Here ya go: https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/grzegorz/73820440/91980/91980_300.jpg
Source page, via Google Translate: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ru&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fbitter-onion.livejournal.com%2F2460559.html
Third-hand or so, but I don’t do social media, and I certainly don’t do social media in Ukraine.
The people “shooting off the nukes” are pretty damn isolated from the rest of the world while on duty, and if they are told that the nukes they are in control of need to go out in a retaliatory strike they will turn the proper keys and push the proper buttons because they are trained to do so.
Right. The guys in the silos and submarines will have no idea whether the order coming in is a legitimate response to an actual threat or a reaction to a tweet that hurt Dear Leader’s feelings. They will do what they are trained to do. So if Donald opens the football and finds the code to order a strike on China, once he sends this down the chain there is little to stop the missiles from flying.
But never fear, because Trump would never order that. He’s too chickenshit. I believe that. He’s the bully that never actually punches. He gets people to do sneaky shit on his behalf, instead. Just like he was doing with Ukraine. (Is it no longer THE Ukraine?)
Even a tame dog will turn into a dangerous animal when cornered and in fear of his life. Maybe he would normally never do such a thing, but are we confident on how he would behave as the walls crumble around him?
They don’t know what to say until they get the right talking points sent to them. And the white house keeps sending the talking points to the Democratic caucus by mistake.
Awesome; thank you very much!
I hear too much about what the Reps and Senators should do, what the Republicans need to do, what the Dems need to do, what Pelosi needs to do, etc. But… here? I never hear about what Dopers are doing.
Here’s the thing:
They won’t know what to do until the American people call and tell them. Waiting on polls isn’t enough. Waiting to hear of other peoples efforts isn’t enough. Waiting for people to do the right thing while we are screaming into the cyber realms, unheard, is not enough.
We know people in real life who “don’t know anything”, who “follow the X line”… but we’re reticent to talk about politics - I hear this confessed all the times on this Board. Why? Why this self-defeating, condescending attitude of “why bother?” when talking to people voice-to-voice is so effective?
Yesterday I talked to two people, at length, about the issues here. Neither of them had a rebuttal to the simple “bribery, section 2, article 4, using taxpayer funds” argument as I was playing an audio recording of the whistle-blower report in the background. One was a Trump supporter and even he concluded, “yeah, I’m getting tired of this shit. My father’s farm isn’t doing well either.” I didn’t hit him with “YOU’RE ALL THAT’S WRONG WITH AMERICA!!!”, my pitch was “As a man who supported Ronald Reagan*, I know the Republican Party can do better - Trump has had his chance and he’s blown it by selling out America.”
American Democracy is participatory, it isn’t something we watch, it’s something we do every day. It’s part and parcel of this country’s makeup, and while there are times when the great mass of people can be silent, there are times when they cannot - and in these times, I cannot and will not be silent as to the threat that Donald Trump poses to our country and the world. However, I’m also old enough to recognize that my talking on the internet is… as far as the people in government is concerned… as close being drowned out as I can make myself. So I talk to those who, by virtue of one-on-one verbal communication, can make a difference:
The rest? This Board? Twitter? Facebook? It’s just noise. Your voice might amplify some topic to go up some trending chart, but that’s about it. I’m not going to convince HD, he’s not going to convince me, but I can conserve my strength and work on convincing other people who might not otherwise be bothered to cast a vote this November next.
And yes, Slacker, I calling out all of us… you included… to up our influence game! Damn right I am! Put your Senators and reps into your phones contact list, and call those motherfuckers! 1 call? In 6 days? Has nothing happened since? 
This game is on, ladies and gentlemen, our Reps and Senators are going to spend the next 18 days tallying phone calls from their constituents, and, by doing that, will have a better idea as to what to do than any poll of 1,067 people will tell them. And if you (the royal “you”, now) are not placing your voice in those tallies, then all the perfectly crafted arguments on the SDMB and bon mots on Twitter are for naught, because those do not, and will never, mean a goddamned thing compared to a phone call to a DC office.
*I was 12 when Reagan came to office, so by varying definitions of “man”…
Maybe. Remember how long it took them not to read the Obamacare bill? There’s nobody to blame this time, although they’ll certainly try.
Have you ever seen a tame dog that gets so scared and desperate it attacks? How about a person with a bully-mouth that is backed into a corner and starts fighting? The fight is usually over in less than 3 seconds and the scared, inexperienced, desperate party is always the loser. Sure, there might a glancing blow or a feeble bite, but they quickly get the ever-loving shit smacked outta them.
They’re still busy not reading the Mueller report.
My mother is 87. She has read the entire Mueller report. She can quote you sections.
Many a child has gotten their asses kicked believing that “scared bully” crap.
I’m very amused by this. It’s not the Mueller report or the the full text of the ACA.
It’s five pages long.
Well, I didn’t. Perhaps it speaks to experience.
Perhaps you should read more carefully. There is a difference between a bully who actually can kick some ass and someone with just a bully-mouth.
We’re talking here about a bully who can send hundreds of nuclear missiles to targets on a whim.
And as stated above, the folks in the silos do not have the ability to assess the order for lawfullness or whether or not it’s a good thing right now to nuke Bejing because they insulted Trump’s golf course. They just press the button as ordered.
This is a great reminder. My representative is Mark Meadows, who is to tools what Stone Mountain is to racist doodles. I’m not going to waste energy trying to get him to vote in favor of impeachment.
But my senators are Tillis and Burr. Tillis is a pretty wretched idiot; but Burr is, to paraphrase PJ O’Rourke, wrong within normal parameters. And even though Tillis is an idiot, even he might be interested–or at least demoralized–if he gets a lot of calls from constituents telling him to put country over party.
I’ll make the first calls this afternoon.
I have every confidence that all three of my Congresspersons are not only on board, they’re leading the charge and/or rounding up stragglers. I keep seeing them on the teevee, be it in hearings or on talking-heads shows. I’d only be distracting them with coals-to-Newcastle phone calls. But if I didn’t live in a solidly blue state, then damn straight I’d be hassling them.
My senators are Durbin and Duckworth. She of “Cadet Bone Spurs” coinage, so I know I can count on them. My state has something like 13 of 18 Democratic Reps., so I can count on them, too, but it’s a valid point. And I, too, will be making calls during the recess.
I think you need to call Mark Meadows too. I don’t think there is any reason whatsoever to avoid calling Republicans, especially if they represent you. In fact, it’s far more important for me to constantly call Senators Cruz and Cornyn than it is the Castro brother which represents me.
They listen. They really do. Your calls matter. Telling them you will speak to other likely voters that you will not be supporting them if they don’t “X” matters. Take the fight to the R’s, and don’t just inspire the D’s to keep the course. Tell the R’s you’re pissed and you’re organizing.
