There is absolutely no reason to anticipate our own Dear Leader ratcheting up any effective response: my sense is that he and his buds are just sitting sipping their fizzy water and, as they rock back and forth a bit, have their hands over their ears and they are saying in a monotone, “We can’t hear you…we can’t hear you….we can’t hear you….”

And silent Democrats do nothing.

There are Democrats who are in elected office today, and who were in office probably when Mr. Hussein was in Indonesia as a small child. Their silence is horrifying. They didn’t even have to be paid off.

No ad hominem. Just a fact that is pertinent to the conservation. An unflattering fact is till a fact.
For what it is worth, Chinese civilization had the creation and use of fools down pat thousands of years before Marx re-introduced Europeans to the concept. I’m pretty sure Rome also understood the value of useful fools.
And yes, I do see the Koreans as human and in dire need of being freed from tyranny. You are the one that is willing to condemn as many more generations of Norks to starvation and misery as are needed to keep you comfortable.
Anyone that isn’t in favor of a immediate and full scale assault on the DPRK is either a coward or a fool. I understand that thousands will die in such an attack. Do you understand that millions will die if there is no attack?
Thousands vs Millions. As us redneck farmers are wont to say; “Do the sums”

Famine is sort of in there but in the modern world where we can ship food from across the globe to feed the hungry its not as much a factor as it once was. Disease we’ve also got a bit of a handle on, at least for the last 80 or so years and still do for the time being.

That leaves natural disasters and war. We’ve seen nature make use of Tsunamis and Earthquakes a good deal. Then we have war, WWI & II took a tremendous toll on the population of Europe and Russia. Vietnam was hard on the Vietnamese, and Iraq/Iran war was pretty hard on both of those nations.

Also I’m not a fool who doesn’t value my own life over that of those that would harm me and mine. My life and that of my family & friends is more important to me than millions of NK who blindly follow a pudgy megalomaniac.

RKV, WHO CARES! It has been a few generations since military power was measured by the number of bodies one could bring to the battle field. You cannot hide from a CBU and JDAM’s never miss. Big Battalions no longer succor help from your favorite deity. They just increase the stock value of body bag manufacturers.
The Chi-Coms are a paper dragon. It has been several centuries since the Chinese won a war. No major battle even. Granted they don’t get in many, since they prefer to bluff fools like you.
Economically, the Chi-Coms are dependent on the USA. If hostilities were to break out between the USA and China (never happen, but that is your greatest fear so we will address it) The Chi-Coms would use the jump in nationalism to sooth the masses. After a few months of no action ( the US won’t and the PRC can’t do anything) The population will start to miss the advantages of trade with America. The PRC economy would flatline. That would mean the Peoples army would be too busy holding the people down to bother the USA.
Lets see, Military, Economic, that leaves Cultural and Moral power. As far as culture goes, the Chi-Coms destroyed Chinese culture decades ago and replaced it with…….? Dogma? Marxist dialectic? Mao’s Little Red Book? See what I’m getting at? Wh is the Chines Michael Jackson and how many CD’s have they sold? Where is the Chinese version of Hollywood? Ever seen a Chinese sit com? With 1 billion plu people, you would think a Chi-Com Idol would be a smash hit. Where is it? ‘ell, even stodgy old England does an idol thangie.
The Chi-Coms moral power declines ever time they machine gun some more protesters. Can you say Tibet? Tiananmen Square?
No the thugs running China could give lessons to the Chicago Mob running America.
So just what will the Chi-Coms do?
Nothing. They will do nothing for two reasons. First, there is nothing they can do that won’t make things worse. Second, if they do nothing, they know America will come to them hat in hand after the Norks have been pounded to rubble.
Then the Chi-Coms can play the wise, patient elder card, which not only is the only card they have but an effective one to use against a young aggressive nation.
A final thumb on the scale is the Chi-Com’s awareness of how weak their military is. They have the problem of changing their Army from a ‘peoples army’ designed and built to control a huge population to a modern army that can win battes against other nations. Their plan for doing that involves the theft of enormous amounts of American technology. Can’t do that without good relations with the USA.