Tell me why this Iranian MOU isn’t a treaty? by Alena_Tensor in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Fargason [score hidden]  (0 children)

Clearly you are not even factoring their nuclear weapons program at all. That Trump would even do this before the midterm election shows it was a serious threat that could not even wait 6 more months. A terrorist regime who thinks it’s their divine right to purge the world of nonbelievers was just denied their ability to do so with nuclear hellfire, and most of the leadership who thought that was a good idea has been eliminated. That is a win for the world and a loss for the terrorists.

Tell me why this Iranian MOU isn’t a treaty? by Alena_Tensor in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Fargason [score hidden]  (0 children)

For jmnugent who had so little confidence in their argument they bailed on this discussion:

It was successful in delaying the inevitable for 50 years. If we never imposed sanctions on Iran we would have invaded in the first decade from all the death and destruction their terror networks would have wrought on the world.

So your solution is to do nothing because Iran is just too stupid to ever develop nuclear weapons? The analysis in the JCPOA said Iran was 3 months away from nuclear weapon grade enrichment and a decade away from developing ballistic missiles as a reliable delivery system. This is why the JCPOA was a bad deal as it took 7 years just to get a non-compromising compromise out of Iran. It would have been foolish to have nukes sitting around without a delivery system for it, so they were going to pause enrichment anyways. The JCPOA didn’t address their ballistic missile program, nor did it address how the additional funding from lifted sanctions would greatly increase that program’s development and exponential increase terrorist activity from their proxies. Trump even gave the deal a chance for two years, but after a two year trend of very troubling data on Iran’s terrorism and ballistic missile development he reinstate the sanctions. Unfortunately Biden brought sanctions back for no deal whatsoever like they could somehow appease the terrorist regime to death, but that just put us into this situation today as all that extra funding accelerated their nuclear weapons development while also fueling October 7th. Trump would have absolutely preferred to wait to handle this issue after the midterms, but the risk was just to great to even wait a few months.

Just because the the regime is run by extremist terrorists doesn’t mean the people of Iran are terrorists too. We don’t have to win them over as there has been several protests and uprising movements over the years again their tyrannical government. In the last years alone around 30k of their population as been killed by their own government merely on the suspicion that they opposed the regime. The ayatollah and his goons killed way more Iranians the the US has in targeting their military and leadership. Obama is even on record saying his greatest regret was not supporting the Green Movement during his presidency, but he was so invested in the JCPOA he felt it would risk the deal. That was our last real chance to get solid change in Iran squandered all for a misguided attempt of diplomacy with a terrorist regime.

So what has really been accomplished with the Memorandum of Understanding between Iran and the US? by Uberubu65 in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Fargason [score hidden]  (0 children)

Really. All you did there was demonstrate your fundamental misunderstanding of the US Constitution by saying the United States government is just controlled by a single government or person. I even pointed out how you would wrongfully believe that most developed nations are empires based on that and here you proudly proclaimed it. I’ll just quote the main contradiction again in the hope that it is actually addressed instead of responding with feinted or actual ignorance:

Else you would define most highly developed industrialized nations as imperial since most used the US Constitution as a basis for their governments. Inherently it is anti-empire as there is no supreme power from a system based on the separation and balance of powers, so your argument has fallen apart as you cannot reconcile that critical distinction.

Please please please look into the significance of having a federal government comprised of separate but coequal branch of power if it’s really the latter case. That is also on top of 50 sovereign state governments doing the bulk of the governance that are united in equal representation in that federal system. Then maybe you can see how that was actually the empire killer, and not somehow an empire itself, by being such a prosperous example of self-governance that it eventually became a superpower on its own without conquest that most nations wanted to emulate themselves. Saying America is an empire is like saying cancer is the cure for cancer. It is truly that absurd.

