@smeagolheart I didn't say that things were guaranteed to get better, only that things cannot get better unless enough of us make the conscious decision to return to a reality in which things have the possibility of becoming better.
If those four soldiers were on a classified mission we may not be told why they were in Niger. Given that Niger shares its southern border with Nigeria, though, they might have been assisting local forces in fighting against Boko Haram.
Trump's daily behavior would be disturbing even if it was being exhibited by your wayward sibling or uncle. In a President, it is terrifying.
Also, Al Franken just tore Jeff Sessions a new asshole on his meetings with Russians during the campaign. This is by my count the 3rd time Sessions has appeared before the Senate and is clearly lying his ass off.
Putin, a lot of Russia scholars argued at the time, should be understood as a technocratic modernizer from the comparatively liberal city of St. Petersburg. Erdogan, a lot of Turkey scholars kept insisting, was on the way to reconciling Islam and democracy by following the path blazed by Christian Democrats in countries like Germany and Italy. Orbán, a lot of Hungary scholars believed, was a moderate conservative whose tough talk was belied by his Oxford education and his past as a liberal politician.
As it turns out, all of these experts were wildly, disastrously wrong. Today, Russia and Turkey are dictatorships with a thin electoral veneer. Hungary is well on its way toward joining their autocratic ranks.
My old Middle East history professor, David Lesch, predicted that Bashar Al-Assad would be a much more moderate leader than his authoritarian father Hafiz--he did not anticipate the civil war that Assad would later start. Lesch actually intended to go to Syria and tell Assad, who was a personal friend of his (they met every year), that it would be better to either implement some democratic reforms or just try to "muddle through" the protests instead of resorting to violent repression. Unfortunately, Lesch got blacklisted and never had the opportunity to meet with Assad to advise caution or restraint.
In this case, though, I'm not sure I blame Assad himself. He was an ophthalmologist who was never expected to succeed his father because his old brother (killed in a car accident) was supposed to do so, and he had a reputation in his childhood as a relatively humble man, not a spoiled baby tyrant like Uday or Qusay Hussein who abused their position as the son of a dictator. Based on Assad's background, he doesn't seem like the type to use violence as a first resort.
I'm guessing that Lesch underestimated the role of Assad's advisors in shaping his policy. After all, Assad had never been groomed for leadership and his only allies would have been the same authoritarian folks that his father put into power. If Assad ever considered a nonviolent response to nonviolent protests, I don't think it would have been hard for all the other figures in the government to persuade him otherwise.
Either way, I don't think we should give world leaders the benefit of the doubt, and just assume they will not abuse their power.
I just discovered that moderators can promote their own posts.
The smallest abuse of power! (/kidding)
Also, when people are put in charge of others there's a certain percentage of those that just stop caring what happens to those they wield power over. Maybe a numbness grows. The military leader cares about the first dozen people that die under their care, but the 26th? Why that's just another Tuesday.
Seriously, there appears to be a disproportionate amount of sociopaths and psychopaths that are either drawn towards or a result of positions of power. (*I'm talking about psychopaths in the meaning of the disorder or people that don't feel empathy for others as opposed to the serial killer pop culture definition)
Jeff Sessions actually said he "didn't recall" if he had been contacted by Mueller's team for an interview. That means that either a.) he is lying to Congress or b.) his memory and mental state is in such dire straits that he should be immediately committed to a long-term care facility.
This law is almost unenforceable and discriminatory. Hopefully it gets challenged in court soon and shot down.
And:
Gordon Downie, a Canadian icon passed away today. Lead singer of The Tragically Hip, he defined what it was to be Canadian in the '90s and '00s. One of his last albums, Secret Path , helped bring the Residential School controversy to the public's attention by telling the true story of a 12 year old kid attempting to walk home from one of these schools.
If you have 2 hours to spare, Secret Path is worth a listen/watch.
So Florida Governor, extremist Republican Rick Scott, has declared a state of emergency over Richard Spencer, American Nazi, speech upcoming at a Florida University. Additionally hundreds of police will be deployed there.
Those police will not be there to stop the Nazis but rather to arrest protesters. It does not take 500 police to arrest one Richard Spencer.
