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#401 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 23,139
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I don't trust atoms. They make up everything. |
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#402 |
Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Waiting for the pod bay door to open.
Posts: 39,631
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Continually pushing the boundaries of mediocrity. Everything is possible, but not everything is probable. For if a man pretend to me that God hath spoken to him supernaturally, and immediately, and I make doubt of it, I cannot easily perceive what argument he can produce to oblige me to believe it. Hobbes |
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#403 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 20,396
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“ A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence. ” ― David Hume |
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#404 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Nelson, New Zealand
Posts: 10,387
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As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron. - Henry Louis Mencken - Baltimore Evening Sun, July 26, 1920 |
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#405 |
Illuminator
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 3,672
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"What Flynn pleaded guilty to was not a crime" is basically the "no planes" conspiracy applied to the Trump legal scandal.
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#406 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Nelson, New Zealand
Posts: 10,387
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Pro tip for TDB
5 USC § 2302 Pub.L. 101-12 https://www.congress.gov/bill/101st-...senate-bill/20 S.743 - Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012 https://www.congress.gov/bill/112th-...-bill/743/text Read them |
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As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron. - Henry Louis Mencken - Baltimore Evening Sun, July 26, 1920 |
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#407 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 29,029
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I'm your obsession |
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#408 |
Illuminator
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 3,672
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#409 |
Great minds think...
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: North Dakota
Posts: 4,853
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"All acts performed in the world begin in the imagination."--Barbara Grizzuti Harrison “There are times when the mind is dealt such a blow it hides itself in insanity. While this may not seem beneficial, it is. There are times when reality is nothing but pain, and to escape that pain the mind must leave reality behind.” - Patrick Rothfuss |
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#410 |
Seasonally Disaffected
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Chilly Undieville
Posts: 7,000
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"When you believe in things you don't understand, then you suffer . . . " - Stevie Wonder. "It looks like the saddest, most crookedest candy corn in an otherwise normal bag of candy corns." Stormy Daniels I hate bigots. |
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#411 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 15,883
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Trump defender, not Trump.
I'm guessing that at some point Trump has made an intelligent argument, and here is where one would normally talk about a 'stopped clock' being right twice a day (or one running backward four times), but Trump is more like a digital clock that's been made to read out 'BOOB'. He inadvertently makes honest arguments all the time; they just show him to be a truly depraved person. He loves the Saudis because they pay him millions, for example. |
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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 |
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#412 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 10,560
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#413 |
Master Poster
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 2,989
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On the Rachel Maddow show tonight, she asked an important question: Trump has always bent over backwards to protect Michael Flynn. Obama told him he was trouble, as did everybody else. When it became impossible to keep him on board, he pressured Comey and others to "let it go". Ever since then, it has been radio silence, no nick names or anything, even after the revelations of this week. Why?
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#414 |
Maledictorian
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 6,820
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From what we know, Flynn really shouldn't get off scot-free: he got caught being a paid foreign lobbyist and just had to rat some others out to be no worse off.
I hope that at least his reputation is tanked and he didn't get to keep the Turkish money. |
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Opinion is divided on the subject. All the others say it is; I say it isn’t. |
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#415 |
Nasty Woman
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 71,565
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Restore checks and balances no matter your party affiliation. |
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#416 |
Nasty Woman
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 71,565
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Restore checks and balances no matter your party affiliation. |
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#417 |
Straussian
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 12,588
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April 13th, 2018: Ranb: I can't think of anything useful you contributed to a thread in the last few years. |
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#418 |
Crazy Little Green Dragon
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 4,716
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So sayeth the crazy little dragon. |
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#419 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Cardiff, South Wales
Posts: 24,130
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It's a poor sort of memory that only works backward - Lewis Carroll (1832-1898) God can make a cow out of a tree, but has He ever done so? Therefore show some reason why a thing is so, or cease to hold that it is so - William of Conches, c1150 |
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#420 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Cardiff, South Wales
Posts: 24,130
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It's a poor sort of memory that only works backward - Lewis Carroll (1832-1898) God can make a cow out of a tree, but has He ever done so? Therefore show some reason why a thing is so, or cease to hold that it is so - William of Conches, c1150 |
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#421 |
Philosopher
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: As far away from casebro as possible.
Posts: 7,049
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"Mueller is recommending that Michael Flynn be given no jail time because of his “substantial assistance” to the special counsel inquiry."
Could be interesting. https://www.newstatesman.com/world/n...HuzpwHlgyirkK8 |
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There is no secret ingredient - Kung Fu Panda |
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#422 |
Master Poster
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 2,941
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People here can't seem to help themselves. The trolls are playing by a different set of rules. If their posts provoke a reaction from the libs or they control the conversation by distracting/diverting the conversation to what they're talking about instead of what's actually important and relevant then they've won. It doesn't matter if what they post is factually wrong, conspiracy theory, partisan bias, or hypocrisy. It doesn't matter if those who respond are correct, or mock them, or annihilate their argument. Those aren't the rules of their game. By their rules, almost any response means they've accomplished their goal and therefore they've won.
But people here see the posts and think about how wrong it is and how they have a great counter argument, and can't help but respond. I understand this feeling and it's hard not to respond myself and I occasionally still fail in that regard. But after seeing the same pattern over and over I can come to no other conclusion. 'Those first 100 mouthfuls of dirt didn't taste very good, maybe the next one will taste better' For the foreseeable future people will continue to eat mouthfuls of dirt and the trolls will continue to win their game. |
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Straw Man, Ad Hominem, Moving the Goalposts, and a massive post count are all good indicators that a poster is intellectually dishonest and not interested in real discussion. Feeding trolls only makes them stronger, yet it is so hard to refrain. |
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#423 |
Great minds think...
