Further, that was when I was 10 yrs old or so, a full 40 years ago...

That is some really weak spin, although I agree that you do act like a child. The fact is, it was actually a few months ago when you used the words "my religion" and "Protestant" in the same sentence and further went on to explain what a tolerant person you are now toward all different religions.

Kinda a lots happened since then..

A busy spring for many. *LOL*

The fact is, I am as agnostic as they come, having STATED such many times in my 10+ years here in Weigantia...

I really couldn't care less what you are. You asked why someone would think you were a Christian, and I answered why someone would.

So, you can look at an off the cuff statement of a 10yr old boy 4 decades ago, or you can look at my many statements of the last 10+ years..

*LOL* Although I have gone back and read most of CW's many columns and posts from the beginning, watching wet paint dry would be more interesting than reading 10+ years of your monotonous drivel wherein you repeat the same few arguments over and over as if every day is new and no one has ever heard your repetitive spew.

It's not rocket science, Victoria...

Although I'll certainly not be reading your "many statements of the last 10+ years," having read some of your recent spew, I know that you characterize your drivel factually when you state that "it's not rocket science." *LOL* :)

The rest of your spewage is simply too simpleton and laughable to address.. :D

"Simply too simpleton" about sums up your limited vocabulary and dearth of ideas. It just wouldn't be your monotonous shit unless you used the same word twice in a span of three words. *LOL* Oh, but I do completely understand your predicament; there is literally no good defense for a traitor to America like Benedict Donald who lies, cons, and breaks the law for a living and is quite willing to sell out his country in his quest for wealth and need to feed his insatiable ego. :)

What part of "I HAVE NO IDEA" do you not understand??

Further, that was when I was 10 yrs old or so, a full 40 years ago...

Kinda a lots happened since then..

The fact is, I am as agnostic as they come, having STATED such many times in my 10+ years here in Weigantia...

So, you can look at an off the cuff statement of a 10yr old boy 4 decades ago, or you can look at my many statements of the last 10+ years..

It's not rocket science, Victoria...

The rest of your spewage is simply too simpleton and laughable to address.. :D

In other words, you have nothing to address of the original point..

Got it.. :D

You supplied a link to Breitbart; I wrote about Breitbart. It must be such a stretch for your tiny mind to see the connection between Breitbart and Breitbart. *LOL*

And that is an ad hominem bigus dorkus attack (I get that right, JL?? :D )that proves you have NO FACTS to support your argument..

Whining for JL's help again proves my point.

And yet, *THAT* is what the entirety of the Left Wingery, including everyone here, has been doing for the last year or more...

No, it's what Trump does constantly. He wants a fawning press who kisses his ass and says nothing but nice things about Trump... kind of like you on this board; he wants to make this country a safe space for Trump where he is DICKtater Don and worshiped. He loves the uneducated because they give that to him.

So I guess that means ya'all are "real patriots"...

You finally got something right. You worship the traitor who speaks his talking points straight out of RT while demeaning America on the world stage, and we are the real patriots.

I'll try and dumb things down for ya... :D

Now you sound like DICKtater Con talking to the uneducated who love him. Why don't you crack open a dictionary and learn to spell words everyone else learned in the first grade? :)

Now look who is lying...

It appears to be YOU.

http://www.chrisweigant.com/2017/03/24/ftp429/#comment-97452

He asked me what religion I was. I had no idea, but I had heard my step mom say something about Protestant, so I said "Protestant". I guess he was Catholic and this was at the height of the "Troubles" with the IRA or something because he got all quiet and said that he simply can't "respect" my religion so we probably shouldn't be friends...

If that had been MY child, he would have gotten a VERY stern lecture on tolerance and respect....

Then you went on to say in a following post that you were tolerant of all religions.

If you can't see why someone thinks you're a Christian, then you're simply ignorant; a Protestant is a Christian. Try to keep up with your own bullshit and stop calling someone a liar unless you're looking in the mirror.

I have NEVER stated I was a christian.. I have gone to GREAT lengths to state that I am not a christian or religious in the least...

Cite?

I DID make one off the cuff comment about an interaction when I was 10 yrs old or some such about my family being Protestant...

Using the words "my religion" and explaining how you were tolerant of all religions.

But I don't think you will find ANYONE here to support your claim that I am a christian...

I didn't claim you were a Christian; I claimed that Balthy probably thought you were a Christian because you've stated as much on this board. If you will review your post at the link, perhaps you will see why someone thinks you might be. Try to keep up with your own bullshit. People with bad memories and crappy reading comprehension make bad liars.

Quit lying... If the facts are so damning, you wouldn't have to make up shit..

That's very good advice for yourself. Read your own bullshit and see how it sounds. Perhaps you'll understand why someone might think you were a Christian. Read my post again where I say I don't really give a spit but merely explaining why someone might think you are one. :p

So I guess that means ya'all are "real patriots"...

So I guess that means ya'all AREN'T "real patriots"...

I hate it when that happens...

In other words, you have nothing to address of the original point..

