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Post by history2b on Jul 24, 2022 10:11:08 GMT -8
Why? I didn’t understand hack saying so but neither of you gave a reason why. If it’s just because the other side is successfully manipulating public opinion on Dems, then that in itself is THE problem with US politics. You don’t get solutions. You don’t get improvements. Just round and round on an endless spin cycle in totalitarian control. I agree Newsom is not a good candidate, even if he is a younger slicker politician. He’s no savior by any means and unfortunately vulnerable from a national politics perspective. Beto O’Rouke would be a better candidate. Pete Buttigieg is also a better candidate than Joe Biden. Kamala Harris, definitely not. Best reason I can give is instability within an already fragmented party. The other side sucks for sure but D's don't have anything better than saying the other side is bad. I think skewing their party to a younger candidate would help turn towards what would be deemed better than just saying the other side is bad. There is opportunity to pounce on topics like hun control and abortion rights, while also pushing for a Green New Deal is the way for that party imo. The Dem party is no where near as fragmented as the Republican Party. They want so badly to rid themselves of Trump but the con man still has skull fuck powers beyond their control, they are more than willing to go that route if necessary. DeSantis and possibly Josh Hawley are the likely establishment picks from that side but Hawley lacks the balls to go head to head with Trump.
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Post by samadams10 on Jul 24, 2022 14:18:00 GMT -8
Best reason I can give is instability within an already fragmented party. The other side sucks for sure but D's don't have anything better than saying the other side is bad. I think skewing their party to a younger candidate would help turn towards what would be deemed better than just saying the other side is bad. There is opportunity to pounce on topics like hun control and abortion rights, while also pushing for a Green New Deal is the way for that party imo. The Dem party is no where near as fragmented as the Republican Party. They want so badly to rid themselves of Trump but the con man still has skull fuck powers beyond their control, they are more than willing to go that route if necessary. DeSantis and possibly Josh Hawley are the likely establishment picks from that side but Hawley lacks the balls to go head to head with Trump. They always come home and vote all in for their guy no matter how fragmented the D's on the other side sit it out if their candidate is not the chosen one. I wonder what trump does to keep a stranglehold on that party. He has them hypnotized.
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Post by history2b on Jul 25, 2022 14:05:39 GMT -8
I think skewing their party to a younger candidate would help turn towards what would be deemed better than just saying the other side is bad. There is opportunity to pounce on topics like hun control and abortion rights, while also pushing for a Green New Deal is the way for that party imo. The Dem party is no where near as fragmented as the Republican Party. They want so badly to rid themselves of Trump but the con man still has skull fuck powers beyond their control, they are more than willing to go that route if necessary. DeSantis and possibly Josh Hawley are the likely establishment picks from that side but Hawley lacks the balls to go head to head with Trump. They always come home and vote all in for their guy no matter how fragmented the D's on the other side sit it out if their candidate is not the chosen one. I wonder what trump does to keep a stranglehold on that party. He has them hypnotized. Moreso than Dems in this current climate, yes. But that doesn’t mean you create a counter cult based on hot air and empty rhetoric as counter force. Trump’s sail has holes right now but nothing that can’t be patched up by this time 2 years from now with Biden and the incompetent Dems might hand him. In fact, they are helping to fund his candidates in congressional districts right now because they think his toxicity will be a turnoff come November midterms. But since they habitually bring butter knives to sword fights it would not surprise me at all to see it blow up in their face, Biden, or no Biden.
