My Political Opinion

[PatrickL]

[ photo ]
You took up a whole page complaining about criminals and then you praise one at the end

[Mike_W]

@chumley
OK I did some searches and apparently the wackos who created it say it means 'resist fascism'. Why they decided to use Smokey Bear is just ridiculous and non-sensical, but what else would a lying communist propagandist do but twist the meaning of anything GOOD? Both my Grandfathers were in WW2 and fought against TRUE communism and the evil propaganda associated with it. Today it's weaseled it's way into America and Trump seems to be one of the few with balls enough to try to stop it. The people voted and Trump won in a landslide. This is after the deep state tried to ruin him with Russian collusion (failed), those fake lawsuits (failed), the stolen election of 2020 (succeeded but prosecutions will follow), and even tried to shoot him in Butler, PA (failed attempt).

Thank God the Country survived through the 2 biggest fascists of the 21st century - Barrack Hussein Obama and Crooked Joe Biden. Libtards like to try to tie Trump to fascism but they don't even know what fascism REALLY IS... They don't seem to understand that Trump is freedom-loving, anti-regulation, anti-crime, pro-constitution, believes in lower taxation, and wants to make it easier to start and run a business here. Libtards believe they should be able to break some laws without any punishment and they confuse a strong anti-crime stance with fascism because most of them believe that criminals, including illegal alien criminals, should get a free pass, like they do in Colorado and California, where leeches and parasites can rob $2,000 from a grocery store and basically get away with it. I think Trump should sent the National Guard to Colorado Springs. Any bum or parasite who tries to steal from a grocery store should get locked up for 30 days. If it happens a 2nd time, 90 days, 3rd time 1 year, etc..... This is what we need to prevent the whole country from turning into a 3rd World S-hole SLUM.

Examples of FASCISM:
--------------------
1. In 2010, when Obama took over the Healthcare industry and created Obamacare, also known as the ""Affordable Care Act"". There was nothing 'affordable' about it. People were FORCED to buy a health insurance plan that they didn't want and they average premium more than doubled. When the Obama administration implemented the Obamacare mandate this took away our freedom to choose.

2. From 2014 through 2018, the IRS assessed a penalty on tax filers who didn't maintain healthcare coverage. This was finally repealed in Dec 2019 under the Trump administration. WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, is unconstitutional.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/suprem ... l-n1104476

3. July 2021 - many US states had mask mandates, EVEN for people who were vaccinated!!! Studies later showed that the masks were making people sicker and had really terrible impacts on children in schools.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nat ... 087357002/

4. Biden announced in Sept 2021 a vaccine mandate for health care facilities that receive Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, impacting some 17 million health care workers in the nation. This takes away people's freedom to choose. The negative health impacts of this has been considerable and is not over yet.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/hundreds-hosp ... d=80303408


5. When the Biden administration unconstitutionally took control of PRIVATE companies like Twitter and Facebook, and suppressed FREE SPEECH by banning accounts and deleting posts. There were many victims of this including Donald Trump and Dr Robert Malone.

---

A libtard might say Trump is a fascist by criminalizing flag burning. Burning a flag on your own property is legal and allowed, but when a person goes to a public square in a city and burns a flag it (a) can incite a riot, (b) disturbs the peace, (c) is considered littering, (d) endangers other people who happen to be there, and (e) desecrates the symbol of America.

America. If you don't respect it, and want to trash it, then effin LEAVE IT. Go live in Mexico, Cuba, or China, and see how far stupid liberalism gets you there.

[The_Eagle]

@Mike_W
@PatrickL
@Mountain_Rat
@Jim
@chumley

This is a hiking website, the subject you are all discussing is one that you all will never be able to come to agreement on.
I'm sure the are other Social Media sites that would better serve these arguments.

While not the question Chumley asked, Here's the simple question I asked Chat GPT. I'm posting this and then I'm out of this forum topic.

""I'm going to insert a string of arguments. Can you please sum them up and tell me what is factual and what is not?""

1. Summary of Arguments in the Thread & Registry Note

""Resist Smokey Bear"" meaning:

Some commenters (e.g. Jim) explain it originated after 2016 as a protest symbol against Trump-era policies, tied to environmental resistance and rogue NPS employees.

Others (e.g. Mike_W) see it as nonsense, an attack on Smokey Bear’s wildfire prevention message, or communist propaganda.

Some interpret it literally (“resist wildfire prevention”), others see it as metaphorical resistance to destructive policies.

Crime & theft claims:

Mike_W and the registry note both argue that states like CA and CO “let criminals steal $2,000 from a store without consequences,” saying this turns places into “third world slums.”

Calls for harsher punishments (e.g., National Guard, escalating jail terms).

Politics & Trump:

Registry note and several thread posts argue Trump is a defender of freedom, law, order, and the Constitution.

