US Politics, January 2020. Because we hate ourselves.

Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (#IRGC) #Quds Force Major General Qassem Soleimani responded to #US President Donald Trump’s announcement that ‘sanctions are coming’ with a Game of Thrones-inspired meme of his ownhttps://t.co/336UFrTL8E pic.twitter.com/5uh1qtQPMB

— Tasnim News Agency (@Tasnimnews_EN) November 3, 2018

uh oh Robert de Niro is next

or plz, Bette Midler

lmao pic.twitter.com/wF3MqaXEIr

— Josh Sawyer (@jesawyer) January 3, 2020

dickless wonder speaks

“It is my view that the president does not have the authority for a war with Iran,” Senator Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor. “If he plans a large increase in troops and potential hostility over a longer time, the administration will require congressional approval and the approval of the American people.”

Dow down 233

i thought da war was good for $$$?

Iran can block the straits with a few hundred mines, and the US has no effective counter (as against drones, the US hasn't invested in mine countermeasures for 5+ decades). That's $7/gal gasoline for 6+ months, regardless of whether a cease fire is reached in days.

I know that scenario is not one to hope for but ok yeah I hope that happens

meanwhile, the night this happened I was watching fox news for work (yes, I know, yes, it sucks) to see sebastian fucking gorka defending the administration's slashing of the national security council staff at this very opportune time to do so making the argument, with a straight face, that "eisenhower didn't have this many people it's not like the world was less complicated in the days of eisenhower"

like, maybe I'm not jaded enough somehow, but while the lying no longer surprises me the self-contradiction does, constantly

It's hard to look at some of the departmental organization charts this administration inherited and not see decades of bureaucratic bloat. Too many undersecretaries with advisory but no chain-of-command roles, too many GS-15s. However, this administration is the gardener that prunes your trees to their roots. That excess at the top also provided resiliency.

enjoyed reading the recent posts

where does boris stand (at the moment) on various warrings

The apparent fact that the Soleimani assassination was carried out by drone strike at a civilian airport really is the perfect capstone for the last two decades of lunatic American violence. Nothing deflates the hysterically macho chest-thumping self-image of American warmongers than the fact that for the last decade and more the signature U.S. method of killing people has been a robot plus a gamer in a box 10,000 miles away....

The United States is so powerful that it has been able to get away with decades of pointless atrocities. One of these days it will pay for its imperial hubris. That day may be quite soon.

https://theweek.com/articles/887283

A is for (Aimless) at 12:57 3 Jan 20

22 house republicans who are leaving at the end of the term

Not that all of them are especially high-minded or anything but deep-dyed conservatives, but they didn't owe their first election success to Trump and probably don't like him as a person - because he is deeply unlikeable. By stepping away now, they are further ceding the party to the most fervent of the acolytes in Trump's cult of personality.

the difference amounts to voting for everything Trump enthusiastically vs. voting for everything Trump wants grumbling a bit and maybe sniping at him behind his back through some anonymous quote to the press

good morning!

What do Trump supporters make of this? I thought that a lot of people voted for him at least partly because he was going to bring the troops home and not get involved in any more wars

if Trump does it they love it

you may be shocked to hear that they're very excited about this and often lack a coherent worldview

xpost

they love war as long as their side is "kicking ass"

what do Trump supporters think? let’s ask ILXors what their strawmen on the street are saying

I wish it were straw men but unfortunately I went to college in Texas and grew up in the deep south

you may be surprised to know that some of us have actually read what Trump supporters are saying

or, like in Euler's case, hear about it because we too live in red states

All you need to know is that if they get any sense that the left would like them to consider a particular position in regards to any issue they will be instantly compelled to enthusiastically and loudly declare their dedication to the opposite stance. Past/future means nothing. Pushback = heel digging.

I'm sure some people on this board have legitimate insight into what Trump supporters are thinking; I just don't think ILX is the best place to find real answers to that question.

Why do you doubt what they are saying? It's true.

i'm sure many more Diner in Trump Country safaris are coming

I'm sure some people on this board have legitimate insight into what Trump supporters are thinking; I just don't think ILX is the best place to find real answers to that question.

― 💠 (crüt), Saturday, January 4, 2020 10:23 AM (five minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

xp

You're doubting people with real life experience with this shit

yeah i'm a lifelong red stater w conservative family and social media contacts and i'll be the first to let you know if i see one ounce of pushback from among his faithful. i would not hold my breath.

i think the problem with the red/ blue divide is the media's fixation on how 'no one really knows someone with different politics any more' -- which in my experience isn't true at all. i know way too many people in real life who have breathtakingly appalling views.

Moodles, I'm not doubting anyone. I don't think the ILXors who responded to paolo's question are wrong per se. I just don't think asking people what their political opponents are thinking about a political subject will result in a complete picture. I apologize for making a snarky throwaway remark instead of making a lucid point.

Follow the leader. That's all there is to it, really.

You aren't going to get coherent independent thoughts about any of this stuff by talking directly to these people.

where does boris stand (at the moment) on various warrings

on holiday with no intention of returning home early

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskTrumpSupporters

That reddit is pretty interesting.

I'm pretty sure it's partly populated by actual paid shills but it makes for a useful glimpse nonetheless.

A typical attempt at cross-aisle communication:

Supporter: I am big on isolationism and it is worth noting that the increase in troops was in response to the issue in the embassy under siege.

