The Politics Thread

[Khan]

The truth is, the terrorists won, simply by striking fear and paranoia in the hearts of Americans -- fear and paranoia that has been a deciding factor in many of our actions post-9/11, up to and including our current administration.

[Juliajms]

That is awesome!

And all the money we've spent and all the enemies we've made and the people who have been radicalized because their families were unjustly killed. Talk about shooting ourselves in the foot.  We are very lucky that we have a great intelligence community and allies who do as well.  Of course Trump has undermined them and given Israeli intelligence to Russia, so there's always that.

[DramatistDreamer]

Chickenpox puts you in direct line to one day have the possibility of contracting shingles.  Yay! 

As someone who had the shingles, I don't know anyone who would want someone to be at risk of that, especially when there is a vaccine that can now prevent it.

[MichaelGL]

Mueller report has been completed and sent to the DOJ.  

 

Somehow I don't have any faith in it doing this country any justice though:(

[Vee]

It was never going to result in a sea of indictments and instant removal of Trump. But it will be damaging.

[DramatistDreamer]

[Juliajms]

Good point.  Shingles tends to strike the elderly. I knew a lady in her 80's who had it when I was a kid. She was in terrible pain for a long time. What a misery at that age.  One of my friends in her 40's got it just recently, but she went to the doctor right away and they were able to stop it somehow.  All I can say is anyone who is eligible for the shingles vaccine should get it immediately.  I'll be running to the doctor to get it the second I hit 50.

[DramatistDreamer]

 

I was in my mid-30s when it struck me.  I think I must have a high threshold for misery because it was bad, but I wouldn't say I was in terrible pain.  It was miserable but thankfully came and went in about a week, sort of like the chickenpox that afflicted me many years before.  Age 50 is at least a handful of years away but I wonder whether it's worth it to get the vaccine since I've already had it?

[Juliajms]

I'm sorry you had to go through that.  I wonder why they don't immunize people sooner, but maybe it wears off. It could also be that insurers are just playing the odds due to money. They used to give it 60, but it was lowered to 50 not that long ago.

 

I would think you are immune now, but definitely ask your doctor.  You do not want to get it again when you are elderly and your skin is thinner. I volunteer at an residential center and all I can say is no one needs the added misery at that age, it's hard enough just existing.  Of course, everyone is different.  Its always disconcerting to me how some are mentally acute and getting along relatively well at 90, while others are in a mental fog by 80.

[Wendy]

 

Probably cost. I looked into the vaccine since I had chicken pox TERRIBLY as a kid, i.e. I even had one in my eye, and the cost for the vaccine was about $300+, and not all insurance covers it. It SHOULD be, but it is what it is.

[JaneAusten]

I agree but I’m more concerned with a coverup. I don’t trust William Barr at all. 

[marceline]

 

William Barr and Mueller have been friends for years. Mueller has attended the wedding of Barr's children. Their wives apparently attend Bible study together. I want to believe that Mueller would have some kind of backup plan if he thought Barr was compromised. I'm not saying I trust Barr either. After all, he's a Republican and they have pretty much turned on this country but I don't think he's a Trump lackey like Whitaker was. If Whitaker were still Acting AG we'd be pretty doomed.

 

Keep in mind that a lot of people Trump has named to positions, including many of his judges have ruled against him. This is part of the benefit of the fact that Trump doesn't pay attention to details.

Edited March 23, 2019 by marceline

[JaneAusten]

I hear all this but then I remember Barr was AG under GHWB and orchestrated all those pardons for the Iran Contra crooks after Bush lost re-election and was leaving office. He also orchestrated plea deals for a bunch including Elliott Abrams who was responsible for the El Mozote Massacre in El Salvador. The man should be in prison for life but was allowed to plea to lying to congress and is now guess what, leading the whatever is going on in Venezuela effort(I call it a coup). I also remember Robert Mueller was FBI director under Bush2.  I believe these guys have too large an idea of executive power but I guess we will see.

 

No indictment for Obstruction of Justice is asinine IMO. We all heard on live TV Trump say he fired Comey to stop the Russia investigation.  Just because it did not accomplish the action, doesn't make it less of a crime. Of course I am no legal scholar so what do I know I guess.

[DramatistDreamer]

It's especially sad that unlike New Zealand which took immediate action after their tragedy, the U.S. continues to do nothing, effectively not recognizing the devastation that is caused by these mass shootings.  In this case, a year after the shootings, the tragedy continues, which is what many don't seem to comprehend.  The devastation doesn't just stop once the tragedy is out of the news cycle.  It continues.

 

[Juliajms]

Yes, it really is awful. The lives of the people devastated by tragedies will never be the same.

 

NZ is such a different country from the United States though. They changed their laws in less than a week, we could never do that.  Notice it's countries with tiny populations that tend to do better in these matters.  We have something like three hundred million more people here.  This is where arguments for true anarchism start to make sense to me.