78 replies to this topic

[Lysistrata]

the same can be said about the banks. That they were "too big to fail." Well you know what, maybe one or 2 of them should have failed.

Oh man... common ground once again... I don't know what to do... all those banks should have fried with everyone else. Single worst decision I have ever lived to see. I think I really like you... don't tell anyone.

[Lysistrata]

You made it public and you made your remarks in a thread that I started. I invited you to talk privately and you refused. Show some personal accountability. You whine about progressives name calling, but you are the person doing all the name calling. I can point to numerous instances of you insulting and name calling and personally attacking people. That is not debate, that is bullying. You have just announced that you are incapable of having a conversation with someone who disagrees with you without bullying and you "apologize," but will continue to be abusive. It is a pity that you cannot honestly reflect upon yourself and the people around here and behave appropriately, particularly because anything valuable you might add to a debate is lost in your ugly rhetoric. Please think about what I am saying - for your own sake.

Okay dear, since I'm getting pushed into the corner... I'll say it.

 

I have nothing to hide. Sunlight is the best antiseptic. Hillary's private server is closed, and in the hands of the FBI. I play the game, and post on these forums... but I do not live alone. My wife reads these pages, and the invitation to go private kinda gave me the creeps. That's just me... not you, so don't get all defensive, offended, and call me names.

 

I know in the Progressives world that when Conservatives defend themselves it's considered bullying. I promise to always deliver the same degree of respect I receive. I do hope to not have to keep adding more to this conversation. I do appreciate your concern.

[onbekende]

 

^^ black and white is always a good feeding ground for extremism.

 

 

 

 

Supreme Court and Federal Judges are appointed by the President. Our local Judges are elected. I don't know how others do it.

For local judges, some states (NJ comes to mind) appoint their judges, while others (PA, for example) elect them.

I'm of the opinion that no judge should be elected. They should be appointed.

 

I hate electing Judges... I don't know anything about them and they ask me for my vote.

 

 

How about sheriff's?

[Bill N Ted]

 

Creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913.  

That's when the USA stopped being great?

 

 

Yes.  

The creation of the Third Central Bank of the USA and its continued existence.

 

In my opinion Woodrow Wilson, 2 days before Christmas in 1913, of course opinions will vary, why don't you have a read into it if it is not something that you are familiar with?

[Sister Midnight]

Oh Betsy! How I wish I was even remotely as articulate as Jon Stewart! Thank you for posting that.

 

Creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913.  

That's when the USA stopped being great?
 

 
Yes.  
The creation of the Third Central Bank of the USA and its continued existence.
 
In my opinion Woodrow Wilson, 2 days before Christmas in 1913, of course opinions will vary, why don't you have a read into it if it is not something that you are familiar with?

I will look into it, thanks.

[ccabal86]

Stewart is a briliant guy, good find.

[hilowe]

Donald Trump has not even begun to serve yet, and you say it's a foregone conclusion that he's a lying, self-serving, puppet for the wealthy. I'm looking at the upcoming Trump era with optimistic skepticism. It appears that he will be taking the same path as Ronald Reagan did when he had to fix the disastrous Carter economy... this should do the trick. The rest of his campaign promises we just have to wait and see. If you're right... I will come here and congratulate you on your brilliant clairvoyance and we will fix it. If you're wrong... will you come here and tell us you were wrong?

 

Had someone give me this website, said it was a pretty good, and actually fair, breakdown of Trump's positions on things.  I haven't had a chance to do more than glance through it, so I don't know if the facts that are referenced are actually true or not (especially the voting numbers that are referenced a couple of times).

 

http://slatestarcodex.com/2016/11/16/you-are-still-crying-wolf/

[Sister Midnight]

My wife reads these pages, and the invitation to go private kinda gave me the creeps. That's just me... not you, so don't get all defensive, offended, and call me names.

Thank you for the explanation, I respect you for it.

[onbekende]

So whats the deal about Trump's son-in-law throwing Chris Christie & co out? Not really surprising that he got thrown out, he usually only looked "alive" near Trump and nothing more .

[Sister Midnight]

So whats the deal about Trump's son-in-law throwing Chris Christie & co out? Not really surprising that he got thrown out, he usually only looked "alive" near Trump and nothing more .

Christie prosecuted the son-in-law's dad for something.  I imagine there's no love lost between them.

[ccabal86]

Jeff Sessions, Michael Flynn and Mike Pompeo? Interesting. From what I read, Flynn looks like he's a no-nonsense guy and he's somewhat competent

[Sister Midnight]

The second we start water boarding we will be a lot less great.

[Lysistrata]

 

So whats the deal about Trump's son-in-law throwing Chris Christie & co out? Not really surprising that he got thrown out, he usually only looked "alive" near Trump and nothing more .

Christie prosecuted the son-in-law's dad for something.  I imagine there's no love lost between them.