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Post by samadams10 on Jul 25, 2022 16:32:22 GMT -8
They always come home and vote all in for their guy no matter how fragmented the D's on the other side sit it out if their candidate is not the chosen one. I wonder what trump does to keep a stranglehold on that party. He has them hypnotized. Moreso than Dems in this current climate, yes. But that doesn’t mean you create a counter cult based on hot air and empty rhetoric as counter force. Trump’s sail has holes right now but nothing that can’t be patched up by this time 2 years from now with Biden and the incompetent Dems might hand him. In fact, they are helping to fund his candidates in congressional districts right now because they think his toxicity will be a turnoff come November midterms. But since they habitually bring butter knives to sword fights it would not surprise me at all to see it blow up in their face, Biden, or no Biden. Couldn't agree more esp the butter knife to swordfight. D's are so damn feckless
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Post by lakerfan1980 on Jul 25, 2022 20:03:06 GMT -8
Who in here is going to get that Monkey Pox vaccine to do your part for humanity?
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Post by history2b on Jul 25, 2022 20:45:14 GMT -8
Who in here is going to get that Monkey Pox vaccine to do your part for humanity? I already have small pox vaccine like 99.5% of the population, so some new variation of that vaccine if eventually needed would be a simple decision. However since Monkeypox isn’t a “pandemic” there isn’t a need to connect it to the responsibility of Covid vaccine.
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Post by samadams10 on Jul 26, 2022 11:45:30 GMT -8
I'll take the monkeypox vaccs but don't qualify. I had the small pix vaccine as a child like u 2b. Hope it affords protection because we sure as hell can't count on the government to protect us. They cower to maskless freedom fighters and conspiracy theorists.
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Post by history2b on Jul 26, 2022 12:13:19 GMT -8
Nancy Pelosi is still planning on taking a trip to Taiwan next month despite warnings from Beijing.
Joe Biden said he’s hearing from military advisers that it’s a bad idea.
Trump and other Republicans are encouraging Pelosi to follow through in order to show strength to China despite threats.
I have to think she will pull out at the last minute and if she does not China will impose a no fly zone over Taiwan and effectively ground her plane.
Regardless, Pelosi’s current plans align with Republicans, not Biden’s, and it reveals something larger about the 2 parties.
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Post by history2b on Jul 26, 2022 15:32:50 GMT -8
FYI US military Generals have simulated a war over Taiwan with China and the US lost every simulation 19 times out of 19.
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Post by shaolinfighter on Jul 26, 2022 16:29:44 GMT -8
FYI US military Generals have simulated a war over Taiwan with China and the US lost every simulation 19 times out of 19. Would be like China trying to fight us from Cuba. Easy mop up
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Post by shaolinfighter on Jul 26, 2022 16:42:45 GMT -8
My prediction for this November is Republicans win a majority in House and Senate with the Senate maybe being a little less likely than gaining house majority. Which means we'll have quite the divided government branches for the next couple years. How the fuck will anything good get done?
I also think this will cause the Democratic party to prep to do away with Biden and not let him run in 2024. They'll just thank him for ousting Trump while also blaming the puppet. For Republicans its obviously going to be either Trump or DeSantis running in 2024. While its usually a good idea in politics to strike while the iron is hot I see DeSantis stepping aside for Trump in 2024 and making his own run in 2028. He'd probably be a strong candidate for repubs but still too green imo. But politics can be cutthroat and it wouldn't completely shock me to see those two go head to head for 2024 candidacy.
At this point I have no clue who the Dems will trot out there after they show Biden the door.
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Post by lakerfan1980 on Jul 26, 2022 17:12:21 GMT -8
My prediction for this November is Republicans win a majority in House and Senate with the Senate maybe being a little less likely than gaining house majority. Which means we'll have quite the divided government branches for the next couple years. How the fuck will anything good get done? I also think this will cause the Democratic party to prep to do away with Biden and not let him run in 2024. They'll just thank him for ousting Trump while also blaming the puppet. For Republicans its obviously going to be either Trump or DeSantis running in 2024. While its usually a good idea in politics to strike while the iron is hot I see DeSantis stepping aside for Trump in 2024 and making his own run in 2028. He'd probably be a strong candidate for repubs but still too green imo. But politics can be cutthroat and it wouldn't completely shock me to see those two go head to head for 2024 candidacy. At this point I have no clue who the Dems will trot out there after they show Biden the door. Whoever them Dems trot out in 2024 will lose, badly. Now, personally my dream would be to see Condi Rice run but she's made her position clear. DeSantis would be next, then Trump. Shiiiiiiiiittttttt, I'll take any Republican for that matter, as opposed to any Dem.
