Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[hack]

You've laid out your politics here with your views. I respect that but I'm dubious of the implied absolutism regarding that which you do not agree with above.

If you truly believe that government is not a force for good, why aren't you an anarchist?

Fair enough; I owe you a clarification. When I say government is not a force for good, I mean it in that proverbial way in which we describe lefties as believing that government programs can be a positive and so we should have more of them. I am not for that. Overall, government is of course a force for good. It's at its most effective however in protecting people from bad things. It's less effective when enhancing people's lives with good things. It should not seek to do more, IMO. It should seek to do less, and do it better. IOW a level playing field. There is no room for corruption on a level playing field.

I'm not picking on government here. Any organization that exceeds a certain size is going to be dysfunctional to a certain degree. That's just the nature of being run by humans. Once we're beyond a small, tight group, we exist on a lowest-common-denominator basis. I think it was Jack Welch who said the ideal working group for any project is 5-10 people, and beyond that you're fucked. In this country we apply our hate for organizational dysfunction to government but not commerce, and I think that's a problem. We love Dilbert and Office Space, but we lack a broad understanding that the private sector is NOT by definition more efficient. The private sector is just as inefficient, because it, too, is run by humans. The private sector just has such a much easier task before it. ``Use money to get more money'' is a far, far easier task than ``govern". And that's before you add the complicating factors of Congress and media.

[Kapture1]

[crashcourse]

two largest employers in the government also happen to be the leaders in waste fraud and abuse

DOD and VA

government checkbook hasn't been balance for 60 plus years and is well on the way to a budget of over 100% entitlements with nothing left over for infrastructure etc

trump is working on one end stimulating the economy

but he isn't doing anything but adding to the debt as much as anyone else

[hack]

I know less about the VA, but defense contracting is a massive scam, no doubt about it. Those firms are private-sector in name only. They are extensions of government and do not compete on a level playing field in the way market ideology says they should. That is corruption at play. I don't know if Elon Musk can successfully compete, but he sure says he can. Military procurement can't be as transparent as it needs to be to avoid corruption, because of secrecy needs. Difficult problem.

Trump isn't doing fuck all about it save for the usual pushing of export markets.

[Kapture1]

[Dr. Strangelove]

McMaster long spoken about as if he'll be gone soon. But who else? Shulkin? Sessions? Carson? DeVoss seems too rich to dump but...maybe?

And again....Bolton would be really bad news. And he wouldn't need Senate confirmation. I'd say the odds of being at war with Iran dramatically go up by 2020 if he's chosen

[ame]https://twitter.com/johnrobertsFox/status/974048887399952384[/ame]

[Dr. Strangelove]

So Andrew McCabe could be fired before he reaches he retirement date in just 5 days and lose his pension after 22 years. Couple of things to point out:

1) The IG who recommends McCabe be fired is the same guy (Horowitz) that Trump bashed recently as an "Obama guy" and too biased to conduct fair investigations at the DOJ

2) The reason he's recommending McCabe be fired is that he helped leak damaging info about...Hillary Clinton...and then misled investigators

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/sessions-may-fire-top-fbi-official-andrew-mccabe-pension-eligibility-n856661

[Dr. Strangelove]

This seems like a parody video a sick mind would create but, far more depressing, it appears to be legit

[Whitley]

McMaster long spoken about as if he'll be gone soon. But who else? Shulkin? Sessions? Carson? DeVoss seems too rich to dump but...maybe?

And again....Bolton would be really bad news. And he wouldn't need Senate confirmation. I'd say the odds of being at war with Iran dramatically go up by 2020 if he's chosen

https://twitter.com/johnrobertsFox/s...48887399952384

Sessions but he would not get another AG confirmed. Shulkin a decent chance since Trump BSed vets into thinking he cares about them. Firing him would garner Trump some nice headlines and look like he was caring about the vets.

I don't think Trump gives a crap about the Dept of Ed. So DeVos should be fairly safe.

[Dr. Strangelove]

I don't really give a damn about this, I just find it interesting that it was printed in Trump's favorite newspaper and a rag that Rupert owns

https://pagesix.com/2018/03/14/donald-trump-jr-and-wife-headed-for-divorce-friends-say/

[hack]

Did Bolton shave his mustache?

[millenwasmyfavorite]

Sessions but he would not get another AG confirmed. Shulkin a decent chance since Trump BSed vets into thinking he cares about them. Firing him would garner Trump some nice headlines and look like he was caring about the vets.

I don't think Trump gives a crap about the Dept of Ed. So DeVos should be fairly safe.

Devos is crazy garbage, but the sister of Erik Prince... so untouchable.

If these aristocrat entanglements are starting to seem like ME blue bloods, well, that's where we are at. Ask Chris Christie how he feels.

I think most vets that voted for trump had their anti-Hilary blinders on. This is a guy who:
-dodged draft
-shat on mcains's service record
-questioned legitimacy/heart of soldiers who claimed PTSD
-hasn't conducted any overseas visits

So, uhh ya, not the greatest advocate.

[The Oracle]

Lomfl

https://twitter.com/ddale8/status/974167461691035648?s=19

[Ghengis Jon]

Oklahoma is switching from lethal injection to a gas chamber using nitrogen, due to difficulty in obtaining lethal drugs. My question is why? Why deviate from a tried and true rope? Deemed neither cruel or unusual by the founding fathers and considered an acceptable method. I've personally not cared for the lethal injection method. When some a-hole kidnaps, tortures, rapes and then kills a child, the last thing he deserves is a little pinprick and then he goes to sleep. No deterrent or punishment value.

If society is going to execute, then society should watch what they allow. IMO executions should be public. Make it pay for view to recompense (in a tiny manner) the victim's family. There are those that are morally opposed to capital punishment. To those I ask, what should the alternative be? Think carefully - should society saddle the victim's family with the financial burden of 3 hots and a cot plus free medical care for the person that murdered your family? Provide that same killer with more than what 25% of this nation's children (that live below the poverty line) have?

[iam416]

This is a little out of the blue, but I like where it's going. I haven't been squarely on Jon's side in awhile!