Douglas Buckland + 6,308 May 5, 2020 1 hour ago, Douglas Buckland said: You’re so full of shit that your eyes are brown! Yet ‘nazification of US society’ is okay? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SUZNV + 1,197 May 5, 2020 (edited) I can't believe it. Have anyone lived in the US to say US people hate Chinese? Look at Hollywood, many movies have Chinese actors/actresses on that, Did no one in the US go to see them then or they make big money from the tickets? Have you been in China Towns in California, Chicago, NY, Texas, Seattle etc? I visited all of them except the NY one. I have Asian appearance and I doubt most Caucasian can tell if I am Chinese, Korean, Japanese or Vietnamese,Chinese Malaysian, Singaporean etc. Do anyone think Asian international students are stupid enough to study in any country where people hate them? They can just go to another country to study, with even cheaper price for education. About the Canadian loves CCP video: you are okay with CCP with their humanitarian crimes (organ harvests, concentrate camp, against Hongkong protesters ), just simply because you think that Chinese people "need a strong leadership"? That is very racist. Any slave owner could easily defends his ownership because his slaves need leadership. He give jobs to them, he feeds them, he makes sure no other slave owner could harm his slaves. CCP and Chinese are 2 separate entities. Every man is created equal. Edited May 5, 2020 by SUZNV gramma 2 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Douglas Buckland + 6,308 May 5, 2020 I’m a Yank, married a Chinese girl. One of the best decisions of my life. My Dad served in Vietnam...I think he would disown me and keep my wife, he thinks the world of her. The vast majority of Americans I know have no problem whatsoever with the Chinese people, just their government. A similar situation exists concerning the Iranian people. 7 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dan Warnick + 6,100 May 5, 2020 3 hours ago, Hotone said: Please have an open mind and listen to the observations of this guy. He is not a paid hack, but rather an ex teacher who has moved back to Canada. This was recorded on July 2019 Well, if you like his thinking, then you should always listen to me. 😁😆🤣 I lived there for 9 years, was married (twice) and loved almost everything about the place. 😎 The Chinese government is good in many ways that benefit the Chinese people, and they are uniquely Chinese (imagine that) in their governing style. By the same token the Chinese government is bad in many ways, and they are uniquely Chinese (see how that works?) in their self righteousness. In most cases I give them a pass about that behavior because I know about their past and I feel that they deserve better. It even made/makes me very happy when I see average Chinese people getting to travel and experience the good things in life. I have a lot of hope for the Chinese people and a fair amount of faith that they will find a balance with the outside world that will honestly be beneficial to all and sundry. The people really are that good. What I don't like is the CCP's recent (say last 10 years) attitude of swallowing everything in their paths while wiping out everything and everyone in their path of self sustenance. The CCP seems to govern with a permanent acceptance that most people are expendable. It is a well used statement that an individual has less value than a glass of water. Well, the CCP embodies that statement in everything they do. I could go on, but I hope I'm preaching to the choir. 1 1 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dan Warnick + 6,100 May 5, 2020 2 hours ago, SUZNV said: The general rules for electing the president have been established for centuries: The candidate who receives the most votes in each state wins that state’s electoral votes, and the candidate who wins the most electoral votes becomes president. But these rules could go out the window when the Supreme Court issues a decision, anticipated by June of this year, on lawsuits out of Colorado and Washington. These cases challenge the constitutionality of legal requirements that presidential electors—the people who physically cast their state’s electoral votes—must vote for the candidate who won the popular vote in their state. The electors bringing these lawsuits argue that the Constitution gives them the right to vote for anyone for president, regardless of the will of the voters in the state they represent. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/faithless-electors/607831/ With respect, the Atlantic would not be my first source when considering what the Supreme Court will or will not do in the future. I'd also be very interested to see what the actual cases argue for and against. I say this because even a casual reader of any of the references I have provided above would see that the rules have always allowed for an elector to vote any way they want. In the article at the Atlantic, the author presumes a lot, I mean a LOT. In fact, my opinion is that he presumes so much that I would accuse him/her of writing to an an audience that is expecting his rosy proclamations of what could be earth shaking results of a Supreme Court ruling in his reader's favor, er, in favor of those bringing the lawsuits. Referring again to the historical records I linked to above, hundreds of challenges to the system of the Electoral College have been brought with only one Amendment coming forth. I don't see this Supreme Court making any changes at all, let alone earth shaking ones. