The Trump Presidency 15

[wasapi]

Let's say it's true he was hanging around.ground zero while rescue operations were still ongoing.

Why is that a good thing?

Did he take off his jacket, roll up his sleeves and help?

Because if he went down there for a photo op and a chance to say in the future "I was there" then really what he was doing is getting in the damn way of something really important.

Perhaps he threw them paper towels.

 

[theprestige]

ANd Trump continues to destroy race relatations in this country.More and more I am convinced there will be no peaceful solution to this.

Sadly, progressives are the ones leading the charge to disarm the populace and convince everyone that armed revolt can't possibly work anyway. Good luck finding your non-peaceful solution.

 

[Trebuchet]

Ratcliffe will be a total disaster as DNI.....he will tell Trump what he wants to hear...

Exactly like every successful* appointee in the administration. And in Trump's businesses.

*Been there six months and haven't quit or been fired yet.

 

[Craig4]

ANd Trump continues to destroy race relatations in this country.More and more I am convinced there will be no peaceful solution to this.

Relax, the rank and file of government institutions remain apolitical and under the control of the career officers who are not about to throw in with Trump. Remember, a coup is "Game of Thrones", you win or you die. The prize for second place is death or life in prison. You might get a surge in armed nut jobs like the sick freak who fired the weapon in the pizza place slandered in the Pizzagate tweets. The cops will kill them and the Union will be better for it.

There's not going to be an army of magascum from the rallies rushing to Washington to install him as president for a second term. They may talk big but there are real cops and troops in between them and their goal.

Trump's poll numbers in the military aren't even close to enough to get people to betray their oaths of office/enlistment. Certainly the FBI isn't on Trump's side.

Trump may refuse to allow the ceremony but Justice Roberts does not appear likely to not swear in the new president. He's crossed swords with the Stupid Bitch in Chief over far lesser matters. The famously apolitical Joint Chiefs won't take orders from Trump after January 20th nor will the Geographic Combatant Commanders.

In short, the institutions of government capable of bringing an organized, armed, trained and disciplined force to bear at the decisive time and place are still loyal to the nation.

 

[Andy_Ross]

Trump Tweets

Elijah Cummings never even went to the Southern Border and then he screams at the very good people who, despite Congresses failure to fix the Loopholes and Asylum, make it work (crossings are way down and the Wall is being built). Even with zero Dem help, Border getting strong!

Baltimore’s numbers are the worst in the United States on Crime and the Economy. Billions of dollars have been pumped in over the years, but to no avail. The money was stolen or wasted. Ask Elijah Cummings where it went. He should investigate himself with his Oversight Committee!

 

[thaiboxerken]

Sadly, progressives are the ones leading the charge to disarm the populace and convince everyone that armed revolt can't possibly work anyway. Good luck finding your non-peaceful solution.

We all know that the 2nd amendment is only applicable to white people according to Republicans. Nice try, though.

 

[Beelzebuddy]

Relax, the rank and file of government institutions remain apolitical and under the control of the career officers who are not about to throw in with Trump.

Like Comey, and Coats, and everyone else he's fired and replace with bootlickers, right?

There's not going to be an army of magascum from the rallies rushing to Washington to install him as president for a second term.

No, there'll be Russian hackers changing just enough votes to get him elected via our deliberately insecure voting equipment, and the army of magascum will only need to shout down anyone who demands a hand count.

They may talk big but there are real cops and troops in between them and their goal.

The ones with the facebook pages mocking the people in concentration camps? Or the ones manning those camps?

Certainly the FBI isn't on Trump's side.

Kavanaugh.

The famously apolitical Joint Chiefs won't take orders from Trump after January 20th nor will the Geographic Combatant Commanders.

Are they taking his orders now? Then they might then.

In short, the institutions of government capable of bringing an organized, armed, trained and disciplined force to bear at the decisive time and place are still loyal to the nation.

