On the one hand I'm extremely uncomfortable with getting involved in another war or just in another country's internal politics in general, especially since the biggest positive i saw in Trump was a hesitancy to do such things.
On the other hand, i do support the idea of moving away from a Eurasian focused foreign policy and a more Monroe Doctrine-esque return to helping to develop our brothers and sisters in the Americas. Also, it was very efficient and if it has a long term stabilizing effect on the region then the consequentialist side of me can accept it.
And also also, fuck Maduro right in his commie face.
Another example of what should be a really good thing, done poorly - a Trump specialty. Getting rid of the horrible dictatorship in Venezuela is very good. Doing it based on lies or inflated truths is not good. No doubt, Maduro was an illegitimate leader as he lost the election. He and Chavez were dictators for years taking a country that was the richest in Latin America to being the poorest in Latin America and the same time through brutal oppression. This has caused a huge migration of its people to countries all over the world looking for safety and opportunity. All that being said, how we have done it puts the world in more danger and justifies actions of other dictators like Putin as they will use the same Monroe doctrine type justification (And have). Also, we have done this "good thing" for our region of interest at the same time that we also pardoned a Latin American drug trafficking leader - so there is no logic nor consistency. It is clear that Trump has a preference (perhaps admiration) for certain types of criminals over others. For now, I am hopeful that Venezuela can use this opportunity to recover from or horrible self imposed crises of over 25 years.
We need a constitutional amendment. The presidency cannot continue to have the ability to essentially start a war with a sovereign state without at least some degree of congressional approval. We’ve obviously been on a downhill slide on this front for a while, but at least in Panama there was some paper thin justification that US troops were in harms way and Congress was notified (if only hours) before hand
On a lighter and better note, THANK You Matt, for the wonderful Lincoln Center Video. I was already a fan of Noam and Coleman, but WOW, I did not know that they could do that!!
"We're from the United States Government and we're here to help"
I assume the betting markets already have a line on when Maduro gets pardoned by Trump. Shoulda bought that Trumpcoin sooner, buddy--it's gonna cost you more now.
What if someone kidnapped Trump? And then someone kidnapped that person! And we do a Chinese fire drill of North American presidents!! Or better yet Presidential White Elephant, whoever you end up with after 24 hours is your new president!!!
Facebook was completely predictable this morning. People with full-on TDS simply couldn't bring themselves to start like Matt did with something like "I'm glad to hear the Venezuelan people don't need to deal with Maduro anymore". No, it's all idiotic opining and "1. Trump does literally anything. 2. ??? 3. tHe EnD oF DeMoCrAcY" all the way down the algorithm. This reality sucks, where even most smart people are stupid beyond belief.
The right-wingers in my feed do nothing but re-post memes, which I've mostly completely blocked by now. Left-wingers are much more likely to post their uninformed, stupid opinions, which are a lot harder to block without simply unfollowing the person.
Any regime change emergency pod? Pretty please with cherry on top?
Your wish may be….
Iran or Venezuela?
Touché
On the one hand I'm extremely uncomfortable with getting involved in another war or just in another country's internal politics in general, especially since the biggest positive i saw in Trump was a hesitancy to do such things.
On the other hand, i do support the idea of moving away from a Eurasian focused foreign policy and a more Monroe Doctrine-esque return to helping to develop our brothers and sisters in the Americas. Also, it was very efficient and if it has a long term stabilizing effect on the region then the consequentialist side of me can accept it.
And also also, fuck Maduro right in his commie face.
Another example of what should be a really good thing, done poorly - a Trump specialty. Getting rid of the horrible dictatorship in Venezuela is very good. Doing it based on lies or inflated truths is not good. No doubt, Maduro was an illegitimate leader as he lost the election. He and Chavez were dictators for years taking a country that was the richest in Latin America to being the poorest in Latin America and the same time through brutal oppression. This has caused a huge migration of its people to countries all over the world looking for safety and opportunity. All that being said, how we have done it puts the world in more danger and justifies actions of other dictators like Putin as they will use the same Monroe doctrine type justification (And have). Also, we have done this "good thing" for our region of interest at the same time that we also pardoned a Latin American drug trafficking leader - so there is no logic nor consistency. It is clear that Trump has a preference (perhaps admiration) for certain types of criminals over others. For now, I am hopeful that Venezuela can use this opportunity to recover from or horrible self imposed crises of over 25 years.
We need a constitutional amendment. The presidency cannot continue to have the ability to essentially start a war with a sovereign state without at least some degree of congressional approval. We’ve obviously been on a downhill slide on this front for a while, but at least in Panama there was some paper thin justification that US troops were in harms way and Congress was notified (if only hours) before hand
Yea, didn’t you hear the press conference Congress can’t keep a secret…
On a lighter and better note, THANK You Matt, for the wonderful Lincoln Center Video. I was already a fan of Noam and Coleman, but WOW, I did not know that they could do that!!
That UpShot quiz nailed it. Madison, WI was the result. That's where I'm from. Crazy.
I was between Corona and Santa Clarita, which.
It pinpointed me on the use of "bubbler" and "kitty-corner". Guess Wisconsinites are the only people to use both
Put me in coach. This is the day I’ve been waiting for
You know how this podcast feels about flying coach. Or are you missing a comma?
Missing a comma. I fly the airplanes so I wasn’t even thinking about steerage
That's what I thought. Hence my concern.
"We're from the United States Government and we're here to help"
I assume the betting markets already have a line on when Maduro gets pardoned by Trump. Shoulda bought that Trumpcoin sooner, buddy--it's gonna cost you more now.
What if someone kidnapped Trump? And then someone kidnapped that person! And we do a Chinese fire drill of North American presidents!! Or better yet Presidential White Elephant, whoever you end up with after 24 hours is your new president!!!
Did you take the gummy before breakfast or
😌 ✨
Request for a Thor follow-up! Although I’m sure he’ll be busy for awhile yet…
The Dave Barry column is worth reading in full, it had me cry-laughing.
Your request may be….
Facebook was completely predictable this morning. People with full-on TDS simply couldn't bring themselves to start like Matt did with something like "I'm glad to hear the Venezuelan people don't need to deal with Maduro anymore". No, it's all idiotic opining and "1. Trump does literally anything. 2. ??? 3. tHe EnD oF DeMoCrAcY" all the way down the algorithm. This reality sucks, where even most smart people are stupid beyond belief.
Man I’m so glad my algorithm has somehow dodged all of that. I’d much rather argue with right wingers than left wingers.
The right-wingers in my feed do nothing but re-post memes, which I've mostly completely blocked by now. Left-wingers are much more likely to post their uninformed, stupid opinions, which are a lot harder to block without simply unfollowing the person.
The Image of Maduro is almost certaintly an AI Fake: https://x.com/talhagin/status/2007475448222011492
The 90s/early 2000s timestamp kind of gave it away.
For some reason, Fujiyama Mama reminded me of this Stan Freberg tune. I guess it’s because of the “Cinerama” chant in Wide Screen Mama Blues.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=evhXOZhM3R0&si=0lByz5BALlOBuaWp
Gayelord Hauser: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gayelord_Hauser
Since you guys are music fans, I thought you might appreciate this thing I found by a guy named Dijon: https://youtu.be/g3PFucl7wDU?si=C-YIOH_XN5jJJUh7
Coleman has so many talents he is yet more proof that God's not a communist.
Madness but entertaining?