BeginnersMind

Good luck in a world without politicians and lawyers. You can dislike the ones you dislike, but we need them.

I have STEM degrees and used to think like that. But I'd hate to be without artists, cooks, tradespeople, farmers, accountants, lawyers, politicians. It takes a lot of people to make a society work.

Correct, but the US wasn't making up the shortfall. The US has increased psnding in Europe under Trump, even as other NATO countries have increased their spending since 2014. No. See above. It's just about making more war machines. See above again. See also, history. I don't need to. The US spending in Europe keeps increasing under Trump in spite of our NATO allies spending more since 2014. No one is saving money.

This announcement is about other countries spending more on war. It is not about the US not spending its own money. And if you think the US defense budget is about to shrink, bahaha!

No. It is 100B that those countries will spend (maybe) making war machines.

Be better.

Sensitive much Tom? It's an intriguing story, and not a friggin' Deep State conspiracy rooted in the Illuminati/Rothschild's/MiC/Pizzagate. The details of China using private companies to spy on the world is a great story.

Stoltenberg has been a fan of Trump getting more $$ to make war machines since the summer. A conspiracy board might find that interesting if it didnt clash with their current plotlines.

It will work as a political maneuver to say he did everything he could to fulfill his promise.

There is way too much sifting still to go before I can care much about Harris or any of the other names. Im not even convinced Trump will run again yet.

Why the Templar avatar/image?

LaDexter the anti-Semitic conspiracist went further. Others trump them both. It’s not the way here to do anything about it.

I accept that as well.

Russia did run a campaign to help Trump. That’s all I said. Must have been fun for you to add all other stuff you think I believe though. Fiction is fun to read and write here at PPP and the insults make worthwhile dialog nearly impossible.

I started hearing his name a few weeks ago. I don't know anything about him besides a couple overview stories that make him sound like a centrist Dem.

I gotta say: I can't not like this guy's mojo.

Such dramatic talk definitely builds a populist hype machine. There has never been a perfect law mechanism in the US, and yet it’s rarely been less corrupt than it is now. And yes, it’s still corrupt. The high drama moment you’re hoping for is not likely in our brief speck of a lifetime. That is the fallacy of the doomsday cult thinking, but the carnival barking on this sky is falling moment draws them in every time. The Russians ran an active campaign to help elect Trump. What collusion there may have been, or not, is something Mieller is investigating. What he has found or will find, or not, is something that I hope we get to read. To date, we know very little despite the many assertions on one side that we are ready to impeach and the other that it’s a witch-hunt. I would enjoy letting this run it’s course and worry about government in the interim addressing more pressing issues like deficit spending, healthcare, free trade, fraying ally relations, to name a few.

It's not just me who mentioned it but Islam's story is rooted in Abraham's second wife Hagar, who he fathers the child Ishmael with because his wife Sarai cannot bear children. (Abraham was a polygamist, and Hagar was his wife's slave, who she gave to him to bear children.) Sarai later bears Abraham a son Isaac when she is 90 or 91, and as you can imagine, Hagar and Sarai clash. Abraham turns Hagar out into the desert. There is more to the story obviously, but the haj to Mecca is a celebration of Hagar's journey in the desert, where she found a wellspring (near the Kaaba--that big black monolith you see in much footage)...and while drinking from that spring, God promised to make her son the father of a great nation. The Christian and Jewish religions historically downplayed Ishmael as a cast-off son of Abraham, since they trace their prophetic lineage through Sarai's son Isaac, while Islam traces its prophets, including Muhammed, through Ishmael...and all 3 religions share Abraham.

Not something that is debateable--You have a belief in a diety that is yours. But the stories still share the same roots, and that's not debateable.

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam come from the same tree. Jesus is part of Islam, mentioned in the Quran. It’s just what happened.

Way to elevate a conversation.

Neither party wants a calm considered electorate. Why do you think Trump won? His calm collected well laid it plans? Nice of you to make me out to be a D, or D voter, neither of which I am. I’ve voted D at the top of a pres election fewer times than I’ve voted R.

Never give up on this buddy!

I haven’t seen anything to make me believe that Trump colluded without Russia as I’ve said many times. But our president does surround himself with a lot of bad actors.

Mueller is pulling strings. His goal is not Trump but includes investigating ties between the campaign and Russia. Impeaching Don is the goal of the Trump Deranged folks. Mueller’s goal is to root out collusion. 24 indictments and counting, I believe, after Stone. Stone is just a phony blowhard friend of Trump. Hardly shocking that he obstructed justice given his tenuous relationship with the truth.