The Real timschochet

I continue to reject your characterization of the vast majority of medical opinion as “political groups.” I think this characterization is actually more concerning than your views on this specific issue, because it mirrors how the conservative right tend to think about climate change, COVID-19, the mainstream media, and a host of other issues: basically it seems to me that whenever you guys encounter a truth or bit of evidence that either is contradictory to your worldview or at the very least makes it uncomfortable, you immediately transform it to opinion, usually opinion with a political agenda opposed to your own and thus OK to ignore.

Thanks Jerry, but I don’t care. To me it’s like having a Jew deny the Holocaust. Some have (famously, Bobby Fischer) but that doesn’t take away the truth of the event. Kanye West has argued that American chattel slavery was a good thing. Shall I consider his comments on the subject to be more merit worthy than others because he is a black man? I don’t. I didn’t have any personal opinion on the question of the explosion of the number of trans people until quite recently. What I read, from most medical experts and psychiatrists and psychologists, is that it’s a result of people feeling free to express their innermost feelings, that the same numbers were always there but hidden. This intuitively made sense to me. I also read a minority of opinion that it was a “social contagion.” Since this opinion was mostly spread from people whom I judged to be bigoted against trans (and before that bigoted against homosexuality) I treated this minority opinion with a great amount of skepticism. I still do. But in the end I regard this as a scientific question, equivalent to the best way to land an airplane. When the majority of experts change their opinion on this subject I will as well.

Yes I’ve written in the past that this was all for show. So far that’s the case. I wrote it for a few reasons, one of the main reasons being that I didn’t believe that even Trump or his followers would be insane enough to actually attempt mass deportation of all undocumented people- or evil enough because that’s what it frankly would be. I may have been wrong about that. This amount of money spent on the ICE thugs is itself insane, and as I wrote, extremely scary. Still I will continue to hope that in the end we are not the kind of people that MAGA seems to want us to be.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/20/investing/us-stocks-walmart-outlook/index.html Get ready for hard times ahead. Some of us tried to warn you that these tariffs were going to cause a lot of pain and ugliness. And it’s only just beginning…

I’m aware. That’s why I left. I believe strongly in open immigration (not open borders exactly) and free trade.

I can’t speak about the libertarians you know. I abandoned libertarianism about 15 years ago when many of its members turned anti-immigrant.

Yep that must be it.

Which is all Democrats in office,

If we end up with a police state dictatorship, we will have knowingly voted it in ourselves. Amazing

That’s because they never understood what libertarianism is supposed to be about. A libertarian is, by definition, pro-choice, pro-free trade (no tariffs whatsoever) and open immigration, documents or not. If you’re not in favor of these things then you’re not a libertarian no matter what you call yourself.

We now have a paramilitary force along the lines of the Gestapo, the SS, the NKVD. Fun times are ahead.

Also it’s not fair to say this. It’s really dumb to say rhis actually.

As so NOW I understand. Trump only hates the Democrats who don’t like his new bill (100% of Democratic politicians and probably 99% of Democrats everywhere.) Well, hey that makes a difference.

This is like trying to compete with the NFL. Forget it.

It was.

Neither America nor Americans. MAGA ideas. I thought it was pretty clear. I don’t find people, any people, to be un-American. But certain ideas are: Communism, fascism, socialism. And MAGA: anti-immigration, isolationism, xenophobia. I don’t think these ideas jibe with the ideals of our Founders. iMO. And when I speak of making war on an idea, I mean defeating it with democracy (voting its promoters out of office) and with better ideas. I don’t believe in “violent or final action” using your words. Frankly it was silly of you to try to apply them to me.

“He’s right!” “Hillary and Biden did it too!” “He’s trolling the Dems and I love it!” “This is what I voted for!” You guys are so predictable, so lame. It’s both hilarious and sad at the same time.

Actually you followed the logic perfectly.

To be proud of the USA is to be ashamed of Trump and MAGA. The two are synonymous.

Lol. Figured you guys would justify it, not surprised at all. The absurd part is your assumption that everyone who voted for Trump is and remains a MAGA supporter. Most of the independents who secured his election already have buyers remorse. MAGA has always been a minority, and America SHOULD absolutely make war on their ideas. As they are un-American.

Is your argument that what Biden said justifies Trump’s comments?

I remain an optimist and think that the Court will reject Trump’s argument by a vote of 7-2.

I’m actually not in California at the moment. It was 1:20pm when I posted this. Wife is shopping and I am bored.

I can’t really argue with you but damn he’s got a lot of competition in this forum doesn’t he? For example the guy who started the thread. And so many others around here. It’s really a tight race.

Look everyone is different with regards to this forum. I like to use it to state my opinion, and offer thoughtful conversation and debate if I can. You like to use it to insult people and otherwise display a truly stunning amount of ignorance. To each their own.