tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5977625681756554695.post173750803799508242..comments2024-03-26T13:46:42.738-05:00Comments on 4 Quarters, 10 Dimes: Continued Stray Thoughts on the Current Political ClimateDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03463621516644789183noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5977625681756554695.post-65943228510059689932018-01-13T20:58:22.569-06:002018-01-13T20:58:22.569-06:00I saw it. :) I figured it was worth a response a...I saw it. :) I figured it was worth a response anyway.<br /><br />I'll try to tread only on thick-cut chips from now on. Salt & Vinegar!Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03463621516644789183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5977625681756554695.post-7284091843416152032018-01-13T18:03:42.221-06:002018-01-13T18:03:42.221-06:00Day job, we don't need no stinky day jobs!
(y...Day job, we don't need no stinky day jobs!<br /><br />(you did notice the [sarcasmfont] thingys, right?)<br /><br />As for not seeing the letter, well it was just published a couple of days ago, so I'll give you a pass. This time. But watch it! You're treading on thin potato chips here ...<br /><br />LucyLucyInDisguisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08169432604954981941noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5977625681756554695.post-21161079249043441732018-01-13T15:18:37.222-06:002018-01-13T15:18:37.222-06:00Yeah, that's a scary letter right there. Than...Yeah, that's a scary letter right there. Thanks for bringing it to my attention - I'd not seen it before.<br /><br />It's sobering to realize that the greatest threat to US national security and global stability right now is the American president. It's even more sobering that there is an entire political party that is actively working to enable, excuse, and further his grotesque failures.<br /><br />"I believe there is God.<br />I believe that God is merciful and just.<br />But if man desires to destroy himself,<br />I believe God will not save him."<br /> -Whitney R. Harris, prosecutor, Nuremberg War Crime Trials<br /><br />--<br /><br />I could put links in, but then it starts to get too much like a scholarly monograph and not enough like something I'll likely do again. I can always provide sources if you ask, but it gets too close to my day job to put them in all the time!<br /><br />You're welcome for the intermission, though! I did love those two things. Humor in the face of tragedy is the only way to get through it.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03463621516644789183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5977625681756554695.post-68801160140683264162018-01-13T08:42:59.968-06:002018-01-13T08:42:59.968-06:00Sorry I'm late. Been a little crazy this week....Sorry I'm late. Been a little crazy this week. (Well, to be truthful, I've always been ... never mind.)<br /><br />You’re definitely getting better at this. I should note, however, that I was starting to get a little depressed about two thirds of the way down. Thanks for the intermission at #s 32 & 33. It helped to keep the voices at bay …<br /><br />One area where you could improve, if I may be so bold, is ‘LINKS’ to source material. <br /><br />[sarcasmfont]You have a degree, damn it! Back in the olden days guys like you used footnotes and bibliographies to drive me crazy. Now you send me off to search the google for something written by some McGeewiz securities lawyer? Without so much as a title or date of publication? Heck of a way to run a railroad! [/sarcasmfont]<br /><br />Ewan, not long ago I was where you are regarding the possibility of a rouge president starting a nuclear war. I served in the Air Force. I worked on a base that had a SAC wing. I worked along side some of the most professional military specialists in the business of national defense. I could not envision any sane person obeying such a launch order.<br /><br />I had this discussion with David. After serious thought and consideration, I realized that I had lost that debate. (You can never underestimate the power of a fool or an idiot. Drumpf is both.) <br /><br />Then, on Thursday, just in case I had any remaining illusions, this came along: <br />https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/1/11/1731886/-Former-nuclear-launch-officers-implore-Congress-to-rein-in-Trump-s-ability-to-launch-nukes-first?detail=emaildkre<br /><br />You should too. It includes the entire letter from those former launch officers; please take minute or two to read it. It’s not long, but it is <i>Spooky!</i><br /><br />LucyLucyInDisguisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08169432604954981941noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5977625681756554695.post-25858688938254658452018-01-12T17:28:45.571-06:002018-01-12T17:28:45.571-06:00I do believe it's a real threat. I teach a cl...I do believe it's a real threat. I teach a class on the atomic bomb and I've spent a fair amount of time studying US nuclear policy. There aren't that many safeguards against a rogue president, and most of those involve individual service members willing to disobey direct orders - an awfully narrow thread to hang civilization from, if you ask me. We've come numbingly close to nuclear war more than a handful of times even with competent leadership, over the years, and having this bloviating fool in charge makes me worry that the US may well blunder into such a war or provoke one, unintentionally or not. Der Sturmtrumper has clearly demonstrated that he has no real conception of nuclear weapons or what they can do (remember when he demanded that we triple our arsenal on a whim and then the military had to do the whole "haha, he must have been kidding" song and dance?). So yes, it sounds like I'm more worried about this than you are. I'd be happy to be wrong.<br /><br />People underestimate Trump too much. He's not that bright and he has no intellectual heft to speak of, but he is cunning and ambitious and he is, after all, sitting in the Oval Office - a place nobody in their right minds thought he'd be two years ago. I didn't see that, and I'll be damned if I underestimate him again. He has a way of making his desires happen, and there are far too many people in this country who would be okay with an American Fuehrer and who aren't morons, who could make it happen. It can happen here.<br /><br />And yes, getting rid of both of them would be great.<br /><br />That of course leaves us with President Paul Ryan. Sigh.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03463621516644789183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5977625681756554695.post-23166136427833235232018-01-12T16:40:06.784-06:002018-01-12T16:40:06.784-06:00If you believe that nuclear war is a real threat, ...If you believe that nuclear war is a real threat, OK. I don't - I just don't see anyone actually following that order. And while I agree that 45 would *like* to be Fuehrer, I don't think he's smart or focussed enough to manage it. Hence my conclusion.<br /><br />Ah well. Let's just get rid of both of them..Ewanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15587749873205076612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5977625681756554695.post-77727774368672567172018-01-11T17:09:19.319-06:002018-01-11T17:09:19.319-06:00Well, random nuclear war would be one thing.
Pe...Well, random nuclear war would be one thing. <br /><br />Pence is a meat puppet for the Koch Brothers and their ilk. They play a long game. They want to be rich and they want to enjoy their riches. To burn the place down and piss on the ashes leaves them not rich. But der Sturmtrumper has no ideology, no commitments, and no principles. He caters to people who would be happy to burn the place down and piss on the ashes if they can't control it entirely. That's another thing.<br /><br />Also, my guess is that Pence has less of a petit-Fascist authoritarian streak to him - he doesn't see himself as the next Fuehrer the way der Sturmtrumper does.<br /><br />On the downside, Pence would also be a much more effective politician - he knows how to run a government and his policy agenda would stand a much bigger chance of being enacted. But to me those are recoverable problems, while the problems presented by the current regime increasingly are not.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03463621516644789183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5977625681756554695.post-46904139629622921692018-01-11T13:17:24.222-06:002018-01-11T13:17:24.222-06:00OK, so we disagree on the desirability of senile-l...OK, so we disagree on the desirability of senile-loony vs dominionist-bigot. If I bought into your premise that the former is an existential threat to the republic, I might be persuaded, so: what do you think the former might do that the latter would not, to be such a threat?Ewanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15587749873205076612noreply@blogger.com