Blackrose321

I feel like if Trump really meant that, he'd use his billions to reimburse his followers himself.

I just...I don't relate. I get it, but I don't relate. They want to win at any cost, even if that means lying. But I couldn't do it. I couldn't say stupid shit just to win. It would eat me up that I publicly revealed myself to be a moron. The mere thought makes me cringe. What kind of personality disorder do you need to feel good about that? I'm sure it makes life easier but what a shitty legacy to leave behind.

To run for president? I admit I am pretty far out of the loop on some of this, but what I remember from her memoir was that she was proud of her husband and she supported him but she was also like omg president, really? Ok, here we go....

There goes another "friend" over political bullshit. He constantly posts on Facebook because he retired early in life (insert snark about how "that must be nice"). He leans left and clearly enjoys political debate because, usually, he dominates. He's got a decent education, so he usually knows what he's saying, and I usually agree with him. He always seemed so level-headed, which I respected. Then today, he swung, and oh did he miss. He decided to lecture people on not severing ties over political opinion, apparently because he hangs out with a lot of Republicans. He feels defensive about it and protective of his friends. He wanted a pat on the back. Instead, I and several others pointed out that voting someone into office because of, or in spite of, their bigotry has the same impact in the end. His friends know that civil rights protections will get rolled back, that it's already started, and they're okay with it. They certainly aren't concerned enough to do something about it. As Dr. Kendi said, you can't be "neutral" on racism. I mean, how can you be "neutral" on whether all humans deserve to be free and treated with respect...what are you on the fence about? It's not going to matter to Trump's victims that you (claim you) aren't a racist. At the end of the day, those people are still being victimized by someone you put into power. Imagine voting for Hitler and then saying you didn't vote specifically for his race politics, you just thought he had leadership ability...a horrific number of people still died either fucking way! He didn't handle the criticism well. He isn't used to being stumped. He stewed for hours, I mean for a good 4+ hours. Then he logs back in, deletes everything he didn't like, thereby removing all context, and tells me that I seem to think I know his friends better—didn't say that, I merely pointed out the problematic nature of writing off your friends as "brainwashed" to absolve them of guilt and responsibility—and that since I think he's a Nazi (never said that either), am I going to kill him? You know, there are places...like Germany...where sharing overlapping beliefs with Nazis isn't just a "political opinion," it's basically a crime. We only validate this shit in the US because everyone's feelings are valid now, even if those feelings are "POC are criminals" or "trans people deserve to die." It didn't even hit me until afterward that of course it's a retired straight white American male who thinks his dinner parties are more important. Nothing about his life will change either way. He doesn't want people to point out the very real impact his friends have on the lives of others, he doesn't want to have to face what they've done and are planning on doing. He wanted us to assuage his guilt so he could go on enjoying dinner parties without complication, without the anxiety he obviously feels. Also, it's outrageous that I'm supposed to give a shit about his shitty friends. Yeah, shitty friends, I didn't say it before but now that I see the way he acts, I'll say it now—they're shitty rich white people who live in a shitty rich white bubble of a town. If you have to preemptively defend being BFFs with the local RNC chapter, you damn well know what they're doing is wrong, and you're just playing activist on Facebook. I'm not about that fake shit. Don't post if you can't handle the roast. (ETA: Be friends with whoever you want but don't expect anyone else to love them as much as you do. I have to cope with my bigoted in-laws every day but I'm sure as shit not going to go to bat for them on this, they're adults, they can speak for themselves and their own choices.)

I feel like I'm being left to carry a lot by myself and maybe I need to change jobs again. I'm so tired of this and I'm not sure what to do next. The job I have isn't awful, but I'm continually disappointed in my team. I work with my friend who assured me she'd be able to handle my being her "boss", but she's too comfortable with blowing me off. She doesn't read emails or reply to messages. She's late about half the time, and she doesn't look at the PM software to see what she has to do, how, or when. I'm continually saying, "That's in the PM software..." because she doesn't read anything. Meanwhile, the other teammate I manage turns his invoices in late. By design. I've never heard of someone billing for a project after it's 100% complete. How do you track the budget that way? How can I track the budget that way? I have no way of knowing when we're 50% through let alone over budget... Speaking of which, we're so far over budget on the Project From Hell that continuing to work on it makes me sick. When I bring up how out of scope we are (this project should have been done 3+ months ago), no one takes me seriously. My friend is even a bit dismissive. I've added tasks to my list that aren't expressly mine to do and haven't received a penny more for my effort since I started 2 years ago. Why did I think I could make any real changes here? This isn't the first time I've tried to utilize my skills and expertise to help people who can't be helped, I really need to cut that shit out.

https://time.com/6997708/president-biden-trump-name-mix-ups-cognitive-decline/ But you'll never see this come up on Fox or conservative social media. His followers are still wondering where Obama was on 9/11...

