Merv's Politically Incorrect Audio Blog

Discussion in 'SBAF Blogs' started by purr1n, Dec 26, 2018.

  1. Elysian

    Elysian Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2015
    Likes Received:
    134
    Trophy Points:
    33
    Location:
    Bay Area, CA
    @YMO: I think Trump would get more done during his second term as he was hamstrung from initially poor cabinet choices and continually dealing with Russian collusion allegations.

    He's fortunate that the GOP extended its control of the senate during midterms so he didn't have to deal with the issues Obama faced during his second term. I think most people would concede that Cocaine Mitch is an effective Senate majority leader and he's helped Trump get a lot enacted.
     
  2. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Apr 1, 2018
    Likes Received:
    10,517
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Palms Of The Coasts, FL
    Honestly I blame Trump for not making the best decision on his cabinet. As stated on the article that I linked, the biggest issue I have with Trump is he needs to follow thru with stuff. Personally the dealing with the Russian collusion allegations isn't an excuse since the military will proceed without the drama in DC. Then again, what do I know.

    Cocaine Mitch impact will be felt for decades. He gotten the GOP to follow in step, and mostly trying to push out the moderate GOP senators out of Washington. Sooner or later what is a point of being a senator if you are going to be lock-step with the party. GOP wasn't expected to lose seats back in 2018 due to it was a favorable map for them. They will have to play defense this year and in 2022.
     
    Last edited: Oct 18, 2020
  3. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

    Staff Member Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2015
    Likes Received:
    89,777
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Padre Island CC TX
    Tidbit. I didn't realize this, but this makes me want to puke. Numbers in billions.
    [​IMG]

    We could have installed solar panels with Tesla battery packs on every home in the USA a few times over already.
    WTF are we doing?
     
  4. Darkstar1

    Darkstar1 Facebook Friend

    Contributor
    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2019
    Likes Received:
    173
    Trophy Points:
    33
    Location:
    Brooklyn, NYC
    I don't think we need to get use to it or should accept this. I don't think you need to go into a full scale war to stop it. You can't stop everything but I do believe there is are steps, policies and actions in-between full scale war and doing very little that can reduce risks and keep people safer.

    I agree expecting that democracy will work everywhere or destabilizing governments is to helpful for is not wise.
     
  5. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Apr 1, 2018
    Likes Received:
    10,517
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Palms Of The Coasts, FL
    [​IMG]
     
  6. Darkstar1

    Darkstar1 Facebook Friend

    Contributor
    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2019
    Likes Received:
    173
    Trophy Points:
    33
    Location:
    Brooklyn, NYC

    So insane.... We will pay for that while we have so many problems and debt.
     
  7. Elysian

    Elysian Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2015
    Likes Received:
    134
    Trophy Points:
    33
    Location:
    Bay Area, CA
    I don't know anything about how things work at the Pentagon but I suspect there are far more politics involved than they let on. Even though they're technically supposed to follow the orders of the Commander-in-Chief, I'm sure they have countless ways to prevaricate and delay, just like the other three-letter agencies.

    Mitch McConnell is what I think people expect when they have a veteran elected official. It seems like he knows how to get things done. He's effective and ruthless while not being flashy. Meanwhile Biden is hopped up on Adderall at the debates/town halls and otherwise looks completely out to lunch, and Pelosi is having minor seizures on television.

    This makes me feel ill. As much as Republicans bash the prior administrator for Solyndra and shovel-ready projects, the waste and overreach in the GWOT are magnitudes of order larger. I wish we had a better apparatus for modeling what kind of programs actually help society, and it doesn't seem like legislators feel any responsibility for the tax dollars that they spend.

    It really bothers me that the government has started labeling taxes as revenue over the last several years. I feel like the idea of equating taxes and revenue together is misleading as for-profit businesses aren't guaranteed revenue the way county, state, and federal government can legislate tax collection.

    @Darkstar1: Great point. I wouldn't be surprised if most of that spending was financed through raising our debt burden.
     
  8. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Apr 1, 2018
    Likes Received:
    10,517
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Palms Of The Coasts, FL
    Be very careful about your bias. I know plenty of Dems who don't think Biden is on drugs (but Trump is) and acts like a leader, while Pelosi does a great job keeping the Squad in check in the House and not crazy on how she does things.

    We all have biases, but sometimes you need to step away and see the other perspective. For me, Trump is just another Democrat who is an elected Republican that is doing old-fashion Democrat policies which I hate (tariffs, protectionism, etc.). However, I spent plenty of time talking to those who love Trump to understand where they are coming from, including why they think he is great for the Republican Party.
     
    Last edited: Oct 18, 2020
  9. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

    Staff Member Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2015
    Likes Received:
    89,777
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Padre Island CC TX
    Of course! Good and smart diplomacy should be our preferred method. Security as well (airports, cities, subways, etc.). Funding of intelligence gathering operations. Counter insurgency operations is another, but I am having serious doubts about this approach in terms of scope, transparency, and effectiveness. Violence always begets violence.

    --

    At least we did Iraq and Syria on the cheap from 2012 :)

    upload_2020-10-18_11-24-37.png
     
  10. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

    Staff Member Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2015
    Likes Received:
    89,777
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Padre Island CC TX
    Funny how that happens. Federal gov't spending was crazy during GWB. Clinton and Obama kept things in check - with the exception that Obama inherited a recession which required a big jump in spending his first year.
     