I am still unhappy to see Trump send more troop in the Middle east and hope that this is only temporary.

I consider myself an ardent supporter and directly going into war with Iran would make me a lot less of an advocate for Trump (even if i dont see democrats as viable for 2 decades).

...

Nonsupporter: I'm just curious for your opinion, what about Pete Buttigieg is non viable, would you consider voting for him as an alternative to some of the more extreme positions in the Democratic party?

Supporter: To me, it is first of all because I was infuriated by the democrats attitude against Kavanaugh and I didnt even like the guy as a pick (too close to Bush).

I Like Buttieig but right now he has embraced a lot of the progressive stances on trans right, And illegal immigrants being offered healthcare and decriminalizing it.

I think he has a lot of charisma and i Hope he comes back in 2024 when the democrats calm down a little bit and become more moderate, id be happy with him as a president after. He has a very uniting message on a few occasions.

That's pretty good compared to most social media political discourse imo.

Sadly otm.

Speaking of reddit, there's also the following attempt at civility:

https://www.reddit.com/r/NeutralPolitics/

that conversation was kind of the guy politely saying "I'm a piece of garbage and I don't like Trump except I seem to be pretty cozy to everything he believes in and does"

not willing to throw a bone cos they didn't say "libtard"

Do you really need a reddit board to read an endless stream of bullshit talking points fed by Fox News and friends?

'Deep down, I don't like Trump, but the Dems have forced me into it with their xenotransloving ways!'

This really is as good as it gets, ladies and gentlemen.

There was a lot better on the reddit but at least 1st person was applying an actual principle, not just hero-worship, and willing to be critical of Trump when he breached it.2xp

That reads to me more "I like Trump but am afraid to say so" given that they always seem to blame Dems for pushing them into his arms.

Might not be hero worship, but shows them adopting right wing talking points, believing in liberal stereotypes, while simultaneously somehow managing to avoid believing the conservative stereotypes.

i mean I get what you're saying, compared to the usual discourse, it IS more restrained and less jingoist vitriol, but it still strikes me as the type of bad faith arguing that would have gotten me in people's faces in 2004. it's just now there are more levels to this ugliness.

It's the same old loathsome, cretinous bullshit as ever, no doubt about it, we're just at a point where we need to consider different shades of excrement in the faint hope that a change of heart could happen.

That Lankford tool was on the radio this morning. I think the GOP picks him for his deadpan. First he says there is no first hand account of what Trump is accused of doing. The interviewer says the Bolton manuscript contains a firsthand account. So Lankford says that no one has actually seen the manuscript, just unnamed sources in the paper, and that he and others need to see that manuscript ASAP. So the interviewer asks, why not just call Bolton to testify? And Lankford says he needs to see the manuscript first to see if the claims are credible enough to justify Bolton testimony. And the interviewer says, wait a minute, what does it matter what the manuscript says, it's still just words. Just calll Bolton and ask him yourself. And round and round we go. It's total They Live! sunglasses shit.

Why would the senate allow the testimony of radical leftist John Bolton, he'll just show up and rant about the benefits of collectivist farming for hours

seriously. give that guy a platform and you might as well just give people free healthcare right now.

I heard he was gonna shave his mustache, wear a dress, ask us to call him "Johnette" from now on, then take ginormous bong hits during his testimony.

Did you know that John Bolton once served in the administration of a President who tried to blackmail a country into investigating his opponent? How can the senate trust the testimony of such a person?

um wasn't "how can we trust a guy who worked for Donald Trump" a legit defense GOP'ers tried when it came to the testimonies of Manafort and Michael Cohen

Trump says he might deploy some F-35s to a local air base, saying workers here will see them come in. He says, "Actually they're totally stealth, so maybe you won't see them come in. You won't see them come in."

— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) January 30, 2020

sir how do you know they're not already there

we may have a Feb thread title

NBC News reports:

Trump painted a doomsday scenario under a Democratic president. “If we don’t win, your farms are going to hell,” he said, claiming that under the Green New Deal supported by some of the 2020 contenders, “they want to kill your cows.” “That means you’re next,” he said.

farms: famously against cow-killing

Good morning!

he's right. GND has a provision about trading cattle mutilation rights to aliens in exchange for carbon filtering tech

first they came for my cows and i said nothing

e-i-e-i-o

as far as I'm aware, farms are already in complete hell under his policies so I don't know what he's getting at.

on that point

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-farms-bankruptcy-idUSKBN1ZT2YE

in case you weren't looking fwd to the SOTU next week

“He will contrast his vision with radical proposals being floated on the Left,” said the official during a briefing. “Clearly, socialism is a rising force in the Democratic Party with very specific designs on our healthcare system.”

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/trump-to-attack-rising-force-of-socialism-in-state-of-the-union-speech

"Madam Speaker, Majority Leader McConnell, Senators, Congressional Representatives, and distinguished guests, I am here to report the State of our union is strong... except where it is infested with democrats and socialists who would happily destroy our nation and way of life, as I will now explain at length, using as many untruths as I find convenient for my purposes."

Every Democrat in the chamber should stand with their backs to him for the entire speech.

And whiz

All throw their shoes at him at the same time.

good morning!

"They want to kill our cows" for February title, please.

YOUR cows

I shall do it. Give me a minute, ok?

It is done, to quote a well-known member of the trinity.