futon Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 One can be taking important phone calls while on vacation. One can be leaning back on the chair doing nothing while on the clock. One could be doing nothing but vacation while on vacation and leaning back on the chair doing nothing while on the clock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmgill Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 Is he really in vacation or just retired on the job? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soren Ras Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 I think it's pretty neat that we are getting a clear demonstration that POTUS is not really an essential job. Keep it in mind next time there is a pandemic lockdown or government shutdown. Who knew? 😎 -- Soren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ssnake Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 It's not essential while you can coast along in "Situation normal" mode. Unfortunately, an enemy aware of this might decide to take this as a window of opportunity to change the situation to "something exceptional". This is however not a neutrally random event. A presidency in coasting mode increases the risk that an enemy may decide to flip the table and change the rules of the game simply because of the opportunity presenting itself. If a president's party has also control of House and Senate, a lot of governmental activity will work no matter the President's health status, physical or mental. A split Congress, or one in the hands of the opposition, and either nothing or not much gets done without an active President. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Galbraith Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 Its kind of like watching Superman, when its been a slow week for disasters. Alright, more like Bicycle Repair man, when its been a slow week for bike accidents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soren Ras Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 58 minutes ago, Ssnake said: It's not essential while you can coast along in "Situation normal" mode. Unfortunately, an enemy aware of this might decide to take this as a window of opportunity to change the situation to "something exceptional". This is however not a neutrally random event. A presidency in coasting mode increases the risk that an enemy may decide to flip the table and change the rules of the game simply because of the upportunity presenting itself. If a president's party has also control of House and Senate, a lot of governmental activity will work no matter the President's health status, physical or mental. A split Congress, or one in the hands of ther opposition, and either nothing or not much gets done without an active President. Oh, you are no fun. Absolutely 100% correct, but no fun. -- Soren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soren Ras Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 30 minutes ago, Stuart Galbraith said: Its kind of like watching Superman, when its been a slow week for disasters. Alright, more like Bicycle Repair man, when its been a slow week for bike accidents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ssnake Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 20 minutes ago, Soren Ras said: Oh, you are no fun. Absolutely 100% correct, but no fun. We have reached a global parody inversion point where it's impossible to read whether someone is serious about absurd propositions or not. Scott Adams nailed it in 2019: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soren Ras Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 LOL. Yes, well, to update John Greenleaf Whittier: "Of all sad words ever said to me, The saddest are these: It wasn't the Babylon Bee." -- Soren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim the Tank Nut Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 Well, we can credit President Biden with one thing, certainly. The Military Curretn Events forum is much more active than it used to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunday Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 13 minutes ago, Tim the Tank Nut said: Well, we can credit President Biden with one thing, certainly. The Military Curretn Events forum is much more active than it used to be. I reckon that to credit is not the same that to thank. There is also that Chinese curse about interesting times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glenn239 Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 3 hours ago, Ssnake said: Unfortunately, an enemy aware of this might decide to take this as a window of opportunity to change the situation to "something exceptional". Both Ukraine and Israel have each done 'something exceptional' lately, possibly on the calculation that no one is home on the Potomac, so the danger is not just with enemies taking advantage, but with allies as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunday Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 21 minutes ago, glenn239 said: Both Ukraine and Israel have each done 'something exceptional' lately, possibly on the calculation that no one is home on the Potomac, so the danger is not just with enemies taking advantage, but with allies as well. There is a somewhat famous, but obscure, quote in the matter Quote “Lord, protect me from my friends; I can take care of my enemies.” ― Voltaire In a quite hilarious way, the usual boilerplate text of that webpage takes a new meaning: Quote Friends Who Liked This Quote To see what your friends thought of this quote, please sign up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivanhoe Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 3 hours ago, Ssnake said: It's not essential while you can coast along in "Situation normal" mode. Absolutely. And the the situation is not just normal, it is joyful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmgill Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 39 minutes ago, glenn239 said: Both Ukraine and Israel have each done 'something exceptional' lately, possibly on the calculation that no one is home on the Potomac, so the danger is not just with enemies taking advantage, but with allies as well. Arguably, Oct 7 happened because of actions of the Biden admin setting the stage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glenn239 Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 2 hours ago, rmgill said: Arguably, Oct 7 happened