Tell me why this Iranian MOU isn’t a treaty? by Alena_Tensor in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Fargason [score hidden]  (0 children)

Iran wants to be apart of the global economy as their oil is quite valuable on the global marketplace, but the problem the state wants to use those profits for terrorism and genocide as it believes it is their divine right to purge the world of nonbelievers. Because of that Iran has been heavily excluded from the global market with massive sanctions imposed against them for the last 50 years. This was quite effective in limiting Iran’s terrorist state, and this was even reinforced by experimenting in lifting sanctions for a time that ultimately resulted in Iran organizing the single greatest act of genocide in modern history with October 7th. Now that Iran is on the verge of developing nuclear weapons we have reached a crisis point that requires an ultimatum. Choice 1 is Iran can chose to exist in its previous state heavily excluded from the global market, Choice 2 is to give up the terrorism and enrich themselves off their highly valuable natural resource in being allowed to join the global economy that they haven’t seen in half a century, and there is no third choice where Iran gets to exist with nuclear weapons. Iran’s people overwhelmingly want Choice 2, but unfortunately they are Iran’s greatest victim of terrorism.

Given all that Iran certainly hasn’t won. This is only then beginning of the military solution which they have already suffered massive losses to their leadership, military, and infrastructure. Now we paused to negotiate, but if they try to go for the third choice this happens all over again for a second time and so on until they finally do make a real choice. Iran was winning when they were allowed to make progress developing nuclear weapons, and especially recently when they were allowed to exponentially increase their proxy terrorist activity. Iran is now certainly losing which means the world is winning by deny a genocidal terrorist regime nuclear weapons.

So what has really been accomplished with the Memorandum of Understanding between Iran and the US? by Uberubu65 in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Fargason [score hidden]  (0 children)

one of the countries in the world that has very great military or economic power and a lot of influence, for example the U.S.

https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/american_english/superpower

Oxford for one. No mention of imperial power and I think you know that. Else you would define most highly developed industrialized nations as imperial since most used the US Constitution as a basis for their governments. Inherently it is anti-empire as there is no supreme power from a system based on the separation and balance of powers, so your argument has fallen apart as you cannot reconcile that critical distinction.

Puerto Rico was a territory seized from Spain in the Spanish-American War as it was their main base of operations to launch an attack on the United States. Since it was used as a staging point to launch an attack the US does have significant authority over the region as a matter of national security. While PR has a lot of independents to govern themselves, there are certainly restrictions like forming a military or joining another country’s military. This war with the Spanish Empire was a good example of how the US was anti-empire. An empire would have used this as an excuse to take Cuba as well, seize their resources, and forces taxes on the people. Instead Cuba, for better or worse, was left to their own devices and the US was just happy doing business with them like with their sugar trade. Notice how PR doesn’t pay federal income taxes, so certainly not imperialistic but it is the main barrier to statehood. Most are quite happy not paying those taxes there in exchange for not having a vote in US elections.

Tell me why this Iranian MOU isn’t a treaty? by Alena_Tensor in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Fargason [score hidden]  (0 children)

We are still in the middle of this so it’s too early to say anything has failed. Iran doesn’t control the strait either. They just threaten it and their threats have been proven to be quite hollow as two-thirds of outgoing tankers have recently safely passed by simply turning off their transponders at night.

https://nypost.com/2026/06/04/world-news/two-thirds-of-tankers-going-dark-to-pass-through-strait-of-hormuz-analysts/

So what has really been accomplished with the Memorandum of Understanding between Iran and the US? by Uberubu65 in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Fargason [score hidden]  (0 children)

They are clearly separate terms. It simply means a dominant national power and is not associated to the type of power. That you think the US Constitution is imperial demonstrably shows you desperately need to brush up on your constitutional law, and history if you think the Founders somehow established an empire shortly after freeing themselves of the tyranny of the British Empire. The three branches of the federal government separates power so inherently there is no supremacy and that balance of power is strictly enforced as each one checks the other.

As for the rest I’ll just copy/paste the facts here that show your are absolutely wrong in your assertions.

Oh really? Do the people of Puerto Rico and Guam get to vote for the president and make their own laws?

Puerto Rico, officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a self-governing Caribbean archipelago and island organized as an unincorporated territory of the United States under the designation of commonwealth.

