What does a TRUMP presidency look like?

[Razgovory]

No, it's just something you don't like hear about.  I mean we've been going on about Trump for over a decade now, and it gets in pretty much every thread.  You don't get tired of that.  You don't get tired of people bring up racism in other threads.  The problem is not that it is tedious, it is because it is uncomfortable.

I'm curious, do you discuss this topic elsewhere or do you mainly confine you discussion of Israel and Palestine to languish?

Else where on the internet.  Do you discuss Trump or racism anywhere else?

[Razgovory]

But killing civilians isn't actually wrong.  It's part of warfare.  It is legal. 

As a general statement, applied to all circumstances, none of those statements are true. 

You would think that the State of Israel, of all nations in the world would be first to understand that.

I don't know where of any action that, as a general statement, applied to all circumstances, is legal.  But you can kill civilians in war.  I would think that the state of Israel would understand that they can't lose a war.  No country values the lives of the citizens of its enemies over the lives of its own people.  Judging from the reaction to the killings of Israeli Diplomatic staff and the murder of Charlie Kirk by people on this forum and else where the deaths of civilians is not the catastrophe that it is made out to be.  The hypocrisy in this is galling, which is why I bring it up sometimes and why, I believe, other people here are bothered by it.  Talking about Trump and MAGA racism is comforting.  There is a clear good and evil, we know we are right.  In Palestine so many leftists are promoting the cause of people who are so much worse than Trump or MAGA.  It is shocking to see people who denounce religious fundamentalism as fascist in the US silent when it comes to Palestine.

If it ever comes to war with MAGA, and who knows what the future holds anymore, I am sure that the bombing, deprivation, and hunger in the fly-over-states will not pull the heart strings of people.  The sympathy for suffering civilians will not be an impediment to victory.  It may even be praiseworthy.

[Razgovory]

The military is there to defend civilians, as far as I have understood. That is the basic principle.

The Geneva convention is pretty clear, but I suppose it is not very popular reading these days.

The military is there to execute the policies of their state.  I do not know of any military that was founded on the principle of defending the civilian population the enemy.

[crazy canuck]

The military is there to defend civilians, as far as I have understood. That is the basic principle.

The Geneva convention is pretty clear, but I suppose it is not very popular reading these days.

The military is there to execute the policies of their state.  I do not know of any military that was founded on the principle of defending the civilian population the enemy.

Oh my, no wonder you see no problem with what Israel is doing.

[Razgovory]

The military is there to defend civilians, as far as I have understood. That is the basic principle.

The Geneva convention is pretty clear, but I suppose it is not very popular reading these days.

The military is there to execute the policies of their state.  I do not know of any military that was founded on the principle of defending the civilian population the enemy.

Oh my, no wonder you see no problem with what Israel is doing.

Just as you did not object to the war on ISIS.

[The Minsky Moment]

In Palestine so many leftists are promoting the cause of people who are so much worse than Trump or MAGA. 

Who are the leftists you are referring to and who are the people you are referring to worse than Trump?  Is every Palestinian worse than Trump?  The 2 and 3 years olds as well?  Is the sizable and well tolerated Palestinian Christian community in the West Bank among the fascist religious fundamentalists we should be condemning? 

If it ever comes to war with MAGA, and who knows what the future holds anymore, I am sure that the bombing, deprivation, and hunger in the fly-over-states will not pull the heart strings of people.  The sympathy for suffering civilians will not be an impediment to victory.  It may even be praiseworthy.

Who is fighting a war with MAGA?  Who is bombing "fly-over-states"?  Is Illinois a fly-over-state?  Texas?  Wisconsin? Florida? 

Honestly, none of this makes any sense. It's like Taylor-Green talking about a "national divorce" when the state she lives in has a Republican governor and two Democratic Senators. How's that going to work out? I live in northern New Jersey, 10 minute drive to NYC.  If I want to talk to someone MAGA, I just have to walk across the street and talk to the people whose dogs play with my dogs.  My wife can call her Dad.  We both can talk to our Charlie Kirk-fanboy son. Which of us do you imagine bombing the other?

[Valmy]

The idea we would have a Civil War seems ludicrious because I am not even sure what great cause we would be fighting about. Or what victory would look like. Or even where would be what side.

I mean I live in Texas and my home city of Austin isn't dying for Trumpism.

[Jacob]

Else where on the internet.  Do you discuss Trump or racism anywhere else?

