AMA Fuzzy Bear (approaching age 65 version)

[Fuzzy Bear]

Where do you get your news?  Specific TV channels, websites, etc.

A disproportionate amount of news I get from local news.  I certainly watch FOX News, but mostly Tucker Carlson.  It's a purely political show, but Carlson's shows reflect far more thoughtfulness and open-mindedness.  Carlson lets his guests talk, he doesn't interrupt them, he doesn't try to insert endless purely partisan talking points (as, say, Hannity and Ingraham do) and he's more likely to engage in trans-partisan conversations where he is able to show important areas of agreement with persons who, otherwise, have different outlooks in life.

I do realize that this isn't "news"; it's political commentary.  I do research websites for news nowadays, and different ones, but with the knowledge that all sources are politicized these days.  I do not believe that FOX News is "fair and balanced"; they are a conservative news outlet, but they are not under the thumb of Google, Facebook (oops, "Meta"), Twitter, Amazon, Apple, etc.  They have more independence because they are not shills for China (as, sadly, much of the MSM are today, and not without reason; China has great financial leverage over Silicon Valley).  I've come to the conclusion that I'm not going to get straight news anywhere.  So I will look at issues from a multitude of sources, do research where I can, and make up my own mind.

[Fuzzy Bear]

What are some of your favorite places in each region of Florida?

Favorite city:  Tampa, where I spent my young manhood (age 26-29).

Where I'd love to live:  Near Tallahassee, where there are universities and sports.

Favorite vacation spot:  Orlando; it's a no-brainer there.

I used to love Ft. Lauderdale and the surrounding area.  I'm at a point where I'm not a big fan of lots of city driving, and Broward County is much more crowded than it was 25 years ago.

I guess I've become a homebody.  Most of my trips have been to visit family in Alabama and Ohio.

[GregTheGreat657]

Which Florida sports teams do you root for, if you follow sports?

[Fuzzy Bear]

Which Florida sports teams do you root for, if you follow sports?

I follow all their college teams.  My favorite is the Miami Hurricanes, but I'll root for whichever Florida team has the best shot at the National Championship.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Do you believe in the Rapture as it's typically depicted in Evangelical circles? I'm not a believer myself, but even when I was that was a concept that I felt was unbiblical.

Yes.  Indeed, I am expecting it any day.  There is nothing I can think of, this side of Heaven, that would have to happen in order for Christ to come for his Church.  (I'm certainly a Pre-Tribulation believer, with the understanding that there is debate on that.)

[Mr. Smith]

Did you take any foreign languages in College or High School? Which ones?

[Fuzzy Bear]

1. How come you dislike Richard Nixon given you like Trump given many of their similarities(I’d argue Nixon was an intelligent version of Trump) and the fact that many Trump fans also seem to like Nixon as well

Growing up, I viewed Nixon as "the enemy" and I grew up in a household that believed that.  I rooted for his impeachment and thought of Nixon as irrationally in my youth as many here think of Trump today.  And there was reason for it.  Trump sent mean Tweets.  Nixon sent young man to war for years, racking up 1k dead a week at times, after promising to have a Secret Plan to end the War.  

Nixon, unlike Trump, really DID go mad in the White House.  The Final Days were pretty alcohol soaked, but it was Nixon's paranoia that caused him to involve himself and his highest aides in the Watergate Scandal.  It was his Narcissism that sunk him.  When the existence of his tapes were revealed, the Ervin Committee immediately subpoenaed them.  At that time, Nixon could have simply claimed Executive Privilege, claimed that those tapes were his, and his, alone, and he could have burned them in a World Class Bonfire on the White House lawn, with smores for the masses.  There would have been weeping and gnashing of teeth, but that (rightly or wrongly) would have ended the matter.  There would be no impeachment hearings.  There would have been no resignation.  Impeachment was something that was considered almost unthinkable at the time, and impeachment only gained the support it did because Nixon lost in Court and damning tapes because public.  (At one point during Watergate, Nixon stated:  "If the President does it, it is not illegal."  That is a statement that is true for any number of things even now, and adults at the time, Democrats and Republicans, considered that an unremarkable statement as it applied to the Watergate scandal.)

