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Wed Jan 29, 2014, 12:39 PM

MannyGoldstein (34,589 posts)

"We must adjust our expectations downwards, rather than fight to win."*

That's my one-line takeaway from last night's SOTU.

I respond to that message by channeling a great American, General Anthony McAuliffe. Surrounded with his 101st Airborne Division during the Battle of the Bulge, massively outnumbered, McAuliffe received a letter from the German Commander demanding surrender in exchange for allowing the Americans to live. His letter of response:

To the German Commander.

NUTS!

The American Commander

*title is a synopsis, not a real quote of course

35 replies, 2354 views

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35 replies	Author	Time	Post
"We must adjust our expectations downwards, rather than fight to win."* (Original post)	MannyGoldstein	Jan 2014	OP
Well, what do you expect?	RobertEarl	Jan 2014	#1
Mostly, because the Democratic Party	sulphurdunn	Jan 2014	#24
"We must know our stations"	jsr	Jan 2014	#2
Yes but they dress us up in nice penguin suits	zeemike	Jan 2014	#27
Making up quotes now?	ProSense	Jan 2014	#3
My apologies - title updated with a disclaimer asterisk. nt	MannyGoldstein	Jan 2014	#17
If it's not a quote, just kill the quotation marks	demwing	Jan 2014	#29
FUD'ers gotta FUD...	SidDithers	Jan 2014	#20
1085 11 14	JoePhilly	Jan 2014	#4
Where was this line in the SOTU?	zappaman	Jan 2014	#5
Here's a link to the text of the full speech, everyone.	TheMathieu	Jan 2014	#6
How do you feel about the reading-impaired?	truebluegreen	Jan 2014	#34
Oy..	Skidmore	Jan 2014	#7
Oh look, they think you are giving a quote from the SOTU.	Autumn	Jan 2014	#8
He had to give them something to whine about. They have nothing of substance. nm	rhett o rick	Jan 2014	#18
Why is that funny?	demwing	Jan 2014	#30
seriously, why is this funny? /nt	demwing	Jan 2014	#32
Nuts indeed. nt	bemildred	Jan 2014	#9
This isn't war. It's politics.	randome	Jan 2014	#10
War is the continuation of politics by other means -Clausewitz	Fumesucker	Jan 2014	#14
All war is politics, but not all politics is war. nt	geek tragedy	Jan 2014	#23
It's definite war	UncleMuscles	Jan 2014	#19
K&R	Scuba	Jan 2014	#11
This message was self-deleted by its author	Cali_Democrat	Jan 2014	#12
Damn the torpedos	Fumesucker	Jan 2014	#13
Funny, you never quoted the sotu	nadinbrzezinski	Jan 2014	#15
You're pretty funny too	LordGlenconner	Jan 2014	#25
We've been adjusting our expectations downward since Ronnie Rayguns	LittleBlue	Jan 2014	#16
I don't see what the "nuts" quote has to do	Progressive dog	Jan 2014	#21
Nuts	wcollar	Jan 2014	#26
I thought I was replying to a specific post	Progressive dog	Jan 2014	#35
A reaction every bit as thoughtful, accurate and predictable as Ted Cruz's. nt	geek tragedy	Jan 2014	#22
"If you work hard, you get ahead" Obviously we need to work 99% harder. nt	adirondacker	Jan 2014	#28
Well said. nt	truebluegreen	Jan 2014	#33
K&R	woo me with science	Jan 2014	#31

Response to MannyGoldstein (Original post)

Wed Jan 29, 2014, 12:43 PM

RobertEarl (13,685 posts)

1. Well, what do you expect?

Who's winning these days?

And how the heck did a "we give in" Democrat ever get elected?

And why can't Atlanta handle 2 inches of snow?

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Response to RobertEarl (Reply #1)

Wed Jan 29, 2014, 02:55 PM

sulphurdunn (6,891 posts)

24. Mostly, because the Democratic Party

was captured by a Wall St. coup in 1984 by a thing called the DLC, and because of ice, hills and jackknifed 18 wheelers.

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Response to MannyGoldstein (Original post)

Wed Jan 29, 2014, 12:43 PM

jsr (7,712 posts)

2. "We must know our stations"

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Response to jsr (Reply #2)

Wed Jan 29, 2014, 03:48 PM

zeemike (18,998 posts)

27. Yes but they dress us up in nice penguin suits

When we serve them...if we are so privileged.

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Response to MannyGoldstein (Original post)

Wed Jan 29, 2014, 12:44 PM

ProSense (116,464 posts)

3. Making up quotes now?

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Response to ProSense (Reply #3)

Wed Jan 29, 2014, 01:31 PM

MannyGoldstein (34,589 posts)

17. My apologies - title updated with a disclaimer asterisk. nt

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Response to MannyGoldstein (Reply #17)

Wed Jan 29, 2014, 04:07 PM

demwing (16,916 posts)

29. If it's not a quote, just kill the quotation marks

easy breezy

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Response to ProSense (Reply #3)

Wed Jan 29, 2014, 01:43 PM

SidDithers (44,228 posts)

20. FUD'ers gotta FUD...

It's what they do.

Sid

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Response to MannyGoldstein (Original post)

Wed Jan 29, 2014, 12:45 PM

JoePhilly (27,787 posts)

4. 1085 11 14

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Response to MannyGoldstein (Original post)

Wed Jan 29, 2014, 12:45 PM

zappaman (20,587 posts)

5. Where was this line in the SOTU?

I can't find it.

