Thank you for this series. It has been balm to my soul through a season that has shaken my trust in the reason and goodwill of so many of my fellow Americans.
So many of us have suffered that shaken trust, Arwen, and we all need to be the balm we want to see in the world! Your appreciative comments mean the world to me!
I am an immigrant. I don’t vote (I shouldn’t pay taxes, after all, I thought the US believed in “no taxation without representation”, but I digress). I am legally here, but I know quite a few people who I think entered here illegally, and I don’t want them to be deported (maybe a few of them…). I can put faces to parents and children where only the latter are legally in the US, and I can see how much they would suffer.
But I was expecting more of your argument. It’s a sad state of affairs, indeed, that “he’s purposely cruel to migrants” is not enough of a reason to shun a candidate, but that’s the reality today.
I was reading a twitter thread recently about how we’re much better off economically than generations past, but it doesn’t feel so, and the reason they gave was “complexity”. A complexity that lower classes avoid by not even engaging with them (which harms them) and that the rich avoid by paying someone to solve it for them. One obvious example is navigating all the tax advantaged accounts and how to optimize them instead of getting a good old pension. But there are other examples, that I think people my age (I’m 41) and a bit younger will relate.
I cannot just “send my kids to school”. People could do that in the past, they can’t do it anymore. The worst that my parents generation had to deal with was communist propaganda in History classes. That’s very easy to deal with, and unless your child enters a terrorist cell — a very rare occurrence — they will grow out of it with negligible consequences. The other thing they had to deal with was bullying — you don’t want your child to be a bully nor be impotent in face of them.
I don’t care if my kids don’t learn anything at school — my wife and I are smart and educated, we provide them learning opportunities at all times, we can teach whatever they lack from school — at least until high school. I care if they lose their soul. California teachers can “coach” your kids into gender-dysphoria and parents don’t need to be informed. And before someone says “ah, but that’s California”, it hasn’t been 15 years since Proposition 8 won in that state, and Obgerfell happened not even half a decade after that.
Most 12 year olds have been exposed to pornography. At school.
My wife and I spend a lot of our mental cycles thinking about where to send our kids to school, and we can never trust anyone. We do research, we converse with other parents, we try to find references, and we painfully pulled our children from schools — stopping or at least impairing friendships they were growing. But we had to.
I spent a few paragraphs talking about schools. But there’s much more. Food, for instance. It used to be easy. Eat real food, don’t overdo sugar or fat, and you’ll be healthy. You didn’t have to read a peanut butter label — it was peanut butter! Obesity finally stopped growing — thanks to semaglutide — but was a non-stop growth even if people ate considerably fewer calories than desk workers of 50 years ago. And even if you take semaglutide, that’s another complexity: will this drug help me, what harm can it cause? I spend a lot of time when doing grocery shopping reading labels. Is this Salmon from Chile (bad) or Norway (good). Is this real food or industrial frankenslop? How many unrecognizable ingredients are there in this bread? Ad nauseam.
Even your specialty, movies. I am unwilling to take my children to the theater because I don’t know what they are going to be subject to. You know that pretty well. You made a part-time career helping parents navigate that complexity — and I am really thankful to you.
Or social networks. I once made an innocent comment on twitter that I didn’t find the Ariel actress pretty. Not only people called me a racist but one of them doxxed me and tagged my employer!
I could go on and on — people today trust politicians more than mainstream media, across the political spectrum; retailers don’t want returns anymore because it’s more expensive to ship than to replace most products (with the expected environmental impact of that); — but I have been writing this comment for close to an hour now and I think you got the gist of it. None of those things are an endorsement of this or that candidate. But they show the allure of “make America great / healthy again”. Especially when the everything that — rightly or wrongly — people see as a “problem that we didn’t have before” is endorsed by the democrats.
And I didn’t even get to abortion! If Kamala wins, it’s mainly because of abortion — because Americans want the right to terminate human lives. Wasn’t for Dobbs, this election wouldn’t be even close. I don’t know if I could morally justify continuing to live here if that happens.
The only thing you have convinced me of is that you appear to be getting your information from one side of the aisle. Highly recommend that people read your thoughts, but that they do their due diligence and listen to other viewpoints.
Today’s 11/4 Megyn Kelly’s podcast where she lays out in great detail why she is recommending the opposite viewpoint. In my eyes she gives more compelling reasons.
Also listen to Stamford Hoover Institute & Hillsdale College affiliate military historian Victor Davis Hansen’s podcasts where in goes into great detail about why the military officers speaking out against Trump are wrong on many different levels and are putting our military at risk.
On the freedom of speech and medical issues I recommend the doctors, scientists and others who were, are still are, being persecuted and prosecuted by the government and medical boards for raising concerns about rushed to market vaccines. There is a long list which I don’t have time to fully list top ones are Drs Kory, Marik, Bhattacharya, McCullough, hundreds more.
I could go on and on but will end with the major reason I will vote against the Harris Walz ticket and that is their advocacy of mutilating surgeries on confused kids. And lest anyone says it’s rare …
“New data shows U.S. hospitals performed at least 5,747 gender-disfiguring surgeries on minors between 2019 and 2023, according to a databasereleased by Do No Harm, an advocacy group of medical professionals. The data also show 13,994 American children received other transgender treatments, such as puberty-blocking and opposite-sex hormones, in those four years.”
