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The paraphrasing of my comment last week is not what I meant. I take responsibility since my wording was not clear. What I wrote was:

"It is also possible that things you find repulsive about Trump find a shared sentiment with many Trump voters". That is terrible phrasing. I meant that your repulsion of some of Trumps attributes is a sentiment shared by many Trump voters. That is, they agree with you.

Your paraphrasing was: "It is also possible that things you find repulsive about Trump are what his voters find attractive about him."

People can have a shared goal and disagree on the best way to achieve it. That does not mean one of them is a bad person.

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There is a term for that. "The ends justify the means". It is a way that people have justified all kinds of bad things thru history. Want less crime? 3 strikes rule. Want less crime? Stop and frisk? Want to get a bad guy off the streets? Fabricate evidence.

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you have oversimplified and distorted Skeptic's position.

i'll give it a try - one can dislike/disdain/hate trump, and also be opposed to democrat policies and incompetence.

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It sure feels like the goals of the two parties and the vision for the kind of country we should have are fundamentally different, not just ways to achieve the same goal.

What you're describing is some Trump voters dislike him as a person, but will "hold their nose" and vote for him because they think it'll somehow help them financially or maybe promote their Christian values or their preferred immigration policy. But those policies are the worst part of the MAGA movement, even worse than Trump's personal flaws. IMHO supporting them does make one a "bad" person.

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The worst idea from the MAGA movement is that the 2020 election was stolen. Ideas to remedy future stolen elections are a threat to the whole system. Immigration restrictions and protectionist tariffs are not new with MAGA and have been supported by various factions historically.

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How about allowing states to ban abortions in all cases? Displaying 10 commandments in every classroom? Getting rid of the Chevron doctrine? Presidential immunity? I could go on all day listing horrible MAGA ideas just as bad as the election lies, supporting which alone would disqualify someone from being a friend of mine.

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author

Apologies for this misinterpretation. I have corrected in the online version.

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It would be interesting to know the average age of the respondents who selected each of the best visual jokes this week.

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Aren’t all of us over 60?

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Jul 30·edited Jul 30

I'm a 45-year-old whippersnapper but over 60 at heart.

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That's 1.

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Respectfully, I'll have to take the fifth.

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founding

I am in my upper 50's. Not quite there. But at heart I am 30.

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That’s 2

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I presume you're referring to the brontosaurus ribs Tweet?

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That last visual "joke" is so scandalous! First the Paris Olympics - now the mocking of poor Arius' defeat at Nicaea!

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CWB Chicago has yet another disastrous case they found about the utterly incompetent Kim Foxx & her useless state's attorney's office & our utterly dysfunctional & incompetent court system, about a violent mentally ill man who should be locked up & never allowed in public again?

https://cwbchicago.com/2024/07/man-gets-arrested-2x-in-one-day-while-on-electronic-monitoring-for-robbery-cases.html

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Jul 30·edited Jul 30

I’m surprised at the general lack of comment on the FPOTUS’s “C’mon Christians, vote for me and you’ll never need to vote again” speech (quote paraphrased).

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It shows how much he's "flooded the zone". We're collectively so exhausted by all the outrageous sh!t he spews daily that we've come to expect it and can barely roll our eyes at the latest round. Lindsey Graham was on one of the Sunday shows and was asked about it and he literally just laughed it off. All we can do is vote, donate to Dems if possible.

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Mark beat me to it. Do we somehow expect something from MAGAs that makes sense in a democracy? The real question is what exactly Burger Boy meant. Is he planning on ending elections so he can remain in office? In the future, will only right wing Christians be allowed to vote? Will it become illegal to be a liberal or independent? The really odd thing is that the MAGA crowd is not asking him just what he meant. They have no idea what he meant, but cheered when he said it because it came out of his mouth. Want to try and explain it, David?

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MK, i think you're spot on - mostly. someone remarked during the Prez term of Agent Orange that what he says is 'shocking, but not surprising'. that speaking behavior continues to this day.

while i won't give $ to the harris/[?] campaign, i will vote.

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author

I will discuss this in the Thursday issue.

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“The citation was false and the story was quickly and widely debunked.”

So here are seven jokes and an AI video about the false story that I really loved!😂🤷‍♂️

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The JD versus J.B. annoyance is like many of our old habits such as constructing texts in full and proper sentences. Who will do this when we're gone!? I also confess to being a double spacer before starting a new sentence.

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I started the double spacing due to what some websites do to comments, they mash the sentences together if you don't double space.

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um....brontosaurus ribs?

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founding
Jul 30Liked by Eric Zorn

In the opening to the Flintstones cartoon show the family pulls into a drive-in restaurant and when the car hop delivers the ribs, it turns the car on its side.

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Thinking about this poll on friendship/politics, I have to wonder what neutral Germans thought about Hitler.

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"J.B." vs "JB". *This* is what we're getting exercised about??

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It's really about the lack of consistency by what used to be a venerable bastion of journalism.

