Political Discussion Thread (With Rules)

[Old Man]

1 hour ago, Hermit said:

I'd go further, right now, our allies are RIGHT to not trust us, or at least our government. I don't think they should ignore everything that comes out an American's official's mouth, but I certainly find it shameful that right now our best boast is "At least we're not  Russia or China".  If Trump gets another four years, I advise the EU to prepare a replacement for NATO as best they can because I don't think it will last. 

No government is going to trust a country that allowed Trump to take charge. Nor should they. 

[unclevlad]

Having so many TOP commanders speak out against Trump may not sway the general public, but it might resonate with active duty military, veterans, and families.  

 

More likely, tho, it'll mean more to historians than anyone else.  Nothing shifts the needle on Trump's approval ratings very much or very long.

[archer]

Ron Paul appears to have had a stroke during a livestream on his YouTube channel.

 

https://www.eagnews.org/2020/09/video-ron-paul-appears-to-suffer-stroke-during-livestream/

 

I can't say I agreed with him all the time (where's my rolleyes emojii).

 

But after he retired from Congress, I would have loved to have given him an independent government post to investigate and nail departments which were spending lavishly on entertainment, redecorating, business trips for "meetings" which happen to be at resorts, etc.

 

I think that work would have made him deliriously happy and it would have saved the government millions of dollars a year which could be put toward more worthy causes.

[assault]

9 hours ago, unclevlad said:

Having so many TOP commanders speak out against Trump may not sway the general public, but it might resonate with active duty military, veterans, and families.  

 

More likely, tho, it'll mean more to historians than anyone else.  Nothing shifts the needle on Trump's approval ratings very much or very long.

I was wondering about that today. My thought was that Trump's support was likely to be strongest among the enlisted ranks. By which I mean, those sections relatively poorly educated, conservative, and white. Obviously, that's not anything like the whole US military.

And equally obviously, the officer corps can be quite terrible too. I won't even speculate on the social base of that, because I'm not from the US.

[Lord Liaden]

2 hours ago, assault said:

I was wondering about that today. My thought was that Trump's support was likely to be strongest among the enlisted ranks. By which I mean, those sections relatively poorly educated, conservative, and white. Obviously, that's not anything like the whole US military.

 

That's actually a rather outdated view of the American military. They don't want mindlessly obedient thugs, they want smart, adaptable people who can think on their feet. And with so much technology in their daily use today, they need people who can handle it. Providing free education is actually one of their strongest recruiting tools.

 

This obviously can't exclude racism, sexism, or any other "ism" from the ranks of the enlisted, or the officers for that matter. We've all learned of many examples. But the ignorance Trump thrives on is something the American military actively discourages.

[archer]

Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's Supreme Court pick.

 

https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/518399-progressive-group-buys-domain-name-of-trumps-no-1-supreme-court

[Dr. MID-Nite]

I'm just waiting for the inevitable disaster that will be the November election. Trump has succeeded. I no longer have faith in the system. He's managed to plant the bug that will make any result questioned unless the result is his victory and a disputed result goes to the court and almost guarantees a Trump victory regardless of the vote.. And the populace doesn't seem to care. They just meander on like nothing is wrong. Protests have so far done nothing but prove how impotent the populace is compared to the monolithic Corporate Oligarchy. The people seem to actually want the return of fascism. The want to be "ruled". I hate to rant, but my heart and mind are tired...very tired....of so called humanity.

[TrickstaPriest]

1 hour ago, Dr. MID-Nite said:

I'm just waiting for the inevitable disaster that will be the November election. Trump has succeeded. I no longer have faith in the system. He's managed to plant the bug that will make any result questioned unless the result is his victory and a disputed result goes to the court and almost guarantees a Trump victory regardless of the vote.. And the populace doesn't seem to care. They just meander on like nothing is wrong. Protests have so far done nothing but prove how impotent the populace is compared to the monolithic Corporate Oligarchy. The people seem to actually want the return of fascism. The want to be "ruled". I hate to rant, but my heart and mind are tired...very tired....of so called humanity.

 

I'm with you there.  This has officially ended any idea I had that we (humans) had a future.

[Pattern Ghost]

8 hours ago, archer said:

Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's Supreme Court pick.

 

My eyes! My eyes! What a god-awful design.

