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Post Election Thread: Democracy Dies In Darkness And You Can Help

T___A

By T___A
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Collimatrix
Collimatrix

This is just too funny not to share:

EnsignExpendable
EnsignExpendable
Toxn
Toxn

Forwarding "We will fight until the last American" as the new NATO motto.

Sturgeon Advanced Member

Sturgeon

Posted
Posted

This is probably the best critique of Mattis I could find, centered around his views on Iran, though Mattis seems to be more pragmatic in his approach so I'm fairly pleased overall. 

 

A.) I would trust Mattis's opinion on the Middle East over almost anyone else's. Look at the guy's record and experience, I doubt there're many other people with as good a grasp on regional politics as he.

B.) Mattis favors a two-state solution to the Palestinian problem, and thinks Trump is an asshole for saying US allies don't pull their weight. Liberal commentators should shut the fuck up and help fast-track the waiver of the 1947 NSA, because they stand to gain a lot with Mattis in a time where gains will be few and far between for them. But they won't, because he once said to a crowd of Marines that killing wife beaters is satisfying.

Come to think of it, why hasn't Tumblr started fawning over the guy, yet?

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Sturgeon Advanced Member

Sturgeon

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His pick of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Ed makes me want to throw up.  I say this as a life long resident of West Michigan, the stomping ground of the DeVos family.  Fuck them and their Amway pyramid scheme.  

 

Yeah, what's with Republicans and falling flat on their face with education? I mean, it's not like the Democrats do a much better job, here, but I really did expect Trump to do better in this respect. I dunno, maybe he owes the DeVoses a favor or something.

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Priory_of_Sion Newbie

Priory_of_Sion

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A.) I would trust Mattis's opinion on the Middle East over almost anyone else's. Look at the guy's record and experience, I doubt there're many other people with as good a grasp on regional politics as he.

B.) Mattis favors a two-state solution to the Palestinian problem, and thinks Trump is an asshole for saying US allies don't pull their weight. Liberal commentators should shut the fuck up and help fast-track the waiver of the 1947 NSA, because they stand to gain a lot with Mattis in a time where gains will be few and far between for them. But they won't, because he once said to a crowd of Marines that killing wife beaters is satisfying.

Come to think of it, why hasn't Tumblr started fawning over the guy, yet?

A) I'm pretty sure ISIS is fighting Iranian-backed militias right now, not the other way around. If there's evidence of them colluding then that's pretty major and would also jeopardize US diplomatic efforts with Assad and all. He has a good record and experience, but that doesn't mean he can't be completely wrong on a certain issue where he should know better. 

 

B.) Agreed. 

 

I personally stand on a principle to never fall into a cult of personality around any political figure, so I may be extra critical on Mattis when I shouldn't. 

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Sturgeon Advanced Member

Sturgeon

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A) I'm pretty sure ISIS is fighting Iranian-backed militias right now, not the other way around. If there's evidence of them colluding then that's pretty major and would also jeopardize US diplomatic efforts with Assad and all. He has a good record and experience, but that doesn't mean he can't be completely wrong on a certain issue where he should know better. 

 

Hey, I didn't say he couldn't be wrong, I said he has loads of first hand experience in the region and he's extremely well read. So his opinion is worth a lot. Pardon my hyperbole, of course there are people whose opinions I would trust as much or more than Mattis's, but honestly I probably couldn't name any.

 

Also, did Mattis say Iran was funding ISIS, or just that Iran is perfectly happy to have ISIS fuck Iraq up? Because the latter seems patently true to me.

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Donward Newbie

Donward

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His pick of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Ed makes me want to throw up.  I say this as a life long resident of West Michigan, the stomping ground of the DeVos family.  Fuck them and their Amway pyramid scheme.  

 

If it makes you feel better Walt, I feel pretty much the same way on this pick and I am always wary of someone who goes to any sort of Mars Hill Church, particularly when it is involved with neo-Calvinism.

 

...

 

neo-Calvinism

 

neo-Calvinism

 

neo-Calvinism

 

neo-Calvinism

 

neo-Calvinism

 

...

 

Quick!

 

To the T__A signal!

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Priory_of_Sion Newbie

Priory_of_Sion

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Not funding ISIS, but saying Iran "is not an enemy of ISIS" when they are is factually wrong unless Qasem Soleimani is some sort of fictional character who doesn't actually exist. Though he's right saying Iran benefits from ISIS's disruption. 

 

Again, I'm being hypercritical and Mattis is the best option and I'm happy with him there. 

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Walter_Sobchak Newbie

Walter_Sobchak

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Also, did I mention that Betsy DeVos is the sister of Erik Prince, founder of Blackwater USA?  

 

Anyhow, DeVos and Van Andel (the two Amway founders) have their names plastered all over Grand Rapids, the town I live in.  Most of their philanthropic dollars go to big name projects such as arenas or hospitals.  Shit they can make money off of.  They don't actually do much to help out all the smaller non-profit organizations that exist in Grand Rapids (and we have a very substantial network of non-profit organizations for a city of our size.)  As far as supporting smaller organizations and the arts in Grand Rapids, Fred Meijer (Meijer retail stores) and Peter Wege (Steelcase furniture) have been far better patrons in my view.  Anyhow, I doubt West Michigan politics are of much interest here so I will stop now.

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ShamefurDispray Newbie

ShamefurDispray

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If you look at the deal itself, it makes a ton of sense even from a taxation point of view. 

$7 million over 10 years is $700k/year for 1000 jobs which is $700/person per year.

I'm pretty sure those workers pay $700/year in income taxes and this is before we factor in things like food stamps and Medicaid that have to be paid to the unemployed. 

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Walter_Sobchak Newbie

Walter_Sobchak

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Not even president yet and already Trump has made two huge foreign policy errors (Pakistan and Taiwan.)  Not just mistakes, but unforced errors that were completely unnecessary.  It's only going to get worse.  It was obvious from the beginning that this man is by his temperament and character completely unsuitable for the office of POTUS.  It's going to be a rough four years.   

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Sturgeon Advanced Member

Sturgeon

Posted
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Not even president yet and already Trump has made two huge foreign policy errors (Pakistan and Taiwan.)  Not just mistakes, but unforced errors that were completely unnecessary.  It's only going to get worse.  It was obvious from the beginning that this man is by his temperament and character completely unsuitable for the office of POTUS.  It's going to be a rough four years.   

 

Man, even if we accept that position, the best you can say is that Hillary wouldn't have been any better. Look at her record as Sec State.

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Ramlaen Advanced Member

Ramlaen

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Not even president yet and already Trump has made two huge foreign policy errors (Pakistan and Taiwan.)  Not just mistakes, but unforced errors that were completely unnecessary.  It's only going to get worse.  It was obvious from the beginning that this man is by his temperament and character completely unsuitable for the office of POTUS.  It's going to be a rough four years.   

 

Accepting a congratulatory phone call from the leader of a nation we are allies with is such a horribly stupid thing to do.

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Donward Newbie

Donward

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Posted

More to the point, legacy media still has such a hate-on for Trump that it's difficult to tell whether a given action of his is a naive mistake or a deliberate action.

 

In related news...

 

That is the salient point to remember with political coverage since so many of the talking heads are either intentionally jumping to conclusions over things that may or may not have been said. Or they're morons.

 

Or both.

 

...

 

As for Filipino president, it would be fun to be a fly on the wall for the private Trump/Duterte conversation meeting.

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