I despise everyone who voted for Donald Trump and further resent those who still support him now.

Author: RationalMadman

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@fauxlaw
I am not offended by your vote for Donald Trump, everyone is suffering under his inept leadership. When I say 'everyone', of course the filthy rich aren't superficially suffering but what good is your money when your nation and reputation as an American has other nations deeply resent you and even your own countrymen are refusing to stand during the anthem?

Trump has failed to MAGA, he's utterly thrown that dream into the sewer, let it rot and achieved the complete opposite. Every country other than the US sees US as weaker, broken and far less desirable as a destination than ever before and I don't just mean because his Covid-19 management strategy was worse than even most leaders of countries that we'd deem 'underdeveloped'.

I am not offended by your vote, all Americans are suffering under it, this isn't about offence or insult.
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@RationalMadman
I did not imply that you're offered by my vote. I imply you are offended by Trump. That is your privilege. I am not suffering by Trump's presidency; I am profiting by it. That is my privilege.
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@fauxlaw
Me-me-me 

Right wing mentality at its core.

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@RationalMadman
Why are you wasting your time here when you could be scuffing your knees and apologizing to someone for being born?
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@Greyparrot
That reply offended me, not you voting for Trump.

Selfishness isn't the opposite of selflessness, it is only semantically appearing to be so. The opposite of a selfish society is one where we are responsible, not selfless. Responsible for the wellbeing of all others in the community, no excuses, no bullshit. 

Selfishness is okay in moderation, that moderation must keep selfish motive under a threshold that enables responsible use of resources, distribution of the result of using those resources etc.

I am not a pure socialist who thinks we are all the same in a literal sense. Some of us really are better at some jobs and tasks than others. That's the beauty of diversity, we each chip in our part and help the others out. 

If you never share, never care, never anything then what's life even? I confess that I may be biased as I was raised to think this way, I just don't understand the mentality of 'everything is mine oh yes I win because you have nothing and I have everything!'

That's not even sustainable power in the first place. Your underlings should thrive, such that when you die or bad luck hits your business and you're struggling, they're strong enough to help the community cope and save you with the safety net mechanisms that were in place while you saved them. That's teamwork and in the end strong teams thwart 'dog eat dog' bullshit.
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@RationalMadman
Selflessness is the illusion of altruism based on the harsh scientific biology of herd instincts and chemical impulses.
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@Greyparrot
The fact that you replied that and think that you disagreed with what I posted shows that you didn't read it.
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@RationalMadman
I'm just expounding. Don't make this a battle.
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@RationalMadman
The zealous man fears and loathes his brain chemistry. He perceives his natural chemical impulses as the voice of the Devil.

The hedonist loves and embraces his brain chemistry. He follows every natural chemical impulse willingly.

The enlightened free man neither loves nor hates his brain chemistry. He sees his brain chemistry as a fellow traveler in a vessel of life, acknowledged and respected, but no more and no less.
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@RationalMadman
Yeah. Me. I'm responsible for me. No one else, other than my family. You be responsible for you, etc.  That said, I contribute 20% of my increase to charity,  but I choose to whom and for what. No one else need try to put their hand in my pocket, and never mine elsewhere. Fair enough?
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@fauxlaw
And what happens when you're feeling less generous or a charity is corrupt?
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@RationalMadman
As my increase increases, I increase my charitable percentage. And I research my charities. I know them. Often, personally. I have chosen as part of my charity to help a family in need directly, and not through a charity. The personal association is gratifying for both parties. Along with the money, I give time to educate in gaining skills. Like teaching a man to fish, yeah? I am in favor of ending the need for charity by the gain of self-sufficiency.
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@fauxlaw
And who holds you accountable?
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@RationalMadman
My family. And me. Period.
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@fauxlaw
And what makes other families accountable?
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@User_2006
I don't know that much about politics so can any of y'all tell me why Trump was elected in the 1st place?
TL;DR 

Blacks hated Hillary and Silent Majority came out in droves
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@fauxlaw
Vote against him. 
Pretty sure he’s British😂
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@Greyparrot
Trump Never got the dirt.
He got caught committing influence peddling and couldn't the dirt. How does that make him innocent?

