OrlandoDon

I’ll add to my other post, overkill no doubt. I was Director of Athletics so was involved with all gender bathrooms, locker rooms, boys on girls teams etc. I was asked to research what other education institutions did as we went through our decision making processes so had a good feel what other schools were doing. I found it hard doing more and more things I didn’t believe in. I was definitely a democrat when I moved to LA and I don’t think I significantly changed in my beliefs, I just think the left shifted so I suddenly became right of center.

I’d assume it’s Dave and the board who determine the direction of the club and the roles of key personnel. While the title and responsibilities of the role may be different, I’d assume the philosophy behind the role and the key responsibilities don’t overly change. I don’t see us significantly changing our transfer strategy for example, but this person may provide our management team with a different kind of support. the hire is no doubt culturally aligned with Dave and the board so should be aligned with Thelin. I think….? I’d also assume Thelin will have input to this role and be involved in the hiring process.

I didn’t call you extremist, I called you sounding extreme, meaning I felt you were extremely one sided. I don’t really hear you considering the left to be at fault, just all pointing at the right. End of, to each their own. i didn’t see your earlier post, you lived here for 2 years? Or you have been living here for 2 years? Where? Having lived in LA for 17, you can definitely live in a one sided fishbowl here. Definitely a significant change in the us over the last 10 yrs.

Sorry, I missed your post. This place is like crack, can’t put the phone down! I know I am in the minority, possibly a team of 1, but I enjoy the convo! I was a teacher, coach, and administrator for 23 years here, plus also full time coaching for 4. I left education because I couldn’t take the politics of it any more. My heart wasn’t in it. I totally believe my experience became increasingly left leaning to say the least. Had to find a new career at 50! I worked in an ‘elite’ k-12 private school in LA for 17 years, public school in Florida for 4, private in Florida for 2. I sat through DEI being heavily and increasingly prioritized, even mandated, I saw how divisive affinity groups became, the mandatory Transgender training, we were pressured to be active with Black Lives Matter, I was required to attend the ‘people of color’ conference multiple times, questionable library books, we had pro DACA assemblies, had drag queen performances at assemblies (don’t know what else to call it and it was awkward), and in my last year there had a couple of transgender speakers come to talk and spent time with our students. Very weird experience. It was incredibly awkward and very strange to work in a place where you could not speak truthfully, freely, and openly. It also became increasingly uncomfortable and I felt I was walking on eggshells for the last couple of years, fearing I’d accidentally say the wrong thing. We had teachers cancelled and fired for speaking up. We got to the point where we wouldn’t hire straight/white/ males and every hire was a minority hire in some manner. We dispensed with the dean of students (discipline job) and renamed it, and we saw a significantly different approach to discipline and accountability. kids were not disciplined but were told to reflect, write a story, and apologize. When I left we were in the process of abolishing grades, and looking at grading for older students becoming a discussion and collaboration between teacher and student. We stopped giving out awards where students were highlighted for accomplishments because it meant singling out some students over others. The 2016 and 2020 elections were very uncomfortable as you dare not be republican or speak favorably about trump on campus. We had safe spaces and hired grief counselors when trump won (for both faculty and students.) I went to annual conferences and courses with faculty and administrators around the country and we shared experiences, mine was pretty normal in relation to other educational Institutions. after 17 years I was told I’d lose my job if I didn’t get the Covid vaccine, and my kids were kicked out of school for their parents not having the Covid vaccine. That’s why I moved back to Florida in 2022, a state I left in 2009. I will add that the Florida I moved to is not the Florida I heard about in the media. My school experience in LA was not extreme or unique, and it’s my understanding many colleges are the same if not more left, especially when you have young adults who can pretty much make decisions for themselves. my enthusiasm and passion for education was completed destroyed, it’s not an impartial and open minded educational experience that teaches young people to open mindedly think, research, and form views and opinions. Certainly not an environment promoting the acceptance of differing opinions, beliefs etc. I’ve lived long term in 3 states and have lived temporarily for coaching in over 40 states, coaching in clubs, schools, and colleges. Been around a ton of kids, parents, and educators. It’s been a long journey, very lonely at times, and particularly during COVID, one that has cost me friends. As bizarre as this may sound, and I’m sincere when I say this, donstalk has played a part in my life (an enjoyable one) where I can talk to Scottish people openly about my ongoing US experience.

