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

Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#143951: Oct 13th 2016 at 7:57:26 PM

I don't doubt you...but how do you know this? Just asking.

Because he passes the Stalin Test (something Trump might not) you've provided no evidence or argument for Putin being unwinded mad willing to destroy the planet, just your own fears.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
TheWanderer Student of Story from Somewhere in New England (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
Student of Story
#143952: Oct 13th 2016 at 7:59:02 PM

[up][up]The Senate is all you need for Supreme Court nominees. If Dems have control of the Senate, then Republicans will have to filibuster to stop an appointment, which is rare and unpopular. If I were Clinton, I'd have a list of at least 10 different nominees, each one more liberal than the next, and every time the Senate Reps try to block one, I'd just pull out the next that was worse from their point of view, while their resistance gets worn down over time.

edited 13th Oct '16 7:59:42 PM by TheWanderer

| Wandering, but not lost. | If people bring so much courage to this world...◊ |
Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#143953: Oct 13th 2016 at 8:00:58 PM

Didn't the nuclear option on filibustering presidential appointees get activated a while ago? Meaning they'd have to actually filibuster, not threaten one, but actually stand there and talk for the whole time.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
TheWanderer Student of Story from Somewhere in New England (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
Student of Story
#143954: Oct 13th 2016 at 8:03:16 PM

Regular presidential appointments were affected by that, but not the Supreme Court, iirc. Hence why I said I'd have that strategy to put the screws to them set up in advance were I in Clinton's place.

| Wandering, but not lost. | If people bring so much courage to this world...◊ |
KarkatTheDalek Not as angry as the name would suggest. from Somwhere in Time/Space Since: Mar, 2012 Relationship Status: You're a beautiful woman, probably
Not as angry as the name would suggest.
#143955: Oct 13th 2016 at 8:06:42 PM

[up][up][up] I'd enjoy that very much.

[up][up][up][up] Again, I'm sorry - I'm afraid when it comes to this sort of thing, my ignorance shows itself. In this case, I'm afraid I don't know what the Stalin test is.

edited 13th Oct '16 8:06:55 PM by KarkatTheDalek

Oh God! Natural light!
Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#143956: Oct 13th 2016 at 8:18:39 PM

[up] The Stalin Test is something I came up with it's myself, so not knowing about it is fine. tongue It's a basic principle, is the world leader more crazy then Stalin, if not than they're actually okay to have nuclear weapons (well okay in the sense that they won't destroy the planet, there are other reason to not want proliferation), because even Stalin wasn't crazy enough to start WW3.

That's why Trump is so scary to me, I'm not sure he actually understand that launching a nuke would destroy the planet, he doesn't understand cause and effect, he doesn't understand that actions have consequences.

Put in is an ass, maybe even a villain, but he's not even Stalin level of crazy, and Stalin was sane enough to not start WW3, so we're fine with Putin.

edited 13th Oct '16 8:19:33 PM by Silasw

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
KarkatTheDalek Not as angry as the name would suggest. from Somwhere in Time/Space Since: Mar, 2012 Relationship Status: You're a beautiful woman, probably
Not as angry as the name would suggest.
#143957: Oct 13th 2016 at 8:22:48 PM

Ah, okay.

Yeah, that makes sense. I guess I'm just very jumpy right now.

Oh God! Natural light!
Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#143958: Oct 13th 2016 at 8:25:04 PM

I came up with it as a way to calm myself down, because it's easy to say someone's a crazy megalomaniac, but when you sit yourself down and go "yeah but are they crazier then Stalin was?" and realise that the inevitable no mean the person is sane enough to not start WW3 you calm down a hit.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
CaptainCapsase from Orbiting Sagittarius A* Since: Jan, 2015
#143959: Oct 13th 2016 at 8:28:51 PM

It's entirely possible Putin intends to employ Nixon's infamous "madman" strategy; acting like he's willing to start a nuclear war so that his adversaries won't dare test Russia.

If we want to be charitable/reassure ourselves in the event we roll a natural 1 and elect him in spite of everything that's happened this month, that could also be true of Trump.

edited 13th Oct '16 8:30:13 PM by CaptainCapsase

KarkatTheDalek Not as angry as the name would suggest. from Somwhere in Time/Space Since: Mar, 2012 Relationship Status: You're a beautiful woman, probably
Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#143961: Oct 13th 2016 at 8:35:14 PM

Testing Russia in the sense of say invading Belarus? Yeah I'd say Putin's got that covered as is, that's not even madman strategy, that's just a strait up sphere of influence and defensive alliance.

