Donald Trump's first three Cabinet picks represent a worst-case scenario for individual liberties and true fascist instincts. ("My belief is that the nation-state remains the one entity that can function, the one entity that can demand sacrifice from its constituents in the national interest." - Jeff Sessions) While on paper Flynn (NSA), Sessions (Justice), and Pompeo (CIA), are "qualified" for their nominations, they represent the rightest of the right wing and are temperamentally unfit for the positions to which they have been nominated (kinda like Trump himself). They are all known as grudge-holders and for wing-battiness in their views. Trump To Name Picks For National Security Adviser, Attorney General, CIA Director.
Sessions was denied a federal judgeship in 1986 because of his openly racist views.
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The man who President-elect Donald Trump will nominate as the 84th attorney general of the United States was once rejected as a federal judge over allegations he called a black attorney “boy,” suggested a white lawyer working for black clients was a race traitor, joked that the only issue he had with the Ku Klux Klan was their drug use, and referred to civil rights groups as “un-American” organizations trying to “force civil rights down the throats of people who were trying to put problems behind them.”
Jeff Sessions Was Deemed Too Racist...’ll Now Be Trump’s Attorney General. - HuffPo. If he is confirmed (he's not respected in his own party) you can expect the Civil Rights Division to be disbanded, and its resources redirected to immigrant persecution and anti-marijuana enforcement. Those DoJ supported suits about vote manipulation? Gone.
Pompeo was the leading Clinton persecutor on the Benghazi committee, and felt that the committee report didn't go far enough, so he wrote a "supplemental" opinion, in June of this year, that was intended as a direct attack on Clinton's candidacy. A TEA party Republican, he is one of the most conservative, and least productive, members of Congress. On the Issues - Mike Pompeo
Gen Flynn was too nutty to be a valuable part of the intelligence community, but that is a plus in Trumpland
Sen Sessions was, and probably still is, a bigot, but in Trumpland that is a plus
Sen Pompeo is dull knife (in the Benghazi hearings I think he asked the same question 10 different ways and got the same answer each time) but in Trumpland Clinton hatred is a plus
I suspect those are Trump picks
there are rumors that Gov Haley and Gov Romney are on some lists for something.
So I guess if anyone had any doubt about the racism and militarism and just plain old right wing insanity of the Trump administration, their minds should rest easy. He has chosen the worst of the worst, so far.
I suppose one could say Sen Sessions is simply saying he would grab the law by the pussy but really did not do it .... I have often wondered what part of the law he understands well enough to prosecute anyone
He certainly could have made better picks, but in a sense, the worst case scenario might be the best possible outcome for this administration. The sooner it fails the better things will turn out for everyone involved.
Republicans made it their prime directive to make President Obama's administration fail. This had nothing to do with his policies and everything to do with blind partisanship. They chose the party's interests, greed for money and power, and complete disdain for the constitutional rights of minority Americans over national interests.
This option is not and should not be on the table for Democrats. Hopefully we are better than that. Republicans now completely control every aspect of government. They own everything that happens over the next four years and at this point they are setting themselves up to fail.
Personally I would rather see any president succeed at spurring the economy, uniting a divided nation, and making lives better for all Americans. I want every president to be remembered as one of the best.
Maybe Donald Trump will fool us all. Maybe his picks for top positions in the Whitehouse will be better than they appear on the surface. Maybe conservative fiscal policy will prove successful this time. Maybe pigs will fly.
At the moment we are staring at an impending trainwreck, unable to look away, knowing that many lives will be lost or destroyed. Knowing it is inevitable, that we shouldn't even watch because we will will be forever scarred by seeing it. But the sooner this thing leaves the rails and is crushed by it's own momentum the better it will be for the rest of us and the sooner we can get about the business of cleaning up the wreckage, tending to the wounded, and counting the lives lost.
Let me see, how can I put this? So white middle class workers have lost their jobs to China, Japan, South Korea, and Mexico. This is going to piss some of you off but you really piss me off also.
You voted for Reagan and the Republican party, and they gave you trickle down economics, destroyed the Labor/union movement and the college system, starting in California. They allowed corporations to take your jobs to cheap labor countries and through a complex system of tax evasion keep their money over seas and bring the products back to America, where you rushed down to Walmart to buy the products from people who needed a job after they lost good paying work. Now they have minimum wage jobs that barely put food on the table or pay the rent, even when everyone in the family is working.
So Reagan and the Republicans quadruple the debt while cutting taxes for the wealthy so they can donate more money to elect more Republicans to do more of the same. After George "Read My Lips" Bush you elect a Republicrat Clinton who makes thing a little better for a while but keeps the same trade policies that send more jobs overseas. Then you elect George "The Decider" Bush who gives you more of the same crap and spends trillions for a war that is now without end.
Their true goal? A gift for the military Industrial Complex with the same stupid strategy, that is if you are working class in this country, watch as more goes to the top and there's less for everyone else.
People having finally had enough, they elected Obama who tried to solve some of the major problems that were created over the previous 12 years with a Republican Congress. The Republicans sole strategy was to do nothing at all and bring America to their knees and oppose anything, even if it's their ideas to the front. For a brief moment Obama was able to save the Auto industry, do something about the healthcare hole that the middle class was in, and bring us out of the worst recession since the 30's.
Ah, but then you gave all the power to the Republicans and what did they do, nothing, nothing at all but disrespect the President of the United States that the American people elected overwhelmingly. Then what did you do? You elected Donald Trump, because you think he will be your champion, how stupid you are. Not only that but now the Republicans have total control of the entire government with soon getting control of the Supreme Court.
So the white once middle class acts like they are some kind of victims. You created this and deserve everything you get. As far as those people in the rest of the world who you think stole your jobs, wake up, It was people just like Donald Trump who fired you and made deals for cheap labor abroad and a Republican party who gave tax breaks for corporations to do it.
As far as those people in those other countries, they deserve to have the work and they are bringing themselves up rather than whining and voting against their own self interest. How are you going to get yourselves out of this mess? You're not.
So bring it on trolls tell me how it was all because of liberals. I don't give a damn what you say. I'm sick of hearing it and if you don't like what I say stop reading my posts and just follow Trump's posts. I really like the Japanese, South Koreans, African Americans, Mexican, here and in Mexico, and the Chinese so much better than you. I wish you would just run off and create your own little white homeland somewhere where I don't have to hear from you any more. Signed, Enraged White American Liberal.
The incredibly stupid thing is that almost everybody was frustrated that Congress didn't do anything for the last 6 years but shut down the government with their temper tantrums. Not a thing to actually help any of these out-of-work or crappily-employed folks who used to have good jobs.
Obama would have, but Congress blocked everything he wanted to do. If the Republicans in the House would have actually passed any legislation to help those folks, Obama would have signed it in a minute. This is why Congress has a 9% favorability rating.
So what do you do about it? Elect MORE Republicans! But they were the very people who made this mess to begin with. This is the opposite of a rational solution.
TSo what do you do about it? Elect MORE Republicans! But they were the very people who made this mess to begin with. This is the opposite of a rational solution.
NOBODY has claimed that those voting for Trump and Republicans are very bright. In fact, it's very clear that they are not.
The electoral college is not going to swoop to the rescue. Neither are constitutional loopholes going to make Bernie president. Instead, Trump is going to stack the Supreme Court his way for the foreseeable future, and if the Democrats lose one more state legislature, the Republicans, already falling in line behind Trump like ducklings, are going to eviscerate the constitution.
Too many people do not accept that history follows certain repeating patterns. Societies are free to mold or shape those patterns, sometimes to save themselves, sometimes they fail to do so in time. It all hinges on education and income equality.
Income equality does not mean that everyone has the same income. Income equality means that, while there may be a very wide range of wealth and income, the people at the extremes don't outnumber the middle so much.
Since there is never and has never been a case where the majority of people are at the top of the curve, it can only be accepted that, in cases where the extremes become the norm, it is ALWAYS the majority at the LOW end of the extreme, and a small handful of people at the top. That would be a case of income INEQUALITY, which is what we have right now.
Income equality just means that the majority of folks are somewhere in the middle, a few are at the low end, and a few are at the top. Rich people tend to also be rich when there is lots of income equality.
Now, fascism does not WANT a prosperous middle class, because fascism cannot function in a well educated prosperous middle class society. Fascism cannot function WITHOUT racial, cultural and ethnic inequality because fascism REQUIRES a scapegoat to blame for societal problems, which is a necessary and crucial component for manipulating societies.
Fascism cannot thrive, or even survive, without a heavily militaristic and authoritarian leadership. Women are viewed as chattel in a heavily fascist society. They also happen to be viewed the same in heavy religious theocracies as well! For that reason, many fascist regimes are also heavily theocratic. Theocracy under fascism provides a DOUBLE LAYER of CONTROL!
The practice of Fascism is made infinitely worse when those in, (or coming into), power comprise a kakistocracy. George W. Bush and President Cheney formed their kakistocratic group, although with isolated implants of individuals who displayed some higher degree of intelligence, such as Colin Powel, (who later came to his senses and resigned). Theoretical Fascism and practical Fascism are worlds apart, just as theoretical vs practical differences of ANY governance applications are found to be. When put into working practice, Fascism disintegrates rather rapidly, but damages inflicted on the general populace being “governed” is absolute and devastating, and they, too, come about very quickly. One must examine the aftermath of Fascism – wherever it’s been brought into the revealing light of day – in order to accurately assess the constantly metastasizing cancer it is. Post World War II Italy is probably the most recent example, but there have been others. Trumps’ outlines and egotism rival that of Benito Mussolini, and there are several parallels which can be quoted to prove it. Mussolini had a much longer incubation period in which to develop his style of Fascism, whereas Trumps’ gestation period has been more abbreviated. But, the outcomes are the same. Americans who voted for Trump will come to regret it within two years following his inauguration, the same we the rest of the world already regrets it.
Powerful and Continuing Nationalism Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.
Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.
Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.
Supremacy of the Military Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.
Rampant Sexism The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national policy.
Controlled Mass Media Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.
Obsession with National Security Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.
Religion and Government are Intertwined Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.
Corporate Power is Protected The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.
Labor Power is Suppressed Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed .
Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.
Obsession with Crime and Punishment Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.
Rampant Cronyism and Corruption Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.
Fraudulent Elections Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.
Well this so called "Worst Case Scenario" has gone way way beyond three cabinet picks.
The nation's network top brass have all convened at Trump Tower for an off the books meeting. This is where they are all given an offer they can't refuse, so rest assured, the fun is over and they are going to fall in line. They have come to the palace to kiss the ring.
Jerry Falwell, Junior is being considered for Secretary of Education. And again, Bannon Bannon Bannon, a known anti-semite, is suddenly being defended or overlooked by about eighteen key Democrats.
Bannon plays a key role in what I see as a pincer move by the alt-Right in collusion with the evangelical Right, and the Ayn Rand/Koch wing of the Republican Party.
I see Donald Trump as an expendable, because I am becoming increasingly convinced that the powers that be see him that way. He is a means to an end. And now he's no longer useful.
One of three things is about to happen:
1. Trump gets impeached early on.
2. Trump resigns, because hey, this is actually a REAL job, and it's way more work than he ever wanted.
3. Manchurian candidate time, the CIA creates an unforeseen incident. They can't afford a loose cannon with what's being planned.
What's being planned? President Mike Pence, that's what. The patterns are beginning to emerge, and once the above is accomplished, we will be one "national emergency" away from President Pence installing right wing fascist theocracy in the United States of America.
What about all the Trump voters, won't they revolt? Nope, because whatever "national emergency" is being cooked up is going to scare the CRAP out of them.
I've floated this to a few folks. The reaction is predictable:
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"Oh come on Jeffery, you sound like a ridiculous paranoid, that will NEVER EVER happen in this country!"
well .... your theory is based on a number of contingencies of low probability, so let's look
your contention is Mr Trump is expendable meaning he is useless as far as Republican/conservatives are concerned.
1. while there is plenty to oversee and investigate, one must remember the whole of government is in Republican hands i.e. meaning they will not jeopardize what they have won and the opportunity to completely frak America. Republicans will not impeach but will continue to defend Mr Trump in what will become increasingly more optically corrupt at the very least.
2. You think he is another Gov Palin? This is Trump we are talking about. He is so unpredictable (can anything be more unpredictable than simply unpredictable?) your statement may be just as true as my statement, he will fill out his first term. Yours is more wishful thinking than the more realistic one of actually superficially performing the job.
3. The CIA!!!! If Pence is the plan then why not the FBI? The first order of business was to elect Mr Trump with running mate Gov Pence ergo the FBI - Dir Comey. Unfortunately Gov Pence was a logical choice for Mr Trump. Conservatives believed he was not a conservatives but if he had a "real" conservative running with him then he would be more appealing. Thus for your plan to have any validity, Mr Trump would have to be in on the gambit.
No national emergency is necessary for theocrats to achieve their agenda. There is a large chunk of Republican/conservatives who are already of like kind. Crafting a bill neatly disguised as something other than overt unConstitutional law is relatively easy. Just look at what ALEC has accomplished in Republican states. Democrats will of course fight these insidious bills but when framed as unAmerican many will fold, especially the ones up for election.
In contradistinction I maintain he is clueless tool of Republicans/conservatives who believe (because of Gov Pence) they have the inside track to achieve their agenda. Whereas Gov Pence is well liked among conservatives, they all realize Mr Trump is the star, he is the rainmaker and without him Gov Pence becomes ordinary (as he really is) and their agenda becomes compromised.
and to use a members name in vain ..... surely you jest
I guess I expected my pet theory to take off like a rocket but in fact, I have to admit I am a little flummoxed because Ranter "rporter314" makes some very interesting points.
As I watch a series of billionaire donors picked for the Trump cabinet, I realize the worst case is taking place. Bush II stocked his cabinet with enemies of the agencies they were appointed to, and it was an unmitigated disaster. Trump is following the same play book. The swamp is draining right into the White House.
As I've mentioned before, NWP, unmitigated disaster is probably our best hope moving forward. The sooner it occurs the sooner we can get about fixing it.
I don't fully understand the Republican penchant for appointing the least qualified people to the most important positions, but I do know that anywhere else in life it's pretty much a recipe for failure.
... I don't fully understand the Republican penchant for appointing the least qualified people to the most important positions, but I do know that anywhere else in life it's pretty much a recipe for failure.
Having had to survive in corporate America for some many years I understand it completely. 1) You have no (or bad) ideas; 2) You hire people stupid enough to not know what an idea is, much less tell the difference between a good one and a bad one. 3) When the shyte hits the ventilator (as it inevitably always does) you blame the idiots you hired. Fire them. Hire some more just like them. And keep your job.
I think his picks reflect ONLY loyalty. He isn't interested at all in qualifications, figuring if he can be President then anybody can do lesser jobs. After all, his picks will hire actual smart people to do all the real work, at some level.
I'm sure all his buildings had real engineers and architects with advanced degrees and experience.
... I don't fully understand the Republican penchant for appointing the least qualified people to the most important positions, but I do know that anywhere else in life it's pretty much a recipe for failure.
Having had to survive in corporate America for some many years I understand it completely. 1) You have no (or bad) ideas; 2) You hire people stupid enough to not know what an idea is, much less tell the difference between a good one and a bad one. 3) When the shyte hits the ventilator (as it inevitably always does) you blame the idiots you hired. Fire them. Hire some more just like them. And keep your job.
Wash - Dry - Repeat.
The earliest explanation of which I am aware is C. Northcote Parkinson's essay on Injelititis:
The tertiary stage presents us with no opportunity to do anything. The institution is for all practical purposes dead. It can be founded afresh but only with a change of name, a change of site, and an entirely different staff. The temptation, for the economically minded, is to transfer some portion of the original staff to the new institution--in the name, for example, of continuity. Such a transfusion would certainly be fatal, and continuity is the very thing to avoid. No portion of the old and diseased foundation can be regarded as free from infection. No staff, no equipment, no tradition must be removed from the original site. Strict quarantine should be followed by complete disinfection. Infected personnel should be dispatched with a warm testimonial to such rival institutions as are regarded with particular hostility. All equipment and files should be destroyed without hesitation. As for the buildings, the best plan is to insure them heavily and then set them alight. Only when the site is a blackened ruin can we feel certain that the germs of the disease are dead.
Trump’s brazen use of his office for personal enrichment signals something even more worrisome than four or more years of kleptocratic government. It reveals how willing the new administration is to obliterate governing norms and how little stands in his way. An expectation that elected presidents must forswear any financial holdings that could conceivably affect their judgment has been an unquestioned point of bipartisan consensus for decades. Jimmy Carter even directed his trust to rent the peanut farm he built, lest any pro-peanut bias taint his decisions in office, and he endured a special prosecutor’s lengthy investigation to ensure his complete divestment.
But a norm is not a rule, a point Trump has leaned on. “The law is totally on my side, meaning, the president can’t have a conflict of interest,” he told the New York Times. Disturbingly, this is legally accurate. The strict federal rules about financial conflicts of interest do not apply to the president, whose incentive to avoid self-enrichment is simply assumed. There is no legal mechanism that requires transparency or accountability. In essence, Trump is proposing that we, not he, enter a blind trust: He promises that he will never misuse his power, and we … hope he’s right.
I have urged that we reject the impulse to "normalize" Trump and his incoming administration. It is not, in any way, shape, or form "normal." My fear is that we become inured to the incredibly bad, bad habits and forms of this man and his minions. The ineffably short-sighted habits of our Congress is extended to the electorate who cannot remember who was responsible for the economic collapse, and the disaster of the Middle East, which occurred less than a decade ago.
There are two inevitable paths that I see us proceeding down in the next 1-4 years: First, is an immediate Constitutional crisis (which presumes that Congress might actually get its act together); the second is an economic and political disaster of astounding proportions, followed by a Constitutional crisis. Both of those scenarios, however, are predicated on the optimistic view that we survive a Trump presidency as a Nation, a conclusion which is far from foregone. We thought Reagan was Teflon? The dozens of astounding, unprecedented views and lack of qualifications of Trump are only exceeded by the demonstrable lies that he told throughout his campaign. How can that be acceptable? What can possibly follow?
The President (and Vice President) have been exempted from the literal application of executive ethics rules because of the perception that the Legislative Branch imposing such rules on the Executive Branch would violate the principle of "Separation of Powers." If Trump continues down the path he has already outlined, at some point Congress may step in and pass new laws to curb his avarice and self-dealing. The ever-litigious Trump would, of course, bring suit to stop any such laws. He might even (have to) self-fund the litigation. The courts, of course, are not likely to step in - but either way they rule is likely to create a crisis. If Congress fails to act, the norms of the office will be so thoroughly trashed that Jerry Springer will look like a paragon of virtue by comparison.
