[Discussion] The Donald Trump Administration

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

You know who else murders Americans and commits crimes and takes jobs away from God-fearing people? Anti-Trumpists. It's time to start rounding up those libtards and putting them in libtard camps.

On a more serious note: I think it is disingenuous to call a lot of the detainees "migrants." Many of them are refugees. Have you heard what is going on in El Salvador? Trump's people have, and that's why they abolished exemptions for victims of abuse and sexual assault. Those brown people are all faking it, the same way they're faking having children just to get sympathy.

They trot out "facts" like "such instances of fraud are increasing" without any supporting evidence, and without mentioning the extent of the increase. Going from a handful of instances of fraud to a couple dozen is nothing when you are caging literally thousands of children. And regardless of the extent of any alleged fraud, separating families, sometimes permanently, is inhuman.

I'm furious and physically ill right now.

Note that separating children from their families has been part of the Administration's plan all along.

NBC: Trump admin discussed separating moms, kids to deter asylum-seekers in Feb. 2017: Notes from a DHS meeting show it was one of the methods discussed for discouraging asylum-seekers.

WASHINGTON — The idea of separating migrant children from their mothers was discussed during the earliest days of the Trump administration as a way to deter asylum-seekers, according to notes from a closed-door DHS meeting.

Notes from a town hall held for Citizenship and Immigration Services asylum officers on Feb. 2, 2017, show that the agency's asylum chief, John Lafferty, told the officers they might have to "hold mothers longer" and "hold children in HHR/ORR," an acronym for facilities for children run by HHS.

Notes from the meeting were first obtained by MSNBC.

Trump hugs the flag. Chances are he'll demand anyone who doesn't hug the flag on cue to be deported.

I'm surprised he didn't wrap himself in it.

Chaz wrote:

I'm surprised he didn't wrap himself in it.

I'm sure that's the next step before demanding we pledge our allegiance to him!

US pulls out of UN Human Rights Council, cites 'bias against Israel'

On a side-note, I'm kind of interested in how Trumps pro-Israel moves sit with the alt-right anti-Semite idiots that voted for him.

Yeah..... You guys going to do something about this any time soon? The rest of us advanced western nations are starting to look like paragons of virtue in comparison where a few months ago we were all happy to ignore our collective human rights issues on a fairly equal basis.

DC Malleus wrote:

Yeah..... You guys going to do something about this any time soon? The rest of us advanced western nations are starting to look like paragons of virtue in comparison where a few months ago we were all happy to ignore our collective human rights issues on a fairly equal basis.

We're f*cked. We couldn't even indict Bush or Cheney and they have legion of bodies on their hands.

Kasie Hunt just tweeted out this quote from Trump:

President Trump to House GOP: “We gotta take care of separation. It's too nasty."

So how long until Trump tries to pull us out of the UN altogether?

WizKid wrote:

So how long until Trump tries to pull us out of the UN altogether?

When does Putin want that done by?

DSGamer wrote:
WizKid wrote:

So how long until Trump tries to pull us out of the UN altogether?

When does Putin want that done by?

Probably never, since that's one more one vote veto in the Security Council for him.

Rat Boy wrote:
DSGamer wrote:
WizKid wrote:

So how long until Trump tries to pull us out of the UN altogether?

When does Putin want that done by?

Probably never, since that's one more one vote veto in the Security Council for him.

Good point.

Well, this is a revolting development if true.

Trump Administration's contractor Cerberus Capital overseeing the separated immigrant children. Cerberus Capital is connected with child trafficking, prostitution, and abuse.

The reason I say "if true" is that post smells an awful lot like a Gish Gallop argument, just throwing links into the fray to bamboozle.

OTOH, this MSNBC video says that reporters have not been given access to facilities holding girls and toddlers.

Cerberus? They named their company Cerberus and didn't think anyone would get suspicious?

BadKen wrote:

Well, this is a revolting development if true.

Trump Administration's contractor Cerberus Capital overseeing the separated immigrant children. Cerberus Capital is connected with child trafficking, prostitution, and abuse.

The reason I say "if true" is that post smells an awful lot like a Gish Gallop argument, just throwing links into the fray to bamboozle.

OTOH, this MSNBC video says that reporters have not been given access to facilities holding girls and toddlers.

I’m hesitant to even go down this rabbit hole. When outrage is at its peak is the easiest moment to get people to buy into fake news.

But man, if that were true, it would be the most massive case of “every accusation is an admission yet.”

Rat Boy wrote:

Cerberus? They named their company Cerberus and didn't think anyone would get suspicious?

Honestly, I'm just surprised the kids haven't turned on them and taken over the base. As I remember it, that's usually what happens when Cerberus is in charge of things...

IMAGE(http://www.threepanelsoul.com/comics/2012-02-27-226.jpg)

(Seriously, I've gotten to the point where I can only make stupid jokes because the rest is just infuriating to me.)

Jayhawker wrote:

But man, if that were true, it would be the most massive case of “every accusation is an admission yet.”

I never dared to fear the Pizzagate would follow that pattern.

Jayhawker wrote:
BadKen wrote:

Well, this is a revolting development if true.

Trump Administration's contractor Cerberus Capital overseeing the separated immigrant children. Cerberus Capital is connected with child trafficking, prostitution, and abuse.

The reason I say "if true" is that post smells an awful lot like a Gish Gallop argument, just throwing links into the fray to bamboozle.

