wmw999

Really, all the anti-DEI stuff makes it clear that plenty of people only got the job because they were males (and often white males). So whatever they do is the definition of "right," just as advertising defines appearance and luxury for many people. The possibility of there being a different standard is threatening, because people have been striving towards that standard for, basically, ever. Wendy P.

I’ll be honest; if Covid had come up while I was pregnant, I might have hesitated with a vaccine, too. Yes, I would also have isolated at home if possible. I didn’t know that changing providers led to worse outcomes — but I’ll also admit I would still have changed providers (the first one I went to wasn’t right for me; he was fear-based, and advocated as little activity as possible — I was at the time skydiving and walking up and down 4 flights of steps multiple times a day for fitness). Having to lie to your provider also leads to worse outcomes, in my opinion. Note that I would have gotten vaccinated (immunized, whatever — that’s the kind of quibbling that says “any argument will do.”), but I would have waited until after delivery. Since no actual pathogens were involved, I wouldn’t have worried as much about minor illness with an infant around. Maybe wrong, maybe right — as individuals, we make our own decisions. However, when addressing larger populations, we need to use appropriate tools, like statistical modeling and best practices. Wendy P.

I hate to say it, but I'm not sure that we have the energy to make it run right (i.e. not turn into basically a donut shop where all the same people sit around the corner of the counter and argue the same issues all the time). Someone younger, more tied into how people want to discuss things now would be required, and we might just have to put up with not being the big dogs on the block that we're all used to being in here. I know I don't; to do anything other than just pay $3000/month for the privilege of keeping a memorial to early 2000's social media going, I think it'd need at least one person who's willing to do maintenance (e.g. bug fixes, periodic upgrades, diagnostics), possibly a marketing person for advertising, and someone (that communications person) to actually run it, set the tone, and maybe clip and archive some of the plethora of dead fora (foreign language fora?), and reorganize things so that it's less overwhelming. Remember shortly after it opened, when there were about 6 fora, instead of 197? Maybe something like that, and we still have to attract actual people to it. I'm happy to pay, and contribute ideas, and brainstorm, but I'm in no way interested in investing significant more amounts of time than I do currently in social media. I'm not sure who does. Sorry to be a Debbie Downer, I love this place, but that's where I'm at. Wendy P.

You could answer the more topical questions that folks are asking about lies, and leave the discussion of whether SC is an echo chamber (it is) to the "save dz.com" thread. I'm wondering, too, if you think lying is fine as long as it furthers your political or economic aims. This is just me as a person saying that, not me as a moderator. As far as other right-leaning posters, yeah, it can be vicious here. I agree, and wish it weren't as vicious. But then I'm a namby-pamby type of liberal, I guess. Wendy P.

Probably Trump voters, too. Wendy P.

No personal attacks. Wendy P.

I didn't hear much from my right-wing skydiving friends about it (I'm a long-time Texas skydiver; most of the jumpers from the 70's and before are pretty hard-core right-wing). In fact, one of them early said that anyone who didn't wear a mask was an idiot; of course, after masks were no longer cool, he deleted that FB posting. But Pelosi wasn't at the Chinese New Year festival, she was there two weeks later, and was preaching vigilance. But some people were already blaming China (Canada wasn't available at the time), and she wanted to show that the people in SF's Chinatown had no more to do with the new virus coming than anyone else. I was actually overseas during nearly all of February 2020; I flew back on the 28th. We made plans with relatives and friends to get together right after getting home, and everyone was interested. By the time those plans were to have happened (the following week -- 8-15), they were cancelling to socially isolate. It was that quick. I missed the buildup period before that. I do have a cousin who was in the Mardi Gras parade in Mobile; no one there was masking at the time according to her. As far as health personnel being required to be immunized -- it's true of the flu, also (another sometimes-controversial shot). They also have to mask in many clinical situations, and it's been increasing over the years. I also remember the first dentist who masked before treating me. Lots of school personnel also had to be immunized; they're all in close contact with lots of people -- either people who are already sick or injured or old (medical), or people with terrible cleanliness habits (most children). Which would you rather leave to chance? I don't remember reading about other companies that required the shot. Some might have had masking rules for people who weren't immunized (our senior center in bright blue Massachusetts did), but that's just shaming. If conservatives get to shame people for being gay, walking into Planned Parenthood (for anything, not just an abortion), or being transgender, why shouldn't they be exposed to ridicule for not wanting an immunization? I heard all over FB (and my old buds) how liberals are all traitors (except for you, Wendy), and they all want to murder babies (except for you, Wendy), etc. etc. Wendy P.