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Post by history2b on Jul 26, 2022 17:45:01 GMT -8
FYI US military Generals have simulated a war over Taiwan with China and the US lost every simulation 19 times out of 19. Would be like China trying to fight us from Cuba. Easy mop up That’s true but what’s also true is despite the bravado and internal propaganda about our military, we left Afghanistan with our tail between our legs and will do the same in Iraq in a matter of time. That was a poor country in the desert, fraught with tribalism and limited weaponry, not the 2nd wealthiest country on earth of a nuclear power. If that situation escalates out east, things will definitely escalate in Europe and beyond, imo.
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Post by shopson67 on Jul 27, 2022 5:35:37 GMT -8
My prediction for this November is Republicans win a majority in House and Senate with the Senate maybe being a little less likely than gaining house majority. Which means we'll have quite the divided government branches for the next couple years. How the fuck will anything good get done? I also think this will cause the Democratic party to prep to do away with Biden and not let him run in 2024. They'll just thank him for ousting Trump while also blaming the puppet. For Republicans its obviously going to be either Trump or DeSantis running in 2024. While its usually a good idea in politics to strike while the iron is hot I see DeSantis stepping aside for Trump in 2024 and making his own run in 2028. He'd probably be a strong candidate for repubs but still too green imo. But politics can be cutthroat and it wouldn't completely shock me to see those two go head to head for 2024 candidacy. At this point I have no clue who the Dems will trot out there after they show Biden the door. Whoever them Dems trot out in 2024 will lose, badly. Now, personally my dream would be to see Condi Rice run but she's made her position clear. DeSantis would be next, then Trump. Shiiiiiiiiittttttt, I'll take any Republican for that matter, as opposed to any Dem. ...and so invalidates your position on politics. Blind favoritism of someone as long as they're on a certain team?
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Post by shaolinfighter on Jul 27, 2022 11:12:43 GMT -8
My prediction for this November is Republicans win a majority in House and Senate with the Senate maybe being a little less likely than gaining house majority. Which means we'll have quite the divided government branches for the next couple years. How the fuck will anything good get done? I also think this will cause the Democratic party to prep to do away with Biden and not let him run in 2024. They'll just thank him for ousting Trump while also blaming the puppet. For Republicans its obviously going to be either Trump or DeSantis running in 2024. While its usually a good idea in politics to strike while the iron is hot I see DeSantis stepping aside for Trump in 2024 and making his own run in 2028. He'd probably be a strong candidate for repubs but still too green imo. But politics can be cutthroat and it wouldn't completely shock me to see those two go head to head for 2024 candidacy. At this point I have no clue who the Dems will trot out there after they show Biden the door. Whoever them Dems trot out in 2024 will lose, badly. Now, personally my dream would be to see Condi Rice run but she's made her position clear. DeSantis would be next, then Trump. Shiiiiiiiiittttttt, I'll take any Republican for that matter, as opposed to any Dem. I'm not so sure about that, alot can happen between now and the next Presidential election. If Trump finds himself in hot water or gets indicted and/or convicted from Jan 6 then I could see DeSantis running and he's pretty green. I don't know if he'd be ready to win a national presidential race but he would probably be their best horse. As crazy as it sounds, Manchin could be a good candidate to beat Trump or DeSantis because he'd probably get votes from the middle/independents/some democrat voters and possibly even some Republicans who don't like Trump or DeSantis. It will never happen though because I think Manchin has pretty much committed career suicide within the Dem party.
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hackashaq
::| Basketball Guru |::
Posts: 3,292
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Post by hackashaq on Jul 27, 2022 14:22:43 GMT -8
A couple of things on the Taiwan discussion.
