Trump is good for America.

"Long lists created over the last couple of years that spell out a lot of common points?" Where are these long lists? Who created them? Who are "they"? Are they just a few cranks, or should we take them seriously? Are they writing from mental institutions, or are they loose on the streets? Are they even American, or is this just Boris and Natasha doin' their job? And white slaves? Are you talking about the Mann Act? Some people in Black Lives Matter have called for reparations for slavery and a bunch of other things. Some affiliated student groups have made their own demands. Can't blame 'em for trying. The only lists I know about were released by Black Lives Matter, certain individual members of that group, and various campus groups affiliated with BLM. Black Lives Matter Releases First List of Demands https://blacklivesmatter.ca/demands/ Campus Demands. Chanelle Helm, co-founder of BLM in Louisvile, wrote up a list of her own ten "requests", including the ones you're referring to, in Leo Weekly after the Charlottesville riots. https://www.leoweekly.com/2017/08/white-people/ Daily Wire, Aug 24, 2017 Black Lives Matter Leader Pens List Of 10 Demands For White People. They're Insane.. (Note: her original list was labeled as "requests"; in the right wing reporting, they became "demands".) The sight of all those whities with torches on the march and chanting "Whose streets, our streets!" may have provoked a counter-reaction. If that's what you're talking about, say so, and we can discuss whether or not we should be concerned.(BTW, she may be nuts, and the list seems to have been tongue in cheek, sarcastic or at minimum, hyperbolic.) BLM isn't representative of African-Americans in this country, and their main complaint is about police shootings and the criminal justice system. Like counterpart groups on the Alt Right, and Ben Shapiro's Daily Wire from which you may have obtained your information, they're trying to stir people up and to channel outrage into new memberships. If calls for reparations gets legs, tho, I think us indigenous Americans should get in on the act. After all we've been through, with the Trail of Tears and all, I think you and Not My Real Name should at least have the decency to pay off my student loans. (I thought it might be worth a try.)

 

The repubs have been successful in trying to limit the IRS from keeping tabs on who is donating to non-profits, ( they now have it done) so now Russia or anyone else can donate unlimited amounts with no one knowing who is doing the donating. So, c'mon Russian money! Have to give some credit to the repubs--if there's a way to maintain secrecy about ANYTHING--they'll do their business that way.

 

How do you figure the bill for those events drops into my lap? I wasn't there. I didn't do it. I'm not paying for it (unless, of course, you count the 37% tax rate I currently pay to keep a wide array of government programs running).

 

People I am so angry that I've started to shake. I just read a report that the Trump Administration has just ordered 70 children under the age of 1 (babies!) to appear before an immigration judge! The babies get no lawyers! What has this country become!

 

I agree. I was joking. People are responsible for what they do, not for what somebody with the same skin color did to somebody else before they were born. Some people believe otherwise, but they're delusional. Reparations will never happen. We'll be lucky to get fair treatment in the here and now. But we can at least work toward that.

 

I often wonder how the whole reparations thing is supposed to pan out. The simplistic perception is that anyone with black genes gets a share. But that would only work if we knew for a fact which black Americans have actual slave lineage. A sizable portion of the black American population immigrated here the normal way. And if we only go by genes, how much will I get? Sure, I LOOK white as a matzoh, but 23&me says I'm just under 1% Nigerian.

And consider people like Barack Obama, who has no slave lineage (it's more likely his Kenyan lineage supplied slaves for export). And why didn't Obama pursue reparations? But let's assume there actually exists a foolproof way to deal with these issues. So, where's the money going to come from? The nation is in debt, deeply. If we're really interested in what's fair, then we'd need a lineage audit for all of the white people in the US as well. To make the most progress though, it would make more sense to go after the wealthiest first. Vet them, find out how many slaves their ancestors owned and take any proceeds that can't be proven to have been earned in the 20th century. Oh, and do we exempt all the families of white people who fought against the confederacy? It would cut the pot in half.

Again we're looking at a massive governmental effort which would drive the debt even higher, mostly to pay for government employees. Just what we need. It would take an agency the size of DHS and probably ICE as well. One thing that also enters my thinking is, what happens after the big payout? Seems like a substantial shift in attitude would be required, which is not likely to be possible. When you've been hating people for generations, it doesn't get fixed like flipping a switch. I seriously doubt white Americans can buy love and forgiveness (particularly for things they never did).

 

I wouldn't get too worried about it. It's not gonna happen. People who think that way aren't particularly analytical, & probably just think that all the white people owe all the black people some money on general principles.

 

It will be rare when I find myself agreeing with much that comes from you. But this would be one of those times. Put a mark in the calendar because it's historic.

 

'Second civil war' is coming, say 31% of Americans, prompting wartime letters on social media

 

oh, those war time letters. That was a fun couple of days in internetland.