It is possible that laws will be/have been broken, and an impeachment could follow (after all, Nixon was impeached by a Republican Congress). But, it truly is hard to imagine such a partisan body allowing that process to go forward (unless the situation were already so bad that their party would be thrust into obscurity). In that circumstance, I can see such a nihilistic creature as Trump orchestrating international crises (plural) to try to stay in power. They may be inevitable anyway. Syria may have already been lost to Russian adventurism; Ukraine or Georgia may yet be swallowed whole; China is likely to be emboldened to crack down in Hong Kong, expand its holdings in the South China Sea, and even invade Taiwan (directly or indirectly). Would the nation's citizenry be willing to "change horses" in the middle of crises of such proportion if they didn't after the Iraq disasters?
It is time to think seriously about the unthinkable.
Perhaps not surprisingly, after posting the above, I came across another article that made the same point, if maybe a little more succinctly. The point is that there exist in the Constitution "Emoluments" clauses - which prohibits any US officer (including the President) from accepting emoluments (money or gifts) from foreign nations, or the United States, above his/her salary. Trump is already doing so, and has explicitly stated an intent to continue to do so. Former Bush ethics lawyer: The elec...f he’s violating the Emoluments Clause
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If you’re looking for accountability on emoluments, your only legal option, I think, is to swear Trump in as president at the appointed hour and then hope that either (a) he comes to his senses and realizes the integrity of his presidency is worth more than his bank account or (b) Ryan and McConnell sack up and start thinking hard about impeachment if it becomes clear that he’s using his office to swing sweetheart deals from foreign governments for his businesses. If the public doesn’t care enough that Trump’s squeezing de facto bribes out of his business partners to force Congress to take action to remove him, nothing in the Constitution will restrain him. The Constitution is only as good as the civic culture of the people whose sovereignty it’s designed to protect.
There's a hole in that Emoluments Clause a mile wide.
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...without the consent of Congress.
They haven't exactly given him blanket consent to do whatever he damn well pleases yet. But they also haven't made any moves to deny that consent up front.
So far I'm hearing nothing about "conflicts of interest" from the Republican side of the aisle, but if he doesn't toe the line and sign their legislation he's certainly in line for a dose of reality.
Donald Trump promised to "repeal and replace Obamacare". Congress has promised only to repeal it. I don't even need to drag out my dusty failure of a crystal ball to tell you what's going to happen on this front.
This is liable to be the first test of Donald Trump's resolve to help the working class voters who elected him and the first look at how the next four years are going to play out.
There are actually three "emoluments" clauses: One for Congress, one for "officers" (Article I, Section 9),
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No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.
and one explicitly for the President (Article II, Section 7)
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The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be encreased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.
The second one is the one most often cited as "the Emoluments clause" - as it is fairly broad, but the third is both a blessing and a curse. Since it is explicit to the President, it has separate implications (and creates an argument that Article I, Section 9 doesn't apply to the President), and its wording is ambiguous enough that the entire Seventh Fleet can cruise through it. But the principle is pretty straightforward and can be synthesized by a willing court: You can't make outside money from being in office. There is a direct and interesting issue regarding the Trump International in the Old Post Office - that is an emolument coming directly from the United States government.
Donald Trump gives up a $400K salary as President only to get $1.5m worth of protection services for his family plus $1.5m in revenue to Trump Organization, LLC in return.
Double-dipping. Wow. Just wow. Can you imagine how ape-sh!t ballistic the wingnuts would be if Obama had done that?!?
' I dread the appearance of descending into numerological fantasy, but there is a curious repetition to US history. At almost exact periods of eighty years the USA goes through a crisis and re-emerges as a completely different country. Just before the transformation, there is a four to six year period when the old country appears to be unsustainable.
1780 -- The colonial administration is on the point of collapse, preceded by four years of insurrection.
1860 -- The country is about to be torn apart, preceded by the four years of the ineffectual Buchanan administration, which witnessed Bloody Kansas, the Dred Scot decision, Harper's Ferry, etc. The USA was about to change from a country of agriculture and small-scale industry to one of buccaneer capitalism and monopoly.
1940 -- An isolationist and unmilitaristic America rushes into world war and hegemonic world domination; it becomes a hyper-militaristic national security state, evermore obsessed with maintaining and extending its empire.
2020 -- ??? In the present period of storm and stress, with an evermore divided country, with corruption rampant in almost every institution and aspect of society, this strange fatality seems about to be repeated. .
Donald Trump promised to "repeal and replace Obamacare". Congress has promised only to repeal it. I don't even need to drag out my dusty failure of a crystal ball to tell you what's going to happen on this front.
If it gets repealed and little or nothing gets put in its place, the math tells me that the health care industry AND the insurance industry that serves it will take a massive hit.
Remember about two or three years ago when I presented a scenario in which the nation's health insurance CEO's would stand up before Congress in a pose like this?
I was saying that they would have their right hands raised and their left palms extended outward, demanding BAILOUTS.
If it gets repealed and little or nothing gets put in its place, the math tells me that the health care industry AND the insurance industry that serves it will take a massive hit.
Their hit won't be nearly as massive as the one taken by millions of uninsured Americans. In their effort to reduce taxes and cut government spending Republicans are going to unleash a shyte storm of unintended consequences.
Replacing it with something better is going to cost people more. Making it cheaper is going to make it worse or leave some people uncovered that have coverage now. ACA was made with the cooperation of the insurers, big medical providers, and big drug companies, all agreeing on a plan they could support.
Who will they screw? Because any change will screw somebody. I have a very strong feeling it's not going to be drug companies, doctors, or insurers.
I guess the best thing they could do is to repeal the mandate and the laws that require free treatment for the uninsured. That way the idiots who don't get insurance die off eventually. Natural selection improves the population.
If it gets repealed and little or nothing gets put in its place, the math tells me that the health care industry AND the insurance industry that serves it will take a massive hit.
Their hit won't be nearly as massive as the one taken by millions of uninsured Americans. In their effort to reduce taxes and cut government spending Republicans are going to unleash a shyte storm of unintended consequences.
I thought we were all smart enough that we didn't need to discuss the glaringly obvious. Of COURSE millions of uninsured Americans will take the larger hit but that is not what will trigger the demand for a bailout.
Along with the sick people, the insurers also took on millions of relatively healthy people who are paying for insurance. This is the hit I am talking about. My son is sick, my daughter is healthy. Both are paying for insurance. Only one actually uses any of it. As you said, this was developed with the support of the insurance companies, and they were willing to support it because they knew that they would get an increase in market.
If the ACA is unplugged, that's a cash hit. It's a cash hit even if you take the very sick into account. Both sick and health policyholders who previously were not customers will disappear from their revenue stream.
Even if you take into account the insurers who were pulling out of unprofitable markets, let's assume that they at least know enough about their business to prop up what is profitable, even if it is minimal. Businesses, especially health insurers, do not want one thing in particular...massive and sudden changes to their revenue stream. They don't want that, and they don't want uncertainty, and my money says that their response to those things will be to stick their hands out to Congress or to sue. Private prisons regularly sue states when they don't see full capacity. If they aren't 90% full with inmates or better, they sue to make up for lost revenue.
My money says health insurers are going to want to claw back whatever is taken from them, either by demanding money from Congress or by suing state and federal governments.
I'm wondering when it will be time to merge the "Trump Presidency" thread with this one. I don't see the Senate as willing to stand up to Trump's picks, and each is worse than the last. I thought Bush's incompetent ideologues were bad, but this is so much worse. It's like a parade of horribles. No, it IS a parade of horribles. When Mitt Romney is the "best" choice... good god!
First, he states that now? It is yet another indication he didn't expect (want?) to win. Second, he announced it like he's making some grand concession. You are about to become President. Of course that is your only job! Third, it's going to take two weeks to figure this out?
Finally came the realization that this, too, is just a scam. By divesting his interests into a private company controlled by his children, his conflicts of interest will be shielded from scrutiny. He has never disclosed his taxes. We've never seen his holdings. And now, we never will.
I watched part of a movie last night on Netflix, a Scandinavian historical thing set in about 1200. I fell asleep about an hour in, not because it wasn't good but because that's what I do.
Anyway... kings, power struggles, poison cups of alcohol, intrigue, bastard baby living elsewhere heir to the throne, battling factions, murder, murder, try to get the baby to the city to stop the coup from taking place, yadda, yadda...
This morning my wife, who quit the scene early, asked if the movie was any good. I thought it was, at least the extent of what I watched. Then it struck me just how ludicrous the whole human drama of it was. I mean, a hitherto unknown bastard baby could seriously be the winner of the "Who Has A Right To Be King" contest?
It makes our situation with Trump, seriously over-underqualified as he is to be president, look downright benign. It's the record of history that humans do really stupid things and have to battle back out of it. So battle we must...
Yes, hereditary rule is unbelievably stupid. Many royal families have produced totally unfit "kings" which generally end their line. It is reinforced by all the inbreeding: Most European royalty married cousins of some degree for 1000 years. The result is that a line that started with a mighty warrior and brilliant statesman has come to subnormal IQs and genetic defects. I have heard the English royal family is in that state now.
Yes, hereditary rule is unbelievably stupid. Many royal families have produced totally unfit "kings" which generally end their line. It is reinforced by all the inbreeding: Most European royalty married cousins of some degree for 1000 years. The result is that a line that started with a mighty warrior and brilliant statesman has come to subnormal IQs and genetic defects. I have heard the English royal family is in that state now.
It is a bad idea when cousins marry. Just look at Charles...
' Darkly amusing that they did it because they thought they were intermarrying in order to concentrate their "superior blood" in the way they did with thoroughbred racing horses.
It's not a big deal genetically when second cousins marry once. But it is a real problem when they do it for several generations. The degree of consanguinity can be as high as marrying your own brother or father.
I think they did this mostly for alliances to keep than land, money, and power as concentrated as possible. Most of those were arranged marriages for political purposes. But of course it started with the ancient Egyptians who thought the only one exalted enough to marry Pharaoh was one of his sisters.
A much better plan would have been for royal children to pick their own mates from the best looking and smartest people in the land, be they peasants, merchants, warriors, or nobles. That way you'd get some healthy genes into the royal line. Ironic that every livestock farmer knew you need to crossbreed with healthy stock.
I'm glad this issue was raised in this thread - because it is directly applicable! We are developing a plutocratic aristocracy, and Trump's family is just a part of it. His daughter, Ivanka, married into an incestuously close "real estate mogul" family. Goldman Sachs partnerships are passed from father to son, literally.
When George W. Bush assembled his first Cabinet in 2001, news reports dubbed them a team of millionaires, and government watchdogs questioned whether they were out of touch with most Americans’ problems. Combined, that group had an inflation-adjusted net worth of about $250 million — which is roughly one-tenth the wealth of Donald Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary alone.
Trump is putting together what will be the wealthiest administration in modern American history. His announced nominees for top positions include several multimillionaires, an heir to a family mega-fortune and two Forbes-certified billionaires, one of whose family is worth as much as industrial tycoon Andrew Mellon was when he served as treasury secretary nearly a century ago. Rumored candidates for other positions suggest Trump could add more ultra-rich appointees soon.
Many an aristocratic line has probably been saved by their member's propensity to have affairs with healthy outsiders. The men may sire bastards who do not inherit money or title, but the women make heirs even if they are not the product of their fathers!
Trump continues this tradition by finding exotic models to marry and procreate with. I foresee no genetic problems for his kids.
The problem with Trump and his ilk is that they are so divorced from the real world that they don't understand how destructive their ideas are to themselves. As the middle class shrinks, less money is available to invest, buy consumer goods, spend on luxuries, pay for mortgages or rent. The economy stagnates. Trump would be hit especially hard, because his clientele is in the top 1%.
Early on I labelled Dr Carson as the worst candidate of the field primarily because he did not know nor understand the issues.
One may response by saying, what about Mr Trump? On a personal level Mr trump was a terrible person and therefore candidate, he did have a grasp of 3 issues (even if one does not agree with him or believes his positions are fringe). Dr Carson I do not believe understands much of anything outside the operating theater, and would therefore make a terrible appointment.
Ronald Reagan initiated the process of appointing antagonists to head agencies - Remember James Watt? Bush Junior expanded on that technique, but nothing compares to Trump's selection of antagonists to head agencies. The latest is Scott Pruitt, an ardent foe of virtually everything Obama’s EPA has done.
The damage we're going to see as Trump and the Republicans run roughshod over the environment and human rights is incalculable. Reagan was a rank amateur compared to what Trump is doing. George W. Bush a brilliant statesman. Herbert Hoover an adept economist.
In a sane world we might find redemption by learning from failure. But that's not the way conservatives do business. The deeper the failure the more they double down on failed policies. (see Kansas) My only hope is that voters will turn from this "change" they've chosen to embrace and pull us out of the nosedive we appear to be headed for before it's too late. But it's a very slim hope.
I'm in the despair camp today. All of my worst impressions of Trump feel distinctly understated. The tweeter-in-chief is demeaning every aspect of the job. His cabinet picks are the worst in history. The swamp is being expanded daily. Every institution that Americans care about is being attacked, and it's not like we couldn't see it coming.
We just lived through 8 years of worst case scenario. I must admit, the military bent of the cabinet is disturbing, but they are his advisors. Just wait until the IRS starts to audit the Soros' and Clinton Foundation. Remember, you all told me that you weren't worried about that when they hassled the tea parties.
We just lived through 8 years of worst case scenario. I must admit, the military bent of the cabinet is disturbing, but they are his advisors. Just wait until the IRS starts to audit the Soros' and Clinton Foundation. Remember, you all told me that you weren't worried about that when they hassled the tea parties.
The spending of George Soros is DWARFED by the Kochs alone, all by themselves, not even including all the other rightie moguls. Compared to the Kochs, Soros is small potatoes. Compared to Sheldon Adelson he's small potatoes. Clinton Foundation? Show me the numbers that are the smoking gun. You got nuthin'. And Trump's cabinet picks have the fingerprints of the Kochs ALL over them, a fox being installed in EVERY chicken coop there is.
I am absolutely sure they will be fine because they have been completely transparent for years.
Regarding all Trump's generals, I am actually pretty happy with them. You have to be pretty competent and pretty good at running a large organization to obtain that rank. And I think the armed forces are a meritocracy rather than a club for rich boys spending their Daddy's money and believing they are "investors".
We just lived through 8 years of worst case scenario.
82 straight months of job growth. 14.4 million jobs added, unemployment peaked at 10% in 2010 and is now only 4.9%
Average income for the bottom 99% grew 3.9% in 2015, the best growth in 17 years
Obama has delivered a bull market for stocks and the housing market has finally recovered.
Domestic oil production is way up, gas prices are way down. Oil imports are down 53 percent, and wind and solar power have quadrupled.
I could go on, Tim, but I think you get my drift. Things could have been a lot worse.
I'm a little bit worried about Donald Trump, but I'm gonna give him a chance. Maybe you're right and tinkle down economics will work this time. Maybe Republicans will actually improve things instead of making them worse. We'll just keep an eye on the numbers and see how this hopey changey thing is gonna work out for you guys.
I am absolutely sure they will be fine because they have been completely transparent for years.
Regarding all Trump's generals, I am actually pretty happy with them. You have to be pretty competent and pretty good at running a large organization to obtain that rank. And I think the armed forces are a meritocracy rather than a club for rich boys spending their Daddy's money and believing they are "investors".
Read Colin Powell's autobiography to see what an uneducated, simple-minded gaggle of incompetents and feathering-their-own-beds untermenschen the American top brass are.
Don't look for hope to those don't-rock-the-boat, self-absorbed, stab-each-other-in-the-back, scheming military bureaucrats. . .
Just wait until the IRS starts to audit the Soros' and Clinton Foundation. Remember, you all told me that you weren't worried about that when they hassled the tea parties.
Ma R, that's pretty provocative. Perhaps you could supply some evidence of such claims? I certainly don't remember any such discussion. Or maybe it was because it never happened?
I am absolutely sure they will be fine because they have been completely transparent for years.
Regarding all Trump's generals, I am actually pretty happy with them. You have to be pretty competent and pretty good at running a large organization to obtain that rank. And I think the armed forces are a meritocracy rather than a club for rich boys spending their Daddy's money and believing they are "investors".
Read Colin Powell's autobiography to see what an uneducated, simple-minded gaggle of incompetents and feathering-their-own-beds untermenschen the American top brass are.
Don't look for hope to those don't-rock-the-boat, self-absorbed, stab-each-other-in-the-back, scheming military bureaucrats. . .
The election of America’s most prominently parasitic and malicious real estate capitalist to Chief Executive says “this is what happens, Larry.” An economic system based on predatory finance, making money through exploitation of labor, extraction of the planet, and the financial leverage of money itself, gets us mass immiseration, deep cultural divisions, irrationality-as-ideology, fake populism, incipient fascism. The 2016 election was an indictment of extract-and-exploit capitalism, not a vindication of it. Breathe deeply knowing that. Keep talking about it. More and more people will want to talk about it.
Regarding all Trump's generals, I am actually pretty happy with them. You have to be pretty competent and pretty good at running a large organization to obtain that rank. And I think the armed forces are a meritocracy rather than a club for rich boys spending their Daddy's money and believing they are "investors".
I am sorry, I do not mean to be disrespectful or belittling your post.
From personal experience, many of the military's leaders (Officers) are ticket punchers only interested in the next promotion, and the next leadership position. Many are good leaders, like Gen Colin Powell, (Ret), but he was a leader, a ticket puncher and a politician.
Being a good leader in the military does not equate to being a good leader in government or business, three different types of leadership. Most generals are ignorant of how and why things are done in the unit(s) they lead.
Being a good leader in the military does not equate to being a good leader in government or business, three different types of leadership. Most generals are ignorant of how and why things are done in the unit(s) they lead.
Neither is being a CEO of a bumbling "Name Brand" business good preparation for being President. As we are be shown daily...
I've seen the best and worst of General Officers, Ujest, so I have to concur. It appears that we'll get some of each under Trump as well. (Flynn, really?! He GOT FIRED for being a paranoid for gossakes!)
We are about to enter an unprecedented period of our history, and that is not hyperbole. We have never had as unqualified or unprepared an individual as Trump win a nomination since Wendell Wilke (you remember his administration, right?). The difference, though, is that Wilke was a lawyer, and a principled man, so he had at least a rudimentary concept of how government worked, which Trump STILL does not.
It is becoming clearer and clearer as time progresses that the voters who selected Trump were/are living in an "alternate reality" - where facts don't matter, or even exist. Trump, his supporters, and the persistence of the ‘reality gap’. Among the demonstrably false beliefs held by Trump supporters:
Quote
* Unemployment: Under President Obama, job growth has been quite strong, and the unemployment rate has improved dramatically. PPP, however, found that 67% of Trump voters believe the unemployment rate went up under Obama – which is the exact opposite of reality.
* Stock Market: Since the president was elected, the stock market has soared, nearly tripling since the height of the Great Recession. PPP found that 39% of Trump voters believe the market has gone down under Obama – which is also the exact opposite of reality.
* Popular Vote: As of this morning, Hillary Clinton received roughly 2.7 million more votes than Donald Trump, but PPP nevertheless found that 40% of Trump voters believe he won the popular vote – which is, once again, the exact opposite of reality.
