But they keep finding witches...

[_Some Schmo]

If he served, I'd be shocked. He's either a liar or dumb as a stick. Both are in evidence.

Seriously, Schmo, the military is possibly the most conservative organization in the government.

And yet it is the biggest waste of spending in which the government engages.

I laugh to think of "conservatives" wishing for more military spending when it's essentially a make-work program. So much for hating welfare.

ETA: and by the way, if you like small government, I'd like to point out that the US military is the largest government program in the world.

[_honorentheos]

Seriously, Schmo, the military is possibly the most conservative organization in the government.

And yet it is the biggest waste of spending in which the government engages.

I laugh to think of "conservatives" wishing for more military spending when it's essentially a make-work program. So much for hating welfare.

ETA: and by the way, if you like small government, I'd like to point out that the US military is the largest government program in the world.

Deficit spending on the military has brought down many an empire before ours, for sure.

[_Some Schmo]

There is nothing about Water Dog's behavior that I find inconsistent with many members of the AF.

I don't want to give you the impression I ignored this.

He may very well have been. The problem is that now he's supporting and defending someone who is in clear and direct conflict with the principles on which this country was founded. Makes you wonder why the hell he bothered to join (assuming he did) when defending Drumpf is as big a I don't give a damn about America signal as it gets (assuming, ya know, he's actually paying attention to current events).

[_canpakes]

(This investigation) ... is unprofessionally public and shamelessly partisan and political in nature. I mean come on, they drop these absurd indictments days before Trump's meeting with Putin? That is about politics, not justice. Nobody can argue it to be anything else.

Time to dismantle yet another conspiratorial conservative talking point:

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein took the extraordinary step of consulting President Trump about the timing of the latest batch of criminal indictments in the special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, Bloomberg reports. Rosenstein, who is heading the investigation at the Department of Justice, allowed Trump to choose the timing of the indictments—before or after the Helsinki summit with Vladimir Putin. On Friday, Mueller issued indictments of 12 Russian intelligence officers for their role in the hack of DNC emails.

The coordination would, of course, be highly improper in most circumstances, but, according to Bloomberg, Rosenstein, citing national security considerations, decided to inform the White House of the coming indictments and allow the administration to influence the timing of their release.

Trump chose to release the indictments ahead of Helsinki, which according to Bloomberg’s reporting, he hoped “would give him the upper hand.”

[_Chap]

Hi Water Dog.

Any comment? Maybe your previous post was supposed to be a double negative? There's a lot of it about ...

[_Water Dog]

Well that sure escalated quickly. Hanging out around here seems to go in cycles like this. I'm now entering that stage of the insanity loop where I reevaluate my use of time.

The dog is trolling. He is not a serious person. If he were, he would be a liar, an oathbreaker and more. He loves to push liberals' buttons more than to communicate anything of value

A liar, an oathbreaker, and more? Let's put the "more" part to the side for now. How am I a liar and an oath breaker?

He could certainly be both. There's plenty of evidence for that. He seems to feel more solidarity with his redneck bros in their Trump cult than with the Constitution he was (allegedly) sworn to protect. If he was telling the truth about that. Someone who would advocate treason wouldn't balk at dishonesty, would they? Giving him the benefit of the doubt would mean considering him a stolen valor fraud and liar. The fact that he would diss John McCain's and Robert Mueller's service in favor of Cadet Bonespurs makes me suspect stolen valor. No self respecting warfighter I knew in 23 years with the Army would show that kind of disrespect toward fellow soldiers. But I guess he could be a John Walker type, a serviceman who thinks it's okay to betray your country because it's cool.

You've completely lost your mind. Do I waste my time responding to utter garbage like this? First of all, when did I "diss" McCain or Mueller's military service? I fail to see what that has to do with anything. Second, your argument is that nobody who served in the military can agree with or support Trump? Therefore, if I agree with Trump, I didn't actually serve in the military? Well, with that kind of logic, I certainly don't have any doubt believing you were a fed for 33 years. I really should just rest my case here. You are living proof of our problems.

Enjoy.

https://imgur.com/J7PvRMG

https://www.texvet.org/resources/add-ve ... er-license

[_Water Dog]

Time to dismantle yet another conspiratorial conservative talking point:

...according to Bloomberg’s reporting

I appreciate you posting this. Hadn't seen this news. If true this might cast a different light on some aspects to this. Could be argued this legitimizes Trump's walk-back claim to have simply misspoken. If he fully knew about the indictments and ordered them to be announced when they were, would that not suggest he's more in agreement than meets the eye?

