A warning to the President

[lazr1023]

Gays have vastly more rights in Israel by far, BY FAR, than all other Arab countries combined.  If any of us came out in an Arab country, chances are in most of them you'd be shot, tortured, or tossed from a roof top.  Hamas runs Gaza and it's citizens, they are the oppressors.  We see Israel as an advanced economy, their inventions in areas like tech, medicine, solar and agriculture help people worldwide.  Imagine what Gaza could have been if they were friendly instead of being run by thugs.  It boggles my mind that gays don't "get it" when it comes to the difference between life in Israel, especially for gays, and life in any of its neighbors.

[BootmanLA]

17 hours ago, ErosWired said:

Anyone who believes any career politician will not flip on any given issue at any given time under the application of pressure is simply not paying attention.

Not that I disagree, but it's not just "career" politicians - it's everyone who holds a political office. It's called "compromise", and in situations where we have a divided government (as we do now, with one party holding the House, another the Senate and the Presidency), it would be virtually impossible to get anything done on any issue where the parties disagree.

Obviously, I prefer it when my party has the upper hand and can negotiate from a position of strength, but that's not always the case. What I hope for is that we never negotiate away fundamental principles, and when we give up something, we get something that's worth more to us.

And then we go out and try to win more elections so that less compromise is necessary. But that means voters have to suck it up and vote for imperfect candidates instead of sitting it out because the choices aren't ideal. Too many people, for instance, are saying they won't vote for Biden because he's accepting "genocide" on the part of Israel - as though Trump wouldn't have given Israel an even bigger green light to do what they want.

[chasingseedinaus]

38 minutes ago, lazr1023 said:

Gays have vastly more rights in Israel by far, BY FAR, than all other Arab countries combined.  If any of us came out in an Arab country, chances are in most of them you'd be shot, tortured, or tossed from a roof top.  Hamas runs Gaza and it's citizens, they are the oppressors.  We see Israel as an advanced economy, their inventions in areas like tech, medicine, solar and agriculture help people worldwide.  Imagine what Gaza could have been if they were friendly instead of being run by thugs.  It boggles my mind that gays don't "get it" when it comes to the difference between life in Israel, especially for gays, and life in any of its neighbors.

This is not about gay rights. It's about the genocide of thousands of people who are guilty of living where they live. 

[ErosWired]

4 hours ago, BootmanLA said:

Not that I disagree, but it's not just "career" politicians - it's everyone who holds a political office. It's called "compromise", and in situations where we have a divided government (as we do now, with one party holding the House, another the Senate and the Presidency), it would be virtually impossible to get anything done on any issue where the parties disagree.

That’s true, of course, but I’m talking about the evident absence of principle - politicians don’t seem to actually stand for anything anymore, and I’ve dealt with enough of them, federal, state and local alike, to see that they’re all pretty much the same - rap then and they ring hollow. It’s all become poisonously transactional, at every level, and the more money that gets pumped into it, the worse it gets.

[BlackDude]

23 hours ago, lazr1023 said:

Gays have vastly more rights in Israel by far, BY FAR, than all other Arab countries combined.  If any of us came out in an Arab country, chances are in most of them you'd be shot, tortured, or tossed from a roof top.  Hamas runs Gaza and it's citizens, they are the oppressors.  We see Israel as an advanced economy, their inventions in areas like tech, medicine, solar and agriculture help people worldwide.  Imagine what Gaza could have been if they were friendly instead of being run by thugs.  It boggles my mind that gays don't "get it" when it comes to the difference between life in Israel, especially for gays, and life in any of its neighbors.

I think it’s unfair to point out the “strength” of Israel’s economy and innovations over its neighbors, while it takes money and aid from the United States.

 

[hntnhole]

19 hours ago, ErosWired said:

evident absence of principle

I agree, and across the board.  Unfortunately there are plenty of Congresspersons on both sides that have surrendered to personal enrichment by the lobbyists representing industries, businesses of all kinds and description.   Not every one of them, of course, but enough to make a difference.  Last I heard, the old canard is still in force:  "you can't take it with you".

I don't know how we get 'Jimmy Stewart' back in office .... or his cultural descendants.  

[hntnhole]

On 1/1/2024 at 6:25 PM, lazr1023 said:

or tossed from a roof top

Some years ago I actually ran across a kid from Tehran who had escaped from exactly that fate; two of his friends (gay) actually were thrown off a building's roof.  He ran, got away in time, and arrived in the US a painfully skinny, scared kid.  There's an Iranian restaurant way out west by Weston, and we took him there for dinner.  The kid ate like he'd found heaven, with tears in his eyes ... which elicited the same in the rest of us.  

A number of us helped get him settled, helped him "acclimate", learn English, found him a job.  Saw him this past T-day; lo and behold, today he owns his own business, is doing well, achieved citizenship, and you'd never know what he'd been through.  

Our human instincts are to do good, not bad, if we only make the effort to listen to them.  

[hntnhole]

On 1/1/2024 at 6:25 PM, lazr1023 said:

It boggles my mind that gays don't "get it" when it comes to the difference between life in Israel, especially for gays, and life in any of its neighbors.

It's not that the rest of the world doesn't "get it".  Rather, it's off topic from the original post.  It's true that often as posts progress they tend to drift a bit after several weeks of guys adding their input.  

