johnnybangkok

You are conveniently ignoring what everyone here is trying to tell you. He has lost numerous lawsuits - that's guilty. He defrauded his own charity - that's guilty. He has paid off people (to include porn stars) before he's had to confess - that's guilty. There is so much litigation going on that it's hard to keep up with it all with one federal judge who fined Trump and his attorney nearly $1 million in January 2023, characterizing him as "a prolific and sophisticated litigant who is repeatedly using the courts to seek revenge on political adversaries." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_affairs_of_Donald_Trump He's done that all of his life until it back-fires and then he just pays people off. Again, are these the qualities you want to see in your POTUS?

You say your 'Dislike of the other side is strong enough to make me support him' which again smacks of identity politics and I think it's more aimed at Hilary but lets just try and focus on Biden (senior NOT junior). What exactly has he done to make you dislike him so much? A lifetime in politics yet he's never had anything levelled at him that comes close to the level of criminality Trump has. He's never been sued, he's never defrauded anyone (to include his charities), in fact you'll be lucky to find a parking ticket for him. There's all this stuff on his age and being a bit too touchy feely with the girls but that's not about policy and again it's a pushed agenda from the right. And yes we all know there's all this 'Hunters' laptop' nonsense still going on but Hunter isn't POTUS and the sins of the son shouldn't be upon the father. So without mentioning Hunter and avoiding identity politics (which includes his age), what exactly has the current administration done to get you thinking Trump is a better option?

He has admitted to paying her off. This is common knowledge. https://www.npr.org/2018/05/02/607943366/giuliani-says-trump-did-know-about-stormy-daniels-payment But lets just say for arguments sake he is innocent on this one. What about all the things he HAS admitted to? When he defrauded his own charity for example? He admitted this or did you just conveniently forget that one? You are happy supporting a guy who defrauded army veterans, children in need, the United Negro College Fund, and even the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum? What does that say about Trump and what does it say about you? .

You know what gets me about you and all the other Trump apologists on this site is not one of you have actually condemned Trump for bedding a porn star whilst married to a woman who just gave birth to his son, paid off that porn star to keep her quiet during the presidential election (as well as numerous others including a Playboy Bunny) and tried to hide the payments through 'legal fees'. Is your identity politics so strong or your love of this man so deep that you can just ignore this type of behaviour? For gods sake this man has been conning and stiffing people all his life, to include his OWN charity. Do you just ignore this or is your own standards so low that you see this as perfectly acceptable behavour? Can't you see that this and his other, very obvious character flaws make him unfit to even hold public office never mind the presidency? Honestly I'm really interested in just what is it about this guy that makes you suspend reality and ignore integrity, honesty and severe character flaws? Do you not think a POTUS should have integrity, honesty and standards? Do you honestly believe he is emotionally qualified to become the next POTUS?

So you are basically admitting that it's all about identity politics to you because as a conservative, you should be focused on for example, the economy. Trump inherited a thriving economy thanks to Obama who in turn inherited probably the worst fiscal crisis since the Great Depression, He however managed to steady the ship and towards the end of his stewardship, saw the US return to some sense of former economic glory. And what did Trump do with this? He immediately slashed taxes for himself and his mates and added almost $7.8 trillion to the national debt. By any crucial metric like GDP, job creation, business investment and avoiding recessions, Democrats in the White House do much better than Republicans (just one fact should tell you this; 9 of the last 10 recessions have been under Republicans). I quote directly from Forbes magazine - 'It is simply a fact that since World War II, Democratic presidents have seen 24.4 million more jobs created on their watch—an average of 78.6% more jobs created per year of Democratic administrations—than have Republican presidents. Ditto real GDP growth, 44% higher under Democratic presidents. On the flip side, unemployment has been 18% higher under GOP presidents.' https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2016/11/07/trump-is-right-about-one-thing-the-economy-does-better-under-the-democrats/?sh=21f31f5b6786 So now we have ascertained that the economy is better under the Democrats, what exactly is it that prevents you from voting Democrat?

And there is the problem summed up in one easy paragraph. This obsession with identity politics in the US means that you would rather vote a criminal who pays off porn stars and playboy bunnies, who defrauds his own charity and surrounds himself with criminals into the highest role in the land just because he’s “not Biden” or heaven forbid a Democrat. If this was the best my party could come up with to lead I would absolutely swap sides. But then again, integrity isn’t for everyone.

