Posts by Coded Logic

74

Why is Trump so effective???

by Coded Logic in

i think trump is an absolute idiot.

his tactics, however, are undeniably effective.

thought i'd just put together a short list of some of the things he does.

Coded Logic

Thank you Freedom of Mind for taking the time to reply. I'll try and address some of your comments in order:

1.) I'm not sure it's fair to compare President Clinton's actions to President Trump's actions in regards to the State Department because it sets up a false equivalency. To be clear, the issues is NOT that Trump is putting his own people in charge. Rather, the issue is that Trump has fired nearly every leadership role in the state department MONTHS before he will be able to get conformations or replacements for them. This is a huge problem for a country seeking a leadership role in the world. Gutting the State Department is like turning the US into a sailing ship without sails. Trump can spin the helm to his hearts delight - but the ship isn't going anywhere.

And this is nothing like Bill Clinton who had his replacements lined up and ready to go BEFORE dismissing any prior appointees. Trump is just being plain reckless.

2.) I'm not sure why you're saying MSM is "making stories" about Kellyanne Connoway. The only persons responsible for the parade of nonsense coming out of the mouths of Trump's media team are - Trump's media team. The fact that they habitually run around peddling conspiracy theories and false narratives is deeply concerning. And, more importantly, a great many articles and air time has been spent on Scott Pruitt's scientific illiteracy.

It is possible to cover both the lies/idiocy of Kellyanne and simultaneously cover the lies/idiocy of Scott. News is not a zero sum game.

3.) Your comments regarding the UN remind me of when my congregation went to visit Bethel and we stopped at the UN building along the way. The brother conducting the tour went on about how, "since the UN was formed there have been over 300 wars" and how it was a total failure.

Of course, what the brother failed to mention was all the wars that the UN had STOPPED from ever happening. He failed to mention all the wars that were shortened in length because the UN intervened. He failed to mention all the treaties signed that prevented countries from using chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons on the battlefield. And he failed to mention all the cases in which the UN managed to broker a lasting peace between countries.

The value of the UN cannot be overstated. And to threaten to abandon it like Trump has is a fools gambit.

4.) Between January and September of last year the US Coast Guard seized over 416,000 pounds of cocaine (with an estimated value of 5.6 billion dollars). And by the end of the year it had intercepted additional 26 tons of cocaine. I'd hardly call that a "negligible impact".

Perhaps if we had smarter drug laws (aka educating people on safe recreational use instead of felony charges) we wouldn't have to spend so much on our Coast Guard. But that's a whole separate topic.

74

Why is Trump so effective???

by Coded Logic in

i think trump is an absolute idiot.

his tactics, however, are undeniably effective.

thought i'd just put together a short list of some of the things he does.

Coded Logic

Minimus -

Name calling is a poor substitute for an actual argument.

74

Why is Trump so effective???

by Coded Logic in

i think trump is an absolute idiot.

his tactics, however, are undeniably effective.

thought i'd just put together a short list of some of the things he does.

Coded Logic

If you don't think the sky is falling then I'm afraid you simply haven't been paying attention. Here are just a few of the things Trumps administration has done / is in the process of doing:

1.) Trump's administration has gutted the State Department and is severely curtailing the US' ability to respond to world events. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jan/29/state-department-purge-trump-foreign-policy

2.) Trump has put in charge of the EPA a man who doesn't believe in global warming. https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/03/trumps-war-on-the-climate-begins/519159/

3.) Trump wants to cut funding to the the UN by over 50% which would cripple peace keeping operations all across the globe. http://thehill.com/policy/international/un-treaties/323781-trump-wants-un-funds-cut-over-50-percent-report.