Absent Watergate, I would state that Nixon would have been rated a good President, possibly a great one.  His foreign policy was outside the box and productive; the balance of power Nixon achieved between the USSR and China.  Domestically, he was the most liberal President in terms of economic policies from his time in office until Obama.  He was not a Civil Liberties President, but Nixon, not unlike Trump, was bedeviled by the "intelligence community" in the form of J. Edgar Hoover and JCS chair Admiral Thomas Moorer, who utilized a Navy Yeoman to spy on Nixon and Henry Kissinger.  Nixon's preoccupation with "leakers" was far from unfounded.

Watergate DID happen, however, and Nixon deserves the blame he received.  He was not the worst President we ever had, but it's hard to rank him in the top half with the negatives he brings to the equation.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Did you take any foreign languages in College or High School? Which ones?

I took Spanish in High School, and I regret not applying myself more stringently to learning it. 

[Fuzzy Bear]

2. Who is the best president we never had(from the people who ran in the primaries in either the Republican or Democratic primaries)

Republicans

Charles Evans Hughes
Rick Santorum
Bob Dole

Democrats

Alfred E. Smith
Hubert H. Humphrey
Henry M. Jackson

3. Are you an NBA fan

Not now.  Not with their support of BLM Rioters.

[beesley]

I always ask five questions in these.

1. Where does the name Fuzzy Bear come from?

2. Why did you assume I have a negative opinion of you? I don't, but some of your politics (not spectrum, but views on the election etc.) are very objectionable. Hope that clears that up my friend.

3. Do you let politics govern other preferences e.g. where you shop, which TV or sports you enjoy, which states you travel to?

4. Are you an outdoorsy person/do you like outdoor pursuits?

5. What is one non-political lesson you think me, in my twenties, should learn?

[Fuzzy Bear]

Why do you have the most popular AMA thread on Atlas forums?

Because I'm the opposite of most people here.  I'm old in a forum where most posters are younger than me.  I'm a Trump Supporter and populist religious conservative whose days of being politically active were in the Democratic Party in a predominately Left-leaning forum  I'm an Evangelical Christian in a forum where social liberalism is the norm.  I'm not your typical poster here.  Some people like me and some are curious.  And a few post her to try to catch me in some argument that they hope to use against me over and over.  I suppose those are the ingredients for a lot of visitors and posts on an AMA thread.

[Fuzzy Bear]

I always ask five questions in these.

1. Where does the name Fuzzy Bear come from? 

It's a pet name my wife had for me when I had a beard that stuck.

2. Why did you assume I have a negative opinion of you? I don't, but some of your politics (not spectrum, but views on the election etc.) are very objectionable. Hope that clears that up my friend.

This is good news.

I should say this regarding my views on the election:  If another nation's media and social media censored social media activity of one candidates supporters, engaged in a news blackout of relevant news stories (e. g. Hunter Biden) that would have helped that candidate, changed voting rules outside the Constitutional ways these rules are supposed to be changed in ways that are designed to favor that same candidate, change the way we count votes and which votes we count (specifically mail-in votes received after previously established deadlines) deny observers of the disfavored candidate the right to have observers watching the vote counts in major population hubs, engage in vote counting after telling observers that counting has stopped for the night, and having Courts fail to rule on the Constitutional issues raised, dismissing lawsuits without meaningful rulings, or by rulings by Judges who had been political allies of the favored faction, we would be calling in Amnesty International.  All of this and more happened.  To say that "Trump Won!" cannot be proven.  To say that the entire process was rigged against Trump is almost a prima facia fact.

