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  1. #2626
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    Quote Originally Posted by jetengine View Post
    Isnt Blackwater technically a buisness and the government cant just shut it down for "reasons" despite how horrible they are ? Or is it more a case of "Yeah turns out all the contracts you had have been cancelled"
    You are correct, and yes, pulling their contracts was what I meant. However, while they are technically a business, they are in reality mercenaries. It's dangerous for us to tolerate an army without obligation to The Constitution and Uniform Code of Military Justice within our borders, and especially so to foster one with public funds.

  2. #2627
    CBR's Good Fairy Kieran_Frost's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by XPac View Post
    Frankly I'm not convinced the military swearing alligence to a queen over an elected official is in any way better. That's exactly how dictatorships start.
    You're completely wrong, sorry. 100% incorrect in your assumptions, because it's actually the polar opposite of a dictatorship, it's done TO STOP dictators. Very specifically to stop an PM becoming a dictator. Dictatorships are political individuals who want to make themselves "supreme" using the military might to make that happen. No dictator can exist without an army, which is exactly why the Queen can control them to stop any and all political leaders wanting to become "supreme" and unelected. It's very existence is to stop dictators.

    Quote Originally Posted by DrNewGod View Post
    In the US, service members swear to The Constitution, the president just happens to be the highest of the officers whose (lawful) orders they also swear to obey. Strictly speaking, The Constitution is intended to be the nation's sovereign.
    Oh thank-you for this, I didn't know that.

    Quote Originally Posted by DrNewGod View Post
    Your point about Blackwater is sound. I have feared them forming the core of an American Brownshirts organization for some time. One of the many things for which I detest the Bush (43) Administration is that they enabled the organizations foundation and flourishing. One of my few great disappointments with the Obama Administration is that it did not pull Blackwater's fangs.
    Agreed on all points. Hopefully Biden will undo Blackwater.
    "We are Shakespeare. We are Michelangelo. We are Tchaikovsky. We are Turing. We are Mercury. We are Wilde. We are Lincoln, Lorca, Leonardo da Vinci. We are Alexander the Great. We are Fredrick the Great. We are Rustin. We are Addams. We are Marsha! Marsha Marsha Marsha! We so generous, we DeGeneres. We are Ziggy Stardust hooked to the silver screen. Controversially we are Malcolm X. We are Plato. We are Aristotle. We are RuPaul, god dammit! And yes, we are Woolf."

  3. #2628
    Uncanny Member XPac's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kieran_Frost View Post
    You're completely wrong, sorry. 100% incorrect in your assumptions, because it's actually the polar opposite of a dictatorship, it's done TO STOP dictators. Very specifically to stop an PM becoming a dictator. Dictatorships are political individuals who want to make themselves "supreme" using the military might to make that happen. No dictator can exist without an army, which is exactly why the Queen can control them to stop any and all political leaders wanting to become "supreme" and unelected. It's very existence is to stop dictators.

    In general, having a clear separation between the head of politics and total control of the military is a GOOD idea.

    Be safe, wash hands.
    xx
    It's great that they have checks and balances to ensure a PM can't become a dictator... my point being they probably should have some to ensure Monarchys don't either. Unelected officials with control over the military is exactly how most dictatorships come to be.

    If you want to avoid dictators, create elections with term limits. Problem solved. Just saying.
    Last edited by XPac; 06-02-2020 at 08:59 AM.

  4. #2629
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    Quote Originally Posted by XPac View Post
    Frankly I'm not convinced the military swearing alligence to a queen over an elected official is in any way better. That's exactly how dictatorships start. But that's a topic of discussion for another day.

    But as far as sending the military into a situation to control the situation... I don't think that's entirely wrong in principal. They did in in 92 to stop the LA riots, and it worked. If the rioting and looting doesn't stop on it's own and of the police and national guard can't stop it, I'm not sure what other options there are.

    But sending the US army after US citizens is certainly a VERY VERY undesireable option for many many may reasons... especially with this president in this particular crisis.
    I mean the man literally ordered peaceful demonstrators attacked so he could walk across the street hold a Bible upside down for a photo op. He is proving everyone that said its scary as **** for him to be in charge of military right.

    He will use them as a prop attacking American citizens because he needs to "appear strong".

    I mean my goodness. And these physical attacks and arrests on media is absolutely ridiculous. Its showing in clear view the over reach of law enforcement.

    Is is that hard to differentiate from a looter and a reporter with a camera crew? If they don't comply with orders to move or get out of your way operationally that's one thing. But, arresting the CNN crew, the manhandling of the Australian crew. Its highlighting that the police brutality that black men and women are living under daily.

