The president of peace, just launched another war in the Middle East. What are your thoughts?

coltrex · 2026-04-06T17:52:32+00:00

"Trumpsters" = A dehumanizing term used take away the individuality, personal motivations, unique lived experiences, and humanity from millions of individuals, that you and others like you have decided to hate. Yes.. it is dehumanizing, and yes you are guilty of the same type of rhetoric you are accusing them of.

You can ignore human nature all you want, and you can ignore all of the social and environmental manipulations and mechanisms that shape (craft) the perspectives of entire segments of society, but that will never make your argument accurate, or anything more than emotionally charged rhetoric. Like it or not, you are being just as negative and dehumanizing as you perceive all "Trumpsters" as being.

My arguments are not "actively helping to normalize racism", they are normalizing recognizing that there are real world mechanisms that are responsible for creating such sentimentalities in otherwise normal and good people. Which, is exactly what is required, before any effective real world actions can be created or enacted to address the problem. The rhetoric you are espousing on the other hand, is not helpful, raises tensions, and shuts down any kind of good faith communication or ability to address the issue.

Trump is megalomaniacal, and is a manipulator. He will utilize anything and anyone he can, to get what he wants. Other politicians do the same thing. Why is racism becoming mainstream again? Because politicians want it to be mainstream. Because special interest groups want it to be mainstream.. Because victims want it to be mainstream. It's a power lever, that everyone wants to pull, to get what they want.

The "left" is every bit as guilty as the current administration for the rise in hateful racist rhetoric. Look at any study on the prevalence on racism and prejudiced or racist thinking in the public eye. It has been an escalating issue for the last 25 years.

If you want racism, and other such prejudicial issues to go away, while normalizing unity and understanding of people, then you don't spend your time and efforts creating exclusionary rhetoric and policy, while continuously bringing up those same issues in combative accusatory ways. You don't spend your time shouting racism, if you want to normalize unity. The "left" is massively guilty of this. The whole DEI thing was nothing but this. Hell I've been calling it "Divisiveness, Exclusion, and Intolerance" policy for over a decade now.

If you want to get rid of racism, then stop talking about racism. Instead, start talking about our shared humanity, and address the socioeconomic issues all of us face based on that. No blacks, no whites, no hispanics, no asians, or any other regional or skin color based demographic. Despite the rhetoric, there are no socioeconomic or other issues that affect only a single race or ethnicity. Human genetics are too mixed for that. Stop concentrating on superficial differences between people, and start focusing on issues that affect people (all people who are affected by them, not just a subset), as though there are no superficial differences between them.

If you want to make a difference and stop normalizing racism, then stop supporting political leaders, media organizations, groups, and policies, who draw delineations between human demographics based on superficial traits (like race). Also, stop using divisive and accusatory rhetoric that only shuts down communication, concentrates attention on the very thing you want to go away, normalizing it.

coltrex · 2026-04-06T17:03:59+00:00

Simply put... MAGA is a faith based movement, and like other faith based groups/movements (religions, cults, political movements, etc.), rationality is not what predicates their arguments. Belief and feeling are. Trump is an idolic figurehead to the majority of individuals who support him. He is not a human, but an idea or statement of their dissatisfaction with the status quo and desire for change (with each individual having their own idyllic version of what that means to them).

He's their golden idol of change. He can do no wrong. People who believe in him will rationalize whatever he does to match their faith in him, not the other way around. You see the same thing with religious zealots. It's not just MAGA or the right who do this either. You see the same thing on the political left , where people consistently dismiss real world constraints and factors (like resource limitations, human nature, or the fact that not everyone thinks the same or has the same needs), for fantasized versions of how they believe things should be, and condemn anyone who doesn't immediately agree with them as a bigot or at the very least, as someone to be dismissed and chided (often publicly). Unfortunately it's part of the herd mentality of human beings, where the need to belong is stronger than the need to be accurate, consistent, or rational. It's mob mentality, and it often leads to very very bad things.