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jan van Eck + 7,558 MG May 5, 2020 9 hours ago, Douglas Buckland said: As I explained earlier, the main reason for the electoral college is to give states with lower populations a better chance to represent themselves so as not to be at the mercy of the heavily populated states on the coasts. Not really. It was a mechanism to cut local state politicians out of the loop, as they were distrusted. It also was specifically designed to counter the anti-slavery ideas of the North, given that the slaves in the South were not voters (!). Try this treatise written by a professor at Oklahoma: http://people.uncw.edu/lowery/pls101/wilson_chapter_outlines/The Proslavery Origins of the Electoral College.pdf @SUZNV, You might want to review the above link also, to broaden your horizons on the complex nature of American politics. Cheers. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jan van Eck + 7,558 MG May 5, 2020 2 hours ago, SUZNV said: Any slave owner could easily defends his ownership because his slaves need leadership. He give jobs to them, he feeds them, he makes sure no other slave owner could harm his slaves. CCP and Chinese are 2 separate entities. Every man is created equal. Not really. In the USA, with its very complex race relations, a phenomenon has been noted in the rural Deep South: that of "learned helplessness." Chunks of the black population work for white businessmen, typically farm landowners. The blacks then learn to stand around and show no initiative, waiting for instructions from "the Man." Essentially, "I'm helpless, tell me what to do." How all this evolved is the subject of intense debate, and you touch the "third rail" of race politics by getting into that discussion. Nonetheless, the phenomenon is observed, and remains part of the reason that the overall black population lags behind non-blacks in personal income and acumulated wealth. Fortunately, this mentality is on the wane as better quality of education is filtering down through the South. That said, the remnants and vestiges of the Old South are still quite in evidence. Interestingly, when the Southern blacks migrate to the North, to the factories of Detroit and Ohio, that mentality rapidly dissipates. You have black entrepreneurs that emerge in the Northers States that do quite well. America is a complex society. And No, people are NOT created equal; in the USA, people are presumed equal before the law. That is not the same thing. Slavery has a long legacy, unfortunately. 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dan Warnick + 6,100 May 5, 2020 5 minutes ago, Jan van Eck said: Not really. In the USA, with its very complex race relations, a phenomenon has been noted in the rural Deep South: that of "learned helplessness." Chunks of the black population work for white businessmen, typically farm landowners. The blacks then learn to stand around and show no initiative, waiting for instructions from "the Man." Essentially, "I'm helpless, tell me what to do." How all this evolved is the subject of intense debate, and you touch the "third rail" of race politics by getting into that discussion. Nonetheless, the phenomenon is observed, and remains part of the reason that the overall black population lags behind non-blacks in personal income and acumulated wealth. Fortunately, this mentality is on the wane as better quality of education is filtering down through the South. That said, the remnants and vestiges of the Old South are still quite in evidence. Interestingly, when the Southern blacks migrate to the North, to the factories of Detroit and Ohio, that mentality rapidly dissipates. You have black entrepreneurs that emerge in the Northers States that do quite well. America is a complex society. And No, people are NOT created equal; in the USA, people are presumed equal before the law. That is not the same thing. Slavery has a long legacy, unfortunately. That's pretty much right. From the American Heritage link above: "So they split the difference by giving each state a number of electors equal to its combined total of seats in both houses of Congress. That was one reason for the Electoral College, but far from the only one. From the start, almost everyone favored some sort of indirect process for choosing a President. Although a few delegates suggested a direct popular election, the states had different qualifications for voting, and those with tight requirements—ownership of a certain amount of property, for example—worried that they would be shortchanging themselves in a nationwide poll. In particular, the Southern states had a large group of residents who were automatically disqualified from voting: slaves. (Something similar might be said about women, of course, but they were not concentrated in any one section.) For purposes of allotting seats in the House of Representatives, the framers finessed this problem by counting each slave as three-fifths of a person. To retain the same measure of influence in a nationwide popular election, though, the South would have had to let its slaves vote. That, obviously, was out of the question. But with the Electoral College acting as an intermediary, the Southern states retained these “extra” votes based on their slave population." 