The issue is that Trump's rhetoric is comprised solely of senior moments so none stand out more than any other.

Yiiiikes. People get work done all the time to "combat" aging but given Gaetz' history with minors this just feels creepy...

Is he? To the best of my knowledge, all he has said is that Biden is the (current) best pick the Dems have. He didn't say he'd win, I don't think Lichtman is going to call the overall winner for a while. I like him because, as you said, he "make(s) predictions based on research". I just can't handle all of the dramatics you get elsewhere, I really can't. He could be wrong, but at least he doesn't sound like a lunatic so I can follow him without rolling my eyes. My gripe is really just that last part - "Whatever screwups the Democrats had in 2016". It doesn't matter if they are the same screwup, it's still a screwup. This is the second time Trump will be up for election and the Dems just aren't handling it well. In the first instance, they underestimated him and therefore felt comfortable putting Clinton upfront even as Bernie's popularity soared. The man is still working and he's still reaching across the aisle in a way a lot of other politicians can't and won't. He would have been a safer bet, but he also wouldn't have been a center-left candidate which is really what the old guard wanted. Now we're going for round two and bit by bit, Dems are telling Biden to drop out but I don't get the feeling that they've formulated a plan. So you have a bunch of Twitter-addicted dingdongs calling for Biden to step back with no plan between them. Until there is a cohesive plan, imo they should have kept their hot takes to themselves. But they can't, can they? A significant part of their "job" these days appears to be begging for attention so the job attracts a lot of narcissists who really just want likes and shares. 0 strategy in it at all... /sigh

I worry about Dems kicking themselves in the teeth like this. Is Biden a risk? Absolutely. He's not the most inspiring candidate. But Dems keep looking for the perfect candidate, attacking their own when they show flaws, while the right gives 0 fucks about their candidate being an uneducated fraud who wants to fuck his own daughter. They seem to like it, actually. Going after Biden for senior moments is just so fucking insane when Trump is the alternative. If there was a clear option for someone who could replace him without losing momentum that would be awesome but that doesn't seem to be the case. So all we're left with are Dems turning on Dems. It's 2016 all over with the DNC backing Clinton over Bernie even though Bernie had much better prospects than Clinton. I'm keeping my focus on Allan Lichtman. He's already said Biden is the best bet, at least pre-shooting. So far all he's said since the shooting is: I will say, though, that he's more optimistic than I am. He's waiting to see how Republicans spin this but I think we all know how they're going to spin it. They're a party without a platform, they're riding coattails. This is all they've got to work with.

But Trump said he doesn't even know what it is, and since God is using Trump to spread Christian love, we know he can't lie.

I've actually begun researching where I might want to move to if shit hits the fan like it looks like it will. Denmark anyone?

I am so fucking glad I stopped drinking last month...

I've been on psych meds for years, largely due to depression and anxiety, and then later PTSD. It's been so hard to get out of the hole I'd been shoved into. But I've done it, I'm finally actually getting better - I'm going to the gym, eating healthy, drinking water, and abstaining from alcohol. I'm now cleared to just...exist...without meds. I'm so happy I could burst.

I love that my neighbor is setting off progressively louder and bigger fireworks right underneath my window. What could go wrong setting off huge ass fireworks in the middle of a residential area packed tight af?

Flies, why are there so many flies, please someone tell me how to kill all the flies. Every time one blows past my head while I'm making dinner I want to rage out like I'm Rachael Leigh-Cook.

I saw that AOC said she plans to file articles of impeachment but my hope for that accomplishing anything is in the trash. Republicans have been trying to stage a coup for decades and the Dems that came before were asleep at the wheel while it built up. I mean, Barry Goldwater was hardly a good guy and even he said: These quotes are from 1994! Anyone got any words of encouragement or would that require lying to me?

I'm not angry but I feel like, because I posted about this situation 3 weeks ago, I just have to continue the saga. After more feedback that our house requires "too much work", we got feedback from a local realtor who advised us to lower the price due to, as expected, the interior not being pretty enough. He felt that buyers wouldn't care about being able to do it on their own, their own way, within their set budget so we either do it, and adjust the price - leaving those buyers out anyways - or just lower the price. Whatever, lower the price, let's get this show on the road. So this guy I wrote about above reaches out again through his realtor today. The house is now priced for exactly what he asked for but he has his realtor reiterate that his client "really doesn't like the inspection" but he again refuses to elaborate. He adds that his client "doesn't like solar panels" and then asks if we will lower the price by an additional $40k! We just told our realtor to let his realtor know that we will not sell to him under any circumstances. We already have an offer - believe it or not, higher than listing, I'm so confused - and even if he countered with a higher offer, we'd still pass. There is no way a guy like that can close quickly or efficiently and any amount over would be pissed away in demands and lengthy proceedings. I'd rather he just like...stop calling us altogether...

