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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#323476: Aug 11th 2020 at 8:51:23 PM

[up][up]It's not one I've ever really liked, tbh.

"Squad" isn't even a formal name unlike, say, the "Blue Dog" caucus.

[up]Define "near-future". Because as long as Xi Jinping and his cronies are running the show in the CCP, things aren't likely to get better. Remember, the problem isn't just on one end here.

Even if Biden wins (and I really hope he does), the only difference will be that whatever measures Biden takes against the CCP will have some actual thought put into them.

Edited by M84 on Aug 11th 2020 at 11:58:53 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
AngrokVa indighost from america, unfortunately Since: Feb, 2012 Relationship Status: Saddled with unnecessary feelings
indighost
#323477: Aug 11th 2020 at 8:57:08 PM

Nvm, M84 answered.

Hmm, maybe after Xi, then. And we can definitely hope Biden will do the right thing with China.

I just really don't want a war to happen, especially not in my lifetime, or anyone else's, for that matter.

Edited by AngrokVa on Aug 11th 2020 at 12:00:52 PM

CrimsonZephyr Would that it were so simple. from Massachusetts Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
Would that it were so simple.
#323478: Aug 11th 2020 at 8:58:34 PM

Nope, we've only just gotten started. A confrontation of any kind with China has been a long time coming.

Edited by CrimsonZephyr on Aug 11th 2020 at 11:59:30 AM

"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."
RainehDaze Nero Fangirl (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Nero Fangirl
#323479: Aug 11th 2020 at 8:59:18 PM

Not liking how it sounds is one thing, but this is the same political system that has blue dogs and a tea party, so it's not any more absurd than normal naming.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#323480: Aug 11th 2020 at 9:00:33 PM

[up]I've already pointed out the difference. Besides, I'm not exactly a fan of a political coalition calling themselves "Blue Dogs" either.

I just really don't want a war to happen, especially not in my lifetime, or anyone else's, for that matter.

A little late for that, unless you weren't born yet when the Iraq War happened.

Edited by M84 on Aug 12th 2020 at 12:02:21 AM

Disgusted, but not surprised
RainehDaze Nero Fangirl (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Nero Fangirl
#323481: Aug 11th 2020 at 9:01:55 PM

The difference is meaningless. Formal adoption of a name won't change how silly or not it is, and this isn't a new concept. Dumb names for groups and politics are wed at the hip.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#323482: Aug 11th 2020 at 9:03:40 PM

[up]Didn't I just say that I'm not a fan of the Blue Dog stuff either?

The whole "Squad" thing just irritates me more because it's the most recent one. I guess I'm also biased about it since it started on Instagram of all things, and I hate social media.

Disgusted, but not surprised
PresidentStalkeyes Eats moldy bread and flies into windows from United Kingdom of England-land Since: Feb, 2016 Relationship Status: Do you like me? (Yes ⎕ Definitely ⎕ Absolutely!!! ⎕)
Eats moldy bread and flies into windows
#323483: Aug 11th 2020 at 9:04:24 PM

I know the origin of the term 'Tea Party' (I should know, those petulant colonists dumped all of our precious tea into the sea like uncultured cretins!!!), but whenever I used to hear it back in the day - and still now to some extent - I can only picture, like, self-proclaimed libertarian champions of industry having a literal tea party, complete with sipping out of little teacups with a pinky finger raised up.

Those sell-by-dates won't stop me because I can't read!
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#323484: Aug 11th 2020 at 9:06:35 PM

These ridiculous names just emphasize what a messy shitshow politics usually is.

I guess at least we've moved on from the days when Congress people would get into fights and duels with each other, sometimes with fatal results.

Disgusted, but not surprised
RainehDaze Nero Fangirl (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Nero Fangirl
#323485: Aug 11th 2020 at 9:07:24 PM

[up][up][up] It's not like this started with the Blue Dogs. FFS, one of our major political parties over here is literally named for a word for thieves (well, not FORMALLY... like anyone cares). Naming things is just part and parcel of politics.

I'm sure we could find examples from Athens or Rome.

Edited by RainehDaze on Aug 11th 2020 at 5:07:42 PM

AngrokVa indighost from america, unfortunately Since: Feb, 2012 Relationship Status: Saddled with unnecessary feelings
indighost
#323486: Aug 11th 2020 at 9:07:44 PM

@CrimsonZephyr: You make that sound like a good thing. I can't stress this enough, I don't want any sort of confrontation between the US and China, and I especially don't want a nuclear conflict. This is the one thing giving me anxiety right now.

[down] My apologies.

Edited by AngrokVa on Aug 11th 2020 at 12:16:55 PM

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#323487: Aug 11th 2020 at 9:11:29 PM

[up][up]Yeah, I'm not exactly looking at UK politics as an example of mature political discourse. Looking at the way Parliament is run there makes the U.S. Congress look like a bastion of maturity. And the U.S. Congress is not a bastion of maturity.

[up]This thread isn't the place to work out your anxiety issues.