The cops will be expected to be there doing something, they figure they might as well arrest protesters. They've probably been conditioned to hate them anyway - ohh those college libruls. As a bonus, if they can get some felonies on them during some mass arrests they can take away their voting rights too. This is the gift that can keep on giving and can help keep Florida's slim margin for team red in the future.
So this is win win for Gov Scott and the Republican party. Might as well make it the biggest deal they can and arrest as many people as humanly possible. He probably invited Spencer there personally as a means to protect his base.
So Florida Governor, extremist Republican Rick Scott, has declared a state of emergency over Richard Spencer, American Nazi, speech upcoming at a Florida University. Additionally hundreds of police will be deployed there.
Those police will not be there to stop the Nazis but rather to arrest protesters. It does not take 500 police to arrest one Richard Spencer.
The cops will be expected to be there doing something, they figure they might as well arrest protesters. They've probably been conditioned to hate them anyway - ohh those college libruls. As a bonus, if they can get some felonies on them during some mass arrests they can take away their voting rights too. This is the gift that can keep on giving and can help keep Florida's slim margin for team red in the future.
So this is win win for Gov Scott and the Republican party. Might as well make it the biggest deal they can and arrest as many people as humanly possible. He probably invited Spencer there personally as a means to protect his base.
As an aside to this, the University of Florida has given Spencer authority over what media and journalists can cover the event. Because free speech is so important to the Alt-right crowd that they need veto power over who can cover the event. You won't hear this mentioned anywhere in the typical sections of the internet who traffic in this free-speech absolutism.
If they suspect Sessions is guilty of a crime then they should charge him. If Congress suspects he has perjured himself then they should file that charge, as well. If no charges wind up being filed then either a) he is innocent or b) he was smarter than Congress and managed to get away with whatever they think he did.
I don't think psychopaths purposefully seek out power; rather, I think being invested with political power *causes* one to become somewhat psycopathic, especially if that elected official begins to think "I *deserve* this office". This sort of quasi-psychopathic thinking can occur at any level, whether sheriff, city councilmember, State representative, Member of Congress, Member of the Cabinet, or President. The adoration of constituents can also lead to narcissistic behavior patterns--my voters *love* me no matter what I do.
extremist (adjective) -- a person who has differing political views from mine. Besides, there won't be a speech from Spencer--either he will cancel or the university will cancel; either way, problem solved.
I think the event will happen and, like the Trump rally protests in Arizona, once the police get tired of standing around and the protesters are not rioting the police will fire some tear gas and things will be on. Then they can do their mass arrests and set the Republican party up for electoral success in the future. This will help the pending close Florida senate race and races in 2018 and 2020. College students must not be allowed to vote.
3 dimensional chess? Probably too much credit, maybe 3D checkers though.
Consider the whole Trump situation from a different point of view for a moment. Trump is the result of years of increasingly vitriolic, overly-partisan politics from both sides, a trend which (in my opinion) began with Bill Clinton's impeachment. If we are lucky, enough of us can use Trump's one term (he won't get a second term--I am already calling it) to take a look at where we are, realize that something is fundamentally wrong, and move back to a reality in which Democrats/liberals and Republicans/conservatives don't *hate* each other. If not, then things will get even worse than they are now.
Well...Trump was heard several times saying, that he will be here for 2 terms. Several months back, his organisation (don't remember if it was him directly too) started talking about running a re-election campaign in 2020. Recently (as in few days back) he was heard saying something about his presidency and he said "next 7 years". I don't remember, what that was and don't want to look for it.
From watching US politics for a while, I believe you are right. Trump is the product of recent years where lobbying, corruption and bi-partisanship was the main focus and religion. Truth and actual wellbeing of US citizens were not in the picture at all. This can either get just worse - and so crazy and insane that the next generations will be heavily tainted - or people will find their moral compass stuck in their arses and get better. For US and the worlds' sake, I hope it's the latter.
I want to go on the record and say that these people pushing the "fake Melania" body-double theory are lunatics.
I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about here. Is the hot new Internet conspiracy theory? Did I miss something?
It doesn't matter.
Melania, trophy wife, is not a player in anything. Trump won't tolerate anyone or anything taking his spotlight so don't expect much there. He won't allow it.
