Tug,

It's all the same world, but perhaps not the same version of reality. It was Trump's first mouthpiece Kelly Anne Conway from whom I first heard the term, "Alternative facts." Anybody who understands the English language knows that alternative facts are not facts at all but instead are outright lies at worst or misunderstandings at best. Alternative facts are less real than Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.

I think Trump is a despicable excuse of a human being. Why? Let's start with, (and stop me when I'm wrong), he's a con artist, a grifter, a narcissistic megalomaniac, a pvssy grabbing rapist, an incessant liar (over 50,000 counted in the past 8 years), disrespects American military calling them "suckers and losers," guilty of business fraud, advocated suspending parts of the U.S. Constitution after the 2020 election, denies losing the election even though many of his own staff informed him that he lost, and he acknowledged it in private, incited an attack on the U.S. Capitol ("be there Jan. 6; it'll be wild," "go fight like hell!". And the protestors did just that and tried to prevent the certification of the election for the first time in US history. He finally called it off after 4 hours or so when it was clear he wasn't going to succeed. He used his position in office to enrich himself. During the recent campaign he said he wants to get rid of "the enemy within," without specifically saying who that is, but suggesting that it includes Pelosi, Schiff, Biden, Harris, and probably anyone else he picks at whim. He acts with the impulses of a 13 year old. And as he's choosing his new cabinet, the primary qualification for consideration appears to be fealty to Trump and not the US Constitution. Does any of that not bother you?

When over 200 died in the wool Republicans announce Trump unfit for office and endorse their Democratic opposition, doesn't that carry at least a little weight?

Lest you think I'm in some blind rage against Trump, I'll give him credit where it's due. Although I think he went about it badly, he did make more progress on the southern border than any other administration. As for managing the economy, one could rightfully say that Trump inherited the good Obama economy and kept it going until Covid knocked the hell out of everything. And Trump handled Covid like an ignoramous, except for expediting vaccine development - he deserves some credit for that.

Biden has received credit for inheriting the tanked Covid economy. I don't think that's fair because, to my surprise, he has done an amazing job of pulling the economy back up. Unfortunately, it hasn't rebounded fast enough for lower middle class Americans, and they blame Biden/Harris for that. It probably won't rebound much, if at all, under Trump either, but that's conjecture. But his proposed economic policies don't look like they'll do much for those in the bottom half.

But we're going to see what Trump can pull off. Matt Gaetz - the child sex offender - for AG; that's rich. Good timing too, as Gaetz resigned from the House just before the House report on his sex trafficking comes out. A Pete Hegseth Defense Secretary that insiders say is the least qualified candidate they can think of. If Trump wants to fire the people responsible for the debacle Afghanistan withdrawal, he should begin with himself because it was Trump who negotiated directly with the Taliban and agreed to be gone by May, but Biden held off until August on the advice of the Generals in charge who said it would be a sh!tshow to withdraw early. As Trump continues once again to appoint "all the best people," we'll get to watch another Gong show of unAmerican administration.

Spoon, it might surprise you, I don't watch Maddow, or a lot of others that are too far left for my taste.

Streamer, I do need help. I need help understanding why anyone with any critical thinking skills at all could so enthusiatically support a person with the characteristics I listed above. Or are you saying Trump isn't all of those things? BTW, Trump didn't grow the economy coming out of the pandemic. It was the pandemic that crashed his economy in the 4th year of his term. Your notion that Trump checks all the boxes couldn't be more dissimilar to my observations. He didn't start any wars, nor did he end any. And he left to Biden to end Afghanistan under the terms Trump himself agreed to. You see Trump having "friendly" relations with Russia and NK. I saw Trump as a Putin azz kisser and ball washer. It's been in the news; Trump adores dictators and has a low opinion of democratic leaders. Ergo, Trump will be a dictator on Day One, as he was quoted saying.

And why is DEI nonsense? Is diversity bad? Is inclusion bad? Was affirmative action a bad thing? I know a lot of whites didn't like it. But seriously, would Blacks have done as well without it? Not so fun fact, people discriminate, and they often discriminate based on race or gender. I think we're a better society by assimilating people different from ourselves. But I'll be among the first to admit, it ain't easy. That's partly why I prioritize social issues that really don't affect me directly.

Twister, I'm no expert about DEI. Generally speaking, I don't know how diversity and inclusion can be a bad thing. Unless there is a mandated quota. Mandating quotas can produce undesirable outcomes. Equity is a horse of another color. I have tried to understand what the proponents mean, but the science in me says that the intended equity defies the laws of physics. The only way I can see equity as an outcome is with identical inputs, and that, my friend, is nigh on impossible when we're talking about people.

C'man, yes, but not just Stalin. I think that's how every dictator goes about grooming a self serving military.

RnG, don't take me to seriously here. After all, it's only politics.

Fishbadger, You make kind of an interesting point. Just yesterday I saw a map of the US depicting how red or blue the country would look if only college educated citizens voted. Only 4 red states; all the rest were blue to light blue. Education does teach critical or analytical thinking. Analytical thinkers typically lean liberal. Just a fact.