Putin can't pretend to be a madman, it's not something you can fake, you have to live it and embody it like Trump does. Even Nixon didn't come across as crazier then Stalin.

As for reassurances in the case of a Trump victory, I'll take your theory that the secret service would put a bullet in him if he tried to launch a nuclear first strike, that or the international community would collectively deciding to eliminate Trump so as to protect planetary security. I think that Pence is crazy, but he at least passes the Stalin Test.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
Elle Since: Jan, 2001
#143962: Oct 13th 2016 at 8:40:47 PM

On that note, if the Russian government is trying to disrupt the election/shill for Trump, they must realize by now that Trump's chances are sunk. That leaves them with two options I see: cut him loose and let things run their course or try to contribute to as much disinformation and chaos as possible to try and destabilize Clinton.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#143963: Oct 13th 2016 at 8:46:51 PM

[up] The second option being riskier since it increases the chances of being caught.

Disgusted, but not surprised
Krieger22 Causing freakouts over sourcing since 2018 from Malaysia Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: I'm in love with my car
Causing freakouts over sourcing since 2018
#143964: Oct 13th 2016 at 9:14:31 PM

Well, they have already been "caught", given the suspicions regarding Guccifer 2.0 and Wikileaks.

And then there was that Russian politician. I hear that he's considered a loon even by other Russian politicians?

I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiot
CrimsonZephyr Would that it were so simple. from Massachusetts Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
Would that it were so simple.
#143965: Oct 13th 2016 at 9:15:36 PM

Wasn't the nuking threats made by Zhirinovsky, a guy even Russians think is a total clown?

"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."
AlleyOop Since: Oct, 2010
#143966: Oct 13th 2016 at 9:15:38 PM

Curious but what exactly is the Stalin Test?

AmbarSonofDeshar Since: Jan, 2010
#143967: Oct 13th 2016 at 9:37:43 PM

"Is this person crazier than Josef Stalin"?

Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#143968: Oct 13th 2016 at 9:40:31 PM

[up][up] Like I said it's my own thing, basically is a leader crazier then Stalin, because as much as Stalin was a madman he was sane enough to not start WW3.

As for Russia's actions now Trump loosing is looking certain, that assumes that Putin wants Trump to win. If this entire thing was a giant bit of trolling/an attempt to give Clinton a divided nation to run so that she can't focus on facing down Russia internationally, than a Trump lose is part of the plan, he just has to get enough votes to cause lots of domestic divisions within the US.

edited 13th Oct '16 9:41:07 PM by Silasw

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
storyyeller More like giant cherries from Appleloosa Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: RelationshipOutOfBoundsException: 1
More like giant cherries
#143969: Oct 13th 2016 at 9:53:09 PM

Russia benefits if people are disillusioned with democracy. Likewise if they believe its propaganda.

Blind Final Fantasy 6 Let's Play
Elle Since: Jan, 2001
#143970: Oct 13th 2016 at 9:57:23 PM

I kinda think the level of bad things would have to get here to stop being a threat to Russia is pretty serious, maybe more than even Trumpists can generate. The President has a lot of power when it comes to foriegn policy, the only thing Congress needs to be called on for is declaring war and ratifying treaties.

edited 13th Oct '16 9:57:37 PM by Elle

Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#143971: Oct 13th 2016 at 10:32:18 PM

To stop the US being a threat sure, you can't do that. But the US president can be distracted and have their attention focused domestically, it might not swing a lot of attention away from Russia but even a little could be a gain for the Kremlin.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#143973: Oct 13th 2016 at 11:48:29 PM

Russia screwing around with U.S. internal politics is especially annoying since I'm pretty sure they have their own problems too. Shouldn't Putin be focused on Russia's struggling economy? Or Siberia literally falling apart?

Disgusted, but not surprised
Krieger22 Causing freakouts over sourcing since 2018 from Malaysia Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: I'm in love with my car
Causing freakouts over sourcing since 2018
#143974: Oct 14th 2016 at 12:37:26 AM

The last I heard of it, diversification of the economy was Medvedev's purview. Putin usually does strongman posturing in newspapers. Hence the hypermasculine photo ops.

Anyone willing to try to help decipher what exactly Ben Carson said here?

I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiot
Mr.Didact Keep Hope Alive from Winterfell Since: Jan, 2010 Relationship Status: Naked on a bearskin rug, playing the saxophone
Keep Hope Alive
#143975: Oct 14th 2016 at 1:50:53 AM

It seems like he's saying that what Trump did was a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad thing but that Clinton being POTUS would be even worse so they should focus on saving the country first then fixing America's morality issues.

Stand Fast, Stand Strong, Stand Together

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