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Thread: Trump Thread

  1. #901

    Default Re: Trump Thread

    Another look into a Trumpish community

    For people here, it's confirmation that their new president is delivering on his campaign promise to generate 25 million jobs and become, in his own words, "the greatest jobs producer that God ever created".
    I think for Democrats it's impossible to reach people like this without targeted messaging. Start with a specially-tailored and simplified platform for the demographic, determine what media the demographic has access to and primarily consumes, and pump that message through those media. But don't try addressing them directly, couch the message impersonally and hope they get a whiff of something they like on its own terms (i.e. divorced from anti-Democrat identity).

    It wouldn't work as well as local supporters on the ground canvassing and advocating, but as a strategy that doesn't have much force without the half-farcical step of colonization (which if possible would tend to revitalize economies anyway).
    Last edited by Montmorency; 07-25-2017 at 17:49.
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  2. #902
    Old Town Road Senior Member Strike For The South's Avatar
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    Default Re: Trump Thread

    These people need food, healthcare, and jobs. It is no wonder they voted for the "outsider" populist.

    Also, it would be a mistake to waste time an inordinate time on these people.
    There, but for the grace of God, goes John Bradford

    My aim, then, was to whip the rebels, to humble their pride, to follow them to their inmost recesses, and make them fear and dread us. Fear is the beginning of wisdom.

    I am tired and sick of war. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, for vengeance, for desolation.

  3. #903
    Praefectus Fabrum Senior Member Anime BlackJack Champion, Flash Poker Champion, Word Up Champion, Shape Game Champion, Snake Shooter Champion, Fishwater Challenge Champion, Rocket Racer MX Champion, Jukebox Hero Champion, My House Is Bigger Than Your House Champion, Funky Pong Champion, Cutie Quake Champion, Fling The Cow Champion, Tiger Punch Champion, Virus Champion, Solitaire Champion, Worm Race Champion, Rope Walker Champion, Penguin Pass Champion, Skate Park Champion, Watch Out Champion, Lawn Pac Champion, Weapons Of Mass Destruction Champion, Skate Boarder Champion, Lane Bowling Champion, Bugz Champion, Makai Grand Prix 2 Champion, White Van Man Champion, Parachute Panic Champion, BlackJack Champion, Stans Ski Jumping Champion, Smaugs Treasure Champion, Sofa Longjump Champion Seamus Fermanagh's Avatar
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    Default Re: Trump Thread

    Trump's victory, at its core, was payback to the dems for more or less abandoning their status as the party of the "working man." Too many dems play the Wall Street Shuffle (ask Bernie, he'll tell you!) or get lost in a mosaic of little interest groups. There is political power in the aggregate of those smaller interest groups, and they do trend left -- but the working class used to be a real core element for the Dems. Not so anymore.
    "The only way that has ever been discovered to have a lot of people cooperate together voluntarily is through the free market. And that's why it's so essential to preserving individual freedom.” -- Milton Friedman

    "The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule." -- H. L. Mencken

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  4. #904

    Default Re: Trump Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by Strike For The South View Post
    These people need food, healthcare, and jobs. It is no wonder they voted for the "outsider" populist.

    Also, it would be a mistake to waste time an inordinate time on these people.
    Quote Originally Posted by Seamus Fermanagh View Post
    Trump's victory, at its core, was payback to the dems for more or less abandoning their status as the party of the "working man." Too many dems play the Wall Street Shuffle (ask Bernie, he'll tell you!) or get lost in a mosaic of little interest groups. There is political power in the aggregate of those smaller interest groups, and they do trend left -- but the working class used to be a real core element for the Dems. Not so anymore.
    When I make my comment, I don't mean adjusting Democratic policies along the lines of "The Politics of Evasion" - that has arguably been devastating to the long-term health of the party. I'm pointing out that these people are generally isolated from the media and interpersonal channels the Democrats use to spread their message, and so become a kind of second-hand legend rather than something to be perceived and judged. My suggestion entails what you might call 'counter-propaganda', to saturate the channels of knowing and learning common to the localities and their people, not just as campaigning messages, but at all times over the long-term in the living environment. The effect should be for Democratic ideas and thinking to take root into their consciousness and affect their belief systems, in a way that can't be accomplished by a direct or discrete "message".

