A thread for Democrats Only
POSTED BY: THGRRI
UPDATED: Thursday, September 17, 2026 09:05
VIEWED: 757630
PAGE 14 of 73
Quote:
Originally posted by second:Quote:And that is why you lean Republican, 6ixStringJack. You don't care.
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Here's a quarter. Go call somebody who cares.
Do Right, Be Right. :)
No. It's because Democrats focus on all the wrong things and say the same dumb rhetorical arguments over and over again while offering nothing to the people and getting nothing done.
Do Right, Be Right. :)
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:But! Russia!
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:Quote:
Originally posted by second:Quote:And that is why you lean Republican, 6ixStringJack. You don't care.
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Here's a quarter. Go call somebody who cares.
Do Right, Be Right. :)
No. It's because Democrats focus on all the wrong things and say the same dumb rhetorical arguments over and over again while offering nothing to the people and getting nothing done.
Do Right, Be Right. :)
But! Stormy!
But! Tax Files!
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:But! You are full of shit, JewelStaiteFan, as is failed presidential candidate Rick Santorum https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Santorum#2016_presidential_run who couldn't compete with Trump as the biggest racist, but he does the best he can:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
But! Russia!
But! Stormy!
But! Tax Files!
Rick Santorum on Sunday blamed former President Barack Obama for increasing racial tensions in the nation.
The former Republican senator from Pennsylvania and two-time presidential candidate made the comments during a panel discussion on CNN which included former Obama aide Karine Jean-Pierre.
Jean-Pierre said there was an “uproar” after Obama’s 2008 election as the nation’s first black president.
“And what Donald Trump did is he tapped into it because let’s not forget he started his political career talking about birtherism, being the spokesperson of birtherism,” she said, referring to the debunked conspiracy theory that claimed Obama wasn’t born in the United States.
“He saw something as well and tapped into that, tapped into that racism,” she said.
Santorum disagreed.
“What’s being ignored here is the role that Barack Obama played in all this,” he said. “I mean you just can’t go from well, we elected our first black president to all of a sudden we get Donald Trump. There was something in between those two things.”
Jean-Pierre interrupted to clarify that Obama’s election “tapped into something in this country.”
Santorum replied: “The thing it tapped into was that many, many, many people saw Barack Obama being just that, doing more to exacerbate racism in this country.”
“How?” asked Jean-Pierre. “What did he do?”
“Every time there was a controversy where someone in color was involved, he took the side of, many times, against the police ? he did it over and over and over again,” he said.
See the full discussion above. The comments about Obama begin at the 8-minute mark.
www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/rick-santorum-barack-obama-racism_us_5b14
97e2e4b0d5e89e20c8e1
His political career began in advocacy of birtherism, that modern recasting of the old American precept that black people are not fit to be citizens of the country they built. But long before birtherism, Trump had made his worldview clear. He fought to keep blacks out of his buildings, according to the U.S. government; called for the death penalty for the eventually exonerated Central Park Five; and railed against “lazy” black employees. “Black guys counting my money! I hate it,” Trump was once quoted as saying. “The only kind of people I want counting my money are short guys that wear yarmulkes every day.” After his cabal of conspiracy theorists forced Barack Obama to present his birth certificate, Trump demanded the president’s college grades (offering $5 million in exchange for them), insisting that Obama was not intelligent enough to have gone to an Ivy League school, and that his acclaimed memoir, Dreams From My Father, had been ghostwritten by a white man, Bill Ayers.
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/10/the-first-white-president
-ta-nehisi-coates/537909/
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Hey look. Another 10 paragraph unrelated segway with a quote and an insult to start it off.
If we can't say anything else good about you Second, at least you're consistent and predictable.
Do Right, Be Right. :)
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:6ix, you're consistent, having written: "No. It's because Democrats focus on all the wrong things and say the same dumb rhetorical arguments over and over again while offering nothing to the people and getting nothing done."
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Hey look. Another 10 paragraph unrelated segway with a quote and an insult to start it off.
If we can't say anything else good about you Second, at least you're consistent and predictable.
Do Right, Be Right. :)
The consistent part, 6ix, is that you did not write "It's because Democrats and Republicans focus on all the wrong things . . ."
It is also consistent that 6ix didn't note the GOP passed a few bills, over the objections of 99% of the Democrats in Congress, and those GOP sponsored bills "offered nothing to the people". It is as if 6ix has no idea how the GOP screwed him. There is your insult for the day, 6ix. Now for the analysis: Without ever having met him in real life (but I have met men who are similar) I feel confident predicting that 6ix has in the past and will continue indefinitely into the future using his invincible ignorance on material questions about getting ahead in America to sabotage his own life. And he will continue to blame both Democrats and Republicans for his own failures, but mostly blame the Democrats. That is no way to go through life, 6ix, unless you want to stay on the bottom of the hierarchy, wandering the roads alone and unmarried in a crappy old vehicle until you die, with rotten teeth, decades younger than the average white male in Texas who has enough money to buy a good vehicle and to go to the dentist and the doctor once a year.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:
Originally posted by second:Quote:6ix, you're consistent, having written: "No. It's because Democrats focus on all the wrong things and say the same dumb rhetorical arguments over and over again while offering nothing to the people and getting nothing done."
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Hey look. Another 10 paragraph unrelated segway with a quote and an insult to start it off.
If we can't say anything else good about you Second, at least you're consistent and predictable.
Do Right, Be Right. :)
The consistent part, 6ix, is that you did not write "It's because Democrats and Republicans focus on all the wrong things . . ."
It is also consistent that 6ix didn't note the GOP passed a few bills, over the objections of 99% of the Democrats in Congress, and those GOP sponsored bills "offered nothing to the people". It is as if 6ix has no idea how the GOP screwed him. There is your insult for the day, 6ix. Now for the analysis: Without ever having met him in real life (but I have met men who are similar) I feel confident predicting that 6ix has in the past and will continue indefinitely into the future using his invincible ignorance on material questions about getting ahead in America to sabotage his own life. And he will continue to blame both Democrats and Republicans for his own failures, but mostly blame the Democrats. That is no way to go through life, 6ix, unless you want to stay on the bottom of the hierarchy, wandering the roads alone and unmarried in a crappy old vehicle until you die, with rotten teeth, decades younger than the average white male in Texas who has enough money to buy a good vehicle and to go to the dentist and the doctor once a year.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
We're all on the bottom of the hierarchy, Second. Nobody believes that you have any money either. The middle class is a dying dream, and it won't be too long until everybody here is much closer to the bottom with me.
If I woke up tomorrow and changed my mind on everything Politics and decided that the Democrats are completely right, as you suggest everybody should, just how is that going to change anything in my life?
As I've said before, I'm the only dynamic character on these boards. My life has improved immesurably in the last 18 months since I stopped drinking, and there isn't a politician or party that is responsible for any of these improvements. That's all me.
Getting a job that will help me crawl the rest of the way out of the hole I dug for myself is on my list of current goals, but since I'm making improvements everywhere else in my life I'm not looking at every day without a great job as a loss.
It is true. I don't like Democrats or Republicans. I just happen to like the former even less than the latter. Republicans at least aren't actively trying to make me feel bad for being born a white male, or telling me that I'm a bad person based off of my race. The Democrats today are as racist as they come.
Fix your party.
Do Right, Be Right. :)
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:If you are gonna disbelieve what I said about myself, I'm gonna start believing your teeth are perfect, you are not a recovered alcoholic, you are happily married with four beautiful children and are working a 40 hour week as a well-paid manager at a high tech company you love with a generous pension and health insurance.
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
We're all on the bottom of the hierarchy, Second. Nobody believes that you have any money either. The middle class is a dying dream, and it won't be too long until everybody here is much closer to the bottom with me.
If I woke up tomorrow and changed my mind on everything Politics and decided that the Democrats are completely right, as you suggest everybody should, just how is that going to change anything in my life?
Nothing changes for the better in lower 50% of the population because the GOP is the majority. When it is not, in 2 years it will swing back into a majority and undo everything the Democrats did. You are living in a nation designed by the GOP, not by Democrats.
Trump enjoys more support from his party at Day 500 than any other president since World War II, excluding 9/11 Bush.
https://qz.com/1295674
There are some Mormon Republicans and some of my Nebraska Republican relatives that disapprove of Trump, but the GOP is mostly unified. On the other hand, the things 6ixStringJack hates about the Democratic Party are the same things half of Democratic voters hate too. The Democrats aren’t unified about anything and are always fighting with themselves about every little detail. The relevant quote from 1935 is still true: "I am not a member of any organized political party; I am a Democrat."
www.brainyquote.com/authors/will_rogers
The Democrats are pointlessly beating up themselves and helping the GOP beat them. An example: www.vox.com/2018/6/4/17424748/clinton-lewinsky-resign-gillibrand
"Some see it as foolish for Democrats to try to hold themselves to a high standard of conduct when Republicans hold Trump to no standard at all."
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:Aha! Now second provides clear definition: anybody who is capable of observing Obvious Truth and stating Obvious Fact is A RACIST!
Originally posted by second:Quote:But! You are full of shit, JewelStaiteFan, as is failed presidential candidate Rick Santorum https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Santorum#2016_presidential_run who couldn't compete with Trump as the biggest racist, but he does the best he can:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
But! Russia!
But! Stormy!
But! Tax Files!
Rick Santorum on Sunday blamed former President Barack Obama for increasing racial tensions in the nation.
Life is so confusing without Libtards Redefining words for us.
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Maybe if the Democratic Party wasn't so toxic it would have more support.
As far as I lean towards Republicans today, I leaned towards Democrats when GWB was in office and I first joined this site.
Socially, I agree much more with Democrats on almost all core issues. My only real hangups there, as I've stated before, is that I don't agree with how they view guns and gun control, I don't agree with taxpayer funded abortions, and I don't agree with either party that men should have no say when it comes to the birth of a child.
I even agree with some fiscal views of Democrats. As I've said before in here I have no problems with food stamps, and I argue against anyone who calls people on them worthless. If we fix the economy and create more jobs that offer more than the government dole, most people would go back to work.
In the last decade plus though, the Democrats have become obsessed with identity politics. Maybe you really are rich and you don't see that or feel it because it doesn't effect you at all. As a white male, the Democratic Party in 2018 has made it very clear that I am the enemy, simply for the anatomy and the color of the skin I was born with.
I can't afford to actively vote against myself.
It must be nice to have so much that you don't feel that burden.
Do Right, Be Right. :)
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:FIFY
Nothing changes for the better in lower 50% of the population because theGOP...Democrats...politicianselite isthe majorityin power.
-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake
As long as you insist that everything is the Republicans'/ Democrats' fault, then you fail to grasp the REAL problem with American politics.
America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
"Maybe if the Democratic Party wasn't so toxic it would have more support."
Jack, we disagree on a lot of thing... OK, almost everything ... but I'm 100% with you on this.
And speaking of Hillary, as the perfect exemplar of everything wrong with the party, in this situation the cream did not rise to the top. Nope. The scum floated up.
SECOND is a troll because it constantly misrepresents what people post, fails to address their actual positions, and resorts to personal attacks when its brain isn't working (which is most of the time).
NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:I feel like the scum coagulated at the top. You know poop can float, right?
Originally posted by 1kiki:
"Maybe if the Democratic Party wasn't so toxic it would have more support."
Jack, we disagree on a lot of thing... OK, almost everything ... but I'm 100% with you on this.
And speaking of Hillary, as the perfect exemplar of everything wrong with the party, in this situation the cream did not rise to the top. Nope. The scum floated up.
SECOND is a troll because it constantly misrepresents what people post, fails to address their actual positions, and resorts to personal attacks when its brain isn't working (which is most of the time).
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:America’s allies should respond to steel tariffs with targeted sanctions on the Trump Organization.
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
I feel like the scum coagulated at the top. You know poop can float, right?
Our trade partners are planning to respond to President Donald Trump’s imposition of new taxes on steel and aluminum imported from those countries by hitting back with tariffs of their own, raising prices for the American people. Our trade partners should forget about retaliating against America. Instead, retaliate against something Trump cares about: his money.
When China wanted to get Trump to let the Chinese tech conglomerate ZTE off the hook for repeatedly violating sanctions against North Korea, it didn’t try to make concessions to the American people. It had a Chinese state-owned enterprise approve a huge loan to an Indonesian real estate project that will feature Trump-branded hotels, condos, and a golf course.
America’s democratic allies probably can’t (and certainly shouldn’t) bribe Trump and his family in this way, but they both can and should do the opposite: work together on a package of targeted sanctions narrowly designed to inflict pain specifically on the Trump Organization.
The countries Trump is taxing are not only friendly — they are literally bound to the United States by mutual defense treaties.
The idea that they represent a potential threat to America is either laughable or alarming, suggesting that Trump harbors aspirations of completely severing America’s traditional diplomatic relationships.
In light of the unusual combination of geopolitical absurdity and delicacy that the situation poses, at a press conference last week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reached into the bag of rhetorical clichés we normally see American officials deploy against authoritarian regimes abroad:
Quote:While it’s a good speech, the reality is that Trudeau’s policy countermeasures are aimed at the American people, and so is what we know of Europe’s response. The EU’s idea is that if they punish Paul Ryan’s constituents by levying new taxes on Wisconsin’s Harley-Davidson motorcycles, it will induce Ryan to bring pressure to bear on Trump.
I want to be clear on one point: Americans remain our partners, our allies, and our friends. The American people [are] not the target of today’s announcement. We hope that eventually common sense will triumph. Unfortunately, the actions taken today by the American government do not seem to be headed in that direction. This is not the American people. We have to believe that, at some point, common sense will prevail. But we see no sign of that in this action today by the US administration.
