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Pete1111

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Posts posted by Pete1111

  1. Speaking of money and Trump

    I see Trump posted a $91.6 million dollar bond for the Carroll case, from a Chubb Insurance subsidiary. 

    https://newrepublic.com/post/179692/idiot-back-trump-bond-e-jean-carroll-trial-evan-greenberg

    Trump has previous ties to Chubb while Chubb happens to do business in Russia.  How convenient!

    Is the alleged great Trump washing machine at work again?

     

    https://aebrus.ru/en/about-the-aeb/our-members.php?ELEMENT_ID=6922

     

     

     

  2. On 2/26/2024 at 8:47 AM, stevenkesslar said:

    Glad you liked the film.

    I read several interviews with the director, Andrew Haigh.  He wanted to leave what really happened open to interpretation, so that people talked about the movie after the movie.  He succeeded!  He also said one of the sub-plots he wrote into the movie is that Adam, thanks to Harry, was finally able to get out of his lonely world and find love - with Harry.  You can imagine that however you want to.  But ending the movie with "The Power Of Love" wasn't subtle.

    Of the maybe half dozen articles/interviews I read, this interview with Haigh, and this article in Empire which quotes Haigh on key points, were the most helpful in elaborating what Haigh's intentions and subtexts were.  There's spoilers in both articles for anyone who hasn't seen the film.  I'll quote what Haigh said in the Empire article about whether most of the movie existed inside Adam's head:

    So you can choose to view it however you want.  The feeling that resonated for me is that whether you think some of the people we meet in the film are really ghosts, or this is all just happening in Adam's head, Haigh said he wanted to make a "ghost story".  So Adam is haunted, one way or the other. 

    In a different interview he said he could have had a much happier and simplistic ending.  But he preferred a more difficult ending, because that is how life actually is most of the time.  That resonated for me, too.  Certainly for someone like Adam.   That New York Times article I hyperlinked above talked about how this film, like many other recent LGBTQ films, provide a form of "emotional reparations" for Gay men who grew up in a world that was a lot less tolerant to Gay men than the one we live in today.  That works for me.  Andrew was a deeply wounded guy.   The point Haigh clearly wanted to make is that, in the end, there was healing and moving on for Adam.  He was able to find love.  But in a difficult way.

    For me, the final plot twist with Harry wasn't the most interesting part of the movie.  I would have been fine with the simpler happy ending Haigh did not choose.  What resonated the deepest for me were the scenes with Adams parents.  Because that is a form of haunting I feel, and I think many if not most Gay men feel.  I think what you said is correct:  you can share nothing with your parents, and then it's too late.  But I think Haigh made it more complicated than that.  Even if you do get to share, in the ghostly way Adam got to, it's still not ever going to be quite right.  Here's what Haigh said, which I'll quote extensively.  Because I think he really nailed it.

    I was sobbing during that scene.  Because it brought up all the feelings with my own Mom and Dad, when I came out to them as an adult.  My Mom was textbook correct, in saying, "We love you any way you are."  Then she asked me if there was anything else I needed to tell them.  Which I'm pretty sure meant, "Are you telling us this because you are dying of AIDS?"  All I said is, "I'm fine.  I'm healthy."  My Dad took having a Gay son very hard.  He read and thought and came around.  Sort of.  So my point is that is was definitely okay, and maybe even good.  But it was never great.  And, like Haigh, it was easy for me to be in an empathetic space, even though I was still the kid that was strange and seeking acceptance.  I don't think my parents, lifelong Catholics, could every completely embrace the idea of having a Gay son.  But that was okay.  Like Haigh said, it's complicated and messy.

    One of the best sets of experiences I had with my Dad was the last five years or so of his life, when my Mom was in a nursing home with dementia and he deeply missed his lifelong partner in crime.  I spent a lot of time with him, just bullshitting.  And the nice thing is at that point it had nothing to do with being Gay, or sexuality.  It was just about love and caring between a father and son.  Even if there were elements of it that were better left unsaid.  Haigh said in one of those interviews that his own Dad, who died of dementia, at one point forgot that his son was Gay.  Haigh said that didn't really matter to him at that point, either.  I can relate.

    It was a really beautiful, wise, and deep movie that captured a lot of my experience about growing up Gay.

    This article in Vulture suggests Harry and Adam never got together.  Interesting thoughts from Haigh.

     

    The piece suggests the music is key to the story and represents  very personal references for Haigh's own life growing up gay.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  3. On 2/9/2024 at 2:49 PM, stevenkesslar said:

    I loved it.  Although it is not a feel good movie.

    The critics are all right.  It is an emotionally evocative work about the enduring power of love.  And the complications of that when you're a Gay man of a certain age.

    I also loved Red, White, and Royal Blue.  And this is pretty much the opposite.  RWRB speaks to young queers who want to and now can believe boy meets boy and they live in a fairy tale.  All Of Us Strangers isn't about a fairy tale world.  It's about the world we Gay men actually grew up in.  Lots of discrimination, lots of AIDS, lots of death.  Add some ghosts and it makes for one hell of a story.