I don’t think Pelosi’s trip necessarily means that her agenda and the Republican agenda are aligned.
The fact that Russian invaded Ukraine, and China hasn’t exactly condemned such action makes Taiwan nervous, as they should be. The rhetoric coming out of Beijing deserves a proper counter, and I think a Congressional Representative, as opposed to the President himself, was worth a try. Trust me, there are a lot of Taiwanese who are nervous, and we have strong strategic and business interests there.
But if the military is saying that’s a bad idea, I would defer to them, but that is an odd response and the Navy has been conducting right-of-passage exercises constantly, essentially daring the Chinese to stop them. There maybe another issue at stake other than the symbolism of such a visit.
As for the Chinese war exercise scenarios, the idea of “winning” and “losing” is not as simple as it sounds.
If losing means we cannot stop China from successfully invading and holding Taiwan, that makes sense from a purely logistical point of view. We cannot get enough forces, of the type we need, in the time we need it, to protect Taiwan. The amount pre-positioned around the area is not the same as having forces in Taiwan itself, and we know we can’t do that.
But there is also the political will to take back Taiwan. If we lose because the calculus is that we would never try to re-invade Taiwan to liberate it, that’s a political matter, not entirely a military one.
If losing means we lose a war with China, I find that hard to believe because what does a war with China mean? Do we invade China? Does China try to invade the US, or go beyond Taiwan to Korea and Japan and the Philippines?
I find it hard to believe we would let that stand.
If by losing you mean all out nuclear war, we’ll I guess we all lose 19 out of 19 on that one.
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hackashaq
::| Basketball Guru |::
Posts: 3,292
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Post by hackashaq on Jul 27, 2022 14:37:57 GMT -8
Manchin just reversed himself on the climate bill. He’ll support it now because he says he sees how this would combat inflation.
More than likely he got concessions for the coal industry.
We’ll see how long this lasts.
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Post by shaolinfighter on Jul 27, 2022 15:34:59 GMT -8
Manchin just dunked on McConnell balls in the face Kobe on Nash style. That gets applause from me, can't stand that moron.
But can't help but think Manchin has now committed another form of career suicide, this time within his own state. I doubt he wins an election there ever again now.
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Post by lakerfan1980 on Jul 27, 2022 15:49:59 GMT -8
Whoever them Dems trot out in 2024 will lose, badly. Now, personally my dream would be to see Condi Rice run but she's made her position clear. DeSantis would be next, then Trump. Shiiiiiiiiittttttt, I'll take any Republican for that matter, as opposed to any Dem. ...and so invalidates your position on politics. Blind favoritism of someone as long as they're on a certain team? Not blind favoritism! Favoritism of Lower taxes, law & order and anti-socialism.
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Post by history2b on Jul 27, 2022 16:05:41 GMT -8
A couple of things on the Taiwan discussion. I don’t think Pelosi’s trip necessarily means that her agenda and the Republican agenda are aligned. The fact that Russian invaded Ukraine, and China hasn’t exactly condemned such action makes Taiwan nervous, as they should be. The rhetoric coming out of Beijing deserves a proper counter, and I think a Congressional Representative, as opposed to the President himself, was worth a try. Trust me, there are a lot of Taiwanese who are nervous, and we have strong strategic and business interests there. But if the military is saying that’s a bad idea, I would defer to them, but that is an odd response and the Navy has been conducting right-of-passage exercises constantly, essentially daring the Chinese to stop them. There maybe another issue at stake other than the symbolism of such a visit. As for the Chinese war exercise scenarios, the idea of “winning” and “losing” is not as simple as it sounds. If losing means we cannot stop China from successfully invading and holding Taiwan, that makes sense from a purely logistical point of view. We cannot get enough forces, of the type we need, in the time we need it, to protect Taiwan. The amount pre-positioned around the area is not the same as having forces in Taiwan itself, and we know we can’t do that. But there is also the political will to take back Taiwan. If we lose because the calculus is that we would never try to re-invade Taiwan to liberate it, that’s a political matter, not entirely a military one. If losing means we lose