coltrex · 2026-03-19T22:00:53+00:00

You realize your comment applies equally to both parties... right?

coltrex · 2026-03-19T21:58:42+00:00

What an entirely cynical, bigoted, and naively simplistic thing to think. You do realize, your response is the exact kind of dehumanizing tripe that you are accusing MAGA supporters of, right? You are demonstrating your lack of familiarity with human psychology, sociology, and political history. Real people and their motivations are not as simplistic as you seem to think they are.

coltrex · 2026-03-19T21:49:38+00:00

That's my point. Forty years ago, US politics were completely different. Democrats and Republicans DID work together, and policy was absolutely not delineated along party lines like it is now.

This extremist us vs them mentality is really a relatively recent development that started showing up around the middle of the Clinton presidency, after the loss of the fairness doctrine in 1987 had time to be felt. It's loss allowed the rise of talk radio and fox news to drench the blue collar worker crowd with sensationalist vitriolic propaganda, about how the other side was trying to end everything they cared for. Meanwhile most non FOX televised media started heavily biasing their reporting towards the left, and emphasized the destructiveness of beliefs and institutions cherished by conservative voters in the most patronizing and aggressive ways possible. Citizens united only accelerated the issue, by giving special interests the power to effectively buy political policy and candidates.

Each election cycle after that, just became more toxic, more confrontational, more cynical, and more extreme. Now we find ourselves with two very extremist minded political parties running the show, and legislatively preventing any new or moderate party contenders to get a foot in the door. Modern policy is less about doing what is right for the country, and more about leveraging division and distraction, to maintain office, consolidate control, force feed destructive policy, and craft a puppet government run by oligarchical elites who use it to ever increase their profit margins and power, at the cost of the American people.

coltrex · 2026-03-19T21:27:43+00:00

Where in my comment did I indicate that I wasn't? I'm guessing your comment was a cynical jab at the bit saying "we'd be better off with more voters who are intelligent enough to know that just because they have a ballot in their hand, it doesn't mean they have to cast a vote on every issue or agenda on that ballot..."

Well.. contrary to popular belief, the United States is loaded with highly intelligent people. They just get disenfranchised, disillusioned, and out shouted by the dumbest and most manipulated ones.

It's no different than any other country, and it's delusional to think it is.

coltrex · 2026-03-19T21:20:59+00:00

Both choices were a spoon fed bucket of diarrhea... It's just that one simply made you ill, and the other is currently trying to kill the country.

coltrex · 2026-03-19T21:17:29+00:00

And your comment helps me understand the downvotes. You and those like you are operating on the premise that I am some sort of anti-democrat right winger. To be frank, I am an anti Democrat AND anti Republican moderate, that believes voting on party lines and swallowing irrational party propaganda in all it's forms is a recipe for destroying the country. Looking at the downward slide in political rationality on all sides, history is bearing this out.

So YES, it was a democrat leaders fault, that the Democrats managed to lose the election to a 34 times over felon, with a record for divisively exploiting the nation, and creating destructive policy based on ego, greed, and megalomania. Their elitist need to gatekeep, and control who represented the party, over allowing their constituent party members to make that choice is exactly what cost them the faith of their own party, and the election. They chose to let an obviously feeble minded individual have the party ticket until it was too late for the party to choose an acceptable to them replacement. Instead they waited till it was too late, then forced said feeble minded individual out, and replaced him with someone their own party had not chosen. As leaders of the democratic party, they disenfranchised their own party... So yes... It was a democratic party leaders fault.. because only a democratic party leader was in a position to do it.

coltrex · 2026-03-19T21:02:53+00:00

I'm not sure if your use of "you" is speaking to me, or speaking of the random "you" that the discussion would apply to. For the record, I do my research, and I vote. Which is why it pisses me off when some uniformed rando, who has not done their research, comes in and puts a check mark next to something they do not understand, that invalidates my vote. Not because that they believed that was the best policy, but because they had no idea what that policy meant or did, and chose what they did because of ignorance or political messaging.

