The Trump Trumpet To read today's pre pre pre election coverage one would think that the buffon in chief, aka Donald Trump, is doing something new. He is not. The Ross Perot snatch and grab and rant and run of the early 90s is the playbook by which the Donald is creating his strategy. Outbursts of idiocy and the phony "plain speak" that have punctuated his public appearances appeal to the "less inclined to think" of Republican voters. And it is, after all, basic physics: the majority of people will take the path of least resistance. Pondering the consequences of one's pronouncements is not that path. Hence, the images conjured up by Trump's spewing forth of absurdities is what attracts those whose only reasoning constitutes the easy to understand scapegoating of every other group except one's own. Hitler did it with great success, at least initially. (Not comparing Trump to Hitler, just the modus operandi.) What thinking people usually fail to grasp is that elections, and all other forms of mass persuasion, are NEVER based on reason, i.e. rational thought. They are fueled by images that are easy for the simpler minds among us to understand. Rehtoric is key inasmuch as it creates the oversimplified explanation for the complex problems that the world generally faces. This strategy, however, rarely stands the test of time. In today's world of global information virtually available to most people, this is even less so. When information could be hidden or hard to come by, one could continue the charade for extended periods of time. But nowadays, that will not work. As a result, it is just a matter of when Trump's reckoning will come. And when it does, the same people who wonder at how he sounded so true, will be asking themselves, how they were fooled by such clown - after all he did have the bulbous nose and the wig and the painted face.
I find the remarks on Trump interesting. First, he is in, almost exactly, the same place Hitler was when he started (a loon with a very small group of supporters). The difference is that he is rich, which, in the United States, makes him admired, far and wide, by most of the population and particularly the Fox news folk. On top of that, everytime everybody thinks his mouth has gotten him into trouble his numbers don't go down, they go up.
I have been preaching, for years, that the continued lack of faith, in our government, and our elected, can bode no good and now we have Trump. We may be so far gone that all we want is the guy on the white horse who will save us inspite of ourselves. This could actually be Trump. He is pushing all the right buttons and he is doing it well. He has also, obviously, been toning it down a bit and working his mouth for all its worth. Sometimes it almost seems like he is actually spouting details then, again, maybe not. Anyway, given the continued and unabated dismissal of him which, I think, he depends on, he is going to continue. Also remember, he has also said that he is willing to spend 1 billion dollars to win - all on himself. Even the Koch boys are spreading theirs around. There is also some evidence he is starting to hire people and setup a real political organization.
Then there is the Perot thing. I remember that one. His main problem, and mistake, is that he ran as a 3rd party candidate. The system is heavily rigged against that one. Now, since the virtual collapse of our 2 party system anybody can run as a candidate for either party and there is little or nothing the party can actually do about it. I have also noticed some of the talking heads of the right starting to speak much less negatively of this guy.
Just think what happens when President Trump takes over - if you are into personal nightmares that's one that should set everybody quaking. When a country gets a guy on a white horse to save them its never a good or happy time (after the first blush) and people start dying. I know, its not gonna happen, he is just full of bluster and little else, he could never get elected.
Think on it a bit. The very act of dismissing him tends to display a lot more faith, in the American electorate, that, I think, is reasonable. Then there are our existing elected. The Republicans, for instance, in congress, has appointed a guy to be in charge of science, a doctor, who does not believe in science! He even says so! God is in charge and there is no global warming, for instance. Some are even nuttier than this guy! So, when you dismiss I would suggest you really think, long and hard, exactly what can happen. This casual dismissal of Trump is, I think, a very dangerous stance to take.
Not a big Trump fan, but he has an advantage that none of the other candidates have; He can say what he wants to say. From a purely entertaining standpoint, a Trump/Hillary election would be a hoot, a Trump/Sanders would be even more entertaining.
He stays on topic, shows little respect for the current state of open discourse and takes very popular stands. He could win if all fell into place. I have to admit, a Trump administration has a certain charm, a certain ring to it. If just to make the Libs heads blow up!
I have to admit, a Trump administration has a certain charm, a certain ring to it. If just to make the Libs heads blow up!
Any Democratic candidate that runs against Trump in general election, even a corpse, would beat him. He'd probably wind up doing more to help than to hurt them. So in that sense, I quite agree with you.
I wouldn't characterize what Trump does as "staying on topic". He stays on his talking points. though, and ignores everything else. Perfect quality in a dictator.
his public appearances appeal to the "less inclined to think" of Republican voters
Let's call it like it is: These are the moron vote, and are actually an important part of the many coalitions that make up the Republican Party. If bad-loser Trump goes Independent he takes away the moron vote and the Republicans have a losing minority. Very badly losing!
I know that Trump has not completely nixed the idea of running as a third party candidate, but do you really think he'd do this? He does seem petulant and vindictive when he doesn't get his way.
Absolutely he would. He said right at the beginning of the debate that he would, if he did not win the nomination.
And I think he will lose, and then will run as an Independent just to see how many votes he gets. It's an ego thing, and he has a superabundance of that.
Absolutely he would. He said right at the beginning of the debate that he would, if he did not win the nomination.
And I think he will lose, and then will run as an Independent just to see how many votes he gets. It's an ego thing, and he has a superabundance of that.
I have to agree with you. Donald Trump never met any publicity he didn't like, and he is a megalomaniac.
I see everybody is determined to dismiss idiot Trump out of hand. The general consensus is that he will fail. The problem is that his numbers simply continue to climb. Now some of the other republican candidates are starting to not only agree but go a bit further. I see that one wants to use drones to kill anybody crossing the border, for instance. Trump, in other words, whether he wins or loses, seems to be framing the Republican meme and folks seem to be buying it. As far as I can tell he doesn't have a single fact right yet he remains the most admired of the Republicans. There is also evidence that much of his support also comes from the left. He is, in other words, running as the guy on the white horse and people seem to be actually buying it!
I also find it interesting that he, obviously, has tamed his competition. They are, for the most part, behaving exactly like the Democrats do when attacked, by the right, by fantasy, innuendo and lies - lie down, take it, and believe it will all go away eventually. Perhaps this is a coping mechanism by politicians. Trump, of course, obviously keeps a file on every competitor and has no qualms attacking with any personal attack that is available so, rather than actually compete at that level, they simply rollover and hope. In other words, when it comes to personal attack the politicians, on both sides, refuse to play. Obamacare, for instance, is a great example of getting demonized because of lack of response. If you doubt this one google "demonization of obamacare". Other examples would be climate change and the Iran deal, I think.
Perhaps this will give you a clearer picture of why it's fairly safe to dismiss Donald Trump as the eventual candidate. He may run as a third party which would be even more disastrous for republicans than if he actually took the nomination. Personally, I hope Trump hangs in there, the farther he pushes the other Republicans to the right the less chance they will have of winning in the general election.
There is also some evidence that he is toning down and is building infrastructure to actually campaign. I was going to say that I was amazed that the republicans are being driven further right by Trump. On reflection I believe that the Republicans are capable of just about anything, no matter how crazy. I also believe that Trump and Cruz have a deal and, if Trump does quit, Cruz gets all of Trump's support. I have absolutely nothing to base this on, other than their meeting and the sudden stop of any reference to the other.
I am not sure about the Democrats and you well may be right. Hillary, however, is getting pretty well beaten up. She seems to be trying to fight back but is simply not strident enough. She is betweeen a rock and a hard space. I listened to one guy predicting she was going to be indicted for email stuff and heard somebody from gov say that was absolutely not true. Who knows?
I also do not understand how Trump keeps skating on facts and even his books (a veritable treasure chest of crazy). For instance. 40% of illegals are here because they overstayed their visas and did not come across the border. We tried to build a wall and failed as it didn't work (but cost a lot of money anyway and was never finished0 There was also the high tech solution, run by Boeing and a genuine mess. Then there is: http://www.politifact.com/personalities/donald-trump/ http://www.factcheck.org/2015/08/trumps-amnesia/ find a LOT more, google: fact check trump
You guys are missing the point. Elections are emotional, and very seldom do people let facts get in the way. I am enjoying the Donald. He is doing what I never thought I would see again; he is campaigning on issues that actually move the electorate. I doubt he can win the nomination, but in the general election, running as a Republican, he stands a pretty good chance. He is probably just saying what he thinks everybody wants to hear, but what if everybody does want to hear it? He would be the best think to hit America since All in the Family, or MASH, or maybe Monica Lewinsky. From a purely train wreck perspective, a Trump Administration would be a dream come true.
I wholeheartedly concur with your conclusions, Tim. Democrats are often just as guilty of spinning things a wee bit out of context and promising things in their campaigns that they will never be able to deliver(see Bernie Sanders platform). Trump is really no worse, and possibly even better than most, if not all, of the other Republican candidates. Any one of them, as president would, to my notion, be a train wreck. I know you will disagree with me on this point, but I think Madam Clinton is the only candidate experienced enough and tough enough to truly operate a functional and relatively fair administration.
A thought, since Trump seems to be completely discounted. How about this one. A couple of months ago Trump and Cruz had a sitdown. Since then neither has even mentioned the other and Cruz seems to be taking a kindofa high road. We should also never forget about Cruz. This is a man who graduated Harvard at close to the top of his class, was a noted debater and, whether you like him or not, those who know him also know him to be VERY smart. The talking heads also generally agree that if/when Trump goes down Cruz will take over that real estate.
Cruz's father, a failed drunk and current goddite, has proclaimed his son has been chosen, by God, to be the leader of America. Cruz himself recently announced that the only real way to save America is to make Christianity the national religion (obviously, he loves the constitution but wants a few 'minor' changes - not unlike many who 'love' the constitution). Anyway, it will be interesting how this one plays out?
"Trompe-l'œil (French for "deceive the voter", pronounced [tromp lœj]) is a political campaigning technique that uses simplistic ideas in the form of short, facile slogans delivered in the idiom of a cosmopolitan thug creating the illusion that complex problems have easy attainable solutions. Exceptionally appealing to low information voters and aficionados of gangster movies."
How ironic that a candidate named Trump has mastered Trompe-l'œil. Donald Trump is an actual fascist dictator in the making.
Dale Launer is the man who wrote the screenplay for "My Cousin Vinny"
"Trompe-l'œil (French for "deceive the voter", pronounced [tromp lœj]) is a political campaigning technique that uses simplistic ideas in the form of short, facile slogans delivered in the idiom of a cosmopolitan thug creating the illusion that complex problems have easy attainable solutions. Exceptionally appealing to low information voters and aficionados of gangster movies."
The perfect definition of crowd behavior (A Study of the Popular Mind) written by Gustav Le Bon in 1895.
Rather than a populist, Trump is the voice of aggrieved privilege—of those who already are doing well but feel threatened by social change from below, whether in the form of Hispanic immigrants or uppity women (hence the loud applause he got at the first GOP debate when he derided “political correctness”). Far from being a defender of the little people against the elites, Trump plays to the anxiety of those who fear that their status is being challenged by people they regard as their social inferiors. That’s why the word “loser” is such a big part of his vocabulary.
Trump is not the first authoritarian bigot to be mislabeled a populist. In truth, the term almost always gets misused to describe movements that are all about persevering (and enhancing) hierarchy, not about creating a more egalitarian society.
Interesting that it took The New Republic to observe this seemingly obvious fact.
...Trump plays to the anxiety of those who fear that their status is being challenged by people they regard as their social inferiors. That’s why the word “loser” is such a big part of his vocabulary...
An anecdotal perusing of Gretawire.com will tell you that.
I don't understand why the wusses in the GOP don't answer Trump the chump in the same tone. If they did I'd bet their numbers would go up. He's trying to play tough guy, but he is a big chump. One of those kids who had to run away from the other kids in the schoolyard. I thought Christie might take on the task, but apparently not. Guys like Trump retreat at the first sign of real strength.
Donald Trump is the best weapon that the Democrats have-and they didn't even know it! But the Democrats and everyone else knows it now. Lindsey Graham called Donald Trump a "wrecking ball" and says that Trump will destroy the Republican Party-or what's left of it after Hurricane Tea Party struck first.
... "Look, having nuclear--my uncle was a great professor and scientist and engineer, Dr. John Trump at MIT; good genes, very good genes, OK, very smart, the Wharton School of Finance, very good, very smart--you know, if you're a conservative Republican, if I were a liberal, if, like, OK, if I ran as a liberal Democrat, they would say I'm one of the smartest people anywhere in the world--it's true!--but when you're a conservative Republican they try--oh, do they do a number--that's why I always start off: Went to Wharton, was a good student, went there, went there, did this, built a fortune--you know I have to give my like credentials all the time, because we're a little disadvantaged--but you look at the nuclear deal, the thing that really bothers me--it would have been so easy, and it's not as important as these lives are (nuclear is powerful; my uncle explained that to me many, many years ago, the power and that was 35 years ago; he would explain the power of what's going to happen and he was right--who would have thought?), but when you look at what's going on with the four prisoners--now it used to be three, now it's four--but when it was three and even now, I would have said it's all in the messenger; fellas, and it is fellas because, you know, they don't, they haven't figured that the women are smarter right now than the men, so, you know, it's gonna take them about another 150 years--but the Persians are great negotiators, the Iranians are great negotiators, so, and they, they just killed, they just killed us." ...
... "Look, having nuclear--my uncle was a great professor and scientist and engineer, Dr. John Trump at MIT; good genes, very good genes, OK, very smart, the Wharton School of Finance, very good, very smart--you know, if you're a conservative Republican, if I were a liberal, if, like, OK, if I ran as a liberal Democrat, they would say I'm one of the smartest people anywhere in the world--it's true!--but when you're a conservative Republican they try--oh, do they do a number--that's why I always start off: Went to Wharton, was a good student, went there, went there, did this, built a fortune--you know I have to give my like credentials all the time, because we're a little disadvantaged--but you look at the nuclear deal, the thing that really bothers me--it would have been so easy, and it's not as important as these lives are (nuclear is powerful; my uncle explained that to me many, many years ago, the power and that was 35 years ago; he would explain the power of what's going to happen and he was right--who would have thought?), but when you look at what's going on with the four prisoners--now it used to be three, now it's four--but when it was three and even now, I would have said it's all in the messenger; fellas, and it is fellas because, you know, they don't, they haven't figured that the women are smarter right now than the men, so, you know, it's gonna take them about another 150 years--but the Persians are great negotiators, the Iranians are great negotiators, so, and they, they just killed, they just killed us." ...
I am certain, Golem, that there are more conservatives against Trump than for him. Trump is a clown. He always has been. Not that I am a conservative, far from it, but Trump is destroying the "brand". He is exposing the ugly underbelly of the party for all to see. That, I think, is a service to all Americans, as he is stating -out loud- what the party has promoted with code words and euphemisms for decades. What the party apparatchiks don't like is that he has pulled back the curtain on the Wizard of Oz and shown the manipulation that is going on.
I am certain, Golem, that there are more conservatives against Trump than for him. Trump is a clown. He always has been. Not that I am a conservative, far from it, but Trump is destroying the "brand". He is exposing the ugly underbelly of the party for all to see. That, I think, is a service to all Americans, as he is stating -out loud- what the party has promoted with code words and euphemisms for decades. What the party apparatchiks don't like is that he has pulled back the curtain on the Wizard of Oz and shown the manipulation that is going on.
And, in my opinion, doing a service to whomever gets the Democratic nomination. Which is why I love to hear him spout his gibberish on every major media venue. He is basically telling people - if you vote for me (as in the Republican party) you are screwed. And in that, he is right.
This has been the most entertaining GOP primary in my lifetime! I need to restock on my popcorn and iced tea. And maybe a box of chocolate covered peanuts.
Trump gained 8 points since August to land at 32% support, and has nearly tripled his support since just after he launched his campaign in June. The new poll finds former neurosurgeon Ben Carson rising 10 points to land in second place with 19%. Together, these two non-politicians now hold the support of a majority of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, and separately, both are significantly ahead of all other competitors.
Trump is benefiting from a GOP electorate that thinks Barack Obama is a Muslim and was born in another country, and that immigrant children should be deported. 66% of Trump’s supporters believe that Obama is a Muslim to just 12% that grant he’s a Christian. 61% think Obama was not born in the United States to only 21% who accept that he was. And 63% want to amend the Constitution to eliminate birthright citizenship, to only 20% who want to keep things the way they are.
Why is it that "the media" is so reluctant to call out the utter insanity that undergirds the Trump campaign? Seriously, where is sense and rationality? Are they afraid the truth is to painful?
Trump is benefiting from a GOP electorate that thinks Barack Obama is a Muslim and was born in another country, and that immigrant children should be deported. 66% of Trump’s supporters believe that Obama is a Muslim to just 12% that grant he’s a Christian. 61% think Obama was not born in the United States to only 21% who accept that he was. And 63% want to amend the Constitution to eliminate birthright citizenship, to only 20% who want to keep things the way they are.
Why is it that "the media" is so reluctant to call out the utter insanity that undergirds the Trump campaign? Seriously, where is sense and rationality? Are they afraid the truth is to painful?
It's all about entertainment. Even the left-leaning media can't get enough of this clown. It helps the ratings. The only person I've heard take an actual position on this was Bernie who basically refuses to get sucked into the media BS and stands firmly on only discussing the issues (like a real candidate should).
It's all about entertainment. Even the left-leaning media can't get enough of this clown. It helps the ratings. The only person I've heard take an actual position on this was Bernie who basically refuses to get sucked into the media BS and stands firmly on only discussing the issues (like a real candidate should).
Probably why the media doesn't cover Senator Sanders as well. No mean and nasty sound bites for them to salivate over.
You will feel a lot less mystified by Republican values when you accept the fact that we live in a world of cartoon cows with no boobs and reality TV star candidates with no brains. All that's missing is Ren and Stimpy being appointed to cabinet level posts at EPA and DOE, and Pinky & The Brain At CIA and DoD.
Was Donald Trump’s education venture, Trump University, a scam?
Duh...
Originally Posted by Washington Post
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (D) filed his $40 million suit against Trump and Trump University in 2013, alleging that Trump had illegally operated an unlicensed university and defrauded students. Approximately 80,000 people attended Trump University’s free introductory seminars, according to court documents. About 9,200 of them went on to pay $1,495 for three-day seminars, and nearly 800 paid up to $35,000 for packages that included mentorships and workshops.
“No one, no matter how rich or popular they are, has a right to scam hard working New Yorkers,” Schneiderman said in a news release at the time.
the latest Washington Post poll shows that they are not so cynical that they cannot imagine anyone having the qualities that are required for such a job:
1) Republicans say by 64-35 that Trump is “qualified to serve as president.”
2) Republicans say by 60-35 that Trump is “honest and trustworthy.”
3) Republicans say by 53-45 that Trump understands the problems of people like them.
4) Republicans say by 54-42 that Trump “has the kind of personality and temperament it takes to serve effectively as president.”
“Most illogical is [Trump’s] support from evangelicals and other social conservatives,” Moore writes. “To back Mr. Trump, these voters must repudiate everything they believe.”
I had wondered if even the "evangelical" wing of the GOP was more fractured and less radical than its leadership, and this article (and Trump support among evangelical) seemed to confirm that. Perhaps the wing of the wing of the party is also splitting?
Trump doesn’t challenge man who said Obama is Muslim and ‘not even an American'
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During a rally in New Hampshire on Thursday evening, Donald Trump did not challenge an audience member who said that President Obama is Muslim and "not even an American." Trump was also asked what he would do to get rid of Muslim "training camps" and responded: "We're going to be looking at a lot of different things."
All this talk about Donald Trump reminds me of those heady days when Sarah Palin became the Vice Presidential candidate.... I expect the ultimate result will be the same.
I tried to watch the big Republican debate. I fell asleep after about 20 minutes. It dawned on me that I have forgotten something about the American electorate which may be pertinent to Trump. I have found that whenever Trump has a speech, or anything else, he says, pretty much, the same things, over and over again. I think its safe to say that the American electorate has a short attention span, is fickle, and easily bored. My thought is that will, eventually, take care of Trump as he will simply bore everybody, but the true, and ignorant, believers who may take a bit longer before they too are bored out their minds. After all, how many times do people need to hear "I am the great and wonderful Trump", "I will build a wall", "I am incredibly rich and powerful", and "America will be great", "I am smarter than anybody else", etc.
I was convinced that Trump was our man on the white horse which scared the hell out of me. As far as I can tell his true skill is in telling the big lie, again, and again, and again. A technique right out of Hitler's playbook. (if you tell it loud enough, and often enough, it will become the truth - also used by a variety of Republican 'contributors'). Now, however, I don't think his lie is big enough, or colorful enough, to keep his particular segment of the American electorate to remain awake much longer (hopefully).
Sundance The Conservative Treehouse September 26, 2015
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Donald Trump announced his intentions to run for President on June 16th, 2015; one hundred days ago.
Wow, what a hundred days it has been.
Think about it.
In the past 100 days we have found out that virtually every espoused position of the "conservative media" was a total ruse. The Salem Media group primarily among them.
Red State (Eric Erickson) now finds himself proclaiming that Jeb Bush is the most conservative governor he's ever known. Web sites like Twitchy, Hot Air, Human Events, Michelle Malkin and National Review suddenly singing the praises of a Jeb Bush they formerly said was just another GOP establishment sell out.
tyrannocankles says: September 26, 2015 at 4:46 am
I just love this picture....
In the photo above, Trump is all by himself - leaving a powerful enemy in flames. How symbolic that he's alone - as the entire GOP, Democrat Party, and media turn on him. But now I'm seeing a different picture, where he's not alone. There is an army in the smoke behind him.
Start from the top. The disabled vet, holding his fake VA waiting number, which he now realizes is a waiting number to get on the real waiting list. Behind him - tens of thousands more just like him - and thousands still more who died waiting - ghosts whose voices are now being heard, through us.
A naval officer - relieved of duty because he refused to stand down when ordered. And 4 ghosts behind him, along with hundreds of pilots and seamen who were denied the chance to do their jobs. And behind them - thousands of patriotic men and women who have left a military which no longer is allowed to do its job. Behind them - millions who are waiting for a REAL president, before they'll even think about joining.
To their side - thousands of scientists, engineers and programmers - laid off of their jobs - but only after they were forced to train their replacements - overseas and as H1B imports.
Next to them - millions of immigrants - most of them Hispanic - who played by the rules to come to America, only to watch their hard-won citizenship devalued to nothing, by traitors who equate their proud LEGAL status with people who not only refuse to play by the rules, but who have the chutzpah to cry racism while begging for racial favoritism.
Millions who lost their pensions. Their retirements. Their health care. Their full-time jobs. True - they did get that job selling fast food - until they lost even that to illegal aliens.
In the mist - millions of dead Jews - the ghosts of the Holocaust - who watch the very lives of their own children and grandchildren bargained away, so that greedy Uniparty members and their crony-cap backers can cash in on the big payday, which they give to men who swear to wipe Jews from the face of the earth.
Should I go on? Why not? How about millions of black Americans, who can't find jobs, while immigrants both legal and illegal pour into their neighborhoods, taking whatever jobs there are?
But it gets better! How about the crying families of THOUSANDS of Americans murdered, raped, beaten, robbed, and run down by illegal aliens who should have never even been here in the first place?
And next to them, cops shot in cold blood, for lies that the men and women of Congress don't even dare to speak of, and which the Presidents sycophants in the media won't even report.
And we might as well let all the dead Christians and Yazidis in the Middle East join the army, too, because if both the Democrats and Republicans would have done their job and impeached Obama, they would still be alive.
And to finish it off, floating overhead, an air force of angels from horizon to horizon. What are they - this massive legion? Why, they are boys and girls who were never born - "Dead Emily's List", you might say - led by a young girl who would have been named Emily. Every one slaughtered for their body parts by Planned Parenthood.
Go ahead. Laugh at Trump. Make hideous cartoons about killing him. But bear this in mind. He is just the guy on point. There are millions more behind him, who are ready to pick up his gun if he should fall. And Trump is not nearly as pissed as the rest. Not even close.
I think the highest Trump "rose" in the polls was 33%. Most polls put him in mid 20s. Given the margin of error, he was probably always in the mid 20s, and will likely stay there. But that quarter of the Republican will vote for whomever the eventual candidate is anyway. He will not win any States, cannot win the general election, and will not be president. He is, however, providing cover for the marginal candidate (which, frankly, is most of the field), because, like any good magician, he is keeping attention away from what is really going on. The others are hidden in his shadow so the press and opponents aren't digging into their weaknesses (which are myriad), and they are getting the opportunity to practice outside of the limelight. Jeb Bush, in particular, owes him a big "thanks". Even Clinton is probably grateful for the distraction.
I wonder if Donald Trump's announcement of his tax policy will help or hurt him?
Some facts:
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TRUMP: "It reduces or eliminates most of the deductions and loopholes available to special interests and to the very rich. In other words, it's going to cost me a fortune."
THE FACTS: Only Trump and his accountant can be sure, since he doesn't specify which deductions and loopholes he plans to eliminate and has yet to release any of his tax returns. ... His proposal to eliminate the 40 percent tax on inheritances of more than $5.4 million would allow him to pass his estate to heirs tax-free, a savings worth billions given his self-estimated net worth of more than $10 billion. ... TRUMP: "It will provide major tax relief for middle income, and for most other Americans, there will be a major reduction."
THE FACTS: Trump's plan will undoubtedly reduce the amount Americans pay in income taxes. The Tax Foundation, which advocates for lower tax rates, said Tuesday its estimates the cost of Trump's tax cuts at nearly $12 trillion over the next decade. ... TRUMP: "And all of this does not add to our debt or our deficit."
THE FACTS: In order for Trump's tax rate reductions to be what's known in Washington parlance as "revenue neutral," he would have to offset them in some way. Several tax experts, even those who like Trump's reduction in rates, said his plan appears unable to do so. ... TRUMP: "We are reducing taxes, but at the same time if I win, if I become president, we will be able to cut so much money and have a better country. We won't be losing anything other than we will be balancing budgets and getting them where they should be."
THE FACTS: Even if Trump's tax plan wound up being revenue neutral, it wouldn't bring in enough money to balance the budget.
I wonder if Donald Trump's announcement of his tax policy will help or hurt him?
Some facts:
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TRUMP: "It reduces or eliminates most of the deductions and loopholes available to special interests and to the very rich. In other words, it's going to cost me a fortune."
THE FACTS: Only Trump and his accountant can be sure, since he doesn't specify which deductions and loopholes he plans to eliminate and has yet to release any of his tax returns. ... His proposal to eliminate the 40 percent tax on inheritances of more than $5.4 million would allow him to pass his estate to heirs tax-free, a savings worth billions given his self-estimated net worth of more than $10 billion. ... TRUMP: "It will provide major tax relief for middle income, and for most other Americans, there will be a major reduction."
THE FACTS: Trump's plan will undoubtedly reduce the amount Americans pay in income taxes. The Tax Foundation, which advocates for lower tax rates, said Tuesday its estimates the cost of Trump's tax cuts at nearly $12 trillion over the next decade. ... TRUMP: "And all of this does not add to our debt or our deficit."
THE FACTS: In order for Trump's tax rate reductions to be what's known in Washington parlance as "revenue neutral," he would have to offset them in some way. Several tax experts, even those who like Trump's reduction in rates, said his plan appears unable to do so. ... TRUMP: "We are reducing taxes, but at the same time if I win, if I become president, we will be able to cut so much money and have a better country. We won't be losing anything other than we will be balancing budgets and getting them where they should be."
THE FACTS: Even if Trump's tax plan wound up being revenue neutral, it wouldn't bring in enough money to balance the budget.
Apparently, facts don't seem to matter with Trump followers, either. Even after the dissection of Trump's tax reform plan for the failure that it is, he is again rising in the polls.
Apparently, facts don't seem to matter with Trump followers, either. Even after the dissection of Trump's tax reform plan for the failure that it is, he is again rising in the polls.
Einstein said:
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"The only two things that are infinite are the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the universe."
All Trump did was take Herman Cain's "nine nine nine" plan, and shift the numbers around. Like Cain's approach, his numbers don't add up. No wonder he has put his businesses through bankruptcy so often. Anyone who spends 3 minutes understanding what he said would realize that there is nothing there.
All Trump did was take Herman Cain's "nine nine nine" plan, and shift the numbers around. Like Cain's approach, his numbers don't add up. No wonder he has put his businesses through bankruptcy so often. Anyone who spends 3 minutes understanding what he said would realize that there is nothing there.
Apparently, facts don't seem to matter with Trump followers, either. Even after the dissection of Trump's tax reform plan for the failure that it is, he is again rising in the polls.
Einstein said:
Quote
"The only two things that are infinite are the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the universe."
All Trump did was take Herman Cain's "nine nine nine" plan, and shift the numbers around. Like Cain's approach, his numbers don't add up. No wonder he has put his businesses through bankruptcy so often. Anyone who spends 3 minutes understanding what he said would realize that there is nothing there.
Evidently, Trump needs several remedial courses in business math-or just plain math!
Picture this: you're walking down a street in NYC and you see this big guy with bad hair ranting at the top of his lungs:
Originally Posted by The Donald
"You know, Dwight Einsenhower was a wonderful general, and a respected President - and he moved a million people out of the country, nobody said anything about it. When Trump does it, it’s like ‘whoa.' When Eisenhower does it, 'well that was Eisenhower, he’s allowed to do it, we can’t do it.' That was also in the 50s, remember that. Different time, remember that.
That’s when we had a country. That’s when we had borders; you know, without borders you don’t have a country, essentially. We don’t have a country. Without borders, you just don’t have it.
But Dwight Einsenhower, this big report, they used to take them out and put them on the other side of the border and say, 'you have to stay here.' And they’d come right back, and they’d do it again and again, so they said 'Wait a minute, this doesn’t work.' And they took them out and moved them all the way South; all the way. And they never came back again; it’s too far. Amazing.
And I’m not saying this in a joking way — I’m saying this happened. It wasn’t working, they were coming back, and then they literally - literally - moved them all the way. A lot of the politicians - they never came back, it was too far. They’d put them on boats and move them all the way down South, and that was it."
What do you do next? Call the cops... Call Bellvue... Call the EMT...
Here's Why Donald Trump Is the 'Mean Girl' of the GOP
Rob Garver The Fiscal Times October 6, 2015
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Donald Trump at this point is probably just days away from calling Papa John's and ordering a dozen pizzas to be delivered to the headquarters of each of his rivals for the GOP presidential nomination - with a promise of payment in cash, of course.
Trump's presidential campaign looks increasingly like a piece of performance art designed to gauge the Republican voter base's tolerance for a candidate utterly divorced from the idea that a presidential election is a serious national conversation about policy ...
Pause for a moment and consider that the man currently in the lead in the race to be a major party nominee for president is running a campaign that counts Middle School-level taunting as a useful tactic ...
Dilbert Creator Scott Adams on Donald Trump's "Linguistic Kill Shots"
Justin Monticello & Zach Weissmueller Reason Magazine October 6, 2015
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Donald Trump has a way with words--and with people. Yet despite his popularity, he has been a mystery to the media, which have mostly derided his campaign as consisting of nothing more than random insults and ignorant bluster.
Scott Adams, prolific author, blogger, and creator of the massively popular comic strip Dilbert, has a different theory. He tells Reason TV's Zach Weissmueller that the media are being trolled by a skilled manipulator, or in Adams's parlance, a Master Wizard. So exquisite does Adams believe Trump's skills to be that he predicts The Donald will go on to win the presidency.
I generally find Reason to be a laughably inept pseudo-journal, but sometimes their content is worth consideration. Adams's analysis is deeper than one might expect, and should really be a focus of discussion. Trump is such a self-promoting ass that his candidacy seems pyrrhic, yet... He's still there. This is a good answer to why.
I still think that Trump's popularity among the Republicans shows that the republicans are racist, bigoted and xenophobic.
I guess that what really bothers me is how many of them are exactly that. Polls show Donald Trump at 23.3 and he has said some pretty racist things. But what's worse is that Dr. Ben Carson is sitting there with 17.2, and he is just Donald Trump on quaaludes. Between them they have over 40, which sure makes it look like a pretty high percentage of GOPeers love them some racist talk and believe that what this country needs is more inept politicians.
I still think that Trump's popularity among the Republicans shows that the republicans are racist, bigoted and xenophobic.
I guess that what really bothers me is how many of them are exactly that. Polls show Donald Trump at 23.3 and he has said some pretty racist things. But what's worse is that Dr. Ben Carson is sitting there with 17.2, and he is just Donald Trump on quaaludes. Between them they have over 40, which sure makes it look like a pretty high percentage of GOPeers love them some racist talk and believe that what this country needs is more inept politicians.
Republicans=racist, bigoted, xenophobic and CRAZY!
andy58-in-nh/Andrew Kone The Briefing Room October 4, 2015
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I'm a Tea Partier. I detest Obama and the Progressive hoard that has Washington, DC and large portions of America in a death grip. So why don't I like Donald Trump?
Honestly, sometimes I wonder what the hell is wrong with me these days. Why can't I get on the bandwagon along with so many others with whom I agree about most everything? ...
So what's the problem with Trump? In a nutshell: judgment, or rather a deficit of it, which in turn ought to make reasonable people otherwise inclined to agree with him to perhaps, think a bit harder about the consequences of their support for him in a precarious and dangerous world ...
Golem, I enjoyed reading that and the follow up posts. Unlike most conservatives I know, these people at least seem aware that the GOP is in trouble. And that Donald Trump is not the answer to their problems. Most however will still vote for Trump should he get the nomination.
Thanks, Golem, for that interesting link. Since most of what the poster claimed was fantastic (as in, fantasy induced), I was surprised that he found Trump to be incredible. Since he seemed to be "wrong" in most of his affirmative claims, though,* I wonder what was supposed to be illuminating. Although, I will admit that I dislike Trump for all of the same reasons (and then some!).
* "Just to name a few: Marco Rubio, Carly Fiorina, and Ted Cruz have all taken detailed policy positions explaining what they believe, what they intend to do, and more to the point, when asked by the usually hostile media sources, have all been able to answer clearly and without hesitation. For proof, simply watch the last Republican debate." Wow, what prismatic lenses was he watching that debate through (as rose-colored glasses would be insufficient)? The complete lack of substance was the most salient reality of the debates.
Wow, what prismatic lenses was he watching that debate through (as rose-colored glasses would be insufficient)? The complete lack of substance was the most salient reality of the debates.
And of course, there was the Fiorina pants on fire every time she opened her mouth. So, deaf and dumb while watching the debate also would have been helpful.
I am wavering a little now .... previously I supported the Trump as the pox America deserves but lately Dr Carson has been taking the reins and whipped the horses to new distances of stupidity
the difference is intentions .... one is unintentional and the other well you get it
On rereading my last post, I don't want to create any impression that I didn't truly appreciate the link. I did. As I noted, I even agreed with his assessment of Trump. What I found nonplussing was that someone who could produce a cogent assessment of Trump (who really does have a personality disorder) could have such fantastic ideas about everything else. I was also impressed by a couple of the follow up posts, especially the one assessing "the art of the deal", a book that really could as easily have been written by Gordon Gekko or Pablo Escobar.
Trump, and his support, demonstrate how deep the damage of the wrong kind of capitalism has already wrought on the nation. Capitalism is like a high powered engine, it can do remarkable thing when properly constrained, but is deadly in the wrong hands. Lauding miscreants like Trump does damage to the psyche.
NWP said: Trump, and his support, demonstrate how deep the damage of the wrong kind of capitalism has already wrought on the nation. Capitalism is like a high powered engine, it can do remarkable thing when properly constrained, but is deadly in the wrong hands. Lauding miscreants like Trump does damage to the psyche.
I liked what ex Senator Clinton said during the debate. She said something like ... the government has to step in every so often and save capitalism from itself.
Apparently, when left to its own devices too long, the robber barons tend to float to the top again, to renew their reign pillaging and raping.
NWP said: Trump, and his support, demonstrate how deep the damage of the wrong kind of capitalism has already wrought on the nation. Capitalism is like a high powered engine, it can do remarkable thing when properly constrained, but is deadly in the wrong hands. Lauding miscreants like Trump does damage to the psyche.
I liked what ex Senator Clinton said during the debate. She said something like ... the government has to step in every so often and save capitalism from itself.
Apparently, when left to its own devices too long, the robber barons tend to float to the top again, to renew their reign pillaging and raping.
It didn't help when her husband(with Hillary's support) repealed Glass-Steagle. I much prefer Bernie Sanders' and Elizabeth Warren's approach to our banking/financial system.
It didn't help when her husband(with Hillary's support) repealed Glass-Steagle. I much prefer Bernie Sanders' and Elizabeth Warren's approach to our banking/financial system.
It didn't help when her husband(with Hillary's support) repealed Glass-Steagle. I much prefer Bernie Sanders' and Elizabeth Warren's approach to our banking/financial system.
Bullseye!
And I still don't think that she supports a reinstatement of GS!
It didn't help when her husband(with Hillary's support) repealed Glass-Steagle. I much prefer Bernie Sanders' and Elizabeth Warren's approach to our banking/financial system.
Bullseye!
And I still don't think that she supports a reinstatement of GS!
Methinks if she did she would lose a lot of her GS (Wall Street) donor base. Sordid, is it not?
I think it is important to understand what Glass-Steagall really is, and what it is not. The concept behind it - separating commercial bank activities from investor bank activities - is sound, but not a panacea. As one commentator put it, the crash was like the Titanic sinking, and Glass-Steagall was really about how many lifeboats were aboard. (Repeal of Glass-Steagall: Not a cause, but a multiplier - WaPo.) I completely agree, and Dodd-Frank has really done a sound, if incomplete, job of restoring some of the stability that Glass-Steagall provided. More needs to be done.
The Titanic still would have sunk, and doubling the number of lifeboats is good - but it still means a third of the passengers still drown. Glass-Steagall would mean the boat was smaller with fewer passengers, but would not have prevented it from sinking. Dodd-Frank comes closer to keeping it afloat.
I think it is important to understand what Glass-Steagall really is, and what it is not. The concept behind it - separating commercial bank activities from investor bank activities - is sound, but not a panacea. As one commentator put it, the crash was like the Titanic sinking, and Glass-Steagall was really about how many lifeboats were aboard. (Repeal of Glass-Steagall: Not a cause, but a multiplier - WaPo.) I completely agree, and Dodd-Frank has really done a sound, if incomplete, job of restoring some of the stability that Glass-Steagall provided. More needs to be done.
The Titanic still would have sunk, and doubling the number of lifeboats is good - but it still means a third of the passengers still drown. Glass-Steagall would mean the boat was smaller with fewer passengers, but would not have prevented it from sinking. Dodd-Frank comes closer to keeping it afloat.
Having worked in finance for over 30 years I have an idea of what GS and Dodd Frank are. But I don't think that is the point. The point is that Bill and Hillary were on the 90s ba(n)dwagon of reducing regulation when they should have been restructuring the whole shebang. They were playing politics. There will be crashes as long as the current financial system exists. That was not the idea behind the regulation - the idea was and is and should be: when they happen who is accountable? Who has prepared themselves for it and who has not? And what do the monetary authorities do when it happens? The Lehman Brothers debacle is a good example. Bernanke has admitted that they "misdirected" the public when they let us think that they could have but decided not to save it. Truth is: they couldn't save even if they wanted to, but they didn't want people to know that.
financial reform is an all-hands-on-deck affair. We need to bring the entire financial system — banks, nonbanks, shadow banks, all of them — under consistent regulatory scrutiny. We need to enforce transparency, ensure there are financial buffers, provide a way to unwind collapsing institutions safely, and protect everyday consumers from predation. The 2010 Dodd-Frank law, to its credit, got the ball rolling on all of this, though it doesn't go far enough in winding down the size of the biggest and most systemically dangerous companies. At the end of the day, the smaller the company is, the less of a threat its collapse would pose.
Clinton's proposals not only double down on Dodd-Frank's strengths, they also address its weaknesses: strengthening capital requirements for financial institutions, and imposing an escalating system of fees on players that pass a certain size.
It didn't help when her husband(with Hillary's support) repealed Glass-Steagle. I much prefer Bernie Sanders' and Elizabeth Warren's approach to our banking/financial system.
Bullseye!
And I still don't think that she supports a reinstatement of GS!
Methinks if she did she would lose a lot of her GS (Wall Street) donor base. Sordid, is it not?
Very sordid. And as she has kept accepting money from Big Banks, she is beholden to them more than ever. Another reason I am supporting Senator Bernie Sanders.
I think it is important to understand what Glass-Steagall really is, and what it is not. The concept behind it - separating commercial bank activities from investor bank activities - is sound, but not a panacea. As one commentator put it, the crash was like the Titanic sinking, and Glass-Steagall was really about how many lifeboats were aboard. (Repeal of Glass-Steagall: Not a cause, but a multiplier - WaPo.) I completely agree, and Dodd-Frank has really done a sound, if incomplete, job of restoring some of the stability that Glass-Steagall provided. More needs to be done.
The Titanic still would have sunk, and doubling the number of lifeboats is good - but it still means a third of the passengers still drown. Glass-Steagall would mean the boat was smaller with fewer passengers, but would not have prevented it from sinking. Dodd-Frank comes closer to keeping it afloat.
It was better than what we had before 1929, and repealing GB allowed the foundation for the crash in 2008. Getting rid of GB took away 70 years protections we had-and needed to be improved upon, not taken away. Dodd-Frank has helped, but we still need some better protections. GS still has some worthy ones. Dodd-Frank should have been added to GS, not replaced it.
financial reform is an all-hands-on-deck affair. We need to bring the entire financial system — banks, nonbanks, shadow banks, all of them — under consistent regulatory scrutiny. We need to enforce transparency, ensure there are financial buffers, provide a way to unwind collapsing institutions safely, and protect everyday consumers from predation. The 2010 Dodd-Frank law, to its credit, got the ball rolling on all of this, though it doesn't go far enough in winding down the size of the biggest and most systemically dangerous companies. At the end of the day, the smaller the company is, the less of a threat its collapse would pose.
Clinton's proposals not only double down on Dodd-Frank's strengths, they also address its weaknesses: strengthening capital requirements for financial institutions, and imposing an escalating system of fees on players that pass a certain size.
7 Years late and billions of dollars short. And still, how real can this be when your top 5 donors are:
Citigroup Inc $824,402 $816,402 $8,000 Goldman Sachs $760,740 $750,740 $10,000 DLA Piper $700,530 $673,530 $27,000 JPMorgan Chase $696,456 $693,456 $3,000 Morgan Stanley $636,564 $631,564 $5,000
The only way to change this mess is with a complete restructuring of the financial system. The game is rigged and it is corrupt from the inside. No amount of band aid will help.
financial reform is an all-hands-on-deck affair. We need to bring the entire financial system — banks, nonbanks, shadow banks, all of them — under consistent regulatory scrutiny. We need to enforce transparency, ensure there are financial buffers, provide a way to unwind collapsing institutions safely, and protect everyday consumers from predation. The 2010 Dodd-Frank law, to its credit, got the ball rolling on all of this, though it doesn't go far enough in winding down the size of the biggest and most systemically dangerous companies. At the end of the day, the smaller the company is, the less of a threat its collapse would pose.
Clinton's proposals not only double down on Dodd-Frank's strengths, they also address its weaknesses: strengthening capital requirements for financial institutions, and imposing an escalating system of fees on players that pass a certain size.
7 Years late and billions of dollars short. And still, how real can this be when your top 5 donors are:
Citigroup Inc $824,402 $816,402 $8,000 Goldman Sachs $760,740 $750,740 $10,000 DLA Piper $700,530 $673,530 $27,000 JPMorgan Chase $696,456 $693,456 $3,000 Morgan Stanley $636,564 $631,564 $5,000
The only way to change this mess is with a complete restructuring of the financial system. The game is rigged and it is corrupt from the inside. No amount of band aid will help.
Twitter erupted and the press blasted him. Why? Millions have already said it years before Donald Trump. But in any case, maybe he'll just get singed a little by the news media, or maybe this is his planned exit strategy. Had he blamed Clinton or Obama, he'd be annointed by now. And Lord knows, if he had pinned it on war criminal and former "Vice" President Dick Cheney instead, he'd be dead by morning and his body would never be found.
Twitter erupted and the press blasted him. Why? Millions have already said it years before Donald Trump. But in any case, maybe he'll just get singed a little by the news media, or maybe this is his planned exit strategy. Had he blamed Clinton or Obama, he'd be annointed by now. And Lord knows, if he had pinned it on war criminal and former "Vice" President Dick Cheney instead, he'd be dead by morning and his body would never be found.
The assassins/hitmen would have trouble hiding that hair.
Excellent article, from a conservative site, about Trump supporters.
Can Donald Trump's Mockery of a Disabled Reporter be Defended?
Leon H. Wolf RedState November 27, 2015
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... Mocking a disabled person for their disability has been universally passé since at least the 1950s, and so some of his supporters have been out on twitter over the last couple of days offering various defenses for Trump's behavior on this video. It is important to note that Trump himself has (as far as I know) offered only this by way of "explanation" for his actions:
Defense 1. Trump didn't know Koveleski was disabled ...
So, to believe that Trump had no idea what Koveleski looked like or the particulars of his disability, you would have to believe a) that the entire written record of their numerous interactions is fabricated, and Koveleski in particular (the very person on whose word Trump is staking his 9/11 claims) is flat out lying b) that he said "the poor guy" when referring to Koveleski because... well, I have no idea what the "because" is even supposed to be on that one and c) Trump was able to pull off an imitation of Koveleski's specific physical deformity purely by chance ...
2. "The Media" mocked Trig Palin for having Down's Syndrome, so they are fair game.
... if Tom Brokaw insulted Dick Cheney, that would not give Rick Santorum free license to punch Jake Tapper in the face. That's more or less exactly the defense that is being raised by Trump supporters, though.
3. No one is above mockery ...
The problem comes when people are mocked, not for the things they've done, but for the physical conditions over which they have no control ...
Trump has demonstrated time and time again that he simply is not suited for the office either by temperament or by judgment ...
U.S. presidential hopeful Donald Trump’s support among Republicans has dropped 12 points in less than a week, marking the real estate mogul’s biggest decline since he vaulted to the top of the field in July, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Trump was the favorite of 31 percent of Republicans in a rolling poll in the five days ended on Nov. 27. That was down from a peak of 43 percent registered on Nov. 22.
The dip follows criticism of Trump for comments he made in the aftermath of the Nov. 13 Paris attacks that killed 130 people and wounded hundreds more.
Following the attacks, Trump told an NBC News reporter that he would support requiring all Muslims within the United States to be registered to a special database, which his critics have likened to the mandatory registration of Jews in Nazi Germany.
Trump has also been criticized for flailing his arms and distorting his speech as he mocked a New York Times reporter, Serge Kovaleski, who is disabled.
Trump mocked the reporter as he defended his unsubstantiated assertion that during the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, he watched on television as “thousands and thousands” of people in New Jersey cheered while the World Trade Center fell.
Still, Trump is not the only front-runner to slide in the latest survey.
Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson has seen his poll numbers drift downward and now trails Trump by more than half, with just 15 percent of Republicans polled saying they would vote for him in the same Nov. 27 poll. As recently as late October, Carson trailed Trump by only six points.
Following Carson, Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Texas Senator Ted Cruz are tied for third place, with more than 8 percent each.
Following Rubio and Cruz was former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, with 7 percent.
The five-day rolling average sample size ranged from 464 to 347 respondents between Nov. 22 and Nov. 27, with a credibility interval of 5.2 to 6.1 percentage points.
In Jersey City, within hours of two jetliners' plowing into the World Trade Center, law enforcement authorities detained and questioned a number of people who were allegedly seen celebrating the attacks and holding tailgate-style parties on rooftops while they watched the devastation on the other side of the river.
In an interview on Thursday, Mr. Kovaleski said that he met with Mr. Trump repeatedly when he was a reporter for The Daily News covering the developer’s business career in the late 1980s, before joining The Post. “Donald and I were on a first-name basis for years,” Mr. Kovaleski said. “I’ve interviewed him in his office,” he added. “I’ve talked to him at press conferences. All in all, I would say around a dozen times, I’ve interacted with him as a reporter while I was at The Daily News.”
