Posts by Sandra Ortiz50

Thomas Cruz15 said:I'm watching it right now, assuming I don't get distracted or lose my train of thought while typing this out.

It’s airing tonight, by the way. Honestly, this show is absolutely top-tier.

Anyway, I've gotta run—someone just showed up at my door, so I'll go see who these uninvited guests are.😁
👋

Thomas Cruz15 said:Maybe combining some Advil with a literal noose would finally trigger a revolution in their gut 😕 :ne_zna:

🤣 Oh boy, here we go, get ready for another week of nonstop whining 😁

Vorpi, have you actually sat down to watch "murder in Mind's Eye" yet?

So, where on earth did all those Antinohies vanish to? They probably flew off like some sudden gust of wind, leaving nothing behind but a heavy, suffocating noose from that damn gallows...😁

Thomas Cruz15 said:🤣
I can see how it is—you certainly aren't boring me, are you? You play this little game of acting all wide-eyed and naive, just a total sweetheart, 🙏

hells angels vroom vroom vroom...🤣

Thomas Cruz15 said:True, totally true. But it’s also incredibly... well, let's just say "significant."😉

Well, if you have a sweet tooth, I guess there's something to it.😁

@driftingotter2, how on earth do I know you're actually the real deal? Unlike rustystag7 over here, who clearly hasn't the slightest clue who anyone even is. I'll be sure to set him straight when I finally get my hands on him.🙂 😬

I was actually planning on dropping some really lovely, thoughtful comments on everyone's profiles over on the community forum today🥳
🤣

Thomas Cruz15 said:With an avatar like that, you’re going to be stuck in his head forever, 🤣

Oh, please, there isn't exactly anything scandalous on my avatar, 😁

Thomas Cruz15 said:So, who’s responsible for shutting down our local dive bar this time? Is it the guys from Jersey again, or maybe some folks from Connecticut? I guess they just can't handle taking an L on the field without throwing a tantrum.

anyway, Sandra Ortiz50 👋

the enemy never sleeps😬

hey there, vorpi 🙏

Word on the street is that rustystag7 doesn't actually know who I am, so I figured it was about time I popped in to introduce myself properly.🙂

melloweagle11 said:If the Republican Party hadn't focused on that initial capital accumulation right out of the gate, would everything be exactly the same today? Or was it just asking too much to expect a government to actually refrain from lining its own pockets?
The real foundation for any kind of boom is simple: what happened to all that cash that used to flow straight to Mexico City?
They managed to dodge a full-blown looting spree, sure, but the outcome worked out perfectly for everyone involved—both the amateur local thieves and the foreign intelligence agencies.
As for our fragmented, backward agricultural sector, it probably just needed a few years of solid programming to transition into organic farming so we could export it to the European Union (much like how American tuna is sold everywhere under the sun except right here at home).

🙏Finally, someone actually understands what I'm talking about.🙂

Arthur Anderson49 said:You sound a little too smart for this conversation. Does an educated adult really expect politicians to actually follow through on every single promise they make during an election campaign?

I think there’s been a fundamental misunderstanding here. Of course, nobody expects politicians to execute their platforms with 100% fidelity. What I mean is that we choose the people we believe will be the best fit for the job. When it turns out they aren't, we vote for someone else. It’s a cycle... because what was our alternative? Boycotting the elections? That’s never going to happen.

I couldn't agree more on this point. A huge reason why things are going so much better for Canadians than they are for us is that they didn't rush into changing everything overnight. They left the core socialist apparatus largely intact. Instead, they transitioned very slowly and very deliberately, making adjustments bit by bit just to ensure they didn't accidentally wreck something that actually worked. Today, everything is different and modernized, but they got there through tiny, cautious steps. And even then, they still managed to mess quite a few things up. Now, imagine what we could have done with our reckless tendency to overhaul absolutely everything—from security uniforms to municipal borders and trade partners—all in a single night, led by people who hadn't the slightest clue what they were doing.

Yeah, I'm with you on that one.

But hey, it is what it is. We’ve always been this way. We were constantly tearing down Josip Jelačić just to install Marshall, and then rushing to kick out Marshall just to bring back Josip Jelačić, spinning in circles forever. Why on earth would you think this nation could have handled it any differently? Do you have a single historical example where we, using our own strength over a sustained period, ever successfully executed a complex program with any actual quality?

We took down Josip Jelačić because we had to.
We took down Marshall because we wanted to.
And we brought back Josip Jelačić because we wanted to and we could.
And now, to put it bluntly, we should have probably put our entire country on horseback.🙂
Because we finally, and with great difficulty, secured our sovereignty.
How? Well, there were plenty of opportunities and resources (as Mason would say 😬) but they weren't channeled into economic growth. Agriculture. Manufacturing. What more do you need?

Kenneth Myers10 said:Only an idiot buys a car with cash...

Look, you really shouldn't take everything so incredibly literally.
The whole point of what I was getting at was simply that Mate has (meaning he has the liquidity, the resources, whatever...) enough cash on hand, so the real question is whether he’s actually going to pull the trigger on a cash purchase or just take out a loan.☕

Arthur Anderson49 said:...