Got it.. :D

You're posting links to Breitbart while at the same time whining about "fake news." Get it? Now that's COMEDY!

And that is an ad hominem bigus dorkus attack (I get that right, JL?? :D )that proves you have NO FACTS to support your argument..

Real men and real patriots don't whine about itty bitty words;

And yet, *THAT* is what the entirety of the Left Wingery, including everyone here, has been doing for the last year or more...

So I guess that means ya'all are "real patriots"...

Your words not mine, sweethart.. :D

I have agreed many times that your logic is NOTHING if NOT simple. *LOL* :)

Yea, I know.. it probably *IS* a bit too complex for you...

I'll try and dumb things down for ya... :D

Now look who is lying...

I have NEVER stated I was a christian.. I have gone to GREAT lengths to state that I am not a christian or religious in the least...

I DID make one off the cuff comment about an interaction when I was 10 yrs old or some such about my family being Protestant...

But I don't think you will find ANYONE here to support your claim that I am a christian...

Quit lying... If the facts are so damning, you wouldn't have to make up shit..

Since I am not a christian, I don't understand why you would think I am..

If my memory serves me well, and I can assure that it usually does; he probably thinks you're a Christian because you've stated as much on this board. Other posters here aren't afflicted with your inability at reading comprehension and actually can retain things they've read and have continuity of thought instead of every day being a new day wherein they repeat the same spit they said yesterday as if it's new and exciting when it's the same lame utter tired crap from before... whereas YOU can't even seem to remember your own BS from even yesterday, right? Y were told as a child you were a Protestant, which you relayed to your childhood friend who wasn't pleased to hear it. You then went on to claim you were tolerant of all religions.

So now you insist you're not a Christian and can't understand why a poster would think you were... so one of these has to be true:
(1) You were lying then.
(2) You are lying now.
(3) You stopped believing in Christ.
(4) You're ignorant of the fact that a Protestant is a Christian.

I don't really even give a spit which one it is, but could you at least try to keep your own bullshit straight and stop accusing others of making things up when they aren't?

Deflect much?? We're talking about the Media's lies..

Do you have anything to address that? Of course you don't.. :D

For starters, the sentence directly above the one you quoted. You know, the one you whined like a toddler to JL asking him to "field" it.

I'll ask the question again. Maybe your comprehension can.... KICK in.. Get it?? Your name is KICK and I said "kick in".. Get it?? :D

Is this what passes for comedy for uneducated goobers?

If Donald Trump is so bad, why does the Left Wingery and the Left's MSM have to LIE about him??

You're posting links to Breitbart while at the same time whining about "fake news." Get it? Now that's COMEDY!

The Left Wingery and the Left's MSM *CAN'T* stick with the facts about President Trump because the FACTS are that he ain't all that bad... President Trump has done some really great things that PATRIOTIC Americans love and that just burns the Left Wingery up to no end..

PATRIOTIC Americans don't spend an inordinate amount of time whining about people and the free press exercising their First Amendment rights granted under the United States Constitution. Real men and real patriots don't whine about itty bitty words; Trump whines about the press and calls them the "enemy of the people" in the exact manner as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and the Party drones and bigots follow suit as if marching in goosestep... so ignorant and so lacking in self-awareness that it never crosses their tiny and disease-addled "minds" that they're whining about a basic freedom of Americans and the American free press. The attacks on our free press are a strategy, and you are a TOOL.

"Simple logic"

I have agreed many times that your logic is NOTHING if NOT simple. *LOL* :)

Someone pee in your cheerios this morning?? :D

But if they really controlled our votes then Hillary would have won over 90% of the primary vote and she would have been running against Jeb Bush.

What the fuck are you talking about? Who is this "they" you are referring to?

Since I have no idea what you're on about and I said sweet FA about "big money" in politics you are hopelessly wrong in everything you wrote!

Try educating yourself by researching the #unhackthevote crowd-sourced project and Kris Kobach. Then maybe you'll have some handle on the real problems and actually be able to discuss it intelligently.

But!! But!!! But!!!

How can there be GUN violence in Chicago when Chicago has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the country!!!???

THAT is sad ...

That's not what I was doing..

I was talking about what you and I discussed previously..

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/07/04/food-stamp-rolls-plummet-in-states-that-restore-work-requirements.html

Please PLEASE tell me you are not really THAT naive...

Since I am not a christian, I don't understand why you would think I am..

As usual, you twist my words to make them say something they are not so you can shoot down an argument I didn't make..

It's a habit with you..

Way to climb into the gutter.

A

Your revisionism and denials about our coup in Ukraine and military aggression is so very establishment of you.
You sound like the NYT, Lindsey Graham, McCain and Hillary all wrapped into a bundle of interventionist joy.

Hard to believe you criticize the left for condemning yet another US backed coup all while climbing into bed with Ukrainian neo-Nazis and absolving yourself and the politicians you defend from all responsibility for the death and destruction you've caused.

