ShazzieB
ShazzieB's JournalI knew that tattoo of Platner's sounded familiar.
Not the specific tattoo, but the whole scenario of getting a tattoo that doesn't convey what you thought it would convey. And I was right; it's not just a tattoo, it's a whole trope. 
A comedy trope, in which a character has – what else? – an embarrassing tattoo. It might be shoddily done, misspelled, or show the name of a former romantic partner. It might be written in a language the wearer doesn't understand (or even read) and thus not mean what they think it does. It might be part of a trend that has been Condemned by History. It might represent a gang or hate group, or otherwise not reflect the wearer's current beliefs or lifestyle. It might be a design or symbol from a culture to which the wearer has little or no relevant connection. It might be warped due to age, weight changes, pregnancy, or infection. It may have been the work of an amateur artist. It might be the location of the tattoo that is embarrassing (e.g.: on the buttocks or near the genitals). It might also be the result of teenage whim; even if the person was legally an adult at the time, what looks cool at 19 can easily become embarrassing by 30. Bonus points, or perhaps a Face Palm (depending on the perspective), if Alcohol-Induced Idiocy is a factor, regardless of whether it's the one doing or getting the tattoo.
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EmbarrassingTattoo
In other words, he's far from the first person to ever get a tattoo that turned out to be a big mistake, and he definitely won't be the last. Democrats need to get over it already.
P.S. I don't expect everyone to agree, and that's okay. I just hope people will think about it. We have a real shot at flipping Susan Collins' seat from red to blue. Let's not blow it.
Psychologist reveals Trump's ACTUAL condition
Dr. Frank George, who runs The Gaslight Report on Substack, joins David Pakman to discuss recent examples of Trump's cognitive decline.
Yeah, James Carville is a genius all right! 😜
Seriously, I blame him for resurrecting this rumor. He wasn't the the first person to ever suggest such a possibility, but he breathied new life into it. I almost got sucked in myself for a minute there, but after refreshing my memory about when syphilis became easily curable (shortly before Trump was born), I came to the conclusion that it made no earthly sense. I could easily believe he contracted the disease at some point, but staying undiagnosed and untreated for decades? Nah, I'm not buying it. 
Imo, the reason Carville's speculation has stuck in so many minds is not because he was particularly credible, but because the idea of Trump dying from a nasty disease made very appealing gossip. I'm not going to judge anyone for that considering what the Orange Hellbeast has put us all through since coming back into power, not to mention what still might be in store. 
But Carville should have done some fact checking before fanning the dying embers of that rumor.
I don't think so.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143657690#post58His brain is on the way out, but the likelihood of syphilis (a disease that's been quickly and easily curable for his entire lifetime, is extremely unlikely imo.
Frontotemporal dementia is the likeliest diagnosis, according to many experts.
This article explains how well his symptoms match up with that diagnosis: What Is Frontotemporal Dementia That Psychologists Claim Donald Trump Is Exhibiting Signs of?
The possibility that syphilis has anything to do with his current health problems is wildly unlikely, imo. Neurosyphilis only develops if syphilis (which has been 100% curable for Trump's entire life) goes untreated for many years, if not decades.
Yes, I know that's what killed Al Capone, but Capone was born more than 45 years before Trump and was showing signs of neurosyphilis when he went to jail in 1931. By the time penicillin was discovered to be a quick and easy cure in the mid 1940s, Capone was too far gone for the drug to do him any good.
Trump, otoh, was born the year before Capone died, and by the time he was old enough to start sowing any wild oats, syphilis had become easy to cure. The idea that he could have contracted the disease and gone undiagnosed and untreated long enough for it to progress to an advanced stage doesn't make any sense to me.
His grandiose delusions of ruling the world are easily explained by his malignant narcissism, which is now reigning unfettered due to dementia eroding whatever judgment and self-control he ever had to begin with. At this point, he has virtually no filter left, which is why he keeps saying absurdly outrageous things more and more frequently. The only thing worse than a malignant narcissist is a malignant narcissist with no self awareness or self control, and that's what we've got now.
