IS Forum
Forum Index Register Members List Events Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Help

Go Back   International Skeptics Forum » General Topics » USA Politics
 


Welcome to the International Skeptics Forum, where we discuss skepticism, critical thinking, the paranormal and science in a friendly but lively way. You are currently viewing the forum as a guest, which means you are missing out on discussing matters that are of interest to you. Please consider registering so you can gain full use of the forum features and interact with other Members. Registration is simple, fast and free! Click here to register today.
Tags !MOD BOX WARNING! , donald trump , mental illness issues , psychiatry incidents , psychiatry issues , Trump controversies

Reply
Old 13th August 2021, 10:48 PM   #1801
xjx388
Moderator
 
xjx388's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 11,360
Originally Posted by Bob001 View Post
She pretty clearly is horrified, professionally and personally, that this lunatic she has known all her life could have become President.

Which doesn’t explain the new expansion into commenting on a turtle.
__________________
Hello.
xjx388 is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 13th August 2021, 11:07 PM   #1802
Skeptic Ginger
Nasty Woman
 
Skeptic Ginger's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 96,386
Originally Posted by xjx388 View Post
Which doesn’t explain the new expansion into commenting on a turtle.
Pretty sure that's about enabling behavior. A lot of GOP legislators are enabling Dump.
Skeptic Ginger is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 13th August 2021, 11:54 PM   #1803
Bob001
Penultimate Amazing
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: US of A
Posts: 16,613
Originally Posted by Skeptic Ginger View Post
Pretty sure that's about enabling behavior. A lot of GOP legislators are enabling Dump.

Precisely.
Quote:
Elected Republicans have become Donald’s greatest enablers since his father, Fred. For all of their professed reluctance and half-hearted attempts to keep Donald at arm’s length, almost every single elected Republican at every level of government, either tacitly or enthusiastically, very quickly came to support his breaches—against decency, the rule of law, and the Constitution. Kevin McCarthy went from being one of Donald’s critics in the immediate aftermath of January 6 to pretending that creating a commission to find out what happened on that day was somehow a partisan witch hunt. Elise Stefanik intuited that going all in with Donald would be her best chance for advancement. The number three Republican in Congress, Liz Cheney, had the audacity to stand up against the Big Lie, for which she was removed from her leadership position and replaced by Stefanik.

The most dangerous Republican enabler by far is, of course, Mitch McConnell, who saw an opportunity that even he probably never dared hope for: The guy in the Oval Office wouldn’t just sign off on every aspect of the Republicans’ agenda, he would push the envelope—of decorum, of autocracy—so far that the system itself could be used to create permanent minority rule. Donald showed his party (and yes, it is his party) the limits of pretending to care about good governance or play by the rules. He also showed them the utility of not just stoking racism and hatred of the Other—in the form of immigrants, Democrats, and even epidemiologists—but championing those who espoused them.
https://newrepublic.com/article/1631...gainst-america
Bob001 is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 14th September 2021, 10:36 AM   #1804
Stacyhs
Penultimate Amazing
 
Stacyhs's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: United States
Posts: 32,926
Trump's mental illness came up again in Woodward's new book Peril. According to Woodward, the transcript of a call on Jan. 8 reveals a phone call between Nancy Pelosi and Gen. Milley in which they agree T is "crazy".
Quote:
Woodward and Costa obtained a transcript of Pelosi's January 8 phone call to US Gen. Mark Milley, in which she wanted to know "what precautions are available to prevent an unstable president from initiating military hostilities or from accessing the launch codes and ordering a military strike."

Milley told Pelosi that there were "a lot of checks in the system" to prevent Trump from going rogue, the book said.

Pelosi then told Milley, "He's crazy. You know he's crazy."

"He's crazy and what he did yesterday is further evidence of his craziness," Pelosi said, referring to the deadly Capitol riot.

