Politics US Edition Volume II

[BruceVC]

8 hours ago, Zoraptor said:

 

Then there's the more direct political influence. We had a Chinese spy- literally literally, Jian Yang MP taught Chinese spies English at their academy and outright lied about it when he migrated here- in our Parliament up until 6 weeks ago,

I dont want people to misunderstand me, I am not saying the CCP doesnt pose a threat to a Democratic world but its a different threat than what Russia presents and should be dealt with differently

But your post really made me laugh and also highlights how sometimes countries like China misunderstand Western culture , why would you ever want to infiltrate  a country like NZ and spy on them ? What would be the benefit....I can only imagine the Chinese feedback being being sent to Beijing by the local  NZ " spymaster " 

Report 1 : November 23 2019 : "   Very busy day in  NZ, local farmer upset  with how his neighbors  sheep ran amok in  the town square and upset his  chickens ability to lay eggs at important framers market. Army deployed to address rogue sheep. Maximum restraint has  been called for as sheep is an understandable beloved member of family " 

 

[Gorth]

7 hours ago, BruceVC said:

I dont want people to misunderstand me, I am not saying the CCP doesnt pose a threat to a Democratic world but its a different threat than what Russia presents and should be dealt with differently

But your post really made me laugh and also highlights how sometimes countries like China misunderstand Western culture , why would you ever want to infiltrate  a country like NZ and spy on them ? What would be the benefit....I can only imagine the Chinese feedback being being sent to Beijing by the local  NZ " spymaster " 

Report 1 : November 23 2019 : "   Very busy day in  NZ, local farmer upset  with how his neighbors  sheep ran amok in  the town square and upset his  chickens ability to lay eggs at important framers market. Army deployed to address rogue sheep. Maximum restraint has  been called for as sheep is an understandable beloved member of family " 

 

Lots of nations butt heads with illegal Chinese fishing in the southern oceans. That is some serious money at stake.

Edit: And forcing their way into Antarctica, looking for stuff worth mining, violating other countries sovereignty.

China *is* a problem and will need to be dealt with. It will come to armed clashes eventually. Might as well draw a line in the... water?

The one thing I will give Trump a pat on the back for, not caving in to Chinese blustering.

Edit2: Not the Kiwi navy, but the Argentinian opening fire on Chinese vessels in the arctic waters:

 

[Guard Dog]

Trump considers executive order ending birthright  citizenships 

there are also a number of stories where people in the CIA and elsewhere are worried that he will reveal some of the nations secrets on his way out of office. Add that to the numerous election challenges that even he knows are now pointless. He appears committed to creating any kind of mischief he can in the time he has remaining even though he knows it is all over. Do you know who this guy is? This is Saruman going to the Shire after being kicked out of Isengard.

hey I should get some points here for finding a way to associate US politics with lord of the rings.

[Bartimaeus]

Let's assume the Saruman comparison holds true...

"He spent his final days as a small-time criminal master in Hobbiton known as Sharkey (from the Orkish sharkû, meaning "old man"), until he was overthrown in the Battle of Bywater. In the aftermath of that battle Frodo confronted Saruman and exiled him from the Shire, but before he could leave, Gríma Wormtongue killed Saruman by slitting his throat with a dagger, on the very doorstep of Bag End."

So, in Trump terms...he'll go back to being a slumlord until he's arrested for his crimes (whether federal or state) and subsequently gets Epsteined the night before his trial starts? Or wait, maybe he only gets Epsteined *after* the trial concludes where somehow he escapes getting thrown into prison but loses all of his assets? I'm not sure. Personally, I'm more in favor of "serving remainder of his life in prison" than yet another "mysterious death that will be forever martyrized/conspiracied* by fascists or other types of baskets of deplorables" - getting kind of sick of those.

*Yes, I did just make that word up.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

When you say Epsteined, do you mean being outed as a pedophile or dying under circumstances that look like a hit? Because honestly I think the former is pretty likely while the later isn't.

Most likely Trump goes back to slumlording and tries various enterprises that float solely due to the true believers he cultivated over the last few years. Some Republicans will turn on him, but it will probably backfire and we'll see several crops of them trying to ape his obnoxious style because that's what wins with their base. Maybe someone in his circle turns on him, but it will probably be over a personal feud and not land him in jail. 20 or so years from now Trump will be throughly whitewashed and used as an example of an "honorable Republican" against the neo-confederate conspiracy theorists who will dominate the party by that point.

4 hours ago, Guard Dog said:

hey I should get some points here for finding a way to associate US politics with lord of the rings

After the last 4 years seeing a fictional association that isn't Harry Potter or GoT is refreshing.