Online, not really no. In real life those two topics come up on occasion.

Anyways, you're correct that the topic is something I don't want to hear about. And you're similarly correct that it's uncomfortable.

That discomfort, however, has nothing to do with whether the substance of your arguments are correct or incorrect, nor with the topic itself. At this point you're basically coming across like the militant vegan who brings up their dietary habits and angrily condemns everyone who doesn't make militant veganism central to their lives - only on a different topic.

It's tedious and, frankly, a pity - because you often have interesting and challenging insights.

I'd think that when HVC - who's normally a pretty chill dude - makes a point to let you know how you come across you might want consider taking it to heart.

[Razgovory]

Else where on the internet.  Do you discuss Trump or racism anywhere else?

Online, not really no. In real life those two topics come up on occasion.

Anyways, you're correct that the topic is something I don't want to hear about. And you're similarly correct that it's uncomfortable.

That discomfort, however, has nothing to do with whether the substance of your arguments are correct or incorrect, nor with the topic itself. At this point you're basically coming across like the militant vegan who brings up their dietary habits and angrily condemns everyone who doesn't make militant veganism central to their lives - only on a different topic.

It's tedious and, frankly, a pity - because you often have interesting and challenging insights.

I'd think that when HVC - who's normally a pretty chill dude - makes a point to let you know how you come across you might want consider taking it to heart.

Why does Trump and racism not become tedious?

[Razgovory]

In Palestine so many leftists are promoting the cause of people who are so much worse than Trump or MAGA. 

Who are the leftists you are referring to and who are the people you are referring to worse than Trump?  Is every Palestinian worse than Trump?  The 2 and 3 years olds as well?  Is the sizable and well tolerated Palestinian Christian community in the West Bank among the fascist religious fundamentalists we should be condemning? 

I would say that Hamas is far worse than Trump, in fact I would say that pretty much most political factions in Palestine are worse than Trump.  I would not say that every Palestinian is bad, just as not every German was bad or every person living in ISIS territory was bad.  But those 2 and 3 years old didn't get special consideration.  Bringing up the Palestinian Christian community is weird move.  https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-834585

[Sophie Scholl]

Get (more) help. Seriously. I don't know if you've been unable or unwilling to see a professional or take medication or if your current methods aren't working as well anymore, but you're well past the point of spiraling and into the "very concerning" level. 

[Razgovory]

Get (more) help. Seriously. I don't know if you've been unable or unwilling to see a professional or take medication or if your current methods aren't working as well anymore, but you're well past the point of spiraling and into the "very concerning" level. 

Fuck off.  I'm concerned about this because I feel betrayed. I feel betrayed by every shitbag who claimed that there is no perfect retaliation to apartheid after the slaughter of 1200 people.  I feel betrayed by the people who demanded severe action be taken because students feel unsafe at MU over someone throwing cotton balls on the ground, people who invented scenarios where black people are getting beaten or smugly told me they knew Missouri and then do a 180 about University protests across the country where they assault Jews.  I feel betrayed by those who loudly decry fascism in America and then promote the cause of the fascists in Gaza.  I feel betrayed by the double standards.

When the Democratic socialists of America marched in celebration in New York city after Oct 7th I wondered, if I was in the wrong place and wrong time and a sufficiently oppressed person murdered me, would that be celebrated too?  I also live on stolen land.  I also have some Jewish ancestry. Would be people say my killer had a point, that maybe my killer should be given a pass? 

Since then, I have read quite a few books trying to understand why leftists would celebrate a pogrom.  Not everything I learned was comforting.  The reason that people here are bothered is because of the influence of identity politics.  The world is divided between the oppressed and the oppressor, with the oppressed being virtuous and the oppressed being wicked.  In any conflict the oppressed are on the correct side.  They are the ones you root for.  But in Palestine you have two problems: both sides are historically oppressed, Jew and Palestinian. Second, the more oppressed group just perpetrated a mass murder and tends to support violent far-right groups.  These problems cause discomfort, it's hard keeping two diametrically opposed ideas in your head at the same time. 

[Tonitrus]

This will surprise no one....

https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/03/business/trump-coin-treasurer-250-anniversary

$1 Trump coin draft is 'real,' US Treasurer says



A portrait of President Donald Trump may be featured on a commemorative $1 coin issued by the United States Mint in honor of America's 250th birthday in 2026, according to first drafts of the images confirmed by the US Treasury.

