Pete1111

Looking at the list of who he's pardoned, it's worrisome. These are people that did the insurrection, the guys that planned to kidnap Whitmer, people that cheated on their taxes and stole from others, folks that made big donations to Trumps campaign, etc. Of course mostly white people. This is what a fascist does.

Government ethics? Didn't Trump get rid of all the Inspectors General? These days Washington is about as ethical as Hedley Lamarr.

Trump -Always -Chickens -Out, TACO Trump.

Having an economy that thrives on undocumented workers is like apartheid. No argument from me, except that I'm questioning why react now after decades of living off the fruits of their labor? Why turn on them like is happening? Trump claimed he would get rid of the bad element, and not all undocumented workers. I know, why should we believe him? But either way, Trump is fucking up what has been working by establishing tariffs, by deporting workers, by growing the billionaire class, by pissing on our neighbors, our friends, our allies...

Trump is deporting the cheapest segment of US labor, which gradually moves the social security fund closer to insolvency (workers paying into the fund that will never collect). How will the economic engine work if cheapest labor slips away? Oh right, tariffs. So much $$ coming in. 🤣

Trump is their Royal, taking his daily big dump on a golden toilet.

When Nicolae Ceaușescu's corrupt regime fell in Romania, decades ago, the Romanian royals returned from exile and supported transition to an elected government. An interesting video of that history is attached below, showing the lead-up to Ceausescu's execution. There are other videos on YouTube showing the opulent, decedent lifestyle the Ceaușescu family lived within their mansion, in contrast to the poverty, food shortages, malnutrition and high infant mortality rates suffered during his rule. After watching, I thought how the world has changed since then! The hope and optimism after the fall of the iron curtain has been replaced. Autocratic leadership has regained and strengthened its authoritarian power. Hungary, Turkey, Belarus, Russia, Iran, Venezuela, and even to some extent in Israel and the US. It's sad. When Romania Executed Its Dictator on Live TV

Mickey 17 is currently on HBO. The political aspect parallels our current incompetency and greed in Washington. Robert Pattinson was good. I'm not a huge Sci Fi fan but overall a decent movie.

NYT interviewed an undecided voter in Ohio that leaned towards Trump because she assumed he would deliver on healthcare and education. She was a nurse with young children. Bless their hearts, Americans give it their best try when they vote. (Too bad the NYT went radio silent on that Ohio nurse's misguided healthcare/education voting strategy.) Yeah, time for voters to eat the cake and shut up. Let's see how the midterms go. Until then, suck it up buttercup.

@stevenkesslarHow confident are you that Republican candidates will get slaughtered? I'm flummoxed how many "educated" people believe cutting taxes on the wealthy is a sound strategy. To me, it's as if they believe a strong economy hinges on growing the billionaire class. America has many mega-yachts that still need a home. 😉 I'm very cynical these days and stopped having faith in polls. I sense many working class voters will continue to "own the libs" next election and continue demonizing undocumented immigrants.

I recall during the 2020 campaign hearing how Biden would only serve one term. Perhaps his team was gaslighting us. My only positive thought back then was the idea that Biden was the only candidate able to beat Trump, or so we were told. Perhaps that was more gaslighting. Looking back over the decades, I contemplate how much better off we'd be with alternate choices. I did not like Bill Clinton or Joe Biden. Looking ahead, will the Democrats learn anything from past mistakes and from these recent books? I question whether a workable strategy exists.

I had to look up "senior purser". It was, as I guessed, the senior member of the cabin crew. I'm curious why Germany dropped that regulation. I am less and less comfortable flying lately.

@TotallyOz @PeterRS An interesting note about Tolkien and Mary Renault, she was a student of Tolkien's at Oxford. I found a reference to Tolkien from 1967 that he had been "recently deeply engaged in the books" of Renault, and mentions in particular her works The King Must Die and The Bull from the Sea (both about Theseus). I loved both. Those two could serve as a good place to begin reading Renault if not the two mentioned above, The Persian Boy and The Last of the Wine.

The setting is totally different. Italian Riviera, Rome, New England, Thailand. My favorite part of the book takes place in Rome. Several interesting characters and encounters there. Also there were many more interesting characters around the family villa. The book dives a lot deeper into Elio's head, what he is going through about Oliver. I like the way Oliver is portrayed, how Elio couldn't help falling for such an impressive young man. I remember being 17 or 18 and pining for a handsome new teacher, early 20s. People criticize Aciman for the age thing but I can imagine being a horny kid at an Italian villa, and then Oliver arrives. Chalamet and Hammer were much older than the characters in the book. They didn't work for me. Also, there were pieces of the film that didn't make sense, such as the professor pulling ancient relics out of a lake. Aciman has a style that the film totally misses. e.g. there is a scene where Oliver's foot gently caresses Elio's under the table while the family is having lunch. How Aciman describes these encounters is special. ----- I understand that Mary Renault was President Kennedy's favorite author. I read her biography. She accomplished a lot considering those times. Was difficult to write what she wanted to write without push back. She lived with her partner in South Africa, to be away from the risk gay couples faced in England. While living there she developed a pen pal relationship with her "American Boy" that wrote to her from Long Island. That boy was Daniel Mendelsohn who grew up to be the famous author and critic. I met him during one of his book tours.

