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The reason I voted no is that during this past year when I have had discussions with conservatives online it has ended up becoming a nasty shouting match. I would prefer this to be a safe space with minded people.

Happy to receive unbiased news from sources that have not been bought.

The Arts matter for balance! The individuals who have been most successful have some training and a solid appreciation of the Arts in general. Experiences in the Arts bring a balance to the Cognitive Dissonance of the modern political world. The Arts have helped to "predict" the coming changes to various nations and political orders. So they may be serving as precursors to action, and certainly to thought about the things that matter. The expressions from various artistic experiences also serve to broaden understanding between those performing and those experiencing the book, play, or performance. These experiences challenge us to move outside ourselves while internalizing the messages! Just my .02

Mac and V., I've really enjoyed reading the dialogue between you two. Two people who are both very bright, knowledgeable, and brutally honest with others. All rare traits in this Kardashian/Idiocracy world, or at least country, that we live in. I fully agree, this site deserves much more robust and wider participation from its members and visitors, but I don't have a clue how to make that happen or encourage more of it. Maybe most of us on the lefty end are feeling just too demoralized, stressed, and depressed to participate in discussions here, who knows? But I agree with both of you on your points made in your comments above. I don't feel either of you is more right than the other in the debate over human flaws, consistency and hypocrisy. For what it's worth, mac, I probably only meet about half of your four standards about morality. I do care about animals, but will still continue to be a carnivore, who supports animals being treated well while they are living as pets, in shelters, zoos, or in the wild. I will gladly pay higher taxes, as long as it benefits all of society, not just me and my age group, and also not just white people, the rich, or corporations. I am an Agnostic, so I guess Christian hypocrisy doesn't apply to me. Lastly, even tho I will likely be dead before the 💩 really hits the fan with climate change, I do care about the world left to younger people after I'm gone, and even tho I still drive a gas powered Ford Fusion, I would gladly ride a bicycle some of my travels, if I lived in a climate warm enough to do it most of the year, or would drive an electric vehicle, if I lived in a home that would allow me to plug it in. But I don't live in such a place, and my condo apt, fits my needs best for housing, as well as being affordable. I suppose that my next car will at least be a hybrid, if I can find a late model used one in a couple years or so. So judge me as you will, mac, but I honestly think I am trying and doing better at it than most.

"Nazi" can be a 5-letter word...as in THE LYIN' KING. It can be a 6-letter word...as in "Miller". And it can be a 3-letter word...as in GOP.

There is a trend among some liberals that we all need to co-exist and "get along". I understand where this idea comes from. Certainly, those of us on both sides of the aisle have commonalities. At the end of the day, we all want to own a home, live in safe neighborhoods and send our kids to good schools. However, I do recall Bill Maher once saying, "There IS a difference between the two parties." One party pulls out racist and homophobic slurs like their morning coffee. Therefore, I do agree that often the other party does not have a soul. After all, how can one sit back and defend what ICE is doing to migrant families? How can one proudly proclaim to be a Republican and not care at all that many people will not be able to afford health care?

I've been divorced since 2017 and have been on and off the dating sites. Here's my humble opinion, BobDylan. You feel as if you were played because dating apps are basically a game. Swiping, liking, waiting.... then....."Oooh, someone messaged me back!" The rewards are up and down with the ghosting, algorithms, and painful first dates. The only way to survive the game is not to take it personally. Believe me, I'm not above getting my feelings hurt either. However, I do find that when I set realistic boundaries "with myself", I am always in a better mindset. For those of us who still work full-time, it truly can be the easiest way to meet singles. Not that I didn't think the Captain had great advice - volunteering, card groups, pickle-ball, animal groups. However, that isn't always easy with limited free time. I was sorry to read that you felt sad and cynical. Because that was me until I changed my goals. Now I avoid burnout by not having expectations. Change your perspective about the woman who decided not to meet. Look at it not as a missed opportunity but an apparent mismatch. She was obviously not ready to date at this time.