Now, please understand that I have long considered our elections systems to be corrupted.  There's been more than one narrow loss that I've shaken my had at, Democratic AND Republican.  Nixon in Illinois and Texas in 1960.  Gore in Florida in 2000.  Controversies in Ohio's voting in 2004.  LBJ's Senatorial win in 1948 (that is one for the ages).  The first campaign I volunteered on from beginning to end concluded in a stolen election (and, yes, we were leading for a week in 1974).  I was active in politics in the 1970s and I learned how that happened.  I have a different view on elections than many, and one is an awareness that Machiavellian lowlifes are often in charge of counting the votes (even if they may resemble NPR commentators).  America has a long history of stolen elections.  Why people should view it as ridiculous that Trump, a man who became President without the approval of the Oligarchy, would be on the short end of that stick.

3. Do you let politics govern other preferences e.g. where you shop, which TV or sports you enjoy, which states you travel to?

Not where I shop, never.  I loathe Jeff Bezos but I've contributed to his good fortune by my Amazon activity.

To date I have allow politics to govern which states I go to.  The shows that I don't watch, I wouldn't watch if its cast were all MAGA Trumpers x 200.

4. Are you an outdoorsy person/do you like outdoor pursuits?

Not in Florida, except when my youngest son was a Cub Scout.  Florida is HOT and its physical environment can be daunting (reptiles and insects).

5. What is one non-political lesson you think me, in my twenties, should learn?

If you don't know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I hope you would remedy that situation this very minute.  "But as many as received Him, He gave them the right to be called the Sons of God."  He, and He alone, has made it possible for me, a sinful man (and, no, I am not confused about myself not being perfect) to stand blameless before a Perfect and Holy God.

Nothing is more important in life than knowing Jesus.  If you believe He is God's only Son who died for YOUR sins, every one you'll ever commit, confess that to Him and ask Him to be your Lord.  Nothing is more important.  If you are already in the faith, God Bless, and I pray you will grow in faith.  If not, the invitation is from Him (Jesus Christ) to you, directly.  I pray you will accept it.

God Bless.

[Chunk Yogurt for President!]

What is your favorite book of the Bible?

[Fuzzy Bear]

What is your favorite book of the Bible?

Probably John, in that it summarizes the whole Gospel, including the fact that Jesus has always been.  "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God."  If I had to go with one book of the Bible to explain to a believer what he/she needed to know what it took to be saved, John explains it more succinctly.

[Meclazine for Israel]

If you don't know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I hope you would remedy that situation this very minute.

God Bless.

Amen.

[Fuzzy Bear]

And a tangentially-related follow-up: why do you evidently believe that the rest of Atlas should continue to take such a poster as yourself who's viewed President Biden as a modern-day Marshal Petain since, at the very least, 10 months before he even took the oath-of-office seriously when you yourself had the following to say on this same exact matter in the past:

It is hard to take seriously a group of folks that viewed Trump as a modern-day Marshal Petain before he even took office.

Because Trump isn't senile and Biden is well on his way there.  People here do a poor job of knowing who's senile and who isn't.

LMAO wow. Paging r/SelfAwarewolves, because this may very well just be its peak.

[SNIP]

None of what you posted are "fact checks".  They are examples of you coming to different conclusions, or others coming to different conclusions than I have on a number of issues.  Many folks here disagree with me.  That's fine, but their contrary opinions, while they may have facts cited in support of them, are not facts themselves.  They are opinions, opinions which I disagree with.

I've changed my mind about many things in life.  I'm open to change my mind on the issues you cite.  Partisan Rat-Packing by the more hackish posters on Atlas isn't the way to do that.  

"Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings" is a constitutional fact. One simply can't disagree that it exists.

Racism being a public health crisis because racism is the reason that minority communities are in the conditions that they're in is a fact that has been established by scientific research. Wanna disprove it? Become a researcher, & conduct.

A number greater than 5 being greater than 5 is a simple, mathematical fact. You can't disagree & seek to claim that a number greater than 5 is actually lesser than the number 5. You can try, but you just look crazy. Wanna somehow try & disprove it? Become a mathematician, & be my guest at attempting it. Good luck with that, Fuzzy, & sincerely so at that.

Trump affairs have been admitted to in court. Wouldn't you know it(?), that's a legally-established fact. There being no such equivalent for the Bidens having even been alleged is also, wow, a fact. Wanna disprove it? Seduce Jill, & good luck.

