COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Sunday, December 11, 2016

When has McCain and Graham been right about anything?

Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) issued a joint statement Sunday with the incoming Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer of New York, and top Armed Services Committee Democrat Jack Reed of Rhode Island that Russian interference in the election "should alarm every American." They said Congress must investigate further without allowing it to become a partisan issue.




I think the Congress should investigate McCain's psychiatric records. 

We can certainly get a clear picture of McCain's judgment   by his teaming up with the two  "non-partisans", Chuck Schumer and  Jack Reed. 

On another matter, how can anyone question Trump's choice for SOS when Obama selected Hillary Clinton and John Kerry? Care to guess on which Republicans voted to confirm Clinton and Kerry?


26 comments:

  1. John Bolton just did an interview on Fox that IMO just took him out of the running for SOS

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  2. He's never been a front runner in my opinion.

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  3. Idaho Elevator Report: Bolton's going to be Deputy Secretary of State

    'Mad Dog' Mattis
    'T Rex' Tillerson/John Bolton

    (Idaho Elevator Report has not been wrong yet)

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    Replies
    1. (Granted many Idaho Elevator Reports have been after the fact)

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  4. TERRORISM
    How Trump Could Finally Win the War on Terror

    DEC 9, 2016 4:58 AM EST
    By
    Eli Lake

    https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-12-09/how-trump-could-finally-win-the-war-on-terror

    The article doesn't make much sense. I fail to see any real suggestion as to winning the war on terror in it.

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    Replies
    1. Has it got any hints for the next Millennium?

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  5. .

    Iran Nuclear Deal

    On the last stream, my defense of the Iran nuclear deal was challenged by Boondock Bob.
    I am posting my response below since discussion has shifted to this post and Boondock Bob, having the attention span of a gnat, likely won’t return to the previous post.

    More bushwa from Bubblegum Bob

    In the latest example, Bob puts up two long posts showing articles talking about claims that Iran is cheating on the nuclear deal. The only problem, with the exception of a couple articles that were published ‘before’ the deal was finalized and one by the UN saying there was no cheating, the articles published by various media organs are all talking about the same story. Did the faux farmer think that no one would notice or is he just that goofy? Or, perhaps the most likely alternative, Bob merely cut and paste a section from google and never bothered to read any of the articles. Superficial analysis is one of Bob’s trademarks so it is a possibility. On the hand, yes, maybe he’s really is that goofy.

    But what about the basis for the story? Is it convincing? Well, evidently it is to Boondock Bob. However, any objective observer would have to question it. Like the CIA ‘assessment’ on the Russian hacking there is no proof offered. None. Only the accusation.

    The first instance Bob put up was in Newsweek. I chose that one since Bob seemed to like it so much he put it up twice.

    www.newsweek.com/why-obama-ignoring-iran-cheating-nuke-deal-479689

    The story itself was written by Elliott Abrams, Israeli apologist, neoconservative, previously convicted in the Iran-contra affair, ran Reagan’s Central American policy where hundreds of thousands died, and all around nice guy.

    He referenced German intelligence and Angela Merkel but if you go to the German ‘report’ that is linked to in the article you will see that the German’s are simply giving credence to a report put out by the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), a think tank that’s main focus is on nuclear proliferation.

    So the real question becomes how credible is the ISIS report. To my mind, based on the information provided (or the lack of it ), not so much.

    The ISIS report claims that Iran is trying to procure, without notifying the UN, ‘dual-use’ materials that can also be used for a nuclear program. The proof they offer for this? None. Their report (at least those quoted by Abrams never mentions the country that was supposedly approached by Iran to supply the goods. The report does state that both Iran and the other country deny there was any deal or sale discussion on a sale.

    Despite this, the ISIS report goes on to state

    The attempt to acquire carbon fiber was denied by the supplier and its government. Nonetheless, the AEOI had enough carbon fiber to replace existing advanced centrifuge rotors and had no need for additional quantities over the next several years, let alone for tons of carbon fiber.
    This attempt thus raises concerns over whether Iran intends to abide by its JCPOA commitments. ..


    So every party that ISIS accuses denies the charges and ISIS itself provides no proof of any kind (something you would think would have been mentioned in the article had it been there). Despite this, ISIS continues on under the assumption Iran is cheating.

    Abrams unsurprisingly accepts the ISIS conclusions without question and he mocks Kerry and the State Department for saying “We have absolutely no indication that Iran has procured any materials in violation of the JCPOA.”

    Abrams is apparently of that old neocon school that believes if the facts don’t support your story, make up new ones.

    .

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  6. Q, in a previous thread you declared Christians are pro Israel because they think it will speed up the Rapture. Do you have proof of that? Perhaps a quote from Billy Graham, Charles Swindoll, or maybe a Bible verse?

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    Replies
    1. He's got some notes of his own on a 3 x 5 card.

      Would one of those do?

      Delete
    2. .

      No, what I referred to was the 'Christian right', a less than precise reference to Christian evangelicals.