According to the book, Milley responded: "I agree with you on everything."
https://news.yahoo.com/top-us-genera...163402668.html

This is when Milley took top secret steps to prevent T from ordering a military strike somewhere by ordering no one obey such an order without informing him first. He even called his Chinese counterpart twice to assure him the US would not be launching any military strikes

Last edited by Stacyhs; 14th September 2021 at 11:29 AM.
Stacyhs is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 15th September 2021, 06:41 AM   #1805
Ziggurat
Penultimate Amazing
 
Ziggurat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 56,422
Originally Posted by Stacyhs View Post
This is when Milley took top secret steps to prevent T from ordering a military strike somewhere by ordering no one obey such an order without informing him first. He even called his Chinese counterpart twice to assure him the US would not be launching any military strikes
So far this is just sourced to Woodward, and he's... not always been accurate in his reporting.

But if this was accurate, then frankly, it doesn't make Trump look nearly as bad as it makes Milley look. Which makes me wonder if maybe people are setting up Milley to take a fall. That might be convenient right about now.
__________________
"As long as it is admitted that the law may be diverted from its true purpose -- that it may violate property instead of protecting it -- then everyone will want to participate in making the law, either to protect himself against plunder or to use it for plunder. Political questions will always be prejudicial, dominant, and all-absorbing. There will be fighting at the door of the Legislative Palace, and the struggle within will be no less furious." - Bastiat, The Law
Ziggurat is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 15th September 2021, 06:58 AM   #1806
carlitos
"más divertido"
 
carlitos's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: USA! USA!
Posts: 24,384
Originally Posted by Ziggurat View Post
So far this is just sourced to Woodward, and he's... not always been accurate in his reporting.

But if this was accurate, then frankly, it doesn't make Trump look nearly as bad as it makes Milley look. Which makes me wonder if maybe people are setting up Milley to take a fall. That might be convenient right about now.
Wow.
carlitos is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 15th September 2021, 07:19 AM   #1807
Ziggurat
Penultimate Amazing
 
Ziggurat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 56,422
Originally Posted by carlitos View Post
Wow.
Why do you say that?

The story as told doesn't indicate that Trump did anything. All it indicates is that some people thought badly about Trump, which, so the hell what, really? It's not going to change anyone's mind about him, either you already agree or you don't, so it won't really make any difference.

But what Milley did, according to the story (and it may not be true), is really, really, really bad. And you don't have to be a Trump supporter to recognize that.
__________________
"As long as it is admitted that the law may be diverted from its true purpose -- that it may violate property instead of protecting it -- then everyone will want to participate in making the law, either to protect himself against plunder or to use it for plunder. Political questions will always be prejudicial, dominant, and all-absorbing. There will be fighting at the door of the Legislative Palace, and the struggle within will be no less furious." - Bastiat, The Law

Last edited by Ziggurat; 15th September 2021 at 07:20 AM.
Ziggurat is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 15th September 2021, 07:40 AM   #1808
Crazy Chainsaw
Philosopher
 
Crazy Chainsaw's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 7,895
Originally Posted by Ziggurat View Post
Why do you say that?

The story as told doesn't indicate that Trump did anything. All it indicates is that some people thought badly about Trump, which, so the hell what, really? It's not going to change anyone's mind about him, either you already agree or you don't, so it won't really make any difference.

But what Milley did, according to the story (and it may not be true), is really, really, really bad. And you don't have to be a Trump supporter to recognize that.
But if you remember Trump was a Russian Useful idiot and untrustworthy, then that changes your who,e perspective on this issue.
Crazy Chainsaw is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 15th September 2021, 07:45 AM   #1809
JoeMorgue
Self Employed
Remittance Man
 
JoeMorgue's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Florida
Posts: 46,649
Ah yes I figured the Trumpers would turn the General who possibly stopped a nuclear war into the real bad guy.
__________________
"If everyone in the room says water is wet and I say it's dry that makes me smart because at least I'm thinking for myself!" - The Proudly Wrong.

Last edited by JoeMorgue; 15th September 2021 at 07:52 AM.
JoeMorgue is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 15th September 2021, 07:46 AM   #1810
tyr_13
Penultimate Amazing
 
tyr_13's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 18,090
Originally Posted by Ziggurat View Post
Why do you say that?