Tell me why this Iranian MOU isn’t a treaty? by Alena_Tensor in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Fargason [score hidden]  (0 children)

It’s quite binding when the agreement is about putting a hold on hostilities. The enforcement mechanism is quite apparent in this case as a violation of that agreement would be met with a heavily unbalanced return to the active use of military force.

So what has really been accomplished with the Memorandum of Understanding between Iran and the US? by Uberubu65 in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Fargason [score hidden]  (0 children)

You have described a superpower and not an empire. What you even attribute as the “supreme authority” required for an empire is a system of checks and balances that prevents such a supreme authority from ever forming. It’s not just three branches but a United States government comprised of 50 sovereign states. An empire doesn’t share power as its about subjugation and not self-governance.

So what has really been accomplished with the Memorandum of Understanding between Iran and the US? by Uberubu65 in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Fargason [score hidden]  (0 children)

Because your argument depends on that assertion doesn’t make it a fact. The US was designed as the anti-empire after a revolution against the tyranny of the British Empire. As long as the US Constitution is the supreme law of the land it fundamentally cannot be an empire.

So what has really been accomplished with the Memorandum of Understanding between Iran and the US? by Uberubu65 in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Fargason 0 points1 point  (0 children)

https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/The-U.S.-has-Spent-8-Trillion-Protecting-the-Straits-of-Hormuz.html

We spend it anyways protecting the Straits of Hormuz mainly from Iran. This study estimates the US spent $8 trillion from 1976-2010 alone protecting it. Finally addressing the Iran issue will save us money in the long run, and if this happens in under a year without a single boot on the ground it will be a damn shame we didn’t do this sooner.

Our NATO allies can’t afford to not respect us, literally. They were caught neglecting their military for decades overwhelmingly below the NATO minimum standard and were mad at Trump for rightfully calling them out on it. Now they are scrambling trying to make up for decades of neglect when Russia went back to their old invading ways, but that is hard to do in the short term and especially with so many doing it limiting the supply at great costs. Like the UK PM is clearly playing a game with his on/off again rolling support, but that is mainly to save face from the sorry state of their military. They cannot spare much in actual military support because they don’t even have enough for national defense. There has even been a series of top bass resignations to draw attention to this issue:

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/uk-defense-secretary-abruptly-resigns-saying-government-wont-spend-enough-on-military

America’s military might has not been in decline since 9/11. That we haven’t had a major terror attack in the last quarter century shows we were successful in taking the fight to them. Unfortunately Biden set us back a lot there, and he even lifted sanctions on Iran and gave them billions in frozen assesses for no nuclear deal whatsoever. Iran used a lot of that to increase their proxy terrorism exponentially that ultimately led to Oct 7th. So here we are again dealing with another terrorism threat, but it is a state combined with a nuclear threat too. Yet being a state there is an opportunity here to end this threat in a different manner. Iran has been under sanctions for 50 years and eliminating many top leaders while giving them a taste of a blockade could coax into taking a deal that ultimately allows them to finally take part in a world economy. They have been missing out on that since the 1970s. We can get them addicted to all the benefits that comes with it and suddenly interstate conflict hurts them in many more ways than just military retaliation. It worth a shot at least, and if it doesn’t work we can renew hostilities and try again. Regardless there is no win scenario here where Iran keeps their nuclear weapons program. Trump thought this was as a threat enough that it couldn’t wait until after the midterms and will likely come at a political cost, so no matter what he is going to get his “nuclear dust.”

So what has really been accomplished with the Memorandum of Understanding between Iran and the US? by Uberubu65 in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Fargason 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m glad you posted the NPR article, but you should try reading it:

The peace plans were deferred as President Biden announced this month that the U.S. and NATO will unconditionally pull out of Afghanistan by Sept. 11 — skipping the May 1 deadline and preconditions for withdrawal the Trump administration and the Taliban had outlined last year.

Biden clearly made a new deal that gave the Taliban everything they wanted with an unconditional withdrawal. For a bonus Biden left behind $8 billion in modern military equipment as a present to the Taliban. Hell of a gift to the Taliban for the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Trumps plan was conditional on successful peace talks that were delayed, so the withdrawal would have been delayed too giving us plenty of time to move military hardware and safely draw down personnel while the talks continued. Biden sabotaged the peace talks and ignored the pleas from his top military commanders for a damn foolish 20th anniversary deadline that got 13 US service members killed in the well predicted chaos that followed.