Influence peddling is normally used to acquire wealth, not dirt.
The definition of influence peddling is "the use of position or political influence on someone's behalf in exchange for money or favors."

Having the Ukrainians slander Joe biden was the favor. Which he only failed to get because of the whistle blower. 

Like I said if Trump actually did anything wrong and made money off of it, CNN would have been all over it.
they have reported it over and over. republicans just don't care. 

An article about trump's selling access at Maralago for 200,000 a pop. 

An article about trump's attempting to award the G7 summit to his own resort, a move that would have made him millions. He only backed down after almost everyone pointed out the blatant corruption.

Here (again) is an article about his relationship with the saudi's. He is gives them preferential treatment (including when the crown prince ordered the murder of a US journalist) because they pay him ALOT of money. 

Here  is an article about the Saudi's funneling money into trump's hotels. Here is an article about groups booking up huge blocks of rooms at trump hotels and then never staying in them, (essentially just straight up bribery)

Trump is making millions off of being president through blatant corruption. 
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An article about trump's selling access at Maralago for 200,000 a pop. 
Not CNN

An article about trump's attempting to award the G7 summit to his own resort, a move that would have made him millions. He only backed down after almost everyone pointed out the blatant corruption.
Attempt means he reconsidered. No infraction no foul.

Here (again) is an article about his relationship with the saudi's. He is gives them preferential treatment (including when the crown prince ordered the murder of a US journalist) because they pay him ALOT of money. 
Pre 2016

Here  is an article about the Saudi's funneling money into trump's hotels. Here is an article about groups booking up huge blocks of rooms at trump hotels and then never staying in them, (essentially just straight up bribery)
Not CNN

Trump is making millions off of being president through blatant corruption. 


Try again. I only trust CNN to uncover actual money Trump personally gained since 2016 as a result of being president.

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@HistoryBuff
Please try again. Link a CNN article that showed Trump got MONEY from any of those 3 sources I listed.
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@Greyparrot
Wait hasn’t Trump’s networth been declining since he started running in 2015?
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@ILikePie5
yep.

The only politician to lose money while in public office instead of multiplying his wealth by 10 like the rest of the swamp in recent history.

Still waiting on those CNN expose's showing how much money Trump is making off of corruption. Taps foot impatiently.
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@Greyparrot
Not CNN
so? lots of outlets cover trump's corruption. Why do you think I can only use CNN to show evidence of that?

Attempt means he reconsidered. No infraction no foul.
Oh, i see. So if I try to rob a bank but they stop me before I can get the money, then I'm totally good right? Trump tried to abuse his office for personal gain. The fact that he failed does not prove he is somehow uncorrupt.

Pre 2016
he never divested from his business. He still has every one of those ties.

Not CNN
again, so what? Just because it is from another outlet doesn't mean it isn't evidence of his corruption. 

Try again. I only trust CNN to uncover actual money Trump personally gained since 2016 as a result of being president.
why? You have repeatedly said you don't trust CNN at all. So why the sudden insistence on rejecting all sources of information except one that you don't trust?
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@Greyparrot
***
Regarding #34, I am not noticing any obvious CoC violations.  We can dislike a post, without it breaking the rules. 

-Ragnar, DM
***
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@HistoryBuff
Wait, if Trump’s making money by being corrupt, how has his networth declined?
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A little something everybody's forgotten amidst Covid-19 and the craziness of 2020: China blinked in the trade war, though they don't have to actually do anything until after America's 2020 election (the Chinese agreed to this in the hopes Trump might lose reelection, in which case his successor, not agreeing with the trade war in the first place, wouldn't care if China reneged on its terms). The trade war partially held back the economy during the good years (2017-2019) but we could stand to see gains if China is eventually forced to keep its terms.
That wasn't the first trade win that Trump in his *ahem* erratic unpredictability managed to score but ultimately it looks like nobody remembers either way. He's been successfully painted as an establishment corrupt Republican except with infinitely worse manners whereas in fact he's among the only major personalities in American politics today (and certainly the only one to be President in living memory) who isn't pro-free trade. Everyone seems to have forgotten this, or the fact that he campaigned on this quality and won. His own supporters are starting to forget why they voted for him.

