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JackOLantern1337 Shameful Display from The Most Miserable Province in the Russian Empir Since: Aug, 2014 Relationship Status: 700 wives and 300 concubines
Shameful Display
#98601: Aug 14th 2015 at 9:06:25 AM

[up][up][up] For a few days the Obama administration apparently refused to call it a terrorist attack, insisting it was a protest that turned into a riot, and claiming it was the fault of a xenophobic movie about Muslims that had also led to a riot in our embassy in Egypt. As it turned out the attack was a pre planned terrorist strike, as evidenced by the fact that it took place on 9/11. Also the state department received many requests for additional security at the consulate, and the CIA warned them about the possibility of an attack, I assume the State Department gets a lot of warnings about such things so they probably felt they had good reason to ignore this one. Finally, and in my opinion the thing that I felt should have been most embarrassing, Obama had touted the intervention in Libya as proof of his leading from behind strategy, and now look at the country. What's truly sad though is that those who died are probably going to be considered to be somehow involved ,in a twisted way, with the conspiracy theories, and their names tainted as a result.

edited 14th Aug '15 9:07:00 AM by JackOLantern1337

I Bring Doom,and a bit of gloom, but mostly gloom.
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#98602: Aug 14th 2015 at 9:08:25 AM

[up]Of course it was the Republican controlled Congress who slashed their security budget.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
Ogodei Fuck you, Fascist sympathizers from The front lines Since: Jan, 2011
Fuck you, Fascist sympathizers
#98603: Aug 14th 2015 at 9:18:36 AM

Whitewater was some sort of land deal that i believe Hillary herself had some involvement in as a lawyer (though at the time, the idea was to implicate Bill by proxy). It morphed into the Lewinsky scandal because Bill made the (by his own admission in his memoirs) dumb decision to allow a special prosecutor, and the Republicans dug up a truly vile man named Ken Starr, who ran his investigation off the rails and just turned it into an anti-Clinton fishing expedition. Clinton lied under oath about his affair with Lewinsky when being interviewed about something that was separate from Whitewater.

The moral question is still there: yes, he lied to investigators which is bad, but the investigators weren't really acting on any probable cause. In a real court, would such evidence be admissible, where police or prosecutors just kept asking a suspect about every aspect of their lives and then charged them for perjury when they ran up against something the suspect lied about even though the entire line of questioning had nothing to do with what they were suspected of?

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#98604: Aug 14th 2015 at 9:41:36 AM

Indeed - in a court of law, questions like that would be struck as irrelevant and/or badgering.

edited 14th Aug '15 9:41:47 AM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
BonsaiForest Since: Jan, 2001
#98605: Aug 14th 2015 at 1:33:36 PM

A Letter to Donald Trump Supports With One Big Question

You’re fed up. This much I understand. You’re fed up with politicians who say one thing on the campaign trail, like that they’re going to stop illegal immigration, and then do another in Washington; you’re fed up with insiders who rig the system for their benefit at your expense; and you’re fed up with coastal media elites and their insular subculture.

What I don’t understand is why you think a President Trump would treat us better. If you elect the billionaire, what makes you think that he will use whatever talents that he possesses to address your grievances rather than to benefit himself? After all, he’s a man who has zealously pursued his self-interest all his life.

He’s done so as a developer in New York City, where one must be a connected insider to succeed in real estate. He is himself a member of the media elite: a reality television start who had lucrative relationships with NBC and Univision. When he has a problem with Fox News, he calls Roger Ailes on the phone!

(...)

“Trump brags about making a lot of money in Atlantic City, then ditching the place as it slid into misery,” Michael Brendan Dougherty observed in The Week. “Believing Trump will bring America back is as foolish as believing he would bring Atlantic City back. Unlike Rubio and Bush, he's a free man—and perfectly willing to walk away and say it was your fault, but that he enjoyed the ride anyway.”

Trump is a billionaire, you say, so he won’t need to pander to special interests––unlike other Republicans, he can ignore the business lobby and stop illegal immigration.

But that makes no sense. Granted, Trump has all the money he’ll ever need, yet that’s been true for decades, and he’s continued to expend a lot of effort to earn still more money. Like other men with significant, diversified business holdings––some of them hotels and golf courses, no less!––a large supply of cheap immigrant labor is in his personal financial interests. If the business elite is for illegal immigration, he is the business elite! And he’ll face the exact same political incentives as every other elected Republican from George W. Bush to John McCain.

I think this. If Trump became a billionaire by chasing money, what makes you think he'd stop when he's president? Bill Gates has a track record of charity. He realized there was more to life than being the richest man on Earth, and started using his money for good. Until Trump starts doing that, I wouldn't trust him to have our best interests at heart when he's president.

edited 14th Aug '15 1:33:50 PM by BonsaiForest

TheyCallMeTomu Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
#98606: Aug 14th 2015 at 1:38:41 PM

Not to defend Donald Trump, but Trump isn't running for president for money, he's running for ego.