Well, I finally got to a place where I can reply or comment on a post and all I can say is that this, at least to me, is not a very user friendly site as far as navigating. I can't even figure out how to complete my profile. Sorry Bob that my comment on your post isn't actually relevant but this is the 1st place where I could actually post a comment to hopefully be upgraded to Newbl CITIZEN.

In all of my romantic relationships except the last one, politics was never a concern of mine. BobDylan, I privately shared the following anecdote with you, so please pardon the replay. I ended my last romance because the gal was a devout, unrepentant Trumper -- a tough call because she had great legs. I go stupid over great legs. Ultimately however, the lass' odious politics "trumped" her gorgeous gams. But, oh, you kid! These days politics getting in the way of romance is not at all a deal-breaker. I'm out of "the mating game." My domestic partner of 40 years died two years ago. Our relationship was platonic. But she was my closest, longest, and dearest companion. Not a day goes by that she is not in my thoughts, dreams, and memories. Two years later, I still grieve and mourn the loss of her company and friendship. Her demise was, to date, the latest in a traumatic series of losses during the past seven years: one coworker died after suffering a stroke, one coworker was brutally murdered, one friend died from cancer, and one friend committed suicide. Another loss -- simultaneously depressing and welcomed -- is the death of my libido. But, I'll pass on pill-popping Viagra, thank you very much. Emotionally, psychologically, figuratively, and literally, I can't get it up for Love -- and I'm not cryin' about it. Nothing lasts forever. Just as well because finding a "soulmate" and getting married were never on my Things to Do list. To me, marriage is a passion-killer -- the conjugal equivalent of a lobotomy. Spending my life day after day . . . week after week . . . month after month . . . year after year — until death! — with one woman . . . can't do it! Beyond my capability. Monogamy (meatloaf again?!) = Monotony, as far as I'm concerned. Sacre bleu! La variété! Eet eez ze spice of life, oui? So needless to say, I won't be joining the Liberal Hearts Club, which is no great loss --indeed, no loss at all -- for womankind.

Oh boy, I have a lot to say on this topic. I will not engage with anyone on a dating app that doesn't list "liberal" in their profile. I won't even "like" a person who lists moderate. Because in this climate, it's time to choose a side. To much is at stake to be wishy washy. I've had men message my profile who were moderate or apolitical. I would politely decline and explain that we would not be compatible. A few would argue "Why is it a big deal?" Umm... because I need to respect the person I'm dating.

Hi, new to the site. The main reason that I’m here is to interact with like minded people and escape the constant name calling and petty arguments. I’m afraid that opening up to members from the right would devolve into a bunch of trolling. Maybe in “regular” times there could be real discussion but the hard core MAGA folks don’t seem to have much capacity for critical thinking. My humble opinion, I hope I’m wrong.

When asked about a woman becoming president of the United States of America, Former First Lady Michelle Obama bluntly stated, "We ain't ready."

The implication is that we're going to win unless the Rs can figure out a better way to cheat. They're working on it. Our side needs to be ever-vigilant and "think outside the box." The Rs are diabolical and clever and have no boundaries. Nothing is off the table. Nothing is too-farfetched for them. Nothing is sacred. They respect nothing. Our people need to brainstorm and consider the most far out possibilities, because that's what they will be doing. ARE doing. Trust no one. Check and re-check everything and everyone.

To the point where a Capitalist Market's only goal is growth & stockholder wealth, with no regard for sustainability or environmental impacts, and then to have SCOTUS declare corporations are "people" who vote with money & political force, further cementing their death grip on our Earth that will inevitably result in a depleted, dead Planet - YES, CORPORATIONS ARE EVIL.

I want a site where I can escape my MAGA rural life for a little while each day.

I can only speak for myself. If I was a celebrity, I would feel obligated to speak out. It would be a gift to be able to do the moral and ethical thing in such a potentially impactful way.