Once again you demonstrate the inability to distinguish right and wrong from right and left.
The violation of our democratic principles is wrong, even when the victim of our actions is a bad guy.
Only supporting democracy when the "right" people win is not supporting democracy at all.

120

Your pathetically inaccurate lecture on markets (which is used to dodge an admission about the reality of neoliberal Dems and "free market" Repubs being identical, and their predatory looting in Russia) is a far from informative denial of reality.

Banksters just rigged every market from housing to Libor and got caught doing it, so your little propaganda bit of revisionism is truly sad.
Like a good wingnut Republican, you put government first in line for blame too.

Of course, corrupt Democrats collaborating with corrupt Republicans to eliminate Glass-Steagall, appointing industry insiders to "regulate" the markets, and then bailing them out with trillions of dollars when they crashed the economy in a massive orgy of fraud does make the government an enabler, but since our government only suffered losses and didn't reap any of the ill-gotten gains, the banksters still deserve top billing.

122

Wow, another lecture from the defender of Wall Street coddling corporatist Democrats who collaborate with Republicans to dismantle the New Deal, offshore jobs, attack unions, suppress wages and voters, lock up minorities, and wage unnecessary, illegal wars!!!

The holier than thou hypocrisy inherent in attacking someone on the left who actually fights for the poor, powerless, and working class, and is part of the working class, is astounding.
Not that such shamelessness isn't expected from neoliberal ideologues.

127

See above you reality denying, right wing corporatist warmonger. I love it when you become unhinged and have to lie through your teeth in order to maintain a façade of superiority.
So like Hillary.
And I bet you think that's a compliment.

A

How very Christian of you. Tell me, in your jungle scenario how well do the sick, the lame, the elderly and the handicapped do? How about the afflicted, the addicted, the victimized and the oppressed? Any love, there, my brother?

Why not make a tour of nursing homes, mental health facilities and orphanages and tell them all that Medicaid is for pussies? Oh, that's right, the GOP is about to do exactly that.

I don't know, it's a disembodied set of words. It could be a collective, writing under the pen name 'Altohone'. It doesn't matter. She/he/it has come under the influence of folks who say they're leftists, but are making excuses for a demonstrably nationalist/right wing regime hostile to every progressive tenet down to 'don't eat with your mouth open'. Take this gem, for example:

eastward expansion of NATO in violation of promises made, the economic warfare we've "justifiably" taken due to the reaction our coup in Ukraine caused...the massive military buildup we've undertaken on their border, the installation of missile defense systems that threaten to allow a first strike capability, etc.

which reads like an answer to the Jeopardy clue: "What pretexts might Putin use to invade yet another neighboring country?"

The fact is, as long as Putin doesn't move against those countries, nothing NATO is doing should 'threaten' him at all. As far as the sanctions go, he could end that tomorrow by simply removing Russians from Crimea and eastern Ukraine. Go home, get a hobby.

If it isn't a dude, then it's certainly the words of some white ideologue who has managed to go completely up his own ass.

THAT is sad ...

And those who make a living at that, never have to worry about actually making it on their own...

In other words, Democrat voters are those who can't survive on their own...

Sad...

That WASN'T working class voters..

That was Identity Politics voters SOLELY from ONE SINGLE STATE...

This is clearly evident in the demographics (easily found anywhere) of the folks who vote Democratic: Single Moms, Blacks, Hispanics, etc...

Exactly..

Identity Politics voters..

But Democrats are going to CONTINUE to lose if you ONLY count on those voters..

Why the generation after millennials will vote Republican
http://nypost.com/2017/07/01/why-the-next-generation-after-millennials-will-vote-republican/

Are you telling me that Al is a guy!?

Now, I'm really confused.

Does he sound like a guy to you?

Reality is minimum wage, minimum health, minimum safety, minimum time, minimum help.

Well, you know all the code words, but the gist is so unspecific, you might as well have called it all 'yucky'.

BTW, the 'free market' never existed, except perhaps in Adam Smith's head, and then only briefly, before he launched into a thesis itemizing ways that markets could be manipulated by governments and banks over 200 years ago.

Governments have the most influence on markets, followed probably by banks, and then by disasters (floods, droughts, and the like) both natural and man-made. After that, the markets are influenced by a myriad of competing interests and factors including other markets, and rouge computer programs. And it's absurdly easy these days to disrupt markets. People forget how close we came to a melt-down in 2008 (and some conveniently forget).

Very nice!

It certainly is, especially when propaganda is inserted in its place.

The referendum in Crimea that led to the annexation by Russia was the DIRECT result of the US backed coup in Ukraine.

Sure, a referendum held at the point of a Russian gun. The annexation had already occurred.

As for the Ukrainian regime change, you can thank the Euromaiden protests, not American meddling, for that. The US didn't put millions of Ukrainian citizens into the squares of the cities. They did that all by themselves, to protest the tyranny of Yanukovych and his government. The American in that mix was Yanukovych's ace political consultant, Paul Manafort.

As a proud member of the American left, you should be with those brave souls who stood in the streets and asked for justice, rather than with the thug with the gold-guilded bathtub.