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And in an age where we let people choose to use the plural pronoun "they" to describe one person we care that JD doesn't use periods? Or that J.B. uses them?

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I respect the feelings of all here. But there is something here being missed. I often read about disagreement over politics. This is more than that. Trump, personally, is totally unlikeable. Think about past elections. Who did you totally despise? Barack Obama? Either one of the Bush's? Bill Clinton? Ronald Reagan? Al Gore? Bob Dole? With Donald Trump, it has gotten down to the person. Think about Joe Biden. We can argue about his staying in the race too long, his pandemic policies, or anything else he did. Did any of you ever just hate him? Trump is the kind of person you warn your kids never to be like. It took him about 3 seconds after Biden dropped out to launch into personal attacks on Harris. She's got a crazy laugh, she's crazy. Based on what? It's more than mere political disagreement. The man is despicable. When Reagan and the Bush's were elected, I didn't worry about democracy going away. This wouldn't even be a Republican thing if more of them had the moral fiber, like Adam Kinzinger, to oppose him. It's highly personal. That makes it more than political disagreement.

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Hey Laurence - I can assure you that there are indeed no small number of people on the right who personally despise Biden for a variety of reasons. (Perhaps my gravest personal objection was Biden's shamefully repeatedly checking the time on his watch on the tarmac when the bodies of our fallen heroes were being returned from his disastrous Afghan withdrawal.)

Having said that, I am completely able to acknowledge Trump's incredibly arrogant and offensive persona, his intemperate and unnecessarily alienating tweets and statements, his horrible treatment of women, etc. But my point is that a great many people will invariably develop a personal dislike of political for gures representing opposing views and policies.

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David, you know I respect your views. Are you really comparing Biden's checking his watch with Trump's overall behavior? I have checked my watch at funerals. It meant no respect to the deceased. It meant I might have other important things to do. Do you have alternate explanations for Trump's behavior that are even close to reasonable? I read an online comment yesterday that tried to explain Trump by saying he was a typical New Yorker. Oh really? Why don't we poll some New Yorkers and see what they think.

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Hi Laurence - I was only making the point that there are people who personally despise Biden just as people personally despise Trump, but I was not attempting to make any equivalency between the two.

(My objection to Biden's checking the time on his watch is that he did it repeatedly while he was there representing our nation in a very solemn moment. A number of the families who were present said they were terribly offended and hurt by this seeming display of nonchalance.)

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I really can understand those who are vehemently opposed to Biden's policies and agenda, even those who were offended that he checked his watch at least twice https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/biden-check-watch-13/ during that ceremony. But "hate" seems inappropriate. I never "hated" Bruce Rauner or Mark Kirk or Mitt Romney or even W or Dole or even Reagan.

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Hi Eric - unfortunately, it appears that it's just human nature that people personalize policies with the primary advocate. If Nikki Haley were the nominee and advocated many of the same policies that Trump follows, there would undoubtedly be a good number of people on the left who would find they now despise Nikki Haley. Again, not trying to create any equivalency with Trump's many obnoxious and offensive behaviors, but simply making the point that people personalize politics.

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I watched the Bryson DeChambeau, Donald Trump golf match on YouTube. He was shockingly civil and amazingly good at golf for a 78 year old. Wonders never cease…

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I hated both Reagan & Rauner. Reagan for taking credit for things Pat Brown did in California, as an acquaintance who lived there pointed out to me just after he was elected in 1968.

Rauner for his insane utterly bizarre refusal to have any budgets for the state, due to his feud with Madigan & then taking advice from truly loony wing nut Wisconsin governor Scott Walker & then hiring a bunch of lunatics from the extreme wing nut Illinois Policy Institute who were so terrible at their jobs, even Rauner was forced to fire them.

He was such a failure as governor that after he lost to Pritzker, he decamped to Flor-i-duh, where he still lives in DeSatan's crackpot paradise!

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David, do you despise Biden? If no, can you at least list the items that make Biden so hated?

Your comparison of Biden looking at his watch as somehow equivalent to Trump’s actions borders on wacko.

Allow me to list the items that Trump has done that would create anger or perhaps hate.

1. He swindled a lot of people out of their hard earned cash. This includes his many bankruptcies where many hardworking folks were paid pennies on the dollar. Then there is Trump University, where lots of folks got swindled out of both time and money. See Bernie Madoff, people can get nasty when swindled out of their money.

2. Trump’s many attacks on women. That ticks off people.

3. The fact he is a felon running for President. We should not have criminals running for President!

4. Trump is a draft dodger who disrespects veterans and yet wishes to be Commander in Chief of the armed forces. Outrageous, and do not get me started on when he fondles the American Flag to show his “patriotism”.

5. He takes the Christian Bible, mixes it with patriotic spin and then sells this for his personal profit?! How can you be Christian and not see this as wrong?

6. Trump’s constant name calling and gross disrespect to all kinds of people.

You call people despicable names…you are gonna get blowback on that.

