Journal of Other Forum Analysis

[Taco Bell Tower]

I hear you. I've been a Democrat since I was literally in second grade (we were doing a civics project and I asked "which party is the one that likes war less?" and when the teacher said the Democrats I was like "Ok I'm one of those") and I've never even for a second considered changing parties. I even went to school fully intending to run for Congress when I was out of college before one of my professors talked me out of it due to my extremely loud atheism. My dad worked for Bernie on two separate campaigns. This shit has been in my blood for my whole life.

I think there are ways we can do better, but I'm always going to hope we can keep pushing and keep getting better. I really hope the messaging Kamala and Walz have resonates with people. Tonight seemed like one of those moments that could tectonically shake the landscape, but we gotta keep it up.

https://www.resetera.com/threads/us-politics-ot-2-what-can-be-unburdened-by-what-has-been.933294/page-480#post-126836757

What kid gets into politics at that age?  

[Hap Shaughnessy]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/dragoneer-owner-of-fur-affinity-has-passed-away.946506/

[D3RANG3D]

Spoiler:  (click to show)(click to hide)

https://www.tiktok.com/@benjimanz/video/7127071177658567982?lang=en

[benji]

Lot of right-wing trolls still posting in this thread with no response from Booshka or Nepenthe, though a few people keep trying to get the thread on topic (U.S. imperialism) but B-Dubs seems to be siding with the far-right trying to instigate a coup:

US getting involved is the worst thing that can happen. This will just empower Maduro's narrative that they are trying to install a puppet. I just wish that for once the US would stop trying to play global police and actually try to talk to other local leaders for a solution

I'll add, it's ridiculous and frankly disrespectful to the current situation to say that the US recognizing the proven elected president of the country is "the worst thing that can happen"

Maduro's narrative is irrelevant, they will claim whatever they want for whatever reason they choose, they will later change it to whatever else they want. They blamed North macedonia for a supposed attack like three days ago for christ sake. Now they are blaming Elon Musk and God nows what else.

Yesterday Maduro announced the creation of two "maximum security prisons" made specially for protestors, he showed a video where 75 illegally imprisoned guys where force to do a salute to Chavez, his DA said that the arrest that were happening are good because "they cleanse society", people are being taken from there homes at night simply for having done there jobs as electoral witnesses. 17 people are confirmed to have been killed by security forces in the days since the election, including a 15 year old boy, the actual number is most likely higher.

Yes, we now the history with the US in latin America and the world. Their involvement is not ideal but is also completely necessary, they were pivotal in making this election happening.

Also, the US has clearly been coordinating with other governments in the region, they even mention it in the announcement and is pretty obvious to anyone following the situation. Please think and get informed before making such comments in such a delicate situation

I don't think there's anything unsavory about calling BS on a fraudulent election plain for all to see.

And as others have said, the US is hardly alone in this.

In any case, I will defer to what Venezuelans on the ground are saying. From what I can tell, US diplomatic involvement seems to be well-received.

This so much thank you.

And people also make the big mistake seem things from their outside perspective and not from the perspective of people in the country suffering and fighting a evil dictatorship. As a Venezuelan, I can assure you this is really welcome by us. Venezuelan people who are now fighting on the streets seem they have the support from the US on their cause for freedom and democracy means a huge deal.

"American imperialism" is the boogeyman of the left in Latinamerica, I know there's historical precedent of course but it mostly from ~80 years ago. It's the easiest scapegoat. Chavez couldn't stop calling any opposition as "pitiyanki". There was some political turmoil in Bolivia not long ago and people were already claiming that it was all an Elon Musk conspiracy with the US to steal lithium mines or something. Honestly I wouldn't be surprised Musk couldn't point out where Bolivia is on a map.

It is textbook fascism/authoritarianism, an external enemy is coming for you so you should just give unlimited power to them. It's like clockwork.

Hopefully the US can keep its fingers out of Venezuela after all is said and done. I just want what's best for the people who live there—smash fascists everywhere. Fuck authoritarians.

I'm seeing a bunch of leftists losing their minds over this and blaming everyone but Maduro for stealing an election. 🤮

"American imperialism" is the boogeyman of the left in Latinamerica, I know there's historical precedent of course but it mostly from ~80 years ago.

no

Honestly, an outlet that actively publishes articles without attribution isn't exactly trustworthy.

Even taking this at face value (which is really hard to do), this is nothing compared to the 60s and 70s dictatorships throughout all Latinamerica. Dilma was going to be ousted, regardless of US intervention.

Now Maduro trying to maintain his dictatorship in the year of our lord 2024 because "USA bad" is just completely far fetched and absurd at this point.