I remember reading some articles back then that mentioned those celebration incidents Golem, but I don’t know if that was true to not. I supposed some might have been pleased with the downing of the towers and the ensuing mayhem. Depends on whose side one is on and where ones allegiance lies I suppose.
I don’t remember reading much follow up on it and the story died down.
I remember reading some articles back then that mentioned those celebration incidents Golem, but I don’t know if that was true to not. I supposed some might have been pleased with the downing of the towers and the ensuing mayhem. Depends on whose side one is on and where ones allegiance lies I suppose.
I don’t remember reading much follow up on it and the story died down.
Common sense says that there probably were some celebrations across the country. But were there "thousands and thousands" of people celebrating in NJ as Trump implies? I think not.
Common sense says that there probably were some celebrations across the country. But were there "thousands and thousands" of people celebrating in NJ as Trump implies? I think not.
Probably right on both counts.
I thought I was being funny about Israeli Muslims... joke's on me.
Things got pretty heated last night on Megyn Kelly's show when Steve Hayes debated Trump apologist Roger Stone on whether Trump mocked reporter Serge [Kovaleski] and whether Trump actually saw "thousands and thousands of Muslims" celebrating in New Jersey on 9/11 ...
Ms. Kelly asked Roger Stone "you're telling me that motion that he did with his hands was not an attempt to mock a reporter who's covered him for 20 years and who he's on a first name basis with?" Stone's first attempt to answer was to deflect the question: ...
Breitbart Baloney: Site Changes Donald Trump's 9/11 Muslim Claims to Prove He's Right
Jordan Chariton The Wrap December 2, 2015
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Many journalists have pressed Donald Trump and his campaign on the GOP presidential frontrunner's claim that "thousands and thousands" of New Jersey Muslims cheered while watching the World Trade Center towers collapse on 9/11.
They've relied on the basic journalistic premise that a handful of celebrating Muslims -- as multiple sources have confirmed -- is far different than thousands.
But two stories posted Wednesday on Breitbart.com, including one headlined "Trump 100% Vindicated: CBS Reports 'Swarm' On Rooftops Celebrating 9/11," try to back up the Republican presidential candidate using magical math, generous leaps of the imagination and alterations of Trump's actual claims.
I'm hoping Donald Trump becomes the Republican nominee. If he loses in the general election it's no big deal, but if he wins Republicans will finally get the government they want and deserve. Goodbye jobs and hello to more wars. Deficits wont matter anymore and the national debt will soar, as it always does under a Republican President, and the economy will tank. President Trump can do all this in four short years and by then will have had enough of trying to shepherd all the "losers" into doing things his way and will not run for a second term. I love this game!
Look, I've long believed, and stated, that Trump is just plain nuts, but his latest is just ridiculously dangerous: Donald Trump on terrorists: 'Take out their families' So, the way to beat terrorists is to be worse than them? Minor details like "international law" or basic humanity don't apply because he "knows better"? This on top of blatantly lying about ridiculing a disabled journalist, when everyone has seen it, and quadrupling down on his claim that "he saw" - "thousands and thousands" of New Jersey Muslims cheering the fall of the twin towers.
Donald Trump not only is disqualified from being President, he's in danger of disqualifying himself from being considered human.
Many journalists have pressed Donald Trump and his campaign on the GOP presidential frontrunner's claim that "thousands and thousands" of New Jersey Muslims cheered while watching the World Trade Center towers collapse on 9/11.
They've relied on the basic journalistic premise that a handful of celebrating Muslims -- as multiple sources have confirmed -- is far different than thousands.
But two stories posted Wednesday on Breitbart.com, including one headlined "Trump 100% Vindicated: CBS Reports 'Swarm' On Rooftops Celebrating 9/11," try to back up the Republican presidential candidate using magical math, generous leaps of the imagination and alterations of Trump's actual claims.
First of all, I can't believe that dead Andrew's blog is still around. Secondly, extremist conservatives are really into confirmation bias.
On a number of policy points he's not a conservative Republican! He's actually pretty Liberal, but otherwise a bomb thrower. I don't think the ultra-conservatives who know their ass from a hole in the ground support him. It's more the ultra-ignorant, the KKK, the Tea Party Patriots, etc. All the haters who have been asked into The Big Tent in recent years.
Well, that's what you get for inviting those people into your Party: Sooner or later, they tear your Party apart and you lose. lose, lose.
I continue to find the Trump thing amazing. When asked for specificity, for instance, his reply remains the same; "trust me" and the idiots actually do that. The good thing is that the TV comedians are starting to work him over with some expertise. I watched Noah Trevor work him over the other night - did a great job!
I don't think I can remember any candidate that has been able to survive when the comedians start to give them constant attention and, I suspect, Trump will serve as their target for the foreseeable future.
I am hearing lots of rumors from the ultra-right that Donald Trump is being paid by Hillary Clinton to make the Republican Party look stupid. I don't think they need Donald Trump's help.
“I think there’s a small possibility that this gentleman is a phantom candidate,” Curbelo said. “Mr. Trump has a close friendship with Bill and Hillary Clinton. They were at his last wedding, he has contributed to the Clintons’ foundation, (and) he has contributed to Mrs. Clinton’s Senate campaigns. All of this is very suspicious.”
A spokesman for Florida’s Democratic Party dismissed Curbelo’s comments as absurd and urged him to “take off his tinfoil hat.”
I am hearing lots of rumors from the ultra-right that Donald Trump is being paid by Hillary Clinton to make the Republican Party look stupid. I don't think they need Donald Trump's help.
I am hearing lots of rumors from the ultra-right that Donald Trump is being paid by Hillary Clinton to make the Republican Party look stupid. I don't think they need Donald Trump's help.
“I think there’s a small possibility that this gentleman is a phantom candidate,” Curbelo said. “Mr. Trump has a close friendship with Bill and Hillary Clinton. They were at his last wedding, he has contributed to the Clintons’ foundation, (and) he has contributed to Mrs. Clinton’s Senate campaigns. All of this is very suspicious.”
A spokesman for Florida’s Democratic Party dismissed Curbelo’s comments as absurd and urged him to “take off his tinfoil hat.”
You're right, they don't. But he sure is helping the Dems!
... I should know by now that arguing with diehard Trump supporters is largely futile but, if any of you are reading this, I pray you'll take this issue seriously.
Two equally grim prospects can explain your behavior. The first that you know Trump's claim is untrue, but enjoy living in his Reality Distortion Field simply to tweak mainstream America and the news media. You've become inhabitants of a funhouse-mirror version of the liberal culture and media you mock: insular, aggressively contrarian, obsessed with narrative over fact and anger over history.
The second is that you want it to be true so badly that you'll invent an imagined outrage rather than focus on the actual, terrible problem of Islamic radicalism (as we saw this week in California) because that fight is harder, more complex and more painful than the hokey nostrums of Trump's "plan" to fight ISIS. ("Take duh oil! Bomb da s*** outta dem!" "Muslim database!")
Playing out Donald Trump's lies doesn't mean you're fighting some political correct media trope about Muslims or that you're teaching the press a lesson. It doesn't mean you're confronting radical Islam. It doesn't mean you're bravely revealing a media cover-up. It doesn't mean that you're going to teach the Republican establishment a lesson.
All it means is you're part of the profoundly recursive Trump dynamic; he feeds your fears, prejudices, and atavistic desires for revenge against your catalog of demons, be they Muslims, Mexicans, or Republicans who fail to kneel before the Donald. You feed his monstrous, boundless ego and like the master con artist he is, he shovels you a fresh line of easily-digested outrage and boob-bait rhetoric ...
This is surprising? The Trumpeter says thing they want to hear and that’s all that matters.
He will build a wall (yea) and make Mexico pay for it, he will demand Asia send our jobs back, he will make America great again. the list goes on. He waves his arms about and tells them what he will do when elected dictator. And how awesome everything will become because of that.
They want what he says and he says what they want to hear.
Your displeasure with Trump is well know on this board. I was not directing that comment to you --just voters in general.
Even though he waived that “pledge" about claiming he would never run as a third party candidate I think he is going to do just that. He is the Trumpster. He will do any damn thing he pleases. And for many- that is part of his appeal.
The Republican brass just cannot figure out how the deal with him and it’s sort of amusing even if it is sort of pathetic at the same time.
It's still early, but from the looks of things Trump is not going to have to run a third party campaign. He is doing about what I expected Jeb Bush to do when I expected Jeb was going to be the nominee.
Donald Trump calls for "total and complete shutdown" of Muslims entering U.S.
December 07, 2015 -
Donald J. Trump Statement on Preventing Muslim Immigration
(New York, NY) December 7th, 2015, -- Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on. According to Pew Research, among others, there is great hatred towards Americans by large segments of the Muslim population. Most recently, a poll from the Center for Security Policy released data showing "25% of those polled agreed that violence against Americans here in the United States is justified as a part of the global jihad" and 51% of those polled, "agreed that Muslims in America should have the choice of being governed according to Shariah." Shariah authorizes such atrocities as murder against non-believers who won't convert, beheadings and more unthinkable acts that pose great harm to Americans, especially women.
Mr. Trump stated, "Without looking at the various polling data, it is obvious to anybody the hatred is beyond comprehension. Where this hatred comes from and why we will have to determine. Until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in Jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life. If I win the election for President, we are going to Make America Great Again." - Donald J. Trump
Unfortunately there is some truth there. Until recently virtually all immigrants to the US wanted to be Americans first-and bringers of their culture second. Blending the two to create an even better America.
Perhaps the recent Muslims immigrants to the US want that too. I just don’t know. Seriously--I don’t know.
Do you? (Asking everyone) An honest question from one who doesn’t know the answer. Or have the vaguest clue.
Donald Trump's call to ban Muslim immigrants is based on a very shoddy poll
Philip Bump The Washington Post December 7, 2015
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... The Center for Security Policy is an organization run by Frank Gaffney, who is identified as an anti-Muslim extremist by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The survey Trump cites was conducted earlier this year on behalf of the organization ...
I have unbridled contempt for the SPLC, however, I know nothing about the Center for Security Policy, so I can neither approve of them nor condemn them.
The Center has claimed the existence of a "Global Jihad Movement" which it alleges is a worldwide campaign at war with Western civilization to install Shariah Law as a parallel legal and political system in the United States, constituting a separate governance system for the Muslim community with respect to family law, civil society, media and political discourse, finance and homeland security.
Gaffney is an extremist and whacko (a very dangerous combination).
Some facts:
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In the statement outlining his proposal, Trump notes two bits of data. Here's a direct quote:
According to Pew Research, among others, there is great hatred towards Americans by large segments of the Muslim population. Most recently, a poll from the Center for Security Policy released data showing "25% of those polled agreed that violence against Americans here in the United States is justified as a part of the global jihad" and 51% of those polled "agreed that Muslims in America should have the choice of being governed according to Shariah."
We'll start with the Pew data. Trump doesn't link to it, so it's not clear what exactly he's looking at. The polling firm has found that Muslims across the globe are overwhelmingly opposed to the Islamic State and in 2007 that Muslims were much less likely to view suicide bombings as justified than five years prior. Pew also found a partisan split in which Republican Americans were far more likely to hold negative views of Muslims than Democrats. In 2011, they learned that U.S. Muslims almost never consider suicide bombings to be justified.
And as far as the survey by The Center for Security Policy:
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1. This was an online survey of 600 people. The only available information about how the poll was conducted indicates that it was conducted online; Georgetown University's Bridge Initiative has reported that it was conducted using an opt-in Internet survey. That makes it less reliable as a national bellwether than more traditional polling methods where all members of a population have a chance of being selected.
2. The questions asked were agree/disagree, which can favor an "agree" response. Our pollster Scott Clement points to research suggesting that people answering poll questions are more likely to agree than disagree with a provided statement. The key questions — on a) having a choice of being governed by Sharia and b) whether violence against America is justified — were asked in that agree/disagree format, leading more people to say they agree than might be accurate.
3. Many U.S. Muslims are first generation immigrants, who may speak English as a second language. According to Pew, 63 percent of U.S. Muslims were born in another country, suggesting that their ability to read and write English may be limited. In which case a nuanced survey question may be more difficult to navigate.
4. The organization conducting the survey matters. There is no question that the results of the survey — which would certainly bear retesting if accurate — were influenced by the organization that paid for it. The Center for Security Policy likely sought poll numbers showing that a significant number of Muslims were supportive of violence against the United States, and the center got what it paid for.
And now, the ace in the hole:
5. That survey is of U.S. Muslims. Meaning that even this already questionable survey has absolutely no relationship to the people from overseas that Trump hopes to restrict.
There is, in fact, no reliable evidence that a large percentage of Muslims in the United States — or, for that matter, Muslims hoping to travel to the United States — support doing harm to the country or plan to commit acts of violence. Trump has learned over the course of the past few months that railing against Mexican immigrants and Muslim migrants pays political dividends. He, like Gaffney, is happy to seize on questionable numbers to make his point.
Jones says, “Sandy Hook is a synthetic, completely fake, with actors, in my view manufactured. I couldn’t believe it at first. I knew they had actors there, clearly, but I thought they killed some real kids.”
On the morning of Dec. 2, Jones hosted an extended, live interview with Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump. After about 30 minutes of mutual compliments, and Jones telling Trump that “about 90 percent” of his listeners support him, the presidential candidate wrapped things up by telling Jones, “Your reputation is amazing.”
That same day, after that interview, 14 people were killed and 21 others were injured in the mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif. Within hours of that news breaking, Jones and his website — predictably — were hosting discussions of how San Bernardino, like Newtown, like the Boston Marathon bombing, and of course like 9/11, was a hoax. Either it didn’t happen, or if it did, it was perpetuated by the government to bring about . . . who knows, gun control, maybe? Mind control? Something about aliens? Concentration camps?
Charles C. W. Cooke National Review December 15, 2015
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National Review obtained the following long-form version of a letter from Mr. Trump's physician detailing his health history.
To Whom It Will Concern: I have been the personal physician of Mr. Donald J. Trump since 1968. His previous physician was my father, Dr. Edith Bernofsky. I am pleased to report that, at no point since he was unable to fight in Vietnam, has Mr. Trump had any significant medical problems.
During a recent comprehensive medical examination, Mr. Trump revealed himself to be quite extraordinarily healthy. While I conducted my array of tests, he singlehandedly held me above his magnificent head and spun me around and around and around -- quite the thrill.
Charles C. W. Cooke National Review December 15, 2015
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National Review obtained the following long-form version of a letter from Mr. Trump's physician detailing his health history.
To Whom It Will Concern: I have been the personal physician of Mr. Donald J. Trump since 1968. His previous physician was my father, Dr. Edith Bernofsky. I am pleased to report that, at no point since he was unable to fight in Vietnam, has Mr. Trump had any significant medical problems.
During a recent comprehensive medical examination, Mr. Trump revealed himself to be quite extraordinarily healthy. While I conducted my array of tests, he singlehandedly held me above his magnificent head and spun me around and around and around -- quite the thrill.
I think this guy explains the Trump allure better than most. Not sure if you can open the link though:
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Beneath the dry statistics of the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we can see that future emerging. Over the next decade, the service sector will provide 95% of all the new jobs. Manufacturing, which shed more than two million jobs between 2004 and 2014, will shrink by an additional 800,000, to only 7% of the workforce. Of the 15 occupations with the most projected job growth, only four ask for a bachelor’s degree; eight require no formal education credentials; nine offer median annual wages under $30,000.
Few Americans know these statistics, but most of them are living the reality they represent. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the economy has ceased to work for households at and below the middle. A recent report from the Pew Research Center finds that the median income for middle-income households is about where it was in 1997. For lower-income households, median income stands where it did in 1996.
Well, you could have a few adult children living at home all with near minimum wage jobs. Three or four such wages might support a family. Sort of like the olden days when you raised a lot of kids to work the farm when you got old. You know, like 35 or 40.
I am confident that the medical report is a fake. It states, "I am reliably informed that Mr. Trump is known among his peers in the services as "SuperRambo.'" That clearly cannot be true, as Mr. Trump has no peers.
They had promised poor white men that they, too, could rise to prosperity, then they had monopolized the land and the resources that made rising possible. Only rich families lived in fine houses, only rich sons got educations. When poor men called for the government to provide free Western land for farming, or for the government to dredge rivers to make it easier to transport goods to market, or even for schools, slave owners recoiled.
Capitalism is like a high powered engine, it can do remarkable thing when properly constrained, but is deadly in the wrong hands.
Capitalism is like FIRE. It can cook your food and keep you safe and warm or it can burn down your village and you with it.
Like any force of nature, capitalism REQUIRES control and regulation. Trump and the rest of the GOP clown car have this notion that somehow capitalism must be saved from harmful regulation due to its delicacy and fragility.
Capitalism sends Chinese workers running into tunnels with dynamite strapped on their backs, to build railroads. Government regulation says you have to let them drop off the dynamite and run back out of the tunnel, before you set off the explosion.
Sort of a Blazing Saddles analogy, but it will suffice.
Trump Lead Grows Nationally; 41% of His Voters Want to Bomb Country From Aladdin; Clinton Maintains Big Lead
Public Policy Polling (PPP) December 18, 2015
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PPP's newest national Republican primary poll finds Donald Trump holding his largest lead yet in the wake of Tuesday night's debate. He's at 34% to 18% for Ted Cruz, 13% for Marco Rubio, 7% for Jeb Bush, 6% for Ben Carson, 5% for Chris Christie, 4% each for Carly Fiorina and Mike Huckabee, 2% each for John Kasich and Rand Paul, 1% each for Lindsey Graham and Rick Santorum, and less than 1% each for Jim Gilmore and George Pataki ...
41% of [Trump's] voters think Japanese internment was a good thing, to 37% who don't. And 41% of his supporters would favor bombing Agrabah to only 9% who are opposed to doing that. Agrabah is the country from Aladdin. Overall 30% of Republican primary voters say they support bombing it to 13% who are opposed. We asked the same question of Democrats, and 36% of them opposed bombing Agrabah to 19% in support ...
If it were simply a matter of disagreeing with Mr. Trump, that would be one thing. But his demagoguery is dangerous to our nation and is pulling out the bigots and hatemongers from dark crevices.
And there is no one on the Republican side who is taking him on except with their own hate and demagoguery.
The angriest and most pessimistic people in America aren’t the hipster protesters who flitted in and out of Occupy Wall Street. They aren’t the hashtavists of #BlackLivesMatter. They aren’t the remnants of the American labor movement or the savvy young dreamers who confront politicians with their American accents and un-American legal status.
The angriest and most pessimistic people in America are the people we used to call Middle Americans. Middle-class and middle-aged; not rich and not poor; people who are irked when asked to press 1 for English, and who wonder how white male became an accusation rather than a description.
A friend of mine, Tim Sassoon says:
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"IMHO this election will either be pocketbook (Sanders), or national security (Clinton)."
Well I don't how much longer the pocketbook can be ignored. Almost 75% of welfare recipients are the working poor, well over half of Americans are approaching or below poverty level, technological unemployment threatens to swamp both rich and poor alike and take down the system and its foundations leaving little or nothing to rebuild from and meanwhile a sclerotic collection of paranoid malcontents thinks the answer to everything is violence, on global, local and even consumer levels.
Capitalism failed American society in the 1930's. Are we really sure we have the stomach to watch it fail again?
I sit here and watch the talking heads of TV discuss Trump. Not a one of them like him but, I think, they ALL admire him. Its very strange. It dawned on me to go back to the beginning. He tells his base, every chance he gets, that he is his own man and not beholden to anybody. This, I think, more than anything else, including his colorful, offensive, and thoughtless remarks, is really pertinent. My own suspicion is that the Republicans are sick and tired of their elected who have, obviously, been bought by big money. They support bankers, financials, billionaires, etc. They make no bones about this. I think that the Republican base is offended on a basic, visceral, level and are supporting the guy who has not been bought.
If this is right then there is a huge logical gap. Trump also, at every chance he gets, tells everybody that HE was/is one of the guys who buy politicians. Now, however, apparently, he wants to cut out the middleman. The inference is pretty simple; "elect me and I will do what I have always wanted a president to do - to help ME and do what I think is necessary to help ME". Apparently Trump is the new GM (what's good for Trump is good for America).
In other words perhaps Trump is the signal that we are ready to 'evolve' into some kind of kleptocracy wherein the powerful rule and damn all this democratic voting baloney, whining about the poor, jobless, and sick.
I think Trump's campaign signals the end of the Republican Party. The only reason he is so popular with Republican voters is because the rest of the candidates are so lousy. Even a Nixon or a Gerald Ford would have Trump down in single digits, but they don't even have one of those. A George Bush Senior would be the widely-accepted nominee by now, if they had one.
Limbaugh says the media is trying to destroy him but i believe he is wrong
the establishment republicans are trying to destroy him (for which elrushbo also agrees)but the media is simply reporting their disbelief .... how do they report the outrageous without appearing to be slackjawed???
In other words perhaps Trump is the signal that we are ready to 'evolve' into some kind of kleptocracy wherein the powerful rule and damn all this democratic voting baloney, whining about the poor, jobless, and sick.
In days of yore, Trump would be deemed an "eccentric". Which is code for, "rich lunatic". Eccentrics were locked away at home or posh "resorts", while less well-to-do citizens were relegated to asylums. He is, put simply, a huckster a carnival Barker (sorry barkers). It's not like he made his money honestly. He put together a functioning criminal enterprise designed to fleece the public. He got there through bribery, extortion, and outright fraud. But, his voters "like what he says" because they are idiots, sycophants and bigots. It really is that simple.
Donald Trump's first TV ad shows migrants 'at the southern border,' but they're actually in Morocco
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...Trump's television ad purports to show Mexicans swarming over "our southern border." However, the footage used to support this point actually shows African migrants streaming over a border fence between Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Melilla, more than 5,000 miles away...
Donald Trump's first TV ad shows migrants 'at the southern border,' but they're actually in Morocco
This is what a Trumpeter said:
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Think Trump Jess Fuchinwicha • 3 hours ago
It's not an Oopsie..they chose that picture deliberately ..its a pick from Morroco...to show what illegal immigration looks like and could happen here..already was addressed today.
“And you’ve got to give him credit — you know, it’s pretty amazing when you think of it. How does he do that? Even though it is a culture, and it’s a culture thing, he goes in, he takes over, he’s the boss. It’s incredible. He wiped out the uncle, he wiped out this one, that one. I mean this guy doesn’t play games.”
I think the Trumpees actually want an arsehole dictator - at least those are the characteristics that they find appealing in him. They tend to like Putin, too, for the same reasons. And now that the Donald is praising the wacko Un (or is that Kim?), I suppose they will compare his lofty virtue to Obama's pathetic Socialist self, as well.
I think the Trumpees actually want an arsehole dictator - at least those are the characteristics that they find appealing in him. They tend to like Putin, too, for the same reasons. And now that the Donald is praising the wacko Un (or is that Kim?), I suppose they will compare his lofty virtue to Obama's pathetic Socialist self, as well.
The conservatives that you and I run in to like to be told what to do - as long as it's not by a black, Muslim, Kenyan doing so. These same conservatives also want to preserve a Northern European white heritage as well.
I guess that's what we have to look forward to: North Korean-style government in America. At least after President-for-life Donald dies we will have Ivanka as President. She's pretty cute.
I guess that's what we have to look forward to: North Korean-style government in America. At least after President-for-life Donald dies we will have Ivanka as President. She's pretty cute.
If I wasn't a happily married man, I'd like to... well, you know.
I have standards, and plenty of other conservatives I know also have standards. We see Trump as an opportunist and a demagogue. We are disappointed that so many of our brethren are abandoning their principles and supporting this clown.
These people have become cultists, and they have made favorable comparisons between Trump and other historical characters. They did the same thing with Palin.
I've made lists of those comparisons. They are embarrassing, but if you really want to see them, I'll show them to you.
I'm sure there are people on your side who embarrass you.
I'm sure there are people on your side who embarrass you.
None that I can think of right off. You guys kind of have a lock on the lunatic fringe types. I honestly don't know why a sensible fella like yourself still sticks with that party.
I'm sure there are people on your side who embarrass you.
None that I can think of right off. You guys kind of have a lock on the lunatic fringe types. I honestly don't know why a sensible fella like yourself still sticks with that party.
I have to admit that I have met quite a few "regressive left" ultra ultra liberal types.
I am fond of hunting and fishing. This has offended over a dozen of my acquaintances of the ultra liberal persuasion, not only because I have hunted with guns but also because I was offending their vegan exclusive lifestyle and they felt that they could not in good conscience continue to associate with me.
I made a joke about "a hummer from a tranny" because of a misspelled tea bagger sign that read: "LIBETY OR TRANNY" (liberty or tyranny) and got blocked by a transgender woman who missed the fact that I was poking fun at the sign and its author.
Numerous run ins with ultra liberal anti-vaxxers who cannot tolerate the fact that I think vaccines ARE helpful...BANG, I'm off their list.
Sorry, I am not politically correct. I'm liberal but I am not THAT liberal.
But none of these people are running for office or are holding political office!
Oh yeah, almost forgot...Bernie is NOT liberal enough for them. Most of them are voting for Jill Stein, who we just absolutely KNOW has every chance of being the next president.
A preview of the 2017 State of the Union, by President Trump
Jay Bookman The Atlanta Journal-Constitution January 12, 2016
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"Thank you. Thank you. I have to say, nice building, this Capitol. Nice room. But too old-fashioned, don't you think? I do this all the time. I acquire these rundown old properties, I buy them cheap, I bring in my decorators, we fix it up. More mirrors, more gold trim, a nice statue of me ... we'll have it looking beautiful. Come back next year, you'll be amazed.
There's our new First Lady, Melania, up in the balcony. First supermodel in the White House. Amazing no one thought of it before. See that empty seat next to her? That's for Ted Cruz. Not here anymore. Nice guy. Smart guy. Everything I say, he agreed with me. Everything I say. So I said go back to Canada, Ted, where you belong...
For months in 1987, Donald Trump maneuvered to take control of the hulking, unfinished Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City. He snapped up stock in the parent company after its owner died and then made a surprise bid to take the company private.
With the Taj, along with two casinos he already owned in the city, Trump could dominate gambling on the East Coast. But first he needed to convince state gambling regulators that he was financially stable and could raise enough cash to complete the $1 billion project.
On Feb. 8, 1988, at a licensing hearing in front of the state Casino Control Commission, Trump said he could pull it off for one main reason: He was Donald Trump. Because of his reputation as a dealmaker, he said, bankers were lining up to lend him money at prime rates. That meant he could avoid the risky, high-interest loans known as junk bonds.
“I’m talking about banking institutions, not these junk bonds, which are ridiculous,” Trump testified, according to transcripts of the hearing. “The funny thing with junk bonds is that junk bonds [are] what really made the companies junk.”
Trump received the approvals he needed for the Taj, but the prime-rate loans never materialized. Determined to move forward, he turned to the very junk bonds he had derided in the hearing. He agreed to pay the bond lenders 14 percent interest, roughly 50 percent more than he had projected, to raise $675 million. It was the biggest gamble of his career.
In April 1990, the Taj opened as the world’s largest casino-hotel complex, joining Trump’s other holdings already operating in Atlantic City, the Trump Plaza and Trump’s Castle. But Trump could not keep pace with his debts on the three casinos. Six months later, the Taj defaulted on interest payments to bondholders as his finances went into a tailspin. In July 1991, Trump’s Taj Mahal filed for bankruptcy, the first and most significant of the four that his companies have experienced.
The bad bet on the Taj Mahal continues to haunt Trump, the leader in the race to become the Republican nominee for president. During recent GOP debates, opponents and journalists have repeatedly asked why he should be trusted to manage the country after losing lenders hundreds of millions of dollars. Trump responded that he was shrewd for using “the laws of the country to my benefit” and has distanced himself from the Taj’s troubles, saying he never personally declared bankruptcy.
Much has been written about this period of Trump’s career. But much has been forgotten over the past quarter- century — or overlooked in this lightning-fast election cycle. The Washington Post reviewed hundreds of pages of legal, regulatory and financial records relating to the Taj Mahal. The Post found that Trump’s statements during the campaign about his companies’ bankruptcies play down his personal role in the downfall of the Taj. Trump took extreme risks in a shaky economy, leveraged the Taj deal with high-cost debt, and ignored warnings that Atlantic City would not be able to attract enough gamblers to pay the bills, documents and interviews show.
That could be the ideal ticket: Trump & Palin in 2016!
The Donald says he will hire experts to do the real work of the administration. He certainly doesn't need a VP that can actually do anything but look good on TV. In one fell swoop he could wrap up both the moron and bimbo votes!
In the current campaign, Trump is behaving like a professional wrestler while Trump’s opponents are conducting the race like a boxing match. As the rest of the field measures up their next jab, Trump decks them over the head with a metal chair.
Trump's latest announcement that he won't show up for the FOX debate makes me think he really does not want to win. He simply does not have the temperament to be President, and I think he knows it. If he did win, I think he would resign after a few months, ala Sarah Palin.
These people like all the attention, but don't really want the responsibilities and restrictions of the job. Trump is the premier attention-seeker of our time. Too bad so many people are interested in watching him do his thing, but you know half of the population have IQs below 100.
I’ve long believed that Trump never really wanted (nor wants) to be POTUS, but rather he was having and grand old time playing candidate. And pulling everyones chain as it could become a reality. For the “reality” TV guy. I would sometimes ponder if he were to have actually won the nomination and then the general, if he would not then and there announce his resignation on the spot.
He is full of bombast and bluster but he is not a stupid man and he certaInly must know that the office of POTUS is very much over his head. Perhaps this Megyn Kelly distraction is just the vehicle he needs to smoothly make his get away.
I’ve long believed that Trump never really wanted (nor wants) to be POTUS, but rather he was having and grand old time playing candidate. And pulling everyones chain as it could become a reality.
Trump is being very smart in the way that he is running his candidacy. He's renting out his cars, helicopters and planes to his campaign and the campaign is paying for the use of those items.
The US tax code is a beautiful thing. For those fortunate enough to take full advantage of it’s intricacies and oddities. Such as our Dis-Honorable Mr. Trump is doing.
Why simplify it when it can be used as a vessel of remunerated nonsense and shtick such as this? He who laughs last laughs best--- at the Laffer Curve.
I’ve long believed that Trump never really wanted (nor wants) to be POTUS, but rather he was having and grand old time playing candidate. And pulling everyones chain as it could become a reality. For the “reality” TV guy. I would sometimes ponder if he were to have actually won the nomination and then the general, if he would not then and there announce his resignation on the spot.
He is full of bombast and bluster but he is not a stupid man and he certaInly must know that the office of POTUS is very much over his head. Perhaps this Megyn Kelly distraction is just the vehicle he needs to smoothly make his get away.
I don't think he ever intended to get this far, and the fact that he has scares the shyte out of him. He also knows he can't win a general election, and as he has said many times, he doesn't like losing. So I believe he'll find to a way to exit in true Trump style, i.e., not so gracefully.
Trump's fall from grace may be imminent. His rallies are becoming more and more chaotic with battles between supporters and protesters. His move to skip the Debate might also serve to trip him up.
I'd like to see him win the nomination as it will insure a Democratic win in the general election. But if he doesn't it's no skin off my ass and there won't be a brokered convention so I win the bet either way.
One poll has Bush in second place in New Hampshire?
I don't think he's going to quit yet: He will leave when his leaving leaves the party in shambles. Because then he wins, from his point of view.
Got to win some primaries first and since the other candidates are such flakes it should be easy. His supporters are not so much Republicans as they are reality TV fans. So even if he leaves the Republican presidential hopes at zero, his fans will see him as more important than the rest of the party. Which means pretty much the end of the party.
As many times as we've predicted the end of the Republican party they still control both houses of congress as well as most of the governor's mansions and state legislatures.
As long as there are old white men there will be Republicans.
Trump's fall from grace may be imminent. His rallies are becoming more and more chaotic with battles between supporters and protesters. His move to skip the Debate might also serve to trip him up.
I'd like to see him win the nomination as it will insure a Democratic win in the general election. But if he doesn't it's no skin off my ass and there won't be a brokered convention so I win the bet either way.
One poll has Bush in second place in New Hampshire?
We shall see. But if he drops out he doesn't get the nomination. So I win The bet is only that he either gets the nomination, or else makes it to the convention, thus forcing a brokered convention. If he doesn't make it to the convention there would be no need for the brokerage.
I just binge-read eight books by Donald Trump. Here's what I learned. From memoirs to financial advice to politics, inside the collected writings of Donald J. Trump.
Carlos Lozada The Washington Post July 30, 2015
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Sitting down with the collected works of Donald J. Trump is unlike any literary experience I've ever had or could ever imagine. I spent this past week reading eight of his books -- three memoirs, three business-advice titles and his two political books, all published between 1987 and 2011 -- hoping to develop a unified theory of the man, or at least find a method in the Trumpness.
Instead, I found . . . well, is there a single word that combines revulsion, amusement, respect and confusion? That is how it feels, sometimes by turns, often all at once, to binge on Trump's writings. Over the course of 2,212 pages, I encountered a world where bragging is breathing and insulting is talking, where repetition and contradiction come standard, where vengefulness and insecurity erupt at random.
Elsewhere, such qualities might get in the way of the story. With Trump, they are the story. There is little else. He writes about his real estate dealings, his television show, his country, but after a while that all feels like an excuse. The one deal Trump has been pitching his entire career -- the one that now culminates in his play for that most coveted piece of property, at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. -- is himself.
So, Golem, I'm seeing quite a few articles claiming that mainstream Republicans and businesses are finally warming up to Donald Trump. I had dinner with a couple of rock ribbed Republicans the other night and while they don't particularly like Trump they made it quite clear that if Hillary Clinton is the Democratic candidate they will most certainly vote for him.
Trump says if he doesn't win in Iowa, he might take his football and go home. But I wonder if his supporters know anything about the state caucus process? The people who participate in caucuses tend to be the party regulars who have done it many times before. Are some of them Trump supporters? I guess we'll see of Tuesday.
Trump says if he doesn't win in Iowa, he might take his football and go home. But I wonder if his supporters know anything about the state caucus process? The people who participate in caucuses tend to be the party regulars who have done it many times before. Are some of them Trump supporters? I guess we'll see of Tuesday.
According to the polls, these people are Trump supporters.
The title of the original painting is "Escaping criticism".
And if this doesn't describe Tump's technique to a "T"...
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Trompe-l'œil (French for "deceive the eye", pronounced [tʁɔ̃p lœj]) is an art technique that uses realistic imagery to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects exist in three dimensions. Forced perspective is a comparable illusion in architecture.
... Trump dragged his third trophy wife off to church to try to convince Evangelicals that he was actually one of them.
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Trump attended services at the First Christian Orchard Campus, a nondenominational church in Council Bluffs.
He, his wife, Melania, and two staffers took communion when it was passed. But Trump, momentarily confused, mistook the silver plates circulated around the auditorium and dug several bills out of his pocket.
"I thought it was for offering," he said with a laugh to his staff.
In Iowa, it's all about the ground game. They don't have a primary election, so you can't just mail in a ballot. You have to actually show up at your local caucus, and then you have to stay there until they are done. Trump went to a few big events where a lot of supporters showed up. But were they from all over the state? It does you no good to win a few caucuses with most of your supporters. You need a majority of supporters to show up at a majority of caucuses, and stay there until they finish.
Each caucus takes a preliminary vote, and anybody with too low a percentage is out. That solves the problem of too many candidates. Their supporters go find another group to join. If Trump's support is fixed at a maximum of 49%, he can still lose a caucus! The caucus will eliminate the minor candidates, so Trump's supporters may face just one other candidate.
I wonder if he can break that 50% support line? Are his supporters the old-style politically-active people who actually get the turn-out to caucuses, or are they a very enthusiastic 35% who have never been to a caucus and won't know what to do? You just go there yourself, and your vote gets cancelled out by the woman who drives a van full of people there. Or the church that drives up in a bus to vote for Cruz!
Trump going to an evangelical church in Iowa and trying to play Christian is one of the funnier mental images I’ve had in a very long while. Go Donald!
It’s almost enough to make me want to vote for him.........Almost.....
I guess the evangelicals pulled it off: They probably packed the caucuses with church goers who all voted for Cruz. That's one of Trump's problems. He can't count on the Evangelicals that made up such a large part of the Republican coalition.
Many "conservatives" (read Neo Cons) have their widdle, itty bitty fee-fees hurt this morning because of some Front Pages of Media Sites regarding Donald Trumps win last night in NH.
Huffington Post wrote about Donald's win last night: WTF? Racist Xenophobe wins NH
Many "conservatives" (read Neo Cons) have their widdle, itty bitty fee-fees hurt this morning because of some Front Pages of Media Sites regarding Donald Trumps win last night in NH.
Huffington Post wrote about Donald's win last night: WTF? Racist Xenophobe wins NH
Those poor dears...
Here is the problem with how you are thinking about this election. If you ask anybody who is being the most honest. Who is telling the people exactly how he feels. Who just doesn't GAF about what other people think. Donald Trump is the answer for probably 90%+.
Trump is not my cup of tea, but his message is very populist, very appealing to the non-political, and many political insider, members of the voting public. He gets press, gets people out of their chairs to vote and says whatever he wants to say. While doing that, he hammers immigration policy, PC mind set and the illusion that everybody has a right to be treated exactly as they want to be treated. Oh yeah, he doesn't want to be a world leader, just POTUS. All in all, a pretty compelling campaign platform. So what if he talks in generalities about the Middle East, about the budget and about the current state of American politics.
He is popular because he doesn't care! People want to hears their elected officials tell them the truth and they not only believe that Trump does that, but if he is elected he will try to do what he says he will do. It is a powerful thing to have the ability to change the status quo, and people believe that The Donald is just the person to do that.
Racist Xenophobe? Talking to some friends about it and they believe that he is just "telling it like it is" and even scarier than that, they want him elected so he can do exactly what he promises he will do. The bright side of this is that maybe, just maybe, politicians will look at this election and fear the voting public once again.
so if i understand your post correctly, you support and endorse ignorance as a virtue or at the very least honest
the so called PC mentality is all about treating people with the same respect you yourself would want .... nothing more nothing less - but you abhor the idea as alien and distasteful
suppose we profile everyone named Tim .... from now on you are treated not as just a second class citizen but a pariah as a person .... i suppose you would not mind as it would be too PC to treat you with any respect
maybe, just maybe, politicians will look at this election and fear the voting public once again.
That will depend largely on whether or not Donald Trump actually wins in the general election. If Republican primary voters select a nominee who is badly beaten by a Democrat then the voters will have proved themselves untrustworthy in the selection of an electable candidate.
The last winning candidate they selected was G.W. Bush, we all know how that turned out. Then there was John McCain and Mitt Romney. Neither made a spectacular showing. Republican voters, angry beyond words, this time have chosen to support someone who echoes their hatred of everything not white, straight, and Christian. Someone who is pretty obviously playing them for fools just to get their votes.
He is a salesman and he's telling them everything they want to hear.
Then again, should he win, he's got to make a pretty good showing once he's in office. He's got to manage the economy efficiently to prevent job losses, keep the deficit under control, and basically make good on his single real promise to "Make America Great Again".
If he fails and we see another surge in military events, a soaring deficit, another devastating recession, and more Americans losing their homes and livelihoods then once again Republican voters are going to come under fire for their inability to select a leader.
It won't be so much fear as complete disdain for the political acumen of the average voter. The power brokers may not give Republican voters many more chances like this if they can't set aside their petty single issues, reign in their hatred, and vote like adults.
so if i understand your post correctly, you support and endorse ignorance as a virtue or at the very least honest
the so called PC mentality is all about treating people with the same respect you yourself would want .... nothing more nothing less - but you abhor the idea as alien and distasteful
suppose we profile everyone named Tim .... from now on you are treated not as just a second class citizen but a pariah as a person .... i suppose you would not mind as it would be too PC to treat you with any respect
Nah, I support nobody in this race. Much more the shame of American politics. However, as a veteran of many political campaigns at a local level, what you are seeing from Trump is a lot closer to a Selectman's campaign than a Presidential campaign. I grew up in a fairly large family, I was 5 of 6. I learned that thick skin and quick hands solved many of the potential problems that I encountered. Much of what Trump supports I support, especially immigration policy and the PC dumbing down of America. Usually, people get treated exactly as they deserve to be treated. Growing up I got many a bruise from gaining respect. Did it suck, yes! Was it wrong, not so sure any more. We have become a nation of whiners and lay abouts who worry more about how to game the system than be at the top of our game.
There is no right to be happy. There is no right to be respected. There is no right to have others respect your beliefs. There is a right for our government to keep it's citizens safe and immigration policy today contradicts that right. Diseases thought to be eliminated have been imported into the country in the name of being "inclusive", or "welcoming", which is just another name for allowing other nations to abuse our laws and ignore our borders.
Trump is in front today because people are tired of our government worrying more about other people than Americans. On one hand I am horrified at how well he is actually doing. On the other I am enjoying every moment of discomfort and panic that the ruling class is feeling right now. I hope that the spit has hit the fan and Washington gets soaked.
If Trump is to be elected as an absolute dictator then much of what he says might become a reality. But a president-no matter who that might be-just cannot “make America great again” by proclaiming it be so. Then working through our political system with its entrenched interests.
Much of Trumps support comes from former middle class workers who used to make decent wages and now are working for minimum wage. And maybe not even full time. So they are pissed. The good old days are gone and they want them back. That happened because of two things; globalization of factory work and technology. Globalization is not going away and technology will continue to replace ever more workers. Sure this will provide high paying high tech work for some, but for the masses? Very, very unlikely.
So a given candidate might be able to promise this, that, and the other but the reality of it is beyond any politicians control. No matter the huffing, puffing, and bluster. We are indeed in a brave new world and Donald Trump cannot bring back the good old days for the former US middle class.
here is no right to be happy. There is no right to be respected. There is no right to have others respect your beliefs.
there is no Constitutional right to happiness or respect .... it is simply common sense and a courtesy to respect people as equals i.e. PC .... of course I will now conclude you typically bitch slap people as you walk down the street and call them names .... after all it would be too PC to have a little respect for people
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another name for allowing other nations to abuse our laws and ignore our borders
could you provide a few names of these countries and how they abuse and ignore
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people are tired of our government worrying more about other people than Americans
Laws are passed which apply to all citizens, not individuals. I will send an email to Sen Cruz and Sen Cornyn to name Tim in a bill personally, so I can say the government is more worried about Tim than all Americans.
I have been a long time advocate of government reform but I have never supported cutting off arms and legs to satisfy that reform.
Of the 19 major candidates for president only 2 have not relied on super PAC's. Here is an example of a place to start reform.
If Trump is to be elected as an absolute dictator then much of what he says might become a reality. But a president-no matter who that might be-just cannot “make America great again” by proclaiming it be so. Then working through our political system with its entrenched interests.
Much of Trumps support comes from former middle class workers who used to make decent wages and now are working for minimum wage. And maybe not even full time. So they are pissed. The good old days are gone and they want them back. That happened because of two things; globalization of factory work and technology. Globalization is not going away and technology will continue to replace ever more workers. Sure this will provide high paying high tech work for some, but for the masses? Very, very unlikely.
So a given candidate might be able to promise this, that, and the other but the reality of it is beyond any politicians control. No matter the huffing, puffing, and bluster. We are indeed in a brave new world and Donald Trump cannot bring back the good old days for the former US middle class.
I don’t think anyone can.
Reality doesn't matter to many voters, just as the truth doesn't matter to many voters. What sets Trump apart from any other politician in my lifetime is the fact that he is giving his honest opinion and a promise to address it. Who else is doing that and actually means it? Nobody in my lifetime.
Obama got Obamacare passed via procedure, and it had/has very little actual support from the voters. He is using Executive Orders to circumvent the law on immigration. So to say that Trump could not accomplish much of what he has said he would is overlooking the realities of playing politician in America. Plus, if he ever actually got elected he would have the hammer and would not be afraid to use it. The power of the Presidency isn't really that great. The POTUS is a figurehead, but even his/her enemies have to respect the position.
I am not a fan, but as I mentioned, his ideas are well worth considering. They are very populist and feed into the growing discomfort that all Americans are feeling. Remember, the people who vote in primaries are the hard cores. What will happen when a couple of hundred million voters vote? What happens if the market crashes or there is another terrorist incident?
I am cautiously optimistic that Trump will be a vehicle for change, or at least worth a few laughs.
Do you think that Trump really wants to be POTUS or- as I do-- that he’s just pulling everyones chain?
Of course I can’t get into his head but I really think he would never set foot into the oval office if he did somehow win the general election. He seems to be playing a great “reality show” game here:
Do you think that Trump really wants to be POTUS or- as I do-- that he’s just pulling everyones chain?
Of course I can’t get into his head but I really think he would never set foot into the oval office if he did somehow win the general election. He seems to be playing a great “reality show” game here:
The Donald as POTUS
I used to think that, but now I believe he has the delusion that being POTUS would be a cakewalk for a superman like himself.
Trump is in front today because people are tired of our government worrying more about other people than Americans.
And what other people would these be? How much of the governments' time and resources are directed towards helping (worrying about?) other people than Americans? Or is this just something you made up.
Donald Trump is only leading the Republican Party. He is in front of a handful of losers who never had a chance of being elected. He is in front because gays, abortion, Jesus, immigration, and the odd idea that being crude and insulting is somehow better than being polite.
Donald Trump will never be elected president. I know that, you know that. As you mentioned, Tim, the primary voters are the hard core Republicans, the TEA Party faithful, the single issue voters. In the general election the moderates and the independents are going to come out to vote and the results will be much different. I very much expect our next POTUS to be Madame Clinton. Although, by the same token, I won't be the least bit disappointed if Bernie Sanders wins.
Usually, people get treated exactly as they deserve to be treated.
I'm not sure where you got this notion, but it is quaint. I suppose if you are white, middle aged, male, Christian, well-educated... yeah, you don't have to worry a lot about how you are treated (deserved or not). But, if you happen to not be all of those things, well... "how you are treated" has nothing to do with your individual merits. Nor, by the way, does your economic class (especially inherited) tell anything about your "character" or "how you should be treated." Were he not super-rich, Donald Trump would deserve to be treated in a mental institution. I'm not being at all sarcastic there, either. He has serious mental issues. Maybe, though (now that I think about it), that does qualify him to be a Republican candidate...
Originally Posted by Ma_Republican
There is no right to be happy. There is no right to be respected. There is no right to have others respect your beliefs.
That, of course, would come as a real shock to the Founding Fathers. After all, the document they founded our nation on included some concepts such as "establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity" - and specified such things as "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" - seems pretty straightforward to me, but maybe I'm reading too much into it - or how about these?: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects"; "no person shall be ... deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;" Sounds kinda like rights to me... But maybe I'm overstating the case... Or even, "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." I don't know where you got your Civics education, but mine included some of these concepts enshrined in the very document that formed our government, not to mention the Declaration of Independence and the quaint notion that "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed" - again, seems kinda contrary to your argument.
Much of Trumps support comes from former middle class workers who used to make decent wages and now are working for minimum wage. And maybe not even full time. So they are pissed. The good old days are gone and they want them back. That happened because of two things; globalization of factory work and technology. Globalization is not going away and technology will continue to replace ever more workers. Sure this will provide high paying high tech work for some, but for the masses? Very, very unlikely.
---Very very unlikely for two reasons. One, we're unwilling to enforce fair play in any of these so called "free trade" agreements so we're forced to match crap wages that sweatshop countries pay, which is absolutely impossible for us, and two because we refuse to make higher education absolutely 100 percent accessible to ALL Americans regardless of their ability to pay, even though such an investment COULD, in due time, re-establish the United States as a high tech manufacturing powerhouse EVEN with automation of much of the assembly process.
I see NOTHING in Trump's plan of action that would change any of that despite his crowing about China and Mexico, and even if I did, whatever he is saying is a bald faced lie because his OWN manufacturing is EXCLUSIVELY from China and Mexico.
Usually, people get treated exactly as they deserve to be treated.
