TRUMP - Some people think......... How do you feel?

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If he appears like an idiot it's because we expect certain standards...but...If Trump were stupid he wouldn't be in office, he wouldn't be able to trick people at every turn and abuse their Constitution. Con artists are atypical, unethical, not stupid.

He is not an idiot. Quite the opposite. He is dangerously clever. However, he does seem to suffer from ignorance about a lot of things and a definite narcissistic tendency.
 
Yes it does. It depends who makes it better or worse. It's always people, not magic inevitability.
Bernie’s not anti-war ...

THE F-35 FIGHTER JET
Activist Carl Gibson put Bernie on the spot about this topic in person, and Bernie said: “for better or worse, that is the plane of record right now, and it is not gonna be discarded. That’s the reality.” But that wasn’t a good answer to Gibson, who wrote:
“So, while Bernie Sanders is saying we should cut military spending to fund free college for everyone, his defense of the F-35 means that despite everything else, Sanders is still just a politician. Sooner or later, the F-35 will eventually be replaced by something even more expensive, while the F-35 joins the thousands of other unused fighter jets in the boneyard. But rather than lying to people and saying the program is already a done deal and that there’s nothing he can do, Sanders could stand by his principles and introduce an amendment in the next National Defense Authorization Act to strip the F-35 program of its funding. That remaining $700 billion could make college tuition-free for everyone for at least a decade.”

This is a profoundly sick society indeed. In his speech announcing his entry into the 2020 race, Sanders called for cuts to military spending that have been described as “deep” but have not been quantified so far. Given the contradictions in his record, Peace activists Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies rightly ask: “’Which Bernie would we see in the White House?’ Would it be the one who has the clarity and courage to vote ‘No’ on 84% of military spending bills in the Senate, or the one who supports military boondoggles like the F-35…?”
 
Bernie’s not anti-war ...

THE F-35 FIGHTER JET
Activist Carl Gibson put Bernie on the spot about this topic in person, and Bernie said: “for better or worse, that is the plane of record right now, and it is not gonna be discarded. That’s the reality.” But that wasn’t a good answer to Gibson, who wrote:
“So, while Bernie Sanders is saying we should cut military spending to fund free college for everyone, his defense of the F-35 means that despite everything else, Sanders is still just a politician. Sooner or later, the F-35 will eventually be replaced by something even more expensive, while the F-35 joins the thousands of other unused fighter jets in the boneyard. But rather than lying to people and saying the program is already a done deal and that there’s nothing he can do, Sanders could stand by his principles and introduce an amendment in the next National Defense Authorization Act to strip the F-35 program of its funding. That remaining $700 billion could make college tuition-free for everyone for at least a decade.”

This is a profoundly sick society indeed. In his speech announcing his entry into the 2020 race, Sanders called for cuts to military spending that have been described as “deep” but have not been quantified so far. Given the contradictions in his record, Peace activists Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies rightly ask: “’Which Bernie would we see in the White House?’ Would it be the one who has the clarity and courage to vote ‘No’ on 84% of military spending bills in the Senate, or the one who supports military boondoggles like the F-35…?”
He is a hell of a lot more Anti-war than any of his (potential) predecessors, including and especially Biden. He sees war as an absolute last resort, not a first resort - as people have grown accustomed to with US war Hawks who seem to live for war like it's an inedividable part of American DNA. He wants to redirect a great deal of the US military budget into things like healthcare and education.

Your all or nothing attitude bothers me. Bernie and Trump, or Bernie and Biden, are not the same people with the same values. I also don't buy the position that 2nd amendment supporting libertarians - including vets running for leadership positions, are anti-war. It's not possible be pro-gun and anti-war.
 
Americans have to appear strong because there are other diabolical and powerful leaders in the world. If they appeared to be pacifists overnight they'd likely get pummelled by some other country's crazy leader with a vendetta and/ or thirst for power.

They have to remain strong - as wise as serpents but as gentle as doves - hone their diplomatic power better than they have been in a long time, and be a fair and reasonable neighbour to the rest of the world.
 
Your all or nothing attitude bothers me.

Western Imperialism is doing its best to strengthen itself at the cost of the global majority, and doing its best to ruin the future of the world by putting many of its children at risk. Discussing this is essential because we (in Canada and the US) have a special responsibility to do our part in combating the US war machine, and due to having Imperial Privilege, are in the best position to do so. Children are not supposed to be taking blows for the cowards who run this world. Children should be worried about growing, exploring, learning, finding themselves and building an identity outside of being a soldier, or a casualty. If you need any reason to oppose war, do it because of what it does to children. There is no excuse for their victimhood. That responsibility falls on us.