    It's satisfying to think of these people as apathetic simpletons who can't change and can't be persuaded to think critically, but to the extent that democratic principles are favored they can't just be shed or repressed. To some extent their engagement and incorporation is what guarantees the viability of left-wing policy or ideals.
    Last edited by Montmorency; 07-26-2017 at 18:29.
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  5. #905
    Coffee farmer extraordinaire Member spmetla's Avatar
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    Default Re: Trump Thread

    It would help if the Democrats weren't the party of the social-justice crusader stereotype too. Being the party of everyone that is not the majority is a good way to pat yourself on the back and feel self righteous but it won't win elections. The economic solutions from both parties aren't too different but when you talk with joe-schmoe he generally doesn't even know the details of either parties economic policies but will know and have an opinion on gender-neutral bathrooms etc...

    Bear in mind that enough people that rely on the ACA want Obama-Care repealed due to their not knowing it's one and the same due to very effective propaganda by one side and a failure to address it on the other.

    "Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?"
    -Abraham Lincoln


    Four stage strategy from Yes, Minister:
    Stage one we say nothing is going to happen.
    Stage two, we say something may be about to happen, but we should do nothing about it.
    Stage three, we say that maybe we should do something about it, but there's nothing we can do.
    Stage four, we say maybe there was something we could have done, but it's too late now.

  6. #906

    Default Re: Trump Thread

    It would help if the Democrats weren't the party of the social-justice crusader stereotype too. Being the party of everyone that is not the majority is a good way to pat yourself on the back and feel self righteous but it won't win elections. The economic solutions from both parties aren't too different but when you talk with joe-schmoe he generally doesn't even know the details of either parties economic policies but will know and have an opinion on gender-neutral bathrooms etc...
    That's a culture-war question, not one of party policy. The Democrats can't hope to win over white voters by silencing minority voices; so it would be doing the hypocritical thing, for no profit. The smart money with social transformations is staying the course until the aggrieved can no longer "remember why I was even angry". The real policy challenge is digesting the hard core of atavists who disagree with every post-Civil War policy other than Jim Crow.
    Vitiate Man.

    History repeats the old conceits
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  7. #907
    Coffee farmer extraordinaire Member spmetla's Avatar
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    Default Re: Trump Thread

    Staying the course for the long term is the correct policy for them but they seem to try and make the changes far quicker than people in "fly over country" care to accommodate. They are right on LGBT but to paint it in the same light and nobility as the womens suffrage movement or civil rights movement is foolish. Look at today's military transgender policy announcement by Trump, it accomplished it's goal because that's topic number one right now on MSNBC instead of the health care bill which is far more important.

    They don't need to silence minority voices but that doesn't need to be their primary platform which runs strong in Universities and the coastal states.

    You are right one point two, there are no shortage of folks in the South that see Jim Crow laws as correct and see all the woes of the black community as self inflicted.

    If they marketed themselves more as the party that'll protect them from corporate greed and from having to compete with sweat shop workers they'd probably win more votes. Look at the fall out from the 2008 crash, it gave Obama and the Democrats the momentum he needed to make major reforms. They however couldn't secure a win because the Republicans drowned out their successes by doing the culture war propaganda which is not answered in kind.

    The repeal of don't ask don't tell and the trans-gender integration while both justify were implemented in such a way that the right is able to market it as the Democrats sacrificing military readiness for the sake of social experimentation. I had to brief my platoon and then company of infantrymen on the implementation of each of these (as well as women being allowed into combat arms) which were by and large badly taken of course. Neither resulted in any loss of readiness but today my facebook feed is inundated by my happy fellow servicemen celebrating the end of a policy that had literally no effect on them besides sitting in a briefing on it's implementation.