So let them release the fake ones, let them be checked and confirmed to be fake. That's the point. They have more time, but they'd need god know how long to fake it to a point where its believable.

You really can't recognize a different president based solely on the opposition's fraud claims (despite all of us knowing they're telling the truth). That's not how international affairs works. Imagine if Trump claims fraud again and his buddies start recognizing him because of it.

Maduro is cornered right now. What other countries are doing might feel like its not enough, but they can't responsibly do more. What if Brazil reconigzed the opposition and their diplomats are expelled? What do we do with the people that remain in the former Argentina embassy? Do the rest of latam invade? Do we sanction the country even more?

I understand Venezuelan desperation as they are being oppressed by Maduro's forces. But other countries need to tread with caution, specially when there are over 7 million venezuelans abroad that won't be helped by having their consulates and embassy closed because the government of their host country hurry to tweet they recognize Edmundo

That's the whole point: Maduro isn't cornered, he was declared reelected by the venezuelan institutions, the electoral process in Venezuela is over.
There hasn't any actas, releasing them now or later won't change this nor will do any difference anymore, because he's already declared reelected.
Whatever that might be released will only serve to allow his allies to """confirm""" his election.

He's already prosecting the opposition, putting 1300+ people in jail he's building especially for them, will go after another 1000 and killed another 20, and the bloodshed won't stop.

It's a fraud, plain and simple.
Not calling on this shit show is a way to help Maduro, especially for closely-related countries like Mexico, Brazil and Colombia.
Don't give him time and let the spotlight go to something else, the pressure in this shitshow must be kept down.
As I said, Maduro doesn't have to show anything because he holds the government in Venezuela.

He also closed relations with any country that contested the process, didn't even need for them to declare the opposition as winner.

He is, because only a handful of countries are actually recognizing him and his biggest allies in the region aren't among them. You are assuming Brazil, Colombia and Mexico will regardless, but given all the issues there are, I don't think that will be the case, specially with what that would mean internally in each of these countries.

I insist, there are 7+ million venezuelans abroad that these very governments need to take care of them, need documentation, need to extradite in some cases, among other issues. But sure, let them call it a fraud right now, have the embassy closed for all of them and... somehow, that's the way because...?

I'm sorry, but the situation is worse for people in Venezuela than out of the country, especially the ones whom are protesting and getting jailed.

Calling out the results asap help put the pressure on Maduro and convince important elements that supports the dictatorship to change sides, also it helps convince more of the local population to go out and protest. More countries starts noticing it which creates a ripple effect.

If you give Maduro the element of time he'll first settle things down, control the population and then do whatever he wants with the actas.

I'm sorry but no, all the contrary. If someone is still supporting Maduro now, hurrying things up will just lead to the usual narratives and that will just strengthen support from them.

Like it or not, there is not much other countries can do, and international diplomacy being broken only makes it worse for literally everybody. Time also helps people find assylum before those embassies are potentially closed, etc.

There's no "hurry", but "staling".
Good luck bringing down a dictatorship after Maduro arrests everyone and the dust settles down.

Brazil already has left leaning political parties (including the current President's) congratulating Maduro. One even claimed it was a "victory over imperialism" and that was on tuesday/earlier than anything US did. They aren't doing anything to even mildly inconvenience Maduro.

Piece of shit. I can't believe there are leftists defending this shit

It makes me sick that there are people and parties claiming to represent the left in South Africa who are cheering this on.

Piece of shit. I can't believe there are leftists defending this shit

A quick cursory glance at the last 100 years of world history will leave you shocked at the kind of shit a very large segment of leftists are willing to defend and encourage. Hell, you don't even need to go that far back - just look at what they've defended in the last 10 years alone.

Trust me, as a Chinese socialist, I know and yet am still disgusted. The last few years have made it abundantly clear to me that the motivation for certain leftists is not based off of compassion.

Sorry for the little derail but 80 years? Come on... srsly? Most recent example is Colombia's paramilitarism (less than 20 years) financed by the Colombian State and the US (both, private corpos and goverments).

yep, literally fled Colombia, in the arms of my mother, dodging injured bodies with my family on the way to a military copter in the '90s with my family when Pablo Escobar was out of prison. It's just a Netflix series to yall but my whole family has PTSD so yeah it's not a boogeyman for me to say the American dichotomous thirst for and war on drugs and American imperialism literally upended my life and scattered my family across the globe. Nothing can undo what has been done.

