When these sword puns run their course, I for one will be… uhm, glad-ius.

Can you believe that the four years haven't even started yet!? We're still in the T-minus phase, but I swear that the last week feels like it's lasted a month and a half.

It's also possible that he didn't do it, but the cops thought he did…and decided to slant the evidence to support their conclusion (along with unconscious bias working in the same direction).

You really should watch it. Whatever your opinion of the case it makes, I think it's a very well-made documentary.

I tend to believe that anyone who appreciates Big Night is automatically one of the good folk of the earth.

Oh, I read your initial post… and your first reply, and now this reply — as Trump would say, "believe me." What you've written throughout reflects a (common) misunderstanding of Ayn Rand/Objectivism, and I'm writing here in an attempt to correct that misunderstanding.

Putting philosophy in quotes doesn't make Objectivism other than a philosophy. Objectivism is a system of thought which stakes out positions in the areas typically associated with philosophy, like metaphysics and epistemology. You may not agree with these positions, or you may not be familiar with them, but it is what…

I'd sincerely like to know why you think this is a bit…

Not at all. Why would it be?

What does Ayn Rand have to do with Donald Trump's protectionist agenda? Or his belief in eminent domain? Or his threats against liberty more generally?

Nor am I. Some of us have been concerned about growing power in the executive for a while… but those arguments never made much headway.

Not a good idea. Respect for the system — and more specifically, the Constitution — is the last barrier we have left against what might be actual fascism under Trump (or someone like him later on).

I'm pretty sure we'll be able to say the exact same thing about Trump in a few years, only the tone will be different from what you'd imagined…

I haven't heard #1 before, and I have some sincere questions.

I don't hate you. I don't hate that you're white, or that you made money (or that you have it), or that you're religious, or that you're straight.

American exceptionalism cuts both ways. We have the folks who think that the USA is the greatest in every aspect, regardless of some of the horrible shit we've done (and continue to do)… and also folks who think it's Satan's butthole, incapable of any good.

Tons of great answers above. One of mine is Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, which is upfront about the fact that there's a lot of crappiness out there… yet is strident in proclaiming that there is also good.

I don't have any pat answers for that question, and maybe no answers at all that would satisfy either of us. I also don't just want to ignore it. But I've been struggling with a response — writing and deleting shit… and to be honest, I'm still trying to come to terms with the election, myself. I've been a wreck since.

I think there's something to what you're saying, but unfortunately the tenor seems to be that both sides intend on pushing the "other side" further and further away. Most of the responses I've seen on AV Club, for instance, seem to be "fuck those people." And I'm not counting on the alt-right to be any more gracious…

I'm too tired to be very angry anymore, and I can't take any pleasure in this disaster regardless…