Joe Biden was an absolute freaking *disaster* for gay ppl

[SomewhereonNeptune]

17 hours ago, nanana said:

upon further reflection, which seemed worth it given the less-than-charitable response, I illustrate that my initial point had nothing do with inflation CAUSES, but instead with the EXPERIENCE of losing purchasing power.  this might have been picked up on by anyone who has empathy for folks who lose 20% or greater purchasing power, but probably not picked up by anyone who is focused on defending the reputation of a politician.  it is certainly a great topic (not my focus) to expand the conversation to the causes of inflation, and I would happily concede that I  fell into the bad habit of Americans since the Reagan era (Reagonomics yes, but not Carteromics) to attribute all economic performance to a sitting President.  it's wonderful to practice coexistence by having AND conversations rather than BUT or EITHER/OR conversations.  

@Rillionperhaps next time you are triggered to MadLib a choice architecture for my character for me (and all others on this thread), perhaps you will breathe, take a beat, and consider whether the initial point and your adrenillated points might be COMPATIBLE rather than OPPOSITIONAL. 

Well put @nanana. The dreaded ⬇️ seems to come out and be wielded like knives when someone 'disagrees' or 'doesn't like' a post, regardless of merit or facts or the illustration of a position.  I've already accepted that I'll post a position and cite data and if almost on queue, someone will emerge from the woodwork to downvote it rather than do something like state 'Here's why I disagree with your assertion'. Certain people will be reasonable. Others will be passive/aggressive. It's why we are so divided even within the more parochial LGBTQIA++ community.

17 hours ago, NYBBGUY58 said:

I will always retain affection for this highly imperfect man, because when he stepped up in 2012 to endorse gay marriage, he paid a steep political price at the time. Obama's aides and staff were furious with him, he was shut out for quite some time. That allowed my nephew and his now husband to marry and adopt a daughter.

There is no such thing as a perfect person or elected official. I rather liked his off-the-cuff style, even with his well-documented blunders.

I picked this post out as an example that there is common ground on which many of us can agree. Biden did come out as an ally where Obama was politically posturing. I commend him for that. Just like I commend him for pushing for the funding for the Hudson River tunnels, improvements to rail in the Northeast corridor, and other commitments that were made at a federal level that people like Chris Christie and Donald Trump dismissed or ignored when they were clearly needed.

And I think you'll find that most people don't harbor ill-will toward same sex couples. Our Presidents are imperfect. Our popes are imperfect, People in general are highly flawed, it's a very imperfect world and we're all human. 

[SlampaBay]

On 5/8/2025 at 7:13 AM, nanana said:

I am not following the “weird” part exactly, but I think you have a great point harrysmith25. I think most gay politics underestimates sound ECONOMICS as the real liberator for anyone not in the majority. Bidenomics with its massive inflation put everyone back into pie-shrinking mentality and less broad minded.  Whatever its merits, woke culture struck a lot of people as imposing fantasies and delusions on others who wanted no part of it. It’s not surprising there was a backlash. 

How can anyone blame Biden for our present economy? It was in sorrier shape when he started than when he finished and he certainly isn't responsible for the inflationary chasm we've entered now? Nor did he and his friends profit from his policies while in office.

[SlampaBay]

On 5/14/2025 at 3:32 PM, harrysmith25 said:

Someone actually tried to kill me last year for being sarcastic but seeing as how it was on Hampstead heath I couldnt really report it the cops.

Sorry for "changing the subject" back to actual sex.

Boy, Hampstead Heath is a tougher audience than I remember 

[harrysmith25]

10 hours ago, SlampaBay said:

Boy, Hampstead Heath is a tougher audience than I remember 

No, just one particularly horrendous British idiot who was trying to make *me* feel bad about the fact that he was too stupid to douche

(And lied about it too)

The numbers in opinions polls indicate, it's exceedingly likely this man was your typical British person who calls Trump a "prat", etc. (that is, if this guy has heard of America)

[SomewhereonNeptune]

11 hours ago, harrysmith25 said:

The numbers in opinions polls indicate, it's exceedingly likely this man was your typical British person who calls Trump a "prat", etc. (that is, if this guy has heard of America)

Or he could be like the hecklers who sit on the sidelines downvoting posts without having the courage to contribute and subject their own views to critique. Right? 😆 

[SomewhereonNeptune]

21 hours ago, SlampaBay said:

How can anyone blame Biden for our present economy? It was in sorrier shape when he started than when he finished and he certainly isn't responsible for the inflationary chasm we've entered now? Nor did he and his friends profit from his policies while in office.