 

Let me guess. That would be the Trump base. Let's see how readily those "patriots' are to take up arms against their country and fellow countrymen. I really don't think anybody would gain from that experience--except maybe the Ruskies. Seriously, it's really alarming how significant numbers of Americans can fall so easily for obvious fake news. Armed and dangerous!

 

Yes indeed. They are like children being promised unlimited access to a cookie jar. However, the jar is empty-said cookies being reserved for those who make the cookie jars.

 

You and I can dispute the %s, or the sources til the cows come home. I can post several other links from several other sources inciuding the best left leaning mainstream media source CNN. I responded to the inference that since you "Okie and whomever else" doesn't think anyone really says it's coming is either being selective in the world they choose to see, or selective in whom they wish to interact with.

2 people on this board that I know of have stated a civil war is coming. Both dismissed by the left. Which is an individual perogative. Now a source that suggest it's 31% is brushed off. You can choose to disagree all you like. I hope it doesn't happen. But I won't be shocked as people like Okie will be.

California is openly defying the federal government. You can choose to wrap that in a liberal American flag all you want. The south did the same thing in the first one.

I don't think it's a 2nd civil war over the same issues. But it's a civil war over political separations. We have more openly displayed attitudes on both sides being fueled by the leadership of both sides now than ever before.

Just like the first civil war.

And we have people like Okie that say it's a binary choice. You must pick one side or the other. Just like the first civil war. Leaves little room in his world.

It's been festering awhile. I worry about the stability of both sides voting bases. The right has answered the call to arms that Trump has sounded.. I hope the left can handle it. Cuz I really don't think they are gonna solve it by saying it doesn't exist.

I recently saw a video in a McDonalds whereby a customer was stealing soft drinks. The store manager shut off the machine to prevent it. The customer threw first a French fry, then a milkshake at the manager. Where upon the manager decided to kick the customers ass.

One could argue it's only a simple soft drink. What's the big deal. Certainly not worth violence. I'd agree. Until you add in the fact that the customer is not entitled to throw food at the manager hiding behind the same rationale of a simple theft of a soft drink to justify the assault with food.

This is sort of where America is at.

One side has put up with pretty theft. Then it escalates to French Fries and Milkshakes being being thrown on them. After all no consequence for petty theft occurred so let's add minor assault.

Until nobody wants to discuss why people want to just beat the crap out of the people that have just kept pushing and pushing and pushing. Daring for someone to kick their ass.

Then when it happens. The horror. I was just trying to steal a $1 soft drink. Why should I have to endure an ass whooping?

I have personally witnessed a group of rednecks calling someone who they thought was Muslim( he wasn't), a sand ******.

I have watched on video a man assault a teenager because he was wearing a red Trump hat.

I have watched a black woman beat nearly to death a 92 year old Mexcian man.

Left up to me I would come to the aide of each of the victims. Until someone like Okie states that NO it's a binary choice, one side or the other. I can't support right or wrong unless it only takes place for the side they expect me to be on.

So yeah we can debate what percentage think there is a civil war coming. But we should also debate how many feel like Okie. Its binary to some percentage in this country.

Just like the first civil war.

 

Sure, Jan.

 

Hardly representative of the whole population. Every day I witness hundreds of people getting along just fine, as I'm sure you do also. We just don't post about it, kind of like the major news outlets don't tell us any of the good stuff that happened today; we only hear about the bad stuff.

 

Unfortunately, that may be due to Imperialism. We benefit from third world labor.

 

I have no idea what the reality of America is as far as the stupidity we see everyday vs not. I now see my aunt and sister calling people in their own family racist idiots that have never been racist or idiots for the previous decades of life they've lived and known each other.

I have 3 fairly close relationships that are Muslim. 2 of them voted for Trump. 1 did not. One of those 2 will vote for him again at this point in time, the other will not. Yet we can discuss our common feelings over lunch. Mostly because we aren't driven by political choices ahead of what works for us as people. I'm sure there are thousands if Muslims that hate Trump. I just don't know any of them.

I don't hang around people that aren't by and large similar to me. What we have in common is go with what works, and try and avoid what doesn't. We solve problems without calling each other names. There is more reward in success than failure.

I just got a Surety Bond issued. We got to talking. The owner of the company was pretty open in his hatred of Latinos. I told him I loved them. When it comes to people I need to work I don't find any better to hire. If you want to cancel my bond do it now, but I'm going to hire LEGAL Latino workers that are performing under this bond. I also hire felons. They have more motivation to be good employees than most. You don't have to like me but I don't give a crap. It works and I'd prefer to be left alone to get things done.

He kept my money and said no more.

I didn't tell him I don't want to do business with you. People can have differences and still get things done.

Well those with common sense anyway.

Common sense is getting more and more hard to find.