Cory1848

What’s wrong with teenage pop music? (putting aside the argument about what kind of music Taylor Swift actually creates). It’s a lot more fun than sitting in some bar on a beach in Phuket or Samui listening to “Hotel California” for like the billionth time, played by a mediocre house band.

Jon Voight, whose career highlight was starring in the movie “Deliverance” in 1972, these days is only famous for being Angelina Jolie’s father. The two have had a “fraught relationship.”

I completely agree with you (he also won the Nobel Peace Prize) and was just making a rhetorical point that being a musician is no different from being in any other profession with respect to the right to voice a political opinion (and advance to the presidency). In my examples I may be guilty of both-sidesism, which I did not intend. You’re completely right: the other two clowns can’t hold a candle to Carter.

Michael Douglas (or his scriptwriter) summed it up precisely in a speech he gave toward the end of a movie in which he played the US president -- his party affiliation is never specified, but he’s clearly a Democrat. “My opponent [the Republican] only cares about two things: making you afraid of it, and telling you who’s to blame for it. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you win elections.” The movie came out in 1995 -- during Bill Clinton’s first term.

You’re looking at it the wrong way. She is talking politics (occasionally) despite her popularity. She doesn’t care if she’s attacked for doing so. I am not a fan of her music (and as a Broncos fan I am not rooting for her Chiefs), but I find her genuinely sincere. The whole point here is not that she’s just being a normal person voicing her opinion, but that Trump fans have gone into hysterics about it.

Why would anyone take political advice from a TV game show host/B-movie actor/peanut farmer? I don’t think that Taylor Swift is so much offering political advice as simply on occasion voicing her opinion, and from the clips I’ve seen, she’s quite sincere. She has as much right to do that as you do; in fact, if America is truly the citizens’ republic that it purports to be, one can argue that she has a duty to call out flaws in her leaders, and to engage in debate. And if she just happens to have a bigger megaphone than you do, deal with it ...

Right, entertainment celebrities, including TV game show hosts. Oh, wait, one became president.

Wow, did you eat some bad fish last night, or what?

I’ve seen lots of criticism of backpackers on this forum, most of it from old men who are simply jealous of youth and the carefree spirit that comes with it. I spent six months backpacking through Europe with a friend in the early 1980s, and we often received favors from strangers; it was all good; I would encourage any young person with a bit of time and curiosity to just head out. The Thai food vendor giving a free meal to a farang is a small demonstration of international amity, which is sadly lacking among “adults” throughout much of the world. Plus, young people who have a good experience traveling in Thailand on a budget are likely to return later in life when they have more money to spend. People who find fault with this are just cantankerous old fools as far as I’m concerned.

As the New Yorker cartoon goes, <On the internet, nobody knows you're a dog!>

You’re right, I do have a strong dislike of the kind of chest-beating misogyny that you’re exhibiting in spades.

And how do you know these things about E. Jean Carroll? You don’t. You’re just bloviating. The only true statement you make is that “of course” you’re not a woman, and you state that so emphatically that I wonder how comfortable you are with it ... I have only one cat, and I enjoy his company very much, thank you.

Are you a woman? Do you have any idea what’s at stake for a woman when she brings rape charges against a wealthy and powerful man? Have you read any of the countless articles on just this topic, presented from a woman’s point of view? Didn’t think so ...

I can’t speak for Boris’s intelligence in general. I can say, however, that his statements in support of Trump are incoherent.

I would hope for a little more intelligence and a little less charisma from a national leader.

I was also experiencing dizziness (but not specifically in the morning; it occurred at various times). Turns out, I was anemic -- low hemoglobin (red blood cells) and iron deficiency. Other symptoms were chronic fatigue and shortness of breath. You mentioned that you are no longer running. Like you, I have a hiatal hernia (for the past several years), and in searching for the cause of the anemia, the gastro doctor at Chiang Mai Ram did an endoscopy, which turned up that I also have a small stomach ulcer, likely the cause of the loss of red blood cells. I’ve been treated for all this, and now I’m much better. (My blood pressure has been normal throughout.) I would recommend getting your blood tested for red blood cell count, hemoglobin, and iron deficiency (there are several related things that they test for), especially if you’re also fatigued and short of breath. Good luck!

It's just a bad camera angle; actually, she's gorgeous.