DEAR RED STATES… WE’RE LEAVING Dear Red States, We’ve decided we’re leaving. We intend to form our own country, and we’re taking the other Blue States with us. That includes Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, California, New Mexico, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Virginia, most of the Northeast, and our favorite swing-flirts like Michigan and Pennsylvania when they behave. We’ll call ourselves The United States of Sanity. You can keep Mar-a-Lago. Here’s the split: • We get stem-cell research. You get stemware from Branson gift shops. • We get the Statue of Liberty. You get the world’s largest ball of twine. • We get Apple, Microsoft, Google, and you get MyPillow. • We get Hollywood. You get Duck Dynasty reruns. Resources: • We control most of the venture capital, the Ivy League, the West Coast tech corridor, the Great Lakes (about 84% of North America’s surface fresh water), and 95% of U.S. wine production. • You get coal, cattle, and almost all the tornadoes. • Pineapples? Hawaii. Lettuce? California. Cheese? Sorry, Wisconsin votes blue more often than not, so it’s coming with us. Taxes and money: • On average, blue states send more to Washington than they get back. Red states take in more federal dollars than they pay. So when we “split the check,” you’ll be picking up your own tab for the first time in decades. Good luck with that. Culture: • Blue states have lower divorce rates and higher life expectancy. Red states have more churches per square mile, but somehow not more stable marriages. • In recent polls, around 40% of Republicans still doubt evolution, and a stubborn minority think Saddam helped with 9/11. Y’all can keep those history books. • We get Broadway. You get Branson, which is kind of Broadway if it ran on casseroles and Precious Moments figurines. Weather: • Hurricanes? You’ll still get clobbered in Florida and Texas. • Mosquitoes? Honestly, they’re bipartisan — but they seem happier in your humidity. Peace out, —The Blue States 🥂💻🌊

Republicans also like to say guns don’t kill people; people kill people and blame mass shootings on mental health issues. Yet they don’t support funding for mental health services. Their arguments never make sense to me.

Who could possibly feel that the AI video of The President flying a jet dressed as a King flying over a protest dumping poop is an appropriate response to a peaceful protest of 7 million people? Imagine if Obama or Biden did something like this. The Republicans freaked out when Obama wore a beige suit. Do I agree with Trumps freedom to be able to post such a disgusting and churlish piece of 💩? Yep I sure do. Should this man-baby be our president? Absolutely not. The Speaker of the house, Mike Johnson needs to go too. Such a religious man with no morals whatsoever. He is the ventriloquist dummy, sitting on Trumps lap. All Americans should be appalled.

Haha, but don’t forget to bit them harder.

i'm very sorry that there's reason to create this thread for the next war that the American people do not want.

"Truth is": Because more people act like you, America is mired in the nightmare that it is currently in. "Truth is": If no one thought like you, who knows what America would look like? I don't know and you definitely don't know. What we do know is that neither of us is happy about and satisfied with America 2026 ... and that we have very different ideas about the remedial course of action to take. I want action that is radical, bold, STRONG -- Revolutionary! You? "You've got no Brooklyn in you whatsoever." I don't have the time or the patience for "incremental progress." You don't have the stomach ("fire in the belly") for revolution. For me (and, I'll wager, many other discontented Americans) incremental progress (baby steps) is a too mild, too timid (too chicken-hearted) strategy to combat and overthrow the criminal, fascist tyrants and myrmidons currently in command. Too many Americans are being ignored, bullied, conned, cheated, robbed, exploited, starved, jailed, killed for them to be tolerant and passively and resignedly rely on the courts and elections for "justice" and deliverance from their suffering and oppression. If you can't or won't join the revolution -- stand aside, sit down, be quiet, and stay out of the way. For Americans to deserve better, they must want better. And they must not just want better. They must FIGHT for better. Liberation and justice doesn't happen by sharing Facebook posts and consulting an AI "superior intelligence." More effort is required. Last night on MS NOW, Gavin Newsom stated that the majority of Americans whom he's met told him that they want a candidate who is a fighter. They want "someone who's going to stand up and have their back . . . I'm not in any crowds that are looking for timidity," he told host Jen Psaki. A fighter: that is certainly who I want.