Not just imperialism in the sense of the US government stealing territory, it's their policies influencing and causing chaos in Mexico, Central and South America that have caused the so called boogeyman in recent times perpetuated. You have the U.S. backing Pinochet in the 70's, Iran-Contra with Reagan, Fast and Furious not that long ago, countless other sins everywhere..
Then you have all the corporations causing all kinds of fuckery. No wonder it has all led to the conditions that are causing so much migration, and the U.S. sure likes to whine about it; those people coming to America. The U.S. to their benefit pick and choose when and where it's convenient to own it.

The secret history of US interventions in Latin America. Just a light overview of things earlier than a century ago.

To the surprise of no one other than some leftists unable to comprehend that authoritarians are bad.

I'm sorry but when I see that in my country people are getting pick by the Maduro Gestapo and brought to concentration camps, I could care less about the history of US foreign policies mistakes. Thread is about how a Dictator is killing and mass sequestering Venezuelan people to hold into power. I want this thread to keep shining light into that.

For example, my worry is that US involvement will result in emboldening Russian trolls and authoritarian leftists who think dictatorships are the only way to achieve socialism. If that were to happen it would just muddle the waters and give leftist leaders in South America an out in terms of speaking out against Maduro.

Every single thread about our countries ends up with a "What's the US equivalent? Let's make this about US" And that's shitty

But Whatsapp is Meta it has nothing to do with Musk lol

Obviously Whatsapp and E2E is a problem for a dictatorship, they have to physically confiscate the phones or turn off the whole internet, which is just inviable, so it is again unsurprising but so, so stupid. And transparent.

It's just another system of control. If people use whatsapp then they can criticize the government without fear of reprisals because the government can't see what they're saying. Without whatsapp they no longer have that ability and need to fear the government coming for them if they criticize them. It's a way to limit free speech through the use of fear. It's basically what the Stasi did in East Germany, create culture of fear where you don't want to say the wrong thing to the wrong person because doing so means jail.

Late but how can you say that when the US has influences in regime change in both Brazil and Bolivia in the last decade. Also, when it was leaked what the US was spying the country that was spied the most was Brazil, that is supposedly an ally.
Of course latinamerican leftist will treat the US as the boogeyman, the US never did anything to change this notion

[benji]

Here's just the Nothing Loud lore from that post:

yep, literally fled Colombia, in the arms of my mother, dodging injured bodies with my family on the way to a military copter in the '90s with my family when Pablo Escobar was out of prison. It's just a Netflix series to yall but my whole family has PTSD so yeah it's not a boogeyman for me to say the American dichotomous thirst for and war on drugs and American imperialism literally upended my life and scattered my family across the globe. Nothing can undo what has been done.

[benji]

It's just another system of control. If people use whatsapp then they can criticize the government without fear of reprisals because the government can't see what they're saying. Without whatsapp they no longer have that ability and need to fear the government coming for them if they criticize them. It's a way to limit free speech through the use of fear. It's basically what the Stasi did in East Germany, create culture of fear where you don't want to say the wrong thing to the wrong person because doing so means jail.

[Taco Bell Tower]

Here's just the Nothing Loud lore from that post:

yep, literally fled Colombia, in the arms of my mother, dodging injured bodies with my family on the way to a military copter in the '90s with my family when Pablo Escobar was out of prison. It's just a Netflix series to yall but my whole family has PTSD so yeah it's not a boogeyman for me to say the American dichotomous thirst for and war on drugs and American imperialism literally upended my life and scattered my family across the globe. Nothing can undo what has been done.

He's related to Planetsmasher, isn't he?

This crackhead 

[benji]

Here's just the Nothing Loud lore from that post:

yep, literally fled Colombia, in the arms of my mother, dodging injured bodies with my family on the way to a military copter in the '90s with my family when Pablo Escobar was out of prison. It's just a Netflix series to yall but my whole family has PTSD it's not a boogeyman for me to say the American dichotomous thirst for and war on drugs and American imperialism literally upended my life and scattered my family across the globe

In Congress, the new Minister of Justice, Rodrigo Lara-Bonilla, had become Escobar's opponent, accusing Escobar of criminal activity from the first day of Congress. Escobar's arrest in 1976 was investigated by Lara-Bonilla's subordinates. A few months later, Liberal leader Luis Carlos Galán expelled Escobar from the party. Although Escobar fought back, he announced his retirement from politics in January 1984. Three months later, Lara-Bonilla was murdered.[24]