Trump's one step away from the truth: There's a limit to how much you can convince Europe, China and other countries to open up, as they won't deny their self-interests no matter how much bluster and strong-arming he tries. The Europeans have blocked American chicken imports since the 60s, and today they justify it on phoney charges of "American bleached chicken is dangerous" (it isn't), and that's just one example. They fiercely protect their economies from harmful competition and they have no rational basis for giving that up.
But the status quo is unfair to America. He recognizes that, but the solution is either still beyond him or after 3 1/2 years of slugging it out on the beltway he just doesn't give a f**k about his original mission anymore. Those of his supporters who still remember would like to think it's either the former or he's planning to step up his game sometime after reelection.

(Here's a hint, Mr. President: If you can't beat them, join them. Don't try to pressure other countries into conforming to our interests, raise barriers and build a new status quo that'll bring jobs back home.)
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@ILikePie5
Still waiting on those CNN expose's showing how much money Trump is making off of corruption. Taps foot impatiently.
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Anyway if Trump has to leave the White House in Jan. 2021 the cause he at least nominally embodied and championed will presumably die with him. Every President after him will be like "Yup yup yup it's good that we run massive trade deficits every year, we're in mushrooming private debt to foreign loan sharks, and Americans everywhere are unemployed because U.S. businesses are either bankrupt or fled the country to avoid footing the welfare bill for 300 million unemployed people who expect to maintain an American-level standard of living".

The Third World has risen as a manufacturing power, eventually to be an entrepreneurial power, and the West can't keep up in the long term. They'll have bigger and bigger advantages over us and the only way to "win" that game with a hand like ours is to not play. If we keep ours borders open they'll gradually colonize us economically like our ancestors did to their ancestors. We can either be losers or loners. I pick loner, every post-Biden president would pick loser because that's the opposite of what "orange man cheeto immoral Trumpanzee liar-in-chief bone spurs Trump" would've picked.

Even if Trump's not a perfect savior he has the opportunity to set a precedent that will help us survive the next 100 years. Whether his presidency is considered a success or a failure really won't boil down to "oh he's such a repulsive and immoral guy" but "oh he got elected twice and left office with an approval rating of 46%". If the latter happens, it won't be taboo to emulate the Trump model. That model comes with a lot of bad but it also comes with an economic ideology which at least is a prototype for what we desperately need. Perhaps the next guy will take the economics bit one step further. But if he loses reelection every policy position he stood for will be considered "discredited" and that's very dangerous.
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@User_2006
He was elected because the American people voted for him...Though that's something of a presumption, as U.S. electoral systems are not particularly straightforward.

I'm not sure that the National result ever reflects the popular vote in U.S. Presidential elections. 

Though as a Brit, I wouldn't dream of suggesting that U.S. presidential elections were open to corruption.
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@ILikePie5
Wait, if Trump’s making money by being corrupt, how has his networth declined?
because of something the right loves to talk about, the free market decided. allow me to explain. 

Trump is a heartless, wannabe tyrant who also happens to be pretty much incompetent. Before he was president, alot of people knew what an asshole he was, but alot of people didn't. His name brand was worth alot of money. Once he became president and most of the world realized what an asshole he is, the value of his brand plummeted. The free market decided his brand was worth alot less and people stayed away from it. Therefore, his wealth declined. 

That however does not erase his many, many cases of corruption. He has made many attempts, some of them successful and some of them were stopped, to enrich himself from public funds, sell influence etc. However, due to how badly his behavior has damaged his brand, he simply can't steal enough, fast enough to make up the loss. 

So you see, he is poorer because of capitalism. But he is still super corrupt.