The OFFICIAL Unofficial Achewood Message Board
Trivial Pursuits => History => Topic started by: pmcd9 on January 22, 2017, 01:41:01 am
-
I'm having a difficult time with the current reality.
-
Occasionally looking at CNN at work hasn't been uplifting.
-
I'm with you. And it's only like the first two days.
-
Occasionally looking at CNN at work hasn't been uplifting.
We have several TVs on the wall at work on each floor so pretty much anywhere you are, you can look up and see either CNBC or CNN. It's going to be a fuck*ng long goddamn fuck*ng four years. I mean, his twitter profile photo alone. Fuck me.
-
Trump spent the first day of his presidency tackling the important issue of lying about the size of the crowd at his inauguration. And we learned a new term "alternative facts." It's gonna be a long four years indeed.
-
I don't know if it's really true that there's a Chinese curse "may you live in interesting times," but there ought to be.
-
Not fully fleshed out thought: Trump's proposal to "Buy American, Hire American" sounds good on some level. It's yet another simple answer to a complex problem, and I see how it's appealing. Leaving aside the questions of the global economy and trade wars with the rest of the world, though, there's one simple thing that I think will prevent it from being fully realized: Americans love cheap crap. I'm sure if you polled people, 90% of them will say "I try to buy American products whenever possible," and a few of them may actually do that, but really? People go to Target and Walmart and buy the cheapest thing on the shelf that fills their need without giving a second thought to where it was manufactured.
Hell, there's a whole region in China where the whole economy is about supplying western dollar stores. I'm sure some people in this country shop at dollar stores because they have to, but some do it because they like their stuff to be cheap. So if we really did start buying everything American, prices would go up and then people would be pissed about that instead.
-
People always want to change one thing without considering that the one thing is part of a coherent system, and you can't change that thing without changing the whole system.
It's possible that if you moved all the jobs back here, more people would make more money and they could afford the more expensive things that would be manufactured here. I mean, presumably that is how the world used to work. But the difference now is that people just buy so much more stuff than we used to, which is another reason we want it all to be cheaper. Would we be willing to buy less? Wear the same clothes for longer and use things till they broke instead of throwing them away for the new model? Sounds virtually un-American.
-
Another thing that gets lost in this conversation about bringing jobs back is automation. When you talk about bringing jobs back you're talking about manufacturing jobs, because those are higher paying jobs than in the service sector for the most part. Manufacturing is returning to America already, but it's *****s, not Mexicans that are taking the jobs.
-
Another thing that gets lost in this conversation about bringing jobs back is automation. When you talk about bringing jobs back you're talking about manufacturing jobs, because those are higher paying jobs than in the service sector for the most part. Manufacturing is returning to America already, but it's *****s, not Mexicans that are taking the jobs.
Mechanical communism. I've been saying it for years.
-
I think I am really having a hard time dealing with this. I have never quite been so depressed that I couldn't bite through the toast, but today I wanted to put away my chopsticks and eat my rice with a spoon.
-
I think I am really having a hard time dealing with this. I have never quite been so depressed that I couldn't bite through the toast, but today I wanted to put away my chopsticks and eat my rice with a spoon.
To be fair, you should put your chopsticks away because a spoon is a much better utensil for the job.
-
holy shit shots fired
Oh damn, is this gonna turn into another taco vs. burrito debate?
-
Remember when the internet was the place where we argued about chopsticks vs spoons? *sigh*
-
Paul, let Wombat enjoy her chopsticks before Trump makes them illegal.
-
Paul, let Wombat enjoy her chopsticks before Trump makes them illegal.
Fair enough.
-
Paul, let Wombat enjoy her chopsticks before Trump makes them illegal.
They can be used to build a great wall of balsa wood a million miles tall and half a centimeter thick to stop those dirty Spanish Muslims from crossing the Rio Grande and taking our jerbs and imposing Shari'a Communism. Why don't you love America, Wombat?
-
Touambie zombie!
-
I thought it would take longer than a week for Trump to create a constitutional crisis, but hey, he's a fast worker. We'll see in the next couple of days if the Republicans are going to stand up to him or are they going to just let him continue down this road towards authoritarian rule.
