monitoring Trump and relevant contemporary events

@revelette1,

After 8 years of Obama the pussy, everything from Trump will
appear aggressive & combative to a certain loud minority.

0 Replies

@Olivier5,

No, unless you want to go black/white (and you seem to). Let me put it to you this way. You suggest crisis (plus broadly, in the west, not just in a single country). What do you mean by that? Some line has been crossed? If so, when? What happened?

1 Reply

@maporsche,

It's not all about you, sorry.

1 Reply

@Frugal1,

Quote:

Trump hints that federal funding could be cut after U.C. Berkeley riot

President Trump tweeted early Thursday that if schools like University of California, Berkeley, do not allow free speech, it may cost them federal funding.

The tweet was in response to violent protests that were in response to a planned talk on campus Wednesday by Milo Yiannopoulos, a controversial Breitbart News editor. The talk was canceled due to the protests.

In the evening, a small group dressed in black and in hooded sweatshirts used metal barricades to break windows, threw smoke bombs and flares, used a diesel generator to start a large bonfire outside the building.

"This was a group of agitators who were masked up, throwing rocks, commercial grade fireworks and Molotov cocktails at officers," said UC Berkeley Police Chief Margo Bennet.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/02/trump-hints-that-federal-funding-could-be-cut-after-u-c-berkeley-riot.html

Speech suppressing thugs, eh? This article doesn't mention it, but other outlets report that students who wanted to attend the talk were beaten, too.

The lefties here won't comment. They just pretend it didn't happen. Quite typical, of course. Facts they don't like simply "don't exist."

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@blatham,

Try and answer my question first. Certainly, if the US is an oligarchy it cannot be a thriving democracy. Or what gives?

1 Reply

@Olivier5,

Thriving democracy? You'd have to define what your parameters are for such a thing or its absence.

Obviously the US or Canada or New Zealand etc are democracies of a sort. That is, much is determined in law and civic matters by consensus via the vote. At the same time, much is not. But that was the case previously, in the 50s, say. Or earlier. Or in the seventies. Or when large commercial enterprises like the East India Company of the Hudson's Bay Company had far greater determination of certain policies than any group of citizens. John Dewey said that politics is the shadow cast by business. He made that smart observation a long while ago. Some aspect of oligarchy is always or almost always present (unless you can point to an example where that was not so).

If you were to make some well founded and well sourced argument that particular trade regimes have done serious damage to national sovereignty you could have a strong case but you haven't pointed to any such historical factors.

1 Reply

@blatham,

Okay so you mean the US is an oligarchy, to a degree always was one, and that's fine with you. Am i understanding your view correctly?

2 Replies

@Olivier5,

My position is that France is a wimpocracy, eh, Ollie?

Q: How many Frenchmen does it take to defend Paris?

A: Nobody knows. It's never been tried.

1 Reply

@Olivier5,

Nor you. Sometimes I wonder who you think you are. I like you but you sure are intolerant and judgmental.

2 Replies

@revelette1,

Response moderated: Personal attack. See more info.

0 Replies

@Olivier5,

Fine with me? Why shortcut all the dilemmas and complexities here with that rhetorical question? I'm not fine with rape nor with mortality nor with parasites that worm their way up to an animals brain and lay eggs that emerge and start chewing.

It's no trick at all to complain that you or I or the folks on your city block are relatively powerless in the scheme of things nationally. It's rather more difficult to try to understand what's going on and why so as to, hopefully, work out real world remedies for valid complaints. And blanket indictments like "we are not free" or "democracy is dying" really don't open any doors except emotional doors - "I am angry/we are angry". Then, you're pretty close to being in a category of Trump or Palin followers.

1 Reply

On Trump's schedule today:

1. Nuke Iran

2. Invade Mexico

3. Close Berkeley

4. Send storm troopers to all self-declared sanctuary cities.

5. Burn all mosques

Next week: Nuke Canada and round-up all domestic cheese-eaters.

0 Replies

@Olivier5,

Quote:

Likewise, there was no way Trump was going to beat Hillary. Or at least that's what the fools were thinking.

Hillary won the popular vote by a huge margin. Where she basically came up short was in three swing states basically because of the FBI report which turned out to be a bust. Before that, she was doing better than fine. The polls were starting to tighten up about then and in those swing states, Nate Silver was starting to talk about a possible Trump win. He took a lot of flack for that, but, turned out, he was right.

Quote:

I don't care what you think either, rev. It just makes me laugh when you speak of "resistance", that's all.

Considering I don't think Bernie had a chance at all once they started hammering him for his socialism and his past and the somewhat questionable activities of his wife, I feel I have as much right anyone else to talk about resisting Trump and I will continue to talk about it. I think it might take a decade to get out from underneath the stomping we got and some of it we caused ourselves (Reids nuclear option...) but I think, sooner or later, the dime is going to turn. This administration is heading for disaster and is going to take the world and our country with it.

The difference between the some Bernie or busters and Hillary supporter is one glaring one and it is one which I think makes all the difference in the world. Most of us would have voted Bernie and supported him wholeheartedly had he won the primary because the country is more important than hurt/pride feelings.

But that is all water under the bridge, we are now in Trump land and I hope all of us resist him and get over ourselves and think about what is most important.

3 Replies

@revelette1,

Yes, I am judgmental. And you're not?

I'm not impressed by the level of discourse here, on both sides of the equation. I don't see much logic, creativity or knowledge at play. I see a lot of tired clichés, baseless hatred, narrow-mindedness and parochialism. Should I act like I'm impressed? Should I pretend to agree? Should I just leave you to your misery?

2 Replies

Let me give another example. We cannot immediately and completely cease using petroleum products. The world runs on this stuff in hundreds of thousands or ways and if some dictate came down from a national leader or an international entity, the world economy would collapse in a day.

On the other hand, we obviously cannot continue to pump carbon particles into the atmosphere. We really have to fight the corporate interests (and they are huge) presently benefiting from the existing scheme of things.

So any workable solution has to move between these two options. Black and white can be satisfying emotionally but there's no workable path forward with it.

0 Replies

@layman,

Sure, that's why we helped you become independent.

0 Replies

@Olivier5,

I am not sure I am judgmental, unless it is judgmental to point out someone is judgmental? If I have been, I apologize.

In any case, don't be impressed.

1 Reply

@blatham,

"Fine with you" in the sense that you believe nothing much can be done about this oligarchy, we just have to live with it and accept, in your view.

Or if not, what do you think we could / should do about it?

1 Reply

The man is a genius

Quote:

It should have been one of the most congenial calls for the new commander in chief — a conversation with the leader of Australia, one of America’s staunchest allies, at the end of a triumphant week.

Instead, President Trump blasted Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull over a refugee agreement and boasted about the magnitude of his electoral college win, according to senior U.S. officials briefed on the Saturday exchange. Then, 25 minutes into what was expected to be an hour-long call, Trump abruptly ended it.

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