You Already Know Tim Walz
You may not have seen Minnesota Governor Tim Walz in action yet. This is understandable, since it was only yesterday that he was named to the Democratic ticket as the vice-presidential nominee. But even if you haven't seen any clips of him yet or watched that blowout Philadelphia rally yesterday, don't worry -- you already know him.
You've already seen him dozens (if not hundreds) of times. He is straight from "Central Casting," and he has been portrayed by many a character actor in many a show or movie, for many a decade. He is the dad in pretty much every sitcom ever set in the Midwest. He is Coach, urging the team on to victory but still championing sportsmanship. He is the kindly school principal. Or maybe the beloved mayor. Or maybe he sells appliances or shoes or used cars or tractor parts. Whatever actual profession is written into the script for him, he is always essentially the same guy: a decent, hardworking, upstanding American. A role model others look up to. A small-town gem. He's Richie Cunningham's dad, to put this another way.
Don't believe me? Take a taste... here is Walz visiting the state fair with his daughter... or using most of a "get out and vote" message to explain how he just fixed the headlight harness in his Ford minivan... or just petting a random cat, for no reason. These are just a random few -- there are plenty of others out there going viral, as social media explodes with positive Walz memes (including even: "ballz to the Walz"). My favorite so far has to be a post Walz did after visiting a record store. He bought: the Moody Blues' Long Distance Voyager, Steve Winwood's Arc Of A Diver, Genesis' Duke, and Warren Zevon's Bad Luck Streak In Dancing School. He also is a fan of both Taylor Swift (a "Swiftie") and Beyoncé (a "member of the Beyhive"). The Variety article delving into all this has one line in particular that impressed me:
And a few years prior, he posted that he was teaching his daughter Hope about "old school stereo setups." "We're sharing the joy of classic vinyl and Bob Seger. Quality speaker wire matters people!!!"
He's not just a Prince fan, he signed a law honoring one of Minnesota's own, designating the stretch of road that runs past Paisley Park the "Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway" -- which he signed in purple ink. That's both classy and it shows attention to detail. His favorite Bob Dylan song (also a Minnesota native) is "Forever Young."
Of course, most Midwestern dads aren't this hip to popular music, but some are. It's just one more endearing thing about Walz, really.
But Walz is no softy, either. He's no Caspar Milquetoast. He's got what it takes to be the traditional "attack dog" of the campaign. From yesterday's rally in Philadelphia, here he is ripping into Donald Trump and JD Vance in various ways: "Violent crime was up under Donald Trump. That's not even counting the crimes he committed." Reprising his already-viral Harris campaign theme: "These guys are creepy and, yes, just weird as Hell." And here is Walz channelling not so much Richie Cunningham's dad as the father ("Red") in That 70s Show, when talking about abortion rights: "In Minnesota, we respect our neighbors and their personal choices that they make. Even if we wouldn't make the same choice for ourselves, there's a golden rule: Mind your own damn business!"
"Minnesota nice" only goes so far, after all. There's always a solid-steel backbone hiding in all of these stock Midwestern TV characters, for good reason. In fact, Walz even got in a totally unfair burn on JD Vance, referencing a completely-made-up and utterly-false social-media rumor: "I gotta tell you, I can't wait to debate the guy. That is, if he's willing to get off the couch and show up!" While the crowd roared, Walz followed this with the wink-wink-nudge-nudge line: "You see what I did there?"
So as I said, if you haven't seen Walz yet, my guess is that you're going to be pleasantly surprised by him. Because you already know him. You know his type. He's an all-American Jungian archetype. As Salon put it today:
Politicians and Hollywood treat the Midwest as an abstraction more than a geographical description of 12 states. That view treats Middle America as a catchall for sensibility, moral uprightness and a mythical strain of virtue incorrectly believed to be absent from the supposedly libertine coasts or in large cities. They call it "real America," pitting those voters against out-of-touch blue state residents.
This forgets that some of the biggest cities that define what American culture is – Chicago, St. Louis, Cleveland, Minneapolis – are also in the Midwest. Many of those places are amply represented on primetime TV.
But so is the Midwestern father Walz epitomizes.
