Everything Is Great and Amazing

Okri
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Re: Everything Is Great Again

Post by Okri »

Let's find out how well Boris Johnson does in the next leadership race. That said, not gonna lie, it does feel like there is a reaction to Trump going on.
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Sonic Youth
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Re: Everything Is Great Again

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Mister Tee wrote:
We were the ones who succumbed to the disease but showed the way to the antidote.
Now, I don't want to OVERstate our role in the European elections, either. As Marco might say, we Americans love to take credit for everything. :P

But I do wonder if Trump's insulting the mayor of London might have had even a little bit of an effect? And, in general, what if we had elected a fascist who had an appealing, attractive personality, instead of this pig?

Of course there are many reasons why May is turning out to be the La La Land of national politics. But I've not heard anyone suggest the possibility that having the audacity to call for a snap election might have lost her some support. The pride before the fall.
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Win Butler
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Re: Everything Is Great Again

Post by Mister Tee »

Sonic Youth wrote:Norbert Hofer, a far right wing, anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant nationalist runs for president in Austria. The voters reject him.

Geert Wilder, a far right wing, anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant nationalist runs for prime minister in the Netherlands. The voters reject him.

Marie Le Pen, a far right wing, anti-immigrant, nationalist runs for president in France. The voters reject her.

And tonight, Theresa May (who, truth be told, was NOT quite as extreme as the others... until a few days ago, when she suddenly changed her tune) is also getting rejected right now.

The one country who decides to elect a fascist (albeit by a deficit of 3 million votes)? The United States of America, former leader of the free world. In response, the rest of the world rejects us.

So proud to be a powerful anti-influence.
We were the ones who succumbed to the disease but showed the way to the antidote.

It's still a little early to feel confident about the British vote -- too many nights I've seen Tories stage late comebacks -- but however it ends, May has at minimum lost ground in an election she called solely for the purpose of strengthening her majority. So she's toast. I wonder how well Labour might have done without a leader quite as divisive as Corbyn?
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Re: Everything Is Great Again

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Norbert Hofer, a far right wing, anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant nationalist runs for president in Austria. The voters reject him.

Geert Wilder, a far right wing, anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant nationalist runs for prime minister in the Netherlands. The voters reject him.

Marie Le Pen, a far right wing, anti-immigrant, nationalist runs for president in France. The voters reject her.

And tonight, Theresa May (who, truth be told, was NOT quite as extreme as the others... until a few days ago, when she suddenly changed her tune) is also getting rejected right now.

The one country who decides to elect a fascist (albeit by a deficit of 3 million votes)? The United States of America, former leader of the free world. In response, the rest of the world rejects us.

So proud to be a powerful anti-influence.
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Re: Everything Is Great Again

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I have no great love for McCain, but I feel really bad for him. Not a fan of these kinds of jokes, but what are you gonna do?

And I've not heard anyone say before today that he may be going senile. Has there been any indications of this before? He was at the senate hearing yesterday asking questions. Was he incoherent then? It is true that he's looking (and sounding) quite old. And I don't know if he's senile, but he's been looking extremely exhausted lately. Yeah, it's probably time for him step down.
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Win Butler
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Re: Everything Is Great Again

Post by Mister Tee »

McCain was so clearly incoherent that even his usual cheering section in the press couldn't avoid mentioning it.

And his explanatory press release -- saying he shouldn't stay up for late Diamondback games -- was so ridiculous that I heard Yankees announcer Michael Kay, an apolitical/lean-GOP-if-anything guy, openly scoff at it.
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Re: Everything Is Great Again

Post by Sabin »

From twitter:

THE WORLD: "It is officially impossible for the world to make less sense than it does now."

JOHN MCCAIN: "Hold my alligator."
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Re: Everything Is Great Again

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I read (or half-skimmed) the opening testimony. It was a fascinating read.

Anyone hoping for Comey to produce revelations regarding Trump's possible ties with Russia will be disappointed. If he knows anything, he's keeping it to himself and he likely won't reveal anything tomorrow. This testimony speaks more to the issue of whether Trump interfered with the investigation. I don't know if this is enough tol get this congress to begin impeachment proceedings, and there's not much information that hasn't already been reported on. But it fleshes out the previous allegations with very interesting detail, and it helps shed more light (or rather, confirms what we already knew) about this evil president and, shall we say, his leadership qualities. I don't know if there are any "bombshells" (CNN's breathless phrase) since it's still a "my word against his" situation, but if Comey can come across as a very credible and persuasive witness, this will be very damaging indeed.

