It is amazing that people sometimes assume that if you don't have the exact same

brain and strengths as they do that you are nothing. Perry seems like someone with the gift of the gab and Reeves is very quiet. But Reeves has a completely visual world that you can do somersaults in. It is a joy to like your quiet time so much you would never give it up. It is a joy to see the world visually. Bliss. I would never assume that because Perry doesn't have my introvertion, intrapersonal skills and visual way of navigating the world, and is stuck gabbying away to get connectivity his life, he is less and his life not worth as much. Or whatever is his makeup, I know neither. That is a type of scapegoating. I have these strength and if i was you and did not have my strengths i would be nothing - so you are nothing. Perry has been on drugs (harrowingly as a baby too when he was prescribed meds as a baby). He's in recovery. He's not as mature as Reeves. He's missed so much of his life. It says more about Perry than it does Reeves.

Their embrace of violent criminals and things is an attempt at getting street cred as

politicians to be afraid of.... cause it worked for Hitler: he got people to bury their heads in the sand in Germany they were so frightened out of their humanity and put up mental walls. How's it going Abbott?

He's such an idiot. Canadian Finance Minister talked family budget

and how she talked to her kids into giving up the family Disney subscription and she was slammed politically. You don't mess with people's childhoods. And Disney was a part of every adults childhood. it is so ironic that DeSantis is slamming Disney when he is also messing with trans kids and youth. Disney is pure childhood fun whether you are a rainbow or not. It is about kids and youth growing up wholesome.... something DeSantis and others are denying lgbtQ kids (when they are not feeling whole and need society support and affirmation to be who they are). DeSantis trauma imposed on trans youth is the opposite of Disney. Kids need to grow emotionally not be turned into pretzels. Disney gets this. DeSantis does not. As adults the best we can hope for youth is that they grow up knowing who they are so that they can study or apprentice and hit adulthood ready to participate and give back to society. Trans hate nails them like a two by four to the head just when they are supposed to be knowing their strengths and weaknesses and make choices about their future. It is bad for any society even beyond what it does to the young people: they can easily end up homeless or suicidal ....... both tragedies.

Here I am with my sister and twin brother. I am on the end, my sister

in the middle.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/198124749@N03/52830303512/in/photostream

Photo at link I've been saving to post. Good meme:

The party of big, intrusive government? That would be the GOP

The party of big, intrusive government? That would be the GOP.

By Paul Waldman
Columnist
April 19, 2023 at 6:30 a.m. EDT

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/04/19/mccarthy-republicans-big-government/


"SNIP........

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy went to Wall Street on Monday to reiterate the Republican Party’s threat to wreck the U.S. economy by engineering a default on the country’s debts unless its vague demands for spending cuts are met. McCarthy (Calif.) wants this presented as a debate between advocates of “big government” and “small government,” which is how it is commonly understood.

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In fact, this debate is really between two different brands of “big” government. It’s true that Democrats generally want government to spend more money, while Republicans want it to spend less — at least on social services. (They’re happy, though, to spend enormous amounts on certain things, including the military.) But Republicans also want government to be much more intrusive and involved in Americans’ lives, watching them for questionable behavior and limiting the choices they make.

Let’s take one example that McCarthy and Republicans are getting ready to propose: the imposition of “work requirements” for the tens of millions of Americans who rely on Medicaid for health insurance or food stamps to feed their families. If you’re looking for big government, work requirements are it.

........

This is just one way that the push to have government spend less money can wind up making government more punitive and intrusive in people’s lives. Now, let’s consider some of the other things Republicans have been doing lately:

* Making it illegal for women to get abortions in Republican-run states, including trying to ban minors from traveling to another state to get an abortion

* Trying to stop women in every state from accessing medication abortions

* Outlawing medical care for transgender youth that their parents want for them

* Outlawing medical care for transgender adults

* Banning drag performances

* Banning websites Republican legislators don’t like

* Banning books from schools and public libraries

* Forbidding discussions of systemic racism in schools and universities

* Banning diversity efforts in higher education

* Attempting to make it illegal for fund managers to consider environmental, social and governance goals in some investment decisions

* Making it unlawful for liberal cities in conservative states to pass their own laws according to their residents’ wishes

* Going after individual companies that don’t toe the conservative line

........SNIP"

Applegrove:

Making it hard to meet work requirements when on say Medicaid with bureaucracy is gumming up the system in the same way corruption does- making it harder to get ahead. Protecting the people at the top by not helping the poor so there is less competition for monied opportunities and democracy (and the resulting fighting of corruption) as the poor are busy struggling.

