The Trump Presidency 13: The (James) Baker's Dozen

Status
Not open for further replies.
Horatius said:
Okay, it just occurred to me: with Trump's binary-level of understanding of literally every issue, does he actually think that an "open border mindset" is literally just the exact opposite of his "closed border mindset"? That is, if you're not for closing the border completely, you're for "open borders"? That is, he doesn't understand what the term "open borders" actually means in practice?
Click to expand...

I don’t think we’ll know for sure until he dies and all the insiders write their tell-all books. Although I guess that might happen sooner now that folks are understanding that President Trump’s non-disclosure agreements aren’t quite as enforceable as he imagined.

But, it a sense, it doesn’t matter. He’s playing to the folks who don’t know the difference. He just wants them to hate the Democrats with a deep passion.

I met a man this week who asserted that 1000 terrorist have been caught coming from Mexico. I asked if he was referring to catching terrorists before they board planes headed to America. Nope, he was talking boots-on-the-ground, walked-across-an-unwalled-border terrorists captured by US law enforcement. He went on to say that CNN won’t report this because they are trying to destroy America too. I saw we had only a few seconds left before our conversation was interrupted, so I simply thanked him for the information. It was a setting where my being anything but respectful to him would have caused problems for someone else.

........
ETA
There are days when binary seems to generous a word to describe Trump’s mind-set.
 
Last edited:
Ladewig said:
I met a man this week who asserted that 1000 terrorist have been caught coming from Mexico. I asked if he was referring to catching terrorists before they board planes headed to America. Nope, he was talking boots-on-the-ground, walked-across-an-unwalled-border terrorists captured by US law enforcement. He went on to say that CNN won’t report this because they are trying to destroy America too.
Click to expand...

Puts me in mind of medieval religious hysteria. People were absolutely convinced that demons were everywhere, insidious forces conspiring against them, and any suggestion to the contrary or demands for evidence were taken as proof of alliance with the conspiracy. And everything bad that happened could be attributed to the demons and witches, not to chance or fault of the believers.
 
To be indicted on RICO charges one has to repeatedly commit one or more crimes on a short list of felonies. Bankruptcy fraud is on the list.

For the non-Americans here, RICO refers to racketeering
 
Last edited:
Ladewig said:
I don’t think we’ll know for sure until he dies and all the insiders write their tell-all books. Although I guess that might happen sooner now that folks are understanding that President Trump’s non-disclosure agreements aren’t quite as enforceable as he imagined.

But, it a sense, it doesn’t matter. He’s playing to the folks who don’t know the difference. He just wants them to hate the Democrats with a deep passion.

I met a man this week who asserted that 1000 terrorist have been caught coming from Mexico. I asked if he was referring to catching terrorists before they board planes headed to America. Nope, he was talking boots-on-the-ground, walked-across-an-unwalled-border terrorists captured by US law enforcement. He went on to say that CNN won’t report this because they are trying to destroy America too. I saw we had only a few seconds left before our conversation was interrupted, so I simply thanked him for the information. It was a setting where my being anything but respectful to him would have caused problems for someone else.

........
ETA
There are days when binary seems to generous a word to describe Trump’s mind-set.
Click to expand...

Correcting someone is the most respectful thing you can do.
 
TragicMonkey said:
Puts me in mind of medieval religious hysteria. People were absolutely convinced that demons were everywhere, insidious forces conspiring against them, and any suggestion to the contrary or demands for evidence were taken as proof of alliance with the conspiracy. And everything bad that happened could be attributed to the demons and witches, not to chance or fault of the believers.
Click to expand...

Sadly, there are parts of third-world countries where that thinking has taken root. Unfounded accusations of witchcraft or demon craft in front of a crowd can create mob violence.
 
TragicMonkey said:
Puts me in mind of medieval religious hysteria. People were absolutely convinced that demons were everywhere, insidious forces conspiring against them, and any suggestion to the contrary or demands for evidence were taken as proof of alliance with the conspiracy. And everything bad that happened could be attributed to the demons and witches, not to chance or fault of the believers.
Click to expand...

