As a libtard, one of those woke goodie two-shoes, I am forced to admit that at long last, you have finally owned me. Do what you will; you've got the keys to the car, and you can do anything you want. Well, let me be a bit more precise: you can do anything he wants, he referring to one Donald J. t****. It's his show. Not your show exactly, but you did vote for him, so I guess indirectly it's your show.
The people have spoken. I must accept their decision. To say anything else would make me look like a sore loser.
But I think this is a mistake. The people have spoken but they have made a mistake. As I've said elsewhere, the average voter is uninformed, knowing little or nothing about politics, their country, and how the world works. Their vote is based on gut instinct, not a thorough understanding of the issues. They vote according to the last sound bite, the last slogan, or the last meme which confirms their bias about the world. And as such, they vote against their own best interests, perpetuating the problems they love to complain about.
I must compliment the Republicans for being unified, organized, and relentless. Through sheer repetition, they have used their message to reshape reality to the point where a significant portion of the population think black is white, up is down, etc. The world has been so obfuscated, people no longer know what's going on, what's truly going on.
Freedom of Speech
My complaint isn't what some people say, it's that other people listen. There seems to be no critical thinking skills left anymore. People blindly repeat or repost whatever they hear out of some uncontrollable compulsion to be first with new information, all without assessing the veracity of what they're repeating.
At a family gathering, I hear a relative say that they had heard teachers are putting kitten litter boxes in classrooms so that students who identify as cats can take a leak. Think about that for a moment. Without doing any research, just by mulling over the possibility that any teacher, any educated, qualified, intelligent human being would agree to do such a socially unacceptable, absurd, and outright stupid thing in public. When I first heard this story, I dismissed it as the hyperbolic right-wing inflammatory rhetoric designed to enrage people into believing liberals have gone too far. I'm liberal and just because I'm liberal, I am no longer a reasonable human being but some sort of crazy person trying to undermine our society. I'm sorry. I may be liberal but I'm not f*cking insane!
Think about this. The enemy is no longer the Russians, the Chinese, or ISIS. It's your fellow Americans, your colleagues at work, your neighbors, or even members of your own family. Those woke, commie socialists want to destroy American and bring about the downfall of the Republic. Really? The other side of the aisle is evil personified, the anti-Christ.
Healthcare: The Concept of a Plan
While t****'s answer to having a plan was laughable, it does represent the Republican goal in the debate: the return to the way things were. Get rid of Obamacare and return to full-on capitalism: pre-existing conditions rejected, everyone has to pay, no freebies. Their plan is no plan; healthcare is a free market.
In the leadup to Obamcare in 2010, I read several analyses which determined up to fifty thousand people die each year due to a lack of health insurance. Because they couldn't afford preventative care, they waited until the situation was critical and consequently, fatal. If Republicans have their way, death will be the price to pay for profit. I don't believe those voting Republican understand what they voted for.
Tax Cuts
In 2017, t**** managed a $1.7 trillion tax cut, most of which, according to financial experts, went to the top 1%. He's promised to deliver another cut.
I pay approximately 30% in tax. At the start of the t**** presidency, corporation were paying 27%. The tax cut lowered their rate to 21%. The new promised tax cut would further lower the rate to 15%.
I pay 30%. Now, Republicans will explain trickle down, however, I can find no financial expert who agrees trickle down works. It's a myth. It would seem the only ones believing in trickle down are those benefiting from the tax cuts. The rich get richer while the poor get poorer.
2 + 2 = 4
I can't help feeling there's a "truth" in air quotes. It's not liberal; it's not conservative. It's not Republican or Democrat. If do the math, you arrive at the answer of four. That answer has nothing to do with political ideology. If you say the answer is five, I have to conclude you haven't done the math or you don't understand math.
My example of two plus two is simple, making easy for anybody to see my point. However, other issues are not so cut and dry. As I said above, I see a lack of critical thinking skills. Instead of recognizing one's ignorance, people go with what they know or what they've heard with no fact checking and jump to conclusions, usually erroneous conclusions. Old saying: If you can't properly assess an issue, how can you properly address it?
Project 2025
If you voted for t****, you didn't read this. Holy cow! You are not going to end up with what you think you'll get.
One day, I find myself in a China shop with a bull. At that particular moment, it doesn’t seem to matter if it’s right or wrong for the bull to be there; the fact is, it is there. It seems academic to ask how or why the bull ended up in the shop as I’m faced with the more important question of how to deal with the bull. It is a massive animal with great power. Like it or not, right here, right now, might is right. A bull is temperamental and can be capricious. I don’t want to get gored or trampled and will do my best to not get its attention. At some point, I will contemplate what I can do to not end up in such a predicament, but until then, I’m going to try to stay out of the line of fire. Maybe if I had a red cape, I could distract the animal and lead it out of the shop. Whatever the case, people are going to be hurt and that very well could include me.
I don't believe MAGA knows what it's doing. They're angry. And t**** and his minions like Fox News have manipulated them and got their anger focused on the Left. In fact, their angry has blinded them to the damage already wrought by t**** and the damage he's planning on doing.
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| Editorial Cartoon by Pat Bagley (used without permission) |
I'm wasting my breath. My words fall on deaf ears. MAGA is gloating over their win without understanding the consequences of that win. And as I said in the meme above, by the time they figure out their mistake, it will be too late.
In the fall, I saw memes on social media saying that people voted for t**** because they were worried about the price of eggs. Already, t**** has said he can't lower the price of groceries. How soon before the voters have buyer's remorse?
Just today, I read an article talking about how the Democrats failed to capture the hearts and mind of the electorate, that they were not on message, that they were condescending to the deplorables, or whatever. How exactly do you campaign with a public who prides itself on being ignorant? How do you compete with Fox News and other right-wing sources who relentlessly repeat alternative facts to people who can't be bothered to fact check anything, oblivious to being manipulated?
I've wondered if smoking could be held up as a metaphor for politics. The science is overwhelming in proving tobacco to be detrimental to one's health and yet tens of millions continue to light up as cognitive dissonance sees them reject anything contradictory to their addiction. My own family smokes; some of them like chimneys. All I can do is try to stay away from their second-hand smoke. I can't stop them; I can't change their behaviour; but I must keep the peace by accepting their behaviour. Likewise, Republicans vote against their own best interests. All I can do is try to protect myself. People have to learn the hard way. I can only make sure that when they go down, they don't take me with them. Unfortunately, the idea of we all being in the same boat makes that just about impossible.
References
my blog: MAGA, Anger, and Critical Thinking - Dec 25/2023
f one thing has struck me over these past years, it's that MAGA is angry. Although, the word angry seems insufficient: livid, furious, raging, foaming at the mouth, I could go on but I'm trying to express that this anger is right off the charts. And because this anger is so out of control, I believe MAGA can no longer think straight. It's not about finding "the truth" in air quotes, it's about winning any and all arguments. I'm right, and everybody else is wrong. Evidence? Schmevidence! I don't have to prove anything because I'm right, and you're just a stupid sheeple!
my blog: Freedom of Speech, Jordan Peterson, and I believe therefore it's true. - Oct 20/2023
Never have so many knowing so little said so much.
Covid: What if the U.S. was like Canada? - Feb 3/2022
Comparing the death rate of Canada with the U.S. and its individual states as of February 3, 2022. I believe t**** and Ron DeSantis should be held criminally negligent for their handling of the Covid pandemic.
2025-01-05
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