that guy in AZ Wrote:

that guy in AZ Wrote:

"Blowout" should be a "must read" for everyone, since it ties together a lot of events that are shaping the world today.

I finished reading the book this afternoon, and was impressed about the number of facts that Rachel Maddow uncovered. for example, she details how Moscow effectively torpedoed Mitt Romney's selection as Secretary of State because he was vocally anti-Putin. Tillerson, on the other hand, already had extensive business dealings with Russia, including helping to develop oil drilling in the Arctic - which our sanctions on Russia put a stop to. Up to his appointment, Tillerson had no government experience, and no interest in Americna foreign policy. His appointment was happily broadcast on social media, most of which was generated by the Internet Research Agency in St. Petersburg.

Things got off to a rocky start early in their relationship. In July 2017, Tillerson called Trump a “f*****g moron,” NBC News reported. The comments came after Tillerson had a meeting at the Pentagon with members of the White House national security team and Cabinet officials.

After Tillrson got fired on March 31, 2018, Trump said he was “ill prepared and ill equipped” for his job. “Rex Tillerson, a man who is ‘dumb as a rock’ . . . made up a story (he got fired) that I was out-prepared by Vladimir Putin at a meeting in Hamburg, Germany,” he tweeted. “I don’t think Putin would agree,” Trump wrote. “Look how the U.S. is doing!”

"Blowout" clearly illustrated the devastating effect the oil and gas industry has had on our country. Natural gas, in particular, has caused a lot of damage to local water supplies, and the tax breaks to the industry in Oklahoma have destroyed the economy of the state.

https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/gas-rich-mozambique-headed-disaster-200223112556449.html

If you look overseas, you'll notice that the natural gas industry has done a lot of damage to Mozambique, and has benefited very few people other than foreign energy companies. Mozambique's total GDP is $16.29 billion, and it ranks #123 of the world's 211 countries. GDP per capita is a whopping $521, compared to American's per capita GDP of $67,000.

http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/countries-by-gdp/

This is the so-called resource curse. Underdeveloped countries (that term needs defining) discover natural resources and kleptocracy/oligarchy despotism arises. Except it doesn’t always. Norway is a good example.

As for damage to the environment that is something different. The time has come to stop coddling the fossil fuel industry. They must not only pay they must have their tax breaks removed.

that guy in AZ Wrote:

Since his inauguration, Trump has had SIX National Security Advisers,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Advisor_%28United_States%29

He also has had three Directors of National Intelligence, one of whom JUST got replaced.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Director_of_National_Intelligence

The person replacing Joseph McGuire is Richard Grenell, who is totally unqualified for the job.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/02/incompetent-trump-names-grenell-top-intelligence-chief-200220024722527.html

Susan Hennessey, a fellow in national security law at Brookings Institution and a former attorney at the National Security Agency, wrote on social media: "This should frighten you. Not just brazen politicization of intelligence, but also someone who is utterly incompetent in an important security role. The guardrails are gone."

Last year he faced calls for his expulsion, shortly after taking up his post in Germany, when he spoke up in support of right-wing politicians in Europe.

Trump, however, reportedly sees Grenell as a loyalist, helping him to reassert himself following acquittal in his historic impeachment trial in Congress and in advance of the November presidential election.

Schmidt Wrote:

The law that 'enabled' Hitler's dictatorship

"Eighty years ago, Germany's parliament passed the "Enabling Act." From that point on, Adolf Hitler could enact laws without the need of parliamentary approval. Only one party valiantly resisted."

Having failed at obtaining an absolute majority of National Socialists in Germany's parliament, Hitler placed before parliament a "Law to Remedy the Distress of People and the Reich" - also called the "Enabling Act."

The decisive sentence in the five-paragraph law read: "In addition to procedures prescribed by the constitution, laws of the Reich may also be enacted by the government of the Reich." That second clause had drastic implications. With no need for parliamentary approval, Hitler's government could enact laws and enter into agreements or alliances with other countries. Practically speaking, Germany's parliament was being asked to render itself impotent."

"Beyond that, fundamental laws written into the Weimar constitution were now to be done away with. For citizens, constitutional guarantees would be rendered void. Granting these emergency powers to the German chancellor would endow his office with unassailable legal authority. The only thing between the chancellor and that power was the consent of two-thirds of parliament."

"Parliament lost."

You can read what happened in the days and months following that fateful day, March 23, 1933, at the above link, or maybe Dutch can tell you the rest of the story.

Anyway, it cannot happen here...agree or disagree?

Your thesis is predicated on an engaged electorate. Imo, again we will see less than 65% of the electorate voting will the rest abdicate their responsibility.

It certainly can happen here. Humans are humans and Bird’s Theorem: “We The People” are stupid, rules.

wwjd Wrote:

To make the scenario more realistic. Trump could challenge the national election in the courts claiming the results are invalid due to foreign interference, thus refuses to leave office. The SC would most likely uphold the election results declaring Trump lost the election, but Trump ignores the SC ruling and he remains in the WH.

I am not predicting that scenario will happen, and probably has less than 1% of actually happening, but I am predicting Trump will lose the election, and no matter what Trump decides to do after he has lost the 2020 election, there will not be a peaceful transition of power; he will do whatever he can to keep the spot light ALWAYS on him, in or out of office. He will refuse to accept he lost the election, and tell his base the national election was a FAKE election. Within 1-2 weeks of losing the election he will resume his rallies tour, denouncing the 2020 election results, and call upon his base to rise up against the US Government.... That is very plausible.

that guy in AZ Wrote:

Since my ability to understand Korean is non-existent, I am not gong to be able to watch "Parasite", the Korean language movie that just won the Best Picture Award at this year's Academy Awards.

As the Washington Post recently pointed out, income inequality in South Korea (the theme of the movie) is actually worse in the United States that it is in South Korea.

outlook.live.com/mail/0/inbox/id/AQMkAD...

Income inequality is measured by the Gini coefficient.

Dutch Wrote: Yes, however I don't have an crystal ball to predict these things; the only thing I'm sure of is that "chaos" will prevail and get larger than ever. Including the "mafia corruption"; the game seems to be; how can (I, Republicans) fill my pockets until things collapse. Even Musk is now in the game to add more Tesla stocks available, who he then himself buys for an big portion so he can make money from the hype and the "loan". I guess Trump is helping him with it.

Yes, Dutch, corruption capitalism is in full swing. I don’t have a crystal ball either but wouldn’t be surprised if what I said happened or didn’t happen.

As for Musk? I have never had any use for him.

The Senate will not be flipped. It is very possible that Dems will lose Senate seats. It is very possible they will lose some House seats. Impeachment screwed things up. Not because it didn’t need to be done, it did, but from the standpoint of lack of popular support overall and in red states in particular. The Republican Senators were under very little pressure to vote to impeach. Expecting some sort of principled response was unicorns farting rainbows naive.

As for beating Dotard Donnie the Dimwit? Unless the Democratic Party gets its head out of its ass that won’t happen either.

Here are a couple of clues:

Mayor Pete: Sorry, this homophobic country as a whole won’t vote for him

Sanders: one word, even if it is wrong, socialism

Warren: A woman? Maybe. Likely not.

I don’t know the answer but time is running and the Dems, as usual, look disorganized.

I read Drift and liked it very much.

I would also suggest the late Chalmers Johnson’s “Blowback Trilogy” as well as Andrew Bacevich’s books on militarism and failed U.S. policy particularly as relates to the greater Middle East.