Biden Sworn In as 46th President (nytimes.com) 980
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday, taking office at a moment of profound economic, health and political crises with a promise to seek unity after a tumultuous four years that tore at the fabric of American society. New York Times: With his hand on a five-inch-thick Bible that has been in his family for 128 years, Mr. Biden recited the 35-word oath of office swearing to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution" in a ceremony administered by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., completing the process at 11:49 a.m., 11 minutes before the authority of the presidency formally changes hands.
The ritual transfer of power came shortly after Kamala Devi Harris was sworn in as vice president by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, her hand on a Bible that once belonged to Thurgood Marshall, the civil rights icon and Supreme Court justice. Ms. Harris's ascension made her the highest-ranking woman in the history of the United States and the first Black American and first person of South Asian descent to hold the nation's second highest office. The ceremony on a chilly, breezy day with a smattering of snowflakes brought to a close the stormy and divisive four-year presidency of Donald J. Trump. In characteristic fashion, Mr. Trump once again defied tradition by leaving Washington hours before the swearing in of his successor rather than face the reality of his own election defeat, although Mike Pence, his vice president, did attend. President Biden's speech: This is America's day. This is democracy's day. Few people in our nation's history have been more challenged or found a time more challenging or difficult than the time we're in now. To overcome these challenges, to restore the soul and secure the future of America, requires so much more than words and requires the most elusive of all things in a democracy: unity. Live coverage: YouTube.
The ritual transfer of power came shortly after Kamala Devi Harris was sworn in as vice president by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, her hand on a Bible that once belonged to Thurgood Marshall, the civil rights icon and Supreme Court justice. Ms. Harris's ascension made her the highest-ranking woman in the history of the United States and the first Black American and first person of South Asian descent to hold the nation's second highest office. The ceremony on a chilly, breezy day with a smattering of snowflakes brought to a close the stormy and divisive four-year presidency of Donald J. Trump. In characteristic fashion, Mr. Trump once again defied tradition by leaving Washington hours before the swearing in of his successor rather than face the reality of his own election defeat, although Mike Pence, his vice president, did attend. President Biden's speech: This is America's day. This is democracy's day. Few people in our nation's history have been more challenged or found a time more challenging or difficult than the time we're in now. To overcome these challenges, to restore the soul and secure the future of America, requires so much more than words and requires the most elusive of all things in a democracy: unity. Live coverage: YouTube.
God I hope we never have to go through that again. (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:God I hope we never have to go through that aga (Score:5, Funny)
Re:God I hope we never have to go through that aga (Score:5, Funny)
Don't forget the GOP fostered Palin, Michele Bachmann, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Louie Gohmert. Plenty of fuel for a future repeat.
The only silver lining is that GOP is allowing more female nuts into the party for diversity. We don't want the niche of whackjob-with-power dominated by white males. They do need more maniacs of color, though.
Character matters (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Character matters (Score:5, Interesting)
You do realize that Sanders isn't a Democrat, so many in the party were against him getting the nomination. Not surprising at all. He was never going to get a fair shake, so I don't understand why anyone thought he would.
Re:God I hope we never have to go through that aga (Score:4, Interesting)
2024 -- Trump, his son, or some equivalent will win. Don Jr. has already compared himself to Simba from Lion King (Scar being Biden, and Trump being Simba's dad King Mufasa.) Now that conservatives know the strategy of bold and blatant xenophobia and racism works, they will double down on it. Hitler knew that and came to power in 1933.
Re:God I hope we never have to go through that aga (Score:4, Interesting)
It's interesting to note how we thought Dubya was worst president ever, but even he had redeeming qualities.
At least Dubya might be misinformed but he was still worthy of being a president and didn't make a mockery of the office - just his presidency. And even he attends Biden's inauguration.
It would be interesting to see what people think of Trump in 20 years - did the GOP elect an even crazier president that makes Trump not seem so bad?
Re: God I hope we never have to go through that ag (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:God I hope we never have to go through that aga (Score:5, Funny)
Re:God I hope we never have to go through that aga (Score:5, Insightful)
"Law abiding opposition"? You mean the treasonous insurrectionists, who wanted to hang then-VP Pence, and murder Pelosi, at al?
You have a deeply odd concept of "law abiding".
