I think we can all agree that Half-Black Jesus's health care reform was at best one out of two free throws made. Huge win for pharma, and HUGE win for health insurance companies. Of many disappointments, this one looms pretty large.
I always say about those who still…despite everything…hold Obama up as a beacon of morality, they simply prefer their lies dressed up and eloquently delivered.
I’m starting to think it’s Randi Weingarten and the teacher unions. Kinda joking, but…
Obviously Dems are catering to someone, not the voting public. You don’t vote in lockstep for the 20% side of an issue if the public is your concern. Politicians cater to their donors. Teacher unions have been huge donors to Dems for decades. There are other big donors, but other donors don’t command the army of foot soldiers as the teacher unions do.
Teachers have supported Dems for decades. Maybe now they’ve actually taken over. The childish behavior we’ve seen recently supports that conclusion.
The influence wielded by the teachers unions is puzzling.
The unions do contribute substantially and correspondingly benefit from ever-increasing budgets. A theory is that Jimmy Carter created the Department of Education as reciprocity for the teachers union support.
Here in Chicago, the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) budget for 2025 was amended (upward, of course) to $8.57 billion.
Of course, Zelenskyy did not invent that spin as many budgetary boondoggles are so described.
But an increase of more than 2.75x (i.e., 8.57/3.1 is approximately 2.77) is pretty amazing!
2025: $8.57 billion
2024: "This budget, which totals $9.4 billion, includes an increase of $243 million in school-based funding — for a total of more than $450 million in new funding for schools over the past two years."
2023: "The FY2023 budget, which totals $9.4 billion, will allow CPS to build on these successes by strengthening our instructional core and establishing a new standard of excellence for all schools in the wake of the pandemic. Schools will see a per-pupil funding increase of 8 percent, and $240 million more in school level funding over FY2022"
2021: $4 billion in school-level funding and $758 million in capital projects
2020: $3.8 billion in school-level funding and $619 million to capital projects
2019: $3.1 billion plus "nearly" $1 billion in capital spending
That's a lot of dough for a system that has had a pretty sketchy history as regards graduating students in four years. Do a search on "chicago high school graduation rate".
You'll see all kinds of rather boastful figures that I find pretty questionable:
Also, they brag about over 80% graduation rate, while standardized tests show about 25% can read at grade level. Apparently they don’t think we can draw the obvious conclusion that they are graduating classes of illiterates.
The school systems don’t graduate productive members of society. As you said, these graduates have little chance of a decent job. Yet somehow the teacher unions believe that these people will pay the taxes to support the generous teacher pensions here in IL. Teachers haven’t figured out that their policies are only producing their competitors at the public trough.
03/07/25: Social promoting. In and out. Time served, here ya go, no, I know you can't read it (a diploma) but take it with you anyway. If their "educational" system were a MacDonald's, they'd be serving raw hamburgers placed on "buns" made out of chaff.
Suburban Chicago here, so I am familiar with the insanity of IL school spending. The obvious takeover of Chicago by the CTU is what made me start thinking about the phenomenon applied on a national scale.
The increase in money is insane. But it’s not just money they are after. They also clearly want more members. That’s why they insist on keeping nearly empty schools open and fully staffed, and why they have demanded increases in support staff like librarians and counselors. They want more bodies, more foot soldiers.
Apologies -- I failed to address part of your earlier point (got too caught in the mind-blowing numbers).
Yes, the foot-soldier aspect is no doubt very real: and in particular the little foot-soldiers they have in the classrooms.
During the "Occupy Wall Street" protests (I was working near the Federal Reserve by Jackson and LaSalle), there was one day I was running to work and I saw school buses being unloaded. I so wish I had taken a picture of the teachers shepherding their students to protest (I would guess the kids were no more than ten years old). All the kids were carrying signs and placards. No chance in hell the kids were in any way sufficiently informed or aware of what was going on. This was obviously organized by the teachers. Great use of taxpayer money and students' time!
Years ago, I remember reading that Bill Ayers was getting involved with the University of Illinois (then "Chicago Circle" campus) Department of Education. Knowing that Billy was a failed revolutionary and basically a spoiled trust-fund flunkie, I wondered why...and why the U of Illinois would even have him around. The answer is clearly and simply given by Vladimir Lenin:
"Give me just one generation of youth, and I'll transform the whole world."
They have created a system of schools that are nothing more than woke madrasas, and raped the taxpayers while doing it. We will not get our country back on track until we wrest control of our schools out of the hands of teacher unions.
This is where I live too. What I can"t understand for the life of me is that so many parents buy into the fiction that more bodies/money equals better schools.
Zelenskyy certainly didn't come up with that usage; it's become popular to describe any (i.e., public, taxpayer-funded) spending as an "investment". The Chicago Public School budget descriptions are perfect examples.
The natural response is of course to ask what sort of "returns" this investment brings?
In the case of the Chicago Public Schools, it seems that more is spent and less is received.
In the case of the Ukraine conflict, it's almost unbearable to describe the returns. Was the carnage worth the profit margins and the opportunity to buy the land right out from underneath the Ukrainians?
It now appears that part of the returns was the strengthening, not weakening, of Putin.
Just horrible to call anything like this an "investment".
If there's a god, I would not want to be holding those "shares" at the end.
What I saw the other night was not just "losing the plot." They do not like this country; it is not just flawed, but irredeemable. And oh, BTW, they can't stand anybody not in their group.