But why is it 'infinitesimal'? By bribing Stormy D and taking care of all the other stories that were being bandied around at the time through 'catch and kill', he effectively paid his way out of any negative press at a time when it could have seen him lose the White House. This is pretty significant when you consider Hilary lost because of the server stories being touted at exactly the same time. One could argue it was far from ' infinitesimal' when you consider what was at stake.

Ok, alleged (although I doubt if any person, even a MAGA enthusiast really thinks he didn't do this). But yeah, if it makes you happy 'alleged'.

Please do try and follow what’s going on. It’s really not that difficult. It’s not the fact he paid money to a porn star. That’s not illegal. What is illegal is that Trump falsified cheque records and ledger entries over the course of 11 months to make it appear that those payments were for "legal fees" and not reimbursements. This was all done in the run up to the election, where obviously an affair with a porn star might (just might) be seen as slightly negative. The charges are for business fraud.

But the 'drain the swamp' is just another lie sold by Trump. No one likes to think of faceless bureaucrats dictating to the masses but that's how governments work. Sure there are issues with 'Washington' but they are issues that have gone on for many, many years and will go on for many, many more. The reality is it's just another non-subject to get the masses hating 'the man', something that canny politicians do the world over.

It really is something to behold the mental gymnastics Trump supporters have to perform on an almost daily basis; January 6th wasn't a riot, it was just a protest; the election was stolen, even though there is not a shred of evidence to substantiate this; the billionaire Trump only has the common mans' interest at heart. This man admitted defrauding his own charity (or did you forget that?), he lies constantly (and don't give me 'but, but all politicains lie - this guy takes it to another level) and currently he's going to court for bribing a porn star. I mean you just can't make this stuff up. But it matters not one jot to Trump fans. To them he's a victim and someone who is a beacon of integrity in a sea of scum despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Personally I think it says much more about the person who loves Trump than Trump himself. You can understand Trump; he's been a grifter and a chancer all his life, with an ego the size of the planet and a personality that psychotically needs the adulation. They are just being taken for fools but in an almost willing fashion. Fool me once, shame on me, fool me twice...............

He’s obviously joking.

And 10 out of 10 of everyone else also don't want him

First of all they are not 'gender-confused', they have been diagnosed with a well documented mental health problem called gender dysphoria. Secondly, I'm not quite sure why you think qualified experts have some sort of agenda to support a childs 'delusion'. Psychiatrists (as most medical professional do) only have the welfare of the child in mind and are not supporting unneccessary and harmful treatments. That's just ridiculous and is supported by the facts. In 2021, 42,167 children aged between 6 and 17 were diagnosed with gender dysphoria but only 1,390 initiated pubert blocker treatment. That's only 3%. https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-transyouth-data/ But when you listen to conservatives and those that have fallen for the hype, you would think this is a massive problem..... It's not. There are currently 50.7 million children in the US aged between 6 and 17 so 1,390 represents such a low percentage as to be negligable. Yet this seems to be in the news all the time because obviously a desperate GOP is trying it's very best to make it a hot button political issue and to look at your and many of the comments here, it seems to be working. One more time; this is a medical issue and should be left to medical experts.

Agreed. They aren't mature enough to make life-changing decisions. They certainly aren't mature enough to take criminal responsibility and of course they shouldn't drink or smoke. But when it comes to mental health issues, there are experts to decide what is best for the child and to recommend the appropriate action. As I have said to you already, no child is making these decisions unilaterally; the legal guardians are involved and there are qualified experts who work out the appropriate treatment, which in some extreme cases is puberty blockers. One more time; it's a medical issue.

Wasn't talking about general morality, just yours.