OTOH, this MSNBC video says that reporters have not been given access to facilities holding girls and toddlers.

I’m hesitant to even go down this rabbit hole. When outrage is at its peak is the easiest moment to get people to buy into fake news.

But man, if that were true, it would be the most massive case of “every accusation is an admission yet.”

I am more inclined to agree with the theory that first focusing on teenaged boys is an attempt to frame this as a gang related issue. As a second part I am inclined to believe that the powers that be are concerned that showing girls and more so children under 10 will garner much more sympathy for the children than the powers that be want.

2018 and I find myself agreeing with Gerlado Rivera.

And this is why we need to demand the policy ends outright prior to congress changing the '97 ruling. The outrage is there, the outrage is real, the outrage is bi-partisan. We should be in the streets.

(R) Portman is on board now as well.

There are nation-wide protests scheduled for June 30th (not as soon as I'd like, but I suppose getting the permits and what not takes time). You can search for locations near you here.

Jayhawker wrote:

Trump is basically creating an army of terrorists.

I keep thinking of Conan growing up pushing the Wheel of Pain and think, “What’s the worst that can happen?“

*squirrel*

Nielsen stepped up to defend Kidmo after a talk from other Trump officials, eh? Ironically, don’t they refer to that as a “come to Jesus“ meeting?

Turns out, we have seen her leadership skills in action before. During the tenure of Bush the Unready she was high up on the DHS team tasked with responding to… Hurricane Katrina.

Heckuva job, brownshirt.

Here's the ransom note:

US AG JEFF SESSIONS wrote:

If we build a wall, we pass some legislation, we close some loopholes, we won't face these terrible choices.

So, the administration is holding kids -- and our consciences -- hostage until they get what they want. A worthless, yet costly, wall of Trump's imagining.

There are kids involved in this, human beings, who will never see their parents again. Their lives will be changed forever on the whim of politics and the Republican strategy of hostage taking.

Found this article interesting: The White Nationalist's Delusion. It starts out reminding us of David Duke's senate run in 1990. The national analysis of that nearly-successful attempt by a former KKK leader to be elected to the senate is eerily similar to a lot of what we here today about Trump's base. To whit:

pollster wrote:

There were the voters who liked Duke, those who hated J. Bennett Johnston, and those who just wanted to send a message to Washington.

Replace Duke with Trump, Johnston with Clinton, and you pretty much have the lazy reporting on this topic we get today.

I thought this paragraph was such a good summary of the way in which we know that a lot of the Obama-bashing was related to race:

The Atlantic wrote:

The president’s supporters have stood by him even as he has evinced every quality they described as a deal breaker under Obama. Conservatives attacked Obama’s lack of faith; Trump is a thrice-married libertine who has never asked God for forgiveness. They accused Obama of being under malign foreign influence; Trump eagerly accepted the aid of a foreign adversary during the election. They accused Obama of genuflecting before Russian President Vladimir Putin; Trump has refused to even criticize Putin publicly. They attacked Obama for his ties to Tony Rezko, the crooked real-estate agent; Trump’s ties to organized crime are too numerous to name. Conservatives said Obama was lazy; Trump “gets bored and likes to watch TV.” They said Obama’s golfing was excessive; as of August Trump had spent nearly a fifth of his presidency golfing. They attributed Obama’s intellectual prowess to his teleprompter; Trump seems unable to describe the basics of any of his own policies. They said Obama was a self-obsessed egomaniac; Trump is unable to broach topics of public concern without boasting. Conservatives said Obama quietly used the power of the state to attack his enemies; Trump has publicly attempted to use the power of the state to attack his enemies. Republicans said Obama was racially divisive; Trump has called Nazis “very fine people.” Conservatives portrayed Obama as a vapid celebrity; Trump is a vapid celebrity.

Still, I think the quote of the work belongs to an aging oil and gas lease buyer:

The way I understood the Klan, it’s not anti-this or anti-that.

Nah, it's just pro-Whites-at-the-expense-of-everyone-else. That's some real reflection, that is.

Speaking of our friends in the administration, one of them has resigned from his position on the RNC committee: Michael Cohen?!?

ABC: Michael Cohen resigns from RNC committee post, sources say

In his resignation letter to Ronna McDaniel, the RNC chair, Cohen cited the ongoing special counsel investigation as one reason for his departure. ABC News has reviewed the email.

“This important role requires the full time attention and dedication of each member. Given the ongoing Mueller and SDNY investigations, that simply is impossible for me to do,” he wrote.

Cohen also criticized the administration's policy of separating migrant children from their parents at the southern border, the first time he’s distanced himself from the president.

The idea that a reasonable solution is to detain families together indefinitely is both utterly maddening and baffling.

Investigative reporters have had a go at the child abusers running ICE shelters story, and it's not just hot air. The shape of the story is a little different. There is not a single shadowy corporation trafficking children and selling them into slavery. What exists is severe negligence on the part of government agencies overseeing the shelters.

Separated migrant children are headed toward shelters that have a history of abuse and neglect

Taxpayers have paid more than $1.5 billion in the past four years to private companies operating immigrant youth shelters accused of serious lapses in care, including neglect and sexual and physical abuse, an investigation by Reveal and The Texas Tribune has found.

Reveal is the website of the Center for Investigative Reporting: "Founded in 1977 as the nation’s first nonprofit investigative journalism organization, The Center for Investigative Reporting is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Over those four decades, we have developed a reputation for being among the most innovative, credible and relevant media organizations in the country."