Definition of Opinion:  A belief or conclusion held with confidence but not substantiated by positive knowledge or proof.

Please be respectful to others with differing opinions. 

Katie Baribeau (Moore)

Frank, I know the US dropped leaflets warning the citizens before dropping the atomic bombs in Japan.  I'm not sure how many other times this happened but I know that leaflets have been dropped other times.  Some may have been for propanganda.  

DeWitt Bacon

Richard, what's the hubbub bud? First, I compliment you on a great psychological evaluation of Joe Biden, and I now thank you for providing evidence of Rick Perry's' qualifications. So, what's your beef? I'm still the pleasant, polite, conservative, retired electrician I've always been  :) I just get my feathers ruffled at times with liberal nonsense. :(

The first time we met was at a beer summit in Phoenix. I don't remember us talking to each other much. There was my friend Glen Myrick and some others with whom I was more engaged in conversation. But when you were in my area, we did meet with your wife and had a very nice lunch and visit, void of any political talk. You were both very pleasant and polite. I wouldn't mind doing it again under the same rules.

Frank Wiley

Colangelo , (No not Jerry)  the prosecutor in the Trump N.Y. trial, was actually on the Biden Presidential Election Team.  Then he was put in the Number 3 position in the Justice Department.  Who's paying this guy to leave a higher paying Federal job to take a lower paying State job?

Katie Baribeau (Moore)

Republican Geoff Duncan, the former Lt. Governor of Georgia, endorsed President Biden in a scathing op-ed in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 

“Unlike Trump,” he writes, “I’ve belonged to the GOP my entire life. This November, I am voting for a decent person I disagree with on policy over a criminal defendant without a moral compass.”

This is what country over party means. 

Duncan is no liberal. Not only is he a lifelong Republican and an extremely conservative one. His bold decision to cross party lines in the upcoming election, which in today’s climate can be seen as brave, is a significant departure from the usual Republican strategy of remaining in lock step no matter what. 

This break with Donald – and the party – is a sign of more positive things to come.

Duncan expressed his disappointment in some of his fellow Republicans who were previously some of Donald’s “fiercest detractors” now pledging to support the Republican ticket out of a misguided sense of loyalty. “This mentality is dead wrong,” Duncan asserts.

This election is not about loyalty or even policy, Duncan argues, but values — it’s about acknowledging how dangerous it would be to have Donald back in the White House – and acting accordingly. 

Richard Deshong

Imagine for a moment you own a business, let’s say it is a real estate business, and you need to hire someone to run your office. What sort of qualifications are you going to look for in a prospective employee? I would imagine you might want to hire someone who has successfully run a real estate office in the past and has all the appropriate education to do the best job possible.

Now imagine you are a state district attorney getting ready to indict and put on trial a high-profile person and are looking for someone with the background and education needed to maximize the probability of successfully obtaining a guilty verdict. Might you be interested in someone who had already successfully prosecuted the same high-profile person?

Matthew Colangelo is a Harvard educated lawyer who has specialized in white-collar fraud and prior to spending a few years at the DoJ was a member of the New York Prosecution Department that successfully shut down the Donald J. Trump Foundation for illegally coordinating with the 2016 Trump campaign.

Sounds like a good hire to me.

Katie Baribeau (Moore)

Richard, you just posted exactly what I found out.  Colangelo was hired because he is excellent in what he does and since we are prosecuting a previous President of the United States, Bragg wanted the best.  Not everyone is rewarded by money.  Colangelo has a good amount of money already.  Sometimes when people are in that high income bracket, they just choose jobs they like or think they will be helpful.  Personally, my father, a psychologist found that he wanted to be at the beginning in the field of Special Education.  Instead of private practice, which would have paid nicely, he worked for the states of Wisconsin, Arizona and Michigan.  Not as much money but he was given rewards that are much better than money, and I am very proud of him for that!

Katie Baribeau (Moore)

trump's dementia.  More than 300 mental health professionals have signed a petition warning that trump has clear signs of dementia.  This would be in conflict with the reports that President Biden is the one with cognitive issues.  

1.  trump suffers from 'malignant narcissim which was actually designed to explain Hitler.  trump manifests all 4 components of this condition, naccissim, paranoia, constant feeling of being persecuted which justifies his harming other people and anti-social lying.

