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Ted Cruz

7 (6.5%)

Rick Santorum

16 (14.8%)

Michelle Bachmann

13 (12%)

Chris Christie

23 (21.3%)

Rand Paul

49 (45.4%)

Total Members Voted: 107

[misko27]

And yet Lebanon and Israel arc towards off-topic. And it's a heated area too.

[FearfulJesuit]

Yeah, I'd rather not have an Israel/Palestine/etc. flamewar.

[Leafsnail]

Just stating things blithely gets the point across.Do you mean the aggression of the military-police forces against non-Jewish people [threatening kids at gunpoint] near settlement areas? The walls around 'proper' cities, stopping hard working Arabs from getting to their jobs [without getting through..]?

Yeah.  It seems like a pretty clear cut case of "commencing military operations without provocation or cause".

[Leafsnail]

The biggest story in American politics right now is the deal with Iran and Israel's reaction to it.

[Mictlantecuhtli]

I'd just rather the settlement policy and the brow beating on both sides over it would be recognized as a symptom of Israel's hostile relations with non-Jews. It could easily be done away with if central Israeli leadership didn't have free reign in their near-segregation policies. There are true reformists in Israeli borders too. But as brought up before, that is not the same as them actively attacking their neighbors. And inciting violence against other people on the basis of past conflict.

[Sheb]

Well, given Israel's history of conflict with just about everyone in the region, is it really surprising Syria wanted chemicals and Iran want a bomb? Not as a mean of destroying Israel, but to level the playing field?

[Helgoland]

Well, given Israel's history of conflict with just about everyone in the region, is it really surprising Syria wanted chemicals and Iran want a bomb? Not as a mean of destroying Israel, but to level the playing field?

Surprising? No. Desirable? No. Solely a response to Israel, as opposed to being a poker chip in other regional struggles? No.
And there's the issue of stability - Mubarak has fallen, Assad must fall, Chamenei and the Saudi dynasty may fall, but you can be damn sure that those pesky Jews will cling to their state until they have been driven into the sea*. Plus there's a whole lot more international interest in Israel's domestic ongoings than in, say, Jordania's.

Anyway, this is getting way OT - maybe start a new thread?

*This is obviously irony, but this footnote surely can't hurt

[Leafsnail]

Obama still has a pretty serious issue, in that congress may go behind his back and vote for more sanctions on Iran (there are more than enough pro-Israel Democratic senators to do this).  He'd be able to veto them, but they wouldn't exactly help the diplomatic process.

[misko27]

Congress is opposed to Diplomacy on principle. They have few principles, but they stick to them.


Obama can implement the relief on his own authority, so that will go through, but I just read Chuck Schumer (#3 Senate Democrat) talking about how it was only sanctions that led Iran to the table, so Obama will have his hands full, probably right after Thanksgiving.

[Darvi]

I don't think Obama does his Black Friday shopping himself...

[Sheb]

On another note, what happened when one of Congress' chamber pass a bill and the other never pick it up? Does it expire after a while, or does it stay in limbo forever? I'm just asking, because apparently the house passed a cap-and-trade bill back in 2009.

How cool would it be for the Senate to pass it? Can you imagine the rage? The sweet, sweet, energy-efficient rage? 

[MetalSlimeHunt]

I'm fairly certain it has to be in the same legislative season at the very least.

[RedKing]

I don't think Obama does his Black Friday shopping himself...

THAT'S RAC--

oh. You meant *that* kind of Black Friday.

[Lagslayer]

I don't think Obama does his Black Friday shopping himself...

THAT'S RAC--

oh. You meant *that* kind of Black Friday.

He has his slaves do it for him.

*hides under a rock*

[misko27]

I'm fairly certain Obama doesn't actually lack anything that Black Friday would save him money on.