The fact you are quoting sensationalist nonsense such as 'identify as cats, or wolves, or "otherkins", and demand to be treated as that (sic) animal at all times' tells me everyting I need to know about your take on all this. Mental health is still a medical issue (it doesn't have to be just physical to be a medical issue) and although puberty blockers can be allowed at a younger age it still has to be under the guidance of a qualified psychiatrist and a great deal of boxes need to be ticked for these things to happen. There is no stage at that age where the child themselves is allowed to make any of these decisions, they MUST get the consent of their legal gaurdian and a qualified psychiatrist. And if both these parties (especially the psychiatrist) deems it appropriate, who are you to lecture an expert on the matter? I'll leave you with this. 1 in 8 people in the world live with a mental disorder so if a child of say for example a 10 years old is demonstrating sociopathic tendancies (killing cats in the neighbourhood, self-harming, extreme behaviour) do you think it's appropriate that they get the proper psychiatric treatment to help them? If you do then I see no difference to these cases. Gender dysphoria is a well documented psychiatric condition and if left untreated can lead to suicide. These children are just getting the medical treatment they need until they are 18 years old and able then, as an adult, to make the life changing decision about a sex change. What you personally think or what your morality dictates doesn't (and shouldn't) have any bearing on what is and should always be a medical matter.

Are you saying that there was no transgenders until recently? Well there's plenty of historical fact to say that is complete nonsense starting with https://historicengland.org.uk/research/inclusive-heritage/lgbtq-heritage-project/trans-and-gender-nonconforming-histories/20th-century-trans-histories/ Unlike gay or lesbians, transgenders are more noticeable in appearance so of course most of it used to be behind closed doors and since an actual sex change wasn't possible until the 60's, most of them would just settle for dressing in Aunty Betty's posh frock. But I don't disagree with a 'huge increase in suicide among young people, especially the transgender ones' because there is still very little understanding around for them, perpetuated by an increasingly vocal conservative crowd who are using what is essentially a medical issue for political purpose. And this idea that 'activists and social media' are somehow creating transgenders is just absolute nonsense as anyone with any idea of how much a young person has to go through to actually change sex (have to be over 18, capacity to make a fully informed decision determined by a qualified phyciatrist, showing a regular and persistant trait of gender dysmorphia, regular psychiatric evaluations) knows that it is not a decision that is taken lightly or indeed even allowed without a great deal of boxes needing to be ticked.

Or maybe, just maybe, they now feel more comfortable to come out than in previous decades. I'm sorry that most of you on here are forming your 'expert' opinion from growing up in the 60's and 70's when owning up to being LGBTQ was quite literally illegal and fraught with massive difficulties (both socially and work wise) but nowadays a general acceptance allows more people to feel comfortable about 'coming out'. This is much more likely the reason for 'the very recent steep rise of young people in America claiming to have some sort of LGBTQ' (NB: it isn't a disease and shouldn't be refered to as 'to have some sort of'). It has nothing to do with 'narcissism' or 'social cachet' and although you may get the odd person looking for sympathy through social media, the vast majority of the LGBTQ community that I have met (and it's a lot) would still rather be hetorosexual if for nothing more than just an easier life. They are however very grateful that they no longer have to hide in the shadows and be ashamed of their sexuality.

And people say conspiracy theorists are harmless. Far from it I would say. Poor kids. Just awful.

I said their mums and dads are “from” somewhere else, not they themselves.

Sorry am I not writing in English? Isn’t that exactly what I just said?

Yes they can because their nationality is British, but their ethnicity could be African, Caribean, Chinese etc. This is VERY common for second and third generation Brits who have mums and dads from other countries. They call themselves British because this is where the where born and bred and who they identity with more. It's only complicated for those that want to make it complicated.

How am I changing the story? My previos post included a copy of what was said which no one is denying, not even Lady SH. After being initially confused with the questions, Ngozi confirmed she was British THREE times. This still prompted a 'no, where are you REALLY from' by Lady SH. And as I have already stated, I didn't think Lady SH was being purposely racist (just old and out of touch) but it certainly was a VERY clumsy line of questioning from someone who should have known better. What am I supposed to be missing here?

How many times do we have to go over this with you? It's not the 'asking a Black person where they come from' that's the problem, it's asking someone 'no where do you REALLY come from' after they have confirmed THREE times they are British. The nuances of all this are obviously beyond your capabilities so if it all still confuses you then maybe YOU shouldn't employ or even talk to black people. However, the rest of us will just get on with just being normal to black people because this line of questioning doesn't even occur to us. P.S. And saying something like 'people like Ngozi cause racism and division' is just plain nonsense. Racists cause racism.