At this point, today’s Democrats no longer comprise a legitimate political party. They despise America, common decency, and the truth, while touting and supporting death, lies, destruction, and outright evil. They are truly revolting, disgusting and immoral. They are more akin to a bizarre death cult. One that would like us all to drink the Kool-Aid
There are endless Facebook posts by liberals in the SF Bay Area saying things like "I'm so embarrassed for my country!" "I'm glad Canada booed the US national anthem!" "Dear world, I'm sorry!" etc. And these are just the people I know who haven't unfriended me already because they can't bear to hear a rebuttal to their insanity or even an independent thought or question, such as "What does it mean to support Ukraine?". So yes I think there's a very strong sentiment of hatred toward the US by Democrats. Of course, none of them will ever give up all the amazing benefits of living here, or the amazing advances the USA has given to the world, etc.
They certainly don't like white poor to middle class middle Americans, well guess what we are still the majority and qave them the thumping they deserve.
I'll grant that it's layered in double-talk -- I am confident that no-one in Congress is planning on leaving any time soon (cf., all the claims by "celebrities" that they'd leave the country if Trump won, etc.).
For instance, it's not clear, to me at least, what "redeemable" features the United States have in the minds of many people on the "left".
One rarely if ever hears people like Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez mention what is good about the United States, only what is wrong.
I would wager that ninety-percent of what is said is grand-standing for an audience that will eagerly eat it up so it may be that it's said unconciously. But I don't see much patriotism in the actions or words coming from these parties.
Being "down" on America is good for them. Sanders is a perfect example. He's from New York city but represents a state with some of the highest per-capita wealth, lowest levels of poverty and greatest racial homogeneity. People love talking big "stuff" when there's no downside, no risk.
I became sensitized to this when living in Minnesota in the 1980's and 1990's. The area around the University of Minnesota was thoroughly "woke" by the early 90's. It was called "politically correct" back then.
My point being that while a lot of the talk is just that, it's so uniform and accepted, nay required, that it might be difficult to determine whether or not the people pushing this perspective believe it or not.
It may be a matter of confabulation, be it active or passive, but the negativity, the "anti" mindset is so pervasive that it makes me wonder. For these parties, the only acceptable solution is the expected one: more bureaucracy, more spending, more same-as-it-ever-was: throw money into the bureaucracy where it can be consumed by one's donors and don't worry about "deliverables". For them, DOGE is like holy water to a demon.
Truly though, as you note, the terms "@$$hole", "hypocrite", and the like are certainly accurate.
Identifying problems justifies spending money on solutions. Trouble is, the people identifying problems always want to spend new taxpayer money solving them, to increase dependence on government and lead people tp believe government exists to solve their problems. What has actually happened in leftist administrations, however, is that government creates more problems than it attempts to solve because they are really bad at governance.
I don't want to have big argument, but I really know they don't like this country. Clearly the dislike is on a distribution from those who really hate the US and its history to those who dislike it as it as and with further Marxist reforms it will be on a path to socialist acceptability. But the average of the distribution is well into the negative.
Not ridiculous at all. Plain, simple truth. The majority of dems are Marxists. The US is one of the few countries in the west that represents anti-marxism. The dems hate America.
I give the credit to the kidney stone I passed a couple days ago. And this personal anecdote…
A diminutive hedonistic trumpeter buddy of mine always kept his nasty batchelor pad living room couches covered with cheetah, zebra, and tiger fabric cloth. Never ceased to make me audibly snicker even after years if visits.
And upon every visit I would remark that “A bunch hookers died to furnish this room”. It was quite the requiem. A good time was has by all.
Well, maybe not by the dead hookers. I wouldn’t know as I always kept my visits short and promptly left upon acquisition of… er, supplies.
As a 20 year Burning Man attendee I can attest to the widespread availability of Zebra fabric, especially the furry kind! I might even have my own collection.
Decades of music gigs in bars provided me with may of those same opportunities, however I didn’t collect the skins. I may have tanned the hides though…😇
I think the Democrat philosophy (as divined first by LB Johnson then later the Clintons and the Obamas, with a curtain call by the Biden Mafia) has run its course.
162 years of Democrat opposition to the Constitution is certainly a long enough period for me to come to understand they're in it for themselves, not the people of these United States.
Per the Dem Fighters: Jasmine Crockett looks the toughest. I wonder if I could tussle with her without getting hurt. I want to make sure she doesn't have any special fight training first; then I will grab her from behind.
I watched that. It appeared to me the younger Democrats didn't know the words. How far they've fallen!
But I got to wondering what they want to overcome. Green's challenge to decorum? His eviction? His censure? It was not a very clear message to my way of thinking. They could have presented a clearer message by singing something like "we hate Trump, sitting Republicans, and smaller government -- oh, and we want to be able to interrupt proceedings whenever we don't get our way." I don't know the tune, but the words are pretty recognizable.
Great point. Just like they use their 5 minutes of "Questioning" time in hearings to instead make a little speech. Quick video out to email list--"Send $100 immediately to save America from Hitler!"
Where do all these loyally-opposed citizens find the time to protest? Sheesh, I barely have time to keep up with the recaps of their shenanigans on the interwebs, let alone the money to plane, train or automobile, then hotel to wherever the meet up is planned.
Some of us went to meet Gore at a small FL airport and we made signs. Innocuous ones something like "Hillsborough Dems for Gore." These were taken away from us and we were handed printed signs that looked like they were homemade (scribbly drawing) but showed up well on TV. I imagine both sides do this. The full video was worth watching as the outside protestors were respectful of relocating by capitol Police.
Agree. But I can't help but add that if Al Gore wasn't such an insufferable pompous ass, he just may have been president. Difference with Trump is his populism connects with people.
I noticed that a decade ago, that these 'grassroots' 'impromptu' protests just magically had pre-printed items courtesy of Amnesty International, Planned Parenthood, Stonewall, et al.