I don't think he'd make a good president, but at the very least, I can't imagine that he'd be totally dismissive of his legacy. If anything, he'd probably genuinely believe horrible policies are good policies and be amazed that people don't think he's the best, greatest, most classiest president ever.

Though, that doesn't sound too different from any other Republican candidate now that I think about it.

SciFiSlasher from Absolutely none of your business. Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
#98607: Aug 14th 2015 at 2:13:36 PM

Why has nobody from the left or right brought up anything from Trump's Wikipedia page? Because that thing is a goldmine.

Trump's immaturity started from a young age; he was expelled and sent to military school for behavioral problems. I want to see somebody ask Trump: "Mr. Trump, if you had behavioral problems as a child, then how can we expect you to be a better person as President?"

"Somehow the hated have to walk a tightrope, while those who hate do not."
TheyCallMeTomu Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
#98608: Aug 14th 2015 at 2:32:18 PM

... because he's been through military school, obviously.

BonsaiForest Since: Jan, 2001
#98609: Aug 14th 2015 at 2:37:52 PM

"Mr. Trump, if you had behavioral problems as a child, then how can we expect you to be a better person as President?"

I wouldn't judge an adult by their childhood.

TheyCallMeTomu Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
#98610: Aug 14th 2015 at 2:43:03 PM

Yeah. Putting aside one's distaste for Trump, it's just a bad argument in general.

SciFiSlasher from Absolutely none of your business. Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
#98611: Aug 14th 2015 at 3:38:34 PM

let us not forget that this is the motherfucker who said that he wins by whining. How very mature.

"Somehow the hated have to walk a tightrope, while those who hate do not."
DrunkenNordmann from Exile Since: May, 2015
#98612: Aug 14th 2015 at 3:47:41 PM

Something I've been always curious about: Is there actually a way for non-rich people to become president? Considering how much money election campaigns in your country cost, the whole system seems to favour candidates who are either rich, influential or both.

To an outsider, it looks like an Rome-style oligarchy, especially with the political dynasties like the Bushs, Clintons and Kennedys.

How far am I off?

We learn from history that we do not learn from history
TheyCallMeTomu Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
#98613: Aug 14th 2015 at 3:49:17 PM

Hey man, if winning by whining works, it's hard to blame him!

Aszur A nice butterfly from Pagliacci's Since: Apr, 2014 Relationship Status: Don't hug me; I'm scared
A nice butterfly
#98614: Aug 14th 2015 at 3:50:22 PM

Well. How often in other countries are people who were not rich president?

It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes
Cid El Cid Since: Jul, 2015 Relationship Status: Hiding
Aszur A nice butterfly from Pagliacci's Since: Apr, 2014 Relationship Status: Don't hug me; I'm scared
A nice butterfly
#98616: Aug 14th 2015 at 3:53:20 PM

Like Hugo Chavez, Nicolas Maduro, or Daniel Ortega?

It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes
Canid117 Since: Oct, 2010 Relationship Status: Hello, I love you
#98617: Aug 14th 2015 at 3:58:55 PM

As I recall, while affluent, Barrack Obama wasn't actually wealthy until his book sold well which was only after he initiated his presidential campaign.

"War without fire is like sausages without mustard." - Jean Juvénal des Ursins
Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#98618: Aug 14th 2015 at 4:14:00 PM

Currently, Obama's net worth is 8 million dollars and among presidents he "ranks 21st in wealth."

No idea how much he had before becoming president though.

Ekuran Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
#98619: Aug 14th 2015 at 4:28:13 PM

Quite a few Presidents started out poor or middle class.

Mopman43 Since: Nov, 2013
#98620: Aug 14th 2015 at 6:42:05 PM

Ulysses Grant died broke. (His memoirs were published posthumously, which supported his wife and children quite well)

Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#98621: Aug 14th 2015 at 7:30:21 PM

Reagan, Clinton and Obama all came from relatively humble origins at least. I think Carter wasn't that wealthy either.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#98622: Aug 14th 2015 at 7:47:55 PM

They were wealthy by the time they ran for office.

Ogodei Fuck you, Fascist sympathizers from The front lines Since: Jan, 2011
Fuck you, Fascist sympathizers
#98623: Aug 14th 2015 at 7:49:11 PM

Jackson, LBJ, and Lincoln didn't come from money either.

Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#98624: Aug 14th 2015 at 7:50:33 PM

[up][up]True, but anyone who runs for high office in an election (revolts and uprisings are sometimes a different story) is likely in a high paying profession by that point.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
storyyeller More like giant cherries from Appleloosa Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: RelationshipOutOfBoundsException: 1
More like giant cherries
#98625: Aug 14th 2015 at 8:19:22 PM

Obama had touted the intervention in Libya as proof of his leading from behind strategy, and now look at the country.

Libya's in a bad situation, but it still doesn't look as bad as Iraq.

Blind Final Fantasy 6 Let's Play

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