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The US will get more friendly next year, and a lot more friendly in 2021. Survive until then!

Damage once done is likely not fully fixable anymore.

Aye, but the reliability in the US as a partner is gone for as long as the republican party exists in it's current form.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/05/14/610072486/sticker-shock-jolts-oklahoma-patient-15-076-for-4-tiny-screws

Speaking of healthcare.

Wow... Supreme Court struck down sports anti-gambling laws...

We finna see sports betting EVERYWHERE now...

EDIT... via twittah:
"Congress can regulate sports gambling directly, but if it elects not to do so, each State is free to act on its own. Our job is to interpret the law Congress has enacted and decide whether it is consistent with the Constitution"

Other than “betting is immoral” it’s always been a weird law.

 d-usa wrote:
Other than “betting is immoral” it’s always been a weird law.

Yeah, I don't believe betting/gambling is immoral, but a lot of the industry's practices are.

I guess this means what happens in Vegas won't stay in Vegas any longer.

 Tannhauser42 wrote:

 d-usa wrote:
Other than “betting is immoral” it’s always been a weird law.

for
Yeah, I don't believe betting/gambling is immoral, but a lot of the industry's practices are.

Gambling and betting are nothing more or less than a tax on being a fool. The former moreso than the latter, but both qualify. The only people I feel sorry for are those close to the gambler who have to deal with the fallout.

Anyone see Jared's speech in Jerusalem? It was amazingly tone deaf considering the situation in the region and US actions with regards to Iran.

I've known gambling addicts as well as a psychologist who specializes in gambling addiction, so I can't really get on board with calling it a fool tax. Imagine if heroin were legal and an encouraged leisure activity at many popular vacation destinations, because for some people that's how pretty much how it works.

I'm not saying I believe gambling should be illegal necessarily, but I do believe our culture has an unhealthy attitude towards gambling and its victims.

 Disciple of Fate wrote:
Anyone see Jared's speech in Jerusalem? It was amazingly tone deaf considering the situation in the region and US actions with regards to Iran.

The whole situation is stupid.

 Easy E wrote:

 Disciple of Fate wrote:
Anyone see Jared's speech in Jerusalem? It was amazingly tone deaf considering the situation in the region and US actions with regards to Iran.

The whole situation is stupid.

Aye, it is indeed, though that speech appeared to be written as almost intentional parody, I'm not sure how anyone could sit through that with a straight face as dozens die on the wall, Europe is going "wtf is going on...wait perhaps its time we started reexamining our relationship with the US", and Trump tweets about job losses at China's ZTE...

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:

I'm not saying I believe gambling should be illegal necessarily, but I do believe our culture has an unhealthy attitude towards gambling and its victims.

Agreed. . . The US has a generally unhealthy outlook on a LOT of different aspects of life.

 Ensis Ferrae wrote:

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:

I'm not saying I believe gambling should be illegal necessarily, but I do believe our culture has an unhealthy attitude towards gambling and its victims.

Agreed. . . The US has a generally unhealthy outlook on a LOT of different aspects of life.

Every culture has it's bad spots, those of the US just seem to have been severely exacerbated beyond normal levels as of the 21st century.

 Ensis Ferrae wrote:

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:

I'm not saying I believe gambling should be illegal necessarily, but I do believe our culture has an unhealthy attitude towards gambling and its victims.

Agreed. . . The US has a generally unhealthy outlook on a LOT of different aspects of life.

I think it's because, as we see with many US issues, there's apparently no acceptable mid-ground between 'absolute ban' and 'no restrictions whatsoever'. It's a problem of mindset.

 Disciple of Fate wrote:
Anyone see Jared's speech in Jerusalem? It was amazingly tone deaf considering the situation in the region and US actions with regards to Iran.

Yes, and they talk about history being made, but sadly, it will be made for the wrong reasons.

The USA is about to learn a harsh and painful lesson that many an empire before them has learned: keep the feth away from the Middle East.

It is a money pit, a swap, a quagmire from which there is no escape, and now that they have jumped in with both feet (Iran and Jerusalem)

the USA will learn the hard way and it will cost them a lot of money and blood, for no gain...

Well, they haven't learned the last three or four times they jumped in. I see no reason to expect the pattern to change now. Especially now.

 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:

 Disciple of Fate wrote:
Anyone see Jared's speech in Jerusalem? It was amazingly tone deaf considering the situation in the region and US actions with regards to Iran.

Yes, and they talk about history being made, but sadly, it will be made for the wrong reasons.

The USA is about to learn a harsh and painful lesson that many an empire before them has learned: keep the feth away from the Middle East.

It is a money pit, a swap, a quagmire from which there is no escape, and now that they have jumped in with both feet (Iran and Jerusalem)

the USA will learn the hard way and it will cost them a lot of money and blood, for no gain...

As for Jerusalem... erm... how can you argue it's the same thing? It took freaking 23 years after US Congress passed a law that recognized Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel, and thus provided fundings to move the embassy. Clinton/Bush/Obama had to invoke a waiver every 6 months because reasons.