Most of them are trustafarians who don't have to work, living off the money their families have made. Therefore they are aimless, rudderless, people with little purpose in life.
Constant protesting is the only thing that gives them any sense of being.
Yes, no matter how embarrassing it looks, I support these people's right to say what they want. They weren't destructive or violent. That's all anyone can ask.
Yep, freedom of speech is pretty key......and agree with the "not being assholes" part. Protest is fine. I didn't watch though......I just can't ever......
The Dems just lost in ‘26 for that stunt. Not standing for a kid who has beat cancer for 6 years and 12 surgeries as he becomes an honorary Secret Service agent showed how they care nothing for the people that voted for them. They are slaves to the ideologue of the woke agenda and want to destroy our country. The media was no better and it proves to me that Trump derangement syndrome is a real diagnosis. These people need electric shock therapy because I don’t think there’s any medication that can help them at this point. Trump was correct when he said he could cure the worst disease and even bring peace to the world and they wouldn’t give him a golf clap. Those who elected these to lead them should be angry as hell and should recall this when it’s time to head to the ballot box again. I believe those who support them are probably infected too but there has to be enough who said I can’t allow this person to speak for me anymore. That red wave is alive and the Dems are in a death spiral.
Perhaps. But for now, I think that the "don't rain on my parade" force is good. People want to feel good about their prospects. And in the US of A, feeling good about our prospects is in our the DNA.
Which is why the Dems the other night were so appalling. They don't only expect the worst, they WANT the worst. For us.
They announced their intention to wear Pink days ahead of time.Trump should have shown up in a pink jacket. Then whenever they shouted he should have pulled a kazoo or whistle from his pocket and drowned them out. Then he could have pulled out a picture of Greta T with the old quote of "How Dare You" in big letters on the front. Otherwise he was ready for them. But it could have made even better TV.
I have given up viewing these segments. There is nothing new here. It is all protest all the time. To achieve what, exactly?
It was shocking to watch the Dems the other night. Rep. Ugly from Texas with gold-headed cane will fund raise lots of dough from his stunt.
No Dem leadership to accompany the elected Pres to the floor? No Dems standing up for rescued Russian hostage and his 95 year-old mom? Jesus.
I am telling you right now, those "elected officials" the other night told us loud and clear --- It is not just Trump they despise, but anybody who is not in the Democratic Borg, as well. These people are despicable. They don't like America. By extension, they don't like me.
And any "Democrat" who doesn't reject that show the other night is part of the problem. Grow a pair, and get rid of the cancer, if you can.
So today at Rep. Green's censure vote other members took over the well and sang "We Shall Overcome." Overcome what? Being stupid and obnoxious. Game plan for next perceived insult --- masks, scarfs, and tom-toms. "Hey, hey, ho, ho, (marching, screaming) America has got to go." Because that is the point, right?
This whole crowd has nothing except marching, chanting, getting in your face . . .
agreed. in my view these segments don't convey much that's useful. there's always political psychotics among us, some fake it for money or for law enforcement. Now THAT's a story. Who's the Fed?
but mostly this is mental health stuff, making videos of deranged people and calling it reporting.
would be better to drive up and down an interstate, stopping in small towns, truck stops, pawn shops, restaurants, talking to real people.
Real people. Not political psychos. Americans. Us. In the tens of millions.
That would show, as the great Master himself said "Begin with an individual, and before you know it you find that you have created a type; begin with a type, and you find that you have created--nothing. " -F Scott, THE RICH BOY, short story 1926
Why trifle with these mythic projections and Antoinin Artaud style theater? Go to the reality. That's what journalism should do. At least in my view.
If somebody does they'll find MAGA isn't what it's said to be. Nor is red state America. Nor likely is Mr. Trump. Now that would be an interview. Matt T interviewing Mr. Trump,. I bet you could get him to admit he plays a character. A performance artist. A classic shamanic trickster. hahahahah. Maybe stand in for Ms. Leavitt now and then to give her a day off? Like the substitute teacher in 5th grade. hahaha
Holmes, Trump could have solved some vexing problems in particle physics after discussing his efforts in translating Virgil and other Latin poets into Swahili, and Team D would bitch about what a dummy the man is. I mean, everyone knows how the conditional-subjunctive works in the Kikuyu dialect.
See also: Racist; and Appropriation, Cultural.
TO BE FAIR: it goes both ways. If the president were Team D, Team R would be leveling similar criticisms (but with different code words) at him/her/they.
That's a one year snap shot that does not back up your argument. What it does reveal is how badly you have pissed off your biggest donors, the richest Americans. One can cite many reports if you want to play that "here's a link that proves I'm right" game, but you will lose for two reasons your stupid and uninformed. Let me add another, you are completely unaware of why. LoL.
It's unfortunate that we were not treated to an Elizabeth Warren Native American dance outside the senate chambers. She had an opportunity to pay respect to 1/90 of her heritage. The hole in my heart will not be filled.
Kentucky was home to several Native American tribes, including the Cherokee, Shawnee, and Chickasaw. Perhaps she saw the KFC bucket and thought, yeah, that's close enough to Chickasaw.
Attention, please. Stop coaching the Dems to behave themselves. Stop correcting them. Stop advising them that their policies are unpopular (like "trans rights.")
Tell them they're AWESOME! They're WONDERFUL! Cheer them on! "Keep up the good work!" and "YOU ROCK!"
That's the only way they'll ultimately go away and the party will disintegrate. There's no way that a majority of voting Americans support the stupidity.
Outside I saw an older, overwhelmingly white continent of anti/never Trump protestors. By the look of the homemade signs I'd say it was not organized by a professional group. Sure there were a couple of black speakers, after all it had to look like America.