Before Trump was elected, I'd have agreed with you. But seeing how many people gladly dropped all pretence of integrity for a crumb of power, and seeing how many other people who had power refused to use it, to preserve the apolitical dignity of their office or what have you, I'm not so sure anymore.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Trump Tweets

Baltimore, under the leadership of Elijah Cummings, has the worst Crime Statistics in the Nation. 25 years of all talk, no action! So tired of listening to the same old Bull...Next, Reverend Al will show up to complain & protest. Nothing will get done for the people in need. Sad!

If the Democrats are going to defend the Radical Left “Squad” and King Elijah’s Baltimore Fail, it will be a long road to 2020. The good news for the Dems is that they have the Fake News Media in their pocket!

People who live in glass houses have relatives that own housing projects shouldn't throw insults.

Newsweek: TRUMP'S SON-IN-LAW JARED KUSHNER OWNS BALTIMORE AREA HOUSING PROJECTS THAT HAVE RACKED UP HUNDREDS OF BUILDING CODE VIOLATIONS

The president called the area "a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess" where "no human being would want to live." What Trump failed to mention was that his son-in-law Jared Kushner actually owns a number of nearby housing projects that have racked up hundreds of building violations.

Kushner, who is a senior White House adviser and maintains ownership of these properties despite his administration role, was reported to have racked up more than 200 code violations for apartments his company owned back in November 2017, according to then Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz.

Kushner Cos., Trump's son-in-law's company, accrued all those violations in that calendar year and only made repairs after the county threatened to impose fines and to withhold Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) payments for the low income properties. ...

Although none of the housing projects are directly within Maryland's 7th District, which Cummings represents and encompasses just over half of Baltimore City and most of Howard County, some of the buildings are near enough to share zip codes with areas under the congressman's mandate. The projects house up to 20,000 people, many of whom are African American.

 

[Segnosaur]

Relax, the rank and file of government institutions remain apolitical and under the control of the career officers who are not about to throw in with Trump.

Of course, the problem is Trump has so messed up the U.S. government (funding cuts, bad policy decisions, etc.) that it will probably take years if not decades to fix the damage.

There's not going to be an army of magascum from the rallies rushing to Washington to install him as president for a second term. They may talk big but there are real cops and troops in between them and their goal.

Well, given the fact that those pro-Trump people were gullible enough to vote for Trump in the first place, so obviously they aren't always capable of critical thinking. Even if they don't have enough followers to actually overthrow the government, a few dozen hardcore trumpers who think "The leftists stole the election. Have to fight back" can cause a lot of problems.

Think of the nutcase who tried to 'investigate' Comet Ping Pong. Or the guy who drove around in the van with various anti-media pictures all over it, who sent bombs to CNN. And those were cases that occurred after Trump won the election. Imagine how much worse it will be when Trump becomes unhinged after an election loss.

Then you have the hardcore neo-Nazis and the like. They have a taste of power now with Trump as 'their guy'. If Trump loses, they may become more prone to violence as they lose their biggest supporter.

 

[tanabear]

I found out that a great way to get blocked by Trumpists on twitter is to point out that no one wants to live in any or the red areas of America which is why their property values are crap compared to the "liberal hellholes" they routinely list in their attempts to back up his racist Baltimore bashing.


"Yeah, who wants to live in Seattle or San Francisco when they can enjoy Parkersburg, West Virginia!"

What is a racist? Someone who is not afraid to tell truth. The Leftist PC mob wants to make any criticism of their failed policies and ideologies off limits. By calling someone a "racist" you aren't explaining why they are wrong, you are just calling them a name. Racist is a term used by the Left to identify a political heretic.

Nevertheless, it is something of a political truism that the longer a city, county or state is governed by the Democratic Left the more closely it will resemble a garbage dump.

 

[Shalamar]

What is a racist? Someone who is not afraid to tell truth. The Leftist PC mob wants to make any criticism of their failed policies and ideologies off limits. By calling someone a "racist" you aren't explaining why they are wrong, you are just calling them a name. Racist is a term used by the Left to identify a political heretic.

Nevertheless, it is something of a political truism that the longer a city, county or state is governed by the Democratic Left the more closely it will resemble a garbage dump.

Which is why 'leftist' states receive less money than they give the federal government, and the 'right wing' states receive more money than they send to the government.

No wait. That can't be true. If it were, it would invalidate your point.