-
There going to use him to do all the stuff that they really want to do, but don't want to be on the record doing. Then they'll get rid of Trump and have the kind of theocratic authoritarian that they've always wanted.
Mark my words. Trump won't serve the entire four years.
-
I hope you're right because I already can't take anymore of it.
Even so, there is stuff I am learning about my fellow Americans that isn't going to go away. Till recently I still had the faith in basic goodness to believe that people didn't quite understand what was going on, but this immigration order thing has proved I was wrong. It appears there are people who apparently know exactly what is happening and actually think it's totally OK to turn refugees away, even in the cruellest possible way at the last minute when they've been going through the process for years. I heard a guy on a call-in show say that he didn't see why we had to take any immigrants at all because "we have enough people." I don't even know where to begin, with that kind of thinking, but that is not a world I want to live in.
-
Even so, there is stuff I am learning about my fellow Americans that isn't going to go away.
Yeah, that's the saddest part of this whole deal. Right now I'm relying on the words of St. Fred and hoping this spurs the rest of us become better helpers:
"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping." To this day, especially in times of "disaster," I remember my mother's words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world."
-
Right. Important to remember that people are rising to the challenge amazingly. I'm not because right now I can't even bite through the toast, but I'm hoping I'll find a way.
What really blows me away is how people are feeling like a new wind is blowing and they feel like they can let slip what has been under the surface of 'em all along.
Yeah. This is why I was afraid Trump would win despite the polls - because we had made just enough progress for people to know they shouldn't SAY racist things. And they knew that telling the truth about their voting plans amounted to exactly that.
-
I have been going to protests, and was kind of split on whether they felt good or productive for the first few. Then Saturday I went to JFK (airport) and yelled LET THEM IN! for 2 hours, which felt so good. And then I left because I got tired and cold. Next time, long johns and gloves. I also joined a local lefty organization and have been going to meetings on various issues. It makes me feel a little better. I try not to think about things that could go horrifically wrong (not going to list them here, either) and focus on smaller stuff.
There is a rumor he's mulling an anti-immigration pro-jobs action where one part would tell the Census Bureau they had to collect information on people's immigration status. This would make me feel very conflicted about doing my job.
-
Mark my words. Trump won't serve the entire four years.
At this rate he's not going to last 3 months.
-
Fuck I just realised Todd is running the government (http://achewood.com/index.php?date=02062004)
-
Fuck I just realised Todd is running the government (http://achewood.com/index.php?date=02062004)
Inded the Todd T. Squirrel presidency has gotten off to a rocky start.
-
I have one particular high school FB friend who was in the tank for Jill Stein before the election. The parties are the same, Hillary is just as terrible as Trump, and so on.
Now, she's not pro-Trump, exactly, but goes out of her way to tell "the resistance" that they're hysterical and counter-productive. All this Russia stuff is a conspiracy theory. Trump can't actually do anything important. You're not helping, and you're only making "real Americans" dislike you more.
I kinda think she's compensating for something.
-
My very nice friend knows I am to the left of her, and asked if I had any ideas about her good friend who followed the same trajectory as the FB friend you're describing. I said it sounds like whatever is going on, it has more to do with his personal hangups than anything in the real world. I'm glad Carlos has a similar thought process and I'm not just a grump.
-
I have one particular high school FB friend who was in the tank for Jill Stein before the election.
This same person just posted in a comment, "Most people think 9/11 was an inside job."
No. No, "most people" do not.
-
This same person just posted in a comment, "Most people think 9/11 was an inside job."
No. No, "most people" do not.
911 Truthers... I just cant...
-
I wake up most mornings to the news and I think "Jesus CBC, why do you keep covering Trump? Stop giving him attention." And then I remember, "wait he is the leader of the largest superpower in the world, I guess they have to cover him." And then all I can think is that hopefully this lump of hot wet garbage will just die of a heart attack, but then what? Then what!?
-
Then what!?
That's a sticky wicket as the Brits might say.
I'm a dreamer and I believe that first, the Sanders wing of the Democratic party is going to clean out the establishment, then they are going to take over the House and Senate in 2018. In 2020, President Tulsi Gabbard?
