leh-nerd skin-erd

Yes, that's what makes the attack by Hamas so barbaric. Why do you think the people in Gaza haven't risen up against them? Surely they don't support the savagery, do they? Btw, in your latest post, you mentioned that the hostages appear to be a secondary priority. Hamas could de-escalate almost immediately by arranging for the release of all hostages, and the Palestinians not affiliated with Hamas could certainly partner in attempts to gain the release.

I guess there are a couple ways to look at it. One, you take the high road and ignore the fact that your sworn enemy invaded your country, raped and murdered your unarmed citizens regardless of age, gender, infirmity by the thousands, kidnap anyone not murdered, and subject the victims to psychological torture yet allow the enemy to avail itself of humanitarian aid. On the other, you follow the Israel model and understand this is a fight for existence, and in spite of your best efforts and intentions, the victims kidnapped are likely ****ed...and you treat the enemy in kind. It's interesting though that part about debating whether the terrorists followed appropriate murder protocol of a less barbaric means when taking the lives of the most innocent victims.

Like a press conference, from an American President, after a valued ally was attacked, addressing the issues I just raised. I'm not certain why that's confusing.

Well, you asked what others might think he should be doing but it seems your mind was already made up? I thought his statement was fine, maybe 5 or 6 out of 10, but checking out early the other day for a nappy-poo didn't signal strength and leadership. Likewise, avoiding questions from the press when an ally was savagely attacked doesn't show much in the way of leadership, either. There are many in Israel right now demanding answers on intelligence failures, and we certainly all agree that should not be their top priority in the moment. These are looming questions on virtually everyone's mind, he should address them.

He should be holding a press conference, taking questions on whether or not there were failings of the intelligence community in sniffing this assault out before it happened on his watch. He should be addressing safety concerns home and abroad as Hamas and their partners gear up for the next phase of the war. If he thinks troops should be committed to Gaza, he should tell us why. If he thinks troops should not be committed, he should explain why not. It would be nice if some intrepid reporter were to ask why these invasions seem to happen on his watch, and his thoughts on that, but that likely won't happen.

Well, some of that has to do with what part of the board one chooses to post on. The main board allows for a fair amount of trash talking, but political trash talk tends to have consequences there. Here, not so much, unless some some aggrieved soul gets upset by content and reaches out to a moderator. For instance, the poster in question's tough talk, were it to occur on the main board is typically recognized as just about the softest form of internet insult, mockery ensues, and some version of ban or points follows. To put it in simple terms, in life, on the one hand you have an MMA fighter, toughest guy in the land, fair but willing to draw a line in the sand. On the other hand, you have the Frito Bandito, a caricature of a villain if there ever was one. BillSy may be a good and decent person off the board, passionate about his causes, but he spends an awful lot of time here playing the Frito Bandito.

Suddenly, as if by magic, you understand the complexity of loosely affiliated organizations. It’s simple to be sure. Suddenly, as if by magic, you understand that you can agree with some concepts while not supporting others. It’s that simple, really.

Maybe it reveals who they are, at least that iteration of the movement?

I almost feel like you have to have a body hidden in your basement to get banned 8x, but I understand. I'll leave it be.

I am no ball of yarn, Irving.

I respect the call for peace in our time. That said, if you were a cat, @SUNY_amherst would be the ball of yarn.

Hey Mup, When we discuss the ongoing political commentary in this country, I'm usually comforted thinking that most of us go through each day not being set upon by someone with a different system of beliefs, and typically don't get into anything even approaching heated debate of religion, politics or anything else with a stranger. Then, you see something like this occur and I'm reminded of the absolute brutality of people and just hot bad things can get. I've said it before, I'll repeat it here--I get along with people, almost always. I enjoy learning about the life experiences of others, almost always. An old business associate was in not all the long ago and was telling me about a recent trip to Egypt, his time growing up in Sudan, and the horrific crimes being perpetrated there as we speak. I don't know the solution, but I'll say that when people are absolutely committed to your absolute destruction and the removal of you/your people from the planet, just about anything can be justified and rationalized. I'm not the most religious fellow these days, but spiritually speaking, I am 100% with you and Lord have mercy on the innocent people caught up in all this. As for the savages perpetrating crimes against humanity, vaporization is fine with me.

