spidermike007

There is no doubt that he's had the worst hundred days in the history of the American presidency. I was just speaking to a friend this evening who is quite conservative and who was attempted to defend Trump, and even he had admitted that though some of his policies might be defensible, his methods were idiotic and extremely rash and causing an incredible amount of instability. Trump is at least partially insane, and highly unstable.

The time has come for us to all completely ignore and completely boycott @Harrisfan. He is a nuisance, he appears to be a scoundrel and he just seems like he's trying to drum up problems, and likes discussing nonsensical issues. It is very possible that he has mental health issues, and we really need to do our best to ignore him.

Is it just me or does it seem like Thailand is embracing victim culture? I just don't get it, so many netizens expressing outrage at something so simple and natural. So much sex for sale, the sex industry is so substantial, and yet a public act causes so much outrage?. Is this sincere or is this just pure snowflake culture? Is it possible that the Internet is just allowing "keyboard warriors" to conduct a battle and express their outrage without ever having to show their faces?

I am the kind of friend that is easily able to say no to pure ridiculousness, and overly woke actions.

I'm also an American and I sometimes think the same thing. I don't think they are idiots as much as they are just very gullible, and America seems to be a nation that just very easily buys into a narrative, and a well crafted level of fiction, which Trump is very, very good at creating. I don't think the man's particularly intelligent. I actually think he's rather dull, but he's a genius when it comes to distorting truth and creating an alternative narrative that his followers just gobble up like the most wonderful dessert they've ever tasted. I do have some friends that will come right out and say the man is a butthead, he's an idiot, and he's an absolute clown, but I like his policies. Those are the Republicans I admire. The ones who absolutely refuse to criticize his policies, or his behavior and total lack of dignity, no matter how ridiculous and far out it becomes, have absolutely no respect from me on any level. With many people, once they got attached to a theory, it was hard to get them detached. They’d screen out unhelpful facts, invent favorable ones, and ignore contradictions in their own claims. Look at those Sandy Hook, multiple fraud convictions, and Jan. 6th truthers, babbling about false flags and crisis actors and all the rest. When people were motivated enough to believe something, they were going to believe it no matter what. There was no such thing as a bridge too far.

You very well might be right, there's no question there's a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes that we don't know about. Why Trump has been sucking up to Putin at the level that he has been is just a mystery and an astonishing thing to witness. Trump is doing absolutely anything but making America great again, he's diminishing America by the day, and making it less relevant.

Georgi Dimitrov, one of the famed anti-fascist leaders of the 1930s, provided the beginnings of an answer: “What is the source of the influence of fascism over the masses? Fascism is able to attract the masses because it demagogically appeals to their most urgent needs and demands. Fascism not only inflames prejudices that are deeply ingrained in the masses, but also plays upon the better sentiments of the masses, on their sense of justice and sometimes even on their revolutionary traditions. Fascism aims at the most unbridled exploitation of the masses but it approaches them with the most artful anti-capitalist demagogy, taking advantage of the deep hatred of the working people against the plundering bourgeoisie, the banks, the trusts, and financial magnates.” Add to that the deep resentment that Trump supporters had toward law enforcement and the justice system, for going after their felonious master with such unbridled passion.

Nearly every 250 years an empire passes Into near obscurity. It truly feels like that is the moment for the US right now, it's been on the decline for at least three decades and nearly every policy that Trump enacts exacerbates the decline, and precipitates it quite dramatically. Not only is he completely avoiding the level of transparency that he promised, with Elon Musk and Doge as a great example of that, but he's going in the opposite direction. It's becoming increasingly more of a Fascist type regime, with heavy dictatorial tendencies, the censoring of media and the oppression of higher education are just a couple of examples. Anyone who's familiar with history knows that those are precursors to a very oppressive strongman type republic.

I must admit this is a rare display of courage and morality from the circus clown, for him to criticize Putin is a rather extraordinary thing, and hundreds of millions of people around the world must be shaking their heads and saying finally, finally the man stood up and showed some dignity. Of course Putin was playing him, we knew that, Putin knew that, every Russian and the vast majority of people around the world knew that, the only one that didn't seem to know that was Trump and his sychophantic advisors.