a war with China, I find that hard to believe because what does a war with China mean? Do we invade China? Does China try to invade the US, or go beyond Taiwan to Korea and Japan and the Philippines? I find it hard to believe we would let that stand. If by losing you mean all out nuclear war, we’ll I guess we all lose 19 out of 19 on that one. Re: Pelosi / Republicans, not necessarily by default but in this situation, yes, they do. This is apart of that 95% aligned, 5% culture war played up by media factions to give the illusion of choice. Both parties are war hawk parties, both parties wanted to invade Afghanistan, both parties wanted to invade Iraq. Republicans right now would support Ukraine if it weren’t for Trumpism that laid the groundwork to be a Russian ally. In the case of Taiwan, Pelosi knows there will be political and geopolitical consequences and yet, why is she persisting? What are the political motivations and what do they have to do with the welfare and safety of Americans? Trump was deliberately inflammatory towards China and he thinks her move is a good idea, why? You can’t overlook those reasons just because Nancy’s lip service on her trip are different. It’s just 2 different ways of saying the same thing. Taiwan should be nervous because in a matter of time it will cease to be how it has been for 70+ years. I say that as a long time admirer of the state of Taiwan, how it organized its society and its people. In many regards it is a model state for Democracy. However, according to China’s constitution, the island would ultimately reclaimed by China at an unspecified time. Hong Kong was permitted to similarly operate as a “1 state 2 systems” territory until recent years when Beijing began to assert its power. This shift in policy from Beijing came under Trump, when in my estimation, they knew a buffoon was running the US, and viewed us as weakened. It remains be seen how China will go about reclaiming both territories but from a legal standpoint, this has always been known by the US State Department, White House etc for decades. What has changed in this same time frame (roughly past 5 years) is an ultra sensitivity to anything relating to Taiwan, including calling it a “country” displaying its national flag etc. China is making it known to the world that Taiwan belongs to China and no one else. After the Chinese Revolution of 1949 the Imperialist forces who lost the war defected to the island and with the support of Washington established a Western friendly government in Taipei. Yes, the US Navy has regularly conducted “freedom of navigation” exercises that would be viewed quite differently if say the Chinese Navy were conducting similar exercises off the coast of San Francisco, New York or Miami. These exercises obviously inflame tensions and make for what is the most dangerous game mankind can play at this moment. The war simulations are in fact based on the logistics of “defending” Taiwan and like I mentioned, all losing scenarios. Essentially we KNOW we can’t defend Taiwan from a Chinese takeover so it begs the question, what are we going to do to avoid confrontation while sustaining a working relationship? Nancy Pelosi’s visit is symbolic but it’s also inflammatory at a time of great uncertainty. China is not going to chide Russia over Ukraine, Russia is a key ally of the Communists not because Russia is still Communist (they’re oligarchy capitalists) but because the enemy of their enemy is their friend. They’ve formed a geopolitical alliance known as BRICS, Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa that will align these 5 global powers to work in unison on a whole host of economic and political issues. I also imagine that China may believe Russia has a right to reclaim territories lost to the West after the Cold War but that’s purely speculation on my part. I don’t know what a war with China would look like, that’s anyone’s guess at the moment but I imagine it would look something like the Cold War with USSR, with proxy wars playing out in poor sacrifice zones like the Philippines. I know tensions are racheting up in rich countries like Japan and Korea but I don’t think we’ll see an all out war play out in those places. But who knows? What I do know is that currently, our military is bloated, with the business of war taking precedence over the safety of its members and a track record in recent years that demonstrates we can’t simply “send in the Marines” and think everything is going to be ok. It is akin to the British Empire in 1956 when it invaded Egypt over the Suez Canal, only to retreat in humiliating fashion, marking the end of 300 years of global dominance by way of British Imperialism. You can bet your ass we are perilously close to the same mark in history regarding our own empire.
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