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Response to MannyGoldstein (Original post)

Wed Jan 29, 2014, 12:48 PM

TheMathieu (456 posts)

6. Here's a link to the text of the full speech, everyone.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/28/state-of-the-union-text_n_4590833.html

This quote is nowhere to be found.

Don't let dishonest people control the narrative.

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Response to TheMathieu (Reply #6)

Thu Jan 30, 2014, 11:28 AM

truebluegreen (9,033 posts)

34. How do you feel about the reading-impaired?

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Response to MannyGoldstein (Original post)

Wed Jan 29, 2014, 12:48 PM

Skidmore (37,364 posts)

7. Oy..

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Response to MannyGoldstein (Original post)

Wed Jan 29, 2014, 12:52 PM

Autumn (42,319 posts)

8. Oh look, they think you are giving a quote from the SOTU.

How precious is that.

Rec . Just because

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Response to Autumn (Reply #8)

Wed Jan 29, 2014, 01:39 PM

rhett o rick (55,981 posts)

18. He had to give them something to whine about. They have nothing of substance. nm

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Response to Autumn (Reply #8)

Wed Jan 29, 2014, 04:09 PM

demwing (16,916 posts)

30. Why is that funny?

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Response to Autumn (Reply #8)

Thu Jan 30, 2014, 06:30 AM

demwing (16,916 posts)

32. seriously, why is this funny? /nt

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Response to MannyGoldstein (Original post)

Wed Jan 29, 2014, 12:53 PM

bemildred (90,061 posts)

9. Nuts indeed. nt

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Response to MannyGoldstein (Original post)

Wed Jan 29, 2014, 12:53 PM

randome (34,845 posts)

10. This isn't war. It's politics.

'Nuts!' simply means beating your head against a wall. All it brings is a headache and a need to replaster.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]The truth doesn’t always set you free.
Sometimes it builds a bigger cage around the one you’re already in.[/center][/font][hr]

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Response to randome (Reply #10)

Wed Jan 29, 2014, 01:13 PM

Fumesucker (45,851 posts)

14. War is the continuation of politics by other means -Clausewitz

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Response to Fumesucker (Reply #14)

Wed Jan 29, 2014, 02:19 PM

geek tragedy (68,868 posts)

23. All war is politics, but not all politics is war. nt

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Response to randome (Reply #10)

Wed Jan 29, 2014, 01:40 PM

UncleMuscles (44 posts)

19. It's definite war

It's a class war and the 1% has already won.

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Response to MannyGoldstein (Original post)

Wed Jan 29, 2014, 12:56 PM

Scuba (53,475 posts)

11. K&R

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Response to Scuba (Reply #11)

Cali_Democrat This message was self-deleted by its author.

Response to MannyGoldstein (Original post)

Wed Jan 29, 2014, 01:12 PM

Fumesucker (45,851 posts)

13. Damn the torpedos

Full speed ahead

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Response to MannyGoldstein (Original post)

Wed Jan 29, 2014, 01:14 PM

nadinbrzezinski (154,021 posts)

15. Funny, you never quoted the sotu

But they think you did. That was very funny.

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Response to nadinbrzezinski (Reply #15)

Wed Jan 29, 2014, 03:03 PM

LordGlenconner (1,348 posts)

25. You're pretty funny too

Only it's more along the lines of unintentional comedy.

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Response to MannyGoldstein (Original post)

Wed Jan 29, 2014, 01:19 PM

LittleBlue (10,362 posts)

16. We've been adjusting our expectations downward since Ronnie Rayguns

as our Democratic leadership has gone steadily more toward the side of corporatists.

Hillary is the culmination of three decades of merging the Democratic Party to right wing economic dictates, and the Republicans further to the right into libertarian economic theory. It's the new political spectrum, ensuring the continuation of the corporate profit-poverty cycle. Once she is elected, the 1% have achieved a victory so complete that they have absolutely no opposition within the borders of the United States.

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Response to MannyGoldstein (Original post)

Wed Jan 29, 2014, 02:15 PM

Progressive dog (6,557 posts)

21. I don't see what the "nuts" quote has to do

with politics.

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Response to Progressive dog (Reply #21)

Wed Jan 29, 2014, 03:45 PM

wcollar (165 posts)

26. Nuts

Merriam-Webster.com, definition 2: insane, crazy
How can it NOT apply to American politics?

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Response to wcollar (Reply #26)

Fri Jan 31, 2014, 11:11 AM

Progressive dog (6,557 posts)

35. I thought I was replying to a specific post

which used a specific quote which was made in a specific instance. I still think I was, so I'm assuming you just intended to be humorous.

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Response to MannyGoldstein (Original post)

Wed Jan 29, 2014, 02:19 PM

geek tragedy (68,868 posts)

22. A reaction every bit as thoughtful, accurate and predictable as Ted Cruz's. nt

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Response to MannyGoldstein (Original post)

Wed Jan 29, 2014, 03:53 PM

adirondacker (2,921 posts)

28. "If you work hard, you get ahead" Obviously we need to work 99% harder. nt

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Response to adirondacker (Reply #28)

Thu Jan 30, 2014, 11:26 AM

truebluegreen (9,033 posts)

33. Well said. nt

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Response to MannyGoldstein (Original post)

Wed Jan 29, 2014, 07:19 PM

woo me with science (32,139 posts)

31. K&R

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General Discussion (Forum)