aka Contrarian

So it is debatable that in a set of circumstances having a variety of outcomes, the final result is dependent on which choice your freewill enabled you to make. To me , this raises the question of whether we are dealing with multi-verses instead of a single universe; parallel worlds that we can, and do shift between via the decisions we make. If that be the case, what seems to be pre-determined would differ from world to world. It's all very mind boggling. And I remain entangled in my mind-set of knowing nothing. I stumbled, and fell on my way into a supermarket and busted my knee cap. Now I'm hobbling around, battling the pain. I wonder if in a parallel world I decided not to go grocery shopping, and my knee is fine.

@franksterif you have decided "its all a dream" , then all of the rebuttals, explanations, and conclusions that you put forth in response to our assertions, explanations, and conclusions may not apply in the reality of being awake. Knowing that we know not, would hold true, however.

Well, alright. Y'all have served up a subject that's my cup of tea, gone to a place where I dwell... Too bad I can't contribute something profound to add to the provocative ideas the 3 of you have set forth. But, when all is said and done. this "cynical contrarian" agrees with what you've said and I have nothing original to propose. All my life I have pondered and contemplated and now, in the twilight of my years, have ended up as mystified as ever. I know that I know nothing. I suspect certain things, however. One of which is that I'm not alone is my journey, that there is an invisible force that shows up in my time of need and helps me; even protects me. Guardian angel? Spiritual guide? God? Who knows? Am I even alive, or is this all a dream. Why am I here? Damned if I know. Dare I further suspect that there's more to our existence than meets the eye. A lotta stuff we can't see or comprehend. Down through the ages men masquerading as sages have ventured to solve life and condense their conclusions into words that other men have defined, - the sounds of "idiots saying nothing"? (Notice women have been conspicuouly absent among famous philosophers.) I am currently dabbling in Existentialism which asks the question does life have any meaning. To which I reply: "Maybe." Sooooo, here I am, left to ramble snd babble and - not wake up one morning.

Well, we can all agree that Wendy's situation is tragic but - that's show biz! She joins a long line of celebrities who crashed and burned. At least she's still alive. Hope she gets the help she needs. @ProfDWe cool. And your comments about da BEARS echo the sentiments of Chicago fzns, many of whom also want the coach fired.

@ProfDWell you can act the gentleman and still be condescending when it comes to women. I was nonplussed by the way you went inside Fani' s head. as if you were privy to her thoughts, going into great detail about her sexuality, a breakdown that was akin to describing a bitch in heat. And of course Wendy was ridiculed and compared to a Pez dispenser, who being categorized as trash got no disagreement from you. But, you're entitled to your opinionated assessments. Just as you're entitled to refrain from singling out a member of the herd whom you deem worthyou of marrying. You owe me no explanations. The Bears have first pick in the upcoming NFL draft so unless they decide to keep Justin Fields as QB, the Commanders won't have a shot at Caleb Williams. Chicago fans are really in an uproar about what their team should do. Both players have their supporters. @Troy My remarks weren't directed at you. Your persona is different.

@ProfD& pioneer: It's bad enough that poor ol Wendy is seriously ill with aphasia/early onset dementia, is an alcoholic, and suffering with that thyroid condition that makes your eyes bulge, now she has to be sliced and diced by 2 males who look upon women simply as objects that exist for their gratification and critiquing. ( Fani, whats-her-name being another target of their chauvinism.) I'm assuming neither of you 2 watched the documentary about Wendy that appeared on the LifeTime TV channel, because such pop culture fare is not your cup of tea and, of course, Neely Fuller hasn't issued an opinion about her yet. Anyhoo, the chances of Wendy recovering are slim; she's in pathetically bad shape and, yes, all of her chickens have come home to roost. She was catty and bitchy which was why she had such a large following of sistas and gay men. She turned herself into a caricature and made millions doing so. Now the tables are turned and she inspires nothing but pity. Pray for her. Yeah, she had a good run. She never wanted for anything - except happiness. (Yet, like Barbra Steisand once quoted, "I've been rich, and I've been poor, and - rich is better." ) And speaking of rich, Wendy has also become a football between her salivating family and the court-appointed guardianship handling her financial affairs. And speaking of football, ProdD, who you got? Justin or Caleb? I'm done.

@ProfDdemocrats might be secretly planning a counter defense. Why would they publicize what their planning to do? What grabs me is that I may be around to witness the fall of the United Stares of America. This country is "a house divided against itself". Half the nation is no longer enthralled with democracy which could be supplanted by a fascistic theocracy, a change that might be preceded by a civil war. How cool is that?