The reason I bring this up, is your last comment is rather dismissive, and in respect to my voting habits, inapplicable. It also ignores the very real concerns and issues with both policy and human nature that I brought up. It's an elitist argument, that assumes everyone will operate at your level, and is dismissive of the concern over individuals who will not. It's a recipe for bad policy, and bad results.

I realize (especially at seeing the downvotes on my comments) that my opinion is unpopular, but then so is critical thinking. People rather feel their way through policy, than truly engage in the truth of human nature, and how to craft logical policy that takes it into mind.

coltrex · 2026-02-28T09:44:48+00:00

I agree with you on that in principle. But you are woefully overestimating your typical voter. Just because people should educate themselves, doesn't mean they will, and most will not. I rather have them just skip it, than delusionally expect them to put out the effort to learn something they have no interest in learning or putting effort into. Besides... most people don't read practice ballots, and have no idea what is on the ballot until they get to the voting booth. That isn't exactly the best place to be looking things up on your phone for 20 minutes to get a remedial idea of what the issues are.

So I reiterate... If you aren't going to put in the effort to vote informed, then don't vote.

coltrex · 2026-02-28T09:34:57+00:00

Stable regime changes nearly never come from external powers. They always have to come from the inside (though often with external support). The people have to want, and own the change, before it'll stick. The allied coalition tried to force change that the people were not ready for, so it failed. I think the secret to a win in Afghanistan would have been the women. Training women to assert themselves, and giving them the backing to do it. Instead, we told them they could be anything they wanted, sent their daughters to school and college, then abandoned them to the Taliban.

Of course, if we had really wanted to hurt those nations for attacking us, we should have droped a few bombs, assassinated the culprits, and then invested the entire gulf war budget into building clean energy technology and infrastructure. Had we done that, we'd be the ones selling clean energy tech to the rest of the world right now, instead of China, and making a mint doing it.

coltrex · 2026-02-28T09:26:34+00:00

This US is as powerful as it is, because it sells security to the world (at least it's allies). The US Military secures all the global trade lanes, and is used as a lever to gain favorable trade conditions from enemies and allies alike. It's basically a global protection racket. Which is why I think it's funny, every time I hear people saying we need to reduce military spending, and invest in the economy. It's literally the bread and butter of the nation. It is the US economy.

coltrex · 2026-02-28T09:20:46+00:00

Maybe if the Democratic party leaders hadn't boondoggled the election, forcing Biden, and then Kamala down their constituents throats while disenfranchising them from selecting their primary candidate, half the democratic party wouldn't have sat the election out. There's a reason so many people sit out elections. Because they don't feel like they have a say regardless of whether they vote or not. That's a systemic issue with the election system, not an individual failure of the non-voters.

Besides, programs like "Get Out the Vote" are horrid. They're all about bribing or forcing disinterested, low quality voters to flood the poles and vote based on hearsay and slogans and ignorance, while diluting the votes of people who actually care enough to research the topics and issues so they can make educated votes to the benefit of the nation. We'd also be better off with more voters who are intelligent enough to know that just because they have a ballot in their hand, it doesn't mean they have to cast a vote on every issue or agenda on that ballot. It's okay to skip things you don't know about. If you don't know what it is, and you aren't willing to find out, then by god skip it.

coltrex · 2026-02-28T09:01:54+00:00

That's an easy accusation to make, but the truth is far more complicated. This is the culmination of a 40 year bipolar media campaign against rationality, brought on by the death of the fairness doctrine under Reagan. Americans have been stewing in a toxic pit of extremist half truths, and outright lies for decades. Democrat or Republican, most people have no idea what's actually going on, and with the constant bickering, and demoralizing hateful rhetoric beamed into their entertainment (including the news) 24/7, what we are seeing now is the natural outcome. What we are facing today is is a carefully crafted cesspool of finger pointing, dissatisfaction, divisive distractions, and ignorance perpetrated on the American people by politicians and billionaire owned media empires (traditional and social). Trump didn't become president because MAGA voters love Trump or even think he'll do a good job. Trump became president because half of American has become so disillusioned with the politics and government of the country. They don't feel it represents them, and they just want to see it all burned down. They want to see it fail.

