@ Omnipotent Zultar, this is why I don't invite you or the Almighty Mods to afternoon tea and to play whist with the marvelously Medusa like Fire Breathing MemSahib, Her Indoors lying on a sofa eating cakes. I trust you understand my reluctance to expose you to such dangers. LoL

@MM, you presume there won't be a point at which violence might become necessary. I find it hypocritical as hell for either military people or Republicans to complain about talk of violence. Republicans talk about and commit acts of violence with great regularity and still support people who do, so the pearl clutching there is incredibly fake. And military folk have decided that killing people for a living is a good way to go. Sorry, but your complaints ring hollow

I am tired of double standards. And yes, I think ultimately the west will have to launch strikes against the US in some form, possibly just against trump.

So, at least the Boy Scouts will never again make the assumption that an invitation to the president can keep away from the politics in their speech, hopefully. Even though he's the only president not to focus on the Boy Scouts continuing to serve their communities through this event. The biggest oppositions to the speech I've seen are from Scouts who just about all agree the speech was far too political, regardless of political positions.

I can remember when both Kennedys were assassinated. I got the day off from primary school when JFK was assassinated. It was a sombre and sad day. I wasn't old enough to really understand it at the time, but can remember that all the adults were hugely upset. That mood prevailed for days, and I can remember watching black and white TV broadcasts of the news, then the funeral. It was the way all the adults reacted that us children picked up on, something really terrible had occurred.

No, Ogion, I am not so naive as to think that the use of force can always be avoided, that at times it is necessary. I dislike your comment about "military folk", they do not have a simple monolithic set of beliefs that " killing is the way to go". I would suggest that the overwhelming majority of "military folk" who have experienced serious conflict do not come away from that unnafected by what they experience. The loss of comrades, the loss of innocents. The awful bloody mess after the fire fight. Even the deaths of enemies is often regretted, even expressed as anger..eg why didn't those stupid bastards withdraw or surrender, anger at "the politicians" who failed to solve this particular problem. Yes there is "celebration of victory" but a lot of that is the "relief of survival" and that a fight is over and the hope that they will "soon be going home to loved ones", not joy at having killed.

Here's an example of the madness of warfare, and how soldiers can see an enemy as "just like them" . Vietnam. Australian infantry holding positions along the edge of a rubber plantation spot an enemy soldier sent on a classic "death mission"..take a message or similar, and to do so he had to cross several hundred metres of ground with very little cover, grass about two foot high. His officer must have hated him to select him for the task. He moves in small dashes, crawls, lies doggo and for the best part of two hours has a lot of chaps trying to kill him. M16 fire, grenades, machine gun fire, it all gets focussed on this blighter. Artillery is called up to lob a few bricks in at him. Incredibly he makes it to another well defended enemy position...and at least half the Australian infantry chaps who have spent some time and a fair amount of ordinance trying to obliterate him then start cheering him, and then he waves back. Then the artillery chaps manage to lob a few bricks right on top of that position and just blow it to Kingdom come. The lads have mixed feelings, they're bloody glad that the enemy position has been destroyed, but a little bit sad that a brave bloke on the other side copped it and was killed. Which is then expressed as a fervent desire to attack the position that this "runner" was sent from and avenge his death by killing "those bastards that sent him out".. Go figure. ( I've got my theories on their behaviour, and it wasn't forgotten, years later chaps who were there would occasionally talk about it with each other..." Remember when we tried and tried to kill that blighter by that rubber plantation.. " with real admiration for his bravery and resourcefulness and incredible luck ) And there are examples from other wars, eg the unnoficial " Christmas truce" on the Western front early in WW 1 where German and British troops met in no man's land and exchanges of cigarettes and alcohol took place.
So the simplistic view of "military folk" is just inadequate, imho.

The military is an institution dedicated to death, dehumanization, and destruction. You join it willingly.

Spare me your complaints about how pointing that out hurts your delicate fee-fees

Trust me, if Trump gets shot, there isn't going to be any dark mood. I'd suggest jubilation in the streets is far more likely.

Careful Ogion: Zultar will ban you for having that opinion.

I'm not advocating for it, I'm just saying the view of Kennedy and Trump are entirely different.

To be honest, a big section of America would have jumped out in racist parties had Obama been assassinated too.

