BobDylan

Agreed. I do think the last election was rigged, electronically, by Musk, using computer and satellite technology, and the Dems, same as when Gore laid down and let W. steal the 2000 election, with the help of the SC, just let them get away with it unchallenged. Because they didn't want to get lumped in with THE LYIN' KING and MAGA about disputing election results, etc.. So here we are, with THE LYIN' KING ready to rig or steal the next election, no matter how many voters turn out and vote blue..

Not all white men are assholes, but it sure looks like most of the assholes, as in antisocial behavior, are white men....

I agree. Dissing the progressives didn't cause them to vote for THE LYIN' KING, but it did tamp down enthusiasm for Kamala. When, if ever, will the Dem Party's leadership decide to run candidates and support policies that actually inspire voters to want to vote for them, or actually earn their votes, instead of just continually running on the premise of voting for the lesser evil, or simply running on how bad the other party is? As Dylan said so many years ago, ironicly, The answer my friend, is blowing in the wind....

Totally agree mac, great post. And thanks for including the link to the essay by Trent. I read it and shared it to my FB page.. And I really like how Trent not only exposes the spinelessness of the congressional Dems towards THE LYIN' KING, but also their longtime collusion and agreement with the Repub Party for so long, behind the scenes on foreign policy, war, economic policy, civil liberties, even climate change. All areas where the diffs between the party are not really on policy, but on the pace of executing them, as well as the tactics and strategies for implementing them, not on whether the policies are right, moral, or fair, in the first place..

Replying to both mac and V.3, I agree with all that's been said. Call me a cynic or a pessimist, but I knew even before THE LYIN' KING came on the scene, that many people were assholes, in essence, as far as bigotry, sadism, bullies, etc.., so I wasn't that surprised that he got elected twice and has been so popular with so many. Which is why I have always not liked most people, just my friends, and mostly just tried to tolerate and shun all the assholes that are out there. They will always be there, and few if any of them, will ever change and become truly nice, generous, and honest caring people. So don't have illusions that our country is going to drastically change, even after THE LYIN' KING is gone. All that will happen, is that his followers will slink back into the shadows, retaining all their prejudices, grievances, etc., and quietly wait for the next chance to grab power thru another demagogue. And after seeing how successful THE LYIN' KING was doing that, have no doubt there will be another Repub candidate that will come along, hopefully after I'm dead, that will mine the same veins as THE LYIN' KING did in the population...

I agree with both of those, and election reform should include Ranked Choice voting, which would eliminate the two party stranglehold, but the major parties would never allow it..

In general elections, I never vote in a way that risks losing to the Repubs, and I also never encourage fellow progressives to vote third party, if they live in a state where doing so is going to make a diff in the results, as far as whether the Dem candidate loses to a Repub. It's called strategic voting or voting lesser evil, whichever you choose to label it, in general elections. It doesn't take much effort to keep up on the polling and know when the race between a Dem and a Repub is going to be close or not, and thus whether or not it's safe to vote third party in such a race... And if other voters choose to ignore that, not keep up on how close a race they are voting in is projected to be, or choose to vote third party in a general election, regardless of how it may affect the result between a Dem and a Repub, that's on them, not me, and I won't be shamed about it by anybody, esp. Dem Party loyalists who may refuse to recognize or admit any faults in their party's leaders or candidates... and to be clear, I'm not saying that anybody in this discussion is guilty of that, but I do get sick of that in general, on internet forums and social media..

Welcome to the camp, as The Who said in Tommy, Corey, and thanks for participating in the forums. I'm glad to see another lefty like me, esp. someone younger like you.

Very honest and rational on your part, Rob... Also quite humble...

No Rob, I haven't. But I have read some of the writings of Smedley Butler, the retired general who exposed the racket of war, and how he was a hitman for corporate America and the military industrial complex, against the Third World countries the US preyed on. I suppose the book you mentioned it similar to that. I also have noticed the hypocrisy, irony, and outright lying of the THE LYIN' KING regime about saving Iran with democracy, as well as intervening there to protect the rights of the protestors there, while THE LYIN' KING destroys democracy here and supports his ICE goons executing peaceful protestors here. It's all so thick and palpable you can cut it with a knife... Of course, anybody nuking any other country these days, is going to harm everyone on the planet, with the toxic environmental effects and the radiation poisoning happening globally over time from it, much less the chain reaction it would set off of other countries with nukes using theirs or retaliating with nukes, if they have them at all..

If Nader had won in 2000, I'm certain we would at least not have had the Iraq War or the war in Afghanistan, both of which were costly in money, lives, and with soldiers suffering permanent PTSD and brain injuries. Those things in themselves, count for more than "not getting much done".... And our national deficit would also be much smaller. We also would have gotten something better than the ACA...

True mac, I forgot sports, which for most Americans, are the opiate of the masses, along with religion. Sports are a religion for some. It does unify them, in a tribal fashion, same as religion, and distracts them from the class war..

Well said, Edward. Thanks for joining us and posting this.. Without the arts these days, all we would have for content in the public arena, besides social media, would be advertising and political propaganda, neither of which are good sources for people to use for reflection on their experience and observations, much less any sort of moral or ethical guidance. Of course, there is also religion and the news media, but don't get me started on all the faults of those institutions these days....

I guess we are the same age, Lindy. No wonder we feel a lot the same about ourselves and the world, and see many things the same way. As for V.'s link on the neuroscience, it boils down to our side being more nuanced, deeper, and complex thinkers, compared to the right... Not sure if that's a blessing or a curse, these days...at least for the individual.

Sorry it went so badly for you. I guess you have much more patience and tolerance than I do. Also, I'm probably a lot older than you, and at least in my case, the older I get, the easier it is for me to cut out or cut off people who are toxic or simply frustrating to me, be they family or friends. Maybe it's part of having gotten conditioned to being fairly alone or on my own, or maybe it's because I've become fairly fatalistic, about how much hope there is to have about the future, or about how the rest of my life is going to go. Either way, I just no longer choose to use my remaining time or energy on people like your cousin, or anybody who doesn't get me, accept me as I am, respect me, or choose to live in reality, rather than their own delusions or fantasies of what is going on. As always, I'm glad you're here, and that you share your experiences and feelings with us.