Thug leaders with gold-guilded bathtubs like other thug leaders with gold-guilded bathtubs, sure as night follows day. (see/i>: Trump Doctrine - heh)

You don't really want to be associated with that crowd, do'ya?

Democrats have plenty of working class voters within their ranks (see Popular vote, winning of).

Of course, many of ours are the type who go in to work before the sun rises, and return home after the sun sets, have a very hard time with restrictive voting hours and locations, and certainly don't have the time to Occupy anything, or to deck out expensive pick-up trucks with traitorous, bigot-bait flags and gun racks (they usually take the bus).

They certainly aren't as whiney as Trump voters, generally, and would never be inclined to define 'middle class' as 'people making $250k per year'.

This is clearly evident in the demographics (easily found anywhere) of the folks who vote Democratic: Single Moms, Blacks, Hispanics, etc...

Michale [111]: You never heard that one? Wikipedia has an entire page devoted to nicknames Dubya gave to folks.

They list Putin as "Pootie-Poot", but it sounded like 'Puty-Pu' to me.

TRANSLATION:

Please Mr President Trump.. Please call us a waaaaaaamulance

The Left Wingery sets the rules and then gets all pissy and indignant and whiny when President Trump body slams them to the ground using those same rules...

Gods, sometimes the hypocrisy of the Left is out and out nauseating....

:D

The Justice Department argued in a court filing Monday that the government’s definition “hews closely to the categorical determinations articulated by Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act," Reuters reported.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/07/04/trump-travel-ban-white-house-defends-interpretation-ruling.html

I don't agree with the definition by the Trump Administration..

But it has the law on it's side...

A MAJOR win for President Trump, getting his TRAVEL BAN in place...

Just like I said it would be.. :D

Cite???

How's the Red Scare stuff working out for you?
Has it won any elections for you yet?
Are you winning back working class voters?

Heh Now THAT was funny....

Of course the Left isn't winning back any working class voters..

The Democrat Party is STILL enamored with what bathrooms people use.. They don't gots no time for any stinkin' working class Americans!

Democrats better come to term with the fact that they are going to be the minority Party in perpetuity.... :D

And that question is: How firmly planted up one's ass does their head have to be in order to believe the utter bull stench that passes for "news" at Breitbart?

You want to field this one too, in addition to Balthy's???

:D

Deflect much?? We're talking about the Media's lies..

Do you have anything to address that? Of course you don't.. :D

Hence, my point is proven...

I'll ask the question again. Maybe your comprehension can.... KICK in.. Get it?? Your name is KICK and I said "kick in".. Get it?? :D

If Donald Trump is so bad, why does the Left Wingery and the Left's MSM have to LIE about him??

Why not just stick with FACTS???

I'll answer for you because I know your Party bigotry won't allow you to see the facts..

The Left Wingery and the Left's MSM *CAN'T* stick with the facts about President Trump because the FACTS are that he ain't all that bad... President Trump has done some really great things that PATRIOTIC Americans love and that just burns the Left Wingery up to no end..

So, the Left and the media has to make shit up, because they can't STAND the FACT that PATRIOTIC Americans LOVE President Trump...

"Simple logic"
-Admiral James T. Kirk, STAR TREK IV, The Voyage Home

:D

I know, right??

It's just like their view of the First..

"Bashing is for me, but not for thee"

:^/

Ya'all gotta ask yerselves one question..

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/06/30/fake-news-associated-press-engulfed-in-cnn-level-scandal-as-it-covers-up-invention-of-imaginary-pruitt-meeting/

And that question is: How firmly planted up one's ass does their head have to be in order to believe the utter bull stench that passes for "news" at Breitbart?

If President Trump is so bad, why does the Left Wing media have to make shit up to attack the President over??

And yet, Trump is the biggest liar in the news... bar NONE, but you NEVER mention ALL his lies. Such a Party bigot to march in goosestep to Trump's populist Dictator routine. *LOL* :)

Revisionism by omission.

The referendum in Crimea that led to the annexation by Russia was the DIRECT result of the US backed coup in Ukraine.

When you omit the context, it's dishonest.

Sort of like pretending that "free market extremists" aren't neoliberals by another name... or maybe pretending like crony capitalism using fraud and corruption to rig markets has anything to do with free markets or capitalism.

But I do love how you blame Bush for the actions of Obama's and Hillary's largest donors... and ignore the reality that not one word of condemnation was issued when our guys were stealing billions... but when Putin does it, it's unforgivably evil.
And can you believe that those stupid Russians still support him overwhelmingly?

Of course, Russia's "provocative moves in the Baltic" are also wholly unrelated to eastward expansion of NATO in violation of promises made, the economic warfare we've "justifiably" taken due to the reaction our coup in Ukraine caused and other excuses, the massive military buildup we've undertaken on their border, the installation of missile defense systems that threaten to allow a first strike capability, etc.
No, let's pretend the context doesn't matter... Putin is evil and dangerous and we're saintly creatures eager to spread joy and prosperity.

