Biden Out of Race

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I didn't realize it was 5 years old. How embarrassing.
Problem with people (not you) in general. Live off SM as their news, read a story, no fat checking, and run off telling the world how bad things are. SM and bad/manipulated news are a bad cocktail for the vast majority of people who are too lazy or can't critically think.

I sit every night watching about an hour of ABC news/Local News. I doubt many people still do this as Tick tok and insta is 100 easier.
 
I don’t think it’s a particularly useful way to describe what we see happening in the world. Fascism was a response to a particular set of circumstances that aren’t really relevant to today.

A fine example is the whining about ICE as the “American gestapo”

Set aside illegal immigrants for a second and consider actual powerful people in the USA. Are they under threat from ICE? How about any other Trump created police entity?

Zohran Mamdani and is an actual communist and he feels perfectly safe criticizing the trump government currently.

I can cite dozens of actions by historic fascist police forces that involved direct violence against religious institutions, kidnapping of government officials, dissolution of political parties or other organizations, and generally provoked fear of speaking out in the populace.

I think it’s completely ahistorical to call what we see in the modern world fascism when every western democratic country still has multiple thriving political parties that are multi faceted and try to broaden their tents by catering to all kinds of special interest groups.

Like the actual first thing that happens in fascism is elimination or suppression of the political opposition. I don’t hear democratic, libertarian, democratic socialist, or centrist talking heads getting quieter these days so I remain unconcerned.

Like what are all the people crying about this going to do when democrats retake the House of Representatives and completely stop the government? Or how about the 2028 presidential election, what happens if democrats win? Are we still fascist then?

If someone describes something like the capture and detention of Rumeysa Ozturk as fascistic, I would probably agree.

I think it's fair to point to worrying trends as a pathway towards fascism and that identifying those may be a way to avert it.

I would describe the "dismissal of human rights" or "disdain for intellectuals and the arts" as worrying trends towards fascism in large segments of the US.

A larger problem I have with your thesis is that fascism (or steps towards fascism) aren't all or nothing. So the question "are we still fascist then?" is kind of meaningless to me. I would say we're closer to fascism in some senses today than 30 years ago. It's a spectrum and there can be movements towards it while also taking some steps backward. Maybe some people who describe the US wholly as fascistic don't recognize that and they could be more cautious with their language.
 
If someone describes something like the capture and detention of Rumeysa Ozturk as fascistic, I would probably agree.

I think it's fair to point to worrying trends as a pathway towards fascism and that identifying those may be a way to avert it.

I would describe the "dismissal of human rights" or "disdain for intellectuals and the arts" as worrying trends towards fascism in large segments of the US.

A larger problem I have with your thesis is that fascism (or steps towards fascism) aren't all or nothing. So the question "are we still fascist then?" is kind of meaningless to me. I would say we're closer to fascism in some senses today than 30 years ago. It's a spectrum and there can be movements towards it while also taking some steps backward. Maybe some people who describe the US wholly as fascistic don't recognize that and they could be more cautious with their language.

I agree it’s a give and a take and spectrum. I see more absolutist language from the online left establishment than others on this topic so that’s why I view their opinions as overly alarmist.

I think our parents and grandparents grew up in a world that would be far better described as fascist than that of today. Things like Kent state, true government coverups of military activities during Vietnam, anything that Kissinger did all blows stuff today out of the water in my opinion.

So that’s why I don’t find it a useful description really. There’s always going to be something to point to that’s unjust or authoritarian that the government is doing. I saw Covid business shutdowns as fascistic whether they were legal or not. Some people see that differently. I see our attitude towards immigrants today as still far more inclusive than some seriously xenophobic countries in Japan and South Korea that few would describe as fascist because of those attitudes.

It’s sort of exhausting to talk in such grave terms when I see this as pretty par for the American and for that matter western course of actions in the last 40 years. Maybe my anxiety levels are lower than others but the idea that I’m more afraid of our government and speaking out now versus the immediate post 9/11 environment to me is funny.

Back then you could get arrested for not removing your shoes at the airport. Now everyone can keep them on again. I don’t see fascist governments as typically rolling back security theater, rather increasing it
 
I agree it’s a give and a take and spectrum. I see more absolutist language from the online left establishment than others on this topic so that’s why I view their opinions as overly alarmist.

