Radiorum

Trump is undermining one of the main checks and balances on presidential power. It’s the Senate’s job to confirm or oppose whoever the president nominates to serve in key government roles. Now, Trump is asking them to step aside, to allow his picks (however dangerous they may be). Trump seeks unilateral power - a step towards autocracy. He teases them with leadership positions: “Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, adding that he wants positions filled “IMMEDIATELY!” “What Trump is essentially doing is telling the Senate to give up one of its core constitutional roles,” said Sarah Binder, a constitutional expert at George Washington University. “The Senate’s role of advice and consent was to be a check on who the president wants to put in these positions.” The slide to autocracy has begun. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/11/12/trump-recess-appointments-how-they-work/

My sources are valid and not garbage. Yes, I believe that Trump is a Russian asset.

Like what? On this point, we disagree. Who are you to tell them that they are wrong? Here’s how I define myself: I am a vast population of cells with amazing powers. I can gather information from the environment – be aware of what is not me! – and create from that. I can be the breeze, or I can be the sunrise. I can be a storm, or I can be a fluffy blanket. Nobody knows how to be me, but me. I reach out, and I triumph within. I drink my coffee, and maybe a vodka later in the day, and I tell myself, “Everything is going to be okay.”

Lol

It depends on how you define ideology. If it is about reaching "ideals" then providing individuals with dignity-boosting jobs is definitely an ideal. Principles flow from ideology. We ALL have an ideology. It's your ideas about the world. Principles are the rules you follow in accordance with your ideology. But what of someone who does not see the world but only themselves? Such is Trump, who puts himself at the centre of the universe, and his primary principle is: "What is good for me?"

Lol. Should I talk slower?

Gosh, I feel like we have entered an Orwellian universe, where knowledge engineering has blurred the lines between truth and lies. Propaganda rules. If it comes down to a choice between believing Trump and his sycophants, or a wide variety of media that has no gain in lying, I'll take the media.

We can't make policy based on disgust. We either guarantee the rights of all, or human rights become meaningless. By denying them for who they are. And the simple fact is that transgender individuals are much more likely to be victims of crimes than criminals. Good for you! Glad to hear it. But it is what I do best.

It seems you are purposefully being obtuse. Okay, let's start by understanding what your identity is. It's who you are. It's the sum total of all your thoughts and feelings and motivations and perceptions and your take on the world. It's your self-awareness and your decision-making processes and your understanding of yourself. All of that is in your brain. To all cisgender males: can you imagine if you had all the same thought processes, perceptions, feelings, motivations, self-awareness, etc. you have now, but you had breasts and a vagina? How would that mess you up? To all cisgender females: can you imagine if you had all the same thought processes, perceptions, feelings, motivations, self-awareness, etc. you have now, but you had a penis? How would that mess you up?

Let's see what else Trump has done for Russia. Here are 18 reasons Trump could be a Russian asset He sent Covid-19 testing equipment to Putin at the height of the pandemic. He denounced U.S. efforts to combat Russian misinformation campaigns, going so far as to characterize Russia as a victim. He refused to say whether he wants our Ukrainian allies to prevail in the war against Russia. He talked of the possibility of lifting U.S. sanctions against Russia. He publicly congratulated Russia over a historic prisoner swap. He pointed to Putin for validation to justify his position on Ukraine. He celebrated the fact that Putin was echoing his talking points about the 2024 election and Trump’s multiple criminal indictments. He told a Mar-a-Lago audience how “smart” Putin was for invading a neighboring country. He described Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as “genius” and part of a “wonderful” strategy. Which came on the heels of years’ worth of Trump kowtowing, genuflecting and repeatedly showing abject weakness toward his Russian ally. And of course the big one: Trump blames Zelenskyy and U.S. for Putin’s war in Ukraine

Is "what you are" - who you are - your identity - stored in your body or your brain? I'm going to quote myself here in case you missed my previous post:

Well, whose problem is that? Sounds like fear - as in transphobic. You mean as in allowing themselves to be suppressed/oppressed for the comfort of others? What is abnormal for you is normal for them.

It does add new information, by random mistakes and accidents that evolve genes and genomes over time, and this has produced the vast diversity of life on this planet. Errors in DNA replication, DNA recombination, or DNA repair led to changes in DNA sequence, or the movement of transposable DNA elements (transposons) that colonize a genome and spread within it. Chromosomes have also grown by the insertion of viral elements that become part of the genome. So, all of these might be considered “inventive steps.” One of the things about the evolution of life on this planet that is difficult to wrap our minds around is the very long time it has been going on – billion of years. Genomes change very slowly. Consider humans and chimpanzees. We diverged from the common ancestor 5 million years ago, but our genomes remain largely identical. Citing a supernatural source is not rational at all. It refutes all the scientific evidence. Darwin never used the word “evolution.” He called it “descent by modification.” His theory of natural selection does not depend on understanding DNA. That’s right. The theory of evolution states that species change over time, the theory of natural selection describes the mechanism of the change. To me, God is beauty – and all else that exists. Nature, and the Universe itself – are God. In this way, I consider myself a scientific pantheist, a form of spirituality that fully embraces science. Here are the basic principles of scientific pantheism: Reverence, awe, wonder and a feeling of belonging to Nature and the wider Universe. Celebration of our lives in our bodies on this beautiful earth as a joy and a privilege. Respect and active care for the rights of all humans and other living beings. Promotion of non-discrimination, religious tolerance, freedom of and from religion and complete separation of state and religion. Realism – belief in a real external world that exists independent of human consciousness. Strong naturalism – without belief in supernatural realms, afterlives, beings or forces. Respect for reason, evidence and the scientific method as our best ways of understanding nature and the Cosmos. Finally, I want to thank you for your thoughtful response. I respect your right to your beliefs.