Notice I have not listed his “policies”, folks can argue over that. I am listing his actions against people.

Care to list Joe Biden’s actions without discussing his policies that would make him “hated” ?

This is not a policy disagreement discussion, this where Trump has screwed people (sometimes literally) and I do not see where Biden comes anywhere close in his personal behavior.

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He also screwed a bunch of people who bought in before construction of his uglified building [uglified because of his name on the side of it] here in Chicago, where they had a locked in price, but he reneged on those contracts & raised their prices.

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Hi Peter - I've said this twice previously on this subject, but I'll say it again. I am not in any way attempting to state an equivalency between Trump and Biden. Personally, I do not despise Biden, But I am aware of a good number of people who do, and I will not attempt with the reasons for feeling that way because it puts me in the position of trying to argue a physician that is not my own.

I just am making the point that politics becomes very personalized and a good number of people will see the main opponent of their views as someone to be despised.

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But Dave, Trump’s personal actions engender a certain level of justifiable disgust. His swindling, his name calling, his being a sexual predator, and a felon. These are things he has done to people absent any politics. He is a bad man doing bad things to people.

Biden does not do that. You jump to other people disliking Biden because of political views as if that is equivalent. Not so.

If Ted Bundy had the “right”political positions as Trump, would you ignore his personal “habits” and vote for him? I hope not.

But do you plan to vote for Trump in November? I could not do that.

There are alternatives, and voting for Trump based on his policies is selling out your integrity. Trump has only one policy, winning the Presidency to stay out of jail. He will say and change whatever policy on a dime. Nice to see he accepts States deciding their own abortion policy including the very liberal Illinois. Bet you did not see that one coming.

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If Trump supporters feel that way about Biden, someone whose own son died possibly as a result of proximity to a burn pit in Iraq, I have trouble understanding why they were not similarly offended at Trump's infamous remarks about John McCain ("I like people who weren't captured"), his criticism of the parents of a dead veteran who spoke at the DNC, and his reported references to fallen Americans as "losers" and "suckers."

https://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/trump-attacks-mccain-i-like-people-who-werent-captured-120317

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/31/us/politics/donald-trump-khizr-khan-wife-ghazala.html

https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2023/10/03/john-kelly-trump-insults-veterans

Just fake news?

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Hey Jake - I completely agree with the egregiously offensive comment made by Trump that you reference. As a veteran I find that very insulting and out of line. I am not in any way excusing his bad behavior, minimizing it or attempting to make an equivalency with Biden.

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But not so insulting you will still vote for Trump. Is there any insult that would stop you from voting for Trump? I hope there is a limit somewhere.

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So now, according to Trump, Harris hates Jews. He attributes this to her seemingly unease at meeting Netanyahu. Let me point out a few things to Burger Boy. She's married to a Jew. I don't like Netanyahu either. Did I forget to mention that I am Jewish, as is my entire family? Or am I a secret Jew hater? Any of our resident MAGAs want to try to excuse this one, as there have been several instances of ridiculous rationalization for things Trump says?

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I read a number of media articles the past few days. His followers are getting the idea of who he is. Even Fox News is talking about his campaign missteps. Okay, that's step one. But it's not enough. Even his deluded followers know who he is personally. Now it's time to highlight what he claims he did, soundly echoed by those same deluded followers. They talk about his great economy. He left office with a far greater deficit than Obama. I know my personal economy wasn't helped. Hisctax cuts drove up the deficit and didn't help most Americans. I'm still waiting for that great new health plan. Mexico wasn't paid a dime for the border wall. The world situation got worse. He embraced the worst dictators. Step 3- his promises are downright scary. We don't need his elimination of any government workers that don't adore him. It is after all, legal not be a conservative. We don't need any more erosion of voting rights. We don't need elimination of federal departments that help keep corporate criminals in check. He wants to turn the financial community into the Wild West with no restrictions. Anything that makes a buck will be okay with him. He wants to withdraw from any cooperation with our allies. This is an incredibly short sighted idea unless he is bed with the leaders of Russia and China. The number of things he has proposed in the past and during his campaign are downright scary. Finally, Democrats must unite behind Harris. Remember 1968 and 1972? It was a total cluster you-know-what for Democrats and made it easy for Nixon. The anti-Israel and pro immigration blocs are going to need to suck it up and realize they will get nothing from a Trump administration. They're disappointed with a lack of action by Biden? What do they think they will get from Trump who is once again talking about diverting military funds to finish the wall, wants to totally close borders, and has already announced total support for Netanyahu, They also need to be reminded that Biden is no longer running and their constant whining could also lead to a GOP Congress. Any way, this is what I see as necessary. I have never hidden my agenda, which is to block Trump. Do that and we might find out that even a few Republicans will stop playing Chicken Little and try to do the right thing. But if Trump wins, all bets are off. No Republican will dare oppose him no matter how crazy and illegitimate his ideas get.

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