"No fake news here," US Treasurer Brandon Beach post on X in response to images of the coin on X. "These first drafts honoring America's 250th Birthday and @POTUS are real. Looking forward to sharing more soon, once the obstructionist shutdown of the United States government is over."

[Syt]

https://apnews.com/article/trump-hegseth-venezuela-drug-cartels-unlawful-combatants-1848b02febe08acacb82979d7da47dfb

Hegseth announces latest strike on boat near Venezuela he says was trafficking drugs

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday that he ordered another strike on a small boat he accused of carrying drugs in the waters off Venezuela, expanding what the Trump administration has declared is an "armed conflict" with cartels.

In a post on social media, Hegseth asserted that the "vessel was trafficking narcotics" and those aboard were "narco-terrorists." He said the strike killed four men but offered no details on who they were or what group they belonged to, following the U.S. designation of several Latin American cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.

President Donald Trump said in his own social media post that the boat was "loaded with enough drugs to kill 25 TO 50 THOUSAND PEOPLE" and implied it was "entering American Territory" while off the coast of Venezuela.

It is the fourth deadly strike in the Caribbean and the latest since revelations that Trump told lawmakers he was treating drug traffickers as unlawful combatants and military force was required to combat them. That assertion of presidential war powers sets the stage for expanded action and raises questions about how far the administration will go without sign-off from Congress.

"Blowing them up without knowing who's on the boat is a terrible policy, and it should end," said Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, a consistent and harsh critic of the U.S. strikes.

The Trump administration laid out its justification for the strikes in a memo obtained by The Associated Press this week.


"The President determined that the United States is in a non-international armed conflict with these designated terrorist organizations," according to the memo sent to Congress. Trump directed the Pentagon to "conduct operations against them pursuant to the law of armed conflict," the document says.

Sen. Jim Risch, Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the president had the authority to go after the cartels without further authorization from Congress under "his general powers under the Constitution as the commander in chief."

"What could be a bigger defense of this country than keeping out this poison that's killing thousands of Americans every year?" Risch said Friday.

Paul said only Congress has the authority to declare war and characterized the memo as "a way to pretend like" the administration is notifying lawmakers with a justification for the strikes.

"If they want to declare war, come to Congress and say they want to declare war," he told the AP. "But you can't just say it yourself and say, Oh, well, we sent them a note and now we're at war with unnamed people who we won't even identify before we kill."

Hours after Hegseth announced the latest strike, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez said the "warlike aggression" by the U.S. affects the greater Caribbean, not just Venezuela.

"We see it and feel it, as they murder our countries' citizens in summary extrajudicial executions," she said during a conference in Venezuela's capital, Caracas, focused on colonialism in the West.

Meanwhile, President Nicolás Maduro did not explicitly mention the strikes, but he told conference attendees that his country is ready to defend itself.

"Venezuela has the right to peace, to sovereignty, to existence, and no empire in this world can take it away," he said. "And if it is necessary to move from an unarmed struggle to an armed struggle, this people will do so. ... Colonialism no more."

Colombian President Gustavo Petro, a leftist leader who has clashed with the Trump administration, accused the U.S. of committing "murder" and urged the victims' families to "join forces."

"There are no narco-terrorists on the boats," he posted on X after the strike was announced. "Drug traffickers live in the U.S., Europe and Dubai. On that boat are poor Caribbean youth."

Video of Friday's strike posted online showed a small boat moving in open water when it suddenly explodes, with water splashing all around it. As the smoke from the explosion clears, the boat is visible, consumed with flames, floating motionless on the water.

With it, at least three of the strikes have now been carried out on vessels that U.S. officials said had originated from Venezuela. The strikes followed a buildup of U.S. maritime forces in the Caribbean unlike any seen in recent times.

The Navy's presence in the region — eight warships with over 5,000 sailors and Marines — has been pretty stable for weeks, according to two defense officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing operations.

In a post about the first strike last month, Trump claimed the vessel was carrying members of the Tren de Aragua gang. Posts about all the subsequent strikes, including Friday's, have not provided any details about what organizations have been targeted. The four strikes have killed 21 people, the administration says.

Pentagon officials who briefed senators on the strikes this week could not provide a list of the designated terrorist organizations at the center of the conflict.

Officials in the Pentagon, when asked for more details about the strike, referred The Associated Press back to Hegseth's post.

[Sophie Scholl]

Sounds like the Pentagon wants absolutely nothing to do with this criminal bullshit.