Sociotard Posted December 19, 2018 Report Share Posted December 19, 2018 I don't like Donald Trump, but I will give credit for this decision. I am a military isolationist, and I think that, long term, the smaller our global military footprint the better off we'll all be. Trump is pulling all US ground troops from Syria https://www.vox.com/2018/12/19/18148281/trump-syria-troops-kurds-turkey-war-withdrawal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted December 19, 2018 Report Share Posted December 19, 2018 But Trump is also boosting military spending. Reducing America's international military commitments would make for sizeable savings, which could be plowed back into upgrading equipment for domestic defense without raising the budget. If that was his intention. I'm convinced Trump has no such plan, though. His moves are only calculated to play to his base, which is often just as illogical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted December 19, 2018 Report Share Posted December 19, 2018 5 hours ago, Sociotard said: I don't like Donald Trump, but I will give credit for this decision. I am a military isolationist, and I think that, long term, the smaller our global military footprint the better off we'll all be. Trump is pulling all US ground troops from Syria https://www.vox.com/2018/12/19/18148281/trump-syria-troops-kurds-turkey-war-withdrawal In some instances I agree. In this case, leaving the Kurds to die in exchange for Erdogan shutting up about MBS, and entirely ceding Syria to the Russians, is not a strategy for long term success. Syria may have been unwinnable in a conventional sense but sticking it out could have eventually beaten both Assad and Putin through attrition. Ternaugh, TrickstaPriest, Grailknight and 3 others 4 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted December 20, 2018 Report Share Posted December 20, 2018 On 12/18/2018 at 7:18 AM, Pattern Ghost said: Bump stock ban incoming. Depending out outcomes of lawsuits, no doubt. You know what’s weird? I haven’t heard anything about this. Nothing from the NRA, Trump, Mitch, any of the GOP congresscritters, nothing from Fox. Where is the outrage from the gun lobby? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted December 20, 2018 Report Share Posted December 20, 2018 Perhaps they see this as a convenient bone to throw to the gun-control lobby. Bump stocks were never an NRA priority issue, because they're just a workaround to the restrictions on fully automatic weapons the NRA wants to overturn; but recent tragedy has made bump stocks a provocative and polarizing symbol. A ban on them has broad support across the American public, and will make the government look like it's taking action without having to touch more sensitive and controversial concerns. wcw43921 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted December 20, 2018 Report Share Posted December 20, 2018 Sure, but usually any new restriction or regulation on gun ownership is loudly protested as part of a slippery slope that ends with jackbooted stormtroopers coming to seize our guns. The silence here is striking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pattern Ghost Posted December 20, 2018 Report Share Posted December 20, 2018 It's kind of hard to refute that bump stocks (and similar devices) are intentional end runs around restrictions on full auto. I'm sure the NRA and some other organizations might put up a token resistance, but I'm also equally sure they don't really care about them. Besides, they aren't technically being banned*, just made NFA items. So pony up your $200 tax and you can keep your bump stock. (Of course, I don't know how that'd work out on a practical basis with the 90 day time period, b/c there's no way that all of those requests can get processed that fast.) *The article is sloppy here, as usual: Full auto weapon ownership isn't banned, just restricted. New manufacture of full auto weapons is banned. And I'm not sure this order puts bump stocks into that area. Would be interesting to read an informed article on it. TrickstaPriest 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pattern Ghost Posted December 20, 2018 Report Share Posted December 20, 2018 1 hour ago, Old Man said: Sure, but usually any new restriction or regulation on gun ownership is loudly protested as part of a slippery slope that ends with jackbooted stormtroopers coming to seize our guns. The silence here is striking. Incrementalism is a valid tactic in eroding rights you don't want the plebs to have. The end goal of the anti-gun lobby -- or at least some significant portion of it -- is to ban all of the guns. Or at least to the greatest extent they can in a post-Heller world. Here's an interesting article from Justice Stephens calling for repeal of the 2nd Amendment, just to make the point that you may not really be paranoid if they're really out to get you*: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/27/opinion/john-paul-stevens-repeal-second-amendment.html For me, the scary thing about that article isn't that a Supreme Court justice wants to do away with the 2nd Amendment, it's this statement: Overturning that decision via a constitutional amendment to get rid of the Second Amendment would be simple and would do more to weaken the N.R.A.’s ability to stymie legislative debate and block constructive gun control legislation than any other available option. "Simple" in this context is a gross understatement. I mean, in the Occam's Razor sense, if you didn't have a pesky 2nd Amendment, you would have free reign passing gun control legislation. But practically speaking . . . that's just crazy talk. You're going to have to engage in several generations' worth of (successful) social engineering to get the votes to pull off a full repeal of the 2nd. You'd think he'd understand that since the premise of the op ed is that new laws can't be passed despite a high number of mass shootings. It only took a couple to get the UK to where it is and one to get Australia to where it is. That should tell him how firmly entrenched in our society the right is. *Of course, you can both be paranoid, and have people out to get you. We do seem to have an unusually large and vocal number of those running around these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pattern Ghost Posted December 20, 2018 Report Share Posted December 20, 2018 I'd drop this in the random videos thread, but aside from being hilarious, it's also a cutting commentary on Individual 1, so here may be better: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted December 20, 2018 Report Share Posted December 20, 2018 I wonder how many acting careers over the years have been boosted by appearances in sketches like this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pattern Ghost Posted December 20, 2018 Report Share Posted December 20, 2018 I think it's definitely a boost to her TV presence. I'd only heard of her from Supergirl and these sketches, but she's been on Broadway for years, and has won some awards. She's currently playing Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted December 20, 2018 Report Share Posted December 20, 2018 What will comics do when Donnie and Co vanish from the scene, and now they have