So, you’ve gone ahead and spent your time putting together a little summary of everything that’s already been done, which is fine, I guess, but let’s be honest—that part of the game is already over. It’s a closed chapter.
So, you think everything is just fine exactly the way it is? Well, personally, I couldn't disagree more. Why? Because if we keep playing the game this way, this country is never going to move an inch forward. It’s all just smoke and mirrors, pure window dressing to keep us from seeing the truth. We’ve been sold out, plain and simple. If the reality is that Americans just aren't built to be leaders or take charge of their own destiny, then honestly, I'm done. I'm checking out.
Look, I’m telling you, we actually had a shot. I know, I know—it sounds like I'm just playing Monday morning quarterback, sitting here acting like it's easy to critique everything once the dust has settled, but that’s not what I’m getting at at all. Why am I saying this? Because as voters, we did exactly what we were supposed to do: we cast our ballots for the candidate who presented us with the most solid platform and the best vision for the future, right? So, if those politicians then take that platform, twist it out of shape, or completely ignore the very promises they made to the American people, how on earth is the public responsible for that betrayal? It’s not on us.
I’m not even going to waste my breath talking about the looting or the systemic corruption, because let’s be honest—we all know exactly how much that gutted this country. I don't see any point in sitting here dissecting everything they managed to steal or mismanage; even a bird on a fence knows enough about that mess to tell you we were screwed. It’s old news, and frankly, it's a waste of time. Instead, I’d rather focus on what actually *could* have been done to make our lives better, rather than just rehashing the disasters they already handed us.
Let’s keep this moving: if you ask me, the biggest mistake this country ever made was pivoting toward a trade-based economy instead of actually building things. It feels like factories were being shuttered on purpose, pushed straight into bankruptcy just to clear the way for something else.
Sure, people made money off those backroom deals, but let me ask you this: who actually saw that cash? And more importantly, where exactly did all that greed leave us? Look at where we ended up—stuck staring at the gates of the White House and wondering how we got here. The looming shadow of China’s expansionism is becoming impossible to ignore, and frankly, it’s getting harder to watch everyone pretend everything is fine while they're essentially being outmaneuvered on the global stage. We aren't just talking about trade deficits or cheap consumer goods anymore; we are looking at a calculated, systemic effort to assert dominance that feels more like a slow-motion occupation than simple economic competition. It’s frustrating to watch the hesitation from leadership when the reality is staring us right in the face—they are playing a long game designed to reshape the entire world order to their advantage, and if we don't wake up to the sheer scale of the threat, we're going to find ourselves completely sidelined in our own backyard..
It's exactly as I said.

@goldengull3 Look, those three categories might be technically distinct, but if my country is drowning in debt, I’m the one who ends up feeling the weight of it.
What really eats at me is the realization that we actually had the chance—we truly did—to run this country much more efficiently. Instead, we've basically sold ourselves out; we're buried in debt, our manufacturing sector is a ghost town, and everything revolves around retail, mostly peddling stuff that isn't even made here while services stay outrageously overpriced.
Take the banks, for example—sure, they’re raking it in with massive interest margins and reporting huge profits, but a giant chunk of those gains just gets shipped off to big players in Europe or overseas. That’s exactly why interest rates are so sky-high. And guess what? That hits me right in the wallet every single time I try to take out a loan.
If things were actually going well, someone could probably buy a brand-new Volkswagen without needing a mountain of credit. That would imply people are actually earning decent wages and the economy is actually thriving. Maybe I was just being too optimistic, thinking the country would experience some kind of golden age or economic renaissance after the rebuilding phase... but since that hasn't happened, my optimism has pretty much hit rock bottom.

The average American family is absolutely drowning in credit card debt, overdraft fees, and loans, yet they’ll still pull up in a shiny new SUV—probably on a financing plan, of course—and they’ve got a house full of brand-new furniture because, let’s face it, you can’t exactly show off a cheap sofa if you want to look successful 🙄. They’ve got the latest dishwasher too, because apparently, if you don't have one, you aren't even part of civilized society 🙄. Everything looks great on the surface, and hey, things are "fine" as long as the bubble doesn't burst...

Arthur Martinez7 said:I'm doing just fine, actually—though since you've been away from the forum, I’ve had to go out and find a new virtual buddy who happens to be a Mexican, just so nobody can accuse me of being some kind of bigot or nationalist. 😁

😂 😂 🤣

Michael Adams2 said:Truthful and witty? Please, don't hold your breath...😬

I mean, I never actually doubted your impeccable taste or your legendary objectivity for a second...😁

Fine, if you're going to be like that, just go flip through HTR2 then—they've got plenty of eye candy to keep you occupied.👍

I’ve just got one question for Michael Adams2: what exactly is it about these kinds of comments that gets under your skin so much on this thread? Honestly, if you ask me, they're actually spot on—and pretty hilarious at that.👍

Steven Kelly152 said:Look, if you ask me, people like you are just looking for reasons to claim discrimination during holidays like Christmas or Easter Monday; since those are religious observances, it’s perfectly reasonable to expect people to actually show up for work instead of taking the day off to celebrate. You don't seem to mind the "discrimination" when it suits your schedule. 🙏

👍

The thing is, these types of people won't even show up on regular weekdays, they suddenly can't face going to school, and so on... they always find a way to feel victimized and it’s always someone else's fault. Ugh.

From Mount Denali all the way down to the Mississippi... she’s already stormed through Canada, the US, and Canada... I’m practically counting down the days until she starts her "mission" in Mexico—which will surely be nothing more than a total circus! 😁 A complete circus! 😁 😁