4.) Trump wants to cut funding to the coast guard by 1.3 billion dollars which would allow illegal drugs and weapons to flood into the country like never before. https://www.aol.com/article/news/2017/03/13/nearly-60-congressmen-have-called-trumps-1-billion-cut-to-the/21884818/

5.) Trump wants to cut funding to the TSA and FEMA by over 900 million dollars which would make already long airport lines even longer and severely inhibit our ability to react to natural disasters and provide funding to states declaring emergencies. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/09/us/politics/trump-budget-coast-guard.html?_r=0

6.) Trump wants to increase our nuclear arsenal which increases the risk of proliferation and increases the likelihood of other countries starting nuclear programs. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-exclusive-idUSKBN1622IF

7.) Trump is poised to start a trade war with our two biggest partners in trade - China and Mexico which could skyrocket the price of food and goods here in the states. https://www.forbes.com/sites/danikenson/2017/02/06/not-much-left-stopping-trumps-trade-war-with-china/#911126d4d1cc

8.) Trump has said he wont defend members of NATO which has greatly increased the threat of Russia to our European allies. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/nato-jens-stoltenberg-russia-vladimir-putin-us-europe-allies/

9.) Trump as made of White House Press Office a bad joke and the office of the President lacks all credibility. When the wolves really do show up no one is going to believe Trump because he's cried wolf WAY too many times. http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/13/politics/sean-spicer-donald-trump-wiretapping/

10.) Trump is making health care unaffordable to the lower middle class but is giving huge healthcare tax breaks to the rich. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/critics-say-aca-risk-strategies-are-having-reverse-robinhood-effect/2016/01/13/e41cf574-b48f-11e5-a842-0feb51d1d124_story.html?utm_term=.1de4c4e87bae

Anyone of these by themselves is cause for immense alarm. Instead of attacking liberals for claiming "the sky is falling" maybe you should try opening your eyes.

74

Why is Trump so effective???

by Coded Logic in

i think trump is an absolute idiot.

his tactics, however, are undeniably effective.

thought i'd just put together a short list of some of the things he does.

Coded Logic

Ah yes, moving the goal post is something his sycophants do all the time! Completely forgot about that one.

I just hope we can get him out of office before he gets us into a shooting match with our sworn enemies (i.e. Australia)

74

Why is Trump so effective???

by Coded Logic in

i think trump is an absolute idiot.

his tactics, however, are undeniably effective.

thought i'd just put together a short list of some of the things he does.

Coded Logic

I think Trump is an absolute idiot. His tactics, however, are undeniably effective. Thought I'd just put together a short list of some of the things he does. Let me know what you think I missed.

...

1.) Always be on the offense:

Whenever Trump get's into trouble he immediately starts lashing out at other people. Often through a combination of Red Herrings and Ad Hominens Attacks he gets people off topic defending themselves or institutions instead of talking about Trump's problems.

Anchor: Yet more reports of Trumps ties to Russia are coming out. And we've just learned -

Trump: Obama tapped my phone!

Anchor: Trumpcare is expected cut 20 million American's health care -

Trump: The CBO is the absolute worst and can't get anything right!

Anchor: Trump's national security advisor lied to congress while -

Trump: The media is all fake news!

#NewYorkTimesFailingBigly

etc.

2.) Use of Surrogates:

Trump gets a lot of people to go out and do his dirty work for him. It doesn't matter how obviously stupid and post hoc their rationalizations are - they're out there getting Trump's message out.

I think this is the one a lot of us don't quite fully get: He (or she) who doesn't show up for the debate - loses.

If a white-nationalist-bigot-racist-xenophobe-homophobe-misoginist-add what ever else you like to the list - has a forum to debate you - YOU BETTER SHOW UP!

Because if you refuse to show up - that thirty minutes or hour - or six months of Trump surrogates on CNN and everywhere else - are going to spend the whole time making their case. While you're making no case at all. And anyone on the fence or near the fence is going to move into their camp.

We defeat bad arguments with good arguments. Not by assuming the high moral ground or by sitting debates out on "principle". When they go low - we go . . . we don't go ANYWHERE!!! We point out the garbage that is coming out of their mouths and explain why our ideas are better!!!!

(sorry, got a little side tracked there)

3.) Attrition:

They say persistence breaks down resistance. But it's also true that resistance can break down persistance. Trump fights tooth and nail on every topic and refuse to yield ground no matter what. While this does have some obvious drawbacks (like he's sacrificing his administrations entire credibility just to change the topic for one twenty-four-hour news cycle) it also means people are willing to concede a lot more ground simply because they're so tired of sloshing through the muck.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabian_strategy

Alright, enough from me. What do you guys think?

13

Way to make me look stupid . . .

by Coded Logic in

when the arc made their recommendations to the society last year i genuinely thought we'd see some real changes.

oh sure, i expected a lot of feet dragging, double talk, and general nonsense - but at the end of the day i was certain the society would do what they legally had to and then run around claiming:.