    The Queer Kids Are All Right. And Now They’re Making Me Better.

    I don't know if that link will transfer, since someone posted it as a shared story from a New York Times reporter on a different site.  It's a good read. 

    In case the link doesn't work and you can't get it online, the phrase that really worked for me in that story about recent queer cinema is "emotional reparations."  As in, a lot of recent LGBTQ film provides a form of emotional reparations for everything that we didn't necessarily get growing up.  Like support, and understanding.  I think RWRB and Heartstoppers are just sweet fairy tales.  I took All Of Us Strangers, appropriately titled, as a form of emotional reparations for those of us who didn't grow up in a sweet Gay fairy tale.  Fellow Travelers comes to mind as another recent and excellent example.

    The director and writer, Andrew Haigh, insists that the movie overall is a story about a Gay man accepting himself and overcoming obstacles to love.  One could debate that, given the final plot twist.  Haigh says he wanted to make a movie that made people think.  But I think you settled the question for us, @unicorn.  The fact that you can go see a movie like this WITH YOUR FIANCE (a man, I assume) settles the question.  To quote the fairy tale heroes of Red, White, and Royal Blue, "We won."  In real life, we got the happy ending. Congratulations!  Even if Gay men like Andrew Scott's character in the movie, and Andrew Haigh in real life, paid an emotional price for it.

    Sorry if I'm a little slow but did Adam really make love to Harry or did most of the movie exist inside Adam's head. 

    I want to watch again while staying a bit more alert.

    I sense that we were fed a lesson.  You can stand still and share nothing with your parents until it's too late. 

    You might have a sweet guy available to you, yet decide to take the safe route and stay in your comfort zone, and never get another chance. 

    Whatever the case, it was a remarkable movie for me.   

     

    006-028-strangers-r2-230721-js-g2-71751-

  4. On 2/17/2024 at 9:36 AM, stevenkesslar said:

    YES!  YES!  YES!

    Everyone is talking about how corrupt the judge is.  Trump is the most honest and least racist person in America.  

    Everyone knows that Trump is Mr.  Integrity.  People all over the galaxy all agree that Trump never gets in trouble with the law.

     

    It's a total disgrace.  Nothing like the world has every seen before, bigly.  

    All GOP patriots returning to their checking accounts to forward the remaining funds.

    giphy.gif

     



     

  5. On 2/18/2024 at 11:44 PM, Moses said:

     Assange has been in a British prison for 5 years. Has anyone here come to his defense?

    Snowden has been hiding in Russia for over 11 years, has anyone come to his defense?

    Manning received 35 years in prison. Has anyone come to her defense?

    No?

     

    The list omitted Trump.  What allied defense secrets has he shared?

     

     

    Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
    Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
    Silver-white winters that melt into springs
    These are a few of my favorite things

    tenor.gif

     

  6. 6 hours ago, RockHardNYC said:

    Not only is it NOT WRONG, I would highly recommend it, until further notice.

    These are NOT normal times, and nobody should pretend otherwise. Mainstream media is FAILING us. In normal times, I invited opposing, intelligent, respectful, political debate. For decades, I was a loyal contributor to PBS's The News Hour, a committed watcher of Jim Lehrer, Gwen Iffil, Mark Shields, and others. The News Hour was one of the few news sources on TV who offered opposing debate in a civil, respectable manner. Today, in a Trump/maga world, one has to be VERY CAREFUL when trying to find reliable news sources, otherwise known as the truth. Trump and his minions are SERIAL LIARS. They compile lie upon lie, continually feeding the Fascist cult movement that chooses to live in their ignorant and racist bubble. The RACISTS have complete support from the Fox (and others) eco chamber. It's never been more us-versus-them, with maga (and Putin) begging for another civil war. 

    I made the decision last year to end any and all association with Trump supporters, especially anything to do with money. That means, most of my Midwest family are now gone, properly excommunicated from my life. You can't talk or reason with cult members. Either they drink the poison that ultimately ends their lives, or they face a long and scary process of deprogramming.

    Trump is facing 91 criminal indictments. There was a time when only one would kill a campaign for president. These are not normal times.

    The magas in Congress DO NOT WANT a border deal, because they NEED the issue to run on, and they'd rather hurt more human lives because of perceived political "wins." How do you define evil?

    In a court of law, to nine jurors who went through voir dire with the highly respected Judge Lewis Kaplan, Alina Habba actually argued that E. Jean Carroll got what she wanted from her association (the rape) with Donald Trump. She acquired fame. How evil does a U.S. lawyer need to be to make such an argument in a U.S. court of law? The jury voted that degree of evil is worth about 83 million.

    Maga is a dangerous CANCER. If we are not careful, if we are not diligent, we risk losing EVERYTHING to Fascism, especially the rule of law.