Believe it or not this sign is real, and was posted on the front door of a restaurant in California. I don't mind tipping but when somebody demands a 25% tip I literally run for the hills. Recently we got together with some friends for dinner and my friend suggested that we bring food rather than having them cook as usual, so he picked up some paella at a fancy Spanish restaurant in Los Angeles for $110 for two dishes. He then proceeded to tip them 20% because it was on the iPad, we had a bit of a tiff over that as I never have and never will tip for takeout. It's just a ridiculously woke concept and homie don't play that game. I gave him my share of the food and told him the tips on you, that was your mistake.

And often even if you leave them a good tip they don't show much in the way of appreciation. I often get more appreciation for a 20 baht tip in Thailand that I do for $20 tip in the US.

I always tip the waitress or waiter at a restaurant even if it's 20 or 40 Baht, they certainly appreciate it, and they oftentimes show their appreciation. I tip when I get my haircut, I tip Panda drivers and I tip taxi drivers if they're doing a good job and are polite and personable. A small tip goes a long way here and the local people could sure use the help, so why not?

Though prostitution is not technically legal in Thailand I can't remember the last time I've heard of a Thai woman being arrested for it, and neither should they be. She obviously pissed somebody off or perhaps it was a hotel clerk getting in the good favor of the local cops, and maybe even sharing in the bribe she was likely forced to pay. Nonetheless the arrest should not have happened and it likely just happened because she's taking business away from a local gal, which is very petty, and very unbecoming of the cops.

This just seems like another overly entitled pissant trying to play the "I've never taken responsibility for anything in my life" game. It would be nice once in awhile to see someone owning up to their actions, but chances are when that happens it never makes it into the media. I think a year in the slammer is appropriate, and would likely change her attitude quite a bit, considering the amount of havoc that she's caused.

I don't condone what this guy did, and I think it's pretty sloppy behavior, but it's not a complete outrage, it's not quite the hugely terrible incident that they're making it out to be. Look, Thailand has invited tens of millions of tourists here in an utter desperation for that cash, with little to no qualifications whatsoever to get a visa, and they have to expect that there are going to be quite a few fools. Unfortunately they tend to be concentrated in Pattaya, and Phuket, but that's life. I think it's time for the snowflake behavior to stop, and it's time to stop making a mountain out of a puddle of piss.

While I personally despise sandflies and nearly all flying insects, I question if an urgent health warning is truly appropriate from two deaths nationwide? Is this just a bit of over panic? It's always a good idea to wear some repellent anyway, because of the mosquitoes and dengue, though I do not like using traditional insect spray i mix my own with a blend of 50% eucalyptus, 25% citronella and 25% lemongrass essential oils. It's very effective and the smell is fairly pleasant. And it not only keeps away mosquitoes, it keeps away flies and all other flying insects they hate it.

Good on you and good on her, my guess is that the mourning was very minimal.

I too would love to see some progress, but it would be incredibly helpful if there were at least a few adults in the room at the White House, and in the congress and senate.

So please explain if you get along with the father-in-law so well why did he point a shotgun at you? That's fairly unusual behavior for a tight and affectionate family.

Trump bringing higher tariffs to America is a bit like the British bringing tea to Boston, it's destined to fail and the ship is destined to sink. Just think, we were fortunate enough to have seen the UK and the US in far better days, those former empires are only going to continue to decline in our lifetimes, while Asia continues to ascend. Don the destroyer. Making America less relevant by the day.

While I generally agree with that, it seems like those who associate with ladyboys have a much higher chance of getting robbed or assaulted than those that don't, especially in Pattaya.

You most definitely married the wrong woman. Men jumping into relationships without taking enough time to get to know her and her family a recipe for disaster I've seen so often here. If you don't get along with her family, if you don't like and respect them, there's a much higher chance a relationship will fail.

You are not expected to pay tax as no law has passed the legislature yet, and it's all just pure speculation.

Of course. Malaysia, Burma, Cambodia and Laos are quite threatening. Very, very scared.

The baht is not only not weak, it's a lot stronger than it should be, all things considered. And it certainly does not represent a greater opportunity than usual for people on a budget to visit Thailand.