As for changing the subject, you're dreaming.
It's the same subject, and the same people were involved screwing over Americans and Russians for profit.
The same people you're trying to absolve.

A

Setting aside the obvious attempt to divert the subject to turf you're more comfortable on..

neoliberals are also responsible for financially raping Russia when the Soviet Union collapsed.
In fact, it was their massive looting that resulted in the election of Putin.

Oh, it wasn't all as dramatic as that. Putin was Yeltsin's Vice President. He'd been Mayor of Moscow, and was trusted by the 'deep state', but was considered a 'modernist' by many on the left.

The 'rape of russia' has been blamed on the fact that, after the fall of the Soviets, the Bush administration sent in a bunch of free market extremists to help Yeltsin set up his government. Russian markets were already corrupt under Soviet rule, the lack of serious controls made that worse. The real financial 'rape' of the country came later, when, rather than have oligarchs oppose him politically, Putin nationalized and then 'gifted' control of whole industries to friendly oligarchs who wouldn't oppose him. Over time, Putin has re-instituted government control over the press, and run Russia more and more like a crime syndicate.

And the hatred of Putin by Dems and Repubs alike originated when he put an end to that looting in order to put the interests of Russia first.

If anything, Russia is now in a golden age of being looted from within by Putin and his oligarchic friends. As a result, the former mayor of Moscow is now considered by many to be, in terms of personal wealth, the world's richest human.

Both Dems and Pubs have tried to start a dialogue with Putin in the past. Bush called him Puty-Pu, I swear. That netted the invasion of Georgia.

Obama famously tried to establish a 'reset' of Russian-American relations, which initially met with some success: outdated nuclear stockpiles were mutually reduced dramatically.

But Putin's bold annexation of Crimea, and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine essentially poisoned the well of goodwill in the Obama Administration, and served to validate the worst fears of many conservatives. That, and all that's come since (including provocative moves by Russian military in the Baltic) is the reason that Putin is now distrusted by most of Washington.

Putin's looks-worse-every-day meddling in the US election is only the icing on the cake for most of us, actually.

Do Americans have to be registered as a D, R, or I before they can vote?

.... in a general presidential election, I mean.

Different states, different rules for sure.

In Texas, you just register to vote as a person; there are no formal Party designations whatsoever and never have been. When it's time to vote in the primaries, you simply choose to vote in one or the other. In general elections, you just vote.

I have friends in office at multiple levels who have been entrenched in their positions for decades so I vote for some Democrats and some Republicans... moderates on both sides of the aisle.

A lot of the Democratic politicians in Texas flipped to Republican without changing their beliefs all that much... just simply changed their rhetoric. I expect some of them will be flipping back by 2025 after the coming census. Politicians can be such opportunists, and we're witnessing yet another historical political realignment, IMO. :)

I came across this article on TRNN... not a video.

http://therealnews.com/t2/component/content/article/662-nicole-hill-angele-alook-ian-hussey/3209--indigenous-people-and-resource-extraction

It covers some positive aspects of new agreements in Alberta between First Nations and the new NDP government, so it's not as gloomy as previous links.

Good info if you have a few minutes to check it out.

A

"I agree. Chavez's moral authority deteriorated, even though he was definitely promoted as a cartoon dictator by some parts of the press"

Chavez was elected, reelected and remains respected by a majority of Venezuelans years after his death.
"Moral authority" is an interesting choice of words for a politician who regained his authority after the failed US backed coup that violated the whole concept of moral authority.

Just for comparison, a recent poll shows that 80% of Venezuelans oppose the violent tactics of the US backed right wing protestors trying to undemocratically topple Maduro from power.

In any case, thank you for providing some context for how public opinion about Chavez was shaped.
I find it interesting how effective such smear campaigns in the media can be. Otherwise sensible people will support regime change efforts that violate stated American values about democracy because of their effectiveness.

A

"You sound like a DV victim defending their abuser! Your opinion that Chavez BASHED opponents with accurate statements instead of lies ignores the fact that he BASHED his opponents! That is exactly what Trump does!"

If bashing political opponents makes everybody like Trump and turns the country into a banana republic, every politician everywhere is like Trump and every country is a banana republic.

You and Krauthammer are obviously mistaken.

Trump is unique for different, disgusting reasons which are nothing like Chavez... or most politicians who criticize their opponents.

And just FYI, the origin of the term banana republic refers to countries whose governments were installed and controlled by US fruit corporations.
Again, not remotely similar to Chavez who was elected in a free and fair election by a large majority.

A

I'm guessing most of you didn't follow the link I provided last week about this, so here's a long excerpt from a WSWS.org article.

-
-

"The media blackout of Seymour Hersh’s exposé on US missile strike against Syria

3 July 2017

A full week has passed since the publication by a major German newspaper of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh’s thoroughgoing debunking of the false claim of a Syrian government chemical weapons attack on April 4. The supposed atrocity by the regime of Bashar al-Assad was used to justify the April 6 US cruise missile strike on the al-Shayat air base. At least nine civilians, including four children, died when 59 Tomahawk missiles rained down on the base in western Syria.

