Trump Thread

[spmetla]

Amazing how the guilty plea of an unknown like Papadopoulos can bring out such ire from the administration. After a full week of trying to discredit the investigation and paint the Clinton campaigns use of the Steele dossier as collusion to have charges brought on the three of the circle is perfect timing.

I'm certainly curious when/if something will be brought against Michael Flynn and son seeing as the investigation into him is one of the major reasons Comey was fired.

I'd actually be happy if the investigation was expanded into the Ukraine/Uranium thing that the administration is using to deflect just to make the Mueller investigation less able to be painted as a partisan hit job. We've already seen the past few months the analysis of every lawyer added to the Mueller team to see if they'd ever donated to a Democrat as building up ammo to discredit it.

On a side note, it is rather irritating how all this news as overshadowed much mention of the Catalan or Kurdish crises in the US which are every bit as important.

[Hooahguy]

Its amusing to me to see Trump claim that Papadopoulos was a low level intern or something where theres photo proof of him sitting at national security meetings with Trump & co.

[CrossLOPER]

GB has backed Trump, Brexit, and Corbyn. Is he a Putin fan or something?

He is a victim of a society that totally hates white males. Seriously. Hates them. Wink.

[John Smith]

What do you call hot air that is offensive to be around?

[Montmorency]

On a side note, it is rather irritating how all this news as overshadowed much mention of the Catalan or Kurdish crises in the US which are every bit as important.

Well as some have pointed out, Mueller looks like he is playing himself in the eventual TV/film dramatization of the Trump presidency.

US political dramas simply have a market advantage over foreign-language, even action/war genre. You need the square-jawed American man as a protagonist to compete.

Also, it appears the Special Counsel's office has set up a webpage Monday. Stay tuned for viral content?

[HopAlongBunny]

Not completely buried is the latest shake-up at the EPA:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.4e604605e94f

Receiving funding from the EPA seems to give EPA scientists a "biased agenda"
We are to be saved by more objective opinions direct from industry.

[Beskar]

Not completely buried is the latest shake-up at the EPA:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.4e604605e94f

Receiving funding from the EPA seems to give EPA scientists a "biased agenda"
We are to be saved by more objective opinions direct from industry.

Idiots.

EPA funding ensures impartiality as there is no vested interest.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Idiots.

EPA funding ensures impartiality as there is no vested interest.

Sort of. There is quite a lot of pressure in academe to secure grant funding -- it often pays the wages of all working on the research project -- so being on an oversight board for the EPA while receiving grant money from same is potentially a conflict of interest.

On the other hand, that would be true only of active grants, not past grants.

[Tuuvi]

If you go to that antifa website: https://revolutionaryabolition.org

And watch the video, you may actually realize, that we have a case of TWO crazy sides.
I would assume and hope the anarchists aren't as dangerous, but who knows when these people think they're the US version of the FARC and what not? Are some of their claims legitimate? Yes. Is it very, very crazy to take up arms and massacre people while claiming to end injustice? Yes. They'd have much more credibility if they tried to help Bernie Sanders instead of claiming he'll never get anywhere (which he is even less likely to do if they're not helping him).

Also, is the guy in the video an actual cop? He sure sounds and also looks like one, but I'm pretty sure if a policeman here made such a video, I'd expect him to get suspended/fired really fast.

From the website you posted:

Long Term Goal: Building the Abolitionist Project

For the Abolitionist project to be successful we must eventually transition from resistance to a revolutionary situation. Relationships and groups built through the underground railroad have the potential to become the foundation for organized defense groups, local councils, and regional/national councils.

We invite comrades to coordinate our activities regionally, and nationally as part of an Abolitionist Council.

Anarchists aren't going to attempt an armed insurgency until they feel like they have popular support and there is some sort of government crackdown or major unrest. This is basically what happened in Rojava/North Syria which that website cites as inspiration; the PYD had been organizing underground for years until the civil war broke out and they then took the opportunity to kick the regime out and create their own political institutions.