I think our parents and grandparents grew up in a world that would be far better described as fascist than that of today. Things like Kent state, true government coverups of military activities during Vietnam, anything that Kissinger did all blows stuff today out of the water in my opinion.

So that’s why I don’t find it a useful description really. There’s always going to be something to point to that’s unjust or authoritarian that the government is doing. I saw Covid business shutdowns as fascistic whether they were legal or not. Some people see that differently. I see our attitude towards immigrants today as still far more inclusive than some seriously xenophobic countries in Japan and South Korea that few would describe as fascist because of those attitudes.

It’s sort of exhausting to talk in such grave terms when I see this as pretty par for the American and for that matter western course of actions in the last 40 years. Maybe my anxiety levels are lower than others but the idea that I’m more afraid of our government and speaking out now versus the immediate post 9/11 environment to me is funny.

Back then you could get arrested for not removing your shoes at the airport. Now everyone can keep them on again. I don’t see fascist governments as typically rolling back security theater, rather increasing it

I see the expansion of Executive power as a worrying trend toward fascism/authoritatianism. (Trump v US)

I see worsening rhetoric and disinformation campaigns as a worrying trend toward fascism/authoritarianism. (Is there any parallel to the 2020 election disinformation campaign in terms of scale and success?)

Again, pointing to Japan or South Korea doesn't suggest anything to me. We should compare the current US to the past US. It's like saying "we don't have our own Soviet gulag archipelago yet, so we really shouldn't be worried", it reads like goal post shifting to me.

Wrt government coverups, I kind of agree? The problem is most of this administration's corruption is out in the open. The President has his own meme coin market and NFT schlock which he personally benefits from. Previous staff have been the beneficiaries of billion dollar deals (Kushner). There isn't any accountability among his staff apart from loyalty (Hegseth is still around and apparently is conducting a shadow foreign policy unbeknownst to Trump).


Is this talking in "grave terms"? I dunno. I'm not making any predictions, but I see these as bad trends that should be identified. If others on the left are being overly dramatic then they ought to defend their criticism when pressed.
 
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I see the expansion of Executive power as a worrying trend toward fascism/authoritatianism. (Trump v US)

I see worsening rhetoric and disinformation campaigns as a worrying trend toward fascism/authoritarianism. (Is there any parallel to the 2020 election disinformation campaign in terms of scale and success?)

Again, pointing to Japan or South Korea doesn't suggest anything to me. We should compare the current US to the past US. It's like saying "we don't have our own Soviet gulag archipelago yet, so we really shouldn't be worried", it reads like goal post shifting to me.

Wrt government coverups, I kind of agree? The problem is most of this administration's corruption is out in the open. The President has his own meme coin market and NFT schlock which he personally benefits from. Previous staff have been the beneficiaries of billion dollar deals (Kushner). There isn't any accountability among his staff apart from loyalty (Hegseth is still around and apparently conducting a shadow foreign policy unbeknownst to Trump).


Is this talking in "grave terms"? I dunno. I'm not making any predictions, but I see these as bad trends that should be identified. If others on the left are being overly dramatic then they ought to defend their criticism when pressed.

I appreciate that it’s fair to point these concerning things out as they happen. I’m not 100% pleased with the Trump admin but my gripes with world affairs relate to what non governmental entities are doing.

I view the expansion of AI, and social media in general being normalized as the most corrosive factor in today’s politics even though the companies doing it are ostensibly apolitical. I don’t want to see a world where google, apple, and Facebook are the most powerful entities in the world and the governments of the USA, EU or Asia have zero power to stop them from destroying our culture and thought processes.

Any politician who made it their mission to reign in those companies would be top of my voting list for sure. Those companies are much scarier to me than anything from the us government
 
Trump appointed a 22-year old out of college to be in charge of preventing domestic terrorism. He has literally no security experience. Most incompetent administration ever.
 
Republicans/MAGA are the dog that caught the car on this Epstein stuff.

Republicans in the House just voted to NOT release whatever Epstein files are currently being kept privileged.

The defense of this I've seen so far (Pim Tool) is that the proposed release would have entailed "the release of child pornography on a public website". So really, if you think about it, the people trying to open the Epstein Files are the real pedos...

