Downtown Khazan: Ice Cold Utopia

[Lord Falcon]

Saw that. O_o Let's see how far it gets.

Nice country you got here. Be a shame if something happened to the Eastern half of it.

I'm sure this fills US allies with confidence. ^_^;

The parallels to Watergate are plain as day: Illegally using the power of the presidency to dig for dirt on political opponents. But where Nixon at least kept it in the country, Trump tried to intimidate a foreign country into interfering in US elections.

[Sharpandpointies]

I'm really not sure there's anything Trump can do at this point to fill US allies with LESS confidence.

I don't know what people hear in the US these days about how the 'allied' countries feel, but the prevailing attitudes seem to be 'welp, time to start looking for a new friend.'

...unless you're talking about US/Trump allies like Putin, Bolasanaro, and Kim Jong Un. Which I doubt.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

I'm really not sure there's anything Trump can do at this point to fill US allies with LESS confidence.

I don't know what people hear in the US these days about how the 'allied' countries feel, but the prevailing attitudes seem to be 'welp, time to start looking for a new friend.'

...unless you're talking about US/Trump allies like Putin, Bolasanaro, and Kim Jong Un. Which I doubt.

Oh, he's completely ruined overseas/border relations.

What's even more depressing however, is the people that still believe he's the second coming. I deal with them every single day; and every single day I can't help but wonder how people can be so ... ignorant. Especially when the people who support the man (and I deal with) rely on Medicare/Medicaid.

[Sharpandpointies]

Oh, he's completely ruined overseas/border relations.

It's really going to be hard for country leaders (and other countries in general) to just 'trust' the US again after this. Even if some new leader gets elected who runs around trying to get the US back to where it was internationally, how are people to trust that 'another' Trump won't just get elected again? Especially with the current massive political divide in the US?

What's even more depressing however, is the people that still believe he's the second coming. I deal with them every single day; and every single day I can't help but wonder how people can be so ... ignorant. Especially when the people who support the man (and I deal with) rely on Medicare/Medicaid.

I admit, one of the most baffling things is the fact that some people feel God sent Trump to save His favorite country.

..I imagine the same people feel that they have a 'God-Given' right to carry guns.

[Beadle]

...unless you're talking about US/Trump allies like Putin, Bolasanaro, and Kim Jong Un. Which I doubt.

Hey, it’s not all power-crazed dictators. He’s also friends with Boris Johnson.

....

What?

[Sharpandpointies]

Hey, it’s not all power-crazed dictators. He’s also friends with Boris Johnson.

....

What?

I need one of those diagrams that overlap with 'Idiots', 'Power Crazed Dictators', and...one other category, surprise me, where I can start slotting in names.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

It's really going to be hard for country leaders (and other countries in general) to just 'trust' the US again after this. Even if some new leader gets elected who runs around trying to get the US back to where it was internationally, how are people to trust that 'another' Trump won't just get elected again? Especially with the current massive political divide in the US?

All Empires (or Global powers .. at least nowadays) end, just how it works. And in that way, Trump got what he wanted in the end. To be remembered ... as the man who precipitated that fall.

Of course, in a way he's just the figurehead for the congealed will of the worst the US has to offer so. Who knows, there's a chance we can rebound, however small.

I admit, one of the most baffling things is the fact that some people feel God sent Trump to save His favorite country.

..I imagine the same people feel that they have a 'God-Given' right to carry guns.

He's a very good con man, and he's built his political career by speaking what other people are feeling and pandering to the people that feel that way. Which, regrettably, means he's pandering to the religious. Which means he's got a lot more power than he would normally.

[Sharpandpointies]

Good points.

...I'm still baffled, but nevertheless, good points. ^_^

[Beadle]

I need one of those diagrams that overlap with 'Idiots', 'Power Crazed Dictators', and...one other category, surprise me, where I can start slotting in names.

Hmmm.... what to choose for the Trump Venn Diagram...

Sexually inappropriate? (Trump and Johnson)
Ludicrous hair? (Trump, Johnson and Kim)

I’ve said it before, Trump is an amalgam of several Simpsons characters.

Bart (troublemaking child), Homer (overweight moron), Mr Burns (self-obsessed billionaire), Krusty (sexually-inappropriate clown) and Sideshow Bob (cartoon super-villain with ridiculous hair). Plus he has yellow skin.

[Lord Falcon]

It's really going to be hard for country leaders (and other countries in general) to just 'trust' the US again after this. Even if some new leader gets elected who runs around trying to get the US back to where it was internationally, how are people to trust that 'another' Trump won't just get elected again? Especially with the current massive political divide in the US?



I admit, one of the most baffling things is the fact that some people feel God sent Trump to save His favorite country.

..I imagine the same people feel that they have a 'God-Given' right to carry guns.

The law and religion have historically been deeply intertwined, leading to secular headaches in the present day. The nobility ruled through "divine right," and through this granted rights to the people as they saw fit. This notion was challenged those arguing that people have god-given natural rights. The idea of natural rights remains strong today, though progressives tend to associate them less with being God-given.

Even among my lawyer friends, it's difficult to find anyone who'll voice agreement with my take that rights are social structures we pull out of our asses. There's nothing inherent about a right, just a notion that it should exist and maybe a law to back that up.

[Sharpandpointies]

Hmmm.... what to choose for the Trump Venn Diagram...

Yeah, that's the one. I was considering Radically Religous, and there are a WEALTH of choices for that one.

But I'll just pass in the end.

The law and religion have historically been deeply intertwined, leading to secular headaches in the present day. The nobility ruled through "divine right," and through this granted rights to the people as they saw fit. This notion was challenged those arguing that people have god-given natural rights. The idea of natural rights remains strong today, though progressives tend to associate them less with being God-given.

It's unfortunate, but true.

Even among my lawyer friends, it's difficult to find anyone who'll voice agreement with my take that rights are social structures we pull out of our asses. There's nothing inherent about a right, just a notion that it should exist and maybe a law to back that up.

I can see that. Maybe people forget that just because they're social structures doesn't mean they aren't good for us and we need them to maintain a hopefully increasingly fair and decent society, but our structure of morality.

...boy, it's ALL predicated on made-up stuff, isn't it? But where would we be without it? Might makes right, I expect.

[Dark Soul # 7]

Cool fight, they certainly trust scaling and statements more than we do around here.

I certainly don't remember Hiei just flat out ignoring fire and lightning attacks on par with the stuff Sasuke throws around.

And they rely a lot on that explosion thing between two characters that aren't Hiei.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Even among my lawyer friends, it's difficult to find anyone who'll voice agreement with my take that rights are social structures we pull out of our asses. There's nothing inherent about a right, just a notion that it should exist and maybe a law to back that up.

Probably because it's more complicated than "everything's an ass pull"; and saying so is rather reductive ?

[Lord Falcon]

Yeah, that's the one. I was considering Radically Religous, and there are a WEALTH of choices for that one.

But I'll just pass in the end.



It's unfortunate, but true.



I can see that. Maybe people forget that just because they're social structures doesn't mean they aren't good for us and we need them to maintain a hopefully increasingly fair and decent society, but our structure of morality.

...boy, it's ALL predicated on made-up stuff, isn't it? But where would we be without it? Might makes right, I expect.

Yeah, just because it's artificial doesn't mean it's bad. Being natural doesn't mean good either. And then there's how each person views what counts as good and bad. Pulling new rights out of our collective asses is a serious undertaking.

Asha'rah (was) and Genevieve (is) fun to write partially because they're driven by very different moral forces than most people.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Well. The Path to Hell (or at the very least 'being held accountable for one's horrific actions') is paved with good intention, surely.