* Voter Fraud: Even Trump’s lawyers concede there was no voter fraud in the presidential election, but PPP found that 60% of Trump voters apparently believe “millions” of illegal ballots were cast for Clinton in 2016 – which isn’t even close to resembling reality.
Add to that the President-elect's penchant for tweeting falsehoods to his followers, and the need for public plaudits from adoring fans, and we are indeed in for a very, very rough ride.
Everything you mentioned requires rational thought, logic and the ability to distinguish reality from fiction. Crowds, according to Gustav Le Bon - (1900), are not swayed by nor do they act in consonance with such abilities. They behave at the level of their least rational member. And they only understand images (reason does not enter into the equation). For that matter, only the simplest of images. Trump serves up exactly that. It is supremely ironic that the system, the electoral college, designed to avoid rule by mob, has ended up promoting it.
this is kinda sorta conspiracy type rambling but just as an intellectual exercise
if Mr Trump continues to appoint Generals to his cabinet, would that make for an easy takeover of government? Remember each of these Generals have a large resident military following. Suppose Mr Trump decides he needs to be Emperor Trump and concocts some story about an imminent Muslim existential threat. Would his Congressional apologists support him? Certainly his supporters would.
Just delirious rambling in a what if (Trump wins the election) world
We just lived through 8 years of worst case scenario.
I wonder, "in what universe?" In Trump world, yes. His followers refuse to acknowledge that the stock market rebounded to record highs, that 26 million Americans got health insurance and millions more have less expensive insurance, that unemployment has been cut nearly in half and is at "full employment rate" (5%), and that military involvement overseas has been reduced to pre-Gulf War levels.
They respond instead to fantasies, to preferred narrative and magical thinking. "Climate change doesn't exist", "tax cuts stimulate the economy", "Obamacare is more expensive", "Obama created Al Qaeda." I'm as tired of fake politics as I am off fake news.
Just wait until the IRS starts to audit the Soros' [Foundation] [Open Society Foundation]
What exactly do you believe the IRS would find when they audit the foundation? Could you be very specific about the "smoking gun" the IRS will find? Do you have a clue????
Here are some facts:
Originally Posted by OSF Mission Statement
The Open Society Foundations work to build vibrant and tolerant societies whose governments are accountable and open to the participation of all people.
I should now conclude you do not advocate for citizen participation in government nor do you advocate for government accountability. Strange coming from a conservative
Originally Posted by OSF Spending
Over the last 33 years, the Open Society Foundations had expenditures of more than $13 billion. Much of this spending has been directed at specific priority issues and regions for the Open Society Foundations such as:
$1.6 billion on democratic development in the countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union; $737 million for public health issues such as HIV and AIDS, TB, palliative care, harm reduction, and patients’ rights; $214 million to fight discrimination and advance the rights of Roma communities in Europe; $2.9 billion to defend human rights, particularly the rights of women, ethnic, racial, and religious minorities, and often marginalized groups such as drug users, sex workers, and LGBTQ communities; $2.1 billion for education projects ranging from preschool to higher education reform; $1.5 billion to promote reform in the United States on issues such as criminal justice, drugs, palliative care, education, immigration, equal rights, and democratic governance.
And no where can you find the foundation promoting any candidate for anything. In fact I will now conclude you are against human rights, public health, education, equal rights, etc.
What are you FOR??????? Fascists???? O you got your wish. The truth is it sounds like you have never been for American democracy nor supported the Constitution.
How does this relate to the IRS audit of "conservative" 501c4 applications. The job of the IRS is to actually audit groups applying for 501's. The conservative group Citizens United won the case for a certain configuration of PAC to allow for a 501c4. The IRS being able to read was alerted that many groups would apply for 501's including Tea groups which had been very vocal in their political advocacy against Pres Obama. It was personal and it was candidate oriented. This is exactly what is not allowed. That you can not comprehend that makes it incumbent on me to try and educate you to the difference between doing their job and actually targeting conservatives because of their political beliefs.
I am certain both the Soros and Clinton foundation welcome you do the audits if that would assuage your personal hatred for anything you do not believe in.
The Trump transition team has asked for a list of Energy Department employees and contractors who attended United Nations climate meetings and worked on key Obama administration climate policies, including the social cost of carbon, according to a Bloomberg report.
Perhaps you could supply some evidence of such claims? I certainly don't remember any such discussion. Or maybe it was because it never happened?
Of course it happened!!!! Rightwing fake news organizations like dead Andrew's Breitbart (home of white nationalists and erectile dysfunctional males) and Fox News said that it happened and Matt Drudge linked to both articles.
Republicans in general, and Trump in particular, dislike government agencies. Thus, when they have the opportunity, they destroy them. Of course, the rest of us depend on then doing what they're supposed to do. Unfortunately, their interests currently align with Trump's and Putin's.
Republicans in general, and Trump in particular, dislike government agencies. Thus, when they have the opportunity, they destroy them. Of course, the rest of us depend on then doing what they're supposed to do. Unfortunately, their interests currently align with Trump's and Putin's.
A millennial in my vanpool thinks there will be a civil war between the "right" and the "left" during Trump's presidency. Not a racial civil war, but a political/ideological civl war.
I think he's right.
The "problem" is they have the AR-15s and we don't.
Welcome to Trumperica! These are the actions that can be expected over the next two years: North Carolina Governor Signs Bill Limiting His Successor’s Power. It's about naked power, now. Just as the GOP Senate baldly blocked a valid and qualified Supreme Court nominee, they will follow the North Carolina GOP's lead in usurping legitimate government to further their ends without compunction.
Meanwhile, China will be emboldened to take more actions like this: China seizes U.S. underwater drone in South China Sea. Trump is so ill prepared to lead, he will be dragged all around by those more brazen than he - China, Russia, Iran, the GOP, and other enemies of the United States.
brazen is the wrong word to associate with Mr Trump. unpredictable is more like it, however the caveat is he has extremists as advisors, and it would depend on who last talked to him.
He is just as likely to attack Iran because China took a drone as he is to grab another vagina because he can.
I have to laugh at commentators who continue to analyze Mr Trump as if he is rational and everything he would do would be the result of a rational analysis. He is unpredictable. Think illogically.
I have to disagree, my friend. Donald Trump is entirely predictable, he is just not rational. Putin has played him like a fiddle. Flatter him and you are "great, the best." Oppose or criticise him, you're "a loser." He is a classic narcissist, which makes him easy to manipulate, And that is very dangerous.
he is as you say very predictable in that he will respond to the many buttons he has on his chest. what is unpredictable is what the responses would be (irrational).
He may be predictable but I'm still not making many predictions. It's a sad day when we wind up depending on Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell to rein in the worst of his predations. They are also entirely predictable and I'm afraid what we are going to see a game of tit for tat between the legislative and executive branches...He will sign the worst of their legislation while they carry out the worst of his agenda with some reservations. Donald Trump's agenda will require enormous amounts of money and Republicans, at least for a while, are going to remain tight fisted with spending allocations. But deals will be struck behind closed doors and deficit spending will rise as cuts to basic services are negotiated. But that's an easy prediction that would hold solid under any Republican administration. The careful, pragmatic, and somewhat boring management of government we've enjoyed over the last eight years is already being thrown under the bus in favor of wild eyed schemes. The number I intend to watch closely is the current 83 months of steady job growth. When those wheels start to wobble is when things are going to get really interesting.
Democratic institutions must be reinforced by strong informal norms. Like a pickup basketball game without a referee, democracies work best when unwritten rules of the game, known and respected by all players, ensure a minimum of civility and cooperation. Norms serve as the soft guardrails of democracy, preventing political competition from spiraling into a chaotic, no-holds-barred conflict. .... Unlike his predecessors, Mr. Trump is a serial norm-breaker. There are signs that Mr. Trump seeks to diminish the news media’s traditional role by using Twitter, video messages and public rallies to circumvent the White House press corps and communicate directly with voters — taking a page out of the playbook of populist leaders like Silvio Berlusconi in Italy, Hugo Chávez in Venezuela and Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey.
An even more basic norm under threat today is the idea of legitimate opposition. In a democracy, partisan rivals must fully accept one another’s right to exist, to compete and to govern. Democrats and Republicans may disagree intensely, but they must view one another as loyal Americans and accept that the other side will occasionally win elections and lead the country. Without such mutual acceptance, democracy is imperiled. Governments throughout history have used the claim that their opponents are disloyal or criminal or a threat to the nation’s way of life to justify acts of authoritarianism.
Welcome to Trumperica! These are the actions that can be expected over the next two years: North Carolina Governor Signs Bill Limiting His Successor’s Power. It's about naked power, now. Just as the GOP Senate baldly blocked a valid and qualified Supreme Court nominee, they will follow the North Carolina GOP's lead in usurping legitimate government to further their ends without compunction.
Meanwhile, China will be emboldened to take more actions like this: China seizes U.S. underwater drone in South China Sea. Trump is so ill prepared to lead, he will be dragged all around by those more brazen than he - China, Russia, Iran, the GOP, and other enemies of the United States.
Things should never have gotten to this point. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and her DNC cronies saw fit to have an extremely job qualified candidate be nominated - a nominee who is also extremely disliked by nearly half of America for a myriad of reasons, in lieu of another candidate who unified much of the progressive base and had likability ratings even higher than that of the GOP nominee.
Never was with her. In fact, I didn't vote this election - first time in my life.
in lieu of another candidate who unified much of the progressive base and had likability ratings even higher than that of the GOP nominee
Incredibly naive: The GOP never attacked him because he was their favored opponent. If Sanders had won the nomination, THEN the Republicans would have screamed about him being a Socialist, about all his visits to Communist regimes over the years, and about his early essay supporting pedophilia. All they had on Clinton was that she was sloppy with her email management. Their Bernie attacks would have buried him. Even Democrats would have voted against him. He would have gotten less than 10% of the vote.
You think the Rust Belt doesn't like ambitious women? They like commies and child molesters even less, and that's how the GOP, Fox News, Rush, et al would have painted Bernie.
You think the Rust Belt doesn't like ambitious women? They like commies and child molesters even less, and that's how the GOP, Fox News, Rush, et al would have painted Bernie.
You think the Rust Belt doesn't like ambitious women? They like commies and child molesters even less, and that's how the GOP, Fox News, Rush, et al would have painted Bernie.
I am currently IN the rust belt (Western PA) - can't say exactly where for security purposes . They aren't listening and never have listened to any of this shyte about commies and pedophiles - they voted for Obama twice and he was painted as a socialist, a Muslim, not American, anti-gun (in a place where guns are more common than trees), and he was African American to boot. They voted for him because they believed he was a drastic departure from establishment politics. Turns out they were fooled. Bernie was doing well here during the primaries (you wonder why?) because the folks here don't trust establishment Dems or Repubs. They want someone who will do what can't be done: get rid of the rust and make those smokestacks roar and the machines hum once again. Now: between HRC and Trump which one promised that? Bernie came here and told them the truth: we can't get those jobs back but we can create new jobs. That they can live with. HRC came only once and didn't say much of anything. Trump came several times and told them what they wanted to hear: THAT'S WHY THEY VOTED FOR TRUMP. And of course, they are going to be fooled again.
conservatives believe there is a Chinese climate hoax, the Bible should be taught in school, legal discrimination, etc ... so from their perspective his decisions would be great greatest fantastic
from the perspective of rational folks and folks who actually believe in the Constitution .... his decisions would not be so good
doesnt matter how much you expose the truth, they do not believe anything you say nor do they care if it is true
the truest statement to come out of this election cycle is, the facts do not matter
Maybe in your neck of the woods that may be true. Out here in the rust belt, people are already getting the picture. Today, while I was sitting in a "Social Club", a fight broke out between rival Trump supporters. Most of them were pretty pissed. There is a growing number that seem to understand they've been hoodwinked.
Many (in the thousands) have been foreclosed on - and Trump's pick for Treasury - Steven Mnuchin - is a four letter word in these parts. He has been associated with multiple cases of illegal foreclosures in the Jtown, Pitt, Winber area, i.e. people who's mortgages should never have been part of the foreclosure, but because of the way the CDOs were bundled, got screwed as collateral damage. They may not be the sharpest knives in the drawer, but they remember stuff like that. Also, the head of the Steelworkers union, 1999, has a lot of cred here. When he publicly said that Trump was "lyin' his a$$ off" about saving the Carrier jobs, and then many of them actually heard from people who are losing their jobs at Carrier, they are starting to think they've been conned. By the way, although they all know where I stand, never have they uttered a word of disrespect in my direction.
here ( and only generally speaking) the wall is yuuuuuge. so there is a split with some folks apparently anticipating no wall, that Mr Trump used the Wall as a metaphor, while real conservatives who only comprehend language literally believe there will be a yuuuuge wall. So I suppose one group will be disappointed or maybe both if Sen Sessions doesn;t deport every Mexican he rounds up.
i sometimes wonder when these folks say they do not like the direction the country is going what they mean by a different direction?
i sometimes wonder when these folks say they do not like the direction the country is going what they mean by a different direction?
Most of "these folks" are middle class Americans. They have jobs, they drive nice cars, they own homes, they carry heavy debt. They want better jobs, nicer cars, bigger houses, and the ability to carry even more debt. They see their tax dollars being spent to help people with less than they have. People who probably don't deserve that help. Immigrants, people of color, the poor, the sick, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse, the homeless, tempest tossed...They want all that government largesse heaped upon themselves. They speak of better jobs, but oppose a higher minimum wage and union representation. They want lower taxes but an even larger military. They don't trust government but believe that giant multinational corporations will provide all they need if only they are deregulated and given more tax breaks and subsidies. By electing Trump they have chosen to go in this direction. Take the power from government and give it to the corporations in the (delusional) belief that a rising corporate tide will float their leaky craft rather than sink it deeper.
Real buyers remorse has not set in yet, but it will soon. Donald Trump's rallies will stop when his former supporters turn against him, and mark my words, they will.
He is riding a wave of success for now but the proof will be in the pudding when he, his hopelessly inept cabinet, and a Republican controlled legislature actually take the helm and turn the ship of state hard to starboard.
Real buyers remorse has not set in yet, but it will soon. Donald Trump's rallies will stop when his former supporters turn against him, and mark my words, they will.
He is riding a wave of success for now but the proof will be in the pudding when he, his hopelessly inept cabinet, and a Republican controlled legislature actually take the helm and turn the ship of state hard to starboard.
I tend to agree. My feeling from here is that there is a storm brewing and Trump and his motley cabinet will be at the center of it. And this just might sink the Trumptanic.
Aye, Cap'n Zeke. It's time to reef the sails and man the pumps.
I think we all know something awful is going to happen in fairly short order. As yet it's hard to pinpoint exactly what form this perfect storm is gonna take but it's going to be ugly and Admiral Trump is going to go down with his entire fleet.
Trump's "successes" are mostly in his mind. His tax returns would have shown how hollow his claims really are - just like his claim to "historic/landslide" election success, or the claim that he won the popular vote. Republicans came home, period. Clinton may yet get more votes than Obama in 2012, but they were not as well distributed.
Trump's election was a three-legged stool: Wikileaks/Russia; vote rigging/suppression by GOP legislatures (especially in Florida, north Carolina and Wisconsin); Comey letter. Remove any one of those three, he loses. Romney got 60,933,504 votes, Trump, 62,979,616. Obama, 65,915,795, Clinton, 65,844,594.
China and Russia are already taking advantage of Trump's ineptitude. Wait until he is sworn in! When the economy tanks, the deficit balloons, foreign events explode, and jobs plummet people will start warming up the tar and plucking chickens. The question will be, will the Democrats be able to get out of their own way?
Prior to his actual election, numerous commentators described Trump and his campaign as "non-ideological". His appointments have proven exactly the opposite. Not only are they in alignment with most republican orthodoxy (science denial, pro-business, anti-tax, anti-environment, anti-regulation), they represent the extremist right version of all of these positions. What a Trump presidency will represent is what happens when a dog catches the car. Most voters rejected his platform, but his ego will not let him accept that. I expect the Republican Congress will behave like the North Carolina GOP - OUT OF CONTROL. I am so dreading the next 2 to 4 years.
Trump's "successes" are mostly in his mind. His tax returns would have shown how hollow his claims really are...
I am willing to bet that Trump claimed tax credit (stating he donated to "X" charity - when he really didn't) and THAT is a major reason why he won't show his taxes.
Trump is trying to pull a Jesus: resurrect John Birchites from the dead:
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Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), the ultra-conservative congressman tapped by Donald Trump to run the Office of Management and Budget, recently accepted a speaking invitation from the notorious John Birch Society, an extreme right-wing group known for peddling outlandish conspiracy theories for more than half a century.
In July, Mulvaney spoke at a dinner held by a local chapter of the group, which has long been exiled from mainstream conservatism. Founded in the 1950s, the outfit promoted a paranoid obsession with communist infiltration. It declared President Dwight Eisenhower "a conscious agent of the communist conspiracy." It opposed the civil rights movement as a communist plot. Ever since William F. Buckley Jr., the intellectual godfather of modern conservatism, felt compelled to disavow the John Birch Society in the early 1960s, most mainstream conservatives have dismissed the organization as an embarrassment for the right. But the group still exists and continues to emphasize the communist threat. In recent years, it has pushed more modern conspiracy theories: Obamacare finances euthanasia, the United Nations has a sinister scheme for world domination, Moscow is the hidden force behind Islamic terrorism.
There have already been numerous comments in the press that Trump is announcing picks without being vetted first. Since he won without adhering to "norms", he figures no rules apply to him. Little things, you know, like laws, the Constitution, common sense...
There have already been numerous comments in the press that Trump is announcing picks without being vetted first. Since he won without adhering to "norms", he figures no rules apply to him. Little things, you know, like laws, the Constitution, common sense...
Leonardo Devinci had an IQ of 220 were Albert Einstein had an IQ of 160. So Donald Trump is almost as smart as Einstein was. So who would you rather have at the helm of your government? Trump, Obama or a drunken Hillary? In my mind this is a no brainer and my IQ is 152.
Real buyers remorse has not set in yet, but it will soon. Donald Trump's rallies will stop when his former supporters turn against him, and mark my words, they will.
He is riding a wave of success for now but the proof will be in the pudding when he, his hopelessly inept cabinet, and a Republican controlled legislature actually take the helm and turn the ship of state hard to starboard.
I tend to agree. My feeling from here is that there is a storm brewing and Trump and his motley cabinet will be at the center of it. And this just might sink the Trumptanic.
The only thing that can save them is a "Wag the Dog" scenario.
Get ready for black flag, hysteria generating events like the Reichstag Fire. .
I could join Pi or Mega, according to my Stanford-Binet score at age 10, if I was all that in love with my intellect. Instead, I have lived a very comfortable life and in general had a wonderful time. I have never thought being that involved with your IQ that you need to validate yourself by hanging out with other high-IQ people is healthy. For example, I have been a software engineer because I love the work. So I have always turned down advancement into management, even though it was offered several times, because it would mean doing stuff I don't like to do.