Not quite as active here as we’d hoped. Yengi joint top scorer season to date!

True. It’s actually 3 points we need and a good few goals. Both outcomes for us are highly unlikely. We can hope.

I actually heard someone discussing the groypers yesterday, and the connection between him and the shooter was quickly dismissed. Your gerrymandering comment is interesting, both parties equally guilty. curious to know if you’ve paid attention to what has occurred in Texas New York and Illinois in recent years for example, the dems are very guilty there. Look at the congressional map of Illinois as an example, it’s comical where gerrymandering was used to the extreme. Illegal immigration is a significant factor too here, plus add in sanctuary cities and the placement of migrants, all to increase a certain population to vote democrat and who will count in the census which affects congressional seats. That’s fucked up. you appear very one sided, almost extreme. Your perspective is not my experience here. I was a teacher here for 25 years, liberal environment, lived in Tennessee, California, and Florida, good balance between red and blue, city and country. I think I can give pretty accurate context. I referenced Harris yesterday, gerrymandering today, I don’t think you are aware of the whole picture but take sound bites and run with it. I’m also at least accept some of the blame, although I only hear one party screaming hitler, nazi, fascist, bigot, white supremacists, threat to democracy etc daily, none of that helps at all. I don’t really hear the equivalent from the right towards the left, not nearly as bad or as much anyway. I hear some, but nowhere near to the extreme or as damaging. as I already said, the one person who can make a significant difference at attempting to unite is trump, but I don’t see it. He will also continue with his childish and annoying name calling too, hard to tell people to knock off the name calling, regardless of how extreme, when he does it so regularly. There has to be improved respect and civility from the top down. as I said to Rico, appreciate the discussion but I’m done. It’s a busy work week and time is limited now! I neglect my kids! I had a quiet weekend and could read and post, not nearly as much during the week.

Appreciate the discussion and your take. You’ve scolded me before for using the term far right, I’m not looking to debate the definition of right wing now. More often than not you’ll now hear me saying right and left leaning. I appreciate your insights though and the friendly debate. you’ve clearly got a knowledge/experience in politics I dont have, and dont really want to have. I can only speak to my experience living here and the change I have witnessed. I also think living in LA then Florida I can provide decent insight from two politically differing environments. I certainly hope experiences over the last week will change things, and judging by the world wide response, what happens here is certainly far reaching. Like we all are though, I’m pessimistic. More chance of us beating Motherwell 6-0 this weekend perhaps.

Interesting fact, if Dundee beat livi at home and we take 4 points or more from our next two league games, rangers will be bottom of the league when they play their next league game. to be fair, they were unlucky to lose to hearts, but enjoying every minute of their season to date.

I don’t think he’s going anywhere, he’s been more than backed, and we’ve heard of the three year project. I also really like the improved game experience and fan support, we really have a good thing going. I just don’t want the increasing crowd displeasure to become a thing. A few wins are needed. As for your top six comment, I think expectations are way higher than that.

Looked at the squad online and from what I can see we have 6 players who finished the 2023 season still with us in the current squad, devlin shinnie Milne Duncan polvara and Clarkson. None are permanent starting 11. From what I see, that also means 21-22 players are new since JTs arrival, just over one season ago. That’s quite stunning. How much time are people willing to give jimmy? That’s tough to be a cohesive team with players who aren’t that familiar with each other and who don’t know their teammates habits. i also think it’s worth noting that with players like frame kjarten and bilalovic I think they were signed too early for first team action, but signed before they became impossible to sign. Don’t know how much we see of them this season. jimmy has a real challenge, trying to get cohesion and chemistry when we’ll pretty much have two games a week into December, and we’ll have a rotating squad. There’s not a lot of full squad training going on in that kind of schedule. I’m optimistic but the next two games are beyond massive. A cup win and league win and we really kick on. Anything less and I think there’s increasing pressure on jimmy from fans.

