There are Christian Scientists, who forgo all medical treatments as far as I know. There are (I think... may have this wrong) Jehovah’s Witnesses who don’t take blood transfusions. (or is that 7th Day Adventists?)

Her own community would disown here if she claimed to be an atheist. In America, they probably wouldn’t kill her, though.

Except they’re not perfectly curated. If they were, it would be easier to support her. Or they ARE perfectly curated and she really meant everything she feels she had to apologize for. In which case the apologies are insincere.

I don’t know what she “meant it like,” other than what she said. She’s from an aristocratic family in a poor country, she’s not a native English speaker (yes, came here at the age of 10, but that can make a difference), and has the kind of arrogance shared by many prominent politicians. Her point seemed (to me) to be…

I think I know how this works. It is a pure time-wasting tactic. Make outrageous claim that gets their base fired up. We (i.e., Democrats or some kind of Left) argue, bring up points of history, look things up, take HOURS and HOURS. Eventually, coated with sweat, she says, yeah, ok, but by then everyone has tuned out.…

I guess I could look it up, but are benefits costing $700 per American taxpayer? Or is $700 the average amount each benefit recipient gets?

Is this what people mean when they talk about “ethics in gaming journalism”?

Well, in MY family, we sometimes slice bagels in the usual direction, but in three parts. That way they fit in the toaster, there’s less bread per serving, and you can do the time-honored schmear w/ lox the way YHVH intended.

Does this apply to Canadian citizens as well? (I’m dual)

I call that “smallwashing”. Like when bank regulation is proposed, they trot out some small, local bank that services the mortgages it offers. You wouldn’t want to burden the little friendly bank, would you? Monster.

“The fact that you should “compete” to get a higher education, though, is patently fucked up, no matter how deeply ingrained it is in American society.”

laughed hard at that.

Hmmm. Instead of abolishing ICE, retrain and redirect the agency to find undocumented immigrants (which they’re doing already), but instead of rounding up, detaining, and deporting them, help them become documented and find social services if they need it. Change the name to NICE (no, I don’t know what the N stands…

Really? “Growing up, adults, teachers and professors all reinforced the same positive message: If you study hard, get good grades, graduate from college, then you will get a job doing something you love and earn a good living.”

Check out the Unorthodox podcast. They had Derek Black, formerly of Stormfront, now completely out of that world. His dad, he says, watches Tucker Carlson to find better more palatable ways of spreading the white supremacy message. Yikes, I say.

She can send them whenever she wants. They don’t have to read them. Unless that’s the rule - that would be bad.

“The claim that criticism of Klobuchar for reportedly screaming at her aides is sexist is as weak as assertions that criticism against Elizabeth Warren claiming Native-American heritage is sexist; that criticism against Kamala Harris’s mixed record on criminal justice reform is sexist.”

That’s good advice. I’m old enough to remember adults arguing heatedly about men with long hair. They’d say, You can’t tell the boys from the girls! I wonder... why do you need to? Do you want to propose? Do you want to figure out whom you can harass or pay less?

Just an anecdote - went to a Hollywood party at a successful comedian’s house. Fun party, great buffet, open bar. Lots of families with kids, having a ball. I asked where the bathroom was, and was directed through the master bedroom. In full view, under the bed, positioned so it would be easy to find in case there…

I guess hucksters and grifters are all we get now. *sigh*