Althouse: "Over my lifetime I've done a lot of deals with a lot of people and sometimes the people you most distrust turn out to be the most honorable ones and the people that you do trust turn out to be not the honorable ones."

June 12, 2018

"Over my lifetime I've done a lot of deals with a lot of people and sometimes the people you most distrust turn out to be the most honorable ones and the people that you do trust turn out to be not the honorable ones."

Said Trump, in this new interview with George Stephanopoulos. Watch the whole thing:

355 comments:

1 – 200 of 355 Newer› Newest»

Hagar said...: "Honorable" here means your word is good for whatever you are promising - good or ill.; 6/12/18, 8:04 AM
Fabi said...: Kim is taller than I had guessed. Approaching six feet? Or is it that sweet haircut?; 6/12/18, 8:15 AM
Now I Know! said...: Trump. What a joke.; 6/12/18, 8:16 AM
Fabi said...: To be fair -- those are two awful hair helmets.; 6/12/18, 8:16 AM
Big Mike said...: Clever way of reminding Stephanopoulos — and the world — that “it ain’t my first rodeo, Pilgrim.”; 6/12/18, 8:19 AM
MeatPopscicle1234 said...: Now I Know! said...
Trump. What a joke.

6/12/18, 8:16 AM

----------------

The only joke here is you and the other NeverTrumpers suffering from TDS who absolutely refuse to give the guy any credit for anything. All you do is bitch and moan, piss and complain about EVERYTHING... It's frickin exhausting having to listen to you idiots day in and day out with your non-stop BS... Give it a rest already...; 6/12/18, 8:21 AM
Bill R said...: There are people who are rapacious and cunning. You can still do business with them if the lawyers read the paperwork carefully. Such people are often scrupulous about following the letter of the agreement.

There are other people who mean well but...; 6/12/18, 8:23 AM
Lydia said...: "His country does love him. His people, you see the fervor. They have a great fervor."; 6/12/18, 8:29 AM
readering said...: On to his next circus act.; 6/12/18, 8:30 AM
traditionalguy said...: I was surprized that The Donald was so gracious back to that lying sneak, snake eyed Stephanopolis. All is well in Trump Land and peace in the Valley reigns.; 6/12/18, 8:34 AM
Lydia said...: "You say his people love him. Just a few months ago you accused him of starving his people. And listen, here’s the rub. Kim is a brutal dictator. He runs a police state, forced starvation, labor camps. He’s assassinated members of his own family."; 6/12/18, 8:34 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "Kim is taller than I had guessed. Approaching six feet? Or is it that sweet haircut?"

From Footwear News:

"Chosun Ilbo, a conservative South Korean newspaper, analyzed videos and photographs of the recent landmark summit... and spotted a rather high slope on the front of his shoes that seems to suggest the footwear contains insoles that push Kim’s feet upward. According to The Washington Post, the North Korean leader was thought to be around 5-foot-7, but new analysis of his shoes suggests that he might actually be a full 3 inches shorter, standing at about 5-foot-4."; 6/12/18, 8:35 AM
traditionalguy said...: Has anyone else noticed the similarity of Trump's persona to John Wayne's persona at this age?; 6/12/18, 8:36 AM
Ann Althouse said...: What Trump is saying publicly has to do with preserving the agreement and furthering the relationship. Presumably he is not doing what he says Trudeau did after the private meetings, which is to betray the private understandings and undermine the deal.; 6/12/18, 8:38 AM
Clyde said...: Yesterday at work, one of my co-workers asked me if, based on the summit, I thought the price of gold would go up or down, since she had some gold jewelry she was thinking about selling and wondered whether she should sell it quickly or wait. I told her that I didn't really know, but that if the summit went poorly, the price of gold would probably go up, since people tend to buy gold, ammo, food that keeps forever, survivalist stuff, when things look scary. She told me that she was worried because she thought both Kim and Trump were "volatile," and that she thought that if Trump didn't get his way, he would "act like a big baby." Happily, things went fairly well. Gold is down slightly.; 6/12/18, 8:40 AM
Rick.T. said...: I suspect about 99% of the critics have never negotiated anything more complex than the Starbucks or Taco Bell menus.; 6/12/18, 8:41 AM
readering said...: There is no deal.; 6/12/18, 8:42 AM
Sebastian said...: "Presumably he is not doing what he says Trudeau did after the private meetings, which is to betray the private understandings and undermine the deal."

Right. But presumably, he is using the deal not as a goal but as a tool. Unless he is the tool, which would be disappointing.; 6/12/18, 8:44 AM
Fabi said...: Thanks, Ann -- so he's a "lifter"? ;-); 6/12/18, 8:45 AM
rehajm said...: Most experts knew Hillary! was the big winner, too.; 6/12/18, 8:45 AM
Clyde said...: Lydia, as Trump pointed out, these are the people we have to deal with. It's the hand he was dealt, and he's not the first president, or the last, to have to deal with dictatorial regimes. Roosevelt was allied with Stalin during World War II. Kennedy met with Khrushchev. Nixon met with Zhou Enlai. Reagan met with Gorbachev. You make treaties limiting weapons with your adversaries, not your friends.; 6/12/18, 8:47 AM
Michael K said...: Once written is, as usual, the joke.; 6/12/18, 8:48 AM
Bay Area Guy said...: George Stephy was on his best behavior, but he does interrupt a lot.

This plus the IG Report on Thurs. Another good week for Trump. Media and Democrats and Jeff Flake/Bill Kristol Republucans hardest hit.; 6/12/18, 8:48 AM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: Rick Turley said...

I suspect about 99% of the critics have never negotiated anything more complex than the Starbucks or Taco Bell menus.

A couple times in college they attempted to negotiate a sexual consent agreement, but the negotiations always fell through. But to be fair, world peace is fairly easy compared to getting sexual consent in writing.; 6/12/18, 8:48 AM
Expat(ish) said...: I would love to hear an outlet get a person who isn't obviously arguing from a "Trump is a poopy head" or "Trump makes Progs bark so I like him" point of view to give us some perspective.

Today on NPR they had a very smart guy from MIT Poly/Sci who was criticizing Trump for the language in the agreement and how it was worthless because it echoed 99,03, and 05 agreements. When I got to work I spent about 12 seconds finding out that the same guy had praised the same agreements in the past.

Thanks so very much NPR.

-XC; 6/12/18, 8:49 AM
traditionalguy said...: Wait untl CNN and MSNBS get the Fake News up to speed. Trump only wants to build a Trump Resort and Golf Course Development on the best Beach near rich Chinese and rich South Koreans to get wealth he will secretly spilt with Putin.

What a horrible man.; 6/12/18, 8:51 AM
buwaya said...: There is a deal, these things operate in background and are tacit.
There was "no deal" either when Nixon went to China, but there was a deal.

What changed here is fundamental - the rhetorical position of both sides.
This sort of thing can't be recovered, credibly, even internally in NK.
Ideology is a religion of sorts, and changing the creed, the formula of beliefs, changes the religion.

Results TBD and likely will take a few years for any valid evaluation.; 6/12/18, 8:52 AM
Nonapod said...: Yeah, I think I'd like to wait for the dust to settle before conclude anything about all this. Hot takes are overrated.; 6/12/18, 8:54 AM
buwaya said...: Whats on paper, in other words, matters a great deal less (or not at all) than whats on video.

The world is watching the video. Even North Korea.; 6/12/18, 8:55 AM
Bay Area Guy said...: Next, I would like to see Trump head to the Middle East to negotiate with a few rich, crazy Muslim oil sheiks to open up the mother of all shopping malls and casinos in Mecca.

