dogyks

I'm trying to recall supporting MAGA or going back to the good old days in Mayberry or whatever. Nothing comes to mind. I contend that the way to end discrimination is not to discriminate. I realize this is a subtle concept, which appears tough for some to grasp, but I've seen it work in practice. The idea that anyone who has issue with DEI supports MAGA by default is an interesting one, but it is far from accurate.

Okay, we agree that racism & sexisim suck. My problem is with the idea that 'good' racism & sexism can fix 'bad' racism & sexism. I have had the opportunity to live and work in environments where the only thing that mattered was ability and Integrity, so getting me to go along with the raw bullshit that is DEI is a tough sell.

Even if inequality is a problem, DEI is anything but a solution. It is institutionalized inequality implemented by charlatans. I abhor racism and sexism, and DEI elevates these to an art form.

Which is?

That's all well and good, but equality is where nobody gets a pass. I'll be damned if I kneel before somone's 'victimhood.'

Long term survival often entails short term pain. Pigging out on the seed corn is a poor excuse for "recovery." DEI/woke is bigotry that would shame a Grand Wizard of you swapped out the identities. Stick to Equality, Merit and Integrity and you'll be fine.

If you want to support Hamas, Gaza awaits.

An elegant rebuttal indeed.

It would be nice if this forum was devoid of snark and abuse. If the Democrats had a game plan that offered to balance the budget/pay off the debt and take a minimalism approach to government as a servant, rather than master, you'd have my attention. Pumping endless cash into DEI initiatives is not a viable approach. I know the stance of many in this forum is that the debt either doesn't matter or is no big deal, but I beg to differ. A quick review of basic arithmetic and history shows that we are way fucked, regardless of who's to blame ("We have met the enemy, and they are us." - Pogo Possum). Trump and Musk are something short of my favorite people, but they are the only ones in a position to do anything - and appear to be taking a crack at it. The fact that Musk is dealing with the particulars is a somewhat good sign. We need to cut spending in a big way in short order, and he's probably one of the few people capable of putting together a viable game plan. Any politician willing to compromise would be unable to pull off a turnaround. Trump doesn't understand compromise, but he's like a bull in china shop. If he doesn't vaporize the goddamned planet, we may be able to pull out of the nosedive in the meantime. Neither Biden nor Harris have any redeeming qualities, beyond not being Trump. Trump's appeal is putting DEI/woke insanity to death and addressing the disaster that is our economy. That's pretty much it - he is otherwise quite awful. The comparison to post Weimar Germany is legitimate - given the two options Germany came out way ahead of Russia in the long run. The losses in combat were less, and Stalin killed more of his own people than anyone in history except Chairman Mao. This nonsense about annexing Canada and Greenland is concerning, and I can think of no sane rationale for suggesting it. The bottom line is that, even if we're doomed, we're better off than with Harris at the helm of the sinking ship.

Germany had its Communists, we have Democrats. Both have zero benefit and unlimited negatives. Going Godwin doesn't become you.

I wish the batshit crazy persona was just an act, part of his 'art of the deal' strategy. Unfortunately, I don't think that's the case. Pity that the raw stupidity of the left is worse. You wonder how Germany emerged from the economic disaster of the Weimar Republic but started the kerfuffle beginning around '39? I suspect history is rhyming again.

There's always thoughts and prayers.

I flinch at the origins of the Volkswagen.

I stand corrected.

There we go, gender is strictly a grammatical construct. Sex, OTOH, is biological (and yes there are anomalies that are entirely independent of feelings).

Die Sonne - feminine.

Not that complicated, it's a grammatical construct. Any verb made into a noun ending in "ung" ist weiblich (feminine). Your basic Volkswagen is "das Auto." Don't read too much into it.

Okay, who am I to dispute your victimhood? Since it appears to be pivotal to your identity, it's all yours.

When Evner Hoxa was no longer in charge Albanians went on a buying spree, investing in Ponzi schemes. Apparently, when one failed there was then an intense search for another. No less than Bernie Madoff pointed out that the U.S. economy was a Ponzi scheme, and we're following the Albanian paradigm of seeking a replacement Ponzi scheme. I am unimpressed.

As usual, we're talking past each other - which validates my case regarding differing sets of definitions. Sex is biological and gender is grammatical. A quick genetic check can verify biological sex. There are three genders, der, die oder das. Anyone that thinks feelings have anything to do with objective reality is delusional. If someone wants to go through life as a Labrador Retriever, that's their business, but they're ill advised to seek veterinary care. As far as fixating on minority or somehow oppressed status goes, it's a self perpetuating process. Has it ever dawned on you that the solution to discrimination is equality?

Maybe they should use her married name - Tibbets. I think the goal of the ill- considered exercise is to purge the lexicon of toxic buzzwords. The unfortunate reality is that the use of some verbiage is symptomatic of much deeper pathology. For example, anyone who truly thinks in terms of "assigned <sex> at birth" is FUBAR. Follow up euphemisms like "gender affirming care" are equally indicative of mental illness. Thus, denying one set of buzzwords tends to result in a new generation of equally bad verbiage. In the long run, it's about as effective as telling someone in a laughing academy "stop being crazy!"

Any rigorous study of Logic includes definition. High True or Low True applies to circuitry, but argumentative logic includes Lexical, Legal, Scientific, Medical, Stimulative, Precising, Nautical, Medical and so forth. It is the norm in this forum to have heated arguments where people are using the same words, but everyone is talking about something different. It's kinda fun when one party tumbles to the fact that someone else is using a different definition, whether it be more or less inclusive, more or less flattering or whatever, and declares with unbridled sanctimony that the other party can't even define the term (got it "wrong"). It's akin to someone using facts like a drunk uses a lightpost - for support, rather than illumination.

I met him at Oshkosh in the '80s. He was a really nice guy. It was an honor.

Crypto simply uses a different magic wand than fiat currency. Actually, while fiat currency has zero inherent net worth, Bitcoin has negative inherent net worth. I had the unfortunate experience of studying math for many years, which has denied me the joy of gambling. I've never bought a lottery ticket, since the odds of winning are about the same either way.

We have a winner!