 2.  trump is now unable to get through a rally without committing one of the tell-tale signs of dementia such as saying the incorrect word or combining or mixing up people, places and generations.  

3.  trump has demented speech.  His actual words,  “Gettysburg, what an unbelievable battle that was," adding, "It was so much, and so interesting, and so vicious and horrible, and so beautiful in so many different ways—it represented such a big portion of the success of this country."  trump then jumped to talking about Confederate General Robert E. Lee and how he was now “out of favor” and told his troops to never fight uphill, only downhill with Trump claiming Lee said, “Never fight uphill, me boys!” (historians deny Lee ever said such a thing.)  "Gettysburg, wow, I got to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to look and watch."   This is what people with dementia do when they draw a blank, they continue to use a lot of superlative words as filler words, then try to make up stories because nature abhors a vacuum.  

4.  These psychologists believe that trum will only get worse, word salad, loose associations, impairments of memory and language problems (misprouncing words or making up words that don't exist, cofeve.).

5.  It has been suggested that if trump were to get reelected that he would become completely incapacitated in office.

Bill RIHS

Wow! I have heard some whoppers just read rediculusness! Evidently no everyone watches or listens to the President and to a Presidential candidate. Those that preach no one will change minds continues to attemp to do that or is just agitating to get a response.😜

Michael Kelly

I jjust heard a member of the biden admin. a fellow named bernstein, who is the  Secretary of Commerce, do what i call a :total breakdown. He  was asked how the Government made money so that it could spend .money. He said well when we need money we make money by issuing bonds and we have always sold bonds but this leads to indebteness so we have to print more money  to have enough money to pay the interest on the money we have already made and spent, and so then we have to sell more bonds to make more money  but then he must have understodd the total absurdity of what he was saying and he rare very rare for a Democrat, admiitted that HE DID NOT KNOW HOW THE GOVERNMENT MAKES MONEY. 

THAT ANSWER  IS THAT OUR GOVERNMENT DOES'NT PRODUCE ANYTHING OF .VALUE. IT MUST RELY ON TAXES FOR MONEY.

WHY ALL THE RIGAMAROLE, WHY NOT JUST PRINT MORE MONEY.

So Katie, I have my Great Karnack Turban on and opening the envelope I pull from it the single sheet of Paper and read the Answer  KATIE IS THE ONE. What did Ed McMahon's Question Say? I think you know "Who is the most hate filled Anti-Trumper on this Message Forum?" Don't worry Katie, we all understaind and its Okay, All God's Chillin Got Dem Shoes gonna Walk Around Gonna Walk Around

Jim Coats

Thank God Joe, Kamala and KJP don't have any trouble expressing themselves!

DeWitt Bacon

Michael K., I heard the same nonsense from Bernstein. I've asked this question before: IS THERE ANYONE IN BIDEN'S CABINET WHO IS NOT EITHER A COMMUNIST OR AN ALL-OUT IDIOT?

Richard, I'm sorry, but I forgot to respond to your question about the devastating storms that hit the Midwest. Fortunately for us, the brunt of those storms was to the west of us. They went through Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa. We had some rain and wind but nothing damaging. Thanks for your concern,

Michael Kelly

DeWitt  Yes, biden's appointees to his Administration seem to all be pinioned upon their individual qualifications with some special sub-group that is a member of the "large tent that comprises the Democtatic Party" which biden desperately needs to Vote for him come November (and all the previous months of this year if the envelopes don't run out) of this year so that he can continue the Destruction. Bernstein was so befuddled that he almost said "my dog ate my homework" when asked how the Gubmint makes money. At Columbia his state would be termed "phlumoxxed" with arriving at a semblance to the question.  You covered it quite well when you stated  "They are either all communists, or they are Idiots" Might be redundant, but I like it. 

Its 11 am my time here in the Progressive Paradise called Mexifornia, I mean California, and still no sparkly bright comments from our own gaggle of Progressives. Wonder why? Must be doing Riot Tracking with the Hamas North American Fan Club. Supplying them with SaniWipes, Gluten Free Meatballs, and Vegan strained Veggies in those little Jars with the baby on them. 