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: North Dakota
Posts: 4,853
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__________________
"All acts performed in the world begin in the imagination."--Barbara Grizzuti Harrison “There are times when the mind is dealt such a blow it hides itself in insanity. While this may not seem beneficial, it is. There are times when reality is nothing but pain, and to escape that pain the mind must leave reality behind.” - Patrick Rothfuss |
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#424 |
Illuminator
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 4,903
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It's nice to be nice to the nice. Aristotle, so far as I know, was the first man to proclaim explicitly that man is a rational animal. His reason for this view was one which does not now seem very impressive: it was, that some people can do sums. - Bertrand Russell |
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#425 |
Illuminator
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 4,903
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On the one hand, Rachel Maddow implied but didn't come right out and say that Trump must not be ragging on Michael Flynn because Trump is smart enough (for once) to not mess around with something that could be dangerous to him.
On the other hand, can't we infer that Flynn, despite all his suspicious contacts with the Russians, wasn't involved in collusion because wouldn't Mueller have included charges related to collusion in the indictment he just filed? And, how could it be that Flynn didn't collude, given his central position in dealings with Russia? |
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It's nice to be nice to the nice. Aristotle, so far as I know, was the first man to proclaim explicitly that man is a rational animal. His reason for this view was one which does not now seem very impressive: it was, that some people can do sums. - Bertrand Russell |
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#426 |
Muse
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: Midwest USA
Posts: 981
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#427 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 20,396
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No he shouldn't. No question in my mind and every career military officer I've heard speak about Flynn. Flynn betrayed his country. I heard Colonel Peters on MSNBC talking about Flynn. Someone he has known Flynn for 30 years. He said Flynn was a great soldier and someone he liked personally, but who betrayed his country.
His opinion was that military officers know better and should be held to a higher standard. Peters said he was shocked when he heard about Flynn working for Russia. But given how often Flynn met with Mueller he believed he came totally clean and gave Mueller EVERYTHING he had. That is the only reason I believe he got off. |
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“ A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence. ” ― David Hume |
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#428 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 20,396
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__________________
“ A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence. ” ― David Hume |
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#429 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 29,029
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What is really intriguing is that Mueller and his team went to the bother of quoting extensively from the WaPo article, going so far as to say that the author (who is neither a lawyer, prosecutor nor judge) speculated that Flynn violated the Logan Act.
They never tried to tie that up, and it sticks out like a sore thumb. Someone stroking CIA's paper boy's ego for some reason, hmmm? |
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I'm your obsession |
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#430 |
Fiend God
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: In the details
Posts: 78,464
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#431 |
Self Employed
Remittance Man Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Florida
Posts: 16,007
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- "Ernest Hemingway once wrote that the world is a fine place and worth fighting for. I agree with the second part." - Detective Sommerset - "Stupidity does not cancel out stupidity to yield genius. It breeds like a bucket-full of coked out hamsters." - The Oatmeal - "To the best of my knowledge the only thing philosophy has ever proven is that Descartes could think." - SMBC |
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#432 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 23,139
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You're assuming that Mueller charged him on everything that he could charge him on. The question, if that is the case, is why did Flynn cooperate as thoroughly as he did in order to avoid a sentence of no more than 6 months? And why is Mueller happy to charge him now if he may be required at a later date to provide more information or testify?
A reasonable explanation is that Mueller has other charges against Flynn that he is choosing not to charge as part of a plea deal, and if Flynn breaks that deal then Mueller can bring those other charges. |
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I don't trust atoms. They make up everything. |
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#433 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 29,029
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__________________
I'm your obsession |
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#434 |
Self Employed
Remittance Man Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Florida
Posts: 16,007
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- "Ernest Hemingway once wrote that the world is a fine place and worth fighting for. I agree with the second part." - Detective Sommerset - "Stupidity does not cancel out stupidity to yield genius. It breeds like a bucket-full of coked out hamsters." - The Oatmeal - "To the best of my knowledge the only thing philosophy has ever proven is that Descartes could think." - SMBC |
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#435 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 29,029
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__________________
I'm your obsession |
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#436 |
Great minds think...
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: North Dakota
Posts: 4,853
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My two cents on it is I don't really see how the trolls are "winning". Their goal is to get under the skin, or needlessly irritate their "opposition".
Does anyone here actually get flustered, angry, or upset at statements that disagree with yours? I can say I certainly don't. |
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"All acts performed in the world begin in the imagination."--Barbara Grizzuti Harrison “There are times when the mind is dealt such a blow it hides itself in insanity. While this may not seem beneficial, it is. There are times when reality is nothing but pain, and to escape that pain the mind must leave reality behind.” - Patrick Rothfuss |
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#437 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 20,396
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__________________
“ A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence. ” ― David Hume |
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#438 |
Self Employed
Remittance Man Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Florida
Posts: 16,007
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Indeed. "I supported the President, even protected, him as long as I could, far longer than people think I should have, past the even the point it was legal because I honestly thought it was the best thing for the country, but in the end I had to do what was right." isn't a good thing per se, but it's understandable, even respectable in a way.
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- "Ernest Hemingway once wrote that the world is a fine place and worth fighting for. I agree with the second part." - Detective Sommerset - "Stupidity does not cancel out stupidity to yield genius. It breeds like a bucket-full of coked out hamsters." - The Oatmeal - "To the best of my knowledge the only thing philosophy has ever proven is that Descartes could think." - SMBC |
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#439 |
Muse
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: Midwest USA
Posts: 981
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#440 |
Penultimate Amazing
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 29,029
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I'm your obsession |
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