Constantly changing story. Coworkers say what she is claiming is probably impossible. Multiple claims of other assaults from various other people. Long history of lying under oath multiple times in multiple courts. Defected to Russia in 2023. Multiple times she has claimed in court to be an "expert witness" on domestic violence but apparently isn't.
There are a ton of mental health red flags here. My read is she's attention seeking and doesn't understand that they're lying even though their statements are not correct.
I've had personal contact with two people like that over the decades. I've had multiple conversations with other people who have a lot of experience with them where we try to figure out if they know that they're lying. Far as I can tell that's the wrong question. IMHO their definition of "truth" and "lies" doesn't match the mainstream nor reality. They think they should be able to make stuff up and not get called on it.
If you don't understand that people like that exist then you have been very fortunate.
The flaw in the reasoning was in the "unelectable" part. Nixon and various others simply left. Trump had his empire to amuse himself with, it should have worked.
Whoever runs for President will face Na.zi/rape/etc allegations. The team of the people making those allegations will (pretend to) believe them and there will be zero consequences for them being spurious.
Someone who is reasonably ethical has probably never faced those sorts of claims. If they need to be experienced + skilled + indifferent to those claims, then that says a lot about them.
So... how to change this.
1) We could go to a Parliamentary system where we don't vote for the leader at all.
2) We could punish people who are making up stuff about Trump
3) Blue & Red could be willing to vote for the other side because of their ethics.
However as long as they disagree on what ethics is I'm not sure that works. Reasonable people can disagree on Gaza, Trans, Taxes, Equality, and so on.
Insisting that [your issue] is so important that anyone who doesn't back it is a na.zi is also claiming that you're being ethical by saying anything to stop them from being in charge.
He didn't get disbarred for the adultery. He got disbarred and his license suspended for lying under oath.
We also have a long list of other issues, including selling pardons and having a "charity" which collected money from entities which his wife dealt with professionally as Secretary of State. Money which vanished the moment they lost power.
I would think the federal gov could pass laws to restrict local laws (that's often it's job). I would think that the feds could pressure locals to stop this.
I also think just having the conversation where we point out what's going on would be useful.
Ad hominem fallacy. Also known as shooting the messenger.
If you're trying to claim that large numbers of people want to have their genitals surgically changed/removed then please post your sources.
DavidTC: All ways we have invented of dividing people up are both completely arbitrary...
Gender is "arbitrary"? So if I decide I'm female I'll lose my 6' 8" size and wouldn't be a monster in women's sports? How does that work exactly?
DavidTC: the Republicans moved on denying health care to all trans people
What to do about trans is still something we're working out. The claims that best medical practices are "settled" come from the same people who claim there's no difference in athletics.
IMHO it's not helpful for politicians to use this as a wedge issue but we'll work things out.
DavidTC: Why are people complaining about Jewish art being taken out of museum,
Trying to claim that we're setting up death camps is an effort to avoid having reasonable conversations.
In 2020 the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that the anti-employment discrimination laws applied to trans. Yes, that Supreme Court.
I count the pro-life movement as a separate issue because even the authors of Roe claimed it was a separate issue.
They could (and imho should) have concluded the 14th AM prevents a woman from being enslaved by her fetus. Instead they flinched away from that because they wanted to preserve the gov's ability to meddle.
So what we're arguing about now is how much meddling is appropriate.
DavidTC: It’s extremely hard to enforce oppression against women if people are allowed to exit that category.
The vast bulk of people have zero desire to "exit their category".
It seems reasonable to think trans-women shouldn't be in female sports. Trying to claim that this is "fascist" is an effort to avoid having reasonable conversations.
Turn out numbers suggest Trump got about as many people as he did last time but Blue's turn out was seriously lower than before.
Having said that, Trump does seem to have moved people from the Blue groups to Red. Him getting 25% of black males (if that's the final result) is suggestive and I think he also increased the Hispanic vote.
Abrams... ran twice for governor, lost twice, and was an election denier on one of those.
Other than that she's been a deputy city attorney and in the Georgia House of Reps.
She gave the State of the Union address. Has declined, twice, to run for the Senate because she "wanted to focus on ending voter suppression".