@ProfDto me, this is more about fascism than racism. It will victimize anybody who doesn't get with the prpgam. May even reward boot lickin negroes..

Here is a report posted on a thread I was participating in on Facebook. I found it not only interesting but frightening. Check it out The Hartmann Report DAILY TAKE The New "Over the Top" Secret Plan on How Fascists Could Win in 2024 Here’s what I’m hearing Republicans are planning in the event Joe Biden wins re-election & Democrats hold the Senate and take the House this November… THOM HARTMANN FEB 26, 2024 576 140 Back on March 13, 2020 — almost exactly four years ago — I wrote an article that was published at alternet.org laying out how Republicans were then, ten months before January 6th, planning to partially repeat the debacle of the election of 1876 by having Vice President Pence refuse to certify swing state votes and thus throw the election to the House to keep Trump in office, no matter how the election went. When I published the article ten months before January 6th, I received concerned and even alarmed communications from several Democratic strategists and a few elected officials who basically said they didn’t think there was any way Trump would try such an audacious move and, if he did, he wouldn’t get away with it. But I was right and that was exactly what Trump had up his sleeve. We saw it play out on January 6th. The only thing that stopped him was Pence’s unwillingness to go along with stealing an election. Now I’m hearing a new story from those same GOP insiders (as well as other commentators) about Trump’s schemes for 2024. Here’s what I’m hearing Republicans are planning in the event Joe Biden wins re-election and Democrats hold the Senate and take the House this November: First, Republicans need to make sure they’re in control of the House of Representatives on January 6th, 2025, when the new president will be certified. To do that, even though Democrats might have won enough seats to take back the House in the 2024 election, Speaker Johnson will refuse to swear into Congress on January 3rd a handful of those Democrats, claiming there are “irregularities” in their elections that must be first investigated. Consider that Johnson is still refusing to swear in Tom Suozzi (who recently won George Santos’ old seat), something Johnson apparently did to maintain enough Republican-majority votes to impeach Alejandro Mayorkas. (Johnson says they’ll swear him in this coming Thursday, but nobody’s holding their breath.) Like Mitch McConnell withholding Merrick Garland’s nomination to the Supreme Court for over a year, withholding certification of a handful of Democrats would be easy, legal, and completely immoral. There’s nothing Democrats can legally do to stop Speaker Johnson from pulling this off: he can postpone swearing a member in for as long as he wants. That keeps Speaker “MAGA Moscow Mike” Johnson in charge of the House, so they can also refuse to accept the Electoral College certificates of election from a handful of states where they claim there are “problems.” Keep in mind, Johnson was the guy who organized the wave of 138 House members who voted not to certify Joe Biden’s election in January of 2020. That’s why Trump wanted him as speaker. Elise Stefanik, the number 3 person in House Republican leadership, has already refused to say whether she’d vote to certify the presidential election results this November. Others, like Kentucky Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, are repeatedly mentioning their belief that the House gets to decide who’s president, not the people or even the Electoral College. As Massie posted on X: “Maine, Colorado, and other states that might try to bureaucratically deny ballot access to any Republican nominee should remember the U.S. House of Representatives is the ultimate arbiter of whether to certify electors from those states.” In response, Elon Musk posted a one-word comment: “Interesting.” Then, regardless of how many votes Biden won by, electoral or popular, the House simply refuses to certify the electoral college votes of enough states that the minimum of 270 isn’t reached. Under the 12th Amendment, like with the election of 1876, that throws the election to the House, where each state has one vote. While a majority of Americans live in a state run by Democrats, a majority of the states themselves are run by Republicans. Each state gets one vote for president in the House, and right now 26 state delegations are GOP-controlled, meaning that a majority of the House would simply vote to put Trump back into the White House, 26-23 (Pennsylvania’s delegation is 50/50). All totally legal. The Putin/Trump caucus in the House — led by Speaker Johnson — has largely given up on democracy when elections don’t give them power. As outrageous as this scenario sounds, they justify it to themselves as being essential to “save America” from “woke” Democrats. Johnson has repeatedly said he thinks God Himself put Johnson into the speakership to fulfill some great destiny, comparing himself with Moses: stealing a presidential race “for the greater good” almost certainly qualifies as that. And, although Congress in 2022 raised the number of congressional objectors necessary to stop the certification of a presidential vote, Johnson himself was able to round up more than that number in 2020. This is eminently do-able. Finally, the Supreme Court long ago ruled that they and the entire US court system have no jurisdiction over “political issues” that the Constitution says must be resolved by Congress. This issue of Congress’ certification of electoral college votes certainly qualifies, so, no matter what the courts might want to say or do, there’s probably no legal tool they can use to block a second Trump presidency under these circumstances. Rightwing billionaires and neofascists within the GOP are salivating at this prospect. Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller must be giddy. In one fell swoop they’ll “take back” the government, putting an end to that pesky problem of democracy and voters wanting nice things. President Trump issues a new Schedule F executive order and suddenly 20,000 or so of the top management of every federal agency find themselves out of a job, being replaced by conservative ideologues who are being vetted by Heritage and other conservative think tanks as you’re reading these words. Once they have control of both the political and the “deep state” or administrative government, these conservatives intend to set about making the changes they’ve been pushing for years: — End gay marriage and criminalize being trans. — Outlaw abortion and most forms of birth control. — End the teaching of Black history. — Outlaw DEI and affirmative action of any sort. — Shut down most functions of the EPA so the fossil fuel and chemical industries can do whatever they want to our air and water. — End enforcement of our anti-monopoly laws. — Fire thousands of IRS investigators to make America safe for morbidly rich tax cheats. — Shut down all “green” initiatives and instead “drill, baby drill.” — Sell off public lands and parks to the highest bidders. — Privatize Social Security and end traditional Medicare. — End federal funding for public schools and colleges. — Outlaw unions. It’s truly breathtaking. They’re committed to abandoning America’s historic embrace of democracy, the “radical new form of government” that our nation’s Founders brought back into the world after it had vanished for almost 3000 years. But, as Americans have figured out the GOP’s priorities and are disgusted by their obeisance to great wealth and Vladimir Putin, Republicans have decided that winning free and fair elections is for suckers. Stealing them is so much easier. I don’t see any legal way such a strategy can be stopped, because it’s all based on “legal” technicalities. Like the legal technicality that George W. Bush and Donald Trump both lost the national popular vote but became president anyway (without significant protest from the American people). When I wrote that article laying out Trump’s plan to have phony electors, et al, back in 2020, people were upset I was “giving him ideas.” Some may similarly say about this article, “Don’t tell them how to do it!” But this has already been written about extensively by Newsweek’s editor-at-large Tom Rogers, Mark Medish & Joel McCleary for the Washington Spectator, and covered last Friday night an an opening monologue by Joy Reid. It’s public knowledge, although the media seems unwilling to discuss it. The best way to prevent this from happening is to widely publicize their scheme so public opinion will become so intense that they fear the consequences. It’s a thin thread holding our republic together, but at least it’s something. Pass it along.