Since the German daily Die Welt published Hersh’s article, titled “Trump’s Red Line,” on June 25, its contents have been subjected to a total blackout by the major newspapers and broadcast and cable news networks in the United States.

Hersh’s account makes clear that, not only was there no objective evidence to back up Washington’s charges of a chemical weapons attack by the Syrian government on the town of Khan Sheikhoun, the fact that there was no such attack was known to the US military and intelligence apparatus even before the cruise missile strike was ordered.

“The available intelligence made clear that the Syrians had targeted a jihadist meeting site on April 4 using a Russian-supplied guided bomb equipped with conventional explosives,” Hersh wrote. “Details of the attack, including information on its so-called high-value targets, had been provided by the Russians days in advance to American and allied military officials in Doha, whose mission is to coordinate all US, allied, Syrian and Russian Air Force operations in the region.”

Basing himself on sources within the US intelligence apparatus who spoke on condition of anonymity, as well as access to “transcripts of real-time communications, immediately following the Syrian attack on April 4,” Hersh establishes that a Syrian government plane dropped a conventional 500-pound bomb, not a chemical weapon, on the site of the meeting, which included “representatives of Ahrar al-Sham and the al-Qaida-affiliated group formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra.”

The target was a cinder block building that served as a “command and control center” for the so-called “rebels,” who used its basement to store “rockets, weapons and ammunition,” as well as chlorine, fertilizers and insecticides, Hersh reports.

“A Bomb Damage Assessment (BDA) by the US military later determined that the heat and force of the 500-pound Syrian bomb triggered a series of secondary explosions that could have generated a huge toxic cloud that began to spread over the town, formed by the release of the fertilizers, disinfectants and other goods stored in the basement, its effect magnified by the dense morning air, which trapped the fumes close to the ground,” he continues.

“Did the Syrians plan the attack on Khan Sheikhoun? Absolutely,” a senior adviser to US intelligence told Hersh. “Do we have intercepts to prove it? Absolutely. Did they plan to use sarin? No. But the president did not say: ‘We have a problem and let’s look into it.’ He wanted to bomb the shit out of Syria.”

The newsworthiness and political import of Hersh’s piece was underscored just one day after its publication by an ominous and unsubstantiated statement issued by the White House. Washington, it claimed, had “identified potential preparations for another chemical weapons attack by the Assad regime that would likely result in the mass murder of civilians, including innocent children.” If Syrian President Assad “conducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons,” the White House statement continued, “he and his military will pay a heavy price.”

This was followed by an even more sweeping threat from the US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, who added: “The goal is at this point not just to send Assad a message, but to send Russia and Iran a message… That if this happens again, we are putting you on notice.”

Thus, any allegation of a chemical weapons attack in Syria could serve as justification for the US to go to war against Iran and a nuclear-armed Russia. The US media dutifully reported the White House claims of an imminent chemical weapons attack as unquestionably true.

One could be forgiven for thinking that in the context of a war threat that could drag the American people and all of humanity into a nuclear conflagration, extensive and convincing evidence that the entire premise for this threat was a pack of lies would at the very least be acknowledged and subjected to a critical examination by the major media.

To believe this, however, one would have to be unfamiliar with the modus operandi of what passes for the “Fourth Estate” in the United States over the past quarter-century of interrupted US wars of aggression. Again and again, the US media has parroted the phony “human rights” pretexts for wars from Yugoslavia, to Iraq, Libya and Syria, all waged in pursuit of US imperialist geostrategic interests. Led by the New York Times, in the run-up to the criminal US invasion of Iraq in 2003 the American media not only repeated the Bush administration’s lies about “weapons of mass destruction,” but helped embellish them. They are fully complicit in war crimes that have claimed over a million lives."

-
-

Just imagine a world where Democrats seized the political opportunity that has been handed to them by Trump launching an act of war based on false pretenses.
Hard to picture?
Think back to Iraq.

A

Interesting historical revisionism.
Why would you want to do that, I wonder?

"Couldn't have been that 'long before' as most folks found out about Russia's meddling at about the same time."

Uh, no.
Hillary trotted out the WikiLeaks/Russia crap narrative at the end of the Democratic primaries in order to distract from the damning content about Dems rigging the primaries, corruption by corporate interests and craven politics in the emails WikiLeaks released... long before the Russia/Trump narrative was used to attempt to shift the blame away from the real reasons she lost the general election.
Do you need links, or was that reminder of the recent past sufficient to jog your memory?

"And support for the current Russian regime by the left today"

Nice fantasy world you live in.
Unlike neoliberals, the left is perfectly capable of criticizing Putin and Trump and Obama and Hillary and McCain and the FSB and the CIA, etc.

Our criticism of Hillary and Obama doesn't become invalid when Putin and Trump mimic us, nor does it make us supporters of Putin or Trump when that happens. Your logical fallacy is what is truly sad.

