Brussels explosions, at least 13 dead

[Mr. Sunshine]

I'm kind of surprised at the callousness of the some of posts on this thread. Seemed like the board was generally quite a bit kinder and more sympathetic when Paris was attacked. What little discussion there has been on this thread has been glib at best. I can only imagine the reaction of posters here if we saw citizens of Belgium react this way to a terrorist attack on our soil.

I saw the story yesterday on CNN.com about the arrest of the Paris attacker and how Belgian authorities had launched a manhunt to prevent a possible threat. I was saddened this morning to see the terrorists succeeded.

The leader of the free world spent the day taking in a baseball game.

Take me out to the ballgame
Take me out to the crowd
Buy me some peanuts and crackerjacks
I don't care about terrorist attacks

 

[Baron Scicluna]

The leader of the free world spent the day taking in a baseball game.

Take me out to the ballgame
Take me out to the crowd
Buy me some peanuts and crackerjacks
I don't care about terrorist attacks

Well, I suppose he could have rushed over to Brussels. But then he'd be creating another security issue. And the Ted Cruzes would then whine that he's using the victims as props for a photo op.

 

[Mr. Sunshine]

Well, I suppose he could have rushed over to Brussels. But then he'd be creating another security issue. And the Ted Cruzes would then whine that he's using the victims as props for a photo op.

Actually, Ted Cruz blamed Trump.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

About the worst kind of President imaginable one would be one who spent all his waking hours in the situation room daydreaming about playing war leader. Agree with it or not, the trip to Cuba was an important priority for Obama. He had to follow through. Works both ways. The people who snipe at Bush for sitting in that elementary school during 9/11 are full of ****, too. What was HE supposed to do, tell a bunch of six years olds he had to leave because there was a national emergency he couldn't tell them about?

 

[SnarkShark]

About the worst kind of President imaginable one would be one who spent all his waking hours in the situation room daydreaming about playing war leader. Agree with it or not, the trip to Cuba was an important priority for Obama. He had to follow through. Works both ways. The people who snipe at Bush for sitting in that elementary school during 9/11 are full of ****, too. What was HE supposed to do, tell a bunch of six years olds he had to leave because there was a national emergency he couldn't tell them about?

Uh, something like that would have been nice.

"Sorry kids, I've got to do my job. I'm the president, you know."

 

[Mr. Sunshine]

About the worst kind of President imaginable one would be one who spent all his waking hours in the situation room daydreaming about playing war leader. Agree with it or not, the trip to Cuba was an important priority for Obama. He had to follow through. Works both ways. The people who snipe at Bush for sitting in that elementary school during 9/11 are full of ****, too. What was HE supposed to do, tell a bunch of six years olds he had to leave because there was a national emergency he couldn't tell them about?

I agree.

And while I would have liked to have seen Obama give a little more time to addressing the Brussels situation (it's part of the job description), I didn't expect him to cancel all his plans to spend the day rocking back and forth in the corner sobbing. Plus, he probably doesn't care and I really had to post that poem somewhere. :)

Related, bigpern's concern about callousness is displaced. We can't stop our lives for these animals, and some people joke about/make light of a serious situation as a way of coping with tragedy and the like.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

I haven't gone all the way back through the thread, but in the last few pages, lighthearted threads were limited to the Denver airport situation, which if it hadn't been for Brussels, the airport wouldn't have tweeted about at all. I'll bet there are many suspicious, i.e. unattended, packages, bags, etc. confiscated and examined at every US major airport every day.

 

[JohnHammond]

My photo was more of making light of someone I know posting a Belgian flag shaped like a heart and posting a picture of the TV tuned to the Beavis and Butthead movie a few minutes later.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Actually, Ted Cruz blamed Trump.

"While our friends and allies are being attacked, “President Obama is spending his time going to baseball games with the Castros,” Cruz continued."

Ted Cruz Blames Obama And 'Political Correctness' For Attack In Brussels (VIDEO) - FreakOutNation

 

[Football_Bat]

I didn't know Obama was running again.