If he doesn't get the Nobel Peace Peace price for Korea, he'd get one for that.; 6/12/18, 8:58 AM
Owen said...: buwaya: great comment. My several decades on the planet and amateur interest in human nature suggest that you may be correct; I certainly hope so. Time will tell.

What intrigues me is the notion that the US will guarantee the security of DPRK if it de-nukes. What did China have to say about this? It's as if Little Brother is being adopted by a rival gang leader. Geostrategically and domestically (within China) what does this suggest?; 6/12/18, 9:01 AM
Michael K said...: The LA Times, of course, declared the summit useless.

Maybe Small Dead Animals prayers to Saint Andreas will work.; 6/12/18, 9:06 AM
Leland said...: For both leaders, I'm at the trust but verify stage.; 6/12/18, 9:07 AM
buwaya said...: They have had enormous shopping malls in Mecca for decades.; 6/12/18, 9:09 AM
Paul said...: Well in the corporate world Trump has lived in most of his life there are plenty of back stabbers who smile while they do their best to destroy you. And the rich rivals turn out to be honorable people.

So I can see Trump's views.; 6/12/18, 9:10 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: Sounds like he's doing a subtle compare & contrast between him and Obama, NK and Iran. Maybe that's just the way it reads to me.; 6/12/18, 9:12 AM
daskol said...: On point buwaya. Whether he trusts Kim or not, he's making sure he can by saying it out loud. He clearly trusts Kim to be Kim, and Trump knows how to make a deal with anybody. He's a diplomat. Making deals is diplomacy. Diplomacy as practiced today is not. Business is a lot closer to the real thing.

Buwaya, any second thoughts about heading for the hills, or are we really too far gone?; 6/12/18, 9:14 AM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: I often agree with Rand Paul on foreign affairs and agree with him this time:

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) called fellow Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham (SC) “a danger to the country” for relaying to the media that he had drafted documents to propose an Authorized Use of Military Force (AUMF) if President Donald Trump’s summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un didn’t go well.

“Lindsey Graham is a danger to the country by even proposing ideas like authorizing war with Korea, my goodness, so that should be something that is seen as naive and seen as something that really serious people shouldn’t even really be discussing,” Paul told CNN on Monday evening ahead of the summit, in which Kim and Trump signed a joint agreement to denuclearize the Korean peninsula.; 6/12/18, 9:16 AM
Hagar said...: Buwaya is right; that Kim went to Singapore to meet with Trump is something he can't take back, and it indeed is different for a religious leader than for a mere politician.; 6/12/18, 9:20 AM
buwaya said...: You are too far gone.
Its not just too little too late, but nothing at all is being done.
If you started now the necessary fight would be long and very bitter, and even if victorious things won't improve for a generation.

Nobody is fixing the schools (see English teacher in post below).
Not even the institutions upstream that create the staff for them.
If you aren't burning down your universities right now, then you are stuck with your K-12 for the next 30 years.; 6/12/18, 9:21 AM
Birkel said...: This is a rare occasion when I agree wholeheartedly with ARM.

Lindsey Graham should not hold any position of power, anywhere.; 6/12/18, 9:23 AM
Matt Sablan said...: "Sounds like he's doing a subtle compare & contrast between him and Obama, NK and Iran. Maybe that's just the way it reads to me."

-- Subtle as a sledgehammer to the face.; 6/12/18, 9:28 AM
Fabi said...: I hadn't heard about that, ARM -- what a noggin scratcher by Graham.; 6/12/18, 9:28 AM
Drago said...: readering: "There is no deal."

LOL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKOb-kmOgpI

"The Bubble"; 6/12/18, 9:30 AM
DrMaturin said...: Buwaya is right. Nixon's visit to China meant we would not go to war with China, something that at the time seemed a distinct possibility. Trump's meeting with Kim means there won't be Korean War 2.0. Everything has changed. The details can be worked out over time, as they have been with China.; 6/12/18, 9:30 AM
Eleanor said...: Townhall has a video Trump had made for Kim online this morning. It reminds me of something real estate developers, timeshare salesman, or cruise lines show prospective clients. Given their success, I think Trump might be on to something. Give Kim a taste of what giving up his nukes could mean for him and his country. When the country has unstable electricity, the palace is dark, too. If the country propers, so does the king.; 6/12/18, 9:33 AM
Drago said...: Fabi: "I hadn't heard about that, ARM -- what a noggin scratcher by Graham."

Not at all.

Graham, and I think he is doing this on his own without coordination with the White House, is trying to help (in his own way) by creating the impression for NK that there is a Bad Cop in the US that will move against his regime/military if Kim doesn't come to a verifiable and meaningful agreement with Good Cop Trump.

This is where Graham deviates from McCain in that McCain will never support any policy of any type for any reason regardless of support if it is a Trump policy. Graham would consider signing on to a "trust but verify"/keep pressure on until real results achieved sort of deal.

Which is precisely what Pompeo is saying will be hashed out at the detail level over the next several months.; 6/12/18, 9:37 AM
Drago said...: Eleanor: "Townhall has a video Trump had made for Kim online this morning. It reminds me of something real estate developers, timeshare salesman, or cruise lines show prospective clients."

It's a TimeShare video!

How utterly apropos.; 6/12/18, 9:39 AM
Owen said...: buwaya: "If you aren't burning down your universities right now, then you are stuck with your K-12 for the next 30 years."

I wish I could disagree. But it seems indisputably true. There is a pipeline through which "culture" is produced and delivered, and it is at least a generation long. We have trusted (or just lazily outsourced to) this pipeline, this priesthood, entirely too much power over our young. And we are stuck with the result.

I think it was Hannah Arendt who said (I paraphrase) that "civilization is constantly being invaded by barbarians. We call them babies."

This weekend I attended my wife's (high number) reunion at a prestigious college. We took in a lecture on feminism by one of the star professors. What struck me was not the (predictable) flattering manner of the professor to the aging donor audience, but the fatuity of the comments offered by the audience. Almost entirely women, and women of great accomplishment, they moaned about the systemic sexism that had held them all back. WTF?

This self-pity and Victim Olympics is what will kill (has killed?) our civilization.

/rant; 6/12/18, 9:40 AM
Larry J said...: The self-proclaimed elites and experts have been running things for a long time. How's that working out for you? Is the country more prosperous? Well, it is for some people but it's also over $20 trillion in debt. Is the world more peaceful? Ah, no.

A quote often attributed to Einstein is that one definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over while expecting a different outcome. The so-called experts have tried and failed, so of course we're supposed to listen to them forever into the future. Maybe they aren't so expert after all. Maybe they're book smart but read the wrong books. Maybe they really don't have much real world experience.

Trump has spent decades dealing with hard people. You don't do big construction projects in New York City without having to deal with union bosses, organized crime, corrupt city officials, and other Democrats. This isn't his first rodeo when it comes to dealing with someone sleazy.

Will this deal work? Time will tell. Many of the "experts" are denouncing it, but given their track record, that may well be a good sign.; 6/12/18, 9:46 AM
readering said...: Remind me why the Trump who just did this with Kim exited the Iran nuclear deal.; 6/12/18, 9:48 AM
buwaya said...: Because the real powers in Tehran are still hostile.; 6/12/18, 9:50 AM
Michael K said...: If you aren't burning down your universities right now, then you are stuck with your K-12 for the next 30 years.

I think they are burning themselves down with student debt. It will never be repaid and it is killing industries like homebuilding.

Not in California, of course, as the state is doing that, but elsewhere.

Parents will stop sending kids to brick and mortar colleges.

