President Trump

[wayfriend]

Gosh ... I think you've made it really, really, REALLY clear why people don't engage with you guys. FOR SHAME blaming it on something else. This pseudo-conservative crowd is too narcissistic to engage people on a real level, and too craven to accept responsibility for their own uncivilized behavior.

Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???

Trump sure knows how to "own the libs", doesn't he?

Bad economy, hero funeral, raging pandemic, kowtowing to Putin, racists exposed --- let's change the topic, right?

You see, you guys forget that, to own the libs, you have to generate that shocked+appalled+confused reaction that signals the successful barb, and you can then have your laugh.

Escalating insults towards people who are very aware of your motivations doesn't cut it.

And needing to gang together to get it done? Why, that's, as I said, craven. Cowardly. Being in need of one's mommy.

[TheFallen]

WF, stop being a dick for once.

For my part, I don't want to "own the libs". If you're an example of a "lib", why would I want to own something that has demonstrated no reason as to why I should ascribe it some worth?

Again for my part, you also very demonstrably have no clue as to my motivations. I keep saying that what I'd most like to see is a credible and commonsensical opposition in the US. IMV that doesn't exist... so the way I see it is that the US electorate is being given the choice between an egotistical kneejerkish bozo and a hypocritical incompetent dotard. Hence why I heap scorn on both sides...

But to be fair, I am most pissed at the Dems. You know why? For having been unable to clear the lowest bar ever set in 2016 and yet continuing (again in my view) with the self-same unsuccessful strategies ever since. It brings new meaning to the phrase "ideologically blinkered".

Clear? (I doubt it... it doesn't fit in with the persecuted victim narrative you love to portray, but what the Hell... I'll accord you the respect inherent in bothering with a reply, no matter how futile).

And finally...

Escalating insults towards people who are very aware of your motivations doesn't cut it.

And needing to gang together to get it done? Why, that's, as I said, craven. Cowardly. Being in need of one's mommy.

You of course entirely lack the self-awareness to be capable of seeing the laughable hypocrisy oh so evident in those two sentences...

[Wosbald]

+JMJ+

[...]

Bad economy, hero funeral, raging pandemic, kowtowing to Putin, racists exposed --- let's change the topic, right?

[...]

That one may well be on me -- what we in the biz call a WOS (Wosbald Obfuscatory Sidetrack).

Anyhoo, carry on.

[sgt.null]

Wosbald - there are plenty of us Catholics who believe this current Pope is to smitten with politics. He could spend his time fixing the Church, driving out the pedophiles. He could be addressing the issue of allowing priests to marry. He could address why the Church has so much money and property. But instead he plays a Marxist.

WF - Russia, Russia, Russia. Racism. Trump bad. Did I miss any?
Now run away and cower instead of actually debating anyone. Your hit and run tactics are as tiresome as as your bleatings.

[Zarathustra]

And finally...

Escalating insults towards people who are very aware of your motivations doesn't cut it.

And needing to gang together to get it done? Why, that's, as I said, craven. Cowardly. Being in need of one's mommy.

You of course entirely lack the self-awareness to be capable of seeing the laughable hypocrisy oh so evident in those two sentences...

In case he doesn't get it: WF, you're the only one hurling insults. We're commenting on the content of posts, and you are talking about our mommies, for some reason.

I have nothing against Wos personally (how can I? I don't know him). But he stubbornly, relentlessly continues to cut-and-paste religious propaganda in a political forum, even though he knows that no one here is reading it or finds it a valuable contribution. In any other context, you'd call that a troll (and I mean YOU, not in a generic sense). It's trollish behavior. If it's not "hurling insults" when you use your favorite pejorative, then it's certainly not for us to call out behavior which that pejorative identifies.

We've been here so many times. You post. We post. You claim we've been big meanies. You run away and hide. And you accuse *us* of needing our mommies? How about you debate our points rather than this drive-by whine-and-malign?

