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General John Kelly

That is a lousy measure since about all have an agenda. It may be covered but it doesn't mean that it is "news".
It is recent, it is factual and it is something that garners a lot of interest.

I would say it is news regardless of what agenda you want to assign
 
Trump is almost 80 himself. Biden definitely is showing more signs of mental and physical decline and it would not be a surprise if he didn't make it through a term. There is precedent for this. Truman was selected as FDR's last running mate and he and nearly everyone in the upper levels of the party expected that FDR would not make it through another term. Truman took the slot knowing that the odds were that he'd end up as President. It was a heavier than usual burden on a VP. Didn't help the FDR continued his usual practice of not keeping his VP well informed on Presidential matters until his death.

If it's Biden, his running mate really matters. Harris doesn't appear to be a positive factor for the election. If Biden does run (I'm predicting he doesn't), he must consider dumping Harris and picking another running mate people would be more comfortable with as President. FDR ran with a different VP candidate each time. Abraham Lincoln ran with a different VP candidate each time. It's not like this has never happened.
That is a great point and your history is correct. I don't think he is going to run either but if he does it will be vital that he select a strong VP candidate that will attract a level of votes that Harris will not.
 
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It's amazing, isn't it?

Kneel during the anthem, and Republicans want you to leave the country.

Disparage wounded and dead US soldiers and vocalize to a General that you don't want to be seen around disabled vets, then slander all their sacrifices as them being "suckers", and Republicans want you to lead the country.

What a party.
 
It's amazing, isn't it?

Kneel during the anthem, and Republicans want you to leave the country.

Disparage wounded and dead US soldiers and vocalize to a General that you don't want to be seen around disabled vets, then slander all their sacrifices as them being "suckers", and Republicans want you to lead the country.

What a party.
Who are you talking about?
 
Who are you talking about?

Any Republican who's been outraged by athletes kneeling during the anthem and don't want them representing our country yet want Trump to run the country again in 2024 despite what's he's said about our country's vets. It's a big bucket.
 
Any Republican who's been outraged by athletes kneeling during the anthem and don't want them representing our country yet want Trump to run the country again in 2024 despite what's he's said about our country's vets. It's a big bucket.
You’re exaggerating the reaction to the kneeling, which was meant as a sign of disrespect by Kap’s own admission. So many of us didn’t like it, but weren’t “outraged.” I also don’t like Trump’s disrespect of the military and veterans. I’m just not good with disrespectful behavior.
 
You’re exaggerating the reaction to the kneeling, which was meant as a sign of disrespect by Kap’s own admission. So many of us didn’t like it, but weren’t “outraged.” I also don’t like Trump’s disrespect of the military and veterans. I’m just not good with disrespectful behavior.
IIRC, Kap took the knee rather than disrespect the anthem by staying in the locker room.
 
IIRC, Kap took the knee rather than disrespect the anthem by staying in the locker room.
You recall incorrectly. I wrote a long post on this explaining it in detail including a quote from Kap expressing his intent to show disrespect to the country which was unjust to black people. You should search for it. It’s very good. ;)
 
You recall incorrectly. I wrote a long post on this explaining it in detail including a quote from Kap expressing his intent to show disrespect to the country which was unjust to black people. You should search for it. It’s very good. ;)

I was wrong. He took the knee rather than remaining seated.

 
I was wrong. He took the knee rather than remaining seated.

That was later. I included stuff about that. He specifically stated his protest was meant to show his disrespect. The special forces guy, Bowyer, didn’t like the knee either but thought it compromise toward less disrespectful.
 
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Okay. The Biden phyc-op works on you. We know that without you quoting Biden.
You lied about what "Democrats and the media" were saying about who are the diehard MAGA supporters. I merely quoted a rather prominent Democrat, verbatim. Now, caught in your lie, you deflect. You really are quite pathetic. Maybe less cognitively functional than Biden. Or Jimmy Carter, for that matter.
 
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Trump is such a piece of garbage. I'd love for Kelly or Mattis to have 10 minutes alone with the man and no secret service detail around. Bone Spurs would learn respect real quick.
Or just let him pet ramsay bolton's dogs lol
 
First, I thought a mod had offended you, you left the Cooler and deleted your account. Surprised to see you here again. Welcome back.

I'm not trying to accomplish anything. What are you trying to accomplish? You wrote a long post without addressing the topic.

I've identified a news story and highlighted several reprehensible, outrageous and unprecedented comments about the military by a former Commander-in-Chief. I was genuinely curious if anyone perceived this as defensible.

As far as my description of him as sub-human, he's been called a lot worse and he himself has called others far worse.

I'm not trying to persuade anyone here. I provide opinions, usually supported with facts. Isn't this a forum for providing opinions? What am I missing?
I was trying to accomplish the following, not necessarily in this order:

1. Sympathize with your frustration over the number of people who still think of Trump as a viable presidential candidate.