to dig to get material? Of course, right now I'm just hoping that Trump doesn't eviscerate us out of spite as he doesn't get his way in all things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted December 20, 2018 Report Share Posted December 20, 2018 Speaking of which, he’s still making noises about shutting down the government if he doesn’t get his wall. Merry Christmas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 And the hourglass is running rather low. Politico has a piece saying it was the hard-core right wing nutjobs raking Trump over the coals that led to this. Well, if true, one has to wonder yet again about the long-term viability of the Republican Party. They're willing to burn down the Party's house much too easily...because they're critics, not leaders. Trump's pullout from Syria is also not going to be popular with many Republicans. This feels less about factional disputes than Trump's personal tunnel vision. Trump's moves in general, tho, cause enormous damage to our ability to conduct foreign policy moving forward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pattern Ghost Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 The last adult has left the Trump administration. Just heard on the radio that Mattis has "resigned." Edit: NYT article on Mattis leaving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 Speaking of which, he’s still making noises about shutting down the government if he doesn’t get his wall. Merry Christmas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 It isn't a matter any more of agreeing or disagreeing with any particular decision or opinion from Donald Trump. His overall conduct constantly disregards standards of respect and civility. He violates the trust and responsibility of the nation he leads toward allies and friends. He fosters distrust, fear and chaos in subordinates and the public to exploit for his benefit. He all but abandons the pretense of acting for anything other than his own aggrandizement. The wounds he's inflicting on his country's standing and influence in the world, and the faith between America's government and governed, may take a generation or more to heal, and some scars may never fade. Doc Shadow 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 1 hour ago, Pattern Ghost said: The last adult has left the Trump administration. Just heard on the radio that Mattis has "resigned." Edit: NYT article on Mattis leaving. Wow. Yeah, this is a massive slam. All the more so because of its tone. Lord Liaden: I've said much the same. You said it better. If I may add, in doing so he forces a Hobson's choice on so many around him. Does the Republican establishment really have a choice but to follow? Sure, but how great is *that* cost? Classic theory of co-opting someone is, get them to do little things, then use that as leverage to force them to escalate. That's Trump and the Republican establishment. They *couldn't* reject him at the convention, they *couldn't* reject him early on...by the time they could it was too late. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 On the Mattis resignation, a thought just crossed my mind. Remember this?https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/05/opinion/trump-white-house-anonymous-resistance.html?module=inline Yeah, I think this resignation gives considerable credence to this...and it says they're losing the battle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 27 minutes ago, unclevlad said: Lord Liaden: I've said much the same. You said it better. If I may add, in doing so he forces a Hobson's choice on so many around him. Does the Republican establishment really have a choice but to follow? Sure, but how great is *that* cost? Classic theory of co-opting someone is, get them to do little things, then use that as leverage to force them to escalate. That's Trump and the Republican establishment. They *couldn't* reject him at the convention, they *couldn't* reject him early on...by the time they could it was too late. Thank you. ☺️ The Republican Party establishment didn't hide its contempt for Trump from the start, but that didn't stop him from riding a wave of populist disaffection, which the party itself had already greatly contributed to by its past conduct. Once Trump was in office, they convinced themselves they could aim him toward decisions where they wanted to "win" the issues they seemed enamored of. But it appears to finally be sinking in that Donald Trump can't be aimed by anything but his "gut." I only hope the elected representatives accept their constitutional responsibility to act as a balance to the power of the Presidency, before it really is too late. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 24 minutes ago, unclevlad said: On the Mattis resignation, a thought just crossed my mind. Remember this?https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/05/opinion/trump-white-house-anonymous-resistance.html?module=inline Yeah, I think this resignation gives considerable credence to this...and it says they're losing the battle. Whatever criticisms one might level against the previous forty-four occupants of POTUS, almost all of them acknowledged that other people knew more about some subjects than they did, and their experience should be heeded. Doc Shadow 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pattern Ghost Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 A thought crossed my mind: Pelosi is incoming Speaker of the House. Putting her in line for the Presidency after Pence. So, has anyone heard of any possible charges against Pence in all of this? I'm not saying I'm hoping for a two-fer, but I'm also not not saying I'm not hoping for a two-fer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 IIRC, Pence's policy positions (try saying that 3 times fast) were a little scary during the campaign. No...quite scary. I don't recall specifics but he scared me. That said, not NEARLY like Orange Don does. But I've never heard of a hint of charges against him. And even assuming Trump's forced out, I think it'd take an outright smoking howitzer to remove Pence as well. Impeaching Trump can easily be justified as protecting the Constitution; following up by going after Pence feels like you're trying for a coup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pattern Ghost Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 6 minutes ago, unclevlad said: following up by going after Pence feels like you're trying for a coup Only if he doesn't have his hands in the pie. I haven't heard anything at all about him, either. He seems mostly invisible to the press. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 3 minutes ago, Pattern Ghost said: Only if he doesn't have his hands in the pie. I haven't heard anything at all about him, either. He seems mostly invisible to the press. If you'll let me switch that to "silent" rather than invisible...that's because Trump alone makes more noise than an entire fighter squadron taking off from a carrier. But the Mueller investigation is about campaign issues, not Trump's actions as President. The roots go back to before the nomination. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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