The story as told doesn't indicate that Trump did anything.
Explicitly cited his actions during the Jan 6th insurrection.
__________________
Circled nothing is still nothing.
"Nothing will stop the U.S. from being a world leader, not even a handful of adults who want their kids to take science lessons from a book that mentions unicorns six times." -UNLoVedRebel
Mumpsimus: a stubborn person who insists on making an error in spite of being shown that it is wrong
tyr_13 is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 15th September 2021, 07:51 AM   #1811
BobTheCoward
Banned
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 22,789
Originally Posted by JoeMorgue View Post
Ah yes I figure Trumpers would turn the General who possibly stopped a nuclear war into the real bad guy.
if it is a lawful order, then it would be wrong to stop it.
BobTheCoward is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 15th September 2021, 07:53 AM   #1812
Ziggurat
Penultimate Amazing
 
Ziggurat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 56,422
Originally Posted by JoeMorgue View Post
Ah yes I figure Trumpers would turn the General who possibly stopped a nuclear war into the real bad guy.
That's like the joke about the boy scout who always whistled on hikes. The other scouts asked why, and he said it was to keep the tigers away. "But there are no tigers here". "See? It works!"

There was no threat of nuclear war. Milley didn't save anyone from anything. And Alexander Vindman isn't a Trumper.
__________________
"As long as it is admitted that the law may be diverted from its true purpose -- that it may violate property instead of protecting it -- then everyone will want to participate in making the law, either to protect himself against plunder or to use it for plunder. Political questions will always be prejudicial, dominant, and all-absorbing. There will be fighting at the door of the Legislative Palace, and the struggle within will be no less furious." - Bastiat, The Law
Ziggurat is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 15th September 2021, 07:53 AM   #1813
BobTheCoward
Banned
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 22,789
Originally Posted by Ziggurat View Post
Why do you say that?

The story as told doesn't indicate that Trump did anything. All it indicates is that some people thought badly about Trump, which, so the hell what, really? It's not going to change anyone's mind about him, either you already agree or you don't, so it won't really make any difference.

But what Milley did, according to the story (and it may not be true), is really, really, really bad. And you don't have to be a Trump supporter to recognize that.

from the book

Quote:
Woodward and Costa write that Milley, deeply shaken by the assault, 'was certain that Trump had gone into a serious mental decline in the aftermath of the election, with Trump now all but manic, screaming at officials and constructing his own alternate reality about endless election conspiracies.'
I find it interesting that you think that is thinking badly about someone. That sounds like caring about someone.
BobTheCoward is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 15th September 2021, 09:20 AM   #1814
JoeMorgue
Self Employed
Remittance Man
 
JoeMorgue's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Florida
Posts: 46,649
Originally Posted by Ziggurat View Post
That's like the joke about the boy scout who always whistled on hikes. The other scouts asked why, and he said it was to keep the tigers away. "But there are no tigers here". "See? It works!"

There was no threat of nuclear war. Milley didn't save anyone from anything. And Alexander Vindman isn't a Trumper.
I'll need that opinion expressed from someone who doesn't think Trump is a god-king second coming messiah who can do no wrong before I even begin to take it seriously.
__________________
"If everyone in the room says water is wet and I say it's dry that makes me smart because at least I'm thinking for myself!" - The Proudly Wrong.
JoeMorgue is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 15th September 2021, 09:26 AM   #1815
carlitos
"más divertido"
 
carlitos's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: USA! USA!
Posts: 24,384
Originally Posted by Ziggurat View Post

The story as told doesn't indicate that Trump did anything.
Other than going completely delusional about election conspiracies, releasing videos about how he loved the special people who attacked Congress, screaming at staff about how ****** they were, how we weren't going to have a country anymore, etc.

Maybe you meant that Trump didn't do anything Presidential?

ETA - I heard Wesley Clark talking about Vindman and basically he said that a colonel wouldn't know what contact the generals have with each other. Could be.
carlitos is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 15th September 2021, 09:35 AM   #1816
bruto
Penultimate Amazing
 
bruto's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Way way north of Diddy Wah Diddy
Posts: 36,113
Originally Posted by BobTheCoward View Post
if it is a lawful order, then it would be wrong to stop it.
Only, of course, for a certain definition of "wrong," since as we ought by now to know without having to animate the ghost of Godwin, a "lawful" order can be awfully wrong by that other definition.

