clinton was just as bad as trump, but the liberals only want to make trump look bad

I certainly understand the idea of making use of a nation's competitive advantage. But I'm sorry, theft of intellectual property is not "free trade" any more than my stealing your car would be "liberating it". Frankly, as someone devoted to freedom of the individual, I question whether or not the USA should trade at all with repressive dictatorships. After all, by doing so, I think we perpetuate those oppressive governments.

If there is a full blown trade war- which is by no means a given- both nations will pay a hefty price. While I certainly am no expert, I suspect in the short term, the United States is hurt more- iPhones might cost twice as much. In the longer run, I suspect the situation would be reversed. Although I live on the east coast now, I grew up in an area that has been badly hurt by America's loss of manufacturing to low wage nations. If bi-coastal "elites" have to pay more for their iPhones, I say tough.

"Disenfranchisement" of "Palestinians" (aka Arabs). Gimme a break. Palestine is a nation that never was for a people who never were. Had Arabs behaved in a half-way civilized manner, they would have had 98% of the Holy Land back in 1948 (but there would have been no "Palestine"). Instead, they had to violate international law and try to annihilate Israel, in the words of subsequent President Nasser of Egypt, "amidst a sea of blood". Thank God it did not work out that way.

Trump's candidates to the Supreme Court have been well qualified legal scholars. While you give no reason for your sneering disparagement of them, I will guess you don't like their judicial philosophy of basing opinions on original intent. That would make you not a supporter of the Constitution or even the rule of law, but rather someone who wishes to be ruled by a Council of Wise. I say no thanks.

 

This part I 100% agree with

 

I'd be interested in knowing what you may disagree with :>)

 

"The right to swing my fist ends where the other man's nose begins." - Oliver Wendell Holmes Individual freedom is great within reasonable limits. Libertarians tend to be unreasonable about it. And in the real world, a country like the United States, rationally pursing it national interests, may find, from time to time, that it has to trade with and otherwise deal with repressive dictators. Otherwise, our freedom might eventually be in jeopardy.

 

Maybe I understand how national interests could be jeopardized by trading with dictatorships-it difficult to come up with a general set of standards for that. But how would our freedom be in jeopardy? I don't know that our financial well-being should allow us to compromise our ethical and moral standards.

I think that if dictators understand that the "free world" would not do business with them unless they met certain standards, that would promote the spread of liberty throughout the world, which, I think, would be in our interests.

Precluding trade with such nations ought not preclude people-to-people contacts- quite the opposite, I would say.

 

That's where modern dictators really shine. Instead of marching them into ovens, they use their people as human shields for economic conflicts. So when some dictator wants a new palace, and wants to sell oil at a discount to pile up some quick cash, trade embargoes go into effect and the rest of the financial world starts to squeeze by not selling them other things like pipes, pumps and food.

At some point there's a break in the process as either people are starving (cue the footage of refugees and dirty, thin children) or the outside financial world suddenly decides they need what the dictator has and decides to look the other way on the cheap oil, but with stipulations (that we never usually hear much about).

I don't think any dictator is planning to simply hand over control. And it won't be won in real terms with "protests". Ultimately, the dictator has to go.

 

Then would you say we should stop trading with China, Russia, and all those oil rich Middle Eastern countries except Israel? My thought was that if we did so, it would erode our national economy and weaken our geopolitical position. Who knows what political instability might eventually ensue, but I'm sure there would be some and our individual freedoms depend mightily on the strength of our nation.

 

Trump has allowed the body of Jimmy Al Daoud to be returned to Detroit so his family could bury him. Three months ago Trump deported him to Iraq, then the man died for lack of medical care, then Trump lets his dead body back to America. What insanity is that? Hillary Clinton would have never done anything so insane!

 

I think most of us knew that the Viet Nam war was nothing more than a 'for profit' thing. But when one person uses deferments to get out of their service, someone else has to go instead. But I suppose that 'looking out for number one' works for some folks.