    Last edited: Oct 18, 2020
  11. Elysian

    Elysian Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2015
    Likes Received:
    134
    Trophy Points:
    33
    Location:
    Bay Area, CA
    We have far too many elected officials who should have retired long ago. I wish we had term limits in congress and the senate. I don't know any of these elected officials in person and we're so reliant on what conventional and independent media shows us but I suspect a lot of the nuance is lost. For example, I think Trump is trolling when he talks about a third term and leaving the country if the loses the election but I have plenty of friends who think he's dead serious. None of us actually know him and can contextualize where he's coming from with surety.

    Back to term limits, in the professional world, there's a huge priority on keeping your skills sharp and there's a point where you just can't keep up with industry and the intensity of work. We have too much bias towards inertia with our elected officials and not accurately quantifying results. Same problem in the non-profit space demonstrating return.

    It's been exciting seeing younger Democrats and Republicans make inroads. Now we just need to get less of The Squad and more people on both sides of the aisles compromising and coming to the middle.
     
  12. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Apr 1, 2018
    Likes Received:
    10,517
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Palms Of The Coasts, FL
    One of my idols is Barry Goldwater. I read his book that he wrote after he retired from the Senate in the 80s. He received flack from being 100% against C-SPAN/Video Cameras from coming into Congress and record Congress business on video. He saw the changes of Senators where they started to look good with make-up and better dressed suits. He also noticed the Senators working on improving their sound bites when they where on camera. Hey, sound bites works well on cable news and gives them exposure. He feared that this would make Congress become less productive. Guess what, he was right. His book is great because he was giving warnings to Congress and the GOP on other things that he was right on.

    I know most blame Newt Gingrich for "breaking Congress." I think he has some fault here, but I really became convinced that the seeds of why Congress isn't being effective is bringing those video cameras into Congress.. Look the results of it today: Congressmen/Congresswomen and Senators love going on Twitter/Social Media and blab about their soundbites that C-SPAN recorded them saying on video.

    I guess Goldwater was right....
     
    Last edited: Oct 18, 2020
  13. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

    Staff Member Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2015
    Likes Received:
    89,777
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Padre Island CC TX
    Not enough people in the country have been exposed to old school New York City folks. And mix Media and Entertainment with old school New York City, and we really got something on our hands. Should hear the old NYC ladies talking down the cabbies and about minorities. That whole "grab 'em by the pussy" thing... totally. Did we expect otherwise?
     
    Last edited: Oct 18, 2020
  14. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Apr 1, 2018
    Likes Received:
    10,517
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Palms Of The Coasts, FL
    Or just go to South Florida. ;)
     
  15. crenca

    crenca Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    May 26, 2017
    Likes Received:
    3,825
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Southern New Mexico
    I saw "presidential advisor Dr. Scott Atlas" has had his tweets removed for asserting a simple and unambiguous way that "masks don't work." Bullshit. Like everything else there are caveats, but masks are extremely effective in several of the most common circumstances, which is why they have been a standard part of medicine for 125 years.

    Is Dr. Flat Earther some kind of libertarian commissar for Trump/GOP? Don't know, don't care. Is he trying to make some kind of nuanced point about the when and where of masks, the degree to which they help, or the like and is simply being misunderstood? I see no evidence of that.

    It's bullshit like this - this triumph of ideology (libertarian in this case) over reality, that will help explain a Biden win...
     
  16. squishware

    squishware Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Nov 17, 2019
    Likes Received:
    424
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    on a whole other plane
  17. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Apr 1, 2018
    Likes Received:
    10,517
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Palms Of The Coasts, FL
    No one here is going to watch a 26:41 minute long video on Bitchute. Provide bullet points please.
     
  18. squishware

    squishware Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Nov 17, 2019
    Likes Received:
    424
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    on a whole other plane
    Inventor of PCR test died in August of this year of "Pneumonia"
    The PCR test is what is used to determine "cases" of Covid-19
    The PCR test is method a of duplicating a fragment of virus (for example)
    exponentially until it is detectable. It does not differentiate between live or dead viruses or if the fragment was from Covid or a Corona virus that causes the common cold.
    If you repeat it exponentially 60 times it shows presence for everyone
    It gets pretty inaccurate at 35 times. The WHO recommends 45 times.
    The point is they can get whatever results they want whenever they want.
    It's about a great a system as having a mandatory vaccine prepaid by governments without ANY liability no matter what happens. Perfect marketing system for a perfect product.
     
  19. will_f

    will_f Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Dec 15, 2019
    Likes Received:
    902
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    USA
    Don’t forget the Brits before them. Whatever you might think of the Afghans, they are a tough people.
     
  20. Psalmanazar

    Psalmanazar Most improved member; A+

    Pyrate Slaytanic Cliff Clavin
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    5,345
    Trophy Points:
    113
    @purr1n we could have conquered the whole place and taken all of their stuff for far less than that. That’s what made war profitable in the past. Spending billions for hearts, minds, or communism is ridiculous. We expect these people to go along with western ideas because we threw money at their rulers. That’s not how these other countries got semi-westernized. They got westernized the same way the Greeks and Romans hellenized and romanized and the Manchu made the Chinese cut their hair: at the point of a sword.

    The Taliban came back because they did basic stuff like shoot everyone who deals drugs except for them, kill criminals, shoot pederasts, blow up corrupt police stations, assassinate politicians, shoot everyone who interferes with mining, etc. All are very popular moves. The Taliban became much better at resource extraction in Afghanistan than both the USA and the Afghan government. They harvest the two things Afghanistan has: rare minerals and heroin. If this was an RTS, they’re winning and the USA is transferring gold to another player who sucks. All they have to do is not lose until the USA disconnects.
     

Share This Page