Too many unsubstantiated assertions here. From a website titled Storm Clouds Gathering, rumor mongering isn't exactly a surprise.

John McCain does not represent US foreign policy and sounds misinformed. The 4-5 US trained fighters and provision of tactical equipment pretty much represents the degree of support/involvement the US has provided Syrian rebels. For obvious reasons that he himself points out. There's no credible opposition remotely alligned with US values, and any arms provided risk ending up with radical groups.

Just because McCain thinks it's a good idea doesn't mean it is happening, will happen or that the executive branch shares his mindset. However it is true that Russian air strikes have primarily targeted other groups over ISIS. This aligns with what I talked about elsewhere that Russia's aim is to prop up Assad. With a western coalition taking on ISIS already, this naturally leaves Assad in the strongest position.

http://cdn.static-economist.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/original-size/20151010_MAM922.png

Your video, John McCain on the Senate Torture Report, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

Hmmm. Wasn't Maher one of the people piling on John McCain in 2008, when *he* was 72?

To be fair, that was mostly because McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate, which would have put her 1 step away from the White House if anything happened to him. But still, a big deal was made of his age at the time ... so you can't exactly claim that this is some new wave of ageism.

I'd personally be fine with a 72+ year old president... But on the other hand, the parties are going to swing for whoever they think is the most electable, and since a disturbing proportion of people just vote for whoever they think looks the best, they kinda have to pander to that demographic a bit. And that's going to put some pressure on the "old and wise" in favor of the "young and good looking", whether we agree with it or not.

Democrats have all of these great intentions but every time they try to get it done, they fuck it up beyond all repair. Then Republicans think they can do it, and they fuck it up.

Which is why less gov't is more freedom.

Man, I never thought I'd pine for Bill Clinton. Of course, I never thought I'd vote for that worthless sumbitch John McCain, either.

But it's strange to watch the left just slobber over a guy who's trying to create this 'utopia'.

It's really 1984 all over again.

Calling something bullshit does not constitute a counter-argument.

Also, saying that being anti-war is "white libertarian bullshit" is kind of insulting to non-whites.

However, being anti-war is certainly libertarian.

But saying that it's bullshit simply says more about you than it does about being anti-war.
Still, as we've seen with the likes of John McCain or Dick Cheney, there's no arguing with warmongers like you

I'm sorry you can have you differences of opinion and you can voice them, but to say John McCain is guilty of treason is absurd.

Does he often advocate military engagement? Yes.

But is that treason? No.

John McCain is a real veteran. Someone who has seen combat, been injured, and spent four years as a Prisoner of War (POW). I think he loves this country. I don't always agree with him on policy issues, but I believe that.

The speaker in this video is a joke and is bordering on being a tin foil wearing nut job.

I respect McCain for letting him speak his mind.

Damn! John McCain does a pretty good Edison!

Republicans like to put charismatic blank slates at the top of the ticket: Reagan, Bush 2 and Romney.

They seem to run into more problems when they put thinkers at the top of the ticket: Nixon, Bush 1, Dole and John McCain.

>> ^VoodooV:

I think Bill Maher is exactly right. He wants to be the first Mormon president...that's the long and the short of it.
Governing? whatever
bipartisanship? whatever
It explains perfectly why he is able to shift positions so drastically. HE DOESNT CARE! He's not a republican, he's not a centrist, he's not a democrat. He just wants to be able to say he was the first mormon president.

Don't mind me since I have been drinking but most of this seems like personal conjecture.

Obama did not Veto NDAA when he said he would.

People where killed overseas without Due process.

I personal don't give two shits over mittens and Kock brothers.

Jackson didn't produce depth it just made it seem cool, but it is more like the anti drug commercial this is your brain on drugs commercials. Shock value.

Obama has promised many things and delivered on little.

I like Noam Chomsky and he has been highly critical of the administration.

He hasn't closed Gitmo and has given no timetable.

Fuck John McCain and his sanctimonious POW bullshit.

I know that it was a rider and his administration fights to keep that one part alive.

Obama is not going to save this country. That believing he will help the country is only prolonging its death. I don't vote for the lesser evil.

This is all good fodder for discussion, but it is clear from the dishonest way in which this video was put together that the Kochs are more interested in creating a political hit piece than fostering any kind of discussion.

They claim Obama signed an executive order to kill American citizens, but they provide no context and erroneously use the plural (citizens) when in actuality it's just one guy. I'm not sure if it could have been avoided. I'm not sure how many lives it saved, if any. I'm not sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing. In context, it exists in a very debatable grey area. But we see no attempt to understand any of this in this sanctimonious sermon.

As far as NDAA, it was not a bill designed to indefinitely detain prisoners, it was, (is) an annual military budget bill. John McCain attached a rider to the 2012 NDAA that allows for indefinite detention, for reasons I don't understand, because indefinite detention was already permissible under other existing clauses. Obama asked for it to be removed, but no action was taken, and it was voted in with a veto proof majority.

As to why the court case was appealed, I don't know. It might have something to do with Obama's executive order to shut down Guantanemo and provide trials for the prisoners. Congress vetoed the order by prohibiting funds to try the prisoners, leaving them in a kind of limbo. Does this clause give him more time to shut down Gitmo and give trials to the prisoners under a new and improved congress? I don't know. The point is that while it might be fun for the Koch's to drop some provocative soundbites, they do it in a superficial way that does little to further the conversation. If you want depth, read Chris Hedges, who has written some great stuff on the subject.