The difference between gun safety & irresponsibility is a fact. Ask any responsible gun owner. I'm sure you know plenty.

The fact that there were people in the Maddow thread who acted just as complimentary toward Sandmann when won his lawsuit as they did Maddow when she won hers is also a hitherto linked-to fact. You can't claim that nobody on here acted as complimentary toward Sandmann as they did toward Maddow then the link disproving you is literally right there.

The fact that Biden didn't spend his campaign in his basement is, would you look at that(?), another hitherto linked-to fact.

And to come full-circle, the 25th Amendment's mention of "such other body as Congress may by law provide" is, once again, a simple, constitutional fact. Once again, you can't disagree with the fact that it exists. It literally just does.

Those aren't opinions: views &/or judgments that are formed about something without necessarily being based on either facts &/or knowledge. Those are, quite simply, literal facts: things that are known &/or have been proven to be true. You want an opinion, Fuzzy? Here's an opinion: you should stop saying stuff so matter-of-factly that can so easily be proven false? And so that I might meet the obligatory standards of an AMA, here's a question for you, Fuzzy: why won't you?

I'm going to go to sleep in a little bit.  Tomorrow, I'll get up and go to work.  I've answered all this; this stuff is all opinion, which I disagree with.  Learn to live with people who don't see things your way.

Your conclusion entirely depends on what your definition of the word "answer" is, because if it's the same as the rest of society's, then no, you certainly haven't. It appears that just as your analysis of the factual/opinionated dichotomy differs from the consensus of the rest of society, so too does your interpretation of what an answer just, y'know, is. Unlike you, I have no problem living in a society with people who see things differently than I do. No, what I have a problem with is people who are so far gone that they can look at literal facts & say, "no, I don't like this, so I'm just gonna ignore it now." It compels me to practically weep that such is the case. As many have noted, you were once a much better poster than whatever this cesspool of nonsense that you are today is. I truly pray that you find your way back to a modicum of sanity. I mean, you must feel some apprehension at posters who've known you for years not even recognizing what you've become.

Or do you not?

Did you ever think that I may have some apprehension of what THEY have become?  I could go on and on about this, but the embrace of the surveillance state, the approval for censoring and deplatforming person's with opposing views by people who claim to be Liberal here shocks me.  My identity as a Democrat was rooted in the idea that they were the Party of Free Speech and Open Discourse.  I find myself poles apart on THIS key issue with people here that I once thought were at least defenders of people's right to expression.  I never thought I'd be a partisan Republican because the DEMOCRATS were the authoritarians.

[Fuzzy Bear]

In your opinion, who was the best President of the last century? Which President do you believe was the most morally upright?

The most morally upright President of the last 100 years was probably Herbert Hoover.

The least morally upright President of the last 100 years was probably Bill Clinton, but I could be wrong.  We know about Clinton because he lived in an era where pols didn't keep secrets.

I'm curious, why Hoover over Eisenhower or Carter?

Eisenhower is my pick for the BEST President, but he had a wartime affair.  Hoover, whatever his shortcomings, was the most strait-laced President we have had, personally.

If you read the life story of Jimmy Carter, you will find an incredibly self-serving narcissist.  He's hid it well, but he's always been all about him.  Everything about him has been opportunism.  He's not the worst; in fact, he's better than most of our Presidents in this regard.  But Carter has been a manipulator of his own image his whole political life.  So, no, he doesn't get the prize here.

I answered this in criticizing Carter.  I realize I've been a bit unfair here.  For Carter to say in 1971 in his Georgia Governor's Inaugural Address, "I say to you, quite frankly, that the time for racial discrimination is over." took some courage.  In the book The Presidential Character, James David Barber made an observation about Carter's pre-Governor years and controversial issues; that Carter would take a stand on issues, even unpopular stands, but he did not LEAD.  Barber was something of a Democratic partisan for an academic, and he predicted success for Carter who would be an Active (versus Passive) Positive (versus Negative) President.  In truth, Carter's Presidency was much like his time in the 1960s; he STOOD, but he DID NOT LEAD.  

