I'm not sure I'd use that term for it. Maybe "batcrap insane" was what you were looking for?
It is perhaps the most forceful or articulated aspects of his foreign policy,. Not because it is itself cogent, it just happens to be surrounded by the murkiness that is the rest of his foreign policy stance.
Trump has been adamant about the need for America to win wars and their "spoils". I think he is now priming the country for that eventuality.
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I don't look down on people who don't have graduate level degrees in general, obviously. I sure don't have a PhD. I'm saying that when you have someone on to provide the "science" perspective on an issue - which is literally the only reason anyone ever invites Bill Nye on a cable news show - the person offering that opinion should be an expert. Bill Nye is not.
There are a huge, huge number of people you could find on any scientific question who could go on TV and explain the issue and actually know it inside and out, and presumably at least some of them are charismatic and would present well - I wish they'd use those people. But if you have to have a general "this guy speaks on behalf of all scientists everywhere" who's the first guy in every producer's speed dial, it'd be nice if said guy was actually a scientist.
I can never watch Bill Nye without thinking of him as one of the funny guys from Seattle Local TV
Almost Live was a bloody great show back in the ninties.
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I don't look down on people who don't have graduate level degrees in general, obviously. I sure don't have a PhD. I'm saying that when you have someone on to provide the "science" perspective on an issue - which is literally the only reason anyone ever invites Bill Nye on a cable news show - the person offering that opinion should be an expert. Bill Nye is not.
There are a huge, huge number of people you could find on any scientific question who could go on TV and explain the issue and actually know it inside and out, and presumably at least some of them are charismatic and would present well - I wish they'd use those people. But if you have to have a general "this guy speaks on behalf of all scientists everywhere" who's the first guy in every producer's speed dial, it'd be nice if said guy was actually a scientist.
Who is a scientist? Anyone that rigidly applies the scientific method. A five year old can be a scientist.
Bill Nye is certainly more than a "children's entertainer".
He is a mechanical engineer from Cornell (Ivy League). He developed technology for Boeing, and has a number of patents to his name. He helped develop a sundial for the Mars Rover and a light sail for the Planetary Society. He has written books on evolution and climate change.
I first remember seeing him on the sketch comedy show Almost Live in Seattle, where he developed the "Science Guy" character. Now he is executive director of the Planetary Society, a political lobby group for space exploration.
He has quite the resume - entertainer, educator, political activist and scientist. Is he the best "expert" to speak on specific scientific topics? Usually not, but his celebrity makes him on one of the public faces of science education.
One does not need an advanced degree or even a degree in the specific area to be an expert. We have corporate scientists who have developed technologies/inventions that contribute billions of dollars to the company in specific areas that are completely unrelated to their degree. The degree isn't even an advanced degree in many cases. They are certainly experts in these unrelated-to-their-degree areas.
Is Nye that guy? I don't know. But if he's capable of understanding the science, follows the developments in the science and truly knows the science he is an expert regardless of what the degree says.
I understand what you're saying but just because he doesn't have the degree doesn't mean he can't be the go to guy. It'd be nice, of course, to have a telegenic and famous climate scientist do it but until then it's left to others to carry that flag.
That and Nye isn't exactly a technical slouch. He was an engineer at Boeing once upon a time for cripes sake. He knows his stuff and he's a good ambassador for scientific policy making in my view.
It is perhaps the most forceful or articulated aspects of his foreign policy,. Not because it is itself cogent, it just happens to be surrounded by the murkiness that is the rest of his foreign policy stance.
Trump has been adamant about the need for America to win wars and their "spoils". I think he is now priming the country for that eventuality.
I don't know how much prepping of the public he's doing, other than increasing some funding and some incoherent speeches. I think right now the US is in holding pattern, hoping one of America's "evil" enemies makes a mistake- see NK, Iran, even Russia.
Once they make a move, then he'll be justified to strike back, get the war machine going even MORE than now, and yes take the riches from the conquest. I just didn't know he'd openly declared that they're going to pillage Iran for their oil!
I highly doubt the US (public) has the appetite to START any conflicts right now, and the President (or his team) likely know that. I don't disagree that there will be a Trump war, I just think they're trying to manage optics as best they can before starting it up, but many smart people can see through that.
One does not need an advanced degree or even a degree in the specific area to be an expert. We have corporate scientists who have developed technologies/inventions that contribute billions of dollars to the company in specific areas that are completely unrelated to their degree. The degree isn't even an advanced degree in many cases. They are certainly experts in these unrelated-to-their-degree areas.
Is Nye that guy? I don't know. But if he's capable of understanding the science, follows the developments in the science and truly knows the science he is an expert regardless of what the degree says.
I understand what you're saying but just because he doesn't have the degree doesn't mean he can't be the go to guy. It'd be nice, of course, to have a telegenic and famous climate scientist do it but until then it's left to others to carry that flag.
I don't think you want a scientist you want a sales guy. You don't get the engineer to sell the car.
Having someone who understands how to communicate with peopele who aren't their intellectual peers is more important then advanced degree level scientific understanding of the material.
The spokesperson doesn't need to come up with the theory or be able to test the theory. They need to explain what a theory is to a person who thinks a theory is a guess.
I just think they're trying to manage optics as best they can before starting it up, but many smart people can see through that.
like this?
Quote:
Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump's first budget proposal will look to increase defense and security spending by $54 billion and cut roughly the same amount from non-defense programs, the White House said Monday.