My first two kids went to USC and I paid out of cash flow. The next went to UCLA and I did the same. By the last one, I had to take a loan as tuition doubled in the time she was there.

One did not go to college and I gave him the tuition money as a down payment on a condo. He now has a house worth a $ million.

Colleges, especially with the idiotic departments like Gender Studies, have worn out their usefulness.; 6/12/18, 9:51 AM
Michael K said...: Blogger readering said...
Remind me why the Trump who just did this with Kim exited the Iran nuclear deal.

I don't think it would do any good. "You can lead a horse to water...."; 6/12/18, 9:52 AM
Original Mike said...: ”Because the real powers in Tehran are still hostile.”

Exactly.; 6/12/18, 9:53 AM
Drago said...: readering: "Remind me why the Trump who just did this with Kim exited the Iran nuclear deal"

LOL

Wow.

Take every demand the Senate Dems are saying must be in place for the NK deal and understand that the Iran Deal FAILED EVERY ONE OF THOSE REQUIREMENTS......AND we gave a s***-ton of cash to the Iranians up-front which funded their continued terrorist activities.

Hilarious.

readering, after crawling out from under the bed where he/she was hiding, demands to know the basics of a deal signed long ago and even has dem hacks saying gave far too much away with no guarantees of anything and a sunset clause which guaranteed an Iran nuclear breakout.; 6/12/18, 9:53 AM
OldManRick said...: So will the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists turn back the Doomsday Clock? This has got to be a significant setback to Doomsday.

https://thebulletin.org/timeline; 6/12/18, 9:57 AM
Matt Sablan said...: "AND we gave a s***-ton of cash to the Iranians up-front which funded their continued terrorist activities."

-- And attempted to get American banks to break the law to hide the money transfers.; 6/12/18, 9:59 AM
Drago said...: MS: "-- And attempted to get American banks to break the law to hide the money transfers."

Which was just exposed in the last week or so.

What other criminal activities were the obama-ites pressing for in support of their Mad Mullah pals in Iran?; 6/12/18, 10:03 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: "....and the people that you do trust turn out to be not the honorable ones.""

As evidenced by the rat bastard weasels that have infested the Trump Whitehouse, DOJ, FBI, CIA who have been shown to be working to destroy Trump.

All people who he (naively) supposed to be trusted advisors who were imagined to be working with Trump. Instead they actively worked to undermine, obstruct and who have been proven to be criminally breaking laws to stab the President and his voters in the back.

But....I also guess that Trump has already known this flaw in people in his business dealings. He probably just hoped that people working FOR the Government would put the interests of the American People ahead of their own bitter spite.

Basically, you can't really trust anyone.; 6/12/18, 10:04 AM
gilbar said...: Micheal K, a better saw would be:
You can lead a horticulture, but you can't make her think; 6/12/18, 10:05 AM
Birkel said...: One way of stating what Trump is quoted saying:
'Never get into business with family or friends.'

You cannot be effectively ruthless with the people you cannot be rid of.; 6/12/18, 10:05 AM
Matt Sablan said...: The trying to get banks to break the law to hide the transfers reminded me of the gun running where the government tried to get gunstores to sell to obvious straw purchasers. I wonder how often the government does stuff like that.; 6/12/18, 10:05 AM
sakredkow said...: "He's funny, he's very smart, he loves his people."
President Trump on Kim Jong-Un; 6/12/18, 10:09 AM
roesch/voltaire said...: This is a we shall see agreement meanwhile China has already announced that now that this summit is over the sanctions should be lifted and trade begun.; 6/12/18, 10:10 AM
readering said...: Because Obama. I thought so.; 6/12/18, 10:11 AM
daskol said...: Buwaya, maybe schools are relics of Industrial Age worker factories, making little workers who obey their supervisors. The concept of broad, public education may be the issue rather than something in particular wrong with these schools. We have idiot teachers in many of them, teaching the wrong things the wrong ways. But the people for whom education can be a real benefit will find the knowledge: it's everywhere now. The rest will come out of school as badly programmed robots if school's the only place they look to for knowledge. The degradation of K-12 is lamentable, but the schools today aren't as effective as they once were in turning out little workers who obey their supervisors. I'm not so sure that's a bad thing. Like Miss America, K-12 is a weird relic of another time. It lumbers on, but it's failure is not necessarily a sign of cultural degradation, nor a cause of it. Could be a sign of the times.; 6/12/18, 10:11 AM
Drago said...: roesch/voltaire: "This is a we shall see agreement meanwhile China has already announced that now that this summit is over the sanctions should be lifted and trade begun"

And.......the sanctions have not been lifted.....

So, you've got what?

I'm guessing you'll be working in the Russians in about 5 minutes. Maybe someone purchased a facebook ad from Macedonia or something....; 6/12/18, 10:12 AM
gilbar said...: Owen said: "Almost entirely women, and women of great accomplishment, they moaned about the systemic sexism that had held them all back."

Ruth Bader Ginsburg said that, in order to pass her freshman chemistry class; she had to sexually pleasure her professor; who then gave her a copy of the test.
She's a woman of great accomplishment; but she was also so freaking stupid that she LITERALLY Sucked at Chemistry; 6/12/18, 10:12 AM
Drago said...: readering: "Because Obama. I thought so."

LOL

That, folks, is literally all the lefties have.

Well, that and the divine spark of the MS-13ers.; 6/12/18, 10:13 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: The fools who think that there is no deal because after the first few hours of meetings there wasn't a fireworks display and marching band fanfare are just that.....fools.

It takes time to negotiate. Just getting past the first meeting is a huge step. There will be more meetings and hopefully the Fools will stop trying to queer the deal.

The dance between the negotiating parties is delicate and will take some time. Months if not longer. To insist that it must be done NOW or else it is a failure is only showing not only the bitter partisan hatred of everything Trump does but also the sheer lack of any intellectual capacity of the leftards and never Trumpers.

Just like making bread.....you have to give it time for the yeast to work its magic and for the dough to rise. Patience.; 6/12/18, 10:14 AM
mockturtle said...: Q: Is Jim Acosta an asshole, or what?
A: He is an asshole.

I like the meme: "If Trump were to walk on water, the press would announce, "Trump Can't Swim".; 6/12/18, 10:14 AM
Bay Area Guy said...: "They have had enormous shopping malls in Mecca for decades."

I want one inside the Mosque - that sells BLTS.; 6/12/18, 10:14 AM
Matt Sablan said...: "Because Obama. I thought so."

-- Just because he made the deal doesn't make it bad. It also doesn't make it good.; 6/12/18, 10:14 AM
Drago said...: Don't worry readering.

Donald Trump has no path to 270...no path to 270...no path to 270....

LOL; 6/12/18, 10:15 AM
sakredkow said...: Trump said he will order an end to the war game exercises with South Korea. So apparently there was a deal. Now what did we get?; 6/12/18, 10:18 AM
roesch/voltaire said...: Trump seems to be "working" with the Russians more than me but that is another story. China has already suggested that the U.N. Security Council suspend or lift sanctions if the country is in compliance with U.N. resolutions and making process in diplomatic negotiations, which obviously they have. So I suspect China, as planned, will continue to increase its. trade with North Korea.; 6/12/18, 10:19 AM
Drago said...: When Pompeo hashes out the details over the next several months we'll be able to lay the obama "Iran Give-Away Hate-America Plan" with the NK Deal and we can compare the differences as well as compare outcomes (including any steps taken by NK during this period).

And that hashing out will occur before the election so the public will be able to compare and contrast.