"Almost no one knows who Tim Walz is," read an early Washington Post headline on Tuesday, which is true; it's also OK. Thanks to TV and movies, and the ever-present emphasis on playing to Middle America, they know his type, and that's enough of a sell for voters who are dying to unclench a little. Soothing Hallmark movies commonly feature kindly small-town mayors, but if one were to show off a governor who also runs a Christmas tree lot, he'd probably look and behave like Walz.
Team Trump is desperately flailing around, trying to paint Tim Walz as some sort of wild-eyed boogeyman. They've tried various flavors of: "dangerous radical lefty liberal," but I mean, jeez... just look at the guy. He is no radical, you can immediately see it. Trump has also tried: "Governor Angry Old Man," which is just downright laughable. In fact, Walz shows a propensity towards laughing while giving a speech that will mesh nicely with Kamala Harris's style, and that's putting it mildly. Political smears have to be at least somewhat believable to catch on, and so far none of the mud slung from the Trump camp has come close to being believable in any way.
Kamala Harris obviously didn't follow the conventional wisdom in her vice-presidential pick. If she was going to shore up her own ideological weaknesses, she would have picked Senator Mark Kelly (for his southern border stance). If she wanted to lock in a state geographically, she would have picked either Kelly or Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. Instead, she took a different route. She obviously chose Walz for his personality. Not only is he a very effective "happy warrior," he is also everything she's not: Midwestern, male, White, never went to law school, and possessing of an "aw, shucks" avuncular charm that is going to be an enormous asset in three of the states that might just decide this election: Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
So don't be surprised if, when you see Walz for the first time, you are not just impressed by him but you also sort of feel that you already know him. Because as I said, you've already seen him probably hundreds of times on your television set or movie screen. He's that authentic salt-of-the-Earth guy that everyone else looks up to. And that's a pretty darn good choice for a vice-presidential candidate.
-- Chris Weigant
Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant
Big Orange and his little cutie don't smell like diapers and nasty old couches. They smell like losers. Creepy weirdo stalker losers.
culturally he's a good choice. I just wonder if Donald will continue to self-destruct or get his act back together, because in my opinion that is the question on which the outcome of the general election hinges.
also, purple was Minnesota's color even before the Artist brought it to the masses.
As far as Donald getting his act together, did you read his post on Truth Social where he imagines Joe Biden crashing the Democratic Convention and demanding his nomination back? That caused Charlie Sykes to go on Morning Joe and say in the plainest English that Trump is not sane.
andygaus
4
That unhinged fan fiction verbal diarrhea spewage on American Pravda is what happens when Trump starts losing his shit and his diaper runs over.
Meanwhile, every GOP and MAGA ass kisser is claiming they don't know anything about the rant because Donald's dementia is apparently contagious... and they wonder why it's called a cult. :)
[2]
What, you still believe that Trump will get his act together? That will start acting presidential?
Trump couldn’t pull that off eight years ago — 265 Scaramuccis and God knows how many Big Macs ago, and now look at him.
I’m still waiting to see who Trump is going to win over. Not holding my breath and that’s why this election is Kamala’s to lose.
Walz...
Let's see...
He lied about his military service. He claimed to have carried "weapons in war" but the FACTS prove he ditched his military service right before his unit was deployed to Iraq..
So his claim of carrying weapons in war was a lie..
Walz claimed he retired as a CSM (Command Sergeant Major) which is also a lie.. He didn't complete the requirements for CSM so the Army reduced his rank (You should know all about being reduced in rank, eh cad? :^/ ) to Master Sergeant..
So Walz' claim of retiring as a CSM was a lie..
Of course, there is also the fact that Walz was arrested for DUI. Democrats whine and cry hysterically over President Trump's "crime" which was nothing but a different version of Jay Walking... Walz could have actually KILLED someone....
Drunk drivers are scumbags who should be shot...
JL,
I just wonder if Donald will continue to self-destruct
It's only the Left Wingery media who is claiming President Trump is self destructing..
The FACTS clearly prove that President Trump and JD Vance are scoring some great hits one Harris and Walz...
Even some of that Left Wingery media is saying how bad of a pick Walz was and how Harris really scroo'ed da pooch with that pick...
I have quotes if you don't believe it..
Yep, President Trump is definitely holding his own and now that the Harris honeymoon is over, you'll likely never see any more improvement on the Harris/Walz ticket...