A better path would be to take Trudeau’s analysis seriously — America’s allies should come together and retaliate against Trump rather than retaliating against the American people.
www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/6/5/17422492/sanction-trump-organ
ization
Canada could add a tax to Trump properties equal to any tariff unilaterally imposed by Washington. The European Union could revoke any travel visas for senior staff in the Trump organization. And the United Kingdom could temporarily close his golf course.
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:After doing the arithmetic, it just so happens that Trump is a bigger turd than previously estimated: Trump’s steel tariffs will cost 400,000 Americans jobs, a new estimate says.
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
I feel like the scum coagulated at the top. You know poop can float, right?
After Donald Trump announced tariffs on steel and aluminum from the US’s closest allies last week, economists warned that they could result in thousands of US job losses. The latest numbers from The Trade Partnership, a DC-based economics research firm, suggests that the impact will be even worse than originally estimated.
Some 400,000 jobs will be lost, with 16 losses for every job created by the tariffs, the group said today. That’s more than three times the number of job losses it expected earlier.
As Quartz has explained, it’s true that steel producers in the US may see a slight rise in jobs due to tariffs. However, the (much larger) industries that depend on imported steel will suffer, like automakers, construction groups and even financial services. Just over 400,000 people in the US work in metal-producing jobs, economist Jed Kolko wrote in March, but 4.6 million work in jobs that depend on metal.
Employers in industries that use metal will have to pay more for raw materials, charge more for products, and could trim or move jobs. “Steel consuming industries face annual employment declines of 97,614 in each of the first one to three years the tariffs, quotas and retaliation are in place,” the Trade Partnership says.
More on which American Industries lose jobs, and how many, at https://qz.com/1297697
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Trump Sure Seems to Like Russia a Lot, Doesn’t He?
Over the course of 16+ months, President Trump has acted consistently and with some success to destabilize and break up the western alliance — both its formal manifestation in NATO but also its less formal dimensions in trade and other partnerships. He has also worked consistently on really every front to advance the interests of Russia.
Less obviously to many Americans, he’s been doing something similar in East Asia. The U.S. alliance with Japan and South Korea…is not simply to protect against North Korea. It is to build a series of security relationships with countries on that periphery to act as a counterweight to the regional (perhaps world) great power, China.
….The last twenty four hours of attacks on our closest allies capped by President Trump’s seemingly out of the blue demand to bring Russia back into the G-7 (making it again the G-8 which it was for most of the post-Cold War era until Russia was expelled over the annexation of Crimea) simply brings the matter into a newly sharp relief. If candidate Trump and President Putin had made a corrupt bargain which obligated President Trump to destabilize all U.S. security and trade alliances (especially NATO, which has been Russia’s primary strategic goal for 70 years) and advance the strategic interests of Russia, there’s really nothing more remotely realistic he could have done to accomplish that than what he has in fact done.
Take a moment to let that sink in. I need to take a moment to let it sink in. It’s shocking to me. It’s shocking to me what’s happening….We have a President who clearly got a great deal of assistance from Russia in getting elected….He’s doing all the stuff he’d have been asked to do if such a corrupt bargain had been made. At a certain point — and I’d say we’re clearly at or past that point — it really doesn’t matter whether we can prove such a bargain was made. I’m not even sure it matters whether it was explicit or even happened. The bank robber helped the teller get the job and now the teller just won’t seem to lock the safe or even turn on the alarm. We can debate forever whether the teller is just absent-minded or has some odd philosophical aversion toward locks. The debate may be unresolvable. It truly doesn’t matter.
www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2018/06/donald-trump-sure-seems-to-like
-russia-a-lot-doesnt-he/
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:
Originally posted by second:
Trump Sure Seems to Like Russia a Lot, Doesn’t He?
Over the course of 16+ months, President Trump has acted consistently and with some success to destabilize and break up the western alliance — both its formal manifestation in NATO but also its less formal dimensions in trade and other partnerships. He has also worked consistently on really every front to advance the interests of Russia.
Less obviously to many Americans, he’s been doing something similar in East Asia. The U.S. alliance with Japan and South Korea…is not simply to protect against North Korea. It is to build a series of security relationships with countries on that periphery to act as a counterweight to the regional (perhaps world) great power, China.
….The last twenty four hours of attacks on our closest allies capped by President Trump’s seemingly out of the blue demand to bring Russia back into the G-7 (making it again the G-8 which it was for most of the post-Cold War era until Russia was expelled over the annexation of Crimea) simply brings the matter into a newly sharp relief. If candidate Trump and President Putin had made a corrupt bargain which obligated President Trump to destabilize all U.S. security and trade alliances (especially NATO, which has been Russia’s primary strategic goal for 70 years) and advance the strategic interests of Russia, there’s really nothing more remotely realistic he could have done to accomplish that than what he has in fact done.
Take a moment to let that sink in. I need to take a moment to let it sink in. It’s shocking to me. It’s shocking to me what’s happening….We have a President who clearly got a great deal of assistance from Russia in getting elected….He’s doing all the stuff he’d have been asked to do if such a corrupt bargain had been made. At a certain point — and I’d say we’re clearly at or past that point — it really doesn’t matter whether we can prove such a bargain was made. I’m not even sure it matters whether it was explicit or even happened. The bank robber helped the teller get the job and now the teller just won’t seem to lock the safe or even turn on the alarm. We can debate forever whether the teller is just absent-minded or has some odd philosophical aversion toward locks. The debate may be unresolvable. It truly doesn’t matter.
www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2018/06/donald-trump-sure-seems-to-like
-russia-a-lot-doesnt-he/
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
LOL...
There's still been zero evidence that Russia helped in the election at all.
Fuckin' Leftists. Hillary lost. Get over it already.
Do Right, Be Right. :)
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:I’m not an unreconstructed Cold Warrior who hates Russia. Nevertheless, Vladimir Putin is unquestionably a bad guy: he rigs elections, he tosses critics into prison, he’s built his populist cred on horrifically homophobic policy, he shuts down any media he doesn’t control, he threatens his neighbors, and he rules as an autocrat. It’s certainly no wonder that Trump seems to admire him. It’s pretty plain that Trump would like to rule that way too if he could figure out a way to do it.
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
LOL...
There's still been zero evidence that Russia helped in the election at all.
Fuckin' Leftists. Hillary lost. Get over it already.
Do Right, Be Right. :)
But it’s worth noting that this isn’t just about Russia. If Trump came to office and started doing everything in his power to help France and hurt the rest of Europe, that would hardly be any better, even if France is currently a more admirable country than Russia. An American president isn’t obligated to literally ignore the interests of the rest of the world, but an American president is supposed to generally put America’s interests first. Trump talks about that constantly, but he sure doesn’t seem to do it in practice.
But if there’s anything even worse about this, it’s the fact that the Republican Party and 6ixStringJack just doesn’t seem to care. A few of them speak out occasionally, usually if they’ve decided not to run for reelection, but that’s about it.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:You seem to be speaking from complete and utter ignorance of Russia, like most people.
Nevertheless, Vladimir Putin is unquestionably a bad guy: he rigs elections, he tosses critics into prison, he’s built his populist cred on horrifically homophobic policy, he shuts down any media he doesn’t control, he threatens his neighbors, and he rules as an autocrat.
When Putin came to office, Russia had taken the worst drubbing of its recent history. It had just been treated to "shock treatment" from the western world that saw it economy de-industrialize and collapse by 30%, life expectancy drop by 6-7 years, mob bosses swoop in and claim vast swathes of Russian assets under the guise of "privatization", it's territorial claims shrink by 14% and its military sink into rusty oblivion. It was the kind of collapse that many are predicting for the United States. Putin reversed all that. The GDP rose by 200% (after falling under Yeltsin) and unemployment dropped by half. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2016/12/putin-generation-r
ussia-soviet-union/ Putin's popularity is a bread-and-butter issue, as well as a national-pride issue. Only lately, under economic sanctions and political pressure from the West, has Putin used the Orthodox Church and militarism to glue the society together. But a man (and his staff) who dragged Russia out of the depths by the scruff of its neck is admired by many.
Also, There is far more diversity in Russian media than you imagine.
Quote:The USA is on a financial slippery slope. We might NEED a leader who could "rule that way" ... and be damn grateful for getting one ... if our finances collapse like some are predicting (and I happen to think they are right).
It’s certainly no wonder that Trump seems to admire him. It’s pretty plain that Trump would like to rule that way too if he could figure out a way to do it.
Quote:Hello??? What has Trump done to "help Russia"? BE SPECIFIC.
But it’s worth noting that this isn’t just about Russia. If Trump came to office and started doing everything in his power to help France and hurt the rest of Europe
Quote:YES HE IS, if those interests are counter to ours. I have often asked What are America's interests? It is a question that you have DEEPLY ignored. I'm glad to see that you're FINALLY getting around to the topic, but I'm sure your interest will last until the next anti-Trump screed, and then you'll be off and riding that hobby-horse. A piece of friendly advice: Until you define "our" interests, you should probably keep your mouth shut before proclaiming that Trump is working against them because otherwise you'll sound like an idiot.
An American president isn’t obligated to literally ignore the interests of the rest of the world,
-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake
As long as you insist that everything is the Republicans'/ Democrats' fault, then you fail to grasp the REAL problem with American politics.
America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:How much did Putin pay you to shift the blame to Americans? So long as incompetent Yeltsin was in charge, Russia was doomed.
Originally posted by SIGNYM:Quote:You seem to be speaking from complete and utter ignorance of Russia, like most people.
Nevertheless, Vladimir Putin is unquestionably a bad guy: he rigs elections, he tosses critics into prison, he’s built his populist cred on horrifically homophobic policy, he shuts down any media he doesn’t control, he threatens his neighbors, and he rules as an autocrat.
When Putin came to office, Russia had taken the worst drubbing of its recent history. It had just been treated to "shock treatment" from the western world that saw it economy de-industrialize and collapse by 30%, life expectancy drop by 6-7 years, mob bosses swoop in and claim vast swathes of Russian assets under the guise of "privatization", it's territorial claims shrink by 14% and its military sink into rusty oblivion. It was the kind of collapse that many are predicting for the United States. Putin reversed all that. The GDP rose by 200% (after falling under Yeltsin) and unemployment dropped by half. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2016/12/putin-generation-r
ussia-soviet-union/ Putin's popularity is a bread-and-butter issue, as well as a national-pride issue. Only lately, under economic sanctions and political pressure from the West, has Putin used the Orthodox Church and militarism to glue the society together. But a man (and his staff) who dragged Russia out of the depths by the scruff of its neck is admired by many.
Also, There is far more diversity in Russian media than you imagine.Quote:The USA is on a financial slippery slope. We might NEED a leader who could "rule that way" ... and be damn grateful for getting one ... if our finances collapse like some are predicting (and I happen to think they are right).
It’s certainly no wonder that Trump seems to admire him. It’s pretty plain that Trump would like to rule that way too if he could figure out a way to do it.Quote:Hello??? What has Trump done to "help Russia"? BE SPECIFIC.
But it’s worth noting that this isn’t just about Russia. If Trump came to office and started doing everything in his power to help France and hurt the rest of EuropeQuote:YES HE IS, if those interests are counter to ours. I have often asked What are America's interests? It is a question that you have DEEPLY ignored. I'm glad to see that you're FINALLY getting around to the topic, but I'm sure your interest will last until the next anti-Trump screed, and then you'll be off and riding that hobby-horse. A piece of friendly advice: Until you define "our" interests, you should probably keep your mouth shut before proclaiming that Trump is working against them because otherwise you'll sound like an idiot.
An American president isn’t obligated to literally ignore the interests of the rest of the world,
-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake
As long as you insist that everything is the Republicans'/ Democrats' fault, then you fail to grasp the REAL problem with American politics.
America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Yeltsin#Illness
Yeltsin could never wrap his brain around the proverb: A fool and his money are soon parted. Yeltsin sold stock shares at ridiculously low prices in Russia's most valuable state enterprises in exchange for bank loans to cover government operating expenses. That is exactly what a fool I know did with her jewelry: She toke her rings and bracelets to a pawnshop: $80,000 in jewelry became $5,000 in cash, which she then wasted.
Putin, not brain damaged like Yeltsin, actually knows what he is doing, which makes all the difference in Russia’s improved fortune. Wouldn’t it be great to have an American Presid
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:Does it seem ironic that the Libs which whine about Putin now saw no problem with Slick Willie pulling the rug out from under Russia and Yeltsin, right at the most critical time for transforming into a potential bastion of freedom, Democracy, and industrious economy?
Originally posted by SIGNYM:Quote:You seem to be speaking from complete and utter ignorance of Russia, like most people.
Nevertheless, Vladimir Putin is unquestionably a bad guy: he rigs elections, he tosses critics into prison, he’s built his populist cred on horrifically homophobic policy, he shuts down any media he doesn’t control, he threatens his neighbors, and he rules as an autocrat.
When Putin came to office, Russia had taken the worst drubbing of its recent history. It had just been treated to "shock treatment" from the western world that saw it economy de-industrialize and collapse by 30%, life expectancy drop by 6-7 years, mob bosses swoop in and claim vast swathes of Russian assets under the guise of "privatization", it's territorial claims shrink by 14% and its military sink into rusty oblivion. It was the kind of collapse that many are predicting for the United States. Putin reversed all that. The GDP rose by 200% (after falling under Yeltsin) and unemployment dropped by half. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2016/12/putin-generation-r
ussia-soviet-union/ Putin's popularity is a bread-and-butter issue, as well as a national-pride issue. Only lately, under economic sanctions and political pressure from the West, has Putin used the Orthodox Church and militarism to glue the society together. But a man (and his staff) who dragged Russia out of the depths by the scruff of its neck is admired by many.
