Bob, your b.s. line of thinking is about to deliver us a POTUS who will be DOTUS. He has been stacking the federal court system with his selected cronies. He has developed a Dept of “Justice” that is nothing but a personal legal team for Donald John T rump, at taxpayers’ expense. His DOJ declares that he cannot be indicted for any federal crime. He is now establishing that he cannot be successfully impeached by Congress. He is establishing new powers of the Presidency, that he can absolutely deny ANY information, (documentation or white house staff testimony) from being subject to Congressional oversight. He is establishing that he is above the law.
So a “man” with the character of T rump, what will stop him NOW from breaking any federal law that he wishes, in order to rig the next election in his favor? What, Bob?
Atm, the Trumpublicans of the Senate, are probably not even going to allow the presentation of any new evidence or of any witnesses in the Impeachment trial. They want it over and done before any more truth can get out, that might effect even the most egregiously obsequious corrupted T rump cultists in the Senate.
But truth will continue to come out, even when the Senate has kangaroo courted the Impeachment away. What abuse/s of power will T rump select to prevent or over-ride the continuing revelations of truth about his corruption?
Lausten: “Do you believe that there are massive investments and large companies around the world who are using techniques that are tested and proven effective to influence the thoughts and actions of average people, i.e. the people who vote?”
Yes, no question about it.
I saw a TV show on AI recently. It reminded me of the show “Max Headroom”. Cameras that couldn’t be turned off everywhere, even in your home and office TV set. Similar things happening today on TVs, computers, cell phones, security devices. “1984” - Big Brother, “Soylent Green”, “Logan’s Run”, and many others.
Facebook, Google, Twitter, Ebay, Amazon, fake news, big data, facial recognition, body language interpretation. That AI show claimed that China is developing a system which will be used to predict criminal (disruptive) behavior and lock you out of society as in “The Net” until you can be re-educated. India has already tried a cashless society. Coming soon to a society near you.
When I was much younger I listened to news stories on US commercial radio and TV, then listened to Radio Moscow on short wave, then I would go to the BBC and get the real story. I’ve heard 90% of millennials and Gen Z-ers get 99% of their news on social media. Really dumb. If these people don’t do due diligence then they deserve what they get. People can only do to you what you let them do. Means is everywhere, motive the bad guys have, opportunity is what we can deny them.
@Bob, I get my news from the BBC and ABC (Aussie news), besides U.S. news. Most of Russia news is propaganda, so I really don’t have much use for it, but that said, I get news from different sources other than the U.S. and much of what you said, I don’t agree with. No country likes that dotard and no one in the U.S. likes that dotard except his minions and his cronies, only because he threatens them into submission and if he can’t threaten you into submission, then the big fat bully acts like a 2 year old who doesn’t get his way. The dotard is systematically destroying everything- the environment, the U.S. Constitution, committing genocide and human rights violations, and elections violations. He’s a criminal and you can read that in the news of the BBC and the ABC, as well as other sources. You don’t need a shortwave radio to their news either. However, Russia Today has become nothing more than a Putin propaganda machine and you can’t believe anything that comes out of that or any other Russian news source. Not even during the Cold War could you believe what they had to say.
The reason I asked is that you were using very selective information to make your case. Mostly you use accusations, like saying Schiff fits the description from the Hamilton quote. Yet, you would be hard pressed to come up with an actual quote to fit any one of those items. That’s what the AI does, it repeats the things that you are repeating in this thread, ignores facts, history, and recordings of recent statements, and calculates how many people will pass that along, as if it’s the truth.
Because I have had some lies told about me specifically at work, and I have had been fact checked and shown to be wrong, I have spent a lot of time over the years learning about logical fallacies and argument techniques like gaslighting. I would love to go back to the naive kid I was that believed that most people were honest and compassionate and willing to reflect on their own nature and their level of awareness. But those days are long gone. It does not seem that you have developed any of the skills that are needed in this age of misinformation. Yet, you are completely aware of it. That’s what I’m curious about.
Bob, you must be a member of the alternate right and their alternate view of reality, as you are joining in the efforts to demonize Schiff. Good luck with that. Schiff is doing his job, and is a danger to no one.
It is T rump whose object it is “to sow confusion so that he can ride the storm and direct the whirlwind”. Do you forget that he actually wanted to try to stop a hurricane by nuking it? T rump is such a bringer of confusion (and such a compulsive and prolific liar), that you don’t know when metaphors end and reality begins with him.