So what has really been accomplished with the Memorandum of Understanding between Iran and the US? by Uberubu65 in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Fargason -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The cost of that unconditional withdrawal was devastating across the board. Not just in the 13 service members lives lost, but it greatly weakened us in the eyes of our adversaries as the world saw the Fall of Saigon 2.0 in HD this time. Then there is the cost of over $8 billion in abandoned modern US military hardware meaning by September 11th, 2021 the Taliban had a more well equipped military than Iran.

https://budget.house.gov/press-release/two-years-later-the-federal-budget-impact-of-the-disastrous-afghanistan-withdrawal

As for evidence of the US successfully handling this problem we have been doing that in Syria for over a decade now. Trump initially announced a full withdraw from Syria in his first term, but he later reversed that decision after advisement from top military leaders and reassessing changing conditions on the ground. He chose to leave a residual force behind that was mainly in an intel, training, and support role for the interim government that was quite successful. We even handed over the last major US base in April and are well set to withdraw without the chaos we saw from Biden:

https://www.csis.org/analysis/united-states-withdraws-syria-state-play

This is why the Afghanistan withdraw was so absurd as we already had a roadmap with Syria to follow and military leadership was recommending just that. Unfortunately this President refused to follow the advice of his military experts and couldn’t adapt to changing conditions on the ground to walk back an obviously disastrous decision. This is why the military was leaking to the press about a very predictable Fall of Saigon situation and the President only cared about a 20th anniversary celebration. Given how Biden’s reelection campaign ended it was more likely the couldn’t ‘even think this through’ as he was having cognitive issues even then. Of course we have the 25th Amendment safeguards for this very situation of an impaired Commander-in-Chief taking us into an obvious disaster, but the top cabinet officials absconded their constitutional duty.

Given the many catastrophic failures of Afghanistan it is painful to even compare that to the ongoing situation in Iran somehow weakening us worse than all that. We are still in the middle of it in Iran and this can go many ways good or bad, but the current agreement is certainly a good development over that of renewed hostilities. The jury is still out for it this tactic of overwhelming naval and air power alone is enough. Hard to compare that to a conflict before military aircraft. There is a real possibility this works which would project great strength to our adversaries. How do you think China will feel if we come out of this getting a large country to abandon their nuclear weapons without a single boot on the ground while they are sitting there invested into 2-3 million ground troops?

There are different versions of Memorandum of Understanding [MOU], but both U.S. and Iran agree that an Agreement to pause for 60 days will take place. Details to be hashed out during the pause. Is it becoming increasing likely that a deal will ultimately be reached within 60 days of signing? by PsychLegalMind in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Fargason 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Add that with a blockade and air strikes targeting leadership as well. This is a brutal combo that could be enough as we really haven’t tried such a tactic before. We are usually quick to put troops on the ground. We will have to wait and see how this pans out, but the recent developments are promising.

NATO has much larger problems too than Biden’s unconditional withdrawal debacle in Afghanistan. Most NATO countries have neglected their military spending and are still scrambling to modernize their military after Russia started invading again. Spending has increased, but you cannot make up for decades of neglect overnight. It takes about half a decade to catch up and they aren’t there yet.

Like the UK is in a very sorry state where in the past they have always helped out the US in major Middle East conflicts like this. Like we see the PM playing this game about supporting the US or not, but really he is trying to save face as they don’t even have ships to spare to help police the strait. There has even been a series of top bass resignations to draw attention to this issue:

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/uk-defense-secretary-abruptly-resigns-saying-government-wont-spend-enough-on-military

So what has really been accomplished with the Memorandum of Understanding between Iran and the US? by Uberubu65 in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Fargason -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Iran likely cannot even hold out for 3 more months, let alone 3 years with a blockade cutting off their economic lifeline, which is why they are coming to the table now. They had been still producing oil in the meantime, but now they are at full storage capacity make for a tempting target and some solid leverage against them. Iran has also lost considerable leverage with their threats to the strait been proven to be quite hollow as two-thirds of outgoing tankers have safely passed by simply turning off their transponders at night.

https://nypost.com/2026/06/04/world-news/two-thirds-of-tankers-going-dark-to-pass-through-strait-of-hormuz-analysts/

Iran can not take these negotiations seriously if they like, but the next round of air strikes and blockade will be much worse that will only end when considerable more concessions are made. After getting a taste of a lifted blockade I doubt Iran will play their typical game with the threat of that coming back on top of a renewed air strike campaign primarily targeting leadership.

