Trumps is in!

[Tom Joad]

Originally Posted by MrPots

All republicans love the poorly educated (white people). That is their base.

I guess I can relate to those poor white people better than most of these liberal elitists. I grew up the poorest white person I knew. I used to sort of envy poor black people because at least they had some company to be miserable with. My old man was a boozer who never held a steady job and drank himself to death when I was 9. My mother finished the 8th grade and supported us by waiting tables for nickels and dimes at greasy spoons.

The only way I went to Junior College was by working 20-30 hours a week for minimum wage which enabled me to pay the $60 bucks a semester tuition. When I graduated from there I was all set to go in the Army because there was no money for going on for a four year degree. But then my mother died of a heart attack a month before I graduated and left me with a $3,000 life insurance policy. I took that and went to U of F which was $125 tuition for a semester at that time. Back then they also let you get a Social Security death benefit if you were in school, so I also had a whopping $67 a month from that coming in. I lived in a dump and ate hot dogs and beans and managed to finish right when the money ran out.

Flat broke I got my draft notice so I joined the Air Force.

The GI bill was what I used when I got out to get my masters degree.

Having an education means I never quite fit in with working class kids, but coming from that socio-economic class meant I have also never fit in with middle class kids that had the support of their family to help them get started in life. Maybe that explains why I can relate somewhat to both Bernie Sanders and Trump.

[Boreas]

Originally Posted by Tom Joad

I guess I can relate to those poor white people better than most of these liberal elitists. I grew up the poorest white person I knew. I used to sort of envy poor black people because at least they had some company to be miserable with. My old man was a boozer who never held a steady job and drank himself to death when I was 9. My mother finished the 8th grade and supported us by waiting tables for nickels and dimes at greasy spoons.

The only way I went to Junior College was by working 20-30 hours a week for minimum wage which enabled me to pay the $60 bucks a semester tuition. When I graduated from there I was all set to go in the Army because there was no money for going on for a four year degree. But then my mother died of a heart attack a month before I graduated and left me with a $3,000 life insurance policy. I took that and went to U of F which was $125 tuition for a semester at that time. Back then they also let you get a Social Security death benefit if you were in school, so I also had a whopping $67 a month from that coming in. I lived in a dump and ate hot dogs and beans and managed to finish right when the money ran out.

Flat broke I got my draft notice so I joined the Air Force.

The GI bill was what I used when I got out to get my masters degree.

Having an education means I never quite fit in with working class kids, but coming from that socio-economic class meant I have also never fit in with middle class kids that had the support of their family to help them get started in life. Maybe that explains why I can relate somewhat to both Bernie Sanders and Trump.

But, Tom, your life story and Trump's couldn't possibly be more different. There's no way he can relate to or understand you and your life. All he can do is push your buttons.

[Rajoo]

Originally Posted by Tom Joad

I guess I can relate to those poor white people better than most of these liberal elitists. I grew up the poorest white person I knew. I used to sort of envy poor black people because at least they had some company to be miserable with. My old man was a boozer who never held a steady job and drank himself to death when I was 9. My mother finished the 8th grade and supported us by waiting tables for nickels and dimes at greasy spoons.

The only way I went to Junior College was by working 20-30 hours a week for minimum wage which enabled me to pay the $60 bucks a semester tuition. When I graduated from there I was all set to go in the Army because there was no money for going on for a four year degree. But then my mother died of a heart attack a month before I graduated and left me with a $3,000 life insurance policy. I took that and went to U of F which was $125 tuition for a semester at that time. Back then they also let you get a Social Security death benefit if you were in school, so I also had a whopping $67 a month from that coming in. I lived in a dump and ate hot dogs and beans and managed to finish right when the money ran out.

Flat broke I got my draft notice so I joined the Air Force.

The GI bill was what I used when I got out to get my masters degree.

Having an education means I never quite fit in with working class kids, but coming from that socio-economic class meant I have also never fit in with middle class kids that had the support of their family to help them get started in life. Maybe that explains why I can relate somewhat to both Bernie Sanders and Trump.

Quite a success story TJ and now I know what I liked about you. You are a self made man who pulled yourself up by your boot straps. You have every right to your somewhat extreme opinions.