[Montmorency]

From the website you posted:



Anarchists aren't going to attempt an armed insurgency until they feel like they have popular support and there is some sort of government crackdown or major unrest. This is basically what happened in Rojava/North Syria which that website cites as inspiration; the PYD had been organizing underground for years until the civil war broke out and they then took the opportunity to kick the regime out and create their own political institutions.

In fact there's on-site coverage, Vice News or some other networks, of European anarchists who have volunteered to participate in the 'Kurdish experiment'.

I agree with the socialists: adventurists, the lot.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

...Anarchists aren't going to attempt an armed insurgency until they feel like they have popular support and there is some sort of government crackdown or major unrest. This is basically what happened in Rojava/North Syria which that website cites as inspiration; the PYD had been organizing underground for years until the civil war broke out and they then took the opportunity to kick the regime out and create their own political institutions.

So the anarchists are waiting to get organized...

[Tuuvi]

Maybe "insurgency" was the wrong word, because at that point it would be more of a militia based endeavor like the American Revolution was than a terrorist insurgency like FARC. Either way my point still stands, anarchists aren't stupid/crazy enough to start a random terror campaign like the alt-right hysterics claim they will.

[Tuuvi]

In fact there's on-site coverage, Vice News or some other networks, of European anarchists who have volunteered to participate in the 'Kurdish experiment'.

I agree with the socialists: adventurists, the lot.

Which is kind of funny in a way, because Abdullah Ocalan, the PYD's philosophical leader, was influenced by an American radical named Murray Bookchin, who proposed that the state should be replaced with a confederation of democratic municipal assemblies. Bookchin considered himself an anarchist for many decades but he couldn't convince any other anarchists to adopt his ideas and ended up disowning the anarchist movement. Now that Bookchin is dead and some of his ideas are being implemented in Rojava, anarchists are willing to travel to Syria and risk their lives in support of Rojava's revolution.

[spmetla]

The militia men right wingers and the ANTIFA guys are both dangerous threats. While most won't actually resort to violence it only takes a few idiots on each side to do violence. If the clamp down is too heavy handed by the authorities it usually galvanizes the extremist which ratchet up their actions too. If it turns into tit-for-tat between groups then it generally escalates and becomes 'normalized.'

The world has had more than enough violence spells that start out as protests then riots then outright rebellion and it can happen anywhere.

The color revolutions of Eastern Europe would have turned into civil war if the authorities had chosen to use force.

[Husar]

You must have missed the part where they celebrate having street fights against the police and show pride about hurting policemen.
That is something they do already and it makes them crazy, just like the idea that small communes of people were somehow a solution for all our problems...

[HopAlongBunny]

The best revision of taxes ever!!!
Does a lot go to the top income bracket? Why yes! Yes it does!!!
America is about to be drenched in Trickle Down goodness!

https://wonkette.com/625291/gop-tax-...class-families

It is indeed amazing how the deficit is no longer an issue with a White Republican in the White House

[HopAlongBunny]

Disinformation! from the White House
The liar-in-chief is again seeking to switch the conversation from a "Trump did a boo boo" sort of thing; to a "Lock up Hillary!" sort of thing.
Problem is the "Uranium scandal" was a non-starter when it came out quite some time ago. Today, there is still no case to be made.

http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/10/31/...-campaign-yet/

It might shore up the base for some real fireworks...just in case Mueller tightens the circle a little more.

[Beskar]

[CrossLOPER]

Disinformation! from the White House
The liar-in-chief is again seeking to switch the conversation from a "Trump did a boo boo" sort of thing; to a "Lock up Hillary!" sort of thing.
Problem is the "Uranium scandal" was a non-starter when it came out quite some time ago. Today, there is still no case to be made.

http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/10/31/...-campaign-yet/

It might shore up the base for some real fireworks...just in case Mueller tightens the circle a little more.

Here is another non-starter:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...-grand-canyon/

[HopAlongBunny]

Here is another non-starter:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...-grand-canyon/

It's all good.
Coal and nuclear aren't economic now, but that's okay because the little people will pay for it:

https://www.politico.com/story/2017/...k-perry-244535

Corporate welfare? Oh my, I think you might misunderestimate the vital strategic importance of maintaining capacity with less efficient solutions.