Also, There is far more diversity in Russian media than you imagine.Quote:The USA is on a financial slippery slope. We might NEED a leader who could "rule that way" ... and be damn grateful for getting one ... if our finances collapse like some are predicting (and I happen to think they are right).
It’s certainly no wonder that Trump seems to admire him. It’s pretty plain that Trump would like to rule that way too if he could figure out a way to do it.Quote:Hello??? What has Trump done to "help Russia"? BE SPECIFIC.
But it’s worth noting that this isn’t just about Russia. If Trump came to office and started doing everything in his power to help France and hurt the rest of EuropeQuote:YES HE IS, if those interests are counter to ours. I have often asked What are America's interests? It is a question that you have DEEPLY ignored. I'm glad to see that you're FINALLY getting around to the topic, but I'm sure your interest will last until the next anti-Trump screed, and then you'll be off and riding that hobby-horse. A piece of friendly advice: Until you define "our" interests, you should probably keep your mouth shut before proclaiming that Trump is working against them because otherwise you'll sound like an idiot.
An American president isn’t obligated to literally ignore the interests of the rest of the world,
All those decades of work by reasonable folk to end The Cold War, only to be squandered by the Perpetrator-in-Chief.
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:
How much did Putin pay you to shift the blame to Americans? So long as incompetent Yeltsin was in charge, Russia was doomed.
How much do you get paid to act like an idiot? Oh, that's right .... you're fabulously rich, and so of course you would NEVER blame the wealthy or the policies that made you so.
But, unlike you, I have a less corrupt view of the world, and I happen to (a) know quite a but more about economics than you do and (b) pay a lot more attention to world political economics than you do AND (c) I remember, very clearly, the USA media gleefully tooting its horn about how we were going to "reform" the Russian economy.
And fortunately, I'm not the only one who remembers recent history!
Quote:
In the wake of the 1990’s, the future of nascent post-Soviet Russia was in the hands of four groups of reformers, who were entrusted with applying a medicine known as “shock therapy” to a collapsing patient. These “doctors” were
independent foreign advisers,
the International Monetary Fund (IMF),
the US government, and, most importantly,
President Yeltsin’s administration (Aslund 2007a, 2007b).
Only the fourth was an internal group; the other three were external to the country. All four groups were, for the most part, committed to shock therapy. While no one was more invested in the cause than Yeltsin’s administration, the West, with its accumulated capital and experience, could have played a decisive [helpful] role – but it did not....
To understand how the doctors attempted to assist Russia, we must first understand the theoretical model from which they operated. The term “Shock Therapy” was an invention of the media and a modification of Milton Friedman’s phrase “Shock Policy.” Jeffrey Sachs (2000), a professor of economics at Harvard, argues that Ludwig Erhard’s quick liberalization of price controls and government spending cuts in 1947-48 West Germany served as an inspiration for the shock therapy model.[1] Yet shock therapy, as it is now known, was first pioneered in Chile in 1975 by the “Chicago Boys”[2] following Augusto Pinochet’s coup and then in Bolivia in 1985 under Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada. Soon after, Eastern European countries followed suit: Poland in 1990, Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria in 1991, Russia, Albania, and Estonia in 1992, and finally Latvia in 1993 (Marangos 2004).
Shock therapy is often associated with John Williamson’s Washington Consensus,
http://geohistory.today/russia-shock-therapy/
A lot of AMERICAN names in there, SECOND!
Quote:And YOU can never wrap your brain around the thought that there is something fundamentaly wrong with system the relies on wholesale rape of the many to benefit the few. Because, as they say, the chances of you understanding something when your pocketbook depends on you NOT understanding is minimal. Yeltsin believed in the hype about capitalism, he really thought that it would improve Russia. Unfortunately, he never looked at its victims and understood that that's what Russia was intended to be
Yeltsin could never wrap his brain around the proverb: A fool and his money are soon parted.
Quote:Yes. It would be nice. But you have to realize that Putin did more than just "not screw up", he had to actively undo the damage that had been wrought by the west and by Russia's (at that point) entrenched mob bosses/ oligarchy, who represented a problematic center of power. MUCH LIKE OUR OWN OLIGARCHY AND DEEP STATE.
Putin, not brain damaged like Yeltsin, actually knows what he is doing, which makes all the difference in Russia’s improved fortune. Wouldn’t it be great to have an American President with a brain functioning half as well as Putin’s?
Quote:Meanwhile, western press wrings its hands and cries long and loud a
There are graphs available to show increasing inequality in Russia during the Yeltsin years. You can see that Putin only partially undid what Yeltsin had done when his alcoholism caught up with his brain.
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Ok, I'm going to summarize>
SECOND, like Texas football fans, you have a very reflexive view of politics. You divide the world up into "teams" and then respond to whether "your team" is "winning" or "losing", wasting much time and angst on what is nothing more than entertainment for the masses.
Have you ever considered that MAYBE there's not much difference in teams? That Dems and GOP are fundamentally the same, they have the same goals but just different colored jerseys? That maybe the "games" that we're playing are essentially meaningless? That just because one side is "winning" does not necessarily mean the other side is "losing"? Does Russia's improved economy mean that we're poorer? Isn't there a future where we can BOTH "win"?
*******
When I think about our interests ... and I DO think about our interests, probably quite a lot more than most on this board and certainly more than you, GSTRING and THUGR ... there are only four problems that cause my heart to drop and my stomach to churn, and they are all SELF CREATED.
1) Our petrodollar/ reserve currency status.
2) The size of our dollar-denominated debt (public and private)
3) The weakened and deindustrialized state of our economy.
4) The rampant separation of wealth.
These factors portend collapse, like 2008, but worse. Think Weimar hyperinflation, or Venezuela today. Russia and China aren't causing those problems.
You seem to have a special angst about the wealth gap, but fail to realize that capitalism/ monopolism DEPENDS ON that wealth gap. I think you should think a lot more about what's driving your reflexive responses, and come to understand the flaws in your own ideology.
-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake
As long as you insist that everything is the Republicans'/ Democrats' fault, then you fail to grasp the REAL problem with American politics.
America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Pro Russian anti American sig is at it again. I think you upset her G. She posted another book of propaganda. Keep it up buddy.
He sig, Putin sucks.
T 
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:And SECOND's avid support should make anyone with half a brain mistrust the democrats even more.
Oh, that's right .... you're fabulously rich, and so of course you would NEVER blame the wealthy or the policies that made you so.
SECOND is a troll because it constantly misrepresents what people post, fails to address their actual positions, and resorts to personal attacks when its brain isn't working (which is most of the time).
NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:
Originally posted by 1kiki:Quote:And SECOND's avid support should make anyone with half a brain mistrust the democrats even more.
Oh, that's right .... you're fabulously rich, and so of course you would NEVER blame the wealthy or the policies that made you so.
On the contrary, I think that Second has stated quite a few times that the Rich People and the policies they enact not only are responsible for why he is rich, but also for how he keeps getting richer.
I think the guilt he suffers for having so much while most others don't is the reason he posts what he does and so often contradicts himself here.
He's genuinely convinced himself of an entirely black and white world where Democrats represent everything good and Republicans represent everything bad. A world where if Democrats ever get the super majority that we'd be living in a Utopia where everything is fair for everybody. At the same time he knows that the chances that Democrats would ever have a super majority are next to nil, so he could never possibly be proven wrong because this will never happen.... and on the flip side, he will continue to benefit financially at the same time because he will never be proven right in his beliefs. This allows him to keep living in this fantasy world where it's not really his fault that he's rich. It's somebody else's fault.
This also allows him to shed a little of the guilt he suffers from by virtue signaling all day long to anybody who will listen.
When you catch him dead to rights doing this is when he shows his true colors and admits that he is very happy where he is at in life in respect to all of the rest of us, and that he's glad that we're all stupid so he can reap the benefits of the Evil Republican policies that give him the lifestyle that he enjoys so much.
Remember. It's not Second's fault that he is rich. He has nothing to feel guilty about. He's a Democrat and only votes Democrat. The fault lies squarely on the shoulders of the Evil Republicans and those stupid and/or evil enough to vote for them.
Do Right, Be Right. :)
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:JewelStaiteFan, you might ask why Trump wants to start a war this weekend with the G7 nations, rather than speculate about Slick Willie and winning the peace after the Cold War was over.
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Does it seem ironic that the Libs which whine about Putin now saw no problem with Slick Willie pulling the rug out from under Russia and Yeltsin, right at the most critical time for transforming into a potential bastion of freedom, Democracy, and industrious economy?
All those decades of work by reasonable folk to end The Cold War, only to be squandered by the Perpetrator-in-Chief.
Was there any strategy behind Trump’s behavior at the G7 meeting? Well, it was pretty much exactly what he would have done if he really is Putin’s puppet. Trump yelling at friendly nations about sins they aren’t committing won’t bring back American jobs, but it’s exactly what Putin, who does want to break up the Western alliance, would like to see.
Alternatively, maybe Trump was just acting out because he couldn’t stand having to spend hours with powerful people who will neither flatter him nor bribe him by throwing money at his family businesses.
Trump demanded that the other G7 members remove what he called their "ridiculous and unacceptable" tariffs on U.S. goods – which would be hard for them to do, because their actual tariff rates are very low. The European Union, for example, levies an average tariff of only three percent on US goods. Who says so? The U.S. government’s own guide to exporters.
www.export.gov/article?id=European-union-Import-Tariffs
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:Unfortunately for you, Signym, you are blaming American conmen hired by drunken Boris Yeltsin. You know, Yeltsin could have fired them. He did not have to follow bad advice, just because he paid for it. I could have found Yeltsin some Americans who are real consultants that would not have given him obviously and excruciatingly bad economic advice. (Pawn state owned industries for 10% of what they are worth? What kind of drunk Russian leader would follow through on advice like that?)
Originally posted by SIGNYM:Quote:
How much did Putin pay you to shift the blame to Americans? So long as incompetent Yeltsin was in charge, Russia was doomed.
How much do you get paid to act like an idiot? Oh, that's right .... you're fabulously rich, and so of course you would NEVER blame the wealthy or the policies that made you so.
But, unlike you, I have a less corrupt view of the world, and I happen to (a) know quite a but more about economics than you do and (b) pay a lot more attention to world political economics than you do AND (c) I remember, very clearly, the USA media gleefully tooting its horn about how we were going to "reform" the Russian economy.
And fortunately, I'm not the only one who remembers recent history!
Yeltsin has been gone since 1999, and the truth is that Russia, whose GDP is about now, in 2018, the same size as Spain’s and quite a bit smaller than Brazil’s, was always a ringer in what was meant to be a group of major economies called the G8. Russia was brought in for strategic reasons, and Putin got Russia kicked out when he invaded Ukraine.
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD?locations=RU-ES-BR
Putin has been in charge for 18 years of the largest country in the world. Putin and the Russian people have vast natural resources, and the best they can do is fall behind Spain. The Russians might be slightly below average in competence.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Now watch, kiddos, and see how my last post goes completely ignored.
Methinks I hit the nail on the head.
Do Right, Be Right. :)
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:Can I tell you a story? You might interpret it as virtue signaling. If you do, you are wrong. It is just a story. While flying across S Vietnam in a helicopter, the Sargent in the next copter was firing at women, children and water buffalo. Buffaloes, being big targets that don’t hunch down, were easy to hit. I was in the perfect position to shoot that Sargent in one door and out the other, blowing him out of the sky. His crew would believe he had fallen out, never knowing! It would have been classy shooting and instant justice like you only see in movies. Instead, I took it to the officers and I got punished, with much drama. After, I did not shoot water buffalo, although if you do not talk about it, you can do it. It was still wrong, since it wastes ammo and the goodwill of the Vietnamese. Other people had the opinion that it is only a buffalo. What’s the big deal? Since then, I’ve learned I can’t fix what is wrong with other people’s "thinking". 6ixStringJack’s and Signym’s, for example. What justice there is comes slowly, if at all. I could speed Justice up but I refuse to play the role of Judge Dredd or River Tam.
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Now watch, kiddos, and see how my last post goes completely ignored.
Methinks I hit the nail on the head.
Do Right, Be Right. :)
The following public service announcement is brought to you by common decency.
Hi, I'm Norm. Or Norma. I might be a Republican or Democrat. It doesn't matter. The point is, I'm your next president. Now, I'm far from perfect. Like anyone else, I make mistakes, get frustrated, and sometimes lose my temper. But here's what else I am. I'm nice, civil, serious, thoughtful, idealistic, responsible, honest, coherent. I'm educated, but I'm humble about what I don't know, so I read, listen, prepare. I work hard.
I value kindness. I'm empathic, grateful. I respect all people, but especially those who serve. I'm patriotic, and I cherish all our democratic institutions, particularly our Free Press. I worship a loving God.
Now, I know what you're thinking. I'm too good to be true. But I'm not. I'm what you'd expect from any president. You voted for me in the past and in two short years, you can vote for me again! So don't lose heart, America. Norm is on the way. Thank you. Did I mention I was polite?
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Is this where SECOND derails an entire topic to talk about George Soros? Oh wait, that happened in ANOTHER thread http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=62134.
THIS red herring, also brought to you by SECOND, is Boris Yeltsin!
*****
It seems SECOND that you're entirely incapable of thinking about, let alone discussing, America's interests.
Why is that? ETA ... Were you fooled by someone with a Big Idea once? Did you come to distrust all Big Ideas, or your ability to handle them? Do you think Big Ideas are dangerous and therefore you reduce every discussion to gossip about individuals? ...