We could debate lots of points if we didn't waste time on this. For instance, why exactly does the Left consider John Lewis such a hero? Because he got beat up by the police? Why is this always such a fast-track to hero status in the black community? [Eerily, disturbingly similar to their glorification of the thug lifestyle. Is there a connect?] Granted, what the cops did was awful. But why do their actions make him a hero? He organized a march. If the cops hadn't beaten him, then nothing would have come from that march. And he wouldn't be a hero. He'd be just another community organizer, like Obama was before he rode that tired horse all the way to the White House. What has John Lewis done since having the misfortune to get beaten up? In 50+ years, what has he done besides ride that one moment of fame/sympathy to a cushy government job where he accomplished nothing? His Congressional tenure is only noteworthy for undermining our democracy, twice, when he refused to accept the legitimacy of two Presidents he didn't like (and then lied about it when saying he only did it once).

Talk about that, why don't ya?

[Hashi Lebwohl]

Bad economy

The Democrats wanted the economy to fail, specifically so they could use it as a political weapon. How can you complain when you are getting what you wanted?

Had the decision been mine, all those "non-essential" businesses would never have closed and the economy would have been hurt only a little.

hero funeral

That Congressman? What was his name...John Lewis? He wasn't a hero, just a civil rights leader. Ironically, he received those famous injuries because he was opposing Democrat racism in the form of Jim Crow and unconstitutional voting restrictions on blacks.

raging pandemic

All rational people blame China for being sloppy at that viral research lab in Wuhan, where the virus had already taken hold as early as last October, based on hospital parking lot images.

kowtowing to Putin

Trump doesn't bow to Putin. Obama definitely bowed to Putin, usually before subsequently taking a knee so he could give him a blowjob. Obama let the Russians take control in Syria, let Putin move missile batteries closer to Western Europe, and let him have Crimea.

racists exposed

Yes, we are continuing to expose the Democrats for the racists that they are. We are also exposing BLM for the racists they are, espeically since most black deaths don't actually matter to them very much.

edit/add:

A Bill Maher panelist said it nicely:

If conversation with people that we disagree with becomes impossible, what is the way that we solve conflict? It's violence.

The cancel culture definitely does want to silence those with whom they disagree, not because they want to silence what they see as "dangerous" opinions but because dissent is not to be tolerated. When I say "silence" I don't mean "sit in the corner and shut up" but, like Agent Smith told Neo, "what good is a phone call if you are unable to speak?". They want those dissenting voices silenced permanently.

[Avatar]

Goodness, a fair bit to take in.

Not going to get into specifics, couple points though: Wos has (only occasionally I grant) posted some of his own thoughts on matters when pressed.

That said, what he posts is always relevant to the topic in question, albeit it that presents a specific view / position which we are free to engage with or not and Wos may (or may not) set himself up as the communicator of that position. I personally would like more Wos and less paste, and I usually don;t do more than skim (some) of them, but the church has political / (and more so social) views and I'm fine that somebody who ascribes to them is posting them.

Also I like the current pope, in fact, I think he's probably the best pope we've had in my lifetime. Like Z my default is usually to be sceptical of people who ascribe to "magical" or "fantastic" motivations / causes, but hey, maybe they're right, unlikely as I find it. Or maybe it's the Rasta's who are right...I guess we'll find out one day.

Next, the whole Trump / Hilary / Biden thing.

For the most part, I agree with TF, although perhaps not so excoriating-ly.

Also, given the margins last time, I'm not so quick to discount the effect of propaganda in making one candidate look worse than the other. That said, as discussed elsewhere, people were taken in by the propaganda (and surely nobody is so naive as to think that there was not large, large amounts thereof.)

Right now, sure seems like the optics are a lot better for Biden, and as mentioned before, his best bet is to sit tight and say little...Trump already being back on form I see after a brief attempt at reining in his filterless brain...

Is Biden as bad as the other propaganda makes out? Hard to tell, and I'm not in the best place to judge anyway. However, I share TF's dismay at the quality of candidates available...

(Oh, Trump has no power to delay elections and even to try would probably backfire spectacularly. Also, no effective difference between mail-in and absentee ballots, just one he likes and one he doesn't. Finally, think he got lot of last elections mail-in ballots in his favour. )

--A

[Hashi Lebwohl]

Is Biden as bad as the other propaganda makes out?