Re: God I hope we never have to go through that ag (Score:5, Insightful)
From what I've seen, they rioters aren't atypical of the people who are deep in his cult. While 74 million voters did vote for Trump, it just shows how gullible many Americans are rather than that he is the chosen leader this time around. I don't think pointing out the riots were illegal is smearing everyone who voted for him. Unless you think everyone who voted from Trump would stoop to violent riots to get their way? That seems more like prejudice on your part. Your logic is not very... logical.
Look, the point is: there is a dangerous cult of personality that are being duped into hurting their own nation for an individuals gain. Trump is using them, aiding them, and did very little to nothing to push back against that group (though, mostly just using them). That is wrong and why many people are mad at him. Yes, he did some things right and he did some things wrong. Any good he did doesn't excuse the worst of his behavior. Stop apologizing for him, if he's so powerful he'll be able to take care of himself.
Re:God I hope we never have to go through that aga (Score:5, Insightful)
Pre-pandemic, ...My investments for retirement were going well.
Apart from killing 40million people Ghengis Khan was a great humanitarian.
Besides the destruction they cause, nuclear bombs are really good for wildlife development.
ISIS, except for a few misadventures, great supporters of Christianity and Yazidism.
he had one leadership situation in his entire presidency.
Re:God I hope we never have to go through that aga (Score:5, Interesting)
https://www.usatoday.com/story... [usatoday.com]
Re:God I hope we never have to go through that aga (Score:5, Insightful)
And, while character is nice, I really don't require it from my politicians as long as I get results I like.
Pre-pandemic, the economy was running on all cylinders, unemployment was down and pay was going up, especially in the minority communities.
Sure, because Trump was borrowing trillions to pay for that.
Trillions which will now have to be repaid.
(and you'll be blaming the Democrats for being mean and trying to recover that money, am I right?)
Trump did so much more than borrow money (Score:4, Insightful)
Remember credit derivative swaps? He brought those back, only instead of home loans they're using business loans. Biden'll have his hands full making sure that bubble doesn't burst into another 2008.
And let's not forget his guy, Ajit Pai, killed Net Neutrality.
Re:God I hope we never have to go through that aga (Score:5, Insightful)
Trillions which will now have to be repaid.
To be fair, or at least objective, the Republicans were in power. Now that they're not, they'll go back to *pretending* they care about the national deficit and debt. Cue fake fiscal concerns from Senate Republicans in three... two... one...
Re:God I hope we never have to go through that aga (Score:5, Insightful)
Reality: If he had closed all the borders to prevent incoming travelers from spreading it, he would be accused of Isolationism or Rasicm or all the above.
Of course; for a few weeks. Leadership consists of, sometimes, taking an option which is unpopular at the moment. Jacinda Ardern did exactly that and exactly those accusations were leveled against her. Then, after a few months, it became clear that the people of New Zealand were safe and by contrast the people of the UK, of Italy and, dare we say it, the USA, were dying in vast numbers at the same time. Suddenly, because of her leadership she was able to gather support for her policy.
In Australia and Germany, where they have Federal systems like in the USA, the leaders had to deal with problematic local leaders who didn't want to follow and restrictive constitutions which did not give them the full powers they wanted; less in fact than Trump had. Again, use of leadership allowed them to persuade the local leaders to follow. Trump was given clear suggestions from his scientists and failed as a leader.
There is no way to " win " against a Pandemic. You just try to survive it as best you can.
Taiwan has won; New Zealand has won; China has won; Ganah has won. Australia and Norway have pretty much won. There are many ways to win against the pandemic. There is only one way to lose. Laziness and failure. Useless and pathetic leadership.
Re:God I hope we never have to go through that aga (Score:5, Informative)
Your failed assumption is that Trump cares at all about anyone but himself, he doesn't have empathy and doesn't care at all that his policies killed 500,000+ people. Being devoid of empathy when the disease did not immediately disappear he decided that sacrificing all those people was a better result than an economy in the toilet during the election.
Re: God I hope we never have to go through that ag (Score:5, Informative)
And yet NZ now has weekly outbreaks of Covid. And they seem to be getting worse. Winning!
