Comments by "Al Loomis" (@alloomis1635) on "Should Trump Have the Power to Take Us to War?" video.

  1. only congress can 'declare war,' but congress decided long ago to issue a blank check to presidents, to avoid being identified with continual military action. so various 'police actions' are carried out, often indistinguishable from war, but sometimes merely assassinations, coups, and assisted regime change. the usa is not a democracy, and the cow people watch their masters do murder abroad, and only anger when those murders draw some retribution. the usa is not uniquely contemptible, but it is in the first rank, and notable for the hypocrisy they wrap around their crimes.
    5
  2. trump did not take the usa to war. he just murdered a prominent iranian general. in iraq. if he did the same thing to xi jin ping's favorite general, usa and the world would find out what chinese capabilities are. but iran can only bluster, and plot secret attacks with poison dust. otoh, the middle east is filled with people who would die cheerfully if they could take a few americans along, and this murder has energized many of them. congress effectively handed over the war power to the president about 20 years ago. they wanted war, good for business, but didn't want to underwrite it. don't complain, the constitution has turned a blind eye to any number of outrages, from birth. you put up with it because there is nothing you can do, short of revolution.
    1
  3. aristotle wrote a book on politics, and there is a key element that is vital to education still: he said the fundamental question to ask in the management of a state, is "who decides." a democracy is a state in which the citizens 'decide.' the usa is not a democracy. americans should never imagine they are, for they do not decide, they don't even have access to what the 'deciders' are doing. aristotle would characterize the usa as a 'plutocracy,' they had them in classical hellas, it was a sophisticated time. so when mr. hartmann asks, "should trump have the power to take us to war?" he is indulging in a rhetorical question. it doesn't matter what you answer, or what you think. the usa is not a democracy, neither you nor mr. hartmann are citizens, you are civilians who watch their masters, but do not direct events.
    1
  4. trump hasn't gone to war yet, cross yer fingers. but he might, clinton might, had she been elected, dubya did, and usa has been in the war business since ww1. getting rid of trump is no solution, getting rid of the usa is necessary. difficult, requires thought, will get back to you if i see a way.
    1