She actively promoted herself for consideration as Biden's VP. Active writer and some other things.
No Federal level offices. No examples of managing large groups of people. No winning high level offices and refusing to try is a little off putting. Some leadership in there if her credited accomplishments are accurate. Maybe a little business experience. No military. Has a law degree and has worked as an attorney.
I haven't heard her talk. From reading her wiki she's probably stronger and better at this than Harris but still extremely weak if her job is to replace the President.
Well... I voted for Harris because of Jan 6th but I have to admit that she was a terrible candidate and did a terrible job.
Not really her fault. She should never have been at the top of the ticket and probably never should have been VP. One hopes this showcases the perils of this kind of identity pandering.
With the benefit of "the day after", let's hope Trump spends the next four years showcasing that the more hysterical charges against Trump are exactly that, hysteria.
No one on either side is seriously trying to address housing costs. Root cause is the local govs are used to prevent the supply of housing through zoning, green reviews, regulation, and various other NIMBY. Solution is to move that authority to the State or maybe even Federal.
If you're going to acknowledge inflation is too high and promise to lower it with "The Inflation Reduction Act", then you're on the hook for promising to (really lying about) reducing inflation.
That bill was about promoting Green Tech, not letting an emergency go to waste, and betting that voters would have forgotten by the time of the next election.
Looking at the ads... wow those look brutally effective.
They're taking clips of Harris talking about what she stands for. Pro-trans is the least of it. She's chanting "down with deportation" in one. She's showcased debating herself in another. She's calling for getting rid of the police. She and team Blue are using violent rhetoric against him and he's linking that to his assassination attempts.
That. That exactly. Trying to claim she's both exactly the same person as in 2020 but everything has changed is a self conflicting message.
She also didn't seem to have opinions with the exception of abortion. For everything else she'd be thinking about "what am I supposed to say" rather than talk about what she believed. A lot of the time "supposed to say" became "word salad" or "no answer".
Far as I can tell, her team trained her to not talk about policy and positions at all. So "what will you do the first day" gets an answer of "I will prioritize the middle class" rather than "these specific executive orders".
1) Absorbing huge amounts of immigrants is going to be a strain, especially for healthcare, education, and welfare.
2) At the border you might have illegals at significant fractions of the town's population come through every day. This is going to be newsworthy.
3) Because we've chosen to outlaw this, they're by definition criminals and that will create other crimes and criminals. Disputes between criminals frequently create violence because they don't have access to the legal system.
4) There is going to be "Unfair competition for jobs", the lowering of wages/working conditions, and job displacement.
5) There will be cultural and linguistic barriers created for natives who don't speak whatever language the newcomers speak.
6) This undermines the rule of law.
7) This creates border security concerns.
8) They're going to be a political lightning rod. If I, a leader, have a problem I can't fix then I can blame illegal immigrants knowing they weren't going to vote for me anyway.
On “He Got Away With It”
Constantly changing story. Coworkers say what she is claiming is probably impossible. Multiple claims of other assaults from various other people. Long history of lying under oath multiple times in multiple courts. Defected to Russia in 2023. Multiple times she has claimed in court to be an "expert witness" on domestic violence but apparently isn't.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Biden_sexual_assault_allegation#
There are a ton of mental health red flags here. My read is she's attention seeking and doesn't understand that they're lying even though their statements are not correct.
I've had personal contact with two people like that over the decades. I've had multiple conversations with other people who have a lot of experience with them where we try to figure out if they know that they're lying. Far as I can tell that's the wrong question. IMHO their definition of "truth" and "lies" doesn't match the mainstream nor reality. They think they should be able to make stuff up and not get called on it.
If you don't understand that people like that exist then you have been very fortunate.
On “Open Mic for the week of 11/4/2024”
My expectation is it was more "[Trump supporters are] white supremists so f*ck them, we need to help normal people first".
The social justice warriors want to fight racism and na.zis. Ergo whoever gets in their way is branded that.
"
It's been suggested that this was planned and there was no "trigger point".
"
Having watched Harris campaign for a few months, I find it very hard to believe that she "would have been stronger" if she'd gone through the primary.
