Update for Everyone VII: Insert Something Philosophical Sounding Here

[OSR stands with Israel]

>most dads: goodnight son I love you

>my dad: you are more conservative than your 65 year old dad, shame on you *walks away*

Have you changed your dad's political beliefs on any issues or visa versa


For me I have convinced him to support more neoliberal policies on economic issues while was able to convince me to change my opinion big time on trade with China(on other trade issues I have made him more supportive on trade). On the other hand we disagree massively on foriegn policy with him being way less supportive of interventionism than I am .

On cultural issues it depends on the issue , on some issues I have convinced him to be more liberal and some vica versa

[Co-Chair Bagel23]

>most dads: goodnight son I love you

>my dad: you are more conservative than your 65 year old dad, shame on you *walks away*

Have you changed your dad's political beliefs on any issues or visa versa


For me I have convinced him to support more neoliberal policies on economic issues while was able to convince me to change my opinion big time on trade with China(on other trade issues I have made him more supportive on trade). On the other hand we disagree massively on foriegn policy with him being way less supportive of interventionism than I am .

On cultural issues it depends on the issue , on some issues I have convinced him to be more liberal and some vica versa

Not really, I have stayed the same and he has gone further left. Like he used to be anti lgbt for his whole life, but changed around 2015, he used to be pro-life, but he's been pro choice since 2018, and he has not really convinced me of much. I am one of the most conservative people in my family in both politics and religion, and as you know, I am not particularly conservative in either of those regards myself. I have hardly changed on any issues my whole life, but he flip flops and waffles too much for my taste. Like he must have changed his presidential primary opinion almost ten times since the start of 2019, meanwhile I was always for Delaney on the contingent that Biden jumps in, and now I am for Biden. It's funny though because there is a massive disconnect between political ideology moderation and partisanship that not enough people get. I am very bipartisan once people get into office on ideology and bills, and I am not a far left wing firebrand, but I am fiercely partisan in voting. I will hardly ever vote for a Republican, meanwhile Warrenites and others like them will vote Baker and stuff, and my dad will occasionally fawn for people like McCain or say they won't vote for Warren as the nominee.

We also clash quite a bit over subcontinent issues. Despite being comparatively objective given his upbringing, he's still way too pro Pakistan for my taste, and I'm not afraid to push back and question that kind of stuff. ie. I love India like it is my ancestral motherland (because it is), completely supporting India in the 1971 war, and acknowledging the Bengali genocide, calling out radical Islamic terrorism by its name, I don't really like Jinnah, just because they elected a woman to PM does not make them woke lmao, the frontier corps are essentially barbarians, a wall must be built with Afghanistan to keep those radical mooching Pashtun stone age cave dwellers out, and deport many of the Pashtun refugees, etc.  

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

So....I was in a manically depressed state for most of if not all of last week. Came damn near close to being hospitalized, but fortunately it's seemed to pass.

[BP🌹]

I don't mean to overshadow anyone, but for a variety of reasons, I think it's best that I be done here.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

My weight loss has slowed since the first week, but it's still going down:

1/10: 360.4
1/17: 345.8
1/24: 342.0
1/31: 338.4

I'm planning to go to this adventure tower/ropes course in my hometown that has a 300-pound weight limit to celebrate when I'm under 300.  I'll probably wait until 290 or so, just to be sure that daily fluctuations, shoes, and a different scale won't accidentally put me over (if they actually weigh you, that is).

[Co-Chair Bagel23]

My weight loss has slowed since the first week, but it's still going down:

1/10: 360.4
1/17: 345.8
1/24: 342.0
1/31: 338.4

I'm planning to go to this adventure tower/ropes course in my hometown that has a 300-pound weight limit to celebrate when I'm under 300.  I'll probably wait until 290 or so, just to be sure that daily fluctuations, shoes, and a different scale won't accidentally put me over (if they actually weigh you, that is).

You are losing weight at a very rapid pace, please be careful.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I don't mean to overshadow anyone, but for a variety of reasons, I think it's best that I be done here.

I like you. I think you’re a brave, funny, and interesting poster. Don’t let the echo chamber drive you out!

[100% pro-life no matter what]

My weight loss has slowed since the first week, but it's still going down:

1/10: 360.4
1/17: 345.8
1/24: 342.0
1/31: 338.4

I'm planning to go to this adventure tower/ropes course in my hometown that has a 300-pound weight limit to celebrate when I'm under 300.  I'll probably wait until 290 or so, just to be sure that daily fluctuations, shoes, and a different scale won't accidentally put me over (if they actually weigh you, that is).

You are losing weight at a very rapid pace, please be careful.