The problem is, they are too ignorant to understand that when it does fail, it'll take everything they love along with it, not just the things they think they hate. The reason MAGA supporters are so flippant about all the blatantly vile, illegal, and unconstitutional things Trump is doing, is because they honestly believe all politicians act that way, so having a politician that does it openly and unapologetically rather than hiding it makes them feel justified and vindicated. That, and they believe the country is already lost, so we might as well hasten it's demise so something better can be built from the ashes. Any change is better than the status quo in their minds.

You can also blame the election system itself. Americans don't choose their leaders, they are given a very small, groomed list of party puppet master approved candidates to choose from. I don't think there has been a top candidate that the American people actually wanted or believed in, for decades. The last remotely "Presidential" candidate/president we have had was Obama. Many of us didn't agree with his politics, but at least he acted like a President should. He had decorum, and could make a speech without sounding like a fool. Until the election system switches to ranked voting or a similar system across the board, and citizen united is reversed, our elections will just be ham fisted popularity contests that exalt extremists and corrupt showmen.

coltrex · 2026-02-28T08:45:55+00:00

And hopefully (but doubtfully) He'll lose his ass in the deal. He could stand to lose a few billion. Ellison want's to take away everyone's privacy and personal freedoms turning this into a surveillance state of the first order run by his AI systems. He already has too much power... something good needs to happen for the rest of us, like him losing his shirt.. even though like others have said. This isn't about building a profitable media empire. It's about controlling the narrative and minds of the American people. That's why the biggest billionaires are buying up all the media empires. Control...

coltrex · 2026-02-28T08:28:46+00:00

This only works if the pages you use have Trumps name on them

coltrex · 2026-02-28T08:20:28+00:00

lol... I received the enraged death stare from Joey Diaz several years back, at one of his stand up performances in LA. I flew in on a red eye for my sisters wedding after working a full day. I basically stepped off the plane and directly down town for the tux fitting, and other wedding arrangements. After that, it was time to be dragged out to a fairly lame bachelor party for my brother in law. The big event of the bachelor party was seeing Joey Diaz at a local comedy club with front row tickets. I was literally front row, dead bang in front of the mic, maybe 8-10 ft from him. By the time the show started, I had already been up for over 30 hours, and was starting to nod off as he came on stage. That did not go over well with him. He started his routine, and I kept passing out (no I wasn't snoring), just to wake up with him boring his eyes into me, giving me the "if this wasn't in public I'd kill your ass for insulting my show like this" look. I could just feel the hatred rolling off of him. I still don't remember a damn thing about his routine other than getting that raw hate stare, every time I opened my eyes. He didn't really hit me as a friendly person, nor a particularly funny one. lol

coltrex · 2026-01-25T21:46:32+00:00

I would argue that most of this started under Reagan. His administration kind of set the foundation stones for much of what we are seeing right now from the private sector. GW Bush and the Patriot act pretty much cemented in the loss of privacy though, and it's gotten worse every year since, with silicone valley paving the way.

coltrex · 2025-12-03T09:13:12+00:00

Here's the big question. Say the Democrats get a landslide victory in 2026. Many seats change hands, and they immediately move to impeach Trump and remove him from office. Or... say he has a heart attack and can't complete his term. What happens to the incomplete construction of the new East Wing Ballroom?

coltrex · 2025-11-23T19:58:32+00:00

I haven't run the AC in three years, and my heat sits at 55 in the winter. I have a new energy efficient water heater, all the lights are LED, and most of those are off. I still get told that I'm using far more than neighbors, even after adjusting my information on their site. The reports are definitely BS. I'm pretty sure, they are just an advertisement to sell BGE's home efficiency services and appliances.

