Tom Posted April 9, 2017 Report Share Posted April 9, 2017 That's one of the ways wars can be useful. It tends to kill off large numbers of people, in addition to stimulating the economy and spurring innovation. It's also generally considered a great way to distract from domestic politics... Oh, look, we're sending a carrier battle group to the Korean peninsula... http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/09/politics/navy-korean-peninsula/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted April 9, 2017 Report Share Posted April 9, 2017 That's one of the ways wars can be useful. It tends to kill off large numbers of people, in addition to stimulating the economy and spurring innovation. It's also generally considered a great way to distract from domestic politics... Oh, look, we're sending a carrier battle group to the Korean peninsula... http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/09/politics/navy-korean-peninsula/index.html This cannot end well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted April 9, 2017 Report Share Posted April 9, 2017 If we go by historical cycles, the world is due for another major global war anyway. I WAS kind of hoping it would be one we could sit out, or arrive gloriously late too (it worked well for us before)... but hey, you know, I'm sure us fighting in North Korea, Syria, possibly the Ukraine area all at the same time will work at least as well as that going after Iraq when we weren't done with Afghanistan bit did. I know there are monsters in this world, and I know some of them should be stopped... but I also keep flashing back to that quote by Bilbo Baggins "I feel thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted April 9, 2017 Report Share Posted April 9, 2017 We've been trending towards increased conflict for a while now. I tend both toward hawkishness and globalism, but I like to believe in there being a plan or overarching strategy involved. A president who ran on isolationism and who is quoted as believing in the value of acting on his initial impulse du jour does not inspire me with confidence on the existence of either a plan or strategy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted April 9, 2017 Report Share Posted April 9, 2017 Of course he has a plan! The plan is to distract people from his ties with Russia. It's foolproof! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted April 9, 2017 Report Share Posted April 9, 2017 We've been trending towards increased conflict for a while now. I tend both toward hawkishness and globalism, but I like to believe in there being a plan or overarching strategy involved. A president who ran on isolationism and who is quoted as believing in the value of acting on his initial impulse du jour does not inspire me with confidence on the existence of either a plan or strategy. Acting on the impulse de jour is the very last thing I would want a man with access to the most powerful military on Earth to be doing. Obama thought about his actions and knew they would have consequences. Obama's steps in Syria were halting at best, but he was clearly looking for something that would have a positive outcome, and never found it. Trump is just reacting, in a knee-jerk fashion, to stimulus. And that response was at best ham-fisted and at worst mutton-headed. Impulsive actions havi8ng long-term consequences is a concept that Americans seem to have lost track of in our pursuit of instant gratification. We see that in a lot of the personal decisions people make (how many of us have hit the 1-Click button on Amazon and gotten something it turns out we didn't really want?), and now it's becoming endemic in politics. And this is a bad thing, especially when you can get caught in quagmires that exact a huge toll in human life. DShomshak 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pattern Ghost Posted April 9, 2017 Report Share Posted April 9, 2017 Impulsive actions havi8ng long-term consequences is a concept that Americans seem to have lost track of in our pursuit of instant gratification. I don't think this is a uniquely American trait. I'd say more a sign of the times in general. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted April 9, 2017 Report Share Posted April 9, 2017 Acting on the impulse de jour is the very last thing I would want a man with access to the most powerful military on Earth to be doing. <...snip...> Which is certainly a major reason any number of people didn't vote for him. Unfortunately, sufficient people either thought he'd become 'presidential' or that he'd surround himself with professionals who'd keep him from doing anything too damaging or whatever reason they had for preferring him to an alternative. Vurbal and Iuz the Evil 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iuz the Evil Posted April 10, 2017 Report Share Posted April 10, 2017 Which is certainly a major reason any number of people didn't vote for him. Unfortunately, sufficient people either thought he'd become 'presidential' or that he'd surround himself with professionals who'd keep him from doing anything too damaging or whatever reason they had for preferring him to an alternative. My understanding is that presently you can become Presidential (or define the "moment you became President") by staying on script and reading from a teleprompter, with no tweets that strike people as the sort of thing one's insane, drunken uncle might produce after a bender, for about 90 minutes. ... It's not that high a bar, these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted April 10, 2017 Report Share Posted April 10, 2017 That's one thing about this situation--it does prove that anyone, literally anyone, can, with a little effort and luck, become President of the United States. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st barbara Posted April 10, 2017 Report Share Posted April 10, 2017 That's one thing about this situation--it does prove that anyone, literally anyone, can, with a little effort and luck, become President of the United States. So which member of this forum is going to infiltrate a major party to stand for president at the next election ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aylwin13 Posted April 10, 2017 Report Share Posted April 10, 2017 I nominate Old Man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted April 10, 2017 Report Share Posted April 10, 2017 That's one thing about this situation--it does prove that anyone, literally anyone, can, with a little effort and luck and a substantial personal fortune, become President of the United States. Fixed that for ya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted April 10, 2017 Report Share Posted April 10, 2017 I nominate Old Man. Man, what did I do to deserve that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted April 10, 2017 Report Share Posted April 10, 2017 Being almost believable on the Internet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoloOfEarth Posted April 10, 2017 Report Share Posted April 10, 2017 Guys... you're talking about the person who has "... and that's when the destruction began" as his tagline. Old Man 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted April 10, 2017 Report Share Posted April 10, 2017 See? Believable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted April 10, 2017 Report Share Posted April 10, 2017 Guys... you're talking about the person who has "... and that's when the destruction began" as his tagline. Which means nobody will be surprised when he starts blowing stuff up and we can believe he's following a plan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted April 10, 2017 Report Share Posted April 10, 2017 Which means nobody will be surprised when he starts blowing stuff up and we can believe he's following a plan. Truth in advertising Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted April 10, 2017 Report Share Posted April 10, 2017 Obviously I won't be running on a non-interventionist platform and then start throwing missiles around after less than 100 days, like some people. I will also ban gerrymandering and believe in reality. In fact, perhaps I should write up a manifesto detailing the core values of the Reality Party®. Any suggestions? Netzilla and L. Marcus 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted April 10, 2017 Report Share Posted April 10, 2017 You'll probably want to start with coming up with a logo which makes the 'i' really obvious or they'll think you're selling houses. Pattern Ghost 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted April 11, 2017 Report Share Posted April 11, 2017 That reminds me, I'm also going to find the guy who thought it was a good idea to capitalize "realtor" like it was a title, and rendition that bastard to an enhanced interrogation facility in Yemen for the rest of his (short) life. Either that or just continue to quietly seethe about it. One of those. aylwin13 and Pariah 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ternaugh Posted April 11, 2017 Report Share Posted April 11, 2017 You'll probably want to start with coming up with a logo which makes the 'i' really obvious or they'll think you're selling houses. The last thing we need is someone involved in real estate to become President. Even worse if they dabble in haberdashery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted April 11, 2017 Report Share Posted April 11, 2017 The last thing we need is someone involved in real estate to become President. Even worse if they dabble in haberdashery. Actually, haberdashery may be an excellent qualification. Apparently all you need to achieve absolute power is a . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hopcroft Posted April 11, 2017 Report Share Posted April 11, 2017 You'll probably want to start with coming up with a logo which makes the 'i' really obvious or they'll think you're selling houses. He's not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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