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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
That would result in a spectacular amount of shit flinging from the Republicans. I doubt any President could get away with stating that the opposition is preventing the President's base from voting, or sabotaging their votes to ensure they don't count. With Obama, it's even worse.
But you'd at least expect some of the reporters to ask the obvious question.
Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.From a German perspective, Christmas is important. It is not just a Christian celebration, it is a cultural celebration...in fact, it was the Christian faith which kind of "stole" Christmas, not the other way around. And there is nothing which annoys me more than people complaining about Christmas. Because to me, those who actually think that Christmas is about getting gifts, food and having to deal with your annoying family doesn't get it. Christmas is about giving, about showing the person in your life "I pay attention to you" not by giving him or her something expensive, but something which fits said persons interest. It is about having the time, to really spend time with the people you love instead of just seeing them in passing or not at all, because you are too busy all the time. And it is about peace.
The basic concepts of Christmas are so universal, they should be understood and respected by everyone. And a day after someone drove an actual attack on Christmas killing at least 12 people in the process, I am even less in the mood to hear complains about it. But even on any other day I fail to see why celebrating a feast which most people in a country love - remember, a lot of Germans are actually atheist, and still participate in Christmas, because it is way more than just a religious matter, it is a matter of tradition - big should be questioned in any way. Yeah, it sucks if you live in a country in which other celebrations are considered important than what you are used to or is part of your tradition. But guess what, spending Thanksgiving in Germany also sucks for an American, because we have a different set of traditions when it comes to this particular holiday. And I am to this day not happy when children come to my door at Halloween, because we are not in the US, damnit! But you arrange with stuff like this.
I'm totally down with Christmas as a secular holiday, honestly (deflecting any sniffing about capitalism). It's nice to get together with family and give presents and appreciate one another, the lights and decorations are nice, and even the music is nice. It's one of the markers that time is passing, it gives the winter a strong identity, and it brightens up the dark time of the year. I'm not Christian, but I can appreciate the people who believe without harming others; that said, when you try to make everyone adhere to your holidays and make them a big yearly Thing, of course it's going to be secularized eventually. Live with it.
(Entertainingly, in Japan Christmas is actually a big romantic holiday to be spent with your partner/significant other, from what I've heard. It's also traditional to eat KFC (yes, that KFC) and have cake on the 25th.)
It's been fun.I was raised a Muslim, and am currently nonreligious. I find a lot of joy and fun in Christmas, and I see it from an entirely secular, naturalistic perspective. I currently live in Scandinavia, where the sun sets now at 2:30, and a relentless blanket of clouds usually covers the sky from November to March. There is a visceral, pervading, low-key terror to the all-encompassing darkness. Christmas is a light in the dark. It is a comforting song of hope, that it will not get any darker from here, that the light has begun its ineluctable return. It is an opportunity for celebration, for rekindling personal connections, for hope and warmth.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.So apparently Trump is pressuring Dignitaries to stay at Trump Tower. You know at this point, I'm more or less resigned to the fact that there's nothing trump can do or say that can possibly get the republicans to turn on him. Trump will as always not give two shits what anyone else says, do what he wants, and if that means other countries putting the squeeze on american citizens economically he doesn't have to care.
edited 20th Dec '16 2:19:27 AM by Lanceleoghauni
"Coffee! Coffeecoffeecoffee! Coffee! Not as strong as Meth-amphetamine, but it lets you keep your teeth!"So just one month left. Just one month before we have to endure at least four years of deregulation, social program slashing, "religious freedom" laws that make it easier to discriminate against others, attacks against abortion, irreversible damage to our environment, reckless deficit spending, more open bigotry, the death of American organized labor, the end of net neutrality...and that's just the local stuff.
To add insult to injury, they were originally going to stay at the Four Seasons. Which I assume is a much better place to stay than Trump Tower.
Seriously, can you imagine how much shit HRC would have gotten if she used her position as President-Elect to pressure diginitaries into making contributions to the Clinton Foundation or something?
edited 20th Dec '16 2:22:54 AM by M84
Disgusted, but not surprisedWell I mean it's more or less to be expected, now that the republican transformation into the "Stupid Evil" party is complete.
"Coffee! Coffeecoffeecoffee! Coffee! Not as strong as Meth-amphetamine, but it lets you keep your teeth!"Republicans are going to let him self-destruct first and then replace once his approval ratings tank.
If he tanks before 2018 then they'll remove him as soon as possible to cover themselves and look good in comparison.
If his base still supports him to 2018 then you can expect the Republican Party to stay on his side lest his base turn against them.
Look at it this way - one month left until it's time for each and every one of us to prove our worth as Americans by rising up and fighting back against the horror that's brewing in our midst. Authoritarianism thrives on silence and acceptance. Refuse to accept what's happening as normal. We're the people, and we're the ones with the real power.
Americans say we're exceptional. Now it's time to prove it and say "guess what, assholes - it really can't happen here."
edited 20th Dec '16 3:02:17 AM by RBluefish
"We'll take the next chance, and the next, until we win, or the chances are spent."I mean, there's an awful lot of stuff for him to burn down before he gets to the parts that'll directly impact his base. It could be quite some time before they're personally affected by their horrible, horrible judgement.
"Coffee! Coffeecoffeecoffee! Coffee! Not as strong as Meth-amphetamine, but it lets you keep your teeth!"with a GOP that won't stand up to him and a crew of cronies? More or less total I'd suspect. The thing about Medicare/SS stuff though is that it'll be framed as attacking welfare queens (read: Black People) so his base will be all for it until they realize that oh shit that's going to make their lives harder because suddenly they won't have it either.
"Coffee! Coffeecoffeecoffee! Coffee! Not as strong as Meth-amphetamine, but it lets you keep your teeth!"Gov. John Kasich signs bill blocking Cleveland's $15 minimum wage proposal
Heh, so much for that so called "Moderate"
New Survey coming this weekend!

You know, that just highlighted a discrepancy that I just realized in Obama's end-of-the-year conference just a couple of days ago: Everyone asked questions about Russian hacking and Trump's collusion, but nobody even remotely mentioned the possibility of voter suppression being a factor in Clinton's loss. That seems suspicious to me.
Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.