[Discussion] The Donald Trump Administration

Let's follow and discuss what our newest presidential administration gets up to, the good, the bad, the lawsuits.

oilypenguin wrote:

One thing confuses me, the HIC voted to release this unanimously. What?

My guess is because they *know* the president will spike it.

I would bet $5,000 that staffers in the White House helped write the "Nunes" memo in the first place.

Tscott wrote:

My first thought when I saw that was, if it is treasonous not to clap for the President at the State of the Union, then Republicans have an eight year head start on being treasonous.

Imagine if someone had yelled out, "You lie!"

DSGamer wrote:
oilypenguin wrote:

One thing confuses me, the HIC voted to release this unanimously. What?

My guess is because they *know* the president will spike it.

I would bet $5,000 that staffers in the White House helped write the "Nunes" memo in the first place.

No bet. Nunes dodged that question already, which locks in for me that his and WH staff collaborated on it.

oilypenguin wrote:

One thing confuses me, the HIC voted to release this unanimously. What?

Why not? Whether Trump spikes it or not, Nunes got to setup the entire narrative. At this point, it's a Democratic rebuttal to widely publicized accusations. Anyone who doesn't want to hear them can just shrug and say, "Yeah, well, of course you'd say that now."

Govt shutdown is due in three days, so it'll take care of itself, I'm sure.

As a government employee, it would be really nice to not have to continuously wonder if I will be working every few weeks.

Move to the UK and join the NHS.

Robear wrote:

Move to the UK and join the NHS.

But I hear there's people protesting it, so obviously the NHS is a massive failure.

Pajiba: The President Has An Evangelical Advisory Board and A Member Says There Is No Flu Season

Hi, first of all, Trump has an Evangelical Executive Advisory Board made up of more than twenty right-wing conservative Christian priests, pastors, and Jesusy people. This board is fairly less than Christian, heralding the president’s decision to rescind DACA as “…a major win for the faith advisory council,” which was the exact opposite of most other religious leaders outside of the White House.

The Advisory Board is an unofficial one, possibly to steer clear of allegations that Trump is attempting to form a state religion. As Richard Painter, chief ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush put it:
“I don’t think the [faith] council could have any official role in the U.S. government consistent with the First Amendment of the Constitution”

So if you were wondering if right-wing Christianity was wooing the easily swayed orange in the White House, the answer to that is yes.

Among the members of the Advisory Board are televangelist Gloria Copeland, who posted a video on the Facebook page of the megachurch she and her husband founded.

Ah the Copelands... A staple in my childhood home. Still convincing my parents to fund their jet and other things in the name of God. My faith journey has led me thankfully away from this crap. That they embraced Trump and agree with the DACA statement disgusts me more.

FFS.

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He got to sit in a fire truck and a semi truck so yeah... of course he wants a parade.

IMAGE(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C3aS0xoWEAAcQJA.jpg:small)

oilypenguin wrote:

FFS.

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Can't he do something normal for a rich person looking to show off these days? Like throw a car at Mars?

We're such a sh*tty little banana republic now. f*ck me.

DSGamer wrote:

We're such a sh*tty little banana republic now. f*ck me.

If any states secede from the Union we'll be a Banana Split Republic! I'll see myself out.

JC wrote:

He got to sit in a fire truck and a semi truck so yeah... of course he wants a parade.

Does he want to sit on a nuke next?

DSGamer wrote:

We're such a sh*tty little banana republic now. f*ck me.

Disagree. Banana Republics were made into what they were by... well, US overthrowing their elected leadership and putting our own people in charge.

We did this to ourselves.

Demosthenes wrote:
DSGamer wrote:

We're such a sh*tty little banana republic now. f*ck me.

Disagree. Banana Republics were made into what they were by... well, US overthrowing their elected leadership and putting our own people in charge.

We did this to ourselves.

Vodka Republic? At least when Russia made a client state of Crimea and Ukraine it had the decency to roll tanks and soldiers in there. We just raised our hands and pulled the lever for Russian overlords.

Mixolyde wrote:
Demosthenes wrote:
DSGamer wrote:

We're such a sh*tty little banana republic now. f*ck me.

Disagree. Banana Republics were made into what they were by... well, US overthrowing their elected leadership and putting our own people in charge.

We did this to ourselves.

Vodka Republic? At least when Russia made a client state of Crimea and Ukraine it had the decency to roll tanks and soldiers in there. We just raised our hands and pulled the lever for Russian overlords.

What are you talking about? The people of the Crimean peninsula threw off their oppressors and expressed a wish to join the glorious Russian Federation all on their own! They just happened to have many patriots who were also very well equipped with military gear with no insignia and had some heavy weapons, artillery and tanks sitting in sheds.

Oh I've got some guys like that down the road. Gun laws are real lax up here.

Chaz wrote:

Oh I've got some guys like that down the road. Gun laws are real lax up here.

Exactly! In completely unrelated news, several Russian soldiers tragically lost their lives during training exercises in an undisclosed location.

oilypenguin wrote:

FFS.

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I'll be learning the piano.

I am slowing coming around to the belief that a prolonged period of the slow motion plane crash of Trump is necessary for American political development. I hear folks talking about how Trumpism couldn't survive without Trump, but I honestly think this is wishful thinking. What these folks need is to see this farcical ideology crash and burn in a spectacular way with REAL consequences. A near miss won't do it.

