Friday, January 05, 2018

The Media's Fixation On Trumps ''Nuclear Button'' : A Clinical Study In Depravity And Deciet

What's behind the rhetoric of the media's hate for Donald Trump is fear of having to take a stand on principle. The progressives have nothing to declare as issues or policy to explain who they are except that they can express their hate and moral corruption for the entire world to witness first hand every day and night on television.  And they do it better then anyone else.

And this isn't a surprise to anyone, the progressive socialist liberals that infest the morally and ethically corrupt main stream media are actually the leading main component of the liberal democrat sewer that infects a large portion of the population with their rantings of socialist liberal delusional depravity.

After watching just a few minutes of these morally bastardized disciples spewing their contemptuous informational debauchery, it takes a strong stomach, I have a strong tendency to hurl the remote at the screen as the misinformation and out right lies are so outrageous and insanely pathologically debased, a common person that lives in the real world is stunned and then angry and then furious at their willingness for their advocating such deception from these sorry individuals, and their audacity in thinking we will fall, will be duped into believing their tortured hateful agenda and ideology of deception and deceit.

Once the ravings of hate take over, forcing out anything that resembles common sense and moral decency, all that remains is the overwhelming need to bring more hate. Hate cannot be dialed down, it can only be ever increased. It eats the soul and destroy the heart.

The Media Is Upset About Trump’s ‘Nuclear Button’ Wars. Why We Should Ignore Them.
James Carafano / /

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump both claim to have big red nuclear buttons. Who cares? We shouldn’t.

In his New Year’s address, Rocket Man reportedly announced he had a “red button” on his desk and he was ready to use it. Trump tweeted back, saying that his button is much bigger.

''North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the “Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times.” Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!''
6:49 PM - Jan 2, 2018

The tweets themselves are actually not worthy of all the histrionic reporting and punditry that followed.  First, Trump doesn’t have a nuclear release button on his desk. In all likelihood, Kim doesn’t either. In both cases, the release and employment of nuclear weapons is not nearly as cavalier as the tweeting or the hysterical pundits suggest.

We are coming up on the anniversary of the premier of “Dr. Strangelove.” Maybe they have all seen the movie one too many times.

Second, we already know Kim has a nuclear capability. We also know his nuclear arsenal at present is not capable of doing what he claimed in the speech. Kim lies a lot. No news there.

Third, Kim’s threat was actually defensive in nature. He said he would use his nuclear arms—if attacked. That is not a new policy. Further, the likelihood of U.S. preventative military action is near zero.

Fourth, the U.S. has a much, much, much bigger and more capable arsenal than North Korea. That’s not news. The administration has frequently stated a retaliatory policy that if North Korea fired a nuclear weapon at us or our allies, we would fire a bunch back. That’s not news.

So other than the colorful metaphors, what’s new here? Nothing.

Critics fret that the taunting rhetoric could lead to miscalculation and war. Their evidence for that is less than zero.  North Korea has engaged in fiery rhetoric for decades. There is virtually little correlation between what they scream and what they actually do. Sometimes they line up. Often they don’t. Likewise, Trump has given to Kim as good as he gets on social media. There is no evidence the rhetoric per se has heightened tensions.

Indeed, there is scant likelihood that we are inevitably marching toward war. South Korea in fact just announced that North Korea has reopened the border hotline.

What has heightened tensions is North Korea’s increasing demonstration of an expanding nuclear capability. The U.S. needs a strong and consistent strategy for that, working in concert with Japan and South Korea. That’s all that matters. The rhetorical war does not.

The Chicken Littles are starting 2018 just like they ended 2017: by obsessively focusing on the rhetorical war of words without context, and without considering the actual interests and polices of the actors involved.

That’s why the track record of journalists and analysts who focused almost exclusively on the president’s tweets, off-hand comments, campaign speeches, and statements (some of which were reported anonymously and are therefore less reliable) was pretty dismal.

The U.S. did not abandon NATO. Trump did not hand Europe over to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He did not abandon Taiwan. And he did not do any of the things that some said he would do—basing their assessments on presidential rhetoric and little more.  Sure, words matter. But in matters of statecraft, rhetoric matters in the context of action.

It might be understandable that some obsessed about the tweets a year ago, when the administration had little policy and not much of a track record. But now it’s a year later. The administration has lots of policy on the books, including a new national security strategy.

The administration has also had a year of practicing foreign policy, which so far looks more conventional overall than either of the last two presidents. What’s the excuse now for going nuclear over every tweet?

While pundits and journalists choose to be distracted by every tweet, that doesn’t mean we have to. Let’s make a resolution in 2018 to be reasonable. Maybe you hate the president. Maybe you hate the tweeting. But if you want to analyze what actual U.S. policies are, try being reasonable.



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