Politics 2015

[KevinG]

They have, but the U.S. is in the process of making a deal that would allow Iran to keep most of their capacity and a very short ramp-up time to make a nuclear weapon. 

 

 

I am not saying that the current negotiations are going to solve anything, or stop Iran from getting a nuclear bomb or whatever.  I actually do not think that is germane to the conversation (or at least nothing I care about right now).  What I am saying the speech to Congress did nothing but undermine the current negotiations.  Yes, obviously Netanyahu has some reservations about the direction of the talks or what the talks consisted of, but as a foreign leader there are channels that one should go through to have these concerns known.  A respectful decision would be to continue to work with the powers that have the ability to make treaties.  Or he could have made a speech in his own country.  But instead he came here, told us what we were doing wrong, and offer no real solutions.  

[tinnitus photography]

[CortezTheKiller]

Etcetera?

[tinnitus photography]

or Yeezus.

[Hixter]

This schmuck deserves a couple of years behind our bars now.

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/03/25/bowe-bergdahl-once-missing-u-s-soldier-charged-with-desertion/?hpid=z1

[lost highway]

That guy's been through plenty, but whatever puts lead in your pencil.

 

In other news, I hear gentleman Cruz is serious about leading our country.

[Mr. Heartbreak]

In other news, I hear gentleman Cruz is serious about leading our country

...into a war with Iran.

[lost highway]

And into operating a country without an Internal Revenue Service.

[Hixter]

That guy's been through plenty, but whatever puts lead in your pencil.

I'm actually more of a Sharpie guy, but this is a clear-cut case of desertion. After saying that he was ashamed to be an American, denigrating the Army and sending his valuables home to his family, he snuck out at night to seek shelter with the enemy. People died trying to find him and millions of dollars were spent trying to locate and rescue him. In the end, several really bad guys were exchanged so that he could go free. That he deserted is obvious and hopefully he'll spend a few years behind bars for his actions. But when he's finally released, he'll still be alive and able to spend time with his family. There are other soldiers who served honorably and will never see their families again because they died trying to locate Bergdahl.

 

I can have a little sympathy for a conscript who walks away from his unit while he's on leave because he was forced to fight a war against his wishes. I could even understand a GI in Afghanistan being overwhelmed and refusing to fight because he's had enough. But a volunteer soldier who enlisted 7 years after the beginning of the war in Afghanistan leaving his post during wartime and seeking shelter with the enemy? Throw the book at him.

[Hixter]

The Saudis are bombing rebels in Yemen, and United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain appear to be intent on joining in. Egypt and the U.S. are also in the coalition. The rebels are backed by Iran, who are also fighting ISIS in Iraq, while we are doing the same. The situation is getting very complex and confusing and that's exactly what groups like ISIS would like to happen. The possibility of a major flareup or blunder on someone's part is increasing every day. 

[IRememberDBoon]

who said bergdahl "sought shelter with the enemy"??

[Hixter]

who said bergdahl "sought shelter with the enemy"??

It's quite clear that he did. Afghan citizens who came across him that night said that he asked them where he could find the Taliban. Add that to the anti-American and anti-Army e-mails that he sent his parents, the fact that he sent his valuables home, the fact that soldiers in his unit said he'd begun spending more time with Afghans than Americans, his efforts to learn Pashto and you reach an undeniable conclusion: he deserted his comrades during wartime and sought shelter with the enemy.

 

 

(CNN) – Former Army Sgt. Evan Buetow was the team leader with Bowe Bergdahl the night Bergdahl disappeared.

"Bergdahl is a deserter, and he's not a hero," says Buetow. "He needs to answer for what he did."

Within days of his disappearance, says Buetow, teams monitoring radio chatter and cell phone communications intercepted an alarming message: The American is in Yahya Khel (a village two miles away). He's looking for someone who speaks English so he can talk to the Taliban.

"I heard it straight from the interpreter's lips as he heard it over the radio," said Buetow. "There's a lot more to this story than a soldier walking away."