Some people thought that he showed resolve and leadership when he was mayor of New York during the 9/11 terrorist attack, and they started calling him “America’s mayor” as a sort of endearment, as the quintessential big-city mayor. Now the phrase is nothing more than a joke.

Right! Last I checked, they don’t serve alcohol to prison inmates. He may initially need some medical attention to help him through detox ...

I’m sorry, Trump was not standing still, and he was indeed speaking words -- paraphrasing the words of Adolf Hitler, in fact. During his latest “poisoning the blood of America” rant, he included Asians among the despoilers. His legions of brownshirts pick up on this. Does this mean then that I can’t travel back to the US with my girlfriend without having to worry about her safety? Maybe you think it’s cool and edgy to bait people with racist garbage; who knows. But the fact that you would support such a monstrosity, even for a childish reason like wanting to “poke a stick in the eye” of his detractors, is disgusting.

Also, how about requiring all candidates to pass a test in basic civics and foreign affairs, to demonstrate an understanding of separation of powers and conflict of interest, what an “oath of loyalty” means, and who the leaders of NATO countries are? If the hardest test you’re able to pass is a cognitive test used to measure dementia, what business do you have in the White House? Call me an elitist, but being a proven moron should definitely be disqualifying.

Exactly -- I have Blue Cross also and it works just great in Thailand, and pays some private Thai hospitals directly after preapproving the procedure. There’s a 15 percent copay, and on most outpatient visits I pay cash and then get reimbursed by Blue Cross after submitting paperwork. If the procedure were so pricey that the 15 percent might make a real difference, and Medicare Part A would pick up a lot of it (in tandem with Blue Cross) in the US, I would consider flying back and doing it there, but that hasn’t happened yet ... Medicare Part B seems unnecessary at this point.

You’re completely wrong. Transgenderism is largely accepted in Thailand; I see transgender people every day, working in a variety of jobs. You’re simply blind to it, based on your own preconceived bias. And of course some monks and others (like yourself) will have a reactionary attitude, but that’s to be expected. I have not heard of the “special programs” you mention intended to “teach young ones how to be men again,” but if such places exist (I have no clue who your source is), they sound much like the “conversion therapy” programs that used to operate in the US, intended to force gay men into being straight. Such programs, whether for gay people or trans people, mostly just lead to chronic depression and often suicide. Not only does it not work; the whole idea is preposterous. How can you change someone’s nature, and why would you even want to? As for your statement about trans women that “their role is mainly to entertain others. They can be stylists, make up artists, dancers in one of the cabarets,” this reminds me of similar stereotyping of other groups, for instance that one group in particular is only good at “singing and dancing.” This is simply disgusting.

“Woke” has got to be the laziest word in the English language: all it means is, “advocating anything one personally dislikes.” As a result, little of what you write has any meaning in reality. The “voluntary police state” you complain about doesn’t exist; it’s a bogeyman. As long as you’re not infringing on any libel laws, you can say anything you want. In your post, you call transgender people “mentally afflicted fairies in dresses” and “perverts,” and you obliquely compare them to pedophiles. That’s fine -- you can say those things! However, I have just as much freedom to then call you boorish, insensitive, heartless, and ignorant; that you’re just pi$$ing in the wind. If that bothers you, then who’s the “snowflake” (another lazy word). I use the word “ignorant” with respect to your lack of knowledge about transgender people. You yourself admitted to that ignorance by saying you “couldn’t be bothered” to read about it. As a result, everything you write about the topic is just plain wrong. You write about your “gut feeling”: I’m sorry, that’s just not good enough. If you have no interest in learning about transgenderism, that’s fine! There are only so many hours in the day. If that’s the case, however, then please don’t post garbage that reflects nothing but your own lack of knowledge. In fact, why are you even posting in this thread at all, if you have no interest? I might just as well find an online forum for brain surgeons posting about their techniques, and offer my own “opinions” about that.

Sometimes, anger indeed arises from knowledge -- of injustice, for instance. In this thread, however, the only people I see who are angry are those who deny the existence of transgenderism, who refuse to educate themselves about it, who are totally triggered by the introduction of words like “transwoman” into the language. In this case, anger arises from plain ignorance. Not sure if that’s whom you’re suggesting the gods will destroy.