Ser Reptitious

Just out of curiosity, I noticed that you used 2015 repeatedly in reference to the past presidential election, and now you are also talking about 2019 as the next one? Is it just a repeated typo or are you misremembering when these elections take place? It's 2016 and 2020.

Yeah, but don't you understand that remain voters don't count? They, without exception, are clearly out-of-touch ivory tower types, as opposed to the good, honest, salt-of-the-earth Brexit voters. And @Heartofice is an honest-to-god, cross-your-heart-and-hope-to-die Remainer. He just really, really, really gets Brexit voters!

Why? If Leave voters won't change their mind, as you indicate, then a second referendum will simply confirm the result of the first, thus making it more iron-clad. What are you worried about?

From the BBC link: How on Earth is passing a law that allows companies to delay paying overtime for up to 3 years going to help fill a labour shortage??? Naturallly!

I feel for you, but maybe it helps if you consider that a new boyfriend doesn't necessarily mean she will now get married to him and your one and only opportunity has passed forever? For all you know this thing might only last a few months before she's back on the market. At the very least, keeping that possibility in mind will maybe help you get through tomorrow's meet-up...? Wish you all the best!

So what you're saying is that the allegation of Kavanagh's sexual assault of Ford (and Ramirez, and Swetnik) should have been kept hushed up for the sake of political expediency? Um, yeah, I could say some very ugly things in response to that, but let's just say (to put it veeeeery mildly) I strongly disagree with that! I honestly hadn't pictured you as being one of the people who would prefer to bury a sexual assault allegation (even if truthful) if it might negatively affect a political calculus. Colour me disgusted!

Oh wow, look what I started! Apparently we are now conveying all our sentiments through YouTube links!

I hope you're right, I really do, but the thing that strikes me as a bit of a red flag is the fact that she would openly flirt with other guys right in front of you and basically ignore your presence (nevermind telling you about a previous night's hookup). Since she knows how you feel about her, that strikes me as a bit of a dick move. Ask yourself, how would it be if the situation was reversed? Would you feel like a bit of a dick openly flirting with other girls right in front of her, while at the same time bascially ignoring her (and at other times telling her about a hookup you had the previous night)? If the answer is yes, odds are it's a dick move no matter who does it. Please don't get me wrong. Like I said, I'm rooting for you and I'll gladly be wrong about this. It's just that I've been in that exact situation before, and I, too, kept making excuses and rationalized her hot-and-cold behaviour towards me for a fairly long time. I ultimately broke the cycle by asking her out point-blank (when she showed more interest again) and she replied with the old "not right now", even though she was single. I took it as a 'no' and moved on, meeting my now-wife about a month later, as it happened. Starting that new relationship was a revelation. It reminded me what it is like when someone is genuinely into you, rather than at best half-heartedly. I think this clip from How I Met Your Mother sums it up quite nicely:

Sorry if this sounds harsh, but could it be the old "she's just not that into you"? As in, she likes the idea of keeping you around as a constant back-up option, but she's not particularly eager to take things further? So she pays you just enough attention to keep you 'on the hook', but as soon as she believes that you are, her attention once again turns elsewhere? I've been in that situation before, and it's confusing and frustrating. Since she feels free to share her hook-up experiences with you, why don't you do the same regarding your ongoing friends-with-benefits situation? If she truly just wants to be friends, that shouldn't bother her at all, but if her reaction/demeanour indicates displeasure then I strongly suspects she wants you to keep pining for her.

You might be exuding more confidence as a result of the friends-with-benefits situation, which then snow-balled (in a positive sense). Confidence in oneself (not to be confused with arrogance, of course) seems to be one of those etheral things that help to create attraction.

Congrats!

Which could be a mixed blessing, when you consider (1) how long it took Obama to wake up to the fact that the Republicans weren't interested in doing the kumbaya thing; and (2) how the Democrats fared up and down the ballot (including at the state level) during his tenure post-2008 election... Don't get me wrong, I loved Obama and I loave the Republicans for the scorched earth approach they took towards his presidency, but I'm worried that Beto might once again try to play the "let's reach out across the isle" card, despite the fact that by now it's crystal clear that the Republicans are in no way even remotely interested. Also, Obama decided to forego criminal prosecution of the individuals responsible for the 2008 financial crash in the name of 'starting fresh'. With all the crimes that this administration is committing, from family separations on downwards, this cannot happen a second time!

For perspective: Sound familiar?

Interesting, didn't know that.

The "funny" (or sad) thing is that encouraging everybody to "get out and vote" (which is basically all that the 'Foxtrot' and 'Hi and Lois' comic strips do) used to (and should) be about as uncontroversial as it gets. The fact that it isn't just shows how far off the rails the U.S. has gotten lately!