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berlinerbaer

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Everything posted by berlinerbaer

  1. In a visit with a friend in 2012, I had a long chat with a young active duty marine who her younger sister had recently eloped with. The dude was kind of a bum and a weirdo for sure, but what he said about his tours in Iraq and Afghanistan have since been prophetic to me. He swore that the Iraqis would fight alongside the Americans when they came under attack, while the Afghans would drop their weapons and retreat when things got too hot. Fast forward almost a decade and the Iraqis have since driven ISIS out of their country, admittedly under cover of US airstrikes and special forces, but the Afghan army is now literally melting away despite there still being a few thousand US troops there and the same degree of air support. The fact is that the 20 years of nation building we've payed billions for haven't convinced Afghans to risk their skin to protect it. A soldier deserting their post in the middle of the night doesn't feel compelled to fight for the generation of girls who have been able to go to school, to speak nothing of their government. There isn't much inspiration in defending what an occupying force has constructed. Let's look at morale. While one side is deserting, the other is sending suicide bombers. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/07/06/afghanistan-war-malkasian-book-excerpt-497843
  2. My son started his first day of Kindergarten today. This afternoon we all got an email from the principal that 4 "individuals of the ____ community" have tested positive. Already. What I don't understand and what I probably won't be able to figure out is if these people set foot on campus in the last couple of days. Possibly, since there was a meet the teacher on Monday. My son is super excited about starting school and we want him to do in-person learning. I doubt we could swing home schooling or remote learning. Even if we did, it's not available until two weeks from now, so lots of FAAFO between now and then. The emotional roller coaster between watching him start this next chapter in his life and worrying about his health is jarring. We are supposed to go to a wedding up in Wisconsin at the end of the month. We have been thinking of pulling the plug on that, but by some twisted irony it may be good to get out of the hot zone that is Texas if only temporarily.
  3. Agree on Stanford. Cal has massive debt to pay off from their stadium renovation (a few $100 million) so that they will jump through whatever hoops necessary for cash. If it wasn't for that, they'd also settle for relegation without putting up a fight.
  4. Shit Was D+9 in May
  5. Joe has always had the acid tongue. It's just returned after an 18 month hiatus.
  6. This reminds me of the controversy Klinsmann got after cutting Donovan leading up to the 2014 WC. But did he replace Donovan with Wondo or Green?
  7. I'm far from being pissed about this game. We've had several chances to steal this thing and we get another 30 minutes to do so.
  8. I could use an explanation on why CONCACAF hosts the Nations League and Gold Cup only a couple months apart. Seems like the same teams play in both.
  9. LOL when 10% turnout gives you anxiety then you are a shitty candidate. A shitty Dotard-endorsed candidate, which is delicious.
  10. Jaja! Fuck el Tri!
  11. Thought Buchannan was offsides there, but that was slick.
  12. Damn son
  13. No bookings, so that's nice. Bring on Al Jazeera.
  14. Yes, because nobody should have to register for the draft. The more people who have their skin in the game, the less popular and therefore less likely it comes to pass.
  15. Woah. Joe Biden saying something off the cuff? Must be dementia. He has always been like that. One major knock against him his entire political career is that he is a "gaffe machine". Here's a throwback from 2008 (aged 65).
  16. Two main reasons: 1) To relieve himself of responsibility 2) So he or whomever on the Right can claim it's all a partisan witch hunt Before you reply that all that doesn't make any sense, consider that right wing media has already scrubbed the first vote from memory.
  17. I thought Pickford was being an ass with the juking...
  18. Italians look fitter despite being older
  19. I'm watching Univision. Who's Twellman?
  20. I had a rather opinionated teacher of AP US history in 11th grade argue strongly it was about the States' right to secede. This was in San Diego, California in the mid 90's.
  21. The fact is that when it comes to protests, marches, and other acts of (peaceful) civil disobedience, the Right has nothing on the Left. Maybe a few thousand were in DC on 1/6 and several hundred stormed the Capitol. That isn't many, as you point out, considering many actually believed their country was being taken from them. Contrast that with the MILLIONS who marched worldwide within one day of Cheeto taking office, with half a million in DC alone. Then consider the millions who took to the streets for weeks following George Floyd's killing. If the Republicans try to steal an election, I hope they find out.
  22. Loudoun Country went for Biden by 24 points. I'm sure they have their bigots, and they might be loud, but they are not the majority.
  23. I hope you're right. Fact is that the most politically sensible time to push for reform was today and both Sinema and Manchin have let the moment pass them by. That's a bad sign. I took issue with the fact that you seemed to think this will resolve itself somehow in the backrooms or on the floor of the Senate. I feel that is now a lost cause. I still hold out some hope for Biden intervening, but I think it's now up to people like us to deal with this, somehow...
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