You're completely correct in your point, and that difference in acceptance of gays between the two areas (Israel and the rest of the Islamic countries) would make a great topic.  Every guy gets to have his say on all kinds of subjects (mostly revolving around raw sex - but not exclusively); by all means, go ahead and try it 😉  !!! 

[ErosWired]

4 hours ago, hntnhole said:

Unfortunately there are plenty of Congresspersons on both sides that have surrendered to personal enrichment by the lobbyists representing industries, businesses of all kinds and description.

Not only this, but I heard an interesting piece of reporting not long back about the fact that reelection is openly the main priority of most of them, from the start, especially in the Senate. The rationale against term limits is that if you’re term-limited you can’t be there long enough to gain the influence to get anything done, but while you’re there you get precious little done because you’re constantly working on getting reelected to stay there. And if you try to do anything for the common good, special interests will just threaten your chances of reelection.

Personally, the only people I think should be allowed to hold public office are those who absolutely do not want to.

[hntnhole]

12 hours ago, ErosWired said:

reelection is openly the main priority of most of them, from the start,

Clearly and obviously 100% correct.  I agree completely that whatever the potential drawbacks of term limits, it's well worth a try. 

As to the idea of sending 'those who do not want to go", I'm all in to try that asap.  

[NWUSHorny]

12 hours ago, ErosWired said:

Not only this, but I heard an interesting piece of reporting not long back about the fact that reelection is openly the main priority of most of them, from the start, especially in the Senate. The rationale against term limits is that if you’re term-limited you can’t be there long enough to gain the influence to get anything done, but while you’re there you get precious little done because you’re constantly working on getting reelected to stay there. And if you try to do anything for the common good, special interests will just threaten your chances of reelection.

Personally, the only people I think should be allowed to hold public office are those who absolutely do not want to.

I'm not sure about limiting it to those "who absolutely do not want to," but politics should not become someone's life work.

[BootmanLA]

14 hours ago, ErosWired said:

The rationale against term limits is that if you’re term-limited you can’t be there long enough to gain the influence to get anything done, but while you’re there you get precious little done because you’re constantly working on getting reelected to stay there.

Actually the rationale against term limits is that they're unconstitutional under the current system, and only a constitutional amendment could change that.

On a more practical note: the problem of re-election-seeking is far more acute in the House than the Senate - at least for even marginally competitive seats - because the next election is always less than two years away from the last one, and primary elections are frequently barely more than a year away even if the last general election was yesterday. Senate seats are held for six years at a stretch, so while fundraising for the next election is always ongoing, there's a lot less electioneering in the first few years of a term. 

[hntnhole]

The original post is now just less than a month old.  

The war has spread, the Islamic countries (save Saudi/Kuwait) are arming groups of stand-in's for Iran, which we hear only tangentially now, given the election season here in the US.  

Well over half the oceangoing shipping from the Far East to the Western countries is now diverting around the Horn of Africa, to avoid risk to the ships, which is only natural.  That makes everything more expensive world-wide.  

Mr. Netanyahoo remains even more firmly against any shred of responsible behavior in the destroyed areas, let alone the long-awaited Two State Solution, and made it clear that unless and until he's removed from office, the carnage, destruction of infrastructure will continue unabated.  

I know the President is concerned about his impending reelection; he needs every vote he can get, including the liberal Jewish folks in the US.  The other day Bernie Sanders issued an excoriating rebuke of the Prime Minister of Israel, which reflects substantial opinions around the globe.  Nettie is obviously hoping for a Trump victory in November, and thumbing his nose at our President in the meantime. 

This past Sunday, Zacharia (of CNN) interviewed a number of highly placed office-holders in Arab States, and there appears to be very little "wiggle-room" in their Iranian-sponsored statements. 

While we here in the US are embroiled in all the quadrennial political mish-mash, Israel continues it's war of annihilation, despite world-wide condemnation. 

I am losing hope that this can be sorted out in time to avoid a general war in the Middle East, with the US getting sucked into all the mishigas. 

 

 

[TaKinGDeePanal]

On 1/3/2024 at 11:09 AM, hntnhole said:

I agree, and across the board.  Unfortunately there are plenty of Congresspersons on both sides that have surrendered to personal enrichment by the lobbyists representing industries, businesses of all kinds and description.   Not every one of them, of course, but enough to make a difference.  Last I heard, the old canard is still in force:  "you can't take it with you".

I don't know how we get 'Jimmy Stewart' back in office .... or his cultural descendants.  

You mean those who actually understand and represent their constituents by trying to make their lives better? There's one I can definitely name (clue: Dem, NY-14). Refused to take the 100k offered by AIPAC. Also campaigned within Congress for the raising of the minimum wage to $15ph. No love lost between her and the Establishment Democrats - and I believe she was the first to call Trump "Mentally Unstable".

[hntnhole]

She's the kind of "lightening rod" we need more of in Congress.  I know that the Progressive Caucus can be like a burr under the saddle sometimes, but there are times when we really need that burr, calling out the bullshit.  

I think there may be more Establishment Dems that wish they could be more like her, but are afraid to get too far out of line.  Becoming an elected member of Congress may be a noble experience for some, but for far too many it's a meal-ticket gig.