Thanks for the props about my participation and writing, V., but I really don't think that any of those you named, including you, are great writers, etc.. I just think it's more that all four of us have something to say, feel free about saying it, and are passionate about what we choose to write about. Which should be all someone needs, or should need, to participate in this forum. Because at least so far, this site has not become a platform for meanness, harassment, ridicule, etc., like Facebook, reddit, etc.. People so far, both on the forums and several others that I've messaged with privately, seem to nice, decent, caring people. I just wish they would come out of the shadows, or maybe their online wallflower mode, to engage and participate with us and build a community. I saw that happen, at least for a few years, on Agnostic.com when I first joined there, so I know it's possible. But I also know that human nature of most people, even those on the liberal side of the spectrum, are more interested in finding romantic local partners, than meeting new friends, even online, that might actually add something else enriching and nurturing to their emotional lives, even if only a sense of solidarity, belonging, and being understood.. My brother got a Master's degree in English, specializing in Fiction Writing, from Syracuse Univ.. And when I asked him why people become professional writers, he said it was not because they were great writers, but because they all have something to say. Interestingly, he realized after he graduated from there, that he needed another or better line of work than writing, so he went to law school, became a lawyer for several years, and then became a fed magistrate, a judge, following the same legal career path my father did. So whether it was talent or having something to say, I guess there's something in my genetics, when it comes to writing....

The last company that I worked for employed many immigrants, mostly from Asia (China, India, Japan) but also from Europe (England, France, Germany, Scandinavia). During T-R-U-M-P 1.0 when DJT imposed his first travel ban (against primarily majority-Muslim countries), there was widespread consternation among coworkers in the USA on an H-1B visa -- even though most of them were not from travel-banned countries. During a business meeting, I felt compelled to apologize to my immigrant colleagues. I genuinely felt embarrassed by and ashamed of the lunatic president. One coworker, from China, expressed that he migrated to America because it was "The Land of Opportunity." He had particularly been impressed with and inspired by Barack Obama's "We are the change we seek" speech (Remember those good ol' days? Remember that dignity . . . that sanity?). After living in America, he was shocked and surprised by the degree of hostility and anger in America -- that many Americans were so unhappy and "so mad."

Captain's Log—Stardate 2025.15.10 it's been 1 year since Newbl construction began. Now 3 weeks into its initial launch, i'm still deliberating its purpose and direction. i steered an online dating service for over 25 years and a prior political discussion forum for 10. You'd think i'd have learned enough. Still, things change. And key questions remain: i know the public is tired of being exploited by unscrupulous money-sucking data-harvesting profiteers. But, even if they embrace the concept of a non-profit social network, are they willing to help built one from scratch? communicating can be a heavy lift. Are web-surfers too dependent on instant gratification -- 30 second cat-clips, hot TikTok stars, vertical doom-scrolling, swipe-left-right decision-making, and thumb-typing? thousands of cyberspace travelers have dropped in. Most — hesitant to sign-up and engage. Surely, numerous bugs in the software have impeded growth. How much? i'm feeling the next phase should be about me listening. And not to any half-human Spock or a.i. Copilot. i need to beam down. explore deeper. interview the native life forms...

he's not paying. We are paying the "worst of the worst"

Overshadowed by the tragedy in Minneapolis and continued reporting on America's raid on Venezuela: the "death" of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. On January 5, the CPB board of directors voted to dissolve the 58-year-old nonprofit corporation. sic transit gloria Big BirdBoard vote dissolves defunded Corporation for Public Broadcasting The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 Do federal funding cuts spell the end for Big Bird and Cookie Monster? List of Public Broadcasting Systems Programs

The amount of people in this country trying to justify the murder of an innocent CIVILIAN is mind boggling. How have humans devolved into such mindless disgusting beings? The pro life crowd sure does love when actual living, breathing humans are killed. It’s almost as if “pro life” is short for “pro controlling a woman”. I’m ashamed of this country, I’m disgusted with people I’ve known my entire life being ok with this administration and everything they’re doing. We have a literal child rapist for a dictator and that’s not a hard no? I’m scared my children won’t have anything left in their future. What can we do? Tweeting and making tik toks isn’t doing anything. We need a modern day million man march in DC.

