aka Contrarian

@ProfD Well, if this black female journalist hadn't upset Trump, who surrounds himself with lackeys, he wouldn't have called her a "bitch". He, like the late Charlie Kirk, certainly has no respect for sistas. Imo, Trump's bluster and pettiness are rooted in insecurity. He has reportedly said something to the effect that smart people don't like him and that's why he loves his base. He has also been accused of being misogynistic. Nothing you say about your "mixed" emotions in regard to your country stops me from being "amused" by it. Some would say that the "love-hate" relationship black people struggle with when it comes to America, are akin to the duality that characterizes cognitive dissonance as interpreted by psychologist Frantz Fanon, who was half black himself. To me, it is what it is. Something I don't lose any sleep over. zzzzzzz,

@ProfD Those are generalizations about white people. And I believe Trump is very insecure when it comes to smart black women. It always amuses me how much you guys LOVE this country, but dislike your country men.

Did either one of them marry her? If not, she didn't "pull" them. She was just a star struck "thot". 🫣

@Troy In its summation, Gemini never said one way or another that the places you mentioned weren't empires. Or that America wasn't a civilization. America not being a specific civilizaton was my opinion reached from the dictionary definition of civilization. Your disputing that empires last longer than 250 years is your opinion. I don't feel that America can be separated from the general term of Western civilization. To me, loosely speaking, civilization is about culture and Anthropology. While Empires are about conquest and control. Dividing an empire into 10 phases is an arbitrary convenience, using certain criteria which can be disagreed with. We might be in a semantical bind.

The terms "civilization" and "empire" are not interchangeable according to Gemini, a distinction I'm very comfortable with although I'm inclined to believe you two will disagree. There's nothing drastically distinctive about American culture and mores when it comes to the ongoing progression of western Civilization. Its location is what distinguishes it. It became an Empire via conquest and political domain.

WOW. That's all I can say. Ancient history I'd forgotten about. I've been outed. 😮

@ProfD I didn't know at first that Rachel Scott was a sista - with impeccable journalistic credentials! Trump has also been accused of referring to Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Jackson as having a "low IQ". He seems to really be intimidated by black women who, when it comes to being qualified, put that skank Melania to shame whose only notable accomplishment is being multi-lingual, able to say "unzip" in 7 different tongues. 😛

@ProfD Everything bad we know about Joe Jackson, we learned from his children. Later in life they did give him a few props. He had a love child and he and Kathryn were estranged (divorced?) at the time of his death. She seems to be the glue who consistently held the family together.

@troyg Is a "civilization" the same as an "empire"? I never thought of America as a specific civilization.

I'm rather impressed withTa-Nehisi Coates and Angela Davis.

I've come across several references to this book entitled " America's Expiration Date" by Cal Thomas, published in 2020, and it sounded like something I would be enlightened by, so I turned to my new best friend Gemini and requested a summary of the work which, according to Gemini, draws heavily on a historical thesis proposed by a Sir John Glubb who, back in the 1970s, concluded that the average lifespan of an empire is approximately 250 years (roughly ten generations). Supposedly, such 250-year periods can be broken down into the specific stages that empires historically go through before they collapse, and these phases are as follows:⁰ The Age of Pioneers: Bold, determined individuals explore and settle new lands. The Age of Conquests: The nation expands its borders and establishes military dominance. The Age of Commerce: The focus shifts to wealth creation, trade, and economic prosperity. The Age of Affluence: Success leads to the accumulation of great wealth and the rise of a "ruling class." The Age of Intellect: A shift from action to debate and philosophy; the society becomes increasingly self-analytical and focused on education. The Age of Decadence: The final stage, characterized by moral decay, internal division, excessive luxury, and a loss of the original pioneering spirit. In comparing these eras with America's history, author Cal Thomas believes that the American Empire is on a collision course with extinction because it is currently in alignment with this 250-year pattern. Using the timeline that dates back to this nation's birth in 1776, and adding 250 years to that number, amounts to 2026... Thomas goes on to cite massive, mounting national debt as a primary symptom of the "Age of Decadence," along with the moral and cultural divisions that cause the loss of shared values and the extreme political polarization that causes unity to unravel. He mentions eight major empires (including the Roman, Ottoman, and British ones) noting that they all staggered and eventually lost their superpower status after reaching these similar cultural milestones. Gemini's optimistic takeaway from this data is that while the 250-year pattern is historically consistent, it is not a death sentence and that America could potentially escape this fate through a cultural and spiritual renewal, rather than through political or economic policies or the waging of wars. The book's author notes that in entering the final Age of Decadence, the financial overreach caused by unsustainable national debt and a devalued currency, and the moral and cultural shift causing a weakening of the family structure along with the obsession with entertainment and sports and sexuality are definitely hurdles, but not challenges that are impossible to overcome. Meanwhile Trump and company march on in lockstep, pursuing their version of what will make America great again.

@ProfD If everything you say about the true nature of Black people is right, then they have no reason to complain about being at the bottom of the totem poll. That's where they belong😜

I've always contended that if the situation were reversed, black people would be racist against white people. MLK called this "a dislike of the unlike". In all if my years, I've never met a black person who said they actually like white people. They always roll their eyes and say something to the effect that they can tolerate some of them. Even Uncle Toms have an uneasy smile when discussing their sentiments about them. Me, I can "em take or leave 'em. Whatever. I am, however, starting to develope an affinity for the element among them who genuinely hate Trump.And there are millions of them out there who see him for what he is. He has really polarized this country.

That's why Trump's base is so loyal to him. Because he makes rudeness and crudeness virtues. He never takes the high road or personifies the civility expected of a wise diplomatic leader with integrity. And he is the hero of 50 million mostly white Americans.

@Troy very true. In this dog-eat- dog world, ignorance can be bliss. One person's concern, is another one's indifference. Such is life...