*Edited - for typos and 2 other noteworthy reasons:
1) The original screen shot of the Quora post didn't include the author's name - didn't realize I had somehow cropped that out when trying to fit the whole thing in the screen shot, it was NOT intentional. I've redone the screen shot to include it :)
Having said that, as I had time to research him a little more, not sure I care for everything he says, but as I've said before, if I "canceled" every author that said or did something in their personal life I didn't like, then I'd have nothing left to read lol.
It's a percentage thing, I guess, or a majority thing - if the majority of the stuff you say or do doesn't make me want to hurl, I'll still read you lol. And even then, occasionally, a pearl can be gleaned still - even a broken clock is right twice a day :)
2) The doorbell cam video, despite being featured in several crazy doorbell-cam compilation videos with backstories included - IS a parody - originally done by a voice actress in order to promote herself!
I wondered about that, especially because it's an apartment rather than a house, as I'd mentioned - but the compilation video I first saw it in included backstories, sometimes with real mug shot photos - but they obviously got this one wayyyy wrong lol.
Sorry about that!
See, that's what I get for typing something quickly without researching content more first (and why I don't post as much here, less time) - but I should know better - sorry about that!
In my one small defense, real life events sometimes seem like SNL parodies, these days, don't they?
Especially with today's politics, but I digress.
(Not to mention, I've actually met people like that lady, which apparently other people have too, which is why it's funny lol.)
Onto the original post ...
_________________________
So while my husband is out buying hiking boots for our walk later today (and weekend trip next weekend), I was doing a bit of online reading and decided to write a little blurb.
FYI, I used to go on these shoe trips with him, but then realized this take hours with him, because he's super picky! lol. (To be fair, he kind of has to be, because he has had foot problems since childhood.)
In fact, I don't even try to buy him shoes (or pants) anymore. Don't get me wrong, he likes my taste and everything else I buy him - shirts, sweaters, hats - just not pants and shoes, he has specific qualities on those for comfort, so I finally just gave up on those lol.
So anyway, I signed up for Quora to respond to something like eight years ago, judging by my profile picture? lol
That was before I finally understood that people were just posting contentious things to get attention and don't really want to hear what you have to say unless it agrees with them ;)
These days, I don't comment much of anywhere unless it's positive, because I figure other people already have putting out negative into the world covered lol.
Mostly, I comment now only to say something positive, unless they've said something especially egregious (and I can tell they're serious, not just to be a calamity-creating troll) - then I might say something, because freedom of speech should go both ways.
Because again, most people don't want to hear what you have to say unless you agree with them - and usually if they DO want to hear what I have to say, it's likely because they already know me in real life, so they can read here and/or call/text/email me lol
(And again - the only reason I don't have my comments open is NOT because people might disagree with me, I can handle that - but it's because of a persistent harassment problem - there's a difference between simple disagreement in freedom of speech VS persistent harassment, yes?)
On that note, though I rarely read these Quora emails, when they come to this old email, sometimes I do - mostly if they're about which celebrities are the biggest tippers or the nicest in person or something.
This one, though not expressly political, it still struck a cord as a simple truth in general, but especially about modern politics - and apparently I'm not alone - 20K people upvoted it.
It's actually about HOAs, but delves into authoritarianism in general, and it's, well, brilliant :)
Now, first to the original, more specific point about just HOAs - personally, my only experience with an HOA is my stepmother, who once lamented, living in Florida, that the HOA people would come out and literally measure her hibiscus for regulatory height, and worse, the grass, to see if you were even a half-inch higher than regulation, and if so, you were fined!
They would come unannounced, not greet you or anything or even wave, just show up on your lawn with a ruler - totally creepy, and it was driving my stepmom crazy!
We used to call them the HOA Nazis lol.
We must all assimilate, resistance is futile! lol
But then again, is anyone at all surprised that the HOAs in Florida are especially Nazi? lol
Sigh - wealthy white people who don't have enough to do or worry about, I guess, and often don't realize what real problems are!
Shortly after that, by coincidence, I watched a video with a montage of 30 crazy doorbell cam videos on YouTube.
Most of them were genuinely scary, like attempted break-ins or drugged out people - but this was both creepy-crazy and hilarious, and I was later able to find just the clip of this kookaburra woman.
I thought at first it was a parody, but as we know by the current state of politics, sometimes real life is its own parody.
*PS - It IS actually a parody, I just discovered, as mentioned above - but funny because we've all met people like this, unfortunately.
HAHAHAHA!
