Good King Trump

[Sock Puppet]

Center-right looks damned near left now that the far right's gone so far it's fallen off a cliff and kept going.

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Trump Witnesses Have Received Financial Benefits From Trump Businesses, Campaign — ProPublica

[JoeP]

Originally Posted by Brain_Droppings

I agree - But, he owns the trademark on 'GRIFT' - He'd sue me for trademark violation and bankrupt me.

But, neither party can claim sainthood! They are beginning to equalize to much for comfort.

I'm not part of this "equalisation" view. When I said "applies on both sides" I mean both sides of your "could go either way": Trump will grift if he doesn't win, and will grift if he does.

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

8dcad8a165ba6d3205a32e1ee3bdb79c.png

[Brain_Droppings]

Originally Posted by seebs

Really not seeing a ton of equalization. There was some a long time ago, but since 2008 or so, there's been fairly spectacular divergence.

I have trouble telling Democrats and Republicans apart these days. If they don't state their party, their actions are so similar it's hard to tell sometimes. LOL

The Republicans and Democrats seem to spend more time behaving like romper room children when the adult has left the room than they do performing the government duties for which they were elected.

Many of them are contemptibly arrogant and seem to forget that they are public servants - not public rulers - and need to be reminded of the order of things!

At the rate they're going, one of these days, they're going to steer the Ship of State right off the edge of the world fighting over the ship's wheel.

It's as if the devil himself hand-picked our candidates and we only have his minions from which to choose a leader. There seems to be no greater or lesser evil between them.

I'm over 75 and have never seen the USA in a more sorry political state than it is today and criminal abuses of technology is aiding and abetting its decline. The prediction is that it will get much worse before it gets any better.

Woe to the Republic.

https://www.phpsciencelabs.com/memes...eaven-meme.jpg

[seebs]

Originally Posted by Brain_Droppings

I have trouble telling Democrats and Republicans apart these days.

Then you're a fucking idiot.


Their actions are not similar. At all. They used to be, sure.


Now? One party is trying to ban people from traveling between states. One is not. One party is trying to ban books. One is not. One party is trying to ban health care. One is not. One party is trying to ban people wearing masks. Not just to ban mandates that people must wear masks; banning people from wearing masks for their own health or protection. One is not.


The similarities used to be a lot more of a thing, but there were some pretty noticeable changes in one party's platform a while back.

[JoeP]

Yeah ... bollocks.

The only reason to promote a "both sides are bad" argument is to try to erode democracy itself, and who wants that? Authoritarians.

You describe some issues that are generally shared by politicians, and sure it can be argued that wanting to be in politics should immediately disqualify you from being in politics, but it's pretty hard to have freedom without democracy, and it's pretty hard to have democracy with politics, and it's pretty hard to have politics without politicians.

[JoeP]

Yeah ... bollocks.

The only reason to promote a "both sides are bad" argument is to try to erode democracy itself, and who wants that? Authoritarians.

You describe some issues that are generally shared by politicians, and sure it can be argued that wanting to be in politics should immediately disqualify you from being in politics, but it's pretty hard to have freedom without democracy, and it's pretty hard to have democracy with politics, and it's pretty hard to have politics without politicians.

(The forum liked my answer so much it posted it twice?)

[Brain_Droppings]

Originally Posted by seebs

Then you're a fucking idiot.


Their actions are not similar. At all. They used to be, sure.


Now? One party is trying to ban people from traveling between states. One is not. One party is trying to ban books. One is not. One party is trying to ban health care. One is not. One party is trying to ban people wearing masks. Not just to ban mandates that people must wear masks; banning people from wearing masks for their own health or protection. One is not.


The similarities used to be a lot more of a thing, but there were some pretty noticeable changes in one party's platform a while back.

Idiot? I think that's a bit rude. Let's not call each other names. That's what politicians do! I don't disagree with your main views, but my main point is their constant conflicts tend to nullify each other with little progress forward.

It's that "one is ... one is not ..." problem that you mention - they tend to cancel out by endlessly never reaching any agreement of consequence.

I'd love to see them work together on essential problems rather than see all their vicious personal vindictiveness and impeachment attacks on each other day after day after week after month after year, etc.

All both parties seem to ever do anymore is fight each other to a virtual standstill.