******
BTW, I would never vote for Norm/Norma. Anyone who speaks and believes such pablum has mush for brains. How can s/he possibly call if the "free" press when it cost so much money???
-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake
As long as you insist that everything is the Republicans'/ Democrats' fault, then you fail to grasp the REAL problem with American politics.
America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
We already had Norm and Norma. Only their names were Barack and Michelle. Unlike Signy's take on Norm and Norma, I don't think that they have mush for brains at all. On the contrary, I think that people that are as polished as that are likely as intelligent as they are dangerous. Who doesn't love somebody who always says exactly what everyone wants to hear?
I'll admit that Second's segway there wasn't as annoying as his usual segways, and the insults were rather muted. It still didn't address the actual post I made though because he knows that I'm right.
Do Right, Be Right. :)
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:fify
Originally posted by second:
Instead, I took it to the officers and I got punished, with much drama. After, I did not shoot water buffalo, although if you do not talk about it, you can do it.
Since then, I’ve learned I can’t fix what is wrong with other people’s "thinking".
Since then, unlike Vietnam, I can't be touched by the thinking of other people. And not only am I immune from other people's thinking, I experience no negative consequences from any mistakes in my own thinking.
Being rich makes me right. Being rich lets me think it's everyone else who's fucked up. Being rich means I can tell everyone to fuck off. Being rich makes it OK for me to be a pompous, deluded, self-righteous asshole.
SECOND is a troll because it constantly misrepresents what people post, fails to address their actual positions, and resorts to personal attacks when its brain isn't working (which is most of the time).
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:I thought that was every thread, the ones with posts by second/T/CC/JJ/G/pizmobeach.
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Is this where SECOND derails an entire topic to talk about George Soros? Oh wait, that happened in ANOTHER thread http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=62134.
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:I have major doubt about many people being able to remember recent history.
Originally posted by SIGNYM:Quote:How much do you get paid to act like an idiot? Oh, that's right .... you're fabulously rich, and so of course you would NEVER blame the wealthy or the policies that made you so.
How much did Putin pay you to shift the blame to Americans? So long as incompetent Yeltsin was in charge, Russia was doomed.
But, unlike you, I have a less corrupt view of the world, and I happen to (a) know quite a but more about economics than you do and (b) pay a lot more attention to world political economics than you do AND (c) I remember, very clearly, the USA media gleefully tooting its horn about how we were going to "reform" the Russian economy.
And fortunately, I'm not the only one who remembers recent history!
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:I know you are wrong. All politicians, Democrat and Republicans, operate under the same restriction that prevent keeping their promises.
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
We already had Norm and Norma. Only their names were Barack and Michelle. Unlike Signy's take on Norm and Norma, I don't think that they have mush for brains at all. On the contrary, I think that people that are as polished as that are likely as intelligent as they are dangerous. Who doesn't love somebody who always says exactly what everyone wants to hear?
I'll admit that Second's segway there wasn't as annoying as his usual segways, and the insults were rather muted. It still didn't address the actual post I made though because he knows that I'm right.
Do Right, Be Right. :)
Why can’t politicians follow through on their most heartfelt promises? Because the voters would murder the politicians if they went all the way, no matter what, to keep their promises.
LBJ and Nixon promised a win, but America lost the Vietnam War because Americans wanted to quit when their deaths got to 50,000. Even if Nixon was willing, Americans weren’t willing to throw more bodies at that war because they didn’t care enough about the Vietnamese. How do I know? Remember the story about shooting S Vietnamese water buffalo from a helicopter? That’s how I know. You don’t kill the Vietnamese’s plow animals when you are willing to fight all the way to absolute victory, no matter what happens along the way, for the Vietnamese. The majority of Americans wanted to quit every week when the new casualty report came in. No politician can get reelected by being willing to throw another 100,000 dead on that pile, especially against the will of the majority of Americans. Americans just didn’t like the Vietnamese enough to do what was necessary to win.
In stark contrast, America won the Civil War because Americans were willing to throw 600,000 dead bodies at that war. Not all, but a fairly big majority of Americans truly wanted that win. It was worth the effort, unlike Vietnam. If Lincoln had fought the Vietnam War, he would have lost the same as Nixon because Americans didn’t care enough about Vietnam. No matter how great a President, Lincoln couldn’t win against the antipathy of the majority of voters about the fate of the Vietnamese.
West Virginia or 6ixStringJack is the new S Vietnam or the new Confederate ex-slave. A small percent of Americans might care about what happens to West Virginia or 6ixStringJack, but the majority do not. No politician can win against the antipathy of the majority of voters about the fate of people like 6ixStringJack. Do you remember what happened to the Vietnamese boat people or the slaves after Reconstruction ended? Neither crisis was America at its finest, because most Americans did not care what happened. 6ix is in the same boat with the boat people or ex-slaves. Most Americans don't care, therefore politicians are severely limited in how much they can care. The politicians can't do whatever it takes to solve certain problems because the majority of voters won't let them. The majority of voters don't care enough about those certain problems.
6ix might get some help for years, as Vietnam did because LBJ and Nixon were willing to lie to the max and cheat the American public, but it won’t be long enough for 6ix to win his war unless he does most of the fighting. Eventually even the biggest liar and cheater gets booted from office, before he has fulfilled his promises. The federal government (without a LBJ or a Nixon) will not fight very hard or long to save 6ix because American voters don’t want the government to help very much the people like 6ix. It is too expensive, too inconvenient, and 6ix is too unappealing. Maybe if he was a cute little puppy, but he’s actually a whiny, middle-age man who is happier not working. It is political suicide to help him. The voters would be furious if they learn their tax money is being spent on him. They don’t like him any m
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Comparing Vietnam to the Civil War... lol
You're a character man.
I don't need anybodies help.
An even playing field would be nice though.
Do Right, Be Right. :)
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
SECOND- I find your post such a mish-mash of bad assumptions and resentments I don't even know where to begin ...
Quote:OF COURSE they didn't "care enough" about the Vietnamese. Why should "they" (we)?
I know you are wrong. All politicians, Democrat and Republicans, operate under the same restriction that prevent keeping their promises.
Why can’t politicians follow through on their most heartfelt promises? Because the voters would murder the politicians if they went all the way, no matter what, to keep their promises. LBJ and Nixon promised a win, but America lost the Vietnam War because Americans wanted to quit when their deaths got to 50,000. Even if Nixon was willing, Americans weren’t willing to throw more bodies at that war because they didn’t care enough about the Vietnamese.- SECOND
Quote:How can you possibly equate "liking" the Vietnamese" with "winning", especially "winning at all costs"? That's just flabbergasting! As I gather from your story, you were OK with shooting women and children, but not water buffalo? So, what would "winning" look like? And how were we supposed to "win"? Do you think that we should have bombed, burned, and shot even MORE Vietnamese (and Cambodians)?
Americans just didn’t like the Vietnamese enough to do what was necessary to win.
-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake
As long as you insist that everything is the Republicans'/ Democrats' fault, then you fail to grasp the REAL problem with American politics.
America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
OOOH! I get to post whatever I want about SECOND, and SECOND ignores me! What an opportunity!
SECOND is a troll because it constantly misrepresents what people post, fails to address their actual positions, and resorts to personal attacks when its brain isn't working (which is most of the time).
NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
I couldn't help but notice that SECONAL STILL ignored Jacks' post:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
We already had Norm and Norma. Only their names were Barack and Michelle. Unlike Signy's take on Norm and Norma, I don't think that they have mush for brains at all. On the contrary, I think that people that are as polished as that are likely as intelligent as they are dangerous. Who doesn't love somebody who always says exactly what everyone wants to hear?
I'll admit that Second's segue there wasn't as annoying as his usual segue, and the insults were rather muted. It still didn't address the actual post I made though because he knows that I'm right.
Do Right, Be Right. :)
And that's because ...
SECONAL is a troll because it constantly misrepresents what people post, fails to address their actual positions, and resorts to personal attacks when its brain isn't working (which is most of the time).
NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Russian elites met with NRA in lead-up to 2016 election
Prominent Russians were in contact with the National Rifle Association (NRA) during the lead-up to the 2016 election, McClatchy reported.
The Russians who met with NRA representatives during the 2016 presidential campaign included members of President Vladimir Putin's inner circle as well as the Russian Orthodox Church, according to the news outlet. Reportedly among the individuals identified are the former deputy prime minister overseeing Russia's defense industry, Dmitry Rogozin, and Sergei Rudov, the leader of the St. Basil the Great Charitable Foundation - one of Russia's largest philanthropies.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/russian-elites-met-with-nra-in
-lead-up-to-2016-election-report/ar-AAyvdI1
T
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:former deputy ministers!! The Russian Orthodox Church!!! One of Russia's largest philanthropies!!!! They're coming after us!!! SANCTIONS!!!! We need TOTAL SANCTIONS against these Russians!!!
Originally posted by JJ:
Russian elites met with NRA in lead-up to 2016 election
Prominent Russians were in contact with the National Rifle Association (NRA) during the lead-up to the 2016 election, McClatchy reported.
The Russians who met with NRA representatives during the 2016 presidential campaign included members of President Vladimir Putin's inner circle as well as the Russian Orthodox Church, according to the news outlet. Reportedly among the individuals identified are the former deputy prime minister overseeing Russia's defense industry, Dmitry Rogozin, and Sergei Rudov, the leader of the St. Basil the Great Charitable Foundation - one of Russia's largest philanthropies.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/russian-elites-met-with-nra-in
-lead-up-to-2016-election-report/ar-AAyvdI1
SECOND is a troll because it constantly misrepresents what people post, fails to address their actual positions, and resorts to personal attacks when its brain isn't working (which is most of the time).
NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:
Originally posted by 1kiki:
I couldn't help but notice that SECONAL STILL ignored Jacks' post:Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
We already had Norm and Norma. Only their names were Barack and Michelle. Unlike Signy's take on Norm and Norma, I don't think that they have mush for brains at all. On the contrary, I think that people that are as polished as that are likely as intelligent as they are dangerous. Who doesn't love somebody who always says exactly what everyone wants to hear?
I'll admit that Second's segue there wasn't as annoying as his usual segue, and the insults were rather muted. It still didn't address the actual post I made though because he knows that I'm right.
Do Right, Be Right. :)
And that's because ...
SECONAL is a troll because it constantly misrepresents what people post, fails to address their actual positions, and resorts to personal attacks when its brain isn't working (which is most of the time).
You'll notice the one post I keep referring to he hasn't even touched. In fact, it might be the single post I've seen from anyone that he hasn't quoted a single line of to begin one of his 10 paragraph segways into something completely different.
And that's because.....
Do Right, Be Right. :)
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
I'm still trying to figure this one out
Quote:What does "liking" have to do with "winning"? SECOND? Care to explain?
Americans just didn’t like the Vietnamese enough to do what was necessary to win - SECOND
Quote:<<< THIS
Who doesn't love somebody who always says exactly what everyone wants to hear?- SIX
-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake
As long as you insist that everything is the Republicans'/ Democrats' fault, then you fail to grasp the REAL problem with American politics.
America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:I have finally learned enough about second to understand that he doesn't have a clue about what was wrong with the Vietnam War, or why LBJ insisted upon losing it.
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
I'm still trying to figure this one outQuote:What does "liking" have to do with "winning"? SECOND? Care to explain?
Americans just didn’t like the Vietnamese enough to do what was necessary to win - SECONDQuote:<<< THIS
Who doesn't love somebody who always says exactly what everyone wants to hear?- SIX
To be fair, I have been ignoring second alot lately.
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
I'm still trying to figure this one outQuote:What does "liking" have to do with "winning"? SECOND? Care to explain?
Americans just didn’t like the Vietnamese enough to do what was necessary to win - SECOND
I'm assuming he means that we as a nation did not care enough about the Vietnamese to keep throwing our sons over there to die until the Vietnamese we were supposed to care about ran out of bullets.
Do Right, Be Right. :)
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
I'm assuming we didn't 'like' the Vietnamese enough to keep bombing and poisoning them into oblivion. Does anyone beside me remember 'body counts', which was our measure of success in Vietnam?
SECOND is a troll because it constantly misrepresents what people post, fails to address their actual positions, and resorts to personal attacks when its brain isn't working (which is most of the time).
NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:
Originally posted by 1kiki:
I'm assuming we didn't 'like' the Vietnamese enough to keep bombing and poisoning them into oblivion. Does anyone beside me remember 'body counts', which was our measure of success in Vietnam?
Yup.., that too.
Lots of reasons why his comparison of Vietnam to the Civil War is pretty crazy.
Do Right, Be Right. :)
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
SECOND .... I'm still vastly confused by your statement, which seems to conflate "liking" with "winning". I'm sure you have an explanation that makes sense, since you seem to have derived lessons from your Vietnam experience which have stood up to decades-worth of experience.
So, at least one of us is confused. Help me out here and tell me what you meant.
-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake
As long as you insist that everything is the Republicans'/ Democrats' fault, then you fail to grasp the REAL problem with American politics.
America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:It is the fundamental problem with language. Only telepathy will do what I need in as few words as I'm willing to use. Since Signym is not telepathic, the following probably won't clear up anything, either, but let me just say that a lot of soldiers (not all draftees, obviously, or the war would have been even crazier than it was) who went to Vietnam after 1970 were resentful that they were even there. They took out their resentment on the people who idealists like me were fighting for. They resented the South Vietnamese. That is a crazy way to fight: resenting the people you are there to defend. I, second, can't win all by myself when most of the people around me and most of those back in the USA don't think the war is worth fighting. Nuke all of Vietnam, North and South, declare victory and go home, was the best imaginable strategy for the resentful soldiers. Now imagine jumping forward in time by 40 years. A majority of Americans today live as if they are crazy with resentment. I've got an article on that subject:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
SECOND .... I'm still vastly confused by your statement, which seems to conflate "liking" with "winning". I'm sure you have an explanation that makes sense, since you seem to have derived lessons from your Vietnam experience which have stood up to decades-worth of experience.
