Fake news has obviously been around for ages but I truly believe the Reality TV boom of the late 90s and early 00s primed the pump for mass propaganda brainwashing of the US public. Reality TV showed them the production value needed for the average person to actually believe it was real. It was then applied to the news and the season 1 premiere was September 11th, 2001. Change my mind.
Long time ago I worked for a cable company in their call center doing sales and support work. After I saw how much tax is in those monthly bills coupled with dishonesty about how long you were getting the lower "new customer" rate I lost the willingness to pay for that product. It's probably even worse now. You really are paying for all the content you get even the stuff you never watch. Ridiculous. Cut the cord in 2013 and haven't missed it. Still use antenna so I can pick up the free channels, there are a few that air older shows from the pre woke era and that's nice to have for a rainy day.
The reason is two-fold. First is that the US public at large is extremely disgruntled and jaded on how federal politics works in Washington DC, going back many decades. We are sick of all the backroom deals with corporate interests that result in corporations taking in record profits and politicians receiving insanely lucrative kickbacks from whatever lobby they are working with while the common person suffers and is left holding the bag. The idea of a politician who is not part of the system being elected president and restoring power to the people, which is the central idea of Trump's MAGA movement, is something that quite literally everyone should be able to get behind.
But the system, the swamp, the deep state - whatever you want to call it - does not want to give up its power. They recognize that the general public does not like the results of decades of political corruption in DC and would gladly overthrow them if the opportunity presented itself. In general they combat this by turning us all against each other. White vs Not White. Man vs Woman. Straight vs Gay. Normal vs Trans. Middle Class vs Lower Class. This is the game they have been playing since Occupy Wall Street (honestly longer than that, but that OWS is a definitive point on the timeline you can point to when the divisiveness started going off the charts).
The problem with this idea of an outsider hero becoming president and restoring power to the people is the naivete some people have about this idea. They think a commoner, a low to middle class person of humble means will be the only way to achieve the goal. This sounds nice on paper, but it does not consider that the swamp is so deep that the candidate will inevitably become beholden to his largest donors. Effectively, a commoner wouldn't be able to fill this role because they would be controlled. This is why it has to be someone like Trump.
The swamp understands this and recognizes Trump as an actual threat to their survival. That is why they have "all assets deployed" against him. They immediately used a coordinated mainstream media gaslighting campaign to broadcast negative stories on Trump 24/7 on all media platforms the minute it appeared he was seriously running for president in the 2016 campaign.
As Covid has shown us, the number of people on this planet who believe what mainstream sources tell them is staggering. Yes, more and more people wake up every day but the current optics support that the general public is basically a giant flock of sheep. They kept up the gaslighting through Trump's entire first term, never letting up or giving even an inch. People believe he deserved to impeached back then, and they believe he should be prosecuted for all these indictments now. Not because they have looked at the evidence and found him to be guilty of breaking the law, but because the TV told them to.
That's why he is so polarizing. Some see him as the answer the the problem of the swamp, and want to see him achieve his goal of draining. Some believe he Is an evil, mean-tweeting racist demon who would only use the office of president to benefit himself.
He is also the voice of the Joker in many of the Batman cartoons/animated features going back to the 1990s. In my opinion he does a much better job with voice over than he does acting in front of a camera, but it is sad that someone who played two very iconic roles ended up being this much of a tool.
Saw it last night. The theater was packed, probably sold out too. When I bought my ticket there were maybe 5 seats remaining. By comparison my father and I went to Indiana Jones a few days ago and it was only half full for an 8pm Saturday showing.
Overall it's a great film. I think everyone needs to see it. And please donate tickets to their Pay it Forward campaign if you can. I don't have much I can spare for donations but I pitched in for 2 tickets. Perhaps don't spend any money on overpriced concessions snacks when you see it and use that money on donating tickets instead.
That would be something wouldn't it? I've showed him tons of different videos and articles I've found here over the years. He brushed most of it off, especially the 2020 election rigging stuff. I was pretty persistent about showing him research on the covid vax being harmful. He got the 2 dose vax and the first booster, but I think I got him to stop there. He does seem to at least be paying closer attention to things now so I'll take that for now. But when he said military is the only way it made me feel really good that he reached that conclusion on his own.
