The Next President of the United States: III

Off Topic Politics & World Issues
2304

Sloth,

When the Japanese government refused to surrender instead of landing massive amounts of troops on their shores President Truman used an atomic bomb on Hiroshima and a few days later dropped one on Nagasaki. I’m sitting here thinking there was plenty of civilians killed. But how many American lives were saved avoiding an invasion? 200,000, or more?

We are going to have to start thinking more like this than what we have been doing. Of course the former Muslim Obama seems to value Muslim lives (even Islamic terrorists) more than European and American lives…it seems. And the reason it seems like that in reality he really has not been doing enough in comparison to what any President should do. He doesn’t have to be a Harry Truman but for heaven sakes man DO SOMETHING!

Edit

2305

Morality and legality are subjective, useless in the eyes of those willing to bomb, shoot, behead, drown, or light on fire innocent people. You cannot argue a gentleman’s game with a barbarian. Send a message, if you fight for ISIS, you signed your own death sentence.

2308

I doubt it, for the most part. However, he has kind of stepped forward with his recent statements. Does make one wonder if he’s been approached to step-in in the event of what you’ve outlined. And if he isn’t readying himself on deck, so to speak.

2310

My initial response is that the republicans would alienate both the Trump, Cruz and Kasich camps by handing it over to Ryan. That would be a world class dumb move. However, if Trump does not have the 1237 then a Cruz/Kasich ticket becomes possible. The Trump supporters will be mad for a while but most of them will vote for Cruz at the thought of a Hillary Clinton Presidency.

But, handing the nomination to someone who did not at least go through the process (while not breaking any rules) would seem pretty unfair to the typical republican voter. And I like Ryan as much as the next guy but under those conditions I don’t think he’d do well, nor do I think he’d accept it.

2311

I thought this made some good points, but the author keeps falling into the trap of assuming that if a person is anti-Trump they must ergo be anti-new populism and pro-elite. That isn’t the case and that thinking is what is dooming the GOP.

There’s nothing inconsistent about (1) despising the elites and their history of bad governance and (2) thinking Trump would be a world class disaster as president. Trump doesn’t even represent the populism - he’s merely exploiting it through his brand of marketing.

But…the opposite (and irrational) view has prevailed. And as a result, there is no populist alternative in the GOP who is sane and good. (Certainly not the nerdy and too-close-to-the-elite Cruz.) It’s Trump or nothing - he has cornered the populist candidate market, and a bunch of really dumb voters have let him get away with it.

Now, imagine the populist movement prevailing against the elite, but sending a flawed train wreck of a leader to go do the work of the populist movement, and then imagine him screwing it up so badly (does anyone think he actually won’t?) that the populace decides that hey, these elites weren’t so bad, now that we think about it compared to this maniac, and elites are back in the saddle was early as 2020.

1 Like
2313

A conversation with former commander of JSOC and ISAF, General Stanley McChrystal.

http://m.foreignaffairs.com/discussions/interviews/generation-kill1

Gideon Rose: There’s a debate going on about the role of torture in American policy, what constitutes it and how important and necessary a tool it is in counterterrorism. What’s your take?
Stanley McChrystal: I teach a seminar at Yale on leadership, and in one of the classes, I decided to bring up the issue of torture to rouse their indignation at the idea. And more than half the class said, “Well, if you need to do it, it’s OK.” And I was shocked . . . I think torture is an absolute mistake, and I made that clear within our organization. Whether or not torture works is an academic argument I don’t even want to be a part of, because at the end of the day, I think the torturers are weakened. They’re weakened internally individually, and they’re weakened strategically as a cause.The thing that hurt us more than anything else in the war in Iraq was Abu Ghraib. When the pictures came out in the spring of 2004, many Americans felt our government was being honest – that we had a problem with a platoon operating in the prison mistreating prisoners. The Iraqi people viewed it very differently. Many of them felt it was proof positive that the Americans were doing exactly what Saddam Hussein had done – that it was proof [that] everything they thought bad about the Americans was true.

Rose: So what we thought of as an exception, they thought of as the rule?

McChrystal: That’s right. They thought that was the broader reality. And there were hundreds of foreign fighters that came in [to Iraq] because they were responding to Abu Ghraib. Using torture is ultimately self-defeating. It’s morally wrong, and it’s a strategic mistake.

1 Like
2316

Dear Bernie,
Since you have ventured into my world, why don’t you pull your head out of Lenin’s ass long enough to take a deep breath and explain this statement:

“I think we know who ISIS is. We know those people who are planning attacks against our European allies and against ourselves,” he said."

