What happened to the Drudge Report?

[Emmanuel Goldstein]

They have become nothing more than another liberal rag. Pretty sad to see the state of journalism. 

[LDSGator]

Instead of asking what happened to Matt Drudge, maybe the question should be “What happened to the candidates we are nominating?” 

[Traveler]

48 minutes ago, LDSGator said:

Instead of asking what happened to Matt Drudge, maybe the question should be “What happened to the candidates we are nominating?” 

Perhaps democrats ought to ask why they are not allowed to nominate a candidate?

 

The Traveler

[LDSGator]

14 minutes ago, Traveler said:

Perhaps democrats ought to ask why they are not allowed to nominate a candidate?

 

The Traveler

Yeah, I have no issue with that either. Sorry. 
 

But it’s absolutely more of “Look who they nominated.” rather than “Every news reporter that doesn’t praise god-king Trump has sold out!”   

Edited October 21, 2024 by LDSGator

[Phoenix_person]

They didn't drink the Kool Aid.

[Ironhold]

1 hour ago, Phoenix_person said:

They didn't drink the Kool Aid.

Kamala Harris tried to make a campaign point out of "I worked at McDonald's once, so I know what the working class is going through!". 

Thing is, 

1. There's reason to believe that Kamala was not being honest about this point, as McDonald's the corporation has supposedly claimed they have no record of her ever working for them. 

2. Trump *did* work for them just now, albeit in a carefully staged public relations bit in which only pre-screened individuals were allowed to order. 

It's political posturing, but it does highlight the work history of the two. It's like how a number of labor unions won't support a candidate unless the candidate spends a day doing the duties of a random given worker so that they know what the worker's duties are like. 

[Phoenix_person]

20 minutes ago, Ironhold said:

Kamala Harris tried to make a campaign point out of "I worked at McDonald's once, so I know what the working class is going through!". 

Thing is, 

1. There's reason to believe that Kamala was not being honest about this point, as McDonald's the corporation has supposedly claimed they have no record of her ever working for them. 

Serious question: How long do companies typically hold onto employee records for? I can't say it surprises me that a conpany the size of McDonalds is struggling to verify the emoloyment of someone who would have worked there over 40 years ago. Or maybe Kamala's lying. I wouldn't rule that out, but it's the smallest of small potatoes from where I sit.

20 minutes ago, Ironhold said:

2. Trump *did* work for them just now, albeit in a carefully staged public relations bit in which only pre-screened individuals were allowed to order. 

It's political posturing, but it does highlight the work history of the two. It's like how a number of labor unions won't support a candidate unless the candidate spends a day doing the duties of a random given worker so that they know what the worker's duties are like. 

Oh, I know it's part of the election season dog and pony show. I just don't think I've ever seen anyone look so hilariously awkward doing fast food "work" as Trump. 

[LDSGator]

2 minutes ago, Phoenix_person said:

just don't think I've ever seen anyone look so hilariously awkward doing fast food "work" as Trump. 

To be fair, you and I would struggle with it too, simply because it’s something we don’t do on a regular basis.

 

[Phoenix_person]

31 minutes ago, LDSGator said:

To be fair, you and I would struggle with it too, simply because it’s something we don’t do on a regular basis.

I've worked fast food before (Subway), and two "real" kitchens, one of them within the last 3 years. The main reason I didn't go back is because working on my feet (especially more or less stationary) is extra uncomfortable for me these days. 

[LDSGator]

6 minutes ago, Phoenix_person said:

I've worked fast food before (Subway), and two "real" kitchens, one of them within the last 3 years. The main reason I didn't go back is because working on my feet (especially more or less stationary) is extra uncomfortable for me these days. 

I missed the teenage rite of passage of working at a fast food place. Instead I worked at an arcade, and at Wal Mart for a few months before college. I did wait on tables and deliver pizza in college though. 

[Just_A_Guy]

1.  Speaking as a NeverTrumper:  Drudge was never a Trump fan (I remember him being pretty pro-Romney back in the day), and  I’m not on his site much.  But from what I’ve seen it’s not just personal discomfort with Trump.  Drudge’s substantive values seem to have changed; he highlights stories advocating (or giving fawning coverage to) positions and institutions he’d have subjected to criticism 20 years ago. 