I'm not sure where you got this notion, but it is quaint. I suppose if you are white, middle aged, male, Christian, well-educated... yeah, you don't have to worry a lot about how you are treated (deserved or not). But, if you happen to not be all of those things, well... "how you are treated" has nothing to do with your individual merits. Nor, by the way, does your economic class (especially inherited) tell anything about your "character" or "how you should be treated." Were he not super-rich, Donald Trump would deserve to be treated in a mental institution. I'm not being at all sarcastic there, either. He has serious mental issues. Maybe, though (now that I think about it), that does qualify him to be a Republican candidate...
Originally Posted by Ma_Republican
There is no right to be happy. There is no right to be respected. There is no right to have others respect your beliefs.
That, of course, would come as a real shock to the Founding Fathers. After all, the document they founded our nation on included some concepts such as "establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity" - and specified such things as "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" - seems pretty straightforward to me, but maybe I'm reading too much into it - or how about these?: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects"; "no person shall be ... deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;" Sounds kinda like rights to me... But maybe I'm overstating the case... Or even, "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." I don't know where you got your Civics education, but mine included some of these concepts enshrined in the very document that formed our government, not to mention the Declaration of Independence and the quaint notion that "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed" - again, seems kinda contrary to your argument.
I find it amazing that American citizens need to be reminded of these fundamental points that NWP so eloquently makes.
I was starting to doze off. The debate was all but over, and the exhaustion from the day was catching up with me, as was the scotch. The rush of finally seeing the candidates go after Trump in a serious way was wearing off replaced by a mix of dread and resignation that it may all be too little too late. (Note: I don't think it is, and I won't be giving into despair either, for reasons Charlie explains here.)
I was only half listening when Donald Trump came into the spin room on CNN to explain why he's been audited every year for twelve years.
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"I'm always audited by the IRS, which I think is very unfair -- I don't know, maybe because of religion, maybe because of something else, maybe because I'm doing this, although this is just recently," Trump said in an interview with CNN's Chris Cuomo immediately following the 10th GOP debate on Thursday night.
Cuomo cut in: "What do you mean religion?"
"Well, maybe because of the fact that I'm a strong Christian, and I feel strongly about it and maybe there's a bias," Trump said.
Cuomo cut in again: "You think you can get audited for being a strong Christian?"
"Well, you see what's happened," Trump said. "You have many religious groups that are complaining about that. They've been complaining about it for a long time."
"Spit take" doesn't even come close to describing my reaction. As it was, I gagged so hard my spleen almost came out my nose...
HA! That's pretty funny. He gets audited every year because they keep finding things and he pays more tax. The IRS is not stupid. I'm sure The Donald's tax return throws up a dozen red flags when it goes through the automated checking.
"Donald Trump knew David Duke was a klansman in 2000, yet denies knowledge of him now." Yeah...no kidding.
The problem is twofold, the way I see it. 1. Donald Trump is a supporter of domestic terrorism. 2. The FBI and the Dept of Homeland Security flatly refuse to label the KKK AS a domestic terrorism organization.
Published on Feb 28, 2016 From the producers who brought you “The Producers,” #Trumped is a new musical starring Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane, Cloris Leachman and the unlikely candidate himself, Donald Trump.
I predict that if Donald J. Trump wins he will have a new $10,000 dollar bill printed, with his picture on it. Mr. Trump would get off at the thought of other rich folks putting "him" into a stripper's panties.
They have really yielded the center to the Democrats, by (stupid) choice. Maybe we get The Tea Party on the right, The Democrats on center, and The Socialists on the left.
If the Democrats disavowed socialism (which they have only supported in the fertile imaginations of Republicans anyway) then the moderate Republicans would not object to joining. We could even call it the Democratic Republican Party!
The way it seems to be shaping up I see more fractures on the liberal side than anywhere else. Hordes of people are either threatening to sit out the election, or to "let it burn" to "teach everyone a lesson", or to vote for someone they write in, like Jill Stein, or Barney the Purple Dinosaur. And the specter of a Bloomberg distraction campaign looms ever present as well.
Liberals are apparently genetically incapable of achieving unity. They'd rather spend the rest of their life living under an 80 percent ultra conservative Supreme Court majority than allow their high standards to be sullied by a candidate they don't approve of. That applies almost equally to both Bernie partisans and Hillary partisans alike.
The Tea Party sweep of 2010, and the 2014 Republican takeover of both houses in Congress... If you sat home, or whined about not getting your dream team, you built that. And if you pull the same stunt this November, when you see the Trump swastika rise above New York City like a Bat Signal for Skinheads, or a giant crucifix coming out of the Gulf of Mexico, yeah...you built that, too.
The way it seems to be shaping up I see more fractures on the liberal side than anywhere else. Hordes of people are either threatening to sit out the election, or to "let it burn" to "teach everyone a lesson", or to vote for someone they write in...
I travel in heavy political circles on the Internet blogs - and I'm not seeing that AT ALL. What I am seeing is the Republican party fracturing apart and already talking about a brokered convention if The Donald wins big tonight and on the 15th of March.
Show me ONE brokered Dem convention article, Dem people sitting this one out, or blog post.
Most of the Dems I know are rooting for Bernie but will happily take Hillary. I have not heard anyone say they will sit it out and I haven't heard Jill's name come up at all.
I strongly support Sanders right now because I believe his is the more aspirational campaign, but I don't expect him to become the nominee.
Lots of people, especially young ones, are learning to think in a fresh way because of Unca Bern. We need to be freshened up.
Liberals are apparently genetically incapable of achieving unity.
Well, Hillary can avoid that and get all those Bernie supporters out to vote for her by the simple expedient of including Bernie in her administration. Offer him the VP slot or Secretary of Health and Human Services. Whatever, just get those Bernistas to the polls so she can get a decent Congress. It might be worth it, and she can always fire him if it doesn't work out in a cabinet position.
I think he might just be willing to swallow his pride to be President of the Senate, determine all the committee assignments, break ties, etc. I can picture him as a very active VP: A perfect weapon Hillary could point at Republicans, as well as insurance that nobody would ever try to impeach or assassinate her.
I can picture him as a very active VP: A perfect weapon Hillary could point at Republicans, as well as insurance that nobody would ever try to impeach or assassinate her.
Not to mention, if she still has a heart in there somewhere she can play good cop/bad cop when crooks come calling and demanding favors for all their money:
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"I am truly sorry but you have to understand, my Vice President will destroy this on sight, and that links back to MY credibility as President. I have to WORK WITH Mr. Sanders as my liason to Congress, so you are putting me in an impossible position. It's not me, it's him, sorry."
Most of the Dems I know are rooting for Bernie but will happily take Hillary. I have not heard anyone say they will sit it out and I haven't heard Jill's name come up at all..
Exactly. I'd never heard of Jill until Reader Rant.
I seldom if ever disagree with almost anything Matt Taibbi writes but I think he's being tripped up slightly by nothing more ominous than his birth date. He was born in 1970. Sorry Matt, but you have to go back even further, to be totally honest. Christopher Lloyd gave us an eerie look at how different our sensibilities might have been back in the 50's, before the military industrial complex took over. It is completely realistic to expect that people in the 1950's would be skeptical about a B movie actor assuming the highest office in the land and becoming leader of the free world. After all, actors are trained to deliver other people's thoughts and visions transparently, and some of us are only just now figuring out that Reagan's visions were the visions of an unelected shadow government Hell bent on "throwing us overboard thirty f***ing years ago." (Carlin)
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"So tell me..."Future Boy"...who is President of the United States, in 1985?" "Ronald Reagan." "Ronald Reagan! The actor? Who's Vice President, Jerry Lewis??"
Once they knew Americans would accept the canned speeches of an empty headed washed up actor who falls asleep during policy meetings, they knew it would be possible to put ANY clown in the White House. All they had to be able to is function as a mouthpiece for the anonymous elite money power, and all attempts at critical thinking would be shunted by a compliant corporate media into an endless feedback loop of predigested phony populist anger. There is no weapon that is more efficient at de-legitimizing the critical eye than a call to arms by the Othering Brigade. Churches have been using that weapon for millennia, so why not a corporate oligarchy? Is there really all that much difference between the two?
The way it seems to be shaping up I see more fractures on the liberal side than anywhere else. Hordes of people are either threatening to sit out the election, or to "let it burn" to "teach everyone a lesson", or to vote for someone they write in...
I travel in heavy political circles on the Internet blogs - and I'm not seeing that AT ALL. What I am seeing is the Republican party fracturing apart and already talking about a brokered convention if The Donald wins big tonight and on the 15th of March.
Show me ONE brokered Dem convention article, Dem people sitting this one out, or blog post.
Nothing to do with articles pointing at brokered conventions, Rick. I wish it were that simple. It has mostly to do with the hordes of Bernie voters and hordes of HRC voters, both threatening the same thing:
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B: I will NEVER EVER vote for Hillary, I'd rather write in JILL STEIN! B: I won't vote for Hillary, I just won't vote, let it burn, it will teach everyone a lesson.
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H: I will never ever vote for that socialist. H: I will not waste my vote on Bernie because he is unelectable. A vote for Bernie is a vote for the Republicans.
And on and on ad nauseum. I get at least five posts a day from the various Facebook Bernie or Facebook Hillary groups that say something similar.
And there is historical precedent, Rick! It happened in 1968 when the ultra liberals sat out the election because they refused to vote for Humphrey. So we got Tricky Dick instead!
The reason Nixon won so convincingly is because the Dems refused to unify and back their nominated candidate!
Hence my statement, we seem to be incapable of learning, whereas Republicans are practical and pragmatic. They know that as long as THEY have the football, they can make yardage and we lose the game, over and over and over again. And they DO make yardage, every time, at OUR EXPENSE.
I have a challenge for Sanders supporters who say they could never vote for Clinton:
For every reason you have for not supporting Clinton if she is the nominee, think about it carefully. Was this some BS manufactured Republican outrage or was it a real provable thing?
Clinton has never been indicted or even charged with any crime.
Maybe she is a bit more moderate than you like, but really why the hate? Honestly, I have been searching the anti-Hillary websites and it all looks like partisan BS to me. I wonder if some of these Hillary Haters are actually Republican trolls?
I suspect the actual numbers of progressive Hillary haters is vastly overestimated. Before Bernie entered the race they were going to vote for Jill Stein anyway. They whipped themselves into a frenzy thinking he could actually become president and took to the internets expounding the virtues of Sanders' impossible goals. I expect their numbers will be more than nullified by the number of right leaning independents and moderate Republican voters who will refuse to vote for Trump.
“I will never support Hillary Clinton,” said Adam Burch, 28, of Minneapolis. “I identify as a socialist. She stands for everything that I’m against. It’s Bernie or nothing.”
Burch isn’t alone. He's part of a group on social media called Grassroots Action for Bernie that has promised to support only Sanders in the election, using the hashtag “BernieorBust” to spread its message. Similarly, 50,000 people have signed an online pledge to write in Sanders’ name or vote for the Green Party candidate in the general election if the former Secretary of State wins the nomination.
50,000 people have signed an online pledge to write in Sanders’ name or vote for the Green Party candidate in the general election if the former Secretary of State wins the nomination.
That many, huh? 50K isn't a drop in the bucket. Like I said, without Bernie they would've sat home anyway or voted Green. Of those 50K how many are just bloviating and how many are millenials who don't vote anyway?
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Adam Burch, 28, of Minneapolis. “I identify as a socialist
A millenial. Who apparently trusts government to control every aspect of his life yet doesn't trust it enough to actually vote for whichever candidate best represents him whether he agrees with them 100% or not.
No, Jeff, I don't put much stock in this crowd of Berniebots nor the Green Party voters. I applaud their choice to vote their conscience and I don't fear their numbers. They are too spread out to affect the general election.
If Madame Clinton loses to Donald Trump it will be because Republicans have finally found a charismatic candidate who will bring the crazies out of the woodwork and into the voting booths. As the primaries have shown, Americans are just not that excited about Bernie Sanders. He's not pulling the minority vote, he's not bringing out the millenials in massive numbers. He's not exciting mainstream Democrats. There are plenty of states left. If the grassroots, socialist leaning, social networking crowd exists in the numbers you would like to believe, all they have to do is get off their asses and vote for Bernie rather than whining on social media. Democratic primary turnout is quite low and it wouldn't take that many of them to elect Bernie. Where are they? Apparently not voting or not existing in sufficient numbers to sway even the primaries and caucuses.
Every day I read a nutty post like “Why 2016 is Bernie or Bust” or some other proud declaration of war — a defiant promise to sit out the general election if a preferred Democratic primary candidate doesn't become the nominee.
I’ll agree with all good faith fights in the primary — but it is flat-out juvenile, destructive, and irresponsible if you carry that grudge into the general election.
I'm disappointed that the lame-ass Democrats picked Hillz over Bernie by 50% in South Carolina, that Bernie only won four states on Tuesday. I've made peace with that fact that we will probably have a Madam President along with a First (Lecherous) Man next January.
I'm disappointed that the lame-ass Democrats picked Hillz over Bernie by 50% in South Carolina, that Bernie only won four states on Tuesday. I've made peace with that fact that we will probably have a Madam President along with a First (Lecherous) Man next January.
Oh COME ON, you don't give two ***** about Bubba's lecherousness.
The reason SC picked the Hildebeast is because too many of them couldn't meet the new standards for SC's Voter Suppression errrr....ID laws.
It's just that I can't help noticing that Hillary's amazing performance on Tues consisted largely of states she has NO CHANCE of carrying in the general election.
For all those Hillary Haters: Consider this, do you want a Supreme Court filled by a Republican or by a Democrat. This matters MUCH MORE for all of us than who is in the White House for the next four years. We have a few elderly Justices and a replacement could be there for 40 years!
And the odds are pretty good the next President will appoint two Justices. Do you really want 40 more years of Conservative court decisions?
S'what I've been saying, but it falls on deaf ears. I have seven very close friends who refuse to budge. It's Bernie or The Rainbow Farting Unicorn for them. They don't seem to understand what a right wing majority Supreme Court will do to their lives and livelihoods.
It around me that the Republican establishment is so open and vocal about their disdain for Trump. I mean, there is plenty to be vocal and disdainful about, but this is the party that ran Romney last time. The only difference is that Romney TRIED to be subtle about his disdain for the electorate, blacks, Latinos and Dems. Trump just has no subtlety, but it's the same pitch they've been making since Nixon.
it is interesting that a bunch of folks who claim they are not politically correct are in fact politically correct except Trump .... he is as you say exposing what these folks really believe
I think the GOP needs to send out a big thank-you note to Black Lives Matter. They are the only ones willing to confront Trump on his turf. They are exposing the KKK and other white supremacists in his crowds by letting themselves be abused by them. Bless those young black people for their bravery.
I saw a brief flash of a Trump rally on Rachel Maddow's show tonight and there was one black guy standing behind Trump ... you know, one of the background people. He had the most quizzical look on his face ... like he was wondering how he got there or maybe calculating the odds of his getting to his car safely after the rally.
Oh, my gosh. When I see videos of people being removed from his rallies, they are usually not white and they are usually surrounded by hateful white males who are angry, screaming, and shoving, or watching dispassionately. You know, those gimme cap 'n t-shirt 'n Walmart jeans wearing guys. And Trump egging the crowd on. What the ... ?
In the civil rights era, black people suffered in front of our very eyes until we couldn't take it anymore. And here is Trump basically calling for violence.
I can't help but wonder why those Republicans who are so horrified/disgusted/embarrassed by him aren't out there confronting him. Aren't they white enough to be safe at his rallies?
A thousand ridiculous accidents needed to happen in the unlikeliest of sequences for it to be possible, but absent a dramatic turn of events – an early primary catastrophe, Mike Bloomberg ego-crashing the race, etc. – this boorish, monosyllabic TV tyrant with the attention span of an Xbox-playing 11-year-old really is set to lay waste to the most impenetrable oligarchy the Western world ever devised.
It turns out we let our electoral process devolve into something so fake and dysfunctional that any half-bright con man with the stones to try it could walk right through the front door and tear it to shreds on the first go.
And Trump is no half-bright con man, either. He's way better than average.
note also the phony criticism of Trump that 2/3's of republicans are against him .... the folks saying that are too dumb to realize that the same could be said for either Sen's Cruz or Rubio
A thousand ridiculous accidents needed to happen in the unlikeliest of sequences for it to be possible, but absent a dramatic turn of events – an early primary catastrophe, Mike Bloomberg ego-crashing the race, etc. – this boorish, monosyllabic TV tyrant with the attention span of an Xbox-playing 11-year-old really is set to lay waste to the most impenetrable oligarchy the Western world ever devised.
It turns out we let our electoral process devolve into something so fake and dysfunctional that any half-bright con man with the stones to try it could walk right through the front door and tear it to shreds on the first go.
And Trump is no half-bright con man, either. He's way better than average.
It should not surprise anyone when today's capitalists try to weaken the middle class because if weakened enough they are no longer the majority. When the middle class is NOT the majority then the POOR class becomes the majority. That is dangerous because if the POOR become the majority then the economy is BOUND BY nothing more exotic than simple ARITHMETIC to go either in the direction of FASCISM OR COMMUNISM. There is no getting around this because regular capitalism backed by democracy is NO LONGER SUSTAINABLE under an oligarchy, because the poor no longer possess enough capital to keep it sustainable.
Ergo Trump can only be pointing us in either the direction of communism or fascism. It can almost be proven with a mathematical formula if the right economists wish to fire up their computatin and cipherin muh-sheens.
But maybe all of his supporters WANT a shmuck to be President? I'm not sure you can interpret the facts any other way.
Terrific for Democrats though, that the Republican Party has finally decided they can't win due to the demographics so they might as well throw some monkey wrenches in the works.
I've never really understood how so many people get taken in by obvious charlatans and con men. Trump has been exactly that for decades. He has no real talent, is not really a particularly savvy businessman, and is such an obvious boor. He started with loads of money, got handed the famiy business early, and nearly bankrupted it twice within the first 10 years. Why would anyone want such a failed businessman in charge of PUBLIC funds?
Why would anyone want such a failed businessman in charge of PUBLIC funds?
Because he has mastered the authoritarian strongman role so completely that he is now a more talented actor than Ronald Reagan ever dreamed he could be. He's the master showman and I wouldn't be surprised if an outfit like Rand Corp models it as a psyop product in the near future.
If you can package something like this, global corporate oligarchy is a lead pipe cinch.
I certainly support him as the Republican candidate, just because he would be very easy to beat. But at this point, I suspect any of the Republicans would be very easy to beat. I sometimes wonder if he is actually doing all of this to insure Hillary wins. Like a Springtime for Hitler candidacy.
I've been hearing that a lot, which means there are a lot of you out there, PIA. But one thing prevents me from buying into it.
Where's the payoff for Trump? A book deal? A movie? Consulting jobs? Increased brand recognition for a parade of failed brands? The man has jeopardized his brand irreversibly if you ask me. How many bottles of Trump water does one think he has to sell to make up for that? I guarantee you he will not fill Trump Towers with his supporters. So I am trying to figure out how, if this all just a big joke, how it becomes a profitable big joke for Donald Trump. If I can't see the payoff, it's either too cleverly hidden, which it might be, or it's too small to be visible to the naked eye.
Or, is it (SHUDDER!!!!) something so obvious that I am too close to sense its enormity? Is Hillary to give him a cabinet post or (YIKES!!!) is she going to pick Trump as her VP or....?
It could be that it's simply a case of serendipity.
Donald Trump probably never expected this. It was a gimmick to get him some free press but it went viral. Like Influenza, or the Black Death. The free press just kept coming and coming until all we see every day is more and more Donald Trump. Not paid ads like most politicians have to do but free coverage 24/7 by the news media. And everybody knows that any publicity is good publicity. Like any salesman Donald just told the rubes what they wanted to hear, he probably had no idea that the timing was perfect for just the sort of shtick that he was best at, that his empty rhetoric would resonate with so many. The Republican field was wide but it wasn't very deep. Rife with washed up governors, rookie senators hoping to pull of an Obama and a few charlatans in it only for the money. A failed businesswoman hoping to cash in on Hillary's ovaries, a retired surgeon, a preacher, the son of a single term president and brother to one of the worst presidents in history, a pair of Cubans and a sometimes, sort of Libertarian.
Not a one of them qualified, nor with any sort of plan beyond more obstruction.
Enter Donald Trump, who trumped them all by making unconstitutional promises, promising to torture prisoners, deport 12 million illegal immigrants and build a wall along the southern border and send troops to battle ISIS. Inciting hatred and violence, espousing racism, nationalism, xenophobia. Saying things so outrageous that no one took him seriously.
Did they call him out on it? Put forth better ideas? Hell no, they all jumped on the Trump train and tried to outdo him in their rush to make America hate again.
The Donald just kept talking trash and rose like scum to the top of the pond. The rubes just skimmed it off and ate it up.
After a while the Trump ego just took control of the whole ball of wax, the narcissist saw his reflection in the crowd and was pleased with what he saw.
It's outstanding. Greger I am in awe...beautifully written! And perhaps it's true...in 2016 America, it might very well be that one can FAIL UPWARDS all the way to the White House.
But I still need to know what you think The Donald's exit strategy would be should the whole thing blow up, or should he go on to win the GOP nom but be beaten by either the Hillary or Sanders camp. If he runs, but loses, surely he will have thought about what he intends to do come November 9th, 2016 as defeated candidate.
He will return to an office in uproar, a real estate firm in tatters, and by now, an image crafted almost entirely of pure "bullshitium".
Well, he doesn't actually need to land a lobbying position or do a speaking tour. He'll probably pay someone to write another book for him and skim a few mil off that though.
And whatever makes you think his brand is tarnished? The more well off of his backers will flock to his golf courses and casinos. His celebrity has been magnified many times and like I said, all publicity is good publicity. He'll continue making deals and money just as before but now he has millions of potential customers for any new businesses he may start in the future.
I'm not terribly worried about Donald Trumps future should he fail to become the President of the United States.
Only if he is elected. If he loses it's just back to business for him. The rubes he's inciting will fade back into the woodwork and continue shooting themselves and their kids and occupying an occasional wildlife refuge.
The charge of “inciting a riot” is a misdemeanor, defined this way: “Any person who willfully incites or urges another to engage in a riot, so that as a result of such inciting or urging a riot occurs or a clear and present danger of a riot is created.”
Under North Carolina law, a riot is “a public disturbance involving an assemblage of three or more persons which by disorderly and violent conduct, or the imminent threat of disorderly and violent conduct, results in injury or damage to persons or property or creates a clear and present danger of injury or damage to persons or property.”
I guess telling someone "go ahead, I'll pay your legal bills" might be inciting. Wouldn't THAT be exciting. Maybe he'll have to pay HIS OWN legal bills.
What about this whole "Trojan Horse for Hillary" gambit that so many seem to believe?
Where is the payoff for Trump in all of this if he leaves the race or loses, or is exposed as a poison dart operative for Hillary? Does he parlay all of this into a marketing empire where he sells fake gold bullion to his hordes of followers on QVC or something?
By the way, I know this is slightly but maybe we could open another thread? What's been happening in ISIS-land ever since we all got our sniffers lodged in Trump's ass these last coupla months, eh? Is our Moozlum terrorist prezzy-dint killin more of them or sending their buddies moar tankz and gunz?
Most Trump-branded projects and products are built and sold by third parties, and Trump only makes a relative sliver of money off them by licensing his name. By Trump's measure, his name is his most valuable asset. (Per Forbes, "Trump claims that his brand and brand-related deals are worth some $3.3 billion. We value his brand at just $125 million.") In practice, "Trump" has repeatedly stood for half-baked schemes, shoddy work and sketchy characters.
1. Trump Airlines (1990) 2. Trump beverages (2004,6,7) 3. Trump: The Game (1990,2004) 4. Trump casinos (x3)(1991,2004,2008)
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("Trump has filed for bankruptcy on his Atlantic City properties alone three times. First was the Trump Taj Mahal in 1991 — which was $3 billion in debt after just one year in operation. He was back in bankruptcy court in 2004, and not just for the Trump Taj Mahal but for the Trump Marina and Trump Plaza casinos, which along with a riverboat casino in Indiana had a debt burden of some $1.8 billion. After the bankruptcy, Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts reorganized as Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. Four years later, Trump Entertainment Resorts missed an interest payment on a $53.1 million bond; the company declared bankruptcy, and this time Trump stepped down as its chairman.")
5. Trump magazine (2009) 6. Trump Mortgage (2007) 7. Trump Steaks (2007) 8. Trump's travel site (2007) 9. Trump's comms company (1990) 10. Trump Tower Tampa (2008) 11. Trump University (ongoing disaster) 12. Trump Vodka (2008) 13. Lost future earnings from calling Mexicans rapists (2015 and ongoing)
For those following at home, between 1990 and 2009, Trump has averaged a failed enterprise every year (some managed to fail more than once).
Trump Is Gaslighting America: This is an intervention. America, you have a Trump problem.
Nicole Hemmer U.S. News & World Report March 15, 2016
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Dear America,
This is an intervention.
You have a problem.
Donald Trump.
He’s gaslighting you.
It’s a technique abusers use: Through manipulation and outright lies, they so disorient their target that the person (or in this case, the country) is left defenseless. He’s gaslighting you.
Trump is a toxic blend of Barnum and bully. If you’re a good mark, he’s your best friend. But if you catch on to the con, then he starts to gaslight. Ask him a question and he’ll lie without batting an eye. Call him a liar and he’ll declare himself “truthful to a fault.” Confront him with contradictory evidence and he’ll shrug and repeat the fib. Maybe he’ll change the subject. But he’ll never change the lie.
I have to conclude you guys in this thread believe an intractably ideological conservative hellbent on destroying America and forcing it into Armageddon is less a problem than having a buffoon for president.
Mussolini wound up hanging by his feet from a meat hook. America's own "Lil Douche" will probably not meet a fate so terrible but the Republican Party may not escape that fate.
I truly believe that Trump is far more dangerous than people credit. Especially his followers. I heard two separate interviews yesterday with Trump supporters/spokespeople and BOTH clearly had no idea what he stood for and stated that "He doesn't really mean what he says.". How does one blindly support someone whom they believe doesn't intend to do the things he claims? The obvious choices are so clearly bad it is inescapable: 1) He's just a liar, and a manipulative one at that, 2) he means it, and you are too blind to realize that. Or 3) you have no idea what you are supporting. All three are possible (and probable).
Hitler, Mussolini, Berlisconi, Luna da Silva, Peron... Are all example of people who came to power the same way - and were excused as buffoons all the way to taking control. (By the way, Trump looks so much like Mussolini that when I first got the pictures I didn't catch the substitution):
I do not know why some folks have taken this as something unique
Sen Cruz has warned his people that brokering the convention (meaning if the establishment writes him out) would be the end of the party .... one could say that was a toned down statement of riots within the party
one person has more vivid imagery than the other .... so the question is .... do you think the Cruzers would simply meekly walk out of a brokered convention?
I truly believe that Trump is far more dangerous than people credit.
If I were to consider each candidate individually, I would have concluded each was far more dangerous than people credit them.
My analysis is a comparison between the likely more successful candidates, Trump & Sen Cruz.
Trump is as you say and has been from day one. Conservatives say the media has been promoting him while I see the media has been trying to comprehend the incomprehensible i.e. your analysis. Bureaucracy will tame the beast.
Sen Cruz on the other hand from day one has made it clear he intends on dismantling the federal government. This includes not only removing a number of named departments but if he is an originalist probably all but the named departments mentioned in the Constitution. He has made it clear entitlements are headed for privatization. He has made it clear the apparent sole purpose of the federal government is to provide a military force for defense. He has made it clear Christian have more rights than other people. He has made it clear he sides with Israel which would include breaking the Iranian deal and probably allow and support Israeli unprovoked unilateral attacks on Iran which would coincide with his belief in the filling the tableau of the end times.
Sen Cruz has first hand knowledge of government and his agenda will have teeth. Trump would be like a clown in the center ring of a circus ... all show.
When I weigh these two possibilities, there is no doubt in my mind the person who has the agenda to actually destroy something and has the knowledge how to do it, is far more dangerous.
Let me add: Frank Gaffney was just named a foreign policy advisor for Sen Cruz .... if you do not think that is scary ... well ..... large hairy spiders
Donald Trump routinely lies, and the media lets him — why? .... As communications professor Michelle Amazeen told The Daily Beast:
“The incentive for candidates [to lie] is that most media outlets don’t have the resources to check for accuracy immediately,” Amazeen said. “But since the U.S. news media is based on the commercial model—and more eyeballs on the page or the screen is good for business—the networks love it when someone like Donald Trump says outrageous stuff. Fact-checking rains on the parade of that revenue model.”
Another factor is the traditional media approach of emphasizing objectivity and artificial balance in news coverage—what James Carey at Columbia University calls “false equivalency” and New York University professor Jay Rosen refers to as “the View from Nowhere.” As media researcher Nikki Usher put it in a recent Medium post:
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“The reporting is detached rather than a full-fledged and necessary assault on some of the worst racism we’ve ever heard from a national political figure. Trump is just making things up and no one is actually calling him on it directly in the name of objective reporting.
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Trump has "perfected the outrageous untruth as a campaign tool," said Michael LaBossiere, a philosophy professor at Florida A&M University who studies theories of knowledge. "He makes a clearly false or even absurdly false claim, which draws the attention of the media. He then rides that wave until it comes time to call up another one."
PolitiFact has been documenting Trump’s statements on our Truth-O-Meter, where we’ve rated 76 percent of them Mostly False, False or Pants on Fire, out of 77 statements checked. No other politician has as many statements rated so far down on the dial.
It's well known and oft published what a foul liar the Donald is.
But Republicans care nothing for lies from their own and accept them always as the Gospel Truth. Even when faced with facts they double down on the lies. But let a Democrat utter some small untruth and they will pounce on it with a vengeance.
But Republicans care nothing for lies from their own and accept them always as the Gospel Truth. Even when faced with facts they double down on the lies. But let a Democrat utter some small untruth and they will pounce on it with a vengeance.
Actually, as Prince of Lies, Trump probably prefers lying whenever possible. And His followers don't care at all. They just swallow all the lies whole.
Maybe the Bible-Thumpers are right: This is the End Times and Trump is The Anti-Christ.
What should the media do when ANYONE lies... And the biggest joke of all:
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“The incentive for candidates [to lie] is that most media outlets don’t have the resources to check for accuracy immediately.”
It's like saying NASA doesn't have sufficient fuel to boost a rocket into outer space, and yet it's actually true, today's US media DOESN'T have the resources to check for accuracy, their budgets operate on a shoestring, as if they are SEARS.
Trump is now losing momentum. I suspect he is on a downward slide to oblivion. I think the reason might be that he is simply boring his supporters as he seems to tend towards repetition and little else new but insults. His path downwards will, I hope, be as entertaining as his path to stardom and the presidency.
Not surprising considering the depravity of these campaigns, but Trump spokesperson, and Boston Herald columnist, "went there" in true Jerry Springer style. Good thing there weren't any folding chairs handy!
I see what you mean, jgw, he's dropping in the polls and has recently been surpassed by Cruz. but it's a strange time for this to happen. Halfway through the primary season with a big lead. At the moment he's still the "presumed" republican nominee but that could change. Do you suppose all the negative press is finally having an effect? Maybe his date with irrelevancy is just coming much later than everyone expected it to. But I don't find this particularly comforting. Republicans who might sit out a Trump bid against Hillary will likely feel no such compunction with Cruz and those same polls show a much tighter margin between Cruz vs Clinton.
Just when you think the Republican candidates can't get any further from the actual issues that face the nation and what they aim to do about it, they get even further from the actual issues...etc.
I suspect this won't play well for Trump unless he can come up with definitive proof regarding Senator Cruz's infidelity.
"you're a serial adulterer with an ugly wife!" "Oh yeah, well you're a rat-f**er and had to get mail order brides from Europe because no American would sleep with you, you small pr***ed b***d." Yeah, that's a substitute for a televised debate...
Maybe the "foreign former nude model" characteristic of Trump's many wives is starting to reach his supporters. We can have a President with a homely wife, we can have a President with a very competent wife, but can we have a President with a wife that inspires lust in teenage boys?
I'm not too sure about that, in the minds of some of his supporters. (Cruz on the other hand, has a very typical "First Lady" looking wife.) Presidents of the US have certainly had good-looking mistresses before, but their wives tend to look mature and dignified.
Maybe President Trump would even decide the current wife needed to be upgraded with the next younger bimbo, while in office. Wouldn't that be special, to quote the Church Lady.
the story regarding Sen Cruz's affairs has been in the ether for a while ... apparently it was known by MSM which ignored it but finally picked up by the tabloids ... Rubio's campaign apparently knew about it and tried to promote it to no avail .... Trump's campaign may not have known the story at all especially considering what his nutty spokesperson told CNN today
If true is should impact his campaign i.e. family values super Christian, son of God, etc
Trump's campaign may have reached a critical ceiling and momentum, but then, there may be several reasons to explain it i.e. anti-Trump establishment, PAC's etc
While you guys worried about a buffoon the real threat to America has a tenuous relationship with people (the enemy of my enemy)who would otherwise not give him the time of day.
America's Greatness probably had more to do with most of our competitors being destroyed in WW II than any inherent superiority. I got news for Trump and his followers: That time is not coming back any time soon, unless you start WW III and everybody fails to nuke the US.
America's Greatness probably had more to do with most of our competitors being destroyed in WW II than any inherent superiority. I got news for Trump and his followers: That time is not coming back any time soon, unless you start WW III and everybody fails to nuke the US.
I gotta take issue with that, sorry. Yeah maybe for the first three years or so, EU was in a shambles and manufacturing was DOA but please note, German manufacturing recovered so quickly that they didn't even take much Marshall Plan money because they insisted they didn't need it. By 1950 or so, and definitely by 1952, Germany's manufacturing was back on track, same for Italy, France and the UK.
We cannot attribute a thirty year postwar prosperity boom to nothing more than winning the war and nothing else.
A lot of VW, Ferrari, Peugeot and Morris owners would disagree, a lot of wristwatch owners would laugh while checking the time, tons of photographers would put down their Leicas or drop their Zeiss lenses, Blaupunkt radio listeners would turn down the volume and arch their eyebrows.
I still have my German grandparent's 1954 Blaupunkt "world band" AM-FM-SW-LW deluxe Hi-Fi radio, it sure is a beauty, a real heirloom.
While Trump is probably the most easily defeatable candidate it's still not necessarily a bad thing. In a perfect world we might hope to see a contested Republican Convention in which neither of these candidates is chosen as as the nominee. If an arbitrary candidate is chosen at the convention we might see a revolt among Republican voters. Trump supporters would stay home, evangelicals might vote in reduced numbers and the base, in general, probably won't be happy with whomever is chosen. A situation likely to guarantee a win for the Democrats. The only downside I see is that Trump may run on a third party ticket which will bring out his supporters en masse and while Democrats would easily win the presidency, the down ticket Republican candidates would fare better and likely keep their majority in the Senate.
1. ensure Sen Cruz does not get the nomination 2. the American people facing a choice between rational and irrational would hopefully come to their collective senses and choose rationally
And which one of them is rational? This is like supporting Mussolini or Torquemada, as far as I can tell. People are supporting Cruz just so Trump doesn't have enough delegates for a first round victory at the convention. Cruz certainly won't have enough. Besides, plenty of Republicans would never vote for Cruz, either.
Then they can pick somebody a majority doesn't despise. Like Kasich or Ryan. Doesn't matter much in the Presidential race: They are doomed anyway it unwinds, unless Hillary dies and Bernie goes nuts with Leninist rants about "Each to his ability".
The people who run the Party just want a decent guy to bring out the vote for Senators and Representatives. Trump or Cruz will not do that.
The people who run the Party just want a decent guy to bring out the vote for Senators and Representatives. Trump or Cruz will not do that.
But...as I keep pointing out, a third party run by Trump would do just that. (Relatively) Moderate Republicans would vote for the candidate chosen by the party. While the more unhinged would go with Trump. It would bode well for the down ticket Republican candidates and likely keep the Senate under Republican control. I had genuinely hoped that this election was going to turn into a rout but as time passes I see that it will likely be a fairly close race.
If Trump does get foxed out of a nomination and does run third party, I can see a lot of his devout fans blaming the Republican Party and NOT voting for Republican Congress critters. The guy loves to sue, after all. He could start an anti-Republican war.
All of this is speculation, of course. We shall see what happens, but I bet it will be entertaining!
Oh they'll cuss the party but they'll vote for their Senators and Representatives. I hear Paul Ryan is getting primaried by a TEA Party candidate and may go the way of Eric Cantor this time around.
One can only hope that Congressman Ryan is shown the door by the True Americans of his district. Such obsequious behavior! The Congressman's grovelling before and capitulation to ...... has been physically revolting to witness - the man is even worse than former-Congressman Boehner.
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No, I Will Never 'Come Around' to Supporting Trump
Jonah Goldberg National Review April 16, 2016
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... It looks like the Trump body snatching virus I wrote about last month is spreading again. For a moment, after Wisconsin, it seemed like it might be going into remission. Nope, it's actually spiking.
Last night the New York Post endorsed Donald Trump. After I criticized the editorial on Twitter, a Trump supporter tweeted at me "No Goldberg, you are wrong. Support the front runner and stop trying to burn the party. Unite it." ...
On the drive in to my office this morning, I heard Hillsdale College president Larry Arnn, one of the wisest and gentlest souls I've ever encountered, describe Trump as a "good and honest man" and "quite brilliant." A few minutes ago on Twitter, the great semi-retired editorialist Don Surber said to me, regarding Trump, "You will come around. Others may not because they are childish." ...
If a president Trump does the right thing, I will say he did the right thing -- because that's my job. But I will never look at that fleshy pile of vanity, crudity, and deceit and say, "There's a good and honest man." Yes, yes, we all believe in redemption, so maybe he could have some Oval Office conversion, find a God that doesn't consider profit maximization to be the key measure of a man's soul, and become a good and honest man. Maybe the sudden bowel-stewing realization that he's wildly unqualified for the job of commander-in-chief will arouse in him a humility never displayed in his gaudy romp across our airwaves ...
'He Can Change': The New York Post Endorses Carol's Boyfriend
Charles C. W. Cooke National Review April 15, 2016
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Carol's boyfriend is a mercurial figure -- a potentially nice guy, but unreliable, dangerous, and married to someone else. Exactly who he is can be hard to make out amid his capriciousness, his lying, and his occasional descents into violence...
But he can change. What else to expect from someone who reflects the baser passions? It'll be different when Carol fixes him. It'll be different when he leaves his wife. It'll be different when he kicks the habit. It'll be different when he gets back on his feet again. The therapy will change him. And Carol can learn to stop provoking him...
It is rather amazing that so many people believe a guy who has failed at so many businesses, conned so many people, never been elected to any office, knows so little about how our government operates, and has the temperament of a 13 year old bully should be the commander in chief of the United States. Has their anger really made them that stupid? Have we had an outbreak of lead in all the municipal water supplies?
We would be better served by just giving the next PowerBall winner the nuclear launch codes.
Some say that trust, the most important thing in people getting along, is slipping away in America. I am trying to comprehend the role trust has in the matter of supporting Donald Trump, an extremely untrustworthy individual.
Do only very stupid people trust scoundrels? Maybe the problem in America is not trust, but stupidity.
GOP's 'rigged' rules give Trump a big N.Y. victory
Andrew Malcolm Investor's Business Daily April 20, 2016
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Thanks to the so-called "rigged" rules of the Republican Party's presidential primary process, Donald Trump won 95% of New York state's convention delegates Tuesday with only 60% of the votes.
The political newcomer has been complaining about his well-organized main challenger, Ted Cruz, collecting delegates out of proportion to voter support, according to each state's sometimes arcane selection rules, all of which were written and published last October.
The "rigged" rules in Wyoming and Colorado gave Canuck Ted delegates when no voters actually voted. So, there is that. Clearly the GOP sucks at the 2016 nomination, thingy.
Rules are rules. They are clearly more democratic than in the past, when state party bosses would just make up a slate of delegates to send to the convention to be traded for favors or sold for cash.
It's a private club, they can make or change the rules whenever they want and for whatever reasons. It's like a private party and Trump is not invited yet and probably won't be.
Charles Koch, in an interview to air on Sunday on ABC's "This Week" program, said that in some respects Bill Clinton had been a better president than George W. Bush, who Koch said had increased government spending. Then when asked if Hillary Clinton would be a better president than the Republicans currently running, he said, "It's possible, it's possible."
Now we know why the Koch brothers are not spending any money to block Trump: He thinks Hillary will beat Trump, and that would not be such a bad thing. I think her odds just jumped to the 99.99% level.
when asked if Hillary Clinton would be a better president than the Republicans currently running, he said, "It's possible, it's possible."
Doesn't say a lot for Madame Clinton. But the Koch bros are not fools. The chances that either likely Republican candidate would usher in a new recession are pretty good since neither really understands what is required of a president.
Trump's trumpet is about to get louder (as if he weren't already loud enough)!
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Donald Trump currently has at least 846 delegates, according to the NBC News tally, and he can still clear the magic number of 1,237 during the primary season. Doing so would prevent the open convention that Ted Cruz and the Stop Trump movement are banking on. Here’s what it would take:
Chuck Todd did his own analysis that suggests Trump's actual magic number is 1150, because he needs a relatively small number of "unpledged/unbound" delegates in each state that has them to get past 1237. One should not underestimate how strong the dislike of Cruz is within the party establishment.
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Here is Trump's path:
He needs to win 90 to 95 of the 118 pledged delegates that are up for grabs in tonight's five states; He needs about two-thirds of the 54 unbound delegates being elected in Pennsylvania to either be Trump supporters or folks who will support whoever wins their congressional district (i.e., Trump); And he needs to beat Cruz in Indiana, even if they split the delegate haul.
One should not underestimate how strong the dislike of Cruz is within the party establishment
That reads like understatement
He is surrounded by Islamophobes He is surrounded by "Christians" who hate people and even want to kill them He supported the Oregon domestic terrorists He supports legalized discrimination and more
I have to wonder what would have happened in 1787 if Sen Cruz had been at the convention. Would we even have a Constitution?
Boy, between Trump's fraud case and Cruz's little Canadian birth problem, the Republicans could end up with no nominee! Maybe by convention time both of these issues will be in full bloom and they will have to draft Kasich.
Boy, between Trump's fraud case and Cruz's little Canadian birth problem, the Republicans could end up with no nominee! Maybe by convention time both of these issues will be in full bloom and they will have to draft Kasich.
As with Whitewater, the Rethuglicons are hoping that any of these myriad of investigations of Hillary, will put Hillary into prison.
"hoped", not "hope". They tried throwing every kind of poop possible against that wall, but none of it has stuck.
Which brings us to an interesting point: They have never attacked Sanders like they have the Clintons. It looks like he won't be the nominee, but if he had made it the attacks would be relentless. The main reason they have held off is that Bernie Sanders is the candidate they would love to run against, because he is so vulnerable. By the time they were finished with him, he would get less than 1/3 of the vote. His polls only look good because Republicans want it that way.
"hoped", not "hope". They tried throwing every kind of poop possible against that wall, but none of it has stuck.
Which brings us to an interesting point: They have never attacked Sanders like they have the Clintons. It looks like he won't be the nominee, but if he had made it the attacks would be relentless. The main reason they have held off is that Bernie Sanders is the candidate they would love to run against, because he is so vulnerable. By the time they were finished with him, he would get less than 1/3 of the vote. His polls only look good because Republicans want it that way.
Everybody keeps saying that....WHY? What are they going to say? Lemme guess...
OMG TEH SOCIALISMZ!!!!
OMG TEH SOCIALISMZ!!!! OMG TEH SOCIALISMZ!!!! OMG TEH SOCIALISMZ!!!! OMG TEH SOCIALISMZ!!!!
Eaayaaaaaaghhhhhhhh!!!! (runs around room with hair on fire)
Yeah? So??? Think back, people. The Republican Party has called FDR, Truman, Kennedy, Johnson, Carter, Clinton and Obama socialists. That's SEVEN PRESIDENTS over a span of THREE generations! They even called Ike Eisenhower A COMMUNIST!
Do you not get a sense of BOY. WHO. CRIED. WOLF, after all this time? Isn't it about time someone started saying "boy who cried wolf?" This baloney commie tag, they seem to think it's radioactive, like the conservatives who think that all they have to do is say "LIBTARD" and they've won the argument.
Who IS IT that gives these angry little humunculi that much power? WE DO.
ENOUGH.
Let em try to hang the socialist tag on Sanders. Maybe it's a moot point now, with Clinton now having the mathematical advantage, but I still say that it is time for a cage match and it's time to end this once and for all, because guess what? They're going to call Hillary Clinton a socialist too. And anyone who thinks otherwise, or thinks there will be some kind of honeymoon between them and Hillary, is delusional. But I still say, Bernie or no Bernie, it is high time Democrats and ALL liberals drive a stake through the heart of the red baiters now and for all time.
Everything we feared about Communism, that we would lose our homes and savings, and be forced to toil endlessly for meager wages with no voice in the system, has come true under REPUBLICANS.
Everyone knows it, but none dare speak its name. Well I WILL speak its name. Republicans are worse than communists, more dangerous than communists, more everything. And socialism has a long and rewarding history in this country, so it is time they shut the Hell up, and if they don't shut up, it's time we shut them up.
Name ONE THING that Americans didn't give the conservatives in the last forty years, things they DEMANDED in order to set the economy right...ONE THING.
They can't. No one can because America gave them carte blanche starting with Reagan and it continued till present day. And they have screwed the pooch. America is turning into one big Kansas because of their moronic ideas about the economy.
They are wrong, they always have been wrong, about the economy, about everything. So why should their words have any power, about Bernie or about any damn thing.
ENOUGH. I'm sick of it and the rest of you should be too. The Emperor has no f****ing clothes.
Everybody keeps saying that....WHY? What are they going to say? Lemme guess...
OMG TEH SOCIALISMZ!!!!
As we have already seen on Reader Rant - some on the political right think that the 1930s German Democratic Socialist Party was left wing.
So they equate Bernie Sanders with 1930s Germany and can't understand why half of America is not upset with Bernie being a "socialist."
...and when these same folks are not breathlessly hyperventilating about Bernie's "socialism," they're conflating American Socialism with Communism.
Never mind the FACT that Social Security, Medicare, Unemployment, Fire/Police protections, Interstate highways, are all paid for by the contribution from everyone for the benefit of the whole, and are indeed, examples of American socialism.
Everybody keeps saying that....WHY? What are they going to say? Lemme guess...
OMG TEH SOCIALISMZ!!!!
As we have already seen on Reader Rant - some on the political right think that the 1930s German Democratic Socialist Party was left wing.
So they equate Bernie Sanders with 1930s Germany and can't understand why half of America is not upset with Bernie being a "socialist."
Yeah but would they be voting for EITHER HRC or Sanders? Oh Hell no, those are the Cruz and Trump voters! No point in trying to reason with them anyway, so it's not like either Dem candidate is going to lose their votes.
Originally Posted by PDX Rick
...and when these same folks are not breathlessly hyperventilating about Bernie's "socialism," they're conflating American Socialism with Communism.
Never mind the FACT that Social Security, Medicare, Unemployment, Fire/Police protections, Interstate highways, are all paid for by the contribution from everyone for the benefit of the whole, and are indeed, examples of American socialism.
Yeah but again, they've always thought that way, they've always behaved that way, they ARE the problem!
We either hit this head on and slay the dragon or satisfy ourselves with a never ending succession of Democratic Casper Milquetoasts who whine: "Well yeah you conservatives might be right but I'm not that liberal!"
The only problem is that Sanders is not a "democratic socialist", he is a Socialist. And by that I mean that he visited Cuba and the USSR when they were Communists and publicly praised their leaders and their system of government. He visited the Sandinistas and did the same. You don't think that would be dragged out there again?