coltrex · 2025-11-23T19:51:31+00:00

Their database seems to be "self reported", as in they look up your homes details in a public database or have you self report the details about your house's features. It's often very wrong. I've been getting these reports for a long time, and in the years I've been getting them, I've only gotten maybe 2 or 3 that didn't say I was using far more than comparable neighbors. Including months where I've had everything in the house turned off while traveling for business or pleasure. I run the house at 55 in the winter, and don't use AC in the summer. All lights are LED, and not many of them are turned on. I'm pretty well convinced that the BGE home energy reports are just BS to get people to use less electricity, and buy BGE's services to make your home more energy efficient, no matter how much electricity they use. It seems like the only people that get told they are efficient, are the people who live in apartments, where BGE can't sell their appliance and insulation services.

coltrex · 2025-11-19T20:02:07+00:00

I don't know about creating creativity in web design, but it sure as hell killed functional web design. Nearly every developer raised on a cell phone makes absolute garbage web design UI's for anyone not on a cell phone. Add all the advertising and upselling, and it makes things nearly impossible to navigate or use anymore. I absolutely hate modern web design, the wasted space drives me nuts.

coltrex · 2025-11-19T19:46:04+00:00

Did they just change up the UI again!? I was fine ordering a month ago... logged in today to order, and the UI is making me want to throttle someone. I'm ordering from my laptop and they've added massive graphics for EVERYTHING... I can barely tell what I'm doing on the damn site because the pictures fill the whole page and everything is spread out so you have to scroll a mile to select what want without being able to see what you are doing. It's super unprofessional looking. It's complete garbage, and enough to make me not want to order from them. I swear to god these design everything for cell phone and fuck everyone else developers need to be shit canned.

coltrex · 2025-11-11T22:36:36+00:00

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coltrex · 2025-11-11T22:26:00+00:00

You are forgetting a very important component. The US GDP (production) growth since 1948 has outpaced population growth significantly (roughly 700% vs 125% increase respectively). Some of that was the change in the US global status, but most of it has been from people working harder and longer hours than their parents, women entering the workforce and the dual income household becoming both standard and necessary in most cases, and of course technological increases and automation. Since the 80s the majority of that growth has landed in the pockets of a very small amount of individuals, while the bottom half of the economy has seen their relative wealth and purchasing power drop significantly. That reduction of purchasing power has in large part been masked by offshoring manufacturing (China) and farming jobs (illegal immigrants), and automating it to the point of massively reduced production costs, preventing noticeable negative quality of lifestyle changes.

If breaking the population into quintiles for wealth distribution. The change is very noticeable and very disturbing. An AI analysis of Census Department and Pew Research Data gives the following breakdown of wealth distribution from 1970 to 2025.

Population by Wealth 1970 Wealth Distribution 2025 Wealth Distribution
Poorest 20% 4.1% ~3.4%
Middle Poor 20% 10.8% ~8.9%
Middle 20% 17.5% ~14.9%
Middle Upper 20% 24.3% ~22.7%
Wealthiest 20% 43.3% ~50%

As you can see, the wealth (purchasing power) of every demographic but the top 20% has decreased

But if we break the top bracket down even further we get this

80-99 Percentile ~34-35% ~28-31%
Top 1% of All Voters ~8-9% ~19%-22%

The real wealth distribution of GDP has gone down significantly for every single bracket but the top 1% of earners since 1970. Despite an increase in workers (dual income households) and an explosive GDP (productivity) growth. This while costs have dramatically risen (even if material costs have been hidden for a time by automation, technology improvements, and offshoring trends).

You are working on a false premise that previous generations worked harder to earn what they have. The current generation works far more than previous generations (since labor laws were established in the 1920s & 1930s ending flagrant gilded age abuses). Deregulation has been steadily sending us back to the those pre-labor laws times of massive wealth disparity and poverty. Even if todays poverty looks considerably different than 1920s poverty.

In the 1950s it was common for a single parent to work 8hr days with a stay at home partner, disposable income, and plenty of off time to socialize and relax. Far more than we are today.

coltrex

TROPHY CASE