I also know lots of 120+ IQ doctors, engineers, etc. and they have done very well in life. Having a willingness to do the work and study things your whole life is far more valuable than having a very high IQ.
Since we are talking IQ, is that Idiot Quotient or Intelligence Quotient? I guess that determination would be made depending on who we are talking about. Anyway, I won't tell you my IQ (idiot quotient), suffice it to say it is above 0 and below (a lot) Einstein's.
I've lost count of how many billionaires have been nominated for appointment. Have we hit a dozen yet? The swamp is being drained! Pretty soon there will be no alligators there! They'll all have cabinet posts.
Which is why PEOTUS (acting like a) Dumbass is still having a hard time finding a NASA administrator: There are plenty of guys with crew cuts, narrow ties, and horn-rimmed glasses, but the ideal candidate also has to be a member of the Flat Earth Society, which narrows things down a bit.
Which is why PEOTUS (acting like a) Dumbass is still having a hard time finding a NASA administrator: There are plenty of guys with crew cuts, narrow ties, and horn-rimmed glasses, but the ideal candidate also has to be a member of the Flat Earth Society, which narrows things down a bit.
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There are plenty of guys with crew cuts, narrow ties, and horn-rimmed glasses, ...
Problem here is that all these guys live and work in Hollywood and they don't know shyte about astrophysics.
I just heard an interesting piece on NPR about human judgement errors. It said it is a common human error to put people in jobs because they look the part. So the best way to avoid that error is to look for somebody who DOESN'T look the part: They probably have the job because they are actually good at it.
It also said that real experts at anything don't claim to know all the answers. Anybody who claims they have all the answers and will fix everything is a snake-oil salesman. Sound familiar?
Finally, they talked about the people who claim there is no such thing as a fact anymore: That person is wrong and terribly corrosive to society. It means that everything that is going to come out of their mouths is going to be a lie.
Apparently, they're seeking to differentiate Shinola from Trump. Seriously. Shinola products are proudly made in the USA; Trump's, famously, not so much.
Several times in the last 48 hours, the President-elect has made declarations (tweets) that are at odds with U.S. policies (and interests), e.g. F-35, nuclear arms, (illegal) Israeli settlements. SO MUCH FOR AMERICA FIRST!
We are at an inflection point in the United States. If we, as a people, don't insist on reform at every level of government to resist party takeover, we WILL lose our country.
So what you are saying NWP, is that we need to take our country back?
Because we've just witnessed conservatives "insisting on reform at every level of government to resist party takeover". For at least the next four years we are going to see the results of conservative reform.
There is a concept in some psycho/philosophical teachings that before any fundamental change can occur, the status quo, characterized as a crystalized state of being, must be melted down in order to be reformed in a new state. This happens naturally, but the result is most often an unconscious and uncontrolled recrystallization into a new state. The new state may be better, worse, or the same as the previous condition.
The trick is to apply enough conscious direction during the recrystallization to achieve some new, more desirable state of being. I think this metaphor applies to the all the great historical blossomings of civilization, including the beginnings of the American experiment. This is not to say that any of the blossomings were perfect, but each was informed by something that came before. Our "founding fathers" certainly put some effort into designing a better system of government than they came out of. This point is the great crack in the "conservative" movement to take back America - it is not supported by any honest effort to design a better system, it is nothing more than a mindless coup.
On the flip side, what plan do the "liberals" have - what plan that can compare to the earnest effort of those creators of the USA?
Trump is giving us the gift of a meltdown of the crystallized status quo (Clinton would not have done that). What shall we do with the opportunity to reform our civilization into a new and better world?
(I do hope that Trump does not extend the meltdown metaphor into a real global nuclear meltdown... that would be harder to recover from).
President-elect Donald Trump said he "intends to dissolve" the Donald J. Trump Foundation "to avoid even the appearance of any conflict" with his role as president.
Put more accurately, Trump hopes to avoid even the appearance of a lawsuit...
well ... liberals could find a 6'4", 250# bully who will lie his assoff, grope more women than Mr Trump, who will openly offend more people than Mr Trump, and throw a few small tactical nuclear devices in for good measure
I watched "Miracle On 34th Street" this morning, the original one. They kept questioning the sanity of a kindly old man named Kris Kringle. They put that kindly old gentleman ON TRIAL, to make absolutely sure he really wasn't batshit insane. All he wanted to do was work at Macy's, being their Santa Claus. Today we don't seem to have the stomach to question the sanity of a man who says and does things FAR more insane, and he's about to become our President. Just offering a frame of reference.
I see him becoming comfortable with his new power as supreme leader of the world and going crazy with it.
Three weeks before he even sits down behind that desk we have an arms race with Russia, a trade war with China, a religious war against Muslims, and a race war at home. Class warfare is raging and the war against women goes on unabated. There is a civil war between liberals and conservatives, a war against undocumented immigrants, another against the gay community and yet another against the free press. But he has promised to end the war against Christmas and guarantees a victory for Christians. Donald Trump is already drunk on power, far too drunk to drive, but no one, as yet, is threatening to take his keys.
short of the untypeable unthinkable, there are two ways to address this situation. 1. impeach & convict him - will never happen as the Republicans/conservatives control government 2. vote him out. Now if he unilaterally declares himself supreme leader and Republicans/conservatives support the move, especially as this may be their last hurrah, he will not be voted out.
The alternative? .... see if you can figure it out
I don't know: It would only require a handful of Republicans in the House to impeach him and just a few Republicans in the Senate to convict. (Democrats in both Houses would probably all vote for it.)
He is really great at pissing people off. That just might include a few Republicans in Congress, especially considering they have Pence to take over. In fact, maybe Pence supporters in Congress would be enough. Pence obviously has a very different ideology from Trump and it might be a very good match for some members of Congress.
Trump will be impeachable on Day 1, for violating the Stock Act.
Have you listened to any Trump surrogates or supporters defend him????? that should be the clue
Republicans/conservatives know they hold a majority predicated on their current ability to gerrymander the states to maintain control. They also believe they have a willing tool who will implement all the ultra right wing policies they have ever dreamed about AND he has "mass" appeal. Gov Pence does not have the appeal nor support from a large group of Trump supporters. Mr Trump could proverbially shoot someone in Times Square and his supporters would smile widely and defend him. So what makes you believe there would be enough support in Congress to try an impeach him?
On the reality front, there are too many Democrats up for election in red states. Politics would "trump" impeaching Mr Trump.
Not even going to lookup Stock Act and here is why. Conservatives for ever have found laws to attack and at the very least to demonize the Clintons and yet when the magnifying glass to put on them, there is really no case. But suppose he is in violation. What makes you believe Republicans would file charges from either Congress or DoJ? Indignation????
These folks are impervious to embarrassment. You could have a video of Mr Trump groping someone and they would defend him. It is all about power. They have have it and they are not willingly going to let it go.
Amen, brother. "Norms" in politics and everyday behavior are predicated on the power of shame, of social consequences. Once McConnell and others demonstrated that they could act with impunity without consequences, it was Katy-bar-the-door. Trump was the inevitable result. Nothing will stop them short of active, physical, unrelenting resistance. That will take much time and a great deal of heartache.
You are assuming Congress is all Republicans and they all act together. I am reminding you that they hold a small majority in the House and a tiny majority in the Senate. If only a few Republican Congressmen decide to give Trump the old heave-ho, they can do it. It doesn't require anywhere near a majority of Republicans. Just 31 Representatives and 6 Senators.
This could easily happen when the administration has some kind of major failure (which seems VERY likely) and enough Republican Congressmen decide Trump is damaging the brand. It would be out of self-preservation: They would fear losing reelection if they keep "failing Trump" as head Republican. Most administrations have little to fear since they are not in violation of an impeachable offence and wouldn't have an earthshaking policy failure, but Trump is "special" that way.
Most administrations have little to fear since they are not in violation of an impeachable offence and wouldn't have an earthshaking policy failure, but Trump is "special" that way.
I talk about going to his [George W. Bush's] Inauguration and crying when he took the oath, 'cause I was so afraid he was going to "wreck the economy and muck up the drinking water" ... the failure of my pessimistic imagination at that moment boggles my mind now. -Sarah Vowell, author and journalist (b. 27 Dec 1969)
reality check .... pay attention to the primary campaign .... "Dump Trump" .... why would so many who actually do not like nor support many of his policies end up actually voting for him????? you are assuming the right 37 people will help shoot the party in the foot and chop off a leg because you are indignant over Mr Trump's election? perhaps you believe he has actually committed high crimes and misdemeanors .... so you believe the Republican/conservative party would willingly and publicly expose themselves for what they are? Sen McConnell doesn't even want an investigation into the alleged Russian hacking, so why would he even entertain impeachment proceedings?
They are in a far better position to accomplish their regressive agenda than at any time in the past. We will have a cult of personality like none seen in this country since Pres Washington (he coulda been king). Gov Pence is lucky if he can inspire 20 hard right Christians to believe in his agenda of religious hate much less getting 20k people to shout lock her up. Why would 37 people jeopardize fulfilling that agenda.
Listen to the apologists from even establishment Republicans. Why he is not a politician (somehow that obviated he being a human) .... he is a successful businessman (which translates as the rules do not apply to him) ... etc. They have excuses, not reasons, for everything he does, so why expose themselves to the carade?
There is far more to suggest nothing will come of it even if the economy craters or we go to war with someone else.
The best alternatives are for Congressional Democrats to fight for best compromise available or created and fill the ammo box with the assured regressive policies which will be implemented. Even the ignorant can be influenced in another direction.
I am not saying they will do it. I'm just saying they could, and it would take a surprisingly small number of Republicans because almost half the Congress is Democratic and up for it.
I do admire your unbridled and enthusiastic optimism but there comes a time when people must hold fast, bare knuckle white, to reality.
For you, the "fact" Mr Trump is an abject deplorable human on too many facets to count, still does not fill the indictment sheet with any credible crime worthy of impeachment.
The Democrats could be "little" and pursue some fishing expedition (if they could even get it to committee) and find out Mr Trump groped someone, or there were some filing errors, or mitigated infractions of law in the foundation, or etc. I would not look favorably on an investigation only to find salacious tidbits of his life (like I am interested).
So let me ask this question, what would it take for you to believe Pres Obama has committed high crimes and misdemeanors worthy of impeachment proceedings? Your answer should be the clue.
reality check .... They are in a far better position to accomplish their regressive agenda than at any time in the past. We will have a cult of personality like none seen in this country since Pres Washington (he coulda been king).
To ratify or repeal an amendment, they need 38 states. The Republican Party now controls 37 state houses. By 2018 the Kochs will have screwed Nebraska and will take control, making it 38.
That is when you will see the following amendments repealed: 1st Amendment modified so that it protects evangelical Christians only, followed by the 22nd, 14th, 16th and 17th amendments.
14th amendment to remove birthright citizenship. 16th amendment to return slection of Senators to the State Legislatures (i.e.- Corporately owned State Legislatures) 17th Amendment to eliminate Federal Income Taxes.
And the crown jewel, repeal of the 22nd thus making it possible to keep a Republican president FOR LIFE if they want, which will not be difficult now that they have Citizens United, gerrymandering, no more Voting Rights Act, corporate owned and controlled electronic voting machines and a cooperative electoral college.
For you, the "fact" Mr Trump is an abject deplorable human on too many facets to count, still does not fill the indictment sheet with any credible crime worthy of impeachment.
You seem to be unaware of the Stock Act, which applies even to the President and VP, and which makes it a crime to make any financial move that is informed by your office. Trump is violating that law right now and will continue to do so until he sells all of his businesses and puts the money in a real blind trust. (Not something run by his children.)
I'm not saying they will ever do it, but legally he will be impeachable on January 20th,2017 and probably every day of his administration after that. They only thing that prevents it is the Republican majority in The House. So Trump will be very much a prisoner of the House Republicans. If they have some sort of conflict over some screw-up of his, a small faction could impeach him.
It will be fun to watch, as his support drops steadily over broken promises. Of course, everything the Republicans do will be fun to watch since they always manage to shoot themselves in both feet as soon as they have power.
ok you forced me to read the cliff note version of the act and its gutting.
Basically you have to prove someone in the organization was privy to financial information and then those folks acted on that information to profit from it. With the help of a good attorney I can prove "is" is not "is" and 1=0. I suspect it would take an enormous bevy of investigators and attorneys to even attempt a proof. Making good choices for investment is not a crime (even though it could be) and their argument would be predicated on a pattern of lifetime good choices.
They may both believe they have each other over a barrel, but there is little to no evidence to suggest Republicans would abandon Mr Trump. They have an ultra conservative cabinet which will immediately try to turn back the clock and Mr Trump is the linchpin in that effort.
So what kinda of things would his own party consider for impeachment? His supporters may not care if he kills someone in Times Square but Congress may. However, have you ever heard of a party which wanted to impeach a president for policies they endorse but which tanked the economy, started wars, etc????
Conservatives routinely promoted the idea Pres Obama should be impeached for a wide range of nonsensical beliefs but which were all grounded in law. The reality was they were reaching for straws.
I recommend you not hold onto this tenuous thread of hope Mr Trump will be or could be impeached on some flimsy charge. I suggest proactive responses to any regressive initiatives Republicans will propose, which will in turn be far more constructive.
Ah, but you are forgetting that he would be impeached in The House and tried in The Senate, not in a court of law. He might have the best lawyers in the world but if Congress wanted to impeach and convict him, they don't have to prove anything! They simply need a crime he is technically guilty of and then the Senate acts as jury. They would not have to follow the rules of evidence, constitutionality, or anything. They would simply have to have the votes. Strictly a political act and poof, Pence is President.
For example, they could vote to end ACA and he could veto it, since he did make various campaign promises and would lose a HUGE amount of popular support if he signed that. Then a small percentage of Congress could impeach and convict him EITHER WAY!. The problem is that Republicans have made a whole lot of stupid proposals over the past 8 years, and anything they do can backfire.
Or they could touch Social Security or Medicare, the notorious Third Rail of American politics. Same result, and they seem pretty intent on self-immolation.
Yes it is correct only a few of the right folks have to agree and they could impeach and convict but that is not the issue.
All of your comments are based on a belief at least some Republicans/conservatives share your indignation AND are willing to impeach etc. And that is the problem.
Do campaign promises count? not likely. What if the economy tanks? again, not likely. Remember, most Republicans were only cordial at best in their support for Mr Trump and since his election they are on board, even if they disagree with some of his statements etc.
The 3rd rail only applies to those who believe in it. Republicans/conservatives believe and for a long time all entitlements should be privatized. Republicans/conservatives have a long history of propaganda against all government programs. Their constituency does not see it as a problem.
The bottom line, I see that a lot of Republican/conservatives could be upset with Mr Trump for any number of reasons (and they all seem to defend him anyway) but that does not translate into a vote to convict him in an impeachment proceeding.
... The 3rd rail only applies to those who believe in it. Republicans/conservatives believe and for a long time all entitlements should be privatized. Republicans/conservatives have a long history of propaganda against all government programs. Their constituency does not see it as a problem. ...
Your assumption is that the "constituency" ACTUALLY understands what loss of so-called "entitlements" means. I doubt that. They will only truly understand if and when they lose them. Then, we will be able to verify what they REALLY support and what they don't.
To me, the most likely scenario leading to impeachment is that Trump will run up against the provisions of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974; he will, in the near future, absolutely refuse to spend money authorized and appropriated by the Congress and they will throw him out of office. He will discover, to his detriment, that the mandate he has is ethereal at best.
Your assumption is that the "constituency" ACTUALLY understands what loss of so-called "entitlements" means. I doubt that. They will only truly understand if and when they lose them. Then, we will be able to verify what they REALLY support and what they don't.
It will take a personal hit to shake them out of their stupor, but I don't have any faith that they will then actually UNDERSTAND anything.
I wonder if in the Harry Potter stories the word "muggle" is code for "muddle"?
not actually an assumption ... just an observation of conservative rank and file. They have a hard time getting past the spelling.
I suspect you are thinking when they touch the 3rd rail there will be nothing to replace it. They intend on privatizing, which means there will be a replacement which their constituents will believe is better than any government program.
Regardless of who is responsible, constituencies will credit/blame the party/person they have been conditioned to credit/blame. If the economy is good, it's Republican policies; if it tanks, it is Democrats (and vice versa). That is how Trump can claim to be affecting unemployment and the stock market even without any objective reality. Obama will get no credit for giving healthcare to millions and all the blame when it is lost. Democrats will get no credit for having created Social Security, but will be blamed when it is gutted.
It worked that way for Reagan and Bush - Remember how Clinton was blamed for the housing crisis and the recession? How Reagan's "tax cuts" saved the economy, not the tax increases? I'll bet Republicans would blame Democrats for Iran-Contra and Watergate. I've reconciled myself to understanding that logic and facts are irrelevant to political action. Now it is just who is in charge, by the numbers.
I just want to see their reaction when the checks stop coming, when Mom is kicked out of the nursing home, when Jr. can't find a school that'll take is inbred IQ, when the stores can't offer credit, when their TVs don't work, etc. It won't matter WHO they blame, but rather WHAT.
I have already sent my resume for position of administrator of privatized SS. With a $4T bankroll to manage, I offered my services at a modest 1% of the action. And that is how privatization works. I get richer and really don't care that there is no safety net.
It's more than just ConRot, my friend (although it is that). ConRot is the symptom, tribalism is the cause (although there is a self-reinforcing aspect to it). More and more psychological research is demonstrating that humans have an almost unfathomable capacity for self-delusion, and confirmation bias is exploding the "information age." The only "information" that is relevant is that which conforms to my existing beliefs, whether it has any substantive basis or not. It will take a paradigm shift of extraordinary scope (a la, WWII, or the Great Depression) to create a "new reality".
Prior to the Great Depression, three successive failed GOP Presidents were elected Warren "Graft" Harding (Teapot Dome), "Silent Cal" Coolidge (anti-tax, tariffs and anti-immigration legislation) and Hoover (Smoot-Hawley, Great Depression). Remember that Harding appointed the richest cabinet in history (the equivalent of $300 Billion in current dollars), and their corruption was on a scale never before seen. They ran the economy into the ditch then refused to try to tow it out. Bush did the same (although he did bail out the banks). We know where this is going. The only question is how fast they can accomplish it.
It's more than just ConRot, my friend (although it is that). ConRot is the symptom, tribalism is the cause (although there is a self-reinforcing aspect to it). More and more psychological research is demonstrating that humans have an almost unfathomable capacity for self-delusion, and confirmation bias is exploding the "information age." The only "information" that is relevant is that which conforms to my existing beliefs, whether it has any substantive basis or not. It will take a paradigm shift of extraordinary scope (a la, WWII, or the Great Depression) to create a "new reality".
