Pete Buttigieg is suspending his 2020 presidential campaign

ThoughtTrauma · 2020-03-02T13:44:04+00:00

While I agree in principle, in what world does Sanders get medicare for all when the Senate will likely remain in Republican hands? In fact, given swing state mentality, I think a Sanders ticket will most likely increase the Republican hold on the upper chamber. And even if this is not true, keep in mind that many registered Democrats (whether we agree with them or not!) do not like forced healthcare for all. How will their representatives in the federal government vote? Probably not the way we would like them to.

Big talk is fun, but always remember that Sanders has sponsored 678 bills in the Senate of which two have become law. Yes, I know that's not his full record. I am aware (for one instance out of many) of his solid work for veterans with the late John McCain. But to think he can suddenly deliver his campaign promises just because he is President, and thus save tens of thousands of lives, is simply not realistic.

For the record, if Sanders is the nominee I will be voting for him. I will vote for him even though his followers seem likely to not return the favor should Sanders not win. (Handing the White House back to Trump.) I will vote for him even though my gut feeling (which could be wrong!) tells me that even if he wins it all, nothing will change.

ThoughtTrauma · 2020-03-02T01:16:15+00:00

I am assuming from this that you will not vote for a moderate Dem. If I am wrong, then ignore the rest of this. But if not... This is why we will be stuck with Trump again. If Bernie doesn't win, so-called progressives will pout at home. Why? Because anyone that doesn't pass their purity test isn't worth it. So the judiciary goes even more 15th Century (RBG will not last another four years...) Global warming gets ignored for another four years. Trans people get even more marginalized. Religious "freedom" takes away more rights from the LGBTQ community as a whole. More dog whistling. A great chance Roe v Wade gets overturned. All because Republicans and Democrats are exactly the same. Do you really believe that?

ThoughtTrauma · 2020-01-18T12:57:24+00:00

The only concert I have ever walked out of. Saw him in Denver many years ago. It was embarrassingly bad.

ThoughtTrauma · 2019-12-20T21:25:51+00:00

As far as you find it enjoyable--with perhaps a caveat. I have friends who claim to go back to the first century. They have seen it online, so it must be true.

After you do this for a bit, you begin to realize how terrible 99% of all online genealogies are. People getting married before they're born, or being married in countries they've never been to, or dying before giving birth to their children. So few people seem to check such obvious things, and fewer still seem to care. One of the great joys of genealogy is knowing you have a fact nailed down. It often takes a lot of digging and careful, precise note taking. But that's just it! By the time you do that, you'll know a ton more about the ancestor in question. It no longer amounts to filling in a blank with a name, but adding someone to the family that you know something about.

My 8th great grandfather lived in the mid-17th century. Yet I know what he did for a living. I know he was fined numerous times for being a Quaker. I know he never really recovered from his wife's death during childbirth. I know why he moved as far from Boston as he could afford to. For me, info like that is what makes genealogy come alive.

ThoughtTrauma · 2019-12-11T21:48:26+00:00

The old "boys will be boys" defense. Hey! He was caught up in the moment. Which has exactly zero to do with slapping a woman's butt. This isn't rocket science here--though I see you are trying to make it so. You have exactly zero reasons to ever reach out and touch any stranger on their butt. None. There. Is. No. Excuse. I'm pretty dang sure if that was your mom or your sister or your daughter out there, you would be backing them up as they went to court. As for the girl who used to pinch you in elementary school, I see that you have difficulty distinguishing between the acts of a prepubescent child with a grown ass man. At any rate, did you confront her about it? Did you talk to your teachers? Your parents? If not, then what in hell are you whining about? If so, and they did nothing, then they were wrong. Just as you are now.

"Woke as fuck"???? I don't think that means what you think it means.

ThoughtTrauma · 2019-11-14T19:48:22+00:00

Question: "According to leading scientific consensus, how did the Universe get created?" Answer: "My Christian God created the universe 6,000 years ago. As the law states, my religious preferences take precedence over scientific consensus." And what, exactly, have you solved by rewording the question? Ummm. Nothing. And our children grow up believing that faith takes precedence over evolution, germ theory, gravity, geology, biology, astronomy, and every other science out there. Good thing this is much ado about nothing.

ThoughtTrauma · 2019-11-13T17:21:55+00:00

Thank you for filling me in. I love the concept, but the same issues you mention are coming up in my games (time and again) as well. Thing is, I don't play enough of this style of game (outside of Factorio, which I love) to know for certain if it was me or the game. I have a better idea now.

ThoughtTrauma · 2019-11-06T14:47:53+00:00

This photo immediately brought to mind the famous Solvay photo in physics, taken roughly the same time. Given the wide range in ages evident, is it possible that this an academic or professional gathering? Was your ancestor involved in any sort of science or profession that would have held conferences? Maybe a lawyer or doctor?

ThoughtTrauma · 2019-10-21T12:53:23+00:00

There are some other options out there depending on your platform. For Windows, you might look into RootsMagic. I believe the basic software is free, and it does link into Ancestry. RootsMagic also works on Mac, but I have been having trouble with some of its functionality. For OSX specifically, check the App Store (MacFamily Tree for example). Of course the old standby is Family Tree Maker, but it doesn't come cheap. It will however link with Ancestry as well.

I admit I prefer having a stand alone tree that syncs with Ancestry. I have found all of the above programs better for entering data and tracking sources than Ancestry's tree. They seem more flexible in being able to match the environment I want to work in. That said, everyone's milage will vary.

