Name:   Talullahhound - Subject:   Duterte Date:   5/3/2017 12:33:07 PM

You know, I have often pondered the question of when we became the standard bearers for human rights all over the world.  In my mind, it's not our place to set the standard and judge other nations on how they treat their people - it's up to the people of any given country to draw that line and take on the removal of leaders that don't measure up.  By some standards, we have human rights abuses in our own country.  Some view our capturing and imprisoning possible terrorists for years without trial or even much evidence, as a human rights violation (but we pretend it is okay, because it is not taking place in the 48 states).  Some see our homesless as a human rights violation.  What about the times that we have supported oppressive regimes in other countries to suit our purposes (and then allowed them to fall when it didn't suit our purposes). 

So opening the door to some of these characters is not all that unusual, and certainly nothing new.  We don't have to embrace their policies to work on areas of common cooperation.  We need to stop judging everyone. 

And no, I would not be bashing Obama if he were doing the same thing.  I voted for him twice, believing his message of hope and change that never really materialized.