Supporters of Harris/Walz are saying that Walz is a "normal" guy...
"One of his friends told me this morning that his — that his superpower is how normal he is."
Normal??
"Is it normal to let your biggest city in your state burn while you‘re the governor for four days, destroying thousands of businesses, hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage, while you do nothing?
I don‘t view any of that as normal. I look at this through the lens of decision-making. In two cases, they’ve showed us who they are. Kamala Harris absolutely bowed down to the radical left in her party by not picking Shapiro, who is Jewish. There was a nasty campaign run against him, everybody knows it. No one wants to admit it, but everybody knows it.
She wound up choosing the person who was not Jewish and not as talented and not from a state that she has to win.
For Walz, when he did what he did during the riots, to me, it was him saying, ‘I don‘t have the strength or the character to stand up to this anarchy.'...
In two big decision points for this ticket, they‘ve showed us they will always bow down to the radical left. So I think if you want to talk about normal, to the normal people in this country, bowing down to the radical left is not normal, it shouldn‘t be normal. It should be a flashing red light to the normies in America that this is not a ticket for you."
-Scott Jennings, CNN
THAT ^^^^ is Democrat Water Carrier CNN talking...
Walz was absolutely the WORST choice that Harris could have made..
The absolute WORST....
Ya'all better get used to the idea that President Trump is going to be back in the Oval Office come Jan 2025...
Lol. Dipshit Trumpanzees
Why is Harris so afraid of having a press conference??
According to media reports, Harris' team is afraid she will have a meltdown and de-volve into her normal cackling word salads.
"We are living in a Pro Criminal Atmosphere." - Fat Donny
We already know about your country club/house.
Donald Trump leads over Kamala Harris among Jewish voters in this blue state. Will Democrat contender change stance on Israel- Hamas War?
In what may be termed as an important and unexpected development, Republican candidate Donald Trump has made significant gains among the Jewish voters in the largely pro-Democrat state of New York. According to a Siena Research Institute poll released Tuesday, the former president got the support of 50% of likely Jewish voters in New York, while Kamala Harris could garner 49% of their votes, reports Fox News'. Though a lead of just 1% may not be seen as a great one, it is important because President Joe Biden led him 52%-46%, among likely Jewish voters in June.
JL, did you change your mind and now are supporting President Trump?? :D
The MAGA fear and desperation has become palpable. I don't know much about home incarceration. Will Fat Donny be allowed to wear his diapers under his snazzy orange jump suit?
Will Fat Donny be allowed to wear his diapers under his snazzy orange jump suit?
So, we're back on for personal attacks and name-calling on candidates???
Just curious...
Just curious . . .
Does anyone give a rat's ass about a whiny fake cop malignant MAGAt troll's bad faith complaints regarding "personal attacks and name-calling on candidates"?
Lol. As if Fat Donny ever stopped the petty personal attacks and juvenile name-calling on candidates.
JL, did you change your mind and now are supporting President Trump?? :D
no. he was a bottom-tier president, and will most likely be a bottom-tier president again the second time. Israel policy is a mine field for the democratic coalition, which Joe Biden actually navigated quite well. Kamala seems more malleable on the subject, which might explain a slight shift.
JL
@jfc,
I'm not a huge fan of name calling in general. Not morally opposed or anything, just don't find it a useful way to understand a situation.
The dumpy orange hair spray addict is planning to give a "news conference" today from his house. He's an elderly, low-energy weirdo who can't be bothered to leave the house most days. Lazy.
Hopefully the media won't be punked again. He's a one-trick pony with a disordered Alzheimered brain. It will be nothing more than racist word salad to try and distract from the devastating new poll released today. Dishonest Donold, the 78 year old convicted felon, is not going to be responding to questions.
Walz's Army Guard unit had a name for Walz...
No-Ballz Walz
It fits!! :D
JL,
I'm not a huge fan of name calling in general. Not morally opposed or anything, just don't find it a useful way to understand a situation.
So, yer kewl if I continue the current Weigantian tradition?? Since yer not morally opposed or anything. :D
Israel policy is a mine field for the democratic coalition,
It shouldn't be...
It's a very easy situation to understand and work..
Terrorism is BAD..
Supporting terrorists is BAD..
Why can't Democrats understand that simple policy??
KAMALA IN HIDING
Trump to hold presser as Harris continues to dodge media since becoming Dem nominee
18 Days: Kamala Harris has not held a press conference since emerging as presumptive Democratic nominee
Why is token DEI-Hire Harris in hiding??
President Trump faces the press daily...
What is token DEI-Hire Harris so afraid of???
Interesting factoid...
'Kamala' in Finnish means HORRIBLE...
It fits!!! :D
Horrible Harris it is!! :D
If Trump gets his act together, it won’t be by "acting presidential." It will still be his act, the same one his fans have always enjoyed and his opponents have often misunderestimated. It will be a more effective episode of the same show. The one that's airing now is unusually ineffective. We shouldn't count on the rest of the season matching the exception, just because the exception is now showing.
Terrorism is BAD..
Supporting terrorists is BAD..
Why can't Democrats understand that simple policy??
War is messy. People suffer and die, including innocent people who did nothing to support the terrorists other than live in an area they controlled.
Unfortunately, a significant faction on the Global Left view Gaza through the lens of South Africa, which was an extremely different situation, with European colonists who had no pre-colonial history there and instituted a policy that was explicitly racist.
Propaganda combined with money can sway many millions of people, no matter which side of the political spectrum they inhabit. that's why so much of the left takes an ignorant position on gaza. Joe Biden did not. Kamala's position we don't know yet.
War is messy. People suffer and die, including innocent people who did nothing to support the terrorists other than live in an area they controlled.
So, you are agreeing that the fight against terrorism IS a war where military assets should be used..
You agree that it's NOT a Law Enforcement issue..
Ah, yes, yesterdays MAGA lies a day late and a dollar short. The Bush administration wants it's political strategy back. It's just sad that cadet bone spurs is trying to swiftboat Walz. You can smell the desperation...
We are not going back. There is no perfect insult that will get Trump back in to the white house. Maybe some popular policy might work but we know Trump doesn't go there. Vance and his Project 2025 remains the guiding albatross weighing Trump down to the court rooms of his past deeds. Hey, at least he might get a much needed nap...
It’s truly enjoyable watching MAGA flail away at their impending Goldwater-level wipeout in three months.
It’s truly enjoyable watching MAGA flail away at their impending Goldwater-level wipeout in three months.
Hillary, is that you??
BBBBWWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Druggie luser flashing back to 2016... :D
So, you are agreeing that the fight against terrorism IS a war where military assets should be used..
against hamas? absolutely. They are a government with an army. The January 6th terrorists were significantly less organized and had only tacit support from our chief executive, so that's a police matter, not military.
against hamas? absolutely. They are a government with an army.
Hezbollah???
and had only tacit support from our chief executive,
You mean the "support" where President Trump told them to march and protest peacefully?? Is THAT what you call "support"??
So, all the Democrats who told BLM and AntiFa to hit the streets and harass people... THAT was, by your definition, support??
Michale, your Trump tweet has been debunked. He did tweet that, but after the violence had begun. This is well documented.
So, we're back on for personal attacks and name-calling on candidates???
Isn't that your entire schtick? So weird...
Former member of Gov Walz's battalion says he 'ditched' them, accuses Walz of 'stolen valor'
Walz has touted his military career throughout his political career
"We all did what we were supposed to do, we did the right thing," Schilling said on Fox News. It's dishonorable what he did. He left somebody else up to take over his spot. He just ditched us."
-Veteran Tom Schilling
No-Ballz Walz
As bad as a dishonorably discharged druggie luser...
Walz doesn't move needle with rural voters, data shows
Walz has performed similarly to President Biden in rural Minnesota
Vice President Kamala Harris’ decision to tap Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate may not help the Democratic ticket capture rural voters.
A Fox News Voter Analysis of the 2020 and 2022 elections shows that Walz performs similarly to President Biden among highly sought after rural voters, with Biden earning the votes of 38% of that demographic in Minnesota in the 2020 presidential election, while Walz hauled in 37% of those voters during his successful 2022 bid for re-election.
Democrats will look to improve upon those numbers, with Harris and Walz hitting the ground running in the days after the Minnesota governor was added to the ticket, setting up events in crucial Midwestern swing states and looking to sell the electorate on Walz’s blue-collar bona fides.
BBBWWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
No-Balz Walz is no better than Basement Biden!!!!
And everyone knows how bad Basement Biden was!!
Ya'all have just GOTS to love the irony, eh! :D DEI-Hire Harris trades one Biden for the same!!!
BBBBWWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Except Walz quit the national Guard to run for congress in May of 2005 and his unit received alert orders in July 2005. Why the swiftboating lies?
Michale,
You left out a paragraph in that Fox News Voter Analysis:
Nevertheless, Biden's 2020 performance was enough to put him over the top in all the so-called "Blue Wall" states, with the president carrying Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin in addition to his victory in Minnesota, a feat the Harris campaign will be looking to repeat in 2024.
Hmmm...I wonder why...
Let's see...
A right-wingnut fact check!? As we here already know, it's generally the pathetic regurgitation of lies they've been fed and puked up all over social media like the gullible sheeple they are.
He lied about his military service. He claimed to have carried "weapons in war" but the FACTS prove he ditched his military service right before his unit was deployed to Iraq..
Incorrect.
Now we're fact checking Draft Dodging Donald's military service: None. However, Trump and his several campaigns and regurgitating MAGA morons definitely have done a lot of running their mouths for decades denigrating those who did serve because Trump's got absolutely nothing.
Of course, there is also the fact that Walz was arrested for DUI. Democrats whine and cry hysterically over President Trump's "crime" which was nothing but a different version of Jay Walking...
You're claiming 34 convictions of felony fraud by Convicted Criminal Donald Trump is the equivalent of "jay walking"? *laughs* Trump has been arrested all across America for multiple crimes and found legally liable for sexual assault, which a judge adjudicated was "rape." You going to claim all those arrests and indictments are the equivalent of "jay walking"? If you're looking for hysterical and whining, you need look no further than your nearest mirror. You also need never wonder why the GOP and MAGA morons are referred to as ass kissers and cock holsters.
Walz could have actually KILLED someone....
MAGA morons should try really hard to connect the dots on this one because Walz was a paid trained killer for the United States Army who also instructed hundreds (if not thousands) of soldiers in his command for dang near a quarter century how to kill people and some who definitely did kill someone; however, he never killed anyone in a traffic accident. George W's wife Laura Bush actually did kill someone in a traffic accident, but I digress, and the GOP was too busy swiftboating John Kerry and making excuses for W's acknowledged 1976 DUI near his parents' home in Kennebunkport, Maine, and use of cocaine to give a rat's ass about the actual traffic death.
Also, aren't you the board commenter who actually confessed to killing someone on this archived blog? Rhetorical question.
Do you seriously want to compare Trump's responsibility for death with that of Governor Walz? Another rhetorical question. Walz actually pleaded guilty to misdemeanor reckless driving; maybe they'll elect him President one day like George W. Bush, but he says he's not interested in running.
Drunk drivers are scumbags who should be shot...
So probably without knowing it, you're criticizing JD Vance for not killing his own mother, his own grandfather, and his own grandmother and half his own damn family and himself. You do realize you can drive drunk or under the influence without ever being arrested? Ask any hillbilly.
yes, hezbollah also acts as a governmental entity with an army. they are a recognized political and military faction in Lebanon.
Donald said many things on and around January 6 that conflicted with each other and with other things he said before and since. the fact of the matter is that he suggested that his supporters "fight" to keep him in office even though he knew he had lost, continued to support the January 6th rioters while they were battering the capitol police and attempting to assault members of congress during the counting of electoral votes, didn't issue a call for them to stop and go home until hours later, and promised to pardon those criminals after the fact. His action and inaction certainly carry the appearance that he supports the terrorists.
His action and inaction certainly carry the appearance that he supports the terrorists.
Only to those who would believe such utter BS anyways..
And the buyer's remorse sets in...
DEI-Hire Harris' campaign is already walking back No-Ballz Walz' previous statements.. :D
Walz in 2010 said plan to curb Social Security, increase retirement age was ‘very similar’ to his approach
Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, said in 2010 that his plan for Social Security was "very similar" to one that would increase the retirement age and adjust the cap on withholdings.
No-Balz Walz is going to win the election for President Trump and JD Vance... :D
nypoet22
37
His action and inaction certainly carry the appearance that he supports the terrorists.
Nice post.
In addition, Trump has also admitted himself to supporting them financially and has recorded a song with the domestic terrorists in prison that he's played at rallies and has promised repeatedly to pardon them if elected.
https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-says-hes-financially-supporting-january-6-defendants-2022-9
If Trump's own admission of supporting them financially, his recording a charity record with them that he plays at rallies, and his repeated promises to pardon them isn't enough evidence he supports them, then they need never wonder why it's referred to as a cult.
-Scott Jennings, CNN
THAT ^^^^ is Democrat Water Carrier CNN talking...
This trolling poster seems painfully unaware that Scott Jennings on Cable News Network is a hired Senior Political Correspondent and Republican water carrier going back decades when he worked in the Bush 43 administration.
Last week when he said that Trump "crapped the bed today," in reference to that NABJ asinine BS where Donald claimed Harris "suddenly turned Black," I actually agreed with Jennings. Fact is, Old Man Trump craps the bed all the time; hence, the necessity of the adult diapers.
He is the dad in pretty much every sitcom
You mean, like America's Dad, Bill Cosby??
He is Coach, urging the team on to victory
Yea?? Jerry Sandusky was also called "coach"...
I'm just sayin'.... :eyeroll:
Supporting terrorists is BAD..
Why can't Democrats understand that simple policy??
Because it really isn't that simple. We have commitments. We have national interests. We have reason to be concerned with outcomes, not just moral stances. Yes, Netanyahu is using terror tactics against the people of Gaza, with the support of enough of his coalition. But Israel is our ally. If we renege on our commitments to Israel, we lose part of our ability to credibly make commitments elsewhere. And as I said, outcomes matter. We have a duty to help get aid to the people of Gaza, and that requires either dealing with the people who control access -- both the the Hamas terrorists and the Israeli ones -- or going in with overwhelming force.
Going in with overwhelming force should be an absolute last resort. Completely turning our backs on the people of Gaza and Israel, just because of the conjoined terrorist regimes they live under, is unacceptable and would be unacceptable even without consideration of our commitments and potential loss of credibility. That leaves dealing with at least some of the terrorists in a way that will elicit at least some cooperation from them.
And of course, a reason to support terrorists is that there are more and worse terrorists among their rivals. If we want to oppose the worse terrorists (Hamas, in this case), that means supporting the lesser terrorists.
Kick
36
Also, aren't you the board commenter who actually confessed to killing someone on this archived blog? Rhetorical question.
This must have been before I joined y’all five years ago, because I’d certainly remember it.
What I DO remember is reading his Swinger’s profile — where he bragged about grooming his children for the Swinger scene!
Were the adults naked?
The children , too?
Was there any contact?
No way a douchebag like this gets to have a voice on “morality.”
Looks like Michale's habit of not reading the full article has not declined.
From the fox news article in [39]:
A source familiar with Walz’s views at the time told Fox News Digital that "Walz does not support raising the retirement age now, and that is not what he suggested in this 14-year-old, misrepresented exchange."
The source said that after winning his race in 2010, Walz went on to oppose plans to raise the retirement age. In 2012, he voted against raising the age to 68; in 2012, he voted against raising the age to 70; and in 2014, he again voted against raising the retirement age to 70.
...Walz is going to win the election for President Trump and JD Vance
Not if all you got are lies...
Michale wrote (addressing nypoet),
So, you are agreeing that the fight against terrorism IS a war where military assets should be used..
You agree that it's NOT a Law Enforcement issue.
I certainly don't agree with that. War is when one large group, such as a nation-state, is committing mass violence against another similarly large group. Terrorism is a category, with perpetrators ranging from the Jacobins to Timothy McVeigh. Let's look at the latter, since 1793 was long ago in a jurisdiction far away. McVeigh was not a nation-state. He was not a proxy of a nation-state. He was dealt with by law enforcement. He was arrested, tried, and convicted. We didn't bomb Fort Benning, where he received his basic training. We didn't cause a bunch of supposedly-unavoidable civilian casualties in Herington, Kansas, where Terry Nichols lived. And so on.
And we shouldn't have done any of that. Given the culture and institutions we have, law enforcement was the correct type of response to that act of terrorism.