I was speaking to my personal beliefs. I don't believe in in some kind of force or entity of "good" and "evil" that exist as separate and self-directing capacities that can be separated from human behavior. You can't get a basket of "good" or "evil."

The problem arises when what we call "normal" becomes the only thing accepted. When saying someone is not "normal" is used as a way to put them down, or invalidate them. When you say "there is nothing normal about thinking you are something that you're not" - the first part of your statement depends on a fallacy - it's ludicrous to suggest a transgender person does not know who they are. I meant less judge of transgender persons. Well, that claim is not supported by the science. The available evidence undermines the "social contagion" hypothesis, as well as the idea of "rapid-onset gender dysphoria." https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/evidence-undermines-rapid-onset-gender-dysphoria-claims/

This opens up an interesting discussion about what is "normal." A both rhetorical and non-rhetorical question. Is it what is accepted? That begs the question - accepted by whom? Is it what is "accepted by rule?" Then whose rule do we follow? Does "normal" mean according to the "norm." But then what do we do with deviants? For there is much variation amoung the human population. Genetics is a fluid thing. Maybe we should be less judge and more fellow citizen. That doesn't make sense. Because declaring you are transgender, you know your life is going to get a lot harder, not a lot easier.

Exaggerations? No, lies. Consider the issue of immigration. Trump has falsely claimed: Harris was appointed “border czar” – No, she was never in charge of border security. That Harris let in “more than 13,000 convicted illegal aliens" – No, this number represents people who entered over decades, including during Trump’s presidency. That 32,000 illegal aliens were “dropped” into Springfield, Ohio. No, they are here legally, and the number is closer to 12,000. And they weren’t “dropped” but got there on their own. That a gang from Venezuela had literally “taken over the town.” No, although some gang members had been arrested. That Harris had let “21 million aliens pour across into our country.” No, even the Republicans estimate those who evaded detection at closer to 2 million during the Biden administration. That foreign countries were “emptying their jails” to allow the criminals to migrate to the US. No, there is no evidence of this. That FEMA was diverting funds to illegal immigrants. No, not even close to the truth. These are facts. Why do you suppose Trump lied?

Good question. What's the best shield against those bricks? Focusing on facts is a good start. Being a critical thinker. Taking the high road. Considering all sides. using common sense. I'm not sure if we are talking about the same bricks, but that's all I got.

Imbalance is your word, not mine. Hormones affect how the brain develops. It affects things like neurogenesis and gene expression. If you have a moment, the study I linked in the above post might fill you in. Who is "they"? If a transgender person is treated with respect and compassion, if they are relieved of their guilt and shame, that goes a long way to relieving any mental issues they experience because of who they are. If they experience mental issues, it is usually because of a lack of support from family and the community. Lol

That hormones influence fetal brain development? Even 10-year-olds understand hormones. Furthermore - An interesting area of recent study (and a call for more study): Certain environmental pollutants act as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), and there is ample evidence that they interfere with fetal brain development by altering hormone function. As Robert Hedaya MD states in The Dissolution of Gender: One review of the literature that surveyed “the available evidence regarding the ability of EDCs to impact the emergence of brain sexual dimorphisms” concluded: And: This may be one way to account for the increase in transgenderism over the last few decades. But I want to emphasize: Being transgender is not a mental illness. Their brains function normally. They just don’t match with their bodies. We need to believe them when they tell us who they are, and act accordingly.

Thank you. It's a chapter in the book Human Sexuality The Biological Basis of Gender Incongruence At the webpage linked below are links to 30 (American) medical associations that recognize gender dysphoria and the necessity of treatment for it. Medical Organization Statements

I'm not sure you can divorce politics from ideology. Politics without ideology has no principles. Oh, wait a minute, I just reminded myself of Trump.

Politics is politics, but nothing comes close to Trump's lies. He even lied about the weather during his inauguration. It rained during his address, but later he’s telling people that the rain “never came.” Lying is instinct for him – a matter of course. He claimed the crowd at his inauguration was bigger than at Obama’s (it wasn’t’), he claimed Covid was “under control” (it wasn’t), he claimed “they’re eating the cats and the dogs” (they weren’t). Remember back in 2017, Trump, following a bizarre address he gave at the Scouts’ National Jamboree, claimed that “the head of the boys scouts” called and said that it was “the greatest speech that was ever made to them.” Later, it was confirmed that no such call was ever made. And then there is the Big Lie – about the stolen 2020 election. I’ve read Jack Smith’s 165-page immunity filing in the case of The United States of America v. Donald J. Trump, and I recommend it in order to gauge the full depth and extent of Trump’s lies.

As I explained, it's not a genetic mutation, but the effect of hormones that causes the brain to differentiate to the opposite sex. The argument I presented does not come from the trans community but from the scientific community. At the link is a list of 30 (American) medical organizations that recognize the medical necessity of treatments for gender dysphoria and endorse such treatments. Medical Organization Statements I don't think anyone would think that is acceptable. But to entirely dismiss the trans community as non-existent does not follow from that particular prohibition. I’ve noticed a marked resentment against the so-called “trans agenda.” When an identifiable group of people claim their rights, when they want the right to be free of discrimination, and the right to safety, that is not an “agenda.” That is only granting them what citizenship in a modern democracy that values human rights promises them.