Of course, that assumes obama and the lefties haven't hidden even more horrendous agreements like the financial crimes in support of the Mullahs, in which case it will be difficult to compare the obama lies with the transparent NK deal.; 6/12/18, 10:19 AM
Drago said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/12/18, 10:22 AM
Drago said...: r/v: "So I suspect China, as planned, will continue to increase its. trade with North Korea."

Well, yes you would.

But then, you are an idiot who doesn't even realize the US/China Bi-lateral trade negotiations as well as the NAFTA negotiations which China uses to abuse NAFTA regs via Canada and Mexico are still on-going and is the "whole ball of wax" from a China perspective and within which Trump is squeezing the living snot out of them.

But hey, there is nothing wrong with being an idiot. You can still be a nice person who helps little old ladies across the street.; 6/12/18, 10:23 AM
Michael K said...: Kim may still renege on the deal but the Asia Times article had an interesting comparison.

What if he wants to be Deng Xiaoping?

Unlike his father, the 34-year-old Kim has been active in pursuing pro-market economic growth and may be aiming to emulate Deng Xiaoping, the architect of China’s reforms in the late 1970s. Kim’s recent sacking of three senior old-guard military officials may hint that he is ready to offer some important concessions to prepare a favorable diplomatic environment for concentrating on economic development.

I guess we will see. At least those of us not consumed by Trump hate.; 6/12/18, 10:24 AM
Drago said...: sakredkow: "Trump said he will order an end to the war game exercises with South Korea. So apparently there was a deal. Now what did we get"

LOL

We have just completed a major multi-service exercise and the exercise that has been "cancelled" wasn't scheduled to begin for some time.....and can be turned back on with the flip of a switch.

So, yeah, Trump "cancelled" an exercise not scheduled to start for quite sometime....(wink wink)

Too funny watching the lefties not even bother to familiarize themselves with the most basic of facts.

But then facts get in the way of being a lefty.....Back Into the Bubble for you!

LOL; 6/12/18, 10:26 AM
buwaya said...: The biggest problem with US education is not its incompetence.
It is, that. Its output on the whole is very poor.

Nor is it expense, and inefficiency.
It is that as well. All comparable developed countries do better with much less ecpenditure.

The worst part of US education is none of those things.
It is the uniform and pernicious ideology of it, that demands, effectively, the suicide of American society. It indoctrinates generations of immigrants and minorities in hatred of the majority, and in the majority, of hatred of themselves. It erases traditional culture, and the legacy of the past, and replaces it all with nothing but illiterate nihilism.

I am not exaggerating.

You can survive stupidity, you can work around stupidity. You can end-run around worthless bureaucracies with private schools or charter schools. But the ideology cannot be avoided so easily.; 6/12/18, 10:28 AM
Scott said...: Owen @ 9:01
What intrigues me is the notion that the US will guarantee the security of DPRK if it de-nukes. What did China have to say about this? It's as if Little Brother is being adopted by a rival gang leader. Geostrategically and domestically (within China) what does this suggest?

I'm no China expert, but I served in the USA on the Korean peninsula. One thing to remember is that (in the West) it is not widely known that China was #2 on the total deaths in WWII category thanks to Japan (behind only Russia). Not Germany, not the US, not Japan, not France or the UK.

This has massively shaped Chinese culture (losing somewhere between 2.9% to 3.86% of your total population will do that). Therefore, the Chinese nightmare is the Japanese going nuclear and starting another run at an East Asian empire (rather like the European and Israeli feelings on Germany going National Socialist again while turning the clock back to 1939).

With that in mind, and the fact that at various times Korea was in the Chinese sphere of influence as a vassal state (and Japanese at other times, such as 1910-1945) and the Chinese feel racially superior to Japanese and Korean peoples, they will not be happy if the Norks find another more distant guarantor of their security. Nonetheless, China also tends to take the long view of history and will probably see this as a brief interlude before the rising power of China reclaims their proper spheres of influence (Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan) from a failing and decaying hegemony in the US. Since any Korean War peace treaty would require security guarantees as part of the standard boilerplate, they will smile, nod, and then work to drag NK to them with the goal being Korean reunification under Chinese control and on Chinese terms to create a buffer against Japanese militarism (again, 15-20 million dead along with some gruesome atrocities such as the Rape of Nanking and Unit 731 the last time Japan decided to dominate East Asia).; 6/12/18, 10:32 AM
Darrell said...: Townhall has a video Trump had made for Kim online this morning.

The video was playing in the press room before Trump started his press conference at 4 AM. He indicated that it was delivered to DPRNK about three months ago and shown again to Kim during the meetings on an iPad. CBS thought it was a DPRNK propaganda piece because it first played in Korean, then English. It was a high-quality production done by Hollywood types by the look of it. It showed NK what they could gain if they played ball.; 6/12/18, 10:34 AM
Seeing Red said...: readering: "Remind me why the Trump who just did this with Kim exited the Iran nuclear deal"

Perhaps the road to Pakistan and Iran goes thru North Korea?

The black turbans are a tease. They said they’d be willing to name names of who they bribed. They also are acting like a woman scorned.

Since we weren’t able to give them the keys to the American banking system, did Europe give them their keys?; 6/12/18, 10:35 AM
Seeing Red said...: You like this island we’re staying on Kimmee? Let’s make a deal!; 6/12/18, 10:36 AM
eric said...: I'm sad that on the left and the right, there is so little analysis here.

I'll offer up my analysis with much speculation as I know nothing.

1) We haven't attacked NK in the past because of China.
2) Trump appears to be well liked in China and appears to have a good relationship with Xi.
3) The Chinese and Xi don't particularly like NK.
4) The Chinese don't trust America and dont want the American military gaining more influence in Korea.
5) Xi would be ok with the USA destroying NK and reuniting the Korea's but it's not politically feasible for him.
6) If the Chinese people see a sincere effort on the part of the USA to denuclearize NK and it fails because of Kim, war between NK and USA will become politically palatable for Xi.
7) Kim knows this because Xi has made it clear thru back channels.
8) Mad dog Mattis waits patiently to apply overwhelming military force to North Korea if and when these talks fail.; 6/12/18, 10:38 AM
sakredkow said...: The "war games" are "provocative" and their cancellation will "save us money." We'll be less prepared now and China (and Russia) will call out any exercises now, no matter how limited, as provocations. Trump finds it exciting that we'll be "saving money" even as our military will be less prepared and the United States has nothing to show for this amazing concession. Big photo op though.; 6/12/18, 10:39 AM
Drago said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/12/18, 10:39 AM
Drago said...: buwaya: "It is the uniform and pernicious ideology of it, that demands, effectively, the suicide of American society. It indoctrinates generations of immigrants and minorities in hatred of the majority, and in the majority, of hatred of themselves. It erases traditional culture, and the legacy of the past, and replaces it all with nothing but illiterate nihilism.

I am not exaggerating."

No, you are not.

The left, wanting to remake our society under a new marxist framework, needs to ensure different demographic/identity groups remain balkanized and permanently at odds with each other and never assimilated into a common culture so that those groups can be played off against each other.

The only unifying theme will be that America is historically and uniquely evil and must be reconstructed.; 6/12/18, 10:39 AM
Drago said...: sakredkow: "We'll be less prepared now..."

LOL

How can we be "less prepared now" when it wasn't even scheduled to begin until months from now?

Hilariously dumb. LLR Chuck level dumb.

