The Real timschochet

Three points: 1. My main problem with the OP is that I don’t think Trump’s policies were good for this nation. I think they were awful. But then I don’t share his governing philosophy. 2. But beyond that, the most important thing a President is supposed to do is protect us in time of emergency. Not every President has an emergency so we can’t judge them on this. Trump was unfortunate enough to have one the this country’s greatest emergencies on his watch: the Covid crisis. That’s not his fault, he was just unlucky. But we can and should grade him for how he responded. I give him a D-. 3. Finally I believe Donald Trump betrayed the Constutition by trying to reverse the results of the 2020 election. This is not a question of Trump being a jerk, or a bad guy with good ideas, as the OP wants to believe. He betrayed the Constitution and that should make him ineligible.

None of this is true.

He’s an old man. Listen, not everyone has the has the energy and stamina of Joe Biden. He’s pretty extraordinary. Trump can’t measure up, but there’s no shame in that.

But not just any guy. THIS guy.

I think YOURE being obtuse. I don’t agree with your arguments, though that’s nothing new.

Interesting polling regarding this trial: https://abcnews.go.com/amp/538/polls-trumps-hush-money-trial/story?id=109145290 As I mentioned above, only conservatives believe this is a sham trial with Trump as a victim. The majority of Americans, 52%, thinks it’s serious and that he’s probably guilty. That number represents both liberals and independents. The polling also suggests the outcome here won’t affect anyone’s vote in November; attitudes about Trump are locked in already. Personally I’m not so sure about this. We’ve never had a Presidential candidate that was a convicted felon before. This is uncharted waters for this country. Attitudes could change overnight. And frankly I’m hoping they will.

Of course we’re better off for having them. It’s not even a question. And yes it’s part of our tradition.

According to polling the fact that you are a conservative makes you far more likely to believe this. Most people who are not conservatives don’t. Its fascinating to me that a guy as privileged and as expert at manipulating the legal system as Donald Trump has somehow convinced millions of people that he is a victim here but there’s no doubt that he has.

Some pundits predict the jury selection could last up to two weeks. So anyone waiting for real news out of this thing better be patient,

The Statue of Liberty poetry isn’t horsesh!t; it’s an ideal. Like the preamble to the Constitution, it’s represents aspiration for us to become a more perfect Union. We don’t always live up to the ideal, but we’ve actually done a better job at immigration and racial diversity than any nation in world history. That’s why, despite our faults, we remain the greatest nation that has ever existed, But we shouldn’t turn our back on this ideal in the name of security or racial cohesion or even economic concerns. When we do we lose just a little of our greatness, IMO.

Whose wife? Yours? I offered but she’s already got enough liquor, just wants me to head on over.

If I wanted to be one your posts would provide easy lessons.

Sorry. We’ll look him up then if you’re interested,

The Palestinians of Gaza elected Hamas. Not the Palestinians of the West Bank, which is a larger population. And there are many reasons why Hamas won that election that have nothing to do with policy towards Israel.

Lol I don’t hate Israel. Big supporter. There are many Jews in Israel, and many here, who share my votes on this subject. One of the most notable is Peter Beinart of The Atlantic. Here’s a recent piece by him discussing this topic: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/22/opinion/israel-american-jews-zionism.html

Excellent article on the real life consequences of what the MAGA folks are trying to push through: https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/14/us/texas-immigration-law-iowa-other-us-states-cec/index.html Fear, distrust, bigotry. Not the kind of America I want to live in; how about you?

You’ve made this point several times so I have a question for you: if we were to eliminate all government programs that immigrants could have any access to, would you then be OK with free and open immigration to this country from anywhere?

There is a struggle within the Palestinian community that has been going on since the birth of Israel and even before. Essentially it is between those who believe they can eventually live side by side with Israel and those who want nothing less than the utter destruction of Israel. The latter group, fanatical in word and deed, has always appeared to the world as dominant. Many like @jerryskids would have us believe that they are the ONLY Palestinians, that the first group I mentioned don’t really exist, a myth. This is convenient because if your enemy is truly evil, murderous, extreme, it justifies all actions on your side to deal with them. Thus, everything the current Israeli government does is OK, no matter how awful-why not? The Palestinians are all evil bastards committed to their destruction. (it’s an argument that is also dehumanizing, allowing one to be less empathetic when children suffer or die.) We have seen that in this thread. But it’s a false narrative. The first group of Palestinians, those who want to co-exist with Israel, have always been there, and always been significant, they have never been dominant for a number of reasons which would take too long to get into here. But the key to Israel’s ultimate survival and security is for this side to eventually win out. No country can survive in which the majority of the population is hostile to the ruling minority. Unless we achieve a 2 state solution, Israel as a nation is ultimately doomed. Thus, for Israel’s survival, the reasonable, moderate Palestinian minority has to become a majority. Forgive my lengthy digression here but I can’t address your question without it. By moving the embassy we strengthened the radical Palestinian majority and weakened the moderate Palestinian minority. Thats the gist of it. It was a huge move in the wrong direction. You’re correct that it didn’t create Hamas but it strengthened them. Hamas, like any political movement, becomes more powerful the more the population subscribes to their ideas. This is the same reason they cannot be destroyed by Israel’s current military actions, any more than we were able to destroy the Taliban. M You can wipe out their military strength, but like a hydra they will always come back because the population is behind them.

Their lives will be better off under Biden. This has already been true. Deep down they’ll probably be secretly relieved when he wins again.

Thanks but it’s not really a master class. Any dummy can learn this stuff by reading just a little of the history. But a lot of these guys seem incapable of even the basics.

Serious question: do you have to work at sounding like a moron or does it just come easy to you?

Not that it has anything to do with this thread but you were wrong anyhow. Biden is tied in those polls and gaining now. Very shortly he will be ahead, probably for the remainder. Maybe you should focus on your statements in this thread, such as your ridiculous assertion that none of this would have happened under Trump. You’re so backwards on this stuff.

No it isn’t the same. Huge difference and I already touched on this. The Camp David accords were a huge deal because Egypt had been in 3 major wars with Israel and it was the first time any Arab country was willing to talk peace. Even then, everyone knew there could be no permanent peace without addressing the Palestine issue. Carter tried, and failed. But even so he deserves some real praise as it was a major achievement. The Abraham Accords on the other hand were a joke that made things worse. The nations in question were already at peace with Israel and had been for decades. It completely ignored the Palestinians and there were winks and nods for Israel to continue their settlements. It did nothing to achieve a greater peace but Jared did walk away with 2 billion. So there’s that.

OK he was wrong to call you a liar. Who the fock cares? Are you ever going to respond to my points as to why Trump is party responsible? Or are you just not informed enough to offer an opinion?

Actually the Sandinistas won elections as well. But I was all in favor of removing them. I wasn’t in favor of supporting rapists and thugs though. I’m sure you weren’t either. Just because Communism is a terrible evil (and it surely is) we don’t need to support bad guys. And my post was in response to the question of how we screwed up Honduras. With regard to Netanyahu I’m not calling for an illegal overthrow or involvement in Israeli politics so I don’t get your analogy.