Got that T-90 fueled up and ready to roll? http://vitalykuzmin.net
The big stories at this hour:
- Trump says US may abandon automatic protections for NATO countries (BBC) — WOW. In other news, the United States of America is changing its name to Country That Ran Out On the Whole World. He’s got great timing, doesn’t he? He says this the week of the convention, on the eve of his acceptance speech? And you know what? His supporters will go, “What’s the big deal?” Yo, Putin! Your BFF’s planning to lower the gates for you; are the tanks fueled up? Go ahead and roll into the Baltics, unless you want to finish Ukraine first. Your call…
- 10 Brazilians Arrested, Accused Of Plotting Terrorist Attack On Rio Olympics (NPR) — I hope they got all of them.
- Cruz digs in on refusal to back Trump (WashPost) — Even though, also according to the Post, he’s paying a price for snubbing him. Big deal. This isn’t about 2016 for Cruz; it’s about 2020, 2024… You see, he may look like Grandpa Munster, but he’s ridiculously young. Someone on the radio today noted that in 2036, Cruz will still be younger than Hillary Clinton is now. There’s something to keep you up nights: Ti-i-i-ime, it’s on his side….
- Inmate killed at Lieber Correctional Institution (The State) — Here we go again. Remember the one the other day? The chickens are coming home to roost in our underfunded, neglected prison system.
- Ailes Resigns as Head of Fox News; Murdoch to Step In (WSJ) — Wait — hadn’t that horndoq quit before now?
- Game of Thrones: Republicans hate it, Democrats love it – supposedly (The Guardian) — Consequently, at a critical moment — Cersei seizing the Iron Throne; the Khaleesi on her way across the water, Winter really, really about to come — the burning issues of Westeros are being woefully neglected at that convention in Cleveland.
And the Republicans don’t even CARE…
Related Posts
1, It is time to disband NATO. Trump’s timing is not good though.
I agree.
There are so many people — left, right, center, and off somewhere that can’t be measured — who have never internalized the basics of the post-1945 international order. Folks who don’t get that either the United States leads collective security efforts, or authoritarian regimes such as those in Russia and China will. Period. It’s like a physical law, which is why it is so often explained in terms of a “vacuum.”
I blame the schools. All the yammering about test scores, reading levels, STEM, etc., and people aren’t being taught what they need to know to be informed citizens, which is how public life works locally, nationally and internationally, and the context…
“who have never internalized the basics of the post-1945 international order. Folks who don’t get that either the United States leads collective security efforts, or authoritarian regimes such as those in Russia and China will. ”
Maybe it hasn’t been internalized because intelligent adults reject your premise. I know it’s too bad we can’t have schools indoctrinate children to believe what you believe, but perhaps it is because your view isn’t correct.
Yes, Doug, I can always rely on you and Bud on this point. But it’s not about what “I believe.” It’s about the way things actually work. Pretty much any foreign policy experts, regardless of party, will say these same things. I disagree with Barack Obama on a lot of things about foreign policy, but he understands these basic principles. Anyone who has been president does — although he did BEFORE, which I know because I had the chance to talk with him about it.
Donald Trump does NOT say these things because he does not have a clue, and doesn’t want to. The world is just going to bend to his will because he will demand that it do so.
His foreign policy experts would help him with this, but he doesn’t have any, because they won’t work with him — in part because they know he wouldn’t listen to them. Because like you, he thinks it’s a matter of opinion, and everyone’s opinion is equally valid — except HIS, which he is convinced is always right…
Your worldview is what got us into Vietnam.
Ever since WWII (The Big One!) our military has made sure we always have an enemy that requires constant attention.
You just keep on thinking that, Butch.
I realize you will NEVER be an internationalist.
This will not hobble you in most of life’s pursuits.
But I have to warn you that when I’m president, you won’t be my secretary of State. Sorry…
Obama wasn’t even a Senator for 4 years, yet that made him an expert in foreign affairs?
You’re not paying attention. You’re on “accuse all journalists of being Democrats” autopilot. You’re forgetting who this is.
Here’s what I said — that I had the opportunity to talk with him before he was elected, and he answered my questions knowledgeably. Which made us feel OK about endorsing him for his party’s nomination.
The person we endorsed for the PRESIDENCY was the guy with the experience, John McCain.
All of this information is available on this blog at all times — it never goes away — so there’s really no excuse for pretending that I’m some other person who thinks the way you accuse me of thinking.
So our word will be just as good as Trump’s. Wonderful.
Today is July 22, 2016. Do you know what that means? Yup, only six days to go until my 66th birthday!
More importantly, Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party hits screens nationwide today! You can order your tickets here.
If you haven’t read the transcript of the NYT Sanger/Haberman interview with Trump, I encourage you (meaning any and all of you) to read it. I also saw Charlie Rose talking with Sanger about the same interview last night.
Trump’s comments may seem alarming at first, but when you think about them in the context of his whole approach to
foreign policyall issues as financial transactions / negotiations, those comments sort of make sense, even though they’re still alarming.Given that Trump’s thing is that he doesn’t want to lay all his cards on the table, and wants to maintain leverage in order to “get a better deal” with other NATO member nations, for example, I could believe that in all likelihood, Trump fully intends to meet our obligations to our allies. The problem is that, in an effort to “get a better deal”, he’s practically daring Putin to invade Lithuania.
That’s the impression I get anyway. I don’t claim to be a foreign policy expert. But I still say read that transcript.
Now, as for the speech last night. There were some things I didn’t like, including the parts where he touched on the NATO topic above. Also, I didn’t enjoy all the protectionist stuff.
The other major problem was this sense he seems to have of himself as the only person who can solve problems, and that he’ll be able to solve them with ease. On January 20, 2017, all bad things will stop! ISIS will be gone in a week or so. Murder? Gone!
But I have to say this (and I’ve said it before): Not all of his diagnoses are wrong.
If the only things I knew about Donald Trump came from hearing his speech last night, I would have major concerns, but I’d probably pick him over Clinton, because I really believe she’s a person of very little integrity who is very wrong on a great many important issues.
However, I have read and heard and seen more about Donald Trump than just last night’s speech, and I have concluded that he also is a person of very little integrity. So even on issues I think are important and he’s indicated he’d take my side (SCOTUS, for example), my “agreement” with him is undermined by the fact that I believe him to be utterly untrustworthy.
So, there you go. This election season is not a happy time for me.