    The Democrats may have policies that are beneficial to most Americans but the ability of the Republicans to paint them as social experimenting war on Christian values socialists they will not get those white male working class people that reliably vote to vote for them. There's no need to abandon those policies just don't make them the forefront while painting all those that oppose them as back woods ignorant rednecks bigots (even if true).

    "Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?"
    -Abraham Lincoln


    Four stage strategy from Yes, Minister:
    Stage one we say nothing is going to happen.
    Stage two, we say something may be about to happen, but we should do nothing about it.
    Stage three, we say that maybe we should do something about it, but there's nothing we can do.
    Stage four, we say maybe there was something we could have done, but it's too late now.

  8. #908

    Default Re: Trump Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by spmetla View Post
    Staying the course for the long term is the correct policy for them but they seem to try and make the changes far quicker than people in "fly over country" care to accommodate. They are right on LGBT but to paint it in the same light and nobility as the womens suffrage movement or civil rights movement is foolish. Look at today's military transgender policy announcement by Trump, it accomplished it's goal because that's topic number one right now on MSNBC instead of the health care bill which is far more important.

    They don't need to silence minority voices but that doesn't need to be their primary platform which runs strong in Universities and the coastal states.

    You are right one point two, there are no shortage of folks in the South that see Jim Crow laws as correct and see all the woes of the black community as self inflicted.

    If they marketed themselves more as the party that'll protect them from corporate greed and from having to compete with sweat shop workers they'd probably win more votes. Look at the fall out from the 2008 crash, it gave Obama and the Democrats the momentum he needed to make major reforms. They however couldn't secure a win because the Republicans drowned out their successes by doing the culture war propaganda which is not answered in kind.

    The repeal of don't ask don't tell and the trans-gender integration while both justify were implemented in such a way that the right is able to market it as the Democrats sacrificing military readiness for the sake of social experimentation. I had to brief my platoon and then company of infantrymen on the implementation of each of these (as well as women being allowed into combat arms) which were by and large badly taken of course. Neither resulted in any loss of readiness but today my facebook feed is inundated by my happy fellow servicemen celebrating the end of a policy that had literally no effect on them besides sitting in a briefing on it's implementation.

    The Democrats may have policies that are beneficial to most Americans but the ability of the Republicans to paint them as social experimenting war on Christian values socialists they will not get those white male working class people that reliably vote to vote for them. There's no need to abandon those policies just don't make them the forefront while painting all those that oppose them as back woods ignorant rednecks bigots (even if true).
    But it's still a function of channels of information dissemination. These channels have a funneling property that creates an inflated impression of a given policy's value and importance to the originators of that policy, leaving consumers to adopt the monomania they come to believe the government applies to its more matter-of-course activities. It's not about how much Democrats care, but how much Republicans think Democrats care. After all, transgender toilet rules are not a single-issue motivator like abortion or gun control retrenchment are. Counter-propaganda would correct the effect, but the question is how to do it. Without grassroots activists to condition the learning, the necessary level of persistent funding simply doesn't exist.
    Vitiate Man.

    History repeats the old conceits
    The glib replies, the same defeats


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  9. #909

    Default Re: Trump Thread

    I think Trumps' victory proves beyond a shadow of doubt: marketing means more than facts; at least as far as politics is concerned.

    The Dem's lost for a variety of reasons; their policy was sound but was lost in the "noise" of the campaign.
    Trump dominated most media by saying and doing outrageous stuff; the media ate that stuff up, and policy became lost to public discourse.
    What Hillary needed was the "fire brand" approach of the Bernie campaign: "Mad!? You bet we're mad! We are going to make this $%%^^& work for YOU!"
    That message might have got through, but as Monty points out, you need the medium to convey it to the audience.
    The promise of "Revolution" might have been able to turn the klieg lights from Trump to policy.
    Ja-mata TosaInu

  10. #910
    master of the pwniverse Member Fragony's Avatar
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    Default Re: Trump Thread

    I think Trump didn't really win, Hillary just lost. It's imppossible to like her, everybody with a bit of a radar can see that it's a ruthless woman who will do anything House of Cards. Trump isn't nearly that well-oiled fake. I kinda like it that what she took for granted didn't happen. From what I have seen so far Trump isn't doing so badly.