The Colombian judiciary had been a target of Escobar throughout the mid-1980s. While bribing and murdering several judges, in the fall of 1985, the wanted Escobar requested the Colombian government to allow his conditional surrender without extradition to the United States. The proposal was initially rejected, and Escobar subsequently founded and implicitly supported the Los Extraditable Organization, which aims to fight extradition policy. The Los Extraditable Organization was subsequently accused of participating in an effort to prevent the Colombian Supreme Court from studying the constitutionality of Colombia's extradition treaty with the United States. It supported the far-left guerrilla movement that attacked the Colombian Judiciary Building and killed half of the justices of the Supreme Court on 6 November 1985. In late 1986, Colombia's Supreme Court declared the previous extradition treaty illegal due to being signed by a presidential delegation, not the president. Escobar's victory over the judiciary was short-lived, with new president Virgilio Barco Vargas having quickly renewed his agreement with the United States.[25][26]

Escobar still held a grudge against Luis Carlos Galán for kicking him out of politics, so Galán was assassinated on 18 August 1989 at Escobar's orders. Escobar then planted a bomb on Avianca Flight 203 in an attempt to assassinate Galán's successor, César Gaviria Trujillo, who missed the plane and survived. All 107 people were killed in the blast. Because two Americans were also killed in the bombing, the U.S. government began to intervene directly.[27][28]

After the assassination of Luis Carlos Galán, the administration of César Gaviria moved against Escobar and the drug cartels. Eventually, the government negotiated with Escobar and convinced him to surrender and cease all criminal activity in exchange for a reduced sentence and preferential treatment during his captivity. Declaring an end to a series of previous violent acts meant to pressure authorities and public opinion, Escobar surrendered to Colombian authorities in 1991. Before he gave himself up, the extradition of Colombian citizens to the United States had been prohibited by the newly approved Colombian Constitution of 1991. This act was controversial, as it was suspected that Escobar and other drug lords had influenced members of the Constituent Assembly in passing the law. Escobar was confined in what became his own luxurious private prison, La Catedral, which featured a football pitch, a giant dollhouse, a bar, a Jacuzzi, and a waterfall. Accounts of Escobar's continued criminal activities while in prison began to surface in the media, which prompted the government to attempt to move him to a more conventional jail on 22 July 1992. Escobar's influence allowed him to discover the plan in advance and make a successful escape, spending the remainder of his life evading the police.[29][30]

On 2 December 1993, Escobar was found in a house in a middle-class residential area of Medellín by Colombian special forces using technology provided by the United States. Police tried to arrest Escobar but the situation quickly escalated to an exchange of gunfire. Escobar was shot and killed while trying to escape from the roof. He was hit by bullets in the torso and feet, and a bullet which struck him in the head, killing him. This sparked debate about whether he killed himself or whether he was shot and killed.[11]

Ugh, I can't believe fucking Amerikkka would do this to Nothing Loud.

[benji]

Is he saying his family was some kind of political or cartel rival of Escobar?

[Daffy Duck]

Is he saying his family was some kind of political or cartel rival of Escobar?

You’ve got his name from his poo thesis…time to go to work

[Besticus Maximus]

Is he saying his family was some kind of political or cartel rival of Escobar?

He's said before it was a cult

[Propagandhim]

He escaped being routed out by a US Air Force A10 machine gun, and dodged improvised explosives by the drug cartels.to pursue the dream:  counting kernels of corn in human shit and plugging that number into a correlation coefficient equation.  To y'all this is Netflix, to me...this is real life.

[benji]

Haters wrecked.

[Propagandhim]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/BriannaWu/status/1820554030008951091?t=88tFU8X3VoOfE248ZbgfiQ&s=19[/tweet]

Founding a PAC gets you enough income for 4 Porsches?  That crappy game she made and the journalism job certainly didn't...so, is she bragging about skimming a huge cut off the top of her PAC?

[benji]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/i-think-im-becoming-an-atheist-come-share-your-deconversion-experiences.163148/

Does anybody else watch The Atheist Experience? I know it got splintered by a transphobia controversy exodus last summer but I have no idea about the details. I'm just watching old videos.

Has anybody else have the experience of becoming an atheist or "deconverting"? How did you deal with the fear of hell, turning your back on God, apostasy, isolation/loneliness, and other issues bubbling up once you start engaging your "doubts" about faith? I'm looking forward to how my life can open up a new at 28 years old without having to care about religion anymore.

I would say that I grew up in a Christian church that almost constitutes a cult. Not only did they encourage us to stay within the church brand we were in (aka not visit other churches), all our conferences and meetings and pastors were selected internally by being close friends with the senior pastor, none of them had beyond a high school education, and other ways of insulating members and shielding us from outside doctrine or theology. This "cult" and the fear of leaving the framework have scarred my psyschologically that I am resolving with a trauma therapist now.