  5. #2630
    Old school comic book fan WestPhillyPunisher's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kidfresh512 View Post
    I mean the man literally ordered peaceful demonstrators attacked so he could walk across the street hold a Bible upside down for a photo op. He is proving everyone that said its scary as **** for him to be in charge of military right.

    He will use them as a prop attacking American citizens because he needs to "appear strong".
    If Trump went to those abominable ends, that tells me he's concerned about his re-election chances and had to ramp up his base with that stunt.
    Avatar: Here's to the late, great Steve Dillon. Best. Punisher. Artist. EVER!

  6. #2631
    Astonishing Member jetengine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by XPac View Post
    It's great that they have checks and balances to ensure a PM can't become a dictator... my point being they probably should have some to ensure Monarchys don't either. Unelected officials with control over the military is exactly how most dictatorships come to be.

    If you want to avoid dictators, create elections with term limits. Problem solved. Just saying.
    Your American is showing. Our Royalty has as much chance of becoming a dictatorship as Trump does of winning an athletics contest

  7. #2632
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    anyone still supporting The Idiot needs to be outed, shamed, and ostracized

    the GOP knows, they know once they are out of power, that is it....the Republican Party as they know it is gone forever

  8. #2633
    Uncanny Member XPac's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jetengine View Post
    Your American is showing. Our Royalty has as much chance of becoming a dictatorship as Trump does of winning an athletics contest
    I don't think think there's a good chance of either the PM or the Royalty becoming dictators. I just think if you want mechanisms in place to avoid it, have elections and term limits.

  9. #2634
    Ultimate Member Malvolio's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by WestPhillyPunisher View Post
    By the by, I don't know if anyone noticed this, and I barely did myself, but take note of that bible Trump is holding, I think it looks like it's upside down. More proof that it was nothing more than a prop to him.



    I listened to the speech on KYW (Philly's local all news radio station) and yeah, Biden did do a great job. He displayed passion, humility, humanity and quiet strength, worthwhile attributes needed in a president.
    Yes, he is holding it upside down. He holds it not so much like he's never held a Bible before, but like he's never held a book before.
    Watching television is not an activity.

  10. #2635
    Astonishing Member Darkspellmaster's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Elmo View Post
    it hurt like hell, the first time i ducked and it got in my hair but the second time i was surrounded by swat with shields and they sprayed me directly. luckily there were some people who pulled me out and flushed out my eyes with milk and water. it hurt a bit today but my eyesight wasn't affected
    Thank god for that. That **** can make people go blind. I think in my state it's illegal to carry one. JFC, what do they think they are doing.

    Quote Originally Posted by JCAll View Post
    Correction. What the GOP says the financial aspects of the GOP are. Turns out, that's mostly lies too.
    Well of course, but one of the long held ideas, from way back, has been the notion of smaller Federal government more power on the State level, and a lot of Moderate Republicans for a long time were into that and political ignored or didn't pay mind to the racist side of things. Then there was the "**** you I got mine" aspect that covers some of them (including a black doctor who I knew).

    Quote Originally Posted by sammy_hansen View Post
    You don't think the economic policies of the GOP are racist?
    Sure they are. The same could be said in turn about the Conservative party in Australia, which you said as I recall you were from if I'm not mistaken. I'm just saying that theres more to this than just race and for a while a lot of people, like the Rock for example, were very much for smaller Fed, lower taxes for him, larger state and local government. It's when people started to see them show their asses that they realized what they were looking at and fled.

    Quote Originally Posted by numberthirty View Post
    Sort of related...

    Lots of the folks who put their hard work and money into downtown Aurora were out cleaning up today. At least a couple of the "Mom And Pop..." businesses downtown wound up being worked over. The Family Dollar over by McCarty Park got burned.

    Don't like seeing a lot of the small businesses take it on the chin.
    Fast fact: so we had a local bike shop burn down a while ago, the land owner and the building owner refused to come to an agreement and the owner of the bike shop gave up trying to rebuild it. That was seven years ago.

    Apparently a 103 year old camera shop got burned. The original camera and some other antique items were saved but a lot of that history including video from local residents is now gone.

    Quote Originally Posted by Malvolio View Post
    It might not be intentionally racist. But when it's shown to be clearly racist in its results, one has to wonder why they don't care about those results.

    Quote Originally Posted by XPac View Post
    It does suck seeing so many mom and pop stores already with one foot in the grave being hit so hard. You just know some rich white developer is going to swoop in and build a condo or whatever once the smoke clears.
    Yup, because there are Vulture real estate companies that want to gentrify my home because young people wanna live near the city but it costs a lot to live down there. They are chomping at the bite for this.