I will end with the reason I can vote for the Trump Vance ticket and that is the Coalition being built which I believe could transform America in a much more positive way than we have been experiencing over the past four years
I have listened to hours of long interviews with all of the major players JD Vance, Tulsi Gabbard, Vivek Rhamasswamy, RFK Jr, Del Bigtree, Elon Musk, the list goes on of smart, common sense folks from all over the political spectrum who see that our country is in trouble and they have the smarts to fix things and not cave to woke ideology which is devastating kids and dividing the country.
Sorry for any misspelling, poor grammar, etc … doing this on the run and no time to proof read.
One of Trump’s military critics, former secretary of defense James Mattis, commented that “Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try. Instead he tries to divide us.”
Your recommended source Victor Davis Hansen offers a converging opinion, though with a positive spin: He praises Trump for what he calls “an uncanny ability to troll and create hysteria among his media and political critics.”
“Trolling,” as Hansen aptly puts it, is indeed precisely what Trump does. We don’t disagree on the facts; rather, Hansen’s meat is my poison. I believe the president’s job is to try to unite; Hansen think’s it’s brilliant how Trump divides.
You offer no defense for Trump’s anti-electionism, the subject of my main anti-Trump piece, so my critique on that topic stands.
Trump is indeed a master troller as Hansen points out, but you neglect to give the in-depth analysis that Victor gives as to why it is sometimes necessary and so effective.
You have pulled one statement out of many to make a point.
I think people who are serious about the state of the military and the country should take the time to explore and listen to several of Hansen’s podcasts along with other military experts who are concerned about the readiness of our military.
I say this as the wife of a retired Naval Officer … we spent 27 years in DC and know very well how as people move up the ranks they get seduced by the power and money.
Trump came in to drain the swamp and unfortunately he was like a bull in a china shop - to say that he pissed a lot of people off is putting it mildly.
The current administration has not fired one person despite the abysmal botched withdrawal from Afghanistan. When you do not hold people accountable you do not get pushback. Trump fired a lot of people so the pushback was fierce. Was it justified? Probably in some cases, but in far more it was powerful people performing CYA and with a compliant press only one side of the story gets told — one must dig deep to get anywhere close to the truth.
The following is my defense to your anti-electionism — clips directly from democrats mouths. We are seeing election shenanigans right now — the most egregious being that the DOJ sued the State of Virginia from purging non-citizens from their voter rolls which the democrats assured us was not happening. Thankfully the court ruled in favor of Virginia. Two other court cases have been won as well.
Your characterization of the Virginia case is in fact grossly inaccurate, Susers, but there’s no point getting into those weeds until I learn where you stand in the landscape of election denialism: Do you recognize that the 2020 election was overwhelmingly secure, that Trump lost, and that he has lied through his teeth to the American people about every election result he didn’t like, from a) Obama in 2012 to b) his popular vote loss in 2016 to c) 2020? Or do you buy into Trump’s conspiratorial nonsense?
I pushed back on people back then saying there were an anomalies but Biden won.
It sounds like you didn’t listen to the clip that I sent you about all the denialism that the Democrats have done through the years and continue to do. You can’t have it both ways.
When Covid came along with mandates and persecutions of doctors that had impeccable credentials. I saw government over reached like I have never seen before. I followed things very very closely and as I said earlier, I started listening to a lot of long interviews with a wide variety of people from all over the political spectrum.
The people I have learned to trust give back up for what they espouse. They show data. Corporate media does not do that. Politicians often don’t do that. Opinion writers don’t do that.
You are fixated on something that is done and over with - Trump was an ass about it but so are all the dems in the clip I sent.
What matters now are policies. We have a track record on both candidates.
I’ll go back to the main reason I am voting against the Democrats and that is what they are doing to children under the guise of gender “affirming” care. I gave you the link to the data - Any Christian should be appalled! And a vote for any democrat as they now stand is a vote for a continuation of this type of thing and more.
Have you read my piece on Trumpian anti-electionism, Susers? Because your suggestion that I’m “trying to have it both ways” suggests you aren’t familiar with my position. Three quick points:
a) Your Libs of Tiktok video wrongly conflates i) clips that, contrary to what you seem to think, I’ve acknowledged are a problem, like Hillary calling the election “stolen”; with ii) very, very different assertions about Russian interference, etc.
b) You then wrongly conflate post facto election denialism (a problem, yes, as I’ve said) with Trumpian anti-electionism, which includes but goes far beyond election denialism, encompassing active efforts to challenge and thwart election results.
c) You say I’m “fixated on something that is done and over with.” Absolutely not. I’m focused on the future—and like you say, we have a track record, one going back to 2012. I am warning about a) what Trump will definitely do for the next 11 weeks if he loses tomorrow and b) far more troublingly, what will happen in 2028 if Trump wins now but the Democrats win in 2028 against the Republican nominee, whomever that may be.
This is a point that few people make, but those kids subject to sterilization and mutilation suffer a lot, and it’s much worse than any cruel family separation policy. For one, immigrant families can — and should — be reunited. These kids will never go back. They will lose their fertility, their libido, their self-image, their skin. Secondly, they are emotionally — and spiritually — alienated from their family, which is worse than physical separation. And that’s championed by Kamala Harris.
Trans surgery for minors requires parental consent, Luis (unless they’re, like, married or otherwise legally emancipated or something). I’m not saying that makes it okay, but if people believe kids going off to school and coming home surgically transitioned without their parents’ consent, someone is lying to them. Not sure what emotion and spiritual alienation from their families you’re thinking of. And while Harris may support it, you will not stop this from happening by voting for Trump. This is the whole point of my main anti-Trump piece: Voting for Trump will not give you the culture-war victories you want; the one really decisive thing it will do is undermine democracy.