I have not read much about Fascism but almost any republican president was at some time or other labeled a fascist. "Ignoring it is What the Germans Did." is the popular slogan of center left types.
Those folks could just have well had Harris as POTUS if they hadn't stood by as people from all over the world poured over the southern border, if Biden hadn't doubled down on his insistence that "systemic racism" was baked into every institution, if the social justice democrats hadn't force fed a program of "gender affirming care" onto school age children, just maybe the would have gotten enough votes in those swing states. But they doubled down Harris claiming she had no problem with anything Biden did, so she became Biden. American people had had enough of him.
As far as Trump goes he may yet become a dictator who the fuck knows, but those largely privileged middle class whites made Trump into the political animal he is, using the power of the federal government and the media.
The fact that peaceful protests were allowed to take place, would argue against a fascist state. Trump also was the more pro free speech candidate in the last election.
Fact Check: Joe Wilson was correct to say that Obama was lying.
Everybody present knew he was lying. The Democrats just wanted to keep it a secret from the American public.
What was Obama lying about at the time?
Obama claimed his health care reform effort would not insure illegal immigrants.
Don’t forget “keep your Doctor!”
Only, "If you like your Doctor!"
I think we can all agree that Half-Black Jesus's health care reform was at best one out of two free throws made. Huge win for pharma, and HUGE win for health insurance companies. Of many disappointments, this one looms pretty large.
I always expected to be disappointed by Obama. His only agenda was to aggrandize himself and increase the discontent and division of this country.
Matt Taibbi wrote a very good about that.
And that our rates wouldn't increase.
There is a list.
My question, too.
What a fucking piece of shit Obama is. How dare he lie! It's like he's a politician or something.
witty
I always say about those who still…despite everything…hold Obama up as a beacon of morality, they simply prefer their lies dressed up and eloquently delivered.
The cherry on top was the Dem congressional chorus singing "we shall overcome" as Green received the news of his censure. Really.
Please tell me it can not get any worse than this:
https://x.com/bonchieredstate/status/1897640621449375907?s=19
Looking for evidence they've hit bottom...and they continue to probe lower. I'm not sure stupidity has a floor.
Its really sad. We need a strong opposition party to be a healthy country.
Trump needed 4 years in the wilderness. I'm thinking 12 years is the minimum dose for the Ds until they figure it out.
“The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has limits”. Einstein
People keep asking who is leading the Dems now?
I’m starting to think it’s Randi Weingarten and the teacher unions. Kinda joking, but…
Obviously Dems are catering to someone, not the voting public. You don’t vote in lockstep for the 20% side of an issue if the public is your concern. Politicians cater to their donors. Teacher unions have been huge donors to Dems for decades. There are other big donors, but other donors don’t command the army of foot soldiers as the teacher unions do.
Teachers have supported Dems for decades. Maybe now they’ve actually taken over. The childish behavior we’ve seen recently supports that conclusion.
The influence wielded by the teachers unions is puzzling.
The unions do contribute substantially and correspondingly benefit from ever-increasing budgets. A theory is that Jimmy Carter created the Department of Education as reciprocity for the teachers union support.
Here in Chicago, the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) budget for 2025 was amended (upward, of course) to $8.57 billion.
https://www.cps.edu/about/finance/budget/
Interestingly, budget figures for previous years are not simply declared but you have to wind past a page about refrerenda to get some figures.
By comparison, for 2019, they state: "CPS is investing $3.1 billion in school budgets for FY2019 school year".
That Zelenskyy-style abuse of the word "invest" is so grating! (Zelenskyy specifically referred to Ukraine war spending as an "investment" when he addressed Congress: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/21/us/politics/zelensky-speech-transcript.html "Your money is not charity, but rather an investment...")
Of course, Zelenskyy did not invent that spin as many budgetary boondoggles are so described.
But an increase of more than 2.75x (i.e., 8.57/3.1 is approximately 2.77) is pretty amazing!
2025: $8.57 billion
2024: "This budget, which totals $9.4 billion, includes an increase of $243 million in school-based funding — for a total of more than $450 million in new funding for schools over the past two years."
2023: "The FY2023 budget, which totals $9.4 billion, will allow CPS to build on these successes by strengthening our instructional core and establishing a new standard of excellence for all schools in the wake of the pandemic. Schools will see a per-pupil funding increase of 8 percent, and $240 million more in school level funding over FY2022"
2022 read it yourself...loads of gobbledygook:
https://www.cps.edu/about/finance/budget/budget-2022/
2021: $4 billion in school-level funding and $758 million in capital projects
2020: $3.8 billion in school-level funding and $619 million to capital projects
2019: $3.1 billion plus "nearly" $1 billion in capital spending
That's a lot of dough for a system that has had a pretty sketchy history as regards graduating students in four years. Do a search on "chicago high school graduation rate".
You'll see all kinds of rather boastful figures that I find pretty questionable:
https://www.cps.edu/sites/ara/district-overview/quality/
In particular, a claim is made that graduation rates are double what they were in 2001:
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/chicago-public-schools-graduation-rate-2023/
And all jokes are fair when provided statistics like that.
Also, they brag about over 80% graduation rate, while standardized tests show about 25% can read at grade level. Apparently they don’t think we can draw the obvious conclusion that they are graduating classes of illiterates.
Yes, exactly. Hence my line about "all jokes are fair". :-)
But you can't expect people to take tests because that would be racist.
Ill submit that from the figures above,
for every 100 grads, only 25 should actually be making "the walk". WTF are the other 75 grads going to do in their life?
probably live at mom and dads for awhile....school choice or bust
The school systems don’t graduate productive members of society. As you said, these graduates have little chance of a decent job. Yet somehow the teacher unions believe that these people will pay the taxes to support the generous teacher pensions here in IL. Teachers haven’t figured out that their policies are only producing their competitors at the public trough.