Of course we have no control group to determine what would or would not have happened if things went differently. But I don't think it takes too much mental contortion at least to entertain the possibility that preventing an insane president from precipitating a gratuitous war that could kill millions and devastate the earth might be "right" in a sense more pressing than it is "wrong" in that other sense.

There have in history been people whose sense of what was right impelled them to commit acts that got them in trouble, if not executed, and while that can go both ways, there have, in history, been a few whose actions are considered in retrospect to have been worthwhile - at least by those whose judgment is not so dependent on doctrine that they would accept the destruction of part or all of humanity as the only thing that is acceptably pure.
__________________
Like many humorless and indignant people, he is hard on everybody but himself, and does not perceive it when he fails his own ideal (Moličre)

A pedant is a man who studies a vacuum through instruments that allow him to draw cross-sections of the details (John Ciardi)
bruto is online now   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 15th September 2021, 09:56 AM   #1817
BobTheCoward
Banned
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 22,789
Originally Posted by bruto View Post
Only, of course, for a certain definition of "wrong," since as we ought by now to know without having to animate the ghost of Godwin, a "lawful" order can be awfully wrong by that other definition.

Of course we have no control group to determine what would or would not have happened if things went differently. But I don't think it takes too much mental contortion at least to entertain the possibility that preventing an insane president from precipitating a gratuitous war that could kill millions and devastate the earth might be "right" in a sense more pressing than it is "wrong" in that other sense.

There have in history been people whose sense of what was right impelled them to commit acts that got them in trouble, if not executed, and while that can go both ways, there have, in history, been a few whose actions are considered in retrospect to have been worthwhile - at least by those whose judgment is not so dependent on doctrine that they would accept the destruction of part or all of humanity as the only thing that is acceptably pure.
What that amounts to is unilaterally ending democratic rule because you think you should be making those decisions rather than the country's voters. A lot of juntas agree with you.
BobTheCoward is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 15th September 2021, 10:03 AM   #1818
sackett
Philosopher
 
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Detroit
Posts: 8,843
This isn't really addressed to Bob, of course

Originally Posted by BobTheCoward View Post
if it is a lawful order, then it would be wrong to stop it.
No, it would be right. It would also be illegal, and a good first step toward revising a dangerously outmoded law.

Try to understand. The US's current procedures for using nukes appeared during the Cold War, a scared and scarey time. The men who devised them were WW2 survivors, as were their Soviet counterparts. They all knew plenty about surprise attacks. Better a hair trigger, they thought, than no trigger at all.

Today, we're only just emerging from the rubble of a bizarre episode of crazed mismanagement. We face different risks than we once did, and we need to address them.

Here's to that hardass General Milley, the best mutineer in the world! And to Nancy Pelosi and all the other conspirators! If they go to jail, I for one will bake them a cake loaded with hacksaw blades!

And their American guards will deliver it to them completely untouched.
__________________
When I spoke out against the bullies, they called me woke.

When I lashed them with a length of chain, they called me sir.

Last edited by sackett; 15th September 2021 at 10:07 AM.
sackett is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 15th September 2021, 10:06 AM   #1819
carlitos
"más divertido"
 
carlitos's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: USA! USA!
Posts: 24,384
Stanislav PetrovWP sends his best.
carlitos is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 15th September 2021, 10:15 AM   #1820
Ziggurat
Penultimate Amazing
 