Today I said to friends: the older I get the deeper into the Twighlight Zone I feel myself. Perfect. Especially when I see people floundering about like half-wits looking at the finger instead of the moon.
I woke early this morning, again worrying about how catastrophic the Trump administration will be. I can't say I was panicked - although I did take seriously Wired magazine's article Survive Anything by Always Carrying These 13 Pieces of Gear. I haven't felt this level of uncertainty since 9/11, and that is no exaggeration. I am trying to get my affairs in order.
Much of this was inspired by the cavalier dismissal of "cyber" threats Trump expressed. I don't know if he is actually delusional, whether it is posturing, if he knows the difference, or if it has any meaning whatsoever. That, in and of itself, is disorienting. Every indication is that he will be as arrogant and ignorant as he portrays, and with the control of Congress in the hands of the party of irresponsibility and non-governance, I am trying to find any kind of optimistic scenario that I can believe - with no success. But, hey, the Seahawks are in the playoffs, so there is that.
I woke early this morning, again worrying about how catastrophic the Trump administration will be.
i woke up this morning - do do da duh when i realized Mr Trump was the prez - do do da duh i went stark raving crazy running through the streets - do do da duh til i realized it was a dream a very bad dream- whoooaaaa nice guitar riff
is the end of the world at hand? probably not. will there be a dramatic shift in policy? abso-frakking-lutely.
My point is stop hyperventilating until there is good cause to throw your hands in the air and rush wildly into the streets screaming the end is near.
It was not my intention to portray myself as hair-on-fire (although, I did in fact start this thread). Rather, it was to convey that I am not behaving in my typical happy-go-lucky fashion. I am having personal angst.
Although I think it is unlikely that the world will end before I do, I am confident that there will be a marked shift away from the world-as-it-should-be during Trump's tenure. That is not all attributable to Trump himself, but to the people he surrounds himself with and the control the GOP will have. I think the pervasive feeling, for me, is that I no longer have confidence that "cooler heads will prevail." That's gist of it.
If 2016 was really a “change” election, you would have seen incumbents at all levels defeated as voters opted for something new. Or if it were a “change” election specifically aimed at ousting Democrats and bringing about a new era of Republican rule, you would have seen many Democrats defeated. But neither of those things happened. In the House, only one incumbent Democrat was beaten by a Republican, while six incumbent Republicans lost to Democrats. Ninety-six percent of the seats stayed with the same party that held them before the election. In the Senate, all of the incumbent Democrats won, while two incumbent Republicans lost. Only one incumbent governor was defeated, Republican Pat McCrory of North Carolina. There wasn’t much change in state legislatures around the country either: Republicans took control of three chambers, while Democrats also took control of three chambers.
Here's the central point: Republicans have the power, and they intend to wield it - it is not a matter of the "popular will" - i.e., "Democracy" - because they are well aware they don't have that. They have their constituency, and they will manipulate the system as much as they can to achieve their ends no matter who stands in the way (and, that would be, us).
I think it is entirely possible to find common ground, but not when there is such an effort to demonize the opposition (that goes both ways). If one were to follow Pew, for example, one would see that the majority of Americans want: liberalized laws regarding sexuality and marijuana, laws to rein in climate damage, Obamacare (with adjustments), fixing the budget through higher taxes on the wealthy, tuition relief, higher minimum wages, and women's reproductive rights (even those that oppose abortion). Pew - Topics
Instead, we'll get the most regressive GOP agenda in nearly 100 years (I'm not exaggerating), and we know what happened in the 1920s...
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When the 115th Congress begins this week, with Republicans firmly in charge of the House and Senate, much of that legislation will form the basis of the most ambitious conservative policy agenda since the 1920s. And rather than a Democratic president standing in the way, a soon-to-be-inaugurated Donald Trump seems ready to sign much of it into law.
The dynamic reflects just how ready Congress is to push through a conservative makeover of government, and how little Trump’s unpredictable, attention-grabbing style matters to the Republican game plan.
In 19 days, we'll see the destruction of the most progressive elements of our government. TW0-AND-A-HALF MILLION MORE voters to keep those progressive elements in tact, and adding to them, but because how the Electoral College works, that's how our Democratic Republic works.
Sucks, really sucks.
I know of one conservative pro-Trump supporter who doesn't have a pot to piss in. She's 60, high school educated and lives in a very percarious living arrangement with no job and not hope of ever getting one and lives on SSI. Yet, she praises the dismantling of these fundemental support structures for people.
I can only surmise that she is a very bitter individual with a scortched-earth mentality - because her life didn't turn out well and sucks big time - so should every one else's life.
I guess living the way she does is called "pulling oneself up by their boot straps."
I know of one conservative pro-Trump supporter who doesn't have a pot to piss in. She's 60, high school educated and lives in a very percarious living arrangement with no job and not hope of ever getting one and lives on SSI. Yet, she praises the dismantling of these fundemental support structures for people.
I know (or knew) approximately 400 of those, maybe more. Most of them are former laborers who wound up getting laid off when TekSystems decided they didn't want to be in the data installation business anymore, which was right after Avaya and Lucent pulled up stakes in the massive Plano industrial park that they'd built maybe 20 years prior. General Dynamics, Lockheed, Martin Marietta, IHG, Sprint and Nortel and maybe 30 other companies in North TX all cancelled their huge install contracts with Tek and went with smaller contractors, or decided to go in house. That's when Tek decided to concentrate instead on Computer User Support Specialists, Network and Computer Systems Administrators, Software Developers, Applications, Information Technology Project Managers, Web Developers and Computer Systems Analysts, Software Quality Assurance Engineers and Testers, Information Security Analysts and Computer Programmers. They simply didn't think it was worth their time to hire data installation techs anymore. I was one of the lucky ones. TEK decided I was such a good worker that they would let me do "drive testing" for Sprint and Nortel, which is a fancy way of saying "Can you hear me now? Good!" while driving every single street in a test area and using seven or eight cellphone computer systems to log cell system call quality in a signal map optimization database. I drove a little PT Cruiser with eight to ten antennas on the roof, an antenna farm. That lasted eight more months.
But I bet that to a one, all of them think Texas is doing the right thing by the working folks and that Republicans know how to run the country right, and Obama and all the Democrats are Commie lovers who hate America, and I wager they all think lefties are using food stamps and rioting in the streets, and embracing terrorist immigrants.
Obviously I was not alive, then, but I think I now understand how my parents and grandparents felt in the 1930s as they watched the spread of Fascism with a degree of helplessness, and recognized the inevitability of disaster. I hope I live long enough to see its defeat, again, as they did.
In an email to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a Federal Emergency Management Agency spokesman said the agency had working on a request to deal with a first round of storms that hit southern Georgia in early January. But it seems the Trump administration has not begun to coordinate a response for the latest round of storms that struck during the inaugural celebration.
But don't forget, if you want to be a Border Patrol Agent, Trump's HIRING, even though he ordered a FEDERAL HIRING FREEZE in all other departments, including FEMA. So next time a tornado or a hurricane drowns your state, just think of how secure the border is gonna be! But you might not get a warning either, because: science. And because severe weather warnings are socialism.
Having worked extensively with FEMA, much of the work is contracted out, which had been frozen. Donald Trump is a walking, talking, unintended consequence.
OK. I'm sure every president and first lady has wanted to "leave a mark." President G.W. Bush wanted to be known as "the war president." Laura Bush was in favor of education reform. President Obama -- I don't know -- no drama? Michele Obama promoted healthy living. Melania Trump wants to stop cyber bullying ... though, since she is married to the cyber bully in chief she hardly seems qualified. President Donald J Trump? First president to use a nuclear weapon in a pre emptive strike? That'll leave a mark.
For years I have been complaining that the GOP promotes falsehoods in support of a meritless agenda. Now, it appears to be official government policy. In very short order, the President has engaged in campaigns to legitimate bald-faced lies about crowd size, about voter fraud, about the State department "firings" and about Mexico cancelling a state visit. There is a campaign to see that the ACA is "failing" when all evidence is to the contrary (it has stabilized, and participation is growing), and to legitimate the anti-abortion fringe as "as big as" the Women's March. When doublespeak becomes actual policy, how far are we from 1984?
I have been preserverating today about the mental breakdown of King George III and is perilous parallels to our current political situation. I am genuinely, and seriously, concerned that Donald Trump is not just braggadocious - but is, in fact, nuts. Like George III, moreover, his loyal minions are dutifully trying to forward the agenda he puts forth, even when he is in his least-connected-with-reality modes. Does it matter whether he is mendacious or really believes in his fact-free alternate reality? Either way, the risks are real, clear and present.
When doublespeak becomes actual policy, how far are we from 1984?
Republicans all about double-speak. They name laws that do the opposite of its intended title. They use alternative facts. They look right into a TV camera and lie to your face.
I have been preserverating today about the mental breakdown of King George III and is perilous parallels to our current political situation. I am genuinely, and seriously, concerned that Donald Trump is not just braggadocious - but is, in fact, nuts.
President* Trump's father Fred died of Alzheimers. I think we're seeing early onset Alzheimers with President* Trump.
What's with Republicans and their wanting to install Hollywood celebs with Alzheimers as President (Reagan, Trump)?
What's with Republicans and their wanting to install Hollywood celebs with Alzheimers as President
These guys remind them of a time in the past that never actually existed, when everybody all agreed on their conservative ideas.
The truth is that our entire history is filled with revolutionaries, progressives, radicals, etc. You know, at the end of the American Revolution lots of conservatives (Tories) actually moved to Canada so they could remain loyal subjects of The King.
From an unscientific and somewhat casual research in family migration patterns, it appears to me conservatives are metaphorically rooted to land in a real sense. Remember the Constitutional Convention? it was the Southern conservatives who insisted on all manner of provisions to guarantee individual and state (local) government "rights". These same people pushed the limits of states rights into a war. For the most part conservatives occupy the same southern lands, have the same values their ancestors had, and continue the war against the Constitution.
While some Tories moved to Canada and some escaped my ancestors hanging trees in SC, the descendants are alive and well in the South. Irrational fear of tyrantism as embodied in the federal government fuels their cause with the aid of right wing media pounding the message home.
From an unscientific and somewhat casual research in family migration patterns, it appears to me conservatives are metaphorically rooted to land in a real sense. Remember the Constitutional Convention? it was the Southern conservatives who insisted on all manner of provisions to guarantee individual and state (local) government "rights". These same people pushed the limits of states rights into a war. For the most part conservatives occupy the same southern lands, have the same values their ancestors had, and continue the war against the Constitution.
While some Tories moved to Canada and some escaped my ancestors hanging trees in SC, the descendants are alive and well in the South. Irrational fear of tyrantism as embodied in the federal government fuels their cause with the aid of right wing media pounding the message home.
In 1776, The South consisted of Maryland to South Carolina along the east coast. Most of the new South was just Native American, French, and Mexican. Some probably moved westward into what is now Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia but they were not in the US and very much at risk from attack by natives or general lawlessness.
They would be moving from established farmland or towns into wilderness. Not the kind of thing for conservative subject-of-the-king types. Besides the US expanded quickly into those areas soon after, so their flight would have been useless.
But I'm sure that the further you got from Philadelphia the more people there were who resented Philadelphia telling them what to do, who to trade with, who to enslave, etc.
PIA nailed it when he said that Southern conservatives are "subject of the king" types. That IS the FUNDAMENTAL difference between the Southern mentality and the rest of the country. Southern conservatives believe in concepts like the nobility, brass buttoned strongmen, cult of personality, rule by men instead of rule by law, spoken decrees, blood oaths, blood libel and blood atonement.
Sharing this piece of wisdom, with your moniker credited, of course.
I never said that. My point was that most of what we consider The South wasn't settled and wasn't in America at the time of the Revolutionary War. So Tories either sucked it up and kept their politics to themselves after the war or moved to English Canada.
In the decades that followed the end of the war, the modern South grew quickly. The growth of the new South was lead by more Americans than immigrants and by the time of the Civil war they allied themselves with England simply because they were at war with the US. They were not loyal to the King of England. The loyalists had been in Canada for generations.
Sorry PIA but the people who are fond of The Old South are INDEED "subject of the king" types, where "King" happens to be the distinguished gent who owns the plantation. Everything else is the same. The same pecking order, the same conviction that the land belongs to nobility, and that education is not something peasants should be trusted with, the same paternal misogyny toward "the fair sex", the same demands for religious conformity, the same caste system and the same hidebound ignorance found in "the little folk."
While there are some that fit that description, Jeff, I think that we'll work ourselves into a trap by accepting that stereotype as valid across the board. The problems are far more expansive than just the South. There is certainly a vast swath of what are conservative/Republican voters who prefer the simplicity of a "Strongman" leader, despite protestations of wanting "independence" - but there are other issues that cause unease. There has been a decades-long propaganda campaign that they have fallen for, and now they are afraid of their shadows (but, ironically, not Russia).
The "trap" is to say ALL of X are Y. While it is true some have been supportive on idiot-ological grounds, I fear a rather sizeable chunk have been incited with the brash in your face style of Mr Trump, but at the same time it may be irrelevant what Mr Trump say, which includes a large number of people who are bigoted (see daily reports of bigotry in action and seemingly all justify their beliefs as based on the election of Mr Trump ... Mr Trump was elected therefore I can publicly be a bigot and no one can do anything about it).
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There has been a decades-long propaganda campaign that they have fallen for, and now they are afraid of their shadows (but, ironically, not Russia).
I suspect the campaign simply enhanced a long held belief of many conservatives who suffer from an irrational fear the federal government is the enemy. This belief can be traced from the time of the Constitutional Convention to almost anything hard right politicians say.
They hated England and the resulting creation, the federal government, thus as Russia is not their irrational fear, they can deal with it as an intangible fear, which may be easily addressed (or colluded with).
Every surreal portrait of the Trump administration may apply.
You know, at the end of the American Revolution lots of conservatives (Tories) actually moved to Canada so they could remain loyal subjects of The King.
Trump creating "drama and suspense" by sending both nominated SCOTUS men to DC for TV cameras to follow around all day long was lame. Trump must think that Nielson Rating company is tracking his every move.
Steve Bannon is consolidating power in the WH and is running an off the books shadow security council which apparently is the source of new foreign policies. As an indicator of possibilities, it does not bode well for the future.
Just saw a chilling interview of Sebastian Gorka and Tapper. Then I read several other interviews. This guy is scary and now he is on Trump's inner circle of security advisors.
Steve Bannon is consolidating power in the WH and is running an off the books shadow security council which apparently is the source of new foreign policies. As an indicator of possibilities, it does not bode well for the future.
And you thought it was getting worse
At what point does this become legally actionable? I suspect that IN REALITY, it only ACTUALLY becomes actionable in a real sense AFTER terrible damage is done in some way. But in a LEGAL sense, at what point does the line cross into criminality, unconstitutionality and impeachability?
It is my belief that there have already been actions that are extra-constitutional. Given the loose organization, and the utter amateur status of the staff, and the penchant some already have for illegality (or at least questionable legality), illegal acts have, and no doubt will take place. The real question is, will there be enough evidence preserved to be accumulated to bring charges. It will start with underlings, but a pattern will have been established to demonstrate a deliberate effort. Only then will impeachment be possible, but it will not happen. Impeachment is a political act, and until Congress changes substantially, the GOP will not find sufficient cause. That means at least two years of this lunacy, at a minimum. The damage will have been great by then.
Impeachment is a political act, and until Congress changes substantially, the GOP will not find sufficient cause. That means at least two years of this lunacy, at a minimum. The damage will have been great by then.
Unfortunately, I believe that it will be much longer than that. The gop has gerrymandered so many of the congressional districts that there is no way that they will loose any substantial number of districts, they basically have no accountability and are spineless turds. So, the next two or three election cycles will see no effective change in the House. The only hope is with the Senate since they are elected statewide.
The only hope is with the Senate since they are elected statewide.
Not really much hope there either. The 2018 Senate races are stacked in Republicans favor. Only 8 Republican seats will be up for re-election and Democrats must defend 23.
The only thing that might save us is an unpopular war or two(say with China and Iran) and a complete failure of the economy. Hit Republican voters deep in their pocketbooks and kill a bunch of their kids and they might, though I deem it unlikely, admit that they made a mistake.
The only hope is with the Senate since they are elected statewide.
Not really much hope there either. The 2018 Senate races are stacked in Republicans favor. Only 8 Republican seats will be up for re-election and Democrats must defend 23.
I know, not much hope there, but at least there is a little bit.
The NSC's decisions are hashed out at what is known as the Principals Meeting, which has always included top military and intelligence officials. Bannon's elevation coincided with the exclusion of General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and thus the nation's top military commander.
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This is not the work of unhappy liberals or even the usual partisan warfare. Some of these people were loyal to presidents Obama and Clinton. Others are conservatives who much preferred President George W. Bush and his father. The signatories include two generals, two admirals, 11 brigadier generals, 10 major-generals, and seven lieutenant-generals, not to mention two former CIA directors and seven ambassadors.
The same day, more than 1,000 State Department officials signed an official dissent against Trump’s order.
Having never been in the military I have a question: Do military personnel take an oath to support the president or the constitution?
They swear to defend the Constitution, but the President is their Commander-In-Chief. They have an OBLIGATION to disobey illegal orders, so if he does something like order killing terrorists families or using torture they refuse or face War Crimes trials.
They executed people for War Crimes after WW II.
But short of illegal, he can order all sorts of really stupid things that they know are stupid, and they have to do them. Unless there is a federal court order to the contrary.
In less than two weeks, Trump has betrayed nearly all of his promises to "help the little guy." (Who ever believed that, anyway?) His moves on Dodd-Frank and appointments are directly tied to lining his own pockets and hurting the middle class. Since the GOP is already in that camp, the pain is going to be deep and lasting:
In less than two weeks, Trump has betrayed nearly all of his promises to "help the little guy." (Who ever believed that, anyway?)
His stoopid base. It's truly odd how high school educated blue collar workers like his base thinks that they have something in common with rich people who view them as peasants.
Having never been in the military I have a question: Do military personnel take an oath to support the president or the constitution?
With an educated and aware professional soldier the likely hood of a military coup is small, but not none existent.
When you are sworn in you take an oath to the Constitution, to protect and defend it from all enemyies both foreign and domestic. Part of the oath also says to obey the lawful orders of those appointed over me.
If you refuse an order you will be Courts Martialed you have to prove the order was illegal. That is why any soldier has the right to ask for any given order to be given to him in writing.
When I was in, execution was still a lawful sentence for certain crimes. Disobeying an order in combat was one of them.
Donald Trump has made campaign statements that would require illegal orders to the military to carry out. Torture and murdering civilian family members of your enemies is going to get you to a court in The Hague, and then hung.
All members of the armed forces should keep this in mind.
In less than two weeks, Trump has betrayed nearly all of his promises to "help the little guy." (Who ever believed that, anyway?) His moves on Dodd-Frank and appointments are directly tied to lining his own pockets and hurting the middle class.
