Rex We get it. You want us to support Donald Trump to be President of the United States.
There are many Republicans (more every day) who have decided that since Trump is now the presumptive nominee, he would be a better choice (well, a less bad choice) to occupy 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue than would Hillary Clinton. This is not a completely unreasonable position to take, and we do not begrudge you the reasoned (if desperate) decision to try to deny the alleged felon and known devious Democrat (and enabler of sexual abuse of other women). She is a terrible candidate, and an even worse person. We too would have hoped that the Clintons would never retake the White House. And the Democrat party (under the 'leadership' of the egregious Debbie Wasserman-Schultz) to which she long ago attached herself like a barnacle on the posterior of the United States has long since decided she would be their nominee. But that is the problem of the ruinous (and ruined) Democrat party. But this is America, and the people have chosen their representative candidates. God help us all. That said, we decided long ago we would never be able to support the unstable charlatan and grifter Trump in his then-nascent bid to move into Our House. Last summer, when Trump announced his candidacy for the presidency (on 16 June 2015), it was thought almost universally to be the hopeless folly of a vainglorious, pompous, and wealthy man in need of more adulation than he was getting from his popular reality television programs, The Apprentice and The Celebrity Apprentice. Programs he was contracted to perform based on his alleged successes in the world of business, primarily in the realm of real estate and building ventures. To be sure, these reality shows are likely the most successful ventures in which he has ever been involved. Many people decided to support Trump from the beginning. They allowed their anger at the failures (real and perceived) of the Republican party to address their concerns with the massive overreaches of the far leftist Democrat party under the leadership of the execrable and unaccomplished narcissist Barack Obama to override their deeply held beliefs in conservative principles. They decided 'he fights' was preferable to choosing a solid conservative, most of whom had become anathema primarily because of the realities of 'This Town' when a party does not possess a sufficiently large majority to override the veto of a socialist man-child such as Obama. This is a disgust shared by all thinking people of a more conservative bent. Leaving aside the fact that these last folks who decided early on that Trump was a better choice than, say, a successful governor or senator with a strong record of getting results favorable to the continuation of our beloved Republic, I address all and sundry here who insist that we back this man, this Trump, now that he is the nominee: No. We will not go gently into that good night. Since Senator Ted Cruz of Texas suspended his presidential campaign after failing to win the Indiana primary on 3 May 2016, Trump has become the apparent nominee of the Republican party. As each day passes, more people profess their support for Trump as the only hope to defeat Clinton and save the Republic. We do not agree that he is better than her. She is the enemy we know; he is a loose cannon, and one the GOP would be obliged to support in the main. We believe neither is fit to serve as either Chief Executive or Commander in Chief of the armed forces. As such, we will stay true to our vow to never cast our precious votes for either of the two major party nominees. Over the two weeks which have elapsed since Trump became the last man standing to represent the GOP as its nominee, we have been inundated with energetic insistence that we change our minds, to decide to back a person who goes against every belief we have in what makes America the greatest single nation the world has ever seen. All this in order to defeat Hillary Clinton, perhaps the worst human being America has produced in generations. Maybe the worst person America has ever produced who has never served time in federal prison. We ask you: Please stop. We have always said we would never vote for Trump. We were not being whimsical, we weren't joking, and we do not take this conviction lightly. We know what is at stake. We simply disagree with your decision that Trump would be a better option. We are not traitors. We love America as much as you do. Yesterday, I read an egregious article by a fellow called Grant Stinchfield who runs a quickie car lube place in Dallas. He also has a radio show there and calls himself a conservative. This piece is offensive to the sensibilities of every thinking conservative and anyone else with any self-respect. This is a common theme among folks who are desperate to deny Clinton the Oval Office in this mad season. My Twitter timeline presents me with more vitriol from alleged allies than I ever received from my political enemies. If Trump decided to run in order to fracture the GOP and destroy it from within, then he has succeeded beyond any possible dream. Mr. Stinchfield's diatribe is an embarrassment to those of us who consider ourselves conservative, and indeed, any reasonable people. Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) wrote a solid piece at Redstate.com refuting Mr. Stinchfield's ridiculous article as the bilge that it is. I recommend you read both Stinchfield's ridiculous Twitter rant-cum-editorial and McLaughlin's refutation. I say all that to say this: Leave us in peace. We count you as friends, allies, and countrymen. We strongly disagree with you on this matter, and you will not change our minds. None of us know who is right or wrong here. It's all guesswork in this craziest of election seasons. But you will not convince us to vote for Donald Trump. Neither will we vote for Hillary Clinton. Many of us have decided (as I have) to leave the Republican party. You have decided to try to save it. Godspeed to you. But I will not trust that mechanism again. To paraphrase President Reagan: The party left me. Though I use “we” throughout this piece, I do not pretend to speak for all on the #NeverTrump side. But I would wager I've not said much others of that movement would disagree with. Your mileage, as they say, may vary. Yours in #NeverTrump and #NeverHillary, Rex
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Avi Woolf Social Media =/= A Social Life
