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Keef

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Everything posted by Keef

  1. Question for the Surly law dawgs - if a state university terminates you for Cause (as defined in an employment agreement) and the employee disputes the finding of Cause and sues the university, is the university protected under sovereign immunity in Texas? Because you could drive a truck through the cause definition that has been shared and I'm curious why Beard's lawyer allowed so broad a provision. He had all the leverage in the world when negotiating.
  2. Did we read different articles? About the only thing reassuring to me in there is the blurb that there isn't much strategic use for the tactical nukes in Ukraine, so it seems unlikely for Putin to use those.
  3. There are a lot of very legitimate reasons in this thread to take a hardline stance against Russia in this thread, but the Russian Scrubs guy said something crazy at a nationalist rally is not one of them.
  4. There is obviously no equating what we did in Iraq and Afghanistan vs. what Putin is doing in Russia. They are not moral equivalents, or even close to that. But my point was we as a population got all riled up about two consecutive wars that, looking back on it, I have a hard time articulating real reasons why we were even there (especially Iraq). And the question that was posed was, if Russia were to use nuclear weapons, should we escalate further (or even respond reasonably in kind, like by directly attacking Russian troops) and risk a global nuclear war. I said no, for the reasons I articulated, and others said yes, for reasons (that are very good reasons) that I appreciate and understand.
  5. That's a fair critique. What I'd say in response is that I think if Putin felt the walls were closing in domestically (dictators don't retire...), I think there's a non-zero chance he'd start a nuclear war to save face. I don't think those pressures exist to attack a NATO member.
  6. I can arrive at the conclusion I don't want a global nuclear war all by myself, thanks. I'm from west Texas, and I can vividly remember the rush up to the Afghanistan war and then the Iraq war (LOL) and how they were painted as moral inevitabilities. A choice between good and evil. I wasn't alive then, but I'm sure Vietnam was the same way. America is my home and I love it, but we have our propaganda too. Putin is an evil evil person, but there are lots of bad people in the world (see, Syria) that Americans don't whip themselves into caring about, and I don't view this an imperative thing for us to be involved in. He's not going to invade a NATO country, and even if he was so inclined, Russia does not have the capacity to wage war on another country in the near future. Whatever gains they hold onto in Ukraine (if any) are going to keep them plenty occupied for years to come. So if I was in charge, which I'm not, we'd be staying out in any militaristic sense. I totally hear Underminer's point, and it's a good one. I just view the risk of pushing your chips into the center of the table to neuter Russia as too high. They've already done a lot of that job for us. It'll take years for them to recover economically, politically (both domestically and internationally), and militarily from this huge gaffe.
  7. If Hitler had nukes, we'd all be dead. Neville Chamberlain was wrong at the time, clearly. But we're playing with a different set of cards now. Absent nukes, we absolutely would have been in a conventional war with Russia, probably several times over. But nukes exist, and we haven't, and I would prefer that we continue to not be in a nuclear war with them.
  8. Look I fully appreciate that this is a thread full of people perfectly willing to match Putin every turn in the hope of crippling Russia. I understand the logic and the rationale. I just don't agree with it, and would prefer we not mess with a cornered and crazed animal over cause that, while I sympathize with deeply, I also have no wish for us to be involved with. Agree to disagree.
  9. I’m reading this and getting an image of some 50 year old guy continuing to give up his lunch money to the grade school bully 40 years later. Why? Because the ultimate goal is to not end up in a fistfight with a bully. Let’s just continue to give him my wallet every day and maybe sometime in the future he’ll leave me alone. He's not taking our lunch money. Or even a close friend's lunch money. He's taking the lunch money of a country that was part of Russia in my lifetime. I'm all for taking every non-military measure in the book against Russia. Decouple our economies. Kick them of SWIFT. Etc. But the bottom line is nuclear war is the worst outcome from the whole world, and I do not support us being the world's police.
  10. Are you willing to risk your entire family on that premise? I'm not. He's paid a grave price for his invasion of Ukraine. Russia is a pariah, both economically and politically. It's not near the price he deserved to pay, but it is a price, and once the seal is off a nuclear warhead, I think we're all toast. If you don't die in the initial blast, you'll starve. That's the choice we're looking at.
  11. I'm all for staring down Putin, standing up for Ukraine, etc. But the ultimate goal of what we do should be this: do not end up a nuclear conflict. If that means giving Russia the annexed lands, so be it. I have no interest in America (and the world) being vaporized over a country half a world a way. Putin needs an off ramp so he can save face, and I'm all for giving it to him. I doubt that he's learned his lesson or anything, but the odds that he actually mount another land grab in his lifetime seems remote. He doesn't have the political capital internally to do it.
  12. I think the Christians are in trouble judging by the fighting squad behind him.
  13. Can't believe the DOJ had concerns about the security of our classified documents
  14. LOL. Come the fuck on. If everything is declassified, can we file FOI Act requests so we can all see what Donny had in his basement? I'm guessing no.
  15. Keef

    The Supremes

    Yep. This is where I land.
  16. Keef

    The Supremes

    What makes you say that? Maybe this is my cold hard political heart talking, but I don't think a damn thing would happen. To be sure, democrats would rage at CNN and google how to move to Canada, but I doubt there would be an ounce of real violence. Similarly, democratic law makers would clutch their pearls and complain about norms being broken and the rule of law, but republicans would get away with it. They literally stole a supreme court seat in front of God and everyone and did not pay a single political price for it. Their base cheered. There was an armed uprising against the government and, not only was Trump not prosecuted, there's a significant chance he's elected again. Someone posted a tweet a couple of days ago that compared republicans to the school shooter and democrats to the Uvalde cops. It's the perfect metaphor.
  17. Gerry has also intimated he's "immature", which I took to mean maybe Austin wasn't the best place for him.
  18. I think 247 also weights their rankings a bit more than the other services in its composite.
  19. Yep. And the rationale (as I remember it being explained to me) was that it prevented poor kids from feeling bad that they didn't have brand name clothes. That seems a bit too liberal of explanation for the Forney I grew up in, but that was the party line.
  20. I went to Forney High School years ago. They've had a dress code that was basically this as far back as I can remember (late 90s?). People would try to get around having to wear a logoless polo by putting on a hoodie, jacket, etc. Not sure why this is a news story now?
  21. Keef

    The Supremes

    Today was a horrible day for folks who care about the rights of women to choose what goes on in their own bodies and for people who care about a SCOTUS with any air of legitimacy. That being said, can you imagine how much more volcanic it would have been had that draft opinion not been leaked? People were ready for it and had already let off some steam. A conservative judge leaked it - wouldn't be surprised if it was Roberts himself.
  22. Keef

    The Supremes

    Actually, #1 is brilliant.
  23. Keef

    The Supremes

    I don't disagree with the premise that old people (including old people I like, like RBG) shouldn't get to pick and choose when they deem themselves ready to step down. There's mandatory retirement ages in almost every major law firm for exactly this reason.
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