[ExI] put pain

[Adrian Tymes]

In real life, "evil" and "competent" like that do not go hand in hand.
Putin is the best known modern example of someone trying to be both, and
Russia's been having some problems during his reign.  North Korea is a
better example of what happens when someone tries such methods for a while.

On Mon, Nov 16, 2020 at 5:53 AM John Grigg via extropy-chat <
extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:

> In the classic near future thriller/borderline sf novel, The Profession,
> by Steven Pressfield, a former USMC lieutenant general war hero who is sort
> of an evil version of Douglas MacArthur (he successfully forced a CCP
> expeditionary force in Africa to retreat and go home, but nearly started a
> nuclear war, and so the current president fires him, but he returns to
> America and receives a hero's welcome), becomes president during very hard
> economic and foreign policy times for America. This is a man who had worked
> with the intelligence agencies, and has no qualms about killing enemies,
> foreign and domestic. He has his loyal henchman (assassins and special
> forces) kill off key senators, congressmen and journalists. They all look
> like accidents. The country senses something is up, but this man actually
> does turn the nation around. He gets the economy going, in part by
> intimidating the billionaire class, and getting them to invest in the
> economy rather than off-shoring money, and also to pay much higher taxes.
> All it takes is secretly kidnapping key members of their class and then
> threatening their lives! Well over half the nation adores this president,
> despite some elements of the "liberal media" being very worried about him.
> But in the end, karma catches up to the man in a Shakespearean way. Donald
> Trump could only dream in his most fervent power mad fantasies to be at
> this villain's level. I worry that one day we will actually elect someone
> with such monstrous talents who will be very hard to stop. Pressfield is
> one of America's finest writers, and his book about ancient Sparta, The
> Gates of Fire, is required reading at all of the military academies.
>
> John
>
>
>
> On Fri, Nov 13, 2020 at 11:38 PM William Flynn Wallace via extropy-chat <
> extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:
>
>> The idea that Trump (and this is here because it is not controversial)
>> could pull a coup is an idea that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
>> STaff, Gen. Mark MIlley has put paid to.
>>
>> He said that the military does not take an oath to individuals but to the
>> Constitution.  Surely you have seen this story.
>>
>> So what happens at the D of Defense is irrelevant.  They cannot order the
>> military to contravene the Constitution.
>>
>> Worry gone, over, done with, put paid to.
>>
>> Now can we worry about something else?
>>
>> bill w
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