Much more likely that she wouldn't have won.
On “He Got Away With It”
The flaw in the reasoning was in the "unelectable" part. Nixon and various others simply left. Trump had his empire to amuse himself with, it should have worked.
"
I guess we can’t even clear that low bar.
The incentives are wrong.
Whoever runs for President will face Na.zi/rape/etc allegations. The team of the people making those allegations will (pretend to) believe them and there will be zero consequences for them being spurious.
Someone who is reasonably ethical has probably never faced those sorts of claims. If they need to be experienced + skilled + indifferent to those claims, then that says a lot about them.
So... how to change this.
1) We could go to a Parliamentary system where we don't vote for the leader at all.
2) We could punish people who are making up stuff about Trump
3) Blue & Red could be willing to vote for the other side because of their ethics.
However as long as they disagree on what ethics is I'm not sure that works. Reasonable people can disagree on Gaza, Trans, Taxes, Equality, and so on.
Insisting that [your issue] is so important that anyone who doesn't back it is a na.zi is also claiming that you're being ethical by saying anything to stop them from being in charge.
"
Impeaching the unelectable ex-President seemed like political pain for no gain.
"
Our current political process punishes people who are uncomfortable with slime being thrown at them and doesn't reward morality.
Trump is a lot more comfortable and experienced with this than most. The reason he's comfortable with it is because he is really slimy.
If we want people with super ethical images to be president then we need to figure out away for that to be an advantage and not a disadvantage.
"
Trump got away with it. Same as OJ. My ex-wife too. I'm sure that's not a short list if we go down it.
Sometimes there is little justice. It's annoying, but I'm going to let it go and try to not have it be upsetting.
"
...consensual adultery...
He didn't get disbarred for the adultery. He got disbarred and his license suspended for lying under oath.
We also have a long list of other issues, including selling pardons and having a "charity" which collected money from entities which his wife dealt with professionally as Secretary of State. Money which vanished the moment they lost power.
On “Trumped”
I would think the federal gov could pass laws to restrict local laws (that's often it's job). I would think that the feds could pressure locals to stop this.
I also think just having the conversation where we point out what's going on would be useful.
"
DavidTC: Says the white straight cis man.
Ad hominem fallacy. Also known as shooting the messenger.
If you're trying to claim that large numbers of people want to have their genitals surgically changed/removed then please post your sources.
DavidTC: All ways we have invented of dividing people up are both completely arbitrary...
Gender is "arbitrary"? So if I decide I'm female I'll lose my 6' 8" size and wouldn't be a monster in women's sports? How does that work exactly?
DavidTC: the Republicans moved on denying health care to all trans people
What to do about trans is still something we're working out. The claims that best medical practices are "settled" come from the same people who claim there's no difference in athletics.
IMHO it's not helpful for politicians to use this as a wedge issue but we'll work things out.
DavidTC: Why are people complaining about Jewish art being taken out of museum,
Trying to claim that we're setting up death camps is an effort to avoid having reasonable conversations.
In 2020 the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that the anti-employment discrimination laws applied to trans. Yes, that Supreme Court.
"
I count the pro-life movement as a separate issue because even the authors of Roe claimed it was a separate issue.
They could (and imho should) have concluded the 14th AM prevents a woman from being enslaved by her fetus. Instead they flinched away from that because they wanted to preserve the gov's ability to meddle.
So what we're arguing about now is how much meddling is appropriate.
"
Philip: ...despite all the rhetoric about price inflation being the major driver,
If the leadership is proclaiming a female penis is more important than my pocketbook, then they're out of touch.
I don't care what other people do with their bodies. I don't approve of lots of things, but if it doesn't affect me then it is hard to care.
Philip: a hierarchy that makes cisgendered male the top and everyone else subserviant.
The amount of racism and oppression is so low that new forms had to give social justice warriors something to do and oppose.
A lot of people see that as a power grab.
"
DavidTC: It’s extremely hard to enforce oppression against women if people are allowed to exit that category.
The vast bulk of people have zero desire to "exit their category".
