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Messages - Eamonnca1

#1
Quote from: Mourne Red on Today at 10:29:46 AMOne to watch - Johnson will be back in charge of Tories (or will try to be) for 2029 election. I think he'll say if Donald can do it why can't I

Wouldn't put it past him. This anti-immigration stuff in a time of people struggling financially - it's a recipe for extremism.
#2
General discussion / Re: The Many Faces of US Politics...
November 05, 2024, 04:55:43 PM
Quote from: trileacman on November 05, 2024, 01:51:44 PM
Quote from: bennydorano on November 05, 2024, 11:11:09 AMI hope Harris wins for the obvious reasons, but the mayhem that will ensue should be comedy gold.

If Trump wins, how long will it be before there's talk he deserves a 3rd term?? Constitutional matters don't really register in that camp I reckon.

I have a problem with no 3rd terms. US presidents are pretty much completely unaccountable during the 2nd term given that they're getting turfed out at the end of it anyway. Compared with prime ministers or Taoiseach who need majority support from their colleagues and always have an eye on the next election. As a result they're much more in tune with public opinion and the mid term consequences of their policy.

2nd term presidents are as close to dictators as you'll find in western democracy.

There are checks and balances on the powers of the executive branch. It's very hard for a single party to control all branches at the same time, although the system seems to have evolved into one that gives undue weight to the GOP. But during the darkest days of Trump's presidency, the institutions seemed to largely hold. It could have been a lot worse.
#3
General discussion / Re: The Many Faces of US Politics...
November 04, 2024, 11:01:23 PM
Quote from: trileacman on November 03, 2024, 07:29:38 PM
Quote from: trileacman on November 03, 2024, 07:17:50 PMHas Harris said how she's going to overturn the recent Supreme Court ruling where they overturned Roe v Wade?

And has she any details on how she plans to intervene (or not) in the Middle East conflict?

Just read that she expects Congress to pass abortion legislation. Can anyone tell me why there are 4 independent Democrats in the Senate?

King I kind of understand, but why are Sanders, minchin and Sinema not tied to the Democrat party? How do they fund their campaigns without party support?

Sanders is in a safe seat and he has a national profile, so he'll get small donations from all 50 states. More than enough to keep him going.

Some people in congress have been good at this. AOC and Alan Grayson* spring to mind.

* Lost his seat, but while he was in office he was able to mop up donations from all over the country because of his high profile antics in congress.
#4
General discussion / Re: Depression
November 03, 2024, 12:50:09 AM
Update: we talked it over and we're good again.

I got a room for the night and stayed away last night. Just picked a few things up from the house when they were all out so I could go straight to the field this morning to ref a hurling match.

It was a bit awkward when I got back but the kids helped to warm things up, they were happy to see me.

Getting a room and staying away for the night seemed to shake her up and get her attention, she let me talk uninterrupted for a change and I was able to explain everything from my point of view.

The costume thing, I did lighten up about it at the time, but I explained to her that my dad would never have dressed up for the kids and I'm just not used to it.

The drink thing, we're both very light drinkers so we both stayed off it while this was going on.

I think she gets it now. I may not be a perfect parent but at least I try. She recognized that the way she dumped two months worth of complaints on me all at once was not very nice. We came up with some practical solutions about how we can better plan ahead for upcoming events, and this time it wasn't couched in terms of "I need to to step up." She also recognized that her tone isn't very nice and that even well-intentioned feedback can come across as nagging.


So we're friends again.

I don't want these kids growing up in a broken home or a place where their parents fight.