And 'Send them back' is definitely not racist at all. It's not racist to tell Four American citizens of colour to go back to wherever they came from.

 

[WilliamSeger]

What is a racist? Someone who is not afraid to tell truth. The Leftist PC mob wants to make any criticism of their failed policies and ideologies off limits. By calling someone a "racist" you aren't explaining why they are wrong, you are just calling them a name. Racist is a term used by the Left to identify a political heretic.

Nevertheless, it is something of a political truism that the longer a city, county or state is governed by the Democratic Left the more closely it will resemble a garbage dump.

If you are really that ignorant of what "racist" means, you may be one and not know it.

 

[Delphic Oracle]

To be fair, the progressive side could realize that if we paid for food what it is really worth, we wouldn't need farm subsidies. Plus the gut-punch that the rust belt has taken over 30 years. We score no points when we bring up this statistic, because the other side hears us throwing their descent into perpetual unemployment and opioid addiction in their faces.

The other side could realize that SNAP (food stamps) and other low-income assistance basically ends up in the hands of the people making grain and cereal crops.

We are freakishly detached from where our food comes from. That's probably a "librul" narrative we should actually work on. Especially as it correlates to bible country (at least where I live), just look up a few quotes about "stewardship" and what we're commanded to do with "the gift of God's Creation" and see what gels with current liberal environmental messaging. Build a coalition bent on sweeping into the Natural Resources Committee, etc.

Great program on NPR tonight about how we try to convince the other side by unintentionally drawing upon our own value system instead of finding out what theirs is and finding a well to speak to how their values are addressed by our ideas.

ETA: all that said, there's no shortage of deplorables, either. At the same time, picking out deplorables from really, really angry people who are being deplorable by proxy is a chore I don't particularly blame anyone for not having the spoons for.

 

[The Great Zaganza]

I don't get the "Dems neglected the Rust Belt'" narrative at all.

Economic factors beyond the control of politics have made parts of America less attractive for investors. It would require a lot of political intervention in the market to change that.

To compensate, Dems have tried to improve social security programs, at great political cost.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

What is a racist? Someone who is not afraid to tell truth. The Leftist PC mob wants to make any criticism of their failed policies and ideologies off limits. By calling someone a "racist" you aren't explaining why they are wrong, you are just calling them a name. Racist is a term used by the Left to identify a political heretic.

Nevertheless, it is something of a political truism that the longer a city, county or state is governed by the Democratic Left the more closely it will resemble a garbage dump.

This post is a piece of work.

 

[Aridas]

If you are really that ignorant of what "racist" means, you may be one and not know it.

He's hardly the only one. He's pretty much just spouting what has been becoming one of the standard far right kneejerk defenses against the increasingly irrefutable fact that they're aiding and abetting racism, at the very least. "Yeah, I'm a racist, but it's not actually bad because <insert tripe that requires redefining racism to something totally fair and warranted>"

Anyways, random news time.

Coats Replacement Ratcliffe Caught Lying about his Credentials

Surprise! Anyone expect Senator Susan Collins to actually block Ratcliffe, incidentally?

U.S.-born man said immigration officials tried to torment him into agreeing to be deported

In trying to explain why Border Patrol jailed him, a top agency official claimed to Congress that Francisco never said he was a U.S. citizen—a lie, disproven by the government’s own documents.

Francisco’s attorney showed Dallas News—which initially broke the news report that eventually shamed officials into releasing him after three weeks in custody—a Department of Homeland Security document given to them that stated “you falsely represented yourself to be a citizen of the United States for the purpose of furthering your entry into the United States.”

Francisco told Hayes that “From the first moment that I presented myself at the check point, I always said I was an American citizen. They even charged me because they said my papers were falsified, and I have proof because they contradict themselves because they charged me for supposedly falsifying my citizenship when I am a citizen here. It doesn't make sense what they're saying.”

ICE is out of control... and that quote doesn't even get into the crap they put the guy through. I suppose we can also infer from this that actual US citizens are likely getting targeted unlawfully more frequently, as well... much as that might just be my expectations based on the obvious and easily predictable consequences of the policies and practice of ICE under the Trump Administration.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Which is why 'leftist' states receive less money than they give the federal government, and the 'right wing' states receive more money than they send to the government.

