USA Politics (redux)

[Todd]

What happened to Russia?

[flyingdutchman]

At one time I would agree with you but the situation has really deteriorated in the United States.

Whenever we visit relatives in North Carolina my wife and I are on pins and needles.  Many of them refer to us as those northern liberals.  My brother is always trying to pick fights with me. 

My brother has alienated both of my sons that they are no longer on speaking terms.  My oldest son is married to a Korean women and my my brother has made snide remarks about my grandchildren.  My youngest sons long time girl friend is Mexican and my brother has made remarks that it is sad that he could not hook up with a nice white girl.  The only reason I tolerate my brother's behavior is because my mother lives with him and I do not want to be cut off from her.

It has gotten so bad with my wife that between her sisters, nieces and nephews the only relative my wife still has a good relationship with is her brother. 

Whenever they try to start something my wife and I start talking about the weather.

Very sad to hear. My wife is Japanese and our kids are half caucasian/half Japanese. My own family has been respectful and my aunt and step-father who have long since died and grew up during the time of war with Japan had nothing but love and respect for her when they lived. I was/am blessed. My wife is a wonder and she's dealt with racism in the community and at work, but NEVER with my family. She works as an RN and has dealt with abusive behavior mostly from white patients, but keeps her humor and grace about her.

[Herman]

She works as an RN and has dealt with abusive behavior mostly from white patients, but keeps her humor and grace about her.

Wow, on the west coast?

[Sterna]

What happened to Russia?

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/

[MusicTurner]

Rudy Ghouliani staged a public meltdown. Literally. 

https://www.thedailybeast.com/rudy-giulianis-hair-dye-streaks-down-face-after-my-cousin-vinny-performance

This photo is sort of more balanced:

[Mirror Image]

Forgive me for saying it but your brother is a jerk.

No need to forgive you for quoting the truth. He is a grade A jerk.

[Mirror Image]

As any psychotherapist can tell you, one's close family is a source of pain to many people.

You can spend decades trying to make it better, but sometimes it just doesn't work out, because there's too much pain and resentment and mysterious motives you'll never untangle.

Focus on people who like and love you for who you are. Life is too short.

It certainly can be, but as you said, life's too short to worry about all that --- a person should be around people who make them happy.

[drogulus]

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/

     There's a nice bit on how Russians react to The Queen's Gambit.

     The Trumptator may or may not touch base with Vladdy, that's failing news we haven't yet read. Truly, though, why would Putin want to mess with something that pays off so handsomely? Let it be, I say.

[Sterna]

     There's a nice bit on how Russians react to The Queen's Gambit.
[...]

Indeed.
The final lines:
The problem is not that "The Queen's Gambit" portrays Russians incorrectly — it doesn't. The fact is simply that Russians always find a way to be dissatisfied, even when nothing is wrong.
When I read that, I immediately thought: Queen's Gambit Declined.

     The Trumptator may or may not touch base with Vladdy, that's failing news we haven't yet read. Truly, though, why would Putin want to mess with something that pays off so handsomely? Let it be, I say.

I was only trying to help another forum member, who seemed to be lost a bit.

[Karl Henning]

     There's a nice bit on how Russians react to The Queen's Gambit.

     The Trumptator may or may not touch base with Vladdy, that's failing news we haven't yet read. Truly, though, why would Putin want to mess with something that pays off so handsomely? Let it be, I say.

He's defiitely enjoying the hands-free appliance.

[Karl Henning]

Indeed.
The final lines:
The problem is not that "The Queen's Gambit" portrays Russians incorrectly — it doesn't. The fact is simply that Russians always find a way to be dissatisfied, even when nothing is wrong.
When I read that, I immediately thought: Queen's Gambit Declined.

Well played, sieur!

[milk]

At one time I would agree with you but the situation has really deteriorated in the United States.

Whenever we visit relatives in North Carolina my wife and I are on pins and needles.  Many of them refer to us as those northern liberals.  My brother is always trying to pick fights with me. 

My brother has alienated both of my sons that they are no longer on speaking terms.  My oldest son is married to a Korean women and my my brother has made snide remarks about my grandchildren.  My youngest sons long time girl friend is Mexican and my brother has made remarks that it is sad that he could not hook up with a nice white girl.  The only reason I tolerate my brother's behavior is because my mother lives with him and I do not want to be cut off from her.

It has gotten so bad with my wife that between her sisters, nieces and nephews the only relative my wife still has a good relationship with is her brother. 

Whenever they try to start something my wife and I start talking about the weather.

My sister turned from a Biden voter to fanatically believing that COVID is part of a communist conspiracy to take over the U.S. She's anti-Vax, anti-mask and thinks Trump won. She's pushes this shockingly far, haranguing us with dire emotional messages of doom. She writes things like, "I'm begging you," and "wake up." I don't live in the U.S. I can't do much practically. My parents are octogenarian Jews in the last years of reasonably good health. It's really sad. ETA: I just give my parents background because they're not the kind of people you'd bother with politics. They're not political aside from having become more liberal as members of the family came out and adopted biracial children. That's the only thing that's made them more direct about politics. Even if I believed some conspiracy theory, I'd know better than to bother them with it - especially at their age. My sister is making this a condition of their relationship.
I will say this: she's terrified. Imagine believing what she believes.