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They could rehash his attacks on compulsory schooling, dairy laws, and fluoridation, or his Freudian analysis of napalm use in Vietnam, or his advocacy of public toddler nudity and genital touching as cures for porn, or the sexual quackery through which he attributed breast cancer and cervical cancer to orgasm deficiency and capitalist conformity. Basically, if you were designing the perfect target for Republicans—a candidate who proudly links socialist economics to hippie culture, libertinism, left-wing foreign policy, new-age nonsense, and contempt for bourgeois values—you’d create Bernie Sanders.
Personally, I have no problem with America turning into a Swedish-style socialist paradise. But once Republicans finished attacking Sanders all the Independents and many of the Democrats would not vote for him. That's why I say Republicans would LOVE to run against Bernie. This is just political reality even if you don't think it is fair.
Ehhh, he's a democratic socialist, and not even all that much of one. I won't even capitalize it for him, small d, small s.
The REAL Socialists won't even shake his hand, PIA. In fact, he's such a mild blend of democratic socialist that even the Democratic Socialists want nothing to do with him.
Personally I say he should have just said he was an independent liberal, because really he's just a blend of FDR, TR and Eisenhower all rolled into one, with a little Ben and Jerry's sprinkled on top.
I have a good buddy down in Venice Beach who is a card carrying member of the real Democratic Socialist Party. He says that Bernie fails the test for a true DS on too many levels and that, in his opinion, Bernie is too much of a sellout because he should have run as an independent or write-in candidate, and he should have REVISITED all those socialist nations and made some speeches during his run. He says Bernie is WAAAAY too conservative.
The Bernie in the above quote that you referenced is from four or five decades ago. Typical Republican smears, they have the millions to spew it nationwide of course, but again...when it all boils down to the rubber meeting the road, it doesn't even matter if Bernie wins or not.
Our mission is to move America back to the center-left, WITH a Bernie or without. Yeah, I would love to see Bernie take the Oath of Office, but in the end, if he loses, he IS going to return to Congress more than likely, he IS going to hold his head up high and he WILL have made a huge difference, and the people who supported him will continue to seek out traditional liberals who understand the basic principles of hybrid capitalist-dem soc economics, resource based societies, community heavy lifting, upward mobility for the middle class and energy efficiency.
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"He's not moving a party to the left. He's moving a generation to the left," Della Volpe said of the senator from Vermont. "Whether or not he's winning or losing, it's really that he's impacting the way in which a generation — the largest generation in the history of America — thinks about politics."
And in the past, the only way the right wing establishment has been able to quench those fires is by assassinating the most charismatic leaders, one after another, and then mounting a large media campaign with somber intonations about "The End of an Era". Bullet to the head for JFK, RFK, MLK, bring in the cowboy TV actor, "end of an era", hippies suck, government can't do anything right, money is God, greed is good, suck the appendage of your local billionaire, say the pledge, salute the flag, fight a war and say your prayers.
Yeah, they've had their forty years of fame. IT'S OVER NOW, it's OUR turn to say "end of an era".
Next time they try shooting liberal heroes, I'm betting there will be some very bloody consequences that are aimed directly at the right's key figures. Think Bastille Day, think whatever you want. I'm not rubbing my hands with glee over it, trust me. In fact I think the result of such an attempt might even trigger something close to October 1917.
NO ONE WINS something like that, but plenty of very wealthy people lose something like that, and plenty of their supporters lose their heads. The right is very good with showy displays of guns and ammo, tatoos and Gadsden flags, and angry talk, and all of it evaporates into fat guys asking for snacks over the internet and pissed off old white men getting gunned down in the snow because they think it's their right to pull guns on sheriffs.
But if you look back at history, it's the LEFT...not the moderate left, the HARDCORE ANGRY LEFT, the ANARCHIST LEFT, that really knows how to kick some ass, they go in for some bloody guillotine inspired ass kicking. The hardcore anarchist left hangs gun toting paramilitary types from the third floor of office buildings and sets stuff on fire. It's like one of those zombie apocalypse films.
No, I am not a fan of that. I'm far too moderate a liberal to enjoy that. I just like my public schools and post offices and high tech wizard-y gadgets and my dreams of electric hot rods zooming down the freeway.
The hardcore right has been talking smack now for about a decade. And now we've watched several high profile mini-wars go down, where the right has attempted to push ordinary people into a corner and dare the government to fight back.
The right now thinks that they have license to threaten ordinary people. And I do think that, win or lose, Bernie or Hillary, that there WILL be a mass right wing mini-riot on several fronts.
They better stick with remote wildlife refuges for these shindigs because if they roll into a city and try pulling a stunt like that, it's not going to end well for them. Snacks will not be forthcoming.
Let's face it, Hillary Clinton is the establishment candidate, which is why she will ultimately win. She is the most "moderate" candidate in the ballot, and will, ultimately, do the least damage to the status quo. Trump was able to steal a march on the GOP because it was in such disarray and allowed too many inflated egos on the stage. He understood that election coverage was tabloid entertainment, but when it comes to actual elections, people will turn to the most moderate, stable candidate.
I love that Bernie Sanders has had such a run because he has changed the conversation. He'll have significant influence over the Democratic platform just like the socialists did in 1932. Clinton, like FDR, will take those socialist concepts and mold then into centrist policies, because that is where the real center is in America now.
Franklin Roosevelt saved capitalism from itself (actually, both Roosevelts did), but he didn't throw it out. He understood that there has to be balance in the economy, and that it was seriously out of whack. The enemies of progress are more sophisticated, now, but the underlying yearning for fairness, which is the heart of the American experience, will win out, eventually. I think we're on the brink of that breakthrough.
I love that Bernie Sanders has had such a run because he has changed the conversation. He'll have significant influence over the Democratic platform just like the socialists did in 1932. Clinton, like FDR, will take those socialist concepts and mold then into centrist policies, because that is where the real center is in America now.
I've been predicting this on The Original Political Mosh Pit for about three weeks:
Bernie will return to Congress with his head held high and he will have earned a good deal more respect from his colleagues. And he will function as the flamethrower applied to Hillary's feet should she try drifting back over to the old Third Way camp.
I honestly believe we have not seen the last of Mr. Sanders, not by a long shot.
And he will function as the flamethrower applied to Hillary's feet should she try drifting back over to the old Third Way camp.
I wouldn't put it quite so violently, but he will serve as Hillary's conscience in dealing with Congress. And as far as the new organization some of his followers will form, they can work with Hillary where a Republican President would simply ignore them. It will be a good time to be a left-winger: Having a President that actually takes you seriously.
It will be a good time to be a left-winger: Having a President that actually takes you seriously.
Interesting thought, that. It seems for the past eight years, while President Obama has been vaguely sympathetic to the left, he hasn't genuinely taken them/us seriously. There is, perhaps, such a thing as being too pragmatic.
' During many years of watching the slow-motion collapse of American society, I have often noted the parallels to the way the Roman Republic slid into greater and greater oligarchy, and then empire.
The Senatorial and Equestrian classes constituted the backbone of the Roman Republic. During the last century BC, greater and greater instability affected the power relations in these classes -- with riot and assassination and then civil war bringing in the reign of the oligarchs and the triumvirs -- while all the time the oligarchs made a great pretense of respecting the institutions of the Republic.
Sound familiar?
The power of the oligarchs in modern America likewise seems to be increasingly concentrated into fewer and fewer hands. Perhaps we are entering into the time of the precursor's of the triumvirs -- the Clintons and the Bushes are suggestive -- and now Trump! (Perhaps one might compare the Kennedy brothers fate with the earlier and doomed Gracchi brothers -- the last flailing effort to bring stability to the Republic).
Of the members of the First Triumvirate, Trump reminds me strongly of Crassus -- who interestingly made his fortune in real estate! Both Crassus and Trump are obvious narcissistic sociopaths who think they can extend their financial success into politics and war. Crassus was determined to win military glory despite his incompetence in that field, and met crushing defeat and death in the Middle East. Considering Trump's mania about gold, one notes the story that his captors killed Crassus by pouring molten gold down his throat.
Of course, my analogy breaks down here. We have yet to see an American Pompey or Caesar -- but perhaps soon! .
It will be a good time to be a left-winger: Having a President that actually takes you seriously.
Interesting thought, that. It seems for the past eight years, while President Obama has been vaguely sympathetic to the left, he hasn't genuinely taken them/us seriously. There is, perhaps, such a thing as being too pragmatic.
He's been too obsessed with winning the respect of the other side. He's almost been like one of those women trying to change an incorrigible man. It never works, but the woman might spend the rest of her life thinking, "If I can just change him...."
Considering Trump's mania about gold, one notes the story that his captors killed Crassus by pouring molten gold down his throat.
Awww crap, I had heard it was Pizarro who had molten gold poured down his throat but Crassus does sound much more appropriate. I just liked the Pizarro version because it would have been Indians pouring the molten gold down his throat.
He's been too obsessed with winning the respect of the other side
With the Congresses he has had to deal with, even a nominally Democratic one, it is hard to see what more he could have done. I think he has accomplished quite a bit in stabilizing the economy largely by fiat. True he did not live up to what I hoped for, bvut then what President has?
He's been too obsessed with winning the respect of the other side
With the Congresses he has had to deal with, even a nominally Democratic one, it is hard to see what more he could have done. I think he has accomplished quite a bit in stabilizing the economy largely by fiat. True he did not live up to what I hoped for, bvut then what President has?
Oh I heartily agree with you, Phil. I just think he should have punched back a few times. Notice how his popularity skyrocketed once he DID do just that.
Trump needs 240 more delegates. There are 571 left. Indiana accounts for 57, and it appears Trump is likely to get nearly all of them. First Read: Trump Is on the Cusp of Putting Away the GOP Race. Say he gets 40. He only needs to win 39% of the remaining delegates to get the nomination (514/200). (Clinton must win 35% of remaining pledged delegates to get a majority in pledged delegates.) If you want to "do it yourself", here's a dandy calculator from fivethirtyeight: Can You Get Trump To 1,237?
Personally, I see it as a Trump-Clinton race. Not sure what that will mean.
I think Trump nastiness might make him more popular with his fans, who were going to vote for him anyway. (Assuming they actually can vote. ( EG. felony convictions?) I think it will turn most people who are not Trump fans against him. We shall see.
I am pretty sure Clinton will do her best to portray the moderate candidate, who won't do anything incredibly stupid to destroy the current system. And that's why she will win. Even Conservatives want the current system to stay unchanged. Vote in Trump, Cruz, or Sanders and they have all promised major changes.
In a Trump/Clinton race, I wouldn't be surprised to see a fairly high percentage of Republicans voting for Clinton. Against her current Republican opponents, she IS the Moderate Republican!
supporting Mr Trump today in hopes he will knock the televangelist out of the arena or how can someone who says they are an originalist support legalized discrimination
Don't get too carried away with your support for Mr. Trump.
In the latest RCP general election poll Trump has risen above Clinton by two points. Perhaps it's time we accept that Donald J. Trump will be our next president.
Don't get too carried away with your support for Mr. Trump.
In the latest RCP general election poll Trump has risen above Clinton by two points. Perhaps it's time we accept that Donald J. Trump will be our next president.
We're still 6 mos away from the election and it was in May 2012 that the infamous video of Romney saying that 53% of Americans are freeloaders who pay no taxes, who don't assume responsibility for their lives, and who think government should take care of them.
The Donald is famous for saying stoopid. It's going to be popcorn time, for me at least.
Aunt Hillary will be POTUS. Don't you worry no moar, Greger.
my support is targeted --> defeat Sen Cruz at all costs
with the matchup Trump <--> Clinton I do not believe it will make much difference overall who should be elected .... both will end up being relatively moderate to whichever side of the political spectrum one resides
Trump over Clinton is the only one that concerns me. Republicans have fallen into line behind Trump. Democrats are divided over Clinton and Sanders. Republicans of all stripes will storm the polls to vote against Clinton. Millenials and progressives will sit this one out. Common sense tells me that Trump cannot win in November, but I never imagined George W. Bush would be elected the second time.
The thing about Bernie is, he already HAS won, even if he doesn't win the nomination, even if he doesn't get elected President.
For almost a century candidates have depended upon big corporate donors and wealthy elites for support. The excuse that a candidate HAS to depend on that spoils system IS NOW BROKEN. Bernie Sanders BROKE the system, he has turned all the old excuses into lies. An honest man (or woman) who runs his campaign strictly on the good will and support of the American people, IS THE NEW MODEL.
Say what you wish about Mr. Sanders if you don't like him, it doesn't even matter anymore, because Mr. Sanders has EARNED the RESPECT of a large number of Americans for running an honest campaign, and if he is unable to get elected president he will still return to Congress with his head held high.
He has already promised not to run third party, and he and his wife plan to make his organization PERMANENT...it's called "BNC", Brand New Congress, and he has published a list of "Bernie Democrats" who are running for office. We are electing over 400 members in both houses this November. So with that kind of potential turnover, if we can establish the kind of support Bernie envisions, Bernie will serve as the conscience of the people as a counteracting force against wealthy corporate donors and lobbyists.
They nicknamed Karl Rove "Bush's Brain". Well, Bernie Sanders may very well prove to be "Hillary's Conscience", and that is a very good thing for America.
' Like Crassus in the late Roman republic, Trump is a narcissistic sociopath -- though I suppose most of our politicians are sociopaths.
Clinton has exceptional experience and skill, though that skill, at least in foreign affairs, is Satanic. There has never been a war, bombing, torture or wrecking of a country she has not supported and abetted. She is clearly a shill for the military machine.
Trump is quite capable of starting a nuclear war, which Clinton would never intentionally do -- bad for profits.
I suppose the military and the CIA would keep a close watch on President Trump, and take whatever measures were necessary to maintain their cozy relations to money and power -- they might want to rock the boat, but they certainly don't want to overturn it! .
I suppose the military and the CIA would keep a close watch on President Trump.
You mean the way they kept a close watch on JFK? But seriously, have you read "The Art of the Deal?" Trump will use his considerable used car salesmanship skills to legally figure out a way to get an "enabling act" passed.
I wouldn't bank on the intelligence of our Congress critters to go far enough to see around the corners of his deals. More than likely most of them are star struck and would fall at his feet, no matter what they say in public.
' Like Crassus in the late Roman republic, Trump is a narcissistic sociopath -- though I suppose most of our politicians are sociopaths.
Clinton has exceptional experience and skill, though that skill, at least in foreign affairs, is Satanic. There has never been a war, bombing, torture or wrecking of a country she has not supported and abetted. She is clearly a shill for the military machine.
Trump is quite capable of starting a nuclear war, which Clinton would never intentionally do -- bad for profits.
I suppose the military and the CIA would keep a close watch on President Trump, and take whatever measures were necessary to maintain their cozy relations to money and power -- they might want to rock the boat, but they certainly don't want to overturn it! .
There are plenty of "black sites" in which he would be a welcome addition. He might even get a taste of the waterboarding he so extols.
Ah, Zeke, I was gettin' a little worried there. It looks like the Republican convention is NOT going to be contested but I won't call that bet in until the convention starts.
Ah, Zeke, I was gettin' a little worried there. It looks like the Republican convention is NOT going to be contested but I won't call that bet in until the convention starts.
I didn't forget, ol' friend. Looks like you may be right. Let's see if they don't pull any last minute punches.
Although a few diehards are burning their voter ID cards(how quaint) most seem to be falling in line with the "presumptive nominee".
But there could be some shenanigans at the convention.
There has even been some talk of running a third party candidate to deny Trump any chance of winning but to help the down ticket candidates in what is generally believed will be a blowout. The problem with this is that it would be incredibly expensive and there is no candidate available who could capture the hearts and minds of voters(assuming Republican voters have hearts and minds in the first place). Some have even posited that Trump will successfully use the same tactics against Clinton that he used to destroy the Republican field. This also seems unlikely to me and that the harder he tries to insult and belittle Clinton the worse he's gonna look to the general electorate. The RCP average has Clinton 6.5 points ahead at this point and I suspect that even the Bernie Bros will come to their senses once they are faced with a real possibility of a Trump presidency.
I don't see any real problem with the Bernie voters moving to Clinton. It will be a hold your nose and cast your ballot - but there is absolutely no possibility of any votes going to the Donald and I think - depending on how madam C plays the post convention campaign, Bernie can help energize the voters to show up in November - something I'm certain he WILL do.
The Donald is coming to Eugene tomorrow evening and will do his thing at the fairgrounds. I’m planning on attending just to witness the circus first hand.
What ever one’s opinion might be of the orange hued phenomenon, he is definitely a historical and unique figure in American politics. Could be interesting to scope out the crowd. I just hope it proceeds peacefully.
Oregon has its share of rednecks. Many of whom are- or were- employed in the wood products industries. I am quite sure Mr. Trump has a sizable contingent of supporters around here. But since he is now the defacto Republican nominee, I too cannot say what he hopes to gain by appearing here for a rally.
Oregon also has a huge contingent of liberal and/or environmental types. Damn hippies! So the convergence twixt the two could prove to be a volatile mix. I’ll let you know how this all unfolds post rally.
An article explaining why Trump is so popular in rural Oregon. And elsewhere. I feel for these people although I am not sure what the answer would be regarding their dilemma:
...Oregon's politics are dominated by the Democratic Party machine in Portland and Salem — the state hasn't elected a Republican to statewide office since 2002.
An interesting article about an idiot, Ken. I don't have much sympathy for these unemployed rural Trump supporters. The failure of the industry he worked in was a long time coming. There was money for motorcycles and whiskey but none for contingencies and no planning for the future. Now they want a president who will give them stuff, pay for education and job training, and somehow make their lives great again so they can go on complaining about the government giving people stuff. And they have chosen the candidate least likely to be able to help them even if there was a snowball's chance in hell of his ever being elected.
Also Trump tells these folks that he will over ride the current logging laws on federal timberlands, allowing the mills to re-open and put them back to work in humming sawmills. He tells the same thing to the coal miners. Trump will over turn the new laws regarding coal emissions etc and put all the unemployed coal miners back to work in the soon to be reopened coal mines.
It’s total BS but Trump promises this to them and they believe him.
And even worse, that family could get 100% subsidized ACA health coverage, if they just could get over the fact that it is called Obamacare. I have no sympathy for morons who fail to get health coverage their children, when it is totally free.
Coal is a dying industry. Logging is shrinking. Better these folks get off the opioids and learn to install solar panels or other work better suited to the economy of the 21st century. In Ken's linked article they are trying to get his wife trained for nursing or some such that would pay four times what he was making. Why the feck didn't they think of that before he lost his job?
Installing solar panels (even with going up on roofs) is MUCH safer than logging or working in a saw mill. Nursing is very steady work and pays pretty well, too. But even so, there is plenty of logging still going on. Just not where they live, but in other parts of the country. If they would just move, he could keep on working in a saw mill. (And his wife could find a nursing school almost anywhere.)
There actually is a need for a few coal miners: Even if we don't use it for energy, we still make some specialty steels that require it.
He filed the papers with each state, and paid the required fees himself instead of relying on the Party to do it.
You could do this, if you wanted. You do have to be a native-born American and I think 45 years old to be President. Take some strong positions (no matter how wacky) and put some speeches on youtube, and you will probably attract some donors.
Mental derangement and incompetence is no problem, apparently. You will find supporters that are just as crazy as you.
The Republican Party has been made up of various groups in a coalition for quite some time. There are Old Money, Conservative Christians, Politically Conservative who are not that religious, Chamber of Commerce Republicans, Racists, Homophobes, and quite a lot of poor people who are convinced they will win the lottery any day now and so want low taxes.
Trump is pretty much a Chamber of Commerce Republican, though that group has not been very active lately. There are some basic conflicts among the groups, but until now the Party has been pretty good about shutting everybody up about them. You know, like the Conservative Christians doing all to fight abortion while The Party does nothing about them (and even pays for them for their mistresses!). Or the poor people who want all the Mexicans deported so they get the jobs, but the Chamber of Commerce guys like cheap immigrant labor.
I guess the groups are just getting smarter and realizing The Party may not be the best fit for their issues.
That all sounds logical, but I think the majority of Trump supporters just like him because he's a bombastic a$shole. The GOP has officially become the a$$hole party.
If true then the shrinkage must be equal on both sides because he has apparently pulled even with Hillary and the establishment Democrats seem to have decided that Bernie "is not a real Democrat and therefore doesn't count."
So that would indicate that both party establishments can be drowned in the bathtub, and we are left with a very large electorate intent on pushing Bernie over the top.
I think most Trump fans think they are watching a reality show called "Trump Runs For President". They see all the primaries and caucuses as episodes where "their guy" stays in the contest, much like a recurring game show. They don't really want him to be President for four years, but they want to see how far he can go.
In fact, this "how far can he go" phrase is a direct quote from a Trump voter in an exit poll. And this confirms the idea that Republicans have given up on winning the Presidency ever again. Ronald McDonald wasn't interested, so they picked Trump as the "what the F***" candidate. Trump's non-political fans are just in it for the entertainment value.
Fury at racist cartoon comparing 'butch' and 'masculine' Michelle Obama to pageant-ready Melania Trump
Dailymail.com Reporter The Daily Mail May 14, 2016
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A cartoonist has been accused of racism after he portrayed Michelle Obama as masculine and butch next to a pageant-ready Melania Trump in a controversial drawing.
The cartoon - which has been branded 'racist and misogynistic' - shows a muscular Mrs Obama wearing a green dress with a bulge in the groin area.
Stood next to her is a feminine, smiling Melania Trump in a pink dress and holding a Trump sign.
The artist Ben Garrison tweeted the picture on Friday with the caption: '#InTrumpsAmerica The #FirstLady will be Great Again! #Trump2016.'
I don't know about Melania: It will be time to trade her in for a newer model soon. Maybe The Donald already has one in the works. He does like to plan ahead, when it comes to wives and girlfriends.
Anyway, whichever lady becomes First Lady, it will be great if 14 year-old boys can "entertain themselves" to her photos online...
I have been giving a bit of thought to Trump's ability to deny stuff that he has said or done on a regular basis. It dawned on me that this guy is doing, exactly, what others have done when they have problems with their memory. For instance, 25 years ago he was pretending to be his own spokesman. At the time he was asked about it and he readily admitted that he did do that. Now he claims he not only didn't remember doing it but denied he ever did it. The man has now done this sort of thing so many times that I am beginning to take him at his word and that he really didn't remember the incident. He has been called out on any number of things that are readily provable yet Trump continues to deny any knowledge. I wonder how his short term memory is as he has also denied stuff that he has, basically just done.
If I am right about this then the man may be well on his way to full blowed dementia.
What Would It Take for Donald Trump to Deport 11 Million and Build a Wall?
Julia Preston, Alan Rappeport and Matt Richtel The New York Times May 19, 2016
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... Donald J. Trump's vow to restore what he says is America's lost luster ... comes with campaign promises that are equally grandiose. But Mr. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, has typically provided scant details on how he might make good on his promises -- and ambitious ideas, even the concrete kind, do not always add up.
Central to Mr. Trump's campaign, and to his national security strategy, is his intent to clamp down on illegal immigration, using a vast deportation "force" to relocate people to the other side of a wall, funded by Mexico, that would stretch nearly the length of the southern border ...
If I am right about this then the man may be well on his way to full blowed dementia.
I have always just taken that as a given.
Like so many other inheritors of wealth and privilege, all through history -- like Louis XIV, the "Sun" King -- he has a hazy sense of distinction between himself and God. .
... Trump is the furthest thing possible from an ideological candidate, which is why he has driven those for whom ideology is paramount absolutely mental this election cycle. He cares not a whit for von Mises, or Hayek, or Ronald Reagan, and I doubt whether he would know the first two names mentioned. He is, in essence, the monster from the Id, the perfect Ayn Rand candidate who exists only to serve himself, and if other folks benefit in the bargain, so be it ...
On the other hand, if the thought of Hillary Clinton -- whose Id rages even more furiously than Trump's -- as president doesn't terrify you, I suggest checking yourself for a pulse. Mrs. Clinton, filled with hatred and a lust for vengeance that would put Hagen to shame, would rampage through the American government like none other, Obama himself included ...
Golem ... after listening to Mr Trump this afternoon, I can now make my prediction for the general .... doesn;t matter who the Democrat nominee is (which includes God)
Mr Trump by 2%
American ignorance will trump (pun intended) any rational policy directives from any Democrat
"What did Mr. Trump say" .... it did not matter nor does it matter what he says
the fact remains, his appeal goes beyond rational thinking .... throw everything you thought you knew (and did not know) about politics and begin the process with some assumption that America is the greatest nation to ever be and God created it as the promised land for Christians, throw in some arrogantly belligerent ignorance and you have a recipe which appeals to >50% of Americans
Golem ... after listening to Mr Trump this afternoon, I can now make my prediction for the general .... doesn;t matter who the Democrat nominee is (which includes God)
Mr Trump by 2%
American ignorance will trump (pun intended) any rational policy directives from any Democrat
If that's your gut talking I strongly suggest you see a doctor about it - urgently. Otherwise, I assume you have some scientific evidence to back up your prediction? Would like to see it. And please, no polls when we are 5 months from the election; they are about as reliable as anything that Trump himself trumpets.
"What did Mr. Trump say" .... it did not matter nor does it matter what he says
the fact remains, his appeal goes beyond rational thinking .... throw everything you thought you knew (and did not know) about politics and begin the process with some assumption that America is the greatest nation to ever be and God created it as the promised land for Christians, throw in some arrogantly belligerent ignorance and you have a recipe which appeals to >50% of Americans
why does the irrational appeal for Mr Trump bother you?
I do not need a poll to tell me most voters are irrational .... it is just a fact (perhaps you have a poll which says otherwise? [sic sic and obvious])
simply a Jeanne Dixon prediction but based on a sense of what is actually happening
why does the irrational appeal for Mr Trump bother you?
I do not need a poll to tell me most voters are irrational .... it is just a fact (perhaps you have a poll which says otherwise? [sic sic and obvious])
simply a Jeanne Dixon prediction but based on a sense of what is actually happening
Oh I see, you have a lock on the rationality (or lack thereof) of 225 million+ people eligible to vote in 2016. The appeal of Mr. Drumpf is obvious, what is not is what is ACTUALLY HAPPENING, something you seem to have a lock on as well. And the FACT that the voters are irrational - comes from where, exactly? Some statements are better shown with evidence.
in this primary cycle we have had >30M votes cast Mr Trump has over 10M votes .... are you saying these folks are rational? or the only irrational potential voters?
apparently you concluded I said all voters were irrational .... well that would be on you
consider partisans .... do you think they are rational? strange that they could be intelligent and yet irrational simultaneously ... and then there are the unintelligent and irrational folks .... you think there are only 2 in America????
are there any studies on number of people with irrational political views??? don't know but i recommend watching any news show and you can see spokespeople saying irrational things .... or better listen to callers on talk shows .... wow
while certainly not random and so not mathematically valid, it does provide a sample of what exists in the real world .... lots of folks who make political decisions based on beliefs and the nile
while he is certainly an excellent master of the media, the medias response was both based on that and the disbelief that anyone would support what he was saying
so in retrospect do you believe his support is based primarily on his media savvy or on what he is saying? I suspect it is the latter because it makes little sense for anyone to say, I support Mr Trump because he is successful, he is a media mogul, he is etc .... it does nothing for them but when he says keep the brown skin people out, keep that religion out, bitch slap foreign countries, etc .... I can believe that is something some folks find appealing
in this primary cycle we have had >30M votes cast Mr Trump has over 10M votes .... are you saying these folks are rational? or the only irrational potential voters?
apparently you concluded I said all voters were irrational .... well that would be on you
consider partisans .... do you think they are rational? strange that they could be intelligent and yet irrational simultaneously ... and then there are the unintelligent and irrational folks .... you think there are only 2 in America????
are there any studies on number of people with irrational political views??? don't know but i recommend watching any news show and you can see spokespeople saying irrational things .... or better listen to callers on talk shows .... wow
while certainly not random and so not mathematically valid, it does provide a sample of what exists in the real world .... lots of folks who make political decisions based on beliefs and the nile
Proof?? Your ramblings and assumptions are meaningless. You think the election is tomorrow? As for your 10m votes - IT IS A PRIMARY NOT A GENERAL ELECTION. Surely you appreciate the difference. You obviously think a majority of voters are irrational, otherwise, how could Trump win? Your prediction is not a prediction. It is the result of bias, which is the enemy of rational thought. Your evidence is anecdotal at best (and that is a generous assumption). Again, it is meaningless. You have provided no logic (mathematical or otherwise) to support your prediction. Hence, the bias.
Donald Trump won the Republican primary because the Republican Party is broken. Years of disdain—for moderation, for compromise, for governance, expertise, and conventional qualifications—have merged with long-exploited currents of bigotry to produce an electorate primed for a man like Donald Trump. Republicans put a Trump-like figure on the 2008 presidential ticket, backed Trump-like figures in the 2012 primaries, and even solicited Trump himself for an endorsement that same year. It was only a matter of time before Republican voters clamored for the real deal.
We starve, look at one another, short of breath Walking proudly in our winter coats Wearing smells from laboratories Facing a dying nation of moving paper fantasy Listening for the new told lies With supreme visions of lonely tunes
He made the real Donald Trump into @realdonaldtrump on Twitter
Julie Pace, AP White House Correspondent AP via the San Gabriel Valley Tribune May 31, 2016
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Peter Costanzo is the man who helped turn Donald Trump into @RealDonaldTrump.
That, of course, is Trump’s Twitter account — a high-octane portal for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee to pump out insults, political attacks and self-promotion to more than 8 million followers. But the billionaire’s foray into the world of social media began with a much simpler purpose, yet one that’s still distinctively Trump: making money.
Costanzo crossed paths with Trump in 2009 when he was working as online marketing director for the publishing company putting out the businessman’s book, “Think Like a Champion.” Twitter was still in its infancy at the time. But Costanzo saw the 140-character-per-message platform as a new tool that the real estate mogul could use to boost sales and reach a broader audience.
North Korean state media offers support for ‘wise politician’ Donald Trump
Adam Taylor The Washington Post May 31, 2016
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Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has faced an unusual amount of criticism from foreign leaders — in large part because of his combative tone and unorthodox policy suggestions. This week, however, he found an unlikely international voice of support — in North Korean state media.
State outlet DPRK Today published an editorial Tuesday that called the business mogul a "wise politician" and said he could be good for North Korea. “There are many positive aspects to Trump’s ‘inflammatory policies,' ” the author of the article wrote, according to a translation from NK News. “Trump said he will not get involved in the war between the South and the North, isn’t this fortunate from North Korea’s perspective?”
The author of the editorial also dismissed Hillary Clinton, Trump's likely Democratic rival in the presidential race, calling her "dull" and saying that she hopes to use the "Iranian model to resolve nuclear issues on the Korean Peninsula."
“I’m not like other people.” Actually, the United States Constitution says you are exactly like other people, because under the Constitution, we are all equal before the law. There is no Donald Trump Exception clause anywhere to be found. Even the Founding Fathers had to take their lumps from their critics. Let’s not forget that this is the same Donald Trump who said in January, “I feel very strongly about our constitution. I’m proud of it. I love it.” He loves it enough to say it doesn’t apply to him. But we get where he is coming from – the political milieu of fascism. Fascist dictators – even wannabe fascist dictators – cannot abide criticism. Trump: "I'm not like other people."- Freedom of the Press Must Go
' The psychologists tell us that 3 or 4 percent of the population are sociopaths.
Luckily or unluckily, what are called the "professions" (doctors, lawyers, judges, politicians, economists, corporate "leaders", military officers, etc.) seem to sop up most of them, so it is quite possible to lead a pleasant life (most of the time) without being polluted by their shadows falling on one. .
I expressed a theory today about why Trump is so profoundly ignorant about how government works. Like Bush before him, he has no legal training. Clinton, Obama, and the vast majority of our Presidents were lawyers. Most of what a President does involves the law - proposing it, interpreting it, enforcing it. Lawyers are, by training, familiar with the spheres of responsibility of the branches of government, and have a strong affinity for the Constitution. Trump, on the other hand, has spent the vast bulk of his career abusing, flouting, and breaking the law in about every way imaginable. He couldn't care less what the law is and has no respect for the law or its enforcement. His familiarity of the law is mostly gained through avoiding it - by not honoring contracts, paying his bills or taxes, circumventing it or manipulating it. He is a very, very dangerous man.
I think inherent in the fact he is not legally trained, he will soon realize he can not do as a CEO does, and in that he will not be as dangerous as you would suspect
I expressed a theory today about why Trump is so profoundly ignorant about how government works. Like Bush before him, he has no legal training. Clinton, Obama, and the vast majority of our Presidents were lawyers. Most of what a President does involves the law - proposing it, interpreting it, enforcing it. Lawyers are, by training, familiar with the spheres of responsibility of the branches of government, and have a strong affinity for the Constitution. Trump, on the other hand, has spent the vast bulk of his career abusing, flouting, and breaking the law in about every way imaginable. He couldn't care less what the law is and has no respect for the law or its enforcement. His familiarity of the law is mostly gained through avoiding it - by not honoring contracts, paying his bills or taxes, circumventing it or manipulating it. He is a very, very dangerous man.
Up to the present, 56.8% of American presidents have been lawyers. Vast majority is usually defined as:
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Vast majority - means almost all or something like 90% or more, but less than unanimous. Overwhelming majority - means well beyond any hope of finding enough who are swayable to take the opposite case or something like 75% or more.
Emphasis is mine.
So, the percentage of presidents who have been lawyers is a simple majority. In Trump's case, I consider him a thug. He is neither a businessman (in the entrepreneurial sense of the word) nor is he a scholar of any sort. However, 40% (4 of 10) of those presidents ranked in the top ten were not lawyers.
The ranking system is given by the link below. While not a perfect system, it will do as a sort of consensus poll.
I'm not going to be drawn into another pedantic distraction/argument, but 25 of 44 Presidents have been lawyers, far more than any other profession - the next closest "profession" is "soldier/sailor" (13) - although many of those were also lawyers. That 60% of "top ten" were lawyers tends to show legal acumen to be of considerable merit. Also, a number of other Presidents also had legal training (e.g. Madison, Theodore Roosevelt), though they never practiced. The point remains, though, that a legal background is a boon to understanding the job. Why Do Law School Graduates Become Leaders?
Numbers are numbers, dear friend. They belie opinion - that is the point. Not a pedantic argument or discussion. The question is: what else, beside legal acumen, is necessary for the job? After all, no small portion of the presidents were NOT lawyers. So it begs the question: if your model is to be believed then there must be other variables that explain the presidents. Hence, my statement that the theory needs refining.
BTW - a Z-Test for proportions of two groups (I.e., statistical significance) shows that at 99% confidence there is NO difference between 56.8% and 40% with a sample size of 44. That reinforces the idea that there must be other significant variables that explain the phenomenon.
I suspect that you would find way better correlation with previous positions of leadership and being a successful President. That leadership may have been political, or military, of even corporate. Anybody who has successfully run a large organization (without excessive sociopathology) might make a good President.
The people to ask would their employees, their chain of command, and their victims, to see if they passed the "ethical human being" test. In other words, he or she has to be a "mensch".
When they chose to ignore their own study of what they have to do to win elections after 2008, they pretty much sealed the deal. You can't ignore the demographics. There just are not enough old white guys anymore.
“Those of us involved in the show [The Apprentice] are proud of our work. But we might have given the guy a platform and created this candidate. It’s guys like him, narcissists with dark Machiavellian traits, who dominate in our culture, on TV, and in the political realm. It can be dangerous when we confuse stories we’re told with reality.
I saw this - what is amazing is that a lot of the comments originate from people who think this is a serious pro-Trump video. It is clearly a spoof. What is more, the Japanese are likely the last people that would want Trump as president seeing as how he has been accusing the Japanese since the 80s of taking advantage of America.
I saw this - what is amazing is that a lot of the comments originate from people who think this is a serious pro-Trump video.
I know!
You Will Never Unsee This Wondrously Strange Fake Japanese Advertisement for Donald Trump
Katy Waldman Slate June 16 2016
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... We could not resist getting [Mike] Diva, whose real name is Mike Dahlquist, on the phone.
Katy Waldman: You’ve tweeted that all you want to do is “make stuff that is pretty/funny/terrifying at the same time.” How would you break down the percentages in this video?
Mike Dahlquist: Honestly, I tried to make it as even as possible with those three things: funny, terrifying, pretty. That’s what I’m going for with all my work. Trump, of course, is already terrifying. Seeing his face everywhere has been something we’ve all have to deal with ...
Donald Trump wrong that 'there's no real assimilation' by U.S. Muslims
Louis Jacobson PolitiFact June 18, 2016
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After the mass shooting in Orlando by a man who pledged allegiance to the Islamic terrorist group ISIS, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump reiterated his call for a temporary ban on Muslims coming to the United States ...
Trump [to Sean Hannity], "Assimilation has been very hard. It's almost — I won't say nonexistent, but it gets to be pretty close. And I'm talking about second and third generation. They come — they don't — for some reason, there's no real assimilation." ...
We concluded that the implication of what Trump said — that Muslims want to isolate themselves from the mainstream American culture — is flat wrong. However, we also learned that the question involves some important nuance. In particular, the task of "assimilation" facing post-1960s immigrants to America is more complicated than, and thus distinct from, what it was for white, Christian, European immigrants who came to the United States in prior generations ...
1)Donald Trump's campaign is essentially broke(it was already morally bankrupt).
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Donald Trump, a man who measures his self-worth by the number in his bank account, just had to admit to his supporters that his campaign is officially broke as a joke. For a guy who believes his only qualification for being president is how successful he is at managing money, this is an unthinkable humiliation.
In an “emergency fundraising” email blasted out to his supporters, Trump’s campaign says it needs $100,000 today or they are screwed.
"Where Trump gets the highest ratings in history of television?” Trump commented.
So his reality show "Trump Runs for President" ratings are the most important thing? Not the issues, or the good of the country, or even world peace? Not whether people like him or despise him, as long as they watch? ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME
He's already lost and he knows it. He has long since stopped quoting the polls in all his speeches. He has said that for enough money he would drop out of the race. He knows the Republican Party is doing everything in its power to dump him. You can be sure he reads his own press and not much is being said in favor of him winning anywhere. He may be a charlatan but he's no fool. The only ones who might think he still has a chance are his angry army of idiots and they have proven time and time again that they are totally immune to facts.
These are some of the things Donald Trump has taken credit for
Business Insider Produced by Arielle Berger June 17, 2016
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Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has taken credit for a laundry list of what he believes are successes. CNN put together a list of most of them.
These are some of the things Donald Trump has taken credit for
Business Insider Produced by Arielle Berger June 17, 2016
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Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has taken credit for a laundry list of what he believes are successes. CNN put together a list of most of them.
Donald Trump has parted ways with his campaign manager and close ally, Corey Lewandowski.
While some campaign sources tell NPR the split was "mutual," another described it as a "firing" and a "summary execution." The source said the news was unwelcome for Lewandowski at the weekly Monday staff meeting. The "weekly Monday morning family meeting went awry for Corey," the source said.
Donald Trump Accused of Rape in Federal Court Lawsuit The assaults are alleged to have taken place at the home of billionaire and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
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A new lawsuit filed in Manhattan Federal Court alleges that Donald Trump repeatedly raped a 13-year-old girl a little over 20 years ago. According to the now-adult woman’s filing, the sexual assaults took place at parties held by Jeffrey Epstein, the billionaire former hedge funder who pleaded guilty in 2008 to charges involving soliciting sex from underage girls as young as 14.
In the filing, the woman states the assaults took place in 1994. She said Epstein lured her to his Upper East Side home—then dubbed Wexner Mansion—with promises of a career in modeling and large sums of money. Once there, Jane Doe says she was violently raped by Trump
Last night, Donald Trump’s latest filing with the Federal Elections Commission on the financial state of his campaign was released — and it showed that the Trump Train is an even bigger disaster than anyone thought.
This is particularly amazing because just yesterday we upgraded Trump’s campaign from being a “dumpster fire” to a “landfill inferno” — and that was before learning about any of this week’s FEC report.
Okay, that's it. He's officially under the bus now. They can't run a child rapist as the nominee. Weather he did it or not (and I would bet he did) he'll be out of the race by convention time. They'll have to bring in a dark horse.
I bet this was known in high Republican circles and they let it out now because he is so un-electable.
If this rape charge has some legs, and lasts until the convention, then he is done. Bill Clinton just had oral sex with a consenting adult, and look at all the trouble he got into. That is NOTHING compared to this, if it is real.
Whoever they choose to replace Trump, and I DO think they will try to find someone, it will be a day late and a dollar short. Would Ryan want to commit political suicide?
Republicans are panicky, for good reason. We have seen this movie before. It’s called the Trump Taj Mahal Atlantic City.
In that, the first of his enterprises’ four bankruptcies, he convinced regulators he could raise plenty of money to complete the $1 billion project, claiming his golden name meant he wouldn’t have to rely on high-interest junk bonds, as other developers did. But then he issued junk bonds. Gamblers didn’t show up and spend the money he needed. Costs got out of control. Six months after the Taj opened in April 1990, it was in default, and nine months after that it went bankrupt, followed by two other Trump casinos.
Republican operatives (is that not an oxymoron ?) are basically affirming that the Donald will get fired in Cleveland. The interesting thing is that nobody seems to have a clue who they would put in his stead. An interesting conundrum.
I think that fate would be for his running mate. Simply serving as his replacement at the convention would just make you a loser, but all Republicans better get used to being losers. They actually like being the minority in Congress: It means you can bitch about everything without have to come up with solutions. And it has the huge benefit of not being blamed when your idiotic law backfires.
Maybe some comments he made about his daughter make more sense now, considering his association with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein:
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"I've known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy,'' Trump told New York magazine in a 2002 profile of Epstein written three years before Epstein began to be investigated. "He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it — Jeffrey enjoys his social life."
"The Brits leaving the EU," I prompt, realizing that his lack of familiarity with one of the most pressing issues in Europe is for him no concern nor liability at all.
Here's how I see it playing out: in the next several months there will be an economic crisis in Europe. Trump, in his bumper-sticker view of the world, cheered it on. Clinton, and her advocates, will remind voters of that at every turn-and rightfully so. The result will be constant erosion of Republican support.
Of course he does. Not a single thought for the futures of young Brits, for the political and economic future of Europe or much of anything else besides personal profit and a hatred of Muslim immigrants.
unlike you I do not see any evidence of rational analysis by a yuge section of American voters (ergo the disbelief of the media in reporting on Mr. Trump). Instead I see the visceral response of Americans dog whistle trained to believe there exists instantaneous bumper-sticker solutions to problems, whether their own or in the global arena.
Rational voters may not outnumber the ignorant and/or lo-info voters in this cycle.
unlike you I do not see any evidence of rational analysis by a yuge section of American voters (ergo the disbelief of the media in reporting on Mr. Trump). Instead I see the visceral response of Americans dog whistle trained to believe there exists instantaneous bumper-sticker solutions to problems, whether their own or in the global arena.
Rational voters may not outnumber the ignorant and/or lo-info voters in this cycle.
You need glasses... you are seeing things that aren't there. And, as is expected and has been previously observed, your numbers do not add up.
o just put them on ... Brexit .... eego eego [sic & sic] and more ergo
the pundits .... the pollsters .... the rational thinkers all predicted GB staying in EU because they all had rational reasons .
it sounds like you would be one of those folks
I am merely pointing out the elephant (pun intended) in the room you have trouble seeing ... it may be large or small but Brexit certainly demonstrates it exists
o just put them on ... Brexit .... eego eego [sic & sic] and more ergo
the pundits .... the pollsters .... the rational thinkers all predicted GB staying in EU because they all had rational reasons .
it sounds like you would be one of those folks
I am merely pointing out the elephant (pun intended) in the room you have trouble seeing ... it may be large or small but Brexit certainly demonstrates it exists
Actually - you lack reasons, dear boy. Therein lies the rub. Shooting one's mouth off and restating the obvious does not constitute thought, only the chimpanzee's ability to create sound. All Brexit proves is that your belief in black and white is quite wrong.
There is a logical underpinning to the Trump phenomenon, and it goes like this: In a crisis, people will pay anything to obtain security. If you want to sell them, you need to panic them so they don't notice that you are gouging them.
That has been the Republican approach to polit-economics for 50 years. Trump is just the denouement.
There is a logical underpinning to the Trump phenomenon, and it goes like this: In a crisis, people will pay anything to obtain security. If you want to sell them, you need to panic them so they don't notice that you are gouging them.
That has been the Republican approach to polit-economics for 50 years. Trump is just the denouement.
Fear mongering is a distinct aspect of the system. Agreed. Another is promoting inequality in access to education - and encouraging ignorance - so that those you want to frighten are easily had.
Fear mongering is a distinct aspect of the system. Agreed. Another is promoting inequality in access to education - and encouraging ignorance - so that those you want to frighten are easily had.
I couldn't agree more. As well, of course, as dismantling any institutions (government, unions, education) that might stand in the way.
i made no claim there was anything other than simple observation which you continuously deny
my brexit comment is another observation ... if you had ever read anything i typed, you would have known i think almost everything is more complex than most people believe
sometimes an observation is enough to convey an idea to a receptive mind i.e. i do not have to write a 3 volume treatise complete with accompanying philosophical treatment of the mathematical foundations which would justify a conclusion one may see with an observation
i made no claim there was anything other than simple observation which you continuously deny
my brexit comment is another observation ... if you had ever read anything i typed, you would have known i think almost everything is more complex than most people believe
sometimes an observation is enough to convey an idea to a receptive mind i.e. i do not have to write a 3 volume treatise complete with accompanying philosophical treatment of the mathematical foundations which would justify a conclusion one may see with an observation
Continued lack of reasoning - I wonder why? Observation is a data point but hardly constitutes even an inkling of the underlying process. In my experience extrapolation from an observation is usually disastrous. C'est la vie.
George Will is a principled, intelligent man who just happens to have some different opinions about the role of government and religion than I do. Still, I have the highest respect for him as an individual. No place in the Republican Party anymore for his kind! I'm sorry his Party has left him.
I actually have several friends with very different opinions from me, and they all are sincere, all are honorable people.
Reasonable people can disagree reasonably about issues. At least Will believes in his ideas. That's more than one can say about most of Republican thugs.
George Will, you were once a conservative who I often disagreed with but still admired. Sometimes I even agreed with you, most times I didn't but I respected your intelligence and your serious approach to issues. Then YOU JOINED FOX NEWS and I lost all respect for you. Now, as a member of Fox, you are a CO-AUTHOR and architect of the very machinery that CREATED the kind of society that welcomes Donald Trump and yet now you wish to leave your party? No sir, you made your bed and you WILL sleep in it. I will always refer to you as George F. Will, REPUBLICAN. It IS YOUR PARTY, you helped make it what it is today, a-hole.
Every day Donald Trump demonstrates another reason why he is unfit for office - really any office. When asked about Henry Paulson, the architect of bank bailouts, he said,"I don't know who he is." When asked about Credit, he says, "I don't know what that is. When asked about his foreign policy advisors, he says, "they don't know much." He thinks running an economy is like running a golf course. He thinks foreign policy means speaking loudly and hold his big stick. He really believes people should just trust him and he'll make it all better, even if he has no idea what that means on any topic. The man is, simply, a lunatic, and believes he is entitled to be appointed president because he's rich.
I love this one and have posted it elsewhere several times. This is a photoshop of where Trump mocks a disabled person. He denies it and many of his supporters believe him. The man is a creep.
Golem .... he has a very good brain, ergo he knows the best words and he uses his words quite often
You're right, of course.
I may sit this election out - at least the presidential part. I've voted in every Presidential election since I was eligible to vote in 1968 and I've always voted for the Republican candidate.
If the GOP candidate is Trump, I won't vote for him. I won't vote for Hillary or anyone else the Democrats put up either.
There is a forum where many Trump cultists hang out.
This is an ongoing list of historical, popular, and Biblical people, as well as fictional characters and animals, that Donald Trump has been favorably compared to on this forum by his cultists:
Alexander the Great
Batman
Battlefield surgeon
The Blues Brothers ("We're on a mission from God!")