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SUZNV + 1,197 May 5, 2020 1 hour ago, Dan Warnick said: With respect, the Atlantic would not be my first source when considering what the Supreme Court will or will not do in the future. I'd also be very interested to see what the actual cases argue for and against. I say this because even a casual reader of any of the references I have provided above would see that the rules have always allowed for an elector to vote any way they want. In the article at the Atlantic, the author presumes a lot, I mean a LOT. In fact, my opinion is that he presumes so much that I would accuse him/her of writing to an an audience that is expecting his rosy proclamations of what could be earth shaking results of a Supreme Court ruling in his reader's favor, er, in favor of those bringing the lawsuits. Referring again to the historical records I linked to above, hundreds of challenges to the system of the Electoral College have been brought with only one Amendment coming forth. I don't see this Supreme Court making any changes at all, let alone earth shaking ones. All good. I rarely actively go to any mainstream or off stream sources for news, I was looking up for the best terminology to use to explain and it came to me on my search and I got curious. Whenever I read mainstream, I rather want to walk in their shoes or find the things they try to hide or useful knowledge to pick out rather than swallow their opinion or things they want me to believe. I familiar with most of the brainwashing techniques, I grew up with these. I came to forum for debate to see if I misunderstand things and gain knowledge, such as for the US political system. I don't know why but I always hate any news try to manipulating people for their propaganda but I don't want myself to limit to few sources. Normally you understand your "enemy" more than you understand your friend. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Look up. + 1 BH May 5, 2020 The best way to defeat Globalism is to ensure Trump wins. This is an awakening for all the the people who are asleep as to the globalist goal of one world government. Its being set up as we see it before us. All the going on's since Trump decided to run for POTUS should be enough to make you stop and think. Its been a long time that I can remember when any President got treated this way. No Bipartisanship, constant impeachment threats, constant fake news in which any open minded person could figure it out. I could go on. Why do the leftist refuse to even work with him? Cause its power and corporate greed run by the elitist that want the control. You can see what they will do as by what they do during this crisis, forcing citizens to do their bidding, in the name of it is "good for you". The fake news is on the globalist side. If you think that it is not true , stop watching the MSM and watch other news outlets and compare to what is being said. That's what I did and what a surprise that was. Remember we are the electors not them. Its time to take the power back to the people not more big government. Trump is our last hope. The underlying snake slithering is unseen and hidden from us all now until it snares us and chokes us out to bow down to the beast. You don't have to be religious to understand this although it sure would not hurt to read the Bible. Pray and trust in God as this is the only way to escape the coming judgement to save you and your family's souls. 1 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dan Warnick + 6,100 May 5, 2020 8 minutes ago, SUZNV said: All good. I rarely actively go to any mainstream or off stream sources for news, I was looking up for the best terminology to use to explain and it came to me on my search and I got curious. Whenever I read mainstream, I rather want to walk in their shoes or find the things they try to hide or useful knowledge to pick out rather than swallow their opinion or things they want me to believe. I familiar with most of the brainwashing techniques, I grew up with these. I came to forum for debate to see if I misunderstand things and gain knowledge, such as for the US political system. I don't know why but I always hate any news try to manipulating people for their propaganda but I don't want myself to limit to few sources. Normally you understand your "enemy" more than you understand your friend. It is interesting how easily people tend to click on "news stories" and so forth about laws, actions, statements and so many other issues, but how difficult they apparently find it to go to source documents. I don't know how many times, with this president or any other, where people believe what is presented in the media without checking the actual records. It used to be VERY difficult to go to the government records, unless you were in Washington DC and had clearance. If you were there but had no clearance, one had to go to the library and read outdated or incomplete records. It would also explain the extensive legal history reference libraries at every law firm. And why they relied largely on legal industry publications, that normally only law firms subscribed to, in order to keep themselves relatively up to date on the vast machinations of the laws throughout the land. Keep digging. Happy to hear you want to find out the real from the fluff. Republicans like that (had to throw that button pusher in there. So sue me! LOL). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SUZNV + 1,197 May 5, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, Jan van Eck said: Not really. In the USA, with its very complex race relations, a phenomenon has been noted in the rural Deep South: that of "learned helplessness." Chunks of the black population work for white businessmen, typically farm landowners. The blacks then learn to stand around and show no initiative, waiting for instructions from "the Man." Essentially, "I'm helpless, tell me what to do." How all this evolved is the subject of intense debate, and you touch the "third rail" of race politics by getting into that discussion. Nonetheless, the phenomenon is observed, and remains part of the reason that the overall black population lags behind non-blacks in personal income and acumulated wealth. Fortunately, this mentality is on the wane as better quality of education is filtering down through the South. That said, the remnants and vestiges of the Old South are still quite in evidence. Interestingly, when the Southern blacks migrate to the North, to the factories of Detroit and Ohio, that mentality rapidly dissipates. You have black entrepreneurs that emerge in the Northers States that do quite well. America is a complex society. And No, people are NOT created equal; in the USA, people are presumed equal before the law. That is not the same thing. Slavery has a long legacy, unfortunately. I didn't mean talking about slavery in the US history, it is just an example. But thanks for your info. Everything happens for a reason and we should embrace the past rather than use our current standard to judge it. Without the slavery in the US in the history, then the African American may not enjoy the democracy in the US now and maybe still in the war/famine zones in Africa. Without the colonization of the French, maybe we are still chasing around with Burma,Thai, Cambodia or China with machetes. Without the Vietnam War, maybe we are the same like North Korea now. We, the Vietnamese are racist ourselves and have a tendency to kick out any foreigners occupations. It kept us to be independent and keep our culture, language from big neighbor in the north but then it was our kings, governments, who weaken ourselves which leaded to foreign occupations. Using the same standard of racism, I wouldn't be allowed to live in NZ or the US. In the Vietnam war, the US (and western allies) & South Vietnam were fighting for stopping Communism and the North Vietnam& Vietcong were fighting to united the country. Soldiers in both sides were risking their lives for their believe and I respect that (but not both sides politicians though). It the sames with the war crimes in the Vietnam War. Vietnam Gov pictured US soldiers killed woman, children old people, but it was the Vietcong who were hiding behind them to sabotage the supply and use these people in the war and expected mercy from the enemy when they run back to the fortress. They may think they fought for their country but the actions were as terrorists' which put a tremendous pressure on US soldiers, who were expecting a grenade thrown at them from a kid/woman anytime or their husbands/sons were killed the other side family members/comrades and they wanted vengeance. I believe both sides committed war crimes but only the war crimes from the US side were exposed by their own soldiers who couldn't stand for the guilty conscience and spoke up against their comrades, their supervisors. Moreover the cause of the war, the splitting of the country in Geneva Accord in 1954, were not signed by US or South Vietnam governments. I have family members in both sides in that war. Tragically most Vietnamese refugees were not running out of the country during US evacuations but few years after the war because the losing side soldiers were sent into concentrate camp and their families has no future. They were not risking their lives rushing to the sea to enjoy lives in Western Countries, but to find a better future. It was not the war that pushed them away but the "peace". I understand lot's of Chinese people views on the US Government, just like our views (my view in the past). they don't like their corrupted governments but got brainwashed to see nothing good about Western democracy system. Their Governments cannot risk their citizens love another political system, in fact I don't think any government like that. In Vietnam the Governments are bragging every memorial day that Vietnam gained independent thanks to them (In the other hand, they feast on other sacrifices for their ideology, in both sides). And we have similar propaganda teams and news to control public opinion. They trashed Vietnamese expat in Western Countries as well and wouldn't want people to discuss about politics. If you study oversea, they prefer you