It really hasn't been that rapid (apart from week 1, which was really losing the bloat and low hanging fruit) when you remember that my weight is like twice of a "normal person", so it's not that much percentage wise.  And, it's not like I'm starving myself or something.   Someone my age and weight could burn 3000 calories in a day without getting out of bed, but the problem was that I was used to 4000+ calories a day.  On Nutrisystem, I'm averaging about 1250, except for the occasional treat.

[diptheriadan]

ER, if you don't mind me asking, how tall are you?

[Diabolical Materialism]

I haven't listened to anything other than Limp Bizkit and Nsync in a few days. I promise I have good music taste.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

ER, if you don't mind me asking, how tall are you?

6'5"

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Joe Pera’s adult swim show might have stopped a suicide attempt on my part. The show is that funny and cathartic. It’s Mr. Rodgers but for adults.

EDIT: This meant from the last two weeks. I’m actually totally fine tonight. Please don’t worry

[BP🌹]

I don't mean to overshadow anyone, but for a variety of reasons, I think it's best that I be done here.

I like you. I think you’re a brave, funny, and interesting poster. Don’t let the echo chamber drive you out!

Thanks. I think the same about you.

But that's not really why - this place would be much less entertaining if my views weren't at odds with the vast majority on here (and I suspect you relate).

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Warren volunteer stopped by my house today. First instance I've seen of that happening, well, anywhere I've lived. I appreciate the effort, though in my case it may not be put to good use.

In any case, had second date yesterday. More questions than answers right now on my part.

[President of the great nation of 🏳️‍⚧️]

Why is a name change so complicated in North Carolina?

[Hammy]

Having bipolar sucks and I've been stuck in a depressive state for like six weeks without any trigger I can think of and, oddly, lacking most of the emotional symptoms that come with it.

[BP🌹]

Some mysterious force keeps pulling me back towards this site. Still, I'm going to try to scale back my involvement.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Some mysterious force keeps pulling me back towards this site.

I think you're growing on us. Good to know we're growing on you too.

[Hammy]

Some mysterious force keeps pulling me back towards this site. Still, I'm going to try to scale back my involvement.

Could be that it's a good outlet. I come here specifically to jump into political arguments and get out a lot of what's on my mind relating to current events and such, since I'm not concerned here with whether someone's not going to like me over what I say.

[Co-Chair Bagel23]

Some mysterious force keeps pulling me back towards this site. Still, I'm going to try to scale back my involvement.

Atlas is a cruel mistress that is not kept waiting easily, you can check out any time you want, but you can never leave (mostly). Take that as a life lesson tovarisch.

[Co-Chair Bagel23]

Spring cleaning gonna be a b!tch

my dad and I are transforming this attic into a man cave haha, we mounted this tv up and now im posing with it like a goof with a prize lol

We dusted up the room a bit and put that thing up, but still a lot of work to do in terms of clearing out and maybe even putting in a rubber tile floor.

Baby steps till we get er done

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

Yesterday, I spent 2+ hours downtown Waterloo alongside my mom going to every campaign office in the county. I already went to Warren's a little while ago, so we didn't go there, but I went hopping across downtown seeing the offices of Yang, Buttigieg, Klobuchar, Biden, and Steyer in that order. It's very intriguing listening to people who are so passionate in who they're supporting that they're willing to travel all the way to Iowa from Florida, Rhode Island, or even Greece to help support the candidates that they care about. I also got a whole bunch of stickers and buttons out of it, and even some campaign signs from Klobuchar's people.

Before I get into what I did yesterday, I'll talk briefly about Warren's place. It was really two guys in a room downtown with a giant Iowan flag and a whole bunch of Warren signs. They also had one of those cardboard statue things where you could take a picture with Elizabeth. Me and my mom had a nice and lengthy conversation with them about Warren, her ideas, what it takes to win the presidency, and how we should defeat Trump.

Anyways, the first visti at Yang's office was fairly brief. It was pretty much also just two guys in a room with laptops and Andrew Yang stuff. We talked about Universal Basic Income and what makes a candidate different from another.

Buttigieg was these three women in a giant room with Pete 2020 signs plastered throughout. My mom, who is fairly interested in politics, mentioned this one Chris Hayes pod she was listening to about how to become the president of the United States, and one of the Pete gals went back and forth with her a little about that.

After trekking across downtown finding any other offices, we discovered Klobuchar's office, which was also made up three women. As some of you may know, Amy is currently my first preference, and I had a lot of fun talking to one of the gals there who was REALLY excited about working for her. She made a whole deal about "data, data, data." She apparently majored in mathematics at the University of Northern Iowa. It was fun talking to them. I even gave a little improvised speech and stuff. Very high energy people.