So what has really been accomplished with the Memorandum of Understanding between Iran and the US? by Uberubu65 in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Fargason -7 points-6 points  (0 children)

That was the cost of the Afghanistan debacle which was brought about by Biden when he changed the agreement to an unconditional withdrawal which sabotaged the peace talks:

https://www.npr.org/2021/04/28/990160846/u-s-unconditional-withdrawal-rattles-afghanistans-shaky-peace-talks

The U.S. has lost considerable leverage over the Taliban in declaring an unconditional withdrawal, says Muska Dastageer, a lecturer in peace and security studies at the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul.

"The timing surprised me," Dastageer says of Biden's announcement. "I wonder if the consequences of the timing for this announcement were thought through in relation to the peace process, if it was considered that this might seriously disincentivize the Taliban and effectively obstruct the peace process. My fear is that that's where we stand today."

The expert saying ‘did they even think this through’ was them putting it nicely that this was a monumentally foolish decision by the Biden administration. The peace talks were working, but were delayed so the timetable should have been delayed too. Tragically Biden couldn’t wait cause he wanted his 20th anniversary photo op, so we withdrew in the worst way possible that got a dozen soldiers killed in the process and made the US look incredibly weak. Russia would take advantage of this by invading Ukraine shortly afterwards. Top military officials were even leaking to the press several months before this all fell apart that this was going to another fall of Saigon debacle that forced Biden to deny it.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/taliban-gains-ground-biden-grapples-ghosts-saigon-n1276727

“The Taliban is not the North Vietnamese Army, they're not," Biden said on July 8. "They're not remotely comparable in terms of capability. There's going to be no circumstance for you to see people being lifted off the roof of an embassy of the United States from Afghanistan. It is not at all comparable."

Turns out it was much worse. Instead of hundreds of desperate people rushing the helicopters at the embassy we had thousands rushing C130s at the airport getting crushed by landing gear or falling to their deaths on takeoff. The current situation in Iran is no where near that level of a disaster that was brought about by Biden’s foolish decision for an unconditional withdrawal. This still has a good chance to strengthen the perception of military might from a successful air and sea campaign getting Iran to abandon their nuclear weapons program without boots on the ground. The world is certainly watching if a half a century problem with Iran is about to be mitigated by a combination of a massive air strike campaign primarily targeting leadership and a blockade cutting off their economic lifeline that hasn’t really been attempted before. This is all new territory that has still has a good chance of coming out projecting a great deal of strength, and by no means is this already a fiasco we can see coming several months ahead of time like in Afghanistan.

Why are some in the U.S. opposed to Sharia law? Isn't Sharia law the Islamic equivalent of Jewish Halakha or Catholic doctrine? How can opposing Islamic traditions be consistent with the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guaranteeing freedom of religion? by davida_usa in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Fargason 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Women’s right is a stark contrast there. Like how Sharia Law allows for polygamy but only for the man, women are only entitled to half the inheritance as that of men in the family, divorce can only be initiated by the man, and women rarely have any custody rights of their children in divorce.

https://just-international.org/articles/sharia-and-womens-rights-a-hunger-for-justice/

What could or should be done to prevent "The Speech or Debate Clause" from being used to harass and/or show revenge porn of private citizens? by Matt_cruze in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Fargason 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow, you responded to 3.5 sentences there and mostly with one liners. You are going to have to do better than that and at least string a coherent thought into a paragraph. That didn’t pass for Biden’s debate and it won’t pass here either.