Ziggurat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 56,422
Originally Posted by carlitos View Post
ETA - I heard Wesley Clark talking about Vindman and basically he said that a colonel wouldn't know what contact the generals have with each other. Could be.
And? Vindman's post AND my statement are both predicated on the story as presented being true. And I explicitly stated it may not be, and that I don't have confidence in the source. If it isn't true, then of course a conclusion contingent on it being true would not hold. Obviously.
__________________
"As long as it is admitted that the law may be diverted from its true purpose -- that it may violate property instead of protecting it -- then everyone will want to participate in making the law, either to protect himself against plunder or to use it for plunder. Political questions will always be prejudicial, dominant, and all-absorbing. There will be fighting at the door of the Legislative Palace, and the struggle within will be no less furious." - Bastiat, The Law
Ziggurat is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 15th September 2021, 10:18 AM   #1821
carlitos
"más divertido"
 
carlitos's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: USA! USA!
Posts: 24,384
carlitos is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 15th September 2021, 10:24 AM   #1822
BobTheCoward
Banned
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 22,789
Originally Posted by sackett View Post
No, it would be right. It would also be illegal, and a good first step toward revising a dangerously outmoded law.

Try to understand. The US's current procedures for using nukes appeared during the Cold War, a scared and scarey time. The men who devised them were WW2 survivors, as were their Soviet counterparts. They all knew plenty about surprise attacks. Better a hair trigger, they thought, than no trigger at all.

Today, we're only just emerging from the rubble of a bizarre episode of crazed mismanagement. We face different risks than we once did, and we need to address them.

Here's to that hardass General Milley, the best mutineer in the world! And to Nancy Pelosi and all the other conspirators! If they go to jail, I for one will bake them a cake loaded with hacksaw blades!

And their American guards will deliver it to them completely untouched.
spoken like a real generalissimo


Billions of votes have been cast in the US have been cast to select people to revise the system. Who looks at that and thinks they know better?

Last edited by BobTheCoward; 15th September 2021 at 10:27 AM.
BobTheCoward is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 15th September 2021, 10:30 AM   #1823
Stacyhs
Penultimate Amazing
 
Stacyhs's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: United States
Posts: 32,926
Originally Posted by Ziggurat View Post
So far this is just sourced to Woodward, and he's... not always been accurate in his reporting.

But if this was accurate, then frankly, it doesn't make Trump look nearly as bad as it makes Milley look. Which makes me wonder if maybe people are setting up Milley to take a fall. That might be convenient right about now.
Have you seen Gen. Milley denying this? Any of those involved? No? Why do you think that is?

Why do you think anyone needs to set Milley up to 'take the fall'? Fall for what exactly?

Incidentally, how has Woodward "not always been accurate in his reporting"?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ziggurat

The story as told doesn't indicate that Trump did anything.
You've got to be kidding. Inciting a riot to overturn the election, ranting like a madman that it was stolen from him and living in his own (un) reality is "not doing anything?" Add to that his unilateral order to draw all troops out of Afghanistan without informing or consulting ANYONE.

Quote:
The Nov 11 memo...had been secretly drafted by two Trump loyalists and never went through the normal process for a military directive -- the secretary of defense, national security adviser and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs had all never seen it. Unpredictable, impulsive, Trump had done an end run around his whole national security team.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/14/polit...emo/index.html

The entire picture is of a man with the power to launch a military strike and start WW3 who is out of control and delusional. And you think Milley had no reason to do what he did? I'm thankful for what Milley did.
Stacyhs is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 15th September 2021, 10:39 AM   #1824
Stacyhs
Penultimate Amazing
 
Stacyhs's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: United States
Posts: 32,926
Originally Posted by BobTheCoward View Post
What that amounts to is unilaterally ending democratic rule because you think you should be making those decisions rather than the country's voters. A lot of juntas agree with you.
Nope. A junta is a military coup and takeover of the government. Milley did not do that nor was he attempting that. What he did was tell them that, IF Trump ordered a military strike, they were to follow the procedure and tell him. After all, Trump had not followed procedure in issuing the Afghanistan withdrawal on Nov. 11

Quote:
In response, Milley took extraordinary action, and called a secret meeting in his Pentagon office on January 8 to review the process for military action, including launching nuclear weapons. Speaking to senior military officials in charge of the National Military Command Center, the Pentagon's war room, Milley instructed them not to take orders from anyone unless he was involved.
"No matter what you are told, you do the procedure. You do the process. And I'm part of that procedure," Milley told the officers, according to the book.
He then went around the room, looked each officer in the eye, and asked them to verbally confirm they understood.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/14/polit...ear/index.html

