Trump - 4 more years of this at least...

[sugilite:Me]

Mid terms bro, nothing much changed since then. Swing voters cannot stand Trump.
Everything else you posted is purely whimsical. Good on you for keeping your chin up though.
Get comfy on that waiting chair

[Al Bundy 4eva!]

Wokeness has turned into a weird type of religion as more people move away from real religion, and the mainstream media has basically become their church service.

[1/32 man]

In reality they are probably the fringe people who would be unproductive, argumentative, and generally annoying, and therefore the first to be removed or excluded from any society that formed so the rest can get on with living sensibly with each other.

That would be TDL then.

The more I read of his copious words the more I think he is a troll working for the enemy.....whoever they are.

I mean that bit about not being a particular fan of Carlson...if you couldnt see that he was a mouth for hire then what else cant you see?

[TheDemonLord]

That would be TDL then.

Indeed.... Right up until you realise that they are correct and that your society is worse off for it.

Case in point - is NZ doing better pre or post pandemic?

I've been on record saying what we were doing was a big over-reaction and that we would pay for the consequences. With all the inflation and cost of living crisis, it looks a lot like I was right.

The more I read of his copious words the more I think he is a troll working for the enemy.....whoever they are.

Serious question then:

what 'Enemy' would I be working for?

One that wants to leave you alone so you can live your life as you see fit?

Ah! Curses! I've been Rattled! Such evil and nefarious plans of wanting people to self-actualize!

On top of that, If I was 'working' for the enemy, I'd expect to get paid - sadly, there are no big donations from overseas organizations into my Bank account...

But if I was a raving lefty...

I mean that bit about not being a particular fan of Carlson...if you couldnt see that he was a mouth for hire then what else cant you see?

Okay then - can you show a number of Quotes and Posts from me where I cite Fox/Tucker as an authoritative source?

I'm aware of Tucker and have seen the occassional clip of him, I've seen interviews of his on other people's shows who I do watch - but for his Fox show - I don't watch Fox and I don't watch him.

[TheDemonLord]

Wokeness has turned into a weird type of religion as more people move away from real religion, and the mainstream media has basically become their church service.

Jokes aside, I partially agree - but not for the reasons stated.

I've said elsewhere that I grew up in a Religious household - as such I saw a wide range of Religious types. There are the Conservative Religious types - the 'My Father was a Christian and my father before him and I'll be christian till the day I die and this is a Christian Nation and....'

But there are also the recent convert types - who have suddenly pinned their entire self-identity on being Christian and are the most obnoxious and evangelical of Christians.

I put it to you that this goes as far back as the French Revolution (perhaps even earlier) - that there is a certain person who needs so desperately 'something to believe in' - that they supplant a traditional Religion with a modern artificial belief system.

For my usual detractors - before you jump down my throats - think of the people who believe in Astrology, or Crystals or any N number of New-age Crap - I'm sure you've met some of these people and I'm sure now that I've pointed this out, you've got someone who immediately springs to mind.

Most of this stuff is harmless - Astrology doesn't really do much except fleece the gullible from their money.

The problem is that Wokeness (and realistically all modern Marxist derived belief systems) has all the negative properties of a Religion, with none of the redeeming properties.

Original Sin = Anyone who you perceive to be better off than you (Straight White Men, the Rich, The Elites etc.)
A Bible = Das Kapital and The Communist Manifesto
Repentance = Checking your Privilege
Heaven = Communist Utopia (A Stateless, classless, moneyless society)
The Messiah = Karl Marx
Satan = Capitalism

You have all you need for a belief system, but whereas most modern religions internalize the struggle (for example the modern Islamic conception of Jihad being the internal struggle to adhere to the will of Allah against the temptations of the world), Wokeness/Marxism externalizes this struggle in a call for Revolution.

Furthermore, unlike other Religions that have elements of Humility built into them (even if their adherants are sometimes terrible as this... Looking at you Televangelists...) Marxism has Jealousy built into it. There's no Gratitude.

So yes, Wokeism and all the other Marxist derived claptrap is a new Religion of sorts, but it's not to 'pull people away from the Church' - it's that there is a type of person who needs something to believe in and if they aren't believing in a traditional religion (or have outright rejected traditional religions) then they latch onto a new Religion.

[nerrrd]

Indeed.... Right up until you realise that they are correct and that your society is worse off for it.

Case in point - is NZ doing better pre or post pandemic?

I've been on record saying what we were doing was a big over-reaction and that we would pay for the consequences. With all the inflation and cost of living crisis, it looks a lot like I was right.