That’s actually not true. In Washington State, you can get gender affirming care via the school district, and you do not have to tell parents about it. It’s, in fact, in our state law now. You can look it up. We are even prevented from seeing our children’s medical information when they turn 13. 13!
“Washington state privacy laws limit parent and caregiver access to adolescents’ health information. Adolescents’ medical records are private and confidential. The patient chooses whether to consent to releasing medical information, including to parents or caregivers.”
I’m no expert in Washington law, Kay, but it looks to me like the gender-affirming care for minors permitted by Washington state law without parental consent does not extend to surgery. It may be different for minors whose parents have kicked them out of the house or who are otherwise alienated from them.
Voting for Trump may not be the end of the culture war but it will help immensely to stop some of the gender insanity that is going on. SDG - with every comment you make I see that you are not reading the counterpoint to the prevailing wisdom. Have you read Abigal Shrier’s well researched books on gender? Have you listened to psychiatrist Dr Miriam Grossman on gender issues?
Susers, I’m a deacon and a Theology teacher, I teach Theology of the Body, I have preached on the Church’s teaching on sex and gender. The question at issue in this discussion is not “What does the Church teach?” but “How exactly is Trump going to help?” What he’s doing right now is lying (“your kid goes to school and comes home a few days later with an operation”). Do you recognize that this is a lie? Why do you trust a liar to make anything better?
SDG - I am aware that you are a deacon. I was a cradle Episcopalian until the teachings of the leadership went off the rails. I was actually considering the Catholic Church until the current Pope … you are right that is a different discussion.
I think Trump plays fast and loose with his words as do many politicians - witness the Hitler name calling. They both use hyperbole to make a point, and it’s often ugly and inaccurate. I would like to see the full context of what Trump said on this particular subject, because I’ve seen so many things taken out of context.
Harris and especially her running mate Walz have been caught numerous lies — so why do you believe them?
Both of them have put in place policies that are harmful to children — why do you think they will make things better when they agree with the ideology?
The vast majority of Republicans do not believe in gender ideology, especially allowing teachers in public schools to talk about gender to young children. The coalition Trump has put together have talked about the changes that need to be made.- they will work to rectify the situation. Elon Musk has talked about his oldest son transitioning and how as a parent he was pressured, and I think he said deceived but don’t hold me to that exact wording.
The policies the democrats espouse are sowing massive gender confusion with children in public schools.
Much of the counterpoint to what the left is doing has been suppressed by the media or they have lied about it and tried to cancel anyone speaking out about it from professionals to families that have been affected.
I know you didn’t ask, but I’m including some resources. I think it is important for all of us to read different perspectives on something that is tearing our society apart and irreversibly harming children. As a psychology major in college I studied lobotomies and the work of Dr Peter Breggin - eerily similar to what is transpiring today.
Sources …
From The Federalist … “New data shows U.S. hospitals performed at least 5,747 gender-disfiguring surgeries on minors between 2019 and 2023, according to a databasereleased by Do No Harm, an advocacy group of medical professionals. The data also show 13,994 American children received other transgender treatments, such as puberty-blocking and opposite-sex hormones, in those four years.”
“Dr. Miriam Grossman is a child and adolescent psychiatrist known for her critical views on gender ideology. In her book “Lost in Trans Nation: A Child Psychiatrist’s Guide Out of the Madness,” she argues that gender ideology is based on falsehoods, particularly criticizing the work of John Money, who proposed that gender identity is separate from biological sex. Grossman contends that current medical practices regarding gender dysphoria lack scientific basis and can harm children and families. She emphasizes the importance of educating parents to protect their children from these ideas.”
“Irreversible Damage: The Transgener Craze Seducing Our Daughters” by Abigail Shrier
Directly documented examples of real, substantial harm to real human beings re-characterized as "mean tweets". How about you just admit that the harm is fully wanted and intentional, and skip the rhetorical middleman, eh? At least then we'd have to give you credit for honesty, I suppose.
It’s absurd to say that the Left, especially Harris/Walz seeks to unite us! Obama tried to say he was the great unifier, too - and where did that lead us?? Remember when he said those of us on the right just love to “cling to our guns and our religion” That wasn’t a one-off, that is how the elites view pious people who aren’t in their elitist circles. Plus, the Left has no place in their party for Pro-Lifers. During the Democratic National Convention, they even interviewed Pete Buttigieg, who said in the starkest terms: “No, there is no place for a Democrat who is against abortion” What! There used to be Pro-Life Democrats, but they aren’t welcome anymore. Think this is the party to unite us, really?
So, what uniting can be done? They even got to Biden, who for decades supported the Hyde Amendment- yet threw that principle to the wind when he became President (A Catholic President no less! Couldn’t even stick to that very basic concept that at the very least, Federal dollars shouldn’t go towards paying for deaths of the unborn)
I would like to see some examples of how Harris will “unite” us - if that’s your closing argument why Trump is the wrong person to do that. I want to know who *is* capable, or even willing to, unite people who disagree on such fundamental issues as to life and death.
I’ve read your previous piece and disagree with it.
I am not interested in pursuing the discussion about what might happen if Trump loses in light of what we saw the left do after George Floyd — almost a full year of riots with way more devastation, injuries and deaths than Jan 6th which was not an insurrection (never charged) but a demonstration that escalated into a one day riot. It was bad and Trump did not handle it well, but again he stepped down.