Written by a friend:


I see a pitiful wee dog turd of a man
Scaramucci, Scaramucci will you do the fanboy dance now?
Trump and Priebus fighting,
Spicer's now in hiding! Flee!
Jared Kushner, Jared Kushner,
Can't you see it's time to go?
We told you so-o-o-o-oh.
I'm a rich white boy, nobody loves me.
He's a rich white boy from a rich family.
Spare us our lives from this toupée tragedy!
Russians come, Russians go, will you let this go
James Comey? No!
I will not let this go.
Let it go,
Bob Mueller?
I will not let this go.
Let it go,
Jeff Sessions?
We will not let this go.
Will not let this go.
Never, never, never let it go-o-o-o-oh
No, no, no, no, not until you go!
Melania, Melania, I didn't want the job you know.
Obamacare is a devil to repeal for me.
Healthcare,
For freeeeee!
<headbang until end.. of the world>
So you think that I can't build a wall wide and high?
So you think that you're Muslim but still get to fly?
Oh, crazy.
You have got to be crazy.
I'm always right!
I'm always right do you hear?
Oh yeah, oh yeah.
Nothing really matters, fake news on TV.
Nothing really matters,
Nothing really matters covfefe.....

(To the tune of Bohemian Rhapsody, obv)

Welp, there's my daily dose of cringe and it's only noon.

Ogion, I think that is a disgraceful thing to suggest about the military. Just remember who defends your freedoms against tyranny. I make no claim that all the world's military are perfect.. Clearly they are not. But it's simply ridiculous to suggest that the world's military are "all bad". Responding to Natural disasters, peace keeping and humanitarian missions, providing security for Medecins sans frontiers, these are just a few examples of where the leading nation's military do good work

#NotAll

Unless it's the military. Then, #All.

I'm pretty sure Trump is safe from assassination for a bit longer.
The fear of Pence keeps the lone paranoid crazies from doing it.
The establishment can't do it yet because he'll become a martyr. They need him to be discredited a little more.

I wonder if his assassination would start a civil war.
Either way, he is there legally and don't support illegally removing him from office with a bullet.

I think Trump is a bad President, I dislike his politics and policies. I liked Obama. But I would condemn any attempt to assassinate either man. Even those tyrants in Syria and North Korea deserve fair trials in the international Court. The "Lynch mob" is never the answer. Osama Bin Laden should have been captured and put on trial, and if found guilty, imprisoned, not executed.

@MM: The US army is one of the world's leading sources for the delivery of tyranny. I admire Medecins sans Frontiers enormously. In 2015 one of their hospitals was attacked by US forces and 42 people were killed.

However...

"I think Trump is a bad President, I dislike his politics and policies. I liked Obama. But I would condemn any attempt to assassinate either man. Even those tyrants in Syria and North Korea deserve fair trials in the international Court. The "Lynch mob" is never the answer. Osama Bin Laden should have been captured and put on trial, and if found guilty, imprisoned, not executed. "

With a clearer head I agree with all of this statement, and I retract my remarks about impeachment with a bullet.

The US seems to be going through a period of choosing Presidents with the sole goal of making the previous President seem not as bad as you thought they were. Quite how they're going to achieve this when Trump's premiership is over remains to be seen, although I've heard that Dwayne The Rock Johnson is damned keen on giving it ago.

Well done MM for keeping a reasonable outlook in terms of the military. The reaction to the Vietnam chap seems perfectly normal to me, though. Every squaddie has a natural empathy towards those poor sods who have been lumbered with a typical bloody Rupert, regardless of what side they're on, especially when they're showing admirable qualities. The WWI story I find more depressing. The legend conveniently ignores the sad truth that the first year Christmas Truce wasn't repeated. The feelings of shared humanity was increasingly eroded as the war went on.

Dwayne Johnson may be a second rate actor but he is personable, charming, a highly articulate public speaker and more intelligent than you may give him credit for.

He'd be considerably superior to Trump. He should consider running.

So all of a sudden literally anyone remotely competent in anything should run for POTUS? No, Dwayne Johnson should not run.

And he's a fucking awesome actor.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say you're support for The Rock is not based upon detailed knowledge of his policies. No doubt the people's eyebrow will prove to be a game changer in international diplomacy.

And what do you mean, a second rate actor? Central Intelligence was the film of the year.

From what I've been perceiving Kamala Harris would be a much better choice for Democrats in 2020

Trump will win so they will put up a lightweight and save big guns for 2024

You realize that makes no sense.

It's really easy to win in 2018 at this point, let alone 2020.

For Dems, that is.

Both of those dates are a long way away and a lot of things can happen. Democrats need to focus on putting forward good candidates with an agenda that actually reaches the majority of Americans, something Chuck Schumer claims to be preparing to do. They'll get caught by the same old tricks if they try the same old moves.