Bob: You don’t know that, and you’re wrong. If fact I have quite a mix of ethnic ancestors, including some from Mexico (who came in legally). Maybe that’s why I like tacos, burritos and flamenco music. Maybe my genes are why I like Scotch, but not Irish whiskey.
Why do you not like Irish whisky? There are some that can stack up against Talisker 10 years. Are you biased?
I am biased towards most true Scottish single malts, aged at least 10 years. Sorry Ireland.
But if I just want some energy, give me shots of the smoothest chilled Tequila you can find. Maybe I have some Bob genes. Though I can do without the flamenco music.
Another one of those amazing flips I’ve seen in my lifetime. The commie threat was used to justify Vietnam and other acts of US empiricism, on up through Ollie North funding right wing groups in Central America. Then, when there was a bipartisan effort to defeat Russia in Afghanistan, that actually worked, the threat narrative had to change.
But to say the Russians were never coming, is to simply ignore history, ignore the nuclear weapons that were and a few still are, pointed at us and ready to go. Plus, Kruschev’s threat to take us over without firing a shot. Thing is, Jane Fonda has apologized for sitting with communists on an anti-aircraft gun. But now people like Bob are ready to go back on our promise to protect Ukraine, because, well, it’s just Russia.
You must be joking.
The Cold War was initiated entirely by America. Nuclear weapons were developed first by America and we remain the only nation to have ever used them against someone else. American violated the agreements we made with the Soviets at the end of WW2 almost immediately. USA and the Soviets were the only superpowers in the world from the end of WW2 until the 90s and both were guilty of advancing their agendas with violence but America caused far, far more death and destruction around the world during that time than the soviets did. And we generally got away with it because we were stronger than them .
The Russians were never as big a threat to us as we were to them and they have certainly never been as big a threat to the rest of the world as America. The fact is the current liberal hatred of Russia is completely irrational and 100% related to the liberal hatred of Trump. When Trump is gone liberals won’t give a shit about Russia at all, just like before 2016.
I didn’t say anything about who started the Cold War and if I did, it would not be some black and white answer like you propose. Nor did I mention the empty warheads that Russia paraded around and that our leaders knew were empty, but I’d give a completely different narrative about why we did that than what you did. I don’t think “hatred” is the correct term at all. Russia does not create things, it consumes the riches of the rest of the world. It doesn’t care for it’s own people, it exploits them, far more than the type of exploitation seen in America. And it has always been known for its lies, just like Trump. Those are reason for distrust, for keeping your defenses up, for protecting yourself. I wouldn’t call it hatred.
I caught Dershowitz’s presentation yesterday. According to him the articles of impeachment do not state impeachable offenses (which must be crimes) and so are not constitutional. He demonstrated that abuse of power and obstruction of Congress were specifically not put into the Constitution as crimes because they are too vague and can be used as political weapons.
Impeachment was never intended to be a political weapon. The thinking in the House was and is badly flawed. Maxine Waters’ statement that the law is what the House says it is is false. No one is required to defend himself against charges which are not crimes. Even if Bolton can show that Trump intended to do what is alleged, or more, it won’t matter because it is not criminal. The Senate has no need of witnesses or documents because Trump cannot be convicted under the Constitution because there is no crime alleged. There are no facts of alleged offenses to be determined because the alleged offenses are not crimes under the Constitution.
If you are charged with peeing off of your back porch, and even though someone may have seen you and have video of you doing it and pictures of the puddle you made and a sample from it, you cannot be required to defend yourself and you cannot be convicted of the charge unless there is a law on the books which specifically identifies peeing in your back yard as a crime and proscribes punishment for doing it.
Dershowitz almost came right out and told the House managers that the House could have successfully impeached Trump if they had chosen the right charges. The House blew it. I think they were so blinded by their hate and frustration of Hillary losing and their desire for revenge that they just didn’t think it through. They seemed to be thrilled that even if they weren’t successful they would try the case in front of the voting public and influence the 2020 election. I think it has backfired.
TimB, I can’t drink Tequila any more. Way, way, way overdid it one night. My stomach just won’t tolerate it now. Same for vodka. Nothing beats a tall gin and tonic with crushed ice and lime on a hot afternoon.