    Why is your millanial crying

  11. #911
    Mr Self Important Senior Member Beskar's Avatar
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    Default Re: Trump Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by Fragony View Post
    From what I have seen so far Trump isn't doing so badly.
    I got to strongly disagree here, he is absolutely terrible. It makes me miss George Bush Jr and I thought he was bad.
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  12. #912

    Default Re: Trump Thread

    Dear Leader may be coming to realize the limitations of his office.
    The "Trans-ban" tweet has resulted in a lot of confusion.
    The "Chief of Everything!" said, "blah blah blah"; but the regulations and policy we have don't allow it => cannot be done until we get clear guidelines and written policy.

    http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2...trans_ban.html

    For now, process trumps Trump.

    In other developments, how goes the fight to banish the "Great Society" to the dustbin of history?
    Not so good it seems.
    While the GOP seems intent to turn Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security into funnels for savings/tax cuts; the electorate are not so delighted.
    It might be possible for the GOP to get what they want, but the short-term political cost is very high. How many career politicians are actually willing to put their head on the block?:

    https://slate.com/news-and-politics/...itlements.html
    Last edited by HopAlongBunny; 07-27-2017 at 22:52.
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  13. #913
    The very model of a modern Moderator Xiahou's Avatar
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    Default Re: Trump Thread

    Well, the new Communications Director seems like he's going to fit right in.....


    Anthony Scaramucci Called Me to Unload About White House Leakers, Reince Priebus, and Steve Bannon

    He started by threatening to fire the entire White House communications staff. It escalated from there.
    “They’ll all be fired by me,” he said. “I fired one guy the other day. I have three to four people I’ll fire tomorrow. I’ll get to the person who leaked that to you. Reince Priebus—if you want to leak something—he’ll be asked to resign very shortly.” The issue, he said, was that he believed Priebus had been worried about the dinner because he hadn’t been invited. “Reince is a ing paranoid schizophrenic, a paranoiac,” Scaramucci said.
    The whole article is worth a look. The guy sounds like mini-Trump.
    Last edited by Xiahou; 07-28-2017 at 00:19.
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  14. #914

    Default Re: Trump Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by Xiahou View Post
    Well, the new Communications Director seems like he's going to fit right in.....


    Anthony Scaramucci Called Me to Unload About White House Leakers, Reince Priebus, and Steve Bannon




    The whole article is worth a look. The guy sounds like mini-Trump.
    Cocaine, eh? Here's an article by a friend expressing concern for the sudden personality shift in Scaramucci.

    Say what you want about President Trump, he succeeds wildly at diminishing those who come in direct contact with him. It’s a phenomenon that was articulated beautifully by Thomas Ricks, the Pulitzer-prize winning journalist, in a June appearance on MSNBC when he said that Mr. Trump is “very good at borrowing other people’s credibility.” Specifically, he worried that the president had “strip-mined” the credibility of his friend, H. R. McMaster, the national security adviser.

    I share Mr. Ricks’s concern for my friend Anthony Scaramucci, a good man who is rapidly being tarnished by his proximity to Mr. Trump.
    Last edited by Montmorency; 07-28-2017 at 00:56. Reason: Quote
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  15. #915
    Coffee farmer extraordinaire Member spmetla's Avatar
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    Default Re: Trump Thread

    Interesting article Xiahou posted from the New Yorker. Pretty much confirms everything I thought about him during his first interview which painted him in my eyes as a boasting New York show boater with mafia style loyalty to his 'Don', he will undoubtedly go far with his new boss.

    Trumps ability as president to ruin all he touches is rather astonishing.