She's might possibly be a nice person in a lousy situation but she signed up for that to be rich and get that lifestyle. She wanted to go from model to trophy wife of a rich old man.
She said she was going to combat cyber bullying but can't even get her husband to stop doing that.
Madrid is going to try and activate an as-yet-unused article in its Constitution to allow it to take direct control over Catalonia. I hope no one had travel plans for Barcelona during the next two months.
Madrid is going to try and activate an as-yet-unused article in its Constitution to allow it to take direct control over Catalonia. I hope no one had travel plans for Barcelona during the next two months.
Some Catalonians dared to vote for independence even despite warnings, threats and intimidation!
Time to smack down the hammer for that dream of freedom!
Makes sense right? Like imagine if your girlfriend says she wants to take a break. Maybe she tepidly says she wants to break up (despite your warnings, threats and intimidation) the next thing for you to do is to totally take control over her life right?
Look I don't know the right response but this approach is probably just going to back them into a corner where they will dig their heels in.
John Kelly just proved himself to be the sycophant I always assumed he was, including insinuating that if a member of the press isn't part of a Gold Star family, they have no right to question the botched operation in Niger that we are still getting conflicting stories about (thus, by extension, ANY military action).
He went after the Congresswoman for apparently violating the "sacredness" of the call. First off, she wasn't "listening in". The call was placed on speakerphone by an Army representative in the limo. She is not only a family friend but a direct mentor of the deceased. The widow wanted her there. But second of all, John Kelly himself listened in on the call. If the conversation between Trump and the widow was so sacred, then why the f**k was he listening to it?? What a load of horseshit. This was nothing but a pre-cursor to how all dissent will be shut down if Trump starts an armed conflict.
This is another rule that changes on a dime once a Republican takes power. The instant it happens, you are not allowed to question any military decisions, otherwise you are undermining the Commander in Chief and not supporting the troops. I lived through 6 years of this during Iraq. Never putting up with it again. What happened in Niger?? And when are we going to see 2 years of investigations about it like we did with Benghazi?? The mere fact they are doing a full-court press trying to shut the story down is an alarm bell that something nefarious went down.
Sometime in early August (it was reported by Russian news), the governments of Russia and Niger signed a military cooperation deal (link: http://tass.com/defense/959862). Somehow 4 of our soldiers are involved in an ambush near the Niger/Mali border on October 4th. One of the them is left behind and his body isn't recovered for 2 days afterwards. Trump and the Administration don't even acknowledge the incident for two weeks, for all the world seeming to hope the story doesn't bubble to the surface. They then spend the last two days mired in a side-story about Gold Star families, using the tried and true method of shutting down media scrutiny by using "support the troops" as a shield against questions and criticism. At this point it's more than fair to ask the question: Were our soldiers being used to assist in a Russian military operation??
"51 Republican Senators just voted to cut Medicaid by $1 trillion and Medicare by $500 billion so that millionaires and corporations can get a tax cut. It's immoral and despicable," said TJ Helmstetter, a spokesperson for Americans for Tax Fairness.
This budget will also supposedly "explode the deficit" and allow the GOP to pass their tax cuts for the 1% and ultra wealthy without Democratic votes. The measure would add up to $1.5 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade to pay for proposed tax cuts. Fiscal responsibility means taking from us and giving to the billionaires.
“This is not a bad budget bill, it is a horrific budget bill,” Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who ran for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, said before the vote. “At a time of massive income inequality, this budget provides $1.9 trillion in tax breaks for the top 1 percent.”
"51 Republican Senators just voted to cut Medicaid by $1 trillion and Medicare by $500 billion so that millionaires and corporations can get a tax cut. It's immoral and despicable," said TJ Helmstetter, a spokesperson for Americans for Tax Fairness.
This budget will also supposedly "explode the deficit" and allow the GOP to pass their tax cuts for the 1% and ultra wealthy without Democratic votes. The measure would add up to $1.5 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade to pay for proposed tax cuts. Fiscal responsibility means taking from us and giving to the billionaires.
“This is not a bad budget bill, it is a horrific budget bill,” Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who ran for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, said before the vote. “At a time of massive income inequality, this budget provides $1.9 trillion in tax breaks for the top 1 percent.”
The ad writes itself. Show any of the dozens of clips of Trump promising explicitly not to touch Medicare and Medicaid, and then present these votes.