[Zoraptor]

If you take the Saruman analogy to its final conclusion Trump will end up 'dead' via Rudi Giuliani, who snaps after finally deciding he can't take any more abuse.

But who are we kidding anyway, Trump will resign a couple of days before being kicked out ruining all the stationary and commemorative knick knacks saying Biden is the 46th President, get Pence to pardon him, spend the next four years fighting prosecutions anyway then President Ivanka will pardon him again in 2025.

[majestic]

Trump can't be Saruman you guys. Here's a picture with him and Saruman:

So that's a bit of a pickle. He's clearly not Sauron either. How about Denethor II (the movie version, book Denethor is fraught with despair but not completely incompetent). He might as well try to burn Gondor down on his way out.

So what's with the missing siege. Uhm, where did that migrant caravan invasion force go? Did it ever arrive at the border?

[ComradeYellow]

Eagerly waiting for President 47; Agent 47, AK 47 ect. ect.

[Zoraptor]

35 minutes ago, majestic said:

So that's a bit of a pickle. He's clearly not Sauron either. How about Denethor II (the movie version, book Denethor is fraught with despair but not completely incompetent). He might as well try to burn Gondor down on his way out.

LOTR wise 5 people used the palantiri. Saruman (ruled out now I guess*); Salman ibn Saud is clearly Sauron, the closeness of the names cannot be coincidence; Denethor; Pippin; Aragorn. If we exclude Pippin (Trump has notoriously small hands and presumably feet, so cannot be a hobbit) then it comes down to Denethor or Aragorn.

If he's Aragorn people had better get prepared for him to end up ruling long term- and it has to be said, if Melania dyed her hair dark she'd look pretty similar to Liv Tyler's Arwen.

I can't see Trump being Denethor though, too much of a narcissist to ever kill himself. I suppose if Jared somehow 'dies' (flies off to Tel Aviv maybe?) and he sends Don jr off on a suicide mission I'd have to re-evaluate that though.

*but we can't forget that Saruman is a Wizard, and does have a reputation for scheming, he could have magically altered that photo somehow to get him and 'Donald' in the same shot, throwing people off the scent.

[Hurlshort]

1 hour ago, majestic said:

Trump can't be Saruman you guys. Here's a picture with him and Saruman:

So that's a bit of a pickle. He's clearly not Sauron either. How about Denethor II (the movie version, book Denethor is fraught with despair but not completely incompetent). He might as well try to burn Gondor down on his way out.

So what's with the missing siege. Uhm, where did that migrant caravan invasion force go? Did it ever arrive at the border?

I like how you barely notice Melania has been turned into Voldemort.

[Gromnir]

https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.pamd.127057/gov.uscourts.pamd.127057.202.0_1.pdf

pa is a curious state. once there is certification, there is not the same kinda legislative option for nullification which is possible in michigan and wisconsin. short o' SCOTUS review, which is increasing unlikely, we fail to see plausible options left to overturn the results in pennsylvania, which makes many remaining trump campaign efforts in other states approaching moot. 

arizona and nv is functional out o' reach. georgia has the recount, but am not seeing that as a legit option for the trump campaign to pursue.

with the post election legal efforts, trump were not attempting to reach 270 but rather were looking to prevent biden from reaching 270-- force Congress to determine. 

'course the real reason for continued fight over unwinnable battles is likely the fundraising which it generates. 75% o' money raised in the name o' legal battle is now going to trump's leadership pac. (started 50% and were then increased to 60%.) trump efforts appears to be poor disguised grift, flimflammery which is nevertheless supported by the GOP leadership and by true believers too ignorant to know they is cheerful buying snake oil. 

HA! Good Fun!

 

[Chairchucker]

Guys, I'm starting to think some of these legal challenges might not have been thought out all that well.

[Bartimaeus]

14 hours ago, Gromnir said:

https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.pamd.127057/gov.uscourts.pamd.127057.202.0_1.pdf

pa is a curious state. once there is certification, there is not the same kinda legislative option for nullification which is possible in michigan and wisconsin. short o' SCOTUS review, which is increasing unlikely, we fail to see plausible options left to overturn the results in pennsylvania, which makes many remaining trump campaign efforts in other states approaching moot. 

arizona and nv is functional out o' reach. georgia has the recount, but am not seeing that as a legit option for the trump campaign to pursue.