03/07/25: Social promoting. In and out. Time served, here ya go, no, I know you can't read it (a diploma) but take it with you anyway. If their "educational" system were a MacDonald's, they'd be serving raw hamburgers placed on "buns" made out of chaff.
Suburban Chicago here, so I am familiar with the insanity of IL school spending. The obvious takeover of Chicago by the CTU is what made me start thinking about the phenomenon applied on a national scale.
The increase in money is insane. But it’s not just money they are after. They also clearly want more members. That’s why they insist on keeping nearly empty schools open and fully staffed, and why they have demanded increases in support staff like librarians and counselors. They want more bodies, more foot soldiers.
Apologies -- I failed to address part of your earlier point (got too caught in the mind-blowing numbers).
Yes, the foot-soldier aspect is no doubt very real: and in particular the little foot-soldiers they have in the classrooms.
During the "Occupy Wall Street" protests (I was working near the Federal Reserve by Jackson and LaSalle), there was one day I was running to work and I saw school buses being unloaded. I so wish I had taken a picture of the teachers shepherding their students to protest (I would guess the kids were no more than ten years old). All the kids were carrying signs and placards. No chance in hell the kids were in any way sufficiently informed or aware of what was going on. This was obviously organized by the teachers. Great use of taxpayer money and students' time!
Years ago, I remember reading that Bill Ayers was getting involved with the University of Illinois (then "Chicago Circle" campus) Department of Education. Knowing that Billy was a failed revolutionary and basically a spoiled trust-fund flunkie, I wondered why...and why the U of Illinois would even have him around. The answer is clearly and simply given by Vladimir Lenin:
"Give me just one generation of youth, and I'll transform the whole world."
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/106700-give-me-just-one-generation-of-youth-and-i-ll-transform
Lenin, Mao, Pol Pot, Hitler all used indoctrinated youth as their vanguard.
They have created a system of schools that are nothing more than woke madrasas, and raped the taxpayers while doing it. We will not get our country back on track until we wrest control of our schools out of the hands of teacher unions.
This is where I live too. What I can"t understand for the life of me is that so many parents buy into the fiction that more bodies/money equals better schools.
These posts are amazing. Zelenskyy talking about war as an investment is mind blowing. I’ve heard war called many things, but never an “ investment “
It struck me as stunningly brazen.
Zelenskyy certainly didn't come up with that usage; it's become popular to describe any (i.e., public, taxpayer-funded) spending as an "investment". The Chicago Public School budget descriptions are perfect examples.
The natural response is of course to ask what sort of "returns" this investment brings?
In the case of the Chicago Public Schools, it seems that more is spent and less is received.
In the case of the Ukraine conflict, it's almost unbearable to describe the returns. Was the carnage worth the profit margins and the opportunity to buy the land right out from underneath the Ukrainians?
It now appears that part of the returns was the strengthening, not weakening, of Putin.
Just horrible to call anything like this an "investment".
If there's a god, I would not want to be holding those "shares" at the end.
You are absolutely correct when it comes to the city of Chicago. The Mayor is a vassal of the teachers' union. He has about an 8% approval rating.
He also was the #2 person in the Union prior to election.
What I saw the other night was not just "losing the plot." They do not like this country; it is not just flawed, but irredeemable. And oh, BTW, they can't stand anybody not in their group.
At this point, today’s Democrats no longer comprise a legitimate political party. They despise America, common decency, and the truth, while touting and supporting death, lies, destruction, and outright evil. They are truly revolting, disgusting and immoral. They are more akin to a bizarre death cult. One that would like us all to drink the Kool-Aid
Not sure why you insist on sugar coating it.
LOLOLOL. Nobody ever accused me of being taciturn.
We can call them idiots, assholes, etc., but saying they do not like this country is ridiculous. Pretty sure you know that.
There are endless Facebook posts by liberals in the SF Bay Area saying things like "I'm so embarrassed for my country!" "I'm glad Canada booed the US national anthem!" "Dear world, I'm sorry!" etc. And these are just the people I know who haven't unfriended me already because they can't bear to hear a rebuttal to their insanity or even an independent thought or question, such as "What does it mean to support Ukraine?". So yes I think there's a very strong sentiment of hatred toward the US by Democrats. Of course, none of them will ever give up all the amazing benefits of living here, or the amazing advances the USA has given to the world, etc.
"Dear world, I'm sorry!"
HAHAHA did someone REALLY say that???
I see that kind of shit ALL the time. You must not internet much or live in a college town? Good for you!
They certainly don't like white poor to middle class middle Americans, well guess what we are still the majority and qave them the thumping they deserve.
Actually, I'm not sure that it is ridiculous.
I'll grant that it's layered in double-talk -- I am confident that no-one in Congress is planning on leaving any time soon (cf., all the claims by "celebrities" that they'd leave the country if Trump won, etc.).
For instance, it's not clear, to me at least, what "redeemable" features the United States have in the minds of many people on the "left".
One rarely if ever hears people like Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez mention what is good about the United States, only what is wrong.
I would wager that ninety-percent of what is said is grand-standing for an audience that will eagerly eat it up so it may be that it's said unconciously. But I don't see much patriotism in the actions or words coming from these parties.
Being "down" on America is good for them. Sanders is a perfect example. He's from New York city but represents a state with some of the highest per-capita wealth, lowest levels of poverty and greatest racial homogeneity. People love talking big "stuff" when there's no downside, no risk.