Wait until Trump and his handlers get rid of death duties.
Then we will be back to the Middle Ages, with a hereditary feudal ruling class. .
At this juncture, it appears unlikely that any Trump nominee will not be approved on partisan lines. These are the closest confirmation votes in US history, and the least qualified, and most antagonistic-to-their-Department appointments ever - and that includes James Watt. The only qualification necessary appears to be an "R" next to the name. Senate Republicans have completely abandoned their constitutional responsibilities to "advise" and are merely "consenting." That posture, I believe, is more dangerous to the nation than Donald Trumpf himself - and that is going some!
It is time for all of us to "persist" or face the dying of the light.
It is time for all of us to "persist" or face the dying of the light.
The only way that is going to happen is to change the composure of Congress in 2018. Historically, Dems don't vote in off-presidential election. We need to turn that around.
The first thing that we have to notice is that the institutions have not thus far restrained him. He never took them seriously, acts as if they don’t exist, and clearly wishes they didn’t. The story that Americans have told themselves from the moment he declared his candidacy for president, was that one institution or another would defeat him or at least change his behavior – he won’t get the nomination; if he gets the nomination, he will be a normal Republican; he will get defeated in the general election; if he wins the presidency will mature him (that was what Obama said). I never thought any of that was true. He doesn’t seem to care about the institutions and the laws except insofar as they appear as barriers to the goal of permanent kleptocratic authoritarianism and immediate personal gratification. It is all about him all of time, it is not about the citizens and our political traditions.
The Cabinet is not yet filled, and this may already be the most corrupt administration in history - and there have been some doozies, make no mistake. It should not be a surprise, given the mendacious nature of the President, that the confirmations of his cabinet picks have been almost entirely partisan and based upon complete fabrications of - or completely lacking - resumes.
Five appointments serve to illustrate: Michael Flynn (although not a "cabinet" post) was essentially fired from his last military post, has promoted fake news and probably blatantly lied about his direct contacts with a foreign hostile power; Jeff Sessions' appointment as Attorney General was based largely upon a series of progressively outrageous lies about his "civil rights" record; Tom Price has been enriching himself as a Congressman by manipulating legislation to improve his investment portfolio - the poster child for the passage of the STOCK Act; Betsy DeVos was put in place with literallyNO qualifications in education - neither she nor her children have even attended a public school; and Steven Mnuchin is the shining exemplar of the rapacious banker - a real life Henry Potter.
The burning question, at present, is who will be fired (sacrificed) first? Of note: not a single Hispanic nominee (big surprise), nor economist.
Yeah but ... what you see is just the palpable double standard Republicans have regarding ethics and truth, so it is ok and remember to allay your indignation. I think the overall extremism of the cabinet is more concerning.
AG Sessions does not believe there is a racism problem in America like most of his conservative buddies. Therefore Black Lives do not Matter and civil rights is a resurrection of past history. He will ignore state governments in the expansion of formerly illegal drugs for medicinal use and prosecute more people unnecessarily. Already is he implementing extreme enforcement of immigration policies by deporting people who are not "bad dudes".
Sec DeVoss will ensure public education will devolve into voluntary enrollments with little financial federal support while enriching her private enterprise buddies with schools which do not achieve any of the goals stated. In the first case she is effectively saying, no one should care about public education i.e. it is a drag on the rest of us. In the second case, she gets richer at the expense of American education.
Sec Price does not care about the results of repealing ACA. His personal animus toward anything federal is the driving force. His preferred replacement (only because Mr Trump insists on it) is to let the states tale care of it. His penchant for believing conspiracies like his boss is troubling. How can we have someone who believes conspiracies leading the country?
I do not know anything about Mnuchin but I suspect anyone who worked on Wall Street knows how to fleece unsuspecting clients. What Wall Street policies does he support which will help middle America get jobs or raise their income?
I will not type about Mr Trump's nutty advisors, Gen Flynn, Bannon, or Gorka as all three I believe are out of touch with reality and not just middle America.
Unfortunately, all these cabinet are perfectly logical as they are designed to be anti-matter to facilitate the destruction of the departments they are hired to "run". It is even worse than it looks, truly a worst case scenario! Tat
E.J. Dionne spells it out clearly and alarmingly. If you know him and his work, you know that he is not prone to hyperbole.
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This is a huge deal. It reflects a long-standing critique on the right not just of the Obama and Clinton years but of the entire thrust of American government since the Progressive Era and the New Deal. Critics of the administrative state -- "the vast administrative apparatus that does so much to dictate the way we live now," as Scott Johnson, a conservative lawyer and co-founder of the Power Line blog, put it in 2014 -- see it as unconstitutional because regulatory agencies make and enforce rules based on authority they claim was illegitimately ceded by Congress.
That's the theory. In practice, this is a war on a century's worth of work to keep our air and water clean; our food, drugs and workplaces safe; the rights of employees protected; and the marketplace fair and unrigged. It's one thing to make regulations more efficient and no more intrusive than necessary. It's another to say that all the structures of democratic government designed to protect our citizens from the abuses of concentrated private power should be swept away.
The Cabinet is not yet filled, and this may already be the most corrupt administration in history - and there have been some doozies, make no mistake. It should not be a surprise, given the mendacious nature of the President, that the confirmations of his cabinet picks have been almost entirely partisan and based upon complete fabrications of - or completely lacking - resumes.
I truly believe that Trump is trolling America. Most Americans did not vote for him. Prior to becoming President, the media treated Trump like a joke. (Because he IS a joke! )
Trump is a very vindictive guy. I see this as payback for the way he has been treated. Trump has selected the grossest, most incompetent people to run our government. A guy who sues the EPA 14 times gets to head the EPA?!?
None of this is accidental, it's clearly by design.
The parts of government they want to dismantle are those that stand on the side of citizens against powerful interests.
Trump supporters are too damn stupid to see they voted for a guy who is against their own interest - or - they want others to wallow in their misery as well.
It's like they realize their lives are complete and utter sh!t - and they want to drag everyone else down with them to their miserable level.
Yeah, you're 60 years old, you haven't worked in 10 years - why didn't you further your education or learn a new vocation, dumbasses?
[/quote] I truly believe that Trump is trolling America. Most
Trump is a very vindictive guy. I see this as payback for the way he has been treated. Trump has selected the grossest, most incompetent people to run our government. A guy who sues the EPA 14 times gets to head the EPA?!?
None of this is accidental, it's clearly by design. [/quote]
At first I thought he was just trolling, and just sticking his thumb the eyes by picking scum that we couldnt prevent being confirmed, but Bannon knows how to manipulate his narcissism to get him to do Bannon's dirty deeds. President Trump, gag, may well be getting his rocks off by doing this, but I think that it is a secondary side effect of the big Bannon plan.
There are reports/leaks that unscrupulous aids give him known disinformation that fit with his mistaken world view, and he accepts it as it confirms his mistaken "ideas". Narcissists are so predictable that they are simple to manipulate.
A true psychotic schizophrenic would be much less dangerous as they would just drop a net on him and drag him from the white house. He is just barely sane enough, for the time being, to avoid the rubber room. There could not be a more dangerous type of mental illness to have this kind of power!
I suspect that Pence will eventually be forced to invoke Section 4 of the 25 Amendment and take him out. Unfortunately it will probably take a while for the erratic behavior to turn 2/3 of the house and senate to sustain Pence, if President trump protests the take down. Maybe he would just go quietly without a vote, but I doubt it, as no narcissist ever gives up power willingly. A threatened narcissist is extremely dangerous.
All narcissists hurt people, but the malignant narcissists enjoy hurting people.
It is absolutely true that Trump's mental illness makes him remarkably susceptible to manipulation. Bannon is, at heart, an anarchist. He is also, at heart, a Karl Rove Machiavellian. Our nation is in the hands of the worst, most malevolent actors imaginable, abetted by a feckless party of power mongers. There are many who have believed the tripe they've been peddling for years. Unfortunately we are all about to reap what they have sown. There are few adults in their romper room.
I don't think he is intentionally an anarchist but is left with that appears anarchistic as a result of his belief we are in the throes of an apocalyptic crisis. I suspect he wants to play God and hurry along the impending war. Thus we see a program of increasing military & intelligence spending at the detriment of entitlements and discretionary spending. I suspect this thrills conservatives in the respect that Bannon wants to de-contruct all government except the military, which has been a priority of conservatives since time began. Thus conservatives would feel as if they have to support the administration if for no other reason than Bannon would set policies which would effect their agenda.
I suspect a Bakuninist would argue a good anarchist would simply want to bring it down and watch what will develop. I also suspect Bannon has a plan for the replacement and it does not look good for democratically minded folks like me.
For conservatives, especially those who are driven by the thought of imposing Christians values on citizens, the future holds the promise of arriving at the Golden Gate, with the belief they hold an entry ticket.
For conservatives, especially those who are driven by the thought of imposing Christians values on citizens, the future holds the promise of arriving at the Golden Gate, with the belief they hold an entry ticket.
I think their assumption is more that it is a winning ticket.
If you look at the long view. a Trump/Conservative fiasco may be just what is needed to get some sensible Constitutional Amendments ratified. If these morons screw things up so badly, there could be enough popular support for things like dumping the Electoral College, prohibiting nomination of anti-agency cabinet posts, etc.
In some ways Trump is doing progressives a favor by forever associating Republicans with the worst possible government.
I'm thinking of a health insurance disaster where countless people lose their coverage and thousands die: The rebound might be single-payer for all, with a Constitutional Amendment to keep it intact.
Instead of "dumb" and "dumber", Trump's cabinet can be described as "odious and odiouser" - between Sessions and Pruitt. But then, there are DeVos and Carson...
Unqualified and more unqualified is the way I see it.
I think I've mentioned before that this is going to backfire in a way that makes "Helluva job, Brownie" seem like small potatoes.
Carson at HUD? Why? Is he bored with his life of leisure? Don't I recall that he was promised a position in Trump's government for his support? And that it was illegal at the time for him to do this?
Perhaps he'll turn some empty buildings into grain storage units.
Dr Carson (in my opinion) was the singularly the most unqualified Republican presidential candidate in the last cycle. He had no grasp of any issue except his belief God would guide him. Being born into poverty does not make one an expert on it nor does being a conservative allow for pragmatic solutions to urban problems.
In spite of the somewhat satirical source, it provides some interesting insight that demonstrates that his delusional state is nothing new, and can be shown almost 20 years ago to include his pyramid scheme. His explanation of it is even more disturbing, particularly since at that time he was a practicing neurosurgeon. It must have made for some "interesting" discussions in the multi-hour OR sessions, where the surgeon is the unquestioned captain of the ship. Tat
The list of Weird s*** Ben Carson Thinks grew by one item this week, as BuzzFeed dug up some old video of Ben Carson sharing his Personal Theory of the Pyramids at a university commencement speech in 1998. This is important for two reasons: 1) It demonstrates that Ben Carson has long believed some pretty weird s***, and 2) It moves back by at least 17 years our earliest evidence for the “Ben Carson Has a Broken Brain” hypothesis.
Why would Dr. Ben Carson explain his Theory of the Pyramids during a commencement address for Andrews University, a Seventh-Day Adventist college where biblical literalism is just as much a part of the curriculum as it would be at Bob Jones or Liberty U? Why wouldn’t he?
When I started this thread, I was hoping I was being pessimistic. Not 100 days into y this administration all of my​ worst fears are being realized - and then some.
The regulations put in place to prevent the worst depredations are being replaced. And Devos' excuse wasn't even pathetic, it was mendacious.
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DeVos said in a press memo that she was rescinding the previous administration’s list of demands to “demonstrate sound fiscal stewardship of public dollar” and limit the cost to taxpayers. The move came after a letter from industry lobbying National Council of Higher Education Resources asking Congress to alter or delay the Education Department’s changes.
You're the F-$@@ing SECRETARY OF EDUCATION, not a telemarketer lobbyist, lady! You're SUPPOSED to protect students from predation, not facilitate it.
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A recent epidemic of student loan defaults and what authorities describe as systematic mistreatment of borrowers prompted the Obama administration, in its waning days, to force the FSA office to emphasize how debtors are treated, rather than maximize the amount of cash they can stump up to meet their obligations.
Obama’s team also sought to reduce the possibility that new contracts would be given to companies that mislead or otherwise harm debtors.
No, Betsy Devos supports misleading students, just like she's been doing publicly for decades.
I haven't heard anything about Dr Carson. Did he fall asleep at the wheel? Did he reduce his budget to the point there was no one left in it? I suppose if he doesn;t do anything no one can fault him for doing something stupid, unless doing nothing is stupid.
I haven't heard anything about Dr Carson. Did he fall asleep at the wheel? Did he reduce his budget to the point there was no one left in it? I suppose if he doesn;t do anything no one can fault him for doing something stupid, unless doing nothing is stupid.
I read recently that Sleepy Ben was rescued from a stuck elevator.
It wasn't stuck. It was just sitting there with the door closed. He didn't realize you have to actually push a floor button. Somebody finally came along and pushed an up or down button on one of the floors.
While eating a beautiful chocolate cake, I just had to bomb Syria, and then leaned over to Chinese President and told him how wonderful it was to have launch capabilities.
It wasn't stuck. It was just sitting there with the door closed. He didn't realize you have to actually push a floor button. Somebody finally came along and pushed an up or down button on one of the floors.
While eating a beautiful chocolate cake, I just had to bomb Syria, and then leaned over to Chinese President and told him how wonderful it was to have launch capabilities.
While eating a beautiful chocolate cake, I just had to bomb Syria, and then leaned over to Chinese President and told him how wonderful it was to have launch capabilities.
He has the launch codes.
It is not unlikely that he mixed up the launch codes with the lunch codes and the mother of all cakes was served. Not to worry he told the Chinese President, I am a big picture guy not a detail oriented type!
"Granny" Sessions is going to have an interesting time coming up against the multi-billion dollar legal and medical marijuana industry.
The states are going to scream as soon as the feds raid some big tax-paying business.
This study, from alt-science (American College of Cardiology) in presentation form, not yet actually thoroughly subjected to the complete editorial process, may help Granny Sessions in his mission to keep America straight. He however proves that you can be a teattotaller and drug free, and still usually confused about most everything, lately the law in general, and Hawaii specifically. Could he be worse stoned?
Coming at a time when marijuana, medically known as cannabis, is on track to become legal for medical or recreational use in more than half of U.S. states, this study sheds new light on how the drug affects cardiovascular health. While previous marijuana research has focused mostly on pulmonary and psychiatric complications, the new study is one of only a handful to investigate cardiovascular outcomes.
"Like all other drugs, whether they're prescribed or not prescribed, we want to know the effects and side effects of this drug," said Aditi Kalla, MD, Cardiology Fellow at the Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia and the study's lead author. "It's important for physicians to know these effects so we can better educate patients, such as those who are inquiring about the safety of cannabis or even asking for a prescription for cannabis."
The study drew data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, which includes the health records of patients admitted at more than 1,000 hospitals comprising about 20 percent of U.S. medical centers. Researchers extracted records from young and middle-aged patients -- age 18-55 years -- who were discharged from hospitals in 2009 and 2010, when marijuana use was illegal in most states.
Marijuana use was diagnosed in about 1.5 percent (316,000) of more than 20 million health records included in the analysis. Comparing cardiovascular disease rates in these patients to disease rates in patients not reporting marijuana use, researchers found marijuana use was associated with a significantly increased risk for stroke, heart failure, coronary artery disease and sudden cardiac death.
Major problem with drawing the conclusion that marijuana use caused the increased risk, which of course the study did not do. It is just as likely that the people were using pot to self-medicate because they felt sick! So it's just as valid to say that increased risk for stroke, heart failure, coronary artery disease and sudden cardiac death cause medical marijuana use.
More and more sick people are using it: It is only normal that some of those sick people get sicker and die. Most marijuana use only alleviates symptoms. It does not cure the underlying problem.
Another problem: The study subjects "were discharged from hospitals in 2009 and 2010, when marijuana use was illegal in most states." That means they included all the people who were using illegal marijuana and who knows what other drugs. Several other illegal drugs are known to cause heart problems like amphetamine, MDMA, and injecting anything cut with insoluble substances.
I think they need to design a better study now, which will be much easier with legal recreational use in some states. They can get a large sample of users who are healthy and don't use other drugs and use a similar sample of health non-users as the control.
Major problem with drawing the conclusion that marijuana use caused the increased risk, which of course the study did not do. It is just as likely that the people were using pot to self-medicate because they felt sick! So it's just as valid to say that increased risk for stroke, heart failure, coronary artery disease and sudden cardiac death cause medical marijuana use.
More and more sick people are using it: It is only normal that some of those sick people get sicker and die. Most marijuana use only alleviates symptoms. It does not cure the underlying problem.
The stats dont support your analysis, for the following reasons.
Although we dont have the raw data or statistical analytical methods, from this description, it looks like marijuana use remained an independent risk factor in multivariate analysis after correcting for smoking, hypertension, and other known risk factors.
Just like we know smoking tobacco is dangerous, but possibly not due to nicotine, pot smoking may be dangerous just due to the smoking delivery system. Smoking almost anything is likely damaging from a pulmonary standpoint. With the much more potent pot around now, I expect a drop in pulmonary problems just due to the decreased amount of smoke, for a constant dose of the active substances. Edible preparations should also be preferable, with the elimination of all smoke. I hear that they cant keep edibles on the shelves in Colorado.
Yep, if I was to take it up again (after 40 years!) I would definitely grow it and make cana-butter for edibles. But for now, my brain seems relatively intact. My MS makes my feet numb but generates no pain.
If it advances to a painful state, then I would certainly get a card and try it.
Murthy had been surgeon general since 2014 and his sudden departure surprised employees at HHS, The New York Times reported. Murthy called gun violence a health threat to the United States, however, which had won him opposition from the NRA.
More disqualifying info on Murthy, from USA Today:
Quote
Murthy, 39, was the 19th surgeon general of the United States. He was a native of the United Kingdom and a graduate of Harvard College as well as the Yale University schools of medicine and business. A vice admiral and research scientist, he is known for his concerns regarding emotional well-being. At a recent conference on behavioral health in Seattle, he said, "We forget some of the oldest medicines are love and compassion." On his web page, he describes himself as a "physician, entrepreneur, grassroots organizer, mango aficionado, dreamer."
Of course, you could tell he was unacceptable just by looking at him:
He failed to say, I swear: I will be faithful and obedient to the leader of the Make America Great Again administration, Donald J Trump, to observe the law, and to conscientiously fulfill my official duties, so help me God.
Fealty to Mr Trump is the quintessential component for all advisors.
Murthy just had too many strikes against him: He was an Obama appointee; he's dark-skinned (of Indian descent); he wasn't born in the United States; he actually believes in science; he created an organization, Doctors for America, "with a stated goal of improving affordable health care access." Good, GOD we have to keep people "like him" away from government! He has crazy ideas, like "TrialNetworks, a cloud-based Clinical Trial Optimization System for pharmaceutical and biotechnology trials that improves the quality and efficiency of clinical trials to bring new drugs to market faster and more safely." (Wikipedia)
But employees at the Department of Health and Human Services told the Times they were surprised by the unusually abrupt departure. While it’s not unprecedented, Murthy’s four-year term would have normally ended at the end of this year.