Congrats!; 6/12/18, 10:40 AM
Darrell said...: sakredkow: "Trump said he will order an end to the war game exercises with South Korea. So apparently there was a deal. Now what did we get"

We get a huge cost savings for a start. We always pay for anything like that and as Trump said at the press conference, it is a huuuge amount of money. Like the sanctions, it remains a stick to be used if we aren't satisfied with the progress being made. KJU told Trump they they destroyed their nuclear test facility and he accepted that explanation. That was accepted as the first peace offering for anyone keeping score.; 6/12/18, 10:40 AM
Comanche Voter said...: Singapore and Kim Jong Un is not Trump's first rodeo. And it won't be his last. Having negotiated my own set of deals over the years (I wrote a lot of capital construction and joint venture contracts with a variety of partners over a 25 year career) it's a process.

If you have a (semi) reliable partner, you are usually thinking at least two deals down the road. There is a lot to work out with the NORKs. I think Trump's approach in wanting an initial meeting to size up who he was dealing with was perfectly reasonable. You first have to decide whether you can work with the person (or persons) across the table. If you can't, you walk away. I've done that too.; 6/12/18, 10:41 AM
readering said...: Perhaps Navarro had it right. Trudeau undermined Trump's negotiating strength.; 6/12/18, 10:47 AM
Darrell said...: China and Russia have enough to worry about with our Obama-era navy. They are especially concerned about their cargo container fleets and garbage scows. Too much time spent in sensitivity training and not enough in navigation.; 6/12/18, 10:48 AM
Birkel said...: sakredkow and all the Leftist Collectivists are all now intimately worried about military spending and preparedness.

It is to laugh.; 6/12/18, 10:49 AM
Drago said...: I don't think sakredcow understands that just because Carrier Strike Groups and Amphibious Ready Groups are not cruising in the waters off the Korean peninsula does not mean that all readiness training ceases to occur.

Further, just because additional ground units are not physically in South Korea doesn't mean they are not training.

The first clue for this would be to look at a map of the globe and recognize that, gee whiz, there sure is a lot of land mass and ocean out there.....

LOL; 6/12/18, 10:50 AM
Darrell said...: sakredkow and all the Leftist Collectivists should worry more about Obama interviewing potential 2020 Presidential candidates.; 6/12/18, 10:51 AM
Birkel said...: readering is now attributing foresight to NeverTrumpers. Hilarious.

And Trudeau has no juice outside of Ottawa.; 6/12/18, 10:52 AM
Drago said...: readering: "Perhaps Navarro had it right. Trudeau undermined Trump's negotiating strength."

"Eyebrow"-boy is getting ready to have his NAFTA violation relationship with China come down on his head along with direct bi-lateral changes to tariffs rate which is going to cause some real political problems for him.

On the other hand, Trudeau might get so upset he orders his 3 canoes and 4 popguns onto the warpath....LOL

(apologies to Elizabeth "Li'l Tomahawk" Warren); 6/12/18, 10:52 AM
Seeing Red said...: The navy has issues with steering. It’s not wise to actually put them in manouvers right now.; 6/12/18, 10:53 AM
Drago said...: Seeing Red: "The navy has issues with steering."

The good news is that obama ensured the sailors were fully up to speed on transgenderism.; 6/12/18, 10:54 AM
Drago said...: Remember, according to the lefties, this summit never even happened because it was impossible.

"impossible"

We aren't supposed to remember the lefties said that because that was the lefty talking point 2 weeks ago, and history begins anew every 15 minutes for them.; 6/12/18, 10:58 AM
readering said...: And now Navarro apologizes for "his words"! A day after saying his message came from AF1.; 6/12/18, 10:59 AM
sakredkow said...: "A talented man who loves his country very much. An honor to meet him."

Anyone else here see a red flag?; 6/12/18, 11:00 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: the United States has nothing to show for this amazing concession

What amazing (causing great surprise and wonder) concession? I don't find the promise to forego future military exercises significant in any way. We have plenty to show now, compared to the hand-off from Obama:

+ Kim's test facilities are destroyed, stopping further development and testing of nukes
+ NK has removed all of their "advisors" from Iran, distancing themselves from the ICBM program there
+ NK and SK have proposed a formal end to the Korean War, and we have offered security guarantees to NK if they go through with it (I realize ending a war after an uneasy 60+ year cease-fire seems like nothing to naysayers but to quote Biden it's a pretty big fucking deal)
+ Kim has acknowledged USA desire for peace, a 180-degree turn from previous public rhetoric, signaling an end to the word-war of 2017 (as others have noted this is a big change internally for NK)
+ Once talks are established, historically nuclear war becomes immensely less likely because of the communication channel (in fact zero nuke wars have resulted from the same); establishing this channel (like Kennedy with Kruschev, Nixon with Mao) begins the process of denuclearization simply by replacing the adversarial relationship with one of cooperation, by degrees however minimal

IT'S MORE THAN OBAMA BUSH AND CLINTON GOT; 6/12/18, 11:01 AM
Drago said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/12/18, 11:02 AM
Big Mike said...: I like the meme: "If Trump were to walk on water, the press would announce, "Trump Can't Swim".

And if Trump solved world hunger, they’d claim he was causing an obesity epidemic.; 6/12/18, 11:03 AM
Drago said...: readering: "And now Navarro apologizes for "his words"! A day after saying his message came from AF1."

LOL

Yes, AFTER the impact of those words served their purposes in Singapore.

Congratulations for almost catching up...

Wow. The level of ignorance on the lefties part is setting new standards.

We have sakredkow and other moron lefties claiming military exercises, which aren't scheduled to even begin for another 9 months(!!!) reduces our military readiness now if we simply say they are "cancelled"....9 months away.....

LOL

Industrial strength stupidity.; 6/12/18, 11:03 AM
Drago said...: Mike: "I don't find the promise to forego future military exercises significant in any way."

It's not.

The lefty dummies only know that's the preferred talking point.

readering and sakredkow could easily have simply looked up the start date of those exercises (scheduled for NEXT SPRING!), but that would require independent thought.......LOL

Yeah, the independent thought part shuts them down every time.; 6/12/18, 11:05 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: Oh yeah. And we are getting POW/MIA remains back. Winning!; 6/12/18, 11:06 AM
Drago said...: Just announced today: The Trump Administration Formally Delays the Launch of the Saturn Orbital Space Station, scheduled for launch in 2115.

Lefties heads explode!!....; 6/12/18, 11:07 AM
Bay Area Guy said...: You know the Left has lost it totally, when they started calling Trump, "The Manchurian Candidate"; 6/12/18, 11:08 AM
Darrell said...: Trump should declare "Mission Accomplished" with Muslim outreach at NASA.; 6/12/18, 11:09 AM
J. Farmer said...: Ending the US-ROK joint military drills is a great first offer. The North considers it a major concession, and truly the US loses nothing of strategic value in ending them. The ROK loses a little something in them but not much to care too much about. The ROK's military is well funded and very technologically advanced. They are more than capable of deterring the vastly weaker North.

Kim Jung Un has already scored a major strategic victory in receiving an audience with the president. Given how utterly meaningless North Korea is in terms of pretty much every measure state power that matters, this is quite an achievement. And will certainly help Kim keep a tight rein on political power at home. But this is part of what diplomacy has to include. The harping about the North's "human rights record" or being a "dictatorship" are mostly cynical and disingenuous. The US maintains good relationships with dictatorships and human rights abusers all over the globe.

The real question remains how each side understands the notion of "denuclearization." While it is easy to imagine the North ceasing further testing or development of nuclear weapons. It is harder to imagine them also giving up the ones they have. Those weapons' primary value is that they not only deter the US but to an even larger degree, they deter China.

A truly Machiavellian strategy would be to move the North Koreans into the US-ROK sphere of influence. That would be a big strategic blow to China. The path to such an arrangement is visible but not probable, due for one to the inevitable bleeding heart concerns over human rights and dictatorships.

