If you're looking at mass death and enslavement through the prism of how it will affect US politics or whether the required cash could have paid off student loans, you need to step away for a few days and reconsider your priorities.
Take Trump out of the mix and consider that one person just lost their life and two more are critically injured for the sin of attending a political rally.
After any event like this, there will be a large amount of modified images and unverified reports used to promote one interpretation or another. Ignore them and go to news outlets you trust, then pay attention to what they state as fact and ignore what is merely speculation.
@Atticus59914029 There's a difference between giving a speech and thinking on one's feet and answering questions, and he's been giving speeches most of his life. The easiest way to distinguish will be by watching him engage in public back-and-forths such as pressers.
The only reason the Presidential debate was held in June instead of the usual Sep/Oct was to cement the idea that we were stuck with these respective candidates. Either could be jettisoned before their nominating convention if concerns spread about competency or criminality.
@auntbeast For a change, the "heart" represents not a like, but simple sympathy. "We can only do what we can do" is a mantra for our times, and I appreciate all who are willing to put any effort into fixing things instead of tearing ourselves apart.
There's no great success in beating Trump, Hillary, or Biden in a debate. You, reading this, could beat all three with two days prep time. They've "won" due to name recognition, opponents' fear of offending invested voter bases and how godawful the other candidates are.
@GhoulLenny I stand by my old advice regarding any politician or party: at the start of a term, write down the things you absolutely would not abide them doing and don't believe they'd ever do. Post them somewhere. Dump them if they subsequently violate your trust on any. No excuses.
If Trump had been prosecuted for the crimes listed in the impeachments charges could have been levelled in January 2020. The people in charge wanted to run against Trump again because it's usually easy to beat an idiot criminal unless your candidate is borderline incompetent.
@PrinceOfAlchemy@GhoulLenny At this point our situation is indicative of a broad problem with groupthink exacerbated by social media and party politics - these two are a symptom, not the disease. But if one or both is replaced, we'll be on a mildly better track and they're both damaged.
@CarbonatedObse1 I've long since lost faith in people to perform even the most casual investigation beyond that which confirms existing prejudices. We live beside millions who insist there was no insurrection on Jan. 6th or that Biden ended the mass transmission of COVID by declaring it over.
Had Trump been prosecuted in 2021, the convictions would have doomed him politically. The delays in bringing him to trial will now fuel the beliefs of many that the prosecution was invalid and will result in a less significant effect on votes cast. 1/2
Ray Garton~Beloved Master of Horror https://t.co/KbxTNRBxRC
Ray's facing down some very bad medical stuff right now. If you're a reader, please consider boosting the signal. @RayGarton
I miss when promoting world freedom was considered a core American principle. We didn't always live up to it, but we used to consider it embarassing when we failed to do so and recognized the moral imperative of helping our neighbors.
I recall 5 years ago when a cough, clearing of the throat, or sniffles during a business meeting or in a public area was disruptive, drawing attention of others. Now it's so common that few even notice themselves doing it, much less others.
Still masking indoors. No cough.
@OldRedCedar That was always the plan. It's why Trump wasn't prosecuted for the pre-Jan. 6th crimes despite charges being ready to drop Jan. 21. The expectation is that Trump is so bad that even a deeply flawed candidate will win against him. Nothing was learned from 2016.