The amusing thing is that one of the principal opponents to thinking that witches (and mostly demons) were everywhere was the Catholic Church!
 
I think I saw mention of a trump tweet about his soaring popularity, with an approval rating of 55%. This was, apparently, based on a Lou Dobbs report of a Georgetown poll. The other thing Dobbs showed was a 58% approval of economy.

It turns out, that 58% approval of the economy referred only to a "Battleground" poll, and the actual overall economy approval rating was 43% (and 52% disapproval).

And that 55% approval rating? It was actually the DISAPPROVAL rating. Approval rating was 40%.

In other words, Lou Dobbs lied through his teeth, and the President jumped on it.

Fox News - they report, you decide. Except what they report is made up ********.

https://twitter.com/MoElleithee/status/1116309933090164736
 
BobTheCoward said:
Correcting someone is the most respectful thing you can do.
Click to expand...

Perhaps. But there was no way I could have ever convinced him that he had a poorly-adjusted BS-meter or had committed errors in his reasoning.

Once people have reached the point where they believe that the mainstream media is taking steps to ensure that hundreds of terrorists enter the US, is there any way to correct their thinking? Especially if they, like the few I met a few weeks ago, believe it is not just the mainstream media, but many government agencies, as well. The FBI, THE Department of Justice, the CIA, and other intelligence agencies have been infiltrated by people who hate Trump and America. So, any reports or press releases from these agencies cannot be trusted at all.
 
Last edited:
Horatius said:
Okay, it just occurred to me: with Trump's binary-level of understanding of literally every issue, does he actually think that an "open border mindset" is literally just the exact opposite of his "closed border mindset"? That is, if you're not for closing the border completely, you're for "open borders"? That is, he doesn't understand what the term "open borders" actually means in practice?
Click to expand...

His core competency is labeling things. He is labeling democrats and no amount of "we are not in favor of open borders, we are in favor of reasonable means of securing the border" will change that label.

Trump = Strong borders
Dems = Open borders

Labels work.
 
Dr. Keith said:
His core competency is labeling things. He is labeling democrats and no amount of "we are not in favor of open borders, we are in favor of reasonable means of securing the border" will change that label.

Trump = Strong borders
Dems = Open borders

Labels work.
Click to expand...

Considering he was unpopular on election day, unpopular the last 2 years, and got crushed in the midterms, I'm not sure how well it works.
 
Q: "Do you still love Wikileaks?"

President Trump: "I know nothing about WikiLeaks. It’s not my thing."




He is telling the truth:



Not!
 
TragicMonkey said:
Puts me in mind of medieval religious hysteria. People were absolutely convinced that demons were everywhere, insidious forces conspiring against them, and any suggestion to the contrary or demands for evidence were taken as proof of alliance with the conspiracy. And everything bad that happened could be attributed to the demons and witches, not to chance or fault of the believers.
Click to expand...

Ladewig said:
Sadly, there are parts of third-world countries where that thinking has taken root. Unfounded accusations of witchcraft or demon craft in front of a crowd can create mob violence.
Click to expand...

It's not just history or the third world. Belief in demons is epidemic among the religious right in the present day USA.
 
The Great Zaganza said:
You know what kind of Candidate I want from the Dems in 2020?
Someone who sets himself up to do exactly everything Trump is doing, openly, and declaring how he is going to take foreign bribes and obstruct investigations, and dare Republicans to get outraged.
Click to expand...


That ain't gonna work.

Republicans have demonstrated clearly and consistently that they have no problem with blatant ... even enthusiastic hypocrisy when it comes to calling out anyone but their own.

It just adds to their false equivalency and whataboutism inventory.
 
Dr. Keith said:
His core competency is labeling things. He is labeling democrats and no amount of "we are not in favor of open borders, we are in favor of reasonable means of securing the border" will change that label.

Trump = Strong borders
Dems = Open borders

Labels work.
Click to expand...

Yep.
Trump learned early on that positions need to summed up in 2-6 words.

I just saw my ambiguity.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Back
Top Bottom