Milley was tryng to stop TRUMP from not following lawful procedure.
Stacyhs is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 15th September 2021, 10:40 AM   #1825
Stacyhs
Penultimate Amazing
 
Stacyhs's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: United States
Posts: 32,926
Originally Posted by BobTheCoward View Post
spoken like a real generalissimo


Billions of votes have been cast in the US have been cast to select people to revise the system. Who looks at that and thinks they know better?
Stacyhs is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 15th September 2021, 11:01 AM   #1826
bruto
Penultimate Amazing
 
bruto's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Way way north of Diddy Wah Diddy
Posts: 36,113
Originally Posted by BobTheCoward View Post
What that amounts to is unilaterally ending democratic rule because you think you should be making those decisions rather than the country's voters. A lot of juntas agree with you.
This is with the presumption that the crazy person in question was indeed democratically elected, and that the people responsible for that were reasonably knowledgable about his craziness, both at the time and later, and that the action he was about to do was itself lawful. While a sitting president can say, and has said, that anything he does is inherently legal, this is not actually true. I addition, one might point out that it is possible for a person to become crazier after being elected, and even (perish the thought) to have lied and concealed his true nature before.

To stop him would likely be illegal, an action many would undertake anyway if the necessity seemed grave enough.

Once again, I think you have allowed your devotion to ideological purity to avoid difficult decisions and to trivialize real world dilemmas. The fact that it appears a person was duly elected does not allow him to do just anything he wants for the next four years.
__________________
Like many humorless and indignant people, he is hard on everybody but himself, and does not perceive it when he fails his own ideal (Moličre)

A pedant is a man who studies a vacuum through instruments that allow him to draw cross-sections of the details (John Ciardi)
bruto is online now   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 15th September 2021, 11:05 AM   #1827
Stacyhs
Penultimate Amazing
 
Stacyhs's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: United States
Posts: 32,926
Originally Posted by bruto View Post
This is with the presumption that the crazy person in question was indeed democratically elected, and that the people responsible for that were reasonably knowledgable about his craziness, both at the time and later, and that the action he was about to do was itself lawful. While a sitting president can say, and has said, that anything he does is inherently legal, this is not actually true. I addition, one might point out that it is possible for a person to become crazier after being elected, and even (perish the thought) to have lied and concealed his true nature before.

To stop him would likely be illegal, an action many would undertake anyway if the necessity seemed grave enough.

Once again, I think you have allowed your devotion to ideological purity to avoid difficult decisions and to trivialize real world dilemmas. The fact that it appears a person was duly elected does not allow him to do just anything he wants for the next four years.
Tell that to Donnie who got away with doing anything he wanted for four years thanks to the same attitude as B the C.
Stacyhs is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 15th September 2021, 11:08 AM   #1828
BobTheCoward
Banned
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 22,789
Originally Posted by bruto View Post
This is with the presumption that the crazy person in question was indeed democratically elected, and that the people responsible for that were reasonably knowledgable about his craziness, both at the time and later, and that the action he was about to do was itself lawful. While a sitting president can say, and has said, that anything he does is inherently legal, this is not actually true. I addition, one might point out that it is possible for a person to become crazier after being elected, and even (perish the thought) to have lied and concealed his true nature before.

To stop him would likely be illegal, an action many would undertake anyway if the necessity seemed grave enough.

Once again, I think you have allowed your devotion to ideological purity to avoid difficult decisions and to trivialize real world dilemmas. The fact that it appears a person was duly elected does not allow him to do just anything he wants for the next four years.
Again, what makes your position different from a military coup?
BobTheCoward is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 15th September 2021, 11:16 AM   #1829
Ziggurat
Penultimate Amazing
 
Ziggurat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 56,422
Originally Posted by bruto View Post
This is with the presumption that the crazy person in question was indeed democratically elected, and that the people responsible for that were reasonably knowledgable about his craziness, both at the time and later, and that the action he was about to do was itself lawful. While a sitting president can say, and has said, that anything he does is inherently legal, this is not actually true. I addition, one might point out that it is possible for a person to become crazier after being elected, and even (perish the thought) to have lied and concealed his true nature before.