I know a lot of people find the syphilis rumor irresistibly titillating, so it's probably not going away, but I really wish it would, Curses on Jsmes Carville for resurrecting it last year!
Nearly 1 in 4 people seeking abortions out of state chose Illinois. Here's why.
https://stateline.org/2026/04/15/nearly-1-in-4-people-seeking-abortions-out-of-state-chose-illinois-heres-why/In the center of the map’s biggest sea of red is Illinois, outlined in green — showing it’s a state with strong abortion access — surrounded by several states that ban or severely restrict abortion. Illinois is the destination for nearly 1 in 4 people traveling to another state for abortion care, according to a report from the Guttmacher Institute, an advocacy and research organization that supports abortion access and tracks data nationwide.
“Illinois really became kind of a haven state for the Midwest and much of the South immediately post-Dobbs,” said Megan Jeyifo, executive director of the Chicago Abortion Fund, which provides logistical and financial support to people who need abortions.
The state’s geography explains part of its popularity; in five of the six border states, abortion is either banned or largely inaccessible. But Illinois also is among the states that have put in place new policies — along with millions of dollars — to welcome patients who aren’t their residents. Advocates and providers say other safe-haven states should replicate the investments.
A color-coded map illustrates state abortion access in the call center at Chicago’s Family Planning Associates, one of the largest independent clinics in Illinois offering abortion services. (Photo courtesy of Dr. Allison Cowett)
I had completely forgotten about that!
I had to google to refresh my memory and found an article that explains it much better:
That led Obama to mix his words up too and the historic swearing-in of the first African-American president briefly became an awkward muddle.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/world/us-politics/after-fumbled-oath-roberts-and-obama-leave-little-to-chance-idUSBRE90H16M/
So it was Roberts who messed up first, and his flub threw Obama off. The Time account is misleading. I also don't care fot the way the Times article appears to link Roberts' fumble to Obama voting against his confirmation:
The implication is very indirect, but why even mention how Obama voted on Roberts being confirmed unless you want to imply .... something? It's a very strange paragraph all the way around, imo.
Why Trump's Delusions Are So Dangerous: Dr. John Gartner / The Daily Beast
According to clinical psychologist Dr. John Gartner, Trump's delusions have crossed the line into being psychotic. We are now officially in Crazy Town, folks.
Families left reeling after hospitals in blue states drop transgender care for youth
"OK, cool," his mother, J, remembers saying. Bug, who was in sixth grade at the time, had previously come out as non-binary, but this felt like an even bigger step. *snip* Bug is a nickname, and his mother asked NPR to identify Bug that way, and identify her by her first initial, J, because the family fears harassment.
This was the kind of moment J had been anticipating for a while. She felt immensely grateful that the family had left Texas in 2024, and resettled in western Massachusetts, a state with laws that she felt were more supportive of bodily autonomy, and a culture more welcoming of diverse lifestyles.
*snip*
What Bug's family didn't anticipate – and what many similar families in blue states have discovered – is that access to gender-affirming treatment can disappear even when their state's laws and leaders are supportive. That's because individual hospitals all over the U.S., in both red and blue states, have responded to President Trump's attacks on transgender health care by deciding to withdraw care on their own.
There's a lot more to the story than the excerpts above can sum up, but it's from a non paywalled source that should be easy for all to access: https://www.npr.org/2026/04/17/nx-s1-5780011/blue-state-hospitals-drop-transgender-affirming-care-minors
Living in a blue state that supports gender affirming health care for all, I was horrified to learn how access to this care is being affected by Trump's evil machinations, even in states like mine.
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Name: SharonGender: Female
Hometown: Chicago area, IL
Home country: USA
Member since: Tue Mar 26, 2013, 04:18 AM
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