Herbert Hoover, on the other hand, led.  In 1921, Hoover was head of the American Relief Administration when he led the ARA to provide aid for the Soviet Union during the 1921-22 fashion.  He was heavily criticized for aiding Bolshevism for doing this.  His response was simple:  "Twenty million people are starving.  Whatever their politics, they shall be fed!"

This stance by Hoover required moral courage, but he did not waver.  The ARA was able to significantly able to mitigate the famine in the USSR; however bad it is, without the ARA under Hoover, it would have been much worse.

[E-Dawg]

With present-day hindsight, how would you have voted in presidential elections from 1920 to present? (or however far you feel like going back, it doesn't have to be that far). I'm especially curious if you stand by your 2004 and 2012 votes considering how partisan you are now.

[sting in the rafters]

1) Favorite Spielberg movie and why?
2) One of the most common counterarguments I’ve heard from conservative relatives regarding Medicare expansion is that it would compromise the quality of care for seniors that are already part of the program. As a newly eligible person, how do you personally believe you would be affected by alterations to the program?
3) If it’s not too personal are you choosing original Medicare or Medicare advantage? What informs your decision?
4) How do you reconcile the egalitarianism and rejection of greed inherent in Christ’s message (e.g. chasing the money lenders from the temple) with the American fusionist movement of fiscal and religious conservatism?

[Fuzzy Bear]

With present-day hindsight, how would you have voted in presidential elections from 1920 to present? (or however far you feel like going back, it doesn't have to be that far). I'm especially curious if you stand by your 2004 and 2012 votes considering how partisan you are now.

Let's see what I'd do now:

1920 - James M. Cox (D)
1924 - John W. Davis (D)
1928 - Alfred E. Smith (D)
1932 - Franklin D. Roosevelt (D)
1936 - Franklin D. Roosevelt (D)
1940 - Franklin D. Roosevelt (D)
1944 - Franklin D. Roosevelt (D)
1948 - Harry S. Truman (D)
1952 - Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) (a switch, as my mother ADORED Stevenson and I was raised to believe that Stevenson was "an intellectual".)
1956 - Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) - A switch, as I have come to see Eisenhower as the greatest President of my lifetime.)
1960 - John F. Kennedy (D)
1964 - Lyndon Baines Johnson (D) - On the Civil Rights issue, especially)
1968 - Hubert H. Humphrey (D) - Mostly because I know how Nixon turned out)
1972 - George McGovern (D) - Mostly because I know how Nixon turned out.  I have serious reservations about the whole of his platform, and I believe that his "reforms" ruined the Democratic Party long-term.)
1976 - Gerald Ford (R) - I believe, in retrospect, that he was the better man and that Carter was seriously over his head as President.)
1980 - Ellen McCormick (Right to Life Party) - I abstained in 1980.  I wish I had done this; it would have been an affirmative statement for me on the issue of Human Life.)
1984 - Ronald Reagan (R) - A switch from Walter Mondale, whom I believe would have been an awful President.  I thought his campaign was awful at the time.  I found him pandering and indecisive, and I did not see, even when voting for him, that he'd be anything special as a President.
1988 - Michael Dukakis (D) - He was better than Bush Globalism.  I would have voted for Ron Paul (Lib) back then, except that he wasn't on the ballot in Florida.
1992 - Ross Perot (I) - A switch from Bill Clinton.  I'm not particularly down on Bill Clinton, the President, but Perot was the only meaningful obstacle to destructive globalism.
1996 - Ross Perot (Ref) - Not as enthusiastically, but a switch from Bill Clinton for the same reasons.
2000 - Al Gore (D) - A switch; he would have been better than Bush.
2004 - John Kerry (D) - No change; he represented the best chance to get out of Iraq.
2008 - Barack Obama (D) - A switch over McCain, whom I believe was the better choice
2012 - Barack Obama (D) - No change.  Romney turned out to be a massive HP.  It is not Obama's Presidency that I loathe; it is his Post-Presidency.  He has turned out to reveal that he truly despises the WWC, and, as such, I have difficulty believing that he is interested in my welfare, personally, as I am an Evangelical Christian Gun Owner who isn't wealthy enough to contribute to campaigns.
2016 - Donald Trump (R) - Enthusiastically, and without apology.
2020 - Donald Trump (R) - Even more enthusiastically, and without apology, not just because of what the Democrats have morphed into, but because of Trump's real accomplishments that will, in the long run, be recognized by historians.