stay there and send money back to your family than coming back and always complain about their corruption. Having more open view doesn't make you happier so instead of going back to Vietnam and persuade brainwashed people to care about their own politics for their own future, I shamefully chose to stay in the US, where freedom were built from the sacrifices of US ancestors and I appreciate that. It is funny that I still have the daily propaganda from the mainstream though. I guess what, my friends no matter in any Western Countries, even US, got poison from US mainstream and their mainstream and hate Trump. While many people in Vietnam now love Trump just because his actions against China. Back in 2016, they really really hated Trump and loved Clinton, because she is a woman, because was with Obama, because she is Bill Clinton's wife. So the main view of US presidents is: Bill Clinton is smart and handsome, Bush is stupidly low IQ, Obama is warm and decent, Trump is an idiot. Now the view is Trump is good and Obama, Bill Clinton,Bush are responsible for China to be a superpower. But they still hate the Vietnamese in the US, under the Vietnamese mainstream spell. Any critics on Vietnamese government will be routed to you hate your own country. But the mainstream theme will be always don't trust the US Government to expect us to go against China, they will abandon you just like they did in 1972. It is an excuse for them to continue being corrupted with useless ODA projects from China. Edited May 5, 2020 by SUZNV 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jan van Eck + 7,558 MG May 5, 2020 2 hours ago, Dan Warnick said: Keep digging. Happy to hear you want to find out the real from the fluff. Republicans like that (had to throw that button pusher in there. So sue me! LOL). Heh, Heh. Funny.... 🤣 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marcin2 + 726 MK May 6, 2020 (edited) @HotoneI tried to watch this video, but after a few minutes this guy irritated me and I stopped. He claimed that Chinese need strong autocratic government cause they are used to it, cause this is their only experience for a few thousand of years. This Canadian said that Without strong government that tells them what to do and strictly controls their lives, Chinese would just misbehave. I think that what he said is a very harmful lie. I do not like people spreading such lies: whether they are „useful idiots” or do it for financial gain from Chinese government. Children in China are not born already formed for life in dictatorship like children in US are not born for life in democracy. What more : even people that lived in dictatorship learn fast about privilege and great gift of democracy and it has nothing to do with culture. I was born in dictatorship but do not miss it at all. Vast majority of Taiwanese cherish and are proud of their democracy. They are Chinese, their government is very succesful, they are very succesful society and country. And they never think that dictatorship is their fate cause their ancestors lived in Imperial China. @Dan Warnick what is your opinion about this aspect of Chinese and Taiwanese societies ? I give CCP credit for stellar economic and social promotion of Chinese, but I do not think they are too immature to not be succesful Democratic nation. Edited May 6, 2020 by Marcin2 Typo 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jee + 27 JD May 6, 2020 Will there be a receprical cancellation of tariffs from the US side? Oh wait "only I matter, everyone else doesn't count"-T Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dan Warnick + 6,100 May 6, 2020 4 hours ago, Marcin2 said: @HotoneI tried to watch this video, but after a few minutes this guy irritated me and I stopped. He claimed that Chinese need strong autocratic government cause they are used to it, cause this is their only experience for a few thousand of years. This Canadian said that Without strong government that tells them what to do and strictly controls their lives, Chinese would just misbehave. I think that what he said is a very harmful lie. I do not like people spreading such lies: whether they are „useful idiots” or do it for financial gain from Chinese government. Children in China are not born already formed for life in dictatorship like children in US are not born for life in democracy. What more : even people that lived in dictatorship learn fast about privilege and great gift of democracy and it has nothing to do with culture. I was born in dictatorship but do not miss it at all. Vast majority of Taiwanese cherish and are proud of their democracy. They are Chinese, their government is very succesful, they are very succesful society and country. And they never think that dictatorship is their fate cause their ancestors lived in Imperial China. @Dan Warnick what is your opinion about this aspect of Chinese and Taiwanese societies ? I give CCP credit for stellar economic and social promotion of Chinese, but I do not think they are too immature to not be succesful Democratic nation. Yeah, he irritated me as well. His stance was defensive from the beginning of that video, as if he had been derided by some fellow Canadians or perhaps "North Americans", which some Canadians call themselves when it suits them. Odd