With all due respect, do you have data to support that assertion? We don't seem to be in an inflationary chasm if you consider that the latest numbers now show the lowest rate in 4 years. I would like to better understand where the data shows that the economy was in sorrier shape from first to last day in office. We should also note that no one has really probed the Hunter Biden laptop where it depicted "10% for the big guy" and cut a series of other percentages. Did he profit? Not yet proven true or false, but lots of data to review if DOJ is inclined.

Interesting side topic, though.

The spending habit that we entered during the prior administration was marked by passage of new spending and continuation of a lack of fiscal oversight, where DOGE depicted some significant flaws in how the federal government actually tracks things like payments (they didn't very much) and lax accounting controls. We also allocated a LOT for things like the Infrastructure Bill ($1.2 trillion) and can't point to very much in the way of projects to which the monies were allocated. 

It could be argued that the additional spending was done pretty quickly and required the Federal Reserve to print money, thereby causing dilution that in turn spiked inflation in consumer prices. To counteract that, The Fed then decided that cooling inflation required raising interest rates, which in turn has had a chilling impact on the affordability of housing. It also froze the hiring market since companies couldn't predict how markets would expand or contract, so there are a lot of people that have been out of work and since fallen off the unemployment rolls. My own livelihood certainly took a hit and many others haven't recovered from that completely.

In the classic sense, we didn't hit a traditional recession, but the economic indicators don't seem to paint a rosy picture of his stewardship. And prior to the election in '24, every single poll reflected that a majority of the electorate felt the economy had suffered during his administration, or that respondents had more confidence in Trump from an economic standpoint. I'll grant that the entirety wasn't his handiwork, but his cabinet and handlers weren't as focused on economics as they were on other concerns. 

 

[harrysmith25]

7 hours ago, SomewhereonNeptune said:

Or he could be like the hecklers who sit on the sidelines downvoting posts without having the courage to contribute and subject their own views to critique. Right?  

He would definitely do that, yeah.

I can't even seek internet therapy for this near-death experience, Reddit deleted my AMA presumably 'cause it mentioned outdoor sex 

[Erik62]

On 5/17/2025 at 12:43 PM, SomewhereonNeptune said:

With all due respect, do you have data to support that assertion? We don't seem to be in an inflationary chasm if you consider that the latest numbers now show the lowest rate in 4 years. I would like to better understand where the data shows that the economy was in sorrier shape from first to last day in office. We should also note that no one has really probed the Hunter Biden laptop where it depicted "10% for the big guy" and cut a series of other percentages. Did he profit? Not yet proven true or false, but lots of data to review if DOJ is inclined.

Interesting side topic, though.

The spending habit that we entered during the prior administration was marked by passage of new spending and continuation of a lack of fiscal oversight, where DOGE depicted some significant flaws in how the federal government actually tracks things like payments (they didn't very much) and lax accounting controls. We also allocated a LOT for things like the Infrastructure Bill ($1.2 trillion) and can't point to very much in the way of projects to which the monies were allocated. 

It could be argued that the additional spending was done pretty quickly and required the Federal Reserve to print money, thereby causing dilution that in turn spiked inflation in consumer prices. To counteract that, The Fed then decided that cooling inflation required raising interest rates, which in turn has had a chilling impact on the affordability of housing. It also froze the hiring market since companies couldn't predict how markets would expand or contract, so there are a lot of people that have been out of work and since fallen off the unemployment rolls. My own livelihood certainly took a hit and many others haven't recovered from that completely.

In the classic sense, we didn't hit a traditional recession, but the economic indicators don't seem to paint a rosy picture of his stewardship. And prior to the election in '24, every single poll reflected that a majority of the electorate felt the economy had suffered during his administration, or that respondents had more confidence in Trump from an economic standpoint. I'll grant that the entirety wasn't his handiwork, but his cabinet and handlers weren't as focused on economics as they were on other concerns. 