Are you lying or being lied to? If you aren't a liar then you need to change your news source. New Zealand quarantine hotels have outbreaks. This doesn't affect the people of New Zealand because it is contained in the area which is isolated from everyone else. What this represents is the failure of the rest of the world and the success of New Zealand. There has not been community transmission in NZ since mid-November.
Re: God I hope we never have to go through that a (Score:5, Informative)
The actual CDC has an actual simple summary that they not only block emission but also partially protect the mask user [cdc.gov].
Re:God I hope we never have to go through that aga (Score:4)
It wouldn't have mattered who the President was when this Pandemic rolled through.
The same money ( or even more of it had $2k / monthly stimulus checks become the norm ) would have been borrowed to keep the economy alive.
All of which would eventually have to be paid back.
The mobs then say: " Trump could have done more at the beginning and we wouldn't be in this mess ! "
Reality: If he had closed all the borders to prevent incoming travelers from spreading it, he would be accused of Isolationism or Rasicm or all the above.
There is no way to " win " against a Pandemic. You just try to survive it as best you can.
Bullshit, trump did a woefully piss poor job of managing the pandemic from start to finish.
Re:God I hope we never have to go through that aga (Score:5, Insightful)
And, while character is nice, I really don't require it from my politicians as long as I get results I like.
Pre-pandemic, the economy was running on all cylinders, unemployment was down and pay was going up, especially in the minority communities.
For one thing, it was pretty much following the trends from the economic recovery. If you look at graphs of, for example, unemployment, it pretty much follows the same trajectory it was in from Obama's presidency to Trump's.
By most economic markers, the Trump period was only marginally better than the Obama period. This is actually really bad when you look at the tax cuts and the interest rates. Do you remember at all what growth rates Trump was _claiming_ he was going to get? The simple fact is that the US economy did not reach those goals. That would be fine if it was just empty blustering, but those lofty goals were actually required to make up for the revenue shortfall from the corporate tax cut. In other words, Trump's economy was fueled by putting us all into a lot more debt. That kind of thing should be reserved for emergencies.
I liked t least trying to curb illegal immigration.
Then you must have loved Obama. On that note, how do you feel about all the curbing of _legal_ immigration that the Trump administration did? Frankly, it seems like they concentrated more on that than the illegal kind.
I like that someone was finally standing up to China....and sadly, I see Joe being a "friend" to them in ways that will be detrimental to the US....
On that note, does anyone remember Trump's trade war with China? He seems to have started it and then just sort of forgotten about it with no real trade agreement ever reached.
Re:God I hope we never have to go through that aga (Score:5, Insightful)
On that note, does anyone remember Trump's trade war with China? He seems to have started it and then just sort of forgotten about it with no real trade agreement ever reached.
Oh, China reached a trade agreement alright. We were just excluded from it.
The RCEP was the agreement China went with specifically because we dropped the TTP negotiations. The new agreement reached completely excludes the US.
Now 15 other nations along with China, one of the largest trade pacts ever, is almost certain to bite us in the ass, more and more as time goes on and it gets stronger.
Lots of US industries are having to plan on this inevitability, and certainly have not forgotten it.
Re:God I hope we never have to go through that aga (Score:5, Insightful)
And, while character is nice, I really don't require it from my politicians as long as I get results I like.
Here's the thing - you have this idea that somehow character and effective governance have nothing to do with each other. Character is certainly a worthy goal in and of itself, but the point of putting somebody of character in leadership is that a person of character will tell you the truth, is not easily misled, will sacrifice their own interests for the good of the nation, and generally will be a leader that pursues goals beyond perpetuation of their own wealth and power.
On your specific claims, there's good reason to believe that "standing up to China" really meant "failing to implement a coherent plan with our allies in Europe, and letting China dominate a new trade agreement in Asia with zero influence by the US". If all you wanted was ineffectual bluster, I suppose Trump did a great job at that. That basically applies to all of your points.
If your desired results are achieved by an unscrupulous charlatan, maybe you should reconsider your goals?
Re: God I hope we never have to go through that a (Score:5, Insightful)
As a Cold War Vet, and someone who worked his entire adult life to defend this nation, I plan on doing everything I can to avoid that split, including defending it against anyone intent on breaking it up. I swore an oath to defend it, and even though I'm getting too old to do much of that anymore, I'll spit on anyone who tries to break it up. Patriotism isn't demanding people to agree with you, but it seems that you think it is, and that's the sad truth about the extremists on both sides.