Katie Baribeau (Moore)

Kelly, what scares you so much about the TRUTH.  The Lieutenant Governor, Republican from Georgia, did write the op-ed I shared, and as far as trump being on the verge of dementia, it was a report from hundreds of therapists.  The word hatred comes from you, not me.  Every human being deserves to be treated based on actions and words. trump is now getting the payback for years of illegal behavior and treating people badly.  I am really enjoying it.  I hope he goes to jail but if he doesn't, seeing him squirm for a few weeks will hold me over until he loses the Presidency.  After your last post I need to change your name to Pinocchio.  But it's OK...........you have fallen under the spell of a scam artist, and I know it's hard to admit it.  You use the word hatred, can you tell me the post where your dislike of Biden, or his people or policies doesn't jump out, I'll wait, just like I'm waiting for you to stand up behind you remarks that trump doesn't love him some dictators.......I'll bet neither will ever come.   You should know this from being a "lawyer," anybody can say the words but if there is no proof to back them up they become irrelevant.  BTW, I don't think our Progressive group needs to report on your timeline, we have lives.  

Richard, I hope for now I can include you in the Progressive group.  I know you are more independent, even old style Republican but you show respect for the truth and a willingness to research you issues.  
 

Richard Deshong

Katie, alas, I can’t accept your offer to be listed under the label Progressive. I really do consider myself a right of center Republican, no matter what my fairy god mother chooses to believe.

I too am heartened by the growing number of Republicans who are growing a pair and openly expressing their belief that another four years of a Trump administration would be bad for America. It is so easy for some to toss around unproven accusations and to continually fail to put up or shut up. As we both have said many times on this site, if a politician has broken the law then it needs to be proven in a court of law and they should be held accountable. I am thankful that the world is seeing that America is a country ruled by laws and that no one is above them, not even an ex-president. The last two top politicians that openly broke the law while in office, Agnew and Nixon, both were allowed to resign rather than face prosecution and potential jail time. Had they been held fully accountable for their actions maybe it would have served as an example of the consequences of illegal behavior in politics and we would not be suffering through this embarrassing nightmare Trump has created.

I will continue to be a voice of truth on this forum. It absolutely amazes me the way supposedly educated adults choose to conduct themselves when striking out against anyone who dares disagree with them. I challenge any of them to share their posts with their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren and truly listen to their views on the topics being debated. I know when I share the posts with my friends, many who themselves are very conservative, they shake their heads in disbelief in the open uncivility on our social media site.

Over that past couple of weeks, I have been reaching out to my Jewish friends to seek their opinions of what has been happening on many college campuses. To a person they have expressed their support of those who are protesting the indiscriminate bombing of Palestinians in Gaza. They are quick to point out that nearly forty percent of the peaceful protesters are Jews and remind me that over five percent of Palestinians are Jews. As one friend pointed out to me, when a bomb kills someone, or someone starves to death, it doesn’t matter what religion or nationality they were. Another friend, who happens to be a rabbi, commented that the references he saw on our forum to George Soros is considered one of the oldest and worst antisemitic comments clueless people make. It reinforces the belief that there is a cabal of wealthy Jews who are out to control the world. He went on to compare the many organizations the Soros Foundations supports to the way people like Robert Mercer, Trumps most major backer in 2016, choose to use their wealth to benefit the needy. It was a real revelation.

I’ll close this post with a bumper sticker some like to use:

Enforce the Law

We are watching the American judicial system do just that in real time.

Katie Baribeau (Moore)

OK, Richard, I respect your Republicanism.  I will from now on say the Progressives and Richard because no matter what, you post the truth, or your closely held beliefs.  Thank you for doing that.  I traveled to Israel with several Jewish people.  I find them to be supportive of a solution for the Israeli Palestinian problem. I haven't been in contact with them, the last few days are the first free days I've had for some time. I was also impressed with the daily life we saw in Jerusalem, Arabs and Israelis working and living next to each other with no issues.  The people want peace, in my opinion it is the politicians who have an agenda that keeps much of the division going. 

Richard Deshong

The parallels between what is going on with Netanyahu in Israel and with Trump here in America are amazing. The only way both can keep from going to jail is to hang onto what ever power they can. Without the far-right parties Netanyahu would be voted out in a heartbeat and made to face the corruption charges that are pending against him. His attempt to move Israel’s highest court under the umbrella of the executive branch is another of his desperate attempts to keep from having to face the music.

Likewise, Trump’s only hope is to win the presidency again and crush any not yet judicated charges against him and pardon himself of any charges of which he is found to be guilty should they make their way though the courts before the election.