    Trump called Robbie Kaplan a CUNT in code during a deposition. For more on the future ACN case that Robbie Kaplan is pursuing against Trump, here is a fascinating interview with Robbie by former Republican Tim Miller:

     

     

    For most legal discussion of Trump's cases, I now rely on Legal AF. Lawyers Ben Meiselas, Michael Popok, and Karen Friedman Agnifilo (former #2 to Cy Vance in the Manhattan District Attorney's Office) know how to explain complex legal matters to non-lawyers:

     

     

    I'm a big John Favreau, Tommy Vietor, and Dan Pfeiffer fan, so I try never to miss a Pod Save America episode. Here is their most recent discussion with Liz Cheney:

     

     

    America is worth saving. Let's put an end to the Trump cult. It's democracy or Fascism. I vote democracy: Joe Biden 2024! Tell maga to go fuck themselves.

    I'm also a big fan of Pod Save America.  I love Tommy Vietor.  He's a no-nonsense honest guy.

    images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTWFXaZow27SeeOmddg8lL

     

    I also follow Legal AF.  They are good at reminding how the lamestream media  "both-sides" reporting MAGA's lies rather than fact checking and debunking them.

    If I may suggest another.

    David Feldman is good.  His humor is biting, and on target concerning Trump and his minions.

     

     

  7. 8 hours ago, Bingo T Dog said:

    Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-New York) — who is thought of as a leading candidate to be former President Donald Trump's 2024 running mate — recently deleted a 2021 statement from her website calling for the prosecution of January 6 participants.

    Stefanik apparently deleted the statement after former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming) linked to it on Saturday. On her official X/Twittr account, Cheney called the statement a "rare moment of honesty" from the woman who replaced her as House Republican Conference chair, adding that "she will have to explain how and why she morphed into a total crackpot."

    Cheney noted in a subsequent tweet that Stefanik deleted the statement from her website without explanation. However, she included a screenshot of the statement in the post, telling her 644,000-plus followers to "feel free to share."

    "This is a tragic day for America. I fully condemn the dangerous violence and destruction that occurred today at the United States Capitol," Stefanik said in the now-deleted statement. "Americans have a Constitutional right to protest and freedom of speech, but violence in any form is absolutely unacceptable and ant-American."

    "The perpetrators of this un-American violence and destruction must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," she added. "Thank you to the United States Capitol Police, all law enforcement, the National Guard and the bipartisan professional staff of the United States Capitol for protecting the People's House and the American people."

     
    The New York Republican has since changed her tune on January 6 defendants, whom she now refers to as "hostages." That concerned fellow New York lawmaker Rep. Dan Goldman (D-New York) so much that he filed a censure resolution against Stefanik, calling it "the culmination of a rhetoric that has gone too far."

    Stefanik may have deleted the statement in order to ingratiate herself with Trump, as his commanding wins in the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary move him closer to the Republican presidential nomination and the selection of a running mate. Trump has not only used the "hostages" label for January 6 rioters, but has promised to pardon the vast bulk of them if elected to a second term. More than 1,200 arrests have been made in connection to the insurrection, and the Department of Justice has secured guilty pleas and convictions from roughly 800 of those charged.

    'What a disgrace': Conservative slams Elise Stefanik's 'shameless' and 'craven' lies about Jan. 6

    Elise Stefanik snaps over Jan. 6 'hostages' when asked if rioters should be prosecuted

     

     

    I don't wanna badmouth the kid, but she's a horrible, dishonest, immoral louse. And I say that with all due respect.

     

     

    This is an altered image, but it symbolizes her lies to America about Pelosi on January 6th.   It is sad that elected officials like Stefanick can get away with her lies.

     

    stefanik_fake.jpg

     

     

  8. 2 hours ago, Marc in Calif said:

    Multiple times in his crazed rant yesterday in Concord, New Hampshire, Drumpf said "Nikki Haley" when he actually meant "Nancy Pelosi."

    That's clearly NOT a one-time slip of the tongue. It's proof of defective mental processing to keep saying the wrong name in the middle of a campaign rally in January of an election year.

    Yet again, Drumpf insisted on bringing up the events of January 6, 2021. That's where his brain started unraveling once more -- as we've seen countless times before.

    https://www.foxnews.com/video/6345264572112

    "You know, when she [Haley] comes here, she gets like nine people. And the press never reports the crowds... By the way, they never report the crowds on January 6. You know... Nikki Haley... Nikki Haley... Nikki Haley, you know... they...  Did you know they destroyed all of the information, all of the evidence, everything, deleted and destroyed all of it. All of it because of lots of things. Like Nikki Haley is in charge of security. "We offered her 10,000 people, soldiers, National Guard, whatever they want. They turned it down. They don’t want to talk about that. These are very dishonest people.”

    Trump mixes up Nikki Haley with Nancy Pelosi at New Hampshire rally
    Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley responded to Trump, questioning his mental fitness for office
    By Chris Pandolfo Fox News
    January 20, 2024

     

     

    If the lamestream media had their act together they would report how Trump's gradual decline has been apparent for quite a long  time.

    Would be nice to see a lot more examples of his dwindling capacity, whether in court or on the campaign.

    1432125550

     

    Funny how the media was so quick to challenge whether Hillary Clinton had health challenges when she was a candidate. 

    Now is the time to challenge Trump's ability. Instead they question Biden's age.

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