(10-11-2024, 02:27 PM)Duchess Wrote: I thought for sure we would see a woman president before we saw a black man president.

(10-17-2024, 05:37 PM)Duchess Wrote: When Dick Cheney endorsed her it, blew my mind! Dick fuckin' Cheney endorsing a Democrat. Hell has frozen over!

(10-17-2024, 06:49 PM)username Wrote:

(10-17-2024, 02:02 PM)rothschild Wrote:

(10-17-2024, 10:18 AM)Duchess Wrote: I've seen a little bit of polling re: men and overwhelmingly it is trump supporters who absolutely do not want a female president. They (wrongly) think a woman's place is in the home, they don't view women as being capable of anything more than homemaking & mothering. They have an archaic view of women.

I try not to read too much into polls but they are in my face everyday. One I recently saw showed that in 2016 roughly 50% of women choose trump! What the fuckity fuck. I do not understand the appeal at all. I hate that fucker, I hate every single thing about him, the way he looks, the way he sounds, the way he treats people make me so friggin' mad. I don't think he deserves the air he breathes. He is not a friend to America.

Doesn't make sense they'd waste money on an add targeting Republicans, and I don't see independents being hung up about gender, so they must be concerned about their own base, who also aren't hung up about gender. Shades of Hillary's "the first woman president". Why should anyone be concerned about that hooey when there are serious economic problems?

Remember when Bill Clinton coined the term "it's the economy, stupid"? There's truth in it, but the problem is that there's two economies: the rich man's economy, and the one everyone else functions in. The first one consolidates wealth and power in the hands of those who lack for nothing, the other one stagnates while the dollar depreciates. Consumer, corporate and government debt increases exponentially, but those who reap the rewards of this corrupt arrangement aren't on the hook for it, we are.

It's not a problem when it's only the poor who suffer but it's to the point where the middle class is steadily contracting, and both parties have chosen to ignore it. This isn't anything new for the Republicans, but the reason the poor and middle class have supported the Democratic Party is because they represented an alternative to the extreme inequalities inherent to laissez-faire economics. Now it appears that they can no longer make up for it with identity politics and worthless social justice rhetoric. Let's be honest, if they really cared about social justice they would have defended the national economy against the depredations of those who want everything; instead they aided and abetted them while everyone else has suffered.

People who are one paycheck away from becoming homeless don't give a shit about party politics, they're concerned about the policies that have pulled the rug out from under them. Trump doesn't really care about them, but neither does the Democratic Party, so whining about him probably isn't going to win the election.

Y'all made your bed, now you get to sleep in it.

So, nice lecture. Are u advocating for a 3^rd party? If so, great. How do you foresee that happening? Absent some legislative and judicial intervention (campaign reform) do u really think that will just happen in our lifetimes? If u live in the U.S. u know ur a “y’all” too however you’ve chosen to vote (or not). It’s ur bed too.
Does it feel good to criticize everything u perceive as wrong with the country and our republic without offering up solutions? What would RC do?

(10-17-2024, 07:23 PM)rothschild Wrote:

(10-17-2024, 06:49 PM)username Wrote:

(10-17-2024, 02:02 PM)rothschild Wrote:

(10-17-2024, 10:18 AM)Duchess Wrote: I've seen a little bit of polling re: men and overwhelmingly it is trump supporters who absolutely do not want a female president. They (wrongly) think a woman's place is in the home, they don't view women as being capable of anything more than homemaking & mothering. They have an archaic view of women.

I try not to read too much into polls but they are in my face everyday. One I recently saw showed that in 2016 roughly 50% of women choose trump! What the fuckity fuck. I do not understand the appeal at all. I hate that fucker, I hate every single thing about him, the way he looks, the way he sounds, the way he treats people make me so friggin' mad. I don't think he deserves the air he breathes. He is not a friend to America.

Doesn't make sense they'd waste money on an add targeting Republicans, and I don't see independents being hung up about gender, so they must be concerned about their own base, who also aren't hung up about gender. Shades of Hillary's "the first woman president". Why should anyone be concerned about that hooey when there are serious economic problems?

Remember when Bill Clinton coined the term "it's the economy, stupid"? There's truth in it, but the problem is that there's two economies: the rich man's economy, and the one everyone else functions in. The first one consolidates wealth and power in the hands of those who lack for nothing, the other one stagnates while the dollar depreciates. Consumer, corporate and government debt increases exponentially, but those who reap the rewards of this corrupt arrangement aren't on the hook for it, we are.

