Oh Hamburgers!

Sounds like a nightmare for those Chick-fil-A cows :D

It's interesting you notice he's seemed more humble/soft spoken. Do you mean in terms of content of his messaging, or his tone of voice? Or maybe both? I have not observed a shift in his message personally. Looking at the transcript from his news conference at Mar-a-Lago 8 days ago I see more of the same. He's still focused on Kamala being a terrible candidate, about how Biden dropping out was an inconvenience to him. He's still talking about crowd sizes, saying his crowd sizes were "10 times, 20 times, 30 times the crowd size". He talks about crowd sizes for about 3 and a half minutes. He calls a question about concern with him taking the race seriously a "stupid question" and goes on to say he's leading by record numbers. He then goes back to talking about big crowd sizes from January 6th, comparing his crowd that day to Lincoln and Washington. He then brags about how he was the one to bring abortion back to the states when it took 52 years before him. That's from the first 45 minutes of a 1 hour 17 minute transcript, but it seems to follow Trump's playbook I've seen many times before. Spend a lot of time trashing his opponents, saying they're bad for the country, they are stupid, give them derogative nicknames, insinuate they didn't earn their standing. Then talk about all the great things he does and has done, focusing on views, or crowds, or popularity, or how he did something that others said was impossible, or did something no other president has done. I haven't seen a humility, a thankfulness to God, an appreciation of others that represents anything different from the past or a stark shift in outlook.

You're right, none of us can see inside Trump's (or any candidate's) heart, the best we can do is look at their actions, works, and how they treat people over the course of their lives to help define them to the best of our ability. I highlighted Trump's past as an example of how he's lived over the past 78 years. I don't see a life of service or care for others, I see a life focused on money, power, and the use of people. At some point what you care about is reflected by the way you act and the people you associate with.

I said you can learn a lot from someone based on how they treat others. Yes policy certainly matters, but I also think personality matters, when it has to do with their outlook on life and how they interact with other people. Jesus spent his life giving and serving others, living simply, and caring for people. I want the leader of our country to possess those values. No candidate is perfect, but Trump has lived a life that seems obsessed with material goods, money, and status. Born into wealth, he's focused his life on luxury hotels, casinos, and golf courses. He's been married three times and divorced twice - to models and actresses. He had an affair with Stormy Daniels and has expressed his feelings about how wealth lets you "get away with things" when dealing with the opposite gender. This has nothing to do with getting information, this is what I've observed from a man who has been in the political sphere for over 8 years. I see love of self and a focus on 'us vs them' when I hear Trump speak at rallies and respond to criticism. Those just aren't values that I respect nor do I think they should be represented by the US President.

Job searches are hard. It's hard to be told no and have that feeling of rejection, not being good enough. There were many positions I've applied for in the past that I knew I could do and do well if they just let me get a foot in the door, but I wasn't given that chance. You mention sketchy employment history & a violation of company policy - I don't know the details of these things but if those are things you have, yeah it's gonna be hard to overcome and convince someone to give you a chance. Should you get a job you'll need to work hard to prove those are blips on the radar and don't represent who you are & can be as an employer. Fresh slate & start over so to speak. To have a successful interview you need to sell yourself. Dress appropriately, be clean, be approachable. Can you hold a conversation, listen to their questions and ask questions of your own? Be engaged and socially present? You need to help them visualize you as someone who could be employed for them and could do a good job. First impressions matter for things like this, and even if there's something you don't have experience with you have to show them what steps you'd take to get up to speed. Obviously this is all much easier said than done, and it might be a good idea to ask someone you trust for help, if there are things you could do differently that might improve your chances of being hired. Finally, accept that getting rejected is part of the process, and try not to take it personally. There are many jobs where you could have been a top candidate, but someone else was chosen who had something you didn't. Don't let it get you down and just keep trying.