Michael Byrne is an antiwar activist and member of Antiwar Future, an organization of young people against war.
 
Western Imperialism is doing its best to strengthen itself at the cost of the global majority, and doing its best to ruin the future of the world by putting many of its children at risk. Discussing this is essential because we (in Canada and the US) have a special responsibility to do our part in combating the US war machine, and due to having Imperial Privilege, are in the best position to do so. Children are not supposed to be taking blows for the cowards who run this world. Children should be worried about growing, exploring, learning, finding themselves and building an identity outside of being a soldier, or a casualty. If you need any reason to oppose war, do it because of what it does to children. There is no excuse for their victimhood. That responsibility falls on us.


Michael Byrne is an antiwar activist and member of Antiwar Future, an organization of young people against war.
I agree. Americans are not the only warmongering nation (leadership) though.

Bernie Sanders is not a warmonger. He might be the longest standing hardest working politician in the US with the most integrity and consistency. The US should count their lucky stars that he's running for president right now, imo. No other candidates measure up or could get near meeting the challenges of our times. They're not seeing the big picture for what it is, honestly. Warren, may be a better second choice, but less than Sanders. She hasn't worked as hard at this for as long.

And no government with no plan would be worse than I think you've contemplated.

If you think letting it all fall down is preferable, I don't think you've contemplated the misery and desperation that would bring. The whole world would look like the downtown eastside of Vancouver, or inner city Detroit, but more violent. There are too many sociopathic energies for society to reorganize itself to be benevolent without some existing integral laws and structure. It would just be one big violent fight for your life soup kitchen with everybody in the soup and served over to hell.
 
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If the democrats choose a left wing candidate like sanders or warren it means four more years of trump. No question

Trump is hugely popular. It’s puzzling. His followers absolutely love him.
 
I think you're quite wrong. It's been clear since 2015 that Bernie is the best candidate to beat Trump - and it's the refusal from status quo Democrats to see that, that got Trump elected.

Besides, your centrist view is no longer the majority as much as you still believe it to be. Millennials and GenZ are becoming an even larger voting block - it's their future - and the way things have operated for the past 30+ years have not worked. People coming of age have been steadily worse off since neoliberalism got a stranglehold on the western world - and Millenials and GenZ know it because they live it. Even younger GenXers like me have seen it getting worse since the early 90s - but our parents' generation (twice as large as ours) were dead set on doing well for themselves, staying in charge, and not thinking about what comes next. Now, between GenXers of like mind, Millenials, and approaching GenZ - the wealthy centrists are not the strongest voting block anymore, they're out of touch, and younger people are fed up. If you're not watching what's going on on the internet you are not getting the whole picture.

Any young person who is struggling to make ends meet can see right through Buttegeig. He's like the younger version second spouse of someone having a midlife crisis - who turns out to be the same - because the same problems get carried into the new marriage.

Yang is like that young guy who only gets into union leadership to pad his resume, and pretends to be everybody's guy, but really just kisses up to the dysfunctional boss, then becomes one.

And Biden has clearly lost his mojo - neoliberal or not.

And Bloomberg and Steyer buying their way in is just way too obviously offensive now.
 
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Another thing people are missing is that because Trump is such an iconoclast we're now in an epic good vs evil battle - this is, as weird as it is, almost Obi One Kanobi vs Darth Vader s**t. And I think Trump himself knows it. Steve Bannon was the major architect of the Trump campaign and that was his strategy. Same with Steven Miller and he's still there behind the curtain. Bernie might be the only candidate that Trump would actually concede defeat to. That's how f'ed up it is. Why do I think that? Because he's a sociopath who is curiously interested in Bernie's surge. Trump said when he won last time that the Dem leadership made a mistake in keeping Bernie out (he was right and they should take the clue)...and I think he 'wants' a good vs. evil battle. All the others are an easy smack-down for him. He probably yawns at the thought of even bothering to "debate" the others. He wants to be challenged hard. He wants somebody he feels is worthy of the challenge, and could even defeat him - if so he can get back to the money and entertainment high society grifting that he knows (is what I think).
 
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Any candidate who is up against Trump needs to understand the personality of Trump (without being on that spectrum themselves) as well as have policies young people are hopeful about. It's extremely important that they're not too wonkish.
 
Kimmio, I think that there is a huge difference between the USA and Canada. I now spend six months each year in the USA. I am amazed how different it is. I have not met anyone who believes the way forward is to veer sharply left

I agree though that defeating trump is more about personality than anything else
 
Kimmio, I think that there is a huge difference between the USA and Canada. I now spend six months each year in the USA. I am amazed how different it is. I have not met anyone who believes the way forward is to veer sharply left

I agree though that defeating trump is more about personality than anything else
But you are living in Florida, around a particular demographic, right? That doesn't represent the majority of the US either.