They've spent years talking about this guy and his "murder", but now that marching orders from Trump are in, every "free thinker" on the Right from Dinesh to Catturd are lining up. (One notable exception being Steve Bannon who wants to appoint a special prosecutor to handle the release?)

For the record, I've always thought he just committed suicide. American prisons are pretty terrible and suicides happen frequently.
 
Republicans/MAGA are the dog that caught the car on this Epstein stuff.

Republicans in the House just voted to NOT release whatever Epstein files are currently being kept privileged.

The defense of this I've seen so far (Pim Tool) is that the proposed release would have entailed "the release of child pornography on a public website". So really, if you think about it, the people trying to open the Epstein Files are the real pedos...

They've spent years talking about this guy and his "murder", but now that marching orders from Trump are in, every "free thinker" on the Right from Dinesh to Catturd are lining up. (One notable exception being Steve Bannon who wants to appoint a special prosecutor to handle the release?)

For the record, I've always thought he just committed suicide. American prisons are pretty terrible and suicides happen frequently.
More importantly...

What did Epstein think about bitcoin??
 
"Five months into its unprecedented dismantling of foreign-aid programs, the Trump administration has given the order to incinerate food instead of sending it to people abroad who need it. Nearly 500 metric tons of emergency food—enough to feed about 1.5 million children for a week—are set to expire tomorrow, according to current and former government employees with direct knowledge of the rations. Within weeks, two of those sources told me, the food, meant for children in Afghanistan and Pakistan, will be ash. "

 
It seems like both Trump and Clinton are in the Epstein files.
Wouldn't have been expected to see Hillary in there! 🙂

All of this shock from MAGA is just performative. They've all known he was a rapist for years. They just didn't care. Most of them still don't.
 
Wouldn't have been expected to see Hillary in there! 🙂

All of this shock from MAGA is just performative. They've all known he was a rapist for years. They just didn't care. Most of them still don't.
The whole thing is strange. Did these people really think Trump was incapable of doing something like that?
 
DJT hiding some bombs and its obvious. Just curious why JB didn't release this in his 4 yrs?

Or are we just going to condemn it when DJT did it?
 
DJT hiding some bombs and its obvious. Just curious why JB didn't release this in his 4 yrs?

Or are we just going to condemn it when DJT did it?
It's not so much that. It's that Trump made a big thing saying he was going to release the list. His AG said the same not 5 months ago.

Now the list doesn't exist and she never actually had it and anyone focusing on the list is a bad person?

I don't give a rats ass about it. I'm sure a huge number of famous people are on it, but that doesn't mean any of them are actual child molesters. Just means they visited Epstein's island. But the utter hypocrisy and gaslighting here (first time I've ever used that term) is impressive.
 
DJT hiding some bombs and its obvious. Just curious why JB didn't release this in his 4 yrs?

Or are we just going to condemn it when DJT did it?
I assume that Biden did not release it because there are some prominent dems (eg,. Bill Clinton) in it. Or Epstein was working for Mossad.
 
Biden never made a campaign promise to release it. Trump made a huge deal out of it.

And a few months ago, Bondi said the list was sitting on her desk. So, what exactly changed between now and then?
 
Biden never made a campaign promise to release it. Trump made a huge deal out of it.

And a few months ago, Bondi said the list was sitting on her desk. So, what exactly changed between now and then?
She has become part of the deep state.
 
Bondi recently dropped fraud charges against Dr. Michael Moore and his Plastic Surgery Institute of Utah, who were indicted in January 2023 for running a fake covid vaccination scheme. The office destroyed $28,000 of medicine and sold fake vaccine cards for $50 a pop, netting almost $100,000. They injected saline in kids' arms for parents who opposed the vaccinations.

The case was set to go to trial this week and a jury had already been selected. But then... Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote Bondi a letter calling Moore “a hero for refusing to inject an experimental vaccine into the arms of patients who did not wish to subject themselves or their children to a human experiment.”

Here was how Bondi described this:

“The charges brought initially by the corrupt Biden Justice Department against Dr. Moore are a blatant attempt to punish dissent and silence those who question the safety of experimental vaccines,” she went on, demanding that the DOJ “immediately drop all charges.”

 
Politicians on both sides are dirty and have many skeletons hidden. I don't see much of a difference b/t a guy who is all bravado vs a guy who doesn't say anything but both do the exact same. This is DJT's failing, he needs everyone to hear him talk.