[drone]

Nice to see my state give Trump and the GOP the collective finger yesterday. It will be interesting to watch the effects ripple through the federal level as vulnerable GOP congressmen start sweating.

[Montmorency]

In his ongoing law blog on impeachable offenses, Frank Bowman examines the implications of Trump quasi-ordering the Justice Dept. and the courts and LE to pursue politically-motivated investigation/prosecution against Trump's enemies. In the comments you have the spectacle of Frank patiently replying to some characteristically-unhinged screeds.


Also, FOX interview:

Are you worried that the State Department doesn't have enough Donald Trump nominees in there to push your vision through?

Let me tell you, the one that matters is me... I'm the only one that matters, because when it comes to it, that's what the policy is going to be. You've seen that, you've seen it strongly.

State Department "Decapitated"

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The U.S.’s ranks of diplomats are losing key leaders at a “dizzying speed” as the State Department struggles to recruit talent amid a hiring freeze and sinking morale in the Trump administration, according to a new essay from a top ambassador.

Sixty percent of the agency’s career ambassadors, the highest rank for diplomats, have retired or quit since January. Nearly half of career ministers — the next level down and equivalent to the military’s three-star generals — are gone too, down to 19 from 33. The next-level minister counselors have seen their numbers drop by 62 diplomats, to 369, since Labor Day “and are still falling,” writes Ambassador Barbara Stephenson, the president of the American Foreign Service Association union.

[...]

So far, the Trump administration has only seven high-level political appointees confirmed by the Senate and working in the department — outside of Tillerson but including USAID Administrator Mark Green and Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan. Eight nominees are working their way through the confirmation process, with the Senate awaiting their paperwork or the nominees awaiting a Senate hearing or vote.

But in the absence of Trump appointments, there are 30 senior roles filled by career diplomats in an acting capacity. Although there are people doing the work, they do not enjoy the full legal authority of their role or the image of speaking on the administration’s behalf to the world.

There are 39 other senior roles that are vacant, but Tillerson has said he plans to eliminate 18 of those and fold their responsibilities into other jobs. The Trump administration has nominated someone for one of those 39 roles — the chief of protocol — who is awaiting confirmation.

Nearly three dozen ambassadorships remain vacant as well, with the embassies’ No. 2, called the charge d’affaires, leading those U.S. missions.

Let me tell you, the one that matters is me... I'm the only one that matters, because when it comes to it, that's what the policy is going to be. You've seen that, you've seen it strongly.

Bring. Him. Down.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[spmetla]

He is a threat to our democracy and the world in general. I hope the Dems take the house next year so he can be impeached.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

He is a threat to our democracy and the world in general. I hope the Dems take the house next year so he can be impeached.

Nope. Just an asshat. More of a historical blip when all is said and done. Gives Chester Arthur a chance to get off of the bottom of the list of unmemorables.

[Montmorency]

Nope. Just an asshat. More of a historical blip when all is said and done. Gives Chester Arthur a chance to get off of the bottom of the list of unmemorables.

I don't see how you can be dismissive. The man himself is ignominious, but he represents a national crisis that will continue through all his term and will not end with its termination by whichever means.

Chester Arthur lived in an era of different government and political structures, and was at least a relatively decent man. "Unmemorable" is not equivalent to heinous.

[Strike For The South]

Nope. Just an asshat. More of a historical blip when all is said and done. Gives Chester Arthur a chance to get off of the bottom of the list of unmemorables.

This is wrong.

[Greyblades]

Nope. Just an asshat. More of a historical blip when all is said and done. Gives Chester Arthur a chance to get off of the bottom of the list of unmemorables.

I applaud the attempt to be the voice of reason but I'm afraid it's futile: this has become an echochamber; a cycle of raising eachother's spirits over forlorne hopes and then pushing eachother into rage over smokescreens.

It's sad, but trump derangement syndrome can only end when they want it to end. Psychological warfare experts will be studying this era for centuries to come.

