Play Nice USA President Donald Trump -Game On

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Val Keating said:
Love me some Noam
Click to expand...

Pffft. Dude is clueless.

Have you heard his alarmist take on global warming? It's crazy talk. (imaginary) vested interests through the roof.
 
Speaking of 'The Garden' (a guy whose intelligence and understanding of these issues comfortably runs rings around anyone currently posting on this humble forum)….

Those familiar with his work will be aware how much stock Noam puts in the annual Doomsday Clock summation.

For those who may be interested, the 2019 statement has just been released.

Clock has again been set at 2 minutes to midnight.

"Humanity now faces two simultaneous existential threats, either of which would be extreme cause for concern and immediate attention. These major threats - nuclear weapons and climate change - were exacerbated this past year by the increased use of information warfare to undermine democracy around the world, amplifying risk from these and other threats and putting the future of civilization in extraordinary danger.

https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/

(Cue....all part of the 'great Left Wing conspiracy', etc, etc.)
 

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Val Keating said:
Missed this. Have you got a link?
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Hey Val. I was being sarcastic about ol' Noam being alarmist. As you know, the man is always on point.

I'm still on hols for another 2 days, but before I went I transcribed a great bit from a recent interview he did on the subject of Trump and global warming. It's on my pc at home - will post it when I get back.
 
Say Trump gets his wall before he’s impeached, how is he going to explain away the lack of decrease in murder, rape, drug trafficking and all the other crimes he thinks only illegals are responsible for? He’s on a lose v loss scenario imo.

The conspiracy theorist in me thinks that after years of Americans wanting a different type of politician to change the way their country is run, (the Wells Fargo bail out etc) they put up a patsy like trump and the people will be begging for the old oligarchy back.

#drunkthoughts
 
Val Keating said:
Say Trump gets his wall before he’s impeached, how is he going to explain away the lack of decrease in murder, rape, drug trafficking and all the other crimes he thinks only illegals are responsible for? He’s on a lose v loss scenario imo.

The conspiracy theorist in me thinks that after years of Americans wanting a different type of politician to change the way their country is run, (the Wells Fargo bail out etc) they put up a patsy like trump and the people will be begging for the old oligarchy back.

#drunkthoughts
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C'mon Val, that's an easy one! He'll lie, like he does about everything.

American's didn't really want a different type of politician. They just thought it would be cool to be part of a reality show. Some of them still think it's cool (been there, got the hat), but a few are starting to realise it's just not that fun anymore. Dems are now having to come in and sweep the stale popcorn up out of the aisles.
 
The Other Dean said:
Hey Val. I was being sarcastic about ol' Noam being alarmist. As you know, the man is always on point.

I'm still on hols for another 2 days, but before I went I transcribed a great bit from a recent interview he did on the subject of Trump and global warming. It's on my pc at home - will post it when I get back.
Click to expand...

Hi TOD.

Here's that bit from Chomsky that you said you'd transcribed and would post for Val to read....


"The worst policies that he’s carried out...the most dangerous...are barely discussed. We have to face the fact that humans are now in a situation that has never arisen in human history. This generation has to decide whether organised human existence is going to continue. Global warming and nuclear war – those are the major issues. They ought to be big headlines every day. And Trump’s actions are making both of them much more dangerous. In the case of nuclear war, his administration’s policies are significantly increasing the threat of nuclear war. In the case of global warming, it’s almost indescribable. Uniquely alone in the world, it’s pulled out from the international efforts to at least do something about it.

But beyond that, the Trump administration is going out of its way to increase the threat. Listen to his State Of The Union address – the only phrase about global climate was to talk about our “beautiful, clean coal”; the worst polluter there is. And look at the new budget that’s coming out – it sharply cuts research and support for any kind of renewable energy. (Yet) there’s more subsidies and support for the most polluting, destructive things.

And it’s not just Trump – it’s the entire Republican leadership. So if you look at the 2016 election...at the primaries...every candidate without a single exception, either denied that global warming is taking place or said “Maybe it is, but we shouldn’t do anything about it”. Which I think is worse. If you look at Trump himself, or, say, Rex Tillerson, Secretary Of State, they know perfectly well that humans are causing global warming. The CEO and scientists at ExxonMobil have been producing severe warnings to the leadership about the effects of the use of petroleum on destroying the environment. So they all know about it. But they’re not actually doing anything about it, which is a level of criminality that is almost hard to find words to describe. Here are educated, rich, upper elite who know that what they’re doing is destroying the prospects for organised human life, and yet do it anyway. Can you think of an analog for that in human history? I really can’t.

I’ve said sometimes what’s considered an utterly outrageous comment - that today’s Republican Party is the most dangerous organisation in human history. Sounds outrageous, but think about it for a moment - Hitler didn’t intend to detroy the prospects for human existence. Attila The Hun didn’t intend that. Nobody has. But that’s what these guys intend. And it’s not ignorant, uneducated religious fundamentalists. These are some of the best educated and best supported people in the world and they’re doing this eyes opened, because you make more profit tomorrow. It’s hard to imagine anything like it.