I became sensitized to this when living in Minnesota in the 1980's and 1990's. The area around the University of Minnesota was thoroughly "woke" by the early 90's. It was called "politically correct" back then.
My point being that while a lot of the talk is just that, it's so uniform and accepted, nay required, that it might be difficult to determine whether or not the people pushing this perspective believe it or not.
It may be a matter of confabulation, be it active or passive, but the negativity, the "anti" mindset is so pervasive that it makes me wonder. For these parties, the only acceptable solution is the expected one: more bureaucracy, more spending, more same-as-it-ever-was: throw money into the bureaucracy where it can be consumed by one's donors and don't worry about "deliverables". For them, DOGE is like holy water to a demon.
Truly though, as you note, the terms "@$$hole", "hypocrite", and the like are certainly accurate.
Identifying problems justifies spending money on solutions. Trouble is, the people identifying problems always want to spend new taxpayer money solving them, to increase dependence on government and lead people tp believe government exists to solve their problems. What has actually happened in leftist administrations, however, is that government creates more problems than it attempts to solve because they are really bad at governance.
Say something long enough and you end up believing it. This is another version of slave mentality in freedom: cut off your nose to spite your face.
We do need a healthy opposition party but i'd like to be able at least to respect it.
I don't want to have big argument, but I really know they don't like this country. Clearly the dislike is on a distribution from those who really hate the US and its history to those who dislike it as it as and with further Marxist reforms it will be on a path to socialist acceptability. But the average of the distribution is well into the negative.
Not ridiculous at all. Plain, simple truth. The majority of dems are Marxists. The US is one of the few countries in the west that represents anti-marxism. The dems hate America.
How many Hookers did AOC have to murder to collect THAT MUCH ZEBRA FABRIC? 🤯🤣
Lmao. You're en fuego today!
I give the credit to the kidney stone I passed a couple days ago. And this personal anecdote…
A diminutive hedonistic trumpeter buddy of mine always kept his nasty batchelor pad living room couches covered with cheetah, zebra, and tiger fabric cloth. Never ceased to make me audibly snicker even after years if visits.
And upon every visit I would remark that “A bunch hookers died to furnish this room”. It was quite the requiem. A good time was has by all.
Well, maybe not by the dead hookers. I wouldn’t know as I always kept my visits short and promptly left upon acquisition of… er, supplies.
As a 20 year Burning Man attendee I can attest to the widespread availability of Zebra fabric, especially the furry kind! I might even have my own collection.
Decades of music gigs in bars provided me with may of those same opportunities, however I didn’t collect the skins. I may have tanned the hides though…😇
What did I just watch? I need an eye bleach.
it cannot be unseen..
Seriously. I'm not sure
Wtf? When did this appear? That can't be real....
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/jeff-charles/2025/03/06/democrats-utterly-embarass-themselves-in-corny-video-skit-n2653375
Stunning...just stunning.
Thanks for that link. What have we come to?
Where are we heading??
LOLOLOL. I don't know why that's so funny...but it is!
It is real...sadly
That’s pathetic.
03/06/25: They look like they're auditioning for jobs at Epstein Island.
Too old.
And not bright enough.
Does anyone remember the shoe being thrown at Bush? It was in Iraq.
The shoe toss is a serious public FU in the middle east. Say what you will about Dubya, he dodged that shoe missle like champ 🤣
I think the Democrat philosophy (as divined first by LB Johnson then later the Clintons and the Obamas, with a curtain call by the Biden Mafia) has run its course.
162 years of Democrat opposition to the Constitution is certainly a long enough period for me to come to understand they're in it for themselves, not the people of these United States.
Per the Dem Fighters: Jasmine Crockett looks the toughest. I wonder if I could tussle with her without getting hurt. I want to make sure she doesn't have any special fight training first; then I will grab her from behind.
Oh, I thought you said,
"grab her behind"
I mis-read
We're not interested in your dating habits.
Those eyelashes would beat you to death.
That's such a great link. Stupid is as stupid does. What are they fighting for?
Ugh. Such ugly inside women.
I watched that. It appeared to me the younger Democrats didn't know the words. How far they've fallen!
But I got to wondering what they want to overcome. Green's challenge to decorum? His eviction? His censure? It was not a very clear message to my way of thinking. They could have presented a clearer message by singing something like "we hate Trump, sitting Republicans, and smaller government -- oh, and we want to be able to interrupt proceedings whenever we don't get our way." I don't know the tune, but the words are pretty recognizable.
All we were missing is a Kente cloth kneeling session
Smile
It's all performative. They'll use it on their Instagram & TikTok feeds.
It always has been. It's just that, these days, it seems a lot like watching a "new", re-booted sitcom or sequel. B
lasé
And show it to their personal lobbyists for $$$!
🛎️🔨
Great point. Just like they use their 5 minutes of "Questioning" time in hearings to instead make a little speech. Quick video out to email list--"Send $100 immediately to save America from Hitler!"
If they are taking requests, I'd love to hear them sing "Asshole" by Dennis Leary.
😆
I found the "Pick your fighter" video that was making the rounds this morning to be particularly hilarious.
I would pick 3-4 of them but not as fighters 😉
03/06/25: They'll never overcome themselves. And what a perfect column. Taibbi short and sweet is caviar.
When they overcome themselves they'll have achieved something.
That guy has become a permanent fixture of S. Houston/Harris County.
Im close to Harris county.
I am not sure "fixture" is the correct description for that clown.
And Crockett from "south dallas" is makin a name fo ho-self...
Fake martyrs.
🤦♂️🤣
And Overcorrect.
Amazing how the progressive crowd size dwindled now that USAID and other slush fund financing has dried up.