I don't understand your point here, you seem to be suggesting that we had a choice in whether to 'take part' in Covid or not. How could the country possibly be better off after having to deal with a worldwide pandemic which affected everyone, um, worldwide? Especially a country so heavily dependent on exports and tourism?

Our reaction was in line with most other comparable countries, and we're bloody lucky it wasn't worse, because I agree, we barely got through it. If a significantly worse pandemic comes along, it won't just be toilet paper that people will be hoarding.

What it has done is exposed the fragility of our economy, infrastructure, institutions and psyches, which have all been in managed decline since the 1980s (or before that when NZ was still a wealthy country). We've been propping everything up with debt since then, all the while telling people that you can do that while simultaneously cutting taxes and everything will be just fine. Modern life is full of these kinds of contradictions that don't make sense on a personal level, so we're having to live every day in a kind of forced denial that's constantly undermining our psychological well-being. At least it is mine, anyway.

[pritch]

I've been on record saying what we were doing was a big over-reaction and that we would pay for the consequences. With all the inflation and cost of living crisis, it looks a lot like I was right.

That's almost amusing. Almost. NZ inflation is lower than most comparable countries and out debt to GDP ratio is the envy of many. The NZ economy is rated one of the best in the OECD.

In addition to that our COVID response was rated one of the best in the world.

Some people are hard to please. Then again, some people have a very tenuous grasp on reality.

[Al Bundy 4eva!]

That's almost amusing. Almost. NZ inflation is lower than most comparable countries and out debt to GDP ratio is the envy of many. The NZ economy is rated one of the best in the OECD.

In addition to that our COVID response was rated one of the best in the world.

Some people are hard to please. Then again, some people have a very tenuous grasp on reality.

Stop parroting Grant Robinson you brainwashed puppet.

Mortgage repayments are going to double for half of all mortgage holders this year or on average $18,000 annual pay decrease to the average Kiwi house hold, this will flow on into rents.

Add to that Wages have not kept up with inflation

Who are you comparing our inflation to ? Venezuela?

[TheDemonLord]

That's almost amusing. Almost. NZ inflation is lower than most comparable countries and out debt to GDP ratio is the envy of many. The NZ economy is rated one of the best in the OECD.

In addition to that our COVID response was rated one of the best in the world.

Some people are hard to please. Then again, some people have a very tenuous grasp on reality.

Except Taiwan.

You remember? When I posted the Graphs that showed their Inflation was under control?

See, the bit that you are dishonestly omitting (and I say Dishonest, cause I've pointed it out to you multiple times):

The countries you are comparing us to all did the same thing and therefore is no comparison at all.

I mean, we even have the studies now:

Lockdowns - no meaningful impact on the spread of Covid
Masks - no meaningful impact on the spread of Covid
Vaccines - no meaningful impact on the spread of Covid

What helped in NZ was:

- Geographic isolation
- low population density
- single digit points of entry and exit
- Higher UV Radiation
- No mass transit systems

None of which are or where Government Policy.

Again - Other countries did the exact same thing we did and had different outcomes, therefore what was done had no meaningful impact.

[TheDemonLord]

I don't understand your point here, you seem to be suggesting that we had a choice in whether to 'take part' in Covid or not. How could the country possibly be better off after having to deal with a worldwide pandemic which affected everyone, um, worldwide? Especially a country so heavily dependent on exports and tourism?

We had a choice whether to Lockdown or not.
We had a choice to borrow/print Billions of dollars and cause rampant inflation.

We had multiple choices.

Our reaction was in line with most other comparable countries, and we're bloody lucky it wasn't worse, because I agree, we barely got through it. If a significantly worse pandemic comes along, it won't just be toilet paper that people will be hoarding.

I agree our reaction was in line, which is why we are suffering the self-imposed consequences of those actions.

Taiwan, did a better job. So did Sweden (Until Putin invaded Ukraine...)

What it has done is exposed the fragility of our economy, infrastructure, institutions and psyches, which have all been in managed decline since the 1980s (or before that when NZ was still a wealthy country). We've been propping everything up with debt since then, all the while telling people that you can do that while simultaneously cutting taxes and everything will be just fine. Modern life is full of these kinds of contradictions that don't make sense on a personal level, so we're having to live every day in a kind of forced denial that's constantly undermining our psychological well-being. At least it is mine, anyway.

Okay - Time-out for just a teensy tiny second.

I'm going to ask 2 key questions and I want your honest answers.

1: Do you think Society, in NZ, has gotten more Conservative or less Conservative since the 1980s?
2: Has the amount of Government regulation increased or decreased since the 1980s?

