General Political Thread

[caliber66]

Case and point. 

No.

[Guest Jules]

[Hixter]

I do think there will be some Benghazi talk coming up as it the one year anniversary. 

It happened on September 11th.

[Guest Jules]

Yeah but it's only 10+ months til next anniversary!

[KevinG]

It happened on September 11th.

 

oh yeah, my bad.  

 

I wonder why there was so much in the news this weekend.  60 minutes had a thing on it.  The right wing dude this morning was talking about it.

[bleedorange]

oh yeah, my bad.  

 

I wonder why there was so much in the news this weekend.  60 minutes had a thing on it.  The right wing dude this morning was talking about it.

 

Is this the source of your constant anger???? Stop listening to that crap.

[JUDE]

HE'S NOT ANGRY! CHRIST, DON'T YOU LISTEN?

[Tweedling]

It's obvious since Hillary said "What difference at this point does it make?" we should just never ask what went wrong and who's at fault for the murders in Libya.

[lost highway]

Yeah but it's only 10+ months til next anniversary!

 

Oh no!  And I forgot to buy her something.  Did you do something special for Benghazi day?

[Guest Don Draper]

Oh no! And I forgot to buy her something. Did you do something special for Benghazi day?

Quit with the jokes and remember that innocent people who chose to work in a very dangerous region of the world - especially for American government employees - actually died?

[Hixter]

The 60 Minutes report on Benghazi is worth a watch.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t8HeHEO-Qk

[Guest Jules]

So the healthcare website has had a good few days.

[Sir Stewart]

Come on Caliber, you don't see the difference?  Car insurance is only required if you choose to drive a car, and it is required mainly to protect others, not the policy holder.  Also, we don't bill our car insurance company for our regular car maintenance, tune ups, oil changes, etc.  Health insurance is now required as a condition of living here.  It's unprecedented.

 

They're two different animals, and this comparison doesn't hold water.

 

Your link didn't work.

[Guest Jules]

I'll give you a link.

[Sir Stewart]

Am I the only one who doesn't give a crap if the NSA is reading my texts and emails? Whenever I send something, um, romantic in nature to my ladyfriend, or when I'm recounting a humorous event, I always think "I hope my case manager enjoys this one."

 

I have a much bigger problem with Angela Merkel's phone been tapped than my own.

[Guest Jules]

I have a problem that she found out.

[NoJ]

Everyone's phone is tapped, get used to it.

[KevinG]

It's obvious since Hillary said "What difference at this point does it make?" we should just never ask what went wrong and who's at fault for the murders in Libya.

 

We should find out what went wrong and whose fault it is.  What we shouldn't do is point fingers at a cover up that is not there.  That is a failure of the GOP, they wanted the homerun, rather than play small ball.  

[Tweedling]

We should find out what went wrong and whose fault it is.  What we shouldn't do is point fingers at a cover up that is not there.  That is a failure of the GOP, they wanted the homerun, rather than play small ball.

 

I don't blame those who question whether there was a cover up or not. Some in the administration claimed a YouTube video, some dismissed it as a violence erupting out of a protest. When Hillary said her compassionate statement she didn't seem to care about who's fault it was and she damn sure wasn't talking about YouTube videos anymore. She was flustered and I believe had a "heartless" Republican been in her position and said "what difference at this point does it make?" the media would have chewed them up and spit them out. Her statement was in response to a congressman consistently questioning her decision to not speak to the returning survivors from Libya and I believe she got a free pass from the media in that instance. I don't believe she ever took any blame from the events in Libya and I think she should have at the very least shared some of it.

[Guest Don Draper]

She was flustered and I believe had a "heartless" Republican been in her position and said "what difference at this point does it make?" the media would have chewed them up and spit them out. 

I think this prediction is based on the fact that this is exactly what happened to Hilary when she said that.

 

I have no idea why anyone is caught up about anything in Benghazi outside of the fact that there was an attack on a U.S. Embassy and we should try to figure out how we can avoid that in the future.  Ripping on Hilary, playing politics about whether or not their was a cover-up, any of the Republican (and Democrat) peacocking is worthless and indicative of a group of people in power aware that they are utterly powerless.

 

And yes, Angela Merkel bothers me a lot more than my own phones.  It reminds me of the notion of reading your partner's email: no matter how in love the two of you are you're both likely to complain to a friend about this or that.  There is nothing about spying on allies that is going to make the government feel secure and trusting in their alliances.

[lost highway]

Quit with the jokes and remember that innocent people who chose to work in a very dangerous region of the world - especially for American government employees - actually died?

 

Is this where the 9/11 jokes come in?

 

Sorry, I don't mean to troll.  What you're saying is obviously true.  Sometimes it's really easy (satisfying) to take a shit on the symbol of something after the media and politicians have whored it around a bit.  At some point the word Benghazi stops sounding like a reference to a real place, or any specific event, and more of a political talking point. 

 

If I jest, 'tis merely at that.  Or you can take the other road (that you took) and remind people that there's still an authentic root to a conversation that has been corrupted.

[Guest Don Draper]

Ha.  The funny thing with 9/11 is that even under the jokes (and I'll be honest, I've heard a few good ones), the conspiracy theories, and the political vitriol, there is still the "never forget" mantra and keen awareness of the magnitude of life lost.  I don't mean quantity necessarily, but the significance of losing life.  You're right that Benghazi is entirely symbolic now and mostly embodies itself in the conspiracy theories and the jabs at Hilary, and the idea that it resulted in the death of Americans is entirely lost on most people.

 

(I don't mean to keep saying American deaths as though their lives are worth more than anyone else's, for the record. I'm just trying to stay within the scope of the conversation.)

[lost highway]

What you're saying is smart and true.  (man I suck at trolling)

[caliber66]

Monitoring global communications, including those of our allies, is the reason the National Security Agency exists. It's silly that they're monitoring Angela Merkel's personal phone thinking they're going to get some usable intelligence, but (the government of) Germany knows we spy on them, and we know Germany spies on us. It's an issue because it's public, and they have to rattle their saber and make noise about it, but it won't end up meaning anything in the long run.

[Hixter]

Monitoring global communications, including those of our allies, is the reason the National Security Agency exists. It's silly that they're monitoring Angela Merkel's personal phone thinking they're going to get some usable intelligence, but (the government of) Germany knows we spy on them, and we know Germany spies on us.

Exactly.

 

It's an issue because it's public, and they have to rattle their saber and make noise about it, but it won't end up meaning anything in the long run.

Germany's intelligence apparatus has had an inferiority complex that dates back to WWII. They are also a little jealous of our "special relationship" with the UK, so this is their chance to complain publicly. Every other nation that complains is doing so for similar reasons, not because they are actually outraged and surprised.