It's simply adherence to facts by the left, uninfluenced by the reckless and rampant neo-McCarthyism that has infected neoliberals trying to unjustly maintain their dominance of the Democratic party while boosting the military contracts from which their donors reap massive profits at the expense of Americans.
Three cheers for rigging elections and misallocation of taxpayer dollars!!!

"They've financially raped their country, shut down all opposition"

Setting aside the obvious projection about what right wing corporatist Dems and Republicans have done in America (see Wall Street fraud impoverishing tens of millions of Americans or corporate health care profiting off the sick, and the police state crushing Occupy, the peaceful protestors fighting pipelines, and whistleblowers, etc.), neoliberals are also responsible for financially raping Russia when the Soviet Union collapsed.

In fact, it was their massive looting that resulted in the election of Putin.
And the hatred of Putin by Dems and Repubs alike originated when he put an end to that looting in order to put the interests of Russia first.
How dare he adopt neoliberal "ethics"!!!

Of course, in order to maintain the false narrative about the left, you also have to ignore that it is the left and organizations we founded that are responsible for documenting and condemning Putin on human rights violations, the targeting of journalists, corruption, the targeting of the LGBT community, etc.
Or, do you think that because neoliberals appropriated those causes to advance their agenda they deserve all the credit?
Be honest.

"Yet, there's Jill Stein, liberal darling, meeting with Putin. It seems everyone except the left these days understands that the Russians are in the 'Right wing' camp these days"

More of the false narrative... the left can walk and chew gum at the same time, but see above for the logical fallacy bit and the factual reality... and, BTW, Hillary and Obama met with Putin too.
Boo!

How's the Red Scare stuff working out for you?
Has it won any elections for you yet?
Are you winning back working class voters?

A

I think like 30%-40% identify as Independent.. That number is going up..

Do Americans have to be registered as a D, R, or I before they can vote?

Yes.. Well, the have to register... They can register D, R or whatever Party (I think) or they can choose to register as NO Party... NPA No Political Affiliation..

It varies by state..

.... in a general presidential election, I mean.

Again, varied by state, but some states don't allow people to vote in primaries they are not registered as..

If you are an NPA, you can't vote in Dem or GOP primaries...

That's why I refuse to be a part of one...

:D

With an emphasis on the past-future orientation as opposed to the tired, old left-right political spectrum.

Having an alien among us??

You betcha!!! :D

Exactly....

It's a point that EVERYONE should strive for...

I am sure you would.. But that's your view from the L5 or L6 of the scale...

I don't mean that to be insulting so please don't take it that way..

People like Balthy et al would put me at an R1 or R2 because THEY are looking at me from an L1 or L2 position..

But if we had an alien presence here who knew everything about our political system but was of neither side and read all of our comments here, he or she would put me at about a 9, give or take a decimal....

Us?? I seem to be the only one who takes tests around here.. :D

I would put myself at a 7 but, trying desperately to improve.

I stand corrected.. :D

If 1 is past-oriented and 10 is future-oriented, how would you assess your thinking on any given issue?

Considering I voted and support President Trump, the answer would HAVE to be around an 8 or 9....

Anyone who supported Hillary would have to be low because she epitomized the past, status-quo way of doing things...

Because of that, I would put you at an 8 because you recognized the folly of going back to the past..

Absolutely you can...

Let me see if I can format this properly...

L1
TOTALLY SUBSERVIENT TO LEFT WING IDEOLOGY
NOT AT ALL CREDIBLE
| L2
| L3
| L4
| L5
| L6
| L7
| L8
| L9
| L10
COMPLETE PARTY AGNOSTICISM
COMPLETE CREDIBILITY
| R10
| R9
| R8
| R7
| R6
| R5
| R4
| R3
| R2
TOTALLY SUBSERVIENT TO RIGHT WING IDEOLOGY
NOT AT ALL CREDIBLE
R1

I am around an R9...

The majority of Weigantians are an L2 or L1

I would estimate a select few around here as an L5 or L6..

Let's look at a whole other spectrum of thinking and assess each of our levels of credibility ...

If 1 is past-oriented and 10 is future-oriented, how would you assess your thinking on any given issue?

I would put myself at a 7 but, trying desperately to improve.

See comment # 73

I equate "credibility" with subservience vs objectivity...

If one is subservient to Party ideology, one simply cannot have any credibility..

And, of course, the converse...

When you admittedly sit at one extreme end of the party loyalty/agnosticism spectrum, they you can't expect your credibility to follow suit.

I would asses your credibility on issues of general politics to be around a 6, on a good day!

Hmmm ... that's pretty high! I mean, for someone who tends only to see one side of these issues, all the time.

A 9-9.5.... I thought I said that???

Wrong question!

When talking general politics, how would you assess your credibility?

Depends on the subject matter..

If we're talking health care or economics, probably around a 4...

