He saw the writing on the wall and decided to make a strategic exit. A definitive defeat now would permanently end his career as a politician, but by conceding he leaves the door open to possible future efforts like a presidential bid.
My logic was exactly what I said it was. I never claimed it was good logic. And I never claimed to be psychic and magically understand what other people’s logic is despite them plainly saying their logic is something else. But if that’s what makes you feel superior enough to get through the day then you do you.
Yeah and I just saw (after writing all that!) that Russia and China had warned the USA to not attack Iran, so I could absolutely be way off base there.
Edit: the logic had more to do with Russia’s ambitions to reform their lost empire. Afaik it’s widely believed that after Ukraine, Russia will go for Kazakhstan and possibly Afghanistan. It’s less that I see Russia siding with the USA and Israel, and more that I think Russia will be opportunistic in its military expansion.
I think we can expect Iran to just keep on fighting back, but who I’m REALLY looking at now is Pakistan. They said that if anyone attacked Iran besides Israel, they would enter the war on the side of Iran. Even if America’s participation in the war stopped here (not fucking likely) if Pakistan follows through with their threat then this escalation really, honest to God, could be the start of WW3.
Because here’s the thing: India has been trying to goad Pakistan into their own war for a few months now. So here’s my prediction, although be warned it gets a little crazy after the first 5 points:
Ultimately, the two sides:
THE AGGRESSORS
THE RESPONSE
Oddly I see Australia sitting this one out, as their politics are far enough right to not want to go to war with their traditional allies (eg, the USA) but not left enough to support the response in any meaningful way. Something would have to force their involvement.
As for Central and South America, it’s a mixed bag. Obviously some countries like El Salvador will support Trump, but I think most of them will defend Panama if they get involved at all. I certainly can’t see Argentina and Chile being ok with just letting anybody pass Cape Horn.
Africa I just have no fucking clue. China has been involved in a lot of African countries in very big ways that the African countries aren’t entirely happy about. They could take advantage of the circumstances to seize and nationalize Chinese assets within their borders, which puts them at odds with China/Russia/Israel/et allies and I think they would be pretty ok with that. South Africa in particular I think may take a more active role against the aggressors, given their position controlling the Cape of Good Hope.
Tldr if this plays out anything even remotely like what I’ve written here, and I really REALLY how it doesn’t, we’re all VERY FUCKED.
(This is a work of total conjecture, I’m probably wrong, so don’t waste your breath telling me I’m wrong. That said some of my logic may not be obvious, so I’m happy to answer questions to clarify my thoughts)
if it was him, that’s exactly and all it could or would be.
This is what passes as empathy for conservatives. They’re incapable of seeing things from other people’s points of view, they can only take their own view and project it onto others.
Apply this to EVERYTHING they’ve ever said another people is going to do, or what the other person’s motivations are, or really anything.
Accused of a crime? You can be held for to to 24 hours without official criminal charges.
Accused of being in the country without documentation? You can be held indefinitely, but maybe they’ll let you out sooner rather than later if they decide to acknowledge that they were wrong to nab you.
So profoundly fucked up.
The modern concepts of conservative and liberal are born out of the French Revolution. Conservatives were the monarchists, and they still are.
So there’s this phenomenon where a person can change their mind because of learning new information.
For example, a person can reasonably say “Our elections are safe and secure” and then, after learning new information, say “Our elections are so insecure.”
The last four years don’t undermine the current claims because there was no credible evidence that the election was compromised then. But new information contains evidence that this time the election may have been compromised. This new information can and should encourage people to change their minds about how secure our elections are. Changing your mind in the face of new information isn’t hypocrisy, it’s rational thinking.
As for your last paragraph, confirming the number of people who voted and the number of ballots recorded does nothing to verify that the ballots were recorded correctly. To do that they need to audit the paper ballots against the computerized count, which is a massive undertaking that will require a lot of time and money. There’s nothing simple about that.
Look, I don’t completely disagree with you. IMO the only thing that’s going to stop the fascists (without taking us into full blown war) is a general strike. And it’s frustrating to see nothing but planned demonstrations, schedule to a specific day, and only for that day. A protest with a scheduled end time is a protest that’s planned its own failure.