Oh no (Score:5, Funny)
What will I now do with all the time I used to spend following the news to make sure I didn't miss the end of the world?
Re:Oh no (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Oh no (Score:5, Interesting)
He tried very hard to start a war with Iran, but that was one case where his incompetence was to our advantage.
Re:Oh no (Score:5, Informative)
Carter did even less than Trump. No bombs dropped at all. Look it up.
Re:Oh no (Score:4, Interesting)
From what I have read, during his first year he ordered more drone strikes than Obama during his whole two terms. And he tried really hard to start a war with Iran, but Iran didn't bite, probably because of that fuckup with the Ukrainian airliner.
Re: (Score:3)
Have you heard of Covid? Might want to follow that
Re:Oh no (Score:4, Funny)
I think we can reasonably certain that President Biden's twitter feed won't be filled anew every day. So yes, there's likely to be a lot less coming from this POTUS than the previous one.
Re:Oh no (Score:5, Insightful)
And yet he will still be more competent than Trump was
Re:Oh no (Score:4, Insightful)
But don't get me wrong, I'm delighted to get back to fighting over policy, after a President whose central drive is for everybody to fight over him.
Re:Oh no (Score:5, Interesting)
Giving your undivided attention to a troll isn't going to get them to stop.
Actually it's not much of an issue (Score:5, Interesting)
There's a group of schmucks attacking the party from the outside in the hopes of starting a new 3rd party, they're just grifters. They're hoping to pull off enough voters to be sort of the left wing equivalent to Trump. It's not working though.
Welcome President Biden (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Comment removed (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Welcome President Biden (Score:4, Interesting)
If you break down life expectancy by age [ssa.gov], a male American aged 78 will on average live 9.37 more years. So Biden is actually pretty likely to make it to the end of this term, and has a better than 50% chance to make it to the end of a second term if re-elected. I worry more about his mental health. Reagan went downhill pretty quickly after the onset of Alzheimer's, and Biden has already been showing similar signs in some of his gaffes..
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Welcome President Biden (Score:5, Insightful)
Remember, Harris is no failed politician by any means. She was elected District Attorney of San Francisco, Attorney General of California, and elected Senator of California. Identity certainly serves a role in politics but it wasn't like picked her exclusively because of her identity.
Finally, congrats (Score:4, Insightful)
he's been running for president since the 80's and failing in the primaries every single time
finally took 2020 and the worst president in history for him to win
Perspective (Score:5, Informative)
he's been running for president since the 80's and failing in the primaries every single time
finally took 2020 and the worst president in history for him to win
Keep in mind that, when you are calling Trump the worst president in history, you are overlooking presidents who signed orders for internment camps, the purposeful genocide of Native Americans, and the overthrowing of democratically elected officials in other countries.
Re:Perspective (Score:5, Interesting)
Well, Trump had the internment camps for immigrants and did attempt to overthrow a democratically elected official. Does pretending Covid didn't exist count as genocide?
Re:Finally, congrats (Score:5, Insightful)
he's been running for president since the 80's and failing in the primaries every single time
finally took 2020 and the worst president in history for him to win
Different eras require candidates with different qualities.
Parties usually nominate someone closer to the fringe than the middle, they want someone who is going to come in and accomplish a bunch of their objectives. That was never really Biden.
But then the GOP put in Trump and brought 4 years chaos, division, and disaster. People wanted to replace that with an agreeable moderate, and Biden was precisely that.
Re:Finally, congrats (Score:4, Informative)
Nothing was fucking buried. The magic laptop that never was was the real story. Trump's policies are directly responsible for the extent of the pandemic, and he will go down in history as the worst President that ever occupied the office.
Re:Finally, congrats (Score:5, Informative)
Nothing was fucking buried. The magic laptop that never was was the real story.
I won't quibble with your point about Trump, but the "laptop that never was" is a Macbook Pro, serial number FVFXC2MMHV29, which was (presumably, based on the subpoena) seized by the DOJ on December 17th, 2019. Whether the content was real or fabricated, whether there was content that showed Biden to be corrupt, and whether or not the laptop belonged to Hunter Biden are all things that are certainly debatable... but the existence of the laptop is not.