    Even the Boy Scouts are needing to apologize:
    http://scoutingwire.org/chief-perspe...dential-visit/
    I want to extend my sincere apologies to those in our Scouting family who were offended by the political rhetoric that was inserted into the jamboree. That was never our intent. The invitation for the sitting U.S. President to visit the National Jamboree is a long-standing tradition that has been extended to the leader of our nation that has had a Jamboree during his term since 1937. It is in no way an endorsement of any person, party or policies. For years, people have called upon us to take a position on political issues, and we have steadfastly remained non-partisan and refused to comment on political matters. We sincerely regret that politics were inserted into the Scouting program.
    My dad and uncle were both Eagle Scouts and were certainly shocked that the President would give that type of speech to an audience of children. He just can't turn off his reality TV personality even for a moment.
    Last edited by spmetla; 07-28-2017 at 02:57.

    "Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?"
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    Four stage strategy from Yes, Minister:
    Stage one we say nothing is going to happen.
    Stage two, we say something may be about to happen, but we should do nothing about it.
    Stage three, we say that maybe we should do something about it, but there's nothing we can do.
    Stage four, we say maybe there was something we could have done, but it's too late now.

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  16. #916
    Mr Self Important Senior Member Beskar's Avatar
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    Default Re: Trump Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by spmetla View Post
    He just can't turn off his reality TV personality even for a moment.
    What if.. it is not a persona in the slightest?
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  17. #917
    Coffee farmer extraordinaire Member spmetla's Avatar
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    Default Re: Trump Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by Beskar View Post
    What if.. it is not a persona in the slightest?
    Then we're all doomed...

    "Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?"
    -Abraham Lincoln


    Four stage strategy from Yes, Minister:
    Stage one we say nothing is going to happen.
    Stage two, we say something may be about to happen, but we should do nothing about it.
    Stage three, we say that maybe we should do something about it, but there's nothing we can do.
    Stage four, we say maybe there was something we could have done, but it's too late now.

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  18. #918
    Praefectus Fabrum Senior Member Anime BlackJack Champion, Flash Poker Champion, Word Up Champion, Shape Game Champion, Snake Shooter Champion, Fishwater Challenge Champion, Rocket Racer MX Champion, Jukebox Hero Champion, My House Is Bigger Than Your House Champion, Funky Pong Champion, Cutie Quake Champion, Fling The Cow Champion, Tiger Punch Champion, Virus Champion, Solitaire Champion, Worm Race Champion, Rope Walker Champion, Penguin Pass Champion, Skate Park Champion, Watch Out Champion, Lawn Pac Champion, Weapons Of Mass Destruction Champion, Skate Boarder Champion, Lane Bowling Champion, Bugz Champion, Makai Grand Prix 2 Champion, White Van Man Champion, Parachute Panic Champion, BlackJack Champion, Stans Ski Jumping Champion, Smaugs Treasure Champion, Sofa Longjump Champion Seamus Fermanagh's Avatar
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    Default Re: Trump Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by Xiahou View Post
    Well, the new Communications Director seems like he's going to fit right in.....


    Anthony Scaramucci Called Me to Unload About White House Leakers, Reince Priebus, and Steve Bannon




    The whole article is worth a look. The guy sounds like mini-Trump.
    Trump's leadership style demands key subordinates who will take this role. Mind you, it won't work for running the country, but at least the Don will have the cadre he needs around him to function as is his wont.
    "The only way that has ever been discovered to have a lot of people cooperate together voluntarily is through the free market. And that's why it's so essential to preserving individual freedom.” -- Milton Friedman

    "The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule." -- H. L. Mencken

  19. #919

    Default Re: Trump Thread

    There have been many pieces and first-hand accounts written on the extent and firmness of LGBT integration in the contemporary US military - you may find some easily enough - but here I'll post an account from the days of the original desegregation (technically earlier, in WW2).

    I would caution you not to get too caught up in this passage's "feel-good", picturesque qualities; with that mental preparation, it serves as a reflection on the military's potential as a vehicle of social change.

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    Kathleen M. Scott:
    You enrolled and said, "I will only come in as a commissioned officer."