What I find in your words “far more troubling” is that you, and other professing Christians who despise Trump, seem unwilling to discuss what the democrats are doing to children with the gender ideology they are promoting. Please read the data I posted earlier - the numbers are staggering as is the physical and emotional devastation to the children and their parents.
Policies matter and four more years of what we’ve experienced over the past four will do nothing but continue us down the pathway to Sodom and Gomorrah - and Kamala is on record saying she can’t think of anything she would do differently.
Myth: “almost a full year of riots” Reality: 93% peaceful and nondestructive protests (two of which I participated in myself)
Myth: “which was not an insurrection” Reality: Several January 6 attackers have pleaded guilty to, or been convicted of, seditious conspiracy. Trump literally chanted for Pence to be hanged and said he deserved it. Trump himself has been charged, and if he doesn’t win today, he will likely face charges in court.
There are certainly real and important concerns around transgender education, theory, and practice, and conversations need to happen around those concerns. Practically speaking, though, Trump is a liar who does not care about children or anyone else, and he reliably does more harm than good. Roe v. Wade was terrible and completely illegitimate and I’m glad it’s gone, but the hard reality is that abortions are up and women are dying and being harmed due to badly designed abortion restrictions and lack of proper support and care for women. Abortion is not better, it’s worse. I trust Trump to make kids who identify as trans more fearful, as he did Haitian kids in Springfield; I do not trust him to help them in any real way.
SDG - your absolutism on Trump speaks volumes. For every “reality” you post, there may be a counterpoint and I will point out a few. As scripture says “iron sharpens iron” but you often come across as the absolute arbiter of truth even though you have allowed me to counter you - for which I give you kudos as many don’t brook any dissent these days.
While I’m thankful you were a participant of “mostly peaceful” demonstrations, others were not quite so fortunate…
Counterpoint Reality - “The protests and unrest following George Floyd’s death began on May 26, 2020, and continued throughout the summer of 2020. While the intensity and nature of the protests varied, they persisted into early autumn, with demonstrations occurring across the United States and globally. The protests were among the largest in U.S. history, with millions participating.”
Counterpoint Reality - “Victor Davis Hanson highlighted that the riots following George Floyd’s death resulted in significant destruction, including over $2 billion in property damage, more than 35 deaths, and injuries to 1,500 law enforcement officers. The unrest included arson, looting, and violence across various U.S. cities, with Minneapolis experiencing extensive damage.”
Reminder — “Governor Tim Walz took approximately 20 hours to activate the Minnesota National Guard after Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey first requested assistance on the evening of May 27, 2020. Walz issued the executive order to activate the Guard on the afternoon of May 28, following Frey’s formal request earlier that day. The delay in deployment led to criticism, as significant damage occurred before the Guard’s full mobilization.”
As we know, it can take years for historians to sort out all the facts of an event. Lawsuits are in progress and there will be appeals. Many lawyers on both sides of the aisle feel that the law fare the left has unleashed is harming our judicial system and getting us close to banana republic territory. I am not defending Trump’s behavior or that of the people that entered the capital, but I have read enough counterpoint to realize that there is another side of the story and more may be revealed as time goes on.
Counterpoint Reality — “Donald Trump has not been charged with insurrection. Although there was speculation that he might face such charges, the indictment related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results includes charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, and obstruction of an official proceeding, but not insurrection or aiding an insurrection.”
Counterpoint Reality - “Donald Trump did not literally chant for Mike Pence to be hanged, but there are reports suggesting he expressed support for the sentiment. Witnesses told the January 6 committee that Trump reacted with approval when rioters chanted “hang Mike Pence” during the Capitol riot. Cassidy Hutchinson, a former White House aide, testified that Trump said “he deserves it” in response to the chants, although Trump has denied these claims.”
I find it disturbing that you would say “Trump is a liar who does not care about children or anyone else, and he reliably does more harm than good” that sounds pretty harsh and judgmental.
As I’ve made clear, I find most of the policies the Democrats are espousing horrible and harmful … but I really tried to refrain from name calling. I think it’s wiser to keep the focus on the policies and let the fruit of the policies speak for themselves.
Personality aside, I would stack Trump’s policies up against the current administration any day of the week. And we really don’t know what Harris will do because she keeps flip-flopping - although she made it clear on The View that she couldn’t think of anything, she would’ve done differently than President Biden over the past four years. I hear that and I look at how Walz governed after the riots and during covid and think four years of Harris Walz will do much more harm to the country and especially to children.
Thank you for this series. It has been balm to my soul through a season that has shaken my trust in the reason and goodwill of so many of my fellow Americans.
So many of us have suffered that shaken trust, Arwen, and we all need to be the balm we want to see in the world! Your appreciative comments mean the world to me!
I am an immigrant. I don’t vote (I shouldn’t pay taxes, after all, I thought the US believed in “no taxation without representation”, but I digress). I am legally here, but I know quite a few people who I think entered here illegally, and I don’t want them to be deported (maybe a few of them…). I can put faces to parents and children where only the latter are legally in the US, and I can see how much they would suffer.
But I was expecting more of your argument. It’s a sad state of affairs, indeed, that “he’s purposely cruel to migrants” is not enough of a reason to shun a candidate, but that’s the reality today.