[Ranxerox]

1 hour ago, Dr. MID-Nite said:

I'm just waiting for the inevitable disaster that will be the November election. Trump has succeeded. I no longer have faith in the system. He's managed to plant the bug that will make any result questioned unless the result is his victory and a disputed result goes to the court and almost guarantees a Trump victory regardless of the vote.. And the populace doesn't seem to care. They just meander on like nothing is wrong. Protests have so far done nothing but prove how impotent the populace is compared to the monolithic Corporate Oligarchy. The people seem to actually want the return of fascism. The want to be "ruled". I hate to rant, but my heart and mind are tired...very tired....of so called humanity.

 

25 minutes ago, TrickstaPriest said:

 

I'm with you there.  This has officially ended any idea I had that we (humans) had a future.

 

No.  It is only that way if you choose for it to be.  The people are there and the will is there to reclaim our country.  Over a month ago I put in for time off from work after election day, so that I can go to Washington to participate in evicting the current of occupant from the White House if it comes to that.  You can bet your bottom dollar that if it comes to that, I will not be alone. 

[Cancer]

Some young folks here might not recognize this.  But there are eerie parallels.

Spoiler

 

 

[assault]

11 hours ago, Lord Liaden said:

 

That's actually a rather outdated view of the American military. They don't want mindlessly obedient thugs, they want smart, adaptable people who can think on their feet. And with so much technology in their daily use today, they need people who can handle it. Providing free education is actually one of their strongest recruiting tools.

 

This obviously can't exclude racism, sexism, or any other "ism" from the ranks of the enlisted, or the officers for that matter. We've all learned of many examples. But the ignorance Trump thrives on is something the American military actively discourages.

A generous assessment of the force that produced Abu Ghraib.

 

While we are at it, and to show I am not America-bashing, there is an ongoing scandal about war crimes committed by the Australian SAS, plus a more general culture of imbecility throughout the Australian Defence Force.

 

The ADF is just as much a high tech, modern military as the US one, despite having vastly inferior budgets.

 

I'm not familiar with the Canadian situation.

[Lord Liaden]

16 hours ago, assault said:

A generous assessment of the force that produced Abu Ghraib.

 

While we are at it, and to show I am not America-bashing, there is an ongoing scandal about war crimes committed by the Australian SAS, plus a more general culture of imbecility throughout the Australian Defence Force.

 

The ADF is just as much a high tech, modern military as the US one, despite having vastly inferior budgets.

 

I'm not familiar with the Canadian situation.

 

As I noted previously, such behaviors can't be excluded from the American military, especially if they're being mandated from the top of the hierarchy at the time. But unethical policy is not the same as ignorance.

[Old Man]

19 hours ago, Ranxerox said:

 

 

No.  It is only that way if you choose for it to be.  The people are there and the will is there to reclaim our country.  Over a month ago I put in for time off from work after election day, so that I can go to Washington to participate in evicting the current of occupant from the White House if it comes to that.  You can bet your bottom dollar that if it comes to that, I will not be alone. 

Bring siege equipment, there are now at least two rings of walls around the WH in addition to the wrought iron fence. 
 

edit: Found the link. 

[unclevlad]

On 9/25/2020 at 6:09 PM, archer said:

Ron Paul appears to have had a stroke during a livestream on his YouTube channel.

 

https://www.eagnews.org/2020/09/video-ron-paul-appears-to-suffer-stroke-during-livestream/

 

I can't say I agreed with him all the time (where's my rolleyes emojii).

 

But after he retired from Congress, I would have loved to have given him an independent government post to investigate and nail departments which were spending lavishly on entertainment, redecorating, business trips for "meetings" which happen to be at resorts, etc.

 

I think that work would have made him deliriously happy and it would have saved the government millions of dollars a year which could be put toward more worthy causes.

 

He would've died from sheer exhaustion under the current administration.

[unclevlad]

19 hours ago, Ranxerox said:

 

 

No.  It is only that way if you choose for it to be.  The people are there and the will is there to reclaim our country.  Over a month ago I put in for time off from work after election day, so that I can go to Washington to participate in evicting the current of occupant from the White House if it comes to that.  You can bet your bottom dollar that if it comes to that, I will not be alone. 

 

No one will deny there's that side;  what we believe is simply that the pushback will be far, far stronger than you think.  
 