It seems reasonable to think trans-women shouldn't be in female sports. Trying to claim that this is "fascist" is an effort to avoid having reasonable conversations.
On “History Was Made in 2024 Election, Now What?”
Turn out numbers suggest Trump got about as many people as he did last time but Blue's turn out was seriously lower than before.
Having said that, Trump does seem to have moved people from the Blue groups to Red. Him getting 25% of black males (if that's the final result) is suggestive and I think he also increased the Hispanic vote.
On “Trumped”
Abrams... ran twice for governor, lost twice, and was an election denier on one of those.
Other than that she's been a deputy city attorney and in the Georgia House of Reps.
She gave the State of the Union address. Has declined, twice, to run for the Senate because she "wanted to focus on ending voter suppression".
She actively promoted herself for consideration as Biden's VP. Active writer and some other things.
No Federal level offices. No examples of managing large groups of people. No winning high level offices and refusing to try is a little off putting. Some leadership in there if her credited accomplishments are accurate. Maybe a little business experience. No military. Has a law degree and has worked as an attorney.
I haven't heard her talk. From reading her wiki she's probably stronger and better at this than Harris but still extremely weak if her job is to replace the President.
How did she backstab Biden?
"
Well... I voted for Harris because of Jan 6th but I have to admit that she was a terrible candidate and did a terrible job.
Not really her fault. She should never have been at the top of the ticket and probably never should have been VP. One hopes this showcases the perils of this kind of identity pandering.
With the benefit of "the day after", let's hope Trump spends the next four years showcasing that the more hysterical charges against Trump are exactly that, hysteria.
"
No one on either side is seriously trying to address housing costs. Root cause is the local govs are used to prevent the supply of housing through zoning, green reviews, regulation, and various other NIMBY. Solution is to move that authority to the State or maybe even Federal.
Large numbers of people would be upset at that.
Best to just not talk about the root problem.
"
If you're going to acknowledge inflation is too high and promise to lower it with "The Inflation Reduction Act", then you're on the hook for promising to (really lying about) reducing inflation.
That bill was about promoting Green Tech, not letting an emergency go to waste, and betting that voters would have forgotten by the time of the next election.
"
Looking at the ads... wow those look brutally effective.
They're taking clips of Harris talking about what she stands for. Pro-trans is the least of it. She's chanting "down with deportation" in one. She's showcased debating herself in another. She's calling for getting rid of the police. She and team Blue are using violent rhetoric against him and he's linking that to his assassination attempts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHlb0z1vZm8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IH_J_48ecE
"
That. That exactly. Trying to claim she's both exactly the same person as in 2020 but everything has changed is a self conflicting message.
She also didn't seem to have opinions with the exception of abortion. For everything else she'd be thinking about "what am I supposed to say" rather than talk about what she believed. A lot of the time "supposed to say" became "word salad" or "no answer".
Far as I can tell, her team trained her to not talk about policy and positions at all. So "what will you do the first day" gets an answer of "I will prioritize the middle class" rather than "these specific executive orders".
On “History Was Made in 2024 Election, Now What?”
1) Absorbing huge amounts of immigrants is going to be a strain, especially for healthcare, education, and welfare.
2) At the border you might have illegals at significant fractions of the town's population come through every day. This is going to be newsworthy.
3) Because we've chosen to outlaw this, they're by definition criminals and that will create other crimes and criminals. Disputes between criminals frequently create violence because they don't have access to the legal system.
4) There is going to be "Unfair competition for jobs", the lowering of wages/working conditions, and job displacement.
5) There will be cultural and linguistic barriers created for natives who don't speak whatever language the newcomers speak.
6) This undermines the rule of law.
7) This creates border security concerns.
8) They're going to be a political lightning rod. If I, a leader, have a problem I can't fix then I can blame illegal immigrants knowing they weren't going to vote for me anyway.
"
When my team does it, it's because it's just and they deserve it.
That mindset is a serious problem in terms of good governance.
On “Open Mic for the week of 11/4/2024”
There are two squirrels there. One ran across the stage and the other was in that corner at the lower right.
*Comment archive for non-registered commenters assembled by email address as provided.