because of actions of the Biden admin setting the stage. Seems a stretch to blame Biden for an Israeli security failure, but the Israelis are clearly now trying to push the envelope, I wonder if on the calculation that Biden is toothless, and Harris is a lightweight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Galbraith Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 2 hours ago, rmgill said: Arguably, Oct 7 happened because of actions of the Biden admin setting the stage. Hamas saw themselves being left in the dust, with the other Arab nations about to declare pace. So Hamas started the war again. There was nothing basically wrong with what Trump did, other than leaving the most important members of conflict out the peace deal. Which is, you might think, a bit of an oversight for the smartest guy in the room. Neither did Biden of course. Though to be fair, the more I think of it, the more Biden looks like an extension of the Trump years, because he didnt have imagination to try anything different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Sielbeck Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 Hamas and Hezbollah are not the most important members of the conflict and they don't want peace. That fact seems to elude you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 Iran is the most important player. None of the last few presidents did much on that front, outside creating JCPOA or destroying it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKTanker Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 7 hours ago, Stuart Galbraith said: Neither did Biden of course. Though to be fair, the more I think of it, the more Biden looks like an extension of the Trump years, because he didnt have imagination to try anything different. Interesting take on the Abraham Accords not to mention actually moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmgill Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 (edited) 10 hours ago, glenn239 said: Seems a stretch to blame Biden for an Israeli security failure, but the Israelis are clearly now trying to push the envelope, I wonder if on the calculation that Biden is toothless, and Harris is a lightweight. How much did the US send to Iran? $6 Billion for 5 hostages. What signals did the Biden Administration give Iran, and by proxy and direct implication to Hamas and Hezbollah? So the US citizens taken by Hamas they were immediately released, right? No. Biden payed danegeld. And he will continue to pay. Biden is as firm as day old porridge when it comes to dangerous foreign policy https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/18/politics/iran-money-explainer/index.html Edited August 31 by rmgill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Galbraith Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 8 hours ago, DKTanker said: Interesting take on the Abraham Accords not to mention actually moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. What did it do, other than make the US look like less of an honest indepent broker,as it wanted to be seen, than one deliberately siding with Israel by moving to (in their view) occupied territory? Please, explain it to me, because I still dont get it. I dont have to side with Hamas to see that what they did was an inevitable consequence of peace determined without them. Trump gave israel pretty much everything it wanted. Did it help its security? As it turned out, no it did not. But by all means blame it on Biden. I think thats a stretch even for Trump humpers, but its entertaining to watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Galbraith Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 6 hours ago, rmgill said: How much did the US send to Iran? $6 Billion for 5 hostages. What signals did the Biden Administration give Iran, and by proxy and direct implication to Hamas and Hezbollah? So the US citizens taken by Hamas they were immediately released, right? No. Biden payed danegeld. And he will continue to pay. Biden is as firm as day old porridge when it comes to dangerous foreign policy https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/18/politics/iran-money-explainer/index.html The money is still, last I checked, impossible to access by Iran unless it jumps through various hoops. Its not exactly the fat cheque in the mail it was proported to be. OTOH, no, I wouldnt have dealt with hostages either. And if thre is a lesson of the Biden term, nobody else should either, because you just get suckered into trade, after trade, after trade. Biden is firm when it comes to stupid foreign policy, I quite agree. The withdrawal from Afghanistan proves this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Galbraith Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 14 hours ago, Tim Sielbeck said: Hamas and Hezbollah are not the most important members of the conflict and they don't want peace. That fact seems to elude you. It doesnt elude me. It seemingly eluded Trump, whom thought you could get middle east peace by ignoring them. How well did that work? And that someone at this point can still say that they are not the most important members of the conflict, when they are the ones holding hostages or weekly bombading Israel, Im sorry, I think thats bizarre. I can think of no time in history when a peace deal was concluded without including any of the belligerents. It was just fucking ignorant, and not surprisingly, it didnt work. And dropping it on Biden is not going to work.He was evidently clueless about how to make it work, just like everyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKTanker Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 (edited) 2 hours ago, Stuart Galbraith said: What did it do, other than make the US look like less of an honest indepent broker,as it wanted to be seen, than one deliberately siding with Israel by moving to (in their view) occupied territory? Please, explain it to me, because I still dont get it. I dont have to side with Hamas to see that what they did was an inevitable consequence of peace determined without them. Trump gave israel pretty much everything it wanted. Did it help its security? As it turned out, no it did not. But by all means blame it on Biden. I think thats a stretch even for Trump humpers, but its entertaining to watch. Way to move the cricket wickets. Remind us, what year did October 7th take place? Edited August 31 by DKTanker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now