So, at least one of us is confused. Help me out here and tell me what you meant.
-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake
As long as you insist that everything is the Republicans'/ Democrats' fault, then you fail to grasp the REAL problem with American politics.
America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876
Trump Takes the Politics of Resentment to the Global Stage
by Nancy LeTourneau, June 12, 2018
Jeffrey Goldberg went in search of the “Trump Doctrine” on foreign affairs. Here is the description that struck him as the best distillation:
I was talking to this person several weeks ago, and I said, by way of introduction, that I thought it might perhaps be too early to discern a definitive Trump Doctrine.
“No,” the official said. “There’s definitely a Trump Doctrine.”
“What is it?” I asked. Here is the answer I received:
“The Trump Doctrine is ‘We’re America, Bitch.’ That’s the Trump Doctrine.”
It struck me almost immediately that this was the most acute, and attitudinally honest, description of the manner in which members of Trump’s team, and Trump himself, understand their role in the world…
“We’re America, Bitch” is not only a characterologically accurate collective self-appraisal—the gangster fronting, the casual misogyny, the insupportable confidence—but it is also perfectly Rorschachian. To Trump’s followers, “We’re America, Bitch” could be understood as a middle finger directed at a cold and unfair world, one that no longer respects American power and privilege.
What Goldberg just did is provide a perfect example of the politics of resentment, which is what attracted Trump supporters to him in the first place. Josh Marshall explained it this way:
People continue to marvel how a city-bred, godless libertine who was born to great wealth could become and remain the political avatar of small town and rural voters of middling means. The answer is simple. Despite all their differences, Trump meets his voters in a common perception (real or not) of being shunned, ignored and disrespected by ‘elites’. In short, his politics and his connection with his core voters is based on grievance. This is a profound and enduring connection.
The president and his supporters aren’t just raising their middle finger to American “elites,” they’re doing it to pretty much the entire globe. Jay Bookman described the politics of resentment as “a bone-deep cultural resentment that probably does not originate in politics, but that finds its outlet and expression in politics.” Another person Goldberg talked t
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:
Trump Takes the Politics of Resentment to the Global Stage
by Nancy LeTourneau, June 12, 2018
Jeffrey Goldberg went in search of the “Trump Doctrine” on foreign affairs. Here is the description that struck him as the best distillation: I was talking to this person several weeks ago, and I said, by way of introduction, that I thought it might perhaps be too early to discern a definitive Trump Doctrine.
“No,” the official said. “There’s definitely a Trump Doctrine.”
“What is it?” I asked. Here is the answer I received:
“The Trump Doctrine is ‘We’re America, Bitch.’ That’s the Trump Doctrine.”
It struck me almost immediately that this was the most acute, and attitudinally honest, description of the manner in which members of Trump’s team, and Trump himself, understand their role in the world…
“We’re America, Bitch” is not only a characterologically accurate collective self-appraisal—the gangster fronting, the casual misogyny, the insupportable confidence—but it is also perfectly Rorschachian. To Trump’s followers, “We’re America, Bitch” could be understood as a middle finger directed at a cold and unfair world, one that no longer respects American power and privilege. Or apparently the jobs, sustenance, health and lives of the average American.
What Goldberg just did is provide a perfect example of the politics of resentment, which is what attracted Trump supporters to him in the first place. Josh Marshall explained it this way:
People continue to marvel how a city-bred, godless libertine who was born to great wealth could become and remain the political avatar of small town and rural voters of middling means. The answer is simple. Despite all their differences, Trump meets his voters in a common perception (real or not) of being shunned, ignored and disrespected by ‘elites’. In short, his politics and his connection with his core voters is based on grievance. This is a profound and enduring connection. Why is there no analysis as to whether or not the average American has vital, life-altering things to be aggrieved about? OH! THAT'S RIGHT! We're just supposed to ASSUME these perceptions are not real, because they've been rhetorically dismissed.
The president and his supporters aren’t just raising their middle finger to American “elites,” they’re doing it to pretty much the entire globe. Jay Bookman described the politics of resentment as “a bone-deep cultural resentment that probably does not originate in politics, but that finds its outlet and expression in politics.” God forbid anyone examine the economics of this 'resentment'.
Another person Goldberg talked to described the Trump Doctrine this way:
“People criticize [Trump] for being opposed to everything Obama did, but we’re justified in canceling out his policies,” one friend of Trump’s told me. This friend described the Trump Doctrine in the simplest way possible. “There’s the Obama Doctrine, and the ‘Fuck Obama’ Doctrine,” he said. “We’re the ‘Fuck Obama’ Doctrine.”
Yes, people are dying younger to spite Obama.
There is a bone-deep resentment that Donald Trump shares with his supporters and Barack Obama symbolizes everything they resent: a well-educated successful black man with the middle name “Hussein” who held the most powerful office in the world. Because, the whole no good jobs situation ... it's not really a factor. As Andrew Breitbart famously said, “politics is downstream from culture.” As Bill Clinton famously said, "it's the economy, stupid". That is the origin of the resentment that is finding it’s expression not just in domestic politics
NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2018/06/07/chuck-schumer-exact-oppo
site-what-democrats-need
Chuck Schumer Is The Exact Opposite of What Democrats Need
Schumer has been doing the exact same tired stunt for well over a decade, and it was exhausted even in 2005.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/06/07/despite-medicare-all-supp
ort-spreading-wildfire-pelosi-shrugs-says-dems-will
Despite Medicare for All Support 'Spreading Like Wildfire,' Pelosi Shrugs, Says Dems Will 'Evaluate'... If They Win
One critic offered this translation: "My pharmaceutical and health insurance donors hate the idea of Medicare for All, but just vote me back in and, honest, we'll 'look' at it."
SECOND is a troll because it constantly misrepresents what people post, fails to address their actual positions, and resorts to personal attacks when its brain isn't working (which is most of the time).
NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:
Originally posted by 1kiki:
The American lifespan declined for the second year in a row. Suicide was a big factor, as well as opioids.
I don't know if you've considered how difficult it is to change the average lifespan when you have all 350 million individuals contributing their personal years to the final number.
With average lifespan dropping, it seems there's far more going on than mere petulant 'resentment'. But the whole article seems to describe this 'resentment' as coming from nothing, and meaning nothing, except the outsized pout of a spoiled brat.
That's its problem, and yours, SECOND. The dismissal of the legitimate misery of millions. But if democrats don't address it, or even talk about it, people will vote for the person who does. As they well should.
SECOND is a troll because it constantly misrepresents what people post, fails to address their actual positions, and resorts to personal attacks when its brain isn't working (which is most of the time).
You are so full of shit, 1kiki. Last week I saw how a Republican reduces his lifespan. Next door lives two Republicans, Larry and Levi. Levi, 40, is in jail today. He is doing his very best to shorten his life. Some of that involved stealing $40,000 from his father's bank account by transferring it using the stored passwords on Larry's computer. Lance, the other son and also a Republican, spent 10 years in prison for homicide -- driving drunk, crashed car, killing girl friend. He is getting fatter every single day. The way he is going I'd say he is following his brother in the search for a way to shorten his life.
I am pretty sure that government can't fix what is wrong with Republicans. They have to fix themselves or they will die younger than they should.
I can go around the block describing neighbors, who is a Democrat, who is a Republican, and the Republicans are definitely winning in the number of stories where they go about shortening their lives because there is something fundamentally wrong with the way their minds work and how they deal with the minor adversities of American life. Again, government can't fix what is wrong with these people who vote for Trump. Driving home the point: that the Trump voters can't adjust is killing them.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:
Originally posted by 1kiki:
The American lifespan declined for the second year in a row. Suicide was a big factor, as well as opioids.
Quote:
Originally posted by SECOND:
You are so full of shit, 1kiki.
Maybe you need to argue with the Census Bureau.
https://www.cnn.com/2017/12/21/health/us-life-expectancy-study/index.h
tml
Life expectancy in the United States has dropped again following last year's decline, which marked the first downturn in more than two decades. The death rates increased for unintentional injuries, Alzheimer's disease and suicide. Unintentional injuries include accidental drug overdoses, which were the official cause of 63,600 deaths last year.
SECOND is a troll because it constantly misrepresents what people post, fails to address their actual positions, and resorts to personal attacks when its brain isn't working (which is most of the time).
NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:I thank you for those words, and would appreciate more. Let's imagine that the military service, from draftee up thru the ranks to the highest generals AND the President, shared your idealism. What would "winning" have looked like, to you, and -perhaps more importantly - HOW would you have achieved that goal/ won the war?
SECOND .... I'm still vastly confused by your statement, which seems to conflate "liking" with "winning". I'm sure you have an explanation that makes sense, since you seem to have derived lessons from your Vietnam experience which have stood up to decades-worth of experience.
So, at least one of us is confused. Help me out here and tell me what you meant. - SIGNY
It is the fundamental problem with language. Only telepathy will do what I need in as few words as I'm willing to use. Since Signym is not telepathic, the following probably won't clear up anything, either, but let me just say that a lot of soldiers (not all draftees, obviously, or the war would have been even crazier than it was) who went to Vietnam after 1970 were resentful that they were even there. They took out their resentment on the people who idealists like me were fighting for. They resented the South Vietnamese. That is a crazy way to fight: resenting the people you are there to defend. I, second, can't win all by myself when most of the people around me and most of those back in the USA don't think the war is worth fighting. Nuke all of Vietnam, North and South, declare victory and go home, was the best imaginable strategy for the resentful soldiers. - SECOND
Quote:
Now imagine jumping forward in time by 40 years. A majority of Americans today live as if they are crazy with resentment.- SECOND
Ok, Americans are crazy with resentment. Blacks resent whites, and whites resent blacks; blacks resent latinos and most Asian cultures look down on everyone. Women resent men, and men resent women. Religious resent secularists, and vice versa. Democrats resent Republicans (a resentment you participate in). Old versus young, straight versus everyone else, stay-at-home moms versus professional women; north versus south; coastal versus flyovers ...
WHY are we such a resentful culture? Does it have something to do with this ...?
Or this??
Maybe this?
And why it that American resentment has suddenly become a point of discussion when we have been splintering and dividing ourselves and resenting each other for decades?
And now, I have a sprinkler system to fix.
-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake
As long as you insist that everything is the Republicans'/ Democrats' fault, then you fail to grasp the REAL problem with American politics.
America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:Wasn't that the whole point of Electing the first ever self-admitted Drug Dealer as Preezy? Twice? Libtards wanted lots more people to die from drugs, helping with Population Control.
Originally posted by 1kiki:Quote:
Originally posted by 1kiki:
The American lifespan declined for the second year in a row. Suicide was a big factor, as well as opioids.Quote:
Originally posted by SECOND:
You are so full of shit, 1kiki.
Maybe you need to argue with the Census Bureau.
https://www.cnn.com/2017/12/21/health/us-life-expectancy-study/index.h
tml
Life expectancy in the United States has dropped again following last year's decline, which marked the first downturn in more than two decades. The death rates increased for unintentional injuries, Alzheimer's disease and suicide. Unintentional injuries include accidental drug overdoses, which were the official cause of 63,600 deaths last year.
SECOND is a troll because it constantly misrepresents what people post, fails to address their actual positions, and resorts to personal attacks when its brain isn't working (which is most of the time).
Rumor has it, drugs are a victimless crime, so not enough people are doing drugs because not enough are dying from drugs.
Obama's hard work was able to increase the death rate, so all his supporters got what they wanted.
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:Quote:I thank you for those words, and would appreciate more. Let's imagine that the military service, from draftee up thru the ranks to the highest generals AND the President, shared your idealism. What would "winning" have looked like, to you, and -perhaps more importantly - HOW would you have achieved that goal/ won the war?
SECOND .... I'm still vastly confused by your statement, which seems to conflate "liking" with "winning". I'm sure you have an explanation that makes sense, since you seem to have derived lessons from your Vietnam experience which have stood up to decades-worth of experience.
So, at least one of us is confused. Help me out here and tell me what you meant. - SIGNY
It is the fundamental problem with language. Only telepathy will do what I need in as few words as I'm willing to use. Since Signym is not telepathic, the following probably won't clear up anything, either, but let me just say that a lot of soldiers (not all draftees, obviously, or the war would have been even crazier than it was) who went to Vietnam after 1970 were resentful that they were even there. They took out their resentment on the people who idealists like me were fighting for. They resented the South Vietnamese. That is a crazy way to fight: resenting the people you are there to defend. I, second, can't win all by myself when most of the people around me and most of those back in the USA don't think the war is worth fighting. Nuke all of Vietnam, North and South, declare victory and go home, was the best imaginable strategy for the resentful soldiers. - SECONDQuote:
Now imagine jumping forward in time by 40 years. A majority of Americans today live as if they are crazy with resentment.- SECOND
Ok, Americans are crazy with resentment. Blacks resent whites, and whites resent blacks; blacks resent latinos and most Asian cultures look down on everyone. Women resent men, and men resent women. Religious resent secularists, and vice versa. Democrats resent Republicans (a resentment you participate in). Old versus young, straight versus everyone else, stay-at-home moms versus professional women; north versus south; coastal versus flyovers ...
WHY are we such a resentful culture? Does it have something to do with this ...?
Or this??
Maybe this?