Claim 2020 election was stolen, Russian collusion was a hoax, lawsuits against Trump are fake, assassination attempts failed, and “deep state” is against him.

Label Democrats (Obama, Biden) as fascists, crooked, or incompetent.

Examples of “fascism” offered by posters:

Obamacare (Affordable Care Act) = government overreach forcing people to buy insurance.

Individual mandate penalty (2014–2018) = unconstitutional restriction, repealed under Trump.

Mask mandates (2021) = claim masks harmed health, especially children.

Biden vaccine mandate (2021) = claimed unconstitutional and harmful.

Social media moderation = described as Biden administration suppressing free speech.

Economic/tax arguments:

High-tax “blue states” described as parasitic and socialist.

Arizona praised for flat 2.5% income tax.

Inflation blamed on Democrats.

2. Factual vs. Not Factual (or Misleading)
Factually Correct (broadly):

Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) included an individual mandate requiring health coverage or a penalty. Penalty applied 2014–2018, reduced to $0 starting in 2019.

Federal court challenges to the ACA’s mandate did occur, though the law itself was upheld overall by the Supreme Court.

Biden administration announced a vaccine mandate for healthcare workers in facilities receiving Medicare/Medicaid funds (Sept 2021). It was upheld by the Supreme Court (2022).

States like CA and CO did raise felony theft thresholds. CA’s Prop 47 (2014) set it at $950; Colorado raised theirs to $2,000 in 2019. Theft below that is still illegal but prosecuted as a misdemeanor.

Not Factual / Misleading:

“Trump won in a landslide in 2020.” → False. Biden won both the electoral college (306–232) and the popular vote by 7 million.

“2020 election was stolen.” → No credible evidence; courts, DOJ, and state election officials (Republican and Democrat) confirmed it was secure.

“Russian collusion was a hoax.” → Misleading. Mueller report found insufficient evidence to charge conspiracy but did confirm Russian interference and multiple contacts between Trump campaign and Russia.

“Obama and Biden are the biggest fascists of the 21st century.” → Opinion, not fact. “Fascism” has a specific historical meaning that doesn’t align with U.S. democratic institutions.

“Masks made people sicker.” → Largely false. While evidence on mask effectiveness evolved, major studies show masks helped reduce COVID spread. No credible evidence masks caused widespread illness.

“Biden took control of Twitter/Facebook.” → False. Government pressured platforms to moderate misinformation, but there was no federal takeover. Courts have blocked some government contact as possibly coercive, but the companies remain private.

“People can steal $2,000 and get away with it in CA/CO.” → Misleading. Theft under those thresholds is still a crime (misdemeanor), but critics argue enforcement is inconsistent and penalties are lighter.

“Trump is freedom-loving, anti-crime, pro-Constitution, etc.” → Opinion, not a verifiable fact.

Bottom Line:

The factual parts: ACA mandate history, theft thresholds, Biden vaccine mandate.

The misleading or false parts: 2020 election “stolen,” Trump “landslide,” Obama/Biden = “fascists,” masks harmful, Biden “controlling” social media, people being allowed to freely steal $2,000.

The rest is political opinion and rhetoric.

[chumley]

@mike_w

This is a hiking website, the subject you are all discussing in one that you all will never be able to come to agreement on.

I enjoy the hiking part. I lean toward having the political conversations in person over a coffee or a beer. Mt Rosa sounds like a fantastic hike that I would enjoy. As do a number of other hikes that Mike has posted this summer. The politics, whether on paper in a summit register or online in a triplog, can be a distraction from sharing an enjoyable hiking experience with other interested hikers. I'll stick to the agreeable baseline ""Hitler was bad."" Now, let's go outside and climb a mountain.

[Mike_W]

@chumley
I agree that hitler was bad and i should also add that Trump has ZERO in common with hitler.

[Mike_W]

@The_Eagle
Yes i think we should move this to a post.
Im in an airport now so i cant reply in detail now, but.... Trump landslide was 2024. 2020 election had so many red flags and security holes. Millions of mail in ballots could easily be falsified and I believe they were. Nobody has the balls to challenge it. They dont want to be targeted by the deep state. Russian collusion was proved to be made up according to FBI. Obama knew it was a lie but he continued to push the big lie. That's treason. Fascism is using govt power to take over the private sector. Tyranny is using govt power to rule over and control the people. So technically the obamacare mandate, covid vaccine mandate, etc are examples of tyranny. In a free society people cannot be forced to buy a health plan. In a free society people cannot be forced to even have health insurance or take a covid shot or drug, especially unproven. By the way, the so-called covid vaccine is not a vaccine at all because it does not prevent a person from getting covid. It can no longer be called a vaccine. Communists like to twist words to get to the end goal. That evil propaganda is what i will resist!!!