No wait. That can't be true. If it were, it would invalidate your point.

And 'Send them back' is definitely not racist at all. It's not racist to tell Four American citizens of colour to go back to wherever they came from.

Getting back to a more meaningful discussion, CSPAN had a panel of Constitutional experts on today discussing the request to put the citizenship question on the Census.

There were a couple of Constitutional Law professors and some guy from the Federalist Society. There was a lot of bias in the group, mostly to the right but not 100%.

First, there are all kinds of citizens who can't or don't vote. The citizenship question is not about voter representation. One expert suggested that despite clear evidence Wilbur Ross presented false evidence to the SCOTUS about the motive for the question, that 'we can't get into evaluating people's motives'. What a crock of hooey. If anyone has been following this, there was clear evidence in emails that Ross lied.

Then the discussion shifted to pointing out the populated states are encouraging illegal immigrants because it boosts their representation. The same scumbag that let Wilbur Ross off the hook now decided states with high numbers of immigrants encouraged them on purpose to get more representation. Talk about a double standard for truthfulness.

Back to why I've quoted this post, it was a red flag in front of my face any of these right wingers like the Federalist Society were bitching about the populated states wanting to pad their Census count when the populated states had been getting more and more short changed as the populations shift to cities from rural states.

 

[Delphic Oracle]

I don't get the "Dems neglected the Rust Belt'" narrative at all.

Economic factors beyond the control of politics have made parts of America less attractive for investors. It would require a lot of political intervention in the market to change that.

To compensate, Dems have tried to improve social security programs, at great political cost.

A narrative doesn't have to be true, it just has to feel true.

https://youtu.be/vsbBTm40YVc?t=3060 (through to 53:40-ish)

The narrative only has to tap into something real. The rust belt was neglected to into the hell that it is and then on top of that they are the ones paying for rich elite coasters to continue having caviar and coke on yachts to celebrate their patents on all the robots that will soon be replacing them. Naming Democrats as the guilty is just part of how using angry people works, sadly. Clinton signed NAFTA, all right or wrongs aside (believe me, I KNOW), that's our albatross forever.

I mean you could tell the Gary from Gary, Indiana story and stop for prompts at several points and probably get people to figure it out it is so ingrained and natural. I'm in flyover country near those states and have taken a few train rides that left vivid imprints in my memory since the rail lines go right past a whole row of deteriorating factories and warehouses with a little township in the distance about every 20 minutes or so.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

To be fair, the progressive side could realize that if we paid for food what it is really worth, we wouldn't need farm subsidies. Plus the gut-punch that the rust belt has taken over 30 years. We score no points when we bring up this statistic, because the other side hears us throwing their descent into perpetual unemployment and opioid addiction in their faces.

The other side could realize that SNAP (food stamps) and other low-income assistance basically ends up in the hands of the people making grain and cereal crops.

We are freakishly detached from where our food comes from. That's probably a "librul" narrative we should actually work on. Especially as it correlates to bible country (at least where I live), just look up a few quotes about "stewardship" and what we're commanded to do with "the gift of God's Creation" and see what gels with current liberal environmental messaging. Build a coalition bent on sweeping into the Natural Resources Committee, etc.

Great program on NPR tonight about how we try to convince the other side by unintentionally drawing upon our own value system instead of finding out what theirs is and finding a well to speak to how their values are addressed by our ideas.

ETA: all that said, there's no shortage of deplorables, either. At the same time, picking out deplorables from really, really angry people who are being deplorable by proxy is a chore I don't particularly blame anyone for not having the spoons for.

It's not the left or Progressives you should direct this ire to.

It's corporations feeding on the public trough you should be looking at.

 

[Delphic Oracle]

It's not the left or Progressives you should direct this ire to.

It's corporations feeding on the public trough you should be looking at.

Ok, we'll do a much better job of putting a stop to that when we figure out how to talk to each other. Because I'm pretty sure that us just screaming at each other is precisely how they keep getting away with it.