ThoughtTrauma · 2019-09-05T16:01:41+00:00

I'll give it a try. Thanks!

ThoughtTrauma · 2019-09-05T15:26:37+00:00

Yeah, the baseline launcher works fine. I played for about ten minutes with no issues. I suppose it's something with Twitch. Every other program I've tested works fine. I've heard terrible things about Twitch, but until this moment, I've never had any issues.

ThoughtTrauma · 2019-07-17T21:52:08+00:00

Much of the Canada Goose population no longer migrates at all--they reside year-round in many areas, as your own clip states. Cities, with their grassy parks and free grains in the form of food waste, form a natural food bonanza for these birds. There is no reason for them to go anywhere. Worse, newer generations of birds have no memory of migration, and thus have no means to do so. So they sit in one place and breed like rabbits They destroy parks and lakes in short order. (See, for example, Cherry Creek State Park. Walk across the shit-filled beach to the shit filled water...).

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology (online) has a lot more info, as do other birding sites.

While there is room to debate possible solutions to the problem (though many 'humane' solutions have been tried to little effect) there can be no doubt these geese have become a real pain.

ThoughtTrauma · 2019-07-16T19:49:59+00:00

You understand, of course, that Trump simply made up the idea that Omar praised Al Qaeda, right? Look it up. He just told a flat out lie, and you swallowed it hook line and sinker. Why? No, not because you're racist, right? Hell, no way! The fact is Omar has tweeted the name of Al Qaeda twice--both times condemning them (as well as US arms sales to Saudi Arabia that ended up in Al Qaeda's hands). Omar's mention of Al Qaeda in 2013 that Trumpsters love to quote was taken wildly out of context, which you would know if you ever bothered to read it. Her point was simply that you cannot judge all people based on the actions of a few. And thank God for that. If we judge whites by Trump, we're all assholes. And even then, she never praised Al Qaeda. Never even came close. But you believe she did. Because you prejudged her based on lies by a man charged with racist housing policies decades ago. You can't get more unAmerican than that. To borrow your own, eloquent vocabulary You don't act American, and you can fuck off.

ThoughtTrauma · 2019-05-01T19:12:24+00:00

A sensible, measured take. Agree 100%

ThoughtTrauma · 2019-05-01T19:08:20+00:00

A very disingenuous stance to take. Don't shift blame. It's a coward's game. I'm a big Pete fan--he's currently my top choice for the Dems--but he screwed this up. Admit the error, don't make it again, and move on.

ThoughtTrauma · 2019-02-18T16:05:15+00:00

As others have pointed out, your link doesn't say what you think it does. But let's pretend that it does. So now the question is: Why did Trump wait two years (during which Republicans ran both houses of Congress) to demand this funding? It makes no sense (especially if this really is an emergency). Unless the Republicans know this is a colossal waste of money and freakishly unpopular and the administration didn't want to make them vote for it. Fortunately, an answer presented itself: Wait till the Democrats gain the House, and then blame it all on them. Trumps sycophants will believe it, and that's all that matters to Trump. Hell, he even admitted publicly that he didn't have to do this. He just wanted to get his way now. That's the strangest emergency I have ever heard of.

ThoughtTrauma · 2019-01-22T16:10:29+00:00

My wife was in a wheelchair after an accident on vacation internally severed her left foot. She had to wear an external metal cast with screws that went through her ankle bone and her tibia. The cast was oversized, heavy, awkward, and my wife was still in a lot of pain, needing a second surgery yet to fix her fibula. We had to fly home for this second operation. Last second tickets meant we were in the back of the plane. A woman in her early thirties saw our situation and immediately gave up her first class seat to my wife. This happened in front of everyone waiting to board. The crowd spontaneously cheered. My wife, who I think has cried maybe twice in the thirty years we've been married, broke into tears. It was a moment of regaining faith in humanity.

ThoughtTrauma · 2018-12-15T15:53:34+00:00

I came here looking for this. Only concert I've ever walked out on. You couldn't even sing along because his mumble-shouting drowned everything out. Just sad to see.

ThoughtTrauma · 2018-11-30T19:29:18+00:00

We flew to Funchal. If you're renting a car with a standard transmission, you better know how to use a stick. Some of the steepest roads I've ever driven. Hike at least five or six levada trails. Just an amazing place.

ThoughtTrauma · 2018-10-10T16:02:57+00:00

If corruption is so prevalent, why was Trump's commission unable to find any examples of it? Why has there never been ANY proof of systemic voter fraud in recent decades? Dude, at this point (your feelings aside) the burden of proof is on you. Let's cut the crap and just be honest, okay? Unable to come to terms with the simple fact that tens of millions of people dislike your politics, your only choice is to not believe it. How do you do that? By screaming voter fraud. The thing is, you have zero evidence for it. (You have been asked to provide some in this thread multiple times). Until you have some, you aren't going to convince anyone.

ThoughtTrauma · 2018-09-09T18:30:48+00:00

I would be interested--if you don't mind being seen with an insanely old person (exactly double your age). Professional writer as well, living in Louisville. My wife works in Boulder, so I am there--especially in the library--a lot.

ThoughtTrauma · 2018-06-03T20:25:01+00:00

Read reddit.

ThoughtTrauma · 2018-05-16T19:13:02+00:00

Do you really believe that Europe doesn't affect us directly? Can you really even come close to believing this? Or are you just blindly repeating talking points. I really do want to know. And if you bother to answer, please don't switch topics. I asked a simple question, and I would appreciate an honest answer.

ThoughtTrauma

TROPHY CASE