I was reading a twitter thread recently about how we’re much better off economically than generations past, but it doesn’t feel so, and the reason they gave was “complexity”. A complexity that lower classes avoid by not even engaging with them (which harms them) and that the rich avoid by paying someone to solve it for them. One obvious example is navigating all the tax advantaged accounts and how to optimize them instead of getting a good old pension. But there are other examples, that I think people my age (I’m 41) and a bit younger will relate.
I cannot just “send my kids to school”. People could do that in the past, they can’t do it anymore. The worst that my parents generation had to deal with was communist propaganda in History classes. That’s very easy to deal with, and unless your child enters a terrorist cell — a very rare occurrence — they will grow out of it with negligible consequences. The other thing they had to deal with was bullying — you don’t want your child to be a bully nor be impotent in face of them.
I don’t care if my kids don’t learn anything at school — my wife and I are smart and educated, we provide them learning opportunities at all times, we can teach whatever they lack from school — at least until high school. I care if they lose their soul. California teachers can “coach” your kids into gender-dysphoria and parents don’t need to be informed. And before someone says “ah, but that’s California”, it hasn’t been 15 years since Proposition 8 won in that state, and Obgerfell happened not even half a decade after that.
Most 12 year olds have been exposed to pornography. At school.
My wife and I spend a lot of our mental cycles thinking about where to send our kids to school, and we can never trust anyone. We do research, we converse with other parents, we try to find references, and we painfully pulled our children from schools — stopping or at least impairing friendships they were growing. But we had to.
I spent a few paragraphs talking about schools. But there’s much more. Food, for instance. It used to be easy. Eat real food, don’t overdo sugar or fat, and you’ll be healthy. You didn’t have to read a peanut butter label — it was peanut butter! Obesity finally stopped growing — thanks to semaglutide — but was a non-stop growth even if people ate considerably fewer calories than desk workers of 50 years ago. And even if you take semaglutide, that’s another complexity: will this drug help me, what harm can it cause? I spend a lot of time when doing grocery shopping reading labels. Is this Salmon from Chile (bad) or Norway (good). Is this real food or industrial frankenslop? How many unrecognizable ingredients are there in this bread? Ad nauseam.
Even your specialty, movies. I am unwilling to take my children to the theater because I don’t know what they are going to be subject to. You know that pretty well. You made a part-time career helping parents navigate that complexity — and I am really thankful to you.
Or social networks. I once made an innocent comment on twitter that I didn’t find the Ariel actress pretty. Not only people called me a racist but one of them doxxed me and tagged my employer!
I could go on and on — people today trust politicians more than mainstream media, across the political spectrum; retailers don’t want returns anymore because it’s more expensive to ship than to replace most products (with the expected environmental impact of that); — but I have been writing this comment for close to an hour now and I think you got the gist of it. None of those things are an endorsement of this or that candidate. But they show the allure of “make America great / healthy again”. Especially when the everything that — rightly or wrongly — people see as a “problem that we didn’t have before” is endorsed by the democrats.
And I didn’t even get to abortion! If Kamala wins, it’s mainly because of abortion — because Americans want the right to terminate human lives. Wasn’t for Dobbs, this election wouldn’t be even close. I don’t know if I could morally justify continuing to live here if that happens.
People want normalcy. And Trump promises that.
The only thing you have convinced me of is that you appear to be getting your information from one side of the aisle. Highly recommend that people read your thoughts, but that they do their due diligence and listen to other viewpoints.
Today’s 11/4 Megyn Kelly’s podcast where she lays out in great detail why she is recommending the opposite viewpoint. In my eyes she gives more compelling reasons.
Also listen to Stamford Hoover Institute & Hillsdale College affiliate military historian Victor Davis Hansen’s podcasts where in goes into great detail about why the military officers speaking out against Trump are wrong on many different levels and are putting our military at risk.
On the freedom of speech and medical issues I recommend the doctors, scientists and others who were, are still are, being persecuted and prosecuted by the government and medical boards for raising concerns about rushed to market vaccines. There is a long list which I don’t have time to fully list top ones are Drs Kory, Marik, Bhattacharya, McCullough, hundreds more.
I could go on and on but will end with the major reason I will vote against the Harris Walz ticket and that is their advocacy of mutilating surgeries on confused kids. And lest anyone says it’s rare …
“New data shows U.S. hospitals performed at least 5,747 gender-disfiguring surgeries on minors between 2019 and 2023, according to a databasereleased by Do No Harm, an advocacy group of medical professionals. The data also show 13,994 American children received other transgender treatments, such as puberty-blocking and opposite-sex hormones, in those four years.”
I will end with the reason I can vote for the Trump Vance ticket and that is the Coalition being built which I believe could transform America in a much more positive way than we have been experiencing over the past four years
I have listened to hours of long interviews with all of the major players JD Vance, Tulsi Gabbard, Vivek Rhamasswamy, RFK Jr, Del Bigtree, Elon Musk, the list goes on of smart, common sense folks from all over the political spectrum who see that our country is in trouble and they have the smarts to fix things and not cave to woke ideology which is devastating kids and dividing the country.
Sorry for any misspelling, poor grammar, etc … doing this on the run and no time to proof read.
One of Trump’s military critics, former secretary of defense James Mattis, commented that “Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try. Instead he tries to divide us.”
Your recommended source Victor Davis Hansen offers a converging opinion, though with a positive spin: He praises Trump for what he calls “an uncanny ability to troll and create hysteria among his media and political critics.”