Asa Buchanan (One Life To Live)
Julius Caesar
Churchill
Bill Clinton
Rooster Cogburn (True Grit)
Cyrus the Great
King David
Eisenhower
J.R. Ewing (Dallas)
The Founding Fathers
John Galt (Atlas Shrugged)
Gideon
Rick Grimes (The Walking Dead)
Max Herschel (Just Tell Me What You Want)
Andrew Jackson
Jesus
John F. Kennedy
Obi-Wan Kenobi (Star Wars)
James T. Kirk (Star Trek)
Leonidas I
MacArthur
Jim Malone (The Untouchables, portrayed by Sean Connery)
Charles Martel
Moses
Nebuchadnezzar
Saint Patrick
Patton
Reagan
Richard I (Richard the Lionheart, Richard Coeur de Lion)
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Teddy Roosevelt
Babe Ruth
Samson
Secretariat
Solomon
Truman
Darth Vader (Star Wars)
Sir William Wallace (real life subject of Braveheart)
Washington
These people are totally serious.
Now, if I were to compile my own list of Trump comparisons, it would not be favorable. It would not be very original either. In fact, it would be all too obvious:
Darth Vader is pretty funny. It is a comedic cliche for the clueless character in a movie to see Darth as the real hero. Just like the judo bully in The Karate Kid...
It seems that now that Donald Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee, people are starting to pay attention to him. For him that is not good. Almost daily there is a new "revelation." He doesn't donate to charity; he isn't as rich as he claims; he won't release his taxes; he is more bigoted than we thought; he gets sued a lot; he might be indicted. His poll numbers are tanking, and he gets no love from Republicans (except some Evangelicals, go figure). Yet, like a toothache, we can't get rid of him.
We need to pull the tooth - it is way beyond repair. And the fun is just getting started Can't wait to see what will happen by the time September rolls around.
This is from Media Matters. Donald Trump is redeploying aggressive rhetoric toward counter-terrorism in the wake of the Istanbul airport attack, talking about waterboarding and "much worse" techniques.
"We have to fight so viciously and violently because we're dealing with violent people," Trump told supporters during a Tuesday night rally at the Ohio University Eastern Campus.
He also said, "we have to fight fire with fire," and "we better get smart ... and we better get tough — or we are not going to have much of a country left.”
I would like to tell the Donald that we don't fight like terrorists because we are not terrorists. Most of us are against torture because most of us aren't sadists. If he ever were to have the power to implement these practices, he would't be able to leave the U.S., like ex puppeteer Vice President Dick Cheney and ex puppet President George W. Bush. Notice how they never vacation abroad?
Oh, and I have always found water to be a good thing for fighting fire. But should the Donald's hair ever catch fire, I hope someone hands him a match.
Remember when The Donald promised to dish the feces on the Clintons and when he did, it was mostly about big speaking fees and how Hillary Clinton had accepted money from some source that could blackmail her?
Politicians of both stripes do that all the time. Even soon-to-be-The-Match-Game-Celebrity-Guest Sarah Palin made some decent money serving word salad. Heck, she even spoke in Japan after her vice presidential belly flop, didn't she? Big bucks, I'm sure.
Ex Senator, radio personality and failed presidential candidate Mike Huckabee and Rush Limbaugh BFF. ex Congressman, and failed presidential candidate Newt Gingrich surely just run to keep their speaking fees high. I mean, really, don't you think?
The Clintons are good speakers ... especially Bill. And so what if the Clintons made a lot in speaking fees. They're worth the money to those who can afford it. So, why the outrage? Jealousy?
NW_P, Trump supporters are the very same demographic as the TParty - the very same folks. Seriously.
No surprise there, Rick. It takes a moron to support a moron. They understand each other perfectly. I still think there's going to be a coup at the 11th hour. Should be fun.
Not sure how that is possible. He is a bigoted idiot, a bully, a fool, a crook and a fascist. I have yet to meet anyone who supports those qualities that is worthy of admiration or respect.
I suspect there are quite a few supporting him because he is the Party's man and they really know little about him other than his self-promotion. If that's all you have heard, then he sounds pretty good. At least he's very enthusiastic about the whole thing.
For example, I keep hearing that we need a successful businessman to run the country (which of course is nonsense), but it tells me they have no idea what a lousy businessman he is.
Many a totalitarian regime started and lives on because of that idea of the party man and low information or misinformation or no information.That is not an excuse. If you asked anyone of these folks if they would give their money away to a stranger on the street I doubt you'd have many so generous. Yet they will do that with their future and that of generations to come. That is not hyperbole, that is the truth behind the sham that is the two party system corrupted by money. Welcome to the future.
I am far more cynical than I appear here, but ultimately, am an optimist. I am sometimes flabbergasted by just how shallow voters are - even though history shows me better. Trump is such an obvious, and really not-very-good, flim-flam man, yet 30%+ of the populace "support him" - and he has better "trustworthy" numbers than Clinton! Yes, there is approximately 40% of the voters who will vote for any candidate with an "R" next to his name, but if even a portion of his 30ish percent comes from the non-died-in-the-wool partisans, that puts him over 40%, and that reality is sobering. More than 40% of the population willing to vote for someone who is, by far, the least qualified candidate in my lifetime.
I am encouraged, but not very much, that so many Republican leaders are not supporting him. That should be sending a message to the voters. But, are they receiving? Will they, like the Brexit voters of the UK wake up in the morning and say, "OMG, What have I done!" As John Oliver pointed out, there are no do-overs.
Yes, Hillary Clinton has her faults, and yes, the political system is corrupt, but really... given what is available, is there even a choice in this election? Donald Trump is far too dangerous to let anywhere near any elected office, much less the most powerful position in the country (and maybe the world). The list of potential disasters is incomprehensible - the economy, the environment, civil rights, immigration, the courts.... I wouldn't leave him alone near my children, or near a loaded gun, why would I let him near any real power?
I keep wondering (hoping) when they are going to slap the cuffs on him.
And, of course, they aren't going to. The Trump acolytes, the TEA Partiers, the teeming right wing masses, are the children of Reagan who believe that "I'm from the government and I'm here to help" are the most frightening words in the English language. They hate government, they hate laws that get in the way of their ideology. They even hate their own party enough to supplant more qualified candidates with the likes of Trump in the hopes that he will, once and for all, destroy the government they hate and fear so much. Not that they were given much choice, not a single Republican hopeful in this election was genuinely qualified to be president, so why not Trump. He did, after all, say the things they wanted to hear even if he was lying through his teeth the whole time. Trump, to them, is simply not accountable for his actions, past or present. He was simply doing the same things they would have done if they were in his(expensive Italian) shoes. Cutting throats, stabbing backs, raping children, and trampling anyone or anything that got in his way. To them this is what makes America Great. Handcuffs? Pffffft...put a crown on his head and kowtow to the one who will take this country where they want it to be.
You're confusing his supporters with the government they all hate so much. The government - of any party of the two major ones - does not want the likes of Trump near any position of power. They might want to discredit and embarass him.
Donald Trump on Saturday deleted a tweet critical of Hillary Clinton after he came under fire for evoking anti-Semitic stereotypes with a graphic that included dollar bills and a six-pointed star.
Before deleting the original tweet, which also contained the words "most corrupt candidate ever," the presumptive Republican nominee tweeted the same graphic with a tweak: a circle instead of a six-pointed star, which evokes the Jewish Star of David. The Trump campaign did not respond to requests for comment about the decision to use a six-pointed star and whether they were concerned about the potential for the imagery to evoke anti-Semitic undertones. But the backlash on Twitter was immediate. "A Star of David, a pile of cash, and suggestions of corruption. Donald Trump again plays to the white supremacists," said Erick Erickson, a leading anti-Trump conservative.
Donald Trump used money donated for charity to buy himself a Tim Tebow-signed football helmet
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Trump won, eventually, with a bid of $12,000. Afterward, he posed with the helmet. His purchase made gossip-column news: a flourish of generosity, by a mogul with money to burn. "The Donald giveth, and The Donald payeth," wrote the Palm Beach Daily News. "Blessed be the name of The Donald."
But Trump didn't actually pay with his own money.
Instead, the Susan G. Komen organization — the breast-cancer nonprofit that hosted the party — got a $12,000 payment from another nonprofit , the Donald J. Trump Foundation.
Trump himself sent no money. (In fact, a Komen spokeswoman said, Trump has never given a personal gift of cash to the Komen organization.) He paid the bill with money from a charity he founded in 1987, but which is largely stocked with other people's money. Trump is the foundation's president. But, at the time of the auction, Trump had given none of his own money to the foundation for three years running.
Just as a side note. the Susan G. Komen organization pretty much sucks as well. Their spending breakdown is terrible, and the CEO (Susan's sister) takes home $684,000/year in salary!
Interesting article that (at least for me) sheds some light upon Mr. Trumps fans and his allure to them:
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Yet a common thread among Trump’s faithful, even among those whose individual circumstances remain unspoiled, is that they hail from broken communities. These are places where good jobs are impossible to come by. Where people have lost their faith and abandoned the churches of their parents and grandparents. Where the death rates of poor white people go up even as the death rates of all other groups go down. Where too many young people spend their days stoned instead of working and learning.
Yet so long as people rely on that quick high, so long as wolves point their fingers at everyone but themselves, the nation delays a necessary reckoning. There is no self-reflection in the midst of a false euphoria. Trump is cultural heroin. He makes some feel better for a bit. But he cannot fix what ails them, and one day they’ll realize it.
Wayne Barrett has been following Trump for decades, and his book has been updated in spite of Wayne's failing health. If you want to see why this criminal should be in jail, read this book.
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Wayne Barrett began covering Donald Trump in the late 1970s. He continues today even though he is largely homebound due to lung cancer. "He’s really not qualified to run the Trump Organization. He’s not fit to run the Trump Organization. So he’s certainly not fit to run America,” Barrett said. "I think he represents not just a danger to America, but because we are such an influence in the world, it’s really a shocking threat to the world. And so, you know, I’m in a sick bed a lot, but he gets me up out of it."
In reading an article about Trump's run-in with Jeff Flake, while ostensibly on a mission to "unite" the GOP behind him, it occurred to me that The Donald will only degrade as a viable candidate from here on out. While he had very little in the way of a substantial platform during the primaries, he will now have progressively less.
His greatness has been affirmed by the nomination and the foremost task for his narcissistic self is now to protect his greatness against his enemies, many of whom are Republicans. Since he has no advisors except himself, and no campaign strategy or team, I expect his behavior to shift almost entirely to attacking his detractors. (Maybe that's not really a shift?)
In any case, the necessary pivot for him, as a contender, to real issues and to appearing Presidential, is not going to happen.
I don't think he is capable of changing. But neither are the millions of voters who support him. He's like a used car salesman, he says whatever is required to make the sale. He doesn't need to understand the mechanics, is too lazy to bother learning, and his obligation ends when the sale is made. His only motivation is to make a profit from anyone foolish enough to buy what he's selling.
If there weren't so many important issues at hand, primarily Supreme Court nominees and a very delicate economy, but many others as well, I would truly enjoy seeing him flounder and fail as president. Republican voters would again get just what they deserved.
A government that isn't dependable, breaks down when they need it most, costs them a fortune in repairs, and won't even get them to work. And all the while the salesman is driving a new Cadillac that they helped pay for.
I read an interesting Rolling Stone article: R.I.P. GOP
His main contention was that the Republican Party has attacked government so much that first The Tea Party and now Trump (a life-long Democrat) are now the result. The working class Republicans have finally turned against establishment career Republicans who promise them everything and then go to Washington and do nothing they promised. If you subtract Trump supporters from the Republican Party, you are left with a small fraction of the once Grand Old Party. Certainly not enough voters to ever win the Presidency again.
In my opinion, they simply don't realize that Trump is more an old-school (pre-Civil Rights Act) Democrat. (Besides being a maniac and totally unqualified for any elected office, of course.)
Sarah Palin, spokeswoman and head cheerleader for Trump just dropped this nugget.
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"Shame on politicians and pundits giving credence to thugs rioting against police officers and the rule of law in the name of "'peaceful protests.' It is a farce. #BlackLivesMatter is a farce."
Do they get the same news up there in Alaska as we get down here?
Whatever. At least this proves her to be an ideal spokesperson for Trump. And hey, don't worry about alienating black voters. There are ways to suppress that voting block. All you really need are the evangelicals, the white supremacists and the NRA. Is that three groups? Or two? Or one?
Companies bail out on GOP convention after facing pressure
Brandon Bailey AP July 9, 2016
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Donald Trump has promised to liven up this year's Republican National Convention. But some of America's biggest corporations are bailing on the party.
Apple recently became the latest company to give the GOP's presumptive nominee the cold shoulder; it won't contribute money or products to the Republicans' big shindig in Cleveland this month. HP Inc. is also withholding support, while Microsoft is giving products only, not cash. Beyond the tech industry, Ford, JPMorgan Chase and United Parcel Service have opted to withhold support.
Considering the typical rants of the nominee, if I was deciding on my company's sponsorship I would run away very quickly. You don't really want your business to be associated with that stuff, unless you manufacture nothing but confederate flags and racist tee shirts.
I suspect that after he loses spectacularly, the number of people who supported him will drop abruptly as they crawl back under their rocks.
... He's like a used car salesman, he says whatever is required to make the sale. He doesn't need to understand the mechanics, is too lazy to bother learning, and his obligation ends when the sale is made. His only motivation is to make a profit from anyone foolish enough to buy what he's selling. ... A government that isn't dependable, breaks down when they need it most, costs them a fortune in repairs, and won't even get them to work. And all the while the salesman is driving a new Cadillac that they helped pay for.
Precisely! So we are left to wonder why people keep buying lemons from slick used-car salesmen? 1) Most don't do any due diligence - look under the hood, kick the tires, etc. 2) Believe that it is all true just because he has a TV ad. 3) Don't give a shyte, and pass me the bottle.
I suspect that after he loses spectacularly, the number of people who supported him will drop abruptly as they crawl back under their rocks.
Yessir, and under rocks is where you find scorpions and venomous snakes along with assorted other cowardly creepy crawlies that wither and die when exposed to direct sunlight. Donald Trump has emboldened them, provided a moratorium on something labeled "political correctness" for those who wish to be neither polite nor correct. He has replaced dog whistles with megaphones and in so doing has exposed the scabrous and suppurating underbelly of the Republican Party. Yes, they will slither and scurry back into hiding when he is gone, but like many other unpleasant things, once they are seen they can never be unseen.
So now the presumptuous Republican candidate, Donald Trump, has declared himself the "law and order" candidate. I'm guessing he is against blue-collar crime, since he would be standing in a courtroom right now if the proceedings against him for bilking people out of millions through Trump University hadn't been postponed until after the election.
And he further claims that he will solve the Veterans Administration problems by picking up a phone. He's going to root out (like a pig) the fraud and wrongdoing. And he is a guy that knows a lot about fraud and wrongdoing, at least from the perpetrator's point of view.
Good grief. Will this guy never have to answer the hard questions, or tell how he is going to accomplish these miracles, or show his tax returns, or be held accountable for HIS crimes? I just don't get it.
Former Donald Trump campaign staffer Sam Nunberg has filed sensational legal papers against the presidential hopeful’s campaign, alleging he was wrongly accused of leaking a story to Page Six about a “lovers’ quarrel” between the mogul’s publicist and campaign manager.
Nunberg, who worked as a strategic adviser for Trump but was fired last year, claims in the papers that, because he then endorsed Sen. Ted Cruz, the Trump campaign is “attempting to bring a frivolous and retaliatory arbitration proceeding against me essentially to punish me and shut me up.”
It’s notable that highlighting Trump’s stance on specific issues — and not just his awful quotes — is seen as the way to reach these voters. The focus on climate in particular as a motivator of millennials is an underappreciated facet of this election.
Beyond this, the ads — which were launched in conjunction with other groups, such as Planned Parenthood, the League of Conservation Voters, the Latino Victory Fund, and EMILY’s List — also once again reveal two core assumptions driving Dem strategy against Trump. First, Dems believe that one of the most potent tools for generating enthusiasm among key Dem constituencies, and key swing constituencies such as college educated white women, remains Trump’s rich store of disgusting quotes and ideas. Second, for all of Trump’s widespread media exposure during the last year, Dems remain convinced that many of these voters are still unaware of the full existing range of specific quotes and ideas in all their Trumpian wretchedness. When voters are exposed to them, Dems believe, they will conclude that a Trump presidency could be nothing short of a full blown catastrophe for this country and its future. In other words, Dems are trying to scare the sh-t out of you, and there’s plenty of fodder with which to do it.
Trump says ex quitter governor Sarah Palin is not speaking at the GOP convention because Alaska is too far away from Cleveland, Ohio. He really IS a science denier. I bet the Wasillabilly is pitchin' a fit.
Schwartz thought about publishing an article describing his reservations about Trump, but he hesitated, knowing that, since he’d cashed in on the flattering “Art of the Deal,” his credibility and his motives would be seen as suspect. Yet watching the campaign was excruciating. Schwartz decided that if he kept mum and Trump was elected he’d never forgive himself. In June, he agreed to break his silence and give his first candid interview about the Trump he got to know while acting as his Boswell.
“I put lipstick on a pig,” he said. “I feel a deep sense of remorse that I contributed to presenting Trump in a way that brought him wider attention and made him more appealing than he is.” He went on, “I genuinely believe that if Trump wins and gets the nuclear codes there is an excellent possibility it will lead to the end of civilization.”
If he were writing “The Art of the Deal” today, Schwartz said, it would be a very different book with a very different title. Asked what he would call it, he answered, “The Sociopath.”
On Monday morning’s edition of Fox & Friends, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump reacted to Obama’s remarks by suggesting the president wasn’t being sincere and has a secret anti-police agenda.
What Trump excels at is that he knows in his gut how his supporters feel about a given subject. Mexicans are steeling our jobs and the rest are criminals; build a wall. Affirmative Action is reverse discrimination; Pocahontas. All Muslims are bad people; a complete shutdown. Obama hates all police and should never have been elected president anyway; body language.
The list goes on for miles but one gets the picture. I am not sure if this “talent” of his is instinctual or is he has advisors scouring polls and telling him the hot button issues for the talk radio crowd and extreme right internet gangs. What ever it is it seems to be working for him as all important, nuanced, and difficult subjects can be distilled to its essence with a whip like one liner.
Yet I have often wondered what he really thinks about anything other than effective self promotion that might get him into the White House. Where he truly belongs.
Mysterious Fires Plague Williamsburg Condo Building Owned By Trump's Son-In-Law
Why is it that this does not surprise me?????
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Residents of a high-priced apartment building in Williamsburg are gripped with paranoia following a series of mysterious fires that management is blaming on a resident pyromaniac. The block-long rental building, 184 Kent Avenue, is a century-old warehouse that Jared Kushner, a real estate developer and Donald Trump's son-in-law, bought for $275 million and started converting to condos last April, along with Asher Abehsera's unfortunately monikered LIVWRK and the Boston private equity firm Rockpoint Group. There's a snag in the condo conversion process, though: previous owner, Jason Halpern's JMH Development, was building condo apartments in the former Austin, Nichols & Co. wholesale grocery distribution center just after the 2008 economic collapse, and amid the fallout, switched to marketing them as luxury rentals. In the process, the company applied for a tax abatement through a program called J51, which made the apartments rent-stabilized until 2025, and thus harder to empty for would-be buyers. One resident who moved into the building two years ago and, like most tenants we spoke to, asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retribution, said that after Kushner and friend bought the building, many tenants had their rent increased by $400 or $500. This was possible thanks to a loophole in the lease that they had overlooked, which deemed their previous rent preferential, a legal term for a rent-stabilized rate that is below what could technically be charged. A one-bedroom in the building last year rented for $3,500.
CLEVELAND ― Chaos erupted on the floor of the Republican National Convention Monday as fervent opponents of Donald Trump fought and lost an ugly, public rebellion to derail him.
New Hampshire delegate Gordon Humphrey, who has been working with the Delegates Unbound and Free the Delegates groups, tried to force party leaders on Monday to approve their rules for the convention on a roll-call vote, rather than a voice vote as is normally done.
The idea was that with a public roll call, a majority of delegates might defect.
“Donald Trump is so ignorant of anything that he hasn’t a clue what is going on here in general or in detail,” said Humphrey, a former senator who backed Ohio Gov. John Kasich during the primary season.
The bid for a roll-call vote failed, but caused an ugly moment in Trump’s march to the nomination.
— Roger Stone, longtime confidant and informal adviser to Donald Trump, removed his all-access convention credentials and ascended the stage at Citizens for Trump’s America First Unity Rally on Monday afternoon.
Stone, wearing a yellow linen suit, white saddle shoes and suspenders, explained that he was late because “I had some meetings that I had to conclude over at the Westin with members of the Trump staff.”
And what did this boastful Trump consigliere, fresh from his meeting with Trump aides, wish to impart on this first day of the GOP convention?
He wished to revisit the Vince Foster murder conspiracy. “They told us that he died in Fort Marcy Park and his body was found 50 yards down a muddy trail,” Stone said of the Clinton family friend and aide who killed himself 23 years ago. “But there was no mud or dirt on his shoes. . . . There was carpet fiber all over his body because they rolled him in a carpet. Hillary Clinton ordered a guy named Sullivan and a guy named Kennedy, her hoodlums, her thugs, [to] move his body.”
Welcome to the Donald Trump Republican National Convention.
But for his fans none of that matters. They want to believe everything he says is true, therefore it is true. Anyone who might dispute the vomit that spews from Trump’s mouth is simply a lying liberal.
Donald Trump made his hostile takeover of the Republican Party official Tuesday, with convention delegates casting their votes to make a bombastic, thrice-married New Yorker with a checkered business history their choice for president.
Trump earned the 1,237 bound delegates necessary to secure the party’s nomination in early June. The chairs of each state delegation expressed their vote totals and support for Trump in a roll call vote during the second day of the Republican National Convention.
I PM'd the mailing address, cash check or money order will do nicely, it all spends the same.
Donald Trump made his hostile takeover of the Republican Party official Tuesday, with convention delegates casting their votes to make a bombastic, thrice-married New Yorker with a checkered business history their choice for president.
Trump earned the 1,237 bound delegates necessary to secure the party’s nomination in early June. The chairs of each state delegation expressed their vote totals and support for Trump in a roll call vote during the second day of the Republican National Convention.
I PM'd the mailing address, cash check or money order will do nicely, it all spends the same.
I'm going to state it again: Trump scares me. Worse, that millions of Americans are willing to vote for such an outright fraud scares me even worse. Even the remote possibility that he could get elected office in any capacity is mind-numbingly horrifying and soul-draining I can't contemplate it. Anything, ANYTHING, but Trump.
“Trump has been written about a thousand ways from Sunday, but this fundamental aspect of who he is doesn’t seem to be fully understood,” Schwartz told me. “It’s implicit in a lot of what people write, but it’s never explicit—or, at least, I haven’t seen it. And that is that it’s impossible to keep him focussed on any topic, other than his own self-aggrandizement, for more than a few minutes, and even then . . . ” Schwartz trailed off, shaking his head in amazement. He regards Trump’s inability to concentrate as alarming in a Presidential candidate. “If he had to be briefed on a crisis in the Situation Room, it’s impossible to imagine him paying attention over a long period of time,” he said.
“Trump has been written about a thousand ways from Sunday, but this fundamental aspect of who he is doesn’t seem to be fully understood,” Schwartz told me. “It’s implicit in a lot of what people write, but it’s never explicit—or, at least, I haven’t seen it. And that is that it’s impossible to keep him focussed on any topic, other than his own self-aggrandizement, for more than a few minutes, and even then . . . ” Schwartz trailed off, shaking his head in amazement. He regards Trump’s inability to concentrate as alarming in a Presidential candidate. “If he had to be briefed on a crisis in the Situation Room, it’s impossible to imagine him paying attention over a long period of time,” he said.
Sic semper Tyrannus (literal, not literary). Unless I have it wrong, this translates equally (this always [with/to] tyrants), i.e., "tyrants are always this way."
This phrase has always bothered me. Your phrase is the correct one.
Almost: the phrase that I quoted means : "Thus death always comes to tyrants" - the more common sic semper tyrannis - famous because of the infamous J W Booth - is a simplified version of the one I posted.
Where the hell is Rick when we need him most! I'd love to hear his comments on this aberration of humanity.
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Even after I’d passed through the press check-in, where the list ran six or seven pages, even after I’d passed through a security check and gotten in the elevator at the Wolstein Center in downtown Cleveland, there was still a part of me that was still sure the Wake Up! party — billed as "the most fab party at the RNC" — was a hoax. The party invitation seemed absurd. Beneath a banner illustration dominated by a superhero Donald Trump, the party invitation sketched out a call for a new gay Islamophobia. ("As gay Americans, we could no longer stay silent about a barbaric ideology," the invitation read. "p.s. It’s a known fact that gays throw the best convention parties.")The speaker list included legendary Muslim-basher Pamela Geller, Dutch politician and preeminent European hatemonger Geert Wilders, and gay-fascist provocateur fameball Milo Yiannopoulos. Photography and artwork were to be supplied by Lucian Wintrich, the man behind Twinks for Trump .
The truths of religion are not the same as the truths of daily life. Faith has to get you through the day with the promise that things will improve. It does not have to withstand strict logical scrutiny. It can be an article of faith that something is two contradictory things at once. There is a hidden logic to its incoherency. It coheres because it offers a single system for fixing everything that ails you. It answers all your woes. It fits all complaints. Just like Donald Trump. Everything he touches with his hands — which are the correct size — he cures, or at least turns to gold-colored brass.
Donald Trump is selling America a miracle juicer. The juicer is Donald Trump. It is orange and it will never let you down. If you order now, Donald Trump will send you another one free.
Donald Trump speaks out in support of the LGBTQ community in a campaign speech but picks one of the most notorious anti-gay politicians in American history as his running mate. Word on the street says that Mike Pence will basically be the one making policy, not America's billionaire CEO President. The pattern should be clear to even the most soggy-foggy layabout.
Trump intends to massage the surface to a moist pink glow while continuing to chew through every layer beneath in his quest for power and he will use any termite, any cockroach, any rat to do it for him.
He will express his love of the gay community while Mike Pence railroads more bathroom laws and religious freedom themed anti-gay laws through Congress. He will promise tariffs against countries that don't give our industries respect while Mike Pence makes sure outsourcers and free trade agreements get fast track approval and more tax cuts.
And he will build "that wall" to fulfill his promise to choke back illegal immigration, and when it fails to do so, Mike Pence will scold America for not thanking Herr Trump for "ALL THE JOBS it created", despite the fact that, given Trump's past record, 95% of those jobs will be given to hastily imported foreign laborers who are paid wages which should be considered criminal.
Do we not sense a pattern here? Is the drug being injected into the veins of our conscience so strong that we are comfortably numb?
That guitar in the Republican logo did softly weep to George Harrison's "Here Comes the Sun". But it appears that the Trump Sun has blinded the American perception of sham.
Yes, Trump really does own the Sun, and if you don't believe it, Mike Pence's new laws that penalize solar electric owners will prove it in short order. We must prolong our coal addiction.
We should despise sham and be able to spot it in a minute. Doctor my eyes, tell me what you see, I hear their cries. Just say if it's too late for me.
Where the hell is Rick when we need him most! I'd love to hear his comments on this aberration of humanity.
What can I say? Some boys have a thing for rich "daddies." It's almost like a turkey that can't wait to be the Thanksgiving meal. It must be low self-esteem.
Where the hell is Rick when we need him most! I'd love to hear his comments on this aberration of humanity.
What can I say? Some boys have a thing for rich "daddies." It's almost like a turkey that can't wait to be the Thanksgiving meal. It must be low self-esteem.
It's so weird. That is not voting against your interests - it is begging to be sent to a concentration camp.
It's so weird. That is not voting against your interests - it is begging to be sent to a concentration camp.
These twinks support the same GOP that has put opposition to same-sex marriage in every single platform since 1992. It is the same GOP whose members have been trying to outlaw trans people pooping since they first found out about trans people existing. It is the same GOP that just, on the anniversary of the Orlando shooting, proposed legislation that would make it legal for government employees and government contractors to discriminate against LGBT people.
It's the same GOP that has consistently helped to elect candidates who not only do not want gays to have any rights, but who also would like to see gays burn in a pit of fire for all eternity. It is the GOP of Rick Santorum, Michele Bachmann, Ted Cruz, Sarah Palin, Jim DeMint, Bobby Jindal, Rick Perry, George W. Bush, Todd Akin et cetera ad infinitum. It is the party that has repeatedly compared their desire to marry the person they love to someone wanting to screw a dog.
...and some twinks are really into gas masks and German-style S&M apparently.
Twinks for Trump also think that GOP Nominee Donald Trump is actually super awesome about things when it comes to gay rights and that the GOP should follow in his footsteps.
Yeah, Donald Trump sure is GREAT on LGBT rights. Except for the fact that he has said that those rights should be left to the states, so that bigots can have a say in whether or not gays get to have them or not. Seems only fair!
That guitar in the Republican logo did softly weep to George Harrison's "Here Comes the Sun". But it appears that the Trump Sun has blinded the American perception of sham.
Yes, the guitar wept, but George Harrison's estate struck back.
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“The unauthorized use of ‘Here Comes the Sun’ at the RNC is offensive & against the wishes of the George Harrison estate,” according to a tweet from Harrison’s official account. “If it had been ‘Beware of Darkness’, then we MAY have approved it! #TrumpYourself,” the estate later added.
Trump seems to make a habit of stealing music from musicians who hate him. This is from the same site.
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Following his speech at the RNC, Trump walked off stage to The Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”, a band which had already sent a cease and desist to Trump. (Not to mention, Keith Richards once pulled a knife on the Republican presidential nominee). Prior to that, he played “Alright Now” by Free, and shocker: frontman Paul Rodgers wasn’t happy about it.
Seems like a case of lawlessness to me, and you know how the GOP hates that.
Yeah well Rick, with Pence on the ticket the LGBTQ community is literally being assaulted by a team about as anti gay as they come. I think there is a racist thing going on in that group - they hate the "negro" more than they hate themselves . Strange times, buddy, strange times...
Yeah well Rick, with Pence on the ticket the LGBTQ community is literally being assaulted by a team about as anti gay as they come. I think there is a racist thing going on in that group - they hate the "negro" more than they hate themselves . Strange times, buddy, strange times...
I think the Twinks for Trump hate Muslims more. I think they're pretty down with black Americans, though - as long as black Americans know their place and don't get too uppity like Black Lives Matter folks who demand respect and dignity.
...from Salon.com's "Inside Milo’s “gays for Trump,” virulently anti-Islam party at the RNC "
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Milo argued that the left no longer defends LGBT rights, that it is only the right that does so.
Milo is a gay Andrew Brietbart-style provocateur. He's 32 and bleaches his hair naturally dark hair with peroxide. I seriously think that because Milo has bleached his hair so much and so often, the peroxide has eaten though his skull and is now affecting his gray matter.
Seriously? The Right defends gay rights more than the Left? Milo sure has been drinking the Kook-Aid.
...from Salon.com's "Inside Milo’s “gays for Trump,” virulently anti-Islam party at the RNC "
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Milo argued that the left no longer defends LGBT rights, that it is only the right that does so.
Milo is a gay Andrew Brietbart-style provocateur. He's 32 and bleaches his hair naturally dark hair with peroxide. I seriously think that because Milo has bleached his hair so much and so often, the peroxide has eaten though his skull and is now affecting his gray matter.
Seriously? The Right defends gay rights more than the Left? Milo sure has been drinking the Kook-Aid.
I know - he posts on the WaPo and I got into a tangle with him. He thought he could get away with cursing me (because he had lost the argument about gay rights) in Greek. When I cursed back in Greek he shut up. Disappeared. He was talking about Reagan and I had to strenuously remind him of the thousands that died of AIDS because of that a$$hole. Many were friends.
Milo was recently banned from Twitter because he was one of the one's getting into a Twitter-war with Leslie Jones. A lot of haters were calling Leslie an "ape" on Twitter. I don't know if Milo was one of the ones who did, but his racism did come through. Although Milo will argue that he can't possibly be racist because he enjoys the black d!ck too much.
I know lots of gay whores and, frankly, any d!ck with do for these guys - as long as it's big. Who the d!ck is attached to is irrelevant.
And, Milo does seem like a size-queen which means he'd specifically target African American men because of their rumored size.
Racist slave masters had sex with black women (rape or not) during the whole period of slavery. That they were black was totally irrelevant and it didn't make them any less racist . In fact, probably made them more so.
In any oppressed minority you will find a few people who side with their worst oppressors, as a means of getting attention. I'm sure their were masochists that got off on being sent to the gas chambers by the Nazis.
It doesn't mean you should pay any attention to anything they have to say. You might as well have a philosophical discussion with a homeless derelict.
Racist slave masters had sex with black women (rape or not) during the whole period of slavery. That they were black was totally irrelevant and it didn't make them any less racist . In fact, probably made them more so.
The psychology of being intimate with someone you despise is interesting. It must be partially a control issue and something else...
Racist slave masters had sex with black women (rape or not) during the whole period of slavery. That they were black was totally irrelevant and it didn't make them any less racist . In fact, probably made them more so.
The psychology of being intimate with someone you despise is interesting. It must be partially a control issue and something else...
It is: power and control. If you are the dominant side of the exchange, then you are exerting your dominion over that person. If they are the "slave" or sub, then they give up control to the you (sometimes willingly, sometimes not). If Milo is a bottom (if I had to guess, I'd say he is) then he would be giving up control to a black guy. Although, I see your point: it doesn't matter who is attached to the d!ck if all you care about is your own satisfaction. It becomes quasi masturbatory and not really intimate.
Although, I see your point: it doesn't matter who is attached to the d!ck if all you care about is your own satisfaction. It becomes quasi masturbatory and not really intimate.
Indeed. In the gay community, these guys are called 'power bottoms.' These bottoms control the 'top' who merely satisfying the 'passive' bottom's needs and desires.
In reality, all the bottom has to do is lie there and be "done" by the top. No effort needed or required on the bottom's part - except for the occasional direction by the bottom that the top isn't doing it right.
Racist slave masters had sex with black women (rape or not) during the whole period of slavery. That they were black was totally irrelevant and it didn't make them any less racist . In fact, probably made them more so.
The old saying back in the day was, "You ain't a real man till you've split you some Black Oak."
I thought some of his convention speech sounded familiar! Video evidence that Trump plagiarized portions of his convention speech! Cribbed speech
I have my guesses as to which parts of Trump's speech might sound familiar but tell me which parts you specifically see in comparison to Mussolini. I'll whip up your side by side A/B comparison as soon as I get your reply.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the MussTrump, an act never before seen on these pastures. An animal so vile and loathsome that it has been relegated to the hinterlands for almost 9 decades. But it has resurfaced and we are here to present it to the world at large:
Oh okay not the AUDIO....you're saying the mannerisms and body language is familiar. MY MOM said that ten years ago when Trump first talked about being president. She FLED Mussolini as a teenager, and the moment Trump started talking presidency she looked the screen and muttered something in Italian.
I pressed her for an explanation. "Oh, I just said that he's like Il Duche, you know, Mussolini?"
What do GANG MEMBERS think of Donald Trump? (Crickets) Oh come on people, doesn't ANYONE think that gang bangers don't have thoughts about presidential candidates? Trump has more bling, more gold and more grille than ANY WHITE MAN on the planet.
I have to think that makes an impression on gang bangers to some extent. So I think it would be a marvelous piece of insight if we could find out if street gangs see Donald Trump as some kind of GANGSTA.
I pledge allegiance to Mr Trump and for what he stands for, so he may bestow upon some Americans his great goodness and hold the children to his breast
seems like that is what Americans want from a president .... but what do I know
This is what happens when you become the 24/7 anti-Obama Party. You have nothing positive to propose. Nothing reasonable can have bipartisan support. All you can do is attack Obama, and now Clinton. People outside your Party start to realize your obsession has wandered into mental illness. If someone shares your obsession, they are welcomed into the group no matter how vile their characteristics.
I think it all began with America's intense identification with competitive spectator sports. You lose sight of the fact that playing the sport is supposed to be fun, and since you are not playing all you have left is winning. Life becomes a big sports metaphor with winning or being "the loser" taking over every aspect of your life.
In case someone missed this (or Zeke mentioned it earlier) here is an article by that old liberal Jonah Goldberg ------wherein he posits that:
Quote
Donald Trump Jr. offered Kasich both foreign policy and domestic policy. “What the hell would Trump do?” the aide reportedly asked Trump the younger. “He would make America great again,” Trump Jr. casually replied
Donald Trump would then be POTUS without any of the hard work and just fly around in Air Force One and be awesome.
In case someone missed this (or Zeke mentioned it earlier) here is an article by that old liberal Jonah Goldberg ------wherein he posits that:
Quote
Donald Trump Jr. offered Kasich both foreign policy and domestic policy. “What the hell would Trump do?” the aide reportedly asked Trump the younger. “He would make America great again,” Trump Jr. casually replied
Donald Trump would then be POTUS without any of the hard work and just fly around in Air Force One and be awesome.
Actually someone said they didn’t understand why this hadn’t been a bigger deal in the press.
It’s been dismissed by many of the usual suspects as a false story, even if it rings and smells very true. Whether it be Kasich or someone else there is no way that Trump would be able to, nor even want to, make the very hard and difficult decisions. If somehow he were to be disastrously elected.
Trump just wants to get that final ego feather in his cap by being elected POTUS and then being able to admire his reflection in the mirror while masterbating to his awesomness.
Hillary Clinton’s choice of Tim Kaine as her running mate is being described as ``safe.’’ Safe is not exciting. But it offers a powerful contrast with Donald Trump.
Trump is high risk. ``A Trump presidency would be dangerous for the nation and the world,’’ the Washington Post declared in a scathing editorial. Risk is a longstanding issue in American politics. It explains one of its enduring features: the gender gap.
Women, on the average, are more risk-averse than men. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, fewer than 7 percent of prison inmates are women. Crime always entails risk, and women tend to be more cautious — and smarter — about risk-taking than men are.
Hillary Clinton’s choice of Tim Kaine as her running mate is being described as ``safe.’’ Safe is not exciting. But it offers a powerful contrast with Donald Trump.
Trump is high risk. ``A Trump presidency would be dangerous for the nation and the world,’’ the Washington Post declared in a scathing editorial. Risk is a longstanding issue in American politics. It explains one of its enduring features: the gender gap.
Women, on the average, are more risk-averse than men. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, fewer than 7 percent of prison inmates are women. Crime always entails risk, and women tend to be more cautious — and smarter — about risk-taking than men are.
Psychobabble. Poppycock. Gender is irrelevant. Obama picked Biden, a safe VP. It is a political strategy, just like Pence was a political strategy. Good or bad, it has nothing to do with gender. It has to do with perception. As for women being more risk averse: unsubstantiated and anecdotal, at best.
Testosterone poisoning is a real thing. Women NEVER say "Hold my beer and watch this." The mortality rate for young men is higher for a reason. There very few cultures in which the women are the warriors.
Testosterone poisoning is a real thing. Women NEVER say "Hold my beer and watch this." The mortality rate for young men is higher for a reason. There very few cultures in which the women are the warriors.
didn't read the whole thing, did you? The point really isn't about gender, is about risk. (Besides which, it isn't psychobabble or anecdotal, but that's a different discussion.)
didn't read the whole thing, did you? The point really isn't about gender, is about risk. (Besides which, it isn't psychobabble or anecdotal, but that's a different discussion.)
Risk as a function of gender:
Quote
Risk is a longstanding issue in American politics. It explains one of its enduring features: the gender gap.
Women, on the average, are more risk-averse than men. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, fewer than 7 percent of prison inmates are women. Crime always entails risk, and women tend to be more cautious — and smarter — about risk-taking than men are.
Emphasis is mine.
It is anecdotal - the crime figures do not apply and are anecdotal - not the result of an applied statistical study. And psychobabble because it uses assumed "female psychological traits" as a basis for the so-called gender gap.
The explanation may be non-scientific but all explanations for human behavior are non-scientific. Nonetheless, the numbers are real. Draw your own conclusions.
The explanation may be non-scientific but all explanations for human behavior are non-scientific. Nonetheless, the numbers are real. Draw your own conclusions.
Here is a list of scientific studies on human behavior.
Q&A: Garry Trudeau on Doonesbury's 30-year affair with Donald Trump
A.D. Amorosi The Philadelphia Inquirer July 24, 2016
Quote
Cartoonist/author Garry Trudeau has been on the front line of incisive political commentary ever since his Doonesbury strip debuted in 1970. Since then, he has taken on hot-button issues like abortion rights and lampooned mighty figures, Reagans, Bushes . . . and Donald Trump.
By 1987, Trudeau, already lambasting Trump, was telling audiences Trump would run for president someday. In 1989, Trump said this: "Doonesbury is one of the most overrated strips out there, mediocre at best."
The Republican nominee for president is the subject of Trudeau's new collection, Yuge!: 30 Years of Doonesbury on Trump. Trudeau, 68, will be at the Rittenhouse Square Barnes & Noble on Monday - the first day of the DNC. He spoke to The Inquirer the day before his arrival.
Here is a list of scientific studies on human behavior.
I started to look at your list but I'm not going to pay Elsevier to get articles. I don't believe they have the right, since most of the articles they charge for are paid for with public funds.
Anyway, what I really meant is that science can tell you HOW humans behave, but it can't tell you WHY. That's not science's job. And Skinner's whole school of psychology embodies this.
HOW may be a few neurons doing this or that. WHY is a neural net of millions of neurons. It's going to take an unknown amount of time and an unknown amount of processing power to answer any WHY questions.
Here is a list of scientific studies on human behavior.
I started to look at your list but I'm not going to pay Elsevier to get articles. I don't believe they have the right, since most of the articles they charge for are paid for with public funds.
Anyway, what I really meant is that science can tell you HOW humans behave, but it can't tell you WHY. That's not science's job. And Skinner's whole school of psychology embodies this.
HOW may be a few neurons doing this or that. WHY is a neural net of millions of neurons. It's going to take an unknown amount of time and an unknown amount of processing power to answer any WHY questions.
Preaching to the choir: In 2015 I wrote the boot code for a 256-core multiprocessor chip with each processor embedded in a big router. NDA means I can't talk about it, but I'm sure you could find it with a little searching. These things are real now and not just simulations.
Preaching to the choir: In 2015 I wrote the boot code for a 256-core multiprocessor chip with each processor embedded in a big router. NDA means I can't talk about it, but I'm sure you could find it with a little searching. These things are real now and not just simulations.
I know they are! I am working on something similar - not this project - but it is fascinating. Love it.
The Twenty-fifth Amendment (Amendment XXV) to the United States Constitution deals with succession to the Presidency and establishes procedures both for filling a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, as well as responding to Presidential disabilities. Section 4 provides (in part):
Quote
Section 4. Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.
Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue...
(Emphases added)
What if the President that is elected is mentally incapable of performing his duties? How soon after his inauguration will Trump be so unstable that his Cabinet revolts?
One may think I am being rhetorical or hyperbolic by raising this issue, but I am dead serious. I am deeply, deeply concerned that Donald Trump's obvious mental health issues are a clear and present danger to the Union (which is, I think, why so many Republican leaders are keeping their distance). Could Donald Trump Pass a Sanity Test?
One clear and present danger to security of the country is having a president that is a proven pathological liar, which also attests to his "lack of sanity". This, too, is not hyperbole, but rather easily verifiable by merely going over all of the "statements" he has made over the course of his public life to the present. His unfitness to hold ANY public office is glaringly apparent. All politicians "bend the truth" and some really just lie, but his is a pathological case. I believe it could be medically certified.
Well, he did get 32/40 on the psychopath test. That's not conclusive but scores of 30 and higher indicate the syndrome.
Maybe we don't need to institutionalize him, but at least he should have "psychopath" tattooed on his forehead so everybody he meets knows it. Most people have never interacted with a psychopath, so they fail to recognize them. Superficially, they can be very glib and charming.
Just like my father: Educated, charming, and intellectual with a PhD. Also deemed to be a psychopath unlikely to benefit from treatment by the state prison system because he was so intelligent. He could have used a tattoo too.
Trump retreats from claim that NFL sent letter regarding debates. That's two bald-faced lies this week. He also walked back claims he had a "great relationship" with Putin. Trump is trying to undermine the debates because he knows he's going to perform poorly.
The Twenty-fifth Amendment (Amendment XXV) to the United States Constitution deals with succession to the Presidency and establishes procedures both for filling a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, as well as responding to Presidential disabilities. Section 4 provides (in part):
Quote
Section 4. Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.
Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue...
(Emphases added)
What if the President that is elected is mentally incapable of performing his duties? How soon after his inauguration will Trump be so unstable that his Cabinet revolts?
So Mike Pence, acting president? Oh yeah, that's REAL great. Straight into The Handmaid's Tale.
In recent years, however, the Republicans’ relationship to the realm of ideas has become more and more attenuated as talk-radio hosts and television personalities have taken over the role of defining the conservative movement that once belonged to thinkers like Irving Kristol, Norman Podhoretz and George F. Will. The Tea Party represented a populist revolt against what its activists saw as out-of-touch Republican elites in Washington.
...
But the primary vibe from the G.O.P. has become one of indiscriminate, unthinking, all-consuming anger.
The trend has now culminated in the nomination of Donald J. Trump, a presidential candidate who truly is the know-nothing his Republican predecessors only pretended to be.
I was looking at a Rightie blog where Trump support is strong, and this flap started by Mr. Kahn is the first thing I have seen that is piercing the veil of denial that The Donald is a bad person. It has set up an interesting tension between their bigotry toward Muslims and their extreme loyalty for fallen heroes.
Apparently, there is already a rumor circulating that Mr. Kahn has a Muslim Brotherhood connection (whatever that means) and that he "has ties to the Clintons".
Still, there were numerous negative comments about il Douche L'Orange - it's a crack that will probably widen.
It’s hard to know exactly when the Republican Party assumed the mantle of the “stupid party.”
Stupidity is not an accusation that could be hurled against such prominent early Republicans as Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Elihu Root and Charles Evans Hughes. But by the 1950s, it had become an established shibboleth that the “eggheads” were for Adlai Stevenson and the “boobs” for Dwight D. Eisenhower — a view endorsed by Richard Hofstadter’s 1963 book “Anti-Intellectualism in American Life,” which contrasted Stevenson, “a politician of uncommon mind and style, whose appeal to intellectuals overshadowed anything in recent history,” with Eisenhower — “conventional in mind, relatively inarticulate.” The John F. Kennedy presidency, with its glittering court of Camelot, cemented the impression that it was the Democrats who represented the thinking men and women of America.
Rather than run away from the anti-intellectual label, Republicans embraced it for their own political purposes. .... Here’s the thing, though: The Republican embrace of anti-intellectualism was, to a large extent, a put-on. At least until now. ...
It’s hard to know exactly when the Republican Party assumed the mantle of the “stupid party.”
Stupidity is not an accusation that could be hurled against such prominent early Republicans as Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Elihu Root and Charles Evans Hughes. But by the 1950s, it had become an established shibboleth that the “eggheads” were for Adlai Stevenson and the “boobs” for Dwight D. Eisenhower — a view endorsed by Richard Hofstadter’s 1963 book “Anti-Intellectualism in American Life,” which contrasted Stevenson, “a politician of uncommon mind and style, whose appeal to intellectuals overshadowed anything in recent history,” with Eisenhower — “conventional in mind, relatively inarticulate.” The John F. Kennedy presidency, with its glittering court of Camelot, cemented the impression that it was the Democrats who represented the thinking men and women of America.
Rather than run away from the anti-intellectual label, Republicans embraced it for their own political purposes. .... Here’s the thing, though: The Republican embrace of anti-intellectualism was, to a large extent, a put-on. At least until now. ...
put this one up on this thread previous page. We're at it again NW
I did a Google search to find the days that Donald Trump did not lie. Billions of entries, Trillions of Terabytes of information.... and they cannot be found. They don't exist.
All told, according to the Associated Press, "Trump's campaign had plunged at least $6.2 million back into Trump corporate products and services." Those expenses aside, he has few staffers and little campaign infrastructure. One GOP consultant called the whole thing a "scampaign."