Popcorn time.
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Re: Everything Is Great Again

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https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/07/us/p ... .html?_r=0
WASHINGTON — The former F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, plans to testify on Thursday that President Trump repeatedly pressured him to publicly announce that he was not personally under federal investigation in connection with the Justice Department inquiry into Russian meddling in last year’s election.
Which reminds me of Trump's offhand remark in his letter to Comey firing him:

"While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation..."
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Re: Everything Is Great Again

Post by Greg »

"Russian military intelligence executed a cyberattack on at least one U.S. voting software supplier and sent spear-phishing emails to more than 100 local election officials just days before last November’s presidential election, according to a highly classified intelligence report obtained by The Intercept:"

https://theintercept.com/2017/06/05/top ... -election/

One bizarre twist is that the name of the person arrested by the FBI for leaking the document to The Intercept is Reality Winner.
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Re: Everything Is Great Again

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Sonic Youth wrote:And Greg, I didn't think I said anything too harsh, but if you feel so (I don't care what anybody else says) then I do apologize. It was, you know, a pretty rough, devastating day. For me, and for a lot of people.
It's okay. No hard feelings.
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Re: Everything Is Great Again

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And Greg, I didn't think I said anything too harsh, but if you feel so (I don't care what anybody else says) then I do apologize. It was, you know, a pretty rough, devastating day. For me, and for a lot of people.
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Re: Everything Is Great Again

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flipp525 wrote:
Sonic Youth wrote:Anyway, here's my bold prediction. Trump is NOT going to pull out of the Paris accord.
And you were wrong.

I can't believe that anyone was predicting he wouldn't pull out of the Paris Climate Accord. This was one the easiest of his campaign promises he could uphold for his base and he'll do anything to keep them happy. Even if it's just for a couple of hours.
And I maintain it was not an unreasonable prediction.

I mean, he promised to pull out of NATO and he went back on that, and he promised to pull out of NAFTA and he went back on that, and he promised to start a trade war with China and the "currency manipulator" and he went back on that, and he promised to pull out of the Iran deal and he went back on that. And anyone who actually follows the news - anyone who's not a "low-information voter" - might have seen a pattern here (considering that they are all regarding international treaties, and that he reportedly was persuaded by other people inside and outside his administration).

Anyone who predicted he would act on those predictions were also wrong. But I'd rather be wrong making an informed prediction than pop up four days after the fact to chide someone about it. At least the former takes some initiative. The latter takes none at all.
Is this really the issue you feel most compelled to clarify on a day like this?
This seems really trite to call Greg out on. As if there aren't seven to eight things to clarify, discuss, or dissect about this current administration on any given day.
That..... was the exact point I was making? That there are more important things to discuss than whether Trump outlasts the Paris Agreement or not. Do you see now that the point you just made to me is exactly the point I made?

And that, in the midst of the back-and-forth, I actually did clarify, discuss and dissect a few other "things" related to the Accord. Didn't I? I brought up the long-term consequences, and I mentioned how some states and companies would independently follow the Accord's guidelines anyway. You could have actually replied to those "things" and you could have made a valuable contribution, you know.
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Re: Everything Is Great Again

Post by flipp525 »

Sonic Youth wrote:Anyway, here's my bold prediction. Trump is NOT going to pull out of the Paris accord.
And you were wrong.

I can't believe that anyone was predicting he wouldn't pull out of the Paris Climate Accord. This was one the easiest of his campaign promises he could uphold for his base and he'll do anything to keep them happy. Even if it's just for a couple of hours.
Is this really the issue you feel most compelled to clarify on a day like this?
This seems really trite to call Greg out on. As if there aren't seven to eight things to clarify, discuss, or dissect about this current administration on any given day.
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Sonic Youth
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Re: Everything Is Great Again

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Greg wrote:Even if Trump is replaced by another Republican, e.g. Pence, if it happens before November, 2020, U.S. membership in the Paris Accord will still outlast the Trump Presidency.
Is this really the issue you feel most compelled to clarify on a day like this?
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