Lindsey Graham changes his tune on Saudi Arabia after a $37 billion South Carolina contract with

Lindsey Graham changes his tune on Saudi Arabia after a $37 billion South Carolina contract with Boeing

Sarah K. Burris - Wednesday

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/lindsey-graham-changes-his-tune-on-saudi-arabia-after-a-37-billion-south-carolina-contract-with-boeing/ar-AA19LnpF?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=1103c4f140034bb2c373e07ebaad2d4f&ei=8

"SNIP........

After the brutal death and dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) proclaimed he would never go to Saudi Arabia as long as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was in charge.

Five years later, Graham met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for what he called a “very productive” meeting on Tuesday, reported The Washington Post.

“The opportunity to enhance the U.S.-Saudi relationship is real, and the reforms going on in Saudi Arabia are equally real," Graham also Tweeted.

It's a dramatic shift for Graham, which joined along with other Republicans that were disgusted that a legal permanent resident of America would be lured to a consulate where he would ultimately meet his demise.

.........SNIP"

Applegrove:

Corruption starts at the top and spreads down. Pretty soon there is severe underemployment as money and opportunity go upward to the haves. Then you can't fix it. It is too late. The system is all gummed up. There is nothing but hunger and heartbreak for the majority of the people. Hard work no longer means anything.

Sign the petition: Denounce Governor Greg Abbott and GOP-sanctioned violence.

Sign the petition: Denounce Governor Greg Abbott and GOP-sanctioned violence.

https://m.dailykos.com/campaigns/forms/sign-the-petition-denounce-governor-greg-abbott-and-gop-sanctioned-violence-2?pm_source=frontpage&pm_medium=web&pm_campaign=sign_these_petitions

Applegrove:

They can committ crimes themselves to scare Americans into passivity like Hitler did so they piggyback on people who have committed crimes and violence. Abbott takes ownership of the crime. That is a feature. It is like an amoeba and phagocytosis. This is supposed to scare Americans into avoidance of thinking about the assault on democracy and politics and the rule of law and human rights and to freeze. To build a wall between the humming along person in ignorance who follow a 'happy warrior' , and critical thinking: walling up the critical thnkng and humanity that seemingly cause so much pain. To stay human with normal emotions bystanders give up their agency, empathy in the case of scapegoats and thinking because it causes too much anxiety to be someone in conflict with a brutal despot like Abbott and his followers...... sorry Abbott it did not work. Matt Gaetz did the same thing when he hired a convicted war crimer for his staff. DeSantis with reducing the number of jurors it takes to impose the death penalty.

Their lack of empathy is doing them in. They thought they had destroyed

empathy. The vast majority of people have it. Sure some can be mislead for a time. Humans are mostly good when led by a good egg like Biden.

I think the MAGAs are cracking. They know Trump got with Stormy Daniels

yet he still denies it. So the know he is lying to them. GOP has pissed off some business leaders so they want to hold on tight to the MAGA base but MAGAs were just with Trump for his charisma, not really his GOP policies. Gun rights is cosplay deep on the right. Everyone on the center and left use the term "common sense gun laws". That is a strong movement. Tax cuts for the rich the GOP never brag about. Getting rid of SS and Medicare backfired. Rugged individuals might just want to join a union. Abortion is the only thing that has fans who want it deeply entrenched and a total ban on that alienates the majority of the country. Racism and trans-hate the GOP are trying to act out on to reconnect. I don't think it is working to move the needle towards fascism. It is obvious the GOP is doing nothing on immigration reform.