To those alumni on the site who openly despise Trump the man but are l so willingly to follow him into the abyss because you believe he is the best thing since sliced bread, I once again challenge you to a point-by-point debate over his accomplishments as president. Don’t confuse this with a comparison to Biden, just a discussion of exactly why you think another four years of disfunction in Washington is so desirable. And, opinions don’t count, only quantifiable facts will be accepted.

Bill RIHS

Some on the Forum Don't know what is happened in the two tears of Justice underway. TDS is Truely amazing. The Trump people are training in the hills to take over our country(Maxine Waters). Some think MTG is radical😜. Heading to France in the AM. I may post or I may not.

Jim Coats

Bill.  Have a wonderful time.  Trip of a lifetime

Michael Kelly

Katie  Really eye opening how you have bared your Soul for all to be able to see.

Richard  I don't beleve for a micro-second that you are anywhere close to being a Republican, or a Conservative. I also don't beleive that you can engage in a comparison between Trump and Netanyahu. Trump holds no office now, and Netanyahu has naysayers who are in all likelihood sympathetic with the desires that Iran has for Israel's survival as a Nation. Demanding perfection from a man who is defending the Nation of Israel seems to be pretty shallow in light of what occurred on Oct. 7, 2023. 

I don't see any realistic linkage between Netanyahu and DJT right now. But of course, your way of thinking that has caused you to make such and illogical comparison prabably has its genesis with your hatred of DJT. I don't really understaind what you hate him for. but it seems to be very intense. You probably need to get some help for this. 

When Trump was president our Economy was booming. Food was cheaper. Gasoline was Cheaper, Travel was Cheaper, Clothes were Cheaper. Housing was Cheaper.People seemed Happier. Except for you and maybe Katie and some others. I think maybe us Conservatives are used to trying to  save people and we do so overmuch, when it is really a waste of time. Sorry to have bothered You Richard.

Michael Wetzel

Michael K., 

Your last paragraph, in you last post, says it all...And the rest of your post was good as well. But watch it, he only tells the truth you know. Just ask the ol drama queen.............

Bill, I wish you a great trip, be careful and have fun. Better watch your wallet, I have been reading alot about those Europeans, sneaky suckers, they are.........

Frank Wiley

Bill, Have a GREAT trip.  It's going to be emotional!  

Jim Coats

Average gasoline price in US today:  $3.66/gal.  Yesterday at COSTCO:  $4.10.

The left always wants to debate.  Well, here it is:  Biden is a Traitor.  Trump ain't.  End of debate.

SECURE THE BORDER!!  ENFORCE THE LAW!!  AMERICA FIRST!!

Frank Wiley

Our Country has spent 800 Billion on the Border/illegal alien crises so far.  (This includes Federal, State, and Cities). This is money we should be used to help the American Citizens, especially the poor.  Has this Travesty made us less safe?  Absolutely!!  Every day I read about crimes some of these illegals have committed.  This is totally at Biden's feet.  It is reported that we spent more on Illegals than what we spent on Medicare.  Trump is an Ass!  Biden is an idiot!  I'll take an Ass over an Idiot every time!!  

Richard Deshong

The US is pumping so much oil the resulting natural gas has reached a point where the oil companies are paying customers to take it off their hands. The only alternative is to flare it off in the fields, which runs afoul of air pollution regulations and results in fines. At the same time, OPEC is meeting to consider further reducing their oil exports to keep prices from free falling. Ukraine is targeting Russian refineries, and their oil exports are suffering accordingly. Yet, as pointed out, gas prices remain high. But there are those among you that continue to believe it is the White House, and not the marketplace and big oil companies, that set the price at the pump.

DeWitt Bacon

I might add one thing to Kelly's post 13617: Name one way we are better off now than we were four years ago. I can think of one or two ways. We can spend more time with our families at home now since we cannot afford to go anywhere, and many don't have jobs They cannot enjoy things they like to do, like going out to dinner or movies. And many are losing weight because they cannot afford to buy food. Four years ago we were establishing peace in the Middle East. We stopped sending money to Iran, which was sponsoring terrorists throughout the world, including Hamas. The economy was growing. Prices were stable. Israelis were living in relative peace. But today, shouts of "DEATH TO ISREAL" and "DEATH TO AMERICA" are acceptable, along with campus riots to those ends. Yes, we are so much better off today, right?