The most important thing about the summit was that it did not end in either side walking out. So it served its photo op purposes. The real work is beginning.; 6/12/18, 11:10 AM
pacwest said...: "Remind me why the Trump who just did this with Kim exited the Iran nuclear deal"

Are you trying to say a deal that guaranteed nukes for Iran and a deal that guarantees NK will have give up their existing nukes are the same thing. Really?? C'mon now.; 6/12/18, 11:11 AM
Drago said...: Just announced today: Dateline/Stardate 9057: The Trump Administration Formally Delays Decision on Whether or Not to Annex all of South America Which Slammed Into the US Gulf Coast Due to Continental Drift; Democrats claim DJT hates Chocolate Cities on Gulf Coast; 6/12/18, 11:12 AM
Drago said...: J Farmer: "A truly Machiavellian strategy would be to move the North Koreans into the US-ROK sphere of influence."

Shhhhhh.

You are thinking far too strategically and long term. Don't you realize the dems need talking points TODAY to help cover up their hatred for American workers and their love of MS-13?

Get with the program dude.; 6/12/18, 11:14 AM
sakredkow said...: readering and sakredkow could easily have simply looked up the start date of those exercises (scheduled for NEXT SPRING!

You're wrong but your but your namecalling helps buttress your otherwise incorrect argument.; 6/12/18, 11:14 AM
mockturtle said...: Ending the US-ROK joint military drills is a great first offer. The North considers it a major concession, and truly the US loses nothing of strategic value in ending them. The ROK loses a little something in them but not much to care too much about. The ROK's military is well funded and very technologically advanced. They are more than capable of deterring the vastly weaker North.

Agree, J. Farmer but I'm not sure the ROK wants to continue the exercises and this is probably less a concession on their part than on ours.; 6/12/18, 11:15 AM
Amadeus 48 said...: I don't believe that Trump trusts Kim, but it doesn't make any difference. We've got what we've got. Everything here is all in the future. Maybe the US gets to focus on China and Iran instead of this little pissant. Maybe Kim gets to stop a nuclear and rocket program that has become counter-productive and he can't pay for. Maybe good, maybe not so good.

I wonder what the OIG report on the Hillary email investigation is going to say? Trump cleared the decks for that news cycle.; 6/12/18, 11:18 AM
Inga...Allie Oop said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/12/18, 11:18 AM
Drago said...: sakredkow: "You're wrong but your but your namecalling helps buttress your otherwise incorrect argument."

LOL

sakredkow is going to stick with the ludicrous comment that an announcement to "delay" exercises not scheduled to start for 9 months STILL reduces operational effectiveness now!

The lefties are simply incapable of absorbing facts and making their arguments remotely coherent. They just sit around and wait for their betters to provide them the next wave of talking points.

And we all are witnessing it in real time.

This Just In: DJT Ponders What To Drink During Breaks At 2020 Republican National Convention; Democrats assert DJT too indecisive to remain as President; 6/12/18, 11:18 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: sakredkow said...
readering and sakredkow could easily have simply looked up the start date of those exercises (scheduled for NEXT SPRING!

You're wrong but your but your namecalling helps buttress your otherwise incorrect argument.

Really? So we are getting a second April this year? That's when we do our annual exercise, Dude, in April. Stop being a gullible lying progressive.; 6/12/18, 11:18 AM
mockturtle said...: "Remind me why the Trump who just did this with Kim exited the Iran nuclear deal"

Iran is ripe for revolution and any day we can expect the Ayatollah to be overthrown. You heard it here first. Or second. Or maybe third...; 6/12/18, 11:18 AM
Darrell said...: A very Merry Christmas
And a happy new year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
War is over, if you want it
War is over now

Korean War 1950-2018; 6/12/18, 11:19 AM
readering said...: Sometimes it's too easy.; 6/12/18, 11:19 AM
Drago said...: readering: "Sometimes it's too easy."

Says the dude that thinks we get 2 Aprils per year.; 6/12/18, 11:20 AM
Inga...Allie Oop said...: What is in the agreement that hadn’t been already agreed upon? Ceasing the war games is a big giveaway to North Korea. I will give Trump credit for pulling off this summit. Now let’s hear some love for President Obama for normalizing a relationship with Cuba.; 6/12/18, 11:20 AM
Drago said...: Inga: "Ceasing the war games is a big giveaway to North Korea"

cease
verb
bring or come to an end.

This just in: The exercise not scheduled to begin for 9 months has "ceased".

LOL; 6/12/18, 11:21 AM
bagoh20 said...: Trump has learned that "honorable" is a very low bar in his new profession. It basically amounts to having not stabbed anyone in the back before lunch.; 6/12/18, 11:22 AM
Darrell said...: let’s hear some love for President Obama for normalizing a relationship with Cuba.

Yeah. The diplomats that were targeted with radiation beams are most appreciative.; 6/12/18, 11:23 AM
Birkel said...: Oh, now I see why there is confusion.

Royal ass Inga thought this meeting would be used to produce the agreement instead of this meeting confirming what was already agreed.

Take it from here, Drago.; 6/12/18, 11:23 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: What is in the agreement that hadn’t been already agreed upon? Ceasing the war games is a big giveaway to North Korea. I will give Trump credit for pulling off this summit. Now let’s hear some love for President Obama for normalizing a relationships with Cuba.

Didn't read the comments yet, eh? Boy your sour grapes look juicy!

"Big giveaway" is what people who have no idea what this "concession" means are saying to look smart. It's stupid. It's contingent. Which means by next April it could be absolutely meaningless, not a big deal at all. Depends on what Kim does next.

Cuba? Why? It was stupid. He threw a lifeline to two dictators. Big whoop. Turns out no one wnats to fly there so the airlines are kinda backing off that idea, right? Cuba! NK had to be dealt with because the prior THREE administrations all said he couldn't have nukes while letting him develop them. Cuba is a pissant with no threat to USA. Maybe you recall last year when NK was threatening Guam and Hawaii and Japan?

Slight difference there Einstein.; 6/12/18, 11:25 AM
bagoh20 said...: Was Cuba threatening to nuke us? Normalizing relation with Cuba really changed nothing other than where you depart from for your visit there.; 6/12/18, 11:25 AM
sakredkow said...: Ulchi Guardian Freedom exercises [were] scheduled for the fall.

But again, if you can buttress an incorrect argument by adding "lying gullible progressive" and "simply incapable of absorbing facts and making their arguments remotely coherent" it's understandable why you would.; 6/12/18, 11:25 AM
Drago said...: "ake it from here, Drago."

Pointless.

The lefties think they can violate space-time in order to gain a talking point.

Not surprising really. obama rolled back the oceans as only a "lightbringer" and "sort of a god" can do.; 6/12/18, 11:25 AM
John Pickering said...: Credulous Ann, who regards the president as not only funny and brilliant but also decent and honest, passes on without comment a typical remark from her God-King ruler. This is shortly after nonplussed Ann links to the overnight news about Korea and concludes:

It is beyond me to know what it means.

Ain't that the truth. Thank God for sex-crazed Ann, endlessly fascinated with Bill Clinton's intimate relations, for keeping us up to date on Juanita Brodderick and Monica Lewinsky.; 6/12/18, 11:26 AM
Original Mike said...: ”Ceasing the war games is a big giveaway to North Korea.”

I wondered what the lefties were going to cling to if this meeting went well.; 6/12/18, 11:27 AM
bagoh20 said...: Too bad we don't have any more planeloads of cash left to send to Kim. If we did, we could have gotten him to agree to double secret denuclearizing.; 6/12/18, 11:27 AM
Inga...Allie Oop said...: This just in: The exercise not scheduled to begin for 9 months has "ceased".