[Tom Joad]

Originally Posted by Boreas

But, Tom, your life story and Trump's couldn't possibly be more different. There's no way he can relate to or understand you and your life. All he can do is push your buttons.

Probably not.

But he took down two of the people I hate the most.

George W. Bush and Jeb Bush.

I mean he humiliated their asses!

And I am now basking in the warm glow of an awesome Schadenfreude high.

[Tom Joad]

Originally Posted by BeamOn

Quite a success story TJ and now I know what I liked about you. You are a self made man who pulled yourself up by your boot straps. You have every right to your somewhat extreme opinions.

I got delt a bad hand, but it could have been much worse.

I managed to play it fairly well, but it could have been played better.

But it was also a different time.

A poor kid can't do what I did today.

Minimum wage has not kept pace with inflation.

On the other hand the costs of going to college, even at a Community College or a State University like I did have gone up at a rate four to five times as fast as inflation. And the GI bill isn't as good either, although I hear there have been some recent improvements there. The numbers barely worked for me back in the day. There is no way to make them work today.

As a result kids are now graduating with student debt that is comparable to a fucking home mortgage.

[Rajoo]

Originally Posted by Tom Joad

I got delt a bad hand, but it could have been much worse.

I managed to play it fairly well, but it could have been played better.

But it was also a different time.

A poor kid can't do what I did today.

Minimum wage has not kept pace with inflation.

On the other hand the costs of going to college, even at a Community College or a State University like I did have gone up at a rate four to five times as fast as inflation. And the GI bill isn't as good either, although I hear there have been some recent improvements there. The numbers barely worked for me back in the day. There is no way to make them work today.

As a result kids are now graduating with student debt that is comparable to a fucking home mortgage.

Making all college tuition free will be impractical. Heck we will not have enough teachers to go around and will also dilute the levels. But I can make a very good case for making graduate school free. Just the abuse of H1B alone is a reason.

FWIW, I mostly subsidized my undergraduate education by working two part time jobs and full time in the summers in a steel mill. But it was arrogance and independence rather than need, so it nowhere compares to what you went through. Also this was in a big city like Chicago with unlimited opportunities back then.

[Dondilion]

Originally Posted by Tom Joad

I got delt a bad hand, but it could have been much worse.

I managed to play it fairly well, but it could have been played better.

But it was also a different time.

A poor kid can't do what I did today.

Minimum wage has not kept pace with inflation.

On the other hand the costs of going to college, even at a Community College or a State University like I did have gone up at a rate four to five times as fast as inflation. And the GI bill isn't as good either, although I hear there have been some recent improvements there. The numbers barely worked for me back in the day. There is no way to make them work today.

As a result kids are now graduating with student debt that is comparable to a fucking home mortgage.

Some kids are going to Europe for their education.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32821678

[Tom Joad]

Here come the bandwagoners, crawling out of the woodwork like cockroaches.

https://www.yahoo.com/politics/trump...170503088.html

On the heels of his blowout victory in the Nevada caucuses, Republican frontrunner Donald Trump has picked up something he insists he doesn’t care about: congressional endorsements.

[Boreas]

Originally Posted by Tom Joad

Here come the bandwagoners, crawling out of the woodwork like cockroaches.

https://www.yahoo.com/politics/trump...170503088.html

I doubt he'll get many more.

Meanwhile, the WaPo editorial board has correctly characterized Trump's campaign thus:

ON SUNDAY, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos asked Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus whether the party would back Donald Trump should he win the GOP nomination. “Yes, we will support the nominee,” the Republican chairman replied. “To me, it’s a no-brainer.” Mr. Stephanopoulos asked if a Trump nomination would split the party. “Winning is the antidote to a lot of things,” Mr. Priebus responded.

Winning can quiet many complaints, it is true. But it cannot and will not be an antidote to the moral poison of Mr. Trump’s campaign. Party leaders who support and celebrate his victory will be accomplices to an attack on the fundamental values of American democracy. Winning will not wash away the stain.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...82d_story.html

[icenine]

Originally Posted by Tom Joad

Probably not.

But he took down two of the people I hate the most.

George W. Bush and Jeb Bush.

I mean he humiliated their asses!

And I am now basking in the warm glow of an awesome Schadenfreude high.

So what weapon would Trump use to eviscerate Sanders?