Re:Finally, congrats (Score:4, Insightful)
Yeah and the FBI has had all the evidence for over a year now. Either this is the biggest criminal investigation ever or it's nothing.
The Experiment is Over (Score:5, Funny)
Re:The Experiment is Over (Score:5, Insightful)
We just had one with overt dementia and brain damage. Did you not hear how the con artist talked? At least with Alzheimer's there are drugs to slow its progression.
Definitely (Score:4, Funny)
This definitely will solve all of our problems.
I feared that Trump would cause a scene (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:I feared that Trump would cause a scene (Score:4, Insightful)
It just took Trump two months to come to grips with reality. I can at least give him that, that in the end, despite his best efforts to sow chaos, he finally admitted defeat, if without grace, then at least with finality.
Re:I feared that Trump would cause a scene (Score:5, Interesting)
Trump is a coward. He talks big and will "fight" in the media but when it shifts from saying something into doing something, he backs down.
After all, Trump couldn't say "You're Fired" to his own chief of staff for months. There's no way he's going to physically fight to stay in the White House.
Re:I feared that Trump would cause a scene (Score:4, Interesting)
Who else here thought Trump might try to dig in the White House and refuse to leave?
Back in November, you could count me as part of that group of people. Here's my fear, which I didn't want to mention until now lest I give somebody an idea that they missed - I thought he would simply stick to saying he won and the election was stolen, refuse to leave, and find some sycophantic judge to swear him in and we would have 2 presidents sworn in with each one insisting he is the legitimate one and the other needs to stop the charade. For those who don't know, there is no requirement at all that the person doing the swearing in be a Supreme Court judge and we have had various people, including in one case a notary public, do the swearing in. So I just figured Trump would find some lower ranking judge somewhere who drinks the Kool Aid who'd swear him in. I figured it would be an absolute nightmare with the Secret Service caught in the middle in having to protect both Trump and Biden and the US military being asked by both sides to intervene. I'm still pretty shocked Trump didn't do this and the only thing I can figure is that he somehow figured out that too many cabinet members and important people weren't going to go along with it. Maybe he never thought of doing that, but it seems like it's something Trump would have considered.
Re:I feared that Trump would cause a scene (Score:5, Insightful)
That's your leftist media putting that fear in your head, just like all the other leftist garbage they put in your head. Trump never made an action that he was not going to leave peacefully.
You mean, besides leading an insurrection against the Capitol of the United States of Americans.
Re:I feared that Trump would cause a scene (Score:4, Insightful)
Most of these people were not in active military service (I can't imagine any unit of the armed forces letting Buffalo Man into their ranks), but even if it were an out and out military coup, the order itself would be illegal, and thus following an illegal order would not insulate you from military justice. You would almost certainly be court martialed and spend a long time in a military prison.
Re: I feared that Trump would cause a scene (Score:4, Insightful)
> leftist
And you think that mindset is not garbage?
Way to project, buddy.
Land of the "Free" (Score:4, Insightful)
Civilization Will Not Attain To Its Perfection, Until the Last Stone from the Last Church Falls on the Last Priest
A nation under a god will never be free.
Re:Land of the "Free" (Score:5, Insightful)
A happy day for the whole world! (Score:5, Insightful)
The rest of the world (except maybe Russia and Netanyahu) look eagerly forward to America having a normal person in charge again.
Yes, we have no say, but still your leader affects everyone on the planet in some way or another. A sense of humanity will be a welcome (re)addition to the White House.
We wish Biden and Harris all the best!
Re:A happy day for the whole world! (Score:5, Funny)
The rest of the world (except maybe Russia and Netanyahu) look eagerly forward to America having a normal person in charge again.
There are a lot of comedians and other humorists who aren't happy right now either.
Re:A happy day for the whole world! (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:A happy day for the whole world! (Score:4, Interesting)
It's going to be much easier to make fun of Biden. Trump had a tendency to be more outrageous than anything that comedians could come up with, so jokes would just fall flat. There needs to be some "headroom" so you can exaggerate someone's character and build a funny caricature, but with Trump there just wasn't because he was already a caricature.