So this conservative-dressed lady - clearly from the Great Lakes area, judging by her accent - with football helmet hair, in a cardigan - repeatedly began knocking on her neighbors' door -"Helloooo? Knockity knock knock knock"- like, trying to be nice, but also obviously in distress about the lawn - not a mowing problem, which would make sense somewhat - but the fact that they were not growing the same type of grass everyone else in the neighborhood did?
Okay, so ... first of all, they clearly live in an apartment, so how much control would they have over the grass anyway?
Regardless, if the grass was never mowed or something, that's one thing, but that's not the issue - she just wanted them to use the same grass seed she did - she even brought a bag of her own grass seed! LOL
Then when she says she hasn't been sleeping because of the grass type - and then singing ... I nearly soiled myself laughing!
(And you can hear the owners laughing, too LOL)
Remember, it's NOT even an HOA neighborhood!
See, this is why I'd unlikely ever live in a co-op or a community with an HOA (unless it's fairly lax) or anyplace too cookie-cutter rather than diverse - and also why I don't join private clubs or country clubs lol.
Not because I plan on doing anything cuckoo with where I live, but because it's just so - elitist?
"Resistance is futile - assimilate!"
In fact, I'd be tempted to break one of the rules purposely, just to watch the neighborhood Nazis freak out, apparently not having any worse problems than that.
Now, our apartment community has rules, but they're fairly reasonable and only get enforced if someone is being unsafe or affecting their neighbors apartment adversely in some severe way ( especially intentionally or harassing them) - and even then, only if it's chronic, not like one loud UK-win party or derby party that went too late or something, or one disagreement.
If anything, they are too lax sometimes, i.e, I do find it annoying that I can't park in front of my own apartment in the summer because people that don't even live here (as evidenced by no sticker) are taking up all the parking spaces, so they can jump the fence for the pool.
However, management likes to investigate reasons why something happened first, like someone forgot their key card etc. or their cards have become demagnetized (which happens frequently), or they're family of people who live here.
To be honest, I'd actually rather they do that, investigate, and err on the side of being too lenient rather than too vigilant, if I had to choose, but they really could be better with their signage of where to park and consequences for people who don't live here taking up all our parking spaces, so they can use the pool.
Mostly, though, they're just about doing what they can to prevent problems before they happen, rather than correct them later, i.e., they've just installed a 6 foot iron fence around the pool, rather than the 3-foot one, to prevent hopping and a call to the office first before entry if their key card doesn't work or is lost, etc.
Now - to the bigger point made in the Quora post, I've had these observations myself about people, of course, especially in recent political times, as have many others - but nowhere have I seen them tied together so simply, but brilliantly, about the nature of people, regardless of political side, and this is this simple truth:
Most people actually like dictatorships/authoritarianism and will even vote for it, as long as the dictator agree with them! LOL
As for me, not a fan of authoritarianism, right or left - and for whatever reason, I can usually recognize it right away, from either political side (despite their best protests and self-deception otherwise).
Especially the extremes of fascism and/or theocracy VS. communism (the later of which in theory works, but in practice, has always historically ended up with a scary oligarchy that controls personal freedoms, too).
Because regardless of left or right, both extremes eventually lead to less rights, even death, for those who either disagree or are otherwise deemed unlike themselves - and the dictators always end up getting too power drunk and out of control.
The first two telltale signs of authoritarianism, IMO, are:
1) There is no middle ground, no gray areas allowed - you must tick every single box, you must assimilate - you're either for us or against us, either all in or all out - and with government authoritarianism, being "out" can be even punishable by death, eventually.
2) They will always (falsely) claim that they are the ones being persecuted, despite being the majority, just because somebody stood up to them.
I would like to shoot for good balance between regulation and allowance of personal freedoms (as long as they aren't harming others, physically or otherwise) based on common sense, rather based on than fear-mongering, vindictiveness, or power grab (or irrational fear of the loss thereof), but I guess that's too much to ask - these days you're either with or against, no in betweens.
So I wondered if anyone else was disappointed that they didn't actually go to trial and just had to pay a fine?
And worse, that there was no part of the settlement in which Fox News had to retract their false claims of election fraud?
I see that I wasn't alone ...
HAHAHAHA!
"Dammit! I wanted to see Rupert Murdoch place his hand on a bible and burst into flames!"
Gotta love Stephen Colbert, one of my fantasy co-husbands (along with Sting, Pedro Pascal, Alexander Draymon, Michael B. Jordan, Steph Curry, and others lol).
