The reason we watch for hypocrisy, and call others on it when we see it, is because – in order to do hypocrisy, we must lie. Therefore, when we call out a hypocrite, we are negating any point they may have been trying to make, by demonstrating that they don’t really mean it; it’s especially hard for the hypocrite to claim ignorance or accident when they’re caught out.
He may be a completely awesome fellow, but this ‘announcement’ makes me worry. It looks too much like another “America throws itself at an oligarch, because rich people are super-knowledgeable and talented therefore we should let them lead us.”
The loathsome John Bolton is too easy to point at as an example of everything that is wrong with US Middle Eastern foreign policy.
Right now the government is shut down because the Democrats are refusing to fund Trump’s wall, and Trump is refusing to let them push him around.
The US Air Force made a bizarre tweet-post on New Years, of a bomber and the observation that they can drop bombs anywhere.
US citizen Otto Warmbier died after 17 months in North Korea, during which he was abused, ignored, exposed to cold and not fed.
The Kurds appear to be about to be left in the lurch, again. Although, I am skeptical that the US military will withdraw in any meaningful sense. They’ll withdraw enough to watch our short-term allies get slaughtered.
During the big government shutdowns in the Clinton Administration, I remember thinking, “what a great way to get rid of government. Just stop paying for the useless !*!&#!!”
2019 looks like it’s going to be a good year for drinking games.
It’s fascinating to see the different ways that the “trade truce” is being reported. It also scares me because it illustrates how unquestioningly the press reports from government-issued press releases.