna be....

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Interestingly Terry -I don't think Trump has any ideology beyond self-enrichment, adulation, and his "brand". He only wants to be President so he can charge the Secret Service $1,000/night (ie.-taxpayers) for stays at Trump Hotels and Resorts, and so he can stay out of Prison while appointing Aileen Cannon as AG and nominating Ivanka for the Supreme Court.

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That may be, but his associates like Stephen Miller, Elon Musk, and many of the other despicables that spoke at the MSG rally are little Hitlers.

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Very true Ellen.

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Definitely his first priority is staying out of prison and not having to pay fines. But he’s easily duped so getting project 25 through is a priority for the white supremacists who he needs to prop up his ego and keep donating money. Plus if there are no guardrails they will create havoc and violence to express their grievances.

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Being a Supreme Court Justice is hard work. I can’t really see any Trump wanting to do that job.

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Not that hard. You just do whatever “Uncle” Harlan or “Uncle” Barre tell you to do.

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Not really. Nobody can tell you what to do and it’s a lifetime appointment.

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Pro choice and pro life seem the same to me. The opposite of pro choice is anti choice

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I cannot believe how well-documented the failure of their kind of proposed government/economy is.

More than that, I cannot believe people think their proposed government/economics will WORK after how well-doculented their failure is.

MAGA has so perfectly undermined the belief in "experts" for "whatever sounds/feels right to you" that people feel so comfortable now discounting whatever doesn't jive with them, personally.

No wonder the GOP never wanted critical thinking to have such an emphasis in schools - here they are capitalizing off of it.

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Very true TJB. To summarize I view it as a “factose intolerant” cult.

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George, I just had to clean my keyboard. "Factose intolerant" wins the internet today.

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Ally -I would apologize but know the value of a laugh at present time far outweighs the cost of a new keyboard. 🤓

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Factors Intolerant! George, bless you for the laugh!

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Oh my George... I like that a lot !

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🤣🤣🤣 Good going, George. First laugh of the day!

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Glad Virginia -not easy to come by right now and incredibly important to well-being! 🤓

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I doubt many members of MAGA understand what Trump and Vance have in mind the way Heather does. MAGA is an angry, unthinking mob that just wants to tear down the system without thinking through what really works and what does not work about what we have today.

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I viewed the recently theatre released documentary '64 Days' yesterday with a few friends. Everyone, every American, should see this film about the planning and run-up to January 6.

My only complaint is why did they wait to screen this film so close to election day?! Over 50 million folks have already voted. WTF.

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DK, I’ve been noticing in the past few election cycles that the advent of early/mail-in/drop-off voting options (IMHO options are good if it enhances participation & access) has skewed the the timing of mailers, TV/other media ads, published opinion pieces and review/recommendation of candidates, propositions and measures—I imagine it is difficult to get the timing “just right” to capture the attention of the electorate.

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That doesn’t explain the tens of millions who are not really members of the cult, but intend to vote for Trump. ?

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I think most of those people aren't "voting for Trump" but rather "won't vote for Harris". It's the downfall of a two party system - they don't like either candidate, but their prejudice against one is greater then the other. Or they're single issue voters who don't CARE about the whole so long as a candidate checks one box for them.

My family is fond of saying, "You need to pick the lesser evil!" (which they mean Trump) and my response now is, "Evil is evil, whether lesser, middling, or greater. If you're negotiating evil, you've already lost." (Meaning, if you know he's evil and vote for him anyway, then you're aiding and abetting evil).

They don't like that much.

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I think that a lot of people who back Trump think they are patriotic.

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Musk needs to take a course on American economic history!

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Ron, IMHO, Musk needs to get on one of his rockets headed to Mars….

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They have no knowledge of economics and do not understand taxation. I see many posts promoting a flat tax as if it would benefit them and hit billionaires. They have been scammed by Grover Norquist and his successors. They think that if they don't get a tax refund, they "lost" ... they don't get that a big refund means they gave the government and interest free loan.

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Well-stated!

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Spot on, George. I know we only comprise about 8-10% of the population, but us rainbow folks are in the crosshairs of being harmed as well. What I see in my MAGAt work cohort is a reliance on the hatred and lies that are spewed by their "news" sources.

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Trump’s rallies really are like sporting events,

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Yes. Like when he wrestles words trying to form a sentence (hoping he gets a few of them post-election).

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There is an epidemic of irrationality; pluralistic ignorance. The Maga types, et al, are supporting policies without considering their perils. How to control the prolific spread of crazy stories and the villainy they represent? These stories are distorting values, truths and meaning.

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An important question. Subscriptions to independent, well-vetted journalists and entities like ProPublica and The Guardian seem to be a good start.

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