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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
I'm more in line with Colonel Wilkerson regarding ISIS.
Millions of refugees, the worst humanitarian crisis since WWII, Lebanon being destabilized, Syria becoming one of the worst wars in memory, Iraq collapsing along (inevitable) sectarian lines, Turkey trying to play both sides wrongfully, Riyadh being Wahhibist and not very helpful at all - dropping bombs is not how you fix this shit. We should be talking to Damascus, Tehran, Riyadh, Bagdad, and Ankara to deal with the refugee crisis.
edited 30th Sep '14 12:20:30 AM by Sledgesaul
Professional Forum Ninja
I was hoping I'd be able to find an article to help explain this.
I'll start with a question from the article:
Can you tell me the Texas officeholder who, through sheer force of political willpower, can kill any piece of legislation?
If you answered the governor, then you are wrong.
The correct answer is the Lt. Governor.
Why?
Think of the Lt. Governor as the Texas Senate version of Boehner and you get the idea.
And currently the race is between the GOP candidate Dan Patrick, who has the backing of the Tea Party, and the Democrat candidate Leticia Van de Putte, who would probably stall the Texas Legislature, but would probably keep any craziness from getting into bills and out of committees.
"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."
Texas has rigged the districts to help the GOP more than the DNC. With Abbott outspending Davis for the governorship, lieutenant governor is the DNC's best chance here.
Having a governor and lieutenant governor of different parties would be very awkward.
edited 30th Sep '14 12:29:21 AM by Sledgesaul
Professional Forum Ninja
Quoted from the second paragraph of The Other Wikis page on the topic:
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Not without precedent. The other wiki's article says both George W.'s first term and both of Bill Clement's non-consecutive terms had them with Democrats as Lt. Governors.
edited 30th Sep '14 12:28:21 AM by tclittle
"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."
That's a hell of a lot more power than the Vice President being the Chairman of the Senate. Jesus.
The Texas Lieutenant Governor also has powers identical to that of the Speaker of the House.
edited 30th Sep '14 12:28:43 AM by Sledgesaul
I can see the Texas Republicans being annoyed at having a Democrat lording over them if the latter win the Lieutenant Governor seat, there.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Professional Forum Ninja
That's not all:
I have heard from some folks who think the Lt. Governor is more powerful than the Governor himself.
"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."
Down at Florida, the lieutenant governor is in the same ballot as the governor and has no real power.
The Secretary of State is the only position that approaches such power over here, really.
edited 30th Sep '14 12:33:10 AM by Sledgesaul
Yep, the Texas Governor is one of the weaker governors in the 'States.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Dont to tell that to Rick Perry, though.
The Mod with the Migraine
![[tup]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Thumbs_up_emoticon_3268.png "[thumb up]"){kind=small}
edited 30th Sep '14 2:47:08 AM by BlueNinja0
That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw
edited 30th Sep '14 3:39:08 AM by PotatoesRock
"In distress", my ass.
Jumping back a bit, for all practical purposes "international law" is what countries are willing to actually enforce. You can make all the proclamations, resolutions, and statements you want, but in the end it's what Mao said: power flows from the barrel of a gun.
As for the question in this post about the president's ability to authorize military action without congressional approval, the War Powers Resolution gives him a total of 90 days (60 in actual action, 30 to withdraw from the theater) before he needs to have said approval.
I suppose that's correct, but I'd take Mao lightly on matters of military-based power acquisition. The dude wasn't wrong about that, to be sure. However, a lot of leaders and societies have often made miscalculations in determining to what extent power can be maintained through force in the long term. Attracting bees with honey and all that jazz.
Invasions, armed coups, peacekeeping operations ("peacekeeping" being, in my opinion, an inadequate term) and other military-ish activities are good and all as a component of nation building, but when your primary means of acquiring power and stability is through military force, you may be shortening the lifespan of your nation. One simple problem is that militaries are inherently expensive and often difficult to maintain. This is one of the reasons why military states like Sparta, while highly effective in some aspects, were not efficient in the long run. It's also one of the reasons why juntas tend to be a bad idea.
I know that wasn't your original point. It was just something that crossed my mind at the moment, especially since we were talking about Mao Zedong the other day in my Chinese class. With that said, and to echo something you mentioned in another thread, our current leadership hasn't really drawn up a solid exit strategy for the ISIS situation. I'm ambivalent about further US military action in the Middle East, but it seems to escape many people's minds that some of these groups we're either supporting or fighting against have been basing their own misgivings on tribalistic blood feuds dating back thousands of years. They're also not wearing T-shirts saying which side they're on. This is a recurring problem in US diplomacy where we underestimate the limitations of "swift" military action.
edited 30th Sep '14 6:38:10 AM by Aprilla
Gunpla is amazing!
Okay, I said he was lucky he's not dead and now he is REALLY REALLY REALLY lucky he's not dead.
Wandering Jew
The Supreme Court is back in session.
edited 30th Sep '14 11:22:49 AM by deviantbraeburn
Everything is Possible. But some things are more Probable than others. JEBAGEDDON 2016
Fuck you, Fascist sympathizers
Not like the conservatives of this court aren't used to stealing elections, but still...
A procrastination in of itself
Gay Panic should get you the same though, as it pretty much boils down to going "I'm so mentally unstable that a standard bit of societal interaction can turn me into a bloodthirsty killer".
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
Professional Forum Ninja
First confirmed US case of Ebola in Dallas.
HGW XX/7
Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas said in a statement Monday that the patient's symptoms and recent travel indicated a case of Ebola, the virus that has killed more than 3,000 people across West Africa and infected a handful of Americans who have traveled to that region.
Preliminary test results from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are expected to come back Tuesday.
Jumping the gun a little. May just be nothing.
Schild und Schwert der Partei
Lost in Space
In these situations it's better to treat it like it is Ebola first and make your apologies later if it is not.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
HGW XX/7
If you're a medical professional. Not so much if you're some journo.
Schild und Schwert der Partei
Lost in Space
Well, yes. My news feeds are all popping with "First US Ebola case!" headlines.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Jupiterian Local
Hey, I was in Dallas last week. If ebola starts popping up in Orlando, Lousiville, and Denver, someone let me know.
Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.
Well then. Learn from your successes and your failures, try not to repeat the latter.
Back to topic, I'm not sure what banning the gay panic defense will do; usually that's decided upon by juries rather than judges, and juries in hate crimes cases occasionally go nuts (though nothing like in the first half of the 20th century).
edited 30th Sep '14 12:13:34 AM by Ramidel