Thank you everyone for listening and for your tips.
#5
General discussion / Re: The Many Faces of US Politics...
November 03, 2024, 12:34:48 AM
Trump appears to be unraveling live on stage

"When I say insane asylums, and then I say, Doctor Hannibal Lecter, does anybody know? They go crazy. They say, oh, he brings up these names out of— Well, that's genius. Right. Doctor Hannibal Lecter. There's nobody worse than him. Silence of the Lambs. Who the hell else would even remember that? I have a great memory, but they always hit me. I don't bring it up too much because they have to take such a— he brought up Hannibal Lecter. What does that have to do with this? What is it? It has everything to do with it, right? He was... So I've done something for you for you that I haven't done in 20 speeches. I brought up Doctor Hannibal Lecter and we're allowing him, you watch, you watch these fake people will say again, he brought up Hannibal Lecter has absolutely nothing to do. You know I do the weave, right? The weave. It's genius. You bring up Hannibal Lecter, you mention insane asylum. Hannibal Lecter. You go out, no. There'll be a time in life where the weave won't finish properly at the bottom and then we can talk. But right now it's pure genius. Hey, I have an uncle, my uncle, Uncle John, my father's brother, 41 years at MIT, longest serving professor has so many degrees, he didn't know what the hell to do with them all in the most complicated. I understand a lot of this stuff, you know, I believe in that. Like, I mean, Jack Nicklaus is not gonna produce a bad golfer. Right. You know, that's the way it works. It's just one of those things and it's in the family and it's whatever"
#6
General discussion / Re: Depression
November 01, 2024, 05:34:00 PM
Sorry for the long post, I'm just venting here.


She went nuclear on me last night.

I'm not a huge fan of Halloween, but I'll go with the flow. Last year I spent a few weeks making an aeroplane costume for our son who's now 3. The kids loved it so much that we kept it to use again this year, so I had a bit of work to do to put it back together. I burned a bit of midnight oil on Wednesday night to put it all back together and make some repairs. Slept on the couch to avoid going to bed late and waking her up (her sleep requirements are unique. Needs a lot of it, and she's a light sleeper. The slightest noise or light will wake her up and put her in a foul mood the next day).

Yesterday at work the wife sent me a message saying that she was making a costume for me, some crab character from a kids' movie. I said "no thanks" but she insisted, so I chose not to argue. I sometimes feel a bit ridiculous wearing a costume, it seems a bit childish. (I had an episode over ten years ago when my GF and I went to a costume party but I just felt ridiculous and anxious the whole time. She could see that and suggested we just go home, which we did.) I thought this time I'd probably feel a bit weird at first but I'm sure it'd be okay once we get into the swing of things, so I'll just wear the costume and pass no remarks.

Well I got out of work as quickly as I could to pick our little boy up from daycare. Got home and ate the quickly-prepared reheated dinner, got costumes on the kids and put on the costume that my wife had made for me and she put on hers. Went out to the neighbourhood street party where all the kids and congregate on the street. She could tell I wasn't 100% into it at first on the way over, I said I looked ridiculous, and she started asking me to basically buck up and try to look like I was enjoying myself. She starts going on and on about how it's all supposed to be fun, I'm supposed to enjoy it, supposed to be proud of the kids' costumes, etc.. I said "okay, okay, stop nagging me." That provoked her and the berating got a little worse, she insisted that she was trying to lift my mood, but the nagging died down eventually.

We got to the party and we all had a good time. I got into the spirit of things and it was all okay, didn't feel at all anxious. Lots of laughter, people admiring the kids' costumes, and taking pictures of the little one in his cardboard plane while my wife was dressed as those airport marshals who direct the pilots when parking planes. It was hilarious. Also met a nice couple who are the parents of our son's friend at daycare.

We then went to a friend's house where they have a big trick-or-treating setup on this street where half the homeowners go go all-out for Halloween with big elaborate displays, and it gets a ton of kids coming by in their costumes.

Still a good time, no problems, kids were loving it, no arguments or anything. Great little family gathering with kids and friends. As it got later it was time to get the kids home and into bed, so we packed everything up, put the kids into the bike, and we made our way down the street but stopped to take a closer look at some of the displays. She took the kids out of the bike so they could trick-or-treat, I managed the bikes by turning off the lights to save the batteries, moved her bike out of the street so it didn't get hit by any passing cars, etc. I looked up and didn't see the wife or the kids anywhere, so I started looking for them among the crowd. I went to the house next door, no sign of them, but I took a picture of the display. Went across the street to the other prominent houses, taking a few pictures on the way but still no sign of the kids.