You could say that Reason is being superficial on purpose to mirror the Jackson video, but none of the videos they produce ever approach any level of depth.

Beyond all that, right wing libertarianism is not a viable alternative to a consensus guy like Obama or even a complete disaster like Romney. They are at the bottom of the barrel as far as our choices go. Their backwards and luddite view of economics disqualifies them from serious consideration from anyone with even a cursory understanding of economics.

Obama has kept his promises of ending combat in Iraq, getting us a healthcare system and signing an executive order to shut down gitmo (even if congress stopped him from doing it). I'd love to elect Noam Chomsky as President, but that's not going to happen, and he probably wouldn't get much done if somehow he were miraculously elected. There are many factions in this country pushing and pulling, and frankly, I can't remember a time when regular citizens had more pull. Change is slow in a democracy.

>> ^dystopianfuturetoday:

This is a popular argument among lazy armchair pundits, but it isn't true. With selective editing, you can find similarities between any two people. On the issues this propagandist chose to make his point on, most of it (The bailouts, stimulus, quantitative easing and healthcare) was good policy.
There is much ignorance on what the NDAA actually is. It's a military budget bill. John McCain attached a rider that authorized indefinite detention and it was passed by congress with a veto proof majority. Obama did what he could to get it taken off, but there wasn't much else to be done, aside from defunding the military. It's a game designed to make Obama look bad, and you've fallen for it.
Big downvote for this kind of bullshit propaganda.


You mean down voting bullshit propaganda that doesn't fit in with your narrative. Your upvote record has plenty of bullshit propaganda in it...and so does mine

This is a popular argument among lazy armchair pundits, but it isn't true. With selective editing, you can find similarities between any two people. On the issues this propagandist chose to make his point on, most of it (The bailouts, stimulus, quantitative easing and healthcare) was good policy.

There is much ignorance on what the NDAA actually is. It's a military budget bill. John McCain attached a rider that authorized indefinite detention and it was passed by congress with a veto proof majority. Obama did what he could to get it taken off, but there wasn't much else to be done, aside from defunding the military. It's a game designed to make Obama look bad, and you've fallen for it.

Big downvote for this kind of bullshit propaganda.

This fictitious character explains rather exactly why I stopped voting republican more than a decade ago. The last republican I voted for? John McCain in my states 2000 primary. I wouldn't 'dream' of voting for him today.

^Fairbs

I do not get my information from Youtube, it's great for entertainment - not so much for accurate Information.

Here are some relevant points I found from a Washington Post article dated April 6, 2012 entitled "Why Ron Paul rallies never translate into votes".

Ron Paul recently held a rally at UCLA, and between 6,000 and 10,000 people attended. The rally itself was a complete success. Yet while Ron Paul has consistently attracted larger, more enthusiastic crowds than his GOP competitors, those events always fail to translate into victories at the ballot box. Ron Paul has never won a presidential primary or caucus.

The media bias argument is nonsense. The media could never hate Ron Paul with the pure passion and ferocity that they despise Rick Santorum. The liberal media loathes social conservatives. They love Republicans who bash other conservatives. This is how John McCain in 2008 and Jon Huntsman in 2012 became the darlings of the liberal media. The media will end up despising whomever the GOP nominee is, and Ron Paul has suffered much less abuse than Newt Gingrich. Every day there are calls for Gingrich, and now even Santorum, to drop out. Dr. Paul does not face those calls.

As for election fraud, the GOP should just agree to give the Virgin Islands and Maine to Ron Paul in exchange for a vow of silence from the movement. The Paul movement uses complaints as their oxygen. All the voter fraud in the world cannot explain Florida, Illinois, and many other big states where Dr. Paul was rejected by more than 90% of the voters.

For those Paul supporters who are still unable to understand these repeated, huge rejections at the polls, the answer can be found right in front of their faces. The Ron Paul movement consists of too many supporters who are completely certifiable. They run up and down the hallways of GOP conventions screaming about revolutions. Decorum is replaced with degradation and debasement.

They shout down speakers they disagree with. They have zero interest in freedom and liberty for anybody except those who agree with them. Decent human beings would just accept this under the rule of "live and let live." The verbal carpet-bombers in the Ron Paul movement consist of some intolerant zealots who will harass, bully, and intimidate anybody just for thinking differently. The same hypocrites who are against undeclared wars engage in undeclared wars against their fellow Americans just for not worshipping Ron Paul. It makes the David Koresh movement look moderate.

Tell a Ron Paul supporter you disagree with his candidate. The responses will be:
1) You just do not understand. You're an idiot.
2) You are an uninformed tool of the political machine.
3) You don't care about the Constitution, freedom or liberty.
4) You are corrupt, bought and paid for, a shill for the status quo or some other powerful, mythical, nefarious entity.

These lines of thought are pure bile. The idea that a person can be decent, well educated, intelligent, have a sophisticated gift of analysis, be a clear thinker, and reject Ron Paul is totally incomprehensible to his supporters.

Your video, TYT - Cenk Wishes he'd Voted for John McCain, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.