Think, for instance, of what what would have happened had the Union Army crushed Lee's forces at Chancellorsville. The Army of the Potomac kills or captures 80% of the Army of Northern Virginia. Lee himself flees south in disgrace and the Confederacy comes to a negotiated peace, rejoining the Union and keeping slavery.

The nation NEEDED the bloodlettings of Antietam, Vicksburg, Gettysburg, The Wilderness, Shiloh.... It NEEDED the traitors in the South to see their plantations burned to the ground, their slaves forcibly freed, and their cities invaded by black skinned troops in uniform. The United States can't learn subtle lessons. It needs the stick.

DSGamer wrote:

We're such a sh*tty little banana republic now. f*ck me.

a puppet state controlled by rich corporate interests? yep pretty much.

Hey, remember how Ivanka was going to make things better for women with her push for better paid maternity leave?

Turns out that the actual plan is that if women want maternity leave they'll have to rob their own social security benefits to get it.

WP OpEd: Trump’s paid family leave plan would punish those who choose to have kids
Politico: Ivanka, Rubio find a new project: Paid family leave

Gremlin wrote:

Hey, remember how Ivanka was going to make things better for women with her push for better paid maternity leave?

Turns out that the actual plan is that if women want maternity leave they'll have to rob their own social security benefits to get it.

WP OpEd: Trump’s paid family leave plan would punish those who choose to have kids
Politico: Ivanka, Rubio find a new project: Paid family leave

Which is going to work out great when they implement part 2: Eliminating the social security program entirely.

White House staff secretary Rob Porter resigned because The Daily Mail published two accounts of how he physically and emotionally abused both of his ex-wives.

As staff secretary Porter worked hand-in-glove with John Kelly to control what made it to Trump's desk and his role had evolved to the point he was taking lead on several major White House policies, including trade.

The thing really gets me is that the administration knew about Porter's abuse. One of his ex-wives got an order of protection against him in 2010 and that prevented him from getting a full security clearance. (So now we know were at least two people just feet away from Trump who the government doesn't trust enough to let them see classified information.)

EDIT
And now the WaPo is reporting that John "The Adult in the Room" Kelly--who just three months ago lamented that things today were different from his childhood when "women were sacred and looked upon with great honor"--urged Porter to stay.

Who do you mean? Is that the same person as John "immigrants are too scared and lazy to sign up for DACA" Kelly?

Paleocon wrote:

I am slowing coming around to the belief that a prolonged period of the slow motion plane crash of Trump is necessary for American political development. I hear folks talking about how Trumpism couldn't survive without Trump, but I honestly think this is wishful thinking. What these folks need is to see this farcical ideology crash and burn in a spectacular way with REAL consequences. A near miss won't do it.

Think, for instance, of what what would have happened had the Union Army crushed Lee's forces at Chancellorsville. The Army of the Potomac kills or captures 80% of the Army of Northern Virginia. Lee himself flees south in disgrace and the Confederacy comes to a negotiated peace, rejoining the Union and keeping slavery.

The nation NEEDED the bloodlettings of Antietam, Vicksburg, Gettysburg, The Wilderness, Shiloh.... It NEEDED the traitors in the South to see their plantations burned to the ground, their slaves forcibly freed, and their cities invaded by black skinned troops in uniform. The United States can't learn subtle lessons. It needs the stick.

I don’t disagree, but that means that the conflict currently happening in Colorado’s college campuses between Turning Point USA’s neo-Nazi mobs and the antifa groups keeping them at bay will need to get MUCH bigger.

Seth wrote:
Paleocon wrote:

I am slowing coming around to the belief that a prolonged period of the slow motion plane crash of Trump is necessary for American political development. I hear folks talking about how Trumpism couldn't survive without Trump, but I honestly think this is wishful thinking. What these folks need is to see this farcical ideology crash and burn in a spectacular way with REAL consequences. A near miss won't do it.

Think, for instance, of what what would have happened had the Union Army crushed Lee's forces at Chancellorsville. The Army of the Potomac kills or captures 80% of the Army of Northern Virginia. Lee himself flees south in disgrace and the Confederacy comes to a negotiated peace, rejoining the Union and keeping slavery.

The nation NEEDED the bloodlettings of Antietam, Vicksburg, Gettysburg, The Wilderness, Shiloh.... It NEEDED the traitors in the South to see their plantations burned to the ground, their slaves forcibly freed, and their cities invaded by black skinned troops in uniform. The United States can't learn subtle lessons. It needs the stick.

I don’t disagree, but that means that the conflict currently happening in Colorado’s college campuses between Turning Point USA’s neo-Nazi mobs and the antifa groups keeping them at bay will need to get MUCH bigger.

It doesn’t have to be along those ideological lines - I see it also happening along state / federal lines, particularly over the right to use, sell and grown marijuana, taxes, whatever you want to call what’s left of Obamacare soon. Pot is easy to see because of an attempt to force a public that voted a bill in will get forced to shelve it because some Keebler elf from Alabama, a state nothing like California, colorado, or oregon. These are democratic bastions, so it’s easy pickings for tepublicans to try and cram their ideologies down ‘liberal’ throats without upsetting and even emboldening. Their voting base.

If not be surprised to see California in particular start more pushback against federal regulations imposed by them. The irony is, most of those souther republicans are apologists for ‘states rights’ civil war politicians.