Georgia already did a hand-recount as well, which, as I understand it, is much more likely to turn up odd stuff than just another machine count. They did find a set of like 5,000 misplaced ballots during that recount, but they only broke like 60-40 (or somewhere around there) for Trump, so it didn't make too much of a difference. Now if they could somehow get that to magically happen about 10-15 more times during the machine recount, then we'd be cooking.

also lmao @ that pdf, judge was mad as hell for them wasting his/her time in the various ways they did

Edited November 22, 2020 by Bartimaeus

[ComradeYellow]

What's the status of a second $1,200 stimulus check? (msn.com)

Democrats are seeking funding to support states and local governments, which are facing massive budget shortfalls from the pandemic, as well as a restoration of $600 in weekly supplemental unemployment aid.

Republicans argue that the latter provides a disincentive for people to return to work.

I'd say the grimy callous private sector in and of itself is enough of a "disincentive" factor for returning to work.  Seriously, why aren't these a-holes a minority party at this point?

[Gfted1]

^In many cases, my wife included, the $600 in weekly supplemental unemployment aid, when combined with the normal unemployment payment, meant that they were making (far) more money being on the dole than working 9-5. Hence the disincentive to return to work.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

It sounds to me like they need to offer better incentives to come to work then tbh. Why the hell should someone risk getting the rona and work 40 hours to take home a paycheck that doesn't even cover rent?

[Gromnir]

9 hours ago, Chairchucker said:

Guys, I'm starting to think some of these legal challenges might not have been thought out all that well.

one thing to keep in mind as we laugh at the ineptitude o' the trump campaign lawyers is that the buzzsaw o' precedent is indiscriminate. nevertheless the law's capacity for carnage is more sinister and inequitable when it is mauling your team, yes?  equal protection claims brought forth by the trump campaign were stretching credulity as the remedy sought were the disenfranchisement o' literal millions o' voters. no excuse. would be laughable 'cept for fact trump is actual attempting to achieve such an end. however, please keep in mind that the fundamental standing issues which doomed trump co are the same used for decades to maintain the obstacles many minority groups must overcome to exercise their right to vote. we justifiable mock sydney powell and her conspiracy theories involving dead venezuelan leaders, but equal protection claims recognizing unfair mail-in-voting requirements is far more likely gonna be advanced by historical marginalized populations than by national reelection campaigns. that buzzsaw we mentioned is no less brutal when it carves up claims made by your guys, whomever your guys might be.

am not suggesting we cut giuliani and trump co any slack as they continue to make public claims which cannot be supported in court. in fact, am a bit baffled by the lack o' judges willing to sanction lawyers for many o' the more frivolous lawsuits we has seen brought on behalf o' the trump campaign. the thing is, too many today cheering the courts for defending justice and right don't genuine understand the court decisions they is quoting or sharing. am suspecting in the near future when same judges use same reasoning and precedent to keep rural blacks and reservation indians from making a voting related equal protection claim in court, those laughing today will be incensed by the naked villainy and overt discrimination o' these conservative judges.

that said, 

HA! Good Fun!

[Gromnir]

'cause we were just talking 'bout sydney...

...

am a creative and outside-the-box thinker, but we could not have crafted a plausible outcome for the trump campaign legal efforts which matches the reality... and is not over.  

HA! Good Fun!

ps for some reason we cannot get the "hello, sidney," phone call from scream outta our head. am suspecting the judge brann reference to frankenstein didn't help.

[IndiraLightfoot]

Hey! Isn't Kraken that disgusting giant octopussy in the dark pool right outside the invisble entrance to Moria with all of the dead dwarves, a badly lit cavernous world filled with trolls and goblins?

[Gfted1]

15 hours ago, KaineParker said:

It sounds to me like they need to offer better incentives to come to work then tbh. Why the hell should someone risk getting the rona and work 40 hours to take home a paycheck that doesn't even cover rent?

"...risk getting the rona..." made me blow a snot bubble.  Rona or not, taking home a paycheck that doesnt even cover rent is the normal day to day of a lot of people. Now theyve hit a jackpot and theres absolutely no reason to return to work until the dole runs out. Luckily we'll just print up another Trillion to overpay everyone for no apparent reason.  Dont get me wrong, its a win for me too so Ill just ride this thing into the ground like everyone else. Hmm, now that I think about it, if we can afford to give everyone on unemployment an ADDITIONAL $2,400 / month on top of their normal dole payment, why not print up several Trillion more and give everyone UBI? Win/win!