“Trolling,” as Hansen aptly puts it, is indeed precisely what Trump does. We don’t disagree on the facts; rather, Hansen’s meat is my poison. I believe the president’s job is to try to unite; Hansen think’s it’s brilliant how Trump divides.
You offer no defense for Trump’s anti-electionism, the subject of my main anti-Trump piece, so my critique on that topic stands.
Trump is indeed a master troller as Hansen points out, but you neglect to give the in-depth analysis that Victor gives as to why it is sometimes necessary and so effective.
You have pulled one statement out of many to make a point.
I think people who are serious about the state of the military and the country should take the time to explore and listen to several of Hansen’s podcasts along with other military experts who are concerned about the readiness of our military.
I say this as the wife of a retired Naval Officer … we spent 27 years in DC and know very well how as people move up the ranks they get seduced by the power and money.
Trump came in to drain the swamp and unfortunately he was like a bull in a china shop - to say that he pissed a lot of people off is putting it mildly.
The current administration has not fired one person despite the abysmal botched withdrawal from Afghanistan. When you do not hold people accountable you do not get pushback. Trump fired a lot of people so the pushback was fierce. Was it justified? Probably in some cases, but in far more it was powerful people performing CYA and with a compliant press only one side of the story gets told — one must dig deep to get anywhere close to the truth.
The following is my defense to your anti-electionism — clips directly from democrats mouths. We are seeing election shenanigans right now — the most egregious being that the DOJ sued the State of Virginia from purging non-citizens from their voter rolls which the democrats assured us was not happening. Thankfully the court ruled in favor of Virginia. Two other court cases have been won as well.
https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/1841306128635834768?s=12
So my dissent on your take still stands.
Your characterization of the Virginia case is in fact grossly inaccurate, Susers, but there’s no point getting into those weeds until I learn where you stand in the landscape of election denialism: Do you recognize that the 2020 election was overwhelmingly secure, that Trump lost, and that he has lied through his teeth to the American people about every election result he didn’t like, from a) Obama in 2012 to b) his popular vote loss in 2016 to c) 2020? Or do you buy into Trump’s conspiratorial nonsense?
I pushed back on people back then saying there were an anomalies but Biden won.
It sounds like you didn’t listen to the clip that I sent you about all the denialism that the Democrats have done through the years and continue to do. You can’t have it both ways.
When Covid came along with mandates and persecutions of doctors that had impeccable credentials. I saw government over reached like I have never seen before. I followed things very very closely and as I said earlier, I started listening to a lot of long interviews with a wide variety of people from all over the political spectrum.
The people I have learned to trust give back up for what they espouse. They show data. Corporate media does not do that. Politicians often don’t do that. Opinion writers don’t do that.
You are fixated on something that is done and over with - Trump was an ass about it but so are all the dems in the clip I sent.
What matters now are policies. We have a track record on both candidates.
I’ll go back to the main reason I am voting against the Democrats and that is what they are doing to children under the guise of gender “affirming” care. I gave you the link to the data - Any Christian should be appalled! And a vote for any democrat as they now stand is a vote for a continuation of this type of thing and more.
I’m a registered independent BTW.
Have you read my piece on Trumpian anti-electionism, Susers? Because your suggestion that I’m “trying to have it both ways” suggests you aren’t familiar with my position. Three quick points:
a) Your Libs of Tiktok video wrongly conflates i) clips that, contrary to what you seem to think, I’ve acknowledged are a problem, like Hillary calling the election “stolen”; with ii) very, very different assertions about Russian interference, etc.
b) You then wrongly conflate post facto election denialism (a problem, yes, as I’ve said) with Trumpian anti-electionism, which includes but goes far beyond election denialism, encompassing active efforts to challenge and thwart election results.
c) You say I’m “fixated on something that is done and over with.” Absolutely not. I’m focused on the future—and like you say, we have a track record, one going back to 2012. I am warning about a) what Trump will definitely do for the next 11 weeks if he loses tomorrow and b) far more troublingly, what will happen in 2028 if Trump wins now but the Democrats win in 2028 against the Republican nominee, whomever that may be.
This is a point that few people make, but those kids subject to sterilization and mutilation suffer a lot, and it’s much worse than any cruel family separation policy. For one, immigrant families can — and should — be reunited. These kids will never go back. They will lose their fertility, their libido, their self-image, their skin. Secondly, they are emotionally — and spiritually — alienated from their family, which is worse than physical separation. And that’s championed by Kamala Harris.
Trans surgery for minors requires parental consent, Luis (unless they’re, like, married or otherwise legally emancipated or something). I’m not saying that makes it okay, but if people believe kids going off to school and coming home surgically transitioned without their parents’ consent, someone is lying to them. Not sure what emotion and spiritual alienation from their families you’re thinking of. And while Harris may support it, you will not stop this from happening by voting for Trump. This is the whole point of my main anti-Trump piece: Voting for Trump will not give you the culture-war victories you want; the one really decisive thing it will do is undermine democracy.
That’s actually not true. In Washington State, you can get gender affirming care via the school district, and you do not have to tell parents about it. It’s, in fact, in our state law now. You can look it up. We are even prevented from seeing our children’s medical information when they turn 13. 13!
“Washington state privacy laws limit parent and caregiver access to adolescents’ health information. Adolescents’ medical records are private and confidential. The patient chooses whether to consent to releasing medical information, including to parents or caregivers.”
I’m no expert in Washington law, Kay, but it looks to me like the gender-affirming care for minors permitted by Washington state law without parental consent does not extend to surgery. It may be different for minors whose parents have kicked them out of the house or who are otherwise alienated from them.