Really? then for Gods sake, don’t be shy, tell us lost children that look for these fucking scum bags, where they are, so, we can go KILL THEM, especially the ones in Europe, because, you know, everyone knew who the Paris attackers were before their attack. Please elaborate on the Beligan cell, because God knows, we children need some help.

Oh, and BTW, You should know that the two greatest groups of liars among humans are politicians and actors, both are experts and achieve the same goal: money . So, why you should concern yourself about what George Clooney thinks is beyond me. I know that you and him are similar in that you have done nothing with your lives, but, Jesus, man try to back off on the ass kissing. But, hey, you probably think a movie dipshit is a critical thinker.

"The Vermont senator also kept up his attack on Clinton for her attending a fundraiser hosted by George and Amal Clooney, with a price tag of more than $353,000 per couple to sit at the head table.
The problem, Sanders said, is “not Clooney, it’s the people coming to this event.”
“I have a lot of respect for George Clooney. He’s a great actor. I like him. But this is the problem with American politics, is that big money is dominating our political system,” Sanders said.
He said his campaign’s events, even with big-name headliners, usually cost “$15 or $50” to get into.
“So it’s not a criticism of Clooney,” he said. “It’s a criticism of a corrupt campaign finance system, where big money interests – and it’s not Clooney, it’s the people coming to this event – have undue influence on the political process.”

2 Likes
2318

Last time I checked Bernie did not argue for torture, killing of the wifes and children of ISIS members. Last time I checked Bernie did not whip up racist sentiments against Mexicans and Muslims. Last time I checked Bernie was not the candidate who got David Dukes endorsment and who failed to reject it at first try. I can go on.

I get it Push, you dont like Bernie and you dont like the left-liberals and socialists who support him. But I hope you dislike the reactionarys, fascists, dixiecrats etc who support Trump more than us “naive”, leftist, young, college educated guys/girls who support Bernie.

Edited.

2319

I agree, there is a large ruckus over the potential Trump nomination and for good reason. But, what about a Socialist running in the democrat primaries? For some reason there isn’t much negative said about that. Secondly, the fact that he is beating Clinton in many states speaks volumes about how even democrats don’t really want Hillary.

2320

Florelius my friend hope you have been well.

Now to correct you:

Trump said nothing racist regarding Mexicans or Muslims. The term “racist” is thrown around far to much by the left. It’s almost their catch word for anything they don’t like and can’t find a way to defeat it.

Quick recap, Trump inferred that some Mexicans are rapists. Is that racist I think not. As for Muslims he wants to prevent them from coming into the country TEMPORARILY. And who else is concerned about Muslims entering the country?

Anyway you are far too smart to beat the “racist” tag line that the left loves to use so try again.

ZEB

2321

Both are drawn to their God through vague rhetoric and unrealistic promises. Both are extremely dangerous.

2322

Actually he ‘inferred’ that some Mexicans are good people. Well, he ASSUMES that SOME are good people.

"The U.S. has become a dumping ground for everybody else’s problems. [Applause] Thank you. It’s true, and these are the best and the finest. When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."

Anyways, an interesting look at rape and race.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/07/donald-trump-mexicans-119849

"A 2011 U.S. Government Accountability Office study “Criminal Alien Statistics: Information on Incarcerations, Arrests and Costs” found that of the three million arrests of immigrants, legal or not, examined by investigators, only two percent were for sex offenses—two percent too many, but hardly an epidemic. It didn’t break down the ethnicity or legal status of the offenders, but the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ (BJS) National Crime Victimization Survey breaks down such stats by victims. For 2013 (the most recent year available), it shows that whites accounted for 71 percent of all sexual assaults documented (above their total percentage of 63 percent of the U.S. population), while Latinos accounted for 9 percent, far below their total percentage of 17 percent. "

Soooo, where did the scary hordes of Mexican rapists coming for our white daughters come from for Mr. Trump?

2323

Hi Zeb 1. Yes I am doing fine, what about you?

I guess we have to agree to disagree on this. Trump is clearly using racist retoric to gain support among the most reactionary factions of the GOP. When it comes to the man himself, he might not believe anything he says and is perhaps a media genius (no joke). The man does not really need to run any political ads, since the mainstream media is so willing to give him coverage.

My point however was that Trumps statements and the type of People he attracts are clearly scarier than Bernies statements and his supporters, both in action and sentiments. Again Sanders does not attract racists, fascists, violent People who suckerpunch other People in rallys etc. Its a difference and its obvious. And you are so smart it should be obvious to you and if I may say so, no genuin conservative in the tradition of Edmund Burke, Adam Smith, John Adams etc should feel compelled to defend Trump or his supporters right wing populism, since they are not the same.