Rent a riot is suffering from inflation
Where do all these loyally-opposed citizens find the time to protest? Sheesh, I barely have time to keep up with the recaps of their shenanigans on the interwebs, let alone the money to plane, train or automobile, then hotel to wherever the meet up is planned.
Money talks. Ever notice how these "protests" just seem spontaneously to appear with printed signs and scripts?
Some of us went to meet Gore at a small FL airport and we made signs. Innocuous ones something like "Hillsborough Dems for Gore." These were taken away from us and we were handed printed signs that looked like they were homemade (scribbly drawing) but showed up well on TV. I imagine both sides do this. The full video was worth watching as the outside protestors were respectful of relocating by capitol Police.
Agree. But I can't help but add that if Al Gore wasn't such an insufferable pompous ass, he just may have been president. Difference with Trump is his populism connects with people.
The real kick in the ass is to learn from DOGE that we, the tax payer, are funding these protesters.
Follow the money
the protest crowds are seemingly smaller recently - money drying up?
I noticed that a decade ago, that these 'grassroots' 'impromptu' protests just magically had pre-printed items courtesy of Amnesty International, Planned Parenthood, Stonewall, et al.
Astroturf all teh way down.
Probably take out menu orders at local restaurants included with their Soros Super Sized Protest Package.
Probably former federal workers ...
Older federal workers normally have six figure pensions.
Most of them are trustafarians who don't have to work, living off the money their families have made. Therefore they are aimless, rudderless, people with little purpose in life.
Constant protesting is the only thing that gives them any sense of being.
Good. That’s means that are irrelevant in all ways. They have no standing.
Some are paid.
Majority of them are Gov. workers , therefore they have time and money to try and make sure they continue to have time and money.
Good question!
Yes, no matter how embarrassing it looks, I support these people's right to say what they want. They weren't destructive or violent. That's all anyone can ask.
Of course they can. Right into the grave of a dead party. Carry on Dems. I believe they have more nonsense to share and I welcome it.
Never interrupt an enemy while he’s making a mistake.
It actually cracked me up... I want to take the picture of Green waving his cane and meme it: Dems Be Like: Get Off My Lawn!
Grandpa Simpson: “Old Man Yells at Clouds”.
Yep, freedom of speech is pretty key......and agree with the "not being assholes" part. Protest is fine. I didn't watch though......I just can't ever......
The mindless chanting always gives me the creeps.
“WE ARE ALL INDIVIDUALS.”
I watched 2 1/2 minutes.
Then turned it off...
The Dems just lost in ‘26 for that stunt. Not standing for a kid who has beat cancer for 6 years and 12 surgeries as he becomes an honorary Secret Service agent showed how they care nothing for the people that voted for them. They are slaves to the ideologue of the woke agenda and want to destroy our country. The media was no better and it proves to me that Trump derangement syndrome is a real diagnosis. These people need electric shock therapy because I don’t think there’s any medication that can help them at this point. Trump was correct when he said he could cure the worst disease and even bring peace to the world and they wouldn’t give him a golf clap. Those who elected these to lead them should be angry as hell and should recall this when it’s time to head to the ballot box again. I believe those who support them are probably infected too but there has to be enough who said I can’t allow this person to speak for me anymore. That red wave is alive and the Dems are in a death spiral.
By ‘26 the Democrats will be running to stay ahead of my wasteland hotrod marauders.
By ‘26, this will all be long forgotten.
Perhaps. But for now, I think that the "don't rain on my parade" force is good. People want to feel good about their prospects. And in the US of A, feeling good about our prospects is in our the DNA.
Which is why the Dems the other night were so appalling. They don't only expect the worst, they WANT the worst. For us.
Campaign ads will write themselves.
All those NGO handouts and Soros’ walking around money for swampies has to be good for something!
Remember - hand painted signs never look astroturfed and make sure to put “courtesy of USAID” at the bottom in three point font or smaller.
They announced their intention to wear Pink days ahead of time.Trump should have shown up in a pink jacket. Then whenever they shouted he should have pulled a kazoo or whistle from his pocket and drowned them out. Then he could have pulled out a picture of Greta T with the old quote of "How Dare You" in big letters on the front. Otherwise he was ready for them. But it could have made even better TV.
I have given up viewing these segments. There is nothing new here. It is all protest all the time. To achieve what, exactly?
It was shocking to watch the Dems the other night. Rep. Ugly from Texas with gold-headed cane will fund raise lots of dough from his stunt.
No Dem leadership to accompany the elected Pres to the floor? No Dems standing up for rescued Russian hostage and his 95 year-old mom? Jesus.
I am telling you right now, those "elected officials" the other night told us loud and clear --- It is not just Trump they despise, but anybody who is not in the Democratic Borg, as well. These people are despicable. They don't like America. By extension, they don't like me.
And any "Democrat" who doesn't reject that show the other night is part of the problem. Grow a pair, and get rid of the cancer, if you can.
So today at Rep. Green's censure vote other members took over the well and sang "We Shall Overcome." Overcome what? Being stupid and obnoxious. Game plan for next perceived insult --- masks, scarfs, and tom-toms. "Hey, hey, ho, ho, (marching, screaming) America has got to go." Because that is the point, right?
This whole crowd has nothing except marching, chanting, getting in your face . . .
I listened to Pod Save America today and the commenters were almost 100% in support of Green, and were angry at the other Dems for not joining in.
"Pod Save America" MMMM never heard of such! Sounds like I would not want to also.
Exactly. Maybe the Pod bods should have been there the other night.