Yes. His campaign is being advised now not to debate Trump because Trump tells so many lies that debating him is pointless. The real reasons they don't want Biden to debate Trump is because Biden cannot handle the mostly-random situations/questions a debate will bring and Trump is just enough of an asshole that he will follow my advice and try to make Biden lose his shit on stage on purpose.

No, the POTUS is not in a position to postpone elections and, no, Trump is not going to try and stay in office if he loses.

[sgt.null]

Democrats cant run on the strength of their candidate. They are hoping the vp pick will buy them good press. If biden won't debate trump? Trump should show up anyway.

[TheFallen]

Next, the whole Trump / Hilary / Biden thing.

For the most part, I agree with TF, although perhaps not so excoriating-ly.

--A

Well of course you should agree with me

Though looking at the 2020 choice that will be presented to the US electorate, I am not at all sure that it's even possible to be too excoriating...

And on this very subject, currently at least, Great Uncle Gropy Joe's Dem carers seem to be quite successfully keeping him away from the public eye and the media spotlight, thus ensuring that he cannot befuddledly shoot himself in the foot. In direct contrast, Trump's Pub handlers are continuing to fail in this respect, which must be a matter for much despair in Pub High Command.

Trump yesterday announced that he expected to be able to demand that the US Treasury to get a big fat cut out of the putative Microsoft TikTok purchase... huh????

And here's your video link.

God alone knows why Trump thinks this is a smart idea to even float, let alone how such a thing could even be actioned... so who'd pay the US Treasury? Microsoft? TikTok? Seriously??? On what grounds, pray tell?

I mean this would effectively be government extortion and massive and quite deliberate interference in what is entirely a private sector deal. Forget the security side of things... that might be a legitimate matter for government comment. But trying to strongarm either or both parties for nothing more than a major financial slice of the action???

Fortunately and very helpfully, in that video clip Trump explains how he came up with this idea...

"It would come from the sale, yeah... whatever the number is, it would come from the sale. Which nobody else would be thinking about but me... but that's the way I think."

Absolutely true. Nobody else would think about that...

...because it's utterly fucking insane - as are all the implications surrounding such an idea. It's anti-free market, anti-capitalist, anti-libertarian, pro quasi-socialist "Big Government".. and that's just for starters.

What really wryly amused was Trump's reference to landlords and tenants as his attempted justification:-

"You know, I use the expression... it's like the landlord and the tenant... and without the lease, errr, the tenant doesn't have the value... well, we're sort of in a certain way the lease... we make it possible to have this great success."

Trump seems to have bizarrely regressed to the thinking that characterised his days as a domineering landlord...

Again, the sole person who can cause a Trump loss in 2020... is Trump himself.

[Hashi Lebwohl]

Again, the sole person who can cause a Trump loss in 2020... is Trump himself.

Which is why he should stop tweeting and speaking extemporaneously.

[TheFallen]

Well he's obviously incapable of stopping himself. In fact, as per the example I gave above, Trump's clearly PROUD of the fact that he's the only person thinking this way... he's holding this up as a sign of him being so gifted... something to be applauded in astonished and reverential amazement by lesser, thicker mortals...

I mean, for fuck's sakes...

Naaah, Trump's long shown himself to be utterly uncontrollable by wiser, smarter, more measured heads. And that's because he is utterly and incontrovertibly convinced that, no matter who else may be present, he's always going to be the smartest, most astute and most gifted person in the room.. in ANY room. Complete egotistical self-delusion.

I imagine after all this time, Pub High Command has given up on the idea of being able to successfully attach some sort of child reins to Trump in an effort to kerb his inanities. Pubs must instead just be praying that, once the Dem carer team finally let Great Uncle Gropy Joe out of the Twilight Rest Home for the Terminally Confused (as they will have to at some stage), he performs even more self-damagingly than Trump...

[Avatar]

I think he's a classic narcissist myself...has to be loved by everybody, and has to tell everybody how much everybody loves him and why he deserves their love.

His rant about how the trending Twitter topics were so unfair was particularly amusing. (Oh, and calling his own Covid advisor pathetic...)