Fast forward 10 years later and I have had enough unsatisfied questions about the church and Jesus and the mental gymnastics necessary to carry a faith in "the most important truth of mankind" (Jesus' sacrifice) being so obfuscated by centuries of politics, ancient languages, shitty third-hand, anonymous testimonies written and assembled decades after said event with endless interpretations and sects claiming the truth. Even the experts who have dedicated their lives to studying ancient biblical texts and history are split; you can find just as many staunch atheist scholars as staunch christian scholars who at the very least agree on a history that 99% of Christians don't even have the skills to discern for themselves. Seems like a pretty shitty way to communicate your most important message to mankind and then hold them all accountable for rules you made up, where moral people can go to hell, and bad people can end up in heaven as long as they pray on their deathbed.

I just don't really have the mental stamina to keep up the gymnastics anymore and I don't even relate to my friends and family who are Christians anymore. I stopped going to church 3 years ago when I met my same-sex spouse and we were basically not allowed at 99% of the churches in Texas. Once I stopped caring about the gay "sin" in the Bible, the other "sins" and church rules seemed completely irrelevant and arbitrary to my life. Turns out drugs are fun, sex is great, alcohol is fun, dating is fun, living together before marriage is a good idea, atheists and non-believers can be good people, and so many other "rules" I arbitrarily used to shape my understanding of the world were totally bunk or a useless waste of time.

A lot of my previous church friends got college degrees like me and became atheist, and they started sharing The Atheist Experience videos and they have been profound in getting me on the journey to atheism. Matt Dillahunty and Tracie Harris are my favorite, and it has been refreshing to watch them tackle hard questions head-on that were shunned or not allowed to be discussed genuinely in my previous spiritual circles. Seeing no bullshit discussion about topics like the early church history, radiocarbon dating, the morality of God, the likelihood of a god, etc are just profound for me.

However, my closest family member besides my husband, my mother, is a disabled woman who has lived a very tragic, difficult life that would shock most of you. Her only solace in this life is the idea that she "raised me with the gospel and it will always be hidden in my heart." I don't have the heart to tell my mother I might be an atheist. I think it's a secret I will keep until she dies, but I'm not sure if I'll regret that. Anyone deal with similar family issues with "coming out" as an atheist or non-believer?

Here are some pivotal TAE that spurred me to become an atheist:

https://www.resetera.com/threads/do-you-feel-like-it%E2%80%99s-hard-to-make-close-reliable-friends-in-your-culture.596316/

I guess coming from a Latin American family I've been perpetually frustrated that after so many years here it's been very difficult to have very close friends I can rely on the way many of us do in Latino cultures. Key word is rely.

I have lots of friends who will hang out with me when it's convenient and fun for them but idk in my culture there's a lot of hospitality and doing things for others, you invite strangers you met that day over for dinner and when someone is in your home you feed them like family and their friends are welcome to come too. But here in America, it's very common for people (especially white people) to be relatively (compared to latinos) cold, prickly, they like to live in their suburban castles in isolation, like to remain focused on their routines and tightly-knit circles, talk to their cousins/extended families like twice a year if even, and are kind of satellite friends happy to come to your place for food and booze but if I want to invite someone to something spontaneous, it's hard to get Americans to budge in a way a lot of Latinos might consider fun or exciting. And let's say I have an urgent or emergency situation, even my closest friends probably wouldn't take a day off of work or an evening after work when they're tired to help me, even if I've dropped everything for them, Colombian mother style, to help them in their hour of need. There's always an excuse. And getting them to hang out or do something fun on a weekend is like no, I'm tired, I'm busy, etc which I fully understand but at the same time it feels like there's this invisible wall here with people I can't seem to penetrate fully unless I grew up with them as a blood sibling.

People can't be bothered to inconvenience themselves for others and in my culture it's just very different. My aunt hadn't seen me since I was born and when I showed up in her city for the first time with my boyfriend whom she had never met, she had us stay with her, she took us to the beach, took us to dinner, eagerly got to know us and invited us into her life, and asked us to keep in touch. I can't say I expect that of anyone here in the US. In fact last month my husbands work laptop and bag got stolen out of our house by a new acquaintance I had met and gotten to known over a few encounters and when they left in the evening they stole it and I caught it on my Alexa doorbell cam and they denied it. My "best friend" who considers me "blood/family" has suddenly ghosted me for a month and last told me she would let me know if we we're still gonna be friends and then didn't and now ignores me again.

There's just this wall with getting to know people closely here, I'm so hospitable and friendly I would think and I even cook dinner for strangers and new friends. Yet it's been like very very rare that I encounter someone who wants to regularly break from their routine to spend consistent time with me or do something special like cook dinner for me or let alone sacrifice any of their convenience for me when I need them (eg needing a ride for a surgery appointment or needing someone to check on my cat if I'm gone) like I would for anyone in my inner circle. It's a cultural difference that I struggle to feel like I belong in this country. When I'm back in Colombia, I feel at home with how warm and welcoming many people are around me. Here I find many people are so impregnable into their inner circle and tired and focused on themselves that it just feels difficult to intercept.