He's a Christian liberal Democrat, like me :)
(Yes, we do exist - Jesus is neither Republican or Democrat - but Jesus was a progressive liberal revolutionary, in his day :)
Also, at about 2:25, NBC News Jake Tapper trying to read the small statement Fox News DID release about it about their journalistic integrity and laughing mid-way through is priceless.
Then Fox News is back this morning as if nothing happened, and this is their big news today ...
???
What does the title of the front-page even mean?
You know what, as usual, I don't care - not gonna bother to read the actual article because it's just more false-claim, click-bait terrorization over nothing, so never mind lol.
(You would think Fox News viewers would hit some sort of threshold of allowing themselves to be terrorized all the time, but nope, not yet!)
This was not justice, this was a slap on the wrist of white collars again - and they'll do it again, wait and see. (Well, they do it every day lol.)
So after seeing that ridiculous commercial about the schools (see yesterday's post) because the governor's race is heating up, my husband was in no mood to talk politics with anyone.
However, he took our dog for a long walk, and of course, Trump Guy was out.
"Oh, no" thinks my husband to himself.
We call him Trump Guy because he's about 75 years old, is always wearing a Trump hat, and always confronts you about his politics.
My husband still nodded when the guy waved from down the sidewalk, but quickly crossed the street to the other sidewalk.
So then, of course, so did Trump Guy.
Mark let the dogs greet each other and the guy pet our dog and vice versa.
Then, of course, unfortunately - Trump Guy spoke.
Trump Guy: "Can you believe these woke transgender people are invading our schools? I just saw a commercial ..."
Mark:"Sir, I really don't want to talk politics with you, okay? Yes, I saw that commercial and I work for Fayette County Public Schools - I can assure you, what's shown in that commercial is NOT going on - NO ONE is literally teaching on gender identity - NO ONE.
"It's an absurd lie, to scare you into voting for her."
Trump Guy:"Well, I just don't understand all this transgender stuff, they need to be kept separate from children and people are training them to be that way?"
Mark: "No, sir - I think we need to let other people be who they already are, as long as they're not hurting anyone else - but no one is actually "teaching" them to be that way - ESPECIALLY not in the schools here, I can assure you."
Trump Guy:"Okay, let's talk about crime then. My nephew is a retired police officer and he said the problem is all them uppity black boys."
Mark: "Boys? Sir, you need to stop right there - that's enough. We don't call them "boys" anymore. They're the same as you and me."
"And you're scared of crime - me too, but you know what I'm scared of? Being shot at the movies or the grocery - and Southern white men like you, and your hero, Trump, violently invading the capitol under the delusion the election was rigged, just to get power back, and paying people off to keep people from knowing the billion-dollar crimes and frauds you commit."
Trump Guy: "What? I've called them boys all my life, no one said a word until Obama. That's not Southern, people feel the same way I feel everywhere, not just the south."
Mark:"I can assure you, not to the degree that you good ole' boys do in the South."
"You spoiled Southern white "boys" - you're just mad because you don't get to abuse people anymore without consequence."
"Now, I'm going to walk away now, and you're not going to follow, and next time I see you in the neighborhood, we wave and that's it, okay? No more politics, because we don't agree."
"Maybe get out from your armchair a little more and enjoy beautiful days like this one, more - maybe talk to these people you're afraid of, find out how people really are for yourself, versus stuff you saw on the internet or TV that's not even true or a rare instance, freaking yourself out with it. Have a good afternoon."
Trump Guy: "Well ... all right, then."
GO MARK! LOLOLOL
I don't think I'd have anything to add to what he said except this, my whole family being from Kentucky, had I been there:
"Sir? I know your momma raised you better than to accost strangers on the street about your politics, now, didn't she?"
Now - I DID tell my husband to be careful, I DO worry with how passive-aggressive Kentuckians are, like this guy'll sic his racist ex-cop nephew on him or something, but probably not lol.
I'm actually super proud of my husband for showing restraint and the things he said - GO MARK!
Now, after just writing a post about where I said I don't like to target women because there's enough of that going on, I swear to goodness, saw this commercial for Kelly Craft for Governor and I can't help myself.
OH.MY. GOD.
What the ???
HAHAHAHA
So ... I'm not laughing with her, I'm laughing at her, this is such absurd nonsense - this is NOT going on anywhere in Kentucky!
Bitch is out of her corn-fed, bourbon-lovin' mind! LOL
So as you may know, my husband is a data analyst at the administrative offices of Fayette County Public Schools, the second largest public school district in the State of Kentucky; thus, we can assure you with 100% certainty, that there are no "parachutees" into the state, and that actual teaching on gender identity/pronouns is NOT going on, here!