Quote:Interesting graphs. That 2nd one shows how badly Clinton & Obama screwed the honest American Worker. Every American who wants to get screwed even more needs to elect another Democrat for Preezy.
And why it that American resentment has suddenly become a point of discussion when we have been splintering and dividing ourselves and resenting each other for decades?
And now, I have a sprinkler system to fix.
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:
Originally posted by 1kiki:Quote:
Originally posted by 1kiki:
The American lifespan declined for the second year in a row. Suicide was a big factor, as well as opioids.Quote:
Originally posted by SECOND:
You are so full of shit, 1kiki.
Maybe you need to argue with the Census Bureau.
https://www.cnn.com/2017/12/21/health/us-life-expectancy-study/index.h
tml
Life expectancy in the United States has dropped again following last year's decline, which marked the first downturn in more than two decades. The death rates increased for unintentional injuries, Alzheimer's disease and suicide. Unintentional injuries include accidental drug overdoses, which were the official cause of 63,600 deaths last year.
SECOND is a troll because it constantly misrepresents what people post, fails to address their actual positions, and resorts to personal attacks when its brain isn't working (which is most of the time).
The headline says it all: "Life Expectancy Drops For Whites, Rises For Blacks and Hispanics"
www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/articles/2016-04-20/life-expectanc
y-drops-for-whites-rises-for-blacks-and-hispanics
Who are the Whites? The Republicans. Who are the Blacks and Hispanics? The Democrats.
Not all whites are stupid enough to shorten their lives. The richest Republicans are having longer, richer lives. They voted for Trump while holding their noses because of his stench, mainly because he would give them a big tax cut, a cut that Hillary would never allow. College educated whites have longer lives, too, because they run their lives better than the uneducated. For an example of uneducated white who has shortened his life, even if he is not quite dead yet, think 6ixStringJack, who voted Trump for his uneducated reasons. He has many reasons, none of them worth a goddamn.
The Republicans with shorter lives are making uneducated, ignorant non-political decisions that shorten lives. Voting for Trump seemed smart to them, and he has certainly given them plenty of what they want, but none of it will lengthen their lives.
Remember that Black and Hispanic lives grow longer while Whites voting for Trump have shortened their lives. The researchers want to stay out of politics. They say “This report slams it home that this is really a mystery.” It isn't a mystery. If you voted for Trump, and weren't rich, you are fool. Fools make foolish decisions, not just in politics once every four years, but in all areas of life on a daily basis. And on a daily basis they die foolishly. Don't ever stop defending Trump, 1kiki. If you died young, you are helping to prove my point.
www.nytimes.com/2016/12/08/health/life-expectancy-us-declines.html
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:You are foolishly blaming Presidents when you should be blaming the approximately 3 million people like me who actually set other citizen's salaries and decide who is hired and fired. I don't believe you will ever understand, since you have never been inside the real American hierarchy of business, the one that you have absolutely no vote in and zero control over. But Presidents do have a certain amount of actual control in limited areas of business. Taxes, for one, but Trump is doing an excellent job of letting the richest Americans decide how little they will pay. Good job, Trump! But since he is also inside the business hierarchy, lower taxes on the wealthy was to be expected. Trump has other responsibilities that he handles irresponsibly and GOP voters love it:
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
Interesting graphs. That 2nd one shows how badly Clinton & Obama screwed the honest American Worker. Every American who wants to get screwed even more needs to elect another Democrat for Preezy.
Trump wasn’t on the ballot or even stateside for Tuesday’s primary elections in Virginia and South Carolina. But he loomed over both states, just as he has in nearly every nominating contest this year, underscoring how the Republican Party has become the party of Trump and that its politicians cross him at their peril.
As Representative Mark Sanford of South Carolina found out the hard way, in his surprise primary defeat, having a conservative voting record is less important than demonstrating total loyalty to Mr. Trump, who now enjoys higher approval ratings in his own party than any modern president except George W. Bush following the attacks of Sept. 11. And in Virginia, a far-right candidate, Corey Stewart, won the Republican Senate nomination after waging an incendiary campaign and portraying himself as a disciple of Mr. Trump.
The president’s transformation of the G.O.P. — its policies, its tone, even the fate of its candidates — has never been so evident. A party that once championed free trade has now largely turned to protectionism under Mr. Trump. Sermons about inclusivity have been replaced with demagogic attacks on immigrants and black athletes. A trust-but-verify approach to foreign policy has given way to a seat-of-the-pants style in which rogue regimes like North Korea are elevated and democratic allies like Canada are belittled.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
I wonder why we have a reply from "second" and then another from "SECOND" - they seem the same to me.
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:It is actually second, all lower case, the same as the fundamental unit of time. If you want to learn about fundamentals, for example why American capitalism concentrates the wealth with people like me, you could read: "New economics research shows why Donald Trump’s corporate tax cut won’t boost paychecks"
Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:
I wonder why we have a reply from "second" and then another from "SECOND" - they seem the same to me.
https://qz.com/1304713
The corporate tax cuts enacted by president Donald Trump and the Republican party are supposed to lure investment back to the US, leading to an increase in wages for working Americans.
But workers’ wages have grown half as slowly in the first five months of 2018, with the tax law in force, compared to the first five months of 2017. And average worker wages were actually higher before the tax law was enacted.
Why haven’t predictions of rising wages come true? An ambitious new paper released by economists Thomas Tørsløv, Ludvig Wier and Gabriel Zucman argues that the tax bill contains a fundamental misunderstanding about global capitalism.
At its heart, the law reasons that in a world of mobile capital, the country with the lowest corporate taxes will attract the most business investment, creating the most high-paying jobs. But so far, capital expenditures for factories and whatever have not moved to low-tax places. So far, profit shifting seems to have swamped real capital mobility.
US companies reported $50 billion of profits in the Cayman Islands, which reported total economic production of just $3 billion that year. What the new wage data helps establish that this phenomenon of huge profits without real economic activity is systemic, across the same companies in a wide variety of tax havens.
Although I will never vote for Trump, I am pleased at all the money he has given me. As for the people who voted for Trump, too bad you don't understand what Trump is doing. But I don't expect you to click the link and increase your understanding of how Trump screwed you: https://qz.com/1304713
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
SECOND, for some reason, your name (and everyone else's) shows up as all caps in the "attribution" line; at least for me.
I would still like an explanation of the following. Not meaning to pick a fight, but just very curious how you fit "liking" and "winning" into the same sentence about the same people. I'm hoping that you can provide an example of how you can "like" someone enough to "win" ... surely, you must have thought about what you would have done differently if you were in charge.
Quote:
It is the fundamental problem with language. Only telepathy will do what I need in as few words as I'm willing to use. Since Signym is not telepathic, the following probably won't clear up anything, either, but let me just say that a lot of soldiers (not all draftees, obviously, or the war would have been even crazier than it was) who went to Vietnam after 1970 were resentful that they were even there. They took out their resentment on the people who idealists like me were fighting for. They resented the South Vietnamese. That is a crazy way to fight: resenting the people you are there to defend. I, second, can't win all by myself when most of the people around me and most of those back in the USA don't think the war is worth fighting. Nuke all of Vietnam, North and South, declare victory and go home, was the best imaginable strategy for the resentful soldiers. - SECOND
I thank you for those words, and would appreciate more. Let's imagine that the military service, from draftee up thru the ranks to the highest generals AND the President, shared your idealism. What would "winning" have looked like, to you, and -perhaps more importantly - HOW would you have achieved that goal/ won the war? - SIGNY
-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake
As long as you insist that everything is the Republicans'/ Democrats' fault, then you fail to grasp the REAL problem with American politics.
America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
New York files suit against President Trump, alleging his charity engaged in 'illegal conduct'
The New York attorney general on Thursday filed suit against President Trump and his three eldest children alleging “persistently illegal conduct” at the president’s personal charity, saying Trump repeatedly misused the nonprofit — to pay off his businesses’ creditors, to decorate one of his golf clubs and to stage a multimillion dollar giveaway at his 2016 campaign events.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/presidential/new-york-files
-suit-against-president-trump-alleging-his-charity-engaged-in-illegal-conduct-20180614.html
T
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
T
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:I know many soldiers that think the Vietnam War could have been "won". Nothing ever changes their minds. So I stopped even attempting that, on Vietnam or anything else. If I don't like 'em, I treat them like they have moved to another planet beyond communication range. In business, where I can't do that, I use the carrot and the stick. People can do as they please, but I will either reward or fire them depending on what they do. No minds need to be changed by me. I only change my associations until I found some that are compatible, ones that don't cheat, steal, lie.
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
SECOND, for some reason, your name (and everyone else's) shows up as all caps in the "attribution" line; at least for me.
I would still like an explanation of the following. Not meaning to pick a fight, but just very curious how you fit "liking" and "winning" into the same sentence about the same people. I'm hoping that you can provide an example of how you can "like" someone enough to "win" ... surely, you must have thought about what you would have done differently if you were in charge.
Quote:
It is the fundamental problem with language. Only telepathy will do what I need in as few words as I'm willing to use. Since Signym is not telepathic, the following probably won't clear up anything, either, but let me just say that a lot of soldiers (not all draftees, obviously, or the war would have been even crazier than it was) who went to Vietnam after 1970 were resentful that they were even there. They took out their resentment on the people who idealists like me were fighting for. They resented the South Vietnamese. That is a crazy way to fight: resenting the people you are there to defend. I, second, can't win all by myself when most of the people around me and most of those back in the USA don't think the war is worth fighting. Nuke all of Vietnam, North and South, declare victory and go home, was the best imaginable strategy for the resentful soldiers. - SECOND
I thank you for those words, and would appreciate more. Let's imagine that the military service, from draftee up thru the ranks to the highest generals AND the President, shared your idealism. What would "winning" have looked like, to you, and -perhaps more importantly - HOW would you have achieved that goal/ won the war? - SIGNY
-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake
As long as you insist that everything is the Republicans'/ Democrats' fault, then you fail to grasp the REAL problem with American politics.
America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876
Not being a politician, I don't need to change a majority of Americans in my district, I just need to filter out the ones that are useless. Signym, for example, is useless, completely incompatible with me and would be fired in the first month as a time wasting moron who can't stop communicating.
My winning strategy for the Vietnam War would have been for Congress to disbelieve every word from Kissinger, Agnew, and Nixon (KAN for short) on Vietnam. But Congress was, back then and even until today, too trusting, too lazy, too deferential toward authority for disbelief in KAN to control 2/3rds of Congress. In an ideal world, Congress should have removed KAN, despite the unwise voters placing all power in KAN. Americans being who they are, and Congress deferring to the voters, that wouldn't happen. But America had the good fortune when Nixon still had a functioning conscious, perhaps because of his Quaker background. He removed himself out of shame at what he had done. Then the Vietnam War ended for the US. Given some time, the Vietnamese won when the South Vietnamese President, placed there by KAN, gave up the fight. Decades passed before the mess of that war was cleaned up by the Vietnamese.
Nowadays, we have a President without a functioning conscious, unlike Ni
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
SECOND, at one point you said that we didn't "like" the Vietnamese enough to "win". Now, you say it COULDN'T have been "won"
Quote:You implied at one point that the war could have been conducted differently (i.e stop shooting water buffaloes) and follow it by saying
I know many soldiers that think the Vietnam War could have been "won". Nothing ever changes their minds.
Quote:That's not a "strategy" of any sort. So what does that MEAN? Does it mean that we shouldn't have started military action at all? That we should have depended on more "carrot" (development aid) than "stick" (killing)?
My winning strategy for the Vietnam War would have been for Congress to disbelieve every word from Kissinger, Agnew, and Nixon (KAN for short) on Vietnam.
What was your GOAL for S Vietnam, if any? A democratically-elected government? A small-business capitalist economy? Simply rooting out N Vietnamese influence? How would you have handled S Vietnamese who were sympathetic to communism? Kill them because they were ideologically suspect? Leave them alone because they were S Vietnamese? How would have treated S Vietnamese who were anti-American, without being pro-communist? Respect them because of their nationalism?
The reason why I'm drilling down on this is because YOU claim that "Americans" are the cause of our problems because of their "goals", then make the case that KAN had goals which they didn't even share with the American people, and that they (not average Americans) were mandating our actions in Vietnam.
All you seem to do is "react" to what you "hate". But don't you know what you want? Don't you have any idea how to get there?
-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake
As long as you insist that everything is the Republicans'/ Democrats' fault, then you fail to grasp the REAL problem with American politics.
America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:Oddly enough, when I go to your link, the article is from 2016. And the study the article is about (which is linked in the article) uses data from 2013-2014. "Changes in Life Expectancy by Race and Hispanic Origin in the United States, 2013–2014".
Originally posted by SECOND:
The headline says it all: "Life Expectancy Drops For Whites, Rises For Blacks and Hispanics" www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/articles/2016-04-20/life-expectanc
y-drops-for-whites-rises-for-blacks-and-hispanics
I think you need to reference the most recent data, rather than out of date information, if you want to look like anything other than a total irrelevancy.
And THEN, you go on to makes gross assumptions and illogical conclusions based on the bad data you misleadingly referenced. Very sloppy, lazy, and biased.
SECOND is a troll because it constantly misrepresents what people post, fails to address their actual positions, and resorts to personal attacks when its brain isn't working (which is most of the time).
NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:
Originally posted by 1kiki:Quote:Oddly enough, when I go to your link, the article is from 2016. And the study the article is about (which is linked in the article) uses data from 2013-2014. "Changes in Life Expectancy by Race and Hispanic Origin in the United States, 2013–2014".
