I’d like to think The Orange is in a hole, and continues to dig. Because there’s this:
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That’s what’s really scary about his supporters. The basic expectation is, if he cheats, pointing it out is whining; they expect the opposition to cheat harder if they really care about something. Of course, that kind of escalation would naturally leave the country a smoldering ruin, but his supporters aren’t really known for forethought.
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There has been a trickle of stuff coming out since the “Russians paid bounties for kill US Troops” story came out. I expect the trickle to increase to a steady flow. He’s pissed some people in power off.
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Have you seen his hands? Probably not room for more than 4 or 5, much less a million.
I really sincerely doubt there’s any grand strategy involved here. He hates the press, and is doing his best to shut down anything that he can’t completely infect with his own sycophants (see VOA). The fact that the Military Times is apparently reporting on his slipping standing among troops is really all he needs as a reason. Whether it hurts him or helps him in the long term is a thought that I’m pretty sure he’s incapable of conjuring into his head.
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Trump is a perfect example of why we need a Heinlein amendment - a Federal law, or better yet a Constitutional amendment - that says to be eligible for election to a Federal office, you must be an honorably discharged military veteran. The fact that the lives of our service personnel are in the hands of a chickenshit chickenhawk like Trump is a God damn disgrace and a Satanic travesty.
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No. Absolutely not.
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I hate Trump, but that is a terrible idea. You suggestion makes Quakers and Mennonites ineligible for office.
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It happened. I remember reading about it. The state of Virginia spent its money to buy a block of masks overseas and had them flown in. Men who claimed to be Federal law enforcement agents showed up at the airport. They refused to show identification and they refused to say which Federal agency they supposedly worked for. They seized the entire shipment and carried it away in trucks which had no markings.
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Agreed, but it would have kept out Nixon.
True, but last I saw active military support was rather low for Trump.
Though this is just rumor and I really want to the source to just come out and say they heard it - because it would be less possible to ignore then.
That’s a horrible idea. It was idiotic in Starship Troopers and is even moreso over here in this reality. Effective government requires a diversity of background, experience, and expertise. A requirement for military service would homogenize much of that diversity away, and weaken our system of government.
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Massachusetts resorted to smuggling masks on the New England Patriots’ team plane after a more conventional shipment had been seized. https://www.wwlp.com/news/massachusetts/3-million-masks-ordered-by-massachusetts-seized-at-port-of-ny-in-march/ Trump at the time was talking about how the states would get no Federal support for PPE and should have just gone out and bought their own masks.
It was covered right here on bOING bOING at the time: https://boingboing.net/2020/04/03/state-governors-are-taking-to.html
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Not to mention it assumes that the military is some paragon of virtue that doesn’t have anyone in the command hierarchy who would be willing to treat troops with the same callous disregard that Trump does. Which is… painfully naive at best.
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But the thought of that did put in involuntary smile on my face. That’s something at least.
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Is it? There are countries without standing armed forces, and a few without any armed forces at all. The concept of a permanent, professional military is comparatively recent: England didn’t have one until 1645, for example. And then you’ve got the Swiss model, where there’s a small, permanent cadre, but the bulk of the forces is the citizenry in arms.
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“Forward, the Light Brigade!”
Was there a man dismayed?
Not though the soldier knew
Someone had blundered.
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
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This sure seems like a dam that’s just burst.
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Because he can. If he could shut down all media that does not toe the OAN sycophant’s line, he would. This one is within his power to do so.
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We certainly need fewer rich folks and lawyers in positions of authority. Maybe some regular folk with some common sense and empathy for being a human being instead of a “fortunate son”.
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