What worries me is how much obstruction (Score:4, Insightful)
I get why the Impeachment was deemed necessary (it was done to make sure Trump behaved his last few days in office and didn't incite another insurrection) but McConnell will use it to block legislation from going through the Senate for the next 30-90 days. After that it'll be a fight to keep Manchin in line.
It'll be like Obama's term where the goal is to make things worse so that the voters will blame the Democratic Party and hand Congress over in 2022 and the Whitehouse in 2024. It won't be as hopeless (if you look into it Obama only really had Congress for a few months because of how Congress critters were seated and because a few died at inopportune times ala Ruth Bader Ginsburg) but it's still going to be a fight, and, well, the Dems don't have a good record of winning those fights...
On the other hand we'll have a big economic upswing once the virus is under control, and if they'll just legalize weed that'll inject $300 billion into the economy overnight.
And the loooong road back to normalcy can begin (Score:3, Insightful)
It's going to take multiple administrations to undo the damage that has been done under Trump. The mere fact that international agreements or arrangements that are signed or started under one administration can be evidently altered at little more than a whim under the next is going to be a point of distrust in the USA by foreign powers for a long time to come. Biden himself is continuing this transition by undoing several of Trump's own policies almost immediately. Not that such policies were good ones, but the fact remains that Trump changed it, and now Biden is changing it again. That creates a stage of political uncertainty, and contributes to how much other countries are going to depend on the USA in the future until the USA earns that trust back.
I don't expect things to return to "normal" for at least the next decade, and maybe even two.
Trump has secretly pardoned all Capitol rioters. (Score:5, Funny)
Please circulate the message and let all eligible people know.
Re:with a promise to seek unity (Score:5, Insightful)
By "political reasons", you mean members of far right militia groups who would represent a significant threat to President Biden and Vice-President Harris.
Re: with a promise to seek unity (Score:5, Insightful)
If polls are any indication, Americans on both sides of the political divide overwhelming disapprove of what went down in the Capitol. Yes, many will never be happy, and some may continue to harbor some belief that hanky panky went on, but in the end, it will return to a relative normalcy of Dems and Republicans yelling at each other, and deals in Congress made quietly. The far right goons, like their predecessors, will cause trouble, the bad ones will be hunted down by the FBI, a few will buy a bazillion guns and hide out in the mountains in Oregon, but by and large the movement will retract.
Biden is right about one thing, and Dems should ponder it as much as Republicans, that not every disagreement has to be an all out war. Politics is the art of compromise, and that will return, and I'm thinking even many Republicans don't want any of the insanity that marked Trump's turn to return. The big sticking point will be what to do with Trump himself; McConnell clearly wants Trump politically emasculated with a conviction in the Senate blocking him from Federal office ever again. But the real hard job will Garland's, as to whether to proceed with investigations on Trump and his inner circle, and whether even if they turn anything up, whether to proceed with grand jury indictments. That's where the danger lies.
Re:with a promise to seek unity (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:with a promise to seek unity (Score:5, Insightful)
Political reasons? We just had an attack on the Capital that came close to getting lawmakers slaughtered, and related groups are threatening to continue. How is preventing another coup attempt "political"?
I wish you guys were as cautious with white supremists as you are with Muslims.
Re:with a promise to seek unity (Score:5, Insightful)
Only one group of rioters entered the Capitol Building shouting "Hang Pence". You can take your false equivalencies and shove them up your ass.
Re:with a promise to seek unity (Score:5, Insightful)
I think those people should all be arrested, but I don't think they set fire to anything either like the earlier riots in DC that took place this year.
You realize attempting to overthrow democracy is a wee bit worse than burning a building, right?
It's entirely possible for both groups (or both sides more generally) to be wrong. One acting badly doesn't excuse or absolve the other.
Your attempts at false equivalency between a protest and a coup are disgusting.
Re: (Score:3)
I think those people should all be arrested, but I don't think they set fire to anything either like the earlier riots in DC that took place this year.
.
No, they only murdered a policeman.
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3)
National Guardsmen have been vetted by the FBI for past inaugurations, too.
[source [npr.org]]
Re:Snowflakes (Score:5, Insightful)
The snowflakes are far right goons who fear the democratic will. They are the cowards, the faithless, and the disloyal. They are the worst of a society, all it's hate and ugliness, and they should be repudiated at every turn.