Does anyone else relate to this? I'm sorry for how this sounds if it sounds haughty, I'm just ranting and need a space to do so because I don't even have a close friend I feel safe enough to complain about this to that would even understand where I'm coming from. My husband knows and agrees with me, which is why he wishes we would just move to Latin America or somewhere else asap. I don't even mean to insult all Americans I'm just struggling to make an inner circle here that honestly doesn't abuse me (I have had close friends recently with bipolar and BPD that have split on me or emotionally abused me repeatedly) which honestly add to the frustration of feeling like I belong in this culture.

In the culture you have immersed yourself into, do you feel it is easy or difficult to make close friends/inner circle?

https://www.resetera.com/threads/i-don%E2%80%99t-understand-how-people-can-believe-in-a-benevolent-god-that-allows-babies-to-have-brain-cancer.552535/

I became atheist after years of indoctrinated evangelical Christianity. Honestly I have a lot of religious trauma that I see a therapist for, but besides that, I reached a point where I just couldn't rationalize a god that would be benevolent and yet allow under his own ability to intervene the muck that is life and reality.

Today I found out my college friend (he and his wife are MDs), whose wife just had a baby 5 days ago, that their baby had a seizure. Went to the ER and found out it's an aggressive malignant brain tumor that will likely kill the baby, he's in the NICU now going to have brain surgery tomorrow. Even as MDs, they're both saying it doesn't look good for their infant son. But they're asking for prayers and trusting in gods plan.

This is where I just can't. Gods plan? Was it also gods plan that we have Trump so 900,000 Americans could die of Covid? Great plans god. I'm just a lowly human so I guess what the fuck do I know, right? I know that I'm more moral than you and your plans apparently.

How do people rationalize things like this?? I know there's an excuse for everything to theists, like the problem of evil, but can you really stomach saying that your god is benevolent and turns a blind eye to evil/pain happening right now in this moment that they could intervene to stop, but they don't, just to teach some ethereal smug lesson?

I did the hard way, did a bachelors in chemical engineering at a top 20 public university but didn't qualify for grants, so I had to take out $8k living expenses + $12k tuition in loans every year for 5 years to finish my long ass, brutally difficult chemical engineering program, almost 150 credit hours long. That left me with $100k in debt at the get go, and yeah ChemEs start out with high salaries, but it still will take a long time to pay those off if you want to live middle class. So I worked for 3 years, paid some of the debt, enjoyed some life and fun too. Then I decided to go to grad school for a PhD in computational bioengineering, so my loans are back in deferment until I finish (and this science PhD program is fully funded), and I have 2-2.5 years left to graduate. And I need to take out another loan to try to pay for my new school computer. I'm gonna be in loans til I die lol. Studying in the US sucks ass for finances.

anecdote rant: it looks like this might be related to white mostly-male evangelical demographic turning anti-intellectual over time. My church (see: cult) I grew up in was similarly mostly white and mostly anti-intellectual and anti-college education. I was one of like 4 people I knew in the entire 300 person high school youth group that went off to college. And we were seen as outcasts that would be liberally indoctrinated.

Even at college, the big Christian white male presence I naturally migrated to after leaving my cult/church back home was the dominant demographic. It's a mostly Christian white university that only started accepting women like back in the 70s or something, and it was originally an all male military and agricultural school for the state. Well now the university has a bible study hosted in their basketball stadium every Tuesday that literally numbers in THOUSANDS of students every week (pre-Covid). The first few weeks of the semester, they use the football stadium, one of the biggest in the country. That demographic of Christianity and white people with homophobic and racist dogma built into their culture are still very snooty and picky about the merit and credibility of higher education. It matters to give you credibility and jobs and wealth as a Christian, but if the knowledge doesn't work for you, you can just disregard it, put your kid in a private/homeschool and influence them to answer the right questions in biology class if forced to, but know God created straight men only in your heart. Lol my friend in the PA program at that school said the Christian white students in her class complained about having to learn about LGBTQ healthcare in one of their patient classes. Like what the fuck. This evangelical white mostly male demographic that is highly suspicious of higher education might be what I'm observing here.

My family (all old people) is devastated. I don't know what to think because this has never happened before. And I/we fled Colombia in '92 and our lives and safety were ruined by rebels such as Petro, so my family has zero sympathy for radical rebels and thinks this will further legitimize their creep into the government.