Trump has shown us who he is over and over in word and action. Even setting aside things like policy decisions or stances, you can learn a lot from someone by how they treat other people. Trump does not treat other people with respect. He does not appear to be someone that possesses empathy. If someone disagrees with him, he does not listen to their argument or try to find common ground. You're with him, until you're against him, and Trump has a lot of people who he hired that are now against him. At some point you need to start asking yourself why that happens so frequently. Does Trump strike you as someone who is kind? As someone who would share of themselves to help someone in need? Does he seem like someone who will truly listen to a person struggling? Is he going to give of himself, to sacrifice for the good of others? I did not vote for Trump in 2016 but I was willing to have an open mind when he took office as President. I hoped the bombastic chauvenistic showman I saw during campaigning wasn't his true self, and it was just a way to garner publicity. Unfortunately I was wrong, and we had to endure four years of embarrassment as a country. I did not vote for Trump in 2020, and I will certainly not now vote for him in 2024. The man is 78 years old and I hope he would not consider running in 2028 if he isn't elected in November considering how much he was harping on Biden's age.

Kamala currently up in the polls but considering how much has happened in the last 4-6 weeks, it seems like an eternity between now and election day! Here's hoping for a peaceful transition of power and a safe election season for everyone!

Forgiveness is important, or at least a willingness to move on. Focusing on petty squabbles from the past and quid pro quo doesn't really get us anywhere. At the same time 'moving on' doesn't mean we should forget the lessons of the past, or choose not to hold people accountable for actions. I think there's more to untangle legally with Trump, and I also think it's fair to judge Biden on his future actions, holding him accountable just like any other president.

I don't use Facebook much, sorry to disappoint.

We're definitely living in strange times, on that we can agree

I'm referring to how the BLM protests spanned multiple days. The rally on January 6th was a more confined thing. I know there have been plenty of nonviolent conservative protests. Overall most of the BLM protests were also nonviolent. The difference from January 6th is people were saying stuff like "1776" and starting to talk about civil war, rebellion, attacking other government institutions and using social media to coordinate. This specific riot - fueled by Trump - is a bit of a unique thing.

A few things: The vast majority of the BLM protests were non-violent. The single Trump protest was violent. A lot of the violence in the BLM protests were escalated by police using excessive force. I'm not saying BLM protestors using violence were blameless, but you must admit the way police handled BLM protests is much different than how police handled the storming of the capitol. I actually was really upset about the violence in some of the BLM riots and protests. It's one of those situations where a movement becomes so large that many people have different thoughts on what the movement should be. I think the looting and rioting in some areas detracted from the overall (good) message that the protests were trying to send. The people who chose to loot/burn/destroy property should be punished, just like those who chose to break into the capitol should be punished.

Wait I'm confused... so we're allowed to say America isn't great? OP made it sound like saying America wasn't great was a bad thing. (I'm mostly kidding, but I do think it's funny the OP starts by praising Trump for saying "America is great out loud" and condemning Biden and "the media" for saying otherwise... but now only a few posts below you're arguing that America isn't great. I think it just goes to show how people with similar beliefs can have very different opinions on things.) On a serious note, I've never said America is all peaches and cream. I have many problems with how this country runs, and I agree it could be great, or at least much more great than it is. I can have the opinion that America needs to change things, and also say we don't need to freak out and say the sky is falling because one election.

You did too! We're all chatting on site focused around people chatting

Wow, talk about fear mongering. Newsflash, when you commit a federal crime in this country there are consequences. It's been that way since before the ink of the constitution was even dry. Using a platform to conspire against the government, or plot mayhem is not protected speech, never has been. Lawful use of platforms on the other hand... yes I agree anyone should be able to use them.

I agree with you, I think decisions should have been made much more quickly than they were. I think many in this country tend to ignore problems and let them get out of hand, in the meantime trying to profit as much as possible. Then suddenly - boom - some negative event happens and everyone tries to distance themselves from who/whatever is getting the bad press. I'd argue companies were hedging their bets on who would have power in the future, and once it was clear Trump wouldn't be in power they quickly distanced themselves from him. You're seeing that with other republicans in government - they've been silent for years, but suddenly it's clear Trump won't be around for a second term they're dropping him like a hot potato.

