Trump's Second Term

[Planigale]

So even if Trump did order the DOJ to investigate Comey it would not be improper. I'm sure the court's gonna love that argument.

Justice Department Argues It’s OK if It’s Under Trump Control

The Department of Justice made a stunning argument in its case against former FBI Director James Comey.

newrepublic.com

That would certainly follow from some SCOTUS rulings. Recent rulings have emphasised executive power and diminished the ability of the legislature to control the executive, effectively destroying the balance of power. The problem is that this won't change when Trump goes. It will persist until a new SCOTUS 'changes' the interpretation of the constitution.

 

[The Great Zaganza]

Trump's new sanctions on Iran and everyone who is trading with or banking for it would trigger a trade war with China, Russia, Turkey and India if he was actually serious.

 

[Planigale]

US budget deficit reaches $40 trillion; costing $1 trillion in interest a year. Roughly 1/7 of the federal budget. Trump is upset because the interest the US is having to pay on US debt is higher than Swiss debt. If the federal budget is cut to reduce the deficit (or at least stabilise it), the proportion of the budget needed to pay the interest rises.Current prediction is that interest will increase to $2trilllion by 2036, 25% of the federal budget.

One way that this is being serviced is that the US is selling short term treasury debt as the underlying security for stable coin. Tether which is one of the largest issuers of stable coin holds > $140 billion making it about the 18 largest holder of US debt in the world. Effectively these companies are 'printing' US dollars, increasing the money supply. This is why Trump is keen on promoting bitcoins etc.

The stable coin business model essentially means that one buys US treasury debt and effectively sells stable coins 1:1 so the cost is recouped and one earns the interest at minimal cost. So $100 billion of treasury bonds bought at effectively zero cost will earn around $4 billions a year in interest at current rates.

 

[The Great Zaganza]

That would only work if other countries and institutional investors would accept the coins - which they won't.
We have an entire leadership that bases all their plans on some version or another of "this one weird trick".

 

[The Atheist]

The contraption in his trousers, perhaps.

I trust that once he's brown bread people in the know will say, because it looks amazingly like a poop-catcher/deodoriser, which makes perfect sense.

Trump potentially adding yet another infidelity would be of questionable meaning, though...

Oh, I didn't mean infidelity. I'd be astounded if that disgusting slug could get his tiny penis up with Viagra and a pump.

He likes having beautiful, younger (blonde) women around him for purely egotistical reasons.

 

[Gulliver Foyle]

Well, they were both brought up by psychopathic autocrats, have no idea how ordinary and non-rich people live, are surrounded by sycophants who never tell them the truth and fawn over them out of fear, and both have very bad haircuts.

The difference between Kim and Trump is that Kim as a child exhibited a normal set of emotional responses, he was compassionate, empathetic and often quite kind.

 

[Gulliver Foyle]

No woman/man can break up a home unless it's already got a severely cracked foundation and the wife/husband is willing. No one is forced to cheat in their marriage.

We're talking a far right christian cult here, where women can only be two things, Madonnas or whores.

And Madonnas are vanishingly rare in their world.

 

[TofuFighter]

“The author noted that while no one in the Trump camp suspects a sexual relationship, there is nonetheless a conviction that Harp is hopelessly in love with Trump and determined to be his “higher purpose bride.”
“It’s a Christian devotional relationship,” one Trump aide told Wolff.“

Melania’s Secret Power Struggle With Trump’s Blonde Companion Revealed

The first lady does not appreciate her husband’s 35-year-old assistant, according to a Trump biographer.

www.thedailybeast.com

fwiw and subject to each poster's own decision about whether dodging paywalls is a good choice, you can use this link for articles which may not be accessible to you.