Originally posted by SECOND:
The headline says it all: "Life Expectancy Drops For Whites, Rises For Blacks and Hispanics" www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/articles/2016-04-20/life-expectanc
y-drops-for-whites-rises-for-blacks-and-hispanics
I think you need to reference the most recent data, rather than out of date information, if you want to look like anything other than a total irrelevancy.
And THEN, you go on to makes gross assumptions and illogical conclusions based on the bad data you misleadingly referenced. Very sloppy, lazy, and biased.
SECOND is a troll because it constantly misrepresents what people post, fails to address their actual positions, and resorts to personal attacks when its brain isn't working (which is most of the time).
So? 1kiki, you cannot in good faith knockdown 2016 data unless you, and by that I mean 1kiki, present actual data. Using the word "sloppy" does not make it sloppy. You have to bring something new to the here and now. You have to do it yourself. I will simplify it for you: the Americans who die younger and younger are the White Republican Americans that make bad decisions in their personal life. It is unsurprising that when they vote, their judgment of Trump isn't any better than their other judgments, say for example, overdose, overeat, drive drunk, under-exercise, etc. None of that will extend the lifespan of a GOP voter. And voting for Trump didn't fix anything his voters keep doing to shorten their own lives.
I see that Trump has been up to his old tricks of stealing other people's money, lying about it, then cheating on his taxes. And that was only yesterday:
www.vox.com/2018/6/14/17465038/trump-foundation-lawsuit-new-york-attor
ney-general
www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/the-donald-j-trump-foundation-explai
ned/ar-AAyEWpd?ocid=spartandhp
But Trump voters will have forgotten it all, just as they forget to not overeat, forget to exercise, forget to not drive drunk, etc.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Yanno SECOND< you spend endless hours bitching and "blaming the victim".
But I have a hard time taking ANYthing you say seriously because you lack clarity of thought and purpose. Take your experience in Vietnam, which seems to have been significant. You react badly to events, but can't imagine any alternatives (What were your essential goals? What should have been done differently, in your opinion?)
One way to hone your understanding of the world is to create different models, and then beat them against reality. But the only "lesson" that YOU seem to have learned from Vietnam is to BITCH ENDLESSLY ABOUT AMERICANS. Yep, that's you! The endless-bitcher-and-white-victim blamer! (BTW, you're racist; did you know that? It seeps thru everything you post.)
The only OTHER lesson that you seem to have learned is that unearned wealth make you a superior being.
So, what is it that you have to say, again?
Oh, nothing? I thought so.
-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake
As long as you insist that everything is the Republicans'/ Democrats' fault, then you fail to grasp the REAL problem with American politics.
America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:Nixon needed the Vietnam War to get elected, then reelected. Winning Vietnam was not his real agenda, although he talked as if it was. Winning was my agenda, being young, brave, and gullible. But once I got there I wasn't stupid enough to continue believing that would happen. The tactics and strategy used by the Army were incredibly stupid. Little did I know that the policy set by the White House was just as bad. And the policy change came with Nixon:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
SECOND, at one point you said that we didn't "like" the Vietnamese enough to "win". Now, you say it COULDN'T have been "won"Quote:You implied at one point that the war could have been conducted differently (i.e stop shooting water buffaloes) and follow it by saying
I know many soldiers that think the Vietnam War could have been "won". Nothing ever changes their minds.Quote:That's not a "strategy" of any sort. So what does that MEAN? Does it mean that we shouldn't have started military action at all? That we should have depended on more "carrot" (development aid) than "stick" (killing)?
My winning strategy for the Vietnam War would have been for Congress to disbelieve every word from Kissinger, Agnew, and Nixon (KAN for short) on Vietnam.
What was your GOAL for S Vietnam, if any? A democratically-elected government? A small-business capitalist economy? Simply rooting out N Vietnamese influence? How would you have handled S Vietnamese who were sympathetic to communism? Kill them because they were ideologically suspect? Leave them alone because they were S Vietnamese? How would have treated S Vietnamese who were anti-American, without being pro-communist? Respect them because of their nationalism?
The reason why I'm drilling down on this is because YOU claim that "Americans" are the cause of our problems because of their "goals", then make the case that KAN had goals which they didn't even share with the American people, and that they (not average Americans) were mandating our actions in Vietnam.
All you seem to do is "react" to what you "hate". But don't you know what you want? Don't you have any idea how to get there?
-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake
As long as you insist that everything is the Republicans'/ Democrats' fault, then you fail to grasp the REAL problem with American politics.
America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876
In October 1968, Nixon’s lead over his Democratic opponent, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, was dwindling, partly because Humphrey had proposed a halt to U.S. bombing of North Vietnam. Five days before the election, President Lyndon Johnson announced the halt, hoping to convene peace talks. One impediment, however, was South Vietnam’s reluctance to participate. Its recalcitrance reflected its hope that it would be better supported by a Nixon administration.
On July 3, 1968, a Nixon campaign aide, Dick Allen, sent a memo proposing a meeting with Nixon and Anna Chennault, a Chinese American active in Republican politics. She would bring to the meeting South Vietnam’s ambassador to Washington. The memo said the meeting must be “top secret.” Nixon wrote on the memo: “Should be but I don’t see how — with the S.S. [Secret Service].” On July 12, however, she and the ambassador did meet secretly in New York with Nixon who, she later said, designated her his “sole representative” to the Saigon government.
The National Security Agency was reading diplomatic cables sent from South Vietnam’s Washington embassy to Saigon, where the CIA had a listening device in the office of South Vietnam’s president. The FBI was wiretapping South Vietnam’s embassy and monitoring Chennault’s movements in Washington, including her visit to that embassy on Oct. 30.
On Nov. 2 at 8:34 p.m., a teleprinter at Johnson’s ranch delivered an FBI
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:The secret to my wealth is “The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need”
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Yanno SECOND< you spend endless hours bitching and "blaming the victim".
But I have a hard time taking ANYthing you say seriously because you lack clarity of thought and purpose. Take your experience in Vietnam, which seems to have been significant. You react badly to events, but can't imagine any alternatives (What were your essential goals? What should have been done differently, in your opinion?)
One way to hone your understanding of the world is to create different models, and then beat them against reality. But the only "lesson" that YOU seem to have learned from Vietnam is to BITCH ENDLESSLY ABOUT AMERICANS. Yep, that's you! The endless-bitcher-and-white-victim blamer! (BTW, you're racist; did you know that? It seeps thru everything you post.)
The only OTHER lesson that you seem to have learned is that unearned wealth make you a superior being.
So, what is it that you have to say, again?
Oh, nothing? I thought so.
-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake
As long as you insist that everything is the Republicans'/ Democrats' fault, then you fail to grasp the REAL problem with American politics.
America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Only_Investment_Guide_You%27ll_Ever_
Need
I purchased a paperback edition in 1980. I retired from my job, where I never was paid more than $66,226/year (that number is from Social Security) in 1996 at the age of 44. I repeat for the slow learners who voted for Trump: It is my secret to getting wealthy. The author, who is alive, well, and a Democrat, keeps updating the book. Anybody can buy it or get it for free from pirates. Most people won’t do anything. Too bad for them.
www.amazon.com/Only-Investment-Guide-Youll-Ever/dp/0544781937/
https://torrentz2.eu/searchA?f=The+only+investment+guide+you%27ll+ever
+need
The book is the operating instructions for capitalism. If you don’t read it, understand it, and actually do it, then very likely your life will be far poorer than it could be. Join me in the Top 1%. Or keep defending Trump in the futile hope that he will make your life better. It is your life and your choice.
www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/050615/are-you-top-one-
percent-world.asp
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
So, the secret to your wealth is "save money and buy a stock index fund"? Your wealth has nothing to do with the gas or oil under your family ranch?
Uh huh. 
"Saving money" is - for most people- beyond their capacity. I know people who are working two or three part-time jobs, and they still can't meet basic expenses. The "secret" to YOUR wealth seems to be ... have wealth handed to you, and then be a rentier.
-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake
As long as you insist that everything is the Republicans'/ Democrats' fault, then you fail to grasp the REAL problem with American politics.
America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:I didn't inherit the land; I bought the land. I was following the natural gas well example of JC and Milton, the first two engineers I worked with, but I figured I could do 10 times better than they had done.
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
So, your wealth has nothing to do with the gas or oil under your family ranch?
Uh huh.
-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake
As long as you insist that everything is the Republicans'/ Democrats' fault, then you fail to grasp the REAL problem with American politics.
America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876
And buying Microsoft stock before Windows 3.1 arrived didn't hurt either. I was not lucky. I invested in what understood. And the obligatory dig at Republican voters: What would they invest in when they understand nothing, nothing at all? Graduating from the school of engineering at the University of Texas at Austin does have some advantages at recognizing good investments.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Funny how the chants were lock her up, and instead we see them getting locked up. Yep, funny.
T
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:There is some funny stuff going on inside Trump's head:
Originally posted by JJ:
Funny how the chants were lock her up, and instead we see them getting locked up. Yep, funny.
Few could contend with a straight face or a sound mind that Trump’s actions at the recent G-7 meeting and his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have advanced U.S. security interests, as that term has been understood by presidents since the end of World War II.
Trump or his supporters might respond that he is rejecting the old concepts of national security. But if that’s so, let him spell out what new concepts would tout Kim Jong-un and the authoritarian leaders of Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the Philippines as America’s most trustworthy friends, while downgrading the democratic leaders of Britain, France, Germany, and Canada as dishonest swindlers.
It is appalling (there is no gentler word) for an American president to blast Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for simply (and mildly) speaking up in response to Trump’s threat of a trade war—and then, two days later, to laud Kim, the world’s most brutal and insular tyrant, as a man who loves his country and to say it’s an “honor” to be in his presence.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/06/after-quebec-and-singapore
-its-undeniable-that-trump-is-wrecking-the-world-order.html
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Trump, the only presidential candidate to refer to his penis size during a national debate, wants nothing more than to be seen as powerful and manly, and to align himself with those who project the characteristics he desires. And he’s gotten help—from us. If you’ve ever called Trump “tough” on immigration, note that he just called a dictator “tough” for murdering his citizens. (And “very smart” for staying in power.) That should be a wake-up call to journalists responsible for telling the story of this moment: Stop using the words he routinely chooses to describe himself. And think hard about whether you’re accidentally reinforcing the model of power he’s trying to sell.
There are, after all, other words: Arbitrary. Confused. Crabby. Ignorant.
What a president says usually matters a great deal. But what Trump says usually bears no relation to the truth (or to what his own policies end up being) and is not worth repeating.
Instead, repeat the valuable news that emanates from this White House: Usually, that will involve showing all the ways this president is wrong, weak, and reactive.
And if you’re stumped on finding the words to do that with, look to misogyny. I’m serious.
Just imagine how the past week would have been framed had Trump been a woman—weakness would be the constant subtext. “A shaken Trump tries to shift blame for broken families on nonexistent ‘Democrat bill.’ ” “At Singapore summit, Trump makes nervous joke over weight.” “Trump catty with Trudeau.”
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/06/trump-wants-to-be-called-t
ough.html
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:
Originally posted by second:Quote:I didn't inherit the land; I bought the land. I was following the natural gas well example of JC and Milton, the first two engineers I worked with, but I figured I could do 10 times better than they had done.
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
So, your wealth has nothing to do with the gas or oil under your family ranch?
Uh huh.
-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake
As long as you insist that everything is the Republicans'/ Democrats' fault, then you fail to grasp the REAL problem with American politics.
America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876
And buying Microsoft stock before Windows 3.1 arrived didn't hurt either. I was not lucky. I invested in what understood. And the obligatory dig at Republican voters: What would they invest in when they understand nothing, nothing at all? Graduating from the school of engineering at the University of Texas at Austin does have some advantages at recognizing good investments.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
You invest in what understood?
You is speaking caveman now?
They teach you that at fancy school of engineering University?
srsly dood. Go back to playing fortnight from your mom's basement. Cut her a break though and take out the trash this week before she has to ask you for the 100th time, mkay?
Do Right, Be Right. :)
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:
Originally posted by second:Quote:There is some funny stuff going on inside Trump's head:
Originally posted by JJ:
Funny how the chants were lock her up, and instead we see them getting locked up. Yep, funny.
Few could contend with a straight face or a sound mind that Trump’s actions at the recent G-7 meeting and his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have advanced U.S. security interests, as that term has been understood by presidents since the end of World War II.
Trump or his supporters might respond that he is rejecting the old concepts of national security. But if that’s so, let him spell out what new concepts would tout Kim Jong-un and the authoritarian leaders of Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the Philippines as America’s most trustworthy friends, while downgrading the democratic leaders of Britain, France, Germany, and Canada as dishonest swindlers.
It is appalling (there is no gentler word) for an American president to blast Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for simply (and mildly) speaking up in response to Trump’s threat of a trade war—and then, two days later, to laud Kim, the world’s most brutal and insular tyrant, as a man who loves his country and to say it’s an “honor” to be in his presence.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/06/after-quebec-and-singapore
-its-undeniable-that-trump-is-wrecking-the-world-order.html
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly]
Trump says this DOJ report proves there was no collusion with the Russians. One of the charges against his former campaign manager, who by the way was running Trumps campaign for 144 days and not 49 days as Trumps is saying, is conspiracy. In other words, collusion.
T
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
lol... whoops.
Seems like Trudeau and Wheadon went to the same school of Feminism?
Do Right, Be Right. :)
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:
Originally posted by second:Quote:There is some funny stuff going on inside Trump's head:
Originally posted by JJ:
Funny how the chants were lock her up, and instead we see them getting locked up. Yep, funny.