Yes, anti-vax did used to be a hippie thing, until Trump told everyone that Covid was no big deal and would be gone by Easter, and Rush told everyone it was just the common cold. Then the health authorities told people that their freedom was impacting others' freedom (i.e. older people, people with immune deficiencies, people with respiratory issues -- you know, insignificant minorities), and strongly recommended measures to stop the spread while the disease was being studied. As they gained information, the recommendations changed; that's kind of reality, that things change. By the way, I'd really like to thank you for sticking around; I might disagree with some of your viewpoints (particularly the rather nihilistic-seeming "well, we're heading toward oligarchy so I might as well align with the oligarch I prefer" attitude), but I really appreciate the viewpoints. They make me think. Wendy P.

I do. And many of the ones who don't believe it outright, say things like "we have questions about it." Where do you get information? If it's all on X, not sure that's an improvement over OAN. Wendy P.

Maybe that's also because the standard of evidence required for a rape appears to be higher; you made it clear that basically nothing that Carroll said would convince you that she was telling the truth, and that you don't even believe her win; you're probably not alone. That doesn't mean it doesn't happen. It just means the bullies get to "win." Wendy P.

But the fact that it goes on all the time isn't a problem? Or just not your problem, so why care? But if you have a wife or girl, then it still might be their problem, right? Wendy P.

I’d probably be prettier if I smiled more, too Wendy P.

I’m not sure what you’re saying here; that it’s not real, that it’s not the first time, or that it’s all the liberal press’s fault, or something else? Considering the rape “joke” that a long-time posted out up, and then doubled down on, I tend to believe thiS Wendy P.

In other words, get rid of the women, gays, etc who are currently serving their country? Or can the women still be nursies and USO girls? Wendy P.

And should money actually be the sole determinant of power and value? Is that really a good thing? Wendy P.

How do you deal with the citizenship and rights thing if you’re busing them to (free?) treatment centers? Because they have the right to sue to not be forced to do something they don’t want to, also. Or are only the willing going to get the free forced treatment, and the willing get to pay for the expensive unavailable treatment, until they’re so bad off that they have to be forced? These are legitimate questions; I actually have some experience volunteering and working with homeless and very poor people. They’re no more simple and one-dimensional than you or I Wendy P

Or maybe it was more like “we know he’s a vindictive guy and we don’t want to risk our money.” And I’m guessing shit in the Capitol is better than shit on the street? The Democrats didn’t cause homelessness, and the Republicans aren’t going to solve it (it takes money to improve it, and republicans aren’t going to spend money on people without influence) Wendy P.

Do you have any ideas of what to do about homeless populations? Because most of them are US citizens, so we can’t just send them to Mexico. We send money and guns to Mexico for drugs, they send us drugs and the people displaced by all the cartel violence. Seems like a lose-lose situation, right? I don’t have awesome ideas; many of the homeless are the kinds of people who struggled for decent grades in school; ADHD, mental illness, crummy homes, reading difficulties, prejudice. There aren’t as many jobs for people who don’t have the basics. Ask a garage these days if they want a guy who’s good with his hands but can’t deal well with the computer diagnostics; or just about any other job. Especially in the much-vaunted tech sector We as a people need to be willing to pay the price so that the vast majority of our citizens and legal residents can get ahead, and foresee a better future in some way for their kids. The reason for all the success stories you hear about immigrants is because they’ve already sacrificed everything; many really are starting out with nothing. But we need US-based basic industry, and I don’t know how we can compete with countries with such lower standards of living. Maybe supported industries in some of the emptied-out towns, but then you still have to get the goods out to market. And yes, I do think global warming is an issue. Maybe even as big as some of the more strident say it is — but it’s not as immediate as the doctor bills, the broken car, or the inability to find an apartment Wendy P.

