hntnhole

I've noticed in news reports lately that there are apparently substantial demonstrations on College/University campuses against Jewish folks. Surely University students have enough wherewithal to comprehend that "The Jews" are not responsible, it's the current Government of Israel that's wrought all the destruction, with more on the way. Similarly, it's not "The Americans" that are responsible for our current policy-problems in the US - it's a group within the Government within that entity that is the problem. I think these demonstrations are more against the current Government/Prime Minister of Israel, than against Jewish people in general. While it's true that Israel had a right to answer the 10/7 event against their nation, the response has been exponentially multiplied, with inexcusable consequences for non-combatants. Yet, "the Jews" are being blamed, as though the response to 10/7 was voted on and approved by a majority of registered voters in Israel. As we all know, occasionally "a mickey" weasel's his way into power, and wreaks havoc in all manner of ways. I consider Mr. Netan-yahoo to be among this sad group of world leaders. Mindlessly (or perhaps worse) killing thousands of civilians is simply inexcusable. and doubtless his political career is deservedly over. The question remains, however: Who is going to rebuild Gaza, and all the other destroyed population centers? I doubt that Mr. Biden has given carte-blanche to the Prime Minister, but he does want to give him a ton of dough. I hope the "you broke it, you fix it" mindset is being floated around the White House.

Given your truly sad experience with these folks, and successfully shedding that odious religiosity, I'll gladly accept your reasoning. I don't understand it, but I'll take your word for it. It's not easy to accept that some people simply deny their own ability to think, perceive truth, and/or dismiss fanciful notions (however self-serving), and live decent lives in the bargain.

Interesting question; thanks, ErosWired. I've read and re-read both questions, and I'm not sure I'd want to experience either one. I think there can be something interesting each day, if we're open to it, and even during the hum-drum of everyday life. If the answer to every wish, every hope or dream, the perfect reflection of our Lust suddenly became real, the rest of the tomorrows wouldn't hold much promise anymore. So, my answer to A is no. I can't say I've ever imagined that. I did have a wonderful relationship for many years, but it was based on give & take - sharing - not just what I wanted. Thus, my answer to B is also no.

Well, if he's one of those guys that's always thinking 'if I do X, then the money will follow", he's hardly the first in Congress, or the rest of government. Plenty of folks try their hand at business without doing much background work. It would put him in plenty of company too ... like that queen Santos they're trying to toss out. Or (to be fair, crossing party lines) Menendez, the Senator who bent over for all that Egyptian bling. Both are trying like hell to stay in Congress, and thus on the gravy-train. Thanks for the background info - most of us had never heard of him until his dizzying rise to the Speakership.

That wouldn't surprise me one bit ...

So you're saying that there would be no correlation / linkage to the fading of one and the rise of another? If it occurs, it would not be linked?

Well, this thread is an interesting read ... can't say I have anything to add ... for once !!!

Or - just incurious about appearances? It occurs to me that perhaps these people are not well educated in recent World History. Yes, Israel is an important ally in that area of the world, helping counter the more repressive regimes in the area. Yes, Israel has the "right" to answer the Hamas attack of last month. I would also say, the current Government there has much to answer for regarding their intelligence capabilities. and the current Prime Minister has even more to answer for. The ancient saying "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" may apply to military combatants, but it does not apply to civilians. It may be that millennia ago, when "armies" consisted of some men with broadswords and spears, plus some boys with slingshots, that physiologically-based slogan worked out. Those days are long, long gone. Using modern weapons to utterly destroy what - for all appearances - is a mostly civilian, non-combatant population, repressed, un-armed, unhoused, unfed, with medical facilities bombed to smithereens merely to kill one of the opposition's warlords (and perhaps an associated staff), while denying the mostly innocent hundreds and hundreds of thousands of civilians of water, food, shelter, medical care, cannot be justified. This civilian population was told to go South, to the border crossing into Egypt, while that area continued to receive regular attacks by the IDF. Such a deal: jump from the fat into the fire. "An eye for an eye/tooth for a tooth" simply does not correlate to the butchery taking place today with a scintilla of equanimity or basic humanity. Yes, the State of Israel is an important ally of the US in that region, which status does not give that State the right to do what it's doing. Now that is fascinating. From the US media's reporting, it doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out that he's not what he appears. But coming from a man who's known him personally for years, and from that perspective confirming what most of us have sensed from major media reporting, is about as trustworthy as it gets. I don't know exactly how these people came to believe that they simply had the right to dictate, impose their narrow view of issues upon everyone else. Perhaps it's nothing more than living in an echo-chamber with others who believed in the same charade? How is it that some folks get the notion that Gawd Almighty has given them dictatorial powers over their fellow citizens? What kind of stunted emotional growth did these folks fall prey to? I suppose that they also know that Gawd is male. He wears blue on Tuesdays and green on Thursdays. More, it's His Almighty Will that there's still no viable 2-State Solution after lo these many years. I'm glad I've lived much of my life without these people trying so desperately to grab temporal power (and with an actual chance to fuck up everything). We'll see how much damage they can do in a year, before we have the chance to throw them out of office.