Oh no!
agreed. in my view these segments don't convey much that's useful. there's always political psychotics among us, some fake it for money or for law enforcement. Now THAT's a story. Who's the Fed?
but mostly this is mental health stuff, making videos of deranged people and calling it reporting.
would be better to drive up and down an interstate, stopping in small towns, truck stops, pawn shops, restaurants, talking to real people.
Real people. Not political psychos. Americans. Us. In the tens of millions.
That would show, as the great Master himself said "Begin with an individual, and before you know it you find that you have created a type; begin with a type, and you find that you have created--nothing. " -F Scott, THE RICH BOY, short story 1926
Why trifle with these mythic projections and Antoinin Artaud style theater? Go to the reality. That's what journalism should do. At least in my view.
If somebody does they'll find MAGA isn't what it's said to be. Nor is red state America. Nor likely is Mr. Trump. Now that would be an interview. Matt T interviewing Mr. Trump,. I bet you could get him to admit he plays a character. A performance artist. A classic shamanic trickster. hahahahah. Maybe stand in for Ms. Leavitt now and then to give her a day off? Like the substitute teacher in 5th grade. hahaha
Put the joint down ! You've had enough.
Holmes, Trump could have solved some vexing problems in particle physics after discussing his efforts in translating Virgil and other Latin poets into Swahili, and Team D would bitch about what a dummy the man is. I mean, everyone knows how the conditional-subjunctive works in the Kikuyu dialect.
See also: Racist; and Appropriation, Cultural.
TO BE FAIR: it goes both ways. If the president were Team D, Team R would be leveling similar criticisms (but with different code words) at him/her/they.
But Team R wouldn't have paid protesters out there on the tax payer dime.
That last part you said was… exactly it. It goes both ways.
But the funds to pay the protesters never has gone both ways.
You’re right. Way more corporate money funding the Right
You haven’t been paying attention. The D’s are the corporate/Wall Street world’s favorites. Has been for quite some time.
Lies.
https://www.quorum.us/blog/corporate-donations/
https://www.usnews.com/news/elections/articles/2024-11-05/the-biggest-political-donors-of-the-2024-election#google_vignette
That's a one year snap shot that does not back up your argument. What it does reveal is how badly you have pissed off your biggest donors, the richest Americans. One can cite many reports if you want to play that "here's a link that proves I'm right" game, but you will lose for two reasons your stupid and uninformed. Let me add another, you are completely unaware of why. LoL.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/2300124/democrats-are-the-party-of-the-wealthy-irs-data-shows/
Yeah back in the 1980s and before certainly. The whole thing really started transforming under Slick Willy.
Check again. Most corporate and dark money has gone to the left.
Nope
https://www.quorum.us/blog/corporate-donations/
https://www.usnews.com/news/elections/articles/2024-11-05/the-biggest-political-donors-of-the-2024-election#google_vignette
I just blew your moronic comment above. LoL. Progressives are so uninformed.
He could work on the pluperfect subjunctive instead…
It's unfortunate that we were not treated to an Elizabeth Warren Native American dance outside the senate chambers. She had an opportunity to pay respect to 1/90 of her heritage. The hole in my heart will not be filled.
1/900th, I believe.
I think she did buy a drum-stick at Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Wrong heritage
Kentucky was home to several Native American tribes, including the Cherokee, Shawnee, and Chickasaw. Perhaps she saw the KFC bucket and thought, yeah, that's close enough to Chickasaw.
I'm waiting for KFC swapping the seed oils for tallow
Chicken is best in lard.
co pilot.... Lard is rendered pig fat, while tallow is rendered beef, mutton, or deer fat.
Lard is softer and more pliable than tallow.
Tallow has a higher melting point and is more suitable for high-temperature cooking methods like frying.
Lard has a milder and more neutral taste, while tallow imparts a rich, savory, and somewhat beefy flavor to dishes.
Lard is great for baking recipes, while tallow is more brittle and great for frying.
I don't eat pork so lard off the table for me.
. I don't eat pork so lard off the table for me.
That's all you needed to say.
I cook with lard tallow and olive.
I still use seed for fish.
Need a replacement for that.
She always has the best land acknowledgments😎
Attention, please. Stop coaching the Dems to behave themselves. Stop correcting them. Stop advising them that their policies are unpopular (like "trans rights.")
Tell them they're AWESOME! They're WONDERFUL! Cheer them on! "Keep up the good work!" and "YOU ROCK!"
That's the only way they'll ultimately go away and the party will disintegrate. There's no way that a majority of voting Americans support the stupidity.
We hope…
Unfortunately. Never underestimate the ability of an entire country to succumb to mass insanity.
Outside I saw an older, overwhelmingly white continent of anti/never Trump protestors. By the look of the homemade signs I'd say it was not organized by a professional group. Sure there were a couple of black speakers, after all it had to look like America.
I have not read much about Fascism but almost any republican president was at some time or other labeled a fascist. "Ignoring it is What the Germans Did." is the popular slogan of center left types.
Those folks could just have well had Harris as POTUS if they hadn't stood by as people from all over the world poured over the southern border, if Biden hadn't doubled down on his insistence that "systemic racism" was baked into every institution, if the social justice democrats hadn't force fed a program of "gender affirming care" onto school age children, just maybe the would have gotten enough votes in those swing states. But they doubled down Harris claiming she had no problem with anything Biden did, so she became Biden. American people had had enough of him.
As far as Trump goes he may yet become a dictator who the fuck knows, but those largely privileged middle class whites made Trump into the political animal he is, using the power of the federal government and the media.
Democrats pretty well guaranteed Trump, for the reasons you give, and others.
The fact that peaceful protests were allowed to take place, would argue against a fascist state. Trump also was the more pro free speech candidate in the last election.
Are you trying to confuse the Woke with facts? They’re Woke, that’s all we need to know.