Maybe.

If this had been announced the day after the summit, would that have changed anything? Would the media have asked different questions, and would Trump have responded to those questions any different with or without the indictments? Have to ponder this. The relevant question is whether Trump was in agreement with these indictments at all.

Perhaps Trump was choosing between two options he didn't agree with, Maybe he thought a "good" summit would overcome the bad press of the indictments, whereas announcing afterwards would do the opposite? In this situation the point I was arguing still stands. Even if he was given a "choice" to announce before or after, he was still being held hostage and being forced to choose something in a state of duress. This is like being tortured and the torturer gives you a choice, to cut off your pinky or your index finger, or your whole damn leg. Choose.

How does a choice like that refute the point that he was tortured?

What is the point of the indictments at all, if not to put pressure on Trump and/or Putin? If Putin is guilty, does he care about these indictments? No, gets a huge kick out of it. Guilty or not that guy is laughing his ass off. So... what is the point of the indictments? What is achieved by them? To add to the perception that Trump is illegitimate? To add to the perception that Russia is the boogeyman?

It's not a "conspiratorial" talking point, though, either way. Chris Wallace made this same point to Putin in their interview, specifically asking about the timing of the indictments and if it was politically motivated to undermine the summit. These are reasonable questions, and as I've demonstrated not so easily dismissed. I'm just thinking out loud here. None of us can know why Rosenstein and Mueller did this. What was the motive. Thinking about the spectrum of potential motives I'm not seeing anything that makes a lot of sense. Every potential motive screams politics.

[_Chap]

What is the point of the indictments at all, if not to put pressure on Trump and/or Putin?

Sigh.

Indictments are sought from grand juries by the law officers of the US government in order to fulfil their duty of ensuring that those who it is thought may have committed crimes - in this case, as the President put it "Russians [who] attempted to interfere in our elections' - are, if possible, brought before a court and tried for the alleged offences.

If so doing also puts pressure on the person or persons who likely ordered or incited them to commit crimes, or benefitted from or were complicit with those crimes, that's fine too.

You don't think that is a good idea?

[_Maksutov]

Well that sure escalated quickly. Hanging out around here seems to go in cycles like this. I'm now entering that stage of the insanity loop where I reevaluate my use of time.

The dog is trolling. He is not a serious person. If he were, he would be a liar, an oathbreaker and more. He loves to push liberals' buttons more than to communicate anything of value

A liar, an oathbreaker, and more? Let's put the "more" part to the side for now. How am I a liar and an oath breaker?

He could certainly be both. There's plenty of evidence for that. He seems to feel more solidarity with his redneck bros in their Trump cult than with the Constitution he was (allegedly) sworn to protect. If he was telling the truth about that. Someone who would advocate treason wouldn't balk at dishonesty, would they? Giving him the benefit of the doubt would mean considering him a stolen valor fraud and liar. The fact that he would diss John McCain's and Robert Mueller's service in favor of Cadet Bonespurs makes me suspect stolen valor. No self respecting warfighter I knew in 23 years with the Army would show that kind of disrespect toward fellow soldiers. But I guess he could be a John Walker type, a serviceman who thinks it's okay to betray your country because it's cool.

You've completely lost your mind. Do I waste my time responding to utter garbage like this? First of all, when did I "diss" McCain or Mueller's military service? I fail to see what that has to do with anything. Second, your argument is that nobody who served in the military can agree with or support Trump? Therefore, if I agree with Trump, I didn't actually serve in the military? Well, with that kind of logic, I certainly don't have any doubt believing you were a fed for 33 years. I really should just rest my case here. You are living proof of our problems.

Enjoy.

https://imgur.com/J7PvRMG

https://www.texvet.org/resources/add-ve ... er-license

So, you're an oathbreaker who's still in uniform? That's disgusting. You aren't the first or last, I'm sure.

I retired in 2010 after 23 years with Army and 10 years with VA. I spent the last 10 years of my career taking care of veterans. When I see someone like you defending a con artist, draft dodging, lying douchebag who disrespects veterans and puts Russia before America, I'm going to speak out. You disgust me, dude. I don't want some weak easily confused partisan moron "defending" me. I haven't lost my mind at all, I've just opened my mouth about your sad performance. If you don't like it, disregard it. Don't think you're going to intimidate me.

[_Water Dog]

... how did I "dis" McCain or Mueller's military service?