But you’re yelling in bangers and mash, and the Bills hear in hot dogs and french fries.

I’m just disappointed to hear they didn’t report on the Obama position on the independent news sites. Somewhere in America poor John is likely in the fetal position, rocking slowly, muttering “But they told me it was only Trump…”. Doc, I beseech you—do NOT mention those Obama cages!

My wife and I plan to spend winters in S Florida when we retire. There is an ongoing battle at the association about Pickleball courts, whether or not the courts should have been installed, noise ordinance violations, approved paddles, back alley dealing and litigation. I feel there is a cultish vibe to it to be sure. It’s been pretty contentious, but less Tupac v Biggie, more Mitch McConnell v Nancy Pelosi.

Of course you don’t. Pay attention, John. https://apnews.com/article/archive-fact-checking-2477111077

Ask John Urschel.

I brought that up with BillSy...the whole thing about the US and the partnership between the governments. Then I brought up that JK was a private citizen when he made the deal with said ally. Then I brought up JB's obvious close ties to the Saudi government based on what you shared above, but BillSy got all upset about a golf tournament or golf league of some sort? On Khasshoggi I guess his perspective is that only one person ever can look into that sort of thing, and if that guy is no longer in office, it's ok to partner with the murderer because they were an ally for 40 years, persona non-grata for 4, but still a trusted partner of the govt for the duration? I didn't even ask about the Obama partnership with Netflix, that probably would be a definite no-go for him.

Bodily fluids and balls are seemingly on the menu for you today. I'm not judging you, but there is a trend here. I'm going to step back a bit and let you do your thing--we've gone from the Biden IC election memo dealing with a private citizen, to your stated preference on salty treats, to your declaration that the memo didn't matter at all, to you acknowledging it maybe did, to the actions of a private citizen where the IC did not actually get involved, to you thinking about my...well, I'm not going to say it---I'm a gentleman if nothing else.

It's ok to be vulnerable. Take some time off from the tough guy image who kicks a$$ and fantasizes about drinking the bodily fluids of Maga folk and how delicious they are. @thursdayswithleh-nerd @everythingieverneededtoknowilearnedfromleh-nerd @chickensoupfortheBillSysSoul

Good stuff, you finally acknowledged the obvious on the IC. You can remain devoted to Hunter and Biden Sr and recognize the unusual behavior of the IC personnel. It's part of the Six Ways from Sunday model Sen Schumer talked about. #progress

You have to ask yourself how many times 50+ high ranking members of the IC published a report in defense of an private citizen in essence encouraging people to disregard a story. Then of all those times, how many times did it turn out the 50+ missed the mark by a few seconds wide margin in doing so? It seems pretty obvious what happened and why.

I thought you might offer your unique brand of silliness here. Yes, the IC community intervened in the election. I base that on the timing, nature and scope of their declaration. As you have stated multiple times, HB is a private citizen and what the IC was doing at that point in time is anyone's guess. Yes, it had a bearing on the election. Everything matters to someone. Think globally. Think big. Think beyond the end of your own nose. Or, don't. No one cares. If your boy Hunter wins against Rudy G, he wins. If he loses, he loses. It's weird that you see that as some sort of imaginary collision against an imaginary wall. Civil suits play out badly every day, why let it get in your head?

The most concerning issue in all of this imo was the insertion of IC experts in this whole affair, which was unnecessary given—-as you point out—Hunter Biden’s status as a private citizen. Why the declaration from people surely associated with his father? Why would the IC deign to intervene in the potentially criminal activity of a private citizen, and cast doubt on evidence that might be gathered for a criminal matter? Given the relationship between members of the IC and his father, why even give the appearance of impropriety during a hotly contested election? How could they have gotten it so wrong, so publicly, at such a pivotal time in the election process? Weird. Transparency is good John, even when it goes against your guy.

No, more like what I said, which is why I said it.