caeron

War sucks. America's record is nothing to be proud of. We get fed a lot of propaganda about how great and noble and pure we are. We aren't. We're pretty mud splattered with espoused ideals that we frequently fail to live up to. Hell, right now many republicans don't even bother to espouse the ideals of democracy and freedom. But, if you think this is somehow new or different, you're naïve as fuck. We all believe lies about ourselves and always have. But, Putin is a monster, and those in Russia who elected him repeatedly until he became absolute dictator, and then believe the lies they are told get to live the consequences of that. Kids in Russia who volunteer based on their idiocy reap the consequences of that idiocy. Our failings don't excuse other monstrosities. I will never understand people's love of 'strong men'. Why is it that people think that if they give all the power to the biggest bully around that it will end well for anybody except the bully? Our best feature is that whoever the guy in charge is, he never stays long enough to gain enough power to allow him to let his own personal whims command the nation. Hopefully we will keep staggering towards our ideals. At the moment, it feels like we've taken a break to puke in the gutter. I hope we get up and carry on.

practically, I prefer the dispensers. Fiddling with and dropping small bottles in the shower is annoying. On the other hand, The small bottles seem classier somehow. I'm not sure why.

Presidents have a lot less influence on the economy than most americans think. Americans vote as if they did, but they don't. More reason why I have little respect for most american voters. They're idiots who engage in magical thinking and don't have a clue what the policy implications of their choices are.

All of Fox made $1.2B profit last year. I'm pretty sure it will hurt. They'll still suck up to their crazy audience, but they'll be a bit more careful about the gratuitous lying I think.

There is no escaping a lot of pain for Fox on this. The evidence is too damning. They will probably be able to negotiate a cheaper settlement, but cheaper won't be cheap. I am looking forward to their painful comeuppance. Lying sacks of shit.

And sadly, to win the nomination McCain had to soil himself. I lost respect for him for the shit he chose to say to win the nomination. If he had actually stayed honorable, I was considering voting for him. He didn't. It was hard to fault him for it though, since if he hadn't, I don't think he could have won the nomination. That's the growing sickness in the republican base.

perhaps, but I turn 60 this year. I think the biggest change for me was getting very serious about exercise and weight loss. As I got healthier, my ability to perform increased. I do high intensity interval training with a personal trainer 3x a week. I'm lying in a pool of my own sweat when I finish because he pushes me HARD. The results, however, show. But, I know that suffering is critical to maintaining my health after too many years of neglect so I keep at it. I do have high blood pressure and anxiety, but both are pretty well treated with medication.

Most days it's once, but every few weeks or so, I get a real rush of horniness and I can go 4 times a day. The first is best, but they're all good. The Wellbutrin I take seems to have really helped me on that front after a late life ADHD diagnosis.

I see no republican currently considered in play for the 2024 nomination to be better than a demented Biden. As for the Carter statement about our wars, I don't disagree, but let's remember the wars in question were all started by republican neocons with grand delusions of being welcomed as saviors. Those wars were very different than the Ukrainian war. Does any sensible person believe that the Neville Chamberlain approach to Russia's imperial ambitions will work? That Putin will just stop when he gets some more pieces of Ukraine? >>If the Democrat Party cannot find a suitable alternative to Biden then that should make one wonder about the Democratic Party.<< Is there anyone anyone at all that isn't a disaster in the republican party now? In the past, I have occasionally voted for republicans. I can't today, republicans have gone insane. All they are now is culture war crazies and give aways to big corporations. Our nation, indeed the world, is sliding towards fascism and authoritarianism.

I found none when I went a few years ago. A few rub and tug massage places, but only full service I found was on-line. My experience is hardly definitive, but I did look.

We've not yet had a chance to test the homophobia in a general election, but I'm sure they're homophobic too. I'm in a wait and see kind of space, since I don't really know who will emerge as a viable alternative to Biden. I hope someone does. I personally like Elizabeth Warren, but I don't think she can win. PS. Didn't know you were a fellow PDXer (I'm out in the burbs, but still). /wave

I think recent elections have shown that the American electorate is sexist and racist, so white guys still are the best to win an election. My 85 year old mother and her friends are a good example. They all like Biden. I think he merely doesn't blow chunks like a republican would. It sucks, but it may well be he's the best chance to hold onto sanity in America. Maybe we'll get lucky and he'll resign or die after re-election and we'll get a chance at a president who isn't a fossil.

A large portion of Americans are gullible idiots. Why should Russians be any different?

I think if you don't pull weeds, the garden gets overrun and crowds out everything else. I don't think you can announce weeds are no longer permitted to be weeds and expect the garden to miraculously recover.

A pay day.

Sorry it didn't work out. Lots of us buy lottery tickets knowing we're unlikely to win, but it's fun to dream and who knows? As long as you don't spend more than you can afford, where's the harm?

Smallpox? Really? When was this app made?

"I'll be happy to help you with that when I see you." Don't let your dick and your heart over-rule your head. There is a chance he is being honest. There is a much, much larger chance that he is playing you. Don't send him money and let him prove he's showing up before he gets paid anything.

For those of us who have never been to Bali, what is a reasonable tip?

You are wise. My experience mirrors yours. Be polite to the worker bees, and explain your pain to them. When treated well, they often work miracles for you. I've had multiple experiences where that courtesy has paid out in spades.

Personally, I'd start with "Prove it."

I much dislike the Church, but in among the piles of shit are some true gems.

I loathe banks. They're remarkably ingenious in figuring out ways to bleed you while making the simplest of actions unachievable. I moved to a credit union a couple of decades ago. They're often inept, but they do really try to help. After a cockup on their part on my last trip to Brazil, they called up and chatted through the details of the incident with my partner and modified their processes to ensure it didn't happen again. The incident that made me change from Wells Fargo was a trip to the UK. I withdrew money in pounds with my debit card. Upon reviewing my statement, I noticed that I had been charged two fees. One from the bank who owned the ATM which I found reasonable, if annoying. One from Wells Fargo for using another bank's ATM, which I found galling. I asked about the charge and was told I should just use a Wells Fargo ATM. The agent I spoke to had no answer to my question on what ATMs Wells Fargo operated in England. I doubt they cared. I closed the account the next day. Fortunately, that was long before the long list of other sins they perpetrated on their customers that cost them $3.7B in fines.

I left those forums years ago because it had such frequent bouts of nastiness. Life is too short to hang out with venomous jerks.

Veritas is a joke. A sick, dangerous joke, but a joke.