The ad writes itself. Show any of the dozens of clips of Trump promising explicitly not to touch Medicare and Medicaid, and then present these votes.
Republicans are the party that cut Medicare and gave tax cuts to the 1% can be a great Ad, but that assumes right wing bubble voters are not more concerned about NFL players kneeling or Mexican rapists or Hillary's emails.
This looks like supply side/trickle down only they aren't using either of those terms any more. It is odd, though, that they are seeking to cut Medicare when we haven't reached the halfway point of Baby Boomers turning 65 yet (that won't happen until 2020). I presume they are counting on the votes of Boomers who don't really *need* Medicare (on average, Boomers are wealthier than people in my generation or the one younger than mine).
This looks like supply side/trickle down only they aren't using either of those terms any more. It is odd, though, that they are seeking to cut Medicare when we haven't reached the halfway point of Baby Boomers turning 65 yet (that won't happen until 2020). I presume they are counting on the votes of Boomers who don't really *need* Medicare (on average, Boomers are wealthier than people in my generation or the one younger than mine).
I think they're counting on boomers, once they see their Medicare is being cut and isn't enough, to support privatization of Medicare as the answer to their Medicare woes. This scheme is of course another long held Republican dream giveaway to the rich.
Privatizing Medicare will make things worse and even more inefficient. Our healthcare system in general is all about middle men making money and price gouging. We pay more than most other countries and get less for it. Republicans want more of that by Privatizing Medicare. These boomers won't realize they voted against their self interest because by then they'll probably be dead in the gutter or they'll find some way to blame democrats for not supporting privatizing Medicare hard enough or something.
This looks like supply side/trickle down only they aren't using either of those terms any more. It is odd, though, that they are seeking to cut Medicare when we haven't reached the halfway point of Baby Boomers turning 65 yet (that won't happen until 2020). I presume they are counting on the votes of Boomers who don't really *need* Medicare (on average, Boomers are wealthier than people in my generation or the one younger than mine).
Wealthier because their parents benefited from government programs after World War 2 that created the white middle-class (see my earlier post on the GI Bill). On a macro-level, baby boomers (and the title of course comes from the fact that people started having alot of kids once the war was over) were handed everything on a silver platter compared to nearly any other generation in this country. But then they grew up, started staring mortality in the face, and wanted to slam the door on everyone else. I've posted the George Carlin bit about baby boomers before, and I'll do it again, it's all over Youtube. These are your Trump voters. Upper-middle class whites making over 70k a year. And you better believe they'll start bitching if their Medicare gets touched. After all, THEY deserve it. It's just that they think no one else does:
As for supply-side economics. We tried it throughout the entire 1980s. Didn't work. The destruction of American manufacturing started under Reagan. They've been trying it in Kansas for years. Go look at the budget situation in Kansas right now. There is a reason Bush the First called it "voodoo economics" (though his son would later hop right on board).
Wow.....John Kelly yesterday used his supppsed recollection of a spech Rep. Wilson gave in Flordia to smear her. Well, there is now video footage that totally contradicts his entire account. He is as big a liar as his boss.
UK crime statistics just published show recorded crime up by 13% this year. However, the crime survey data (which isn't affected by changes to police recording methods) is down by 9%. Here's the BBC view of whether there's a real increase or not.
Trump's view of the statistics is not so nuanced "Just out report: "United Kingdom crime rises 13% annually amid spread of Radical Islamic terror." Not good, we must keep America safe!"
You've got to say this about Trump though. He may be divisive at home, but abroad he can act as a real unifying force. Here are comments showing a welcome cross-party consensus in UK politics: Conservative backbencher Nicholas Soames, grandson of Sir Winston Churchill, responded to Mr Trump's tweet by calling the US president a "daft twerp" who needed to "fix gun control." Former Labour minister, Hilary Benn, told BBC News: "I am sure we would all appreciate it if we could see a reduction in the number of tweets like this from the president of the United States." Labour's Deputy Leader, Tom Watson, tweeted: "Officer, I'd like to report a hate crime." Lib Dem deputy leader Jo Swinson also responded to the president's tweet, accusing him of "misleading and spreading fear".