that, in that I have never heard an American refer to themselves as North Americans. But I digress. I clicked on to his YouTube library to see if it was just me and perhaps my bias that gave me this feeling, or if there was/is a general tone to his observational tint. I found it to be the latter. And that would be okay if all he meant to do was talk as a travel agent promoting a trip to China, but it was quickly obvious that he felt he could give you some insight into the Chinese soul. He gets it; you obviously don't, so there! All he really seems to do is observe his physical surroundings and not look for any deeper historical context at all. Or maybe he looks to the big ticket items of history only, if at all, such as the well known Mao idiocies (strongman, soldier/leader, Mao's Little Army, famine, Great Leap Forward, etc.), without understanding what it must have been like to be a Chinese citizen during that calamity of "leadership". He doesn't seem to realize there is a reason that the descriptive "stoic", when used to describe current day Chinese citizens, might come from advice, the most serious kind of advice, that one's parents and grandparents have passed down: tow the Party line, keep your head down, tow the Party line, always be ready to retreat in case you are put "on the box", tow the Party line, take what you can get before the Party closes things back up, tow the Party line. You know, the stories your grandparents tell you are real, because they are real. He strikes me as vapid, ignorant and not even a useful idiot. He says he taught classes preparing students to study in the West; I would imagine those students were left more confused than enlightened upon finishing any courses he taught. He appears to be ignorant of the last 100 years of Chinese history, un-empathetic as to why the citizens he observed might behave the way they do, and generally unable to grasp what those around him may have had to endure in their lives. Also known as a waste of space or the guy you avoid. Other than that he seems alright, bless his heart. --- As to what you say about Taiwan, I find no fault and basically agree. --- Your last sentence gave me pause: "I give CCP credit for stellar economic and social promotion of Chinese, but I do not think they are too immature to not be successful Democratic nation." The current CPC, or CCP as it is most widely referred to in the West, is not Deng Xiaoping's CPC. I give Deng Xiaoping's CPC credit for China's integration into the world economy. Unfortunately, successive "administrations" have moved, step by step, further away from Deng's ideas as to integration and cooperation and into the realm of dominance, thus harming China while touting that China's ruling class is always right. As to democracy: I believe that every human being deserves to be a part of this great experiment we call Democracy. And the Chinese people are no different. How successful will they be? Who knows? One thing that might be an advantage or an impediment is that they were mentored by us. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
H Himmel + 1 May 6, 2020 On 5/5/2020 at 10:22 AM, Dan Warnick said: Well, if you like his thinking, then you should always listen to me. 😁😆🤣 I lived there for 9 years, was married (twice) and loved almost everything about the place. 😎 The Chinese government is good in many ways that benefit the Chinese people, and they are uniquely Chinese (imagine that) in their governing style. By the same token the Chinese government is bad in many ways, and they are uniquely Chinese (see how that works?) in their self righteousness. In most cases I give them a pass about that behavior because I know about their past and I feel that they deserve better. It even made/makes me very happy when I see average Chinese people getting to travel and experience the good things in life. I have a lot of hope for the Chinese people and a fair amount of faith that they will find a balance with the outside world that will honestly be beneficial to all and sundry. The people really are that good. What I don't like is the CCP's recent (say last 10 years) attitude of swallowing everything in their paths while wiping out everything and everyone in their path of self sustenance. The CCP seems to govern with a permanent acceptance that most people are expendable. It is a well used statement that an individual has less value than a glass of water. Well, the CCP embodies that statement in everything they do. I could go on, but I hope I'm preaching to the choir. Power corrupts and the absolute power corrupts absolutely. You have to pay for the order by your freedom. It depends on your preference. It is good for Chinese, for Russians (who always strove to be under control of a dictator) but not for Americans and perhaps for Canadians...for now. Eventually, the suppressed populace ends up in deep poverty and slavery. Gulags of the Soviets is a good example. Read "Gulag Archipelago" by Solzhenitsyn to realize what you are playing with. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Uvuvwevwevwe Onyetenyevwe Ugwemuhwem Osas + 96 U May 6, 2020 21 hours ago, SUZNV said: So the main view of US presidents is: Bill Clinton is smart and handsome, Bush is stupidly low IQ, Obama is warm and decent, Trump is an idiot. Now the view is Trump is good and Obama, Bill Clinton,Bush are responsible for China to be a superpower. But they still hate the Vietnamese in the US, under the Vietnamese mainstream spell. Any critics on Vietnamese government will be routed to you hate your own country. Judge a politician by his/her actions. Not on what they say. This is Bill Clinton telling us (in beautiful words) how the US will give nuclear technology to North Korea.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3W62vlT9zjg The main difference between Trump and most politicians is that Trump is not a lawyer, not a public speaker. Most politicians are lawyers and public speakers (voice actors). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqQaktYtbyI This is what Obama says when his teleprompter stops. Sounds like Trump, doesn't it?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hO0jNisMorU 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dan Warnick + 6,100 May 6, 2020 3 hours ago, H Himmel said: Power corrupts and the absolute power corrupts absolutely. You have to pay for the order by your freedom. It depends on your preference. It is good for Chinese, for Russians (who always strove to be under control of a dictator) but not for Americans and perhaps for Canadians...for now. Eventually, the suppressed populace ends up in deep poverty and slavery. Gulags of the Soviets is a good example. Read "Gulag Archipelago" by Solzhenitsyn to realize what you are playing with. Thanks for the suggestion to read "Gulag Archipelago". I found it on Amazon and read the 30 odd pages of free sample. Immediately enlightening, deep, arduous reading, if not completely captivating. Within just the span of 5 or 6 pages I discovered a history I had never heard of (prisoners of the State/Party rushed to the German front to fight, with any survivors immediately returned to the Gulags to serve out their sentences, although most did not live more than a few months of hard labor, beatings, interrogations, etc.) Of whole villages of women used as "straw-beds" for the German soldiers. But in all of this, the Germans were not the worst for the average Russian; the worst were Stalin and his minions. I have added it to my reading list. Thank you (I think). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BradleyPNW + 282 ES May 6, 2020 On 5/4/2020 at 11:45 PM, Douglas Buckland said: As I explained earlier, the main reason for the electoral college is to give states with lower populations a better chance to represent themselves so as not to be at the mercy of the heavily populated states on the coasts. That was never the original intent of the EC nor is it the practical effect. https://www.history.com/news/electoral-college-founding-fathers-constitutional-convention Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WaytoPeace + 62 PC May 6, 2020 What concerns me the most about President Trump is that he is so easily manipulated. All an adversary has to do is tell him what a great and wonderful leader he is, agree that the Russia investigation was a hoax, and that his crowds of enthusiastic supporters are the biggest and best in history. He'll "love" and trust you. It doesn’t matter if you are Kim Jong-un, Xi Jinping, Putin, or Muhamed Bin Salman. Trump’s narcissistic personality makes him easily “playable.” Fortunately, Ali Khamenei and Maduro have not yet figured this out. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BradleyPNW + 282 ES May 7, 2020 In Trump's case, easily manipulated = actively looking to engage in corruption. There's no bottom with the guy. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dan Warnick + 6,100 May 7, 2020 8 hours ago, WaytoPeace said: What concerns me the most about President Trump is that he is so easily manipulated. All an adversary has to do is tell him what a great and wonderful leader he is, agree that the Russia investigation was a hoax, and that his crowds of enthusiastic supporters are the biggest and best in history. He'll "love" and trust you. It doesn’t matter if you are Kim Jong-un, Xi Jinping, Putin, or Muhamed Bin Salman. Trump’s narcissistic personality makes him easily “playable.” Fortunately, Ali Khamenei and Maduro have not yet figured this out. Is it President Trump who is so easily manipulated, or possibly you? And you would know he is easily manipulated because..........What, exactly? Russia investigations have only proven that the President did nothing that the opposing political party accused him of. Nothing of the sort. Unless you have uncovered some evidence? Because, so far, there has been no evidence. Please share. The entire world is waiting. "Crowds of enthusiastic supporters are the biggest and best in history". Hmm, pretty serious charges there, I'll grant you that! Dammit, a man shouldn't embellish! It's not right! I've seen online photos! They were not the biggest and best in history. Well, dammit, it's a lie! And? "He'll "love" and trust you". Really? This gets to you? @Tom Kirkman has a helpline you can call. Tom? Kim Jong-un, Xi Jinping, Putin, or Muhamed (sic) bin Salman. They are arguably the worst, aren't they? What was the President of the United States thinking? He actually went and met with them! He let them wine him and dine