[rlmorel]

I was told a great rule of thumb I often use to cleave what someone is saying into what they really mean.

Any time you see the word "But" you can disregard everything that comes before it, and everything AFTER the word "But" is what they really MEAN to say.

In this case, what he MEANT to say was:

"I'm very frustrated upset and disturbed with where we are as a country."

[Red Badger]

Also the phrase, “...That being said...”