You’d need to provide your definition of right wing for me to comment. My understanding has always been that right wing has some aspect of conservative beliefs or values and I don’t see that from the left. i won’t back down from my argument that living here makes a difference. I was stunned when the comment ‘who is Charlie Kirk’ was made. Based on world response he’s very well known. But that does depend on the coverage you get, I’d see him on shows and news daily, not just social media. But it depends on what you get in Britain from us. As I’ve overly stated, I’ve debated many times with my parents, I don’t believe you don’t get a fair reflection of what it’s like here in the us, and what coverage gets sent to the UK. I’ve made comments about certain things over the last few years and my parents were clueless to what I was talking about. There’s major incidents here that just don’t get covered in the left leaning news networks, which in believe is most of what you get. if you only watch msnbc or cnn you don’t get the whole story here either I suppose. Same with fox on the other side though, it’s not news but news opinion or propaganda. I got slammed here in 2019/2020 when I said trump was the lesser of two evils when Biden won. I think the left/dems at present are more dangerous, and I think the 4 years under Biden made things much worse. Many point at trump, he’s just less discrete and the media covers him in an extreme fashion, others, like it was with Biden, don’t seem to get the same exposure. one for you to watch, i predict insider trading drama here in the coming months, pelosi, Elizabeth Warren, AOC of late. I’m sure there are republicans too but it’s just not out there at present. Laws will be put in place to limit/disclose, even ban investment activity with politicians.

It’s either 5 or 6 points, seen two versions on the bbc! from how we played at the start of last season, we got the breaks and took chances. We’d have won yesterday by 2 or 3. Players will gain fitness, match sharpness, and chemistry. I’m optimistic. Even last season, as bad as we were from November onwards, had the last 2 weeks been different, we’d be third. Everyone beats everyone (mostly) in our league. A good run and we shoot up the league. Just hope Europe and the volume of games doesn’t have a negative impact.

It’s impossible to respond to that, so much there and I don’t have the time or interest to dive that deep. we’re talking current day politics, republicans and democrats, and the toxic and divisive environment. I do think it matters if you live here and are immersed in the culture. i asked you about your opinion on going to Aberdeen games live versus me who watches from afar. Are my opinions, if all I see and read is YouTube clips and the daily record online, as valid as you who see us live weekly and lives and breathes in the Aberdeen environment? I have worked in finance for almost 3 years. My portfolio is killing it right now. Had I listened to what the vast majority of news outlets here said at the start of the year about trump, tariffs, and the economy, i’d be in a very different situation. All the ‘experts’ there were wrong. I don’t believe most really believed what they were saying, it was simply anti trump. I’ve said it to my parents multiple times as well, I don’t think what you see and hear is totally accurate.

Curious to know your take, do you think your opinion on Aberdeen as someone who goes to games regularly carries more weight than someone like me who only watches on my iPad and reads online?

I suppose I should add I am not ignoring league form of 5 wins in 32 or whatever it is. At the same time, look at the squad overhaul since jimmy took over. That settles for a bit, cannot see an huge change I. January, surely we see improvement.

Im going to assume Celtic find a late winner but it’s irrelevant, we’re 5 points off third after the weekend going into a home cup quarter final, plus Europe to look forward to. Not bad considering we have 35 league games to play! yesterday showed shite but also promise. Based on highlights, On another day aouchiche scores, karlsson scores, Clarkson scores, polvara’s post was his European goal, fine line. We have a full week to train that I expect a fitter and more connected team next weekend. plenty of concern and negativity, but with a little time this could go very right. Cup win next weekend and a semi is a very positive boost too.

Can you clarify/elaborate on your comments about not being against political violence?