      The comment was meant as satire but it referred to the reported believe among many evangelicals that biblical prophecy states that the State of Israel plays a key role in the 'End Times'.

      A recent survey of Christian Evangelicals has them echoing Jewish prophecies, associating trouble in Israel and the rest of the Middle East with End Times.

      Brookings Institute, a Washington DC-based think tank, recently released the results of their survey entitled American Attitudes Toward the Middle East and Israel. Among the more noteworthy results of their survey are two findings related to Evangelical Christian beliefs about Israel and the End of Days.

      A staggering 73 percent of Evangelical respondents say that world events would turn against Israel the closer we get to End Times. In addition, 79 percent of Evangelicals believe that the unfolding violence across the Middle East is a sign that the End Times are near. These two findings are consistent with beliefs based in Biblical prophecy and rabbinic teachings...


      Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/56637/evangelical-beliefs-israel-match-prophetic-doomsday-scenarios-biblical-zionism/#0U7bKjTxqlBrvja3.99

      Fundamentalist Christians strongly believe it is God's will we support Israel and that we are closely tied to the them by biblical scripture. The Rapture part was my satirical flourish.

      :o)

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    3. Quirk always uses 'less than precise references'....LTPRs.

      That's why he never makes any sense.

      He's got a whole card file of 3x5s with LTPRs on them.

      He always hauls a few out when challenged.

      Delete
    4. .

      Bubblegum Bob puts up another one of his nonsense streams.

      This is another example of a tactic he uses often, pick on one reference that is only tangentially related to to the main theme of a particular post and use it to disguise the fact that he has no real arguments to rebut the main argument outlined in the post.

      The irony in this case it that the theme of the post his is trying this tactic on was one that ridiculed him for using this same tactic, offering trivia instead of substance.

      .

      Delete
    5. Here's one:

      "Going to church doesn't make me a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes me a car."

      Delete
    6. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    7. There have been times when I imagined myself to be a Ferrari, or GTO, however.

      https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=Ferrari+gto

      https://www.google.com/search?q=pontiac+gto&rlz=1CAACAO_enUS720US720&espv=2&biw=1091&bih=482&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwil9N-Vge7QAhUI5GMKHW6FBAIQ_AUIBigB#tbm=isch&q=1964+pontiac+gto&imgrc=YvXqEj0tCTq98M%3A

      (1964 only)

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  7. CBS Study: Half of people “remember” events that never happened

    Quirk obviously has this problem.

    It's all part of his 'intermittent windshield wiper' mentality.

    His LTPR problem comes from this....he is struggling to "remember" things that never happened.

    On the street, this is called being "really fucked up".

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    Replies
    1. He didn't earn his nickname for no reason at all.

      Delete
    2. He didn't earn his nickname for no reason at all.

      Delete
    3. .

      Boondock Bob puts up another nonsense stream.

      His LTPR problem comes from this....he is struggling to "remember" things that never happened.


      The sentence makes no sense. Trying to link two things that have no logical connection would seem to indicate a serious mental pathology.

      Another symptom of that same pathology could be the fact that he reposted the same post twice just above.

      This would indicate a troubling progression of his problems for though I have commented on his inability to remember what he had written previously even in the same blog stream, it never reached the point where he couldn't remember what he had written only a couple of seconds before.

      It appears his 'niece' has her first patient.

      .

      Delete
  8. .


    From the previous stream…


    MOMESun Dec 11, 03:54:00 PM EST

    I read thru your opinion twice Q, and unless I missed it, I failed to see what the US gained in the Iran deal. What did the US gain? Nothing as far as I can tell. If the US doesn't gain from a deal, why do it?


    I won’t argue with your opinion. It all depends on what you think is important.

    People around the world seem to think it is important to keep Iran from building a nuclear bomb. Israel and US hawks on the right and left argue it is important to keep them from even attaining the ‘capability’ of making a nuclear bomb. Politicians on the right and left here have called an Iranian bomb an ‘existential’ threat to the US. Intelligence sources in the US and Israel stated that prior to the agreement they judged Iran was only a few months away from achieving a nuclear capability. That would seem to indicate the matter is of some importance to many people.

    That brings us to the deal that was negotiated. Since it was negotiated by 5 key powers plus Iran, it would seem to indicate it was important to at least those 5 powers that deal be struck. As such, the current administration must think that achieving a deal that delays Iran’s march to the bomb by 15 years or more is a benefit to the US. And even if the deal falls through, it's likely they believe that stretching the time it would take Iran to physically produce a bomb from a few months to over a year was also a benefit to the US. I agree with them. You might not.

    I put up my rebuttal to other arguments against the deal in my post on the last stream.

    .

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  9. I need to comment like this as a workaround

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  10. Trump has been morally released by the entire establishment to investigate and prosecute anyone that has abused their office ans should go after the Clintons.

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  11. Fixed, but please move on to the next post.

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    http://musclegainfast.com/ef13-muscle-supplement/

    ReplyDelete