 

As an Australian, I must live in a somewhat comprehensive news bubble because the news broadcasts that I hear, watch, & read are full of articles how Biden rectified the economic mess of Trumps first disaster & now ALL the same news is how Trump has destroyed every economic fix that Biden implemented. 

    It is also common discussion how DOGE is currently having detrimental effects on Vets & the people who rely on Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid. Not to mention the suffering that the Trump policies: Tariffs, deportation of slave labourers, falsified deportation of legitimate resident workers & the already biting costs of food & other items necessary for a reasonable quality of daily life. 

  Although not necessarily of immediate consequence to the citizenry is the exorbitant profits that Trump & his sycophants are making through very possible & questionable insider trading caused by the turmoil of his economic policies & their effects on the Stock Market & his oft stated profits that will stem from foreign gifts & deals (a $600,000,000 747-8 & a multi billion dollar arms deal) & land developement deals (GAZA). 

    I do not need to quote sources as they are so readily available via the Internet, newspaper & all other oral, aural, & visual media formats. Even the Right wing media & members of his own heavily biased, manipulated & coercive political & judicial parties are starting to, "sing FOUL", at the ever increasing levels regarding his failure of business acumen, fiduciary duty to the people, businesses, immigrants, other nations & worldwide organisations & Treaties that the United States has voluntarily entered into; the financial gains that this cabal are gaining through his Presidency & the destabilisation that he is causing on both national & international levels.

 

  

[NWUSHorny]

10 hours ago, Erik62 said:

Even the Right wing media & members of his own heavily biased, manipulated & coercive political & judicial parties are starting to, "sing FOUL", at the ever increasing levels regarding his failure of business acumen, fiduciary duty to the people, businesses, immigrants, other nations & worldwide organisations & Treaties that the United States has voluntarily entered into; the financial gains that this cabal are gaining through his Presidency & the destabilisation that he is causing on both national & international levels.

Sadly, these are still isolated, generally speaking the right wing media and the MAGA in Congress are mostly still looking for ways to defend his policies and behavior. It doesn't matter how hypocritical it looks based on what they said and did in the past "dear leader" must not be contradicted or admonished.

[SomewhereonNeptune]

18 hours ago, Erik62 said:

  It is also common discussion how DOGE is currently having detrimental effects on Vets & the people who rely on Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid. Not to mention the suffering that the Trump policies: Tariffs, deportation of slave labourers, falsified deportation of legitimate resident workers & the already biting costs of food & other items necessary for a reasonable quality of daily life. 

Foremost, nothing has actually been cut, so that's an inaccurate claim. Secondarily, you mention the deportation of "slave labourers". It interesting that the Democrats of the 1860's who were largely pro-slavery plantation owners in the Southern US and Democrats of 2025 are making very similar arguments of "who's going to pick our (insert cotton or produce here)?" So I don't mean to be crass but are you suggesting that we should be keeping people here in poor working conditions being paid low wages because we need them to do work?

Then let's look at the "already biting costs of food & other items necessary for a reasonable quality of daily life". When did those costs really begin to inflate? I seem to recall that wasn't until Mr. Biden had been in office for more than a year. As for tariffs...I seem to be reading these to already be in negotiation. Our treasury secretary is meeting with China's representatives, and that's actually resulted in a major reduction of the tariffs before those can have major impact. But hey, which is better? Being able to buy cheap shit made in China by abusing intellectual property or having fair reciprocal trade rules? I'll take the latter every day, twice on Sunday.

18 hours ago, Erik62 said:

...the exorbitant profits that Trump & his sycophants are making through very possible & questionable insider trading caused by the turmoil of his economic policies & their effects on the Stock Market & his oft stated profits that will stem from foreign gifts & deals (a $600,000,000 747-8 & a multi billion dollar arms deal) & land developement deals (GAZA). 

And where is the proof of that claim? If I were to sit here and make such a claim in a post, I can guarantee that I'd both be downvoted AND get penalty points on the post, but it's interesting that the counter-argumenters can make those claims 

scot free. So there's no proof of your claim of insider trading, though Nancy Pelosi and her cohorts in Congress seem to always have the inside track on good stock deals. Things that make you go Hmmmm...

