Pariah Posted April 15, 2022 Report Share Posted April 15, 2022 There's a part of me that hopes President Biden decides not to run for reelection. Not because I particularly dislike him, and certainly not because I think ANYONE from the Republican side would be a better option, but because I don't think he's up for four more years of this. He's not in as dire a situation as the former President, who is narcissistic, delusional, and arguably seriously mentally ill, but I don't think Mr. Biden is the best option for the next four years. Who is? Beats the hell out of me, Roy. TrickstaPriest 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnia Posted April 15, 2022 Report Share Posted April 15, 2022 How the Right Is Bringing Christian Prayer Back Into Public Schools rravenwood 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted April 15, 2022 Report Share Posted April 15, 2022 1 hour ago, unclevlad said: I'd say it's closer to "refuses to give us everything we ask for, no matter what" in this case. Yours is right in some other contexts, tho, to be sure. EDIT: strike "ask for." Demand. 1 hour ago, archer said: The main reason they're withdrawing is that they think Trump will be the nominee again if he wants it and he can't debate. Can you explain what the above amounts to other than, "Don't ask us questions we don't know the answer to or that would incriminate us?" And pursuant to that, 1 hour ago, archer said: Everyone on the Republican side except for Trump is eager to get Biden as a debate opponent. I would say that only applies if they can set the ground rules of the debate to avoid discussions of policy (which they have none of) and stick to culture-war talking points; and to not be fact-checked for their numerous lies in real time. When it comes to real debating, the current leading Republicans have all shown themselves to be poor performers. They're only good at rabble-rousing. Matt the Bruins 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted April 15, 2022 Report Share Posted April 15, 2022 23 minutes ago, Lord Liaden said: I would say that only applies if they can set the ground rules of the debate to avoid discussions of policy (which they have none of) and stick to culture-war talking points; and to not be fact-checked for their numerous lies in real time. When it comes to real debating, the current leading Republicans have all shown themselves to be poor performers. They're only good at rabble-rousing. Unfortunately, it works pretty well for them. EDIT: another thought about trying to protect Trump from debate debacles. The Democrats already have a major theme they can hammer...in a 10 second spot, no less. Put up a picture of Vladimir Putin on one side, a scrolling montage of the atrocities on the other. Simple voiceover: "Do you want to put this man's staunch ally back in the White House?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. MID-Nite Posted April 15, 2022 Report Share Posted April 15, 2022 6 hours ago, Cygnia said: Republican party withdraws from US Commission on Presidential Debates The Dems need to go all out in branding the Reps cowards for doing this. archer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archer Posted April 15, 2022 Report Share Posted April 15, 2022 13 minutes ago, Dr. MID-Nite said: The Dems need to go all out in branding the Reps cowards for doing this. Yeah but I don't think it'd make much impact until after the 2024 primaries. And by then, this RNC decision might well be reversed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted April 15, 2022 Report Share Posted April 15, 2022 But it might have some influence on the Congressional mid-terms. The Democrats need to go on the attack more in general. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted April 15, 2022 Report Share Posted April 15, 2022 If the Republicans can continue to gerrymander as successfully as it appears they may be in Florida, the mid-terms are likely a foregone conclusion. TrickstaPriest 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archer Posted April 16, 2022 Report Share Posted April 16, 2022 1 hour ago, Lord Liaden said: But it might have some influence on the Congressional mid-terms. The Democrats need to go on the attack more in general. Well, the midterms are seven months away and that issue doesn't directly impact the midterm election itself. I'd think they'd be better off trying to pass more legislation and pointing out the benefits of the legislation they've passed. And if they wanted to pull out an unrelated issue for the midterms, talk about how many Republicans are supporting Russia and not supporting Ukraine. I mean, the presidential debate commission is kind of a real "inside baseball" kind of issue that means a lot to policy wonks and fans of the political process. But I don't think it'll have much effect on most people...until the debates either do or don't happen. TrickstaPriest 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted April 16, 2022 Report Share Posted April 16, 2022 To continue that, I'm not sure how many people will really notice if there are no presidential debates. My feeling is...not that many. And if that's close to true? It's implausible to think it'll make any difference in the fall mid-terms. The first real test for the Republicans should actually be upcoming fairly soon, with the primaries. How many Trump-endorsed candidates win nomination, how many don't? Analyzing this may well be tricky, tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcw43921 Posted April 16, 2022 Report Share Posted April 16, 2022 Condemned Man In South Carolina Chooses Firing Squad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted April 16, 2022 Report Share Posted April 16, 2022 13 minutes ago, wcw43921 said: Condemned Man In South Carolina Chooses Firing Squad When no option is palatable, and "no preference" is not allowed, is it really a choice? Mind, lethal injection has been questioned; it's not a given that it's just drifting off to sleep. A side point: firing squads may remain infrequent enough to make the question meaningless, but...it would be interesting to me, to know how many of the staff decline to do more than one. The emotional reality/aftermath will be more than some bargained for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archer Posted April 16, 2022 Report Share Posted April 16, 2022 5 hours ago, unclevlad said: To continue that, I'm not sure how many people will really notice if there are no presidential debates. My feeling is...not that many. And if that's close to true? It's implausible to think it'll make any difference in the fall mid-terms. In 2016, Trump got an excessive amount of free media coverage by all the cable news channels as they showed his rallies repeatedly in their entirety while not doing the same for his opponents. In 2020, only Fox really covered his rallies and I don't know whether they showed them in their entirety. But Trump was able to communicate with his potential voters on social media. I really don't know what a 2024 contest would look like if networks don't show Trump rallies, Trump has no access to social media, he doesn't show himself to the public in debates, and he doesn't have the opportunity to directly confront the sitting president who gets a lot of free media coverage himself because he's a sitting president. I think people would eventually notice that they're not getting anything but campaign ads to tell them about the candidates they have to choose between...and be dissatisfied at the lack of seeing a direct confrontation between them. I don't think Trump at that point will be able to successfully spin, even to his own voters, that he's better off not debating. And certainly won't be able to spin it to his advantage to swayable voters because he won't have access to them in order to sway them. 2 cents Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archer Posted April 16, 2022 Report Share Posted April 16, 2022 NATO member Romania has grounded its remaining fleet of 23 to 36 MiG-21 LanceR jets as of Friday given their "considerably high accident rate", and will speed up a planned purchase of second-hand F-16s from Norway, their defense ministry said. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/romania-suspends-military-mig-21-flights-speed-up-f-16-purchase-2022-04-15/ The MiG-21 is an older generation of fighter than the MiG-29 that Ukraine currently uses. And Ukraine has used the -21 in the past. So it's similar enough that their pilots could use them immediately if they had them. And the -21 was specifically designed to be friendly to low-skill pilots so it could be easily exported to third world countries. Since Romania will no longer use them at all due to a crash in bad weather in March, it'd seem a no-brainer to work out some deal to transfer them to Ukraine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted April 16, 2022 Report Share Posted April 16, 2022 The former President doesn't need to spin anything to his voters. They'll vote for him regardless of what he says or does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iuz the Evil Posted April 16, 2022 Report Share Posted April 16, 2022 So much for “the Moskva sank due to an accidental fire “… pinecone 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrickstaPriest Posted April 16, 2022 Report Share Posted April 16, 2022 Wonder why I'm still hearing stuff from the dems about Trump, not Abbott or DeSantis. Or better yet, go for the source, Tucker. I kept on telling myself "you know, rejecting an ongoing pandemic would have to be the death of the R party, wouldn't it? people having to bury their dead, killing hundreds of thousands of Americans due to negligence, that should surely end their popularity." "you know, inciting massive protests for counting the ballots AS THEY WERE BEING COUNTED would have to be the death of the R party for any sane individual, wouldn't it?" "inciting an attempted revolt in the capital would have to be the..." The latest seems to be "siding with Russia as it literally murders thousands of Ukranians would have to be the..." At this point? I think we have to concede that if these issues aren't heavily advertised, there's no expectation that people will accept 'reality'. Iuz the Evil 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iuz the Evil Posted April 16, 2022 Report Share Posted April 16, 2022 25 minutes ago, TrickstaPriest said: Wonder why I'm still hearing stuff from the dems about Trump, not Abbott or DeSantis. Or better yet, go for the source, Tucker. I kept on telling myself "you know, rejecting an ongoing pandemic would have to be the death of the R party, wouldn't it? people having to bury their dead, killing hundreds of thousands of Americans due to negligence, that should surely end their popularity." "you know, inciting massive protests for counting the ballots AS THEY WERE BEING COUNTED would have to be the death of the R party for any sane individual, wouldn't it?" "inciting an attempted revolt in the capital would have to be the..." The latest seems to be "siding with Russia as it literally murders thousands of Ukranians would have to be the..." At this point? I think we have to concede that if these issues aren't heavily advertised, there's no expectation that people will accept 