But that’s not what’s happening in LA, and that’s why the fascists are trying to put it down so hard. This thing is finally, organically, taking on a life of its own. Will it last? Does it have staying power? Who knows, but why discourage it? Why be cynical and reduce the chance that this time is different even further? You’re literally the problem you just complained about.
All of that said, I genuinely understand why you’re cynical. All I can really say is that you gotta be the change you want to see in the world. I hate using a canned phrase like that but in this case it’s deeply true.
Ya hear that everyone? Cancel the protests! We just gotta buy some bumper stickers and t-shirts, and Trump will be done for! Thank goodness Melvin figured it out, we’d be in real trouble otherwise!
Interestingly, Mexico is celebrating a change in their constitution that let’s them elect judges.
I don’t think the problem in America is the fact these people are elected. I think the problem in America is Americans.
Well, that’s the federal government and these are state governments. Of course not THIS federal government, they mean the other federal government, the shadow government. You know the one that disobeys laws, kills millions of people for financial gain, covers up the pedofilia and drug problems of their membership, ignores the Constitution, and is trying to change the world for their own benefit? Well not that one, the other one that tries to keeps everything functioning, root out corruption, and write rules to try and protect people. THAT shadow government. It’s evil dontchaknow and these new laws will definitely show them that the states won’t stand for it any more!
They do it because it creates a premise, a justification, for policy changes and to bully private entities into following new policy. It doesn’t matter that the documents they’re using for justification are incorrect and mostly fiction because they’ll never admit to that. Any attempt at rebuttal will be completely ignored and they just keep repeating “we have to do X because of Y justification and if you don’t do X also then you hate America.”
Is your reading comprehension ok?
It takes more than 15 hours a week to raise a child properly
That’s MY point
So you agree that what you wrote in your original comment is a bullshit defense of a bullshit article?
Your apologetics is unbecoming. The article is intentionally written to promote the notion that a 40-hour work week is unbiblical, and the line you’ve cited is included to give plausible deniability to anyone who says otherwise.
If you take into account any “activity [that] is demanding, consistent and productive” most people are already “working” way more than 55 hours a week, especially if they’re a parent. To suggest otherwise is profoundly ignorant or disingenuous. This suggests an ulterior motive: begin manufacturing consent to get rid of weekly work hour limits.
Yeah, this is a very real phenomenon and it’s difficult to do anything about it sometimes. People develope an internal profile of you based on their perceptions, and anything they say about you is based on THAT, not reality. It’s even more difficult when it’s somebody close to you who’s internalized that profile so much it’s become part of who they identify as. You’ll see this with the parents of trans kids where the parent has internalized some aspect of their child and it’s become part of their identity. “I’m the father of three sons” kind of thing. Then one of the kids comes out as female and the parent has a really difficult time with it because they identified themselves as the parent of three male children and that’s turned out to be incorrect, they’re the parent of two boys and one girl and they need to change how they identify themselves in addition to how they identify their daughter. Some parents have a really REALLY hard time of it (they still gotta do it though if they don’t want to be a shitty person)
In this case, the hospital doesn’t have to do anything like that because the anti abortion law itself is coercion enough. If the family does anything that could even potentially contribute to the fetus dying, such as refusing care, they’ll be prosecuted for murder. That they can’t afford the care is immaterial.
No, they get that. They WANT that. It’s what the dark enlightenment bullshit is all about, and the religious nutjobs think it’ll bring about the kingdom of heaven. They both want civilization in shambles, completely unable to resist their authoritarian fantasies.
This is just trying to ban access to fluoride entirely
Well yeah. These are extremists, absolutists, radicals. Their dogma must be simple and without exceptions. If they admit even one scenario where fluoride has more benefits than deficits, their whole ideology and worldview crumbles. Nuance is an existential threat.
If it’s “just a job” like working retail at Target, sure, that’s a respectable take. It’s still blaming the victim, but it’s also advocating for the victim to address the issue themselves.
But if it’s not “just a job”? If it’s your life’s work, your calling, something you love more than anything else?
That idea is very likely what drove her to the brink. You really have no fucking clue what you’re talking about.
I’ve been there and I almost didn’t survive. Choosing to live isn’t always so easy.