Harris’ protection was not removed. From what I understand, by law she got protection for 6 months, and she was given extra time, she got 9 months. Then the protection expired. So rather than it being removed, she was actually given an extension. you talk about trump pardoning but don’t talk about biden’s autopen granting pardons. Additionally, nobody actually knows who processed biden’s pardons. If I recall, his staffers were asked in congress under oath about it and they plead the fifth. It’s both sides, but if you are abroad you don’t get the full story as left leaning media doesn’t report it.

It’s not about winning an argument, I think it’s bigger than that. Winning and losing arguments is why we are at this point, we’re all losers at present. If you do some objective reading you’ll easily find it. We see it daily. From three assassination attempts in the last year, 2 on trump and now Kirk, plus the violence around BLM or ICE, politicized to left leaning causes, it’s all there. Listen to the likes of Tim Walz, AOC, its toxic. But you get similar on the right, there’s a lot of reflection needed that will unlikely happen. how much time have you spent in America?

And this is where you lose me when we discuss politics. I’m not mental, the name calling starts. Been attacked here before, be it in 2020 when trump lost, or during Covid, so i tread lightly because people get personal really quickly, and ultimately I’m here for football. I am speaking from my experience living here, and the current situation, not about 50 years. I also treat many of you like my parents, if you don’t live here you get a filtered view of America in your media. I don’t know if anyone else lives here but many of you seem to believe you have a really tight and clear understanding of American culture and what it’s like living here. From what I see and sense here, being around it daily, watching news here, CNN, MSNBC, FOX etc, (plus having watched Charlie Kirk at times in recent years), and maybe starting to pay more attention in the last 10 years or so, I form my views. The daily attacks on a government, the rhetoric of politicians on the left talking about hitler and fascism, that doesn’t help. Trying to assassinate a president, twice, doesn’t help. I think it’s a statement in itself that we’ve seen recent attacks on the right and there’s no violence. Had it been a left equivalent killed this week, I think there would have definitely been a left leaning violent response. I’ve also said I believe the one person who could really do something to make a positive different right now is trump. And he won’t.

I said the left was worse than the right and I believe that. I didn’t say the right was blameless or innocent. Both are at fault.

Just watch the highlights and we certainly had chances, couple of really good ones too in aouchiche right at the start, karlsson, and Clarkson in particular. It still has to click, with chemistry, and a bunch of players still not fully match sharp, plus the two today who have never played in the SPL, and others while little Scottish experience. I think we’ll come good, and based on results everyone is taking points off everyone except Celtic and hearts. I hate that the transfer window is open for a month of our season. I also hope we reflect on the number of preseason games we play. We look slow and need game time. It will come!

I do believe the left is worse than the right, both in speech and in acts of violence, and don’t necessarily disagree with the blame. As you know, I lean right and support much of what the right is saying. But the one person who I truly believe can make a difference right now is trump. The left are a mess with poor leadership, if trump made a conscious effort to speak about turning the temperature down, including stopping the name calling, hitler, facist etc, that would help. However, he was the initial name caller, although much being stupid and childish names, for which he most likely won’t stop. It’s hard for him as Kirk was a close friend of his, but he has to step above it all and I don’t think he’s capable. if trump was to focus on policy that is more agreeable and find easy wins where he can work with the left, showing the willingness to unite and collaborate, I think we’d see a difference. But he won’t. You also clearly see this here, the left won’t support trump with anything, regardless of topic. If trump tried to defuse a bomb the left would attack him for being insensitive to the bombs rights and invading its space. The left will argue against trump simply for it being trump. much like Ukraine and Russia, Israel, etc, it requires concessions, sacrifice in stance for the greater good etc, and I don’t think trump is a compromising guy. I also don’t think the left would compromise and work with him regardless of topic.

Problem with Clarkson is I don’t think he suits a 4-2-3-1. At the same time I don’t know if we have two deeper midfielders who suit this formation. Think we may be better suited to a 4-1-4-1 where one player sits with two more advanced/attack minded. Think that would suit the likes of Clarkson palaversa Armstrong shinnie and polvara, most of our central midfielders actually.