'reality'. https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2022/03/15/public-expresses-mixed-views-of-u-s-response-to-russias-invasion-of-ukraine/ https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.newsweek.com/full-list-31-republicans-voted-against-military-aid-ukraine-1687052%3Famp%3D1 The vote was 68-31. Given our domestic politics, that’s an unprecedented show of bipartisanship. (/sarcasm) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrickstaPriest Posted April 16, 2022 Report Share Posted April 16, 2022 1 minute ago, Iuz the Evil said: https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2022/03/15/public-expresses-mixed-views-of-u-s-response-to-russias-invasion-of-ukraine/ https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.newsweek.com/full-list-31-republicans-voted-against-military-aid-ukraine-1687052%3Famp%3D1 The vote was 68-31. Given our domestic politics, that’s an unprecedented show of bipartisanship. (/sarcasm) Yeah. A few, shockingly few, are starting to read the writing on the wall. But people have such a short memory. It's worth reminding people (via old Tucker Carlson videos on Fox, for example) of how they were fighting to undermine this over the last ten years. How unbelievable it is to have to see (as a leftist) Right-wing talk-show people and now politicians side-advocating literal violence against me for the last ten years. And that they have literally hundreds of thousands of American dead on their hands for their constant attempts at undermining the pandemic response (you can even say it was Trump that finally started to try and walk them back... and couldn't) - possibly the single worst self-harming political act from this country in the last century. Because if we aren't actually showing people the videos, if we aren't advertising this actively, it might as well not have happened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted April 16, 2022 Report Share Posted April 16, 2022 1 hour ago, Iuz the Evil said: So much for “the Moskva sank due to an accidental fire “… While I'm inclined to believe the Ukranians scored with missiles, sacking the responsible admiral doesn't prove the argument. Commanding officers, and commanding flag officers, get sacked and/or disciplined when major losses occur due to accidents which "should not have been possible" if appropriate training and leadership were in place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iuz the Evil Posted April 16, 2022 Report Share Posted April 16, 2022 49 minutes ago, Tom said: While I'm inclined to believe the Ukranians scored with missiles, sacking the responsible admiral doesn't prove the argument. Commanding officers, and commanding flag officers, get sacked and/or disciplined when major losses occur due to accidents which "should not have been possible" if appropriate training and leadership were in place. True, but then there’s this.. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.marketwatch.com/amp/story/pentagon-attributes-moskvas-sinking-to-ukraine-missile-strikes-report-01650042236 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DShomshak Posted April 16, 2022 Report Share Posted April 16, 2022 This is long, but IMO worth it. Academic who studoes corrup;tion assesses the US, China and (for the updated edition) Russia. Biggest takeaway: There are multiple forms of corruption, causing harm in different ways. If you want to reduce corruption, first you need to know what forms of corruption actually take place. https://freakonomics.com/podcast/is-the-u-s-really-less-corrupt-than-china-and-how-about-russia-update/ Insight from the update: The oligarchs who rule/own Russia never had much reason to care about sanctions, and still don't. China is in a very different situation. (Sanctions might be difficult, but they would be different difficulties.) Dean Shomshak archer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted April 16, 2022 Report Share Posted April 16, 2022 I've seen a couple of similar stories. I've just not seen anything claiming more than "medium confidence" or providing anything other than unnamed sources. I find it much easier to believe the Russians got sucker-punched by a missile or two than an accidental fire somehow detonated a magazine, but the latter isn't impossible. I'm more surprised NATO didn't have an AWACs monitoring the flagship of the Russian Black Sea fleet, but that also isn't impossible depending on the exact when/where, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted April 16, 2022 Report Share Posted April 16, 2022 2 hours ago, TrickstaPriest said: Because if we aren't actually showing people the videos, if we aren't advertising this actively, it might as well not have happened. I don't disagree; but the people who most need to see those videos would only watch them if they were run on networks with a vested interest in not showing those videos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Walsh Posted April 17, 2022 Report Share Posted April 17, 2022 Revisionaries author A.R. Moxon just published the fourth part of a series of essays on how to change the underlying ideas of society. That is, how to change what's deemed possible within the society (for good or ill). It's about how successful movements get things changed -- and how entrenched interests keep any discussion of real change out of polite conversation. Really good stuff. Here's a link to part one, which has links to the other three parts: https://www.getrevue.co/profile/juliusgoat/issues/one-about-the-atmosphere-1037410 TrickstaPriest and Old Man 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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