Normally we would take cash, and they do again now, but at the time a lot of restrictions were still in place so we didn't want to risk spreading COVID by handling cash, especially not for fines which many libraries have done away with, or will in the future anyways. It was like, "Is this even necessary?..." We felt that, during a pandemic, people needed support and our place was to open services, not restrict them because someone owes us $20. He was upset about COVID guidelines, he thought we were overreacting and since that library is a government entity, he felt anything that limited his "rights" (a word which has lost all meaning) needed to be called out in the name of Justice! I definitely blame Trump and his supporters for the state of things now. It's not like public service was ever easy but it's gotten worse, it burned me the hell out. But thanks for loving libraries, it's always appreciated.

Agreed. It's why I quit my job as a librarian. I noticed patron behavior getting worse starting in 2016 but managed to hold out until 2022. After that it just didn't seem worth it anymore. Here's a dumb story for you - the library re-opened its doors "post"-COVID with certain guidelines in place: you must wear a mask, you must socially distance, etc. We also stopped accepting cash for fines and, to ensure this didn't cause problems, we stopped blocking accounts on the basis of fines altogether. We also stopped applying new fines. All cards were open to check out anything their owner wanted. This old fart walks in and says he'd like to pay his fine. We tell him he can do it online but, really, it's not necessary as his card is completely open to use anyways. He insists on paying his $2 fine. Refuses to do it online. Starts ranting about "legal tender". This shit stain literally drove into the library, maybe even paid for parking, just to make a political statement in the middle of a pandemic. We ended up wiping his fines which took the wind out of his sails. But this kind of shit has been commonplace for a while now. I was struggling to deal with overgrown toddlers before Trump even left office. I literally had a group of senior citizens try to stage a coup in the middle of a free computer class.

We'll be going to a big family gathering. We haven't gone in a long time, probably at least 5 years. I'm trying to prep myself for ignoring the inevitable political commentary because I know it's going to be bad...but I think I can disassociate my way out of it. Yay for unhealthy coping mechanisms! My husband, on the other hand, is normal so he'll have to keep his BP down...

Not boomer at all. The internet allowed me to make much-needed connections at a time when I was very isolated, but it was a different beast 20 years ago. It's so out of control now that I've limited my use of it. I come here every so often to see what's going on, I check Facebook every few weeks to see if anyone has messaged me, and I only check Reddit every few days when I'm bored, and only briefly. Instagram is for watching pet videos, I never used Twitter, etc. I just can't stand the way people interact online and, consequently, offline. There's constant bickering to the point that it's obviously what many people are looking for when they go online. They'll intentionally misread what you write just to be argumentative. You can't get a straight answer to a single damn question, and the majority of people don't bother to think for themselves or do actual research. They'll sit there with a full fucking computer in the palm of their hand and spread misinformation because they're too grossly lazy to run a google search. The likes and fights are the point, and I consider that an inferior mindset to operate from so I don't engage anymore. On that note, future generations won't inherit anything useful from their elders. No words of wisdom, no kindness, no empathy. They'll get trollspeak. But you bet your ass these "elders" will still expect respect from young people because they worked damn hard sitting on their ass scrolling through TikTok videos! What an abject shame.

Blech, that reminds me of a recent school board election that went the way of the dumb because of anti-expert/education propaganda. Three educators with 30+ years of experience among them were running for three open board slots. As I was standing in line, right-wingers kept offering up—without being asked—how they were voting. One didn't know who was even running, so I told him that I knew three teachers and a cop were running, but I was unfamiliar with the others. He laughed and said, "Oh, I don't think I'll be voting for educators." So that meant he would vote for the cop, the only male on the ballot, so impossible to miss, and then two other random people... Another right-winger tried electioneering in line by spreading misinformation about how the board would interfere with the curriculum—go "woke" basically, although she clearly didn't want to say that part publicly. The only reason a massive amount of people turned out was that they hate trans people. There was a recent kerfuffle over bathrooms, so all the boomers turned out to make sure trans kids don't feel welcome. Finally, a teacher in line just laid the hammer down. She was polite but stern. She began correcting everything the other woman had gotten wrong. It was hilarious; in under five minutes, she managed to make the other woman so uncomfortable that she turned around and stopped talking. It was brilliant. I walked out of there feeling pretty sure that the board was about to swing even further right. And it did. None of the educators were elected, but the cop was. The excuse one of the bigoted voters gave was that "we used to have a lot of different kinds of people on the school board." Yeah, and schools used to be segregated; what's your point? Clearly the point is to continue mistreating society's most vulnerable children.

I have a badass wine-colored Christmas tree that someone bought from a display at Macy's 30 years ago. I like it so I leave it up however long I feel like...no shame!