This is where it went downhill. My wife comes running across the street shouting and roaring at me to take care of the kids who she had now left at the side of the street. I told her I was looking for them. She kept shouting and roaring at me to come and take care of the kids, and I repeated that I was looking for them all, back and forth about six times this went, almost like she didn't believe me. I had to tell her to calm down and stop with the shouting.

We got everyone gathered up, back onto the bikes and rode home. She was still snippy with me and at one point I had to ask "are you okay?" Along the way my daughter said something I didn't quite catch, apparently there was dust in her eye or something. The wife starts on me again for not paying attention, I had to defend myself because I didn't hear what the little girl said.

We get back to the house, get the kids fed and into bed, I read them a story like I always do, lights out.

I ask the wife again if she's okay, because there's obviously something wrong. She doesn't answer, walks past me and goes outside saying she needs to take a walk.

I spend the next half hour getting the place cleaned up with my usual nighttime chores (scrubbing the kitchen clean, scooping the cat litter, feeding the cat, putting away stray toys, redding the place up in general). By the time I'm done she's had her walk, come back, made a cup of chai or something, and in bed before me. I look at her nervously, she's glaring at me like she hates me.

I get into bed and venture to ask "am I in trouble?"

She then launches into an angry five-minute tirade about:

  • I'm not doing enough (not true)
  • I need to step up and do more for the family (they'll need to invent 26-hour days then, because I'm already flat-out)
  • I'm letting her do all the planning for these family events (probably partly true, but only because she creates work to do that I don't always think is necessary)
  • I was a miserable party pooper for the first hour (not true, I was fine after a minutes and was fine by the time we got to the party)
  • I left it to the last minute to work on the costume (so did she on our costumes)
  • I should have known that all the adults also wear costumes at the party (not true, many of them don't and we didn't last year, it didn't seem like a big deal then)
  • I didn't thank her enough for making the costume (I had thanked her for the costume)
  • What took me so long to get home from work? I stand accused of putting it off because I didn't want to wear a costume. (I left work at 4:10, ten minutes after she stopped working to go and get our daughter)
  • Apparently the street party starts at 4:30. She tells me this at 5:30. At 10:00pm she complains that we "missed an hour and a half of the party." (We spent about an hour at the party which was as much as the kids were able to put up with.)
  • I passed off the crab costume as my own idea and took credit for it (flat out false, no idea where she got that from)
  • I don't say "thank you" enough for all the work she does (not true)
  • She did all the planning for when my family came to visit a few weeks ago (not true, I made a detailed plan and spent a week of work chaperoning them around while my wife was at work)
  • She did all the work in buying a minivan (partly true, but she wanted the thing more than I did)

I explained the costume anxiety business. "Well why didn't you tell me that before? Why don't you tell me these things? I need you to be more communicative..." etc.

The worst of it was when she accused me of wandering off to take pictures and abandoning my family on the street. I had to interrupt several times to apply the brakes, and then it took about five more attempts to convince her to stop interrupting. I explained to her that I didn't see where they were and I went off looking for them. "I saw you taking pictures of the houses!" Yes, I stuck my phone up for a split second to take a photo, WHILE I WAS LOOKING FOR YOU.

I told her that this is what she does all the time, makes up scenarios in her head and mis-remembers what actually happened, making herself look perfect and me look bad. She accuses me of "gaslighting" her and calling her "crazy."

Then she tells me to stop yelling (I wasn't yelling) which is her standard fall-back position when losing an argument. Make a baseless claim that I'm shouting when I'm not. If I were shouting then the kids would have woken up. They didn't.

At this point I just rolled over and shut my eyes. This got her going even more and then she storms off downstairs to sleep on the couch. Comes back up a few minutes later to deliver another barrage of how I need to buck my ideas up before slamming the door. I just ignored her because it's best to just let her have the last word, or you'll be up all night arguing because she won't concede an inch.

I could hear her crying on the couch, I just left her to it. I've tried to comfort her before when she does that but it just makes her worse, so it's best to just duck and cover and let her mood blow over.