This is literally going a different track than the past administrations.

 whembly wrote:

 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:

 Disciple of Fate wrote:
Anyone see Jared's speech in Jerusalem? It was amazingly tone deaf considering the situation in the region and US actions with regards to Iran.

Yes, and they talk about history being made, but sadly, it will be made for the wrong reasons.

The USA is about to learn a harsh and painful lesson that many an empire before them has learned: keep the feth away from the Middle East.

It is a money pit, a swap, a quagmire from which there is no escape, and now that they have jumped in with both feet (Iran and Jerusalem)

the USA will learn the hard way and it will cost them a lot of money and blood, for no gain...

As for Jerusalem... erm... how can you argue it's the same thing? It took freaking 23 years after US Congress passed a law that recognized Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel, and thus provided fundings to move the embassy. Clinton/Bush/Obama had to invoke a waiver every 6 months because reasons.

This is literally going a different track than the past administrations.

Literally a worse track. Recognizing Jerusalem and not just West Jerusalem is setting back the peace process, as the Palistineans wanted East Jerusalem as the capital of their state.

Furthermore the US has just upset every regional and international ally to please Israel, the one country that can't afford losing US support. It was done for zero reason and zero gain. Its just another nail in the coffin of American empire. They dug themselves in a little deeper in the ME hole.

We'll see homie...

We'll see.

Bran Dawri wrote:
Well, they haven't learned the last three or four times they jumped in. I see no reason to expect the pattern to change now. Especially now.

Yeah, the debacle in Afghanistan and Iraq cost the USA a trillion dollars

Imagine how many schools and hospitals you could have built for that...

Hell, chucking that money on a fire would have been a better use. At least you'd get some heat from the flames.

 whembly wrote:
We'll see homie...

We'll see.

Just like, we'll have to see if hitting yourself in the head with a claw hammer is a good idea. The only way we will know is if we try it... right!

Hold my beer and watch this......


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:

Bran Dawri wrote:
Well, they haven't learned the last three or four times they jumped in. I see no reason to expect the pattern to change now. Especially now.

Yeah, the debacle in Afghanistan and Iraq cost the USA a trillion dollars

Imagine how many schools and hospitals you could have built for that...

Hell, chucking that money on a fire would have been a better use. At least you'd get some heat from the flames.

We could have used that fire to make steam and generate "Green" energy.

 whembly wrote:

 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:

 Disciple of Fate wrote:
Anyone see Jared's speech in Jerusalem? It was amazingly tone deaf considering the situation in the region and US actions with regards to Iran.

Yes, and they talk about history being made, but sadly, it will be made for the wrong reasons.

The USA is about to learn a harsh and painful lesson that many an empire before them has learned: keep the feth away from the Middle East.

It is a money pit, a swap, a quagmire from which there is no escape, and now that they have jumped in with both feet (Iran and Jerusalem)

the USA will learn the hard way and it will cost them a lot of money and blood, for no gain...

As for Jerusalem... erm... how can you argue it's the same thing? It took freaking 23 years after US Congress passed a law that recognized Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel, and thus provided fundings to move the embassy. Clinton/Bush/Obama had to invoke a waiver every 6 months because reasons.

This is literally going a different track than the past administrations.

As I've said before, I cannot for the life of me see what the USA gets out of this from a geo-politics perspective.

It puts Israel and its people in more danger, not less. Why?

Because the Palestinian moderates, or what's left of them, are finished. For good.

The extremists will say that we tried the political route and we got nowhere. Only violence can achieve our goals.

It will be hard to resist the siren call of that message.

The Palestinians have been backed into a corner, and now they will be determined to kill as many people as they can. They're desperate now.

Violence leading to more violence.

Only a negotiated peace will solve it once and for all, but that may as well be on the moon.

 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:

Bran Dawri wrote:
Well, they haven't learned the last three or four times they jumped in. I see no reason to expect the pattern to change now. Especially now.

Yeah, the debacle in Afghanistan and Iraq cost the USA a trillion dollars

Imagine how many schools and hospitals you could have built for that...

Hell, chucking that money on a fire would have been a better use. At least you'd get some heat from the flames.

Agreed. Had we nuked Afghanistan properly it would have saved a lot of money.

 Disciple of Fate wrote:

 whembly wrote:

 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:

 Disciple of Fate wrote:
Anyone see Jared's speech in Jerusalem? It was amazingly tone deaf considering the situation in the region and US actions with regards to Iran.

Yes, and they talk about history being made, but sadly, it will be made for the wrong reasons.

The USA is about to learn a harsh and painful lesson that many an empire before them has learned: keep the feth away from the Middle East.

It is a money pit, a swap, a quagmire from which there is no escape, and now that they have jumped in with both feet (Iran and Jerusalem)

the USA will learn the hard way and it will cost them a lot of money and blood, for no gain...

As for Jerusalem... erm... how can you argue it's the same thing? It took freaking 23 years after US Congress passed a law that recognized Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel, and thus provided fundings to move the embassy. Clinton/Bush/Obama had to invoke a waiver every 6 months because reasons.