RFKjr & Elon. Be best. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DI-rJX-NM_p/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

I kept putting off streaming Carol, thinking I'd read the book it's based on first, but I finally put that idea aside last night. Pretty good film. The critics loved it. Was nominated for several Oscars and Bafta awards. I streamed it commercial-free with my library card on hoopladigital. If that doesn't work I see many other options such as tubitv and the usual subscription services, Hulu, Netflix etc The story is very relatable IMO and quite poignant. The two leads are excellent of course.

The pencil helps Vance look forever young. Just like his boss wants to do.

Where I come from "Aunt" is pronounce like the insect. Where I live now I have been corrected. Where I live now, many say "ont". I have also been corrected how to pronounce local cities, for not being accustomed enough how locals do. For example, cities with French or Spanish origin are often mispronounced by locals. I have to remember. 🙂 I would never bother to correct someone unless they seemed like the wanted help with pronunciation.

How did thousands of Palestinians advance so far into Israel and kill so many? For all the $ billions in military support that Congress has sent Israel year after year, does anyone want to know how Netanyahu's government allowed an attack of this scope? Instead of taking responsibility, even resigning, he has shifted blame, and used the attack to strengthen his power. That said, I know how Palestinians treat gay men. I would feel foolish supporting people that freely want to do us harm. The Middle East has become a sh!t hole for gay men since the Arab Spring. Israel is the only place that remains somewhat safe for us. The BBC piece discusses how opinion is shifting among the young. I could ask the campus protesters where are your protests against Trump's colleague in Moscow? Tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians have died. Wake up.

I guess it's my Dad in me, but I immediately started calculating what it would cost if 10 or 20 million undocumented immigrants took the $1000 deal. What would Trump pay them with? From his tariff windfall? 😃 Crypto? Also, would he pay up? His art-of-the-deal historically has been to stiff people, right and left. How many folks trust his offer? That said, a lot of the recent arrivals paid the cartels much more to get them across the border. $1000 might seem like a joke to them. And none of them want to leave, right? Life sucks where they came from. Fining them $1000 a day, as dog murderer Noem warns, reminds me how the Nazi's fleeced the Jews of everything while hustling them from their homes to the camps. I sense these are some evil f*ckers coming up with these schemes, and I say that with all due respect. I have friends, a lesbian couple, that ultimately became Canadian citizens. Took some time to get that accomplished. For me, I am considering a move. It's just brainstorming. Nothing planned.

Does the GOP care how deporting workers hastens Social Security insolvency? For years their agenda has been to undermine and even privatize Social Security. So, losing the revenue deducted from worker paychecks is nothing more than an "oh well!" to them. I agree, one can hope that Millennials and Zoomers will realize they need to tax the rich. My sense is the momentum is not moving in that direction. Was good to hear Warren Buffet add to the tariff conversation. He also recently reminded that we need to remember some people draw the short straw in life, that it's not their fault. I doubt Jeff Bezos has such thoughts when floating on his $500,000,000 mega yacht.

I love Edmund White and Alan Hollinghurst, yet I went other directions with my 5 books. At Swim, Two Boys A great Irish novel, and an unforgettable story. Call Me by Your Name I enjoy all of Aciman's books, especially this one, which is quite different from the movie and one I've read multiple times. Frederick Douglass Prophet of Freedom Every American should read this Pulitzer Prize winning dramatic biography. The Last of the Wine Mary Renault's first novel set in antiquity, one I've re-read and will again. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay Also a Pulitzer winner, and an epic story, with so much food for thought, I loved how Clay crossed that line with Bacon on top of Democracity.

When I moved to California from the Midwest years ago I was suddenly in a far more diverse world. Looking around, it was clear to me who was willing to get up early each day and get busy. Who was doing most of the jobs. Young immigrants. I remember George W. Bush how his administration admitted we must bring undocumented workers out of the shadows. Back then we heard the term "path to citizenship". Bush admitted we can't just send them all back. To me, he was admitting what few politicians will say, that these millions of workers are a big part of our economic engine. All the years when our economy was chugging along, while other regions weren't, had do be in part due to cheap, young labor that worked hard here in the States. The GOP is using immigrants as an emotional, political hot button. On C-Span I see the same thing happen in Parliament. This is politics. But we are cutting off our nose to spite our face.

At the very least, the Gavel Gang invited where we, how the Supremes failed to rule and then finally ruled in ways that stopped prosecution, allowed King Baby to run and then ruled his actions as President are immune. He was invited to bring this chaos, and now the judicial branch has to scramble to check the Prez. Meanwhile we have a wild, crazy chimp throwing sh!t all over the world economy.

@bkkmfj2648 I am now hungry for that baguette style Vietnamese sandwich. We have those here. Delicious. I love the path Tony Leung's character took at the end, starting with the contemplative visit to the Falls, and how Chang took Lai's sadness to the end of the world to let it go. I appreciate how the film fits your situation. 🙏🏻 I love how Lai was able to meet Chang's family in Taipei. They were as good hearted as one might expect. By the end, Wong Kar Wai shows the Universe brought those two together, that Lai and Chang will potentially meet again someday. From your image above, The Route 66 diner peaks my interest. 🇺🇸