The full reasons for the Trump administration’s request that he step down aren’t clear. But one clue may lie in Murthy’s views on gun control.
These views were immediately apparent after President Obama nominated him to the post and the National Rifle Association circulated a letter opposing his confirmation. The NRA was incensed by a 2013 letter from health professionals that Murthy signed that called “for Congress to pass stronger gun legislation immediately and for us to develop a comprehensive national plan to stop gun violence.” The letter proposed a goal of cutting gun deaths in half by 2020 and laid out some policy proposals to get there. The Senate blocked his nomination for more than a year, which meant the country had no surgeon general during the Ebola crisis.
More recently, in an interview with STAT during the presidential campaign, Murphy reiterated the view that gun violence is a public health issue and said “far too many people die from gun violence,” adding, “And in my book, every single death from gun violence is a tragedy because it was preventable.”
This is just getting embarrassing to watch. Can't Trump hire a lawyer who can advise him on these things before he does them? I mean sure, every such bungle is music to the ears of us anti-Trumpsters but the US is starting to look like a third world pest-hole run by a megalomaniac.
It's not that hard. You find a good, highly-successful lawyer and follow his advice. NOT Rudy Giuliani or some shyster representing the WWF!
When Sessions comments on what is going on when the opinion of a Pacific Island judge, one has to wonder what judges everywhere are wondering about him. "WTF is going on when this Nation has to listen to an ignoranus, racist, redneck, hick from the confederate backwater of, WTF they call the most backward state with an extremely low bar exam?" Think Limbo! Tat
Sometimes something happens that is so momentius, or you realize the scope of something is so vast, your mind simply doesn't have the capacity to contain it: contemplate the immensity of the universe, how you felt on 9/11 - think of Pearl Harbor, the Holocaust, the black plague, the atom bomb, the Great Depression. It takes a long time to gain perspective, doesn't it? An effort of will to really think about their enormity. Now do them all at once!
Donald Trump is that, right now. His ego is so enormous, his greed so encompassing, his corruption so monstrous it is, literally, breathtaking. We've never had anyone so ill-suited for the Presidency it is hard to express it in human terms. There is no historical precedent. And I know we're all feeling the frisson of existential threat he poses: will he get us in a nuclear war? Will the economy collapse? Will the government fail? All three? Will my life savings be wiped out? What will happen to my children? Is this a nightmare? How will it end?
We are, collectively, in fight-or-flight mode. Constantly. We're being bombarded on a daily basis with worse. Who is the worst cabinet pick? DeVos? No, Sessions? NO, Pruitt?... Then Mick Mulvaney appears on our screens and we scream in panic. How can it get worse? Then it does!
The health care bill dies an ignominious death, to our great relief - then it's resurrected! And it's worse!! How is that possible?! Now we get a "tax reform" plan with every wet-dream a billionaire can imagine wedged into it. CAN THEY BE SERIOUS?! Smiling Steve Mnuchin insists they are while telling bald-faced lies about the President's "transparency". A new day dawns and more disasters await... The mind boggles.
You missed a boggle... 40+% of Americans still support him.
I saw an article somewhere this morning that his support is holding firm, while Clinton supporters are declining (when asked if they would still vote for her in a contest with Trump).
...will he get us in a nuclear war? Will the economy collapse? Will the government fail? All three? Will my life savings be wiped out? What will happen to my children? Is this a nightmare? How will it end?
I'm kind of looking forward to some of those with expensive illnesses thrown into the nonfunctional high-risk pools heading to Washington with hunting rifles. The NRA has been telling us for years everything would be better if we just had more guns, and the 2nd Amendment crowd has a deep religious belief their guns are there to protect them from an out-of-control gubbmint.
What could be more out-of-control than a government that is trying to kill you or a loved one?
conservatives are not interested in real health care reform or a fix.
what I see is a plan to lower premium costs for healthy folks by not giving them a comprehensive plan i.e. insurance against the flu, while herding everyone else into high risk pools with very high premiums which will be paid for by the people getting low cost nothing insurance. Of course conservatives have claimed that it actually lowers costs but somehow doing the arithmetic just adds up the same. The only difference is the people with low cost insurance don't see the money spent on high risk insurance.
Just 100 years past, some may remember, A quaint little Fall of a cabinet member. Search dim recollections from history classes (I assume they were ones for which you got passes) It was called, "Teapot Dome" and it caused consternation. Yet that little scandal had participation Of ONE cabinet member, Albert B. Fall. That doesn't compare to the current cabal Of miscreant creatures - the President's cronies Who are liars supreme, a collection of phonies. If one were to combine the criminal crew Of Nixon, and Reagan, and Bush one And two, Their deeds over YEARS wouldn't come close to compare With corruption arrayed in Trump's nascent care. His family makes money from flogging their brand, While father plays golf on family own land Paid for by taxpayer - you, me, and all Yet he blithely resists the most reasonable call For tax forms, or logs, or even procedures Of selecting, unvetted, the foulest of creatures. "Advisors" take money, hand over fist From Russians and strongmen of the "Most Wanted" list. He then claims they all had "the smallest of part" Despite each occupying the top of the chart. Watergate, Contras, wars fought for lies, Are naught like election procured by spies. But THEN we're subjected to thinly-veiled scams Executive orders, health and tax reform plans To make paupers of all but the most monied class And then place the blame on some immigrant's ass. It's too much to hold in a rational head Realizing that soon we could all just be dead From putting the keys to to the national van In the hands of the most irrational man, Corrupt, maladjusted, and quite clearly malign One who will cross the brightest of line In pursuit of self-dealing, narcissism defined. Any bright shiny object he considers refined, But he'll take it and then claim he did it "for you" And nary a word will he ever say that is true. Historic corruption is our national estate For ignoring the risk of this reprobate Assuming the most powerful post in the land A consequence in which we all had a hand In complacency, collusion, or simple neglect And simply not giving the proper respect To the care that's required for our institutions Bequests of forebears who gave life, limb and fortunes. "Enough!" We proclaim, you must stop and desist For our values and honor, we must resist Our heritage's not for you and your clan It belongs to us all, child, woman and man Every color, nationality, religion and preference That make up the fabric of our national essence We are Americans from the greatest to least This scapegoating and blaming really must cease We over centuries learned are stronger together And when we accept that, things can get better.
It turns out that Donald Trump is into recycling...[img]https://twitter.com/stom01/status/427026438647447552/photo/1[/img]. After all, he's been recycling the same lies for over a year and rehashed them all for John Dickerson for Face the Nation, and for his "base " in PA.
Conservatives have over the last 30 years cultivated a set of consistently inspiring memes with which to attack everyone else. Mr Trump is not creative enough to expand that set thus we should expect continuous repetition of old memes, lies, and in general nonsensical statements.
Tired of winning? ahhh .... well .... I am tired of the lies.
The national shame tour continues. THANKGOD Trump is leaving Europe... OH NO! He's heading back here. Can't we put him in holding at JFK?!!
It has gotten increasingly painful - who knew it could get worse? - watching his "performance" on the world stage. I thought that GWB was as bad as it could get. But nothing really prepares one for something as awful as Trump. The gross incompetence and sheer assholitude of he and his cabal of nincompoops is constantly astounding. Mick Mulvaney rolls out a budget that makes no sense and tries to defend double-counting two trillion dollars of mistakes based on imaginary numbers (Lawrence Summers called the oversight an "elementary double count" and "a logical error of the kind that would justify failing a student in an introductory economics course" WaPo.) Instead of creating a $3-5 Trillion dollar hole, Mulvaney claims the tax cuts will pay for themselves twice. I thought magic mushrooms were illegal, General Sessions? His "defense" insulted virtually everyone who has ears and his excuses for breathtakingly curmudgeonly excess made Scrooge look like Mother Theresa.
Then came May 25... What David Frum (that bastion of liberal politics) described as Trump's Moral Holiday, combined four dishearteningly commonplace events of "Trumpism" on one day: Trump's NATO speech, Jared Kushner's efforts to create a Russian "back door" to the President was exposed (apparently in exchange for financing for his failing 666 project), active collusion by GOP operatives were detailed by the Wall Street Journal, and GOP pols fell over themselves defending Greg Gianforte's unprovoked beating of a journalist - including blatantly lying about it to the press.
The first step in our 12-step recovery from Trump begins with "Admitting to ourselves we were powerless over Trump-induced depravity - that our lives have become unmanageable." I have no mouth but I must scream.
“there weren’t any large financial agreements announced at the NATO summit or other public deals on Trump’s trip that dealt with ‘billions of dollars.'”
Nor were there any agreements, discussions, or deals that would have saved “millions” of American jobs, which is obviously a ridiculously hyperbolic figure with absolutely no relation to reality.
We already witnessed Idiocracy going from being a comedy to a documentary in less than a decade. Now, every year is a decade, seemingly, and the worst case scenario is found in The Handmaid's Tale, which is about to become reality. And I don't think we will wake up in time to stop the juggernaut.
President Pence will be our pastor-president once the Right is finished lapping up all that Trump gravy.
It takes six deaths or impeachments before you get to Mattis, who might be reasonable.
But seriously, I don't think Pence has done all that much in the way of High Crimes: He may have done some stupid things and a few things that are ordinary crimes, but has not really done anything like abuse of his office that could get him impeached.
Just knowing something and not telling is not, unless you lie under oath or to the FBI in order to obstruct justice.
Long before 2018 we will witness the last five states ratify their intent to hold a Constitutional Convention. At that point, Pence, all his theocrat buddies (like Gianforte in Montana) and the billionaire class of Kochs, Mercers and their peers WILL REWRITE the Constitution and America will transform into a one party theocratic fascist authoritarian state. The Handmaid's Tale (Amazon) is not just a movie, it's a blueprint for our future.
Before any of that happens Jeff, remember it takes time to rewrite the Constitution and then vote on the changes. Look at what is happening in Congress, at this very moment, with Republican in charge - nothing. Why? Because they're fighting with each other.
Before any of that happens Jeff, remember it takes time to rewrite the Constitution and then vote on the changes. Look at what is happening in Congress, at this very moment, with Republican in charge - nothing. Why? Because they're fighting with each other.
This will buy us some time.
Give them one manufactured terror crisis and watch how quickly the fighting ceases, especially if that terror crisis gets compounded by an economic meltdown.
You're basically saying "it can't happen here" and recommending we kick the can down the road awhile longer.
Well, we've done that. This is where we're at now, and no one thought THAT was possible. When do we wake up?
The Handmaid's Tale is Mike Pence's personal wet dream.
We'll probably have a civil war before the Constitution get changed. We're in need of a good civil war: Libs v CONservatives
(We've got our ghetto Libs who will take any opportunity to shank a rich, white, CONservative. After the anarchy settles down, and we've made the whiny punkäss CONservatives our beeyitches, we can get back to running the country. We good. )
We'll probably have a civil war before the Constitution get changed. We're in need of a good civil war: Libs v CONservatives
(We've got our ghetto Libs who will take any opportunity to shank a rich, white, CONservative. After the anarchy settles down, and we've made the whiny punkäss CONservatives our beeyitches, we can get back to running the country. We good. )
I think you and I are just disagreeing about the timing, Rick. But in the end I guess I've started wondering, in part thanks to your post just now, whether it really matters if the Civil War happens before, after or during the ConCon, or even in spite of it, or because of it.
But here's the thing(s) I want to make clear, two things, and I may have thought of a third:
1. Civil war IS coming. Every box has been ticked in the historical memory of past civil wars, both here and abroad. Every flaming log of rhetoric designed to inflame and divide has been laid upon the hearth of debate and discourse. All available thumbs have been placed on the scales of justice. Each and every member of the Right has pledged to serve party over country. And now our faces are being rubbed in the dung of outright treason, almost as if to say, "Yeah? Yeah?? Whaddya gonna do about it? Yeah, we're committing treason, and you're not gonna do NUTHIN about it, because you CAN'T, because we've stacked the deck." I've even decoded the age old favorite tropes about how the liberals "have divided this country as never before". It really means, "The libruls won't allow us to get away with being bigots and crooks, so WE feel divided as never before."
2.And now, the Christian Right, the Dominionists, are openly calling for Christians to become MORE violent against anyone who does not bow down to the Seven Mountains campaign to subvert democracy. Donald Trump's personal stable of hand picked and approved pundits errrr (COUGH!!!) sycophants are now sounding the battle call for state sanctioned killers to rise up and form armies "to destroy the Left"...which again really just means anyone and everyone who won't bow down, because your friendly neighborhood militia-boi isn't going to wait around and parse your responses. You either roll over and pledge fealty or it's a bullet to your head. That's how it's done when paramilitary types round up their enemies. That's how it's been done for all of recorded history.
3. They've already put the laws in place which criminalize peaceful protest, and while armed white militias take over federal installations and take aim at law enforcement with little or no bloodshed, unarmed peaceful protesters at the Dakota Access Pipeline are subjected to a catalogue of professional "security" operations that almost resemble a pogrom. The Bundy Clan gets snacks delivered, the DAPL protesters get iced in sub-zero weather, tear gassed, hit with so called "less than lethal projectiles" and denied medical attention.
And speaking of real actual criminal-style protest actions, the armed and militant anarchists who plague cities like Berkeley get lumped in as liberals by a professional paid army of Right wing journalists so that Right wing pundits get a chance to describe them as "the violent Left".
But meanwhile the splendidly resurgent KKK and neo-Nazis are still not defined as domestic terrorists by the FBI, DOJ or DHS. Indeed, one might wonder if they will form the ranks of the newly christened "Christian armies" which will be employed to exterminate liberals when the need arises. They certainly aren't being told that they're not welcome by the Trump administration, are they? The two groups have a historical body count that dwarfs anything done by ISIS, but they're just angry folks who "sorta got things out of hand a little bit", nothing to get upset about. In fact, some on the Right are being allowed to claim that those people are really just socialists anyway. After all, wasn't Hitler a socialist? Seems the country is divided on that score now, if you read the forums. The real actual people who actually FOUGHT and KILLED Nazis all know that the NSDAP was a Right wing fascist organization, but today's generation isn't sure anymore.
Oh well, thank you to The Greatest Generation on this Memorial Day. Seventy years without Nazis was wonderful but I guess we're due for a redux.
Rick, the ConCon is coming, and the civil war is coming, and I can guarantee you a few things with great certainty:
Democracy is dead...DEAD...deader than fried chicken. The First Amendment will be dead soon. Anything after the Tenth Amendment will be wiped out. The billionaires and Dominionists will be the ones rewriting the Constitution. Any opposition will be struck from the voter rolls, as they are being struck now, so your confidence that "America will not stand for such a travesty" may be overstated, because opposition will be muted, as it is now, as it has been, and as it will continue to be.
We not only have Citizens United, we also have gerrymandering, we also have a hostile foreign power inserting their influence on our political process, and we have a major political party who has plugged into The Kremlin and is prepared to ride that horse as far as it can go because Putin, underneath all that KGB attire, is also a radical Right wing Christian. Putin and the Dominionists share a SH*T-TON of common ground, my friend.
Take stock of what we're up against, my dear friend.
We curse up a storm We march wearing pink puss hates We say things like: Trump sits when he pees Who the snowflakes now you conservative triggered beeyiches? We are winning the war on Christmas, the war on drugs, the war on hugs. We’re interested science too. We want to stop global warming, researching stem cells - where do you think the atomic bomb came from? Science!!
We even punch Nazis in the face now. (I'm looking at you Richard Spencer)
We curse up a storm We march wearing pink puss hates We say things like: Trump sits when he pees Who the snowflakes now you conservative triggered beeyiches? We are winning the war on Christmas, the war on drugs, the war on hugs. We’re interested science too. We want to stop global warming, researching stem cells - where do you think the atomic bomb came from? Science!!
We even punch Nazis in the face now. (I'm looking at you Richard Spencer)
It's not coming, Jeffery, it's here. It's been here and we've been fighting it for years. I'd say it began with Bill Clinton's impeachment. Then it continued through the Bush years and escalated during Obama's administration. But conservatives made a serious mistake when they elected an incompetent Command In Chief. They have control of government but they have no leadership, no strategy, and the tide of the war is turning against them. It may not look like it right now but be patient. This thing is gonna come off the tracks and when it does the Republican brand is going to look very very bad to most Americans.
“Yeah. And there are these people arising, like the Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters.”
Asked if he was considering such groups as security providers, Buchal said: “Yeah. We’re thinking about that. Because there are now belligerent, unstable people who are convinced that Republicans are like Nazis.”
Well thank you very much for removing any and all doubt!
Because there are now belligerent, unstable people who are convinced that Republicans are like Nazis
And of course Congress just changed the law to make sure crazy people can get guns. This has got to be the biggest blunder ever in the history of politics. This and the years of saying that government can do nothing right.
If government is the problem, I'm afraid some folks are going to follow the NRA's line and see guns as the solution.
I honestly don't know how long I can take it. Donald Trump is not just gross, grossly incompetent, and a boor, I think he is actually trying to do as much damage to the country, as fast as he can. What is genuinely shocking is how many Co-conspirators he has. Are they that stupid? Corrupt? Anti-American? I don't get it.
I think there are a couple of things in play. Mr Trump is incompetent by some reasonable standard but his ignorance has exacerbated it. He is surrounded by extremists who would rather we not have a federal government. Their argument is simple. He has to fulfill his campaign promises. The people who supported him do not understand what is happening.
Mr Trump is is simply a tool of the extreme right and their agenda to deconstruct the federal government. He is succeeding.
I honestly don't know how long I can take it. Donald Trump is not just gross, grossly incompetent, and a boor, I think he is actually trying to do as much damage to the country, as fast as he can. What is genuinely shocking is how many Co-conspirators he has. Are they that stupid? Corrupt? Anti-American? I don't get it.
The GOP / Tea Party are no different from ISIS and al Queda. All four want to take over society and degrade and destroy government.
How often you hear a Reichwinger say: They want to make government small enough to drown in a bathtub. (This is different from ISIS/al Queda - how exactly? )
I think there are a couple of things in play. Mr Trump is incompetent by some reasonable standard but his ignorance has exacerbated it. He is surrounded by extremists who would rather we not have a federal government. Their argument is simple. He has to fulfill his campaign promises. The people who supported him do not understand what is happening.
Mr Trump is is simply a tool of the extreme right and their agenda to deconstruct the federal government. He is succeeding.
Trump, the incessant loser who finally...FINALLY 'won' something life, he then turns that something into crap in less than five months.
Trump is the quintessential loser - looking to win at something, anything. His supporters can relate to him in that regard: Seeded in self-pity because of failed choices in their own lives, and the prospect of their livelihoods being shipped offshore or replaced by robot.