This is literally going a different track than the past administrations.

Literally a worse track. Recognizing Jerusalem and not just West Jerusalem is setting back the peace process, as the Palistineans wanted East Jerusalem as the capital of their state.

Furthermore the US has just upset every regional and international ally to please Israel, the one country that can't afford losing US support. It was done for zero reason and zero gain. Its just another nail in the coffin of American empire. They dug themselves in a little deeper in the ME hole.

That's the one thing I could never understand about the USA: why do they let Israel dictate to them?

As you say, Israel couldn't survive without the USA, so you would think that a bell would ring in Washington and they'd realise they could lay down the law to Israel and get them to do the USA's bidding, and not the reverse.

In 1940, after the Fall of France, and Britain was facing the Nazis alone, they were desperate for guns after Dunkirk, so they approach the USA.

And Uncle Sam says: you can have all the guns you want, but let's see the money first...

The USA can be hard nosed and pragmatic when they want to be...

 whembly wrote:
We'll see homie...

We'll see.

How will you see? Its already abundantly clear the only big supporter of this move is Israel. Who is already geopolitically tied to the US in such a manner that it can't just walk away. What did this actually achieve for the US?

 Easy E wrote:

 whembly wrote:
We'll see homie...

We'll see.

Just like, we'll have to see if hitting yourself in the head with a claw hammer is a good idea. The only way we will know is if we try it... right!

Hold my beer and watch this......


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:

Bran Dawri wrote:
Well, they haven't learned the last three or four times they jumped in. I see no reason to expect the pattern to change now. Especially now.

Yeah, the debacle in Afghanistan and Iraq cost the USA a trillion dollars

Imagine how many schools and hospitals you could have built for that...

Hell, chucking that money on a fire would have been a better use. At least you'd get some heat from the flames.

We could have used that fire to make steam and generate "Green" energy.

I read somewhere that flying hundreds of helicopters over the USA and dumping that money out of the side, would have done more for the average American than throw it at the Middle East.

 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:

 whembly wrote:

 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:

 Disciple of Fate wrote:
Anyone see Jared's speech in Jerusalem? It was amazingly tone deaf considering the situation in the region and US actions with regards to Iran.

Yes, and they talk about history being made, but sadly, it will be made for the wrong reasons.

The USA is about to learn a harsh and painful lesson that many an empire before them has learned: keep the feth away from the Middle East.

It is a money pit, a swap, a quagmire from which there is no escape, and now that they have jumped in with both feet (Iran and Jerusalem)

the USA will learn the hard way and it will cost them a lot of money and blood, for no gain...

As for Jerusalem... erm... how can you argue it's the same thing? It took freaking 23 years after US Congress passed a law that recognized Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel, and thus provided fundings to move the embassy. Clinton/Bush/Obama had to invoke a waiver every 6 months because reasons.

This is literally going a different track than the past administrations.

As I've said before, I cannot for the life of me see what the USA gets out of this from a geo-politics perspective.

It puts Israel and its people in more danger, not less. Why?

Because the Palestinian moderates, or what's left of them, are finished. For good.

The extremists will say that we tried the political route and we got nowhere. Only violence can achieve our goals.

It will be hard to resist the siren call of that message.

The Palestinians have been backed into a corner, and now they will be determined to kill as many people as they can. They're desperate now.

Violence leading to more violence.

Only a negotiated peace will solve it once and for all, but that may as well be on the moon.

Dude...ignoring Jerusalem as Israel's capital is like ignoring you need air. There's nothing controverisal about that...

Negotiated peace can only begin when Hamas/Hezbellah stop perpetuating violence.

Gazans in general I have no sympathy... as their OWN bloody fundamentalist authority is to blame for makeing their lives miserable. NOT the IDF...which is defending it's border, not in Gaza, to protect its own civilians from this bs. There OWN leadership still hangs GAYS in public squares! What a bunch of civilized leaders...eh? Not.

This is like saying that if a bunch of people on our southern boarder started throwing explosives into the US in "protest" of our immigration laws, and our military retaliated against them, that we're killing "immigrants" who are "peacefully protesting". Does ANY of this sound logical to you?




Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Disciple of Fate wrote:

 whembly wrote:
We'll see homie...

We'll see.

How will you see? Its already abundantly clear the only big supporter of this move is Israel. Who is already geopolitically tied to the US in such a manner that it can't just walk away. What did this actually achieve for the US?

That under any scenario, Israel is here to stay.

 Frazzled wrote:

 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:

Bran Dawri wrote:
Well, they haven't learned the last three or four times they jumped in. I see no reason to expect the pattern to change now. Especially now.

Yeah, the debacle in Afghanistan and Iraq cost the USA a trillion dollars

Imagine how many schools and hospitals you could have built for that...

Hell, chucking that money on a fire would have been a better use. At least you'd get some heat from the flames.

Agreed. Had we nuked Afghanistan properly it would have saved a lot of money.

The fallout would probably have upset a lot of people not least some dakka members who were probably serving there at the time!