# Pitting Der\_Trihs **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 5, 2026, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214 "2026-03-05T01:20:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/181 "2026-03-20T14:52:22Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I just wanted to point out that Obama did try to close Guantanamo and Republicans blocked him. And how do you think that _improves_ his reputation? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/182 "2026-03-20T14:58:00Z")
Or, maybe more to the point, how does it improve the reputation of the US abroad? (I don’t hold a bunch of racist elected officials against Obama, but it doesn’t speak well for our country. And yes, i don’t think that was just partisan, or his lack of political skill, i think there was a lot of racism involved.) ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/183 "2026-03-20T14:59:50Z")
I think the blame belongs on Republicans for blocking him. It sounds like you’re saying executive overreach would have been fine if Obama did it but it’s a problem that Trump’s doing it. But if Obama hadn’t done it, and a bunch of other previous Presidents hadn’t done it, it would be harder for Trump to get away with what he’s doing now. I’m not here to defend Obama’s foreign policy. I just want to make it clear that he made several efforts to close Guantanamo. And it didn’t happen because of Republicans. [https://thehill.com/policy/defense/272294-republicans-move-to-oppose-closing-gitmo/](https://thehill.com/policy/defense/272294-republicans-move-to-oppose-closing-gitmo/) > [@puzzlegal](#): > > Or, maybe more to the point, how does it improve the reputation of the US abroad? That’s a fair point. It’s not like I think our shitty reputation is undeserved. And yes, racism was a big factor in how he was treated. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/184 "2026-03-20T15:06:36Z")
> [@JackieLikesVariety](#): > > wise words, and I’m glad to be reminded of this. That it’s coming from a little dog somehow helps. Haha no probs, little bird 🙂 > [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I refuse to believe America, the great experiment, is done. > > If you line countries up 1, 2, 3…we are no where near the worse. Lol I’d say the experiment has failed, but you can always start a new one. All the “manifest destiny” and “greatest country” nonsense ironically allows the US to _fail_ in ways that are surprising for a wealthy country. The US has been an economic hegemon for a long time. It couldn’t last forever though, and Trump is accelerating the fall from that perch. America will have to scrap it out with the rest of us, and hopefully part of that will be embracing rationality and tolerance. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/185 "2026-03-20T15:07:44Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I’m not here to defend Obama’s foreign policy. I just want to make it clear that he made several efforts to close Guantanamo. And it didn’t happen because of Republicans. There’s a Kahlil Gibran story: > A fox looked at his shadow at sunrise and said, “I will have > a camel for lunch today.” And all morning he went about looking > for camels. But at noon he saw his shadow again—and he said, “A > mouse will do.” that I think of a lot when I compare my societal hopes when I was an adolescent to what I’ll settle for in my fifties. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/186 "2026-03-20T15:10:56Z")
Shit, I’d settle for George W Bush right about now. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/187 "2026-03-20T15:24:59Z")
Nice of you to bury us before we’re dead. We are a very young country. The very old civilizations have taken 100s if not 1000s of years and haven’t been nearly as successful and certainly didn’t coddle citizens or make the world outside their borders a better place. There is still much philanthropy and lots of dollars in the US that other countries covet. Whether they want to admit it or not. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/188 "2026-03-20T15:33:57Z")
Focus people, we’re trying to flame Der\_Trihs, not lament that there’s no fuckin’ way an actual revolutionary gets elected POTUS (c’mon, we couldn’t even nominate _Bernie_ ) Der’s maximalist doom style annoys some of us because often there’s an underlying real point, but it’s not going to seen because of the triggered eyerolling. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/189 "2026-03-20T15:45:56Z")
Yeah, this is pretty much it. The overall _thrust_ of **Der\_Trihs** posting is in the correct direction. It’s just that by always exaggerating so greatly, he causes people to dismiss his posts out of fatigue and buzz. And like someone else pointed out, he gets a longer leash because of his posting lining up with the direction of the overall political leaning. A poster who made posts like his with the same flavor but of right-wing variety _("the Democrats just want to murder babies because they love baby murder!”)_ would probably be banned within hours. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/190 "2026-03-20T15:52:47Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Nice of you to bury us before we’re dead. > We are a very young country. > > The very old civilizations have taken 100s if not 1000s of years and haven’t been nearly as successful and certainly didn’t coddle citizens or make the world outside their borders a better place. The rate of civilizational progress has been accelerating for everyone. When I was young, China was still dirt poor; I remember mentioning to a schoolteacher that their economy was growing at 10% a year and the response was “10% of nothing is nothing”. There are people still alive that can remember when the UAE was a handful of nomadic cultures only having a few tens of thousands of people, _in total_. The world is moving fast, and the US is a very old hegemon by modern standards. Part of why it’s so complacent IMO. > [@Beckdawrek](#): > > There is still much philanthropy and lots of dollars in the US that other countries covet. I don’t know that the US is proportionally particularly philanthropic. The US certainly has a lot of money, but a lot of that is a function of being the world’s reserve currency. US debt is the essential lubricant of the world economy. But you may yet see a time where that isn’t true, as I say, Trump is fast making that a reality. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/191 "2026-03-20T15:53:15Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Focus people, we’re trying to flame Der\_Trihs, not lament that there’s no fuckin’ way an actual revolutionary gets elected POTUS With DT not joining in the fun here, I’ve decided to channel him 😃 ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/192 "2026-03-20T15:58:38Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > It sounds like you’re saying executive overreach would have been fine if Obama did it but it’s a problem that Trump’s doing it. Only the executive overreach that gets the results I want, yes. Intent and outcomes matter more to me than procedure, especially in the face of evil. When the people doing the blocking are doing it _because they’re vile, racist scum_, being a stickler for procedure is like being that one poster who would turn over an escaped slave to the authorities because it was the law at the time. No. Hell no. And when they try to do the same thing in their turn, you stop them. Because of the outcomes and intent, not because of their method. Make that clear, and any criers of “hypocrisy” can be told to shove it. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/193 "2026-03-20T16:07:10Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Only the executive overreach that gets the results I want, yes. Intent and outcomes matter more to me than procedure, especially in the face of evil. I agree. If you break procedure in order to stop people from being tortured or killed, the violation of procedure is less important. In case it needs to be said: if you break procedure in order to hurt people but you lie and say it’s to protect people, that’s not okay. And, of course, it’s clear that the US MAGA movement has taken over the conservative movement and doesn’t give a wet fart about procedure any more. Those of us in opposition need to be very clear on that and be willing to shake off the norms that bind us, as long as our opponents refuse to be similarly bound. This isn’t a game, and the stakes are too high to let ourselves be unilaterally hobbled. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/194 "2026-03-20T16:20:22Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > It’s just that by always exaggerating so greatly, he causes people to dismiss his posts out of fatigue and buzz. But sometimes he’s just wrong and way off base. Here’s his take on Stoicism [(from the ‘soulless-crushing-modern-society’ thread):](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cure-to-soulless-crushing-modern-society-is-a-life-of-narcissistic-sociopathic-hedonism-or-why-humans-cant-have-nice-things/1027967) > [@The cure to soulless crushing modern society is a life of narcissistic sociopathic hedonism (or why humans can't have nice things)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cure-to-soulless-crushing-modern-society-is-a-life-of-narcissistic-sociopathic-hedonism-or-why-humans-cant-have-nice-things/1027967/106): > > That’s not how the human brain works, and it’s a dangerous and often destructive belief that leads to hostility and abuse towards people are “weak” and suffer from trauma like PTSD. It also contributes to homophobia and transphobia, as it is implicitly asserting people could just choose not to be if they wanted. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/195 "2026-03-20T16:23:17Z")
Don’t channel them. I’m sure a black cloud will form over your head and follow you all the days of your life. And don’t say @Der_Trihs 3 times in a row. (I think all this is lost on him, almost positive he’s not following this thread) ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/196 "2026-03-20T16:35:35Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > But sometimes he’s just wrong and way off base. This. Sometimes he’s just wrong. > [@Velocity](#): > > A poster who made posts like his with the same flavor but of right-wing variety What the everyloving fuck are you talking about? There’s a poster in this thread who advocated for literally murdering undocumented immigrants. And is still around. DT does not get special ban treatment. DT doesn’t get banned because once somebody points out an issue or an error, there’s no flurry of angry defensive posts. Or trollish behavior. No coming back to a thread with a dozen recalcitrant posts. At least not in several years. Look back on any right wing poster who has actually been banned, and the common thread is they act like unapologetic jerks. I.e. it’s not the political persuasion that’s the issue but the bad behavior. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/197 "2026-03-20T16:37:05Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Don’t channel them. I’m sure a black cloud will form over your head and follow you all the days of your life. I’m a fairly upbeat and cheerful individual, and I believe @Der_Trihs has a much more realistic view of the US than your “the whole world wishes it was us even if they won’t admit it” position. He’s just quite a bit more pessimistic than I am. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/198 "2026-03-20T16:39:47Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I agree with the substance of your post, I just wanted to point out that Obama did try to close Guantanamo and Republicans blocked him. He tried _every year of his administration_ to close Guantanamo. And it wasn’t just the Republicans who blocked him. There were a lot of cowardly Democrats who somehow thought that the prisoners there were actual supervillains and that if they got moved to prisons in their states they would somehow burst through the walls and rampage across the countryside, and they would get blamed for it. One of the many reasons I gave up on the Democrats long ago. There are many things Obama disappointed me about (the drone-bombing of Yemen being a big one) but not closing Guantanamo is not one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/199 "2026-03-20T16:49:01Z")
There was a way, I think, but IMHO Obama decided that it wasn’t worth the political risk. Step 1 - Order the military, as commander in chief, to free all prisoners in Guantamo. Step 2 - Guantanamo still exists (as a military base) but without anybody jailed there it can’t continue to be a prison. No need for step 3. Now, this would’ve been politically costly and, if one of the liberated prisoners happened to blow up a plane or something, politically _very_ costly. It was probably the right thing to do, though. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214/200 "2026-03-20T16:50:23Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > There are many things Obama disappointed me about (the drone-bombing of Yemen being a big one) but not closing Guantanamo is not one of them. Agreed. I liked Obama (and voted for him of course) but I was disappointed with his performance overall. Sometimes I just wished would have been a bit more forceful but sometime I just didn’t agree with his decisions. For example, he ordered a “surge” of 30,000 additional troops into Afghanistan in December 2009, despite campaigning on ending the war there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-der-trihs/1028214.md?page=11)