Did I mention the Australian gentleman I got into conversation with in the Cook Islands who was giving me the MAGA spiel?
Honestly, you meet the most appalling sort of people....
Giles ,'Chosen'
Natter 75: More Than a Million Natters Served
Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, butt kicking, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.
aurelia - Jun 18, 2018 5:34:32 pm PDT #26319 of 30002
All sorrows can be borne if you put them into a story. Tell me a story.
Amy - Jun 18, 2018 5:45:27 pm PDT #26320 of 30002
Because books.
Did I mention the Australian gentleman I got into conversation with in the Cook Islands who was giving me the MAGA spiel?
Wow, really?
aurelia - Jun 18, 2018 7:19:31 pm PDT #26321 of 30002
All sorrows can be borne if you put them into a story. Tell me a story.
Oh yeah. He was very enthusiastic. He also proudly told me that he doesn't vote and was taken aback when I knew that voting was compulsory in Australia. I don't think I was quite what he was expecting.
beth b - Jun 18, 2018 7:36:04 pm PDT #26322 of 30002
oh joy! Oh Rapture ! I have a brain!
But then I also think there is no possible rational reaction to kids in cages.true
billytea - Jun 18, 2018 9:05:27 pm PDT #26323 of 30002
You were a wrong baby who grew up wrong. The wrong kind of wrong. It's better you hear it from a friend.
Did I mention the Australian gentleman I got into conversation with in the Cook Islands who was giving me the MAGA spiel?
We do have our own fringe, in the form of Pauline Hanson and her party, One Nation. She first came to prominence in the 90s railing against Asian immigration. She re-entered Parliament at our last election (in large part because our PM decided on an arcane, boneheaded move when calling the election, which had procedural implications).
However, while in the U.S. your xenophobes took over a major party and the White House, One Nation only got four Senate seats out of 76. And then promptly imploded, with one Senator declared ineligible and two of them having now left the Party after falling out with Hanson. Which is not far off what happened to One Nation the first time round, with Hanson at one point being expelled from her own party. Our main saving grace is that our fringe populists are ridiculously incompetent.
Fiona - Jun 18, 2018 11:41:59 pm PDT #26324 of 30002
If other countries got together behind our back and decided to invade us over this shit, I would fly their goddamn flags on my porch.
I'm sorry, but with the US government attacking most of its [former] allies and cosying up to dictators, you're going to have to sort this mess out on your own.
Beverly - Jun 18, 2018 11:58:51 pm PDT #26325 of 30002
Days shrink and grow cold, sunlight through leaves is my song. Winter is long.
Yes, things are dire and awful and I'm alternately, or concurrently, weepy and stabby, but on the other hand, now we have SPAAAACE FORRRCE!
No, I can't even laugh at it.
Laura - Jun 19, 2018 2:52:24 am PDT #26326 of 30002
Our wings are not tired.
Every single day I think this has to be rock bottom; it can't get any worse. And then they put kids in cages. And then some percentage of vocal vile beings defend and cheer that too. Hence cranking up calming tones and barely watching the news. I read my subscription newsletters and such but I can't watch anymore. I used to even dip a toe into the other side news, but it is too mind blowing.
It isn't looking like I will be able to go north before the wedding. I really want to be up there for my cousin's service, but it will take a miracle for that to happen. Still don't have a place for my son to move to, house and business projects galore that DH really needs me around to give words of encouragement if not help.
Laura - Jun 19, 2018 3:27:42 am PDT #26327 of 30002
Our wings are not tired.
We'll see how many friends drop me today on FB. I try and not engage too much, but time to make it clear that some stuff just ain't right.
Time for more matcha tea! I haven't had coffee all week, and survived. Didn't even get the withdrawal headaches. Huh. If it keeps my BP in somewhat normal ranges it is worth it.
Tom Scola - Jun 19, 2018 3:28:52 am PDT #26328 of 30002
Remember that the frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere. And even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward.
it can't get any worse.
I'm sorry to have to say this, but it's going to get much worse. Trump is an abuser, and the more he feels threatened by the Mueller investigation, the more he feels backed into a corner, the more he is going to find someone to take out his anger on. And by "someone" I mean people with dark skin and/or women. He really hasn't even started yet. It's probably best you brace yourself for what's coming.