To all appearances, the Republicans are becoming an increasing obstacle to any positive progress and I can't see Democrats having too much they can do about it at this time.

They used to work together much more in the past, like you stated, but now both parties are diverging on their own separate, conflicting paths to the point of fracturing our fragile Democracy. It's really not helping much.

I understand that politics is a dirty business, it always was, always will be, but now it's becoming so much of a cesspool that it impedes progress and the legal profession is beginning to help facilitate and get mired in it all the more and damaging the credibility of the bar as well.

Lawyers are supposed to be 'officers of the court' - paragons of integrity and honor. But, it seems that when major political scandals occur, more lawyers get indicted than the politicians at the focus of the scandals in the first place! And a lot of those politicians are lawyers too! LOL

In the case of former President Nixon, I think some 11 lawyers were disbarred.

I do not believe that judges are nearly as untrustworthy as some lawyers.

It erode one's faith in government when over 3/4 of a century of observation and knowledge of the past leading to the present does not forecast a brighter future - except for technology - but not for the human condition.

[LarsMac]

Yeah, I see where you're going with that.
I agree. Seebs was a bit harsh.
Both sides are rallying their forces and we are seeing a almost Militarization of both sides.

[specious_reasons]

I do not believe that judges are nearly as untrustworthy as some lawyers.

There are at least 2 Supreme Court justices who would be exceptions to that statement.

I have trouble telling Democrats and Republicans apart these days.

Quite simply, at this moment, the Republican party is being led by people who are more interested in creating an authoritarian government than a democratic one, starting at the top. They are undermining the democratic institutions and practices that both parties have revered since their founding. The current Republican Presidential candidate is a literal felon and tried to overturn the last Presidential election. The Speaker of the House is a literal Christian Nationalist.

As much as I detest some of what Biden is doing, there's a lot he's doing right, and he still respects the rule of law and the institutions of democracy. There's not really a choice for anyone who want to preserve our government.

[LarsMac]

I did not know where this really might belong, but here seems a good spot.

Background:
This is a letter to the editor of one of the eastern Colorado towns near where we are living for now.

I scanned it from the paper, and then fed it through a picture-to-text converter.
The text is in newsprint columns, so you have read it by those columns,

You don't need to read the whole thing, really.
A couple of specific lines in the first column caught my attention.

But this is the kind of fellow that we are up against. These guys are all over the country, and they will be voting.


Here is the paper. See for yourself.

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Because democracy is smothering our Republic

Capitalization his.

A republic is a form of democracy. He’s saying he doesn’t drive a car, he drives a Ford.

[ChuckF]

first 2 paragraphs read like Lessans

[LarsMac]

Tried posting the text, but the formatting was lost and it looked like gibberish,(more so than the paper,)

[specious_reasons]

"These charges have never been brought against anyone in America's history."

Actually, that's not true. John Edwards was charged with almost exactly the same crime. He didn't get convicted because the jury decided he used donated hush money for personal use (to hide it from his dying wife) rather than misusing campaign donations. Thing is, there's documentary evidence that Trump intended to use the money because he was worried about his campaign.

I'm sure we can find others who were charged similarly, hush money for bad behavior isn't exactly uncommon among politicians.

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Good news for pedestrians in Fifth Avenue. https://t.co/0ndTBUq3vv

— David Frum (@davidfrum) June 5, 2024

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Carlo Maria Vigano: Pope Excommunicates Trump-Loving Ultra-Conservative

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Pew Pew

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

President Joe Biden gives remarks after shooting...

[specious_reasons]

I saw the video of the shooting, and the first thing I thought was if the bullet grazed his ear, that means someone behind him probably got hit. Apparently people did get hit.

[JoeP]

I'm not going to post the first thing I thought.

[JoeP]

But the second thing was, he wasn't actually shot, it was fake blood, the shooter was what's the term a paid crisis actor. All, of course, to boost his vote.

[ChuckF]

Trump can't keep his own rallygoers safe from a common school shooting.

[LarsMac]

Originally Posted by JoeP

But the second thing was, he wasn't actually shot, it was fake blood, the shooter was what's the term a paid crisis actor. All, of course, to boost his vote.

Yeah, that wasn't the second thing I thought.