But end of the day, Both sides of the isles up to Obama and Bush were sitting presidents who protected the powerful instead of the weak. Epstein was arrested in 2006 and all presidents have buried the smoking gun. Its pathetic and continues to prove that most in power are dirty.
 
And this hand-waiving from Trumpers is amusing.

“Oh I don’t like what Trump says. He isn’t a true conservative and doesn’t represent my values. I hate his guts.

But I will vote for him anyways”
 
Politicians on both sides are dirty and have many skeletons hidden. I don't see much of a difference b/t a guy who is all bravado vs a guy who doesn't say anything but both do the exact same. This is DJT's failing, he needs everyone to hear him talk.

But end of the day, Both sides of the isles up to Obama and Bush were sitting presidents who protected the powerful instead of the weak. Epstein was arrested in 2006 and all presidents have buried the smoking gun. Its pathetic and continues to prove that most in power are dirty.
This is all true.

But when it comes to corruption and criminal acts and just vileness of character, Trump is in a class of his own. You know this.

You can always fall back on "both sides bad" to defend your support of anyone. It is what it is: moral cowardice.
 
This is all true.

But when it comes to corruption and criminal acts and just vileness of character, Trump is in a class of his own. You know this.

You can always fall back on "both sides bad" to defend your support of anyone. It is what it is: moral cowardice.
Got it. You just drip morality on your soapbox.

You can't get it through your DJT deranged mind that over half voted for DJT and the top issue was not morality. But I am sure you always vote for the most moral, otherwise you are just a hypocritical moral coward.
 
It’s very interesting that the federal prosecutor for Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell was just fired. Very interesting, indeed…

The administration seems to be in full on cover up mode. There must have been some dirty stuff on Trump in those Epstein files. Change my mind…

Epstein did not kill himself.

She is Comey's daughter. Fired out of pure vindictiveness is my take. It would be Trump's MO.
 
Maybe, but the coincidence of timing is VERY suspicious. Trump sounds like Sleepy Joe when he is answering questions about Epstein.


Meh. Ya the cover up is bullsht, but I wouldn’t suggest liberals hold their collective breaths hoping there is some coup de grace Trump/Epstein pee tape floating around. You guys fired everything you have at him with both barrels since 2016. If there was, we would have heard about it by now. The best you can hope for is some guilt by association circumstantial evidence that will be enough for ANOTHER impeachment when the dems presumably the house back.

BTW, how did libs become the conspiracy party all of the sudden? Epstein? Swollen ankles? Pee bags? Fake marines? Covered up bruises? Mental acuity? The left Reddit sphere rivals pizzagate right now.
 
Meh. Ya the cover up is bullsht, but I wouldn’t suggest liberals hold their collective breaths hoping there is some coup de grace Trump/Epstein pee tape floating around. You guys fired everything you have at him with both barrels since 2016. If there was, we would have heard about it by now. The best you can hope for is some guilt by association circumstantial evidence that will be enough for ANOTHER impeachment when the dems presumably the house back.

BTW, how did libs become the conspiracy party all of the sudden? Epstein? Swollen ankles? Pee bags? Fake marines? Covered up bruises? Mental acuity? The left Reddit sphere rivals pizzagate right now.
Watch out, the moral police has lights and sirens blazing here. The noise is deafening but oh so quiet pre DJT. Amazing the amount of faux outrage coming out of the woodworks.
 
Got it. You just drip morality on your soapbox.

You can't get it through your DJT deranged mind that over half voted for DJT and the top issue was not morality. But I am sure you always vote for the most moral, otherwise you are just a hypocritical moral coward.
Correct. Americans who vote regardless of political party do not value the nice guy/woman anymore. That is the past.

It’s first and foremost the economy for most people. People need to make money to put food on the table and need a roof over their head. Harris did not lose because of racism or sexism as many people try to believe it was the reason she lost. It’s always about the economy. Yes you will have your crazies “the true conservatives “ just as you have your crazier the left wingers who will vote for anyone D or R on their ticket.