It's not a problem when it's only the poor who suffer but it's to the point where the middle class is steadily contracting, and both parties have chosen to ignore it. This isn't anything new for the Republicans, but the reason the poor and middle class have supported the Democratic Party is because they represented an alternative to the extreme inequalities inherent to laissez-faire economics. Now it appears that they can no longer make up for it with identity politics and worthless social justice rhetoric. Let's be honest, if they really cared about social justice they would have defended the national economy against the depredations of those who want everything; instead they aided and abetted them while everyone else has suffered.

People who are one paycheck away from becoming homeless don't give a shit about party politics, they're concerned about the policies that have pulled the rug out from under them. Trump doesn't really care about them, but neither does the Democratic Party, so whining about him probably isn't going to win the election.

Y'all made your bed, now you get to sleep in it.

So, nice lecture. Are u advocating for a 3^rd party? If so, great. How do you foresee that happening? Absent some legislative and judicial intervention (campaign reform) do u really think that will just happen in our lifetimes? If u live in the U.S. u know ur a “y’all” too however you’ve chosen to vote (or not). It’s ur bed too.
Does it feel good to criticize everything u perceive as wrong with the country and our republic without offering up solutions? What would RC do?

We're all in the same boat when it comes to the nation. "Y'all" are the people invested in the Democratic Party, which has done everything it can to make the election about Trump, ignoring the fact that the economy is collapsing. People see they're being ignored, that all they'll get for voting blue is Trump might not serve a 2^nd term. That's a raw deal for anyone that doesn't want 4 more years of the same.

Voting is like choosing which plantation you want to be a slave on. You don't see it that way because you aren't standing on the edge of the abyss -- yet.

Here's the solution, courtesy of Louis Armstrong...

"If lots more of us loved each other, we'd solve lots more problems."

Meditate on that and you'll realize it's absolutely true.

(10-17-2024, 07:58 PM)username Wrote:

(10-17-2024, 07:23 PM)rothschild Wrote: We're all in the same boat when it comes to the nation. "Y'all" are the people invested in the Democratic Party, which has done everything it can to make the election about Trump, ignoring the fact that the economy is collapsing. People see they're being ignored, that all they'll get for voting blue is Trump might not serve a 2^nd term. That's a raw deal for anyone that doesn't want 4 more years of the same.

Voting is like choosing which plantation you want to be a slave on. You don't see it that way because you aren't standing on the edge of the abyss -- yet.

Here's the solution, courtesy of Louis Armstrong...

"If lots more of us loved each other, we'd solve lots more problems."

Meditate on that and you'll realize it's absolutely true.

Okay. The video isn’t playing for me but I’ll try again later. Certainly the quote u posted is compelling and I can’t/wouldn’t disagree with that. Granted a HUGE reason I would vote for almost anyone but Trump is because I absolutely believe he’s a fascist, narcissistic, unhinged, lunatic. I think those are pretty good reasons (policies aside). But the economy is “collapsing”? Really? And you think that Trump’s “concept plans” (like massive tariffs and cutting taxes here and there) are going to make the economy better? For the poor and middle class? And massive deportations? Just read an article today about how the price of milk is only semi stable because of immigrant labor. Given that democrats espouse a desire to tax the wealthiest and corporations and address the cost of medications and price gouging you’d think “loving everyone” would make u more of a democrat.

(10-18-2024, 07:41 AM)BigMark Wrote: The people who hate trump watch him more than the ones who like him.

(10-18-2024, 08:04 AM)Clang McFly Wrote:

(10-18-2024, 07:41 AM)BigMark Wrote: The people who hate trump watch him more than the ones who like him.

(10-18-2024, 04:42 PM)rothschild Wrote:

(10-18-2024, 08:04 AM)Clang McFly Wrote:

(10-18-2024, 07:41 AM)BigMark Wrote: The people who hate trump watch him more than the ones who like him.

Perfect vid, Clang. Duchess will not be pleased. 

(10-18-2024, 07:04 AM)rothschild Wrote:

(10-17-2024, 07:58 PM)username Wrote:

(10-17-2024, 07:23 PM)rothschild Wrote: We're all in the same boat when it comes to the nation. "Y'all" are the people invested in the Democratic Party, which has done everything it can to make the election about Trump, ignoring the fact that the economy is collapsing. People see they're being ignored, that all they'll get for voting blue is Trump might not serve a 2^nd term. That's a raw deal for anyone that doesn't want 4 more years of the same.

