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LakeVermilion

(1,022 posts)
Mon May 4, 2020, 10:32 PM May 2020

Its ironic that the most powerful country in world history

cannot defend itself against this virus. Since World War II our military industrial complex has given us massive power around the globe. Yet we failed to defend our health, devalued our education and dismissed science.

So we face an enemy that bombs and armies cannot stop, and need science, education and a health system that have been dismissed as elitism.

If we are lucky we won't regress into another Stone Age.

32 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Its ironic that the most powerful country in world history (Original Post) LakeVermilion May 2020 OP
PARTLY because we cannot 'defend' ourselves against a sociopathic 'president.' elleng May 2020 #1
Years of Republican undermining American values made it easy for him. LakeVermilion May 2020 #4
Yes elleng May 2020 #5
I think the consitution I_UndergroundPanther May 2020 #13
People choose convenience over long term goals. LuvLoogie May 2020 #24
Yep SouthernCal_Dem May 2020 #2
I feel the same way. llmart May 2020 #3
I could have generated a better response if I was president. LakeVermilion May 2020 #6
$1 face masks dalton99a May 2020 #16
It's Worse ProfessorGAC May 2020 #26
Now you can't even find a disposable face mask. llmart May 2020 #28
Because we elected a president who tore down all the defense barriers we had. Initech May 2020 #7
Remember this: LakeVermilion May 2020 #8
I think we can do better than South Korea, Americas president is a lunatic though uponit7771 May 2020 #9
If we had a competent president, we easily could. Initech May 2020 #15
Like any despotic Oligarchy, our billh58 May 2020 #10
True words! LakeVermilion May 2020 #11
American leadership has abdicated. mwooldri May 2020 #12
Well said ! n/t KT2000 May 2020 #14
The stupid republicans who with the exception of Romney voted pbmus May 2020 #17
Agreed. And while we are talking about the virus, its part of a pattern of failure to protect us tulipsandroses May 2020 #18
The goal of GOP is to destroy our government and remake it for billionaires. Hermit-The-Prog May 2020 #21
You said it! A failure of leadership is responsible for all of this. smirkymonkey May 2020 #25
Trump has flat out fucked up America world wide wally May 2020 #19
we could VERY WELL defend ourself if we had a REAL PRESIDENT Skittles May 2020 #20
Should have taken some of the money we wasted on nukes and spent it on schools instead. meadowlander May 2020 #22
Democracy, Separation of Powers, Bill of Rights. Sounds good, but the glitch has just popped up. Midnight Writer May 2020 #23
Not really malaise May 2020 #27
But... czarjak May 2020 #29
What is happening in the poorer, less developed countries? tclambert May 2020 #30
the most powerful country in world history Aussie105 May 2020 #31
Not so much cannot as WILL NOT. ...nt 2naSalit May 2020 #32

LakeVermilion

(1,022 posts)
4. Years of Republican undermining American values made it easy for him.
Mon May 4, 2020, 10:39 PM
May 2020

Republicans haven't offered anything that resembles a conceptual argument to be elected since Reagan. They have become entirely dependent on character assassinations, and actions to suppress voters.

I_UndergroundPanther

(12,452 posts)
13. I think the consitution
Mon May 4, 2020, 11:10 PM
May 2020

Has to have rules preventing ogliarchy, narcissists and authoritarians and and psychopaths from ever holding any office. And I think certain beliefs should be labeled as treasonous,like wanting to destroy the government.

LuvLoogie

(6,855 posts)
24. People choose convenience over long term goals.
Tue May 5, 2020, 04:02 AM
May 2020

And not enough of them vote. Some people call Barack Obama a narcissist and Nancy Pelosi a psychopath. The 25th amendment is there, but the citizenry has been asleep at the wheel and have allowed radicals bent on instilling a Dominionist regime to gain power. trump is their tool.

The openness of our society allowed this. These bigoted, nihilist folk intend to shut the door behind them and eliminate 'the garbage," This is how they view us.

trump is in power because he scapegoated immigrants and minorities. He still has 40% of the populous because THEY are CONFIDENT he will do his best to damage the "foreign and other" demographic, and THAT is their priority over everything else.

SouthernCal_Dem

(851 posts)
2. Yep
Mon May 4, 2020, 10:37 PM
May 2020

A contributing factor is certainly the fact that a good portion of our population thought having a TV gameshow host as president would be just dandy.

llmart

(15,501 posts)
3. I feel the same way.
Mon May 4, 2020, 10:38 PM
May 2020

We've got billions to throw at the defense industry but when it comes to having enough face masks, virus testing, ventilators, we're told it can't be helped. Go make you own mask.

Pathetic.

LakeVermilion

(1,022 posts)
6. I could have generated a better response if I was president.
Mon May 4, 2020, 10:42 PM
May 2020

From the start it was always about testing. I think they limited testing on purpose, just like they forced the states to compete to get PPE materials.

ProfessorGAC

(64,425 posts)
26. It's Worse
Tue May 5, 2020, 06:37 AM
May 2020

Buying in quantity showed $63 for a box of 100.
63¢ a mask, and we're building ships the navy says they don't need.

llmart

(15,501 posts)
28. Now you can't even find a disposable face mask.
Tue May 5, 2020, 02:18 PM
May 2020

The ones I've seen most people wearing are the disposable ones and I'm pretty sure they weren't meant to be worn over and over and over for weeks on end. That's why they're "disposable". Is it even safe to keep wearing the same one for ever? They certainly can't be laundered. At least the ones you make from an old t-shirt can be washed.