    Martha Putney:
    And I had them put it down on my 201 file. So when I finished basic training, the first class that opened up, okay? That's how it was done. That's why I went to administration school.

    Kathleen M. Scott:
    Oh, okay.

    Martha Putney:
    The first class that opened up, I was called.

    Kathleen M. Scott:
    Okay, sorry about that. You were housed in a hotel in Des Moines.

    Martha Putney:
    Yeah, and they had shuttles back and forth, and we always came back and forth to do the various things we wanted to do.

    Kathleen M. Scott:
    Did you have any trouble in the community in Des Moines?

    Martha Putney:
    No, the black community -- churches invited us in, and there weren't too many blacks in the Midwest. And, of course, so far as socialization was concerned there were very few males; they were all in the Army. And, so, it was a lonely life for most of us -- a lonely life for most of us. Incidentally, by order of the commanding officer at Ft. Des Moines, none of the places of amusement -- entertainment, were to be segregated. None. So, legally, we could eat anyplace we wanted to. Iowa did not have a segregation law. We had -- I didn't have it, but while I was there, there was a problem with one restaurant owner who didn't want to serve blacks, who made them wait, and the Colonel put him off [laughs] put him off duty. No blacks could enter that place. None of us. And he found out what was happening, he opened up, and we can go there now. There were frequent shuttles back and forth to the post so that we went back and forth to movie, to the PX, you know, things like that.

    I was lucky again, I escaped KP at administration school. In fact, I never did KP but a lot of people around me in basic training did it, and they complained. Everyone complained. They didn't complain too much about the other chores, like mopping, putting lye on the floors, picking up trash, cleaning latrines -- they didn't complain too much about that, but they complained about KP. And especially those who worked in the kitchen, that cleaned those great big vats, you could hear them come home, come back to the barracks, crying about what they did. And so I was lucky I didn't do KP in the Army. [laughs]

    Let's go back to OCS, I got there in the middle of the day. Time for me to unpack my things, put it in my footlocker, get everything straightened out, and then, of course, eat the meals that we were supposed to eat -- we went, but the first day we went on our own to the mess hall. There were about five of us in the class -- 100 or so. Got to bed early because I knew OCS was going to be more hectic than basic training. I knew that, so I got to bed early. People came in from all the parts of the country, staggered. My roommate came, my bunkmate, upper bunkmate, came in the middle of the night. The Charge of Quarters, that's the non-commissioned officer in charge of each barracks, I brought her down by flashlight and showed her where she's supposed to sleep.


    She grumbled about being assigned an upper bunk. Then at daybreak she woke up, greeted the person to her left, the person to her right, in a southern drawl and looked down, I imagine, intending to greet me. When she saw me I got everything distasteful, rude, disrespectful that any person shouldn't have gotten. The N-word was used three or four times, "Get out of here," was used five or six times. "Damn" used before the N-word. The whole barracks on the first floor was listening to it. Nobody said anything, just listening to it. And the CQ came out, gave the order, "At ease." "At ease" in the Army -- you say nothing, get quiet. Well she got quiet.

    She got down off her bunk and gave me a mean look. If the look she gave me could kill me I would have been dead. And she went on into the shower -- took a shower. I waited until she got out and I went in, and came out, and lined up for mess, went to march to mess -- we happened to be in the same platoon because we're in the same barracks. It was alphabetically integrated. Her name, incidentally, was --last name was S -- started with S, and my last name started with S, so we were -- okay? I couldn't eat. I knew I had to go through the line, so I went through the line, came on back, walked around the huge parade ground. The parade ground was the circumference on which Officer's Rowand OCS like this -- Officer's Row on this side; OCS on that side. I finally decided I had to get back to get ready for my first day.

    I went back in, the other people in the first floor of the barracks came up to me and said how sorry they were -- not every one of them was sorry. I knew there were southern among those in the barracks, but they didn't even come out and tell her anything. They didn't tell her to shut up or stop; they didn't do anything. Her harangue was maybe 8 minutes before that CQ came out there because we were asleep, you know. I guess it was about 4 o'clock in the morning that she woke up.

