The Trump Presidency: Part 18

[Norman Alexander]

He's already resigned.

Yes, but that is effective "later in the year". I mean he probably won't even come into the office starting very soon. They don't want him hanging around saying this sort of creepy god-bothering Trump-fawning stuff.

 

[Aridas]

Perry is not long for that job. Or he is entirely oblivious to the impeachment proceedings going on, in which Trump is being shown to be an inveterate, incorrigible and totally venal liar and admitting it.

There's also the question of whether Perry will be going down as one of the "three amigos" and the brazenly corrupt actions that he pushed in Ukraine.

Isn't Nunes suing someone for making a spoof Twitter account pretending to be his cow?

And changed the venue for a meeting to somewhere secret after being deeply, deeply frightened by the threat of actually facing people wearing cow costumes who would be protesting.

Secretary Perry to President Trump: “If you're a believing Christian, you understand God's plan for the people who rule and judge over us on this planet in our government.”

He actually said “if you are a believing Christian.” That is no less bizarre than saying “if you are a 400-year-old dragon.”

Perhaps he meant it in the sense of "If one is a believing Christian, one understands God's plan ...", so "you" doesn't refer to Trump specifically. Then this becomes the old monarchist trope that true Christians accept the authority of their rulers because they hold their position by God's will. In this case Trump is the monarch, which he is, to all intents and purposes, to Republicans. And an absolute monarch, not a constitutional one.
​

Meh. Given that civil servants - the President being the most powerful of them - are inherently supposed to be serving the public, Perry's "ruler" claim is pretty much exactly backwards.

Fortunately there is also a Christian left whose message is inclusion, and to my knowledge they don't think that way or talk that way. My main exposure now being to Congregationalists, one of the most congenial Christian communities I've encountered.

This touches on one of the things that I've liked about Buttigieg. He's making a point of raising the visibility of the Christian left - which is important in a time when the radical right is vociferously trying promote the view that to be Christian means that one should be part of the radical right, nevermind that the radical right is about as anti-Christian as it could possibly be while still assuming the trappings of Christianity.



Hmm. To poke at some other things -

Lindsey Graham blocked Senate genocide resolution for a very good reason: Team Trump asked him to

Trump likely just really doesn't want to anger a dictator who is in power over way, way too many of his assets.

Rudy Plot actually thickening with Ukrainian oligarchs Dimitri Firtash and Ihor Kolomoisky

Now NYT reports that, as part of dirt-digging effort, Giuliani encouraged indicted Ukrainian oligarch Firtash to hire Trump-friendly lawyers diGenova and Toensing.
Deal reportedly: help with Biden dirt, in exchange for help with Firtash’s case before DOJ

<snip>

DiGenova and Toensing then met with AG Barr about Firtash’s case, in August, shortly after Trump’s call with Zelensky .

More players in this and... Barr being drawn back in, despite his attempts to distance himself. Unsurprisingly.

Trump administration trying to trick Obamacare shoppers into disastrous junk plans

...Yup. Not much more needs said.

 

[abaddon]

Caught with long lenses, I presume. Not from 4 miles away with the naked eye.

But I'm pretty sure Trump believes he saw that. Then he glanced over to Jersey and saw people dancing in the streets.

Or he could have seen the Bowie/Jagger video on MTV.

 

[Lurch]

On this business of Trump wading into the Gallagher matter...

If it were a case of an injured US military member being treated by the enemy but stabbed to death by some gung ho hard ass, Trump, the GOP and the red hat crowd would howl with rage. How they can see Gallagher as some benighted warrior of honor is just sickening hypocrisy.

Now Republicans are even willing to permit their vaunted military to comport itself with dishonor, just because it pisses off the libs, or something. Not realizing what this does to the US's standing in the world, and how it inflames her enemies. Man, it really looks like a good proportion of Americans are wanting to just burn it all down.

 

[Safe-Keeper]

Now Republicans are even willing to permit their vaunted military to comport itself with dishonor, just because it pisses off the libs, or something.

No difference from how torturing people was suddenly a-ok the instant Bush started doing it. They gotta conform to the every whim of Dear Leader.

 

[The Don]

On this business of Trump wading into the Gallagher matter...

If it were a case of an injured US military member being treated by the enemy but stabbed to death by some gung ho hard ass, Trump, the GOP and the red hat crowd would howl with rage. How they can see Gallagher as some benighted warrior of honor is just sickening hypocrisy.

Now Republicans are even willing to permit their vaunted military to comport itself with dishonor, just because it pisses off the libs, or something. Not realizing what this does to the US's standing in the world, and how it inflames her enemies. Man, it really looks like a good proportion of Americans are wanting to just burn it all down.

IMO there's a tendency for those on the right, in whatever country, to support whatever the military does, right or wrong. This is just my personal opinion and I'm perfectly willing to be contradicted, but the impetus for criticism of military "over-zealousness" (if it's your lot - war crimes if it's the other side) tends to come from the centre and left.