You and me, Peter. I'm not holding my breath that the midterms will actually happen, or that they will be free and fair. And even if the Dems win back the House, as I think they will, as I said elsewhere, they won't get the Senate. So all they will have is the ability to hold oversight hearings and investigate things in the House, with subpeona power. But there is no certainty that anyone from the THE LYIN' KING administration would show up if they subpeana them, because they would suffer no penalty for not showing up. To prosecute them for contempt of congress, for not showing up, the DOJ would have to do that, and it's not going to happen under this administration.. As Jeff Goldblum said in the movie Independence Day, they've got us in checkmate, for at least the next few years..

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1911004843152396 I hope you watch the video. Melanie Stansbury is on the Oversight and Government reform committee. She is such a caring and involved congress person. As sweet as she can be is as tough as she can be. She will always ask the hard questions and never gets intimidated by anyone. She is always ready to let us know exactly what is taking place in the House on a daily basis. She cares deeply about her constituents, democracy and the truth. We need more of that. I don't expect I will get my Christmas wish of seeing the Prez being handcuffed and put in a padded wagon but if there is truly any justice left in the government let the truth come out. Help this information get to more voters.

the LHC profiles is surely a longer term project, but it does get daily traffic from the high search engine ranking of liberalhearts.com. thanks for asking. If you check the Innerview with BobDylan, we talk about advertising. Basically, as a free, non-ad supported site, there isn't money for advertising. i'm an experienced search engine optimizer, so this site is optimized nicely for organic traffic on the search terms at the top of the home page. it actually would not take much to get things going on the forums -- only take a handful of members commented each day with something interesting to say. it will help for me to do a short video demo of how to use the site and get the most out of it. And there are other things i have planned, but i'll confess i'm taking a little break for the holidays to catch up on other things, like my songwriting. i think other people are engaged in their usual holiday routines right now.

Before the election I do remember seeing ads like that. It didn’t matter and it still doesn’t. Once THE LYIN' KING took the oath they all took the course in how to not answer questions ex: always blame the previous administration for anything and everything you’re being questioned on. Start practicing some lip exercises because at least once a week at the group meeting kiss Trumps ass as much as possible, even if he is asleep. This change has to come by the realization that republicans in congress and the house will not be reelected. The tide is slowly turning, at a snail’s pace but it’s happening. Once people have to start paying double or triple the amount for their healthcare things will hopefully move a bit faster.

No worries, Michele, a lot of us, including me, have struggled with navigating the site and setting up our profiles. So your comment being placed in this thread is just fine. What matters is that you're here, and we're getting to hear from you and to begin getting to know who you are.. Tom [moved here from other thread] Sheesh, I'm feeling so sad, cynical and hopeless today, but then again, it's also at least partly because I just found out that a woman I met at a speed dating event in Oct., and had traded a few messages with, has been misleading me on where I stood with her and whether she was going to go ahead as planned with meeting me for coffee after she recovered from a surgery she had soon after the dating event. Guess you just can't trust anybody to keep their word these days, in the dating game, until after you've been chosen against the rest of the field and are in an established relationship. It's not that I cared so much about whether things worked out with her or not, but about having misread someone again, for the umpteenth time, about what I might expect from them going forward in the dating process. I get to where it's so hard to trust my judgement about people in that game.... Even with added experience and age, it still sucks to get and feel played, no matter how many times it's happened before to you. Why can't most people play life with integrity, honesty, and fairness, be it pols, business people, or even singles in the dating game? I know that I'm over generalizing from my experience, but sometimes, like now, I feel like Diogenes, in search of one honest man (or woman). Maybe I should change my username to Charlie Brown, someone else I have often felt was my alter ego? Another underappreciated bald character... Carry on, my friends... Tom aka Bob....

thanks to all 3 of you for sharing your interesting perspectives on life and love. There's some good things about getting older, and one of them is that we know who we are and we are ready to tell it like it is. i believe we can and should be open to change, though. The adventure is not over. There's still time to learn and grow. I've already learned things from this small group of posters in the first few weeks Newbl has been online.