 

[Andy_Ross]

Donald J. Trump
@realDonald Trump

No one has given the Islamic Republic of Iran a greater opportunity to make a Deal than me.
TRAGICALLY, for them, they have failed to take it. Therefore, today, I am announcing the MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY!
This will be Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale.
Their navy is gone, their air force is destroyed, their military factories are now rubble, their currency is worthless, and their country is hanging by a thread.
Today, I am also announcing that ANY country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government entities to provide any type of lifeline to Iran will itself face TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences.
Oil smuggling, swap lines, cash transfers, exchange houses, ship registries, front companies - It all needs to stop NOW.
You know who you are.
This will be an ECONOMIC D-DAY, and we need all of our Allies to stand with the United States of America to isolate, and defeat, the Iran threat.
These maniacs are on the ropes, and these HISTORIC MEASURES will cripple them and their ability to project terror worldwide.
IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER.
President DONALD J. TRUMP

 

[Andy_Ross]

 

[P.J. Denyer]

View attachment 74799

And we still don't have a 'vomit' response...

 

[Jack by the hedge]

... and we need all of our Allies to stand with the United States of America

All of your what now?

Oh, yeah, I remember when you had those. Still, you have North Korea now.

 

[Aridas]

And we still don't have a 'vomit' response...

Given how well-known and relatively easy it is to manipulate Trump with flattery, it's surprisingly hard to determine whether any of this is sincere rather than manipulative. That, itself, is also worthy of

 

[Jack by the hedge]

Trump: I have the absolute right to cut off all business with a country like Switzerland.There's 60 countries like that. They live off the United States. So why are we paying higher interest rates than them?

Maybe because they're competent and aren't sitting on an ever vaster heap of debt.

If you want countries like Switzerland to buy more American stuff, try making things they want.

 

[Planigale]

That would only work if other countries and institutional investors would accept the coins - which they won't.
We have an entire leadership that bases all their plans on some version or another of "this one weird trick".

That is why the plan is that the US will have to hold a supply of stable coin, just as it holds a supply of gold. it can the insist on paying for things with stable coin.

One of the 'advantages' of stable coin is it is trackable and includes a freeze and reallocate option. The stablecoin can be frozen at any point by the issuer, e.g. Tether, and can even be reallocated - effectively pickpocketing. This can be done at the whim of the issuer and requires no court order.

US stablecoin could effectively be like fairy gold, you think you are wealthy but then it has all melted away in the morning. Upset Trump and he can ask Tether to freeze or take back the stable coin in your account.

 

[Susheel]

He likes having beautiful, younger (blonde) women around him for purely egotistical reasons.

Let's not deny the fact that there is a passing resemblance to the daughter he has the hots for.

 

[Jack by the hedge]

That is why the plan is that the US will have to hold a supply of stable coin, just as it holds a supply of gold. it can the insist on paying for things with stable coin.

One of the 'advantages' of stable coin is it is trackable and includes a freeze and reallocate option. The stablecoin can be frozen at any point by the issuer, e.g. Tether, and can even be reallocated - effectively pickpocketing. This can be done at the whim of the issuer and requires no court order.

US stablecoin could effectively be like fairy gold, you think you are wealthy but then it has all melted away in the morning. Upset Trump and he can ask Tether to freeze or take back the stable coin in your account.

Oh. The 'plan' is for the US to insist on paying by cheque, and that cheque might bounce, now or at any time in the future?
Well I can't see a flaw in that.

Okay China, it's a generation or two ahead of schedule but I think we're about to get your century of world hegemony started a bit early.

 

[Andy_Ross]

A U.S. National Park Service engineer warned the Trump administration about the floor of the Lincoln Reflecting Pool peeling in early June due to the renovation process and the materials used for the job, court filings reveal

Trump administration was warned about peeling Reflecting Pool nearly a month before it brought vandalism case

A National Park Service engineer warned that the pool’s floor was peeling because of the renovation process and the materials used for the reinstallation.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[Darat]

Let's not deny the fact that there is a passing resemblance to the daughter he has the hots for.

These scurrilous allegations should have been put to bed by now.

Ivanka is 44 years old for goodness sake, that is way too old for Trump.

 

[Susheel]

These scurrilous allegations should have been put to bed by now.

Ivanka is 44 years old for goodness sake, that is way too old for Trump.

Exactly...therefore, a younger version of her...