[benji]

Founding a PAC gets you enough income for 4 Porsches?  That crappy game she made and the journalism job certainly didn't...so, is she bragging about skimming a huge cut off the top of her PAC?

Frank bought them, had them before even running for office. But Wu has been paying themselves regularly from the PAC for "consulting" and other stuff presumably above the salary. This is a PAC that's done almost literally nothing over the last four years.

And one of the things they did do was run this ad for someone who got destroyed:

Now Wu tweets stuff like this:

Spoiler:  (click to show)(click to hide)

[Propagandhim]

anecdote rant: it looks like this might be related to white mostly-male evangelical demographic turning anti-intellectual over time. My church (see: cult) I grew up in was similarly mostly white and mostly anti-intellectual and anti-college education. I was one of like 4 people I knew in the entire 300 person high school youth group that went off to college. And we were seen as outcasts that would be liberally indoctrinated.

He asked each and every one of them if they were going to college, and if they'd stay there for 15 years.

[benji]

Also tweets stuff like this:

And this:

 

Spoiler:  (click to show)(click to hide)

[benji]

anecdote rant: it looks like this might be related to white mostly-male evangelical demographic turning anti-intellectual over time. My church (see: cult) I grew up in was similarly mostly white and mostly anti-intellectual and anti-college education. I was one of like 4 people I knew in the entire 300 person high school youth group that went off to college. And we were seen as outcasts that would be liberally indoctrinated.

He asked each and every one of them if they were going to college, and if they'd stay there for 15 years.

Are you suggesting that Nothing Loud is an unreliable narrator?

[benji]

It's not related to his religion but this is still one of my favorite Nothing Loud posts:

Moved here from Texas after being in Texas my whole life of 28 years.

Convinced me that WA is the best state with the US' best current attempt at progressivism (minus the taxing scheme, but yay no income tax) and TX was basically a legalized white evangelical nationalist cesspool of incarceration and too much wasted space and flat ugliness where I wasted 3 decades of my life.

Bonus: the OP of that thread and post #82.

[jooseloose]

I hear you. I've been a Democrat since I was literally in second grade (we were doing a civics project and I asked "which party is the one that likes war less?" and when the teacher said the Democrats I was like "Ok I'm one of those") and I've never even for a second considered changing parties. I even went to school fully intending to run for Congress when I was out of college before one of my professors talked me out of it due to my extremely loud atheism. My dad worked for Bernie on two separate campaigns. This shit has been in my blood for my whole life.

I think there are ways we can do better, but I'm always going to hope we can keep pushing and keep getting better. I really hope the messaging Kamala and Walz have resonates with people. Tonight seemed like one of those moments that could tectonically shake the landscape, but we gotta keep it up.

https://www.resetera.com/threads/us-politics-ot-2-what-can-be-unburdened-by-what-has-been.933294/page-480#post-126836757

This dude is unreal   What a storied life. Could you imagine him in Congress?  Fucking hell

[Daffy Duck]

Just to clarify this, Nothing Loud is the same account that spent large amounts on money on a monster Pc to run switch emulation whilst also being a cunt to their husband and bleeding them dry whilst being a constant student?

[benji]

I hope I'm one of them! My spouse and I are gonna finish up our PhDs and then head on over since we auto-qualify for express entry!

I'm going to teach y'all how to make Tex-mex. You're not ready.

I live in Seattle and will finish my PhD soon (in less than 2 years). I'm a computational biologist/biostatistician/bioengineer so my career is in demand (biotech). My husband and I would qualify for Canada express entry pretty much immediately and we own real estate in Seattle so we could sell it and get something decent in Vancouver if we were to move.

Given the US is floundering at anything competent on a completely consistent basis and has broken democracy, my husband and I don't intend to raise a kid here and we hate the idea of associating with this country much longer. In the same week Canada announced a handgun freeze and BC announced a decriminalization of street drugs, the US still has cannabis federally illegal and it held an NRA convention in my home state. I'm just so done with the embarrassment of being a USA resident so my husband and I are seriously considering a move to the Vancouver area in about 2-5 years.

So I know all the good reasons to move, try to warn me about the bad things. Why SHOULDNT I move to the Vancouver area? I have the means, the language, the career, and the interest in moving with my partner. What should make us hesitate or hold back?

How's the healthcare? Im a complex health case and I have a great healthcare support system here in the US and I pay almost nothing for it, including couples counseling monthly and individual psychotherapy 2x per week with a trauma psychologist, and monthly meetings with a personal addiction psychiatrist. I take lots of psych meds, I'm a congenital heart disorder patient, I have IBS and Im a dermatology patient. How easy is it to set up this kind of care in Canada?