A Trump administration official told CNN that all $54 billion will be cut in fiscal year 2018. Multiple officials have also made clear over the last 48 hours that the EPA and foreign aid will be cut significantly under the new plan
Yes, what are they gearing up for? Just oil-ing up the war machine?
I personally think it'll be NK first, but I don't know if some of the NK-China news the past couple days is just US propaganda and wishful thinking, or if China is actually questioning things there.
If is NK first, especially if China is on board, then it's not a PR disaster at all and it avoids the middle east, which is a lost cause for the US (as others have mentioned before, anything there is a 15+ year mission).
Trump Organization@Trump
Tomorrow marks the official grand opening of @TrumpVancouver The 69-story tower will be the first property to open in the city in over 6 yrs
Talk about fake news, cripes. And people are going to believe this.
Trump was asked in an interview on Fox News' "Fox and Friends" if he believed Obama was responsible for the town hall protests against Republicans this month.
"It turns out his organization seems to do a lot of these organizing to some of the protests that these Republicans are seeing around the country against you. Do you believe President Obama is behind it and if he is, is that a violation of the so-called unsaid presidents' code?" Trump was asked.
"No, I think he is behind it. I also think it is politics, that's the way it is," Trump replied.
"In terms of achievement, I think I'd give myself an A. Because I think I've done great things -- I and my people, but I don't think we've explained it well enough to the American public," he said in an interview that aired Tuesday on Fox News' "Fox and Friends."
"I think I give myself an A in terms of what I've actually done," Trump added.
But the President seemed to think he's just been an average messenger.
"In terms of messaging, I would give myself a C or a C+,'" he said.
Trump also gave himself an A+ for "effort."
"But results are more important (than effort)," he added.
I know more than the Generals! Especially how to throw them under the bus!
Quote:
President Donald Trump on Tuesday dodged responsibility for a botched mission he ordered in Yemen last month, placing the onus on the military and Barack Obama’s administration instead.
Bill Owens, the father of Chief Petty Officer William “Ryan” Owens, the Navy SEAL who died in the operation, demanded an investigation into his son’s death over the weekend. Owens further revealed he couldn’t bear to meet Trump at the airport as Ryan’s casket was carried off the military plane last month.
Asked about the matter during an interview with Fox News’ “Fox ‘n’ Friends,” Trump repeatedly said “they” were responsible for the outcome of the mission, in reference to the military.
“This was a mission that was started before I got here. This was something they wanted to do,” he said. “They came to me, they explained what they wanted to do ― the generals ― who are very respected, my generals are the most respected that we’ve had in many decades, I believe. And they lost Ryan.
“I can understand people saying that. I’d feel ― ‘What’s worse?’ There’s nothing worse,” he added. “This was something that they were looking at for a long time doing, and according to [Defense Secretary Jim] Mattis it was a very successful mission. They got tremendous amounts of information.”
And the Yemen raid itself is looking like a bust, and there appears to be a different reason for the raid than the liars at the White House claim, which should only invite even more questions.
Quote:
Last month's deadly commando raid in Yemen, which cost the lives of a U.S. Navy SEAL and a number of children, has so far yielded no significant intelligence, U.S. officials told NBC News.
Although Pentagon officials have said the raid produced "actionable intelligence," senior officials who spoke to NBC News said they were unaware of any, even as the father of the dead SEAL questioned the premise of the raid in an interview with the Miami Herald published Sunday
"Why at this time did there have to be this stupid mission when it wasn't even barely a week into [President Trump's] administration?" Bill Owens, whose youngest son Ryan was killed during the raid, said. "For two years prior ... everything was missiles and drones (in Yemen)....Now all of a sudden we had to make this grand display?"
A senior Congressional official briefed on the matter said the Trump administration has yet to explain what prompted the rare use of American ground troops in Yemen, but he said he was not aware of any new threat from al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the al Qaeda affiliate that was targeted.
The official, and others briefed on the matter who spoke to NBC News, echoed the remarks of Sen. John McCain, R.-Ariz., that the raid was designed to kill or capture one or more militants — something the military did not initially acknowledge.
Instead, Pentagon officials called it a "site exploitation mission" designed to gather intelligence. Defense officials later did not dispute McCain's characterization, saying they were hoping to kill or capture certain militants, though they declined to name them. NBC News and other media outlets have reported that Sheikh Abdel-Raouf al-Dhahab was among the dead. The Pentagon calls him an al Qaeda leader; the Yemeni government disagrees.
Quote:
The White House has repeatedly called the Yemen mission a success. White House spokesman Sean Spicer said on Feb. 8 that anyone "who undermines the success of that raid owes an apology and [does] a disservice to the life of Chief Owens."
"We gathered an unbelievable amount of intelligence that will prevent the potential deaths or attacks on American soil," said Spicer.
A Defense Department official also pushed back Monday afternoon, saying the raid has yielded "a significant amount" of intelligence.
But the only example the military has provided turned out to be an old bomb-making video that was of no current value.
On Monday, Spicer addressed the remarks of Bill Owens, whose son died.
"I can tell him that on behalf of the president, his son died a hero and the information that he was able to help obtain through that raid, as I said before, is going to save American lives," he said. "The mission was successful in helping prevent a future attack or attacks on this nation."
Multiple senior officials told NBC News they have not seen evidence to support that claim.