    Quote Originally Posted by numberthirty View Post
    That's the particular hitch about downtown.

    Right now, even a couple of the "Old Guard..." storefronts(long running pawn shop/long running music store...) are still sitting there empty. While I guess it's not impossible that a "Money" developer could make a play, I'm not exactly sure that it's in the cards.

    Meanwhile, one of the shops downtown was a lady who had put a few years into being able to actually own the building that she's in. It was a very particular drag to see them cleaning up while talking about how this year had already been tough on them.
    Yup, and in a lot of cases that's the life savings of these people.

  11. #2636
    Old school comic book fan WestPhillyPunisher's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Malvolio View Post
    Yes, he is holding it upside down. He holds it not so much like he's never held a Bible before, but like he's never held a book before.
    And that probably included his own autobiography.

    Quote Originally Posted by Darkspellmaster View Post
    Yup, because there are Vulture real estate companies that want to gentrify my home because young people wanna live near the city but it costs a lot to live down there. They are chomping at the bite for this.
    Gentrification is slowly creeping into black West Philly where I live. I infrequently get calls and postcards in the mail asking if I want to sell my house. Regarding the latter, some of those postcards actually had pictures of my place on them, something I found unnerving.
    Avatar: Here's to the late, great Steve Dillon. Best. Punisher. Artist. EVER!

  12. #2637
    Uncanny Member XPac's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Darkspellmaster View Post
    Thank god for that. That **** can make people go blind. I think in my state it's illegal to carry one. JFC, what do they think they are doing.



    Well of course, but one of the long held ideas, from way back, has been the notion of smaller Federal government more power on the State level, and a lot of Moderate Republicans for a long time were into that and political ignored or didn't pay mind to the racist side of things. Then there was the "**** you I got mine" aspect that covers some of them (including a black doctor who I knew).



    Sure they are. The same could be said in turn about the Conservative party in Australia, which you said as I recall you were from if I'm not mistaken. I'm just saying that theres more to this than just race and for a while a lot of people, like the Rock for example, were very much for smaller Fed, lower taxes for him, larger state and local government. It's when people started to see them show their asses that they realized what they were looking at and fled.



    Fast fact: so we had a local bike shop burn down a while ago, the land owner and the building owner refused to come to an agreement and the owner of the bike shop gave up trying to rebuild it. That was seven years ago.

    Apparently a 103 year old camera shop got burned. The original camera and some other antique items were saved but a lot of that history including video from local residents is now gone.






    Yup, because there are Vulture real estate companies that want to gentrify my home because young people wanna live near the city but it costs a lot to live down there. They are chomping at the bite for this.



    Yup, and in a lot of cases that's the life savings of these people.
    It's kind of sad that we're starting to hear stories of people trying to defend their homes and business from the looters ... and paying the price for it.

    Easy to say your store or house aren't worth your life ... but I supposed it's your life savings, it's harder to say that.

  13. #2638
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    Quote Originally Posted by XPac View Post
    But as far as sending the military into a situation to control the situation... I don't think that's entirely wrong in principal. They did in in 92 to stop the LA riots, and it worked. If the rioting and looting doesn't stop on it's own and of the police and national guard can't stop it, I'm not sure what other options there are.

    But sending the US army after US citizens is certainly a VERY VERY undesireable option for many many may reasons... especially with this president in this particular crisis.
    92 and now couldn't be more different. Between cell phones getting footage of police BS and a divided country where most consider the otherside the root of all evil in the world. I am not sure if people would stop just on the threat of military violence. There are more than enough people willing to die for this and more than enough cameras that will show other potential protesters/rioters their end and a reason to take a stand.

  14. #2639
    Oni of the Ash Moon Ronin's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by XPac View Post
    It's kind of sad that we're starting to hear stories of people trying to defend their homes and business from the looters ... and paying the price for it.

    Easy to say your store or house aren't worth your life ... but I supposed it's your life savings, it's harder to say that.
    It's someone's live line their entire way of life, and with the corona lock down taking much of it away for a time it is even more challenging. That and if you participated in the PPP for there is now no way that you can hold up to the requirements and are now stuck holding that burden unless something changes in that.
    Surely not everybody was kung fu fighting

  15. #2640
    Extraordinary Member PaulBullion's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Darkspellmaster View Post
    Not Raceism, a lot of people who were GOP members were there for the financial aspect of the GOP. Not the social.
    Then the financial aspect suckered them into racism.

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