We still have outright deniers that Covid-19 is nothing, that the whole thing is a hoax.  No matter what Trump does, his approval rating barely wavers.  QAnon's conspiracy theories are slowly infiltrating more mainstream outlets.  Trump has obliterated the integrity of the CDC and FDA...and down the line, this will still resonate, as even when we get, say, a "climate change is a major issue" report, it'll be blasted as a political document supporting the Socialist Green agenda.  (Conflating the inflammatory rhetoric I'm hearing every day from the Republican candidates here.)  

 

Truth has already lost, and I see no path to bring it back.  There's no dividing line any more;  there's a dividing Grand Canyon.

[unclevlad]

One thing that has struck me for a while now...if you're not in the US, you wouldn't probably be aware of this, but ever since late August, there's been an absolutely enormous push to vote.  Make sure you register.  Make sure you vote.  By networks, by sports leagues, on social media.  National outlets and local messages.  It's been ubiquitous and unceasing.

 

Not objecting, just noting.  I've never seen anything close to this level of effort, especially SO far in advance of the actual election.

[archer]

Trump-Biden won't shake hands before debate because of COVID.

 

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/518456-trump-biden-will-not-shake-hands-at-first-debate-due-to-covid-19

 

Missing a big opportunity here since we know COVID can be spread through contact.

 

I'd love to see Biden walk across the stage and stick his hand out to the person who has insisted that COVID is a hoax and nothing more than a flu. The visual of Trump refusing to shake hands would be priceless, if we could get it.

[Lord Liaden]

1 hour ago, unclevlad said:

One thing that has struck me for a while now...if you're not in the US, you wouldn't probably be aware of this, but ever since late August, there's been an absolutely enormous push to vote.  Make sure you register.  Make sure you vote.  By networks, by sports leagues, on social media.  National outlets and local messages.  It's been ubiquitous and unceasing.

 

Not objecting, just noting.  I've never seen anything close to this level of effort, especially SO far in advance of the actual election.

 

I've encountered enough American commercial broadcasts and social media recently to be aware of it. I think it's enormously healthy. Democracy doesn't really function without engagement by the populace, but I know that's been seriously sub-par in the States for quite a few years. From here it looks like it's been a long time since the American electorate has faced a choice that raises such passions, from both sides. I sincerely hope this campaign translates to a massive turnout, not just for this election, but as a revitalizer to political involvement in the US.

 

I remember the last referendum on independence for the Canadian province of Quebec, in 1995. Over 93% of eligible voters cast ballots, and the "No to independence" side won by literally less than 1%. Every vote really did count that day. I consider that one of democracy's finest hours.

[Starlord]

NY Times publishes Trump's tax returns

 

The president “paid $750 in federal income taxes the year he won the presidency”, the paper reported, adding that “in his first year in the White House, he paid another $750.

“He had paid no income taxes at all in 10 of the previous 15 years – largely because he reported losing much more money than he made."

[IndianaJoe3]

2 hours ago, archer said:

I'd love to see Biden walk across the stage and stick his hand out to the person who has insisted that COVID is a hoax and nothing more than a flu. The visual of Trump refusing to shake hands would be priceless, if we could get it.

 

IIRC, Trump wasn't big on handshakes even before COVID-19.

[Old Man]

49 minutes ago, IndianaJoe3 said:

 

IIRC, Trump wasn't big on handshakes even before COVID-19.

On the contrary, Trump was famous for his violent handshakes, which he used to bully whoever he was meeting. There are some comical YouTube videos of his handshakes. 
 

Did any Amurricans here pay less than $750 in tax in 2016?

[Lord Liaden]

2 hours ago, Starlord said:

NY Times publishes Trump's tax returns

 

The president “paid $750 in federal income taxes the year he won the presidency”, the paper reported, adding that “in his first year in the White House, he paid another $750.

“He had paid no income taxes at all in 10 of the previous 15 years – largely because he reported losing much more money than he made."

 

Sadly, I can't see this making a practical difference. It comes as a surprise to no one who's been paying attention the past four years. The Trump cultists won't believe it or won't care. If any voter can still be undecided after everything Trump's said and done over the part four years, I don't believe this will push them over the edge. While it's impossible to shame Donald Trump with anything.

[Pariah]

And to think the people used to call President Clinton "Teflon Billy".

 

If only we had known then what we know now.

[Lord Liaden]

Liberal use of snake oil, perhaps.

 

But it's hard to believe Clinton was impeached for lying about one consensual extramarital affair. For Trump that's Tuesday.