What happens in the US and UK - but especially the US - directly impacts Canada. Reagan and Thatcher got the neoliberal disaster project really rolling. Even liberals and dems after that were just Reagan and Thatcher lite. Bernie is not extreme, he's a return to the real left principles that the best aspects of US social progress has to be thankful for. Without the left looking out for the the little people - there isn't an American Dream. There isn't a hope for the future of the vast majority heading into the future.
 
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Trump's support is heavily evangelist. These are churches whose members are really interested only in being saved and raised to stand around on clouds singing praises to the lord forever and ever. To each his own. They look forward eagerly to the last days because they are going to heaven and we aren't. Ha! Ha! Many, probably most, believe that Trump was actually sent by God to take us to the last days. (They are quite captivated by their own myths and their complete failure to understand Christianity.


There's some of that, Graeme, but it's an overly simplistic way to explain his evangelical support. A lot of it comes from Trump's pledge (which he's lived up to) to appoint anti-abortion judges. Abortion is a huge issue among evangelicals and more of an engine in getting them to vote than belief that Trump is a quasi-Messiah who's going to lead us to the last days. I'm not saying that isn't present. There are many evangelicals (especially high profile ones) who want a president whose support for Israel is going to be rock solid (again, Trump has lived up to that pledge) not because they have any particular love for Israel or Jews but because they truly believe that firm American support for Israel is going to be needed to spark the war that will usher in the last days. But I'd still argue that among the masses of evangelicals the abortion issue is what really motivates them. And Trump has very successully played on their fears of supposed "persecution" against Christianity. For example, I can't even begin to count how many Trump supporters on social media I saw over the last few weeks thanking Trump that they can say "Merry Christams" again - as if they weren't saying "Merry Christmas" all along. But they've bought into that narrative with Trump, ironically given his basically unrepented behaviour and past, being cast as the saviour of christendom. It's truly sick and twisted - but that's his bedrock of support and it's not shifting. "Better a devil who will appoint the judges we want than any Democrat or anyone else" is the attitude.
 
Abortion is THE issue for evangelicals and moderate christians and all Catholics if what they post is real

I have had people be shocked at me that I am not against “baby killing”

He got his two very conservative judges on the court.

Let’s just hope that this year doesn’t see another Supreme Court death


Good review of a PBS program airing tonight and tomorrow in the Globe today. How did we get here.........
 
Abortion is THE issue for evangelicals and moderate christians and all Catholics if what they post is real

I have had people be shocked at me that I am not against “baby killing”

He got his two very conservative judges on the court.

Let’s just hope that this year doesn’t see another Supreme Court death


Good review of a PBS program airing tonight and tomorrow in the Globe today. How did we get here.........

Loss of massive intelligence ... indicating that the item is beyond us ... intellect that is!
 
Abortion is THE issue for evangelicals and moderate christians and all Catholics if what they post is real

I have had people be shocked at me that I am not against “baby killing”

He got his two very conservative judges on the court.

Let’s just hope that this year doesn’t see another Supreme Court death


Good review of a PBS program airing tonight and tomorrow in the Globe today. How did we get here.........
Evangelicals and Catholics, yes. I'm not sure what you mean by "moderate" Christians. I think the emphasis on abortion as an issue lessens as you move away from the evangelical/Catholic community. It may be "an" issue for some moderates (and for some it may not be an issue at all) but I don't think it's "the" issue for them.
 
Still, after Iraq and it's "weapons of mass destruction" fiasco during Bush's administration, Americans should be asking, "Where's the proof that Soleimani was planning an attack on 4 embassies?
The great irony is that Trump supposedly got this from the very intelligence agencies that he's done so much to discredit - an irony that even someone as dim as Tucker Carlson picked up on in one of his recent shows.
 
The great irony is that Trump supposedly got this from the very intelligence agencies that he's done so much to discredit - an irony that even someone as dim as Tucker Carlson picked up on in one of his recent shows.

There are those that do not believe in irony as it is as evil as satyr, allegory and parables of legend! Creates a great depth of layers that some refer to as more that singular etudes ... multitudes or even polytech and pollyanna!

Depends on how you hold your mouth if tending towards lisphth!

Search in all vectors and tensors ... for you know not where Ide'll appear ... vast enlightenment for those admitting what they don't know of scientific observation! Some light is prerequisite ... in differing forms depending where your at ...

Legalese can befuddle the outcome ... yet inflatable if possessing the power of phi*los! Love of psyche? Many wish to put it down ... thus below the mortal horizon!

Somewhat complex if you ask me about those wishing for simple ...
 
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