There's some anicillary points about Global Trade, Societal Homogenity etc. but they distract.

See, I put it to you that since the 1980s and specifically after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the 'West' thinking it had won and beaten the Marxists, relaxed on it's laurels and has moved significantly to the left ever since. The cost of doing business has gone up enormously, and as a society we have moved away from individualist principles and towards collectivist principles.

The decline you speak of, I don't entirely disagree with your summation of it, what I disagree with is that there's a contradiction - there isn't.

There's a causal link between the embracing of destructive ideas under the guise of 'progress' and the issues that you've identified.

You think I'm either Mad, a Troll, Crazy, Ignorant, or whatever epithet you feel applies - but that's simply because I reject the 'perceived wisdom' that is the foundation of these destructive ideas. In the worldview that I hold, there is no contradiction.

As you said so yourself - the contradiction as you see it is undermining your psychological Well-being. I don't disagree...

The Soviets called this process 'Demoralization' - Yuri Bezmenov spoke about it, Gramsci spoke about it - this is the process of deliberately making a populace dependent and hopeless so they will usher in the Glorious Revolution.

Do you want a Revolution? I'm picking not.

I have a degree of sympathy for your psychological well-being, since I know that this is the intended effect. Where my sympathy ends is that I've told you the solution to the problem, yet you don't want to hear or believe it - at which point you are choosing to embrace the ideas that are hastening your own torment.

[nerrrd]

We had choices in how to react, sure, but I still think that the choices that were made were completely reasonable at the time, in context. Lessons need to be learned, but those lessons were not as 'obvious' at the time as many, such as yourself, are now claiming.

I have no doubt there are people whose lives were saved due to at least some of the Covid measures taken. I know you think they're all old and infirm so it wasn't really worth paying such a high price to save them, and many are suffering now due to those measures, but being alive is generally considered 'better off' than being dead, so by that measure some are indeed better off.

I'm not really in a position to comment on what counts as 'conservative' in your mind, I'm not that politically astute. What I remember from before the 80s are wage freezes, price freezes, carless days, unions, strikes, high taxes but excellent health and education systems, government sponsored job creation schemes like 'think big' and the railways, and NZ being about to default on its debt repayments - all coming to a head with the National government under Muldoon.

Then suddenly it was all turned on its head under the Lange labour government, privatisation, deregulation, tax cuts and GST, benefit cuts, no more blue collar unions thanks to the Employment Contracts Act (the professionals were way too smart to give up theirs) and lets face it, most of those jobs were going to China anyway, pressure on wages (so they no longer kept pace with inflation), same with working conditions, property investment becoming the safest way to make money (to supplement the aforementioned wages) hence demand driving housing prices higher and higher, the health and education systems in steady decline...all this under Labour/National turn and turn about.

Throw in an earthquake or two and a pandemic and here we are. Now I'm even more depressed. What was the question again?

[F5 Dave]

Stop parroting Grant Robinson you brainwashed puppet.

Mortgage repayments are going to double for half of all mortgage holders this year or on average $18,000 annual pay decrease to the average Kiwi house hold, this will flow on into rents.

Add to that Wages have not kept up with inflation

Who are you comparing our inflation to ? Venezuela?

Oh, wait. Should we have ticked the box that said

Avoid global inflation ?

Ah damn! We really should have you in power making the decisions.

[nerrrd]

Ooops, how did all this end up in the Trump thread?

Getting things back on topic: I never liked the guy.

[Al Bundy 4eva!]

Oh, wait. Should we have ticked the box that said

Avoid global inflation ?

Ah damn! We really should have you in power making the decisions.

Socialist policies made things much worse.

1: Labour should not have had such Draconian immigration policies during the scamdemic, immigration would have help ease price pressures, and labour shortages, and before you start saying "what about covaids at the border?"

What about it? Look at China opening up with half the population vaccinated, last time I seen we had 10s of thousands of covaids case's, and were not dieing in the streets.

2: Capitalism is not a perfect answer, but as you can see it's far better than the alternative, you need competition to drive down prices, where not a big country, we can let a lot more competitive companies and labour in to fill the gaps to drive down inflation.

3: If these policies were in place during covaids, there would have been less need to print money to keep the economy afloat, steady house prices not like the volatile house prices we have now, more imported UK/Asian police and medical staff.

Nothing scary in these policies besides the liberal woke worried about the poor being left behind...the poor are being left behind in an inflationary environment

I secretly hope New Zealand vote socialist labour in for another term, because stupid Kiwis get what they deserve.

[pete376403]

There is insufficient housing for the population we have now, where would you propose the additional immigrants live?