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Just as happy I'm not the one making those decisions. I don't know about Biden, but I'm terrible at politics and if I was in charge I'd probably screw it up. So, you're the same level of qualifications as most people elected to public office? Yep. Honestly, we have appallingly low standards for pub...

Addendum to the above: I was overly conservative in making my age cut off at 50. It appears that cognitive decline starts very early in adulthood and continues until we're gone. So the real question is what age range is best able to govern justly and adapt to changes in technology and geopolitics. ...

Back on topic, Ali Abunimah brought up the difference between how Reagan dealt with Israeli atrocities and how Genocide Joe does. It is not flattering to Biden: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zisnii2Lrm4 In short, Reagan got Menachem Begin to call off the dogs in Lebanon with one phone call. Begin ...

“Genocide Joe!”, a protester holding up a Palestinian flag cried from the back of the hall. “How many kids have you killed in Gaza? How many women have you killed in Gaza?” Biden looked bemused, blinking silently into the cameras. In all, he was to be interrupted at least 13 more times. “This is go...

Sometimes one has to sacrifice the visceral satisfaction of punching someone in the teeth for a quieter strategy that will produce better long term results. Or Biden's distracted. Or doesn't know what he's doing. I do know that as much as I'd like to see various Texas politicians humbled/put in thei...

The US has plenty of ammo and lots of shiny guns to shoot it. I think one of the intended messages here was "We can reach out and punch you wherever you are and you can't do a damn thing to stop us. We don't care if you know we're coming, it doesn't matter because you can't stop us." But h...

I never really understood the concept of UNWRA existing. UNWRA was created in 1948 to handle an immediate crisis in the Middle East. Two years later the UN said, oh, wait, we should probably have an organization for all refugees and not just this group. Thus was created the UNHCR to deal with every...

*sigh* Sometimes I wish NATO/US could just wash it's hands of the whole MidEastern area, from Egypt to Pakistan. Just sit back and let them kill each other over religion or tribal feuds and leave it be. But the West stuck their nose nearly two hundred years ago, the Brits divided them up into Terri...

Refusing to take in these people and process them as asylum seekers is a violation of international law, and it's something both Democrats and Republicans are guilty of. Actually a lot of asylum seekers are being allowed in, and to stay, and the Republicans are hopping made about it because they do...

It's... complicated. But no, it usually doesn't apply to debts incurred due to the person's own wrongdoing which includes court verdicts.

It's not like Trump hasn't filed for bankruptcy before...

Of course, not when he's so much in the spotlight, and I think this time it would be for his personal finances rather than for a business.

I believe it's mostly fines, plausible deniability and firing corporate fall guys.

Me, I'd like to see some CEO's perp walked into actual jail sentences but no one put me in charge of anything these days.

The "buoys and barbed wire" crowd have a certain number who would gleefully kill people coming across the border, so they don't give a rat's ass if people die in the crossing. Biden, on the other hand, isn't out to kill anyone with such obstacles.

It comes down to how many Texas National Guard are True Believers for Abbott and which follow the current structure of the US government.

Suppose Biden does this, and Federalizes the Texas Guard, how likely is it that the guard will go along with it vs defying it or going AWOL enmasse? If they go AWOL, they are still getting out of the way. So that would be acceptable. If they refuse orders to stand down, then there will be a problem...

Now, imagine what will be thrown around if Biden removes Abbot, for ignoring the SCOTUS ruling. Or removes the National Guard from Texas, so Abbot can't keep misusing them. It's a Trap, but Biden can't just sit back and let Abbot get away with it either. There is absolutely no legal mechanism where...

I thought there was video of some sort of missile hitting the airplane...?

If so - well, it could have been from either side.

If not - well, lots of bogus reporting in this war.

There actually are areas that are "reserved to the states" and not the Federal government. That's why things like marriage licenses and drivers' licenses are issued by states and not the Feds. It is true that where their domains overlap Fed trumps State. There are also areas exclusively Fe...

The first fuck up of a hire or appointee is, arguably, on that person. The second starts to splash the person who hired/appointed that person, because presumably that person can also replace the fuck up and didn't. Some positions are sensitive enough that the person needs to be replaced after the fi...

dupe

Having seen the cost of an ambulance 'in Germany' I can only shudder to think what it'd be in the US. As of 2023 in my area a short ambulance ride under 10 km is $3500 USD. Although you can , if you call the billing department and are able to pay upfront, argue that down by 40% to $2100 USD. Insura...

Also, I believe a lot of folks will be absolutely shocked & appalled when the final casualties are made known. I won't be shocked. I will be appalled - I'm already appalled - but not shocked. Because I've studied a little bit about wars in history and they're all meat-grinders. Rightly or wrong...

I remember the photos of all the starving children in Yemen a few years ago, sent some money to charities there. But things have not improved, they've kept killing children in Yemen as in Gaza with uncritical US support or much in the way of protest from other western countries. They all have a rig...

I'm not sure the Houthis truly comprehend the size and power of the US military, Naval or otherwise. I'm also wondering if they're going to wind up in the "play stupid games, win stupid prizes" category. The US-backed Saudis bombed and starved Yemen for like a decade and it didn't destroy...

Can't really blame the houthis for doing this. Western support and contribution to the atrocities in Yemen have been ongoing for a long time, they have a right to strike back at us for that alone regardless of how weak they are. Our support of Israel also deserves punishment. The Houthis are no sai...