US Politics Mega-thread - Page 3418

On March 22 2016 06:14 cLutZ wrote:


Isn't that kind of the purpose of the State of Israel as originally conceived? Also, isn't it kind of necessary regardless for them to have that policy judging by the political realities of a non-Jewish-majority democracy in that region?

On March 22 2016 07:02 GreenHorizons wrote:



lol this is just too fitting.

The biggest achievement in the House last week was a party-line vote to file a brief in a court case. In other action, GOP leaders all but conceded they won’t be able to pass a budget, the party’s first order of business, this year.

Over in the Senate, lawmakers have been busy debating whether it’s good or bad to sit on the president’s Supreme Court nominee for the next nine months.

Call it the Seinfeld Congress — all about nothing. It's gotten so small-ball that one congressman, a chairman of a highly influential committee, introduced legislation last week to recognize the national significance of magic.

“It doesn’t surprise me at all. They are going to need magic to save their party,” joked Rep. Steve Israel of New York, who heads the House Democrats’ messaging arm. “The American people are used to a Republican do-nothing Congress, they are now getting used to a Republican ridiculous Congress.”

All this non-activity comes as the House is set to take a nearly three-week vacation. The Senate skipped town last week.

"This is my eighth year here, and by far this is the thinnest of thin gruel years," said Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.). "We're in session, I think, less than 111 days (for all of 2016) and the time we've been in session, we haven't done much."

House members have griped that their major legislative work a few weeks ago was naming post offices. Last week’s win for Republicans was passing a resolution giving the House authority to file an amicus brief in US v. Texas, the Supreme Court case challenging President Barack Obama's executive orders on immigration. Senior Republican aides say the brief is a big win for House Republicans who've been fighting the president's executive orders for years.

The big action before the House adjourns this week is to keep the Federal Aviation Administration running for another four months — a lowest-common-denominator outcome brought about by Congress' inability to do anything more.

When it comes to more substantive bills — like helping Puerto Rico avoid default, tackling the Zika virus or finding money to help Flint fix its corroded water system — there's been hardly any movement.

On March 22 2016 07:19 oneofthem wrote:

if you plan on fighting poorly armed dudes in the desert it would be decent, although still expect some losses. the better approach is not to get into these wars.

On March 22 2016 07:08 frazzle wrote:

It is weird for there to be a State defined by religion/ethnicity that we embrace as an ally, but we all understand the history and make an allowance for Israel. But to conquer more lands is obviously problematic, especially for such a state. You ask why it is different for Israel to take lands when other countries have, well, it is a huge deal in the modern era when you expel the natives and limit their ability to integrate into and have a voice in your state. Long ago it was standard to kill the men, rape the women and plunder and convert your conquered territories. In a more civilized world we say no to that. In the same way, we say no to the treatment by Israel of its conquered territories.

On March 22 2016 07:54 cLutZ wrote:
The lands they "conquered" are lands that define the state how it always should have been drawn, and the conditions surrounding them indicate they simply cannot absorb the Palestinians into the country.

On March 22 2016 07:55 oneofthem wrote:
that kind of thinking is not an argument about replaceability of the plane, it just means the CAS mission is critical. you can do the same mission with fast responding drones or high flying fixed winged craft in the future.

On March 22 2016 07:54 cLutZ wrote:


I also think its quite odd to have a religious government as an ally, but, when selecting allies from that region we would have no choice (aside from secular dictators like Assad). But I am going to disagree with you on the rest of the issues. The lands they "conquered" are lands that define the state how it always should have been drawn, and the conditions surrounding them indicate they simply cannot absorb the Palestinians into the country. The only way that Jewish people can live in that part of the world is in a majority-Jewish country, or one run by a secular, Westernized, dictatorship, which is really just saying "The current Israeli government, but without elections, or most of the freedoms they enjoy."

We are talking about a situation where there are 3 scenarios that don't eventually end in massive genocide, only one will please the majority of Middle East Actors:
1. Jews+Christians evacuate Israel. Islamic State established.
2. Israel cements current borders, with possibly a few land swaps. 3+State solution with nearby states also donating land to the eventual 2+ Islamic States carved out of Palestine.
3. (AKA status quo) Israel persists in perpetual border skirmishes. Defends the current (militarily won) borders and battles internationally in the public relations sphere to prevent scenario 1 (or scenario genocide) from becoming an eventuality.

On March 22 2016 07:45 oneofthem wrote:
just as iran is showing some moderate leaf.