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Trump 2.0
by pdx rick - 03/16/25 02:19 AM
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by rporter314 - 03/11/25 11:16 PM
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I suspect only in dictatorships, so people have to pledge allegiance to the dictator in power. see Adolf Hitler pledge.

Note our pledge is to the Constitution and not the people who hold office. This may change of course during the Trump administration.


ignorance is the enemy
without equality there is no liberty
America can survive bad policy, but not destruction of our Democratic institutions



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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.

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Originally Posted by NW Ponderer
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.
.


Once, weapons were manufactured to fight wars; today, wars are manufactured to sell weapons

It is far easier to deceive folks than to convince them they are deceived
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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.


A well reasoned argument is like a diamond: impervious to corruption and crystal clear - and infinitely rarer.

Here, as elsewhere, people are outraged at what feels like a rigged game -- an economy that won't respond, a democracy that won't listen, and a financial sector that holds all the cards. - Robert Reich
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Originally Posted by NW Ponderer
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.


Contrarian, extraordinaire


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Quote
consenting
This has been a consistent theme among supporters, surrogates, and advisors.

Remember Times Square? Did anyone think this could be more true or valid than it is?

One note however ... it was not just the R beside the name, it was the last letter in the alphabet (there is no one to its right)


ignorance is the enemy
without equality there is no liberty
America can survive bad policy, but not destruction of our Democratic institutions



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I poached this article from our old friend Hal Brown's blog:

We have at most a year to defend American democracy

Quote
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.


You never change things by fighting the existing reality.
To change something, build a new model that makes the old model obsolete.
R. Buckminster Fuller
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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 literally NO 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.


A well reasoned argument is like a diamond: impervious to corruption and crystal clear - and infinitely rarer.

Here, as elsewhere, people are outraged at what feels like a rigged game -- an economy that won't respond, a democracy that won't listen, and a financial sector that holds all the cards. - Robert Reich
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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.


ignorance is the enemy
without equality there is no liberty
America can survive bad policy, but not destruction of our Democratic institutions



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Originally Posted by NW Ponderer
...Betsy DeVos was put in place with literally NO qualifications in education - neither she nor her children have even attended a public school...
Yet her and her husband's large donation to the Trump campaign most certainly did qualify her for something in the Trump Cabinet. coffee


Contrarian, extraordinaire


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