TRUMP SUPPORTERS SMEAR THE KHAN FAMILY: The Post overview of the escalating battle between Trump and the Khans serves up this distasteful nugget:
Late Sunday, Trump supporters, including longtime adviser Roger Stone, circulated unsubstantiated accusations from an anti-Islam website about Khizr Khan. Stone tweeted a link to a post that, among other things, accuses Khan of being a Muslim Brotherhood agent who wants to advance sharia law.
Election year or not, the VFW will not tolerate anyone berating a Gold Star family member for exercising his or her right of speech or expression," said Brian Duffy, the national commander of the country's oldest and largest war veterans organization, referring to families who have lost relatives in wars.
"Knowing how insane and idiotic Trump is, why do you think there wasn't a mutiny at the RNCC last week? There are many dots to connect that are all out there for all of us to see - so let's begin:
When they were vetting the VPs - Trump Jr offered it to Kasich and told him that he'd "be in charge of all domestic and international policy." Basically, Trump's VP will be acting POTUS, which Kasich rightfully ran away from. Pence is the GOP's conservative wet dream. Trump has no intention of doing the job, he's only running to WIN, and win a bet with Roger Ailes.
However, his ego is so gigantic it won't allow him to skulk away. If they manage to steal this... or there are enough idiots to elect him (I have to believe we're not this stupid yet, and Idiocracy is still a fictional movie), Trump will resign about a month in, (he doesn't have the attention span, nor wants to take the pay cut), and Pence will become POTUS. The GOP know they can control Pence, and get everything back to and including the New Deal, completely repealed. No SS/Medicare/ACA/Planned Parenthood/Roe... they'll destroy all LGBTQ civil rights including marriage, they'll make Citizens United permanent and make it illegal to mention the words Climate Change nationwide, like they've already done in Oklahoma.
Trump is the misdirection. Pence is their plan. Trump's stupidity and hatefulness, combined with Rove's Evil Cartoon version of Hillary and the nonstop barrage of calling her untrustworthy in light of Trump's nonstop actual lying...are all designed to make you look away from what they're really doing, and that's getting everything in place for Pence, including trying to flip the vote tabulation servers like in 2004, and 2012."
Or this could just be a Producers-like scam: Trump does pretty well financially if he loses. He is paying his companies for all sorts of campaign costs, as well as paying family members. At the end, all cash left over as campaign contributions can become personal income to Trump.
Sort of a covered bet: He wins if he wins, and wins if he loses.
Or this could just be a Producers-like scam: Trump does pretty well financially if he loses. He is paying his companies for all sorts of campaign costs, as well as paying family members. At the end, all cash left over as campaign contributions can become personal income to Trump.
Sort of a covered bet: He wins if he wins, and wins if he loses.
A scammer is a scammer is a scammer. My apologies to Gertrude Stein.
After the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 they can't just pocket the money. But they can lend their campaign as much as they want and then pay back the loans at the end. And they can even keep on collecting contributions after they end the campaign to pay of those debts.
They can also keep the dough for a future run, give it to other candidates or PACs (within limits), give it to charity, or return it.
But Trump probably won't have any money leftover since he is spending it as fast as he collects it by paying his companies and family lavishly. Somebody looked into his campaign spending and some of the shell companies are pretty much non-existent.
Apparently really poor management of campaign funds is not quite criminal, that being Trump Standard Operating Procedure.
The Donald is a big admirer of asbestos, the notorious carcinogen that he considers "the greatest fire-proofing material ever used." He's so convinced of its powers, in fact, that he thinks a lack of asbestos is the reason the Twin Towers collapsed on September 11.
"If we didn't remove [the] incredibly powerful fire retardant asbestos & replace it with junk that doesn't work, the World Trade Center would never have burned down," Trump wrote in a tweet in October 2012. About 400 tons of asbestos reportedly went into the structures before the builders halted its use in 1971, anticipating that the government would soon ban the material.
Trump was repeating an argument he made in front of a subcommittee of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in 2005, when he testified about how quickly and elegantly he could renovate the United Nations building in New York. "A lot of people could say that if the World Trade Center had asbestos it wouldn't have burned down. It wouldn't have melted, okay?" he told the senators. Comparing other materials to it, he argued, is "like a heavyweight champion against a lightweight from high school."
The Time Andrew Dice Clay Thanked Donald for the Hookers
Quote
On June 16, 1990, the day after Donald Trump missed a $43 million payment on bonds he used to finance Trump Castle, the mogul visited his Atlantic City casino for a blowout celebrating his 44th birthday. The party capped off a day that had started with a pro-Trump rally held by casino employees—"Let's stand behind our Donald, because he's the father of our babies," one worker urged the crowd. The rally featured a "professional motivator" to whip up the audience, and one worker presented the tycoon with a gift: an eight-foot-tall "rug portrait" of Trump.
The party at the Castle's Crystal Ballroom was an over-the-top bash with bands, confetti, and a cheering crowd. Robin Leach, the host of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, walked out of a fake Trump Shuttle to act as a hype man before other celebrities showed up in person and onstage. As then-Village Voice reporter Wayne Barrett described in his book, Trump: The Greatest Show on Earth:
Dolly Parton and Elton John appeared on giant screens to wish Donald a happy birthday, with Parton asking to work the Taj instead of her regular Castle gig and promising to charge only $100,000 a show. Joe Piscopo did his Sinatra imitation on the birthday song, followed by a string of Jap gags—oblivious to the presence of several Japanese high rollers in the front rows—even cracking that Atlantic City would be owned by the Japanese if it wasn't for Donald. A George Bush imitator declared Donald should be President...A chorus line in skintight outfits gyrated around chairs singing longingly about Donald's dollars. Then Andrew Dice Clay appeared on another giant screen to thank Donald for the Taj hookers, saying they had stamps on their asses to show they'd had their shots.
Sadly, Barrett couldn't attend the event. He was arrested on his third attempt to get into the ballroom and cover the party. But his research assistant managed to enter the ballroom and cover the festivities.
A few days ago, I was asked on CNN to make sense of one more case in which Donald Trump had said something demonstrably false and then explained it away with a caustic tweet and an indignant interview. I replied that there was a pattern here and a term for a person who did this kind of thing: a “bullshit artist.” I got cheers and boos for the comment from partisans on both sides, but I was not using that label casually. Trump is many things, some of them dark and dangerous, but at his core, he is a B.S. artist.
Harry Frankfurt, an eminent moral philosopher and former professor at Princeton, wrote a brilliant essay in 1986 called “On Bullshit.” (Frankfurt himself wrote about Trump in this vein, as have Jeet Heer and Eldar Sarajlic.) In the essay, Frankfurt distinguishes crucially between lies and B.S.: “Telling a lie is an act with a sharp focus. It is designed to insert a particular falsehood at a specific point. In order to invent a lie at all, [the teller of a lie] must think he knows what is true.”
But someone engaging in B.S., Frankfurt says, “is neither on the side of the true nor on the side of the false. His eye is not on the facts at all, except insofar as they may be pertinent to his interest in getting away with what he says.” Frankfurt writes that the B.S.-er’s “focus is panoramic rather than particular” and that he has “more spacious opportunities for improvisation, color, and imaginative play. This is less a matter of craft than of art. Hence the familiar notion of the ‘bullshit artist”.
This has been Trump’s mode all his life. He boasts — and boasts and boasts — about his business, his buildings, his books, his wives. Much of it is a concoction of hyperbole and falsehoods. And when he’s found out, he’s like that guy we have all met at a bar who makes wild claims but when confronted with the truth, quickly responds, “I knew that!”
Speaking of BS and its relative stink... Donald Trump has endorsed Ryan and McCain. Personally, I feel that if he had previously endorsed their opponents he should stick to his guns. His supporters don't much care for either of them.
Speaking of BS and its relative stink... Donald Trump has endorsed Ryan and McCain. Personally, I feel that if he had previously endorsed their opponents he should stick to his guns. His supporters don't much care for either of them.
That Trump guy has no integrity. Whatever will make him look good for the moment.
Read the Harvard Republican Club's Letter Blasting Donald Trump
Quote
Dear Members and Alumni, In every presidential election since 1888, the members and Executive Board of the Harvard Republican Club have gathered to discuss, debate, and eventually endorse the standard-bearer of our party. But for the first time in 128 years, we, the oldest College Republicans chapter in the nation, will not be endorsing the Republican nominee. ... Perhaps most importantly, however, Donald Trump simply does not possess the temperament and character necessary to lead the United States through an increasingly perilous world. The last week should have made obvious to all what has been obvious to most for more than a year. In response to any slight –perceived or real– Donald Trump lashes out viciously and irresponsibly. In Trump’s eyes, disagreement with his actions or his policies warrants incessant name calling and derision: stupid, lying, fat, ugly, weak, failing, idiot –and that’s just his “fellow” Republicans. He isn’t eschewing political correctness. He is eschewing basic human decency.
Speaking of BS and its relative stink... Donald Trump has endorsed Ryan and McCain. Personally, I feel that if he had previously endorsed their opponents he should stick to his guns. His supporters don't much care for either of them.
Read the Harvard Republican Club's Letter Blasting Donald Trump
Quote
Dear Members and Alumni, In every presidential election since 1888, the members and Executive Board of the Harvard Republican Club have gathered to discuss, debate, and eventually endorse the standard-bearer of our party. But for the first time in 128 years, we, the oldest College Republicans chapter in the nation, will not be endorsing the Republican nominee. ... Perhaps most importantly, however, Donald Trump simply does not possess the temperament and character necessary to lead the United States through an increasingly perilous world. The last week should have made obvious to all what has been obvious to most for more than a year. In response to any slight –perceived or real– Donald Trump lashes out viciously and irresponsibly. In Trump’s eyes, disagreement with his actions or his policies warrants incessant name calling and derision: stupid, lying, fat, ugly, weak, failing, idiot –and that’s just his “fellow” Republicans. He isn’t eschewing political correctness. He is eschewing basic human decency.
The Havard Republican Club represents all that is wrong with America: a group of snooty, elitist snobs who think that just because they've "studied" something, their considered opinion is worth more than a Real Man's gut feeling.
Every Real Man knows that a vote for Hillary Clinton is a vote for the emasculation of each and every man in America. In the face of that threat, how could a man's man like Donald J. Trump be anything but a good choice for every Right Thinking American?
The Havard Republican Club represents all that is wrong with America: a group of snooty, elitist snobs who think that just because they've "studied" something, their considered opinion is worth more than a Real Man's gut feeling.
Every Real Man knows that a vote for Hillary Clinton is a vote for the emasculation of each and every man in America. In the face of that threat, how could a man's man like Donald J. Trump be anything but a good choice for every Right Thinking American?
Most of Trump's following is made up of(uneducated) "real men" and their properly subservient wives. And, having studied nothing, they are in a unique position to understand that having no wisdom, understanding, or foresight, except that gleaned through a Fox News filter, sufficiently qualifies someone to Make America Great Again.
“The American people must accept that I am never, ever going to get better on my own, and realize that, if untreated, my condition will spiral even further out of control until I enter a persistent and almost certainly violent state of psychosis,” said Trump during what many pundits saw as the most devastating rhetorical blow landed during the debate. “Listen to me: I need to be institutionalized for the rest of my life and kept outside of normal human society. Please, stop cheering. I’m suffering.”
“For the love of God, I just want this to end,” he continued.
Trump reportedly concluded his remarks by making the evening’s most compelling argument for his case, saying it should be legal to detain Muslim U.S. citizens indefinitely without just cause.
Donald Trump pledges to replace Constitution with the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition
Davywavy NewsThump August 6, 2016
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The United States Constitution will be modified to include the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition, according to a policy document leaked from the Donald Trump campaign.
The news emerged after it became clear Trump’s campaign website would not allow supporters to cancel reoccurring donations, a move covered under Rule 239 as “Never be afraid to mislabel a product”.
Trump, who believes he is running for the position of ‘Grand Nagus’ of the United States, has a personal motto of “A man is only worth the sum of his possessions”, which is his favourite of the rules.
There's always a kernal of truth wrapped up in a BS job. Matt Taibbi has, as usual, done a good job of identifying the dynamics involved in this insurgent campaign season. Going after Clinton's support of trade agreements will resonate with many many people. For good reason. tired of waiting for it
Another tool for Trump to go to work on Clinton with.
appears to me it has always been a comparison between those who look at our government from an individuals perspective and those who look at it the way it was meant to be ... sorry but the first word of the Constitution should be the clue
There's always a kernal of truth wrapped up in a BS job. Matt Taibbi has, as usual, done a good job of identifying the dynamics involved in this insurgent campaign season. Going after Clinton's support of trade agreements will resonate with many many people. For good reason. tired of waiting for it
Another tool for Trump to go to work on Clinton with.
Donald Trump pledges to replace Constitution with the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition
Davywavy NewsThump August 6, 2016
Quote
The United States Constitution will be modified to include the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition, according to a policy document leaked from the Donald Trump campaign.
The news emerged after it became clear Trump’s campaign website would not allow supporters to cancel reoccurring donations, a move covered under Rule 239 as “Never be afraid to mislabel a product”.
Trump, who believes he is running for the position of ‘Grand Nagus’ of the United States, has a personal motto of “A man is only worth the sum of his possessions”, which is his favourite of the rules.
One of the real problems with Drumpf's so-called "campaign" is that you can't really discuss any issues. Everything is "yuge" and "great" and so crack-whack laced with lies that you cannot take any of it seriously. He sounds like the guys on the streets of NYC smoking K2. Any rational argument would be pointless. I guess that is the idea...
Just in case anyone had any doubt about the quality of the Drumpf's economic team (if such a thing could ever exist):
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AMONG THE MEMBERS of Donald Trump’s recently announced team of economic advisers is Stephen Moore, a distinguished visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation and co-founder of the Club for Growth, which supports candidates who advocate slashing the tax rates of the top 1 percent. ... MOORE: Capitalism is a lot more important than democracy. I’m not even a big believer in democracy. I always say that democracy can be two wolves and a sheep deciding on what to have for dinner. … Look, I’m in favor of people having the right to vote and things like that. But there are a lot of countries that have the right to vote and they’re still poor. Democracy doesn’t always lead to a good economy or even a good political system.
Trump-ers have now gone full frontal jihad radical.
That's what happens to morons as they see themselves sinking into a pool of shyte. Their only reaction is to threaten, but they're so impotent (ain't no Viagra in the world gonna help 'em) that, cowards that they are, they can't even own up to what they say. So they hide behind lies and delusions so as to justify their stupidity.
I am embarrassed when friends from abroad ask me how someone like Trump could be anything but extreme fringe. Makes me want to move, even though I am pretty sure he can't win.
TIME Magazine's cover story interview answers the question:
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Trump: Well, I’m running it differently than I did the primaries. I am listening to so-called experts to ease up the rhetoric, and so far, I’m liking the way I ran in the primaries better.
The people who support Trump are generally non critical-thinking types who fit the following basic pattern:
1) They naturally function from a negative rather than positive outlook (they love to hate); 2) They are highly susceptible to propaganda and have been well-taught that the left is evil and the right is divine; 3) Trump is their metaphorical Statue of Liberty, except in the form of a gigantic hand with a raised middle finger.
In this political passion play, facts have no more significance than they have in religions.
a half full glass of pepsi is just a half full glass of pepsi
it is true the left is evil as proven by your post
and no, not just a large statue but I think rather a god .... the god of large hands
ruminations from the land of the rising confederacy .... i listened to Mayor Giuliani this morning and have to reconsider whether I am a complete idiot or live in an alternate universe from these folks ... but then I remind myself .... half the people I see and hear are below average intelligence and I know I am above average intelligence .... perhaps that is the clue .... I do live in an alternate universe
I think I will rely on Mindseye N Stein's Theory of Relativity .... for example, if one were to ask my neighbor, she would say Sec Clinton is a LSS and maybe the MVP of LSS (probably because of 25 years of conservative propaganda and Mr Trump says so) .... on the other hand, in the real world, it is clear Mr Trump may be one of the leading all-time contestants in that competition
but then I am a casual observer just passing through
We do not tolerate personal attacks on members. Feel free to dispute another member's assertions, but don't attack the person. Your response should pertain to what the person said, not what the person "is".
Anyway getting back to topic. If Trump wins its bad news because no one knows how or if he will govern. Not even Mr. Trump himself. It will be a fly by the seat of his pants in the presidential flight simulator while he attempts to learn or invent policy. Or make it up as he goes along. I can’t imagine how chaotic this would all be.
Yet if he loses (the likely scenario) his fans, such as that demented guy posted by rick, are going to “know” the election was rigged and things could get very ugly. And the fact that Mr. Trump cares not a lick about any of this is the most disturbing aspect of it all.
I still can’t get over the feeling that this has always been a long and drawn out joke by Mr. Trump foisted upon the American public and the world at large. And the fact that Mr. Trump is neither ashamed nor embarrassed by any of this says something I cannot quite discern at this time.
American "culture" abounds with false idols and super heroes (Hollywood can't seem to stop producing the garbage). All of which reinforce the ridiculous and extremely dangerous notion of exceptionalism. All of which emphasize the imbecilic notion that the individual is capable of more and better results than the collective. All of which try to convince people that some Randian superman is going to "Make America Great Again". I find it fitting that Trump has come to represent the modern-day Galt: a pathological liar, weak, stupid, incapable of lifting a pen let alone a brick, disgusting both physically, emotionally and spiritually. The buffoon he always was, in fact. The antithesis, if ever there was, of the concept of greatness. This is what centuries of shallow comic book culture hath wrought.
This one's for you, G-man. Arthur was my brother (not by blood but he was raised by my Dad in our home in Brooklyn). He was one of the greatest musicians I've ever met, and I have met a few in my day. He died of AIDS in 1989. I lost a brother but the world lost a musical genius. Here he is on sax.
I wonder if anybody has audited the Trump campaign. My suspicion is that he has been looting his own campaign by charging big bucks for EVERYTHING, his housing, his food, his plane, his children, his wife, EVERYTHING!
I had been at Trump magazine for only four months when my first paycheck bounced. We’d heard rumors of the company’s financial troubles, but I had no idea how bad it really was until my landlord called me one afternoon to tell me that my rent check hadn’t cleared. I logged into my online banking account and saw, to my amazement, that the magazine I worked for—the one with the billionaire’s name on the cover—had stiffed me. Although it was a stressful moment, the irony was not lost on me. It felt like I was living in an Onion article: “Luxury Lifestyle Magazine Can’t Pay Its Own Employees.”
I wonder if anybody has audited the Trump campaign. My suspicion is that he has been looting his own campaign by charging big bucks for EVERYTHING, his housing, his food, his plane, his children, his wife, EVERYTHING!
Just a thought.
There is no doubt that Trump is paying hisself for the use of the 757 with the word "TRUMP" splashed across the tail fin, the use of Mar-a-Largo club, Trump Tower, and such.
My suspicion is that he has been looting his own campaign by charging big bucks for EVERYTHING
He has said that this might be the first Presidential campaign that actually pays. I'm pretty sure that's what he is doing. Look for many Trump campaign workers howling about bounced paychecks when it is over. That's SOP for Donald.
Look for many Trump campaign workers howling about bounced paychecks when it is over. That's SOP for Donald.
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I had been at Trump magazine for only four months when my first paycheck bounced.
We’d heard rumors of the company’s financial troubles, but I had no idea how bad it really was until my landlord called me one afternoon to tell me that my rent check hadn’t cleared. I logged into my online banking account and saw, to my amazement, that the magazine I worked for— the one with the billionaire’s name on the cover — had stiffed me.
Look for many Trump campaign workers howling about bounced paychecks when it is over. That's SOP for Donald.
Quote
I had been at Trump magazine for only four months when my first paycheck bounced.
We’d heard rumors of the company’s financial troubles, but I had no idea how bad it really was until my landlord called me one afternoon to tell me that my rent check hadn’t cleared. I logged into my online banking account and saw, to my amazement, that the magazine I worked for— the one with the billionaire’s name on the cover — had stiffed me.
In a speech the Republican presidential nominee will deliver on Monday in Ohio, Trump will argue that the country needs to work with anyone that shares that mission, regardless of other ideological and strategic disagreements. Any country that wants to work with the U.S. to defeat "radical Islamic terrorism" will be a U.S. ally, he is expected to say.
"Mr. Trump's speech will explain that while we can't choose our friends, we must always recognize our enemies," Trump senior policy adviser Stephen Miller said Sunday.
Wasn't this the concept behind the Axis powers? Let me check... um, yeah. And then there is this:
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Trump is also expected to propose creating a new, ideological test for admission to the country that would assess a candidate's stances on issues like religious freedom, gender equality and gay rights. Through questionnaires, searching social media, interviewing friends and family or other means, applicants would be vetted to see whether they support American values like tolerance and pluralism.
Does he realize that "his" demographic can't pass this test? Indeed would be the least likely to?
Trump has struggled to support religious freedom, not least with his initial Muslim immigration proposal. He has struggled with tolerance more broadly, for example offering a highly dubious definition of free speech and calling for stricter libel laws. Trump might be in the position of demanding that those seeking to immigrate to or seek refuge in the United States uphold values that he himself seems ambivalent about.
Did you listen to, or watch any of his speech today? It was delivered via TelePrompTers, a vehicle Mr. Trump supposedly despises. And I can see why.
The delivery was not Trump like. It was mostly spouted in a monotone, except when Mr. Trump reverts to his favorite technique--repeating a line he likes over and over and await the applause. Distilled to its essence, Mr. Trump stated that if elected POTUS, he will single handedly eliminate Islamic Fundamentalist Terrorism once and for all. No specifics mentioned other than “I will do it”.
"Trust me. I will quell your fears and make us safe again.”
This article talks about two letters from doctors. The first is a real letter from Clinton's doctor discussing her health (with none of the stupid Republican conspiracy issues). The second is a letter supposedly written by a gastroenterologist but VERY likely fabricated by Trump himself proclaiming him to be in extraordinary health. The latter has several grammar and spelling problems and uses typical Trump-style wording.
More important than Trump's campaign releasing an obvious fake letter is the issue of his father's Alzheimer's. There is a genetic component of that disease and there is no mention of the test for that gene. His father was diagnosed at age 70, which is Donald's age.
Now we see why Republicans are so anxious to create phony health rumors about Hillary. They are worried about their own candidate.
...The second is a letter supposedly written by a gastroenterologist but VERY likely fabricated by Trump himself proclaiming him to be in extraordinary health. The latter has several grammar and spelling problems and uses typical Trump-style wording....
...The second is a letter supposedly written by a gastroenterologist but VERY likely fabricated by Trump himself proclaiming him to be in extraordinary health. The latter has several grammar and spelling problems and uses typical Trump-style wording....
Alzheimer's hits different people at different ages and in different ways. Trump's mental issues have existed for a very long time and have been exacerbated by many issues (inherited money, lack of parental supervision or care, bullying success). At this juncture it is hard to say how much of his personality is fixed, and how much might be the result of early-to-mid onset Alzheimer's, as many elements are similar (paranoia, fantastic thought processes, inattention, poor fact management). Since his father had dementia, there is every reason to expect he will manifest it as he ages. Although Fred Trump was only diagnosed at age 87, given his financial status, he was probably suffering earlier in his life, but its effects were masked by the life of privilege he led. The same is probably true of his son.
You know, we thought that the "Willie Horton" ads were dispicable, and that "Swift Boating" was about as low as one can go... but with Stephen Bannon in charge, Lee Atwater is going to be exposed as a rank amateur. We don't need to worry so much about how bad it's going to hurt Hillary Clinton as how much damage it is going to do to America and the American psyche. Buckle your seatbelts, Nazism is on our doorstep.
Trump DOES have a serious memory problem. One of the giveaways on that one is how he repeats stuff that he says to fix it in his brain (obviously doesn't always work).
One thing about Trump that seems to have been missed. We really know very little about him. People have tried to get his school records, for instance. He went to Wharton, Warton says so and so does Trump. However, that being said nobody can remember him there and his school records are hidden from view. That is, apparantly true of all his school records. He has refused to let his tax records be public. Turns out that most of the stuff, with his name on them, are not owned by him (other than his name). there are no health records, other than a misspelled letter from somebody claiming to be his doctor. Basically, it seems, we have his mouth, and what it claims, and virtually no verifiable facts. We are also told of all the lawsuits he has been involved in and also that over 2000 of them were people suing him. I have yet to see any reports on his success or failure rate on those and suspect that many of those, against him, are sealed.
Its said that Hillary has secrets and Trump has his mouth. The fact is that Trump ALSO has secrets - he has simply not been seriously hammered on them - yet.
He probably inserts silence clauses into every lawsuit settlement. So the only complaints are from suits he hasn't settled yet. Lately, he hasn't actually built a lot himself probably because all the subcontractors know he won't pay or live up to his contracts. He just sells his name to other developers. Now with all the info about fraud, etc. around "Trump" developments that business is probably going to dry up as well.
Donald Trump, whose campaign has been embroiled in countless racial controversies, called on the Republican Party to improve its outreach to black voters on Saturday. “Outreach to the African-American community is an area where the Republican Party must do better,” said Trump, at an evening campaign stop in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
I don't know if he is that unself-aware or that cynical. Either way, he is just that pathetic.
Donald Trump, whose campaign has been embroiled in countless racial controversies, called on the Republican Party to improve its outreach to black voters on Saturday. “Outreach to the African-American community is an area where the Republican Party must do better,” said Trump, at an evening campaign stop in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
I don't know if he is that unself-aware or that cynical. Either way, he is just that pathetic.
it's more the lack of self-aware. Being self-aware shows critical thinking and being honest about one's self. I don't find either of those characteristics to be a part of Donald Trump's reality.
his surrogates say the Dems are hypocritical for saying at one time he is not reaching out and then when he does, it is because he is cynical .... somewhere in there I believe there is a disconnect
I think the biggest disconnect comes from the white supremacist followers who he refuses to disown.
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OAKTON, Va. — Jared Taylor hits play, and the first Donald Trump ad of the general election unfolds across his breakfast table. Syrian refugees streaming across a border. Hordes of immigrants, crowded onto trains.
“Donald Trump’s America is secure,” rumbles a narrator. “Terrorists and dangerous criminals kept out. The border, secure; our families, safe.”
Taylor, one of America’s foremost “racialists,” is impressed and relieved. “That’s a powerful appeal,” he said. “If he can just stick to that, he is in very good shape.”
From his Fairfax County home, Taylor has edited the white nationalist magazine American Renaissance and organized racialist conferences under the “AmRen” banner. He said that Trump should “concentrate on his natural constituency, which is white people,” suggesting that winning 65 percent of the white vote would overwhelm any Democratic gains with minorities.
When Trump made Breitbart News CEO Steve Bannon his campaign’s chief executive last week, Taylor found reasons to celebrate. It was the latest sign for white nationalists, once dismissed as fringe, that their worldview was gaining popularity and that the old Republican Party was coming to an end.
after all he is MR BREXIT .... one of the underlying principles of this movement was bigotry/xenophobia .... hard for anyone to escape who they really are
That lack of awareness of how badly you have offended some people is typical psychopath behavior. It does not surprise me at all, but I have lived with psychopaths. Most people have not, so this seems strange.
The major defect in psychopathy is the inability to construct mental models of other people. This leads to lack of empathy, poor predictions of how other people will react, what is interpreted as strange behavior by others, construction of false realities (seen as pathological lying by others), etc.
Newsweek has yet another informative article on Trump this week: This time they are talking about his real finances. (Not his fantasies.) Apparently he is in debt to the tune of BILLIONS of dollars when you add it all up. He can't escape via corporate isolation this time, because he countersigned some huge loans and just about every one of his businesses is in the red. Unless he wins the Presidency and can manipulate a whole bunch of things, he is headed into personal bankruptcy.
My opinion: And perhaps being killed by any number of the more criminal lenders. I think he is going to lose badly and will share the fate of Jimmy Hoffa. You just can't stiff that many people and not have one of them take out a hit on you.
Newsweek has yet another informative article on Trump this week: This time they are talking about his real finances. (Not his fantasies.) Apparently he is in debt to the tune of BILLIONS of dollars when you add it all up. He can't escape via corporate isolation this time, because he countersigned some huge loans and just about every one of his businesses is in the red. Unless he wins the Presidency and can manipulate a whole bunch of things, he is headed into personal bankruptcy.
My opinion: And perhaps being killed by any number of the more criminal lenders. I think he is going to lose badly and will share the fate of Jimmy Hoffa. You just can't stiff that many people and not have one of them take out a hit on you.
PIA, I went to Newsweek and didn't find the article. Do you have a link?
I thought I just accidentally erased the email from Newsweek. But maybe I was just hallucinating. I went looking for it too and I couldn't find it. Maybe I was just reading the CHB article?
Oh well, blame it on the MS. Got to be good for something.
I thought I just accidentally erased the email from Newsweek. But maybe I was just hallucinating. I went looking for it too and I couldn't find it. Maybe I was just reading the CHB article?
Oh well, blame it on the MS. Got to be good for something.
Maybe you were referring to this article:
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But an investigation by The New York Times into the financial maze of Mr. Trump’s real estate holdings in the United States reveals that companies he owns have at least $650 million in debt — twice the amount than can be gleaned from public filings he has made as part of his bid for the White House. The Times’s inquiry also found that Mr. Trump’s fortunes depend deeply on a wide array of financial backers, including one he has cited in attacks during his campaign.
It's an open letter to the Speaker (a devout Catholic) and James Dobson (a prominent evangelical). Both of whom have endorsed a man who apparently knows almost nothing about Christianity.
Just as an example, Trump is on public record as saying his favorite Bible verse is the Old Testament's "An eye for an eye" which of course Jesus repudiated!
The article is fairly short and pretty funny. Here's a pretty good quote:
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Speaker Ryan and Mr. Dobson, you are both welcome to gamble on Trump—as a casino operator (hardly a job of the spiritually driven), he is well-trained at taking bets. But should you continue to do so, you will be exposed as fools who can be tricked by any carnival barker or, worse, prove the critics of evangelism right: that it has become an empty shell of political babble that has sacrificed its commitment to the Bible for secular power.
It's an open letter to the Speaker (a devout Catholic) and James Dobson (a prominent evangelical). Both of whom have endorsed a man who apparently knows almost nothing about Christianity.
Just as an example, Trump is on public record as saying his favorite Bible verse is the Old Testament's "An eye for an eye" which of course Jesus repudiated!
The article is fairly short and pretty funny. Here's a pretty good quote:
Quote
Speaker Ryan and Mr. Dobson, you are both welcome to gamble on Trump—as a casino operator (hardly a job of the spiritually driven), he is well-trained at taking bets. But should you continue to do so, you will be exposed as fools who can be tricked by any carnival barker or, worse, prove the critics of evangelism right: that it has become an empty shell of political babble that has sacrificed its commitment to the Bible for secular power.
I was wondering when someone from the evangelical tribe was gonna call him on his BS!
I am not a Christian myself, but I can recognize one and I know a lot about their theology. I really don't think it has anything to do with Donald Trump. All of his attempts to gain Christian followers is a con game.
Real Christians probably should look into their hearts and really think about choosing the right side. Trump can destroy the evangelical movement just as he is destroying the Republican Party. You Christian-in-name-only folks can have fun at your Trump rallies promoting hate.
It amazes me that so many who claim to be Christians are ready to follow The Prince of Lies. I don't believe in Heaven but I'm beginning to believe in Hell.
Election laws simply can't keep up with Trump's self-dealing.
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“We don’t have clear answers,” [Paul S. Ryan, a campaign finance expert with the Campaign Legal Center] said. “Historically, candidates would separate themselves from their business interests when running for office. Trump has done the opposite by promoting his businesses while running for office.”
Trump's new campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, is a very skilled crapmeister. She tried to argue that Clinton was "not strong" with women because she polling at less than 70% (although she's approaching that figure). The reality is that Clinton's margin with women is historic: The Trump-Clinton Gender Gap Could Be The Largest In More Than 60 Years . That is one mighty spin.
This is the "office space" that Don The Con is paying quadruple for now that he has donors, who by-the-way, are not able to stop their monthly contributions to his campaign.
Gives a whole new definition to the expression "pee brain"...
Trump’s New Billionaire Backer Also Funds Huge Stockpile of Human Urine
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THE NEW YORK Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post have all noticed that Robert Mercer, co-CEO of the giant hedge fund Renaissance Technologies, has emerged as a key backer of Donald Trump.
Mercer, who first spent over $10 million trying to make Ted Cruz president, just gave $2 million to a Super PAC supporting Trump. Mercer is also a top investor in the Breitbart News Network. According to the Post, Mercer’s daughter Rebekah nudged Trump to bring in Stephen Bannon, Breitbart’s executive chairman, to run his campaign.
But here’s what the mainstream media won’t tell you: Robert Mercer and his daughter have also funded a gigantic stockpile of human urine in Oregon.
The urine stockpile is the project of Arthur Robinson, a chemist and founder of the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine. Starting in 2005, the Mercer Family Foundation contributed at least $1.4 million to OISM, enabling Robinson to buy freezers to store his 14,000 samples of urine.
Robinson wants still more urine, as much as possible, and issues frequent appeals to the public to contribute. According to the OISM newsletter, Robinson is collecting it in order to “calibrate analytical procedures that can revolutionize the evaluation of personal chemistry — and thereby improve our health, our happiness and prosperity, and even the academic performance of our children in school.”
Art Robinson is a well known Oregon kook who aside from being a scientist has run for the office of state representative several times in the past. I’ve never come to terms with the fact that a legitimate scientist could hold views such as the following but Mr. Robinson certainly does:
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In addition to believing that global warming is a hoax, .....Robinson is a signatory to A Scientific Dissent from Darwinism, a petition circulated by the Discovery Institute to promote intelligent design.[28]
Art Robinson is a well known Oregon kook who aside from being a scientist has run for the office of state representative several times in the past. I’ve never come to terms with the fact that a legitimate scientist could hold views such as the following but Mr. Robinson certainly does:
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In addition to believing that global warming is a hoax, .....Robinson is a signatory to A Scientific Dissent from Darwinism, a petition circulated by the Discovery Institute to promote intelligent design.[28]
I don’t know. I suppose there could be something of value in his analysis and fixation of one of our “precious bodily fluids”, but methinks he is carrying this a little too far. Especially when he posits that urine holds the keys to just about everything related to the well being (present and future) of a given individual. And why only urine? What about blood, mucous, perspiration and all the rest? Blood, sweat, and tears so to speak.
Well, actually this is a case of the blind pig finding an acorn once in a while. IF he is really sincere about a softer immigration stance, and that is a great big IF. He has not been consistent about any policy at all, so why should we believe this?
As far as Ann, I hope she has a good Vaseline supply handy because her screwing is happening right now. She writes a whole book on this issue and the next day Trump reverses himself!
Or Spag, since Robinson is convinced that his urine analysis will have the ability to:
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calibrate analytical procedures that can revolutionize the evaluation of personal chemistry — and thereby improve our health, our happiness and prosperity, and even the academic performance of our children in school.”
He moved it to a Florida home owned by one of his rich backers. But it probably is for tax fraud purposes, since Florida doesn't charge tax on investment income and California does. When you get tax avoidance advice from Florida accountants they tell you to register to vote as evidence of residence.
Trump's latest disgusting act: Donald Trump's tweet on killing of Dwyane Wade’s cousin sparks uproar. Even more despicable? The "condolence" tweet didn't come from him, but his staff. Link. Don the Con is the lowest form of life on Earth... wait, that presumes he is a living thing, not a monstrous creation.
Trump's latest disgusting act: Donald Trump's tweet on killing of Dwyane Wade’s cousin sparks uproar. Even more despicable? The "condolence" tweet didn't come from him, but his staff. Link. Don the Con is the lowest form of life on Earth... wait, that presumes he is a living thing, not a monstrous creation.
I truly don't see how the GOP survives this Trump phenomena the next three months. Everyday there is irrevocable damage to their brand.
George W Bush commented that he feels that he will be the last Republican president.
the authors of these obits maintain at just over 2 months to go, mr trump will loose in a landslide. i am not convinced. despite the fact a new poll suggests a very high percent of people have already made up their mind.
we have a series of debates. i have no doubt kaine will best pence as pence is on the wrong side of a number of issues. however i believe people can change their minds especially in a highly charged debate between an astute media hound and a policy wonk.
i have no faith in the American voter as they are for the most part either partisans or easily seduced by the bright lights. and even though the trump camp has had bend into ridiculous contortions to support their candidate, in a world driven by visual media, the message will be lost to the histrionics of mud and smoky mirrors.
is it possible the debates will turn out to be the greatest illusion of history and trump will emerge as the front runner?
is it possible the debates will turn out to be the greatest illusion of history and trump will emerge as the front runner?
No. You are assuming there will be actual debates, and that if they do take place, they will change people's minds. People will hear what they want to hear. Trump has done everything in his power to alienate as much of the population as he can. With Bannon that will only get worse. You can't light a candle for the devil and another for Christ. You lose both. That is the path he has chosen. Landslide is relative: if not many Repubs go out to vote then Dem turnout will win the day. If they grudgingly vote for Trump (a possibility, for sure) then it may be less of a shellacking. Either way, the only way he can win is if more than 50% of the country does not turn out. Somehow, that is highly unlikely.
No, he can "win" if it appears less than half the country voted. Between active suppression efforts and ballots "disappearing" he could pull it off. It would not be the first time. 2004 election controversies - Wikipedia.
If a Clinton/Trump debate does take place I think it will be obvious to any somewhat competent viewer than Clinton has a deep understanding of all the issues and can talk for hours on any of them, while Trump doesn't even know what the issues are.
I say "if" because I think Trump knows a debate would finish him off, and is doing whatever he can to avoid it.
Which is why Anonymous "said" they did this on Election Night 2012:
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We coded and created, what we call, The Great Oz. A targeted password protected firewall that we tested and refined over the past weeks. We place this code on more than one of the digital tunnels and their destination’s that Karl’s not so smart worker bees planned to use on election night.
NOTE: On Election Night 2012, a lot of us were online here at RR and we watching the State-by-State results and the Ohio's State Results DID go down around 11:10pm and when the computer came back up, Obama DID lose votes, but not as many as what happened in 2004 to John Kerry.
There were screen shots, but the entire thread is no longer there.
is it possible the debates will turn out to be the greatest illusion of history and trump will emerge as the front runner?
No. You are assuming there will be actual debates, and that if they do take place, they will change people's minds.
I predict Trump will actually figure out a way to cast the very debates themselves as an attack on his credibility, and a willing and compliant media (my real term omitted to comply with RR guide) will legitimize his faux outrage.
"How DARE she impugn my patriotism by having the GALL to demand a DEBATE?"
"If she tries to debate, she's not going to make the case for her candidacy, she will use the debates to open her pockets to help RIG THE ELECTION!!"
"What do we need to hear from Crooked Hillary that we haven't already heard before? My voters and her voters have already made up their minds, so a debate is just theater." (So sayeth the MASTER of said "theater")
Not kidding, I think he will actually pull it off. She will not get the chance to debate him.
I believe that Bannon was brought into the campaign for two reasons: First, because Trump likes to surround himself with people who stroke his ego; second, because he wants to get started on "Trump TV."
I believe that Bannon was brought into the campaign for two reasons: First, because Trump likes to surround himself with people who stroke his ego; second, because he wants to get started on "Trump TV."
Brannon, Hannity, and Ailes. Yup, Trump TV is coming soon (...after Trump gets a shellacking by Hillary in November! )
Sorry to do this but it needs to be said: The atmosphere in the United States is starting to resemble pre-Nazi Germany right before the Reichstag bombing, or maybe right around the time of the infamous "Beer Hall Putsch". And I predict that WIN or LOSE, Trump supporters WILL become VERY VIOLENT and regardless of your position on guns, you would be well advised to prepare in some way no matter which way the election goes. If Trump WINS, supporters will feel entitled to embark on a type of Kristallnacht style "cleansing" as part of their perceived "mandate" because they have been told in no uncertain terms by their Cheeto Savior to "make America great again", and for most of them that starts with attacking, eliminating or outright exterminating all objectionable and undesirable people. If Trump LOSES, supporters will STILL embark on "days of rage" style violence to take out their frustrations, for a variety of reasons, ranging from perceived "rigged elections" to a mandate for "Second Amendment Types" to remedy the electoral loss, which is entirely unacceptable to them, to undertaking what THEY believe is their moral imperative to prevent the machinery of democracy to move forward, because democracy is not to be trusted in the hands of anyone who dares to vote for Hillary Clinton. So, WIN OR LOSE, expect varying levels of violence from Trump supporters.
In EU and UK, senseless white rioting usually takes place during soccer matches. All other riot style activity is usually political. Here we do not have "soccer hooligans" but "football violence" is on the uptick inside the stadiums. It has not reached NEAR the proportions or levels reached overseas however.
But I predict that a Trump loss WILL trigger the kind of mayhem normally associated with "soccer hooligans" only with the added flavor of GUN violence on top of it. And NATURALLY Trump and his right wing media will desperately attempt to portray it as "leftist violence".
Hey, if the police and National Guard have to confront some of the more extreme Trump supporters, all to the good. Felons don't get to vote! They don't get to own guns either, once they get out of prison.
If some people want violent revolution, the punishment is prison or death.
And I think the vast majority of police, the National Guard, and the military will follow orders from the chain of command.
I believe that Bannon was brought into the campaign for two reasons: First, because Trump likes to surround himself with people who stroke his ego; second, because he wants to get started on "Trump TV."
Yet another failed enterprise, one could guess. Roger, the pervert, Ailes and Stephen, the Nazi, Bannon. A winning team.
I believe (unfortunately without offering any evidence) that report is inaccurate.
I recollect Hannity promoting the idea of Clinton health issues on his radio talk show long before he made it a staple of his Fox show.
I suspect he doubled down on it, because he recognized poor polling numbers may impact not only the election but his own shows. The meme is used to not only bolster Trump supporters with some justification for their support but to dissuade potential listeners who may have considered other candidates into voting for a "healthy" candidate.
Trump's "tax plan" not only gives billion-dollar breaks to the rich, it is designed to bankrupt SS and Medicare. Instead of child care deductions being taken from general taxes, they would be offset against payroll taxes. Yes, you read that right. Right now SS is solvent through 2034. Under Trump's plan it will be raided and become insolvent sooner.
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if Trump’s new deduction were applied to payroll taxes — as distinct from personal income taxes. The New York Times recently reported that the deduction could offset up to one-half of a parent’s payroll taxes. If that were the case, the tax benefit would succeed in reaching millions of households in the zero bracket. Such a move, however, could have adverse ripple effects. Any large decline in payroll tax receipts would contribute to the funding crisis faced by those government programs which depend on such funding.
Watching Kellyanne Conway again. She seems to be getting more desperate, but it's only been two weeks! I found her amusing at first, but the more I see of her, the less I like.
It turns out, Donald Trump only "owns" five buildings. He has minor interests in others, and other businesses, but nothing close to a controlling interest.
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[R]ecognizing that Trump’s big borrowings are concentrated on just five properties raises a nettlesome question about the mogul’s epic claims. In reality, Trump owns, or owns portions of, just a few major properties, though what he does own are trophies. If you take a reasonable estimate of the value of his holdings, and put a likely multiple around 15 on his recurring royalty profits, you don’t get too far over $4 billion. Subtract $1.11 billion in debt, and you’re somewhere in the $3 billion range as Fortune previously estimated.
Here's the thing, and this will shock absolutely no one: Trump lies about everything. Not "waffle", not "shade the truth" - flat out lies. Makes stuff up. Promotes stuff he knows to be false. He doesn't go a day, or a topic, without lying. His "worth" he has lied about so often it is hard to keep up with, and even he may no longer know the truth (but I bet his accountants do!). The rough formula Fortune used to use is "divide by 3" - take whatever he "claims" and divide it - and that worked for some time. I'm not sure it does anymore, but who knows? If he released his tax records, maybe we'd know. But, then we'd know. If there is one thing Donald hates it is getting caught in a lie, and that happens so often. Then he'll move on to the next one.
While talking about why progressives aren’t big fans of women in conservative politics: Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, Ann Coulter - Steven Bannon lives up to his reputation:
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That’s why there are some unintended consequences of the women’s liberation movement. That, in fact, the women that would lead this country would be pro-family, they would have husbands, they would love their children. They wouldn’t be a bunch of dykes that came from the Seven Sisters schools up in New England. That drives the left insane and that’s why they hate these women.
Many progressive bloggers accuse conservatives of wanting to take America back to the 1950s - a charge that many conservative bloggers say isn't true. Steven Bannon's quote validates what progressive's charge.
I thought this was interesting. Remember Dr. Harold Bornstein, the guy who wrote that letter touting Trump's amazingly good health?
On the Rachel Maddow ( ) show, Dr. Bornstein said that he'd seen Hillary Clinton's medical records. He isn't her doctor. Medical records aren't like students' permanent records in file cabinets in the little room behind the secretary's desk, awaiting the perusal of any curious school staff. Medical records are private. To stay out of trouble, he's going to need to say that he lied about seeing the records. That brands him as a liar.
Like anybody believed that bs letter in the first place. Sheesh!
But the mogul's New York modeling agency, Trump Model Management, has profited from using foreign models who came to the United States on tourist visas that did not permit them to work here, according to three former Trump models, all noncitizens, who shared their stories with Mother Jones. Financial and immigration records included in a recent lawsuit filed by a fourth former Trump model show that she, too, worked for Trump's agency in the United States without a proper visa.
Foreigners who visit the United States as tourists are generally not permitted to engage in any sort of employment unless they obtain a special visa, a process that typically entails an employer applying for approval on behalf of a prospective employee. Employers risk fines and possible criminal charges for using undocumented labor.
...Dr. Bornstein said that he'd seen Hillary Clinton's medical records. He isn't her doctor. Medical records aren't like students' permanent records in file cabinets in the little room behind the secretary's desk, awaiting the perusal of any curious school staff. Medical records are private. To stay out of trouble, he's going to need to say that he lied about seeing the records. That brands him as a liar.
Like anybody believed that bs letter in the first place. Sheesh!
In a stunning move, Congress hastily passed legislation revoking Donald Trump's citizenship while he is in Mexico. The Obama administration took immediate steps to cancel his passport and recall his secret service detail.
And now Kellyanne Conway wants the left to stop all the name calling.
Wonder if she had a chance to check this out. It's an article put out by The New York Times called "The 258 People, Places and Things Donald Trump Has Insulted on Twitter: A Complete List."
And that's just his twitter insults. He can dish it out but ...
I think Kellyanne thinks she is being clever by accusing the opposition first of all the things that make her candidate weak so as to 'inoculate' him. Health, transparency, temperament, etc. (We learn that in law school, by the way. When defending someone with a bad history, you need to mention it before the prosecutor.) I think though, it is too late. Trump's record is out there. Hillary's ads are easy to make.
It actually says a lot about the Republican strategy of demonizing Obama and Hillary Clinton. Those Trump supporters actually believe all of the total BS Republicans have been throwing against the wall for decades to see if something will stick.
It's backfired now: There are a lot of actual thoughtful, reasonable Republicans who know Trump is 100 times worse than Hillary. But their useful idiots want Trump, so they have little choice. If they want to maintain the illusion that they are leading, they have to get out in front of the riot.
Not paying the bills locally, outsourcing manufacturing jobs, and hiring immigrant labor at starvation wages in his various enterprises.
And all the while claiming he will improve local economies, bring manufacturing jobs back, and get rid of immigrants.
His record would have destroyed any other candidate.
Absolutely! Republicans have been known for their double-speak (saying one thing - meaning another). Trump is a master at performing double-speak, saying one thing but doing the complete opposite.
In a book that O'Donnell wrote about his experience as a Trump casino executive, he painted a picture of a boss who was not interested in cultivating high rollers by socializing with them and unaware of the need for the repeat business of everyday gamblers from New York City and Philadelphia. What Trump was interested in was the way his executives looked and dressed. O'Donnell wrote of how Trump warned his top men about the dangers of losing their hair, and recalled that he once told all the managers at the casinos that they should wear suits because "there are no sport coats in the Trump Organization."
ergo the reason I refused to work in a corporate environment ... just could not bring myself to wear a 3-piece and wingtips regardless of remuneration .... some principles are intractable
Not everyone is highly vulnerable to the 'charisma' effect, though many are.