Voting for Trump may not be the end of the culture war but it will help immensely to stop some of the gender insanity that is going on. SDG - with every comment you make I see that you are not reading the counterpoint to the prevailing wisdom. Have you read Abigal Shrier’s well researched books on gender? Have you listened to psychiatrist Dr Miriam Grossman on gender issues?
Susers, I’m a deacon and a Theology teacher, I teach Theology of the Body, I have preached on the Church’s teaching on sex and gender. The question at issue in this discussion is not “What does the Church teach?” but “How exactly is Trump going to help?” What he’s doing right now is lying (“your kid goes to school and comes home a few days later with an operation”). Do you recognize that this is a lie? Why do you trust a liar to make anything better?
SDG - I am aware that you are a deacon. I was a cradle Episcopalian until the teachings of the leadership went off the rails. I was actually considering the Catholic Church until the current Pope … you are right that is a different discussion.
I think Trump plays fast and loose with his words as do many politicians - witness the Hitler name calling. They both use hyperbole to make a point, and it’s often ugly and inaccurate. I would like to see the full context of what Trump said on this particular subject, because I’ve seen so many things taken out of context.
Harris and especially her running mate Walz have been caught numerous lies — so why do you believe them?
Both of them have put in place policies that are harmful to children — why do you think they will make things better when they agree with the ideology?
The vast majority of Republicans do not believe in gender ideology, especially allowing teachers in public schools to talk about gender to young children. The coalition Trump has put together have talked about the changes that need to be made.- they will work to rectify the situation. Elon Musk has talked about his oldest son transitioning and how as a parent he was pressured, and I think he said deceived but don’t hold me to that exact wording.
The policies the democrats espouse are sowing massive gender confusion with children in public schools.
Much of the counterpoint to what the left is doing has been suppressed by the media or they have lied about it and tried to cancel anyone speaking out about it from professionals to families that have been affected.
I know you didn’t ask, but I’m including some resources. I think it is important for all of us to read different perspectives on something that is tearing our society apart and irreversibly harming children. As a psychology major in college I studied lobotomies and the work of Dr Peter Breggin - eerily similar to what is transpiring today.
Sources …
From The Federalist … “New data shows U.S. hospitals performed at least 5,747 gender-disfiguring surgeries on minors between 2019 and 2023, according to a databasereleased by Do No Harm, an advocacy group of medical professionals. The data also show 13,994 American children received other transgender treatments, such as puberty-blocking and opposite-sex hormones, in those four years.”
“Dr. Miriam Grossman is a child and adolescent psychiatrist known for her critical views on gender ideology. In her book “Lost in Trans Nation: A Child Psychiatrist’s Guide Out of the Madness,” she argues that gender ideology is based on falsehoods, particularly criticizing the work of John Money, who proposed that gender identity is separate from biological sex. Grossman contends that current medical practices regarding gender dysphoria lack scientific basis and can harm children and families. She emphasizes the importance of educating parents to protect their children from these ideas.”
“Irreversible Damage: The Transgener Craze Seducing Our Daughters” by Abigail Shrier
Meh. Nice guy voting? Great, but I’ll take “mean tweets” with a more successful economy any day.
PNew, why do I get the feeling you aren’t the target audience for this piece? :-)
Directly documented examples of real, substantial harm to real human beings re-characterized as "mean tweets". How about you just admit that the harm is fully wanted and intentional, and skip the rhetorical middleman, eh? At least then we'd have to give you credit for honesty, I suppose.
Then you'd be sticking with the Democratic candidate, considering that Trump openly plans to tank the US economy.
It’s absurd to say that the Left, especially Harris/Walz seeks to unite us! Obama tried to say he was the great unifier, too - and where did that lead us?? Remember when he said those of us on the right just love to “cling to our guns and our religion” That wasn’t a one-off, that is how the elites view pious people who aren’t in their elitist circles. Plus, the Left has no place in their party for Pro-Lifers. During the Democratic National Convention, they even interviewed Pete Buttigieg, who said in the starkest terms: “No, there is no place for a Democrat who is against abortion” What! There used to be Pro-Life Democrats, but they aren’t welcome anymore. Think this is the party to unite us, really?
So, what uniting can be done? They even got to Biden, who for decades supported the Hyde Amendment- yet threw that principle to the wind when he became President (A Catholic President no less! Couldn’t even stick to that very basic concept that at the very least, Federal dollars shouldn’t go towards paying for deaths of the unborn)
I would like to see some examples of how Harris will “unite” us - if that’s your closing argument why Trump is the wrong person to do that. I want to know who *is* capable, or even willing to, unite people who disagree on such fundamental issues as to life and death.
On this Election Day, it is important that we vote and also pray to heal the divisions in our country.
Prayer from My Catholic Life:
Most glorious and Triune God,
At this moment of much contention within our world, we turn to You.
Bestow Your grace in abundance.
Heal our land, give direction to our leaders, dispel all darkness and strengthen our charity.
This day, dear Lord, I join with all Your faithful and consecrate my life to You.
Fill my mind with Your Truth.
Strengthen my resolve with Your will.
Endow my spirit with Your mercy.
This day, dear Lord, I also join the Communion of Saints in my prayers for the United States.
May Your will and Your will alone be done in our elections.
May You and You alone guide the legislators and those with executive office.
May Your Truth and Your Truth alone guide our judges.
May You and You alone guide every voter.