him, egads! They put on massive displays of respect and, dare I say it(?), courtship! Can't he see through it? What a dope! What a tool! So he faced these tough guys, on their own turf or a or neutral country or a demilitarized zone, and publicly showed them he and the United States could be their best friends, partners even. Then he held closed door meetings with each of them. Those who oppose the President presume to "know" he was bowing down to them behind closed doors. Those who support him and his initiatives to bring these men to the table, one by one, believe he allowed them each to save face while, behind closed doors, he in all likelihood explained what he would do if they did not want to be best friends and partners. For Kim Jong-un, this resulted in a stoppage of belligerent "test missile" launches falling all around the Pacific. It also gave the N. Korean leadership a taste of what it could be like to join the rest of the world instead of self-isolation and starving themselves. It showed that no country was threatening to invade N. Korea, that S. Korea (Yes, Trump involved them in every step) was more than willing to integrate or to at the very least open the border and resume normal relations. These meetings were the first to happen since my father left that country 50-odd years ago, at the end of an all-out war. Donald Trump was the first to agree with most citizens of the world and say enough is enough; Let's talk. For Xi Jinping, China did not follow through on good faith initiatives and the President initiated the Trade and IP war that he promised he would. Not only China, but the rest of the world has had to address abuses by the Chinese government, and of their own. This was never going to be an easy task, and only this President was willing to take it on. Now the world at least knows what the true impact(s) of Chinese government expansion-at-any-cost has been and was going to be in the future if it wasn't curtailed. Putin, The President didn't see any real aggression coming out of Moscow when he took office and voiced the opinion "wouldn't it be great if we could get along with Russia?". In that statement you may well find the reason his political opponents, and the huge number of government workers in Washington DC that have built their careers out of conflict with Russia, tried to stop Trump from doing anything of the sort. Even to accuse The President of the United States of treason! Treason for peace @WaytoPeace. MbS, Trump has arguably shown that he has been able to outmanoeuvre the KSA to get what is better for America on several major occasions, Pandemic and recent major VLCC movements aside. But even then he got the Saudis to the table and got production cuts that most did not think possible. I may get hammered on these points by my fellow Oil Price friends, but that's okay. We can talk. If you want to point to the killing of the vocally (until recently) anti-Trump, Jeff Bezos-owned-Washington Post, contract "journalist", Khashoggi and tell us all, again, that Trump should have done more: Okay. But would you argue that the oil industry, in the U.S. alone, with over 10 million jobs and an annual average market value of somewhere around $150 Billion is worth less than the life of one, shall we say, controversial man? We are each entitled to our opinions. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dan Warnick + 6,100 May 7, 2020 1 hour ago, BradleyPNW said: In Trump's case, easily manipulated = actively looking to engage in corruption. There's no bottom with the guy. Please share with us what corruption you are talking about. Please, for the sake of civil discussion, refrain from simply throwing out accusations of corruption and stick with proven cases. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tom Kirkman + 8,860 May 7, 2020 11 hours ago, WaytoPeace said: What concerns me the most about President Trump is that he is so easily manipulated. All an adversary has to do is tell him what a great and wonderful leader he is, agree that the Russia investigation was a hoax, and that his crowds of enthusiastic supporters are the biggest and best in history. He'll "love" and trust you. It doesn’t matter if you are Kim Jong-un, Xi Jinping, Putin, or Muhamed Bin Salman. Trump’s narcissistic personality makes him easily “playable.” Fortunately, Ali Khamenei and Maduro have not yet figured this out. 2 hours ago, Dan Warnick said: Is it President Trump who is so easily manipulated, or possibly you? And you would know he is easily manipulated because..........What, exactly? Russia investigations have only proven that the President did nothing that the opposing political party accused him of. Nothing of the sort. Unless you have uncovered some evidence? Because, so far, there has been no evidence. Please share. The entire world is waiting. "Crowds of enthusiastic supporters are the biggest and best in history". Hmm, pretty serious charges there, I'll grant you that! Dammit, a man shouldn't embellish! It's not right! I've seen online photos! They were not the biggest and best in history. Well, dammit, it's a lie! And? "He'll "love" and trust you". Really? This gets to you? @Tom Kirkman has a helpline you can call. Tom? 1 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites