UNDlaw80

Rioting needs to stop, I do not disagree. But going in too heavy is not the answer. I know Trump spoke with Putin today, but he needs to understand we’re not Russia. Sending police/military forces to ‘crush’ civilians isn’t what we do. That's not us. In fact that's the antithesis of traditional Republican values. So much so that if Trump isn't careful he's gonna inflame militant elements of his own party - against him. Timothy McVeigh types whose #1 fear is just what Trump is advocating. Those guys are another set of lunatics this country doesn’t need involved in things.

Poor Donald can't get love anywhere.

Toews has always been mature and worldly beyond his years. Well done Jonathan.

Yes. This country needs something to collectively hope for, because we haven't been this screwed since the 60s. We're in the middle of a pandemic with 100k dead, unemployment is through the roof, citizens are at each other's throats politically, food pantries are full of people, protests and riots everywhere, cities going up in flames. This is awful.

There is no 'regardless'. If you're President, your job is to represent and convey everything that is good about America in a time of crisis; then work with the citizenry to fix the bad. Making a statement that invokes segregation at a time like this is beyond preposterous. ...and you wonder why people feel like they're second class citizens. Jesus christ.

Meh, I dunno. Radical groups are certainly trying to influence the situation, but I'd say the vast majority of protesters are ordinary Americans fed up with inequality in this country. This been boiling under the surface for decades. In light of today's ultra-divisive political climate, on top of coronavirus, unemployment, the killing of George Floyd was the tipping point.

Trump caught flack for that statement in part because it's a term associated with a couple of well-own segregationists.

Interestingly, if they can move beyond the issue of race, radical right and left wing groups have a common interest in rebelling against what they perceive as heavy-handed governmental institutions abusing power. Although I doubt it's happening on any large scale, it doesn't surprise me to see right-wing 'militia' types integrating themselves with protesters to further their agenda.

That's a messed up scenario: 1. It's obvious the driver had no intention of plowing through the crowd. Protesters are situated at a bend in I-35. The driver stops as fast as he can. He even avoided someone laying in the road. 2. How the hell did he get through the police barrier? Was there a barrier? A protest that size on 35 would've been stacked full of police.

Walz are Frey are imbeciles, no leadership at all. America's cities are burning and the White House couldn't be more out of its element, no leadership whatsoever. You want real leadership in a time of crisis?....turn to Atlanta. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VO7z6m2os2g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLrbRppfX1k

It also pokes holes in the theory that Antifa is behind Minneapolis' troubles. While they certainly are attempting to gain influence, radical groups (both left and right) do not have the numbers nor capability to foment the level of nation-wide chaos we're experiencing. Unfortunately political hacks (again, both left and right) will use any means to manipulate the public's perception of what the 'protester demographic' is. Truth is, the vast majority of violence is being perpetrated by ordinary idiots.....not radical groups nor professional protesters. Both my son and daughter went out last night to take in these protests, one in Madison the other Chicago. Both told me the same thing this morning - peaceful protest was hijacked by dumb-ass kids using the situation as an excuse to riot and break $hit;. Copy-cat violence.

"Bat eating, wet market animal selling" "My message is to go vegan" What's this dude's affinity with eating things. https://cipptvportagelaprairie.com/2020/04/10/woman-devastated-to-learn-summer-of-69-is-not-about-the-year/

I have Trump’s wall to sell you if you think the Right does any different. Speaking of building the Wall, how ironic that conservatives have little objection to taking massive amounts of people’s land nowadays. And here I thought imminent domain was the antithesis of right-wing values. Not anymore I suppose. Hooray for big government control!!!!! Yeaa!!!!! Both liberal and conservative politicians -> opposite ends of the same bull$hit stick. Oh. Bad parenting too. Never a good sign. Nope. No siree. No bueno.

Oh c’mon. “Socialism” is just an anti-left buzzword. 9 out of the top 10 poorest US states are staunch Red ones. These are the states with one hand in the air screaming “We hate socialism!”; the other hand squeezing the teat of the federal government for economic survival. I mean, Christ almighty, MS, KY and LA rely on the feds for more than 40 percent of their revenue. Welfare parasites. Both the Left and Right love big government if it serves their purposes.

What's not to understand? This country is so divided that facts don't matter anymore for 80% of the population....no matter what the topic. 40% on each side will go down with the ship no matter what. I alluded to this in a previous post - modern communication has broken us. It allows people to be cocooned within their pre-existing worldview. There's no common ground whatsoever anymore. This nation is full-blown party over country on both sides....with the complete demonization of differing views. Actually the blame is on us. We're the consumers. We're choosing to consume this $hit and not look beyond our own biases. Human nature I guess. I hate to say it, but I think we've become too big and too diverse for a functioning democracy.

I understand it's a right-wing talking point, but the "media" isn’t some all-encompassing entity that pushes a uniform agenda. Half this country seeks out news from outlets that counter left-leaning news. People hear what they want to hear. Honest media has gone down the toilet. There's a lot of money to be made from 'news information'. Nowadays news outlets are business that cater to the wishes of their clients - they give people 'news' what they want to hear. It's a big reason this country is so divided.

Initially? No. Covid is likely seasonal, so I expected it (like the flu) to subside greatly in the summer months. But this isn't happening. Here we are in May and it's just starting to spill into every nook and cranny of the country....especially now with the nation opening up. Then we probably have a heavy round 2 coming in the fall/winter coinciding with the flu. I'm not advocating lessening all restrictions, but at this point we're gonna have to accept Covid as part of life, realize a lot of people are gonna die and move forward the best we can because people need to get back to work.

Riiiight. In no parallel universe would Covid have killed that many people by now. That said, it is crazy by the end of the month Covid will likely be the 4th deadliest event in US history behind 1918 pandemic, Civil War and WW2. To put it in perspective, at our current pace (especially now that we're opening) we'll pass Civil War casualty numbers in just under 2 years. Civil War lasted for 4 years.

Well sure, that’s been Trump’s MoA even before his Presidency. Play the woe-is-me victim card, ruthlessly lash out against it. Unwavering. It resonates with his hard-core base (Trump dont take no $hit!!). It works for his rallies and such, but it's a disaster for press conferences. I don't think the media knows how to handle it and their subsequent actions feed into the chaos. They're to blame too. I dunno. Maybe I’m over-thinking things, but both the media and Trump’s behavior are symptoms of the bigger problem, which is us. Reality-TV culture has invaded every aspect of this country. It's disgusting.

Trump’s political genius is he plays the victim card to perfection. Every president gets eviscerated by the media, yet Trump has the savvy to take the “What a nasty question! Poor me, no President has been treated worse than I!” approach. Trumps strength has always been self-promotion and PR. 1. It allows him to not answer tough questions 2. It eggs-on unfriendly outlets whereby they fall into a trap and then inadvertently validate his objections.

So true. The internet has broken us. It gives people an easy avenue to seek out news that only validates their confirmation biases. As a result we're more apt to live in cocoon of 1-sided perspectives. Unlike in years past (say, when everybody obtained news from Walter Cronkite) we have no common ground as a starting point for disagreement. People’s worldviews are miles apart.

I suppose I shouldn't expect certain individuals to see beyond their biases......the right-wing wackos in this case. Not that far-left-wing idiots would do any differently in the same situation. Well done people.

Read my quotes you posted. Everything I wrote regarding our politicians was in the plural form. As such the 'buck stops at the top' refers to (per the topic) our leaders and not those giving them advice. But I suppose basic English comprehension is lacking these days.

Yes. We have a different outlook on what should've/shouldn't have been implemented. Respectfully each to their own. I just find it ironic that 99% of posts on this forum complain about our country's response to the crisis. I write a post about holding all our elected officials accountable for this mess and receive a partisan onslaught in response. Can't say I'm surprised.

Hmmm.. You appear overly defensive of your great dear leader. I specifically pointed out that this is a failure of leadership across the board. Reps and Dems. Unfortunately for the President, he's at the top. The majority of the buck stops with him. No different than H1N1 response falls on Obama, or 911 response falls on Bush (considering you want to being other presidents into the topic).