Change is inevitable and goes hand in hand with freedom. Fads and trends just come natural to a species of sociable beings with imaginations. Like now, beards are "in" and all the fellas are wearing them. They don't flatter everybody but being able to cultivate one seems to bolister a guy's self esteem. Boys will be boys... Clean-shaven dudes , however, can still pull the thick babes with false eyelashes and ropes of hair who are currently in vogue, - unless they prefer petite pixie types. No accounting for taste, and individuality ain't completely dead.

Smh. Will folks ever learn? "Never have your honey where you make your money." When issues arise, this always taints your credibility. Good thing Fani wasn't prosecuting Trump for sexual misbehavior. His legal team could've chanted "it takes one to know one". Fani's father got it right when he told her "a man is not a plan."

That's what existentialism posits with its "existence" being followed by "essence" debate. Your assertion is challenge by some. "I know that I know nothing" is starting to become my mantra.

There are rumors circulating that a coup of moderate Progressives are planning some backroom shenanigans at the Democrat Convention wherein, under the guise of passing the torch, Biden will nobly step aside in difference to the overwhelming rejection of his candidacy because of his age. This would then be followed by the party uniting behind a younger, dynamic, candidate, possibly Gavin Newsome, who would be far more viable and appealing than tRump or Nikki. Considering how bad Biden's poll numbers are, this doesn't sound so far fetched or like wishful thinking. It makes no sense for the Dems to run someone who is so overwhelmingly rejected by voters. Kamala Harris is, unfortunately, also a liability. If ol Joe dies in office, she hasn't done much to instill confidence in her leadership ability. Not to mention that she's a woman. And "black" Look out, Hell. Here comes America!