) these new policies and procedures aren't really new we've always done them.

Coded Logic

Why not just not just come out with a new big and beautiful brochure: How to keep Our children safe

It could have all the JW double talk and still get the job done, "Many families when learning about allegations of child abuse seek out the authorities . . . this would certainly be appropriate . . . and sometimes even necessary.

"While the elders in the congregation are here for our spiritual protection they are by no means meant to serve as "judges" over the land. We would encourage the bothers and sisters to leave criminal investigations in the hands of the authorities . . . give Caesar's things to Cesar but God's things to God."

I just don't get it. The main thrust of what the ARC is looking for isn't that hard.

13

Way to make me look stupid . . .

by Coded Logic in

when the arc made their recommendations to the society last year i genuinely thought we'd see some real changes.

oh sure, i expected a lot of feet dragging, double talk, and general nonsense - but at the end of the day i was certain the society would do what they legally had to and then run around claiming:.

) these new policies and procedures aren't really new we've always done them.

Coded Logic

I can't help but wonder what Justice McClellan and Stuart Angus thinks of the whole affair. It must be as frustrating as it is baffling as to why the Society won't just do what needs doing.

13

Way to make me look stupid . . .

by Coded Logic in

when the arc made their recommendations to the society last year i genuinely thought we'd see some real changes.

oh sure, i expected a lot of feet dragging, double talk, and general nonsense - but at the end of the day i was certain the society would do what they legally had to and then run around claiming:.

) these new policies and procedures aren't really new we've always done them.

Coded Logic

When the ARC made their recommendations to the Society last year I genuinely thought we'd see some real changes. Oh sure, I expected a lot of feet dragging, double talk, and general nonsense - but at the end of the day I was certain the Society would do what they legally had to and then run around claiming:

A.) These new policies and procedures aren't really new we've always done them

B.) JWs have the best practices and policies out of any group ever, aren't we great? Let's all pat ourselves on the back and go tell the R&F how awesome we all are!

But what I did NOT expect was to end up where we are today. After watching the ARC last night I can't help but feel deflated this morning. I had hoped the Society was finally going to get it's act together and start taking some concrete steps to prevent and address sexual child abuse. Instead, they've decided to do next to nothing and only tacitly update their policies and procedures. It's so sad.

The ARC has tremendous expertise and resources that the Society could tap into. Many organisations pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in consulting fees for the type of council the ARC is giving to them for FREE! It's just so damn tragic to watch the Society squander an opportunity for long term change on the cheap merchandise of saving face today. They won't admit they did anything wrong. And they refuse to make the necessary changes to protect children from sexual abuse.

Saying they "abhor child abuse" means nothing when they do nothing to try and stop it. The Watchtower Society is truly a wicked system of things.

31

I wrote to Mr. Angus Stewart regarding the "inactive" status claims made by the Watchtower at the ARC

by EdenOne in

this is the email i have just sent to mr. stewart angus, who has been conducting the questioning of the jw leaders during the australian royal commission dealing with child abuse cases among the jehovah's witnesses, concerning the claims made that a jehovah witness who wishes to walk away from the organization can simply become inactive and avoid being shunned:.

dear mr. angus stewart,

i have followed with interest the videos of the arc regarding the jehovah's witnesses in australia.

Coded Logic

Very well stated.

I too was considering writing a letter to the ARC - though my tack was going to be slightly different. I was thinking of writing something along the lines of someone who leaves and joins a different church could be disfellowshipped as well.

13

New Letter from the GB

by Coded Logic in

dear brothers and sisters,.

it has come to our attention that many you, especially in the developed world, have chosen to outfit your homes with artificial lighting.

while there is nothing wrong with husbands wishing to see more clearly while studying - or for sisters to want to add some extra lighting when cleaning the home - we need to be careful how we choose to use this technology.

Coded Logic

Old Light: having the lights on at night is forbidden

New Light: since the days get longer and shorter during the winter and summer it is okay to use lights at night for short periods of time right before and after sunrise/sunset.

New-new light: lighting "fractions" are okay. Red bulbs, black lights, etc. Anything that isn't using the entire color spectrum.

New-new-new light: brothers and sisters must now start reporting their lighting cards clearly documenting when they have the lights on and off - especially in the bedroom.