Part Two: Personally, I have always been honest, open, and straight up about my politics in dating profiles, even tho I know it cuts down the interest and number of women that will reply to my first messages to them, etc., but I care enough about compatibility, that I'm already pretty selective in who I approach on dating sites, within the limits of what they share in their profiles. With how polarized America is, and with how much politics is currently affecting the lives of most people here, I just don't get why so many people feel like it either doesn't matter, for compatibility or that they can ignore it. Unless they are either just after something that is casual and mostly just physical, or they are so privileged, selfish, or uncaring about the less privileged people who are getting hurt by our current politics. No matter which of these, someone like that is a hard pass for me, since my values include really caring about less privileged people, even tho the current politics aren't really affecting or hurting me much at all, not yet. So I'm really curious what the rest of the members feel about and have experienced regarding this issue. What says the tribe?

Yes, words I never, ever thought I would say this past month, "I'm actually beginning to like MTG" - coming out in defense of the women used by Epstein; calling out both parties for name-calling, etc. Then to see her suddenly pivot and resign? Finally, a "strong" MAGA person pushing back, then she resigns. WTF for sure... But there's hope - Newsom continuing to troll the Orange Blob, standing up to the Bully with his own rhetoric. When Michele Obama said, "When they go low, we go high", it was a catchy line, but not realistic. The only way to stop a bully is to have some healthy boundaries and push-back, as the 5 Democrats just did re: reminding the troops not to follow through on orders that are unconstitutional.

just because someone is nutty, it doesn't mean that we can't trust the emotions they're presenting. We know she's never liked Democrats. She's been saying she doesn't like some of the things going on in her Party, especially the Epstein coverup. And she expressed how she felt about the prez attacking her and the threats she received. So, resigning makes sense. She may have had bigger aspirations, but i don't think she has them now. She'll probably miss the spotlight. If the king goes down in disgrace -- she might take the opportunity to resurface as someone who got it right. But if he goes down because of political pressure his voters will see her as someone to blame. it probably would have been better for the left if she stayed as a cog in the works even before he took office, the trend has been to resign if you oppose him. that's not helpful.

They get feed 24/7 right wing propaganda coming in nBP is not gonna change it. Need to have a news feed out there to change their perspective.

He was the “right” black man only because he was a “safe” black man (not radical, not militant, not aggressive, not forceful — unlike the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue) for a segment of the electorate. For me, Barack Obama was not the right black man. America needed — and still needs — a “person of color” who didn’t — and doesn’t — play it safe. Perhaps that man is Zohran Mamdani.

Follow-up Poll: Which Woman Do You Think Would Make an Ideal President? Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, because her spunk, Democratic Socialist ideals, and (unfortunately rejected) "Green New Deal" legislation are the types of "breath of fresh air" that are desperately needed in America. Summer Lee, because, just like fellow "Squad" member AOC, she is fighting for the kind of future for America that I want. Kristi Noem, because America is going to the dogs, and this b*tch knows how to pop a cap on that problem! Rachel Maddow, because America would still be able to have a First Lady. Caitlyn Jenner, because she's got balls! RuPaul, because why not?! "Sissy that walk, Grrrl!" Write-in Candidate

They are splitting hairs and arguing in bad faith about distinctions about whether a few years either way makes any difference at all, in the law and the facts of an illegal, immoral, and unfair power imbalance between a child and an adult in a sexual situation. Period... Also, the fact that a man, including Epstein, prefers sex with girls close enough to legal consent age, at least in how they appear to onlookers, still makes them a creepy scumbag and a pedo, a criminal, and an adult man who has no business having sex with them. Those men are merely trying to look more respectable than they are, and to minimize or reduce their vulnerability to being condemned by the public and their peers..