At least in the UK, it's the Conservatives who have been pushing forward legislation to prevent ex-service personnel from being prosecuted:

Under the proposals, the Conservative Party would amend the Human Rights Act so it does not apply to issues - including deaths during the Troubles in Northern Ireland - that took place before it came into force in 2000.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2019-50372932

IMO the actions of the Trump Administration over Gallagher is just business as usual for the right wing - especially if it's overpopulated by chickenhawks attempting to overcompensate for their lack of service.

 

[Darat]

IMO there's a tendency for those on the right, in whatever country, to support whatever the military does, right or wrong. This is just my personal opinion and I'm perfectly willing to be contradicted, but the impetus for criticism of military "over-zealousness" (if it's your lot - war crimes if it's the other side) tends to come from the centre and left.



At least in the UK, it's the Conservatives who have been pushing forward legislation to prevent ex-service personnel from being prosecuted:







https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2019-50372932



IMO the actions of the Trump Administration over Gallagher is just business as usual for the right wing - especially if it's overpopulated by chickenhawks attempting to overcompensate for their lack of service.

That's not quite like for like. Trump has set himself against what his military wants. This wasn't a case of politicians leaning on the military, it was initially the military doing what it wanted, only now has it become political.

 

[ponderingturtle]

Her whole circle must not read. Or Trump pretends he read something and name-drops said things.

Or she has a different view of facts vs truth than we do.

 

[Belz...]

Hey! Dragons are real! I saw them on Game of Thrones!

Yeah but they're 4 years old, not 400.

 

[Andy_Ross]

Trump Tweets

I will always protect our great warfighters. I’ve got your backs!

When the Military rips down an old & badly broken Border Wall in an important location, & replaces it with a brand new 30 ft. high Steel & Concrete Wall, Nancy Pelosi says we are not building a Wall. Wrong, and it is going up fast. Brandon Judd just gave us great marks! @FoxNews

 

[Fast Eddie B]

What does that mean in the context of the discussion? It sounds reads like an attempt at a false equivalence.

Understood, and I tried in my post to recognize that and to try make my argument clear.

We know how many bars have been lowered and how many norms have been blown up by Trump. No argument there. My (poorly enunciated) point was that, in this case, holding a president’s health concerns close to the vest was nothing new nor unique to Trump.

That’s all.

 

[TragicMonkey]

Trump Tweets

I will always protect our great warfighters. I’ve got your backs!

When the Military rips down an old & badly broken Border Wall in an important location, & replaces it with a brand new 30 ft. high Steel & Concrete Wall, Nancy Pelosi says we are not building a Wall. Wrong, and it is going up fast. Brandon Judd just gave us great marks! @FoxNews

Trump will bravely protect the military from the military so it can focus on its true mission: domestic construction work.

 

[Armitage72]

IMO the actions of the Trump Administration over Gallagher is just business as usual for the right wing - especially if it's overpopulated by chickenhawks attempting to overcompensate for their lack of service.

Trump is in the process of selling the services of the US military to foreign governments (Saudi Arabia, South Korea). If the soldiers know that they're immune to persecution for war crimes, it expands their tactical options and increases their value on the open market.

 

[Segnosaur]

Trump will bravely protect the military from the military so it can focus on its true mission: domestic construction work.

Now that is not fair. He doesn't just want them doing domestic construction.

He wants them to protect other countries.

But only if they can pay.

Sent from my LM-X320 using Tapatalk

 

[WilliamSeger]

Trump, on signing the Woman's Suffrage Centennial Coin Act to commemorate the passing of the 19th Amendment in 1920: "I'm curious why wasn't it done a long time ago? And also, I guess the answer to that is because now I'm president, we get things done."

I've been looking at the screen for about 5 minutes trying to think of something to say, but I give up.

 

[Belz...]

Trump, on signing the Woman's Suffrage Centennial Coin Act to commemorate the passage of the 19th Amendment is 1920: "I'm curious why wasn't it done a long time ago? And also, I guess the answer to that is because now I'm president, we get things done."

I've been looking at the screen for about 5 minutes trying to think of something to say, but I give up.

You're joking, right? It's parody, right?

(checks)

No. No it isn't.

 

[WilliamSeger]

You're joking, right? It's parody, right?

Nope, there's video: https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1199181946166874112

 

[Belz...]

Nope, there's video: https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1199181946166874112

I can't believe someone would be stupid enough to ask why a centennial event wasn't done years before.

WAs he "joking" there? Or is he entirely insane?

 

[ponderingturtle]

I can't believe someone would be stupid enough to ask why a centennial event wasn't done years before.

WAs he "joking" there? Or is he entirely insane?

I think he doesn't know what a centennial is. Always assume massive ignorance and arrogance with Trump.

 

[thaiboxerken]

You're joking, right? It's parody, right?

(checks)

No. No it isn't.

I wonder if he thinks he's passing the women's right to vote or if he doesn't understand the meaning of centennial commemoration... or both.