--A

[SoulBiter]

I dont think you will get much disagreement about Trump being a narcissist. Its pretty obvious. His economic policies have been really good. His foreign policy has been hit or miss although it was far past time to take China to task over their policies and far past time to get other countries to pony up to the UN.

Sadly the person the Democrats have sent out as their "guy" is pretty much the worst selection they could have made. The only thing he had was name recognition. When he forgets that the VP will be the new P. I think this is planned.

I think its sad that in a country with so many really smart/creative people, these two guys are the best we could come up with to run everything.

[Hashi Lebwohl]

I imagine after all this time, Pub High Command has given up on the idea of being able to successfully attach some sort of child reins to Trump in an effort to kerb his inanities. Pubs must instead just be praying that, once the Dem carer team finally let Great Uncle Gropy Joe out of the Twilight Rest Home for the Terminally Confused (as they will have to at some stage), he performs even more self-damagingly than Trump...

The Democrats are going to continue to run with Biden because of name recognition and he is riding on Obama's coattails...

...but they all know that they are really voting for the VP candidate because Biden won't last one year before being 25th-ed out of office. They aren't delaying their choice trying to make the right pick; they have already made their pick and it is simply taking them this long to vet the choice.

[sgt.null]

Well the vp picks mentioned so far have been underwhelming.

[Gaius Octavius]

Next, the whole Trump / Hilary / Biden thing.

For the most part, I agree with TF, although perhaps not so excoriating-ly.

--A

Well of course you should agree with me

Though looking at the 2020 choice that will be presented to the US electorate, I am not at all sure that it's even possible to be too excoriating...

And on this very subject, currently at least, Great Uncle Gropy Joe's Dem carers seem to be quite successfully keeping him away from the public eye and the media spotlight, thus ensuring that he cannot befuddledly shoot himself in the foot. In direct contrast, Trump's Pub handlers are continuing to fail in this respect, which must be a matter for much despair in Pub High Command.

Trump yesterday announced that he expected to be able to demand that the US Treasury to get a big fat cut out of the putative Microsoft TikTok purchase... huh????

And here's your video link.

God alone knows why Trump thinks this is a smart idea to even float, let alone how such a thing could even be actioned... so who'd pay the US Treasury? Microsoft? TikTok? Seriously??? On what grounds, pray tell?

I mean this would effectively be government extortion and massive and quite deliberate interference in what is entirely a private sector deal. Forget the security side of things... that might be a legitimate matter for government comment. But trying to strongarm either or both parties for nothing more than a major financial slice of the action???

Fortunately and very helpfully, in that video clip Trump explains how he came up with this idea...

"It would come from the sale, yeah... whatever the number is, it would come from the sale. Which nobody else would be thinking about but me... but that's the way I think."

Absolutely true. Nobody else would think about that...

...because it's utterly fucking insane - as are all the implications surrounding such an idea. It's anti-free market, anti-capitalist, anti-libertarian, pro quasi-socialist "Big Government".. and that's just for starters.

What really wryly amused was Trump's reference to landlords and tenants as his attempted justification:-

"You know, I use the expression... it's like the landlord and the tenant... and without the lease, errr, the tenant doesn't have the value... well, we're sort of in a certain way the lease... we make it possible to have this great success."

Trump seems to have bizarrely regressed to the thinking that characterised his days as a domineering landlord...

Again, the sole person who can cause a Trump loss in 2020... is Trump himself.

Trump saying he will ban TikTok in the US, US corporations immediately lowballing TikTok in order to purchase the company's US operations, and then Trump wanting a slice of the pie for the US treasury looks an awful lot like theft. Say what you will about Chinese companies and concerns about collection of data on behalf of the CCP, but this looks like the US is just trying to stifle competition from a foreign tech company rather than a legitimate national security threat.

[sgt.null]

Wosbald - odd that you seem to be defending the Godless communists in China.

[Wosbald]

+JMJ+

Wosbald - odd that you seem to be defending the Godless communists in China.

I've not posted on this thread for a week.

Mayhap yer talkin' to Nano?

[sgt.null]

+JMJ+

Wosbald - odd that you seem to be defending the Godless communists in China.

I've not posted on this thread for a week.

Mayhap yer talkin' to Nano?

Yes. Apologies.