Voting is like choosing which plantation you want to be a slave on. You don't see it that way because you aren't standing on the edge of the abyss -- yet.

Here's the solution, courtesy of Louis Armstrong...

"If lots more of us loved each other, we'd solve lots more problems."

Meditate on that and you'll realize it's absolutely true.

Okay. The video isn’t playing for me but I’ll try again later. Certainly the quote u posted is compelling and I can’t/wouldn’t disagree with that. Granted a HUGE reason I would vote for almost anyone but Trump is because I absolutely believe he’s a fascist, narcissistic, unhinged, lunatic. I think those are pretty good reasons (policies aside). But the economy is “collapsing”? Really? And you think that Trump’s “concept plans” (like massive tariffs and cutting taxes here and there) are going to make the economy better? For the poor and middle class? And massive deportations? Just read an article today about how the price of milk is only semi stable because of immigrant labor. Given that democrats espouse a desire to tax the wealthiest and corporations and address the cost of medications and price gouging you’d think “loving everyone” would make u more of a democrat.

Why should I put emphasis on personality when both candidates are beholden to elite interests that are detrimental to this world? Both parties embrace neoliberalism, advocated for by people such as Milton Friedman, an ideology that exclusively serves the interests of the financial elite. This started in 1976 under Carter with the deregulation of transportation and quickly accelerated under Reagan, Bush and Clinton. The premise for this is that what's good for the elite is good for everyone; "a rising tide lifts all boats", which sounds good to people who don't understand class dynamics, economics, or money. Referred to by Reagan as supply-side economics, it's an alternative to Keynes' demand-side economics. Neither serve the well-being of nation states, as both rely on debt.

When you think outside of the American political dichotomy you see that in both cases the socio-economic structure of our society is rigged in favor of those who control the monetary system, i.e., the Federal Reserve System. The people that operate that system can't lose because they know when markets are going to go up and when they're going to go down, because they set interest rates. By definition that is "insider trading", which is technically illegal, as is monopolization; these laws are rarely enforced, however, and when they are it's in response to blatant cases that threaten the stability of the very system that benefits from such practices. This is sometimes referred as crony capitalism because it is inherently corrupt and creates moral hazard, resulting in the tendency to engage in high-risk investing and lending that offer the possibility of high returns -- that frequently do not materialize. This also results in what is sometimes referred to as a "casino economy", which is an apt description. When governments behave in this manner their countries eventually become debtor nations.

I'll leave you with two quotes from Josiah Stamp, who was a director of the Bank of England and chairman of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.

"The government are very keen on amassing statistics. They collect them, add them, raise them to the nth power, take the cube root and prepare wonderful diagrams. But you must never forget that every one of these figures comes in the first instance from the chowky dar (village watchman in India), who just puts down what he damn pleases."

"Banking was conceived in iniquity and was born in sin. The bankers own the earth. Take it away from them, but leave them the power to create money, and with the flick of the pen they will create enough deposits to buy it back again. However, take away from them the power to create money and all the great fortunes like mine will disappear and they ought to disappear, for this would be a happier and better world to live in. But, if you wish to remain the slaves of bankers and pay the cost of your own slavery, let them continue to create money."

(10-18-2024, 11:11 PM)MirahM Wrote: Trump is set to win

holy fuck

(10-19-2024, 01:37 AM)MirahM Wrote: Did you watch him at the Catholic dinner? The one Kamala didn't go to?

He was his usual awkward self, but even Milania was there with him. They really seemed to dislike Kamala not being there. And he just sucked it all up.
He even said he gave billions to the Catholic schools in 2020.

(10-19-2024, 01:37 AM)MirahM Wrote: Did you watch him at the Catholic dinner? The one Kamala didn't go to?

He was his usual awkward self, but even Milania was there with him. They really seemed to dislike Kamala not being there. And he just sucked it all up.
He even said he gave billions to the Catholic schools in 2020.

(10-18-2024, 11:16 PM)Clang McFly Wrote: Trump is set to steal the election/go to prison/incite his MAGA sheep to storm the Capitol.

(10-18-2024, 08:14 PM)username Wrote:

(10-18-2024, 07:04 AM)rothschild Wrote:

(10-17-2024, 07:58 PM)username Wrote:

(10-17-2024, 07:23 PM)rothschild Wrote: We're all in the same boat when it comes to the nation. "Y'all" are the people invested in the Democratic Party, which has done everything it can to make the election about Trump, ignoring the fact that the economy is collapsing. People see they're being ignored, that all they'll get for voting blue is Trump might not serve a 2^nd term. That's a raw deal for anyone that doesn't want 4 more years of the same.

