The Real timschochet

I agree with this. Now it doesn’t necessarily mean that Trump will win because there will be new voters who are going to vote primarily on the abortion issue- how many we don’t know. But I agree that what you wrote is true for most voters.

I didn’t use to be. Unfortunately I lost my brother to cancer a few years back, shortly before I lost both my parents.

I don’t think you’re representative of the sort of person whose mind might be changed by a conviction. But even so as I wrote I’m skeptical that a significant number of minds will be changed. It’s seems to me that opinions about Trump’s character are already locked in to the electorate,

Hah! Good point.

Trump theory of winning: Trump will win a majority of the key battleground states. Close to 50% of Latinos will vote for Trump. Disaffected blacks will stay at home (as will Arab Americans in Michigan, and students.) Most Americans will vote their pocketbooks wanting an end to inflation. Trump will flip Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin and maybe Pennsylvania. Biden theory of winning: The closer we get to the election the more people will realize it’s a binary choice and the election will become a referendum on Donald Trump. Voters will remember everything they dislike about Trump. Blacks and young people will return to the fold, and that will allow Biden to win the swing states.

Thats not what I’m reading. The U.S. has been heavily involved the whole time as has Israel. Apparently Netanyahu has been throwing in new demands the whole time hoping that Hamas would reject them. Bibi cares more about saving his corrupt government than he does about achieving peace or saving the hostages. In that he’s similar to Trump. But let’s hope cooler minds prevail.

Hamas has agreed to a ceasefire deal brokered by the USA, Egypt and Qatar. Netanyahu is trying to sabotage it: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-05-05/ty-article/.premium/netanyahu-hoped-hamas-would-reject-israels-offer-when-it-didnt-he-turned-to-sabotage/0000018f-4817-d414-a5bf-fb37db290000 The source for this story is one of the leading newspapers in Israel.

They’ve been indoctrinated to hate Jews since 1950 at least. But even so it’s a lot more complicated situation. Many Palestinians work in Israel. Many Jews have businesses in the West Bank and in Gaza. Many Jews and Palestinians are in business together, intermarry, have friends and family together. NONE of this is as simple as you’re making out (or conversely as these protestors are making out.)

No. I am telling you that when a country is at war the people tend to unite behind the government. It’s just a general rule.

To believe that every Palestinian is a supporter of terrorism and desires to kill every Jew in existence defies both reason and common sense. But it’s useful for conservatives in two ways: first it allows them to paint both Biden and liberals as “weak” because we are unwilling to look at the world in such simple terms. Second it allows them to dehumanize Palestinians and Muslims in general, which in turn justifies awful acts against them.

The Palestinians in Gaza elected Hamas (20 years ago.) The Palestinians in the West Bank, a larger population than Gaza, elected Fatah. As far as polling goes- you have a population ruled by a dictatorship that is being starved and repeatedly bombed and children are being killed. To the extent that they can be polled accurately (questionable at best) do you really expect they would reject Hamas? Are you aware that, after 9/11, George Bush’s approval rating was close to 90%?

Your are bigots because of your hateful rhetoric about transsexuals in general. (Many of you, not all.)

1. No opinion on the religious discussion. 2. No one should be allowed to be married under the age of 18. 3. Minors under the age of 18 should be allowed to have gender affirming care, including the use of hormones, with parental and medical consent, without the involvement of the state. 4. I am undecided about surgery, but some of the information that @jerryskids has provided me in this forum is causing me to rethink my position- out of caution, I now lean towards prohibiting surgery before the age of 18. That’s how I lean but I am not 100% sure either way. 5. I strongly disagree with the two assertions of @EternalShinyAndChrome: that there are any contradictions to these beliefs (IMO, there aren’t) and that my vote for any particular candidate or political party means that I must support all views of that candidate or party.

I am not defending the phrasing. Most times I condemn it. But I also don’t believe that always means “death to all Jews”. And I certainly don’t believe that most of the college students who have been chanting it recently believe that it means “death to all Jews”.

Thats my recollection too.

I don’t support it when people chant “from the river to the sea.” I think it’s MOSTLY used as a statement meaning the eradication of all Jews from greater Palestine. At best anyone who shouts this is being an absolutist and I don’t generally approve of absolutism. But it also doesn’t always mean that and I strongly doubt that most college kids who have chanted this recently are any more aware of the history than you are, or any real concept of what it has meant or has come to mean.

I don’t believe in any of these things except the part about Kamala Harris. HTH

First off Maher has never been “always right” with me. I enjoy the guy, he’s funny, thoughtful, and I often agree with him. Not always. I don’t think he’s right on this issue. All Wiki is doing in this instance is compiling facts that can easily be verified, for instance the context of the Palestinians believing that Likud has always believed in the eradication of the Palestinian people.

I don’t know that. And I don’t believe it’s true for most Trump supporters.

So Maher is right and Wiki and decades of historical context are wrong? Sorry but no.

Is it your contention that this frat guy was not making a racist joke?

Stop. It literally isn’t. Here’s a good history of the term: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_the_river_to_the_sea Please educate yourself on this. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is extremely complicated with lots of history. It’s not the black and white struggle you’re representing here, falsely.

“From the river to the sea” does not always have the same meaning you describe here. I have heard it explained as Palestinians need to be liberated from the river to the sea. And it’s important to note that the Likud Party (Netanyahu’s political party) now believes in a “Greater Israel on both sides of the Jordan River” which many Palestinians believe means the eradication of the Palestinian people. So these phrases go both ways and we need to be careful interpreting them. Which you’re not. Obviously “Death to America” isn’t as open to interpretation. But how many protestors have chanted that?

Some of the protesters have shouted anti-Semitic tirades. Thats bad. Some of them are pro-Hamas. That’s awful. Some of them have been violent. That’s even worse. Some of the kids involved are simply critical of Israel’s actions in this war and want the bloodshed to stop. Nothing wrong with that. The overwhelming majority of college students, even in the universities in question, are uninvolved in these protests, though many are sympathetic. This frat guy from Mississippi was part of a peaceful counter protest. Nothing wrong with that either. But then he made a stupid, racist move. Not illegal but he rightfully should be called out for it, and not defended.