Simplistic analysis: One set of media spends their time telling the viewers they’re OK people just the way they are, and that most people who have more problems either deserve it because of a poor decision in their past, or because they’re too far away to matter in their immediate world. The other set of media is all about the problems in the world, and all the things they need to do in their daily life to atone for these, or help with them, or at least show that they care. If you have enough, you can worry about others. If you don’t (even if that’s just perception because of the onslaught of advertising we all face of things “all our friends have!”), then you worry about building yourself up first. And when each set of media is telling all their viewers that the other guy is lying, what else do you expect? We’ve been convinced that our comfort (as opposed to our actual needs) is paramount. Wendy P.

Would you say that if it’s children? Do you really think men are so cool and sexy they can do whatever they want and it’s funny? Another post like this, especially to the only woman who posts regularly, and I’ll know it’s trolling Wendy P.

Is non-consensual penetration wrong? Because she very clearly said it was non-consensual. I’m assuming you don’t think that as long as she doesn’t claw your eyes out it’s OK (it’s not) Wendy P.

As Bill said, she still has the dress. She also still has the friends she told at the time. As part of her testimony, she said that as part of the Silent Generation, she learned just to put with things; it took the Harvey Weinstein affair and the MeToo movement for her to realize she could file and maybe be taken seriously. Then she waited until he wasn’t President any more, I assume. Probably a good move. I don’t know if you’ve ever been told you can’t have a job because of your gender (I have). I don’t know if you’ve ever worked in an office where the only women to get promotions dated the (married) managers. I have. I’m told I can have an intimidating presence; that may be part of why I’m not part of the up to 20% of women who’ve had sex without it’s being what they wanted (it’s not always violent rape by a stranger). But we’re brought up to be mild, nice, cooperative, and afraid. It takes brave parents to do otherwise with their daughter, and I’m supremely grateful to mine that they didn’t make me afraid, and taught me to temper the rest. Of course society in general rewards those traits in women, just as it rewards aggressiveness in men. Is it surprising then that sometimes what the man saw as “I had to talk her into it but she out out in the end” wasn’t really as consensual as that? Wendy P.

Thank you. We have a homeless problem here, too, even though it’s snowy in winter. And Santa Monica is so much more pleasant than Houston (where I used to live), and housing so much less affordable, that I can understand it’s being way worse. Personally, I think unaffordable housing is a huge problem pretty much country wide, along with a lack of vibrant middle-class industry (ie not high tech and pharmaceutical). I do disagree with your assessment on COVID, but then I’m closely embedded with relatives in the healthcare sector. COVID isn’t, in fact, the common cold; it’s turning out now that children who had COVID are significantly more likely than the general population to get diabetes; if they’re obese, it’s nearly 100%. I don’t understand the seemingly objection to the Fed by some people (and I was in Ron Paul’s district for awhile). I doubt it’s perfect, but would unfettered panics be better than the slightly more fettered ones that we’ve had since its inception? I’m no economist, so this is an honest question. Wendy P.

What do you care about? Wendy P.

And the last two significant waves of populism in the US (late 1800's and late 20's into the 30's) were ended by change. One was, in part, the trust-busting of T. Roosevelt, as well as the blatantly jingoistic "let's all pull together" journalism of the Spanish American war. One is unlikely to happen (the corporations and elites now own the political process), and Fox News is trying mightily for the other, but that won't work as long as they make 1/2 of the country part of the enemy. In the late 20's and 30's we had the run-up to and start of WW2. In both cases, the populism was brought on in part (definitely not entirely) by a concentration of wealth with little view to using that wealth for much besides the accumulation of more wealth, along with there being enough dispossessed-feeling people (mainly farmers in the 1890's and just about everyone in the 1930's) to carry it along by word of mouth. Wendy P.