2. Give you and others some unsolicited, but I believe sound, advice about using hyperbolic invective to describe a politician we all know a lot of people support. My motive here is to persuade people to not use or normalize the term "sub-human" when describing any real life people. I also do this because I think people who write well--as you do--could actually persuade people better without using this rhetorical device.

3. Provide you with an answer to a question you asked (the one I thought fundamental): why would people vote for Trump given his character? The book I recommended provides a relevant and useful answer. If you accept its thesis, you might save yourself some time and anguish and stop banging your head against the wall trying to shame, persuade, or rail against Trump voters (and the same goes for those who try the same w/r/t Biden voters).

4. Engage you and others in a deeper discussion of motives behind the constant "Look here's a fact that shows Biden sucks!" or "Look here's a fact that shows Trump sucks!" posting that goes on here, and maybe dive deeper on the assumptions most of us--including me--have about politics that might be wrong. If I did that in too pointed a manner (with the accomplish language), I apologize. I wasn't taking a shot at you because I think everyone is always trying to accomplish something with a post, no matter how trivial (I don't perceive your reasons for the OP as trivial).

As for the reasons I left, let's just say I had some pressing business matters in Nigeria to address . . .
 
I was trying to accomplish the following, not necessarily in this order:

1. Sympathize with your frustration over the number of people who still think of Trump as a viable presidential candidate.

2. Give you and others some unsolicited, but I believe sound, advice about using hyperbolic invective to describe a politician we all know a lot of people support. My motive here is to persuade people to not use or normalize the term "sub-human" when describing any real life people. I also do this because I think people who write well--as you do--could actually persuade people better without using this rhetorical device.

3. Provide you with an answer to a question you asked (the one I thought fundamental): why would people vote for Trump given his character? The book I recommended provides a relevant and useful answer. If you accept its thesis, you might save yourself some time and anguish and stop banging your head against the wall trying to shame, persuade, or rail against Trump voters (and the same goes for those who try the same w/r/t Biden voters).

4. Engage you and others in a deeper discussion of motives behind the constant "Look here's a fact that shows Biden sucks!" or "Look here's a fact that shows Trump sucks!" posting that goes on here, and maybe dive deeper on the assumptions most of us--including me--have about politics that might be wrong. If I did that in too pointed a manner (with the accomplish language), I apologize. I wasn't taking a shot at you because I think everyone is always trying to accomplish something with a post, no matter how trivial (I don't perceive your reasons for the OP as trivial).

As for the reasons I left, let's just say I had some pressing business matters in Nigeria to address . . .
You strike me as an intelligent and decent person, and I appreciate your post.

I'm pressed for time this afternoon so I won't be able to respond to all your points, but I'll say this. You're right. The "sub-human" reference was unnecessary and inappropriate.

When it comes to Trump, the problem isn't merely character flaws. It's a whole host of actions and comments that are unprecedented in the history of the American presidency. His comments that I referenced in the first post in the thread are beyond the pale.

I'm not looking to shame Trump supporters. I'm not now nor have I ever suggested they're bad people. I simply don't understand how someone who views our war heroes with contempt can be seriously considered for the White House and CIC again. I'm hardly alone in that thinking. Some of the distinguished men who served under him have said essentially the same thing.

I'll have time at Christmas to catch up on some book reading and I'll add your title to my list. I did note, though, that it addresses the tendency of people to view things through a partisan lens. I don't know if it'll provide much insight into people like me who have no party affililiation. I was a registered Republican for many years but quit the party and moved to Independent status several years back. My perception of Trump has nothing to do with the fact that he has an "R" next to his name.

I also saw that the book was written before Trump was elected president. I think Trump has turned conventional political thinking upside down. His rise to power and continuing influence despite unending controversy and chaos is a phenomenon unlike anything we've ever witnessed in the US. I am genuinely (and I think understandably) concerned that if Trump is elected president again, we'll be governed by a strongman regime and there may be no turning back.

Finally, I was never a "political person" prior to Trump. I didn't follow politics very closely and usually avoided political discussions at all costs. I saw red flags in Trump, though, that I hadn't seen in other candidates, particularly his propensity for creating his own reality (going back to the "John Barron" days) and his own "facts." We've since seen how this has evolved and how dangerous it has become.
 
@hoosboot , this is the guy I was expecting earlier in the cycle.

What is it about what DeSantis did here impresses you?
 
Well, it looks like Biden and Trump will be your two choices, so you’re just going to have to be an adult and make your choice. Or you can waste your vote on a “protest vote” if you feel that will do some good, or just make you feel all warm and fuzzy.
Voting for the best candidate is not a protest vote, it’s how voting should be done. It’s the people that lack the courage & conviction to do so that are the problem.
 