-
I wake up most mornings to the news and I think "Jesus CBC, why do you keep covering Trump? Stop giving him attention." And then I remember, "wait he is the leader of the largest superpower in the world, I guess they have to cover him." And then all I can think is that hopefully this lump of hot wet garbage will just die of a heart attack, but then what? Then what!?
Then we will get President Pence, who will enact most of the same awful policies, but may at least appoint some marginally competent people to the many open positions, and won't tweet embarassingly. And we'd be free of the Trump children.
-
A fringe benefit.
-
Inev, forgive me if you were being sarcastic or something, or if I'm explaining stuff you already know. Figured better to discuss this here than on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/DBstandsfor/status/853744445577146368
"The obsession with the tax returns. What is it. What's the idea. I don't get it."
1. First and foremost, the idea that Trump is going to enact policies that benefit himself rather than for the good of the country. That seems a given already, of course, but the tax returns would provide greater proof.
2. Would also likely further cement the Trump-Russia ties--if he's getting loans an' shit from Russian banks.
3. May further dispel the idea that he's a great businessman, if he's actually lost a lot of money. (This isn't of much substance, but you know, another club to beat him with.)
Will it make a huge difference in the grand scheme of things? Like lead to impeachment? Probably not, but hopefully could erode his base a little more. Plus it's bullshit that Jimmy Carter had to sell his peanut farm while this jackass gets to do whatever he wants.
-
Yeah, I guess I understood those reasons, but don't believe it could possibly make any difference. This feels like the same kind of thing the Democrats tried during the campaign-- and it really seems like his supporters just don't care about decorum, his business interests, attacking women, or anything else. The Republicans have a majority and certainly aren't going to investigate him, much less impeach him. I'd love to see the Dems focus on stopping what they can, and making a strong effort to take as many seats as possible in 2018, ideally by presenting their(our?) alternative worldview and solutions to things.
I'd love to be wrong, though.
-
I feel like you are both right. As a matter of principle, I think a stink needs to be made about this. We can't set a precedent that it's OK. But it's not going to bother his supporters. Someone observed on Twitter that he has changed all of his economic positions and none of his racist ones and it hasn't affected his support so if you were still wondering which reason people really voted for him, well, there you go.
-
Yeah, he's got a core group of supporters that won't change no matter what. But you have to chip away where you can.
-
It's kind of fun that the president tweets policy decisions.
-
I feel we need to clarify the definition of the word "fun".
-
I do think it raises some interesting legal and security questions. A discussion of those might be fun in some weird sense of the word.
-
Holy Dickens and Delilah. (http://achewood.com/index.php?date=04192004)
Donald Trump is a corny douchebag. (http://touamb.com/index.php?topic=913.0)
-
Hey AW, I need you to call Owensboro Greg from the fantasy sports leagues and tell him "WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK, Y'ALL"
https://twitter.com/KySportsRadio/status/1055870856079921152
(Do you live there too? Things I should know but don't.)
-
Owensboro Greg is a Trump supporter.
-
at least tell me he doesn't dress up as Hitler at Halloween in a costume he clearly spent a lot of time on and wishes he could wear more often
-
Not that I'm aware of...
-
I don't really know why Hitler and the Nazis are taboo for Halloween. I mean, isn't the point to be as scary as possible? Hitler and the Nazi's are pretty fuck*ng scary. Is it because of the Holocaust? What's the time limit on that? I'm just saying, it's been like 70 years. There's lots of despicable characters from history that get routinely used as halloween costumes.
-
The time limit is, it'll be OK once we can be sure they're wearing it to be scary, not because they're living the dream. And right now it wouldn't be clear.
-
The time limit is, it'll be OK once we can be sure they're wearing it to be scary, not because they're living the dream.
That makes a whole lotta sense. Thanks for the wisdom.
-
WTF. How long has the board been back up?
-
WTF. How long has the board been back up?
Who knows, man. Who knows.
-
Well, that devolved into an utter shit show, but now that the Presidency has changed hands and the world didn't end, I'ma close this motha for the satisfaction of it.