Looks like I picked the wrong time to give up fentanyl
And they are already talking about “reforming” Medicare, aka gutting it. So no ACA, no Medicare; just people dying. Probably while blaming the Democrats for it all, somehow.
Since Medicare is all I have I expect this to kill me, one way or another.
I always admire your boundless optimism.
There’s no room for optimism anymore; the future is a hopeless place full of misery, tyranny and death, now.
lol
On the bright side you never really give it up.
In all seriousness, MLK Jr., Nelson Mandela, and Mahatma Gandhi had things much, much worse than we do now, and they remained optimistic enough to accomplish great things. Extreme pessimism, were it widely adopted, would make the situation worse. Choosing to be optimistic, as those great people did, is absolutely necessary in order to have any hope of making things better.
I think it’s important for some people to remain optimistic. If you can, then you must.
I cannot. I cannot virtually lobotomize myself as I watch the vats of Kool-ade being prepared. I can’t tell myself “it will all work out somehow and no one will get hurt.” Impossible. My clear-eyed look at reality is not making things worse. The situation is what it is.
If it turns out not to be all that bad in the long run, I’ll be thrilled. But just looking at the stuff he’s doing (and he IS doing stuff) before he’s even sworn in-- not encouraging.
Is this one of those threads that cons and rebupkis don’t come into because there’s just no way to troll it?
What a bunch of cowards.
The GOP currently has 52 senators. Susan Collins has expressed reservations about both privatizing medicare and gutting the ACA.
So if the GOP can get 2 more senators to refuse to do that, that’ll at least keep the program up until 2018.
However no matter how bad the GOP fuck things up, they will probably gain senate seats in 2018. In 2018 there are 25 dems up for reelection, only 8 republicans. So the GOP could have 55-56 seats starting in 2019.
So even if they do not get their agenda in the next 2 years, they could get it starting in 2019.
Yes they do. Especially considering how many of Trump’s followers voted with the goal of making life harder and more miserable for all those inferior ‘others’ out there, it is only justice that they themselves see their lives get harder and more miserable too.
But sadly, the rest of the country will suffer as a side effect of their behavior.
This. I can only call 'em as I see 'em, and I see the worst set-back for human rights in American history since the internment of Americans of Japanese descent in 1942. I see an economic downturn worse than that of 2008. I see the an intrusion against civil liberties worse than that of Joe McCarthy.
As you say, I’ll be delighted to be shown wrong, but I don’t have any real hope of it.
Don’t forget the fact that republican voters, politicians and pundits will invent a list of lies to blame Obama, liberals, poor people, black people, etc for all of these problems.
That is also what pisses me off. There is no learning with these people. No personal growth, no personal responsibility. They will invent lies as to why it was their opposition’s fault. When the economy collapsed in 2008 it wasn’t due to deregulation (which happened under both Clinton & Bush). It was because the government forced banks to loan money to black people. That is the lie they invented, and I’m 100% sure they will invent some other collection of lies to blame liberalism, Obama, black people, etc. for everything that their stupidity unleashes on humanity over the next 4-8 years.
I remember watching CNN, some GOP politician was blaming Hillary for birtherism. The host corrected him, so he repeated it. The host corrected him again. It kept happening. The fact that he was being corrected went over his head.
Ann Coulter recently tried to blame Bernie Sanders for hacking Hillary’s emails. How many of her idiot followers will believe her lies?
Recent polls show over half of Trump supporters think he won the popular vote (he lost by almost 3 million. He has even openly talked about him losing the popular vote).
How do we compete politically with people who are openly and proudly divorced from reality? There is no learning with these people. How do we have a functioning democracy when so many people live in an ignorant fantasy land and are immune to facts and think any media outlet that doesn’t tell them what they want to hear is biased and untrustworthy? How can their stupidity be used against them? Treating them like informed citizens only backfires.
Liberals believe stupid things sometimes, but we don’t have an entire network of lies and we generally admit when we are wrong, or are more prone to it.
Of course, for every Nelson Mandela, there’s a thousand optimists buried in shallow graves.
I’m very, very lucky never to have heard that one before. I’m not questioning or doubting you; that’s exactly in character for those guys.
That’s all but certain. For a political party that gives lip service to “personal responsibility,” they are strongly lacking in the application of that moral ideal.
I’ve heard two suggestions. One is: Since they only believe in force and bullying, use force and bullying against them. When they shout you down, shout them down louder.
Another, and a much nicer one, is: Don’t try to fight them head on, as that will never work. e.g., regarding climate change, don’t say, “97% of climate scientists agree.” They can’t hear facts like that. Instead, engage them where they are able to agree. “Remember when the air over Los Angeles was gray and stinky? It isn’t any more. That’s the kind of climate change we can all be happy with.”
When talking about abortion, don’t engage with “abortion is murder.” Instead, approach it with, “Neo-natal care makes babies bigger, healthier, and more likely to live beyond the age of two.”
Use a kind of judo or aikido, or, in baseball terms, don’t slug for the fence, but try for a grounder between first and second. Don’t hit them where they expect, and where their defenses are the strongest, but try to engage them where their human empathy has not wholly atrophied.
(For some, like Newt Gingrich, this is impossible: his soul is dead.)
VERY well put. My thoughts exactly.
Der Trihs must be pleased that he isn’t the only one who sees “nothing but tyranny, oppression, and death” for the world’s future.
Time to go home and hug your kids, folks. That’s all you can do that will make one bit of damn difference to anybody at all.
You don’t have to go all the way out to the looney-tootey blogs to see that one. You can find the idiocy mindlessly repeated on this very message board, by top-rated SDMB wingnuts like Sam “I can click a mouse button so I’m an economics scholar” Stone, IIRC. Of course they feign a pretense of human decency by substituting “irresponsible poor people (wink wink)” for “black people.”
Yeah theres been 2 stories like this. In Florida bluehairs who voted for Trump are worried about losing their Obamacare, and just a day or 2 ago there was an article that coal miner hillbillies from West Virginia were in the same predicament.
Sorry, Grandma, you and millions of worthless racist old people wont get to keep leeching off our system and Mr. Coalminer the GOOD news is Trump will give you tat wonderful, safe low paying mining job back, too bad there wont be any money to pay for your black lung or regulation to keep you from getting buried in a cave in.
This is so typical of many Americans, and even more despicable when they are Republicans: they are all in favor of cutting government benefits, just as long as its not one of their goodies. I hope every single one of these people lose all their benefits and go broke. Idiots!
That isn’t what “optimism” is.
Optimist in 1939: “Well, here comes another World War. This is going to bed very tough, but we can overcome Nazism and restore peace and decency if we work and fight really hard.”
Pessimist: “Hitler will win and we’re all doomed.”
I’m glad the pessimists weren’t in charge of the war effort.