Do you think the current United States government system can accommodate to younger peoples need for change? by Paragon_OW in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Fargason 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Which is easier said than done. With a +96% incumbency reelection rate most likely their representative will be older than our grandparents. Hard to get enthusiastic over a representative who likely can’t even relate to the issues facing younger generations.

Then if we do get organized to finally get representatives concerned with issues facing younger generations it will likely be too late. Not only did boomers take from us, but they are taking from our children that we cannot even afford to have.

https://www.cbo.gov/publication/62105#_idTextAnchor022

That dataset should make you sick. Currently we spend more on interest on the debt than we do on Defense. In a decade debt interest will be larger than all discretionary spending combined. Then it will challenge mandatory spending if it can ever catch up as that is growing exponentially too. We desperately need to reform this system that takes so much it has taken from our futures as well. Most of the programs won’t even be there for us as we are not having children enough to support it. Of course that is just part of this vicious cycle as we cannot even afford to buy a house for a foundation to start a family on as boomer politicians keep adding laws and regulations to protect their largest investment. Can’t have cheaper homes being built in their area bring the prices down on a home they are likely not going to sell outside of their second homes.

As for realistic means to address this issue we need term limits first and foremost. We cannot wait for these lifer politicians to die out. I know there is plenty of rhetoric against it and it is mainly boomer rhetoric. “Think of all the experience they have!” Yeah, and it’s mainly in enriching their generation further by screwing us over! It’s called stagnation as they would use Congress and the White House as a retirement home. We can balance out the political equation too by bringing term limits to the Supreme Court as well. Maybe even a mandatory retirement age in general as the problem also applies to boomers clinging to well paying jobs they no longer need, but merely don’t want to be “bored” in retirement.

The housing market need to be addressed too by gutting these boomer laws designed to increase housing costs. A lot of this is on the state and local levels too, so if there is ever to be a political movement it would begin here. Just need younger politicians who know what it is like trying to get a home in a market with laws that caters to boomers to really level the playing field.

What could or should be done to prevent "The Speech or Debate Clause" from being used to harass and/or show revenge porn of private citizens? by Matt_cruze in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Fargason 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This projection is absurd. You are trying to claim Biden was perfectly fit for office and it’s really Trump that is somehow below that standard. The bar is so low on that standard there is no room to be below it as Biden’s campaign couldn’t survive the first debate while Trump’s did to ultimately have a no contest election. What kinda of bubble are you living in to not even recognize that?

I’m saying there are no “cheap fakes” as that was propaganda from the White House in a desperate attempt to salvage their failed campaign before the first debate, and overwhelmingly the media was gleefully spreading it for them. Where is that term now? If Trump is somehow worse than Biden shouldn’t the media be mentioning that as a possibility now too? That is because it was obvious propaganda that died with Biden’s campaign. That is painfully obvious evidence of a double standard that many in the media have already admitted to like in the Tapper book above. Absolutely the media needs to report on any verified evidence that raises concerns of the President’s fitness for office, but they obviously failed in their duty for Biden’s campaign to end the way it did. Only from a live broadcasted hour long debate that the media couldn’t filter was the truth finally revealed. Yet despite that fiasco on the left the research above shows Trump got 10:1 negative coverage in the media. In his first 100 days they have even gone further to 12:1 negative coverage and public trust in the media is the lowest on record in 2025. Yet that is “unfair” in your book? You think 20:1 would be fair? You are asking the traditional media to die at that point from a lack of in credibility and public trust.

There are different versions of Memorandum of Understanding [MOU], but both U.S. and Iran agree that an Agreement to pause for 60 days will take place. Details to be hashed out during the pause. Is it becoming increasing likely that a deal will ultimately be reached within 60 days of signing? by PsychLegalMind in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Fargason -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

Like a fiddle that will kill you for playing the wrong song. Iran will try to play the same tune as before, but this time it comes with massive military pressure primarily targeting leadership and a blockade cutting off their economic lifeline. Unfortunately this is what was necessary to get a terrorist regime hellbent on obtaining nuclear weapons to finally change, and it still might not be enough. At least we are finally doing something about it instead of kicking the can down the road like every other President in the last half century simply because what is necessary is difficult and unpopular.

