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Posted
5 hours ago, flatdawgs said:

That's certainly an American way to look at things. OTOH, one of the things I thoroughly enjoy every time I'm back in Europe is that isn't the be-all and end-all of life; quite the contrary. In all the time I've spent in Europe (almost every country; southeastern Portugal now my base when I'm over there), I have never once had a single person ask me how much I made or what giant corporations my US city is home to. I spent a good portion of last winter in Scandinavia and I think most people would consider their quality of life higher than that of the vast majority of the US.

While you're not incorrect about political turmoil in some of the larger European countries, they are still facing what would be considered fairly normal political stresses. It's countries like Hungary and Türkiye, with some of the former Eastern Bloc nations thrown in, where you find similar issues to here. Not saying it's not necessarily coming,  but at least for now in several countries the center-right and center-left parties refuse to form coalitions with the far right. 

I think that's the fallacy. Visiting and vacationing and even a longer term sabbatical, you can romanticize the life. But having to live with standardized medicine (especially if you have a chronic or serious disease or illness) and the day to day isn't for the faint of heart (for most Americans).

And I agree, I have an American bias to what you called out. I'm an unabahsed capitalist, I guess, from years of indonctrination and the guise of value creation that has allowed me to build a little bit of wealth. So I think of Europe as inferior in a lot of ways:

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Posted (edited)
On 10/8/2025 at 5:57 AM, immamac said:

I'm not under the delusion of that being a possibility I'm saying that overall Americans don't really put up with that bullshit and the vocal minority are filled with idiots not with smart people who are sadistic 

Americans can’t follow directions worth a shit.  Either they are too stupid, not willing, or both.  Good luck trying to control 350 million of them.  
 

That’s the one comforting thought I have in this whole situation.  I think if these assholes could control us they already would be.  Shit, if I run into that pussy Stephen Miller in the street I’m gonna kick his ass!

Edited by Horn Dogg
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Posted
1 minute ago, Horn Dogg said:

Americans can’t follow directions worth a shit.  Either they are too stupid, not willing, or both.  Good luck trying to control 350 million of them.

Agree. 

Posted
22 minutes ago, Vegas64 said:

I think that's the fallacy. Visiting and vacationing and even a longer term sabbatical, you can romanticize the life. But having to live with standardized medicine (especially if you have a chronic or serious disease or illness) and the day to day isn't for the faint of heart (for most Americans).

Tell me you've never had to schedule a specialist appointment without telling me. American medicine through insurance companies is a worse experience by far. Because you get loaded down with medical debt and they will deny all but the barest and most basic shit. 

46 minutes ago, Vegas64 said:

And I agree, I have an American bias to what you called out. I'm an unabahsed capitalist, I guess, from years of indonctrination and the guise of value creation that has allowed me to build a little bit of wealth. So I think of Europe as inferior in a lot of ways:

My problem is that you're labeling "rent seeking and extracting wealth" as "unabashed capitalism". American capitalism does produce massive profits, but it drives horrific inequality - worse than the divide during the French Revolution. 75% of US corporate profits have gone to stock buybacks, not into the business or to their workers or anything that actually grows the economy. It's all been masturbatory paper value creation, that gets converted into tax-free liquidity via loans. It's all bullshit and superior if and only if you're on the extractive side.

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Posted
30 minutes ago, Vegas64 said:

I think that's the fallacy. Visiting and vacationing and even a longer term sabbatical, you can romanticize the life. But having to live with standardized medicine (especially if you have a chronic or serious disease or illness) and the day to day isn't for the faint of heart (for most Americans).

And I agree, I have an American bias to what you called out. I'm an unabahsed capitalist, I guess, from years of indonctrination and the guise of value creation that has allowed me to build a little bit of wealth. So I think of Europe as inferior in a lot of ways:

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Do you or have you lived there? I'm not romanticizing it; I have residency and live there several months a year most years. And, yes, I feel the failings of unfettered capitalism are a large part of the problem; I'm much more a proponent of controlled capitalism that at least pays lip service to the greater good (see Norway for how this is done with their natural resources). Possibly this is due to where I was born and raised, which is much more that way than most other parts of this country; part of that is knowing that even a state like mine has the #2 economy (GDP per capita) in the nation while a more "free capitalist" state like Texas is 16th. I've done well enough for myself in a not terribly lucrative profession; I'm not opposed to making money but I am opposed to hoarding it at a cost to society. 

It seems to me that like most Reagan Republicans - of which I was never one - you don't seem to have actually lived there either. (One reason I read this board is to get opinions different than mine, so I appreciate your viewpoints!) I will say that in nearly every European country the public health care system is a base that's available to all; many/most also choose supplemental private care. In Portugal, which has decent government healthcare, the top end private cover is about 1/10th the cost it is here.

(oh, and whatever NVidia did or didn't do compared to Europe is wholly irrelevant to my quality of life both there and here. In my own profession - architecture and building science - Europe is decades ahead of the USA in product and materials development.) 

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Posted
23 hours ago, GreenspointTexas said:

Man, didnt think id see the day when we would minimize shit like this

Yeah, remember when the people freaked out because they were doing trainings in Bastrop and Greg Abbott went to personal supervise?

I remember.

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Posted
13 hours ago, immamac said:

There are lots of people who identify as Republicans on this site even who don't approve of sending NG to anywhere domesticslly for the purposes of fucking with citizens. 

And they would still pull the lever for the orange dotard if an election was held tomorrow and he was on the ballot.

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Posted
23 hours ago, Satchel said:

Anybody thinking Miller is a nobody in this administration is simply not paying attention.

It appears what’s being reported is true. Trump thinks Portland is on fire because of he was shown videos of protests that occurred 5 years ago. Guess who showed him those videos?

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Posted
21 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

Or if it continues.....

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Well if we get to Judgement Day before Team Elephant can plunge us into Christiofascist Handmaids Tale scenario...gonna call that a small win

Confused Curb Your Enthusiasm GIF



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