 

http://thelead.blogs.cnn.com/2014/06/03/team-leader-bowe-bergdahl-wanted-to-talk-to-taliban/

[LouieB]

The Hundred Year War with the Arabs is going swimmingly.  I am sure Cruz wants to keep it going as long as possible. 

 

As for Bergdahl, a court marshal seems appropriate.  At least the facts can get aired and he can either spent time in prison or  get the boot and go home.  More than the residents in Cuba are getting.

 

LouieB

[tinnitus photography]

hey, look! the US has it's own Taliban. and they can make laws.

[NoJ]

Remember when Bush admitted to not knowing there were two primary factions of Islam?

[uncool2pillow]

hey, look! the US has it's own Taliban. and they can make laws.

When they start stoning people for their crimes, you can compare them to the Taliban. It's an awful law, but good lord.

[tinnitus photography]

it all starts w/ religious zealots. 

 

 

or maybe bombing abortion clinics is a step up from stoning people?

[lost highway]

I think any time you have a radical religious faction seeking to govern the public with intolerant and discriminatory laws you should watch out. We're lucky to have a first amendment.

[uncool2pillow]

it all starts w/ religious zealots. 

 

 

or maybe bombing abortion clinics is a step up from stoning people?

Did the Indiana law sanction bombing of abortion clinics? There are degrees of extremism here and to lump this law in with clinic bombers or beheaders only dilutes those evil actions.

 

Indiana's law is shit, to be sure. I read a good piece on this type of legislation that essentially said, let the bigots discriminate, but make them advertise their bigotry loud and clear on signage, web sites, etc.

[twoshedsjackson]

There should be absolutely no religion involved in any part of law or government. History and human nature prove that they do not mix well. Believe what you like, but keep it to yourself.

 

There may be "degrees of extremism", but isn't any extremism bad? Remember, most if not all of the "laws" that ISIS is enforcing are identical to the ones in the bible, but Islam is hundreds of years behind Christianity, and has never had its enlightenment. Nor will it, as any attempt is quickly stomped out. They're still going through their witch burning phase, and any interference, especially by western countries, to change that only galvanizes them.

 

What's unsettling about guys like Cruz is that the people he represents DO want a religious state. They've said as much. They just want it to be THEIR religion. They and ISIS both hate and fear exactly the same things and, given the increasingly insane level of zealotry in this country, it's definitely not outside the realm of possibility that they'd behave in a similar way (not as physically barbaric one would hope, but sometimes I wonder) if our law allowed.

[Atticus]

If Ted Cruz survives the primary I may have to quit my job to campaign full time for his opponent.

 

Surely there is something in Revelations about that guy.  I'll dust off that book later and check.

[Lammycat]

Wouldn't he be the ideal candidate, though, if you tend to  swing the other way? 

[ih8music]

I read a good piece on this type of legislation that essentially said, let the bigots discriminate, but make them advertise their bigotry loud and clear on signage, web sites, etc.

I've heard that argument and it makes me laugh every time. So we're supposed to let the free market decide whether this form of "freedom" is allowable -- by having a strict government mandate that forces these businesses to publicly announce their controversial stance? Seems a bit odd, no?

[Hixter]

I'm all for letting the free market decide which privately owned businesses thrive or perish. If a bakery doesn't want to decorate a same-sex wedding cake, then fine. Boycott them, if you wish. It's not a crime to turn down someone's business at a mom & pop store. I wouldn't expect a Jewish bakery to fulfill an order for swastika-shaped bagels, nor would I expect a halal restaurant to serve me a BLT.

 

The solution to our nation's problems isn't more laws.

[twoshedsjackson]

I'm all for letting the free market decide which privately owned businesses thrive or perish. If a bakery doesn't want to decorate a same-sex wedding cake, then fine. Boycott them, if you wish. It's not a crime to turn down someone's business at a mom & pop store. I wouldn't expect a Jewish bakery to fulfill an order for swastika-shaped bagels, nor would I expect a halal restaurant to serve me a BLT.

 

The solution to our nation's problems isn't more laws.

Good point. Let businesses in the south get out their "No Blacks Allowed" signs while you're at it. I'm sure they were never out of reach.