"Nothing to say about your man Donald releasing violent criminals "

Already spoke about it. See above.

BTW they were political prisoners, not violent criminals. An old Trotskyite like you probably won't recognisee the difference.

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"but found the “rhetoric” far more exciting than it would have been outdoors."

Yep it was a glorious inauguration and a great speech. And having all those previous presidents who've wronged the US so much in the last 30 years having to sit there and take it, was priceless. (Although I'd doubt that sleepy Joe would have understood what was going on).

Even better was the scene later on in the Oval Office where Trump was simultaneously signing all sorts of Executive Orders while taking unscripted questions from the press. After 4 years of press events being heavily controlled with scripted questions and scripted answers, the scribes of the legacy media seemed completely flummoxed.

And all those EO's sitting on the Resolute Desk - signed or waiting to be signed. As someone quipped, the Resolute Desk hasn't seen that much action since the Clinton years (look up Monica Lewinsky to understand the joke)

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Dear mhaze,

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You wrote to Foxy :

« You might be professionally trained to see both sides, but your posts constantly show that that training is being ignored. »
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Judging from your posts on this forum, mhaze, that statement sounds like “the pot calling the kettle black”.

I must say I have rarely seen a post from you in which you present both sides of a story, and in the rare cases where you have, it was hardly in an unbiased manner, as I recall it but, on the contrary, to better criticise the “other” side of the story.

Nobody who reads your posts could possibly ignore your political preferences. They pervade everything you write, whatever the subject.

That’s obviously your worldview, and you have every right to express it, but apparently, what you profess is not necessarily what you practice.

But, not to worry, mhaze, maybe I’m mistaken and Foxy just happens to have a splinter in her eye.

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No question I'm basically all in on MAGA. But then after many years of reading and pondering, I was all in on MAGA before there was a MAGA.

Note: MAGA not Trump.

Trump isn't what you'd conventionally call a 'good man'. But as Walpole observed..."“No country was ever saved by good men because good men will not go to the length that may be necessary”. (as an aside, another good quote I saw recently...Trump isn't there to clean up the mess caused by Biden but to clean up the mess that caused Biden).

But unlike Foxy I'm aware of and have considered the other viewpoints. I make it a point of honour and respect to read EVERY link that is posted here and then critique them where necessary eg Foxy's silly quoting of the Keane article above.

If you go through the various threads on OLO you'll find me on all sides of various debates eg being more dismissive of the Libs and very sympathetic to the problem the ALP faces with inflation.

But Foxy falls, always falls, on one side of all issues while claiming to have widely read on it. Over the years I've come to doubt that.

There are any number of claims detrimental to MAGA and Trump that I let through to the keeper. Its only those that are clearly based on errors or spectacularly biased sources that I challenge. Should I give a specific tick to every anti-Trump claim that I don't dispute or don't have enough information one way or t'other?

Might I also point out that you also Banjo, display no desire to present both sides or are aware of both sides.

Its the nature of sites like this, especially where you are limited to 350 words - significant nuance is unlikely.

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That’s a more reasonable tone, mhaze. Less aggressive. Much more compatible.

If you can keep that up, everything will be fine. People will no longer be repulsed by your tone and more open to what you have to say.

Allow me to add that if you could put a damper on your obsession with MAGA your message would be even more palatable.

And, if you really must make “ad hominem” remarks on this forum, doing so politely and with utmost respect for your interlocutors would also be greatly appreciated.
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Thank you for your explanations.

As for me, my compass on life’s journey is to head for the facts and limit my beliefs to a strict minimum as they tend to cloud my vision and take me in the wrong direction.

I aspire to pragmatism, free-thinking and a keen sense of justice and humanity. I maintain that cap as best I can but occasionally get disoriented – usually due to my own complaisance, laziness, ignorance or incompetence.

“Admitting you have a problem is the first step in fixing it”, so they say. And, as I learned from Democritus, the 5th century BC “laughing philosopher” and conceptor of the atom :

“Nothing exists except atoms and empty space; everything else is just opinion.”

That helps me put things in perspective.

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Trump is tossing years of women being bullied by male tossers who wish they were women in the skip. There are only 2 sexes, and they cannot be swapped.

The numbskulls in Australia, Labor and Liberal, intend to continue with the charade, and all the unreality and unnatural crap that makes out country a joke.

Why do we all think we can tell what the World leaders think & plan ? I mean some yokel from Australia thinking they know what Putin or Trump are thinking is nothing short of stupid.
We can only surmise what direction they could be heading by their past actions. And, most of these actions are mere social media guesswork ! Like some morons are saying that this'n that has not yet happened since Trump got in ?? How quick can anyone achieve major changes when every move is contradicted & sabotaged ?
From what I witness here it is a lot easier for many to become more stupid by the minute than come to their senses by the week !
These idiotic hotheads couldn't live without those whom they denounce !