Have mercy on our great nation.
Fill all citizens with clear direction in their civic duty.
Help all who lead to bring forth Your Kingdom.
Direct those in the media toward Your Truth alone.
Spare the lives of the unborn and bring an end to abortion.
Protect our religious liberty.
Protect the innocent, poor, neglected and most vulnerable.
Comfort those who are suffering.
Help our country to prosper in Your grace.
Mother Mary, take up your queenship in our lives and in our country.
Saint Joseph, be our protector now and always.
Angels of God, guard us against all evil.
Most Holy and Triune God, have mercy on us.
God the Father, have mercy on us.
God the Son, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Amen.
I’ve read your previous piece and disagree with it.
I am not interested in pursuing the discussion about what might happen if Trump loses in light of what we saw the left do after George Floyd — almost a full year of riots with way more devastation, injuries and deaths than Jan 6th which was not an insurrection (never charged) but a demonstration that escalated into a one day riot. It was bad and Trump did not handle it well, but again he stepped down.
What I find in your words “far more troubling” is that you, and other professing Christians who despise Trump, seem unwilling to discuss what the democrats are doing to children with the gender ideology they are promoting. Please read the data I posted earlier - the numbers are staggering as is the physical and emotional devastation to the children and their parents.
Policies matter and four more years of what we’ve experienced over the past four will do nothing but continue us down the pathway to Sodom and Gomorrah - and Kamala is on record saying she can’t think of anything she would do differently.
Myth: “almost a full year of riots” Reality: 93% peaceful and nondestructive protests (two of which I participated in myself)
Myth: “which was not an insurrection” Reality: Several January 6 attackers have pleaded guilty to, or been convicted of, seditious conspiracy. Trump literally chanted for Pence to be hanged and said he deserved it. Trump himself has been charged, and if he doesn’t win today, he will likely face charges in court.
There are certainly real and important concerns around transgender education, theory, and practice, and conversations need to happen around those concerns. Practically speaking, though, Trump is a liar who does not care about children or anyone else, and he reliably does more harm than good. Roe v. Wade was terrible and completely illegitimate and I’m glad it’s gone, but the hard reality is that abortions are up and women are dying and being harmed due to badly designed abortion restrictions and lack of proper support and care for women. Abortion is not better, it’s worse. I trust Trump to make kids who identify as trans more fearful, as he did Haitian kids in Springfield; I do not trust him to help them in any real way.
SDG - your absolutism on Trump speaks volumes. For every “reality” you post, there may be a counterpoint and I will point out a few. As scripture says “iron sharpens iron” but you often come across as the absolute arbiter of truth even though you have allowed me to counter you - for which I give you kudos as many don’t brook any dissent these days.
While I’m thankful you were a participant of “mostly peaceful” demonstrations, others were not quite so fortunate…
Counterpoint Reality - “The protests and unrest following George Floyd’s death began on May 26, 2020, and continued throughout the summer of 2020. While the intensity and nature of the protests varied, they persisted into early autumn, with demonstrations occurring across the United States and globally. The protests were among the largest in U.S. history, with millions participating.”
Counterpoint Reality - “Victor Davis Hanson highlighted that the riots following George Floyd’s death resulted in significant destruction, including over $2 billion in property damage, more than 35 deaths, and injuries to 1,500 law enforcement officers. The unrest included arson, looting, and violence across various U.S. cities, with Minneapolis experiencing extensive damage.”
Reminder — “Governor Tim Walz took approximately 20 hours to activate the Minnesota National Guard after Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey first requested assistance on the evening of May 27, 2020. Walz issued the executive order to activate the Guard on the afternoon of May 28, following Frey’s formal request earlier that day. The delay in deployment led to criticism, as significant damage occurred before the Guard’s full mobilization.”
As we know, it can take years for historians to sort out all the facts of an event. Lawsuits are in progress and there will be appeals. Many lawyers on both sides of the aisle feel that the law fare the left has unleashed is harming our judicial system and getting us close to banana republic territory. I am not defending Trump’s behavior or that of the people that entered the capital, but I have read enough counterpoint to realize that there is another side of the story and more may be revealed as time goes on.
Counterpoint Reality — “Donald Trump has not been charged with insurrection. Although there was speculation that he might face such charges, the indictment related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results includes charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, and obstruction of an official proceeding, but not insurrection or aiding an insurrection.”
Counterpoint Reality - “Donald Trump did not literally chant for Mike Pence to be hanged, but there are reports suggesting he expressed support for the sentiment. Witnesses told the January 6 committee that Trump reacted with approval when rioters chanted “hang Mike Pence” during the Capitol riot. Cassidy Hutchinson, a former White House aide, testified that Trump said “he deserves it” in response to the chants, although Trump has denied these claims.”
I find it disturbing that you would say “Trump is a liar who does not care about children or anyone else, and he reliably does more harm than good” that sounds pretty harsh and judgmental.
As I’ve made clear, I find most of the policies the Democrats are espousing horrible and harmful … but I really tried to refrain from name calling. I think it’s wiser to keep the focus on the policies and let the fruit of the policies speak for themselves.
Personality aside, I would stack Trump’s policies up against the current administration any day of the week. And we really don’t know what Harris will do because she keeps flip-flopping - although she made it clear on The View that she couldn’t think of anything, she would’ve done differently than President Biden over the past four years. I hear that and I look at how Walz governed after the riots and during covid and think four years of Harris Walz will do much more harm to the country and especially to children.