    [...]

    I knew if I had said anything I would have been the one. I knew that, so I said nothing, absolutely nothing. She -- same thing happened when noon mess -- she still gave me nasty looks. When we got finished mess in the evening I felt like I didn't want to go back in that barracks until she was out of the way. I don't know how she was going to be out of the way -- I felt like that. But it was a whole different atmosphere, that they had talked to her, and they had told her she goes -- she straightens up or she goes. And told her to apologize to me, and do it in public since she yelled at me in public. So here she was sitting on her bunk -- sitting on her footlocker, waiting to make an apology. That's what she was doing. And used the word, "You kids," because she found out there were other blacks in there. "I didn't know they let you kids in here with us." This is an apology. And then she ended with the phrase something like this: "If my mother knew that I was sleeping with you people," that's what she said, "She'd want me to come home." All of this was supposed to be an apology. [laughs] So I looked at her. Incidentally, other people in the barracks were hearing her make this apology, and they didn't think it was an apology either. So I looked at her, and told -- in a voice that only she could hear, "I suggest that you do what your mother would want you to do to feel comfortable." She looked at me, said nothing, got out of bed.

    The next morning I went to mess; she went to mess too, and I indicated, I wasn't in a hurry to get back to my bunk. I got back just in time to get ready. So I came back in, my bed was made, my shoes were in line, my pajamas were hung, everything was straight. I assumed she was doing it, but I didn't know. The same thing happened the next morning, and when Saturday morning came, I came back in, she's coming down the hall with a bucket and a mop, and I stood aside and let her mop the whole area, clean it, and I said to her, "Your mother should see you now!" [laughs] That's the first time she smiled. That's the first time she smiled, when I told her -- see her working for me, you see. [laughter] That's right. That's what I told her.

    [...]

    Commissioning Day, she left on my bunk two sets of bars, and a note. And I got the thing -- got the notation at home now, "To a fine gal," gal, "From a reconstructed southerner." I never met her again, but some of the people in the barracks said that she really has changed because she gave me -- she threw everything at me she could throw at me except for fists, but she learned that she couldn't do it, and that one incident gave me to understand that the Army could have done a lot if it just wanted to. Because those officers told her she goes if she didn't apologize -- didn't straighten up. But we know, we should know, at that time, I don't know about now, the Army was bred to southern traditions, and it wasn't about to change during that period, but it could have done a lot and lived up to the reasons why we were fighting that war. We were supposed to be the arsenal of democracy; we put out those four freedoms, and they were supposed to be our goals, and it could have lived up to that if it wanted to, if it broke with the southern traditions. And no one is asking anyone to love us, you know, just accept us as fellow human beings.
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  20. #920
    Iron Fist Senior Member Husar's Avatar
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    Default Re: Trump Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by Seamus Fermanagh View Post
    Trump's leadership style demands key subordinates who will take this role. Mind you, it won't work for running the country, but at least the Don will have the cadre he needs around him to function as is his wont.
    "Leadership style" sounds way too sophisticated for his bumbling along. How about we call it his boss style?


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  21. #921
    Needs more flowers Moderator drone's Avatar
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    Default Re: Trump Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by Xiahou View Post
    Well, the new Communications Director seems like he's going to fit right in.....
    He is selling his company (Skybridge Capital) to HNA Group, a Chinese conglomerate, and it has to pass regulatory review before the sale goes final. Until it the sale is done, he doesn't/can't actually work for the White House. He's going to kiss as much as he needs to get Trump to OK the deal (POTUS can override the CFIUS committee's ruling). Speculation is that the price may be inflated to curry favor with a future senior White House official. So business as usual.