Also, as a result of his job, we not only know many administrators and teachers through his work, but we live right next door to, or in the same building with, or in the same apartment community as ,many staff and teachers and either speak with or hang out regularly.
Of course, none of this is going on in our public schools, anywhere - this is just more false-accusation fear-mongering propaganda by Trump-style Republicans to get votes, without either an ounce of proof or shame.
Also, notice she also doesn't explain what CRT (critical race theory) even is, she just goes right into gender identity, as if they're the same thing, when race and gender identity are two separate things!
CRT, on the other hand, IS being discussed and debated at high-school level grades - just like many other social THEORIES - as it has been for decades.
Clearly, it's not just an insult to all public school teachers and staff, but to all Kentuckians, whom she apparently believes are all gullible hillbillies and will fall for this shit, because she can't possibly believe it herself - and as far as I know, she's never once visited our schools!
Thus, I, like so many others, apparently, wrote a comment under this video because this is just fear-mongering based on zero evidence (because it's not happening, anywhere) about our public schools without an ounce of shame.
I realize she's trying to be funny, but the only thing funny about this is that people really think this stuff is going on in our schools.
"Attacking our schools?"
No - the only person attacking our schools is Kelly, herself, without an ounce of data or evidence, because it's a completely fabricated, fear-mongering lie to scare people into voting for her - as per usual, for Trump Republicans.
Talk about "immoral!"
Now, I know you all truly believe you are at war with us liberals, and thus all is fair to you, but someday, we hope you'll finally realize the only thing you've been at war with is your own paranoia, because these things are not happening, at least not on a broad scale, and the only reason any isolated events make the news is because they are outliers from the norm!
Okay, so I really don't like it when people zero in on especially targeting just women, when men are largely still in charge of this country, but Lauren Boebert - I mean, let's face it, not only is she annoyingly loud, she's just really, well ... stupid?
Now, I might often say that certain ideas or stupid or certain things said are stupid - but I rarely say that anyone is stupid.
Because we all say stupid things once in a while, and we all have areas of education that need work, and there are many forms of intelligence - we are better at some things than other things.
But if you are in a position of leadership that requires a certain amount of basic knowledge that you just don't have, you genuinely don't even understand it, but think you do - repeatedly- and will not listen to anyone who does know - that's not ignorance, that's stupidity - and worse, it's reckless stupidity, because now you've led others down the stupid road with you lol.
Okay, so I'm not faulting her for having to drop out of high school due to having a baby, stuff happens, life happens - nor even that she waited to finally get her GED (high-school equivalent exam) until just before her run the 2020 election at age 34 - none of even that necessarily means she's stupid, life happens.
I'm not even faulting her, or anyone, for ignorance on certain topics, or perhaps just needing a refresher on things learned long ago.
But if you haven't the basic knowledge required for the job, and you don't bother to learn it - OR - you DO have that information, but you lack the reading comprehension skills or retention skills to even understand it - or you still don't get it even after it's been explained to you, repeatedly?
Well, then actually being stupid is a strong possibility lol.
No, it's the stupid stuff that repeatedly comes out of her loud mouth that leads me to believe that she, as a person, is stupid - I'm not even sure how she was even able to finally pass the GED!
Now, I'm no rocket scientist, myself, but ... dang.
Because as a result of this interview with Charlie Kirk below, I'm really thinking that we need to institute an exam for basic knowledge of both our Constitution of the United States of America and the Declaration of Independence as a requirement before our elected officials take office that they MUST pass - especially those that claim to love America, because she makes it clear she doesn't have a clue.
Okay, so the beginning is Charlie Kirk and Lauren watching and reaction to a video clip of Joe Scarborough and Minka Brezinski Scarborough on "Morning Joe," discussing freedom and the second amendment.
FYI, Joe Scarborough is an attorney, a former U.S. Representative for Pensacola, Florida (where I lived for a few years in the early 2000s), a current morning show host, and a former Republican until Trump (now independent).
Joe Scarborough (via video clip):"They talk about a freedom that they've made up in their own twisted heads because they've been ... they've been whipped into a paranoid frenzy by the NRA for 25 years. You know, now they're claiming the Second Amendment protects things it just don't protect.
Charlie Kirk asks her for a reaction to the clip:
Lauren Boebert:"Wow. Right, this 'made-up freedom.' Uh, I don't think that defending one's life is a made-up freedom. It's right there in the preamble, we have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, or personal property, whichever rendition you want to go by."
WHAT. THE ???
Sigh.
No.
So .... I'm pretty sure she just proved Joe's point that Trumpers are just making stuff up in their own twisted heads as a definition of freedom, because there are so many inaccuracies in that one statement, I don't know even know where to start!
