US Politics Mega-thread - Page 412

On September 04 2013 05:03 farvacola wrote:
That's nice, but it's paywalled. The summary doesn't seem too groundbreaking anyway.

In an effort to address congressional qualms about the prospect of air strikes on Syria turning into a far broader, open-ended military operation, Reps. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.) on Tuesday said they were drafting a resolution that would put sharp limits on the scope and authority that lawmakers would give President Obama to conduct the attack.

The two lawmakers said they were hoping to present their version of the resolution to colleagues as soon as late Tuesday.

It is far narrower than the language that the White House submitted to Congress on Saturday, and the two congressmen hope it will become part of the negotiations for an agreement on a new version of the resolution.

On September 04 2013 04:58 HunterX11 wrote:


Just contrast this to Libya, though, where not only did he act, but he actually went all Nixon and acted without congressional approval or the War Powers Act. The difference of course is that Syria is going to be a huge mess that he doesn't want to get into, though I still don't understand why he didn't just order a few token strikes, Bill Clinton-style.

On September 03 2013 21:31 DoubleReed wrote:


The right wing and Bush has been buddy buddy with plenty of brutal dictators over the years. The attempt to paint this as a partisan or left v right thing is not sensible at all. It's more of a "How the laymen think diplomacy should work" v "How diplomacy actually works." It's more about how we don't want to see how the sausage gets made.

Btw, you might actually want to look at Kerry's service record before taking dumb potshots like "for once."

On September 04 2013 06:07 JonnyBNoHo wrote:

If you have access to a university library you may be able to get it that way.

I don't think there will be anything groundbreaking or exciting on the topic, I'm afraid.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), one of the most outspoken opponents of military action in Syria, wouldn’t rule out the possibility Tuesday of launching a standing filibuster over the issue in the Senate.

“I can’t imagine that we won’t require 60 votes on this,” Paul told reporters on an afternoon conference call. “Whether there’s an actual standing filibuster — I’ve got to check my shoes and check my ability to hold my water. And we will see. I haven’t made a decision on that.”

Paul attracted widespread attention in March when he launched a marathon filibuster over the Obama administration’s use of unmanned aerial drones, winning support from some GOP colleagues and prompting criticism from others.

When it comes to Syria, Paul said he believes the best hope for defeating a resolution to authorize military action will come in the House. He reiterated his view that an attack on Syria would create more turbulence and danger in the region, and may not even disable the Syrian government’s ability to launch chemical attacks.

“At this point, I think it’s a bad idea,” Paul said.

While Paul said he was pleased President Obama asked for congressional authority before acting, he added that he finds the possibility that the president may launch a strike even in the face of rejection from Congress “insulting.”

The senator said the reception from his constituents back home in Kentucky has been overwhelmingly negative toward the prospect of military action.

Congress held its first public hearing about U.S. plans for military intervention in Syria on Tuesday.

At some point during the conversation, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) -- who has been skeptical about President Barack Obama's proposal for "limited" action in Syria -- was taking a break to play poker on his phone:

On September 04 2013 09:58 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:
*sigh* this is when I get angry over the apathy of this country:



Source

I'm not confused, you're just being a condescending dick for no reason.

All I was saying is that the U.S. has never stood up for anything simply "because it is right". In fact, no regime has in the history of humanity. It's a fairy tale and a pretty pathetic one at that to say that America is a bunch of "good guys". Sure, we've done many things that are "good", but they pretty much always serve our self-interest in a major way. The U.S. is not a white knight that rides out into the world to do justice. We act in our self interest and, hopefully, while we do that, we also do it in a morally acceptable way.

I don't expect us to do what is "right" simply to be the world's police because that is a ridiculous and absurd notion, and the fact that you got so bent out of shape about my comment speaks volumes about your attitude and how you can't take any criticism of the U.S. My statement was specifically pointed at who I quoted; he mentioned that he liked Bush's slant with the whole "Axis of Evil" thing, and I was essentially pointing out that it was all B.S., because this country never goes to war simply for morally sound or altruistic reasons.

On September 04 2013 09:58 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:
*sigh* this is when I get angry over the apathy of this country:



Source

On September 04 2013 10:05 Sub40APM wrote:

why, McCain already knows the way he is going to vote, the same as always, MORE BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!

On September 04 2013 10:37 JonnyBNoHo wrote:

I'm not excusing McCain (don't like him much anyway tbh), but I've tuned into hearings on C-SPAN before and found them to be insanely boring. It would be nice if that wasn't so much the case.


Can we not bomb Syria and reinvest the savings into awesome power armor research?

“I’m proud to be from Louisiana, but I don’t want people to laugh at me when I go out of state. ‘Oh that’s the guy from the stupid state with the creationism law,’ ” Mr. Kopplin said.

In Britain in March, Esha Marwaha, a 16-year-old from Hounslow, West London, started an online petition calling for Education Secretary Michael Gove to abandon a plan to remove references to climate change from the geography curriculum for students under 14. The petition got more than 30,000 signatures, and in July, Mr. Gove changed course.

Ms. Marwaha, a self-described geography fanatic, said lessons about climate change — whether it is caused by people or not — are crucial to keeping future students engaged in evidence-based science.

“We do need to come out with an actual well-rounded education,” she said.

Then there is Katelyn Campbell, 18, whose objection to a factually dubious sex-education assembly at her high school bubbled over into a confrontation with her principal, which bubbled over onto the Internet.

As a senior at George Washington High School in Charleston, W.Va., Ms. Campbell complained to the American Civil Liberties Union about an April assembly featuring an abstinence advocate, Pam Stenzel. Among the lessons Ms. Stenzel shared with the school that day, according to a friend of Ms. Campbell’s who taped the assembly, was that condoms provide no protection from sexually transmitted diseases. “She called out any woman who had sexual contact,” said Ms. Campbell, who boycotted the assembly. “I saw people crying when they came out.”

On September 04 2013 12:24 PanN wrote:


If they're too boring for mccain to pay attention to, maybe he should have picked a different job? Absolutely ridiculous that someone in his power, in a meeting thats so important, could just sit there and fucking play a game. This is an issue that deals with human lives and his actions are completely inexcusable. Just another disgusting thing in politics that will go completely unpunished / noticed.

On September 04 2013 12:24 PanN wrote:


If they're too boring for mccain to pay attention to, maybe he should have picked a different job? Absolutely ridiculous that someone in his power, in a meeting thats so important, could just sit there and fucking play a game. This is an issue that deals with human lives and his actions are completely inexcusable. Just another disgusting thing in politics that will go completely unpunished / noticed.