2.  I am reasonably confident that if pushed, within 24 hours I could produce at least 5 people who had contemporaneous knowledge of my after-high-school job as a dishwasher/line cook at a family-owned restaurant in the mid-1990s.  I am—perhaps not perfectly confident, but more confident than not—that somewhere in the IRS, a copy of my W-2 from that restaurant for the years I worked there remains on file; and that POTUS really wanted to do me a favor, he could get them for me. And I’m 100% sure that if you checked my state bar application, you’d find that as part of the application process I had been required to list every single job I had ever had—including that high school job, and going all the way back to the paper route I had in the 6th grade.

Maybe Kamala’s waiting for Trump to dig in a bit more before embarrassing him by releasing her proof that she really did work at McDonald’s.  Or maybe she never actually worked there.  If she hasn’t released proof by the night before Election Day, I’ll assume it’s the latter.

Edited October 22, 2024 by Just_A_Guy

[LDSGator]

I don’t think Trump is in any position to call someone else a liar.

[Traveler]

15 hours ago, LDSGator said:

I don’t think Trump is in any position to call someone else a liar.

Why not?  It is what politicians do and Trump has become a politican.  Except with Trump it was not his life long work and goal - just a recent coincidence.  He is a fast learner.

 

The Traveler

[LDSGator]

11 minutes ago, Traveler said:

It is what politicians do

Okay, fair enough. And with that comment every single politician can lie without being called out. Which is fine, as long as you apply it to all politicians 

[Traveler]

2 hours ago, LDSGator said:

Okay, fair enough. And with that comment every single politician can lie without being called out. Which is fine, as long as you apply it to all politicians 

Two things:  first:  I am not talking about what a politician ought to do but rather what we should expect.  Second: There are allways exceptions.

There is nothing achieved with calling a politician a liar.  It is better to point out the lie a politician declairs and how it harms our country.

 

The Traveler

[LDSGator]

14 minutes ago, Traveler said:

Two things:  first:  I am not talking about what a politician ought to do but rather what we should expect.  Second: There are allways exceptions.

I think most people tell little white lies, and the most honest people I know usually admit to doing so. I’m not talking about lying about being married to pick up women or lying about being a Navy Seal. Do politicians lie? Sure, but it’s more due to being a human than being a scumbag. 

[Phoenix_person]

1 hour ago, LDSGator said:

Do politicians lie? Sure, but it’s more due to being a human than being a scumbag. 

And optics. Every political candidate has to weigh the political ramifications of every mistake they've every made, which is how we get "I never inhaled" nonsense and the like.

[LDSGator]

7 minutes ago, Phoenix_person said:

And optics. Every political candidate has to weigh the political ramifications of every mistake they've every made, which is how we get "I never inhaled" nonsense and the like.

Oh, I totally agree. 
 

If you, me, or anyone here had a camera on them 24/7 with every word analyzed, we’d probably lie too without even knowing it. The press would drudge up (pun intended) mistakes that we forgot we even made. 

[LDSGator]

Again though, like all sins/crimes, there are layers to it. Lying about if you inhaled or worked at McDonalds is equal to a parking ticket. Saying you were an Army Ranger or lying to create an alibi so your buddy avoids a DUI is far more serious. 

[LDSGator]

I’ve never been a bishop and never will be, but I think even bishops would agree there are “layers” to sin. If I told my bishop I snuck a peak at a pretty girl at a beach he’d correctly tell me to cool it and keep my eyes on my wife. He’d probably drop it there. 
 

If I told my bishop I smacked another girl on the bum at the beach, he’d absolutely not drop it there. Both actions (looking at another woman as a married man and actually touching another woman as one) are wrong but not equally wrong.  

Edited October 22, 2024 by LDSGator

[Just_A_Guy]

56 minutes ago, LDSGator said:

If I told my bishop I smacked another girl on the bum at the beach, . . . 

“Another”?