I gave her the silent treatment this morning, didn't respond when she said "goodbye" when taking our daughter to school. I took our son to daycare and went on into work.

I don't know what to do tonight. I'm going to have to go home and face her again. I want to drop our son off and then disappear off somewhere and get a room for the night.

We've been getting along just fine lately, but her moods have been a bit volatile. This is one of the worst eruptions I think I've ever seen.
#7
Quote from: Mourne Red on October 30, 2024, 02:53:52 PM
Quote from: J70 on October 30, 2024, 01:27:31 PM
Quote from: Gabriel_Hurl on October 30, 2024, 01:13:01 PM
Quote from: johnnycool on October 30, 2024, 08:55:53 AMHas either of these two got a policy of note to discuss?

I mean one of them does if you bothered to look. But they are domestic policies.

And Trump wants to do massive tariffs, round up and expel millions of immigrants, and replace much of the professional civil service with political lackeys.

Why do you keep dropping illegal and undocumented when saying immigrants? Simple fact check says that's his policy not ones who are legally allowed there

I had to wait an extra year to get my green card renewed after it expired, even though I sent in my renewal application nine months ahead of its expiry date rather than the recommended six months. The USCIS gave me an extension and let me keep on using the expired one. Many other people were in the same boat.

This is because Trump fired the people processing green card renewals.

And of course you might remember the people coming into the country legally from business trips and holidays only to be blocked at the airports because of an arbitrary ban on travel for people from Muslim-majority countries.

His administration attacked legal immigrants. LEGAL immigrants. The far right hates legal immigration just as much as illegal immigration. Except of course for that wing-nut Elon Musk and Trump's sex-worker wife.
#8
FAO the "one side is as bad as the other" crowd - Don't make me tap that chart:

#9
General discussion / Re: Depression
October 29, 2024, 08:17:11 PM
Bumping for daylight savings. A difficult time of year for a lot of people. It can be a hard slog all the way to the "grand stretch in the evenings" bit.
#10
Betting odds are more volatile than polling data. On the one hand this is looking ominously like Clinton's broad-but-shallow lead in the swing states in the last days of the 2016 campaign. On the other hand I'm hearing reports of long lines of early voters in NC and GA, plus quite a bit of backlash from the Madison Square Garden debacle. Hopefully that'll be the point where he lost the election. Puerto Ricans make up 8% of the people who live in PA.

There's also the trauma of 2016 that's still fresh in the memory of Democrats, so there'll be no complacency this time and plenty of motivation to vote. They dying off of boomers and coming-of-age of new voters since then will also help.
#11
Quote from: RedHand88 on October 29, 2024, 10:34:52 AMUnguarded drop in boxes are a ridiculous idea to begin with. I'm old enough to remember the army coming in a helicopter to lift the ballot boxes at 10pm.

The country obsessed with blowing its own trumpet about democracy puts boxes in a public street with no protection, madness.

Historically this was a high trust society. Newspapers were sold in vending machines on the street where you could put in your money and you'd be trusted to take out just one paper, even though there was nothing stopping you from taking them all.

The unguarded ballot boxes were just a product of a time where nobody imagined that right wing extremists would want to burn them. That'll probably change now.
#12
Quote from: theskull1 on October 29, 2024, 05:33:24 AM
Quote from: Banks of the Bann on October 28, 2024, 10:38:01 PMThe people who have actively been sowing division in every single country in the west, including Ireland, are the same people who have you eating out of the palm of their hand.

You're just too dumb to see it.

Help me understand the type of divisive false messaging they'd be pushing my way (that I want to hear) for that to hold up?

Well there's the "Harris and Trump are no different" BS for a start.
#13
They're burning ballot boxes with dropped-off ballots in them.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/28/ballot-box-on-fire-washington-oregon
#14
Trump rally speaker: "And these Latinos, they love making babies too. Just know that. They do. They do. There's no pulling out. They don't do that. They come inside. Just like they did to our country."
#15
Quote from: theskull1 on October 27, 2024, 12:39:58 AMIt never matters who wins. The hidden hand is fooling you into thinking the contest matters. It's smoke and mirrors

Ok.