Bizarre as it may seem, Trump has some, Clinton doesn't.
One of the first thoughts I had about Trump, when he stepped into the race, was, "Would you but a used car from this man?", which I tried out on a Rightie blog. To my dismay, the response was a puzzled, "Sure, why not?"
Long ago I studied a psycho-philosophical school of thought that presumed humans generally live in a state of 'waking sleep', a condition of being able to walk around and do seemingly normal things, but all the while mentally in mostly a dream state.
Just listened to Pres Obama, and he feels good about the future despite the rhetoric coming from Mr Trump.
I think either Pres Obama is missing something or he was being overly gracious.
In my community, make no mistake. The support is real and based on multi-faceted reasons or feelings. They hate Muslims .... they hate Mexicans .... beside hating the blacks .... if Mr Trump included one more item to cure his dystopian landscape i.e. deport all people on welfare/unemployed/etc to anywhere, he would have rock solid support .... of course none of this is racist or bigoted or xenophobic .... tough love for America
It is amazing to watch a Trump supporter's intellectual contortions trying to explain their support. He "tells it like it is" unless "he doesn't really mean it." He's "trustworthy," even though everything he spouts is demonstrably false, and has a very lengthy record of deception and fraud. It's the media's fault for bringing in "facts." The US has 30% of Bizarro World's denizens, and they're ALL voting for Trump.
It is amazing to watch a Trump supporter's intellectual contortions trying to explain their support. He "tells it like it is" unless "he doesn't really mean it." He's "trustworthy," even though everything he spouts is demonstrably false, and has a very lengthy record of deception and fraud. It's the media's fault for bringing in "facts." The US has 30% of Bizarro World's denizens, and they're ALL voting for Trump.
You might find this article interesting, NW_P. I found it last night.
...More measured linguistic analysis reveals that Trump supporters often explicitly reject the literal meanings of his speech, attending instead to what he indexes or connotes. Trump uses hyperbole, humor, hedging, and repair to take stands — both for or against certain general political programs (immigration, trade deals), but more importantly against certain kinds of scornful elite discourse that belittle those supporters. Understanding that complex conversation, rather than dismissing it out of hand, can help us not only better comprehend the Trump phenomenon but also see why the rest of the world is so flummoxed by his verbiage...
I personally think that Trump's strategy of trying to have it both ways: running to Mexico to play at being "Presidential" then giving an anti-immigration speech the same day; going to a black church to appear "humble" and insulting the African American polity constantly, etc., is deliberate. And it seems to be working. Here's why I think it does: Those that want to see something good in his approach can find examples (e.g. "softening"), even if he is inconsistent, to support their view of who he is. Those, like Clinton, who think he's an absolute (fill in the blank) are baffled, because they don't know "which Trump" will appear.
That's a good article, Rick. It's a realization I come to slowly because I believe that language matters. Trump either clearly doesn't mean what he says, or he is delusional. His followers clearly don't care what he says, which is what I find so baffling, they just care about what he "represents" - which is someone who is against the status quo. They don't care that he is completely unqualified for office, they like that his existence "sticks it to the man." They don't grasp that "they are the man" he'd stick it to.
I still believe the majority of Americans will reject him, but I am still depressed that there are so many that care so little about it. That's my problem, I care, and I think that a difference CAN be made.
It is amazing to watch a Trump supporter's intellectual contortions trying to explain their support. He "tells it like it is" unless "he doesn't really mean it." He's "trustworthy," even though everything he spouts is demonstrably false, and has a very lengthy record of deception and fraud. It's the media's fault for bringing in "facts." The US has 30% of Bizarro World's denizens, and they're ALL voting for Trump.
You might find this article interesting, NW_P. I found it last night.
...More measured linguistic analysis reveals that Trump supporters often explicitly reject the literal meanings of his speech, attending instead to what he indexes or connotes. Trump uses hyperbole, humor, hedging, and repair to take stands — both for or against certain general political programs (immigration, trade deals), but more importantly against certain kinds of scornful elite discourse that belittle those supporters. Understanding that complex conversation, rather than dismissing it out of hand, can help us not only better comprehend the Trump phenomenon but also see why the rest of the world is so flummoxed by his verbiage...
Indeed, it is the use of language favored by con men. You have to make your "mark" feel that he/she is important.
Kellyanne "Con"way gets Donald Trump because they speak the same language. What is important is understanding that, and being able to respond to it. I think Clinton's ads do that, as they paint a "visceral" picture, but could backfire, since it reinforces the low bar that Trump has to clear. If he doesn't wet his pants at the first debate, he seems "Presidential" - just like standing at a podium lying about what the President of Mexico just said. It's the picture, not the content, that counts. Same with the Detroit church - it doesn't matter if it is empty, he's in a black church.
In 1900 a chap named Gustav Le Bon wrote a seminal work aptly entitled The Crowd. It's a discourse on the behavior of crowds. His insights into electoral processes are particularly interesting because he posits that crowd behavior is driven by images and not by rational thought or argument. Essentially when the individual becomes part of a crowd he loses his ability to think as an individual.
If he doesn't wet his pants at the first debate...
Hillary had better bait and zap Don The Con really good - so that we can ALL watch him meltdown when he DOES piss his pants. I hope that Hillary is taking some advice from Lizzy Warren.
I'm going to place a bet: after the election it will come out (in a year or so) that Trump is suffering from Alzheimer's. It killed his father, and Trump is not nearly as healthy as Fred was.
I'm going to place a bet: after the election it will come out (in a year or so) that Trump is suffering from Alzheimer's. It killed his father, and Trump is not nearly as healthy as Fred was.
I'm not a betting person per se (...although I occasionally hit the slots at Indian Casinos), we can just have an Espresso milkshake at Tullys*.
*I've discovered Tullys and discovered Espresso milkshakes. OMG!!! They're terrific and gives you a pep that lasts for HOURS!!!!
in the minds of at least some partisan observers, the biggest moment of the day was Trump's declaration that he "never spoke" to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi (R) about a $25,000 donation from the Donald J. Trump Foundation that arrived at the same time she was deciding whether to investigate Trump University and its get-rich-quick seminars.
This is a big story that has truly failed to crack the top crust of the mainstream news media, a fact that continues to baffle and outrage Clinton supporters who feel that their candidate is subjected to a daily barrage of pointed questions about email servers and pay-to-play accusations while Trump seems to get a pass on what some say is a case of outright bribery.
If ever there was a "quid pro quo", this seems to be it, and the "accounting error" is farcical. The IRS has no problem assigning blame (to the tune of $2500). Was Trump Fibbing About Buying Politicians Then or Now? - Atlantic "For months, the Republican nominee bragged that he had often paid officeholders for favors. Now that questions are swirling about Florida’s attorney general, he says that’s not the case."
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Donald Trump had a problem, and Pam Bondi could fix it.
Trump was under legal scrutiny for the so-called Trump University, a series of real-estate seminars that former students have charged was a scam. Bondi, the attorney general of Florida, was deciding whether or not to pursue a fraud investigation into Trump U. Meanwhile, Bondi, a Republican, personally solicited Trump for a donation to an organization backing her reelection. .... “As a businessman and a very substantial donor to very important people, when you give, they do whatever the hell you want them to do,” Trump told The Wall Street Journal in July 2015. “As a businessman, I need that.”
What Trump needed was for Bondi to quash an investigation into Trump University. On September 17, 2013, the pro-Bondi group, And Justice for All, received a $25,000 donation from the Donald J. Trump Foundation. Four days later, Bondi announced that the state of Florida wouldn’t pursue a legal case about Trump University or the Trump Institute, a similar but separate scheme.
The IRS fine just covers the tax aspect of it. The justice department of either Florida or the US would have to charge him with bribery. That is a crime, and he should be charged with it. Maybe it will happen in October. That's the usual time the shyte hits the fan.
But he is already being sued by a woman for having sex with her when she was 13. I'm not sure a little bribery charge compares to statutory rape
the only way any of this makes any difference would be if there were legal proceedings, otherwise, so what .... he would not loose any supporters even if he shot etc etc
I have a feeling that Trump will do terribly in the debates, but his hardcore fans won't recognize that fact. They can't judge his incompetence because they have a similar lack of competence.
This is why Clinton is doing so well with college graduate whites and Trump is doing so well with whites who have not graduated. The college grads are generally competent enough to tell when somebody is incompetent.
Maybe we should have a new system where a BS/BA gets you 2 votes, an MS gets you 3, and an MD/PhD/JD gets you 4?
Trump also spoke about the intelligence briefings he receives from US covert agencies as a presidential candidate in a way that would be unthinkable for most nominees, injecting partisanship into a process that is supposed to be immune from politics. He suggested that intelligence officials tasked to brief him were critical of the way Obama had handled US national security: "I'm pretty good with the body language. I could tell they were not happy. Our leaders did not follow what they were recommending."
Trump additionally courted controversy by repeating his assertions that the US should have kept Iraq's oil after the invasion in 2003 to ensure that to the victor go the spoils. He also defended a previous Twitter comment in which he suggested rapes in the military were the result of an increase in female recruits.
So controversial was Trump's performance that it could overshadow Clinton's lackluster showing.
As internal AG documents posted by the Dallas Morning News reveal, the Houston division of the Consumer Protection Division sought to investigate Trump U in October 2009, a request that was approved by deputy attorney general for civil litigation David Morales, according to Owens.
“It didn’t take much to open an investigation. I don’t think anybody really thought much about it,” Owens said. “We go in. Get an injunction. Sometimes we freeze their assets. We fight for Texas consumers. Get their money back."
Both AGs received substantial political donations just when they were considering a civil suit, and both decide not to pursue that case. Now, I recognize that they are Republicans and the New York AG is not, but the timing and the amounts... well, are odoriferous.
Maybe we should have a new system where a BS/BA gets you 2 votes, an MS gets you 3, and an MD/PhD/JD gets you 4?
Commenting on my own post: I just realized we already have such a system in place. Stupid people and those with personality disorders tend to get in trouble when their warped sense of reality conflicts with the law. And in most states we don't let felons vote. It may be that Trump's most ardent supporters are not allowed to vote!
Trump has openly admitted giving money to candidates in return for "favors". So the whole "pay-to-play" issue is not open to debate. He has said as much.
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“You’d better believe it,” Trump said. “If I ask them, if I need them, you know, most of the people on this stage I’ve given to, just so you understand, a lot of money.”
Trump is the master of playground tactics: "I'm rubber, you're glue." It happens over and over. The tactic is very old, and professionals like Kellyanne Conway use it all the time - tar your opponent with the brush used on you, and people will see "equivalence."
Trump is the master of playground tactics: "I'm rubber, you're glue." It happens over and over. The tactic is very old, and professionals like Kellyanne Conway use it all the time - tar your opponent with the brush used on you, and people will see "equivalence."
Seriously, when I heard that yesterday, my first thought was: What an a$$hole that guy is!
It's an old trick. Pick out your own weaknesses and accuse your opponent of the same thing. Hard to accuse Hillary of cheating on business dealings, so go with mental and physical health.
The only problem is that it draws attention to the topic and you may do worse in comparison. Like the mental health thingie, the credibility, the foundations, etc.
It's an old trick. Pick out your own weaknesses and accuse your opponent of the same thing. Hard to accuse Hillary of cheating on business dealings, so go with mental and physical health.
The only problem is that it draws attention to the topic and you may do worse in comparison. Like the mental health thingie, the credibility, the foundations, etc.
'People are saying' that Trump may have the beginnings of Alzheimer's just like his dad Fred died of. I'm not saying it, other people are...
I like that Pepe The Frog in there! There's a lot of Trump trolls on 4chan/b, etc. But then again there are African-American hate threads, gore threads, women-as-objects-suitable-for-rape threads, etc. Kind of the American id exposed.
That's a right-wing talk show host trick. Other people can say he is a space alien: Doesn't make it so. I think Trump has always been an ahole. Nothing different now.
He is 70 and his dad was not diagnosed until I think 86. And his dad was an ahole HIS whole life before that. (ie. KKK member, racial discriminator, etc.)
In 2009 and 2010, [the Charles Evans Foundation] gave a total of $150,000 to the Donald J. Trump Foundation, a small charity that the Republican presidential nominee founded in 1987.
Then, Trump’s foundation turned around and made donations to the police group in South Florida. In those years, the Trump Foundation’s gifts totaled $150,000.
Trump had effectively turned the Evans Foundation’s gifts into his own gifts, without adding any money of his own.
On the night that he won the Palm Tree Award for his philanthropy, Trump may have actually made money. The gala was held at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, and the police foundation paid to rent the room. It’s unclear how much was paid in 2010, but the police foundation reported in its tax filings that it rented Mar-a-Lago in 2014 for $276,463.
And you wonder why he doesn't release his tax returns?
Maybe I should have included this in the "Trump's Criminal Adventure" thread:
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Trump’s foundation appears to have repeatedly broken IRS rules, which require nonprofit groups to file accurate paperwork. In five cases, the Trump Foundation told the IRS that it had given a gift to a charity whose leaders told The Post that they had never received it. In two other cases, companies listed as donors to the Trump Foundation told The Post that those listings were incorrect.
I mentioned this earlier, but it seems to be a significant insight into the Rightie mind, and is worth some serious discussion...
Even though Clinton said half of Trump's supporters were deplorables, virtually ALL of them assume that she was talking about them.
Does that mean they know they are bigots and think that it's okay?
Or are they simply incapable of hearing a fact and understanding its meaning?
Probably both. Remember, we aren't dealing with any Mensa folks here. They've been brainwashed to the point of no return. If the words do not fit in the very narrowly circumscribed world of fantasy that they believe in, then the words will make no sense at all.
The Trump Foundation still gives out small, scattered gifts — which seem driven by the demands of Trump’s businesses and social life, rather than by a desire to support charitable causes.
The foundation makes a few dozen donations a year, usually in amounts from $1,000 to $50,000. It gives to charities that rent Trump’s ballrooms. It gives to charities whose leaders buttonholed Trump on the golf course (and then try, in vain, to get him to offer a repeat donation the next year).
It even gives in situations in which Trump publicly put himself on the hook for a donation — as when he promised a gift “out of my wallet” on NBC’s “The Celebrity Apprentice.” The Trump Foundation paid off most of those on-air promises. A TV production company paid others. The Post could find no instance in which a celebrity’s charity got a gift from Trump’s own wallet.
In fact, according to Lindsey Graham, 35% of the GOP is racist.
The only fact here is that this is Graham's opinion. I would submit my own opinion that about 35% are racists in regard to black people. There is another percentage who despise Hispanics, and another which abhors Middle Easterners. Some don't like Jews and a few question even those of European origin who were not born in the US. There are a few who are ambiguous concerning skin tone but believe that women are inferior to men and a large segment opposed to equal rights for the gay/transgender community. Many hold "racist" beliefs concerning any one who adheres to any religion besides Christianity. Hard numbers are simply not available, since none of them besides the hardcore white supremacists will admit to their bigotry, but if they were, an interesting set of Venn diagrams might be created with the alt right at its center and which would show the overlaps. A certain number of them simply hate government, despise taxation of any sort, other than that collected to wage war against the various groups, nations, religions, and ideologies they hate. This group generally loves government handouts as long as it doesn't go to anyone but white Christians.
All in all I believe that Madame Clinton's assessment that fully half of them belong in the "deplorable" basket is somewhat low.
IMHO, a guess would be closer to 90% of racism or nativism in one form or another. It is practically part of their platform. Maybe not openly but certainly in the general behavior of the members of congress.
Of course, they may not enjoy their racism, etc. like the White Supremacists. They may simply believe Blacks are lazy, men are superior to women, all Muslims are terrorists, and so forth. Might even consider it unfortunate.
So some fraction of those "deplorables" just think of themselves as realists, and anyone not like them naive.
I am completely without prejudices -- I hate everybody equally.
Hear hear! From namby pamby bleeding heart liberals to the alt right, there is only a small slice of America somewhere in between, who agree with me fully, that I can even associate with. (and even their motives are questionable)
Trump sent a get well card to Hillary Clinton, again breaking with Republican orthodoxy: This is the first time a Republican has cared about a woman's health.
#TangerineNightmare Whose hypocrisy knows no bounds:
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DONALD TRUMP NAMED former CIA director and extremist neoconservative James Woolsey his senior adviser on national security issues on Monday. Woolsey, who left the CIA in 1995, went on to become one of Washington’s most outspoken promoters of U.S. war in Iraq and the Middle East.
As such, Woolsey’s selection either clashes with Trump’s noninterventionist rhetoric — or represents a pivot towards a more muscular, neoconservative approach to resolving international conflicts.
Trump has called the Iraq War “a disaster.”
Woolsey, by contrast, was a key member of the Project for the New American Century — a neoconservative think tank largely founded to encourage a second war with Iraq. Woolsey signed a letter in 1998 calling on Clinton to depose Saddam Hussein and only hours after the 9/11 attacks appeared on CNN and blamed the attacks on Iraq. Woolsey has continued to insist on such a connection despite the complete lack of evidence to support his argument. He also blames Iran.
I still think his secret plan is to lose because he can make a lot of money, build his brand, and having to work the job sucks.
Delusions of grandeur, in the mind of a sociopath, are like everyday thoughts to you and me. I don't give him enough credit for having a coherent plan. It's all media circus and bullshyte, no different than he has ever been.
After Loggy said: What would Mark Twain do with this kind of material...?
NWP said: Cry
Maye he would laugh until he cried if he read this. One of Sarah Palin's fans said this:
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"Well good be mad at me if I ask there be no antibiotic for this strain of pnamonia? Ok fine. God please heal her so she can keep killing us off."
This word salad master didn't fall far from the Palin tree. Are the first two words supposed to be "Will God"? And what the heck is "pnamonia"? This brainiak probably asked somebody how to spell pneumonia and could only pay attention long enough to hear the first two letters.
And if Hillary is killing "us" off, how could she have missed this dodo bird?
i like Ike .... or maybe I mean, I like Trump Jr's excuse .... posting tax returns would be a distraction
I suppose one could extend the argument to any and all information, thus every candidate could say, ain't responding to that as it may be a distraction
i like Ike .... or maybe I mean, I like Trump Jr's excuse .... posting tax returns would be a distraction
I suppose one could extend the argument to any and all information, thus every candidate could say, ain't responding to that as it may be a distraction
Yes, he has: won't talk about birthright, his plan for ISIS, his plan for paying for any of his plans, or his taxes. Indeed, he said (on FOX), "We have to keep the suspense going, OK?"
This is a pattern: His campaign says the right things, but Trump doesn't. That way he can stay "pure" for the deplorables, and his surrogates can peddle soap to the gullible. I'm waiting for some intrepid journalist to point this out on air.
9. "A lot of people do not think it was an authentic certificate. ... Many people do not think it was authentic. His mother was not in the hospital. There are many other things that came out. And frankly if you would report it accurately I think you'd probably get better ratings than you're getting." - May 29, 2012, to CNN's Wolf Blitzer 10 "Was it a birth certificate? You tell me. Some people say that was not his birth certificate. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. I'm saying I don't know. Nobody knows." - August 2013, to ABC News 11. "Who knows about Obama? ... Who knows, who knows? Who cares right now?... I have my own theory on Obama. Someday I will write a book, I will do another book, and it will do very successfully." - January 6, 2016, in an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer.
I know why Trump is so popular among a certain segment of the population - he lets their consciences off the hook about never exercising.
Turns out that standing up and yelling angry nonsensical stuff in front of crowds of morons is very, very healthy - it's a form of hugely beneficial exercise - and those rallies are like a sauna in there - very immensely excellent for the health.
And "Dr." Oz let that go without so much as a raised eyebrow...
And now claims it was all Clinton's idea to begin with.
Trump is an idiot. He trades one conspiracy theory for another.
(Gawd forbid) "President" Trump: Some people are telling me that Syria has weapons of mass destruction. I'm sending our troops in, I've called up 500,000 troops.
You mentioned it on 09/10/16 @5:55pm on the Round Table - and you even called it 'rightie blog.'
Originally Posted by logtroll
The reason why I stopped posting on rightie blogs (gretawire, speakupamerica, theloungecafe, katieskorner) is because my rubber boots weren't tall enough...
(Thanks for the opportunity to give a plug for the blog - even though you deleted the 'what blog' post and I captured it before you did. )
Trump lying is not news any more. Nobody will bother to report it, because every reporter (even lots of Fox News reporters) know every thing he says is a lie.
A day, nor a speech, has not gone by without Donald Trump spouting multiple lies. Not shades, not fibs, not stretches, but outright, bald-faced lies. The press has become inured to it, and, apparently, so have voters. It is astounding. It is historical. It is depressing.
A day, nor a speech, has not gone by without Donald Trump spouting multiple lies. Not shades, not fibs, not stretches, but outright, bald-faced lies. The press has become inured to it, and, apparently, so have voters. It is astounding. It is historical. It is depressing.
And yet the "conservative" Trump supporters can only rail about Clinton being a liar, based almost entirely upon their own accusations and precious little in the way of fact.
A day, nor a speech, has not gone by without Donald Trump spouting multiple lies. Not shades, not fibs, not stretches, but outright, bald-faced lies. The press has become inured to it, and, apparently, so have voters. It is astounding. It is historical. It is depressing.
It should be obvious that the reason the media gives him so much free air time is to see what foolish thing spews out of his mouth next.
Even worse, his supporters see that news coverage as verifying his lies. A newspaper or other media outlet reports "Trump said XXXX" and they think XXXX must be true because the media reported it.
They are not sophisticated enough to see the difference. Maybe media should include an explanation of why each lie is not true?
Those who are predisposed to accept whatever he says as truth, because it validates their own preconceived bias, will never be swayed by logic, fact or truth. Those would be the irredeemables according to Clinton. I suspect they constitute the bulk of Trump's support. The sad part is that there are so damned many. Not a majority and likely not enough to get him elected. But more than any of us had imagined.
I'm sure he has a certain percentage of true believers. These are the same folks who admired the schoolyard bully. They will vote for him no matter what he says because they like his lying and bullying tactics.
But he also has a very large percentage of supporters who could be convinced if media would print LIE after every Trump lie, and explain in simple terms why it is untrue.
But he also has a very large percentage of supporters who could be convinced if media would print LIE after every Trump lie, and explain in simple terms why it is untrue.
I would agree that acting out of evil IS pretty stupid. In the short term, you may gain some money or power but eventually we all die and people will come from miles around to piss on your grave. You spend a short time alive (100 years?) and the rest of the time you are dead. Your reputation can live on much longer than your body.
But I think there are lots more people who are just plain stupid but NOT evil.
your assumption is these folks are stupid because they are ignorant and just have not been exposed to education .... the reality is they choose ignorance over knowledge
not an assumption as i know many Trump supporters personally
All of the Trump supporters that I know, and they count in the hundreds, are, WITHOUT EXCEPTION, bigoted, lazy and immoral. Level of education has little to do with it. Hence, they are ALL stupid. In the famous words of Mrs. Gump - "Stupid is as stupid does." I have yet to hear any one of them make a cogent argument for supporting Trump. In fact I haven't heard anyone ever make such an argument.
Turns out the skittles shyte posted by Hitler Trump Jr. Has its origins in none other than the 3rd Reich. Appropriate I guess.
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DONALD TRUMP JR.’S tweet comparing Syrian refugees to Skittles has deep roots. The concept dates back at least to 1938 and a children’s book called Der Giftpilz, or The Toadstool, in which a mother explains to her son that it only takes one Jew to destroy an entire people.
This looks really bad: Apparently he did not have adequate funds to pay his own bills, so he stole funds from his own charity to pay them. This is actually more criminal than stealing from a charity you don't run.
Embezzlement: In California, that's a class B felony with 5-20 years in prison, pay back the money you stole, and up to a $15,000 fine.
And it is NOT just a tax matter. Nobody makes this "mistake".
Stealing is stealing, and if you don't understand that stealing from your own charitable foundation is a crime, then you are not fit to run it. This is the fundamental fiduciary duty of the officers running a foundation. I just settled a million dollar Living Trust yesterday, so I understand fiduciary duty! (It balances to the penny and every expense is accounted for.)
A friend of mine just sent this letter to the editor:
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I recently reread 1st Corinthians 13: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
What immediately struck me was how diametrically opposed Donald Trump is to each one of those biblical definitions. He is not patient or kind; he envies and boasts and is proud. He dishonors others regularly, is very self-seeking, easily angered and keeps a long record of wrongs and slights.
Do we really want a leader of our country who exhibits the polar opposite of what the Bible says are the very most important traits? Do we really think such a person can unite and lead this country, drawing on their own strengths, and moral standard as an example? This election marks a profound need for soul-searching by voters as to the character of who will sit in the Oval Office.
You really need the video so you can soak up the staccato litany of lies from Hannity
at which point was Mr Trump ever coherent ... or had thoughtful answers to anything .... or even really answered a question?
and yet .... this is the very thing the ignorant masses of America want in a leader ... ignorance .... stupidity .... loud .... incoherent yelling .... visceral solutions to everything .... etc
check out his advisors .... from early on, extremists were attracted to him ... did they see an opportunity to invade the mainstream? .... this has been promoted about the alt-right and it is probably fairly accurate ....
can anyone imagine foreign policy dictated by Gen Flynn ... religion by right wing extremists ... domestic policy by Mr "Steal it to make me great" Trump himself
If Trump loses, he can't deliver the US on a platter to Putin. His debts to the Russians will be called in and he will be dead within the month. He actually has debts that exceed his assets, because most of those loans have a significant "because I am so rich" justification.
But he is way over-leveraged. He is worth some negative number of dollars, that is a large number, and the debts are to people you never want to owe money.
Proof of his insolvency is that he had to use donated money from his foundation to settle debts, even though that is a criminal act. He is not retarded: He had to know they would catch him.
I had mentioned earlier-- but if some had forgotten --I signed up to see Trump when he was in Eugene several months ago. I was there to ascertain just who his fans were. There was a huge (never mind) lineup of people waiting to get in. This was around 2:00PM at the Eugene Fairgrounds and the Trumpster was scheduled to do his gig around 7PM or so.
After waiting in a uuugee line I had had enough. But--here comes the codicil. I am onthe list for Trump supporters. They think I am one of them. In the past week I have gotten numerous email pleas for me to help their cause. Either through money donations or volunteer work.
I told them Ezekiel would help their cause. We shall see.
We collect all we can hope to squeeze out of that turnip
Problem is that there's no blood left in that particular root vegetable. Nothing but IOUs.
When these guys decide he can't pay them back (because he loses), that's it. They have no more use for him except to serve as an example to other borrowers of what happens if you stiff them. And I don't think just making him disappear will serve them well. They would want it to be public and messy.
Trump said quite a while ago that he and Melania would not live in the White House, so I suppose they could rent it out. He could probably make a killing renting out the bedrooms on an hourly basis.
...maybe feed the troops on Trump Steaks and Trump Wine?
It wouldn't be a great deal different from Vice President Richard Cheney's (no-bid)contracts for Halliburton to feed the troops. That is less concerning to me than quid pro quo favors granted to foriegn nationals, banks, or governments he is in debt to. He's going to be in a position to sell out the country to pay his debts then enrich himself.
One can only wonder where all his campaign money is going. He doesn't seem to pay bills or employees but does pay for the use of his plane, space in his buildings, etc. Google "trump sued for non payment" and you will hit a motherload of this stuff. My own thought is that his campaign probably needs a full audit. If that's done one can only wonder at what turns up. It seems, however, that the man not only lies but steals whatever he can too. His thought, as he presented it, is that OPM is the way to run a business (with Other People's Money)
I think you're right. After almost evening the odds in the last couple weeks, Clinton's numbers have begun to pick up a little. The debates will seal the fate of whichever candidate is destined to win.
In theory, that would be Clinton, as it seems Trump really has little to offer beyond empty platitudes and red meat for his base. Republicans, however have pretty much rallied behind him at this point though and I can't really say the same for Democrats in regards to Clinton.
I think you underestimate Mr Trump's appeal to the ignorant
No, I don't think anyone underestimates his appeal to the ignorant. Those who are certain he will lose may be underestimating the number of ignorant voters though.
“Every critic, every detractor, will have to bow down to President Trump. It’s everyone who’s ever doubted Donald, who ever disagreed, who ever challenged him. It is the ultimate revenge to become the most powerful man in the universe.”
OMAROSA MANIGAULT
Bow DOWN?
B!tch, before I bow down to anyone, they will have to remove my arms, legs and brain, and I guarantee you there will be blood in that process and most of it will not be mine. That is a promise.
For the uninitiated, Omarosa was a contestant on "The Apprentice". Trump took her under his wing. Then she went on to try marrying Green Mile actor Michael Clarke Duncan, but he died before they could reach the altar, so her chances of getting her hands on all his money evaporated.
I think Duncan decided death was a better alternative once he realized who he had fallen in with.
1. (of a situation or condition) extremely bad, unpleasant, and degrading. "abject poverty" synonyms: wretched, miserable, hopeless, pathetic, pitiful, pitiable, piteous, sorry, woeful, lamentable, degrading, appalling, atrocious, awful "abject poverty" (of an unhappy state of mind) experienced to the maximum degree. "his letter plunged her into abject misery"
2. (of a person or their behavior) completely without pride or dignity; self-abasing. "an abject apology" synonyms: contemptible, base, low, vile, worthless, debased, degraded, despicable, ignominious, mean, unworthy, ignoble "an abject sinner" obsequious, groveling, fawning, toadyish, servile, cringing, sycophantic, submissive, craven "an abject apology"
NEW YORK — A granite tombstone bearing the name Donald J. Trump that police confiscated in Central Park months ago is now on display at a Brooklyn gallery.
The year of Trump's birth and the words "Made America Hate Again" also are chiseled into the 500-pound slab.
Artist Brian Andrew Whiteley says he created it to remind the Republican presidential nominee that he has "stirred the pot of racism, anger and fear." He says he wants to help Trump reflect on the legacy he's leaving.
Dubbed "The Trump Tombstone," it appeared last spring in the Manhattan park in the middle of the night. Police quickly removed it and held it for months.
When discovered, Whiteley paid a $300 fine for littering.
This weekend, the tombstone reappeared in a Brooklyn gallery.
Trump’s mishandling of facts and propensity for exaggeration so greatly exceed Clinton’s as to make the comparison almost ludicrous. Though few statements match the audacity of his statement about his role in questioning Obama’s citizenship, Trump has built a cottage industry around stretching the truth. According to POLITICO’s five-day analysis Trump averaged about one falsehood every three minutes and 15 seconds over nearly five hours of remarks. In raw numbers, that’s 87 erroneous statements in five days.
This is a bought and paid for mass hallucination and some people have such weak minds that they are susceptible to it the way an anxious teenage girl with a poor self image is susceptible to Cosmo Magazine's body shaming. It's a cheap parlor trick....happens to WORK pretty well.
Half-truths are being mixed together with generous dollops of The Big Lie and assembled to enforce an ideology. Scratch the surface and every single item on that list can be refuted using more complete facts and by providing context, or can be shown to be open to multiple interpretations. That doesn't matter one whit to right wing faithful because ideologies exist to explain the world, not test assumptions about it.
This is how a single snowball held up in front of Congress can slay decades of scientific research and mountains of evidence that point to manmade climate change before the snowball can melt and it's how moon landings can be presented as a hoax.
If you want the Earth proven to be flat or that smoking doesn't kill, these are your people.
you may be one of few who are indignant over his lies .... his supporters dono't care if he shoots someone in Times Square
I think Sec Clinton could start by saying Mr Trump's foreign policy is a simple nuke 'em all and let some goddam fool sort 'em out, round up all minorities and deport, ensure all laws are beneficial to him ... o and Mexico will pay
Trump barred from civil rights museum after his cronies made demands and bullied the staff
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He can’t seem to play nice with anyone. And “they say s*** rolls downhill,” so it’s no wonder Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s staff won’t play nice either. Salon reports a civil rights museum in Greensboro, North Carolina rejected the admission of Donald Trump after Trump’s campaign was “aggressive and rude” to the staff at The International Civil Rights Center & Museum.
Co-founder Earl Jones explained that the Trump campaign had demanded “special requests” that the museum could not grant, such as the facility remaining closed to the public for at least five hours to accommodate the Republican candidate.
“We have equal treatment for everyone coming to the museum,” Jones told WFMY, adding that his staff was contacted by the Trump campaign to plan a visit for last Tuesday, when the Republican presidential nominee would be in town for a separate speech.
Hal Brown posted a revealing video about Donald Trump on the importance of "good genes" on his blog . I tried to copy and paste the video only, but couldn't figger out how.
It's the video right below the images of the haggard-looking woman (at least she's not fat!...) whose job is to try to spin Trump's crazy pronouncements into politically digestible morsels.
Undocumented Workers, Destruction of Art, Power of Ego: The History of Trump Tower
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The history of Trump Tower is a tale of undocumented workers, the destruction of art, the power of ego, and the creation of a building that literally put Donald Trump on the global map for the first time. NY1's Grace Rauh dug into the backstory behind the building and filed the following report.
Trump Foundation Lacks Certification to Operate as Charity
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The Trump Foundation, which is under investigation by the New York Attorney General's office, never obtained the necessary certification to solicit money from the public during its nearly 30-year existence, an investigation by the state's attorney general's office has found, a source briefed on the investigation tells ABC News.
New York State law requires any charity that solicits more than $25,000 a year from the public to obtain a specific kind of certification.
The allegation about the Donald J. Trump Foundation's lack of certification, first reported by the Washington Post, comes about two weeks after New York State attorney general Eric Schneiderman -- a Hillary Clinton supporter -- announced he had opened a broad inquiry into the foundation.
I think Trump will be contending with a Cerberus of issues that are going to eat his campaign alive in October: tax return; foundation; Cuba. (I wanted to do a graphic to illustrate.) His "gaffe" of essentially admitting he doesn't pay taxes will undercut support amongst wage earners who do; his scummy use of the foundation undercuts his "law and order" stance and anti-corruption tyrades; and the Cuba connection will sever his bond to the Miami Cuban community, who are his "Hispanic" base in Florida.
I'm imagining Trump's 2:30 am tweets as President:
"Vladimir Putin was never captured! #McCainloser"
"Downing Street has no 10s. Teresa May? I don't think so! Queen Abdullah of Jordan. Now I'd do her! Also, Shinawarta is HOT! We should do a trade deal with thighland."
"World leaders. It's hard to be a 10 when you're so old! But I feel like I'm 35!"
"Wiener is a loser cause he got caught. Real men wear boxers!"
there is currently a piece of a Giuliani speech which compelled an apology from Commercial Finance Association for "racist" remarks .... who would have thought it
No context for this, I just found it an interesting take on Republicans by a Republican.
“Republicans are a bunch of frightened rabbits,” Giuliani said. “Unfortunately, we have a party made up of a bunch of people who get frightened very easily, and their hands start to shake whenever something happens that they don’t like.”
I recall in the debate that Donald "NoTax" Trump says he makes over $600 million per year.
The fella does some hella lying - I expect to see more mid-night meltdowns as he proceeds to panic on multiple fronts. It must be for him like living in a house of mirror, mirror on the walls and they all start shattering around him. Kinda feel sorry for the sick old narcissist... maybe I'll vote for him to make him feel better about himself?
Good to note that the NY Times' editors risk jail time, once again giving strength to the idea that good journalism requires risk.
Trump Tax Records Obtained by The Times Reveal He Could Have Avoided Paying Taxes for Nearly Two Decades
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Donald J. Trump declared a $916 million loss on his 1995 income tax returns, a tax deduction so substantial it could have allowed him to legally avoid paying any federal income taxes for up to 18 years, records obtained by The New York Times show.
The 1995 tax records, never before disclosed, reveal the extraordinary tax benefits that Mr. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, derived from the financial wreckage he left behind in the early 1990s through mismanagement of three Atlantic City casinos, his ill-fated foray into the airline business and his ill-timed purchase of the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan.
Tax experts hired by The Times to analyze Mr. Trump’s 1995 records said that tax rules especially advantageous to wealthy filers would have allowed Mr. Trump to use his $916 million loss to cancel out an equivalent amount of taxable income over an 18-year period.
So many facts about il Douche that contradict other facts:
He's super smart and successful, yet he pays no taxes because of massive business losses?
He has attacked everyone (and their dog and cat) for not supporting America financially, yet he takes advantage of every loophole (and then some, given his continual state of tax audit) and pays no taxes himself?
He fat shames any woman who crosses him yet thinks his own obesity is admirable?
He castigates companies for off-shore production of goods yet has clothing lines made in Mexico and China?
He can be excused for such astoundingly deplorable incongruences because of his mental illness, but what excuses can his supporters claim? Making him POTUS will help neither him nor us. But it would make good copy for the history books!
Trump's surrogates are spinning his billion dollar loss in 1995 as some kind of "financial genius". Apparently, scamming the tax code is more important than actually running successful businesses?
Trump reports a $916 million loss on his taxes, so he doesn't have to pay any taxes until he earns back that amount. I heard 18 years somewhere.
So, by funneling the profits of his book and other large payments into his charity foundation, they weren't income, so he didn't owe taxes on them, and they weren't counted toward that $916 million. Then he used that foundation as a piggy bank.
I still can't think of Trump as smart. After all, he lost the $916 million in one year in the first place ... by riding high. I do think the Trump employees who always get paid are the best/worst financial experts money can buy.
Talk about hubris! Nobody looked into his shady deals until he begged for the spotlight by running for president. Like all cockroaches, he should have known to avoid the light.
Mayor Giuliani tried to argue Mr Trump was smart otherwise his investors would have sued him. So the question which you raise is, why didn't they sue him for losing $1B in a year?
Gov Christie tried to argue losing money is a genius plan to not pay taxes for the next 15 years. Let's ask people in business if their financial plans include a scenario to lose money to make money.
It's the optics. He is supposed to be for the little guy and yet there is no financial empathy.
South Park's parody "Giant Douche vs. 'Shist' Sandwich" has Mr. Garrison doing his best to alienate his supporters and lose the election, but no matter what he says, the crowd cheers.
South Park's parody "Giant Douche vs. 'Shist' Sandwich" has Mr. Garrison doing his best to alienate his supporters and lose the election, but no matter what he says, the crowd cheers.
Trump has wrecked havoc on small businesses over years by failing to pay for goods and services. With this new revelation it is readily apparent that one of the biggest frauds in our history has been perpetuated on the America people. Trump has drawn a massive salary from these businesses while under bankruptcy and probably was paid licensing fees, etc. for the use of his name.
So at the end of the process he receives a billion dollar loss which thru loss carryover provisions allowing him to avoid taxes completely. Remember it was the Republicans who demonized the regular working people when they overhauled or rigged the bankruptcy laws 10 years ago.
Now, as we speak, read and write about this, Trump, the supposed self-funded candidate, is trolling for contributions from small donors (regular people) to finance his candidacy. All while the trial for Trump University, another fraud, looms ahead.
I am busily running through as many articles on the subject as I can, to understand the details of the tax avoidance scheme, but this is EXACTLY the scenario that I expected would be exposed if any of Trump's returns saw the light of day. The scope of it, though, has shocked even me.
the problems as i see them are the optics of saying he is for the little person all the while he uses the tax code to avoid paying taxes and his large business loss (did he mismanage his business or did he get trapped in a mini economic contraction?)
his surrogates looked like fools trying to support this
Bookings at Trump properties have decreased by 59% across the board, when you compare Q1 of 2015 to Q1 of 2016, even as hotel bookings increased, generally.
Trump has 33 hotels in all, either complete or in the process of being built.Hipmunk tracked all the domestic ones. Trump’s property in New York’s trendy SoHo neighborhood was hardest hit, with Las Vegas not far behind. Both of those hotels saw 70%+ drops compared to this time last year.
Did anybody else notice? If you have a loss of 900 million and then make 600 million per year in gain, your capital loss write off lasts exactly 1.5 years. And that is only if the loss shares the same type of long-term or short-term status as your gain. If the gain is normal income, then you only get to deduct $3000 per year as you consume the carry-over.
I think if Trump's 900 million dollar loss has lasted 18 years, then he must have worked it out so he only makes a gain of 50 million per year. And his actual income as wages must effectively be zero.
He has structured his gain and income so it is pushed off into the future. Maybe he is waiting until he can lower the top tax rate to realize the income. If he can get the estate tax repealed then he can leave it all to his kids with ZERO tax.
Did anybody else notice? If you have a loss of 900 million and then make 600 million per year in gain, your capital loss write off lasts exactly 1.5 years. And that is only if the loss shares the same type of long-term or short-term status as your gain. If the gain is normal income, then you only get to deduct $3000 per year as you consume the carry-over.
I think if Trump's 900 million dollar loss has lasted 18 years, then he must have worked it out so he only makes a gain of 50 million per year. And his actual income as wages must effectively be zero.
He has structured his gain and income so it is pushed off into the future. Maybe he is waiting until he can lower the top tax rate to realize the income. If he can get the estate tax repealed then he can leave it all to his kids with ZERO tax.
It is more complicated than just carrying over loss... he can take that loss and apply it to his taxes as a credit (I don't know the details of the process) which gives added benefits.
I think if Trump's 900 million dollar loss has lasted 18 years
you have misunderstood the article and situation
if he has a loss, then he can look backward for 3 years and use the losses against gains in those years and/or (i don;t recall if it can go both ways or only one way and i am not going to look it up as i did not have a $1B loss last year) he can look forward for 15 years etc
the article says he "could have" avoided paying taxes for as much as 18 years ... IOW you have to see the returns to know how the losses were applied and for how long etc
I have actually had stock investment losses (though miniscule compared to Trump's), and carried the loss forward for several years. You can keep on carrying the balance forward each tax year, deducting from the same kind of gain up to the amount of the gain. For example, if you have a stock you sell at a $100,000 loss, and then make a stock $10,000 gain the next year, you take a $10,000 loss to offset the gain and carry forward a $90,000 balance to the next year. You can also take $3000 max of that carry forward loss against your regular income (which is insignificant for Trump).
You can do this for many years, until the balance is depleted to zero. For a $900K loss to last 18 years, you would have to gain $50 million per year on the average. To pay zero taxes, you would have to make sure NOT to draw a salary (or draw just $3000), which is easy if you own the business(es).
Here is how debt parking works. Suppose the debtor (in this case The Donald) is going to get his debt cancelled for (say) 1c in the dollar. When he gets the debt wiped out the debtor (ie The Donald) will have to report assessable income equal to the debt wiped out (in this case 99 percent of $916 million).
The alternative though is for the debtor to set up a dummy party. The dummy party might be his wife or children or some company or trust set up by them or more likely some completely opaque offshore trust.
And that dummy party goes and buys the debt for say 1.1 cents in the dollar. Then they just sit there.
They don't force the debtor (ie The Donald) to repay. They don't make a profit or loss on the debt. And because the debtor never has his debt forgiven he never gets the assessment on debt forgiveness and he gets to keep his NOLs even though the losses did not come out of his pocket.
Here is how debt parking works. Suppose the debtor (in this case The Donald) is going to get his debt cancelled for (say) 1c in the dollar. When he gets the debt wiped out the debtor (ie The Donald) will have to report assessable income equal to the debt wiped out (in this case 99 percent of $916 million).
The alternative though is for the debtor to set up a dummy party. The dummy party might be his wife or children or some company or trust set up by them or more likely some completely opaque offshore trust.
And that dummy party goes and buys the debt for say 1.1 cents in the dollar. Then they just sit there.
They don't force the debtor (ie The Donald) to repay. They don't make a profit or loss on the debt. And because the debtor never has his debt forgiven he never gets the assessment on debt forgiveness and he gets to keep his NOLs even though the losses did not come out of his pocket.
In summary, the system is rigged in favor of the rich. Shall I put my surprise face on now?
there are 2 kinds of losses .... capital gains and net operating .... and handling is different for each
it would be pure speculation to say he paid no taxes for 18 years as one would still need to see the returns .... educated speculation :: he has a bevy of tax attorneys who ensure a legal return as it will obviously be audited ... there can be little doubt they would have pushed the legal regulatory envelop
the real deal is the optics ... how can anyone believe he is the superior businessman if he incurred such large business losses? ... how can anyone who has gamed the system claim to be for the little guy?
the surrogate rebuttals are weak arguments so the optics remain
I have always been amazed that his support is among the very people that rail against "people like him." He is the embodiment of everything wrong with "the system." Name a problem, Trump is your exemplar: Wall Street manipulation, pay to play, bankruptcy abuse, tax cheating... ad nauseum.
It occurred to me that the 'debate' was exactly like the blogs where no discussion can take place.
Clinton was prepared to debate, while Trump was there for paintball. Clinton actually included some paintball training in her prep, though, and turned out to be a pretty good shot.
Trump, on the other hand, doesn't aim, he just 'sprays' with his fully automatic paintball gun.
I have long believed your list is just the thin veneer for the real reason. These folks do not care about your list, even though they would agree with you.
What matters more, it would seem, is he will say what politicians think about several visceral issues, and they love him for it. Rep Steve King said whites are the only race to accomplish anything and he was hammered for saying it, he backtracked and was still hammered. If Mr Trump says it, his supporters will yell "lock her up".
Mr Trump's appeal is not the lipstick issues in your list but the base emotional responses of those who have been bound in political correctness.
Trump Foundation ordered to stop fundraising by N.Y. attorney general’s office
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The New York attorney general has notified Donald Trump that his charitable foundation is violating state law — by soliciting donations without proper certification — and ordered Trump’s charity to stop its fundraising immediately, the attorney general’s office said Monday.
James Sheehan, head of the attorney general’s charities bureau, sent the “notice of violation” to the Donald J. Trump Foundation on Friday, according to a copy of the notice provided by the press office of state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (D).
The night before that, The Washington Post had reported that Trump’s charity had been soliciting donations from other people without being properly registered in New York state.
The central point of the tax return issue surrounding Trump right now is fairness. An ordinary citizen does not have the opportunity to write off such losses to reduce their tax burden. (And, of course, LOSE a BILLION dollars....)
Remember "The Producers"? This is actually based upon a real situation. For years - decades even - the Edison Hotel in New York hosted the show " Oh! Calcutta!" in its theater (at one time the longest running show on Broadway). The show never made money, but because it was part of the hotel's business, its losses could be directly "written off" against the cost of running the hotel. As I understood it, the tax benefits were particularly advantageous to hoteliers. I don't know the details, but I do remember the situation (and stayed at the Edison during its run - although I never saw the show, something I now regret).
A common criticism of food stamps and similar programs is that they make getting by without contributing to society too easy, discouraging people from working as hard as they could. The tax code is full of giveaways, though, and the distortions that benefit wealthy taxpayers create all the same economic problems without doing anything for those who really need the help. (Emphasis mine)
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The tax laws were written on the principle that a business ought to be able to count past losses against future gains. A business can often lose money for a while (especially in its first few years) and then make more money later on. Over time, the taxes paid should represent the overall profit earned by the business.
Trump's situation, however, is more complicated. Trump claimed the loss against his personal income, not against his businesses' income, according to the New York Times report. This suggests that like many other wealthy people, Trump owns businesses that belong to special legal categories -- such as partnerships, limited liability companies and S corporations -- allowing him to count losses in business against personal income. This could enable Trump and other taxpayers to use business losses to minimize the taxes they owe over time.
In essence, what Trump is doing is taking the losses to improve his personal bottom line, but padding the "success" of his businesses by hiding those losses in public accountability. It is worse than that, really, but that's enough for this post.
il Douche is now spinning his lack of tax paying as he is a Master of the Tax Code... as President, he will help everyone to not pay taxes.
Wonder what that will do for the country to have no revenues to operate with? I sure wouldn't want to be dependent on getting a check from the government!
Just kidding, sort of - everything would collapse, not just the issuance of government checks. Maybe that isn't really classified as kidding?
Anyway, whatever the fvck crazy things he would do can't be 1/10th as bad as Hillary going rogue with the emails again. Right?