Biden's was probably the most different one of the six I went to. It was actually very close to Klobuchar's place, and so we didn't have to walk far to get there. When we first entered the door, there were about 8 or so people sitting and talking at a table with one guy in the corner of the room taking calls with his air pods. For the first 15 seconds or so of us being there, we were wondering if we were even supposed to be there. Then, a guy and two gals from the table got up and started talking to us. They went on and on and on about his experience, the respect that world leaders and politicians have for him, how he's gone through a lot in his life, his compassion and integrity, and also how he's the only one who actually can beat Trump. The guy asked my mom to honestly tell them who she's thinkg about supporting at the caucuses on Monday. She said she was undecided, but leaning towards Warren and Klobuchar, especially as she thinks it would be great having a woman elected on the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment. He then asks why she's thinking about supporting them, and she mentions Warren's several ideas, which was quickly followed up by him smugly replying with "Do you actually think she'll get any of those done?" During the middle of the conversation, the math major I mentioned earlier said that Klobuchar's people were having a massive dinner at their place, but they couldn't eat it all, so they invited the Biden gang to come along. So yeah, expect a Biden/Klobuchar ticket at the convention in Milwaukee this summer.

Finally, and last but not least, we saw Steyer. Unlocking the door for us was this one gentleman who was alone in the building because the rest of the people there were out canvassing. He welcomed us, and sat us down at his desk with a window out facing the Cedar River where we talked about how Tom and Donald are very different, the cool and epic things Steyer has done, and his plans for the country.

Overall, a very fun journey, and I can't wait to be an observer at the caucus this Monday.

-snip-

No visit to Bernie's office?

He has an office?

Why wouldn't he have a campaign office in Iowa?

Actually, now that you mention it, I did go to a Bernie rally at an old church he's using as his offices. So technically I've been there

UPDATE - I WENT TO THE BERNIE HQ!

I went there last Friday, at an old former church near an intersection with a gas station and a Zionist church. Very crowded and busy, that's for sure, but I went during caucus crunch time, so don't color me surprised. We talked to the people who were leading the office, who were talking at a fold-up table not too differently from how Biden's people were. The guy who talked to us got up from his chair and accidentally knocked over the coffee cup he had on the floor with his leg. Apparently, the people there do that a lot, and that was the 2nd time he did it that day. I could feel the spilled caffeine in the air, that's for sure. He took us to the back and was VERY generous with giving away free buttons and bumper stickers. Especially the bumper stickers.



Overall, I'm very hype about observing tomorrow night's caucus live in person. It's so surreal to me...the national spotlight being shined on my front porch. All of these Democrats coming here to Iowa and Waterloo, seeing Meet The Press and other political news shows in Des Moines cafés, it's so crazy. And when Tuesday happens, and the results come on CNN, people will shift their focus to New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina. The onslaught of being subjected to non-stop campaign ads, the candidates and news people and political junkies coming to MY home state, it'll all take a pause. At least a brief pause. When Milwaukee happens, and the Democrats settle on a final candidate, it's gonna be campaign mudslinging all over again. It's crazy. It's f**king crazy. But what is about to happen tomorrow is important, and witnessing the first ever election in this nation happen in REAL LIFE in front of my own eyes while the rest of the world just sits on their couches while watching CNN? That's...like...wow. Can't wait.

Let's make history.

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

Oh! Also there's a sidenote I forgot to mention. While I was on campaign row visiting all of those campaign stops, I got a bunch of stickers out of it. So, I decided to decorate one of my school folders with campaign stickers.





I'm a little proud of it.

edit: oh yeah i forgot to mention I WAS AT A KLOBUCHAR RALLY LAST NIGHT AND I WAVED AT HER AS SHE WAS GETTING ON STAGE AND SHE WAVED BACK AND I GOT TO MEET HER AND TAKE PICS WITH HER (that i won't post here because i can only imagine where my picture will end up) OH MY GOD I LOVE IT I LOVE IT KLOBUCHAR NOTICED MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

My cousin Elaine (age 18ish) got her driver's license the other day after several attempts and on Facebook one of my older relatives just commented "Oh boy", with no punctuation.

[John Dule]

I've been pretty sick these past few days, hence my increased time on this forum. My girlfriend made me hot soup and tea, and we spent the day studying and relaxing together. I don't know what I did to deserve her, but I love her so much.

Her parents are caught in the middle of the Coronavirus outbreak right now and I don't know what to do to distract her/make her feel at ease. Hopefully I'll feel better soon so I can return the favor to her.