caeron

Frankly, given how obviously fragile our democracy is, is it any wonder we couldn't build one in a country that has almost no tradition of it? Worse, given the state of the country and maslov's hierarchy of needs, how many Afghani's are well off enough to give a fuck what passes for government in their world? That's a luxury that rich folks like us get to think about. I think We (the west) should have gone in, brushed the Taliban aside and crushed Al Quada. We should have then left with the promise that we would keep returning if they kept up their ways. Much like Iraq, conservatives imagine we're so amazing that as soon as we arrive everyone will immediately become republicans. Surprise, when you kill more people than Saddam did by a large measure, they won't thank you. As a military intelligence officer I know said at the time, "We don't know if Saddam is the way he is because of Iraq, or if Iraq is the way it is because of Saddam". Turns out, it might have been the former. And, given what China has been up to, it is a good idea for us to step out of the cross hairs of the islamic terrorists and let state terrorists like China and they beat up on each other.

After 20 years, it is over. Stop spending lives and gold. Once the Taliban step out of the shadows to attempt to govern what they hold, they get to become targets themselves.

I made a short trip to Yangon before the pandemic, and really enjoyed it and hoped to go back. Feels like Trump has helped lead a global slide back into fascism and totalitarianism.

I thought the reason XTube was going away was because of its problems with revenge porn and the like, no? I thought I heard it let anybody post anything pornographic without any checks at all.

He is, in fact, a Monsignor, not a bishop, though that's kind of a side point. My sympathy for gay priests is limited given the church's long standing antipathy towards us. Priests have to come to terms with the fact that they are working for an organization that considers them broken, at best. You're breaking the stupid rules of your stupid organization and you can expect they will kick you back downstairs when they find out.

Getting oggled while young is an experience that pretty much every woman has had.

Governments have an annoying habit of making trusted policy out of stupid ideas and bad ideas. They can screw you, so they do... because they can't be bothered to stop.

I grew up all over, so I guess the answer is 0, since home for me is where I currently live.

Sorry to hear you and the Dentist didn't work out. I was rooting for you.

I have banked with credit unions for years. I stopped using Wells Fargo about 20 years ago when they insisted on charging me for using my debit card at non-Wells Fargo ATMs in countries they had no presence in. Their answer to my complaint, "Use a Wells Fargo ATM." My answer was to fire them. (I didn't mind paying a fee to the owner of the ATM, but Wells Fargo then tacked their own separate fee on top of that, just because they thought they could.)

I took a cruise on Pandaw down the Mekong. It was a wonderful experience.

I wish people would stop flipping over the rocks he keeps crawling under.

We care because she put her career on the line to come out and suffered for it. Comparing her to Kevin Spacey is kinda silly.

Certainly those right wing prophets of rage have done their work well. There will be no normalcy until there is a reckoning in the republican party that purges it of its worst elements. Time will tell, but I am also not hopeful for the future of our democracy at the moment.

Cheap shots is all Trump understands, so just speaking his language.

If only we could persuade them to drink it.

I think some people think that since Gay actors get discriminated against that straight actors shouldn't take gay roles. I think that's nonsense. The solution to homophobia in hollywood isn't to ghettoize gay actors into gay roles. It's to recognize what the fuck acting actually is.

I think outing is only appropriate to the Larry Craigs of the world.

I'm with her. 19 fucking years is too damn long to do the same thing. I did nearly that for the money and while I made bank, it drove me mad. She admits she lost focus on the show and maybe that's why some of this happened, but who needs the bullshit of all this when you have trucks full of money already?

My experience is that lots of people that think they can pass as native are fooling themselves. Some members here clearly can, but I know I can't pass, so I plan accordingly.

As rich foreigners, there are expectations about what sleeping with you means for them. Paying clarified what that expectation is and ensures the relationship is as transactional as you wish it to be. It avoids would-be boyfriends expecting a blowjob means they get to move into your life with all their own issues and drama and expense. Nothing says you can't do those things after paying if you decide you want to invite them to dinner too, but now they're on your terms and not expected.

I'd rather pay. My experience is that free can get pretty expensive.

I play bridge (the card game) and "Americans are Weird" is a huge underbid.

We lost our elderly boy last fall. The smoke from the wildfires here in Oregon put him in a slide we couldn't get him out of. Miss him terribly. Enjoy Squirt while she's around.

The year Crash won was the last time I watched. The whole thing is a little too self-congratulatory to me. Hollywood loves Hollywood, and they are happy to tell you all about it.