My dad also tunes me out and doesnt take me seriously. However every now and then he'll show me a glimpse of an awakening. Just last week we were watching something, probably a video or podcast I found here and made him watch, and he says out loud "it's almost like the military is the only way to fix all of this". Hope that you can get through to your dad. I know it hurts when it feels like they dont listen to you.
I had an 11 year old golden retriever who's health declined significantly after his 11th birthday. The breed is very prone to cancer and he did have some lumps, so I'm sure that's what it was. I took him in to get bloodwork done and have the vet give me an opinion on this nasty hacking cough that he had. The techs said they could do his vaccines at the same time and I allowed it.
Two weeks later I was putting my dog down after he went almost a week of barely eating and looking like he was struggling to breathe. I know I didnt lose too much time with my best friend, but even an extra couple weeks or months would have been worth his weight in gold to me.
I went in for a checkup a little under 2 years ago, I had gained some weight during the pandemic and the nurse was coming in hot about needing to get me up to date on vaccines, including tetanus and getting the covid shots. Told them no, even with my weight gain I dont have any other health problems and even if I did, I had covid once and beat it after a few days, so I wasnt afraid of it. They thought I was crazy. I finished the appointment and haven't gone back to that clinic.
Similar thing happened with me, came home and roommate plus 3 of his friends were talking about 2016 election. I dont enter the conversation and am just making something to eat in the background. Eventually they ask me who I'm voting for. I say, "I dunno guys, kind of thinking about voting Trump." Instantly the entire room turns on me. I felt it shift. Out come all the MSM talking points and ad hominem attacks against me.
I'd been starting to get out of the liberal end of the pool for awhile before that. The way everyone revered Obama when he was clearly a huge piece of shit was a warning sign to me.
I was out on this the second it was announced Tim Allen wouldn't do the voice and had been replaced with Disney yes-man Chris Evans. And I liked Chris Evans until supporting the woke mob became part of his Marvel contract.
It's pretty good. I watched it not too long ago after seeing it referenced here a lot and was not disappointed. The ideas hold up really well given its age, always appreciate stories that can stay relevant long after their time.
How would you be saving their lives? Their biggest complaint is they cant afford to support the baby, but that opinion is entirely rooted in not wanting to make financial sacrifices. They want to keep living a selfish lifestyle of indulging in whatever their vice of choice is. Alcohol, drugs, food, traveling, insert pop culture event here (concerts, music festivals, etc). Or they are chasing the feminist dream of proving they can be all that men can be and need the time to devote to their career. They can financially support the child, they just dont want to sacrifice.
Sure there's a handful of very rare situations where I'd have some understanding of a woman getting an abortion, but I still wouldn't support taking the baby's life from them.
And let's not leave out the simple fact that the real reason most young women support abortion is to fool around and not have any consequences. Pregnancy is a blessing to those who want it and a literal lesson in "fuck around and find out" to those who don't.
Sorry for your loss. Had to put my old dog down in February. I dont know what he was suffering from because I didnt want to pay exorbitant costs for the diagnosis. I paid a reasonable fee for bloodwork on him and the vet called to tell me the results looked good. He also got his annual vaccinations at that time too. Within a week he stopped eating and I knew what I had to do. With everything we know about vaccines now I wonder if I had told them no to the shots if he would still be here.
I try not to dwell on it. He was an 11 year old golden retriever and the breed gets cancer around 60% of the time, and his health and mobility were showing signs if decline over the past year or so. I just wonder if the shots accelerated it.
In other news I am getting a golden puppy next weekend and am very excited to start over with a new friend.
I think people get the idea that Taylor Swift is an op because of the timing of her relationship with Travis Kelce going public being immediately after he became the face of Pfizer's new covid shot ad campaign.
I dont think Taylor Swift has the power to influence the election in a measurable way. If she comes out and endorses Biden, anyone who votes based on that would have done it if any celebrity told them to. Other celebrities surely will do the same, so it will wash out in my opinion.
Evey presidential election the left uses celebrity pawns to influence votes. Katy Perry endorsed Obama and Hillary. This is not new.