But people saw Harris as extension of Biden’s inflation/unaffordable housing presidency. People who hate trump so much will say the economy was doing great under Biden. Stocks at all time high. GDP this GDP this crap they always try to reason how the economy is doing with gdp. The public doesn’t understand any of the GDP crap. They need money and jobs and higher wages to keep up with inflation.

The left leaning opponents of trump tried to nail him with felony criminal convictions , civil judgments with sexual assaults defamation , civil judgments with his business. All that and he still gets elected again.

It’s always about the economy. Immigration was the next issue people cared about.
 
Correct. Americans who vote regardless of political party do not value the nice guy/woman anymore. That is the past.

It’s first and foremost the economy for most people. People need to make money to put food on the table and need a roof over their head. Harris did not lose because of racism or sexism as many people try to believe it was the reason she lost. It’s always about the economy. Yes you will have your crazies “the true conservatives “ just as you have your crazier the left wingers who will vote for anyone D or R on their ticket.

But people saw Harris as extension of Biden’s inflation/unaffordable housing presidency. People who hate trump so much will say the economy was doing great under Biden. Stocks at all time high. GDP this GDP this crap they always try to reason how the economy is doing with gdp. The public doesn’t understand any of the GDP crap. They need money and jobs and higher wages to keep up with inflation.

The left leaning opponents of trump tried to nail him with felony criminal convictions , civil judgments with sexual assaults defamation , civil judgments with his business. All that and he still gets elected again.

It’s always about the economy. Immigration was the next issue people cared about.
Except inflation has been up under Trump

Housing still unaffordable

And the budget deficit expected to balloon even more
 
Got it. You just drip morality on your soapbox.

You can't get it through your DJT deranged mind that over half voted for DJT and the top issue was not morality. But I am sure you always vote for the most moral, otherwise you are just a hypocritical moral coward.
Whatever helps you sleep at night.

You seem fixated on this fantasy strawman that I and the amorphous "left" are blanket condemning all Trump voters as derganged awful humans, and that isn't and has never been true.

I totally understand why a morally flexible, rudderless person like you would interpret opposition to someone like Donald Trump being president as "dripping morality".

Drip drip.
 
Meh. Ya the cover up is bullsht, but I wouldn’t suggest liberals hold their collective breaths hoping there is some coup de grace Trump/Epstein pee tape floating around.

Would MAGA/Republicans care if there was? Maybe some. But there would be a lot of defenders. We can see how easy it is for conservative commentators to flip flop on the issue once the marching orders come down.

You guys fired everything you have at him with both barrels since 2016. If there was, we would have heard about it by now.

You mean they engaged in politics and an independent DOJ/states sought criminal prosecutions? You consistently label politics as performed by your opponents as unfair or in this case equivalent to "firing a gun".

BTW, how did libs become the conspiracy party all of the sudden? Epstein? Swollen ankles? Pee bags? Fake marines? Covered up bruises? Mental acuity? The left Reddit sphere rivals pizzagate right now.

Epstein has now, somehow, become a wedge issue for Republicans. I'm all for using that as a political tool. I don't think Dems actually believe the conspiracies wrt Epstein (unlike MAGA). Although having said that, Trump doth protest too much so who knows. Also, it's perfectly fine to attack Trump on mental acuity. Why shouldn't we? If he keeps puttering around and looking older (as Biden did) maybe we'll be the prescient ones this time. If he does have a pee bag tied to his ankle, the public should know, lmao.
 
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Except inflation has been up under Trump

Housing still unaffordable

And the budget deficit expected to balloon even more
Inflation was 2.46% 2017-2021 under trump
4.95 2021-2024 under Biden. That’s all that mattered to the American voters at the polls in November 2024.

Housing pricing didn’t really escalate until right after Covid 2020.

We Americans call all this bias when interpreting presidental performance.

Just like I mention Clinton got tons of credit for booming economy during the tech boom years. 1996-2000. And no one remembers we were in a recession during Clinton’s finals months and the stock crash shortly after he left office.

I think people will see things how they want to see things especially with their bias.

Like I don’t really blame Biden for inflation. Things out of his control. Just wrong time. Wrong place for him. Trump himself is finally inflation worldwide is hard to control in 2nd term. Even on the macroeconomy side such as egg prices soaring in 2025 due to various factors.
 