To stop him would likely be illegal, an action many would undertake anyway if the necessity seemed grave enough.

Once again, I think you have allowed your devotion to ideological purity to avoid difficult decisions and to trivialize real world dilemmas. The fact that it appears a person was duly elected does not allow him to do just anything he wants for the next four years.
This is all either wrong or off target. Yes, a president can't do whatever he wants. There are checks and balances, but none of them require circumventing the military chain of command, or conspiring with foreign governments. And if a president is truly crazy, then no, stopping him doesn't require any illegal action. The constitution provides a specific mechanism to handle such an event, legally. Milley made no attempt to use that mechanism.
__________________
"As long as it is admitted that the law may be diverted from its true purpose -- that it may violate property instead of protecting it -- then everyone will want to participate in making the law, either to protect himself against plunder or to use it for plunder. Political questions will always be prejudicial, dominant, and all-absorbing. There will be fighting at the door of the Legislative Palace, and the struggle within will be no less furious." - Bastiat, The Law
Ziggurat is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 15th September 2021, 11:18 AM   #1830
Ziggurat
Penultimate Amazing
 
Ziggurat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 56,422
Originally Posted by Stacyhs View Post
Tell that to Donnie who got away with doing anything he wanted for four years thanks to the same attitude as B the C.
Except he didn't. There were a number of high profile cases where the administration got shut down by the courts. Notably, Trump never went against the courts after any such ruling.

Contrast that with Biden, who admitted his eviction moratorium was unconstitutional but declared he was going to proceed with attempting it anyways.
__________________
"As long as it is admitted that the law may be diverted from its true purpose -- that it may violate property instead of protecting it -- then everyone will want to participate in making the law, either to protect himself against plunder or to use it for plunder. Political questions will always be prejudicial, dominant, and all-absorbing. There will be fighting at the door of the Legislative Palace, and the struggle within will be no less furious." - Bastiat, The Law
Ziggurat is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 15th September 2021, 11:18 AM   #1831
BobTheCoward
Banned
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 22,789
Originally Posted by Ziggurat View Post
This is all either wrong or off target. Yes, a president can't do whatever he wants. There are checks and balances, but none of them require circumventing the military chain of command, or conspiring with foreign governments. And if a president is truly crazy, then no, stopping him doesn't require any illegal action. The constitution provides a specific mechanism to handle such an event, legally. Milley made no attempt to use that mechanism.
Who cares if the constitution theoretically provides a mechanism? The constitution is not a moral or philosophical document that has any say on how I judge what someone should do.
BobTheCoward is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 15th September 2021, 11:18 AM   #1832
dirtywick
Philosopher
 
dirtywick's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 5,481
Originally Posted by BobTheCoward View Post
Again, what makes your position different from a military coup?
that there wasn't an attempt to seize control of the government
dirtywick is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 15th September 2021, 11:21 AM   #1833
BobTheCoward
Banned
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 22,789
Originally Posted by dirtywick View Post
that there wasn't an attempt to seize control of the government
That is why I said "position" rather than outcome.

Both think that their personal conclusions of what is right should direct their use of government resources more than the lawful system they agreed to.
BobTheCoward is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 15th September 2021, 11:23 AM   #1834
dirtywick
Philosopher
 
dirtywick's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 5,481
Originally Posted by BobTheCoward View Post
That is why I said "position" rather than outcome.

Both think that their personal conclusions of what is right should direct their use of government resources more than the lawful system they agreed to.
ok, I don't think that excuses that you're misusing the word coup and in doing so mischaracterizing the events that took place.