Yes, Megyn Kelly can do basic math. As far as common sense goes umm 0. Whether a child is five or 15 they are still considered a minor. When a person of any age does not consent to sex and it is then forced on them, that is rape. Rape of a minor makes you a pedophile. PERIOD.

With all the gerrymandering, 2024 election results under scrutiny, and Gavin Newson telling us Republicans are rigging the midterm elections, how confident do feel our elections will be fair and accurate going forward. Gavin Newson has been catching some heat from some democrats who feel there is already a clear lack of trust in our voting system right now, and it's one of the most serious issues facing our democracy. I feel Gavin Newson is doing the right thing. While prop 50 is gaining some controversy, in Gavin's words " we have to fight fire with fire". While the Lyin King is destroying our country, we have to make sure we do everything possible to save our democracy. We are out of time and have to win the midterms. We need to applaud the efforts of Gavin Newson going full out on the president and his administration.

lions and tigers and bears, oh my! i just watched Jon Stewart and he was way ahead of my curve. he suggests Schumer set up the cave-in with Senators who weren't up for re-election https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFI6MwlLJ08 conspiracy theorists, or any garden-variety citizen who knows who owns politicians, could take it one step further. perhaps the cave-in wasn't because, as one Senate caver said, "the stand-off wasn't working." It was precisely because, as the election proved, the stand-off WAS working!

The Dems winning a lot of the local races in PA, in areas that went red last election, says the pushback is real against the current administration. The Dems derailing the hold the line on the shutdown doesn't do anything for the momentum they might have had going. I have heard that if they can actually hold a vote on the extensions on the subsidies next month, the Republicans will vote against the extensions and will appear to be wholly responsible for the increases and rightly so. Frustrating

I think it is especially important for comedians to speak out. They are the ones who call out nonsense, piffle, lies, hypocrisy and utter bull💩. We depend on them to remind us of reality.

With fame comes responsibility.

Guns: The American Sickness. The Eternal and Incurable National Social Disease (the "gift" that keeps on giving). America's Favorite Candy and Not At All Guilty Pleasure. Gun deaths? School massacres and church shootings? Meh. Sh!t happens. There is no unacceptable tipping point. No intolerable amount of "collateral damage." No "beyond the pale." The sky's the limit. And like Heaven above, the Second Amendment is holy and sacred and must be honored . . . at all costs. No matter the costs. It will never be infringed. God willing. . . . and God is a Rock-Ribbed, Right-Wing Gun Owner . . . who has all of us in His gunsight.

Sure, the Lyin' King (or Prez-a-King, whichever you prefer) is prejudice against every category of human being that is not a white male. Actually, ANY human being that doesn't like and/or support him. But his bias won't stop him from hanging with Kanye or turning against the DC police if it's useful. His policies and relationships are purely transactional. If most Hispanics voted for him, he'd open the borders. If crime benefits him (as did the Jan 6 insurrection) he'd rationalize it and pardon the thugs. If peace can get him a Prize, he's for it, otherwise he'd risk a global war by dropping bombs on Iran and support the massacre of Palestinians to appease the interests of powerful political allies. He pretends to be an anti-abortion Christian for the same reason. In reality, he's not even a Republican. He's a Narcissistic Sociopath out for himself. "Follow the money" is the traditional advice for figuring out the moves of politicians around the Monopoly board. The Top Hat, Battleship and Racing Car own Park Place. They routinely PASS GO and collect $200 (million or billion) from The Banker. The Boot & Wheelbarrow (working men), Iron & Thimble (working women), and Dog (natural world), are stuck on the 2 purple spaces. Today, "follow the money" still applies. But, also, the dice are fixed and the guy rolling them is most interested in accumulating GET OUT OF JAIL FREE cards!