What a country.

Initech

(99,915 posts)
7. Because we elected a president who tore down all the defense barriers we had.
Mon May 4, 2020, 10:47 PM
May 2020

CDC? Gutted.
WHO? Funding pulled out.
Disease prevention teams in China and Africa? Fired.
Experts in public health and disease prevention? Silenced.
Our supply of personal protection equipment to prevent a disaster? Shipped somewhere else.

And yet the guy who we call "leader" thinks it was his god given right to do this and to go against the previous administration.

LakeVermilion

(1,022 posts)
8. Remember this:
Mon May 4, 2020, 10:50 PM
May 2020

No one in the Republican party uttered one word of concern. They all have blood on their hands.

In fact, Democrats tried to inquire in Senate and House earnings, but were stonewalled.

Initech

(99,915 posts)
15. If we had a competent president, we easily could.
Mon May 4, 2020, 11:13 PM
May 2020

Hell the virus probably wouldn't have done as much damage as it did if we had competent leadership.

billh58

(6,635 posts)
10. Like any despotic Oligarchy, our
Mon May 4, 2020, 10:53 PM
May 2020

political structure and national identity is in the process of being turned from a Progressive Democracy into the ideology of fear of the "other." Unfortunately the "very good" people who idolize Trump have embraced the hatred, bigotry, and ignorance that he promotes and preaches, and have become very vocal with their contemptable far right-wing propaganda.

It will take extraordinary leaders at all levels of our society to reverse this despicable national trend, and to heal our country.

LakeVermilion

(1,022 posts)
11. True words!
Mon May 4, 2020, 11:01 PM
May 2020

Getting our people elected only stops them, we have a lot of work to do to build a concensus to help rebuild our democracy.

mwooldri

(10,291 posts)
12. American leadership has abdicated.
Mon May 4, 2020, 11:06 PM
May 2020

Coronavirus: World leaders pledge billions for vaccine fight...

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52525387

The US and Russia did not take part. China, where the virus originated in December, was represented by its ambassador to the European Union.


If there was true American leadership, the US would have taken part. It didn't. It couldn't even bother to send its EU ambassador to the virtual conference.

pbmus

(12,418 posts)
17. The stupid republicans who with the exception of Romney voted
Tue May 5, 2020, 12:01 AM
May 2020

Against removing him are all to blame....every single last one of there filthy stealing hearts...

tulipsandroses

(5,094 posts)
18. Agreed. And while we are talking about the virus, its part of a pattern of failure to protect us
Tue May 5, 2020, 12:30 AM
May 2020

Same attitude when it comes to gun violence
Same attitude when it comes to climate change
Same attitude when it comes to election interference

None of that is to their benefit. Shutting down the economy meant stock market crashed. They would have preferred to keep everything open. Millions of deaths would be just fine if the stock market was doing well.

Tackling gun violence means they don't get the money from gun manufacturers, NRA

Denying climate change to keep getting money from the big polluters.

Not protecting our elections because they know they will benefit if Russia intervenes again. Looking at you Moscow Mitch.

We cannot look to Trumpists or Republicans to protect us from any threat. Looking at all the above. How much money have we spent on recent wars again? Because the scary brown people want to kill us? Not downplaying Isis, Al Qaeda threats and the like. But how many Americans have died in the last 20 years due to terrorism?

How many have died from the above due to failure of leadership? From the virus, to gun violence, to hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, forest fires because they fight against these protections? Then you want to turn around and tell me the person I should be most concerned about is a terrorist in the Middle East?

 

smirkymonkey

(63,221 posts)
25. You said it! A failure of leadership is responsible for all of this.
Tue May 5, 2020, 04:15 AM
May 2020

If we had a competent leader who chose to put other competent leaders in positions of power this would not be happening. But we don't. We have a weak, incompetent, failure of a man who doesn't know the first thing about running a nation, let alone running a reality TV show.

He is an abysmal failure and I hate to think of what could happen to this country if he is not removed in November.

Skittles

(152,966 posts)
20. we could VERY WELL defend ourself if we had a REAL PRESIDENT
Tue May 5, 2020, 12:46 AM
May 2020

seriously, even *I* could have done a better job than that piece of SHIT Trump

tclambert

(11,080 posts)
30. What is happening in the poorer, less developed countries?
Tue May 5, 2020, 11:05 PM
May 2020

In normal times, they would ask America for help. With a good American leader, we would have our own situation handled, and would have enough left over to try to help the more unfortunate nations.

I don't think anyone in the world would ask Trump for help. I don't think third world countries will offer us aid, though, because they'd be afraid Jared Kushner would hijack it.

Aussie105

(5,215 posts)
31. the most powerful country in world history
Wed May 6, 2020, 08:00 AM
May 2020

But not the most intelligent, or capable, nor does it have a government empathetic with the needs of it's people.
Some aspects like healthcare, education and pandemic response are just sad.

Most powerful? Maybe. All I know is that power without compassion can be very destructive.

Unfortunately dominance in military might does not translate into intelligent government and people working together for the common good.

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