I am not a Republican Partisan at heart.  I cringe when I listen to some of the guests on shows like "Hannity"; you can see that they are hacks who still drink the Globalist Kool Aid and are still desirous of more "Nation Building".  In this present situation, however, Democrats have closed ranks against ordinary working people who oppose the sort of truly radical "social change" they propose.  These changes really are Neo-Marxist, and they undermine the idea of enumerated Constitutional Rights and Freedoms.  And while I don't condone the actions of the J6ers, I refuse to call it a coup.  (That concept is a lie that's being repeated, and I have no respect for anyone running for office who puts that canard forth).  I also support the Bill of Rights for all, and that includes the J6ers as much as anyone.  It is not "condoning their actions" to question the refusal to grant reasonable bail (a violation of the 4th Amendement) or housing them in Solitary Confinement when they are in PRETRIAL status (a violation of the 8th Amendment).  The people I am the most upset with are liberals who claim to be Civil Libertarians who are cheering on these assaults on Constitutional protections simply because they don't like Trump. 

[Fuzzy Bear]

1) Favorite Spielberg movie and why?

3) If it’s not too personal are you choosing original Medicare or Medicare advantage? What informs your decision?

As to Steven Spielberg's movies, I dislike most of them.  Lincoln would be a rare exception and my favorite.  I've suffered through some for family harmony, but I really don't enjoy them.

As to Medicare:  I'm signing up for Part A, but I'm still working and I have great insurance.  I also have a 16 year old son who has some medical needs, and I intend to stay working to keep him insured for as long as I can.  My wife is retired but homeschools him, and my health insurance is truly a blessing.  I haven't given the thought to it because I intend to work for as long as I can.

[Fuzzy Bear]

2) One of the most common counterarguments I’ve heard from conservative relatives regarding Medicare expansion is that it would compromise the quality of care for seniors that are already part of the program. As a newly eligible person, how do you personally believe you would be affected by alterations to the program?

I don't think about this specific question because I'm not going into Medicare right now (besides signing up for Medicare Part A, which is free and an entitlement).  I do think there should be universal healthcare in America and it's amazing to me that we've been talking about this for, literally, my whole life, but we're not any closer to it now than in 1960.

I just got back from a funeral for the father of a former co-worker of my wife whom we went to church with.  The entire family and friends were there, and two (2) facts hit me hard.  One was the fact that the man that died was almost 4 years younger than me.  The second thing is that I was one of the oldest people in the room, but I looked arguably the healthiest.  I saw people morbidly obese (I'm overweight, but they were much, much worse.), with bad backs, bad teeth, bad hearts and lungs, etc.  I'm been far from a Health Nut, but one of the things I realized is that I have had far better Health Insurance than most of these people.  These people were far from wealthy and many, I suspect, were uninsured.

I am very much torn these days because I believe America can, indeed, provide meaningful healthcare for all, to where people can get the Healthcare they need without going bankrupt, but the advocates of Universal Health Care all advocate other stuff that is utterly awful Woke garbage that undermines Constitutional Liberties.  This places me in a bind.  The thing I wonder about is why Biden didn't provide for Universal Health Care if he were going to "Go Big!".  This would have been preferable to the Green New Deal any day of the week.

[Meclazine for Israel]

How do you think you have changed the discussion on these forums?

On the day the admins get you to carry your wooden cross to the top of the hill and nail your hands and ankles to it, how do you think you will be remembered?0

[darklordoftech]

What do you think of Britney Spears being freed?

[Fuzzy Bear]

What do you think of Britney Spears being freed?

Long overdue.  She's hardly my idea of a responsible adult, but she's far from incompetent and in need of a conservatorship.