Trump is a loser just like his supporters are - and that's pretty much it in a nutshell.
Donald Trump is an existential threat, not just to the United​ States, but to much of the world. His gross incompetence is on full display, and his administrative picks are inhumane - the least appropriate picks possible. The damage he has already done to the United States, and American values - not just "liberal" values - is already incalculable and he is only getting started.
The burden in us and our posterity grows daily. I'd be surprised if we aren't in recession by this Summer. The thing is, he's being abetted by the Republican party at every turn. Thank God his administration is so incompetent or the damage could be greater.
Sec Pruitt was somewhat interesting to watch today. He either is stupid because he can not understand simple English or he is a liar (because of his duplicity). He could not answer the simple question .... is global warming a hoax?
Trump's main accomplishment resulting from his Great Foreign Crusade does seem to be the removal of the pretense of respect for him and to enable free speech about his shortcomings!
I just want to assure our allies that most of us are horrified too, and not to worry too much. The alliances and security arrangements of the last half century will all be intact just as soon as we get rid of this Russian stooge.
Please be patient: These things take time in the American political system.
As much as I want to see President Donald (I am not a target) Trump removed from office, a John Oliver segment reminded me that President Donald (The pumpkin) Trump may be the least of the evils.
In order of succession: President Donald (Comb over) Trump Vice-president Mike (The Theocrat) Pence Speaker Paul (I have a budget) Ryan President pro tempore of the Senate Orrin Hatch Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin Defense Secretary James Mattis Attorney General Jeff Sessions Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross Labor Secretary Alex Acosta Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao* Not a natural born citizen Energy Secretary Rick Perry Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Veteran Affairs Secretary David Shulkin Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly
Taken from a NEW YORK DAILY NEWS article Updated: Wednesday, May 17, 2017, 4:49 PM
"For no specific reason, here’s a reminder of the order of succession if President Trump — and any of his immediate successors — were to somehow leave office very soon."
We may just want to keep him, the list is frightening
That's just if somebody managed to kill everybody all at once above each person. For example, they would have to kill the top six to get to Mattis. (Probably at least competent, since he is a General.)
A much more likely scenario is that Trump goes and we get President Pence. Then he fires everybody and replaces them with his own guys. It is somewhat rare for a new President to keep appointees over from the last administration unless they have longer appointments like the head of the FBI.
Pence would probably be more competent than Trump. (It would be hard to be worse.) He would most likely make some conservative but competent appointments. We might not like them, but his administration would at least be competent and not Russian agents.
There is actually a different scenario that could happen: Trump does not get impeached before the 2018 election. Democrats take the House and sizable chunk of the Senate. Nancy Pelosi becomes Speaker. House Democrats impeach Trump and Pence together. Pelosi becomes President.
This is another reason why Republicans might want to impeach Trump before 2018. If they do, then President Pence could find an unimpeachable Republican to make VP ( like Gerald Ford ).
Seems to me that if collusion with Russia during the election were to be proven, then the whole election would have to be invalidated. We should have a redo.
Seems to me that if collusion with Russia during the election were to be proven, then the whole election would have to be invalidated. We should have a redo.
Seems right, but it's not in the Constitution or any law. The 25th Amendment IS and it specifies a whole procedure that has to be followed. There is no "Do Over" Amendment. The order of succession says nothing about the second-place winner in the election.
And in fact, it may be that all of Trump's High Crimes had to take place after he gained high office: Like failing to create a blind trust, for example Not a crime before he took office, not a crime after, but an impeachable High Crime once he held the office. Obviously, that means the order of succession has to be followed.
Pence would probably be more competent than Trump. (It would be hard to be worse.) He would most likely make some conservative but competent appointments. We might not like them, but his administration would at least be competent and not Russian agents.
His administration would be The Republic of Gilead and our country would be living the real life version of "The Handmaid's Tale".
His administration would be The Republic of Gilead and our country would be living the real life version of "The Handmaid's Tale".
And that's where I stand on Pence. In the long run Pence would be the more dangerous president in regards to the Liberal Agenda. Trump represents a clear and present danger to the future of the GOP.
I paid for a trainwreck and I wanna see a effing trainwreck!
What I don't want to see is the runaway trump train slowed down and gently shoved onto a side track while a different loco-motive takes over. Train still goin' the same direction but this train is bound for Glory and every Christian in the USA will be onboard.
As a practitioner of an alternate religion I really don't want to see us going down some sort of Theocratic path
His administration would be The Republic of Gilead and our country would be living the real life version of "The Handmaid's Tale".
I really doubt that. He might be an extremist, but the Republicans in Congress are not. The "deep state" is not. Congressmen may claim to be, but I don't see them doing much Christian stuff. I think they just like getting reelected. Almost every Republican position is anti-Christian. You know, like screw the sick and poor. AHCA is the most anti-Christian thing ever.
come on NWP .... you know better as i dash your rhetorical hopes
i suspect that would only happen if proven before the oath was taken ... now impeachment is the only option
lets see .... get rid of the chaos and replace with a well known but consistent right wing agenda or live with the anxiety Mr Trump would change his mind on a whim on every major issue facing America
I really doubt that. He might be an extremist, but the Republicans in Congress are not. ....
I SO disagree... Let's repeal Obamacare even though it will devastate America's working class; let's take away birth control from American women... And Gerber's, too! This is the NON-radical Congress?! I think not...
Almost every Republican position is anti-Christian. You know, like screw the sick and poor. AHCA is the most anti-Christian thing ever.
Uhhh, check out Seven Mountain Dominionist ideology. A more vindictive and mean spirited form of Christianity is hard to find, but's it is tailor made to run an authoritarian fascist theocracy. Screwing the sick and poor, taking money from the wicked and giving it to the righteous (that's them) and subjugating women to chattel status while killing off unbelievers, it's all there my friend.
If you think Republicans believe in the nice kind and generous "Baby Ja-heezus", I got a surprise for you, sir.
I SO disagree [that Republicans in Congress are not extremists]
Congress is more than the House and more than the Freedom Caucus. Let's see what the Senate comes up with re AHCA. Remember the House voted 50 times to repeal ACA, mostly because they knew the Senate would ignore their bills. It was all about appealing to their base, since House members all have to run every 2 years. They fear getting primaried by somebody claiming to be more conservative.
The Christian Right is just one part of the Republican coalition, and I bet very few Congressmen are that devout. They are much more supportive of the rich and big business. How does an Extreme Christian agenda benefit the rich? Ted Cruz is one, but Senator Frankin is very clear about that: Everybody in the Senate, Democrat or Republican, hates Ted.
I promise to withhold judgment on how extreme the Senate is until health care is dealt with, but I am not encouraged. It is hard, however, to say they are "not extreme" when you consider how warped our sense of "extreme" has become over the last 40 years. Remember when Reagan and Sandra Day O'Connor were "right wing"? Now they couldn't even be Republican, the pinkos!
first we have to define what the mainstream ideals are. I would suggest if a poll were taken, then the 1st SD would be mainstream, so basically about 60-70%.
Pick an issue and see how it measures. Many if not all of the social issues poll within those bounds, so I would say they are mainstream and people who oppose them would maintain extreme views (from moderate extreme to very extreme).
If 20% think the current rendition of HC from the House is good, I believe we should conclude that is an extremist view. etc
How do Republicans/conservatives stack up against that? I think I would separate conservatives from Republicans. When this is done it is easy to see conservatives hold extreme positions vis a vis voters beliefs.
The question regarding Christian politicians is not relevant to conservatives. For them it is purely idiotological. Government should not be involved in anything i.e. hiways, HC, SS, etc. They view the Constitution with paranoid jaded eyes which selectively only see the first words of the contract i.e. defend against all foreign enemies. May I suggest that their version of fundamentalist religion is only used as the fallback when government is removed, deconstructed, destroyed, etc. They are true believers and nothing anyone could possibly say would change their minds on anything, not even their own personal God.
There are probably very few True Believers in America. There are an awful lot of folks who claim to be Christian but live their lives as if nothing in the Bible or that Jesus said is true. They claim it because other religions and atheists are despised and they want to be accepted.
My own mother claims to be Christian but at the same time believes in reincarnation! What kind of Christian sect believes in reincarnation? (answer: none)
I really think most people claiming to be Christian Right are just Right and use religion to justify it. Want to see an actual Christian? Look at Jimmy Carter.
This why I think President Pence could do little harm. The supposed Christians in Congress wouldn't let him do much stuff that is valued by Christians because they do not share his fundamental beliefs.
For example, Christians would not care at all about inheritance tax because they are supposed to believe Jesus could come back at any time, and it is easier for a rich man to enter Heaven than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle. Jesus told them to give all their money to the poor, get a robe and sandals, and follow him. I just don't see the hypocrites in Congress giving up their nice cars, homes, vacations, etc.
Don't confuse your interpretation of what a Christian is with the fanaticism of a true believer. There are probably very few people who follow the the path as outlined by Christ, but that does not mean there are few people who believe so fervently what they believe they have lost all sensibilities to think rationally.
Stephan Miller, Bannon, Bossie, Stone, names of people who probably qualify as true believers and they are all advisors to Mr Trump at some point in time.
The true believers in the Christian right I think are easy to see. If they support legalized discrimination they are probably true believers and yet at the same time one would be hard pressed to make the case these folks are really Christians of your interpretation.
I think if you view this from a political perspective instead of a religious one, you would see this making sense. First and foremost is to get government out of the way. Once it is, then Christ will guide people to the right path in life, free markets, individualism, etc, which I am not so sure have anything to do with religion.
There are about 40 in the House and about 15 on the Senate. What would you think when we get a full 40% willing to deconstruct government? (That number is close to the frequency of Constitutional representatives who voted against ratification).
if you view this from a political perspective instead of a religious one, you would see this making sense. First and foremost is to get government out of the way. Once it is, then Christ will guide people to the right path in life, free markets, individualism, etc, which I am not so sure have anything to do with religion.
Exactly my point: The "Christian" Republicans in Congress are not Christian so much as Republican. Doesn't matter how Christian the President is, they will persist with Republican goals. It's all about money and power, which to them is much more important than some fairy tale about a radical Jewish hippy wandering around telling everybody to share and be nice to each other.
I've always wondered (except for rickie Sanitorium) how many self-described GOP Christians actually believe (in those tiny lumps of coal in their chest cavity which they claim represent their heart and soul) what they profess.
We have a swearing, foul-mouthed, mysogenistic, self-absorbed, liar in thief, who would invite Three Corinthians to bar, then stiff them for the tab. He picks up the "Christian" label like a diarrhetic picks up toilet paper, and usually for the same purpose.
I've always wondered (except for rickie Sanitorium) how many self-described GOP Christians actually believe (in those tiny lumps of coal in their chest cavity which they claim represent their heart and soul) what they profess.
We have a swearing, foul-mouthed, mysogenistic, self-absorbed, liar in thief, who would invite Three Corinthians to bar, then stiff them for the tab. He picks up the "Christian" label like a diarrhetic picks up toilet paper, and usually for the same purpose.
Today in the Senate hearing Four officials refused to exonerate President Trump.If Intel Officials Could Have Testified to Trump’s Obstruction Innocence, They Would Have. Slate. I think we've moved further than I imagined. I think they wouldn't talk about it because it is part of Mueller's investigation. It's like admitting you've testified before a Grand jury. Trump's in deep, deep trouble.
except there is no evidence any of them testified before a grand jury. i suspect a good reporter would have found schedules for each and found the times when it was possible.
i concluded since each works directly for the president, they deferred to presidents counsel for legal direction which was lacking. once that direction should be given they would be on some legal grounds.
Maybe they haven't talked to the Special Prosecutor, but they will.
Watergate took almost 2 years. We might get a Democratic House and impeachment before the Special Prosecutor is ready. Or maybe he reports to that impeachment proceeding.
I realized that I said something innartfully. I didn't mean to suggest it was a grand jury proceeding, but that it was like a grand jury secrecy requirement. You know Rogers and Coats are going to be interviewed by Mueller, and may already have been. That's a criminal probe, too. The don't want to screw up Flynn's prosecution.
True. Even Comey had to go closed-session for some of his testimony. That may not be just because the testimony was secret. It may be to not taint a prospective jury.
I doubt Trump will sit before a jury, until after his Presidency. I was thinking more about his toadies trials. How many of Nixon's guys were prosecuted? FORTY!
As expected, I have not seen much damage yet that can't be reversed by a new administration. Congressional Republicans are actually worse than Trump, maybe because they are actual politicians and know how to do stuff. The most acute damage in the long run is denying Obama his Supreme Court pick.
Sure, the rest of the world thinks we are insane. But they were so grateful to get rid of Bush, they gave Obama the Nobel! Imagine what they do when the next Democrat wins.
I argue this pre-election, however I did not foresee a group of advisors who wanted to bring down America, but as you say, most of what he has done has been by way of EO's, so that can be easily remedied
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Congressional Republicans are actually worse than Trump
I think I also argued this pre-election, however, because he is easily manipulated he is and probably will be a tool of their agenda i.e. notice how he thinks the Republican proposals on HC are better than ACA, but you are correct the SC picks will be a major impact on the near future of America .... can you imagine religion will become imposed on people
It is hard to say which is more impactful or damaging to our country, SC or foreign policy, as I continue to bat that around my wee small brain
I've not gotten over the blatant abuse of the constitution that Gorsuch represents. McConnell is a sick, power-mad egoist. Do you notice that, consistently, Republican leaders talk about the "Republican" agenda, never about what's good for Americans. They are creating a sterile, nonfunctional nation. Immigration will not be a problem, citizens and non-citizens alike will be clamoring to leave.
Hey now wait a minnit. This is the one and only Jared Kushner that is on the verge of ushering in lasting peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis.
He is ever so close to having them agree on a historic accord. Gandhi would be proud. Not to mention old D. Ben-Gurion hisself!
Beside the obvious, I suspect Kushner may have brought the God patent with him when he talked to Abbas and implicitly and in a quiet voice suggested Israel really wants to annex the west bank but are still trying to figure out how to handle the issue of all those Palestinians who would be citizens. I guess the obvious never occurred to Kushner i.e. just deny them citizenship and take the land.
Ahhh ... peace in the ME ... who would have thought it could be so easy
I began this thread with the complaint that Trump was appointing the least competent and most inappropriate people to cabinet posts. This has proved very true. What has become equally clear it that his judicial appointments are equally bad. Neil Gorsuch should not only NOT be an Associate Justice, he shouldn't be a judge at ANY level. In his dissents so far, he has shown to be dishonest, as well as incredibly shallow in his legal analysis. E.g., Gorsuch’s First Anti-Gay Dissent Has a Huge Factual Error—and Terrible, Dishonest Logic. I'd commend anyone with a modicum of interest to read both the decision and dissent - both are short - Pavan v. Smith. A first year law student wouldn't do that bad, even at liberty university.
I don;t know why you are surprised. J Gorsuch obviously lied by omission during confirmation. I think every one knew precisely what he represents and as far as social issues it was clear he is a fundamentalist styled conservative. His personal opinions and beliefs are his legal opinions and beliefs
I just went into a full-fledged depression The gist is The Supreme Court will be ruined for our lifetimes.
You are way behind me in the morose state of mind pondering the inevitability of a purrsistent 7/2 SCROTUS, that will outlive us, and the damage that will result! Drink Up!
Who says there is a downside to cheating? It obviously works just fine. Praise JESUS! The Lord works in mysterious ways, his wonders to perpetrate.
It's pleasing to see that Brother TatumAH has also seen the light.
It is necessarily a Good if it is the will of the Almighty. Right-thinking justices, like Associate Justice Gorsuch, are instruments of the Almighty; bringing the Laws of Man into sync with the eternal Law of the Almighty.
All the Republican ideas actually suck, when they are put into action. If they had any decent ideas, they could make some fairly permanent changes. But no, when people see how horrible their stuff is, it will be easy for a Democratic sweep to undo it.
As long as they don't do anything drastic like start WW III, we should end up okay. It's just going to take a few years.
I looked over the "Vacancy Act" provision that Trump is trying to use to put Mulvaney in charge of the CFPB, and it doesn't comport with the Act. To be appointed, the person had to have worked in the agency for 90 days. Mulvaney hasn't.
I looked over the "Vacancy Act" provision that Trump is trying to use to put Mulvaney in charge of the CFPB, and it doesn't comport with the Act. To be appointed, the person had to have worked in the agency for 90 days. Mulvaney hasn't.
Nobody but Trump sycophants has claimed that Trump is very bright.
No, it can get worse, much worse. Starting with the Republicans get their act together and pass regressive laws.
The Tax Cut frenzy of 2017 is exactly that.
This corporate/billionaire tax cut is going to be devastating in about 18 months. Initially, it will look like great guns as corporations repatriate trillions in overseas profits. How Tax Bills Would Reward Companies That Moved Money Offshore. These companies stashed money overseas to keep it from being taxed - a tax dodge. "Over the past few decades, some of the largest companies in the United States made a big bet: By stashing hundreds of billions of dollars of profits offshore, they could slash their taxes and bolster their profits."
Now the GOP has made that tax dodge pay off big time. Like the 2004 giveaway by President Bush, this giveaway is a godsend to capital-rich financiers:
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The tax breaks for bringing home such offshore profits “confirm the central tenet of tax planning that a tax deferred is a tax avoided,” said David Miller, a tax lawyer at Proskauer Rose. “For decades, U.S. multinationals have shifted profits abroad and deferred their taxes on them. If either of the tax bills pass, they will be rewarded for doing so.”
The biggest bankers, like Goldman Sachs, moreover, are "writing down" their losses in taxes and maneuvering to avoid even more taxes. In Goldman Sachs' case, they're paying $5 billion now, and have avoided $15 billion with the tax dodge. That's a 300% return!
The $3 trillion in stashed cash will allow companies that have engineered the dodge to avoid similar amounts - squeezing nearly a $1 trillion out of treasury. Where will all that money go? Well.... it's estimated that 50% will go directly to buy-backs of stock (corporations reducing outstanding stocks) and artificially inflate the books - great for investors, especially hedge funds, and it will also artificially inflate stock prices - for the next year. Wall Street says a major fear about Trump's tax plan is overblown (Don't believe Wall Street.) After that, well.... there will be a "market correction."
The rest of that windfall will go to - debt payments. Companies have been borrowing like crazy while interest rates are near 0%. But it's still debt. Getting debt off the books will make the bottom line look great. Unfortunately, when they have to borrow again (like, for taking over smaller competitors), it will be at higher rates.
After the first quarter of 2018, tax revenues to the United States Treasury will plummet - by about 40%. Yes, 40%. How Much Will Trump's Tax Plan Cost? That "$1.4 trillion" deficit expectation? Fantasy. Realistically, it will be twice that. The bite will begin to be felt in 2019 (conveniently after elections), and will be raging by 2022 - forget 2025 when the individual cuts expire. Expect a massive slow-down in the economy.
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