And if these 5 inaccuracies don't immediately jump out at you as being incorrect, then I don't know what to tell you - and it's not a mater of "interpretation" - these are 5 documented, easily verified facts, if you simply read the documents!.
Please, allow me to point them out, can I, huh, can I?
We typically only use term "The Preamble" to mean the preamble to the constitution itself - NOT the Declaration of Independence.
Do you even know that these are two separate documents , written almost three years apart, and what the difference between them is?!?
#2The Declaration of Independence is a completely separate document from our constitution - written and signed almost three years before the Constitution of the United States of America (because we fought and won our independence in between, hellloooooo?)
The sole intent of the DOI was to do exactly what its title implies - declare our independence from the exploitation/tyranny by any country or government (at that time, Great Britain) - especially any government that considers just one person's opinions as the sovereign rule of law - and it essentially officially started the Revolutionary War.
#3 Regardless, neither "defending one's life" or "personal property" (especially with a firearm) are NOT written in either document!
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Nothing about defending yourself or personal property, simply the right to bear arms, in the context of an official militia to "protect the free state" - period!
Laws which protect defense of personal property, i.e. "Castle law," etc. are NOT in the constitution - they are left according to the state, and each case is weighed in accordance with what is considered acceptable self-defense and what is not.
The part that you are referencing about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is from the beginning of the Declaration of Independence, which says that we are "Endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights and that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
Nothing whatsoever about defense of anything!
#4- Perhaps you mixed the DOC together with the preamble to the actual Constitution of the United States of America,which says only this:
"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States"
And yet still, the only thing there about defense is that we are to provide for the common defense (as in a military) to secure the blessings of liberty (freedom).
(As an aside, it also says to promote for the general welfare, mind you, which you modern Republicans especially suck at doing as far as providing healthcare, consumer protection, etc.)
Nowhere, in either document's preamble, does it say that you have the right to "defend" yourself or your "personal property" with a gun - that can only be found in the second amendment (see above) - as Joe said - and by saying otherwise, you're proving his point!
#5 Lastly, she says "whatever rendition you want to use."
???
Bitch, there's only ONE "rendition" of either document! LOL
And though we may consider these documents sacred, you DO know this isn't the actual bible with its 90,000 different interpretations, right?
Speaking of sacred, you DO know that neither document was actually written by God, nor are there even claims that they're evenly divinely inspired by God, right?
(As an aside, I'm fairly certain that God would not consider people of color as slaves "freedom" by definition, nor would he consider slaves to account for only 3/5s of a population area's vote, without actually letting them vote!!!).
Regardless there has always and only been one Declaration of Independence and on Constitution of the United States of America, signed by all officials present.
With all our current flaws, these are two facts that we Americans are immensely proud of:
1) We were the first country to allow by federal law freedom of varying religious beliefs without persecution.
2) The fact that we have always and only ever had ONE constitution, because our forefathers had enough foresight to allow provision for amendment to our original Constitution without changing the base document, rather than throwing it all out and starting over, like most other countries have, then failing to even write all national laws in one cohesive document later (like in the UK).
And those are just the first 5 things that immediately jumped out at me, personally, upon first listen, but the host of this video channel has even more I didn't!
I mean, seriously - just like Joe said, Trumpers are literally just making shit up completely that isn't even in there to accomplish their tyrannical goals - which, mind you, are in complete opposition to the values this country were built on - namely to protect the right to having varying forms of faith without fear of persecution or treat any one individual's words and proclamations as an all-powerful king!
I would feel sorry for them, for their ignorance and/or stupidity, if it weren't for the fact that they're actually in our Congress, not knowing these basic things, and if they weren't so dangerous!
Girl I can't even ... I'm so embarrassed for you, because apparently you don't even have enough sense to even know you should be embarrassed!
I'm sure y'all have smarter women than this in the Republican Party still - or don't you?
FYI, Louisville is about an hour from us here in Lexington - we're central Kentucky, they're Northwestern Kentucky, on the Ohio River, just across from Indiana.
It's getting so that nowhere is safe - our children at school, the bank, the movie theater, concerts, the grocery ...
Listen, Republicans - if you truly are the "Party of Life" - particularly the lives of children - then DO SOMETHING!!!
DO SOMETHING, CONGRESS - ya bunch of cowardly, overpaid NRA and corporate puppets!
(Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, my state's U.S. Senators, I'm especially talking to you!)
There comes a time when we need to use common sense and put our politics aside in favor of public health and safety - that is, if you have any moral compass left at all!
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