[Guard Dog]

Proposal to Allow Non-Veteran Presidential Burials at Arlington Draws Pushback

There is a pay wall. I read the WSJ though. The gist of it is the Democrats and Vets are in a twist about a proposal coming from the "Pentagon" (meaning Trump indirectly) to permit non-veteran Presidents to be buried with honors in Arlington. Ironic considering his derisive comments about the people buried there. 

Of course the same goddamned Democrats were mute when Bill Clinton was selling Arlington burials to non-vets as political favors. Politics today though is "it's not wrong if we do it". 

Personally I think military service should be a requirement to be President. How can you be the commander in chief of something you don't respect or even understand? 

Edited November 23, 2020 by Guard Dog

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Guard Dog said:

Personally I think military service should be a requirement to be President. How can you be the commander in chief of something you don't respect or even understand? 

The military isn't always consistent in their enlistment standards. As someone who was told, "thanks but no thanks" due to the "additional risks" presented by a minor surgery I had when I was a child, only to be harassed non-stop after 9/11, I respectfully disagree

[Gromnir]

1 hour ago, Guard Dog said:

Personally I think military service should be a requirement to be President. How can you be the commander in chief of something you don't respect or even understand? 

am suspecting you know the answer to your own question. the founders would suggest you has inverted the problem. seeing as how the US (1787) doesn't have any standing armies or a navy, the requirement o' military service as a prerequisite to the office o' the Presidency is bordering on paradox.

'course on a more basic level, you are making a suggestion which helped get heinlein labeled, inappropriate we would suggest, as a fascist.

btw, your clinton story is bogus. clinton granted five arlington waivers: a SCOTUS Justice, a member o' the US Tax Court, a dea agent and army vet killed in peru, a washington dc police officer and marine veteran killed while on duty... and the wife of a SCOTUS Justice, but not the same Justice we mentioned earlier in the list.

the political donors story were right-wing media shlock which gained traction with a fringe element o' 1997ish conservatives and am suspecting has been resurrected as a predictable flavour o' whataboutism. no proof were ever supplied for the late 90s story and is hardly as if democrats at the time were defending-- most all democrats were suggesting your story were complete bs as 'posed to supporting clinton for his granting o' political favours.

that said, am thinking it were wrong for clinton to have granted his five waivers. weren't as if he were the first President to do so, but the sanctity o' arlington is diluted if tax court judges who never served in the military, much less combat, is being buried in arlington.  although the "wife of _________," situation is a bit fuzzy 'cause o' the extreme long tradition o' spouses being interred with previously deceased combat vets.

...

am waiting for gd to realize that getting his facts from alt-right radio shows will result in the rolled newspaper treatment from Gromnir almost every time.

HA! Good Fun!

[Malcador]

The US needs its cursus honorum

[Guard Dog]

@Gromnir

1. Yes. The idea of a permanent military would have upset the framers very much. Madison and Franklin in particular IIRC. This (military service being a prerequisite for the Executive office) is purely my own opinion.
2. There were 69 waivers granted during Clinton's Term. Not 5. Or at least The Clinton admin released 69 names in 1997 in response to this scandal. But according to the LA Times and Tampa Tribune there were 71 applications. Who were the other 2? No record I could find. I do remember this happening first hand. There was a lot of smoke and I don't mean "right wing radio". The Washington Times was all over it also. The names of the people who received waivers was not released until months after the s--t hit the fan. Before that "privacy" was stated by Army Sec Togo West for why they were kept quiet. Of the 69 names we did  get "only one was a big donor to the DNC" according to the LA Times. Larry Lawrence who was the US Ambassador to Switzerland when he passed away. Before that he was a very successful real estate developer, frequent Democrat fund raiser, donor, and DNC Delegate. Oh yes.... lest we forget in 1994 he got into trouble  with the FEC & IRS for donations to Democrats that exceeded the annual maximums. Now, he did have a case for a waiver because he claimed to serve in the Merchant Marine in WW2. Except, he didn't. He made that all up. He even threw in a story about a U-Boat attack just to spice it up. They could hardly deny Lawrence since he'd been dead and in Arlington a year when this came to light. Now, the two missing names from what the LA Times reported, who they were or if they ever existed is anyone's guess. Maybe It just Lawrence, maybe there were others. You remember Clinton well enough, I'm sure you would not be surprised either way. 
3. I do not consume "right wing talk radio" in any form. In this case I was going off my own memory. It had to be jogged by a 15 minute or so google session

 

Edit: Correction, it was the Washington Times, Insight Magazine, the Deseret News, the Tampa Tribune and Fox that reported 71 waiver applications. Not the LA times. It only discussed the 69 that were released in 1997 

Edited November 23, 2020 by Guard Dog