Vetting Media, The Truth and "So-Called" Educated Trumpers

[Ajay]

Among how many smokers and non-smokers?

42, obviously.

That aside, who knew answering the OP's question would spontaneously create a blog.

 

[ivwshane]

I haven't been a member of any party for a long time, but I don't see that as a positive or something to be proud of, on the contrary it's just a symptom of my selfishness and extreme preoccupation with my own problems!

I think (in theory, because I'm no longer prepared to actually do it!) I think making a commitment to a 'team' is an admirable thing.

It's too easy to be a 'free thinker' or 'independent' and keep one's precious conscience pristine clean (at the expense of not actually accomplishing anything useful for anyone) - it's infinitely harder to accept the moral compromises and grubbiness of actually picking a side in the real world as it is.

Make no mistake, I pick sides and the choice is pretty easy right now but I have no loyalty to any party or politician. It’s why I could vote for Hillary while at the same time appreciate Bernie for what he brought to the table. It’s why I can support Elizabeth Warren and still vote for Biden despite him not making my top candidate list. I know what’s at stake, I understand the reality, and I can accept small wins over no wins.

 

[trenchfoot]

Make no mistake, I pick sides and the choice is pretty easy right now but I have no loyalty to any party or politician. It’s why I could vote for Hillary while at the same time appreciate Bernie for what he brought to the table. It’s why I can support Elizabeth Warren and still vote for Biden despite him not making my top candidate list. I know what’s at stake, I understand the reality, and I can accept small wins over no wins.

I have similar sentiments as you do. It's my way of making logical objective decisions that affect myself, the state I live in and the nation's security of which I rely on on a daily basis. It's why I see the Repub party as a direct threat to the nation's security because they aren't relying on anything factual and truthful to support their contention that they are the chosen ones to lead the nation. In their present state where their emotions are spurred on and exploited by being constantly bombarded with distractive disingenuous political propaganda that comes straight out of Goebbels' playbook, the group think the party has acquired is anything but logical, practical and in the best interests of the nation's prosperity and security.

All the Repubs want now is to seize and hold on to the reins of power no matter what it takes to have it. Trump has given them their mission and it is devoid of anything that is even remotely associated with national unity. The Big Lie is all they have left to cling to as a reason to exist as an organized political entity.

 

[cytg111]

Not in the US, but am active member of a political party. Do I agree with everything that party stands for and does Hell no. Maybe 50%. Its just the rest ranges from slightly worse to HELL NO.
I mean, you can chose a team even if you dont like a couple of the players...

 

[ivwshane]

Not in the US, but am active member of a political party. Do I agree with everything that party stands for and does Hell no. Maybe 50%. Its just the rest ranges from slightly worse to HELL NO.
I mean, you can chose a team even if you dont like a couple of the players...

You are missing the point. When humans choose teams they become more susceptible to group think or excusing bad behavior when their team does something bad. I am trying to avoid that. Does it work? I don’t know but I do know that I don’t get any warm and fuzzy feelings when any side scores political points. The point isn’t to sit on the fence, it’s to simply not get stuck on one side of it.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

That's eithe

This one here, what do we worry about the most.

I never wanted to bring children into this world. I am now 49.

I have custody of my 2 granddaghters from my oldest son. I have ALOT of resentment because of it. I now must keep on keeping on for them.

My wife and I were divorced for 8 or 9 years, IDR it really don't matter. We got back together though. Been like 15 years now, I still don't remember how correct this is.

Main point is we did not suffer empty nest syndrome at all. But we were forced into our situation. Now I know I will work until I die or cannot any longer. There will be no inheritance really, other than employer provided life ins stuff. Which isn't all too much.

I guess what I worry about most, is the movie A Quiet Place, I think is the name of it. Or really any post apocalyptic type movie, I will probably not survive to see these girls be successful, or even worse is I will survive to see them turn out to be unsuccessful.

That's either about missing out on something, or leaving a mess behind. All our lives we had plenty of things to occupy our time and our minds. Young men who go to war have it shoved in their faces, and they don't come home the same if they come home at all. But those experiences with Death are different than the doctor telling you that you're terminal, having a heart-attack or stroke while you're driving to the grocery store. Is it that most soldiers do not die alone? Old people tending flower gardens can die alone.

I suppose one could worry that everything you'd accumulated will go to the state. So? You get a trust attorney and pay him about $500 every year or so when you want to revise the will and trust to refine your plan. If there's nobody left, who should get the assets? I'm looking at my alma maters, Southern Poverty Law Center, Sierra Club. I'm sure I can think of many.

Well. Today I mail off the "Intent to File" to Veterans' Administration, and start finishing the main application package. No hurry now. It's almost a dead certainty: money will begin appearing in Moms' checking account within a month. I SHOULD feel really good about this. I do, but I want to feel better. Maybe I'll hit up on the vaporizer. I can't decide at the moment.

 

[cytg111]

You are missing the point. When humans choose teams they become more susceptible to group think or excusing bad behavior when their team doesn’t something bad. I am trying to avoid that. Does it work? I don’t know but I do know that I don’t get any warm and fuzzy feelings when any side scores political points. The point isn’t to sit on the fence, it’s to simply not get stuck on one side of it.

Yea I got that. See it all the time. Football, hooligans etc... But I disagree, you dont
have* to join up with the radical side of the club. Well, all I can say is its not a problem for me. Only time I've been in "team mode" mentality was the National Guard years back.. But that is sort of by design and construct.

 

[iRONic]

DaaQ, I hope you can get past your resentment and experience the love we’re receiving daily from our grandson.

I was against taking custody of a 5 year old 8 years ago. Me in this wheelchair knew the lion’s share of the work would fall on my wife’s shoulders. She felt semi-responsible for her daughter’s poor decisions. Ridiculous but a I’ve learned a grandmother’s devotion is unwavering.

Any how… that young man has turned into an amazing 13 year old human. I’m proud of not only what he’s learned but what he’s taught me.

My biological kids were raised in a different time. I was a working divorced dad. I regret that I had so little recreational time with them.

 

[Moonbeam]

Mulla Nasrudin saw a dejected may walking down a road. He had a money purse hanging from his side. The Mulla sneeked up behind him, took out an knife, quickly cut the bag from him and ran down the road ahead making an escape. The Mulla laid the bag in the middle of the road. After a while, the man, more dejected than even before reached the spot and picked up his bag while jumping for joy. "There is more than one kind of happiness", the Mulla said to himself.

 

[Wreckem]

The other thing is it doesn’t make a distinction from the almost always terminal small cell lung cancer and the other forms of lung cancer.

Small cell lung cancer is the Smokers Lung Cancer. Only a small amount of people that die from SCLC are people who never were primary smokers but most of those were exposed to smoking.

Almost every diagnose of SCLC leads to death in 6-18 months. It’s a brutal aggressive disease.

My MIL died of SCLC at the age of 57. She had a two to three pack a day habit since her teens. She made it 15 months but that included several rounds of chemo and radiation.

 

[ch33zw1z]

You are missing the point. When humans choose teams they become more susceptible to group think or excusing bad behavior when their team doesn’t something bad. I am trying to avoid that. Does it work? I don’t know but I do know that I don’t get any warm and fuzzy feelings when any side scores political points. The point isn’t to sit on the fence, it’s to simply not get stuck on one side of it.

yup, I’m the same way. Bring something to the table that makes sense, even under scrutiny, and I’ll consider it

 

[skyking]

The other thing is it doesn’t make a distinction from the almost always terminal small cell lung cancer and the other forms of lung cancer.

Small cell lung cancer is the Smokers Lung Cancer. Only a small amount of people that die from SCLC are people who never were primary smokers but most of those were exposed to smoking.

Almost every diagnose of SCLC leads to death in 6-18 months. It’s a brutal aggressive disease.

My MIL died of SCLC at the age of 57. She had a two to three pack a day habit since her teens. She made it 15 months but that included several rounds of chemo and radiation.

The other thing that those most basic of statistics ignore is the whole effects of smoking. My mom did not die from lung cancer, she just powered down after a really short end bout of COPD. It was pretty clear the smoking did it. If we stop there then we miss the 15 years of relative agony she went through from bowel pain.
Her blood supply was degraded from the smoking, and she had constant pain. Her guts were not shorted of enough blood to just die and take her away, no, she was just biding time and waiting for the COPD.
She used to garden until that pain started, but she started having ischemic episodes in the garden and would wake up in her own puke, having passed out suddenly. Fun times eh?
Dad? He could not quit, and heart disease took him. 10 years before his death he had an episode while playing in Reno and the ER docs said don't come back here. 4600' MSL was too high to even walk around.
Neither one of my parent's cases will show up in the smoking/cancer mantra but you can bet your ass cigarettes destroyed their later years before killing them.