Re:"let's unite" (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm watching it, and don't see him calling Republicans racist. If you're feeling a flush here, perhaps there's something you need to ponder on.
Re:And of course passport for 11 million illegals (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:And of course passport for 11 million illegals (Score:4, Insightful)
Hahaha and YOU children spent four years throwing tantrums and burning taxpayer money even though you DID get your way.
Re:And of course passport for 11 million illegals (Score:5, Insightful)
Well, when 'our way' is 'no, militant racists are not 'very nice people' and 'no, you shouldn't grab her by the pussy,'' yes, it's worthy fighting for that.
Trump literally publicly said, in his capacity as President of the United States of America, 'I love you' to armed insurrectionists carrying the battle flag of a failed insurrectionist state that kicked off a major war to retain it's right to hold humans as slaves, to people wearing shirts that said 'six million (dead jews) wern't enough' and 'Auschwitz Camp Guard.'
Anybody who says that, or who tacitly agrees with that, absolutely deserves to be squeezed out of the public discourse.
Re:promised to stop building the Wall (Score:5, Interesting)
Re: (Score:3)
As the "Trump" brand is toxic now and crashing and burning and everybody that matters is distancing themselves as fast as they can, I doubt it will take long.
Re:promised to stop building the Wall (Score:5, Insightful)
Why should they have given him an exit? The president is not above the law.
He's not above the law, but... (Score:5, Interesting)
One of the messy realities of public leadership is that jailing your predecessor is burning a bridge that only comes back to burn you once you leave office.
Think about it...if one of your campaign promises of being elected president is to put the sitting president in jail, then you can only expect the same threat to be made against you four years later. And if it becomes tradition to arrest every president after they leave office, then the only people who will be attracted to serve in the office are the corrupt who feel the risks are worth the rewards.
Like it or not, being president requires making incredibly tough decisions. For example, you could argue that Obama could be impeached for his extrajudicial killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, the act of which clearly deprived a US citizen of his life without due process of law. On the other hand, Anwar al-Awlaki was clearly committing treason, encouraging his followers to actively wage war against the United States, and directly influenced Malik Hasan and many others to carry out the killings of many US citizens. There was no right answer in this scenario; either let al-Awlaki live and continue to jeopardize American lives, or kill him regardless of Constitutional requirements that he be provided due process of law. If being president requires you to make decisions that could be used against you regardless of outcome, it seems reasonable to allow for a president to make these decisions without letting the risk of personal consequence for that decision affect the need to make it.
Which is why I'm a huge proponent of holding Congress accountable for impeachment and removal of a president -while- he's in office, but less preferential to punishing a president after his removal from office.
On the other hand, if New York wants to put Trump to trial for alleged crimes prior to his administration, I have no qualms about that.
Re:He's not above the law, but... (Score:5, Interesting)
Think about it...if one of your campaign promises of being elected president is to put the sitting president in jail, then you can only expect the same threat to be made against you four years later.
If the president violates the law, I want him tried. If convicted, I want him jailed.
For example, you could argue that Obama could be impeached for his extrajudicial killing of Anwar al-Awlaki
Impeachment is not a criminal trial.
Also, the remedy for al-Awlaki's next-of-kin is a lawsuit against the US for violating his civil rights. Just like the remedy for Breonna Taylor's next-of-kin is a lawsuit against the government for violating her civil rights.
And if you feel this is an insufficient penalty, then it's time to change the laws. And they will apply to everyone, including the president.
If being president requires you to make decisions that could be used against you regardless of outcome, it seems reasonable to allow for a president to make these decisions without letting the risk of personal consequence for that decision affect the need to make it.
I want the president to be terrified he will spend the rest of his life in prison if he breaks the law.
You want a king. I want a president.
Re:He's not above the law, but... (Score:4, Informative)
What part did you disagree with?
Trump really did attempt a soft coup d'etat - this is without question. Trump's baseless attacks on a fair election literally was following the authoritarian playbook - and then there is the US Capitol takeover he incited at the end. It was a clumsy attempt no doubt but nevertheless a clear attempt.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
I can't wait for the 1st crisis at the border in about a month when that caravan makes it up there.
You won't hear about it. It will not be a story unless they can somehow make it about Trump.