 

[YankeeFan]

Uh, something like that would have been nice.

"Sorry kids, I've got to do my job. I'm the president, you know."

The only thing Obama did wrong his entire Presidency was to play golf moments after he spoke about "Jim" getting beheaded by ISIS.

That was unacceptable.

In all other instances, he's shown almost perfect judgment.

 

[SnarkShark]

The only thing Obama did wrong his entire Presidency was to play golf moments after he spoke about "Jim" getting beheaded by ISIS.

That was unacceptable.

In all other instances, he's shown almost perfect judgment.

The whole thing is apples to oranges.

The Bush thing was an attack on our country, on a massive scale.

Sorry 6-year-olds, you'll eventually understand.

 

[Songbird]

The leader of the free world spent the day taking in a baseball game.

Take me out to the ballgame
Take me out to the crowd
Buy me some peanuts and crackerjacks
I don't care about terrorist attacks

Take off the ist off terrorist and it really rolls off the tongue.

 

[Mr. Sunshine]

Take off the ist off terrorist and it really rolls off the tongue.

Damn, you're right. I was trying not to be a slave to syllables for a change.

 

[bigpern23]

The leader of the free world spent the day taking in a baseball game.

Take me out to the ballgame
Take me out to the crowd
Buy me some peanuts and crackerjacks
I don't care about terrorist attacks

I agree with you. I think it would have been appropriate for him to skip it.

That said, I also understand he had to weigh the importance of his diplomatic mission to Cuba and our national interests with a country 90 miles from our shores. Obviously, there is great importance to a U.S. President's first visit to Cuba in 90 years and he has to be sensitive to that as well.

EDIT: I just saw your second post, which was much more nuanced and thoughtful and I agree with you even more fully. I'm certainly not suggesting posters stop their lives or even shed a tear over the attacks. I hold most of the board in high regard, even those with whom I frequently disagree, and I was surprised at the reaction here. I thought there would be more compassion, more of a sense of brotherhood with the citizens of Belgium, who are facing the same enemy we are.

Dark humor is fine, and I'm certainly prone to use it, but that's not what I got from those posts. They took on a more mocking tone.

 

[DanOregon]

At some point, you wonder how are able to keep recruiting suicide-bombers. These guys have to know by now that they aren't accomplishing much. It isn't like one more bombing is suddenly going to make the rest of the world "understand" ISIS. It isn't like ISIS has demands that if fulfilled will get them to stop bombing people.
It's like American Idol - you make a big deal of the first one, the 17th? Knowing there will be an 18th? Not so much.
Is anybody really more scared of ISIS after Belgium?

 

[SnarkShark]

At some point, you wonder how are able to keep recruiting suicide-bombers. These guys have to know by now that they aren't accomplishing much. It isn't like one more bombing is suddenly going to make the rest of the world "understand" ISIS. It isn't like ISIS has demands that if fulfilled will get them to stop bombing people.
It's like American Idol - you make a big deal of the first one, the 17th? Knowing there will be an 18th? Not so much.
Is anybody really more scared of ISIS after Belgium?

You do understand why they blow themselves up, right? You might not think it's accomplishing much. They believe martyrdom puts them in paradise--virgins, etc.

 

[old_tony]

About the worst kind of President imaginable one would be one who spent all his waking hours in the situation room daydreaming about playing war leader. Agree with it or not, the trip to Cuba was an important priority for Obama. He had to follow through. Works both ways. The people who snipe at Bush for sitting in that elementary school during 9/11 are full of ****, too. What was HE supposed to do, tell a bunch of six years olds he had to leave because there was a national emergency he couldn't tell them about?

It's always good to get tips from the Castros on how to deal with people who oppose you.

 

[JohnHammond]

ISIS recruits are the same type of losers who tote assault rifles at the grocery store in the U.S.

 

[3_Octave_Fart]

They don't want to be understood. They simply don't place any value on earthly human life, their own or anyone else's.