Comments
If those four soldiers were on a classified mission we may not be told why they were in Niger. Given that Niger shares its southern border with Nigeria, though, they might have been assisting local forces in fighting against Boko Haram.
Also, Al Franken just tore Jeff Sessions a new asshole on his meetings with Russians during the campaign. This is by my count the 3rd time Sessions has appeared before the Senate and is clearly lying his ass off.
In this case, though, I'm not sure I blame Assad himself. He was an ophthalmologist who was never expected to succeed his father because his old brother (killed in a car accident) was supposed to do so, and he had a reputation in his childhood as a relatively humble man, not a spoiled baby tyrant like Uday or Qusay Hussein who abused their position as the son of a dictator. Based on Assad's background, he doesn't seem like the type to use violence as a first resort.
I'm guessing that Lesch underestimated the role of Assad's advisors in shaping his policy. After all, Assad had never been groomed for leadership and his only allies would have been the same authoritarian folks that his father put into power. If Assad ever considered a nonviolent response to nonviolent protests, I don't think it would have been hard for all the other figures in the government to persuade him otherwise.
Either way, I don't think we should give world leaders the benefit of the doubt, and just assume they will not abuse their power.
Also, when people are put in charge of others there's a certain percentage of those that just stop caring what happens to those they wield power over. Maybe a numbness grows. The military leader cares about the first dozen people that die under their care, but the 26th? Why that's just another Tuesday.
Seriously, there appears to be a disproportionate amount of sociopaths and psychopaths that are either drawn towards or a result of positions of power. (*I'm talking about psychopaths in the meaning of the disorder or people that don't feel empathy for others as opposed to the serial killer pop culture definition)
The Quebec provincial legislation just banned the wearing of niqabs and semi-banned burka's.
This law is almost unenforceable and discriminatory. Hopefully it gets challenged in court soon and shot down.
And:
Gordon Downie, a Canadian icon passed away today. Lead singer of The Tragically Hip, he defined what it was to be Canadian in the '90s and '00s. One of his last albums, Secret Path , helped bring the Residential School controversy to the public's attention by telling the true story of a 12 year old kid attempting to walk home from one of these schools.
If you have 2 hours to spare, Secret Path is worth a listen/watch.
edit: Here is Trudeau addressing the media regarding Downie's passing
Those police will not be there to stop the Nazis but rather to arrest protesters. It does not take 500 police to arrest one Richard Spencer.
The cops will be expected to be there doing something, they figure they might as well arrest protesters. They've probably been conditioned to hate them anyway - ohh those college libruls. As a bonus, if they can get some felonies on them during some mass arrests they can take away their voting rights too. This is the gift that can keep on giving and can help keep Florida's slim margin for team red in the future.
So this is win win for Gov Scott and the Republican party. Might as well make it the biggest deal they can and arrest as many people as humanly possible. He probably invited Spencer there personally as a means to protect his base.
I don't think psychopaths purposefully seek out power; rather, I think being invested with political power *causes* one to become somewhat psycopathic, especially if that elected official begins to think "I *deserve* this office". This sort of quasi-psychopathic thinking can occur at any level, whether sheriff, city councilmember, State representative, Member of Congress, Member of the Cabinet, or President. The adoration of constituents can also lead to narcissistic behavior patterns--my voters *love* me no matter what I do.
extremist (adjective) -- a person who has differing political views from mine. Besides, there won't be a speech from Spencer--either he will cancel or the university will cancel; either way, problem solved.
3 dimensional chess? Probably too much credit, maybe 3D checkers though.
From watching US politics for a while, I believe you are right. Trump is the product of recent years where lobbying, corruption and bi-partisanship was the main focus and religion. Truth and actual wellbeing of US citizens were not in the picture at all.
This can either get just worse - and so crazy and insane that the next generations will be heavily tainted - or people will find their moral compass stuck in their arses and get better.
For US and the worlds' sake, I hope it's the latter.
Melania, trophy wife, is not a player in anything. Trump won't tolerate anyone or anything taking his spotlight so don't expect much there. He won't allow it.
She's might possibly be a nice person in a lousy situation but she signed up for that to be rich and get that lifestyle. She wanted to go from model to trophy wife of a rich old man.
