BobDylan

Democratic socialism is the only way out of this trap..

Seems like everyone in the power circles of DC these days, and in the past few decades, are probably all in the Epstein files, because they are all part of the same class, the Epstein class.. Where political party connections or affiliations don't matter, because all of them are in the same big club, the wealthy elite..

I have little doubt of that. The corporate media were a big help to him in the last election cycle, and they wanted the Epstein files to remain buried, as far as exposing the guilty men. At the same time, the corporate media loves covering the uproar about the files, and the ratings it drives for them. The corporate media doesn't care at all about justice or helping justice be achieved, only about the public battles regarding justice.. As Lily Tomlin would say, you can never be cynical enough, when it comes to the corporate media or those with great power or money. Trust them only by their actions, not on their words..

Nah, Repubs are allergic to the truth...

Like it says on then new hat I bought from Etsy, " Keep Immigrants Deport Racists"....

Maybe more the latter than the former, but in the end, does it really matter? The bottom line is, I am part of a very small cultural minority in my state, even tho I'm a straight, white cis male. So in the end, I feel just as outnumbered and alienated, as I would if I were black or queer. BTW, Iowa is 97% white, racially, to give you an idea of how much of a minority I am, culturally rather than racially.. and that's without even getting into politics, where I am a socialist in a solid red state... In case you're wondering why I've stayed here my whole life, it's because it's where all my friends are and have been my whole adult life, and I'm not interested in moving somewhere else where I don't know a soul. It's not easy to make a whole new set of friends, even after you're retired, in a new state... and the cost of living is low.. I'm a music and cultural snob, and proud of it!

Country music sucks, always has, as far as I'm concerned. Just one of multiple reasons that I'm an alienated outcast, at least culturally, from most people where I live.. But I do like K. D. Lang's music. I also would not classify her or Bonnie Raitt as country, but suit yourself..

I hear you, Violet, and I think a lot of us feel the same way. But I'm glad you're here and that you city is holding strong against the fascists there.

I agree. Maybe that's why the Matrix trilogy of movies were so popular, because they resonated with people on how the vast majority of us live in the Matrix, the first level, without even knowing it..

Yeah, Tom Waits's voice has always been that way, on purpose. And I love it as it is!

Anyone who still listens to and takes these serial liars at face value, is not even worth engaging with, much less arguing with...

Actually, most of the Webb songs I'm familiar with, were recorded and sung by Art Garfunkel, who had a long working relationship with Webb writing songs for Art's solo albums.. Such a great voice when he was younger, but he sounds like 💩 now, even worse than Simon...

Oh thank goodness. When I first saw the song title, Summer Nights, my mind instantly went to that song of the same name, from the musical Grease, that I've grown to hate, because of all the drunken butcherings I've heard of it over my many years of karaoke at bar shows. What a relief to use your comment's link, and hear the enjoyable song she sings on it. To be honest, I had only heard a couple of her songs before, As Tears Go By, and also a song by Kurt Weil, that she recorded for an album of his songs with her and other artists covering them.. The song was Ballad Of The Soldier's Wife, on the album Lost In The Stars.

I personally am thinking of buying a handgun and learning to shoot, not to defend or protect others, but for self defense I fear I will need in the coming year. I fear that it won't be long before anti Trumpers like me will be prohibited from buying guns, and will need them against the authorities, or even MAGA private gangs hunting us in public. But having said that, I don't intend to ever bring it to a protest, despite my 2nd Amendment right to do so, and despite all the many examples of right wing groups bringing rifles and handguns to past political protests, as a way of bullying and intimidating their opponents. Even tho I know that in the future there will be a very real possibility of the cops or the military deciding to open fire on whole groups of protestors with live, lethal ammo, in the meantime, before we get to that point, I'm not going to show up at a protest armed, since I know that during my whole lifetime, that there has been a double standard on which side is allowed to carry firearms at public protests without being shot at by the authorities, ie right wing groups, and left wing groups that have been shot at, with the excuse that they were armed, even when they weren't.. The lefty groups have never gotten fair or equal treatment on this issue by the cops and military, and they never will. So I will accept that reality and not give them the excuse, as we saw with Mr. Pretti, who I feel they were going to kill anyway, but finding the gun on him was their excuse and later justification created for the whole episode of grabbing him, beating him, and then executing him, even tho they didn't know he was armed until they were already beating him on the ground.. 6 on 1, pussies... As for your motto on your comments, mac, of dying on one's feet, I'll just say I would rather be judged by 12, than carried by 6. A phrase I borrow from the old time 2A supporters, who are now proving their hypocrisy in spades.... Don't get me wrong, mac, I am very much in favor of having much greater gun control in America, always have been. But in the present situation, where the feds are acting totally lawless, selectively violent based on completely whether you're part of the in-group or the out-group, I will choose to exercise my rights to self defense until such time as our system is reformed enough that we are no longer threatened by this current fascism, if you're not part of MAGA. Until then, the time for reforming our gun control laws needs to wait...

I agree with recharging your brain and the need for it. And I do practice the solitude and quiet thing, as a way to calm down and recharge. But I've never really gotten into meditation, since it bores me and makes me sleepy. So instead, I just read and listen to music while I do it, as that seems to do the trick for me, same as meditation does for most folks. Whatever works for the individual, is all that matters... As for the Nov. 11th exchange between you and mac, I concur that he's a cool guy, even tho he would probably never admit to it or accept the compliment, lol... He's a loveable curmudgeon, same as me, I suppose... I can just hear him retorting back, " I don't have to take that from you!...."....