Ser Reptitious

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!

I think that's the point that the Democrats really need to hammer home in the last 6 days before the midterms. Republicans are very good at warning Democrats about setting bad precedents, now Democrats need to return the favour. If all Democrats do in the next days is talk about how Trump's proposal is unconstitutional, that will play right into his (and Republicans') hands, since it will strengthen the image of Democrats being 'soft' on illegal immigrants and too many people will dismiss their objection as 'hand-wringing' and favouring immigrants over Americans. Warning about setting a precedent that a future president could use to overrule the 2nd Amendment by way of an executive order is the way to go. Republicans (and Republican-leaning 'independents') respond to fear-mongering, so let's use that against them!

The intent would certainly be genocidal, regardless of whether it meets the strict legal definition of a 'group' as set out in the Genocide Convention of 1948. Back then, sexual orientation was not exactly on the official radar screen (certainly not in any positive sense), so it's no surprise that it was not included. If it walks like a genocide and talks like a genocide, it's a genocide, regardless of legal definition quibbles.

Welcome to naked capitalism! Ain't it great?

Oh come on, it can't take that long to list the reasons why you hate the Republican Party. You don't need to write a thesis. Bullet points will do for starters...