Last call from my family in Vienna......

[Reyes]

Have you selected a move date yet?

[Teacher Terry]

She may not have citizenship, etc. We really wanted to spend 6 months a year in Poland until we found out they use coal which is bad for my asthma and hard to get our dogs there.

[Ultralight]

Rob will not move to another country. Mark my words. No other nation will take him. Rob knows this. He needs to make the best of living here in the US of A.

[herbgeek]

And once in the socialist paradise of Austria where human dignity is respected with gubmnt handouts, she would be all set with housing, food, income.

Unless of course, you are Jewish or Muslim, in which case there is this: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.59b0f03c177a

[Tybee]

Rob will not move to another country. Mark my words. No other nation will take him. Rob knows this. He needs to make the best of living here in the US of A.

I disagree with this, Rob, and want to express my personal support for you. My suggestion about renting in mexico for a year was not to tell you to get out; I personally hope you stay as we need people willing to fight for single payer health care. While I am sure you could become an ex-pat, my hope is that you and your husband stay and have a happy life in this country. But if you can't find peace of mind here, I support you exploring options that will make you both happy.

Anyway, I appreciate Americans like yourself who are willing to point out things we need to do to make our country better and stronger and healthier for all of our citizens.

[Ultralight]

I disagree with this, Rob, and want to express my personal support for you. My suggestion about renting in mexico for a year was not to tell you to get out; I personally hope you stay as we need people willing to fight for single payer health care. While I am sure you could become an ex-pat, my hope is that you and your husband stay and have a happy life in this country. But if you can't find peace of mind here, I support you exploring options that will make you both happy.

Anyway, I appreciate Americans like yourself who are willing to point out things we need to do to make our country better and stronger and healthier for all of our citizens.

I support single payer! I know there are better countries out there than our own.

But I also know what those better countries are looking for (I am looked into expat life in depth). The good ones want you to speak the language, be below a certain age, have specialized skills, etc.

Rob, god love him, does not have these. And neither do I.

[IshbelRobertson]

Beyond Mr. Trump's performance in Helsinki (I'm so jealous of those folks with their better passports!!!) Mr. Trump was created quite a stir in the EU with his recent comment that the EU is a foe of the US. This comment was basically buried by the Orange Thug's performance in Helsinki but it was apparently not lost on citizens of the EU countries.

My relatives in Vienna are now even more worried for my safety and for the future of this country. Their logic is that Trump's words are going to cause consequences now and the EU will retaliate and things will escalate from there. My Cousin Astrid spent hours making an evacuation plan for me featuring flying out of North American through the airport in Mexico City - she doesn't even think I should leave North America through a US airport due to so many people around the world hating the United States now....she questions the safety of any US flight. The whole time I was on the phone with her I was thinking of several conservative posters here and a few scattered Trump supporters I have had the unfortunate luck to run across outside of the 85006.....it would be very illuminating for such people to hear this calm, educated, logical Austrian citizen cold bloodedly giving an accurate assessment of the United States and the unacceptable level of risk being a US citizen places you at. I don't believe many such people could handle such obvious reality, which I see as one of the chief problems the US faces - the need of so many of it's citizens to look the other way and live in denial. No country is worth this.....not even Austria. I'm so glad I know this and am guided by it. But I digress.

I told my Cousin all under this roof have bags packed and have no faith in American whatsoever and that anywhere I go the Austrian flag goes with me. This calmed her down a bit but my family is still worried. I guess this is unavoidable when you live in a sinking country with this caliber of non-leadership but you have family in a better country......they are going to see things as they really are, gloves off, and they are going to worry.

This is not going to end well, folks, is my take and my family not agrees with me but they said it first. I'd pack if you haven't already, and if you never have to run, nothing lost by having this done, right? Remember, those who fled Europe during WW2 lived to tell the tale...……..Rob

Rob, as a Scot and a European, I am astounded at the views of your relatives, until I realised they are Austrians. Austrians, in the main, are known to favour right-wing, racist, homophobic, anti-semitic, anti-muslim views. The land of the Sound of Music, Mozart and sacher torte isn’t real.

But, Bae is correct about the cakes and pastries.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Rob, as a Scot and a European, I am astounded at the views of your relatives, until I realised they are Austrians. Austrians, in the main, are known to favour right-wing, racist, homophobic, anti-semitic, anti-muslim views. The land of the Sound of Music, Mozart and sacher torte isn’t real.

they are considered to be ruled by the right wing now anyway, seemingly the only country in Europe with the far right in coalition government now. Present leadership is anti-immigration but also just openly anti-muslim (closing down mosques etc.). As an American I can't parse exactly where this falls in European opinion on some issues, as countries like Denmark are also ramping up the anti-immigration issue etc.. So ...

But right wing government is why completely crazy stuff like the 12 hour day. I would think the EU would forbid that but not from what I've been able to find out, they have mandatory vacation time, but no mandatory work hours. 80,000 in Vienna protesting this is a real resistance though!

As for long long ago, oh I heard from my European Jewish relatives that they were the most anti-Semitic country in Europe and Europe was pretty anti-Semitic to begin with (this was long before the rise of a certain leader in Germany), yes more than Germany. But I don't dwell on long ago, as of course I don't think Germany now is Germany then (no matter what one thinks of the EU). Anymore than I think the U.S. now is the U.S. under slavery, I acknowledge the legacy and don't think it's been dealt with adequately but ...

[LDAHL]

I think there is not all that much to be gained by comparing historical sins.

I’m hard put to think of a country with completely clean hands that hasn’t been a doormat for much of the past five centuries or so.

[gimmethesimplelife]

From the reports of the various interested agencies, Austria does not seem to be a paradise for LGBTQ people, or for people of non-Christian religions, or for people who, well, aren't quite as white as others. (*)

Damn good pastries though.

(*) Finland seemed much nicer on these issues, when I was hanging out there recently. Except for the bit about requiring sterilization if you are changing your gender.

No snark here in this comment, Bae, ok? Try Austrian chocolate sometime.....it's amazing, it really is. Rob