Something neither one of you are saying is that “the best it’s ever been” may not mean “good enough to deal with this shit”.
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“Not my job”
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Every time I think of being hopeful, I remember: Bush 43, someone who is more competent than Trump and not a delusional narcissist, got us into a disastrous war, ran up disastrous deficits, was led by the nose by his VP, withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol, withdrew from the ABM Treaty, created Guantanamo, almost choked on a Frito, all in his first term. There is no hope.
Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance.
Just kidding. I’m still in denial.
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Well, calling her out would get an immediate rejection. Better to make her trace back her “CNN” claim, and get her to concede CNN was only reporting that Donald Trump said there were 3 million illegal votes.
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If you’re stuck playing a Kobayashi Maru scenario, you might as well have some fun with it. Otherwise, it will be a depressing four years.
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I refuse to believe that.
I’m no Pollyanna; shit is bad, and I’m not denying that.
But ‘giving up’ simply isn’t an option.
Liked for the Star Trek reference.
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I think Trevor Noah has nailed down one antidote. When people have the outlandish beliefs of a toddler you can’t stoop to their level. Fact checking is notoriously useless on a toddler and all you’ll do is lose the argument. The solution is engaging the toddler with logic. Don’t discourage the person. Acknowledge their beliefs and ask questions. How did they come to that conclusion? Could there be another explanation? Can you think of another example where this is true?
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As a joke I was thinking DC should reboot its ‘PREZ’ comic for the Trump era.
Turns out they are, only it’s not so Trumpy
I guess it’s already been out a year
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It’s a good if distasteful strategy*, but a lot of them seem to be immune to logic as well.
[* I really dislike having to treat an adult like a toddler]
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I’ll just leave this here.
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Right on Mel! I’d like to remind US folks that there will be mid term election in two years. So turn your malaise into activism. Go out and make a difference. It starts with you. If we roll over for the Cheeto Branded Monster Truck Republican we are doomed indeed. [quote=“Melizmatic, post:147, topic:90419”]
‘giving up’ simply isn’t an option.
[/quote]
Absolutely NOT!
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We will!
But I do not believe enough Rs are up for re-election to swing the balance to our favor.
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The overall despondency many people feel has had a very negative impact on my attitude; I know it, and I hate it.
So you’re right; I don’t have the time nor inclination to sit and wallow while crying “woe is us!” - I’d rather channel all my bitchiness into something that’s actually constructive.
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I’m not so sure. In the very least you’d have to either be A) OK with racism and xenophobia or B) stupid enough to believe that Trump wasn’t the candidate of racism and xenophobia.
So you could be dumb racist, a smart racist, a dumb non-racist, or a smart person who doesn’t care about racism (which isn’t really a significant improvement over “smart racist” IMO).
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The category I put the vast majority of his voters in is “sucker.” There were racially entitled suckers, greedy suckers, stupid suckers, ignorant suckers, desperate suckers, all kinds, and this gifted confidence artist knew exactly how to rope them in.
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Is he really that ‘gifted’, though? ( I ask this having personally known a few skilled grifters and scam artists.)
Or has the Dumbening just been exceptionally effective in rendering the majority of the populace unable to think analytically?
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Yes, I think he is. From what I’ve read he’s been conning people since he was an adolescent, and whether it’s talent or practise or a combination of the two it’s second nature to him 60 years later. The Dumbening just expanded his pool of potential marks into the tens of millions.
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He knows how to work his base. I don’t know if “gift” is the right word but it’s certainly a talent I don’t have (nor one I would want given his base).
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In the sense of having been given many gifts throughout his life (such as a million dollar “loan”), yes.
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Spoiled, over-privileged, and entitled?
Oh, I give him all that; without a doubt.
I guess it takes some talent to quickly & accurately access which people are the easiest marks, but damn that’s some low hanging fruit.
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