kingdragonfly: Why Trump's Middle East plan is so divisive

BBC News

US President Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan has been welcomed by Israel, but Palestinians have dismissed it as a "conspiracy".

Perhaps Israel can offer the Palestinians 100% of Trumps properties as a partial compensation for the land loss. After all, giving away something you don't own is now called "The deal of the century".

I can't believe you can sign an oath saying you'll be just and impartial and then vote against the fundamentals of a fair trial.

 

GV27:  I can't believe you can sign an oath saying you'll be just and impartial and then vote against the fundamentals of a fair trial.

 

From the former President of Estonia: https://twitter.com/McFaul/status/1223351079057813504

Trump impeachment: Failed witnesses vote paves way for acquittal.

 

Democrats hoped four swing Republicans would vote for witnesses, which would have extended the trial without in all likelihood changing its outcome.

 

In the end, only two of the four Republicans voted with Democrats.

 

The trial now moves forward to a vote on whether to acquit President Trump, which he is all but certain to win.

 

So, now we know lying under oath by Senators (promise to be unbiased and weigh up evidence etc) is no longer a crime in America. Just another non-crime for those in power.

 

linw:  So, now we know lying under oath by Senators (promise to be unbiased and weigh up evidence etc) is no longer a crime in America. Just another non-crime for those in power.

 

I can’t pretend I am not disappointed. I had hope. I genuinely believe this craven caving to a tyrant president is a very bad thing that will produce very bad consequences. The cowardly hypocritical self-serving Republicans who refused even to hear witnesses should be cursed and condemned for the rest of all history.

At the same time, I am not (yet) in despair. This result, though unfortunate, was not unexpected. Those who exchange their balls for baubles rarely grow new ones. 

Further scandals will continue to emerge and will be examined in other forums. Trump and his Republican apologists will have to keep defending the increasingly indefensible. Even American voters are not completely stupid and more and more will start to wonder if this is really the direction they want to go in.

I think Trump is lucky more than he is crafty. He just does not display the qualities of a master strategist. My knowledge of history is imperfect, but I believe that in the early stages of World War II, Hitler’s generals became convinced that he was invincible because he kept getting away with things that all their expertise told them he shouldn’t have. This made them willing to follow him where they shouldn’t have. 

Hubris has a way of biting tyrants in the arse. It brought down Hitler and Napoleon and Nixon and it will bring down Trump. The more he is allowed to get away with, the more he will overreach himself. This is what history teaches us.

I hope Americans will finally come to their senses at election time, though I do wish Democrats had a stronger candidate. As the lies and misdeeds accumulate, which they certainly will, even Trump supporters may start to ask themselves if this is really what they want. If he does win re-election, then I will despair.