Re:Another Peaceful Transfer if Power (Score:5, Insightful)
but did you also consider the people attacking the courthouse in Portland to be staging some kind of coup
No, because vandalizing the outside of a courthouse without attempting to gain entry is entirely different than storming the Capital building, breaking through doors and windows, and charging in with a goal of killing the lawmakers inside in order to overturn an election where the guy you like lost.
Your attempts at making these equivalent are disgusting. And you're doing exactly what you decry in your second paragraph.
Re:Another Peaceful Transfer if Power (Score:5, Informative)
Trying to create a false dichotomy is disingenuous and disgusting.
You appear to be unable to grasp the difference between a coup attempt and a protest.
I have difficulty believing you are unable to understand this. Instead, you're desperately trying to downplay one and play up the other so you can pretend they're the same.
In other words, you are doing exactly what you decry in other people, so that you can pretend these events are equivalent.
I'm on my own side
No, you're not. And lying to yourself about it doesn't change that.
Re:Another Peaceful Transfer if Power (Score:5, Insightful)
The closest thing to the armed invasion of the Capitol Building was the invasion of the Michigan state house and the plot to kidnap Governor Whitmer.
Of course, that was executed by a pack of White Nationalist seditionists as well.
Hmmm, I'm sensing a pattern here.
Re: Glorifyiing sexism and racism (Score:3)
Yes, but luckily, she seems like a really nice person. Compared to your usual politicians, almost ... human.
Re: Congrats Droolbucket !!! (Score:3)
Pot, meet kettle! In the mirror in front of you.
How about the damn constitution? (Score:5, Insightful)
That would be something to swear on.
(Is the original document from back then still around? Foreigner here.)
How about putting it in a sealed glass box with a golden frame and all the fancy stuff, and putting that on a large red velvet pillow with some official seal emnroidered onto it.
That would be quite something to see this close and in person. It would remind you of what yoi are doing this for.
This here just looks like ... Shariah law.
Re:Why put a hand on the bible? (Score:4, Interesting)
First of all, it's a Catholic bible, so it's likely to have the full Apocrypha, as well as plenty of commentary. When I was actually a Christian back in my childhood, I actually liked our larger Bible with stiffer pages and larger print, seeing as I had some pretty serious visual problems. And old family bibles cost a lot of money and you bought as much as a family heirloom as for its content.
Re:Why put a hand on the bible? (Score:5, Insightful)
It is interesting that you suggest that the Bible "lacks any basis for system of right and wrong that could be used by a just society", since Western culture and law is based on Judeo-Christian values (with Roman and Greek influences). Like it or not, the Bible is part of our heritage and it has shaped values for a very long time.
That's not true and you know it! The US is a secular country, it's in your constitution, and the Bible is never pulled out in court to reference what punishments should be handled out.
If you want to speak about context, which I'm not opposed to, then you have to be able to explain verses which clearly talk about child rape and child slavery. If you're not comfortable talking about those verses then about maybe tackle a wife's place under husband, how an adult slave is to be treated or why God commanded infanticide or any of the other lovely trouble spots throughout the text.
As a safe guide on what you have to explain in context: https://www.evilbible.com/ [evilbible.com]
You could make the argument that the Bible is not meant to be taken literally, but then you have to devise a method to tell which parts must be taken literally and which aren't. If you want to argue that contexts can change, which I've heard creationists bring up, you'd have to devise a method to tell when and how they change. If you want to stick to something easy, just strip out any part of the Bible that has scientific error or which commands hate and/or evil, and see what you're left with.
I'm not saying you believe any of what I've typed but if you want to defend the Bible as a moral or ethical guide you'll certainly have an enormous task ahead of you.
Re:Why put a hand on the bible? (Score:5, Informative)
since Western culture and law is based on Judeo-Christian values (with Roman and Greek influences).
I would argue the reverse, that Western culture and law is based on Roman and Greek values, with Judeo-Christian influences. When the Romans adopted Christianity, they didn't just follow it, they ousted a bunch of more traditional church leaders, replaced them with their own people, and kept doing what they were doing. Even the holidays we follow are pagan with a Christian influence.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
It's almost like there's something after "News for Nerds"....
Re: (Score:3)
Did you know you can filter stories on Slashdot by tag? That way you don't have to hurt your beautiful mind learning about the people and policies that actually rule your life.