And I should point out that the same offer of the 747 was made to Biden, who turned it down. Trump accepted it. Up to our DOJ to make a determination of any gift given to the American government, but let' go back about 8 years to a discussion of replacing Air Force One. This was supposed to have cost billions of dollars and taken considerable time to do until Trump made a recommendation that would have reallocated another 747 that could be used more quickly. Eight years on, where's the new Air Force One? Didn't happen either. 

As for an arms deal, who benefits from that? Oh right! All those defense contractors who actually build that stuff, so it's revenue to them, not to Trump. He's just the guy that helped seal the deal for the Middle East nations to cozy up as our ally and buy from us. But would buying from Russia be better in your view? China? I think companies like Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin would beg to differ.

18 hours ago, Erik62 said:

I do not need to quote sources as they are so readily available via the Internet, newspaper & all other oral, aural, & visual media formats.

So If I were to make an outrageous claim, I need to substantiate it with all sorts of facts and references to make my point, but the counter-argument gets to go absolutely nuts because...well, it's Trump and people should hate him. But already you've gotten timing wrong on inflation and the like, neglecting to mention key facts, and you really want to suggest that you should get a free pass? 

And while you cite media, let's clarify that you're speaking of the same media that tried to gaslight the American people on Joe Biden's cognitive issues for months (MSNBC's Joe Scarborough's 'this is the best Joe Biden ever', etc.) only to come back when challenged on why they didn't do their job as journalists only to say that "(they're) looking forward" (Senator Schumer) or "these are backward looking statements" (Gov JB Pritzker). Then we have people like CNN's Jake Tapper who completely neglected coming clean about Biden's condition in order to write his tell-all admitting that he wasn't all there. You're talking about that media, right? Can you see why people in the US have an overwhelming distrust of the information they're getting from the media because of how that same media wants to craft its own narrative? 

7 hours ago, NWUSHorny said:

Sadly, these are still isolated, generally speaking the right wing media and the MAGA in Congress are mostly still looking for ways to defend his policies and behavior.

Not all of them. You have a majority of Republicans in both houses, so you'd think all those folks would easily rubber stamp anything this President has done. Why then do we not have this "Big Beautiful Bill" or actual legislation crafted around all of these Executive Orders that the President has signed? Would it not stand to reason that if they were all standing behind him they'd be crafting laws to codify those orders? And why hasn't that even happened?

I'll be clear. I'm not a Democrat. I can't tell you a single thing that they stand for other than screaming about Trump. But I think the Republicans have already had time to act on all of this stuff and haven't, so they're feckless too. So we may not be in total agreement, but we aren't in polar disagreement either and I think we can have spirited discussion based on the facts. And I'll be the first to say "you're right" when you have me on it. Just don't think that's slam dunk simple. 😀

Edited 5 hours ago by SomewhereonNeptune
Spelling to clarify context.

[Erik62]

53 minutes ago, SomewhereonNeptune said:

Foremost, nothing has actually been cut, so that's an inaccurate claim. Secondarily, you mention the deportation of "slave labourers". It interesting that the Democrats of the 1860's who were largely pro-slavery plantation owners in the Southern US and Democrats of 2025 are making very similar arguments of "who's going to pick our (insert cotton or produce here)?" So I don't mean to be crass but are you suggesting that we should be keeping people here in poor working conditions being paid low wages because we need them to do work?

Then let's look at the "already biting costs of food & other items necessary for a reasonable quality of daily life". When did those costs really begin to inflate? I seem to recall that wasn't until Mr. Biden had been in office for more than a year. As for tariffs...I seem to be reading these to already be in negotiation. Our treasury secretary is meeting with China's representatives, and that's actually resulted in a major reduction of the tariffs before those can have major impact. But hey, which is better? Being able to buy cheap shit made in China by abusing intellectual property or having fair reciprocal trade rules? I'll take the latter every day, twice on Sunday.

And where is the proof of that claim? If I were to sit here and make such a claim in a post, I can guarantee that I'd both be downvoted AND get penalty points on the post, but it's interesting that the counter-argumenters can make those claims 

scot free. So there's no proof of your claim of insider trading, though Nancy Pelosi and her cohorts in Congress seem to always have the inside track on good stock deals. Things that make you go Hmmmm...

And I should point out that the same offer of the 747 was made to Biden, who turned it down. Trump accepted it. Up to our DOJ to make a determination of any gift given to the American government, but let' go back about 8 years to a discussion of replacing Air Force One. This was supposed to have cost billions of dollars and taken considerable time to do until Trump made a recommendation that would have reallocated another 747 that could be used more quickly. Eight years on, where's the new Air Force One? Didn't happen either. 