@TroyI'm not a big fan of YouTube videos, but I made an exception for you. My feed back would give you a thumbs up *** for the info you you dispensed, especislly about AI and I was impressed by your heartfelt back story and your sincere dedication when it comes to making a difference in a world that stacks the deck against "the little guy" at the mercy of the monopolies. What I would observe, however, is that after all this time, most adults aren't that gullible and naive when it comes to social media and search engines. Nobody trusts them anymore. We know they mean you know good and are just trying to exploit you. I no longer answer any questions or take surveys posted on Facebook or bite their click bait ploys or "like" the memes posted. I do argue with people whose politics I reject, but I also do a lot of deleting and blocking of what this sets off. And, yes, I do a lot of Googling but this is mostly about about subjects that don't generate ads. Nor do I detect a NY accent in your speech, the way I do with Rappers and celebs from Brooklyn and the Bronx, - JayZ, in particular. Bottom line I wouldn't classify your video as boring; just a tad technical in some areas.

@Delano I got all wrapped up in existentialism, and once I started pondering about whether life has any meaning , the futility of it all kinda neutralized my spirit. I even started wondering if, as Poe wrote, "all that we see or seem, is just a dream within a dream".

@ProfD& Troy: I thought it would be great to live a long life and reach 90. But, suddenly, I'm not impressed over having achieved this goal. Others in this category thank the Lord and aspire to reach 100 and are eager to tell what they attribute their longevity to. Me, I'm fighting boredom and depression. I really feel as though I've over stayed my time here and am trapped in a state of limbo I've lost interest in a lot of things and what others find interesting and exciting I find mundane. I spent a lot of time pondering about life after death and whether there is one. I've been told this all might be hormonal. And, of course, I'm very pessimistic about the upcoming presidential election and the future of the USA. Hopefully you both will be able to handle old age better than me. I'm certainly not an inspiration. Oh well, you can't win 'em all. N c Hi Chevdove and Mel. Glad to see you're still "holding down the fort."

This is Cynique. As previously announced, my new user name is "aka Contrarian" so "A" is now me. I don't know why I'm still alive. But I am. Since I have nothing better to do, unless I sudndenly croak, I'll be hanging around here, injecting my contrary opinions from time to time. zzzzz

Freedom is just an abstract idea. Everybody is captivated by something. As ProfD implied, people gravitate toward what inspires the most approval and admiration of their group, and - imagine that they are making independent choices - Yes. there are mavericks and non conformists but they are controlled by the gratification and attention they get from being different. Old age has liberated me to a limited degree, however, I don't confotm to the dictates of pace setters any more, I now have s little wiggle room within the constraints of the eccentricity that dictates my behavior. Freedom can be a burden. Because it's not free Hi Delano. I underwent some weird experiences after I inadvertently created some portals for the spirit world. Fooling around with mirrors and crystals !

A lot has been written about white entitlement and none of it good. Yet, do black Americans realize how steeped they, themselves, are in a sense of entitlement? There is nothing they don't want or think they deserve. What they want most of all is perfection in whites along with sentencing them to a lifetime of guilt and regret and sacrifice and an acknowledgement of black supremacy thrown in for good measure. (Blacks didn't get the memo explaining that life is not fair, especially in a capitalistic country. ) Face it. America is where a hybrid of people who are descended from slaves live, but it ain't really our country. Yes, this group has done as much as whites have to build it; but not more. And in case y'all haven't noticed, when it comes to the population, black people are in the minority. Those are the breaks! So take the advice of a 90 year old cynic, and start treading water in the mainstream. As an individual, a black person can do fairly well for themself with a little effort and focus. Just keep on truckin' and bear in mind that the Universe don't give a shit about you and your blubbering grievances. Blaze your path and hope you catch a few breaks. BTW, Troy, this is Cynque. I finally figured out to sign in from my smart phone with the new password you provided me.

I wil preface my feedback to this tripe with the annoincement that due to a plethora of problems with forgottrn passwords, a new e-mail address, hackers and entanglements, and an obsolete computer, in order to post on this site using my android phone, I have had to lay to rest my "Cynique" user name and resurrect her as "Contrarian". It's like I outlived my old identity after reaching age 90, but for some ungodly reason my spirit is still loitering around, as skeptical and cynical as ever, thanks to the dire state of the world in general and African Americans in particular. Skimming through some of the long tedious posts on this site reminds me why I go on frequent hiatus. Hot air exhausts me. But I digress. (Nobody cares what I think and the feeling is mutual.) Since I've divorced myself from the black race I can say without reservation that what the tight-assed suck up Jeromex, regurgitates is true. This victim of the Stockholm syndrome which has reduced him to a groveling minion who has become besotted with his oppressors, is now eager to take their side and bad mouth niggas. So he says what black folks don't want to hear because the truth hurts, and is something we only want to hear about the blue eyed devils - whose dirty deeds excuse ninjas for not doing right because white people are evil and stupid too. So there. America the beautiful - the land of equal opportunity. No wonder Trump is leading in the polls.