The US is no longer a reliable trading partner. The word of the US government is meaningless. Trump was right to say NATO members weren't spending enough. However, I believe he's saying what he's saying and doing what he's doing to appease Putin. NATO meant the US wouldn't have to fight a war on its own soil, while being the only country to invoke Article 5....something no one has explained to Trump. I think the world is going to move on from the US. There are 7.7 billion of us who aren't American. We're tired of the bullshit to the point that we're willing to go through the pain of the breakup....one which will hurt the US the most in the end. But you put him back in power. Stupid has consequences that usually hurt.
It's a good point, one I've not seen anyone make before. Of course there is an ulterior motive to the Greenland push, having nothing to do with security. It's Trump just trying to get his hands on rare Earth minerals to make himself or his cronies richer.
Just goes to show that with this guy, it's never about anything noble, or good for the country. It's always about greed.
Dan, thank you for continuing to hold trump and his minions accountable. You are a lone voice in the wilderness. NATO is/was the strongest alliance against Russa and China ever wrought. But with trump constantly disparging them it is no wonder the other NATO members are planning on trump and the USA abandoning them. Wrecking a decades long treaty that has kept the world somewhat safe since WWII. We must keep our reserve. Maybe, just maybe the mid-term elections will turn this train wreck around.
But clearly those 4 Belgium goals were fake goals and the US goal keeper was unfairly fouled. Unless FIFA overturn the result and award the soccer World Cup to the US America will invade Belgium. Thank you for your attention to this matter. And by the way Biden was asleep for the whole game and Obama shouldn't have been allowed to play because he was born overseas.
Great piece Dan. When you said “They didn’t continually find new paths to degrade and endanger the nation.” about the great men on Mt Rushmore, you forgot to say “embarrass”. Time was when I could be proud of our country. I am still proud of our country today but thoroughly embarrassed at the things our President says and does as he represents us on the world stage.
Sometimes karma wears cleats. I watched last night’s game and hoped that the US coach would keep him on the bench, but he didn’t and I cheered for Belgium as a result.
The FIFA call is the one that deserves more analytical attention than it's getting.
The red card story reads like a sports controversy. It isn't. It is the President of the United States using the office to override the rules of an international body and the international body complying. That compliance is the story. FIFA didn't resist. FIFA didn't issue a statement defending the referee's authority. FIFA reversed the call.
What every government watching that exchange now knows: American presidential pressure can override the stated rules of international institutions when the outcome matters to the man in the office. This is not a precedent about soccer. It is a demonstration of what the office will be used for and what international bodies will do when it is used that way. The lesson travels far beyond the pitch.
Rather is right that the three things together — the FIFA call, the NATO threat, the gold Rushmore — are telling a single story. The story is about what American power is being redefined to mean. Not the security of allies, not the integrity of international rules, not the common inheritance of democratic institutions. The personal service of one man's interests and vanity. That redefinition is happening in public, on purpose, so that everyone watching understands the new terms.
The question the world is asking — and that Rather gestures at without fully landing — is whether this is America now, or America under one man. The answer to that question will be determined by what happens in November.
Massive volumes carefully document the conditions that make for failed nations; one of the best and most recent is Why Nations Fail by Nobel laureate Daron Acemoglu with James A. Robinson. American Republican extremists have taken the reigns of this country and are driving it straight down that path; every box is being checked.
Why Nations Fail argues that the success of countries is determined by political and economic institutions, not geography or culture. Using historical examples from Rome to modern China, the authors show how extractive and dictatorial political systems -- the exact road America is now on -- stifle it and lead to failure in every particular.
A major factor allowing this is a religion of worship of a toxic brand of masculinity and the entitlement that generates, leading to "strongmen" achieving enough support in order for them to "lead" nations to their doom for the sake of self-glorification.
The planet's history is littered with such cases; America aimed to be a new experiment ... but the experiment is sinking very fast into the swamp of history.
Isn't treason impeachable? President Trump has acted in several ways that he is support of Putin at the harm of ally, Ukraine. Now he wants to sell F-35 jets to Turkey. Since Turkey has connections with Russia pertaining to defense, having highly secure and secrete military information through the F-35's would neutralize an American military advantage. In other words, the current President of the United States and his supporters are giving comfort and support to the enemy. Red card interference, another Trump as god action, but not lethal. F-35's, life and death. Let's ignore the minor and pay attention to the major.
agree! Problem is, trump has led the nominal majority party in the US into the position that Russia is not an enemy -- and how can there be treason when it's supposedly all among friends? No treason, no impeachment. If the Democrats take the House of Representatives majority next year, will they have the political will to declare Russia an enemy in order to make impeachment on the basis of this F-35 transfer (or other deliberate actions and inactions benefitting Russia)possible?
trump has already ignored so many laws, what's another one to him? Plus, if he does, that gives complete latitude to attack a former ally (Denmark) in order to get those rich-man-making mineral deposits in Greenland for his cronies.
What he did with the Red Card incident is typical Trump. Seth Blattner, the former FIFA head, was a total crook and this Infantino is an a** kIsser of the first order. But for Trump to put his grimy paws on the “beautiful game” will smear FIFA even more than was. England sent Mexico packing in Mexico City !! Playing a man short just the night before. That’s soccer ! The Trump Curse continues !
The US is no longer a reliable trading partner. The word of the US government is meaningless. Trump was right to say NATO members weren't spending enough. However, I believe he's saying what he's saying and doing what he's doing to appease Putin. NATO meant the US wouldn't have to fight a war on its own soil, while being the only country to invoke Article 5....something no one has explained to Trump. I think the world is going to move on from the US. There are 7.7 billion of us who aren't American. We're tired of the bullshit to the point that we're willing to go through the pain of the breakup....one which will hurt the US the most in the end. But you put him back in power. Stupid has consequences that usually hurt.