Nope. Seeing clearly. If the Democrats weren't such a dog shit party it might be a little different story. I got a view of your "norms" the past 3 years. Hard pass.
Just silly. You blame every problem the cities have had for years in Democrats. And yet what about those red states, you know the ones run by Republicans at every level of government? Those states that come in absolutely at the bottom of the barrel in every single measure? Quality of life, education, poverty? The blue states continue to carry the economy of the country. So why don’t the dogshit Republicans do something about those poverty red states? They’ve had total control forever.
 
Two of
Just silly. You blame every problem the cities have had for years in Democrats. And yet what about those red states, you know the ones run by Republicans at every level of government? Those states that come in absolutely at the bottom of the barrel in every single measure? Quality of life, education, poverty? The blue states continue to carry the economy of the country. So why don’t the dogshit Republicans do something about those poverty red states? They’ve had total control forever.
two of the top four economies are red in fla and tx. But calif and other places have natural benefits. Hard to compare calif and its natural benefits to Mississippi. The truth is progressives are just cancers on communities. It’s not Dems. It’s progressives. As for whether pubs care about the poor I don’t know. I don’t believe in trickle down economics like most my brethren
 
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I obviously don’t know any of them, but I hafta say this Kelly piece substantially lowers my view of his character. Parroting platitudes and a mindless blistering personal attack on Trump does not give Kelly an ounce of credibility. . He was on station when Trump‘s policies were in effect. I’d like to hear Kelly’s view about how Trumps character flaws really harmed the country. As I keep saying, Trump’s flaws go away when he is gone. He has not changed the GOP. Contrast that with the current president. His contempt for the rule of law is doing immediate and long term harm. Until people like Kelly stand up to those kinds of flaws, God help us.
So in other words, it lowers your opinion of people when they tell the truth about Trump and try to save our country from what would be a revenge tour from a corrupt and dangerously inept man? Makes sense.
 
Crimes are driven by cities not states. Remove Stl and kc and mo wouldn’t have crime. Crime is an urban issue. Take out blacks and the most dangerous city in America would hardly have any murders. Again. Progressives. They destroy places.
Really? What big cities are red in those states listed with most violent crimes? Alaska?
 
Really? What big cities are red in those states listed with most violent crimes? Alaska?
You don’t understand. That’s the point. 24/25 most dangerous cities are run by Dems. Crime isn’t a state issue. It’s a city county issue. Choosing state comparisons makes zero sense. The state of mo has zero control over the Stl mayor, da, police. It’s people electing cori bush types
 
What is it about what DeSantis did here impresses you?
You gotta be willing to criticize the guy you want to beat in order to create a distinction between you and him. I expected DeSantis (and other GOP candidates) to hit on why them and not him. They have mostly avoided doing that.
 
Crimes are driven by cities not states. Remove Stl and kc and mo wouldn’t have crime. Crime is an urban issue. Take out blacks and the most dangerous city in America would hardly have any murders. Again. Progressives. They destroy places.
There are unique challenges to governing big cities, just as there are unique challenges in poor, rural areas. It’s simplistic to blame all those problems on Democrats OR Republicans.
 
I am white and male. If crazy is knowing Biden f*cked up the sane border and energy policies Trump handed him on a silver platter, or jamming eleventy hundred genders into education then I admit to crazy.
Oh that gender thing really impacts you, doesn’t it?
 
Who knows. I mean none of us supposedly really wants either of these geriatric crooks but it increasingly looks like that is what we are going to get again.

I would take any Republican over a Democrat right now and I would take almost anyone currently in the primary over Trump (there are a few exceptions there) but by the time I get a say in Indiana these things are usually long over.

Neither of these parties appear to be super serious to me at this point. That is part of the reason I think we are a nation in decline. The question is whether that decline is permanent or do we get things figured out? I grow more pessimistic on that question the older I get.
It’s interesting you’d prefer a Republican Party who clearly can’t rule, they can’t even get a Speaker of the House, they want to shut down the government, and they have no agenda whatsoever , except Trump. And you call the Democrats a dog shit party? It’s obvious the main thing that matters to you are the social implications that have no impact on you whatsoever, gender, abortion, etc.
 
This all starts with a breakdown of respect and tolerance. The reason is simple. We enjoy bashing others. We have come to believe that mindless name calling and insults makes us better. We see this every day from the Oval Office and from most of those who want to occupy the Oval Office.

My posts in the 8 MAGA thread expose this. 208 Democrats voted with Gaetz only to build another path to criticize the GOP while all the Dems can smugly say “we can do it better”. This is sickening. God help us.
Gee and who started that breakdown of respect ?
 
That is a great point and your history is correct. I don't think he is going to run either but if he does it will be vital that he select a strong VP candidate that will attract a level of votes that Harris will not.
I think people underestimate the anger it would bring to a reliable Democratic base if Biden dropped Harris. Black women have saved the party in several recent elections and I imagine they’d be pretty angry if Kamala was dropped.
 
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