Outside the box...

The "out of the box" diplomacy between President Trump and Chairman Kim continues.  Yesterday, Trump became the first US President to step into North Korea.  It was a surreal moment.

It was also largely unplanned and at the last minute, set up with a Tweet and ending with the President of the United States invited onto North Korean soil.

I was not sure what to think.

At least the United States, South Korea, and North Korea are talking to each other and are not shooting at each other.

I don't know where this will lead, but it is a kind of progress.  Slow, painfully slow, but moving forward nonetheless.  When you are dealing with nukes, you take that as a minor win at least.

I hope this ends with Korean unification one day.

It won't be quick and easy, so keep at it!

A hard team to like...

Being a good American, I cheer for the US team.  Being a good American, I also do not like arrogant, posturing idiots.  Unfortunately, I just described the US women's soccer team.

They crushed Thailand 13-0 and instead of holding back when the game was clearly over, they piled on and had many over the top celebrations.  This is not the first time they have done this.  If I was the ref, it would have the last.  I would have red carded the captain.

If Megan Rapinoe does not want to visit the White House, fine.  Don't.  No big deal.  Putting an obscenity in your answer only makes you sound like a moron.

But consider this.

If you don't get along with the President, meeting him face to face would be a great opportunity to discuss differences and find a common ground.  That is what America needs now.

Liberalism is about tolerance and respecting differences. Liberals don't seem to get this, often opting for obscenity and violence.

And they can't fight...

Taking an invite from Alexandria Oscasio-Cortes to visit the House of Representatives instead  simply because you like her politics makes you as spiteful and hateful as that you claim to be against.

Think about it.

Backing away from a war

Earlier this week, Iran shot down a US drone that they claim was over their airspace.  The United States says it was over international waters.  There had been some drone attacks on oil tankers and another attack on Japanese tankers from what might have been a torpedo attack.  President Trump was about to launch a retaliatory strike on Iran and decided to, at the last minute, call it off.

I think that was a wise move.

America does not need another war right now.

We have spent enough blood and treasure in the Middle East.

An unmanned drone that may or may not have been in Iranian airspace was shot down.  No one died.  As the President stated, a full-scale airstrike was not proportional and there was the potential for many civilian casualties. Other Presidents have launched attacks without such concerns, so this puts Trump a step ahead in humanitarian terms.  His strike on Syria in 2017 was aimed at planes on the runway and no one there was killed.  It seems to fit the pattern of selected strikes.

I am wondering who really wants a war with Iran.

My first thought was the oil companies. The price of oil did not move that much.  Had this been 2008, they would have skyrocketed.  Now the United Sate produces almost its own oil, so no need to intervene in the Middle Eastern oil fields.

Maybe someone in DC is thinking about the election next year, hoping for a war to influence the race?

That is sickening.

Fortunately, the airstrike was called off.

If the chickenhawks don't like it, let them lead the charge next time.

Packing the Supreme Court

The latest idiotic proposal from some members in Congress is to expand the Supreme Court to 15 judges.  That is not going to happen.  It can't especially with the current group of moron legislators.  Plus, there seems to be  a lot of stupid judges, but we will get to that another time.

There were originally six judges on the Supreme Court.  The Founding Fathers, for all their wisdom, did not foresee the rise of partisan politics, especially the vicious 21st Century kind. Still Federalist-Antifederalists could be pretty nasty too, so a seventh judge was added.  You also have to remember that judges back then would literally "ride the circuit".

As America expanded West, two more judges would be added to bring it to nine.

Franklin Roosevelt wanted to expand the Court to 15, but that never was going to happen even with a Democratic Senate supersuper majority of 74-19.  People don't like fooling around with the Constitution.

The Electoral College is not going anywhere either.