Just FYI—people who require more than $24,000/yr in health coverage are not able to immigrate to Canada: Medical inadmissibility rules for immigrating to Canada

This is because health coverage is a public service in Canada, so the country won't accept people who already have major health issues (as it would damage the system without someone already having paid in—kind of like getting an insurance policy on your house after it's already on fire).

There are possible exceptions, but if you have major pre-existing conditions then you need to be aware of this. The major exemption is if your spouse immigrates first with a job, then once they are here they could apply to sponsor you and have you accepted as a spousal immigrant. But that means your spouse moves here first for a few years and then you come later. You need to speak to a Canadian immigration lawyer. Canada is not an easy place to immigrate to, which surprises a lot of Americans.

I doubt I cost over that threshold, my continuing care is just daily psych meds and atenolol. My heart is fine (despite my heart disorder, just need an echocardiogram every 3 years) and I just get skin checks every couple of years for a few at-risk/concerning moles. All in all, I can't imagine my prescriptions and procedures costing more than $24,000 CAD per year, it doesn't even cost me that much in USD per year.

Only 20k? In Seattle? Those are rookie numbers. You're going to want to pump that up.

I've only owned it for 2 months and it's a brand new townhouse lol

Psychotherapy is a big deal for me. I have lots of trauma so I practically need a 2x/week therapy session right now, maybe I won't in the future. I'll work hard to try to need less therapy in the future.

express entry is a wonderful option for skilled professionals like me. I could get a visa in a snap

I'm:
>young
>no kids
>English/Spanish bilingual
>PhD in computational bioengineering/medicine
> 8 years of post-BS work experience
> husband is English/Spanish/French fluent
> husband has an MEd and 8 years of special ed teaching experience and 1 year of college level teaching experience
So we're both "in demand" immigrants to somewhere ideal like BC

So I would move there with little fuss, except my mental healthcare situation in the USA probably can't be matched in Canada. I have a trauma PhD clinical psychologist trained in IFS, DBT, EMDR and CBT that I see 2x a week plus an addiction research MD psychiatrist monthly and I pay $0 for it. Doubt I can get that kind of care in Canada likely ever, the healthcare in Canada seems kinda shite compared to my insurance and my options here in the US ironically (yeah it's "free" in the sense that you won't go bankrupt if you have an emergency but the wait times to see a specialist or a PCP starting out if you don't have a life-threatening emergency seem pretty poor, and it sounds like you don't have freedom of selection of specialists you want, and it seems like highly specialized specialists are not very easy to see (I need aortic graft cardiothoracic surgeons and congenital cardiologists monitoring me, easy to get in the US))

[benji]

 none of those post links work because of what they've fucked up over there

[Propagandhim]

400 people in Nothing Loud's class told me he regularly took shits in the school bathroom, fished it out with his hands and then said, "Shhh don't interfere with the samples." Or "Ahh, another fine specimen" All but 6 of them said so.  The 6 were white, so you can tell they had a dog in this fight.

[benji]

Just to clarify this, Nothing Loud is the same account that spent large amounts on money on a monster Pc to run switch emulation whilst also being a cunt to their husband and bleeding them dry whilst being a constant student?

We thought he was leeching off his now ex-husband but maybe it's stolen cartel money.

[Propagandhim]

Lol he has 5 "trauma therapists" because he went to church as a kid and didn't like it. 

[HardcoreRetro]

Looks like we got another genocide on deck. 

I'm autistic and I'll often realize that I've been sitting in complete silence doing nothing for hours and hours.

Edit to add: I also just finished reading through the rest of the pages and like...this site is really really good at denigrating traditionally autistic traits. Like god forbid someone get lost in thought.

https://www.resetera.com/threads/just-raw-dogged-a-7-hour-flight.945225/page-5#post-126830241

*Clicks on the link and sees the trans flag avatar*

Come on...

[Besticus Maximus]

Just to clarify this, Nothing Loud is the same account that spent large amounts on money on a monster Pc to run switch emulation whilst also being a cunt to their husband and bleeding them dry whilst being a constant student?

We thought he was leeching off his now ex-husband but maybe it's stolen cartel money.

I don't think he'd be able to keep the secret unfortunately

I had assumed the husband was loaded, maybe they just debted up to kingdom come

[Snoopy]

If we are a serious country, the intelligence services would do something about Musk.

TIme to put up the White Cliffs Firewall and stop Twitter operating in the UK.

While I felt it was excessive at first, I wouldn't be opposed to a nationwide ban on the app. I don't see how having something so toxic is good for anyone other than fascists.

 

Apparently ree lives in a world where proxys and VPNs don't exist