 

This is true. I think it was illegal campaign contributions. I think he was sentenced to two years in the big house, but I don't know how much of it he actually served. A couple of Christie's staff was recently convicted for Bridgegate.. so it's probably smart to cut some distance from him... but Kelly Ayotte just narrowly lost her Senate seat in New Hampshire, and didn't fight for a recount. I would bet money that she will end up somewhere in the Trump Administration... but with Chris on the loose, watch out for mysterious bridge closures around Concord. I'm being sarcastic of course.

[onbekende]

Heared the guilty father (thus making him Trump's brother-in-law, does that work that way? Just sounds weird ) then got the prosecuters best witness (a friend/business partner) into marital problem when entrapping him with a hooker.

[ccabal86]

The second we start water boarding we will be a lot less great.

So, is that now? I'm pretty sure despite everything the CIA still does it at blacksites

[Sister Midnight]

Heared the guilty father (thus making him Trump's brother-in-law, does that work that way? Just sounds weird ) then got the prosecuters best witness (a friend/business partner) into marital problem when entrapping him with a hooker.

No it doesn't work that way.  He's the father of Don's son-in-law.  There's no other title that I know of aside from his daughter's father-in-law.  There is no relationship at all.  And if Jared Kushner wasn't married to Ivanka, I suspect Christie would still be in the fold.  Don's VERY fond of Ivanka and wouldn't want to alienate her.

 

The second we start water boarding we will be a lot less great.

So, is that now? I'm pretty sure despite everything the CIA still does it at blacksites

 

As far as I know Obama did away with water boarding.  Don and his proposed CIA head have both stated they support it.

[DeathMerchant]

Heared the guilty father (thus making him Trump's brother-in-law, does that work that way? Just sounds weird ) then got the prosecuters best witness (a friend/business partner) into marital problem when entrapping him with a hooker.

No it doesn't work that way.  He's the father of Don's son-in-law.  There's no other title that I know of aside from his daughter's father-in-law.  There is no relationship at all.  And if Jared Kushner wasn't married to Ivanka, I suspect Christie would still be in the fold.  Don's VERY fond of Ivanka and wouldn't want to alienate her.

 

The second we start water boarding we will be a lot less great.

So, is that now? I'm pretty sure despite everything the CIA still does it at blacksites
 

As far as I know Obama did away with water boarding.  Don and his proposed CIA head have both stated they support it.

Long story short, Obama's ban on water boarding only applied to the CIA and their respective 'black sites'. JSOC (Joint Special Operations Command) was not effected by this ban. The Defense Department is rumored to use water boarding on military service members as part of SERE (Survival Evasion Resistance Escape) training. This is supposedly done to allow SERE students better understanding of the types of torture they may expect to receive if captured.

So on paper, Obama's Executive Order only authorizes the 19 interrogation methods in US Army field manual on interrogations. This is what the CIA must abide by, except if the Attorney General steps in to offer 'alternative' guidance. But as I mentioned before JSOC is exempt from all of this.

Does the US still water board detainees? My best answer is no, but I imagine other minor Enhanced Interrogation Techniques have been used. The public hasn't been given any more answers in regards to this.

[Sister Midnight]

Heared the guilty father (thus making him Trump's brother-in-law, does that work that way? Just sounds weird ) then got the prosecuters best witness (a friend/business partner) into marital problem when entrapping him with a hooker.

No it doesn't work that way. He's the father of Don's son-in-law. There's no other title that I know of aside from his daughter's father-in-law. There is no relationship at all. And if Jared Kushner wasn't married to Ivanka, I suspect Christie would still be in the fold. Don's VERY fond of Ivanka and wouldn't want to alienate her.

The second we start water boarding we will be a lot less great.

So, is that now? I'm pretty sure despite everything the CIA still does it at blacksites

As far as I know Obama did away with water boarding. Don and his proposed CIA head have both stated they support it.

Long story short, Obama's ban on water boarding only applied to the CIA and their respective 'black sites'. JSOC (Joint Special Operations Command) was not effected by this ban. The Defense Department is rumored to use water boarding on military service members as part of SERE (Survival Evasion Resistance Escape) training. This is supposedly done to allow SERE students better understanding of the types of torture they may expect to receive if captured.
So on paper, Obama's Executive Order only authorizes the 19 interrogation methods in US Army field manual on interrogations. This is what the CIA must abide by, except if the Attorney General steps in to offer 'alternative' guidance. But as I mentioned before JSOC is exempt from all of this.
Does the US still water board detainees? My best answer is no, but I imagine other minor Enhanced Interrogation Techniques have been used. The public hasn't been given any more answers in regards to this.

I would also assume some of our elite personnel willingly submit to water boarding and other torture. I can't begin to imagine what that crap must be like. When we torture our detainees in that manner, I believe we lose a bit of our collective soul (not the very good '90s rock band ), and as already said, become less great.

I'll bet someone out there would say, "would you rather be the victim of a terrorist attack, or water board someone we think has information?" My husband was at ground zero on 9/11 and I spent a good part of the day of that day not knowing if he was dead. Together we had to live with the aftermath. I'd say we were victims of terrorism. America is diminished when we water board suspects.

[ccabal86]

The biggest problem with torture is that the extracted information is often unreliable. If you torture someone enough, they will say wahtever you want to hear.