[LDSGator]

2 minutes ago, Just_A_Guy said:

“Another”?

We have nude beaches down here, so I was being fairly PG bro. 

[Traveler]

8 hours ago, LDSGator said:

I think most people tell little white lies, and the most honest people I know usually admit to doing so. I’m not talking about lying about being married to pick up women or lying about being a Navy Seal. Do politicians lie? Sure, but it’s more due to being a human than being a scumbag. 

The problem with lies that do not matter is that when it is easy to prove such lies it causes intelligent people to wonder about everything else, the liars are saying – especially about their record and what issues they attempted to address. 

Regardless, it is far more important to identify misrepresentations.  Having been in the military (even though I was not in combat) – I understand that lying about being in combat in the military is a betrayal to those that did serve in combat.  That is not a little white lie – it is an offence both to one’s military service and those the endured combat.  There is also a similar distinction between those serving in a combat zone and being in actual combat.  It is not an honorable service to dishonor those that endure the horrors of being under fire in combat – especially it is a dishonor to those that died in combat protecting this nation and to give the impression that someone thinks they deserve the same honor – which they do not!

To be clear – I have little respect when someone calls others a liar.    Tells us the lies and show us the evidence.  I will give an example.  When an elected federal official is sworn into office, they swear that they will uphold the laws and do all in their power to enforce this nation’s laws.  All officials (both elected and appointed) in the executive branch swore to uphold this nation’s laws – including emigration laws.  Clearly the current elected officials of the executive branch lied about enforcing emigration laws – our borders are not secure.

You may see that I am somewhat upset about the lack of enforcing emigration laws – human trafficking is a type of slavery.  There are individuals that are ignoring the human trafficking (slavery) under control of foreign criminal cartels (slave traders).  I believe every excuse that allows the criminal behavior of slavery is a deliberate diversion from the truth (lie) that is as bad as any of the lies told in our nation’s history to justify slavery.

 

The Traveler

[Phoenix_person]

4 hours ago, Traveler said:

The problem with lies that do not matter is that when it is easy to prove such lies it causes intelligent people to wonder about everything else, the liars are saying – especially about their record and what issues they attempted to address. 

Regardless, it is far more important to identify misrepresentations.  Having been in the military (even though I was not in combat) – I understand that lying about being in combat in the military is a betrayal to those that did serve in combat.  That is not a little white lie – it is an offence both to one’s military service and those the endured combat.  There is also a similar distinction between those serving in a combat zone and being in actual combat.  It is not an honorable service to dishonor those that endure the horrors of being under fire in combat – especially it is a dishonor to those that died in combat protecting this nation and to give the impression that someone thinks they deserve the same honor – which they do not!

If honesty on little things is important to you, then I strongly urge you to dig into some of of the lies that the GOP presidential candidate has perpetuated and sold to his base as truth, starting with the lie that he won the 2020 election.

4 hours ago, Traveler said:

All officials (both elected and appointed) in the executive branch swore to uphold this nation’s laws – including emigration laws.  Clearly the current elected officials of the executive branch lied about enforcing emigration laws – our borders are not secure.

You may see that I am somewhat upset about the lack of enforcing emigration laws – human trafficking is a type of slavery.  There are individuals that are ignoring the human trafficking (slavery) under control of foreign criminal cartels (slave traders).  I believe every excuse that allows the criminal behavior of slavery is a deliberate diversion from the truth (lie) that is as bad as any of the lies told in our nation’s history to justify slavery.

 

The Traveler

You chose an interesting example considering the fact that the Biden administration brought a Border Patrol-endorsed border security bill before Congress and it was DOA because Trump didn't want Dems to get a victory on border security/immigration. It seems like his ploy worked, because a lot of Rs are blaming Ds for something that was very much the fault of Rs. I'm not convinced that some GOP politicians actually want a secure border. If Dems pass competent border policy, there goes a lot of GOP campaign material. And they can't get tough on the border themselves without losing that same political leverage. If the GOP wanted to pass a bipartisan border bill, they had a golden opportunity to do so. And if they were truly serious about it, they probably could have gotten a plan of their own through Congress, considering they have a House majority and only would need a couple of Ds on board in the Senate (or Manchin and/or Sinema). The current House majority is one of the least competent majorities I've seen in my lifetime, all because a dozen or so R representatives are prioritizing Trump's reelection over effective governing. 