Even when the perpetrators of a particular act of terrorism are agents or proxies of a nation-state, it does not automatically follow that the correct response is a military one. Sometimes a military response is necessary, or rather, a response with a military component. But militaries are for fighting and winning wars, and there are a lot of things have to be done in response to most acts of terrorism that aren't fighting and winning wars.
We should do what will work. The pen is usually mightier than the sword, especially when there are other powers in the world whose complicity the perpetrators need, whether that means actual support or just turning a blind eye. In the case of Hamas, we need to talk to the government of Iran. We need to talk to the government of China. We need to talk to people who aren't in government as well, and people in whichever countries the funding for Hamas passes through. UAE? Bahrain? I looked it up once. It's not hard to find out. The US government certainly has people who know, and we certainly have leverage with people in those places.
Of the terrorists in Gaza and Israel, Hamas is the easier target. They don't have the kind of resources that a nation-state does. We could effectively get rid of them by cutting off their funding and recruitment. If we would just pressure Israel to stop actively recruiting on their behalf, that would do a lot by itself.
Dan,
Yes, Netanyahu is using terror tactics against the people of Gaza, with the support of enough of his coalition.
Yea???
For example??
Netanyahu is prosecuting a war..
He hits legitimate military targets.. Which is permitted by the Geneva Conventions.
Hamas puts civilians in legitimate military targets in contravention of those same Geneva Conventions.
Any civilian deaths in Gaza are the SOLE responsibility of Hamas. Not Israel.
It is, in fact, Hamas who doesn't differentiate between civilian and military.
"These are the facts of the case. And they are undisputed."
-Captain Smilin' Jack Ross, A FEW GOOD MEN
Buyer's Remorse Part Duex!! :D
Harris campaign walks back Walz bio amid ‘stolen valor’ controversy as questions swirl
The Harris campaign has altered its biography of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on its campaign website, making a change to a reference to his military service amid ongoing scrutiny of the 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee’s military credentials.
Walz’s biography initially said he was a "retired Command Sergeant Major."
It has since been updated to say that he "served as a command sergeant major."
DEI-Hire Harris' campaign is having to alter websites and walk back claims all due to No-Ballz Walz' lies and BS...
BBBBWWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
[23] dsws wrote:
If Trump gets his act together, it won’t be by "acting presidential." It will still be his act, the same one his fans have always enjoyed and his opponents have often misunderestimated. It will be a more effective episode of the same show. The one that's airing now is unusually ineffective. We shouldn't count on the rest of the season matching the exception, just because the exception is now showing.
Are you saying that Trump is going through a rough spell but if he becomes a more “effective” presenter that he can win?
What part of new and improved “effective” Trump’s message to voters is going to swing votes? Do you really think 30% of Black males are voting Trump?
You know how I’ve been harping on the following like, forever?
Where’s Trump going to find the votes?
He lost the popular vote by three million votes in 2016 — don’t get me going on the bleeping Electoral College.
His presidency was such a dumpster fire that it motivated 81 million Patriots to choose Joe Effing Biden over him in 2020. By seven million votes.
JUST whom of these 81 million are jumping to Trump? Make sure you include the defector’s motivation for doing so.
Even if the above was untrue then where’s Trump going to find the braincells? You don’t just snap out of something like this.
Trump isn't a presenter. He's an entertainer. He has fans who like his routine. The bleeping electoral college is still there. We can still lose the election while winning the the popular vote by three million.
I don't know what percentage of black men will vote for him. I do know that it will be depressingly large. Whatever the demographic details, he won eight years ago, and it could happen again. There is no reason for complacency.
Also, it won’t be about Biden voters switching to Trump. Sure, somebody did icky cosmetic surgery on a goat once, so that it only had one horn, right in the middle of its forehead. So technically, unicorns exist. And so do swing voters. Technically. There aren't enough of either to matter. Elections are decided by who votes and who doesn’t. If Democratic turnout voters don't turn out, and Republican turnout voters do, Trump wins.
MtnCaddy
44
This must have been before I joined y’all five years ago, because I’d certainly remember it.
I will defer to Russ on this one.
What I DO remember is reading his Swinger’s profile — where he bragged about grooming his children for the Swinger scene!
That link was discovered when another poster posted a comment containing a link which led to that link, and you're obviously referring to this link:
https://alt.swingers.narkive.com/iimKOUXv/come-swing-with-us
No way a douchebag like this gets to have a voice on “morality.”
Of course, but the board troll at least did just confess to being a "Druggie luser flashing back to 2016... " when you referenced 1964 and he fell all over himself to again obsess over Hillary and the 2016 election. That was a nice bit of self-introspection and self-diagnosis on his part.
Meanwhile, Convicted Felon Donald Trump has claimed today that nobody has spoken to bigger crowds than him. Additionally, Trump claims his crowd size was bigger than Martin Luther King's, and I cannot stop laughing at the psychotic obsession with crowd size and the demonstrable effing ignorance of Donald Trump the babbling psychotic ignoramus.
Didn't read the entire article part duex...
Army Lt. Col. Ryan Rossman, the Minnesota National Guard's director of operations, also explained Walz's rank at the time of his retirement in a statement to Fox News.
"He was technically a command sergeant major when he deployed to Europe with his battalion but to retire as a CSM you have to go through a final course, which he had not completed. So, from a benefits perspective, the Army retired him as a master sergeant (lower enlisted rank.) But, according to National Guard records, he was a command seargeant major technically when deployed. The lower rank was as a result of benefit requirements and a technicality."
Much ado about nothing, because nothing is all they got...
Trump the entertainer, indeed. Who could argue?
For too long I have watched Trump tape and live stream. Starting about a year ago he started mailing it in. Over time it got worse and affected audience reactions. It’s more and more like a ritual where one trick pony repeats his greatest hits and it’s meh in there. Time and time again. I’m skipping his rallies nowadays because I know I’m not missing anything. It’s the same old stuff for the base.
It would be kind of sad if it wasn’t happening to Convicted Felon Cheetogod.
yeesh, tmi!
and Dan, that's garbage false equivalency.
[50]
Why would even 10% of Black men vote for Trump over Harris?
Kick (52)- Count on you to have the receipts. Who other than a Ninja assassin like you would provide the "swingers" link that the Anal Wart in Human Form was so soundly ridiculed about before he ran away (again). Made my day.
Yep, Kick provides a lot of context and background for us Weigantians.
BOTTOM LINE ON THE ATTACK ON WALZ'S SERVICE
Vance asks the question: "I wonder, Tim Walz, when were you ever in war?" Vance then makes the claim "He has not spent a day in a combat zone.... I'd be ashamed if I was him and I lied about my military service like he did."
Vance is simply making a false equivalency and playing fast and loose with the terms "in war" and "in combat" in order to disparage Walz and attack his career in the service, and he definitely should be ashamed of himself for the pathetic attempt. In my opinion, he not only demeans himself in the attempt but also demeans the service of the thousands of men and women in service who haven't served and would never be called to serve in a "combat zone."
To be specific, Vance is attacking the statement that Walz made: "We can make sure that those weapons of war that I carried in war, is the only place where those weapons are at." Walz did carry a weapon in war when his unit was activated on August 3, 2003, and he mobilized with the Minnesota National Guard's 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery to support Operation Enduring Freedom. Walz's battalion supported security missions at various locations in Europe and Turkey.
Obviously, JD Vance is well aware you can serve "in war" without serving in a "combat zone" since Vance -- under one of his several previous names James D. Hamel -- served as a "combat correspondent" in a non-combative role that included a six-month deployment in the public affairs department in Iraq. Hamel (Vance) spent the vast majority of his time in service pushing a pencil and in public relations and obviously knows full well that there are a multitude of roles that serve "in war" that support combat operations but are not directly involved in combat or serving in a "combat zone."
Bottom Line: Being deployed to serve during a period of war is serving "in war" even if you didn't serve in a "combat zone," and Vance obviously knows this and is twisting Walz's statement to fit his own pathetic attempt to smear a career veteran. Vance is an asshole in the service of another asshole who dodged service and disparages veterans like John McCain so the MAGA morons can spare us all with this line of absolute bullshit.
Steedo
58
Heh. Somebody will smite thee for encouraging me. ;)
Made my day.
All one need do is ask. :)
MtnCaddy
59
Yep, Kick provides a lot of context and background for us Weigantians.
Ask and you shall (mostly) receive. :)