Wouldn't THAT be something special !!! I doubt I'll ever know ...

Just the car-related business. After wasting two days (there was a transport semi waiting at the side of the road for two days, which wasn't cheap) all I wanted was to get the business done and get outta there. Also, I'm not all that good at seducing guys - I'm better at it with guys that are already comfortable being who they need to be.

I'll lay you 10 to 1 that the only list you're on is the "good boy" list.

I'm sticking with Jake Nicola.

Melanoma ??? 🤣 Too much sun turned that wretch of a husband into an orange pumpkin(head), and gave her melanoma ??? Maybe there really is some shred of justice lying in some dusty corner somewhere. First time I've heard/seen that one .... may I borrow it ??? Of course I'll give proper due credit .....

Well, it is a business .... the only "free" things in life are std's ....

Fun story re: speaking in tongues ... Some years ago, in autumn, I drove out to West Virginia to purchase a car. The seller was old and quite ill, and had hired a women from Nashville named Helen to deal with selling off his collection. He'd made a fortune in strip-mining, and lived on top of one of the (former) mountains he'd leveled, of which only the bottom half was still there. On the day I arrived, the seller was unable to do business, so I found a motel and waited for the next day, upon which I met the selling agent, She had no scintilla of an idea about the cars (there were around 60) in the collection, and launched into all kinds of talk about how filled with the Holy Spirit she was, on and on, told me the Lord had promised her to clothe her in jewels, to which I responded "But Helen - it doesn't sound like you'll keep warm in a dress made of stones", hoping she'd just back off a little bit. I was able to share quite a bit of information about that particular marque, which body-style were more valuable, etc, which at least gave her a notion of what she was selling. Helen turned out to be what she called an Evangelical, which crowd apparently gets "credits" in the hereafter for bringing in fresh blood. She insisted - almost demanded - that I attend services with her the next day (it must have been a Sunday, but I don't recall exactly). What I do remember is that I was trying to be on my very best behavior - I really wanted to buy that car. Towards the end of the service, the pastor did indeed ask (as I recall, in a circuitous way), if anyone had "felt the Spirit" or some-such, and a number of the congregants apparently had. The "speaking in tongues" began, and I simply couldn't believe my eyes or ears, and then some other woman started to translate what these babbling folks were apparently trying to communicate. A few were actually rolling on the floor in some kind of ecstatic trance. I was simply stunned. Take note: I am not judging these people, nor their devotion nor their spirituality. If this is how they find peace, stability, spiritual fulfillment, it's fine by me. But for a guy from a big city with a Liturgical church-tradition, it was a real shocker. Since it was Sunday, no business could be done, so I had another day on my own to digest it all. Monday, the owner was able to navigate, and we got down to business. After I wrote the check and we shook hands, he called out to some kid to go to one of the barns and get my car. I turned to see who he was calling, and the most beautiful, sandy-haired blonde boy in blue-jean bib overalls was approaching. The most enchanting drawl, big, cornflower blues, and a smile that could melt the heart of Stan himself. I asked if I could go with him, and the owner said sure. The kid started to tell me about all the different marques the owner had collected (there were around 40 steel pole-barns jammed with many wonderful cars, and maybe 10 more jammed with "lady-things" the owners wife had collected; stuff like dolls, dishes, "artwork", furnishings, one glance was enough. We got to the now "my" car, and drove it out to the porch area where the now-former owner was waiting. He said to me "alright, young fella - I'ma show you how to drive this thing and then I'm going back inside. And that was the first and last time I ever witnessed anything even close to such a display of religious fervor.

I think that sending two Carrier-groups to the coast off Israel was a fairly blunt statement of support - by a Democratic President. Hopefully the Republicans will pass the financial aid bill promised to Israel by that same President out of the House too .....

Sure - that's entirely possible. Lots of guys do just that: 1) buy a day-pass, 2) hang out / fuck by the pool, hot-tub, any other place on the property, all day and all night long. If some registered guest other than you invites you, you'll need them to open the (locked) gate, since only registered guys get the door code. You can't just walk in - it's a business, of course. When you arrive, there's a door-bell button, they buzz you in and you have to sign in, pay, etc. Then you get the door-code, and can come and go for as long as you bought the time for.

Shortly before that election, I recall hearing folks (Dem's) talking about how she wasn't warm, she had a grating edge to her persona, stuff like that. I didn't feel that way, but a number of folks did. I didn't think we were electing a surrogate Mom, I thought we were electing a President - which we didn't.