As for an arms deal, who benefits from that? Oh right! All those defense contractors who actually build that stuff, so it's revenue to them, not to Trump. He's just the guy that helped seal the deal for the Middle East nations to cozy up as our ally and buy from us. But would buying from Russia be better in your view? China? I think companies like Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin would beg to differ.

So If I were to make an outrageous claim, I need to substantiate it with all sorts of facts and references to make my point, but the counter-argument gets to go absolutely nuts because...well, it's Trump and people should hate him. But already you've gotten timing wrong on inflation and the like, neglecting to mention key facts, and you really want to suggest that you should get a free pass? 

And while you cite media, let's clarify that you're speaking of the same media that tried to gaslight the American people on Joe Biden's cognitive issues for months (MSNBC's Joe Scarborough's 'this is the best Joe Biden ever', etc.) only to come back when challenged on why they didn't do their job as journalists only to say that "(they're) looking forward" (Senator Schumer) or "these are backward looking statements" (Gov JB Pritzker). Then we have people like CNN's Jake Tapper who completely neglected coming clean about Biden's condition in order to write his tell-all admitting that he wasn't all there. You're talking about that media, right? Can you see why people in the US have an overwhelming distrust of the information they're getting from the media because of how that same media wants to craft its own narrative? 

Not all of them. You have a majority of Republicans in both houses, so you'd think all those folks would easily rubber stamp anything this President has done. Why then do we not have this "Big Beautiful Bill" or actual legislation crafted around all of these Executive Orders that the President has signed? Would it not stand to reason that if they were all standing behind him they'd be crafting laws to codify those orders? And why hasn't that even happened?

I'll be clear. I'm not a Democrat. I can't tell you a single thing that they stand for other than screaming about Trump. But I think the Republicans have already had time to act on all of this stuff and haven't, so they're feckless too. So we may not be in total agreement, but we aren't in polar disagreement either and I think we can have spirited discussion based on the facts. And I'll be the first to say "you're right" when you have me on it. Just don't think that's slam dunk simple. 😀

Nowhere did I single Trump out as a sole beneficiary. Also ALL types of media news are showing interviews that discuss SPECIFIC TRUMP ACTIONS that are making life difficult, closure of social welfare offices, firing of legitimately employed workers (in Australian broadcasts at least). I also labelled the Republican "COHORT" or cabal making huge profits & I think arms dealers fall into that category & the label of slave labourers in inverted commas which infers very poor (slave comparative) wages being paid. Nowhere did I bring into the discussion a period of time other than what is in THE CURRENT TIME period & the roll-out of Tariffs created a world-wide financial panic which provided a very suspicious backdrop for insider trading. The only reason that Trumps complete packackage of economic & judicial policies is not being rolled back are the result of pushback from personell within the relevant areas (judges, educators) affected. 

  Please excuse my oft random point reply but not easy to think, formulate, type, correct mistakes & balance standing up in a crowded early peak hour train. Doing this has taken my mind of the actual journey 😱🤣🤣🤣. 

[cheshiregay]

3 hours ago, Erik62 said:

Nowhere did I single Trump out as a sole beneficiary. Also ALL types of media news are showing interviews that discuss SPECIFIC TRUMP ACTIONS that are making life difficult, closure of social welfare offices, firing of legitimately employed workers (in Australian broadcasts at least). I also labelled the Republican "COHORT" or cabal making huge profits & I think arms dealers fall into that category & the label of slave labourers in inverted commas which infers very poor (slave comparative) wages being paid. Nowhere did I bring into the discussion a period of time other than what is in THE CURRENT TIME period & the roll-out of Tariffs created a world-wide financial panic which provided a very suspicious backdrop for insider trading. The only reason that Trumps complete packackage of economic & judicial policies is not being rolled back are the result of pushback from personell within the relevant areas (judges, educators) affected. 

  Please excuse my oft random point reply but not easy to think, formulate, type, correct mistakes & balance standing up in a crowded early peak hour train. Doing this has taken my mind of the actual journey 😱🤣🤣🤣. 

Evidence of Trump fans getting penalty points?