[drogulus]

     Making the Most of the Coming Biden Boom

What held recovery back after 2008? Most obviously, the bursting of the housing bubble left households with high levels of debt and greatly weakened balance sheets that took years to recover.

This time, however, households entered the pandemic slump with much lower debt. Net worth took a brief hit but quickly recovered. And there's probably a lot of pent-up demand: Americans who remained employed did a huge amount of saving in quarantine, accumulating a lot of liquid assets.

     The Krugster isn't telling the story quite the way he did a few years back when he correctly diagnosed the weak recovery as a demand shortfall. That analysis didn't just highlight the savings deficit, it explained it. Now he foregrounds the housing bubble problem without mentioning this vital piece of the picture.

     That very much aside, government action to flood the zone with savings should have the effect he sees. Points are deducted for mentioning the Fed.

     A 'growth bomb' is brewing in the US with consumers sitting on $2.5 trillion in savings — and it's poised to give the economy a huge boost, one Wall Street chief strategist says

     Yup.....this happened in the '20s after the '21 depression, and again in the '30s after the GD, and once again in the '50s after the WWII savings bomb. The "debt bomb" becomes the growth bomb.

     Bubble shmubble.....

[Mirror Image]

My sister turned from a Biden voter to fanatically believing that COVID is part of a communist conspiracy to take over the U.S. She's anti-Vax, anti-mask and thinks Trump won. She's pushes this shockingly far, haranguing us with dire emotional messages of doom. She writes things like, "I'm begging you," and "wake up." I don't live in the U.S. I can't do much practically. My parents are octogenarian Jews in the last years of reasonably good health. It's really sad.

There's extremism on both sides of the political spectrum, but to anyone who disbelieves COVID and refuses to, at the very least, to wear a mask around other people is a huge part of the current health crisis of this country. Masks should be mandated and I agree with what President Joe Biden said, "Wearing a mask isn't a political statement."

[milk]

There's extremism on both sides of the political spectrum, but to anyone who disbelieves COVID and refuses to, at the very least, to wear a mask around other people is a huge part of the current health crisis of this country. Masks should be mandated and I agree with what President Joe Biden said, "Wearing a mask isn't a political statement."

I agree 100% about extremism on both sides and the masks. yes. I live in Japan. Masks were a way of life even before this. Japan isn't out of the woods yet either but it's still got on much better than Europe or the U.S. Everyone in Japan wears a masks from when they step out of their houses to when they come home. You can even see Japanese people driving in their cars alone with their masks on.

[drogulus]

There's extremism on both sides of the political spectrum

     The extreme left is outside the Dem party and hates it. As much as AOC wants to identify herself as a socialist, she's a fairly standard issue left Dem in programmatic terms.

     These days the word socialist means you want things other people want, only with more oomph. AOC wants economic measures "no I mean really". If that's socialism, we live in an almost socialist country without lifting an ideological finger. I don't have to like how terms are unmoored from their historic roots. Maybe I should get with the times. I won't though.

[flyingdutchman]

Wow, on the west coast?

Yep, even on the west coast. Portland, and especially if you go up into Southwest Washington state can be extremely close-minded. In a town we live in, she was called monkey by a white guy as she left the Dollar store once. In the hospital she works in a white person refused to be treated by here and demanded that a white nurse help her.

[flyingdutchman]

Bah humbug. Biden wins the popular vote due to California, the diverse state with the highest concentration of illegal immigrants, foreigners and left wing nutjobs. I don't think the rest of America is anything like the golden state for its whacky one party liberalism.

He won the popular vote pretty much everywhere with a 6 million win difference.  That's not all California. Further, his election wins in states that Trump "won" far outdistance his totals in those states.

[flyingdutchman]

My sister turned from a Biden voter to fanatically believing that COVID is part of a communist conspiracy to take over the U.S. She's anti-Vax, anti-mask and thinks Trump won. She's pushes this shockingly far, haranguing us with dire emotional messages of doom. She writes things like, "I'm begging you," and "wake up." I don't live in the U.S. I can't do much practically. My parents are octogenarian Jews in the last years of reasonably good health. It's really sad. ETA: I just give my parents background because they're not the kind of people you'd bother with politics. They're not political aside from having become more liberal as members of the family came out and adopted biracial children. That's the only thing that's made them more direct about politics. Even if I believed some conspiracy theory, I'd know better than to bother them with it - especially at their age. My sister is making this a condition of their relationship.
I will say this: she's terrified. Imagine believing what she believes.

Wow. She turned from being a Biden voter to being a Trump voter based on only that?  My god. It is interesting, however, to note that the virus mutation that came to the US came to us mostly via Europe. Trump stopped some people coming from China, but his decision to issue the "blockade" on Europe last year only pushed frantic people to come back from Europe bringing the virus with them.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Very sad to hear. My wife is Japanese and our kids are half caucasian/half Japanese. My own family has been respectful and my aunt and step-father who have long since died and grew up during the time of war with Japan had nothing but love and respect for her when they lived. I was/am blessed. My wife is a wonder and she's dealt with racism in the community and at work, but NEVER with my family. She works as an RN and has dealt with abusive behavior mostly from white patients, but keeps her humor and grace about her.

Sorry to hear about it. Couples of Asian male and Caucasian female may even receive harsher and more explicit hatred and threats.  But anyway, I have seen so many abuses against non-whites and interracial couples in the nation.