If I had to give just one piece of advice to men out there, it would be: get more friends. Or nowadays, start getting friends. I see many articles on male depression, male suicide, and the general miserableness of the male sex. Their common denominator is social loneliness and isolation. This isn't a matter of living out in the middle of nowhere—you could live in a huge city and still be entirely alone. And ironically, I believe it is social media (possibly the internet in general) that is often making things worse. Social media—Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and whatnot—can be a wonderful tool. For introverted guys like myself, it has been a boon for finding and meeting people in real life and even finding work. I have made many "real" friends on social media. But I believe that far too many of us, often including myself, mistake it for the healthy sort of face-to-face social interaction of days past. We feel more "connected," but in reality we remain alone. For all the importance of social media's "connecting people," when you text or tweet or chat, you are still entirely physically alone (indeed, you may notice you "make yourself alone" even when in a crowd while texting). We are hardwired for physical interaction with people; diplomats of old knew all the correspondence in the world was not as valuable as a single personal meeting or summit. Facebook and Twitter are merely a very souped up version of physical correspondence; it does not and cannot replace meeting with people in person on a regular basis. Second, social media's availability 24/7 is unerringly deceptive and somewhat nerve-wracking. Time was there were scheduled meetings between people, and you knew when you could reach someone and when not. But when you can always be online? Maybe you'll miss something, maybe you want get to say your piece on some infuriating post, maybe you somehow may find something interesting, and damn it, why is so-and-so not responding to my message RIGHT NOW? Perhaps most importantly, social media is social interaction that requires the least amount of effort, both physical and mental. The normal rules of patience, of timing, and deference don't apply when you can reply whenever you want. All you do is type at your leisure. You never need to leave you room or make any kind of real effort. We are physical social animals; save a small minority, most of us crave a certain degree of physical human contact on a regular basis, even if it's only once or twice a week. People like to make fun of the basement-dwelling loser who "hasn't been laid," but I'm willing to bet hard money many of them haven't even had a basic bro-hug or pat on the back. Gestures like that are the sort 5,000 Facebook friends cannot replace. There's something else, too. Friends you acquire and retain in the "real world" can help you in a million ways. Most people find jobs through friends, not ads. Often they even find spouses. A friend, sometimes more than even a therapist or counselor, can be there to give the small pieces of advice, friendly suggestions, or sometimes the kick in the butt you need to get going. You should have at least four-five people you can call who will physically show up to help you if you need it. I know all this sounds "obvious," but it really isn't in this day and age. In becoming masters of digital tools, we have lost many of the basic skills our parents and grandparents knew. And men have it worse, because without many of the traditional frameworks that allow us to form friendships (Army, church, sports groups, heck even political clubs), we tend to drift and cut ourselves off. Yes, there are exceptions, but in general women are better at the social game than men. And in many cases the self-imposed isolation is killing men, often literally. So I say again: if you value your life, not just mentally but also physically, seek out friends and retain them. It'll be hard, and you'll likely make mistakes along the way. But take the risk. Social media is a wonderful way to start the journey, but if you do not move forward from it, you will be just as alone as if you never used it at all. Dan They are going to disappoint you.
The pundits, journalists, bloggers, and twitter heroes – all the players in the game you thought were on your side will fold, one by one, and we should know better. Sure, there may be a few holdouts in the end, but by the time November rolls around you’ll see the signs on their lawn. The politicians now taking credit and claiming to lead a crusade for you will eventually fall in line, and ask that you do too. We know this because we’ve seen it before, and here it is, happening again. This, of course, is out of your control. Everyone has a price, or so you’ve heard. And you know they’ll wash their hands of it when it goes bad. They’ll slip out the back, and leave you to pay the check. It’s hard having principles, that is why there are so few who have them. There is no payout. There is no ego boost. Standing by principle does not lend itself to pride, but to humility. Eventually you are wearing sackcloth sitting in a pile of ash. There is no joy in principle, there is no comfort. You might wish others would at least leave you alone, but that won’t be the case either. They’ll be hurling insults at you from all directions. There is great demand for people without principle, but much less for people with. People without principle have many friends, people with have very few. It’s a lonely life. Wouldn’t life be easier if you just let go? Yes, yes it would. Then why don’t you? Because you can’t. “Let go of your pride,” they say, but it’s not pride that you cling to. No, pride is the destructive force that brought us here. Pride is what draws people to what is popular, instead of to what is right. As a person of principle you’re going to be disappointed, and you’re going to be abandoned. But you’ll stay the voice of reason. Someone has to, and who else if not you? It has to be you. You’ve been there before, you’ve been willing to look foolish for what is right, for all the heartbreak caused by the betrayal of others. It won’t be nearly as unbearable as betraying yourself, and you know, oddly, that giving in would betray them too. They’ll need you again. |
MisfitsJust a gaggle of people from all over who have similar interests and loud opinions mixed with a dose of humor. We met on Twitter. Archives
January 2024
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