Edited by M84 on Aug 12th 2020 at 12:16:39 AM

Disgusted, but not surprised
megarockman from The Sixth Borough (Experienced Trainee)
#323488: Aug 11th 2020 at 9:16:43 PM

[up][up]More that it was inevitable, is what I'm getting, whenever you have an established superpower on one side and a rising power on another. US and China is only the current version — before that there's the US and Soviet Union for the Cold War, the three-way tangle between US/UK/France vs Axis Powers vs Soviet Union, British and German Empires in the late 19th/early 20th Centuries, Britain and France through the 18th Century and into Napoleon...

The damned queen and the relentless knight.
nova92 Since: Apr, 2020
#323489: Aug 11th 2020 at 9:17:26 PM

Dang, in the Vermont governor's race, David Zuckerman beat Rebecca Holcombe for the Dem. nomination. He's expressed some iffy views on vaccines in the past, so I was hoping for Holcombe.

AngrokVa indighost from america, unfortunately Since: Feb, 2012 Relationship Status: Saddled with unnecessary feelings
indighost
#323490: Aug 11th 2020 at 9:17:43 PM

Someone explain to me exactly how we eased tensions with Russia at the end of the Cold War.

Edited by AngrokVa on Aug 11th 2020 at 12:17:49 PM

megarockman from The Sixth Borough (Experienced Trainee)
#323491: Aug 11th 2020 at 9:19:41 PM

Short answer — they were too busy trying to get back on their own feet after the Soviet system and Soviet bloc collapsed.

The damned queen and the relentless knight.
AngrokVa indighost from america, unfortunately Since: Feb, 2012 Relationship Status: Saddled with unnecessary feelings
indighost
#323492: Aug 11th 2020 at 9:21:25 PM

Could the same happen to China?

AzurePaladin She/Her Pronouns from Forest of Magic Since: Apr, 2018 Relationship Status: Mu
She/Her Pronouns
#323493: Aug 11th 2020 at 9:22:37 PM

[up]x4 There's always the Progressive Party, if they even run in the Governor's races.

[up] No. Both because a collapse of China would likely not be peaceful, and even if it was the currently empowered factions aren't going to be any friendlier.

Edited by AzurePaladin on Aug 11th 2020 at 12:23:44 PM

The awful things he says and does are burned into our cultural consciousness like a CRT display left on the same picture too long. -Fighteer
PresidentStalkeyes Eats moldy bread and flies into windows from United Kingdom of England-land Since: Feb, 2016 Relationship Status: Do you like me? (Yes ⎕ Definitely ⎕ Absolutely!!! ⎕)
Eats moldy bread and flies into windows
#323494: Aug 11th 2020 at 9:23:15 PM

It's not like this started with the Blue Dogs. FFS, one of our major political parties over here is literally named for a word for thieves (well, not FORMALLY... like anyone cares). Naming things is just part and parcel of politics.

Even in the United States, we shouldn't forget about Teddy Roosevelt's Bull Moose Party. :V

Could the same happen to China?

If they have a sudden and unexpected economic crisis, maybe. But as Azure pointed out, it wouldn't be a walk in the park even ignoring the apparent unlikelihood of such an event.

Edited by PresidentStalkeyes on Aug 11th 2020 at 5:25:42 PM

Those sell-by-dates won't stop me because I can't read!
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#323495: Aug 11th 2020 at 9:25:49 PM

Which is weird since moose aren't even particularly common in the USA. You're more likely to associate them with Canada. Sure, you can find them in Alaska and New England, but they're mostly Canadian.

It'd be like if a President declared that poutine is the USA's new national dish <shudder>.

Edited by M84 on Aug 12th 2020 at 12:27:52 AM

Disgusted, but not surprised
nova92 Since: Apr, 2020
#323496: Aug 11th 2020 at 9:26:40 PM

[up][up][up] Zuckerman is a Progressive Party member, so I'd assumed he automatically had their nomination.

Edit: Yep, he's their candidate for governor, too. I guess it's not super important, though, since it looks like Gov. Scott is probably going to be reelected.

Edited by nova92 on Aug 11th 2020 at 9:28:08 AM

Memers Since: Aug, 2013
#323497: Aug 11th 2020 at 9:28:59 PM

Could the same happen to China?
At the moment the US is closer to being the one who collapses than China.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#323498: Aug 11th 2020 at 9:30:47 PM

[up]Oh, China's not doing that great right now either. They've got their own issues, foreign and domestic. Flooding for one thing.

Edited by M84 on Aug 12th 2020 at 12:32:10 AM

Disgusted, but not surprised
megarockman from The Sixth Borough (Experienced Trainee)
#323499: Aug 11th 2020 at 9:33:58 PM

M84: The Bull Moose moniker came because Teddy Roosevelt had been shot by an attempted assassin right before he gave a campaign speech in the 1912 Election. He went on with the speech as usual, adding at the end that he had just been shot but "it takes more than that to stop a bull moose." (Roosevelt was an avid hunter and loved national parks.) The nickname stuck when he got back on the campaign trail two weeks later.

Edited by megarockman on Aug 11th 2020 at 12:35:00 PM

The damned queen and the relentless knight.
AngrokVa indighost from america, unfortunately Since: Feb, 2012 Relationship Status: Saddled with unnecessary feelings
indighost
#323500: Aug 11th 2020 at 9:34:20 PM
Thumped: Please see The Rules . This is a warning that this post is the sort of thing that will get you suspended.

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