And it’s not just my opinion. Take the Bulletin Of Atomic Scientists and the Doomsday Clock. Each year they gather distinguished physicists, political analysts, and others to look at the state of the world, and then make a judgement on how far we are from terminal disaster. Midnight is terminal disaster. In 1947 (the year of its inception) the clock was set at 7 minutes to midnight. That’s after the atom bomb. It has moved up and back ever since. Now it’s currently at the closest it has been to midnight – 2 minutes to midnight. That’s where it was in 1953 when the US, and later the USSR, exploded thermonuclear weapons which could destroy the world. It went to 2 minutes then, and now for the first time it’s back there. And that’s (during the tenure of) the Republican Party."


Meanwhile, in the Random Thoughts thread.....
 
The Other Dean said:
Hi TOD.

Here's that bit from Chomsky that you said you'd transcribed and would post for Val to read....


"The worst policies that he’s carried out...the most dangerous...are barely discussed. We have to face the fact that humans are now in a situation that has never arisen in human history. This generation has to decide whether organised human existence is going to continue. Global warming and nuclear war – those are the major issues. They ought to be big headlines every day. And Trump’s actions are making both of them much more dangerous. In the case of nuclear war, his administration’s policies are significantly increasing the threat of nuclear war. In the case of global warming, it’s almost indescribable. Uniquely alone in the world, it’s pulled out from the international efforts to at least do something about it.

But beyond that, the Trump administration is going out of its way to increase the threat. Listen to his State Of The Union address – the only phrase about global climate was to talk about our “beautiful, clean coal”; the worst polluter there is. And look at the new budget that’s coming out – it sharply cuts research and support for any kind of renewable energy. (Yet) there’s more subsidies and support for the most polluting, destructive things.

And it’s not just Trump – it’s the entire Republican leadership. So if you look at the 2016 election...at the primaries...every candidate without a single exception, either denied that global warming is taking place or said “Maybe it is, but we shouldn’t do anything about it”. Which I think is worse. If you look at Trump himself, or, say, Rex Tillerson, Secretary Of State, they know perfectly well that humans are causing global warming. The CEO and scientists at ExxonMobil have been producing severe warnings to the leadership about the effects of the use of petroleum on destroying the environment. So they all know about it. But they’re not actually doing anything about it, which is a level of criminality that is almost hard to find words to describe. Here are educated, rich, upper elite who know that what they’re doing is destroying the prospects for organised human life, and yet do it anyway. Can you think of an analog for that in human history? I really can’t.

I’ve said sometimes what’s considered an utterly outrageous comment - that today’s Republican Party is the most dangerous organisation in human history. Sounds outrageous, but think about it for a moment - Hitler didn’t intend to detroy the prospects for human existence. Attila The Hun didn’t intend that. Nobody has. But that’s what these guys intend. And it’s not ignorant, uneducated religious fundamentalists. These are some of the best educated and best supported people in the world and they’re doing this eyes opened, because you make more profit tomorrow. It’s hard to imagine anything like it.

And it’s not just my opinion. Take the Bulletin Of Atomic Scientists and the Doomsday Clock. Each year they gather distinguished physicists, political analysts, and others to look at the state of the world, and then make a judgement on how far we are from terminal disaster. Midnight is terminal disaster. In 1947 (the year of its inception) the clock was set at 7 minutes to midnight. That’s after the atom bomb. It has moved up and back ever since. Now it’s currently at the closest it has been to midnight – 2 minutes to midnight. That’s where it was in 1953 when the US, and later the USSR, exploded thermonuclear weapons which could destroy the world. It went to 2 minutes then, and now for the first time it’s back there. And that’s (during the tenure of) the Republican Party."


Meanwhile, in the Random Thoughts thread.....
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That’s pretty sobering
 
Val Keating said:
That’s pretty sobering
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Absolutely.

I think Trump's clown-like persona sometimes means that a lot of the criticism of him stays at kind of obvious, surface, social media-pandering level. Worth remembering that there's some seriously shithouse stuff going on under all the white noise and buffoonery.

The only conundrum now is whose voice to put the most stock in - Noam Chomsky....one of the greatest minds on the planet....a guy lauded by the academic world and people on both sides of the political fence as a leading authority on political/socio-political matters, and someone so far beyond any accusations of 'vested interests' and pushing a self-serving agenda that any suggestion of that ilk is rendered utterly ridiculous.

Or do I go with the learned, 'she'll be right, mate' crew over at Random Thoughts Thread Central?

Clearly, it's quite the tough call.
 

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With Trump vetoing Congress about declaring a state of emergency to build his stupid *en wall, could that be put to use for strengthening gun control?