She said she was going to combat cyber bullying but can't even get her husband to stop doing that.
http://www.news.com.au/world/north-america/us-first-lady-melania-trump-accused-of-using-a-body-double-in-public-appearances/news-story/b092ac41cf803543973023209550f581
But this:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/10/18/weve-idd-the-mystery-woman-in-those-melania-trump-impostor-rumors-its-melania-trump/?tid=pm_politics_pop&utm_term=.924a3dafabc3
Madrid is going to try and activate an as-yet-unused article in its Constitution to allow it to take direct control over Catalonia. I hope no one had travel plans for Barcelona during the next two months.
Time to smack down the hammer for that dream of freedom!
Makes sense right? Like imagine if your girlfriend says she wants to take a break. Maybe she tepidly says she wants to break up (despite your warnings, threats and intimidation) the next thing for you to do is to totally take control over her life right?
Look I don't know the right response but this approach is probably just going to back them into a corner where they will dig their heels in.
He went after the Congresswoman for apparently violating the "sacredness" of the call. First off, she wasn't "listening in". The call was placed on speakerphone by an Army representative in the limo. She is not only a family friend but a direct mentor of the deceased. The widow wanted her there. But second of all, John Kelly himself listened in on the call. If the conversation between Trump and the widow was so sacred, then why the f**k was he listening to it?? What a load of horseshit. This was nothing but a pre-cursor to how all dissent will be shut down if Trump starts an armed conflict.
Update, mere hours after I predicted it:
This is another rule that changes on a dime once a Republican takes power. The instant it happens, you are not allowed to question any military decisions, otherwise you are undermining the Commander in Chief and not supporting the troops. I lived through 6 years of this during Iraq. Never putting up with it again. What happened in Niger?? And when are we going to see 2 years of investigations about it like we did with Benghazi?? The mere fact they are doing a full-court press trying to shut the story down is an alarm bell that something nefarious went down.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/10/19/51-gop-senators-just-voted-cut-15-trillion-medicare-and-medicaid-give-super-rich-and
"51 Republican Senators just voted to cut Medicaid by $1 trillion and Medicare by $500 billion so that millionaires and corporations can get a tax cut. It's immoral and despicable," said TJ Helmstetter, a spokesperson for Americans for Tax Fairness.
This budget will also supposedly "explode the deficit" and allow the GOP to pass their tax cuts for the 1% and ultra wealthy without Democratic votes. The measure would add up to $1.5 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade to pay for proposed tax cuts. Fiscal responsibility means taking from us and giving to the billionaires.
“This is not a bad budget bill, it is a horrific budget bill,” Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who ran for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, said before the vote. “At a time of massive income inequality, this budget provides $1.9 trillion in tax breaks for the top 1 percent.”
Privatizing Medicare will make things worse and even more inefficient. Our healthcare system in general is all about middle men making money and price gouging. We pay more than most other countries and get less for it. Republicans want more of that by Privatizing Medicare. These boomers won't realize they voted against their self interest because by then they'll probably be dead in the gutter or they'll find some way to blame democrats for not supporting privatizing Medicare hard enough or something.
As for supply-side economics. We tried it throughout the entire 1980s. Didn't work. The destruction of American manufacturing started under Reagan. They've been trying it in Kansas for years. Go look at the budget situation in Kansas right now. There is a reason Bush the First called it "voodoo economics" (though his son would later hop right on board).
Trump's view of the statistics is not so nuanced "Just out report: "United Kingdom crime rises 13% annually amid spread of Radical Islamic terror." Not good, we must keep America safe!"
You've got to say this about Trump though. He may be divisive at home, but abroad he can act as a real unifying force. Here are comments showing a welcome cross-party consensus in UK politics:
Conservative backbencher Nicholas Soames, grandson of Sir Winston Churchill, responded to Mr Trump's tweet by calling the US president a "daft twerp" who needed to "fix gun control."
Former Labour minister, Hilary Benn, told BBC News: "I am sure we would all appreciate it if we could see a reduction in the number of tweets like this from the president of the United States."
Labour's Deputy Leader, Tom Watson, tweeted: "Officer, I'd like to report a hate crime."
Lib Dem deputy leader Jo Swinson also responded to the president's tweet, accusing him of "misleading and spreading fear".