Thanks, fuckholedc, for your thoughts. I'm unsure of how you came to these conclusions: If you mean campaigning against homophobia, I think we're remembered every time we hear the GLBT+ mentioned. True, it's not every single Democrat every single time, but it's more than we used to hear some years ago. They know we're a powerful voting bloc, and they make sure to mention us rather often in interviews (along with other at-risk groups. It may be that many Dem's are not using that word - racism - since it's such a highly-charged term. Campaign season is still heating up though, and I'm sure you'll hear it more often. Consider what you're hearing from the other side, and maybe the Dem's won't be so disappointing after all. I'll give you that one. They're politicians, after all, and while we're facing a clear and present threat to the continuance of our Democracy, that's what we're hearing most about. You're entirely right; that cake has been baked for a long, long time. This one I'll engage on. Who else is there advocating for what we can be as a nation? Who else is talking about human rights, assistance for the underprivileged? The newly arrived? All the virtues the US has stood for these past centuries? Given the openly blunt hatreds promulgated by the other political party, the D's sound like angels. Check out the "Dolphin Democrats" website. We're very active in Ft. L.

Once they get a job, they start paying their fair share via taxes - just like everyone else. If they're unemployed, they pay tax on everything they purchase. I'm assuming you may be referring to very recent immigrants? There are clearly defined ways and means to emigrate, and if those ways and means become inadequate, then improvements to meet the situation are made, but it doesn't happen overnight. In that event, all the rest of us help the newly-arrived, which is what decency requires. We are a nation of immigrants*, and while some cultural groups have been here a lot longer than others, the principle remains foundational. There are numerous social-service organizations of good-will that help the newly arrived acclimate, and there are some Government-level assistance programs too. In instances when the newly-arrived are also committing crimes, then it's entirely understandable when they get deported. I would venture that those are the substantial minority, since most immigrants come to improve their lives through working. For instance, I wasn't born in the US, as my family immigrated when I was an infant. Yet, I happen to look like my ancestors have been here for centuries. In that perverted way of judging others - merely by their appearance, accent, original language - I guess I "pass". What an insidious hypocrisy. Thus, physical appearances mean rather little when all is said and done, and certainly when it comes to any definition of "citizenship". It's what's in a person's heart, in their mind, and the resulting behavior that counts. What's so terrible about assuming the best, instead of the worst? Sure, toss the wannabe criminals out, and welcome everyone else. *because our Caucasian ancestors massacred the indigenous population that had occupied the continent for millennia. That wasn't merely repression, that was colonization.

From what I know of Johnson's writings, he's been awful in his viewpoints, in his votes as a State Rep, and there's not one scintilla of reason to think he's been enlightened by his recent ascent. His tongue if firmly up O.J's ass, kissing vociferously - most likely en Francais. He may look like an innocent choirboy with a nice smile, but his intellectual bent is nothing less than antihuman. He thinks he knows it all because a Deity told him so, without regard to anyone else's viewpoints. "Stability" in a man like this - an "election-denier", a deplorable voting record on humanitarian issues, is indeed "stability" in the worst possible sense of the word. He's nothing less than a ravening wolf in cute-little-boy guise.

If you're not already, register to VOTE, and then be sure to do it. Join an activist group or three. Attend progressive rallies. Volunteer with your local Democratic Party office. Make phone calls, Write letters. Knock on doors with literature provided by your local D party. Get your friends to join you. In short, as we used to say years ago, ACT-UP.

Really .... just look at the legislation he's accomplished. Remember: when you point at someone, only one of your fingers is actually pointed at them. The other 3 are pointed directly back at you.

I disagree. Since legislation must originate in the House of Representatives, and then proceed to the Senate for adjustments or ratification, and then to the President for His/Her signature, it remains nothing but a lot of text on paper. As the entire World knows, the R's have a razor-thin margin in the House, which is why the political process is stymied at present. It's not that the D's aren't "doing anything about it", it's that their hands are tied due to processes laid down in the Constitution.

I can only assume that it's to be laid at the feet of Big Religion. When only those who adhere are "saved", it follows that those who don't are doomed. Then, it's an easy step to translate that pending doom into punishing the "already" doomed in the here and now. Maybe they think that doing the Deity's work for Him (not Her, of course), extra blessings may accrue to them. What's so interesting, is that the man that enabled all these openly-practiced hatreds is himself as perverted, emotionally stunted as a stone. I can only come to the conclusion that this inclination to hate has always been within human beings, but held at bay by cultural pressure to become better citizens, not worse. Just as happened 100 years ago in a certain nation of culture in Europe, one hellish man loudly and consistently screamed out over and over again how it was their "duty" to hate certain others. Mr. Johnson may prove to be Orange Jesus' Goebbels.