A More Simple, Plainer America?

[frugal-one]

Well, sometimes it does not swing back. Sometimes a country stops being recognizable to what it was. There is no guarantee a country lasts forever. We are on that journey now with the dems destruction of the 1A. No more freedom of speech or thought in the USA. Dems will work tirelessly to destroy any person, company, city or state that does not toe their party line.

But none of these discussions will save you or America. The only thing that can save a chunk of America as founded is if America is broken into two and let the dems destroy their half.

Just like generations change, someone brought up the case that politics goes back and forth from dem to rep control. OK, even if so, which is unlikely now that the dems have the formula for perpetual control, the dems destroy so much of America when they have control and it never comes back. And the shitty reps we have in DC can't do anything when they do have control.

The reps have to come to grips they are no match for the dems. They can't beat them. (politically) History tells us that. Look at what we got from Trump and 2 years of a rep controlled Senate and Congress. Compare that to 2021 with the dems hitting the ground running.

OK, if it was a shooting war, then it would be different. The dems have proven to be cowards and shrink from hard-core battle. But that does not do us any good. If we could secede, a group of states that is, then you would have a chance. Now, succession would still not be a perfect answer, with an enemy at your borders wishing to reconquer or destroy the states that do not want to be under their thumb. But it would be better than being disarmed and losing all of America as seems to be what is in store for us.

I mean, the dems do look at the reps as bad people, their enemy and would like us all destroyed. We have seen their comments for some time now attesting to that. In contrast, the reps would just like to be left alone to live their lives...under the Constitution. Dems can go their way and do their thing...in their states. But they just won't accept it. The dems will bring the fight to you and work to destroy you if you don't accept their doctrine. Once it became the norm in the USA to throw out the 1A, all was lost. ANYONE that is offended by your worldview has the right to destroy you, as long as it meshes with the dems dogma.

Deleted my original post. These types are best ignored.

[Yppej]

OP...dunno.

Maybe simpler cause they can't afford hardly living. If Biden gets his wish and brings in 20 million illegals, then they can bring in 40 - 60 million more from chain migration. More people scrambling for a piece of the American dream.

Chain migration like when Melania Trump brought her parents over to the US? This was after she came here and illegally worked as a nude model.

[HappyHiker]

Gosh, I'm a dem and I don't want to destroy anyone no matter their political persuasion. I'm all about rainbows and unicorns and peace and harmony.

[jp1]

Invisible, you forgot to mention the republic party’s absurd belief that they are all about fiscal responsibility in your world is upside down perspective.

[GeorgeParker]

Well, sometimes it does not swing back.{followed by a bunch of right wing exaggerations and stereotypes}

Put it in the political forum where it belongs. I will not reply to you here or anywhere else because imo doing so would be utterly pointless.

[GeorgeParker]

I watch HGTV and every episode involves tearing out what I consider in most cases to be perfectly good kitchens and replaced with the au courant cabinet/counter/appliance package du jour. There is actually a syndrome called the HGTV effect, where everyday buyers parrot the wishlist of the buyers on these TV shows, or strive for copycat living rooms a la Joanna Gaines.

Obviously the problem goes far beyond HGTV into things like how love of consumerism has resulted in products that don't degrade, deforestation, monoculture farming, reduced biodiversity, etc. But it's all on the same track.

Yes. Increasingly house flippers are mainly doing gut-and-rebuild where nothing is left of the original house except the exterior and studs. In many cases it makes sense to remove obsolete kitchen appliances and replace them with new ones or to take out existing walls to create a better floor plan, but tearing everything down to the bare studs is seldom the best option, and ripping out perfectly good kitchen cabinets and replacing them with new ones is a prime example of wasteful updating with little value.

Another example is flippers who buy a house with nice wood floors and cover them with cheap wall-to-wall carpet that looks ok now but will look awful in 5 years. It would be much better to give the floors a good coat of wax and let the home buyer decide what, if anything, they want to use as carpet.

It's also worth remembering that all those HGTV shows are re-doing houses on a discounted wholesale basis. The contractors who work for them give them a discount as steady reliable customers, whereas you or I would pay full price for our one-off job. The appliances and materials they feature in their remodeling projects are often bought at the wholesale price or less in exchange for the publicity value of being featured in a popular remodeling show. And so on.

This is how it looks in the real world: https://getpocket.com/explore/item/d...rick-at-a-time

[GeorgeParker]

Deleted my original post. These types are best ignored.

Amen. I only replied because I was the one being directly quoted.

[GeorgeParker]

That editorial takes the position that things aren't as bad as we think they are, but it reaches that conclusion by looking at only one side of the evidence. For example: ....... We're all doomed!!! So give up.

For anyone who missed it: In post #27 of this thread I was playing devil's advocate. Yes, I really am that cynical about the future, but there are still some slim reasons to hope things will get better and we'll somehow muddle along as a species for a few more centuries. I just wouldn't bet on it unless all the corporations and powers that be suddenly realize saving the planet is a better investment than maximizing this year's profit margin.

[iris lilies]

For anyone who missed it: In post #27 of this thread I was playing devil's advocate. Yes, I really am that cynical about the future, but there are still some slim reasons to hope things will get better and we'll somehow muddle along as a species for a few more centuries. I just wouldn't bet on it unless all the corporations and powers that be suddenly realize saving the planet is a better investment than maximizing this year's profit margin.

Here’s the thing about an optimistic outlook: our time is over, the time of us oldsters. I think we are handing the youngsters a world that is not so great. But they will take it and run because they have the optimism of youth.

[JaneV2.0]

Here’s the thing about an optimistic outlook: our time is over, the time of us oldsters. I think we are handing the youngsters a world that is not so great. But they will take it and run because they have the optimism of youth.

That's my philosophy and hope.