No kidding. Yes yes Drago, we all know this. You’ve said so numerous times now. Im referring to the scheduled yearly war games that will be ceased. Wasn’t that in the agreement? Duh. Stop being so hyper.; 6/12/18, 11:27 AM
Darrell said...: We can be thankful, however, that Inga stopped using pictures of her own face as her avatar--whether 1/4 images, 1/2, whatever. The horses were scared sterile.; 6/12/18, 11:27 AM
Darrell said...: Fuck!
Trump forgot to give KJU a DVD of Obama's speeches.
What a missed opportunity!; 6/12/18, 11:29 AM
Drago said...: sakredkow: "Ulchi Guardian Freedom exercises [were] scheduled for the fall."

LOL

Looks like sakredkow failed to understand their own talking point again!

Not surprising.

"UFG is computer simulated defensive exercise designed to enhance readiness, protect the region and maintain stability on the Korean peninsula."

https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/1282786/exercise-ulchi-freedom-guardian-2017/

The lefties are getting dumber by the second.

The exercise each Spring is the big one involving large scale actual operations activities.; 6/12/18, 11:29 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: So now "computer simulated war games" are the same as stomping around Korea with our Army? Really?

But again, if you can buttress an incorrect argument by adding "lying gullible progressive"

OK!; 6/12/18, 11:29 AM
Drago said...: Inga: "Im referring to the scheduled yearly war games that will be ceased."

Those "ceased" (LOL) exercises can be turned back on by a single word from Trump.

Too funny.; 6/12/18, 11:30 AM
Drago said...: Inga: "No kidding. Yes yes Drago, we all know this. You’ve said so numerous times now."

And yet it hasn't sunk in yet.

Unexpectedly.; 6/12/18, 11:31 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: I'm so happy after reading this thread. With the arrival of Inga we now have confirmation that the best the lying DNC-Media can come up with is crying about the suspension of an electronic wargames exercise, which could be reversed pretty easily if contingencies change. Never ever trust the NYT for a hot take man!; 6/12/18, 11:33 AM
Drago said...: Apparently, sakredkow thinks all the South Korean and American computers won't work anymore because a computer simulation exercise scheduled months from now has been deferred!

Oh NO!!

No one will remember where the "On" buttons are!!; 6/12/18, 11:33 AM
Original Mike said...: Is anyone in doubt that if Trump hadn’t offered to suspend military exercises he would have been called a war monger?; 6/12/18, 11:33 AM
Drago said...: Expected Fall Democrat Campaign Theme: Trump Hides "On" Buttons From Glorious US Military Members!!.......(and MS-13 is swell)....; 6/12/18, 11:34 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: I especially love the sudden progressive concern for "readiness" after eight freaking years of Obama starving the Defense budget, forcing transgender training on sailors who aren't seaworthy and letting our aging fleet deteriorate. Now, y'all are concerned. Hoo boy. Trump really can make you guys do any dance he desires.; 6/12/18, 11:35 AM
Inga...Allie Oop said...: The Propagandizer is in high gear today, surprise! He needed a victory, it’s ok sweetie, I’ll let you have it. Hugs.; 6/12/18, 11:35 AM
Drago said...: Mike: "I especially love the sudden progressive concern for "readiness" after eight freaking years of Obama starving the Defense budget, forcing transgender training on sailors who aren't seaworthy and letting our aging fleet deteriorate."

History began anew this morning for the lefties.; 6/12/18, 11:36 AM
TestTube said...: I'll eat crow.

I predicted that KJU and his sister would use the conference as an opportunity to bolt for asylum anywhere they weren't in immediate danger of death.

I was wrong.

I still don't understand why. NK is a huge slavery plantation with a tiny, tiny GDP (comparable to that of a US city with ~200,000 population), and the overseers are getting restless and hungry. I would figure that KJU would want out as soon as possible, and like all smart tyrants had a few hundred million stashed away somewhere safe.

Who wants to be in charge of that? KJU, apparently. Maybe they really do love him. Generally well-loved leaders don't need to kill so many people, though.

I'll stick with my back-up prediction that KJU will not be leading NK in 2019, though.; 6/12/18, 11:37 AM
sakredkow said...: So, as I said, Trump, in a major concession to North Korea and China, has cancelled what he (and the enemy) call "war games," which are next scheduled for August 2018. We have nothing to show for it. Trump gets a photo op.; 6/12/18, 11:37 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: "The future is certain. It is the past that is always in doubt." -- Stalin; 6/12/18, 11:37 AM
Birkel said...: Buzzard works as a nickname.
"The Propagandizer" is clunky.

I suggest something a little punchier.; 6/12/18, 11:38 AM
Drago said...: Inga: "The Propagandizer is in high gear today, surprise! He needed a victory,"

I'm sorry lefties are so easily confused by Calendars.; 6/12/18, 11:38 AM
Seeing Red said...: So Singapore is happy, ROK is happy, Kimmee got the photo op he’s happy, Iran not happy, Captain Eyebrow got a drubbing and he’s not happy, the EU is not happy cos The Donald refuses to be bullied, and Kerry opened mouth in stereo foot, via Insty: JOHN KERRY: I Would Caution Democrats Against Impeaching President Trump. “We shouldn’t be talking about impeachment. We ought to be talking about what is the agenda is for the American characters.”

Still winning!; 6/12/18, 11:39 AM
Inga...Allie Oop said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/12/18, 11:39 AM
Seeing Red said...: Inserted foot.; 6/12/18, 11:39 AM
Inga...Allie Oop said...: 32 comments by the Propagandizer already, lol.; 6/12/18, 11:40 AM
Birkel said...: sakredkow:

Define the word we.; 6/12/18, 11:40 AM
Original Mike said...: ”We have nothing to show for it.”

What do you want?; 6/12/18, 11:41 AM
Drago said...: Democrat November Goldilocks Strategy:

6 Months ago: Trump is being too tough and scaring the world!!

Now: Trump is being too nice and giving too much away even though he hasn't given anything away!!

By October: Trump's plan was "just right" only because he finally adopted the democrat position!!

LOL; 6/12/18, 11:42 AM
Inga...Allie Oop said...: “I'm sorry lefties are so easily confused by Calendars.”

Oh Propagandizer, I did not say that the war games were in progress at this very moment. Slow down, you’re sounding manic.; 6/12/18, 11:42 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: We have nothing to show for it.

So I'm guessing none of your relatives are MIA or POW from the Korean War. To many Americans, getting the bodies repatriated, along with the living hostages returned are real progress. To sane Americanism, resolving to officially end the Korean War after a 65-year truce is a big deal. Did Obama do it? Did he even try? Did Bush do it? Did he even try? Did Clinton do it? Did he even try?

Do you have enough brain cells to accept your premise is wrong and we did get things in return for the (possibly) foregone "war games"? Are not three living Americans coming home after 3-5 years tangible? Kim had to do that to even GET the meeting in Singapore. Y'all are flailing. You're too small to see the good being done.; 6/12/18, 11:42 AM
Drago said...: Inga: "32 comments by the Propagandizer already"

You could have had a programmer create an app to automatically tally up my comments but unfortunately that evil Trump has "ceased" a computer simulation exercise that wasn't scheduled to begin for several months.

Dang it!; 6/12/18, 11:43 AM
Rabel said...: The security "guarantee" and the cancellation of future military exercises are meant to provide Kim support in bringing the NK military along with his rapprochement with the US.