I mean, just setting aside the obvious thought that he sees himself as a supreme leader- much like his mate Putin to even contemplate this.
 
Val Keating said:
With Trump vetoing Congress about declaring a state of emergency to build his stupid ****en wall, could that be put to use for strengthening gun control?

I mean, just setting aside the obvious thought that he sees himself as a supreme leader- much like his mate Putin to even contemplate this.
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I'm not sure I understand your question Val, but I seem to remember you asking a while back that if Trump went ahead with declaring a national emergency in an attempt at getting his wall built, then could the same be done to strengthen gun control laws, and the answer to that seems to be a resounding yes. Strengthening climate change legislation has also been spoken about under the same umbrella. With respect to his veto today though, I don't think it changes things because he's already gone ahead and set the precedent by declaring the national emergency. All that needs to be done is get the Dems back in office, and with enough of a majority Dems/sympathetic Republicans in vote, it could well work. All that being said though, I still don't hold out hope for gun control in the US as long as the NRA maintains so much sway. Guns are like religion down there, woven into the fabric of their everyday culture like you can't believe. It's bizarre.
 
Sopwiths North said:
I'm not sure I understand your question Val, but I seem to remember you asking a while back that if Trump went ahead with declaring a national emergency in an attempt at getting his wall built, then could the same be done to strengthen gun control laws, and the answer to that seems to be a resounding yes. Strengthening climate change legislation has also been spoken about under the same umbrella. With respect to his veto today though, I don't think it changes things because he's already gone ahead and set the precedent by declaring the national emergency. All that needs to be done is get the Dems back in office, and with enough of a majority Dems/sympathetic Republicans in vote, it could well work. All that being said though, I still don't hold out hope for gun control in the US as long as the NRA maintains so much sway. Guns are like religion down there, woven into the fabric of their everyday culture like you can't believe. It's bizarre.
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Ok. While most people were in agreement that it could work in theory, it would still never get passed Congress. It’s been pointed out that if Obama couldn’t change the gun control no one would be able to. From my understanding Obama was blocked by congress.

Here we have a president using his vetoe power to do something that a lot of people disagree with just because he’s a diagnosed narcissist and no one is going to get in his way.

I’m not very familiar with Americans political history but this feels like a game changer. (Maybe because I’ve been doing a fair bit of reading & listening about Ancient Rome) I fear America is transitioning to dictatorship style leaders. Not with Trump but the seeds could be sowed by him for future smarter politicians. He’s shown how to circumnavigate congress.

Or not
 
Val Keating said:
Ok. While most people were in agreement that it could work in theory, it would still never get passed Congress. It’s been pointed out that if Obama couldn’t change the gun control no one would be able to. From my understanding Obama was blocked by congress.

Here we have a president using his vetoe power to do something that a lot of people disagree with just because he’s a diagnosed narcissist and no one is going to get in his way.

I’m not very familiar with Americans political history but this feels like a game changer. (Maybe because I’ve been doing a fair bit of reading & listening about Ancient Rome) I fear America is transitioning to dictatorship style leaders. Not with Trump but the seeds could be sowed by him for future smarter politicians. He’s shown how to circumnavigate congress.

Or not
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Oh, I see now - like, what if Obama had blocked congress after Sandy Hook. Yes, then I guess you could say Trump's a game changer, although I hate even giving him that much "attention". He's only a game changer in that he systematically fires anyone who might threaten to put a leash on him so he can carry on attempting to do whatever he pleases. I see him as a dictator already, albeit an imbecilic fool of one.

And the seeds were sown a long time ago, sadly. They grew a Mike Pence. Which is the only reason I hope Trump stays alive until his term is finished.


(*edit - did a bit more digging, and it seems the senate CAN override the president's veto. If they so choose. Plus, the courts have final say.)
 
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giantroo said:
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His next tweet is even better. lmao.


We've gone from 'Trump is a Russian puppet who betrayed America and Mueller the GodKing of Justice will bring him down' to 'the 400 page report that took 2 years, millions of dollars, and interviewed hundreds of people mentions the word impeachment 10 times (largely in footnotes.)'

TDS is ******* real, and the media are the both the biggest victims of it and culprits of spreading it. I get hating him if you think he's a shitty person or has shitty politics, but these last few years have just been a ******* embarrassment.
 
Devington said:
His next tweet is even better. lmao.


We've gone from 'Trump is a Russian puppet who betrayed America and Mueller the GodKing of Justice will bring him down' to 'the 400 page report that took 2 years, millions of dollars, and interviewed hundreds of people mentions the word impeachment 10 times (largely in footnotes.)'

TDS is ******* real, and the media are the both the biggest victims of it and culprits of spreading it. I get hating him if you think he's a shitty person or has shitty politics, but these last few years have just been a ******* embarrassment.
Click to expand...


It’s been hilarious
 
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