Meh. Ya the cover up is bullsht, but I wouldn’t suggest liberals hold their collective breaths hoping there is some coup de grace Trump/Epstein pee tape floating around. You guys fired everything you have at him with both barrels since 2016. If there was, we would have heard about it by now. The best you can hope for is some guilt by association circumstantial evidence that will be enough for ANOTHER impeachment when the dems presumably the house back.

BTW, how did libs become the conspiracy party all of the sudden? Epstein? Swollen ankles? Pee bags? Fake marines? Covered up bruises? Mental acuity? The left Reddit sphere rivals pizzagate right now.

What are you talking about? Who is “you guys?” I don’t even know what those other things you are referencing. Get a life.

Was releasing the Epstein files a Trump campaign promise? Did Trump’s AG tell everyone she had it on her desk ready to be released? Did Trump campaign on conspiracy theories related to Epstein and all of a sudden change course?

You also seem to think that I would care and somehow feel personally attacked if a bunch of Democrat politicians got caught up in whatever info Epstein had on people. Unlike you and the MAGA herd, I don’t consider who I vote for to be a significant part of my identity. It would not bother me in the least and would actually confirm my already deep suspicions of people in power and institutions in general. If it came out that Joe Biden was involved in those rape parties of underage girls, I would want him thrown in jail (or worse), despite the fact that I voted for him. Many Trump voters seem to have parts of their identity so interwoven with Trump that they defend his vile behavior. It’s actually been a rather bizarre change of the past decade. I hope it goes away.
 
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Screenshot_20250717_075321_Reddit.jpg


I had to look up the swollen ankles 😂
 
Whatever helps you sleep at night.

You seem fixated on this fantasy strawman that I and the amorphous "left" are blanket condemning all Trump voters as derganged awful humans, and that isn't and has never been true.

I totally understand why a morally flexible, rudderless person like you would interpret opposition to someone like Donald Trump being president as "dripping morality".

Drip drip.
Moderator name calling those they don't agree with. Morality is your middle name. You are a true leader of men. Got it. Your head must be exploding with the conflict as an immoral person on your soapbox preaching morality. Carry on. 🤣
 
Moderator name calling those they don't agree with. Morality is your middle name. You are a true leader of men. Got it. Your head must be exploding with the conflict as an immoral person on your soapbox preaching morality. Carry on. 🤣
You seem quite infatuated with the idea of me being a moderator. You keep coming back to it despite the fact that I've never moderated anything you've written, warned you, and (obviously) I haven't banned you. Nor will I do so because of your idiotic and vile political views.

I'm not the least bit impartial when it comes to the subject of this debate. It's bizarre that you expect me to be.
 
You seem quite infatuated with the idea of me being a moderator. You keep coming back to it despite the fact that I've never moderated anything you've written, warned you, and (obviously) I haven't banned you. Nor will I do so because of your idiotic and vile political views.

I'm not the least bit impartial when it comes to the subject of this debate. It's bizarre that you expect me to be.
Your like a child, always wanting the last word. Ok, you win.... back to your god complex morality whipping those you disagree. If you can't see the weight of being a moderator on a political topic, then I can't help you. Carry on.
 
You better watch out or PGG will call you out for your immorality. You know, who you vote for directly tells him what kind of person you are.
No, but what you ramble on constantly about does. Also absurdly hypocritical considering you constantly apply absurd blanket statements to anyone who doesn't vote for Trump.
 
You better watch out or PGG will call you out for your immorality. You know, who you vote for directly tells him what kind of person you are.
Gravelrider, DocMcCoy, Splenda, rowsdower, Wellbedonein15, Blade, and many others are all people I've agreed with and disagreed with in the past. They post measured, reasoned opinions.

They are all quite unlike you, even though some also voted for Trump.

You're in very rare company in this thread. Think along the lines of our dear departed Putin stooge and blacks-are-genetically-inferior posters from a few months ago. If you feel motivated to keep posting here, I'll continue to call you out for your smugly enthusiastic defense of the indefensible. If you leave, I'll probably never think of you again. You're completely inconsequential outside of this thread.

If you have a problem with that, if it hurts your feelings, you can **** right off to Truth Social. We're not friends. I don't respect you. I wouldn't have a friendly beer with you if we met in real life. I know what you are, and I don't feel compelled to pretend otherwise out of politeness or decor or whatever it is you think a moderator owes you.
 
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