And he is continually opening new businesses so the true profit and loss of any individual business is not apparent. (If he had just one company, then his lack of business acumen would be obvious.) A good (but unethical and maybe illegal) way to hide income is to have a business incur lots of start-up losses and then go bankrupt and stop operating before it starts to generate income. In the meanwhile, you pay yourself and family members a generous salary or give them stock options they can gain by selling before the bankruptcy. Sound familiar?
AP FACT CHECK: Trump distorts '90s economic downturn
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Donald Trump compared the 1990s to the Great Depression, split hairs on his history with bankruptcy and equated his efforts to pay as little as possible in personal income tax to a legal duty.
These deviations from the truth came Monday during a rally speech in Pueblo, Colorado, as Trump responded to a weekend report in The New York Times that revealed the GOP presidential nominee posted a loss of more than $916 million on his 1995 state tax returns. The reported loss could have allowed him to avoid paying federal income taxes for nearly two decades.
I had speculated earlier that one reason Trump wouldn't release tax returns was that his personal filings (IRS) would conflict with public records (SEC). Turns out, they do, in a very, very big way. In 1995 he claimed $6,108 in salary from Trump casinos, buy the company reported nearly $600,000 more than that.
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the Republican presidential candidate told the IRS and New York state tax officials that he collected a mere $6,108 in “wages, salaries, tips, etc.” in 1995. Yet, according to financial reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, that same year Trump received $583,333 in compensation from the then-named Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts, the company Trump had taken public in the middle of that year. The figure comes from a proxy statement that the company filed in early 1996.
Okay, how it gets worse: Trump took the paper losses for Trump organization by accelerating the depreciation on the properties before the company went public. Thus, when the company DID go public, the assets were actually worth LESS than the value assigned and the stock, correspondingly, went from $35.50/share to $.17 - yes, a penny stock. Trump got paid 85 million, while his investors went broke and the company went into bankruptcy. I think that is either stock fraud or bankruptcy fraud, maybe both.
I think that is either stock fraud or bankruptcy fraud, maybe both.
Just Trump's business model. Anybody who does business with him gets screwed. I wouldn't sell him a hot dog: He would probably bite into it and then try to renegotiate the price.
...Anybody who does business with him gets screwed...
That seems to be the business model indeed.
When Trump loses next month, I predict that Trump will file for personal bankruptcy, given that his brand is so deeply toxic now - and li'l Baron will have to go work and get a real job for a living, as opposed to Uday and Qusay Trump who are living off of daddy's money and family name.
Trump has already managed to siphon a lot of Other People's Money into his kid's accounts. He will declare bankruptcy as often as he can and that money is safe, unless the Justice Department starts unwinding some of his deals rip-offs and does a claw-back.
It's pretty rare, but it does happen. Keep in mind though, I read that one of his bankruptcy judges exempted something like a $500,000 "allowance" for him to live on.
I've heard rumors that Trump's ultimate surprise is yet to come. He's going to drop out. He has cancelled hundreds of thousands of dollars of advertising in FLA, OH and NC - of all places.
Not articles but buzz (by political journalists that I know) saying that this idea of not putting money into the major swing states is a sign that he's probably looking to pocket more of the leftover cash. Some speculating that he could just quit and let the RNC appoint some other candidate. That way he can, as the saying goes, take the money and run like a thief. Appropriate, n'est pas?
here is what Stone may be suggesting .... round up all blacks and send back to Africa .... o wait a sec .... he has those votes
ahhh ....ahhh ... what about, round up all conservatives and deport to an alternate universe ... he would get the liberal vote .... ahhhh .... but wait .... they are already in an alternate universe
you know .... Stone doesn;t have anything to offer but Conway could suggest some more apologies ... if only he could be "authentic"
Pffffft....just locker room talk. I imagine his opponent has also many times engaged in that sort of conversation among her friends. Giggling and suggesting that she could use her wealth and power to grab at the penile members of attractive young men and coerce them into satisfying her physical needs and desires.
The revulsion in the Republican party to this revelation is amazing. Some are SERIOUSLY SUGGESTING he withdraw now. Ryan uninvited him from his Wisconsin event this weekend.
Hey beeyotches, you OWN Trump, you voted for him, you fought for him, you wanted him, now YOU GOT HIM, there IS NO DO-OVER. You get to ride that nag into the muh-fu**in sunset.
Seriously? Trump's sorry excuse for an apology was classic, and disgusting. We're not talking about "locker room" chit-chat, we're talking about trying to seduce a married woman, acknowledging, AND CELEBRATING, sexual assault and excusing it as "okay" if you're a "star." What a gross, revolting, miscreant.
Pffffft....just locker room talk. I imagine his opponent has also many times engaged in that sort of conversation among her friends. Giggling and suggesting that she could use her wealth and power to grab at the penile members of attractive young men and coerce them into satisfying her physical needs and desires.
It would sure be easier than grabbing by the pu$$y.
Donald Trump Still Thinks The Central Park Five Are Guilty (They Aren’t)
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Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump still believes the “Central Park Five,” a group of black and Hispanic men who were convicted but later exonerated in the 1989 rape of a female jogger in New York City’s Central Park, are guilty, he told CNN this week. The news comes more than a decade after the men were cleared by DNA evidence and a confession by the actual culprit about his role in the crime.
I've been bemused/appalled/alarmed at the progress of Trump throughout the campaign, and there is still a large contingent of apologists who excuse the most reprehensible behavior of "their candidate". I thought it was obvious at the outset, but many were fooled. I think, like Obama in 2008, he was lauded with attributes he never possessed by those with particular desired results. He is so far beyond a "flawed candidate". He's just a vile, vulgar creature in a suit. Yet.. He'll still get 40% of the vote.
Only if you put a "R" next to the sandwich on the ballot. I am convinced Democrats are a little more discerning. If you ran Hitler as the Democratic candidate, a lot of them would defect.
And where the hell are they going to come from? Look at the huge lineup the Republicans fielded. Not a single one of them worth a tinker's dam. Bernie was pretty good as candidates go, in fact, he was a great candidate! Promised the moon and stars and might have even made good on a few of them. But personally I had some doubts about whether he was really prepared to be president.
As things stand I'm perfectly satisfied with the Democratic candidate. I feel she is a "real candidate" she's prepared for the office and knows, perhaps better than anyone else, exactly what she's signing up for.
knows, perhaps better than anyone else, exactly what she's signing up for
I think that is certainly so. You've got to remember she is a lawyer and a politician, not some housewife. I am pretty sure she was consulted on just about every political decision Bill ever made.
Too bad she could not control his non-political decisions as well!
conservatives long criticized Pres Obama as the least prepared or qualified of candidates. my thought and response was, if that is true, then only a former president is qualified. in that respect Sec Clinton is as close to being a qualified candidate as we have had. I suppose that is the reason VP's run for the presidency.
beside that non-sense, i believe anyone who is willing or can make tough decisions is qualified to be president
Donald Trump said he had heard worse "locker room banter" from Bill Clinton on the golf course. That may even be true given the sort of talk one would expect from a pair of licentious old philanderers. But we didn't know that about Bill Clinton when he was elected. He never discussed his sexual conquests publicly on the Howard Stern show. He wasn't already a thrice married adulterer before he even ran.
Bill, like most husbands probably should have listened to his wife more and I'll even speculate that even then she was probably better suited to be president than him.
Those comments by Trump are not, for me, enough to disqualify him from the Presidency but only because they were made in private. I myself have made my share of regrettable private comments. Trump lost my vote months ago for his public antics. The man is a slimeball and unfit for the Presidency.
Those comments by Trump are not, for me, enough to disqualify him from the Presidency but only because they were made in private. I myself have made my share of regrettable private comments. Trump lost my vote months ago for his public antics. The man is a slimeball and unfit for the Presidency.
While I think what he said shows what kind of a$$hat he really is, I agree with you. He was always a slimeball any way you cut it. And the outrage of so many of the other ignorant things he said should be even greater.
Those comments by Trump are not, for me, enough to disqualify him from the Presidency but only because they were made in private. I myself have made my share of regrettable private comments. Trump lost my vote months ago for his public antics. The man is a slimeball and unfit for the Presidency.
There does seem to be something more about this exposure of Trump's nature than just "boys will be boys" talk. This time he was showing he is an honest to gawd sexual predator and that he needs a fair shake of assault and a peppering of bullying in order to properly enjoy his chorizos and huevos rauncheros.
It seems to have penetrated the cauls of many who have been deluded by the 'anyone is better than Hillary' mantra.
Those comments by Trump are not, for me, enough to disqualify him from the Presidency but only because they were made in private.
The stupidity alone for saying that stuff after he had been wired for audio should actually be the disqualifier. He was wired, then the cameras started rolling as soon as he stepped off the bus. He assumed the edited bits would be discarded. Someone, however, saved it all. Politicians, in general, are pretty careful about stuff like this because they know it can come back to haunt them. Arrogant billionaire reality TV stars maybe not so much.
He assumed the edited bits would be discarded. Someone, however, saved it all. Politicians, in general, are pretty careful about stuff like this because they know it can come back to haunt them. Arrogant billionaire reality TV stars maybe not so much.
I'm a camera op and an editor, been doing it for a living for 35 years now. I still HAVE TAPES which are even OLDER than that, still playable, most of them already digitized for posterity. I keep EVERYTHING. The only stuff I no longer have is stuff that was damaged or destroyed in the 1994 quake and, had I sufficient monies I would have had most of THAT stuff restored.
I keep EVERYTHING. The day I depart, someone is going to uncover a treasure trove of awfully damning material. Be nice to your editors, be VERY nice to them!
"I think she's gone through terrible times," Trump told Blitzer in the interview. "I think she's been through more than any woman should have to bear — everything public. I mean, women go through this on a private basis and can't take it, she's on the front page of every newspaper every week with what went on in Washington."
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"I think she's a very, very good person," Trump said of Clinton. "I think she's had a very tough life the last few years. I mean, what could be tougher than that? I mean, can you imagine those evenings when he's just being lambasted by this crazy Ken Starr, who is a total wacko? There's the guy. I mean, he is totally off his rocker. And can you imagine being lambasted like that all day and then saying, 'Darling, what are we having for dinner?' It's gotta be pretty tough."
Federal Judge Ronnie Abrams has ordered a December status conference hearing after a woman, who calls herself “Jane Doe,” filed a lawsuit claiming that Trump raped her when she was 13 years old in the 1990s. This is the third attempt the plaintiff has made in filing this particular lawsuit. Last Friday, she filed an amended complaint, with a new “witness” named “Joan Doe.” The plaintiff and witnesses in the case are using pseudonyms, they say, to protect their identities.
Federal Judge Ronnie Abrams has ordered a December status conference hearing after a woman, who calls herself “Jane Doe,” filed a lawsuit claiming that Trump raped her when she was 13 years old in the 1990s. This is the third attempt the plaintiff has made in filing this particular lawsuit. Last Friday, she filed an amended complaint, with a new “witness” named “Joan Doe.” The plaintiff and witnesses in the case are using pseudonyms, they say, to protect their identities.
Thus far it's only an allegation. It wouldn't be the first time someone tried to capitalize on a celebrity by using false claims of sexual misconduct. Probably it's just not a bandwagon many are willing to jump on...yet. I wouldn't put it past him but it's gonna be very hard to prove in court.
Federal Judge Ronnie Abrams has ordered a December status conference hearing after a woman, who calls herself “Jane Doe,” filed a lawsuit claiming that Trump raped her when she was 13 years old in the 1990s. This is the third attempt the plaintiff has made in filing this particular lawsuit. Last Friday, she filed an amended complaint, with a new “witness” named “Joan Doe.” The plaintiff and witnesses in the case are using pseudonyms, they say, to protect their identities.
Thus far it's only an allegation. It wouldn't be the first time someone tried to capitalize on a celebrity by using false claims of sexual misconduct. Probably it's just not a bandwagon many are willing to jump on...yet. I wouldn't put it past him but it's gonna be very hard to prove in court.
I don't think they should out and out accuse him. And I don't think Hillary should get near it. But the media could report on it impartially because it is, after all, a VERY SERIOUS allegation.
the media could report on it impartially because it is, after all, a VERY SERIOUS allegation.
The most recent iteration of it was among the headlines I've seen and I've known about it since the story first broke. So someone is reporting it. Trump was known to have social dealings with sex offender Jefferey Epstein but many others who are above reproach did as well. It's not likely to become front page news and covered by larger, mainstream news carriers until a court date is set.
the media could report on it impartially because it is, after all, a VERY SERIOUS allegation.
The most recent iteration of it was among the headlines I've seen and I've known about it since the story first broke. So someone is reporting it. Trump was known to have social dealings with sex offender Jefferey Epstein but many others who are above reproach did as well. It's not likely to become front page news and covered by larger, mainstream news carriers until a court date is set.
I've posted about Trump and Epstein a lot. I'm sure I linked it here as well, on one of these threads.
"He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it—Jeffrey enjoys his social life.”
Billionaires do tend to have plenty of friends. Especially billionaires with their own private jet and island. It does NOT mean everybody who has ever been their guest knows anything about their host's sex life.
But Trump did, and he obviously approved given that quote. As to exactly how close he was to Epstein and what sort of "party favors" he accepted, I think the only evidence we will get at this late date is eye-witness testimony. If this girl has other guests or sex workers that actually saw anything then I think she will win. At least a sizable payoff for her silence.
I suppose she could have saved a piece of clothing with her DNA and Trump's DNA on it, but that is unlikely.
In a strange twist of Fate, Donald Trump may find himself on the wrong side of the massive wall that will bear his name, if he is elected President.
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With the trial judge's permission, the lawyers then obtained affidavits from the jurors, in which the jurors quoted H.C. as saying that, from his experience as an ex-policeman, he knew that the defendant was guilty "because he's Mexican" and "Mexican men ... think they can 'do whatever they want' with women," and that where he used to patrol, "nine times out of ten Mexican men were guilty of being aggressive toward women and young girls."
(emphasis mine...)
I wondered how he knew so much about the Mexicans.
Forgive me if someone else linked this George Will column but if not here it is in all its’ caustic wit.
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What did Donald Trump have left to lose Sunday night? His dignity? Please. His campaign’s theme? His Cleveland convention was a mini-Nuremberg rally for Republicans whose three-word recipe for making America great again was the shriek “Lock her up!” This presaged his banana-republican vow to imprison his opponent.
The St. Louis festival of snarls was preceded by the release of a tape that merely provided redundant evidence of what Trump is like when he is being his boisterous self. Nevertheless, the tape sent various Republicans, who until then had discovered nothing to disqualify Trump from the presidency, into paroxysms of theatrical, tactical and synthetic dismay.
It is astounding - the Drumpf stupidity machine. After alienating most of Congress and the Leader of the House, what, exactly could he ever accomplish if he were president? He couldn't get a bill about flea collars passed in either house. Just further proof that it is not about becoming president but, rather, about pocketing the bucks - stealing, in other words.
ok pants on fire .... i told my mother he would undress at the next debate and then walk off stage which would be the metaphor ... well you know what it is
Trump campaign shocked that women come forward to validate his claims that he groped women, kissed them without permission, and walked in on naked pageant contestants!
Trump campaign shocked that women come forward to validate his claims that he groped women, kissed them without permission, and walked in on naked pageant contestants!
Hellooooo!!! Those pageant contestants were Trump's property...
When Trump misspoke the other day and told people to vote on November 28th - it turns out that November 28th is the day that Trump University trial starts.
Encountering a group of young 10-year old girls at Trump Tower, the now-GOP nominee engages in small talk with one of the girls before saying, “I am going to be dating her in 10 years. Can you believe it?”
I have long wondered how people such as Trump pull off their stchik. Stumbled upon this article today and now it’s all sort of making sense to me. I hope it will help others out there decipher the “art” of con artists:
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In the book, the Gormans explain not just how people fall for the false claims of politicians, but also how intelligent people wind up in cults or why a nation wracked by gun violence continues to reject gun-control measures. They admit they do not support Trump, but they’re otherwise equal opportunity debunkers, taking on GMO fear-mongering and anti-vaxers along with the National Rifle Association. I recently interviewed the Gormans about why false information and charismatic people can seem so seductive. A lightly edited transcript of our conversation follows.
“I’ll go backstage before a show, and everyone’s getting dressed and ready and everything else,” he said. “And you know, no men are anywhere. And I’m allowed to go in because I’m the owner of the pageant. And therefore I’m inspecting it.”
...
“You know, the dresses. ‘Is everyone okay?’ You know, they’re standing there with no clothes. ‘Is everybody okay?’ And you see these incredible looking women, and so, I sort of get away with things like that. But no, I’ve been very good,” he added.
Bill Clinton cheats on his wife. Impeach him. Trump proudly brags about sexual assault (and has cheated on his wives). Elect him. Hillary oversaw the department of state while 4 people died in an embassy attack. Put her in jail. Two Republicans were in office while over 200 people died in embassy attacks. No problem. Immigrants don't pay taxes. Round them up and kick them out. Trump doesn't pay taxes. He's a business genius. Hillary's foundation only spent 87% of their donations helping people. She's a crook. Trump's "foundation" paid off his debts, bought sculptures of him, and made political donations to avoid investigations while using less than 5% of funds for charity (and he got shut down by NY State). So savvy... Put him in the white house. Trump made 4 billion dollars in 40 years, when an index fund started at the same time with the same "small loans" he received would be worth $12 billion today... without a trail of bankruptcies, thousands of lawsuits and burned small business owners. He's a real business whiz. Hillary took a loss of $700k. She's a criminal. Trump is the first candidate in the modern era not to release his tax returns, and took a billion dollar loss in 1 year. Genius. Hillary takes responsibility for private email servers and apologizes. Not credible. Trump denies saying things (on the record) he actually said (on the record), he's just telling it like it is.
Fascism on the march toward cult of personality. Idiocracy the DOCUMENTARY. These are the people who concern trolled the bathroom issue claiming that trans* perverts would rape their precious children. The irony of their Groping God choice for President is as thick as a brick. They ARE deplorable. There's no other word that captures it so perfectly.
That's it folks, that is what we have allowed ourselves to vote into power, that is the country we have spent forty years tearing down and rebuilding in the "conservative" image, that's your American society. That is what the rest of the world sees as a representative of our nation. But don't forget!!! Killery is worse, right?????????
Well, the latest Clinton Derangement Syndrome symptom seems to be the emails. You know, for doing what Colin Powell did, and using something other than the State Department server. (Although he used AOL, that extremely high security latest technology system. NOT!)
Although why on earth they think an email server with thousands of users getting phished and viruses and keyloggers and kept secure by federal government IT employees would be safer than a server just used by one user with a private consultant running security. I thought government employees could do nothing right and privatization was the Republican answer to everything?
And while she had no security break-ins, we should prosecute her when several Congressmen purposefully leaked info from security briefings for partisan reasons. But they are Republicans so it must be okay.
I think the Obama administration should announce they are going to charge everybody who purposefully leaked secret info after signing a classified info letter. That would be good for a few laughs!
Fascism on the march toward cult of personality. Idiocracy the DOCUMENTARY. These are the people who concern trolled the bathroom issue claiming that trans* perverts would rape their precious children. The irony of their Groping God choice for President is as thick as a brick. They ARE deplorable. There's no other word that captures it so perfectly.
That's it folks, that is what we have allowed ourselves to vote into power, that is the country we have spent forty years tearing down and rebuilding in the "conservative" image, that's your American society. That is what the rest of the world sees as a representative of our nation. But don't forget!!! Killery is worse, right?????????
I try very hard to avoid tu quoque. I see it as a kindergarten argument. Unfortunately, I am sometimes guilty of it and so are some on the Left (talk about a self-destructive statement ):
The vast majority of Trump supporters I've run into are good and thoughtful people who I think are mistaken. All candidates have their share of extremist supporters, and that includes Hillary.
All candidates have their share of extremist supporters
Trump seems to have accumulated a very large percentage of deplorables of one stripe or another, they tend to be very loud, and he does nothing to disavow their support.
The net result is the appearance that all his supporters are deplorable. That is unfortunate because, like you, I am sure that is not so. Even Hillary gave his supporters the chance to include themselves in the non-deplorable half.
Trump could do something, anything, to help these people see themselves as non-deplorable. But that's not Trump.
The vast majority of Trump supporters I've run into are good and thoughtful people who I think are mistaken.
Same here. Decent Christian folks I've known since childhood. Good people who have been Republicans all their lives and who can't even fathom voting for anyone but the candidate with the R beside his name. But perhaps, Golem, we don't run in the same circles as the true "deplorables". The genuine racists and bigots, the homophobes, the Islamaphobes, the neo-nazis, and the gun toting groundstanders just itching for the chance to shoot someone. I don't think there are any radical lefties who even hold a candle to the crowds who show up to Trump's rallies. The hatred there is palpable, the violence barely controlled. This is pretty scary stuff and if those people are really good and thoughtful they'd be running as fast as they can from Donald Trump.
My friend/neighbor admitted that he is no longer voting for Trump. He won't vote for Hillary, but can't vote for Trump. I suggested Gary Johnson to him, but he thinks he's an idiot (although he's closest to his views). He said he's just not going to vote.
Evan McMullin is on 11 state ballots. He seems like a more reasonable choice. His experience in the CIA and his time as the chief policy director for the House Republican Conference means he probably has a pretty good grasp of where Aleppo is.
It would probably not be the end of the world if he was President. And 538 gives him about a 2% chance by a whole sequence of unlikely events.
Trump says the election is rigged — and his supporters are furious
Matt Viser and Tracy Jan The Boston Globe October 15, 2016
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... At a time when trust in government is at a low point, Trump is actively stoking fears that a core tenet of American democracy is also in peril: that you can trust what happens at the ballot box.
His supporters here said they plan to go to their local precincts to look for illegal immigrants who may attempt to vote. They are worried that Democrats will load up buses of minorities and take them to vote several times in different areas of the city. They’ve heard rumors that boxes of Clinton votes are already waiting somewhere.
And if Trump doesn’t win, some are even openly talking about violent rebellion and assassination, as fantastical and unhinged as that may seem.
“If she’s in office, I hope we can start a coup. She should be in prison or shot. That’s how I feel about it,” Dan Bowman, a 50-year-old contractor, said of Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee. “We’re going to have a revolution and take them out of office if that’s what it takes. There’s going to be a lot of bloodshed. But that’s what it’s going to take. . . . I would do whatever I can for my country.” ...
These people represent only a small fraction of the Trump supporters. The vast majority of Trump supporters I am familiar with are decent people and would strongly condemn such behavior.
All candidates have their share of extremist supporters, and that includes Hillary.
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“If she’s in office, I hope we can start a coup. She should be in prison or shot. That’s how I feel about it,” Dan Bowman, a 50-year-old contractor, said of Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee. “We’re going to have a revolution and take them out of office if that’s what it takes. There’s going to be a lot of bloodshed. But that’s what it’s going to take. . . . I would do whatever I can for my country.” ...
Perhaps you could show us some of Hillary's "extremist supporters" who are suggesting that "a lot of bloodshed" is the answer to a Trump victory? There is a lot to suggest that Donald Trump might be guilty of jailable offenses, yet there is no one shouting "Lock him up" and certainly none saying he should be shot. It seems to me that even the most extreme lefties, who are certainly not supporters of Madame Clinton, wish only for political solutions to political problems. Perhaps these violent Trump supporters are in the minority, but it doesn't take a lot of terrorists to cause untold death and misery among innocents caught up in their wrath.
To the G-man's point: All this talk of how Trump supporters are nice neighborly folk is just plain BS. ANYONE who could support a morally bankrupt bigot, pathological liar, con man, homophobic misogynist, nincompoop (and any other pejorative one might care to consider) like Trump is either the same as he is, or else, so damned stupid that their competency to navigate civil society should be questioned. I am probably one of the most critical voices of Clinton on this forum. But I refuse to accept that anyone who thinks Trump is even on the same planet as she is can be considered a decent human being. I have been and will continue criticizing her politics, especially with regard to the economy, but there are boundaries that, once crossed, can only be undone with bloody war. One of those boundaries is fascism. I do not want to have to fight a war in my own country. I do not want that for my kids, my loved ones, or for any decent human being. As such, I am uncompromising when it comes to supporting Trump: THERE IS NO, NONE, NINGUNA, NENHUMA excuse for it.
Interesting article. I can understand why they are angry, but Trump is not the answer. He's not going to do anything to help them. Really zero. He IS one of the rich city types and not only is not interested in struggling country folk, he also doesn't give a f*ck about other city people either!
Not to mention the very huge mismatch between their predominately Christian values and Trump's. (How many of them think it's great to grab a married woman by the genitals in the first 3 minutes of meeting them?)
Clinton is actually much more likely to do something for them, if they would bother to read her website. A vote for Trump is really a vote for anarchy: You have to be so fed up you want to crash the system.
You have to be so fed up you want to crash the system.
And there you have it PIA. Their elected officials have been telling them for years that government IS the problem. That belief has become so pervasive that now they have aligned against even their own party in their desire to bring government down. Needless to say, none of them have actually considered the implications should they achieve that goal.
You have to be so fed up you want to crash the system.
And there you have it PIA. Their elected officials have been telling them for years that government IS the problem. That belief has become so pervasive that now they have aligned against even their own party in their desire to bring government down. Needless to say, none of them have actually considered the implications should they achieve that goal.
Interesting comment to this article on the LA Times site:
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It's important for us to still have right-wingers and conservative Republicans for a while so we can keep our museums going and show our grandchildren what they were like. Republicans are purposely sabotaging our government: Just think about this for a moment. Republican politicians run on the premise that “government is bad.” So, why would they ever try to help make government more efficient and effective? They wouldn’t. In fact, they go out of their way to ensure that the government operates as poorly as possible so they can campaign on the notion that government is bad – so that they’ll get elected to that very same government. They’re literally causing the very problems in our government that they use to stir up anti-government sentiment among conservatives to get elected. Sadly, most conservatives fail to see this.
In 1841, Thomas Carlyle wrote, “Burke said there were Three Estates in Parliament; but, in the Reporters’ Gallery yonder, there sat a Fourth Estate more important by far than they all”
Donald Trump wasn't nice to the press and so invoked their wrath. If the election is "rigged" it was Trump who rigged it against himself.
“If she’s in office, I hope we can start a coup. She should be in prison or shot. That’s how I feel about it,” Dan Bowman, a 50-year-old contractor, said of Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee. “We’re going to have a revolution and take them out of office if that’s what it takes. There’s going to be a lot of bloodshed. But that’s what it’s going to take. . . . I would do whatever I can for my country.” He then placed a Trump mask on his face and posed for pictures.
Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner has informally approached one of the media industry’s top dealmakers about the prospect of setting up a Trump television network after the presidential election in November. Mr Kushner — an increasingly influential figure in the billionaire’s presidential campaign — contacted Aryeh Bourkoff, the founder and chief executive of LionTree, a boutique investment bank, within the past couple of months, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.
Their conversation was brief and has not progressed since, the people said. Mr Bourkoff and Mr Kushner both declined to comment.
However, the approach suggests Mr Kushner and the Republican candidate himself are thinking about how to capitalise on the populist movement that has sprung up around their campaign in the event of an election defeat to Democrat Hillary Clinton next month.
Trump’s ‘Rigged Election’ Poll Watchdogs Could End Up in Jail
Rob Garver The Fiscal Times October 17, 2016
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Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has spent much of the last several days cementing in the minds of his supporters the idea that the presidential election on November 8 is on the verge of being stolen from him by a “rigged” system. He’s encouraged his supporters to turn out at polling sites where they suspect election fraud might take place in order to fight back against the shadowy cabal he insists stands between him and the White House.
In a widely read story published by the Boston Globe on Saturday, one Trump supporter said he planned to do just that.
“Trump said to watch your precincts. I’m going to go, for sure,” Steve Webb told reporters Matt Viser and Tracy Jan. “I’ll look for . . . well, it’s called racial profiling. Mexicans. Syrians. People who can’t speak American.... I’m going to go right up behind them. I’ll do everything legally. I want to see if they are accountable. I’m not going to do anything illegal. I’m going to make them a little bit nervous.”
The problem is that pretty much everything Webb describes there is completely illegal.
Unfortunately Pennsylvania still lets anybody walk into a poll and question a voter's credentials to vote. In past elections such people have done just that and led to massive tie-ups that made people wait in line for hours.
I think this time, people are worked up enough that the average life-expectancy of such a tactic is very short. People may not be able to carry guns into polling places but they still have fists. When a few of these "poll-obstructers" get the crap beaten out of them, I think the majority will lose their enthusiasm.
And I will especially enjoy stories about Trump-vote-blockers venturing into predominately Black Philadelphia polls and never being heard from again.
Hoft's first clue that this was an obvious fraud and not a real “postal worker” might have been the fact that you can’t tell who a ballot is being cast for by looking at the envelope (unless you have super troll-ray vision). And if this imaginary postal worker was actually opening the envelopes, he’d be just as likely to destroy ballots for Clinton. But that would require Hoft to have the ability to actually think and reason, and that’s clearly not in the cards
you guys dismiss a real person so easily ... surely you guys have seen the bags of Clinton votes waiting to replace Trump votes ... and I know you guys know electronic voting machines are owned by Clinton companies and automatically switch Trump votes to Clinton votes .... and .... don't you guys ever go to the real news at BB
Who knows if they will end up in jail but these are very serious and dangerous accusations spewing forth from the pie hole of Mr. Trump. I know the future king in waiting cannot accept the fact that he could possibly lose the election, were it not for the imagined widespread voter fraud lurking behind every tree and fire hydrant. Nor can his many bootlicking sycophants. The only feedback any of them get are from the echoes bouncing about in their self constructed and reinforced circle chambers.
This man needs to be absolutely crushed at the polls. And I mean crushed. Anything close could prove to be very problematic..... for all of us.
Who knows if they will end up in jail but these are very serious and dangerous accusations spewing forth from the pie hole of Mr. Trump. I know the future king in waiting cannot accept the fact that he could possibly lose the election, were it not for the imagined widespread voter fraud lurking behind every tree and fire hydrant. Nor can his many bootlicking sycophants. The only feedback any of them get are from the echoes bouncing about in their self constructed and reinforced circle chambers.
This man needs to be absolutely crushed at the polls. And I mean crushed. Anything close could prove to be very problematic..... for all of us.
Kristallnacht 2016 is coming whether Trump wins or loses.
Sheesh Jeff. i just got back from a long hike with my dog and my cousins dog. Went way out yonder too and fro in a big area that is off leash. The disingenuous and very dangerous Trump was far from our minds.
Apparently, whining is a tactic that Trump claims to be THE BEST at:
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Perhaps the strangest thing about the #whining critique of Trump, though, is that he appeared to boast, in a CNN interview last year, that it is a positive character trait. “That’s right, I am the most fabulous whiner — I do whine, because I want to win, and I’m not happy if I’m not winning,” Trump told Chris Cuomo in August, 2015. “I am a whiner, and I keep whining and whining until I win,” Trump added.
'Wall' of Taco Trucks to Line Up at Trump's Las Vegas Hotel in Protest
Brian Latimer NBC News October 18, 2016
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The threat of taco Trucks taking on every corner is coming close to being true in Las Vegas before the third presidential debate — where opponents of GOP nominee Donald Trump plan to create a "wall" of them in front of the Trump International Las Vegas hotel Wednesday.
'Wall' of Taco Trucks to Line Up at Trump's Las Vegas Hotel in Protest
Brian Latimer NBC News October 18, 2016
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The threat of taco Trucks taking on every corner is coming close to being true in Las Vegas before the third presidential debate — where opponents of GOP nominee Donald Trump plan to create a "wall" of them in front of the Trump International Las Vegas hotel Wednesday.
“Ailes’s camp said Ailes learned that Trump couldn’t focus—surprise, surprise—and that advising him was a waste of time. These debate prep sessions weren’t going anywhere.”
I guess the dream of starting Trump TV with Ailes at the helm may be somewhat derailed before it even starts?
(From Facebook) Ken Eisner: "You know, it must have been horrible for Ailes to see himself reflected back as pure, monstrous id without a shred of his strategic intelligence."
not sure why anyone would be surprised by Ailes, Bannon, Stone, Klayman, Bossie, etc .... these guys are about as sleazy as they get ... they are advisors to a presidential candidate .... do the math
“Ailes’s camp said Ailes learned that Trump couldn’t focus—surprise, surprise—and that advising him was a waste of time. These debate prep sessions weren’t going anywhere.”
I suspect that Trump is suffering from senile dementia --- on top of his sociopathy and infantile narcissism. .
In my mind, I am constantly comparing Trump with Henry VIII and Louis XIV, and countless other privileged rich kids who were never denied anything and had every wish catered for, and who were made to feel that they were God's Anointed on Earth.
I suspect that Trump is pretty typical of the handful of oligarchs who run the world. I think he permits us an inside look at the nature of our Class Enemies -- an insight which the better trained Class Enemies really don't want us to see. No wonder Trump's fellow oligarchs are upset with him! . .
I think he permits us an inside look at the nature of our Class Enemies -- an insight which the better trained Class Enemies really don't want us to see. No wonder Trump's fellow oligarchs are upset with him! . .
I think there has to be some neurological malfunction that was there from birth. I agree that he has exposed the ruling class for what they are. But I get the impression that it is unwitting. I believe he believes his own bullshyte. Remember the film The Ruling Class with Peter O'toole? In that vein.
I think there has to be some neurological malfunction that was there from birth. I agree that he has exposed the ruling class for what they are. But I get the impression that it is unwitting. I believe he believes his own bullshyte. Remember the film The Ruling Class with Peter O'toole? In that vein.
Ah, The Ruling Class! Great movie! After seeing that, what else do we need to know about our Class Enemies! -- .
Having now caught up with the story, my disgust only deepened. Even worse, the NRA filmed an anti-Clinton ad at a national cemetery. Sleaze is too kind a word!
Trump’s alt-right trolls have subjected me and my family to an unending torrent of abuse that I wouldn’t wish on anyone.
I distinctly remember the first time I saw a picture of my then-seven-year-old daughter’s face in a gas chamber. It was the evening of September 17, 2015. I had just posted a short item to the Corner calling out notorious Trump ally Ann Coulter for aping the white-nationalist language and rhetoric of the so-called alt-right. Within minutes, the tweets came flooding in. My youngest daughter is African American, adopted from Ethiopia, and in alt-right circles that’s an unforgivable sin. It’s called “race-cucking” or “raising the enemy.”
I saw images of my daughter’s face in gas chambers, with a smiling Trump in a Nazi uniform preparing to press a button and kill her. I saw her face photo-shopped into images of slaves. She was called a “niglet” and a “dindu.” The alt-right unleashed on my wife, Nancy, claiming that she had slept with black men while I was deployed to Iraq, and that I loved to watch while she had sex with “black bucks.” People sent her pornographic images of black men having sex with white women, with someone photoshopped to look like me, watching.
I meant that David French must be enjoying the utter destruction he is seeing now, after all this time of deplorables torturing him.
The karma remark is for them: They have done horrible things, well outside norms of political disagreement. (Like creating and sending him images of his daughter in a gas chamber.) Now they get to suffer total humiliation as they share in their chosen one's defeat in a landslide. And Trump takes down most Republicans with him. Divine justice.
I don't understand why broadcast hosts allow Trump surrogates to say anything about deplorables and not ask if they believe bigotry of any kind is deplorable. there can be only one answer. once they agree the only question remaining is whether any of Mr Trumps supporters are a bigots. and that answer is clearly yes (just watch the videos of them in action)
I agree, rp. I saw somewhere that Hillary's estimate was about right - half of Trump's supporters are deplorable (Hillary's were harder to pin down, but we're around maybe, generously 10% - because the most radical don't support her either). Trolling is infinitely more prevalent on the right, and much more virulent.
I saw somewhere that Hillary's estimate was about right - half of Trump's supporters are deplorable
My experience is that it's far less than half.
However, they do exist and that is what's important, and I find it impossible to separate them from candidate Trump himself.
I think most of them latched onto Trump when he made his initial comments about Mexicans. This was not just because they oppose illegal immigration. I myself oppose illegal immigration. It's because they hate Mexicans.
I think most of them latched onto Trump when he made his initial comments about Mexicans. This was not just because they oppose illegal immigration. I myself oppose illegal immigration. It's because they hate Mexicans.
That's exactly when it happened according to Mother Jones:
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The first warning sign that something new was brewing came in June 2015, as Donald Trump joined the crowded field vying for the Republican presidential nomination. In the extravagant lobby of Trump Tower in New York City, he announced he would build a wall to keep out Mexican criminals and "rapists."
...and White Nationalists and Supremacists have glommed onto Donald Trump ever since.
When you get right down to brass tacks you're probably right, Golem. The rest are just Republicans who vote for Republicans and rationalize that any Republican is better than any Democrat. There seem to be very few, like you, who will actually withhold their vote from the Republican nominee and fewer yet who will vote for Clinton.
We, on the left, see him as a monster; dangerous, unpredictable, and a threat to the American way of life. Republicans see Hillary much the same way.
I don't think any of us will stand up in favor of illegal immigration. We need immigration reform, not massive deportations or walls. Most illegals are here because they overstayed their visas. Rather than deport them we need to extend their visas. If they are criminals, they need to be jailed or exported. If they are parents of children who are citizens and want to stay here, they need a path to citizenship. There are simple ways to work this all out but as long as racism is an issue and as long as Republicans resist any path forward it's just going to remain a problem.
I don;t want to speculate on some approximate number but there is one item which reappears often i.e. coded words.
If one wants to see supporters with enthusiasm then Mr Trump can make it plain :: not just stopping Muslims from immigrating but deporting those who are here (I can hear the crowd roar) ... he got great responses when he called for jackbooted ICE asking for your papers and deporting ALL illegals .... so I have to wonder if he would get the same responses if he called for all non-whites to be deported .... Rep Steve King would have an orgasm (only whites have contributed to western civilization)
Beck always talks about liberals using coded language (and I am hard put to decipher what he means) it is far easier to see these folks using code. the wall .... well if that is not symbolic, i don;t know what is ... nothing but a thin veil hiding bigotry ...
What amazes me is none of the so-called responsible Republicans in his campaign sees it ... this is one of the problems Republicans have i.e. denial of the obvious
The real split in the Republican Party is between the business-oriented Republicans who LIKE the cheap labor of illegals and the poor white dupes of the Party who would benefit from those jobs if the illegals were gone. In some ways, Trump is Moses, leading the poor white uneducated out of bondage to a Party that has used every fake issue possible to enslave them!
I guess the big question is where does Trump lead his people? He loses the election (because of insufficient numbers) but there is certainly a social movement in play here. Do they go on to ignore Trump and all join the KKK? Unlikely I think because only a small percentage are solely dedicated to White Supremacy. Do they form a new Populist Party that runs their own candidates and spoils the next 5 or 10 election cycles for the decimated Republican Party?
Trump will probably not be leading that Party for a few reasons:
1) He's too old. He is not exactly in good physical condition, as shown by his performance at the debates. When your face goes from orange to purple that's not a good sign. He could drop dead from a heart attack at any moment. 2) He's in serious financial trouble. He owes more than he has and to very bad people who do not respect the niceties of bankruptcy court. 3) Once he loses, he's not a winner any more. Most of his fans do NOT want to follow a loser.
Yes many of them are poor old losers. But statistically many of them will be around for quite some time. Some are not very old either, just really stupid.
I rather doubt Trump will be alive in 2018. I would not be too surprised if he chooses death rather than defeat. He's just that crazy.
This is--mas o menos- the world I grew up with in Hawaii. Obama too. This world has come home to roost in the “lower” 48. Good for them. I have some words of advise for those in that 48 who might be frightened of this development....... It does not matter.
Life will go on, and the flavors will change over time. And that’s about it.
This is--mas o menos- the world I grew up with in Hawaii. Obama too. This world has come home to roost in the “lower” 48. Good for them. I have some words of advise for those in that 48 who might be frightened of this development....... It does not matter.
Life will go on, and the flavors will change over time. And that’s about it.
Tom Hanks addressed this issue last Saturday, 10/22, during the opening monolog on SNL:
It is probably like arguing over how many angels can dance on the head of a pin to discuss how many Trump supporters are "deplorables." While it is a substantial number (probably not half, as there would be overlap in deplorable attributes), here's where I am on the subject: Trump is deplorable, therefore support for him is deplorable. Since the majority of Republican voters will vote Republican no matter who is nominated, that makes them all deplorable, as they are willing to perpetrate the advent of deplorability.
It continues to amaze me just how divorced from reality the Trump campaign and his surrogates (including his VP candidate) are. I certainly appreciate not wanting to give up and continue to "get out the vote" by putting a game face on it, but some of the tangents and baldface prevarication is astounding. I just watched Gingrich (that paragon of rectitude and clean living) blow up on Megyn Kelly. Raw Story
I am hopeful that the result of it all is such a resounding blowout that the entire elected government turns blue.
If you're going to be a good Republican, you have to tell the standard lies about the Trump campaign. No fair confronting Trump advisers with the truth! They have no defense against something like that. What was Newt supposed to do?
Hold his breath, shut his eyes, and wish with all his might that she would turn into a "good girl"?
Such a "nasty woman"! I understand why the thrice-married, resigned-in-disgrace misogynist Gingrich might be offended. Uppity women offend his sense of privilege.
Kelly used the term "sexual predator" about Trump and Gingrich recognized it could stick. According to Wikipedia,
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A sexual predator is a person seen as obtaining or trying to obtain sexual contact with another person in a metaphorically "predatory" or abusive manner. Analogous to how a predator hunts down its prey, so the sexual predator is thought to "hunt" for his or her sex partners.
Trump has certainly described his views and behavior in predatory terms. I wonder, in light of these revelations, how long Melania will stay with him after he loses. I guess it depends on the pre-nup. Marla learned that lesson the hard way.
Such a "nasty woman"! I understand why the thrice-married, resigned-in-disgrace misogynist Gingrich might be offended. Uppity women offend his sense of privilege.
Newt might have been having a perfectly normal male reaction to being dominatrixed by a woman with blood coming out of her... wherever.
Kelly used the term "sexual predator" about Trump and Gingrich recognized it could stick. According to Wikipedia,
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A sexual predator is a person seen as obtaining or trying to obtain sexual contact with another person in a metaphorically "predatory" or abusive manner. Analogous to how a predator hunts down its prey, so the sexual predator is thought to "hunt" for his or her sex partners.
Trump has certainly described his views and behavior in predatory terms. I wonder, in light of these revelations, how long Melania will stay with him after he loses. I guess it depends on the pre-nup. Marla learned that lesson the hard way.
If Melania had such qualms she wouldn't have married Trump in the first place. It sure wasn't for his looks
Such a "nasty woman"! I understand why the thrice-married, resigned-in-disgrace misogynist Gingrich might be offended. Uppity women offend his sense of privilege.
Donald Trump senior advisor and social media director Dan Scavino tweeted Wednesday about a new Florida Atlantic University poll showing Trump beating rival Hillary Clinton by a whopping fourteen points:
The problem is that Dan is blatantly lying. The actual poll shows Clinton beating Trump three points, 46 to 43.
The problem is that Dan is blatantly lying. The actual poll shows Clinton beating Trump three points, 46 to 43.
No, No, No, Rick, you didn't understand: "Trump has a 17-point lead among white voters, 53 to 36 percent." White voters. You see, only white vote counts, if you support Trump.
As has become typical in an election marked by its often unpleasant surprises, I awoke to a storm of outrage on Twitter on Wednesday morning. Newt Gingrich had told Fox’s Megyn Kelly that she was “fascinated with sex” and didn’t “care about public policy.”
Mr. Gingrich unleashed this boorish attack after Ms. Kelly tried to pin him down on whether the many accusations of sexual assault against Donald J. Trump, and his own words on the matter, should disqualify him from the presidency.
That Mr. Gingrich (with whom I once hosted a television show) thought the best way to deflect attention from Mr. Trump’s awful behavior with women was to attack another woman tells you so much about the depths to which Mr. Trump has dragged the Republican Party.
It’s also a sobering harbinger of how hard it’s going to be for the party to win back Republican women, let alone appeal to new female voters in the future.
As a conservative woman who wanted very much to support the Republican nominee, it’s been a deeply disappointing year and a half. After helping the Republican National Committee address some of the troubling deficiencies the party faced after 2012, as outlined in its so-called autopsy report, and witnessing some real progress in our outreach to women in the ensuing years, I did not expect an egomaniacal arsonist to come along and set all that ablaze.
No, the egomaniacal arsonist is Daryl Issa. You can google it.
For Trump, there is a simple solution: Republican women should pay attention to how they feel when they go in the voting booth. Do you feel nauseated? Is your pulse racing? Do you have cold sweats?
That's PTSD. You're flashing back on that time you were molested by a masher, or worse. Voting for Trump would be like putting that man in a position of power over you again. Just vote for Hillary. You don't need to tell anybody, and you'll feel a lot better.
Every time I think I cannot be more disgusted with Trump's temerity, he does something else that disgusts me more. Not only does he have no business running for office, he needs to be relegated to the gutter where he prefers to dwell. He'll have lots of company, there.
For some reason there is an uninterrupted Trump screed speech being broadcast on MSNBC and CNN right now... I have never heard such an incessant, incoherent series of baldfaced lies uttered in one setting. It's amazing (and depressing) to see. I thought the debates were terrible, but this is so much worse.
this is routine for surrogates ... it is punctuated with lies (listen to Mayor Guiliani, Boris Epshteyn, etc) and weak appeals to policy without supporting commentary
secret plan to defeat ISIS - harsh language or he will grope them economic growth - trickle down ... when has that worked for anyone but the wealthy healthcare - how will he stop rising costs? his replacement reduces the number covered etc
I've been pondering this thought: is Donald Trump more symptom or disease? Is he just taking advantage of existing circumstances like a parasite, or causing sickness like a virus?
is Donald Trump more symptom or disease? Is he just taking advantage of existing circumstances like a parasite, or causing sickness like a virus?
Symptom. Donald Trump supporters were there before Trump began his run. Trump hasn't created anything, he has just given it a focus point and pulled together all the voters disenfanchised by things like facts and reality.
I think Donald Trump CAN read. My theory is not that he's functionally illiterate but rather, intellectually LAZY to the point of absolute sloth, and that figures into his reading and comprehension. Being that he is always the smartest guy in the room and never wrong in his judgment about ANY dod-gam thing, the lack of sufficient reading skill and comprehension isn't a problem though. He just blames someone else for any mistakes and finds something else to chew on.
Every time I think I cannot be more disgusted with Trump's temerity, he does something else that disgusts me more. Not only does he have no business running for office, he needs to be relegated to the gutter where he prefers to dwell. He'll have lots of company, there.
Even Trump's own campaign has taken awaythe 70 year old orange man-boy's phone so he can stay on message, not get distracted, and stop Tweeting out asinine, insulting, Tweets.
...and he's supposed to be mature enough to run the country?!? ,
I've been pondering this thought: is Donald Trump more symptom or disease? Is he just taking advantage of existing circumstances like a parasite, or causing sickness like a virus?
Trump has voiced what the Republican Party has said for years in private.
...one would think that the buffon in chief, aka Donald Trump...
...Outbursts of idiocy and the phony "plain speak"...
Trump's spewing forth of absurdities is what attracts those whose only reasoning constitutes the easy to understand scapegoating of every other group except one's own.
As a result, it is just a matter of when Trump's reckoning will come....
First, he is in, almost exactly, the same place Hitler was when he started (a loon with a very small group of supporters)....
Just think what happens when President Trump takes over - if you are into personal nightmares that's one that should set everybody quaking...
This casual dismissal of Trump is, I think, a very dangerous stance to take....
Any Democratic candidate that runs against Trump in general election, even a corpse, would beat him...
I wouldn't characterize what Trump does as "staying on topic". He stays on his talking points. though, and ignores everything else. Perfect quality in a dictator...
These are the moron vote, and are actually an important part of the many coalitions that make up the Republican Party....
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An anecdotal perusing of Gretawire.com will tell you that.
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but maybe we could open another thread?
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