If we're talking National Security, LEO or other security related matters, I would estimate my cred as around an 11... :D

If we're talking general politics where a 1 is completely subservient to Party ideology and complete political agnosticism as 10, I would be about a 9, 9.5... :D

The majority of Weigantians would be a 1 or 2, with some actually hitting the 6-8 mark.. :D

I would put mine at about 8.5, plus or minus 1, depending on how much my cockeyed optimism clouds my thinking on any given day.

On a scale of one to ten, where one is zero credibility, so to speak, and 10 is absolute credibility, what number would you attach to your credibility?

President Trump...

Making America Great Again...

Not as good as it could be to be sure....

But much better than most everyone here...

And infinitely better than the Left Wingery in general...

Fine... If it's LOVE for the First that is your point, then ya'all shouldn't have ANY problem with President Trump's tweets, right??

But THERE is ya'all's problem..

The Left *ONLY* "loves" the First as it applies to speech that the Left agrees with...

The Left doesn't "love" the First.. The Left just wants to use the First as a weapon to silence those they disagree with...

"Free Speech is for me, but not for thee"
-The Left Wingery

This is EXACTLY what ya'all don't get as to why patriotic Americans ignore the MSM...

Compared to the MSM, President Trump is as true and honest as the pope...

The MSM simply has no credibility..

And anyone who constantly slurps up their BS w/o ANY question or critique??

THEY have no credibility either...

Sergeant Michael Verardo, who lost an arm and a leg while serving with the US army in Afghanistan in 2010, says he was failed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). He had to wait 57 days to get his prosthetic leg fixed and three and a half years for adaptations to his home. But then came Donald Trump.

“Thank you, President Trump and [Veterans Affairs] Secretary [David] Shulkin for ensuring that we are not forgotten and that we will receive the care we need and deserve,” Verardo said at the White House recently.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jul/03/donald-trump-winning-oval-office-twitter

Well, it does NOW....

President Trump... Making America Great Again...

President Trump....

Making America Great Again...

Sorry Democrats.. No more illegal votes for ya'all!! :D

Yep, yep, yep...

The Left is as bad as the Right...

It's just an impression, but one could note that some journalists seemed more alarmed by the president's tweets than by other recent examples of violent political expression — Kathy Griffin holding what appeared to be Trump's bloody, severed head, or the Trump-as-Caesar assassination, for example. That is probably because many journalists are simply more worried about the prospect of right-wing violence than they are about the prospect of left-wing violence. The Southern Poverty Law Center, a favored source among some reporters, did not built up a nine-figure endowment by warning about violence from the Left.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/byron-york-reflections-on-the-presidents-tweet/article/2627664

Left Wing violence is a LOT more prevalent and pervasive in the here and now..

But, of course, no one here wants to condemn all the violence from the Left..

THAT's because it's ALL based on Party zealotry...

President Trump said mean things!!!

Waaaaaa Waaaaaaaa Waaaaaaaaa Waaaaaaaa

Here, let me help...

I'll call the WAAAAAAAAAAmbulance for the Left Wingery.... :^/

"My god, what a bunch of pussies!!"
-Tommy Lee Jones, UNDER SIEGE

:D

You guys are great defenders of the Second Amendment, how about a little love for the First?

Says the guy who supports violent Left Wing thugs trying to eliminate the free speech of those they disagree with...

Where is YOUR love for the First??

Oh yea.. That's right... You only care about the First when it's Left Winger speech...

So hypocritical....

Yes, I have FACTS! I just said those lines in under 10 seconds... And I have a southern drawl!

Do you have ANY facts that THAT is what was said??

No, you don't..

Ya'all NEVER have any facts to support your accusations..

Yea??

It's not as if some Left Wing luser went on a shooting spree and shot a bunch of Republicans...

Oh.. wait...

Face the facts.. The Left Wing LOVES violence when it's committed by the Left against the Right..

This is well documented..

Following his put-down of the Fox defender, and an attempt at clarifying his remark, he did make a direct and much more telling rebuke of the president's character:

Tweeting is the most direct avenue to the id. ... We're getting a look into the psyche of the President, and what we're seeing is a vindictiveness, a cruelty ... a lack of self control that is truly shocking.

I agree. Chavez's moral authority deteriorated, even though he was definitely promoted as a cartoon dictator by some parts of the press.

Leave it Krauthammer to lie when justifiably bashing Trump.
Chavez was democratically elected in free and fair elections that represented the will of the people, and went on to enact policies that served the interests of that majority in Venezuela (and did not talk about his political opponents in any way remotely similar to Trump. he bashed them with accurate statements)... which does not match the definition of a banana republic in any way.

Chavez "did not talk about his political opponents in any way remotely similar to Trump... he bashed them with accurate statements"??? Really???

You sound like a DV victim defending their abuser! Your opinion that Chavez BASHED opponents with accurate statements instead of lies ignores the fact that he BASHED his opponents! That is exactly what Trump does!

And technically, Krauthammer said that Trump's comments are what one would expect to hear if they lived in a banana republic... He's correct! He then said the comments are what you'd expect to hear someone like Chavez make. He is correct, again! Whether Venezuela fits the definition of a "banana republic" is a moot point. Krauthammer's comments were correct.