Insurrection is bad for business. The violence on January 6th seems to have sent some shockwaves through social media sites. It's one thing to express your views on the internet, but when you act on them in a violent manner it becomes something completely different. I think many of these companies realized their platforms were starting to be used to organize illegal activity and put people in danger (Lauren Bobert tweeting out info on Nancy Pelosi's location in the midst of the riots in the capitol for example).

I feel like a lot of your post is venting of frustration and fears, but the opinions aren't really backed by real world evidence. When did Biden say America is not great/we're a disgrace? He and other politicians have said certain policies or actions our country has taken have been embarrassing, but that's not unique to Biden or frankly the left - you can find plenty of examples of people on Worthyboards who feel our country has problems. I also find it ironic you say Trump said out loud we were great.. his slogan is "make America great again".. which implies it is not great (but could be again with his help!). The thing you're mad at Biden about is something Trump had printed on his hats and merchandise for years! Why would we need Trump's help to be "great again" if we were already great before he got here? What I'd suggest is to take a deep breath, and try not to let your imagination run too wild about doomsday scenarios for a Biden-led USA. People had the same panic and fear when Obama was president the first time, and they had another surge of panic and fear when Obama was elected a second time. I'm sure since we've held elections about half of the country has been concerned when the candidate they liked most lost. I'm guilty of it too, I was very sad Trump won in 2016 because I felt that he was the wrong choice for America. Life goes on!

Black people were forced to drink from different water fountains because of the color of their skin. Some of these more radical groups of conservatives are being shut down because they're plotting violence and treason against the country & government. This is not the same sort of thing. Some speech shouldn't be free or accepted, and domestic terrorism fits that bill of speech that shouldn't be allowed. I can't speak to every conservative group or person that has gotten kicked off, I can't speak for everyone and I'm sure there are some that feel they were censored unfairly. I bet some of them are being treated unfairly, and I bet these companies didn't get it all perfectly right. That's definitely unfortunate, and a problem.

The president of the united states incited a riot using social media as his tool for organizing people. We're in strange times. Also these are private companies that have ToS agreements and can refuse to serve/provide for people that break those agreements. If you get booted off Twitter you have the right to express yourself elsewhere, just like if I get kicked out of a McDonalds I have the right to go to a Wendys. As to censorship, I find it ironic you bring up worthyboards. I currently have a post that has been waiting 24+ hours for approval. It was in a thread that was originally in the general discussion but got moved by moderators to political, and now the ability to communicate has been stunted because of the moderation system that requires each post to get reviewed. Worthyboards has that right to moderate their content, and that's the choice I make coming here. If it bothers me enough I can stop coming. Can I ask a question? Who exactly are you mad at? These decisions were made by companies, not 'the libs', not 'the leftist government', not 'antifa' or whatever boogeyman is fashionable today.

Nope not in your head, it's definitely happening. I think it's interesting that things are suddenly cracking down now instead of awhile ago. My guess would be many of these social media platforms felt that their systems were being used by Trump & some of his followers to incite violence.

Cherry!

It's a great verse! It's one of those verses that remind us that it's easy to get caught up with the hustle and bustle of our daily lives and things we find important, but there are more important things to be focused on.

Who benefits from a worldwide pandemic exactly? All countries are facing economic hardship. It's simple. If you accept that a) the virus should be taken seriously and b) the virus is contagious and c) our healthcare infrastructure can't handle a massive flood of sick people all at once then logically it makes sense that people want to do something about it to save lives.

I agree with much of this. One thing I'll add - when it comes to "wrecking the economy"... the sad truth is the economy was going to suffer regardless. If we choose to put in restrictions, the economy takes a hit. If we choose to completely ignore it, then a bunch of people get sick more quickly, can't work & have to take care of more sick family... the economy still takes a hit. It's hard to say exactly what things would look like if we could do it all again and add more restrictions or remove them entirely, but you can't work when you're sick or dead. People also aren't going to be interested in doing a bunch of shopping/consumption if they're afraid for their health when going out in public. It's a lose/lose situation as far as the economy goes. Like you say though we'll get through this.