    As a side amusement, HNA is the largest shareholder in Deutsche Bank. Trump launders a lot of Russian money through Deutsche Bank...
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  22. #922
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    Default Re: Trump Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by Seamus Fermanagh View Post
    Trump's leadership style demands key subordinates who will take this role. Mind you, it won't work for running the country, but at least the Don will have the cadre he needs around him to function as is his wont.
    So long as you don't steal any of Trump's spotlight. Bannon never had the same influence after he got on the cover of Time.

    It's kind of a bizarre catch22 really. If you're not aggressive (and obsequious) enough in your defense of Trump, he'll marginalize you. But, if you draw too much attention to yourself, he'll marginalize you.
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  23. #923
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    Default Re: Trump Thread

    And just like that, Reince Priebus is out. I think everyone knew he was on the outs, but I was expecting Sessions would be pushed out first....

    He's named retired Marine general and current Homeland Security Secretary, John Kelly as his new Chief of Staff. This seems like an odd choice to me. Especially considering that now he has to push a new Homeland Security nominee thru the senate.
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  24. #924
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    Default Re: Trump Thread

    I wonder if congressional Republicans are going to push back on the DHS nominee, since Priebus was supposedly made chief of staff to placate the mainstream GOP.

    Also it seems like Trump purposely put a military guy into the position, since he wants unwavering loyalty ("dont question the Commander in Chief" type of thinking), a yes-man essentially. Priebus probably wouldnt be that, so he was ditched.
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    Default Re: Trump Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by Xiahou View Post
    And just like that, Reince Priebus is out. I think everyone knew he was on the outs, but I was expecting Sessions would be pushed out first....

    He's named retired Marine general and current Homeland Security Secretary, John Kelly as his new Chief of Staff. This seems like an odd choice to me. Especially considering that now he has to push a new Homeland Security nominee thru the senate.
    I guess our tabloids do have some value.

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  26. #926
    Coffee farmer extraordinaire Member spmetla's Avatar
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    Default Re: Trump Thread

    The line at the bottom of the cover is gold!

    "Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?"
    -Abraham Lincoln


    Four stage strategy from Yes, Minister:
    Stage one we say nothing is going to happen.
    Stage two, we say something may be about to happen, but we should do nothing about it.
    Stage three, we say that maybe we should do something about it, but there's nothing we can do.
    Stage four, we say maybe there was something we could have done, but it's too late now.

  27. #927
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    Default Re: Trump Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by Hooahguy View Post
    I wonder if congressional Republicans are going to push back on the DHS nominee, since Priebus was supposedly made chief of staff to placate the mainstream GOP.
    As I stated in the Sessions thread, this might be the wakeup call to the GOP Congress, Trump is not a Republican and doesn't care for the party any farther than it will protect him. They have already stated that they will not be confirming a new AG, the Senate at the least is getting fed up with him.
    Quote Originally Posted by Hooahguy View Post
    Also it seems like Trump purposely put a military guy into the position, since he wants unwavering loyalty ("dont question the Commander in Chief" type of thinking), a yes-man essentially. Priebus probably wouldnt be that, so he was ditched.
    Priebus -blocked Scaramucci from taking the role at the start of the administration (straight from his mouth), so it's no surprise Reince got the boot as soon as Mooch got Trump's favor.
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  28. #928
    Iron Fist Senior Member Husar's Avatar
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    Default Re: Trump Thread

    I'm sure everybody was waiting for this from our favourite performance artist.

    You can thank me later...



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  29. #929

    Default Re: Trump Thread

    Skinny repeal dies from lack of support; possibly saves millions of lives!
    Most successful health-care bill ever?

    https://wonkette.com/620891/lets-enj...re-poor-people
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    Default Re: Trump Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by Husar View Post
    I'm sure everybody was waiting for this from our favourite performance artist.

    You can thank me later...

    At first I thought this was a joke, but then I finally noticed infowars banner.

    Husar, what did I say about giving warnings? I don't want videos from delusional nutjobs on my recommendations list. It is very finely tailored for my specific tastes, which includes moe videos of anime girls, and grown men doing let's plays. Don't screw up my only joy in my sad pathetic life.
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