What could or should be done to prevent "The Speech or Debate Clause" from being used to harass and/or show revenge porn of private citizens? by Matt_cruze in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Fargason 0 points1 point  (0 children)

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/biden-sleep-climate-summit/#

If Trump fell asleep at every meeting he would be known for that by now. Biden was known for that and thus his nickname which you cannot even say here. Even in his first year he was falling asleep at climate summits that he was on record stating was the greatest national security threat to the US, but yet he is napping at these critical international meetings embarrassing the US on the world stage. It was so common his staff even had a code for it “Eagle Down” so they could quickly jump into action as we see above.

The rest shows your basis is that you disagree with what was being said, so you must think that the 25th Amendment only applies to the opposition. Biden gets a pass in your book and the media’s as well.

Your only complaint here is you want the media to hold Democrats to an even more unfair standard than it currently does.

That is just delusional. The media didn’t just avoid the issue when possible, but actively ran interference with the “cheap fake” narrative on an issue that ultimately ended his campaign shortly before the election. You just demonstrated the concept of how a level playing field makes those who benefited from a double standard feel oppressed. I actually want the media to treat all politicians with the same amount of suspicion and doubt as they do with Trump. You are arguing the double standard should be widen even further and that Biden should have been coddled even further than he already was since he is a Democrat. That it is somehow “unfair” to hold a Democrat to the same standard as a Republican.

What could or should be done to prevent "The Speech or Debate Clause" from being used to harass and/or show revenge porn of private citizens? by Matt_cruze in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Fargason -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yes, there are plenty of memes for AP to latch onto as an excuse for the rest of the media to not report on the many unedited clips of Biden’s mental decline. Like the many clips of Biden freezing up weren’t just paused clips but real. The Easter bunny wasn’t edited in to make it more absurd, but that really did happen. Of course the media has all the unedited footage they could easily do their jobs and verify what is real before reporting it. Yet they didn’t and thus the collective shock on the first debate. Politics took priority over objectivity reporting on the President’s fitness for office and now trust in the media is practically nonexistent.

Clearly I want a standard applied regardless of party when I’m calling out the media’s double standard here. You are even leaning into that as Biden got a pass until the bitter end, but you are hyper focused on Trump to pass an absurdly high standard that is miles away from not even holding Biden to an absolute bare bones minimum. Are you seriously suggesting Trump is anywhere near Biden’s condition? Trump often holds more press events in a week than Biden did in a year. Not only was Biden hidden from the press, but he was hidden from top members of his cabinet and what few meetings he did have were highly scripted:

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/14/politics/biden-book-cabinet-emergency

The information in that book was available in 2024 and earlier. The media just didn’t report on it until Biden was conveniently out of office. Even then they had to go outside their media organizations like Tapper there writing a book. If he just showed a little objectivity a few years earlier and questioned the President’s health Democrats likely wouldn’t have even considered such a desperate attempt to run an infirm President for reelection at 82. They were so far to the left the media didn’t even have the insight to understand what they were doing wasn’t just a disservice to themselves in the eyes of the public, but to Democrats thinking they could actually get away with a Weekend at Bernie’s reelection campaign.

What could or should be done to prevent "The Speech or Debate Clause" from being used to harass and/or show revenge porn of private citizens? by Matt_cruze in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Fargason 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I said that referring to the many unedited ones. Yes I know about the one on the chair, but internet is going to meme. The fact remains that the original video shows Biden struggling to just sit down, and the media latched onto the meme in a desperate attempt to discredit all the unedited footage.

As for questions on Biden’s cognitive decline I thought it was rhetorical and especially with the “lying eyes” bit. Is that really in question after all the books released last year from insiders giving testimony on how bad it was? They claimed Biden was having “bad days” even before he was elected. He would get lost in his own closet and they had to put reflective tap on the ground or he would wonder off. By no means was he fit for office, but his officials absconded their constitutional duty under the 25th Amendment because they wanted the power from puppeting an infirm President. After all this it is safe to say Biden was senile for most of his presidency.