Voting is like choosing which plantation you want to be a slave on. You don't see it that way because you aren't standing on the edge of the abyss -- yet.

Here's the solution, courtesy of Louis Armstrong...

"If lots more of us loved each other, we'd solve lots more problems."

Meditate on that and you'll realize it's absolutely true.

Okay. The video isn’t playing for me but I’ll try again later. Certainly the quote u posted is compelling and I can’t/wouldn’t disagree with that. Granted a HUGE reason I would vote for almost anyone but Trump is because I absolutely believe he’s a fascist, narcissistic, unhinged, lunatic. I think those are pretty good reasons (policies aside). But the economy is “collapsing”? Really? And you think that Trump’s “concept plans” (like massive tariffs and cutting taxes here and there) are going to make the economy better? For the poor and middle class? And massive deportations? Just read an article today about how the price of milk is only semi stable because of immigrant labor. Given that democrats espouse a desire to tax the wealthiest and corporations and address the cost of medications and price gouging you’d think “loving everyone” would make u more of a democrat.

Why should I put emphasis on personality when both candidates are beholden to elite interests that are detrimental to this world? Both parties embrace neoliberalism, advocated for by people such as Milton Friedman, an ideology that exclusively serves the interests of the financial elite. This started in 1976 under Carter with the deregulation of transportation and quickly accelerated under Reagan, Bush and Clinton. The premise for this is that what's good for the elite is good for everyone; "a rising tide lifts all boats", which sounds good to people who don't understand class dynamics, economics, or money. Referred to by Reagan as supply-side economics, it's an alternative to Keynes' demand-side economics. Neither serve the well-being of nation states, as both rely on debt.

When you think outside of the American political dichotomy you see that in both cases the socio-economic structure of our society is rigged in favor of those who control the monetary system, i.e., the Federal Reserve System. The people that operate that system can't lose because they know when markets are going to go up and when they're going to go down, because they set interest rates. By definition that is "insider trading", which is technically illegal, as is monopolization; these laws are rarely enforced, however, and when they are it's in response to blatant cases that threaten the stability of the very system that benefits from such practices. This is sometimes referred as crony capitalism because it is inherently corrupt and creates moral hazard, resulting in the tendency to engage in high-risk investing and lending that offer the possibility of high returns -- that frequently do not materialize. This also results in what is sometimes referred to as a "casino economy", which is an apt description. When governments behave in this manner their countries eventually become debtor nations.

I'll leave you with two quotes from Josiah Stamp, who was a director of the Bank of England and chairman of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.

"The government are very keen on amassing statistics. They collect them, add them, raise them to the nth power, take the cube root and prepare wonderful diagrams. But you must never forget that every one of these figures comes in the first instance from the chowky dar (village watchman in India), who just puts down what he damn pleases."

"Banking was conceived in iniquity and was born in sin. The bankers own the earth. Take it away from them, but leave them the power to create money, and with the flick of the pen they will create enough deposits to buy it back again. However, take away from them the power to create money and all the great fortunes like mine will disappear and they ought to disappear, for this would be a happier and better world to live in. But, if you wish to remain the slaves of bankers and pay the cost of your own slavery, let them continue to create money."

Ur still putting forth some perhaps reasonable criticisms of the US economic system without offering solutions. Trump has hinted that he’d like to control the Federal Reserve. I don’t think THAT’s a good idea. Is there a country that you think is “getting it right”? I’m trying to hear from you what ur for/not what ur against. Although I definitely think that trusting the basic moral integrity of our POTUS (and ideally other elected representatives) is essential. I’m not naive and I don’t totally trust any of them but until Trump, I’ve never felt as threatened by what a POTUS might do.

(10-19-2024, 06:15 AM)Duchess Wrote:

(10-19-2024, 01:37 AM)MirahM Wrote: Did you watch him at the Catholic dinner? The one Kamala didn't go to?

He was his usual awkward self, but even Milania was there with him. They really seemed to dislike Kamala not being there. And he just sucked it all up.
He even said he gave billions to the Catholic schools in 2020.

The fucking cardinal was applauding an adjudicated rapist, but I guess it isn't a bridge too far when you turn a blind eye to kiddie fuckers.

The VP knew that dinner was going to be a clown show. I'm glad she wasn't there.

I think if I hear one more person talk about these mythical undecided voters I may howl like a dog.