-edit-

And I'm not even sure that he did anything that wasn't lawful. Is reassuring a foreign government you're not at war with that there's no surprise attack coming unlawful? Not so sure

Last edited by dirtywick; 15th September 2021 at 11:26 AM.
dirtywick is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 15th September 2021, 11:25 AM   #1835
BobTheCoward
Banned
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 22,789
Originally Posted by dirtywick View Post
ok, I don't think that excuses that you're misusing the word coup and in doing so mischaracterizing the events that took place.
I'm not clear how I'm misusing the word coup? A comparison to a different group of people does not make the person being compared part of that group.
BobTheCoward is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 15th September 2021, 11:29 AM   #1836
Ziggurat
Penultimate Amazing
 
Ziggurat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 56,422
Originally Posted by BobTheCoward View Post
Who cares if the constitution theoretically provides a mechanism? The constitution is not a moral or philosophical document that has any say on how I judge what someone should do.
Nobody knows how you judge anything, and at this point nobody cares.

The constitution is a legal document, and it has considerable say on how we judge the legality of the actions of anyone in government, including Milley.
__________________
"As long as it is admitted that the law may be diverted from its true purpose -- that it may violate property instead of protecting it -- then everyone will want to participate in making the law, either to protect himself against plunder or to use it for plunder. Political questions will always be prejudicial, dominant, and all-absorbing. There will be fighting at the door of the Legislative Palace, and the struggle within will be no less furious." - Bastiat, The Law
Ziggurat is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 15th September 2021, 11:30 AM   #1837
BobTheCoward
Banned
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 22,789
Originally Posted by Ziggurat View Post
Nobody knows how you judge anything, and at this point nobody cares.

The constitution is a legal document, and it has considerable say on how we judge the legality of the actions of anyone in government, including Milley.
There doesn't seem to be too many arguments going on about legality right now. It appears to be mostly moral questions.
BobTheCoward is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 15th September 2021, 11:34 AM   #1838
dirtywick
Philosopher
 
dirtywick's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 5,481
Originally Posted by BobTheCoward View Post
I'm not clear how I'm misusing the word coup? A comparison to a different group of people does not make the person being compared part of that group.
It's like the third time it's been explained, but a coup is an attempt to seize control of the government. Any comparison of the actions of someone who isn't trying to seize control of the government to a coup, which again attempting to seize control of the government, is a poor comparison.

But you didn't really just use it as a comparison anyway, you accused several posters of being supportive of a military coup by implying that what happened here was a coup.
dirtywick is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 15th September 2021, 11:37 AM   #1839
BobTheCoward
Banned
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 22,789
Originally Posted by dirtywick View Post
It's like the third time it's been explained, but a coup is an attempt to seize control of the government. Any comparison of the actions of someone who isn't trying to seize control of the government to a coup, which again attempting to seize control of the government, is a poor comparison.

But you didn't really just use it as a comparison anyway, you accused several posters of being supportive of a military coup by implying that what happened here was a coup.
No, this would not be a coup and I don't imply things. I'm explicit. The thinking that one should use government resources to do something illegal because they think their judgement is better is the same.
BobTheCoward is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Old 15th September 2021, 11:45 AM   #1840
dirtywick
Philosopher
 
dirtywick's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 5,481
Originally Posted by BobTheCoward View Post
No, this would not be a coup and I don't imply things. I'm explicit. The thinking that one should use government resources to do something illegal because they think their judgement is better is the same.
OK, when you write this in response to a post support of Milley's actions:

Quote:
Again, what makes your position different from a military coup?
The implication is that they are supportive of a coup.


Secondly, it's not clear that anything illegal happened. According to some reports, he was given permission and later briefed civilian leadership in the Pentagon regarding the call. Even if not, it's not clear to me that it's illegal for a general to reassure a foreign power not to worry about a surprise attack that isn't coming. Had he warned them of an attack that was imminent, these accusations of treasons and coups would make a bit more sense to me.
dirtywick is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top
Reply

International Skeptics Forum » General Topics » USA Politics

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 10:46 PM.
Powered by vBulletin. Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.

This forum began as part of the James Randi Education Foundation (JREF). However, the forum now exists as
an independent entity with no affiliation with or endorsement by the JREF, including the section in reference to "JREF" topics.

Disclaimer: Messages posted in the Forum are solely the opinion of their authors.