[Husar]

I applaud the attempt to be the voice of reason but I'm afraid it's futile: this has become an echochamber; a cycle of raising eachother's spirits over forlorne hopes and then pushing eachother into rage over smokescreens.

It's sad, but trump derangement syndrome can only end when they want it to end. Psychological warfare experts will be studying this era for centuries to come.

You are very unclear once more. Who are "they"? What is "trump derangement syndrome"? What is an "echochamber"? And are you still supporting Trump like you did some months ago when you said he had achieved all his goals? Because your post could be interpreted several ways depending on all that.

[spmetla]

I applaud the attempt to be the voice of reason but I'm afraid it's futile: this has become an echochamber; a cycle of raising eachother's spirits over forlorne hopes and then pushing eachother into rage over smokescreens.

It's sad, but trump derangement syndrome can only end when they want it to end. Psychological warfare experts will be studying this era for centuries to come.

This is no echochamber, there's no shortage of opposing opinions. Just because most people see that an inept, unworldly, narcissist is unsuited for one of the most important political positions in the planet doesn't make it an echo-chamber. I'm quite conservative on a host of issues and rather hawkish too but he is one man that is wholly unsuited to the office he's in. He might just be an asshat but that type of person in such an important position is a threat to standing of the United States in the world as well as the stability of the post-WWII/post-coldwar world order.
As much as I dislike the even more extreme policies of Mike Pence I would much more prefer his mental stability and general competence than the current POTUS. Just to be clear I didn't vote for Hillary either, had to throw away my vote in protest with Gary Johnson.

As for derangement, if you're referring to our hopes that he's impeached, well that just that, a hope. He's got no shortage of shady people in his immediate periphery that have ties to Russia to include his immediate family members, in-laws and quite possibly himself if the Trump Tower Moscow bit is to be believed.

If he's not impeached I'd hope that at least the Republican establishment can see that the Trump wing of the party is not useful under their current 'big tent' arrangement and force them to create an actual Tea Party, Christian Values Party, or Trump Party instead of continuing the hijack of the Republican party by xenophobic protectionist simpletons in the vein of Sarah Palin and Donald Trump. Yes, they'd lose votes and seats but at least they'd have some principles I could once again support.

[Pannonian]

This is no echochamber, there's no shortage of opposing opinions. Just because most people see that an inept, unworldly, narcissist is unsuited for one of the most important political positions in the planet doesn't make it an echo-chamber. I'm quite conservative on a host of issues and rather hawkish too but he is one man that is wholly unsuited to the office he's in. He might just be an asshat but that type of person in such an important position is a threat to standing of the United States in the world as well as the stability of the post-WWII/post-coldwar world order.
As much as I dislike the even more extreme policies of Mike Pence I would much more prefer his mental stability and general competence than the current POTUS. Just to be clear I didn't vote for Hillary either, had to throw away my vote in protest with Gary Johnson.

As for derangement, if you're referring to our hopes that he's impeached, well that just that, a hope. He's got no shortage of shady people in his immediate periphery that have ties to Russia to include his immediate family members, in-laws and quite possibly himself if the Trump Tower Moscow bit is to be believed.

If he's not impeached I'd hope that at least the Republican establishment can see that the Trump wing of the party is not useful under their current 'big tent' arrangement and force them to create an actual Tea Party, Christian Values Party, or Trump Party instead of continuing the hijack of the Republican party by xenophobic protectionist simpletons in the vein of Sarah Palin and Donald Trump. Yes, they'd lose votes and seats but at least they'd have some principles I could once again support.

Don't know the truth of that as yet, but there seem to be Russian links with social media accounts peddling fake news in the recent Catalan crisis. And of course, pretty strong evidence for such accounts doing the same for Brexit (the most followed such account began life as a pro-Russia account during the Ukraine crisis in 2013, with memes that resurfaced in the Trump election, but has spent most of its life as a supposedly British account peddling pro-UKIP, pro-Brexit and anti-immigration stories). With so many people getting their news from social media without taking trouble to verify their sources, Russia and Putin must be laughing their heads off at the effectiveness of their low budget foreign policy and economic and democratic sabotage.