it's tough listening to my parents now trying to rationalize the irrational.

They thought Bill should be in jail because of Paula Jones, but Stormy is nothing.

They did not like Kerry cause he was a flip flopper. But give this dolt a pass on his changing his mind mid sentence.

They did not like Obama, well he was black and reads off a teleprompter. But think trump is brilliant when he was able to pull it off once.

he will be on 3, and I cannot imagine someone willing to be number 4...

Elect the sinner.

the citizens of the US.

Speak factual truth to him, charitably. He's up in years and still your dad.

It ain't easy.

Had an uncle who was unbearable at gatherings, but we made it work.

These people usually have to come to the end of themselves in their way of perception for the ability to change their mindset.



💙🇺🇸🌊

He is way past the age his two brothers passed away. He's living on borrowed time. He has a wife who will be left here, but he has faith in the Republicon policies, so he doesn't believe anything bad will happen, or if it does, it will be the Democrats' fault.

This is what we're dealing with. There's no point in trying to reach them.

I blame it on the brainwashing Rush Limbaugh show. Back in the 90s it was the only thing on AM radio. So would listen to it while driving. But I was smart enough to see it was just right wing brainwashing. We had been taught about the various brainwashing techniques in high school. So I saw through it and I did not succumb, but I think a lot of people did. Back then it was the "News" not political rhetoric.

I don't know that he ever listened to Limpballs. But I know he has watched Fox News exclusively for many years. He doesn't watch the "Clinton News Network," as he calls it.

I shudder to think if he was alive today to witness the damage.
To you,
and 🕯

He only cares about himself, and the here and now. For the family he leaves behind, he totally believes anything the Republicon politicians say. If they say the deficit is no problem, then it's no problem. (But it was a huge problem, when it was Obama, that "Muslim.&quot

It has to be that they feel like they're with the "winners" or the rich/wealthy/etc.

We/ they***SHOULD** be demanding more - like healthcare, min wages, etc. But they cant STAND thinking that others beneath them will also get more. Throw in race politics / manipulation, and well.... (not saying the OP's dad is racist, but it's a tool the rich use)

Its about image - because they support the authoritarian / wealthy / elite and think they get some of the trickle down pie. It's a perversion of the "submit to authority" which does have survival advantages, but in this case it's being used by the rich to steal from us.

When in fact - we should all be banding together to make things more even and equitable.

someone struggling mightily to make ends meet or to even survive -- and when caring folks offer to help, the struggler says "I can't accept charity". I've been thinking that this mindset is why Democrats don't make much headway when they propose tangible assistance to those in poverty. "I can't accept charity" is the result of the Protestant work ethic preached about in churches throughout the US and Canada since the first settlers. If you haven't earned it through your toil, then you simply don't deserve it.

Of course, this way of thinking is in direct contrast to Jesus' teaching in the NT. There's just not a lot of logic to the way these people think. They cannot conceive of an entire population being able to live in relative comfort thanks to government policies. They cannot project into the future, either. They prefer the pablum delivered by their preachers and their rightwing media, always with the inference that "you should be grateful for what you have, others are suffering" which of course means that you are better off than your neighbour, or those poor folk in India. Oh, and it must be God's will that you are.

Blech!

He volunteers for charity work thru his church.

But govt charity...that's using "MY" money for "deadbeats and frauds"! I think that's about how they look at it.

They don't seem to have a problem giving subsidies to corporations, some of which are certainly fraudulent.

He made a snide comment about "smart people" once when I was at his house. His wife was present. I was shocked and said that being intelligent is a good thing...and don't try to say you're not smart. You were valedictorian, for gosh sakes. (I think his wife did not know that.)

"Dalbert was fond of calling himself an old country boy, a persona that excused stupidity, while implying an innate shrewdness he did not possess."

Everyone knows at least one of these characters.

is using that extra money only for the purpose of electing Democrats. Every single dime.

I just made my first political donation for the year. During checkout, I got cold feet and ended up giving a fraction of what I originally intended to give. But for my own mental well being, I really need the gop to be gutted in November... Your thought process makes it easy to donate with no regrets.

but only what I can afford. I figure the extra dollars from the tax cut is being put to much better use that way. Give monthly if it's easier that way.

How any 2017 tax return would see an effect?

There are probably other Trumpers thinking like he did.

Our income tax fluctuates each year because of different things. It goes up, it goes down. But not because of a tax cut bill.

We WILL get a tax cut for 2018 tax year, though. And I won't turn that away, for sure! But I read that the middle and working class cuts will gradually disappear over a decade. Maybe not totally (I hope).

a great number had less then $5/week taxcut

with my conservative "friends"

Father: "Oh."

Me: "We probably shouldn't discuss politics."

Father: "Yeah."

THEY watch fox news exclusively- I majored in political science. not really a fair fight.

At 77 I have just the opposite with my 55 year old son. He is the trumpster and otherwise an intelligent man. Recently read these middle age white men are supporting trump out of fear. Fear of losing their white privileged life with the changing demographics in America. For them, equality means oppression.