The hardliners there pose the only real threat to Kim's leadership.; 6/12/18, 11:44 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: Too small to see the big gain in front of your eyes.; 6/12/18, 11:44 AM
Drago said...: Early Inga: "Inga: "Ceasing the war games is a big giveaway to North Korea"

Later Inga: "I did not say that the war games were in progress at this very moment. Slow down, you’re sounding manic."

cease
verb
bring or come to an end

English, look into it.; 6/12/18, 11:45 AM
bagoh20 said...: Many of us have joked that Trump could accomplish any number of amazing and good things, and that the lefties would still criticize it. We are seeing them doing just that. How far will they go with this obsession? It's like watching clowns beat themselves with rubber clubs.; 6/12/18, 11:45 AM
Drago said...: Why didn't Trump just say "cut it out" to KJU, like obama did with his pal Putin, for whom he professed his undying love and "flexibility"?; 6/12/18, 11:46 AM
Larry J said...: The North Koreans would love to reunify the peninsula under their rule but they know it'll never happen. They know that with any reunification, they'd be out of power. So, they don't want to reunify, they just want to exist and keep their power. As Milton wrote, "It's better to rule in Hell than to serve in Heaven."

South Korea doesn't want to reunify with the North because they know it'll take trillions of dollars and years to even begin to bring that country into the 21st century. It'd likely be an order of magnitude more difficult and expensive than the reunification of East and West Germany.

China doesn't want the Koreas to reunify because that would put a pro-western country on their boarder.

The US probably doesn't want them to reunify because a combination of South Korea's technical and manufacturing expertise with the North's cheap labor would eventually make them a powerhouse hard to beat.

In short, no one really wants the Koreas to reunify. Entice Kim Jung Il to modernize his economy on something like the Chinese model. Get him to divert the massive amounts of money he's spending on the military to upgrading the country. With a decrease in pressure and some assurances they won't get nationalized, I suspect several international companies would be eager to invest in North Korea. This would lift the standard of living for the people, ensuring young Kim a long and prosperous future as the head of his country. His people would love him. He'd have to watch out for military hardliners who, fearing a loss of power and status, might try to depose him. That may explain why he sacked several hardliners in the past week.; 6/12/18, 11:47 AM
sakredkow said...: "They have great beaches. You see that whenever they're exploding their cannons into the ocean. I said boy look at the view. Wouldn't that make a great condo?"

President Trump; 6/12/18, 11:51 AM
Inga...Allie Oop said...: Propagandizer. “The war games have been ceased” does not indicate that the war games are CURRENTLY ongoing. Anyone who is thinking normally can understand that this means the SCHEDULED war games have been ceased. You grabbed onto something you think is a gotcha, but what you’re doing is being pedantic in some strange manic way. I in no way shape or form indicated the war games were CURRENTLY happening. Stop being an idiot.; 6/12/18, 11:51 AM
Rabel said...: "In short, no one really wants the Koreas to reunify."

"At the most basic level, South Koreans want reunification to take place. According to Gallup Korea, since 2001 over 70 percent of South Koreans have said that Korea should be reunified. In 2018, that number was 78 percent."; 6/12/18, 11:52 AM
bagoh20 said...: It looks so awkward when two leaders stand there shaking hands knowing they can't speak each other's language. They should grab each other by the junk. That's communication!; 6/12/18, 11:52 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: "Wouldn't that make a great condo?"

Developers gotta develop...

Seems like you're giving up, sakredcow/ritmo. Out of steam huh?; 6/12/18, 11:53 AM
Yancey Ward said...: Wow, the leftist trolls really didn't like today's news.

J.Farmer has the best comment above, so I have nothing to add to it other than today was a better start than I had expected.; 6/12/18, 11:54 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: NO Inga, the word "cease" absolutely means to stop something in progress. We know you lefties like to morph words into other meanings but the literal meaning is clear as day. Something that is NOT happening cannot be "ceased" but can be delayed or rescheduled or cancelled. But it cannot be ceased. You're not choosing your battles well today. Must have been a shock Trump pulled the meeting off at all.; 6/12/18, 11:56 AM
Original Mike said...: ”They have great beaches. You see that whenever they're exploding their cannons into the ocean. I said boy look at the view. Wouldn't that make a great condo?"

That’s the biggest thing he’s offering Kim.; 6/12/18, 11:56 AM
Inga...Allie Oop said...: “Wow, the leftist trolls really didn't like today's news.”

You people really seem to care wayyyyy too much about what leftists think.; 6/12/18, 11:56 AM
mockturtle said...: As Milton wrote, "It's better to rule in Hell than to serve in Heaven."

He was of course referring to Satan's perspective in Paradise Lost, not an adage to be followed.; 6/12/18, 11:57 AM
Inga...Allie Oop said...: What would you do if we all started agreeing with you? LOL.; 6/12/18, 11:57 AM
Drago said...: sakredkow wisely decides to drop the whole "ceased" exercises BS democrat talking point nonsense as it has been fully exposed as being, well, completely stupid.

But only completely.; 6/12/18, 11:58 AM
sakredkow said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 6/12/18, 11:59 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: Care? No. We are laughing at your idiotic responses to the news. It's entertainment. Who cares what you think? What you write is funny enough!; 6/12/18, 11:59 AM
Original Mike said...: ”What would you do if we all started agreeing with you?”

Smile.; 6/12/18, 11:59 AM
Drago said...: Inga: "What would you do if we all started agreeing with you?"

Say "duh".; 6/12/18, 11:59 AM
Drago said...: Mike: "Something that is NOT happening cannot be "ceased" but can be delayed or rescheduled or cancelled."

Which is why Trump used both "cancelled" and "delayed".

Of course, I fully expect a Rosenstein-directed Mueller indictment for "Proper Use Of A Verb".; 6/12/18, 12:01 PM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: If Kim lets Domino's Pizza start building pizza parlors in NK they will also fix his roads. Capitalism could be a good thing.; 6/12/18, 12:01 PM
Inga...Allie Oop said...: “NO Inga, the word "cease" absolutely means to stop something in progress.”

“Future
I will cease
you will cease
he;she;it will cease
we will cease
you will cease
they will cease
Future perfect
I will have ceased
you will have ceased
he;she;it will have ceased”

The word cease has a future tense. Sheesh.; 6/12/18, 12:02 PM
FullMoon said...: Bay Area Guy said...

Next, I would like to see Trump head to the Middle East to negotiate with a few rich, crazy Muslim oil sheiks to open up the mother of all shopping malls and casinos in Mecca.

If he doesn't get the Nobel Peace Peace price for Korea, he'd get one for that.
6/12/18, 8:58 AM

Yeah, but I want to see him make peace with California. Really lock up 2020 .; 6/12/18, 12:02 PM
Drago said...: Good job sakredkow.

You avoided the mistake of thinking you could resume your previously exposed BS talking point.

Congratulations. You are at the top of the Althouseblog lefty class.; 6/12/18, 12:02 PM
sakredkow said...: sakredkow wisely decides to drop the whole "ceased" exercises BS democrat talking point nonsense as it has been fully exposed as being, well, completely stupid.

What is left to argue? Trump announced he was cancelling joint military exercises - which he calls 'war games', adopting the vocabulary of our enemies, with South Korea. They were scheduled for August 2018 and April 2019. What more is there to say? If you want to argue we got something for this grand concession that China and North Korea have especially longed for, go for it.

Don't tell me "it's a talking point" or "nonsense." It's just a fact. Move your argument on or; 6/12/18, 12:03 PM
sakredkow said...: ...keep whining.; 6/12/18, 12:04 PM
Drago said...: Inga is too funny.

Dying on the "cease" hill.

Awesome.; 6/12/18, 12:04 PM