Edited October 23, 2024 by Phoenix_person

[Traveler]

On 10/23/2024 at 3:25 AM, Phoenix_person said:

If honesty on little things is important to you, then I strongly urge you to dig into some of of the lies that the GOP presidential candidate has perpetuated and sold to his base as truth, starting with the lie that he won the 2020 election.

You chose an interesting example considering the fact that the Biden administration brought a Border Patrol-endorsed border security bill before Congress and it was DOA because Trump didn't want Dems to get a victory on border security/immigration. It seems like his ploy worked, because a lot of Rs are blaming Ds for something that was very much the fault of Rs. I'm not convinced that some GOP politicians actually want a secure border. If Dems pass competent border policy, there goes a lot of GOP campaign material. And they can't get tough on the border themselves without losing that same political leverage. If the GOP wanted to pass a bipartisan border bill, they had a golden opportunity to do so. And if they were truly serious about it, they probably could have gotten a plan of their own through Congress, considering they have a House majority and only would need a couple of Ds on board in the Senate (or Manchin and/or Sinema). The current House majority is one of the least competent majorities I've seen in my lifetime, all because a dozen or so R representatives are prioritizing Trump's reelection over effective governing. 

I am somewhat concerned with the elements of your post about immigration because I believe this issue has become more than political – it has become weaponized as a means to increase taxes and deprive legal citizens of their rights and self-government.

We are told that our immigration laws and policies are broken and inefficient.  We are not told what is broken and inefficient.  You purport that the democrats presented a comprehensive bill that will solve the immigration problem.  If you think the bill, you purport to do so – I do not believe you know what is broken and inefficient.

Let me educate you of my concerns of inefficient and counterproductive efforts – especially to the legislation you highlight:

One.  One of the greatest drains and costs in our medical system comes from “legal” visitors or immigrants.  These are foreigners with visas for working, education or just for visiting – that come to this country and receive health care and make no effort to pay.  If there is a problem, they just return to their home country.  Our laws require that our health care facilities (hospitals) accept anyone in need.  Illegal immigrants are not so bold for fear of deportation – which is seldom the case.  Medical costs (along with education for children and other things) for illegal immigrants are unaccounted by the federal government because such is under state authority.  Money for more border agents does nothing to address this very broken problem of our immigration system and drain on State funds.

Two. Social Security funds are drying up and disappearing.  One reason is that Social Security funds are being transferred to immigrants seeking asylum (did you know this?).  Depending on the circumstance the payout to asylum seekers can exceed that which is provided to citizens that paid into Social Security funds for their entire life.  Millions of illegal immigrants are claiming asylum even if they are from countries with privileged diplomatic relationships to the USA.  Money for more border agents does nothing to address this very broken problem of our immigration system.

Three.  Criminal behaviors by illegal immigrants are a problem – but there are federal laws that prohibit tracking of criminal status of immigrants.  Law enforcement is prohibited from asking law brakers of possible immigrant status or reporting statistics of immigrant crime.    The only discoveries are high profile crimes where the perpetrators can be independently identified.  Money for more border agents does nothing to address this very broken problem of our immigration system.

Four.  The drug cartels purchase military grade weapons on the black market that are shipped across our borders to Mexico.  This is far beyond “assault rifles” and amount to rocket launchers, RPGs, 50 caliber machine guns and other such weapons.  This renders the local Mexican police ineffective in address drug cartel crime in Mexico.  Money for more border agents does nothing to address this very broken problem of our immigration (border control) system. 

I could continue to list more but this post is getting too long already.  Things like slavery (human trafficking). drugs and organized criminal elements penetrating our society (including our legal and political systems) is out of control.  We must become serious about our borders and illegal immigration – not just for the safety of citizens but even for our democracy (freedoms and liberties) and control of our government.

 

The Traveler