Even then, there are some in the older crowd that are liberal. But not many. If they exist, they're not talking. All it does is create enemies and isolates you.

abolishing the Fairness Doctrine. That gave rise to the right wing cancer that has poisoned the minds of millions.

which is nothing but a dog-whistle for freedom to brainwash. Just like they painted Citizens United as freedom of speech, which was dog-whistle for freedom for billionaires to buy elections.

They learned back in Nixon's years how to use American's emotional triggers to sell us the snake oil.

.....

doesn't he want to leave a good planet and economy for the grandkids?

floored me several years ago at a birthday party for one of my nieces (her granddaughter) when during a conversation about global warming she said..."I could care less... I won't be here to see it.".

I have found this to be true of many seniors. They are angry that they have to face their own mortality and don't seem to care about the future they leave behind for others, even their loved ones.

I hope I have learned and grown through the experience of helping my parents pass. They were never able to move beyond their prejudices, despite their devotion to Jesus. Very sad indeed.

The only New Testament book these nut jobs seem to embrace is Revelations; all follow Old Testament fire & brimstone and bigotry--especially cherry-picked Leviticus.

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Too bad the people they're about won't ever understand their own hypocrisy.

Pruitt is even more evil than his vile boss.

Jewish people dying in the Homeland or something? My father has mentioned that before. Israel has to exist, because all the Christians go there at the end to get saved, and then the Jews die? It sounded very odd to me, and gave me some insight to his concern with Israel, if I understood the basics of what he was saying. (I'm not that knowledgeable about the Bible.)

As if the Jewish people haven't had enough trouble throughout history, without having this sort of thing going around.

How his 2017 taxes were less when the cut starts in 2018!!!

It's not age.

too much partying back then. After all, it was the '70's.

Being I did ok in life has not made me less concerned about those that haven't. That part of me will never change.

And now that I was able to retire early, I have more time to be a rabble rouser, lol.

I heard of a poll today about Scott Pruitt and 50% of those polled didn't know who he was.

that at least part of the inheritance he leaves will be going to elect Democrats, and part of it will be sent to secular charities and not to support any church. I was lucky my family were all life-long Democrats that came up through the Great Depression.

The key thing is to spend quality non-political time with your dad and learn about family history - things I now regret not doing enough with my mom and dad because of my work and moving away from home.

Thanks for sharing this story.......

what to think? Probably not.

It begs the question - as you get older - in your high prime - don't you hope that the US and World is in a good place (in synch with your personal values).

On edit: who was it? a celebrity who died around the election and another celebrity said (and got flamed) - "they just didn't want to live if Trump was prez."

This says a lot about you.

see the consequences" is truly frightening.

I'm 69 years old, and get more flaming at the mouth liberal each year.

It is too bad you can't remove your father from Fox news for a month, have him read some novels, maybe some non fiction about epidemiology and the Little Ice Age. Something that might get him thinking about things, including long term consequences.

It's my understanding that Jews generally don't believe in an afterlife, but do believe it's important to leave the world a better place than when they arrived. Now that's a philosophy worth following.

Right now I'm reading The Fate of Rome by Kyle Harper, which essentially analyzes the fall of Rome through the lens of disease and climate change. Truly fascinating. But what I'm also getting from it is that during much of the Empire, the emperors did more or less what they wanted, appointed those they wanted to high office, changed around all sorts of things because they were emperor. It feels a lot like the current administration: do what I want to do and to hell with anyone else.

P.S. It's toe the line, not tote the line.

Jews don't believe in an afterlife? I didn't know. That's very interesting. As well as their leaving the world a better place philosophy.

The Fate of Rome - I've never heard of disease & climate change being involved in the fall of Rome. I've read quite a bit about the fall of the Roman Empire throughout the years, but nothing indicating disease & climate change were involved. (Knowing that disease was rampant throughout the world back then.)

TOE the line. Well, that was just a typo.

they don't really advertize.

I was married to a Jewish man for 25 years, and while we didn't get into deep discussions on that topic, it was clear that an afterlife was simply not part of his world view.

The Fate of Rome is a very recent book -- copyright 2017 -- and the author takes pains to note that his analysis of climate change and disease is only possible because of very recent research, including that of the DNA of germs/viruses/diseases.

I have always been fascinated by disease, probably starting with Plagues and Peoples by William McNeill, which came out in 1976 and is still the basis for a lot of epidemiology. The author of The Fate of Rome constantly refers to it. I read that book (Plagues and Peoples)when it first came out, currently own a copy, and should probably reread it.

The Fate of Rome goes into (for me at least) fascinating detail about the various plagues of the Roman era, the complex interaction of El Niño and rainfall in Africa affecting the flooding of the Nile, debasing of the currency in the latter part of the Empire, the price of wheat, and the payment of gold to soldiers. The author is at pains to state that no one thing caused the fall of Rome, but then he also takes pains to note the different effects plagues or crop failures had in different centuries.

Earlier works have never taken into account disease or climate change, mainly because until quite recently we didn't have enough information to tease out those things.

It is really an amazing book. I'm right now reading a library copy, but I'm very tempted to purchase it for myself. Maybe when it comes out in paperback.

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And if he eats meat and supports the death penalty, he not "pro-life." He is just opposed to abortion rights for women. Period.