The Many Faces of US Politics...

[tyssam5]

Tom Price gone, one private jet too many for the swamp drainer in chief. Still he last 6 months, not bad going in the Trump administration.

[screenexile]

Is Tillerson going to stand down or say that he didn't call the President a moron??

[Gabriel_Hurl]

Is he f**k? They all tuck their tail between their legs

[screenexile]

He didn't deny the moron comment though!!

[Gabriel_Hurl]

He totally called him a moron hahahaha

[seafoid]

Private Eye had an article about Lupert Murdoch who is now married to Jerry Hall. She says Trump is a loser and Murdoch has bought into that. 

[Denn Forever]

He didn't deny the moron comment though!!

Great movie.

[stew]

Willing to stand corrected....

On everything you're wrong about? There may be hope yet.

You can start by admitting what a clusterfuck obama was.

I admit that!!! I could do that all day long!!!

[Gabriel_Hurl]

I see the VP flew all the way from Las Vegas to get offended by the NFL players protesting at the Colts game and leaving the game early.

[AZOffaly]

Amazing waste of money. Did he think they'd suddenly stop doing it?

[magpie seanie]

A planned publicity stunt. Trump even admitted talking about what he'd do. Or what Trump told him to do.

[magpie seanie]

Trump should start with Budweiser. I think putting a flag on a beer can is more disrespectful that taking a knee during an anthem. But it's not really about that of course. It's about what they're protesting for except they can't or won't come out and say that.

[Hardy]

Why do (many) Americans think the flag belongs to the military?

[Eamonnca1]

Why do (many) Americans think the flag belongs to the military?

It's a great question. The role of the military in American culture has gotten even more dominant since 9/11. I remember being shocked at seeing a B2 stealth bomber flying over a stadium during the national anthem, now military fly-overs at pro sports events are a lot more common. Then there are soldiers carrying giant American flags onto the field (it's actually a violation of the code to carry it horizontally but we'll let that slide) while wearing combat gear and getting fawning praise from the crowd. The militarization of American pro sport is one of the channels through which this militaristic culture has been spreading. Even newscasters and sports commentators talk about "our" troops, which further conditions people into this culture of deference to the military. "Support our troops" and "thank you for your service" have become  some of the mantras that you have to say in America if you want to fit in.

Any political candidate who talks to a serviceman without saying "thank you for your service" is toast (unless the soldier is gay and the politician is a Republican).

The flag has become synonymous with military endeavors so the military has found its place in the American civic religion, a place in which all critical thinking is suspended and the doctrine is beyond question.

Where the exact roots of it are I'm not entirely sure. But it's clearly the result of some sort of campaign and it has been very effective.

[Gabriel_Hurl]

Donnie Dickhead also claimed on TV last night that he invented the word "fake"