It's a good point, one I've not seen anyone make before. Of course there is an ulterior motive to the Greenland push, having nothing to do with security. It's Trump just trying to get his hands on rare Earth minerals to make himself or his cronies richer.
Just goes to show that with this guy, it's never about anything noble, or good for the country. It's always about greed.
Dan, thank you for continuing to hold trump and his minions accountable. You are a lone voice in the wilderness. NATO is/was the strongest alliance against Russa and China ever wrought. But with trump constantly disparging them it is no wonder the other NATO members are planning on trump and the USA abandoning them. Wrecking a decades long treaty that has kept the world somewhat safe since WWII. We must keep our reserve. Maybe, just maybe the mid-term elections will turn this train wreck around.
But clearly those 4 Belgium goals were fake goals and the US goal keeper was unfairly fouled. Unless FIFA overturn the result and award the soccer World Cup to the US America will invade Belgium. Thank you for your attention to this matter. And by the way Biden was asleep for the whole game and Obama shouldn't have been allowed to play because he was born overseas.
Great piece Dan. When you said “They didn’t continually find new paths to degrade and endanger the nation.” about the great men on Mt Rushmore, you forgot to say “embarrass”. Time was when I could be proud of our country. I am still proud of our country today but thoroughly embarrassed at the things our President says and does as he represents us on the world stage.
TYPO: early in the article NATO is described incorrectly. Please change the word “American” to “Atlantic”.
Sometimes karma wears cleats. I watched last night’s game and hoped that the US coach would keep him on the bench, but he didn’t and I cheered for Belgium as a result.
Beyond Sick!
I’m not a history expert by any stretch, but isn’t NATO the North Atlantic Treaty Organization? It’s described as North American in the article…
The FIFA call is the one that deserves more analytical attention than it's getting.
The red card story reads like a sports controversy. It isn't. It is the President of the United States using the office to override the rules of an international body and the international body complying. That compliance is the story. FIFA didn't resist. FIFA didn't issue a statement defending the referee's authority. FIFA reversed the call.
What every government watching that exchange now knows: American presidential pressure can override the stated rules of international institutions when the outcome matters to the man in the office. This is not a precedent about soccer. It is a demonstration of what the office will be used for and what international bodies will do when it is used that way. The lesson travels far beyond the pitch.
Rather is right that the three things together — the FIFA call, the NATO threat, the gold Rushmore — are telling a single story. The story is about what American power is being redefined to mean. Not the security of allies, not the integrity of international rules, not the common inheritance of democratic institutions. The personal service of one man's interests and vanity. That redefinition is happening in public, on purpose, so that everyone watching understands the new terms.
The question the world is asking — and that Rather gestures at without fully landing — is whether this is America now, or America under one man. The answer to that question will be determined by what happens in November.
Massive volumes carefully document the conditions that make for failed nations; one of the best and most recent is Why Nations Fail by Nobel laureate Daron Acemoglu with James A. Robinson. American Republican extremists have taken the reigns of this country and are driving it straight down that path; every box is being checked.
Why Nations Fail argues that the success of countries is determined by political and economic institutions, not geography or culture. Using historical examples from Rome to modern China, the authors show how extractive and dictatorial political systems -- the exact road America is now on -- stifle it and lead to failure in every particular.
A major factor allowing this is a religion of worship of a toxic brand of masculinity and the entitlement that generates, leading to "strongmen" achieving enough support in order for them to "lead" nations to their doom for the sake of self-glorification.
The planet's history is littered with such cases; America aimed to be a new experiment ... but the experiment is sinking very fast into the swamp of history.
It is said over and over again that Mount Rushmore is not stable enough to add another carving. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/donald-trump-mount-rushmore-no-room-stone-rcna227086
It would be nice to have a good reminder of a crumbling Trump, as long as the other statues were not affected. They could sell ketchup and slingshots,
Isn't treason impeachable? President Trump has acted in several ways that he is support of Putin at the harm of ally, Ukraine. Now he wants to sell F-35 jets to Turkey. Since Turkey has connections with Russia pertaining to defense, having highly secure and secrete military information through the F-35's would neutralize an American military advantage. In other words, the current President of the United States and his supporters are giving comfort and support to the enemy. Red card interference, another Trump as god action, but not lethal. F-35's, life and death. Let's ignore the minor and pay attention to the major.
agree! Problem is, trump has led the nominal majority party in the US into the position that Russia is not an enemy -- and how can there be treason when it's supposedly all among friends? No treason, no impeachment. If the Democrats take the House of Representatives majority next year, will they have the political will to declare Russia an enemy in order to make impeachment on the basis of this F-35 transfer (or other deliberate actions and inactions benefitting Russia)possible?
But what about the bill Joe Biden signed that requires Trump to get Congress' approval before he can withdraw the US from NATO?
https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48868
R48868
trump has already ignored so many laws, what's another one to him? Plus, if he does, that gives complete latitude to attack a former ally (Denmark) in order to get those rich-man-making mineral deposits in Greenland for his cronies.
What he did with the Red Card incident is typical Trump. Seth Blattner, the former FIFA head, was a total crook and this Infantino is an a** kIsser of the first order. But for Trump to put his grimy paws on the “beautiful game” will smear FIFA even more than was. England sent Mexico packing in Mexico City !! Playing a man short just the night before. That’s soccer ! The Trump Curse continues !
Karma that we lost anyway.
The biggest loser!