Few could contend with a straight face or a sound mind that Trump’s actions at the recent G-7 meeting and his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have advanced U.S. security interests, as that term has been understood by presidents since the end of World War II.
Trump or his supporters might respond that he is rejecting the old concepts of national security. But if that’s so, let him spell out what new concepts would tout Kim Jong-un and the authoritarian leaders of Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the Philippines as America’s most trustworthy friends, while downgrading the democratic leaders of Britain, France, Germany, and Canada as dishonest swindlers.
It is appalling (there is no gentler word) for an American president to blast Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for simply (and mildly) speaking up in response to Trump’s threat of a trade war—and then, two days later, to laud Kim, the world’s most brutal and insular tyrant, as a man who loves his country and to say it’s an “honor” to be in his presence.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/06/after-quebec-and-singapore
-its-undeniable-that-trump-is-wrecking-the-world-order.html
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly]
Trump says this DOJ report proves there was no collusion with the Russians. One of the charges against his former campaign manager, who by the way was running Trumps campaign for 144 days and not 49 days as Trumps is saying, is conspiracy. In other words, collusion.
T
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
lol... whoops.
Seems like Trudeau and Wheadon went to the same school of Feminism?
Do Right, Be Right. :)
I can do that too, T.
Do Right, Be Right. :)
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Trump says this DOJ report proves there was no collusion with the Russians. One of the charges against his former campaign manager, who by the way was running Trumps campaign for 144 days and not 49 days as Trumps is saying, is conspiracy. In other words, collusion.
tick tock
T
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
lol... TIME magazine cover from August 22nd of 2016.
Just a few months before they named him "Person of the Year".
Dude sells a lot of magazines.
Do Right, Be Right. :)
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:TIME made Hitler and Trump the Man of the Year: "Hitler became in 1938 the greatest threatening force that the democratic, freedom-loving world faces today" (1/2/39). "For empowering a hidden electorate by mainstreaming its furies and live-streaming its fears, Donald Trump is TIME’s 2016 Person of the Year."
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
lol... TIME magazine cover from August 22nd of 2016.
Just a few months before they named him "Person of the Year".
Dude sells a lot of magazines.
Do Right, Be Right. :)
http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2019712
_2019694_2019588,00.html
http://time.com/time-person-of-the-year-2016-donald-trump/
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:So basically, you believe in rentier capitalism.
I didn't inherit the land; I bought the land. I was following the natural gas well example of JC and Milton, the first two engineers I worked with, but I figured I could do 10 times better than they had done.
While you decry the evils of the elite, you promote their practices. An economy doesn't HAVE to be a zerosum game: because growth is always possible. But "ownership" IS zerosum game, because there are only so many things that can be owned, and what one person owns another can't. To put it another way: Property is theft.
Like I said: You lack clarity of thought and purpose. You claim one set of values but practice and promote another. All of your claims to moral superiority are just so much wind.
-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake
As long as you insist that everything is the Republicans'/ Democrats' fault, then you fail to grasp the REAL problem with American politics.
America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
HEY LIAR!! STUPID! YEAH YOU! SECONAL!
Changes in Life Expectancy by Race and Hispanic Origin in the United States, 2013-2014.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db244.pdf
SECOND is a troll because it constantly misrepresents what people post, fails to address their actual positions, and resorts to personal attacks when its brain isn't working (which is most of the time).
NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
"What a president says usually matters a great deal. But what Trump says usually bears no relation to the truth (or to what his own policies end up being) and is not worth repeating."
Jeeze. I said that MONTHS ago on my way to making fun of all of you for hyperventilating into a coma at every tweet.
SECOND is a troll because it constantly misrepresents what people post, fails to address their actual positions, and resorts to personal attacks when its brain isn't working (which is most of the time).
NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Oh, btw SECONAL. Microsoft's success had far less to do with the goodness of its product than it did with the illegality of its business practices. And those illegal business practices - are THOSE what you were banking on?
SECOND is a troll because it constantly misrepresents what people post, fails to address their actual positions, and resorts to personal attacks when its brain isn't working (which is most of the time).
NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Damn SECOND, looks like you pissed of our local commies. Good job buddy.
T
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:Who are you talking about? Conspiracy (not the same as collusion) with whom?
Originally posted by JJ:
Trump says this DOJ report proves there was no collusion with the Russians. One of the charges against his former campaign manager, who by the way was running Trumps campaign for 144 days and not 49 days as Trumps is saying, is conspiracy. In other words, collusion.
SECOND is a troll because it constantly misrepresents what people post, fails to address their actual positions, and resorts to personal attacks when its brain isn't working (which is most of the time).
NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
What life is like for Paul Manafort in jail
Inmate number 45343 will wear a jail-issued jumpsuit for hearings
https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/16/politics/paul-manafort-virginia-jail-li
fe/index.html
T
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
But Manafort is not charged with colluding with Russia to throw the election. In fact, none of the charges relate to Russia, or the election, either separately or together ... at all.
https://www.justice.gov/sco
U.S. v. Paul J. Manafort, Jr. and Konstantin Kilimnik (1:17-cr-201, District of Columbia)
A federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned a third superseding indictment on June 8, 2018, against Paul J. Manafort, Jr., of Alexandria, Va., and Konstantin Kilimnik, of Moscow, Russia. Manafort is charged with conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading FARA statements, and false statements. Manafort and Kilimnik are charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice and obstruction of justice.
U.S. v. Paul J. Manafort, Jr., and Richard W. Gates III (1:18-cr-83, Eastern District of Virginia)
Paul J. Manafort, Jr., of Alexandria, Va., and Richard W. Gates III, of Richmond, Va., were indicted by a federal grand jury on Feb. 22, 2018, in the Eastern District of Virginia. The indictment contains 32 counts: 16 counts related to false individual income tax returns, seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts, five counts of bank fraud conspiracy, and four counts of bank fraud. On March 1, 2018, the court granted a motion to dismiss without prejudice the charges against Richard Gates, following his guilty plea in a related case in the District of Columbia (1:17-cr-201).
SECOND is a troll because it constantly misrepresents what people post, fails to address their actual positions, and resorts to personal attacks when its brain isn't working (which is most of the time).
NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Yes, I noticed> There is THUGR, hopping up and down about "collusion" and yet nowhere is there any mention of "RUSSIA!!"
They guy is an idiot, which is typical of trolls since they rarely (if ever, in THUGR's case) have anything coherent to post.
-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake
As long as you insist that everything is the Republicans'/ Democrats' fault, then you fail to grasp the REAL problem with American politics.
America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:
Originally posted by 1kiki:
But Manafort is not charged with colluding with Russia to throw the election. In fact, none of the charges relate to Russia, or the election, either separately or together ... at all.
https://www.justice.gov/sco
U.S. v. Paul J. Manafort, Jr. and Konstantin Kilimnik (1:17-cr-201, District of Columbia)
A federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned a third superseding indictment on June 8, 2018, against Paul J. Manafort, Jr., of Alexandria, Va., and Konstantin Kilimnik, of Moscow, Russia. Manafort is charged with conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading FARA statements, and false statements. Manafort and Kilimnik are charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice and obstruction of justice.
U.S. v. Paul J. Manafort, Jr., and Richard W. Gates III (1:18-cr-83, Eastern District of Virginia)
Paul J. Manafort, Jr., of Alexandria, Va., and Richard W. Gates III, of Richmond, Va., were indicted by a federal grand jury on Feb. 22, 2018, in the Eastern District of Virginia. The indictment contains 32 counts: 16 counts related to false individual income tax returns, seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts, five counts of bank fraud conspiracy, and four counts of bank fraud. On March 1, 2018, the court granted a motion to dismiss without prejudice the charges against Richard Gates, following his guilty plea in a related case in the District of Columbia (1:17-cr-201).
Wow - that's a great read. What stands out to me is Manafort's and Gates level of corruption. There were no goof ups here, they were out and out fraudsters. You make a good point that there is no "willfully acted to throw the 2016 election in favor of Donnie Asshat." At least not yet and not explicitly. Some of those money indictments might be connected to manipulation - we don't know what the payments were for. There were some early signs of collusion when the Rep platform was changed in favor of Russia during the campaign. I wouldn't be too sure just yet though - either way.
Cold dose of Reality: the Justice dept brought these charges, and they don't like losing. Dear Paul: Flip or Flop.
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:Hard to expect MSM to understand this. Before Trump they developed an 8 year addiction to the exact same thing, except worse. You expect them to go Cold Turkey?
Originally posted by 1kiki:
"What a president says usually matters a great deal. But what Trump says usually bears no relation to the truth (or to what his own policies end up being) and is not worth repeating."
Jeeze. I said that MONTHS ago on my way to making fun of all of you for hyperventilating into a coma at every tweet.
SECOND is a troll because it constantly misrepresents what people post, fails to address their actual positions, and resorts to personal attacks when its brain isn't working (which is most of the time).
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
What's disgusting to me is the terms with which the vocal Left today talk about the President, every single day. Especially since most of the examples they use of why he is all these things is pure hypocrisy when the lens is turned the other way.
I was no big fan of Obama for sure, but rather than post about what a piece of shit he was, obsessively, I took a long vacation from political discourse.
It's summer time, knuckleheads. At least go work on your tan if you're too lazy to do anything actually productive.
Do Right, Be Right. :)
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
To stop endless war, raise taxes. Until the public has to pay extra for war, it won’t demand peace.
The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have cost a combined $2 trillion, or by some estimates of future medical costs for veterans more than $5 trillion. The most crucial difference between these wars and those of the past is how they have been financed. Contemporary wars are all put on the nation’s credit card, and that eliminates a critical accountability link between the populace and the conduct of war.
The economist Adam Smith recognized how war taxes curbed the public’s appetite for war hundreds of years ago. Observing the variation in how European governments paid for the wars of the 1600s and 1700s — debt or taxes — he wrote: “Every new tax is immediately felt more or less by the people. It occasions always some murmur, and meets with some opposition.” Given that opposition, Smith recognized that leaders intent on war would be tempted to shy away from taxes and instead rely on borrowing.
President Woodrow Wilson, at the outset of World War I: “Borrowing money is short-sighted finance … we should pay as we go. The industry of this generation should pay the bills of this generation.” In short, war taxes were viewed as responsible, accountable, and equitable.
Waiting until after the war to raise taxes is to ask for trouble. After the Revolutionary War, the first secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, introduced new taxes to pay down the national debt but learned that postwar taxes are politically problematic because the public is asked to foot the bill after the sense of urgency has passed. Hamilton introduced a “whiskey tax” that immediately inspired rebellion from disgruntled farmers who distilled the beverage.
Without taxes specifically for war, the country is left with mounting debt — and left, too, with wars without accountability. If the public fails to experience the “inconvenience” of taxes, paraphrasing Adam Smith, there is no incentive for voters to push for a course correction.
When no citizen feels a financial pinch during wartime, open-ended wars like those in Afghanistan and Iraq are likely to become the norm, not the exception.
The U.S. Senate passed a $716 billion defense policy bill on Monday, backing President Donald Trump's call for a bigger, stronger military. It is all borrowed money.
www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2018/6/18/17474368/war-taxes-iraq-afghanistan
-history-accountability-democracy
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:The U.S. government is, as a matter of policy, literally ripping children from the arms of their parents and putting them in fenced enclosures (which officials insist aren’t cages, oh no). The U.S. president is demanding that law enforcement stop investigating his associates and go after his political enemies instead. He has been insulting democratic allies while praising murderous dictators. And a global trade war seems increasingly likely.
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
What's disgusting to me is the terms with which the vocal Left today talk about the President, every single day. Especially since most of the examples they use of why he is all these things is pure hypocrisy when the lens is turned the other way.
I was no big fan of Obama for sure, but rather than post about what a piece of shit he was, obsessively, I took a long vacation from political discourse.
It's summer time, knuckleheads. At least go work on your tan if you're too lazy to do anything actually productive.
Do Right, Be Right. :)
What do these stories have in common? Obviously they’re all tied to the character of the man occupying the White House. But there’s also a larger context, and it’s not just about Donald Trump. What we’re witnessing is a systematic rejection of longstanding American values — the values that actually made America great.
. . . while you might be tempted to view international trade deals, which Trump says have turned us into a “piggy bank that everyone else is robbing,” as a completely separate story, they are anything but. Trade agreements were meant to (and did) make America richer, but they were also, from the beginning, about more than dollars and cents.
In fact, the modern world trading system was largely the brainchild not of economists or business interests, but of Cordell Hull, F.D.R.’s long-serving secretary of state, who believed that “prosperous trade among nations” was an essential element in building an “enduring peace.” So you want to think of the postwar creation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade as part of the same strategy that more or less simultaneously gave rise to the Marshall Plan and the creation of NATO.
All the things happening now are of a piece. Committing atrocities at the border, attacking the domestic rule of law, insulting democratic leaders while praising thugs, and breaking up trade agreements are all about ending American exceptionalism, turning our back on the ideals that made us different from other powerful nations.
And rejecting our ideals won’t make us stronger; it will make us weaker. We were the leader of the free world, a moral as well as financial and military force. But we’re throwing all that away.
What’s more, it won’t even serve our self-interest. America isn’t nearly as dominant a power as it was 70 years ago; Trump is delusional if he thinks that other countries will back down in the face of his threats. And if we are heading for a full-blown trade war, which seems increasingly likely, both he and those who voted for him will be shocked at how it goes: Some industries will gain, but millions of workers will be displaced.
So Trump isn’t making America great again; he’s trashing the things that made us great, turning us into just another bully — one whose bullying will be far less effective than he imagines.
www.nytimes.com/2018/06/18/opinion/immigration-trump-children-american
-empire.html
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME