[Discussion] Hope to Remember The Trump Administration Thread as being 'transparent and honest'

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

BadKen wrote:

So... are you answering my response to a strategy voiced by conservative lawmakers (or more likely their staff) to a speculative generalization about Democrats ignoring qualifications and voting to approve nominations of women because they're women?

What percentage of female federal judges, would you say, are incompetent and were only confirmed because they are women?

Not intending to say that at all. For that matter, I didn't intend to say anything about competence, just ideology. Heck, Merrick Garland was a moderate choice, Gorsuch got three Democratic senators, and every cabinet position except DeVos has had some Democratic support.

I am saying that the Democratic leadership has tended to trade symbolic gains against practical losses quite frequently. And occasionally the Republicans have the mercenary positions of their opposite politicians pegged pretty well, and the Democratic leadership folds like player with a bad poker hand. Some of that is strategic--politicians in right-leaning states are afraid of voters to their right, and there's a limit to how effective the minority party can be in opposition. But there's a general perception (maybe unjustified) that the GOP is playing hardball and the Democratic leadership isn't.

But I can see how my original statement can be read as saying the women wouldn't be qualified. I didn't intend to imply that, but intent doesn't always count for much in communication.

I'm sure everyone is playing politics with voting strategy all the time. This business about a female justice voting down Roe v. Wade (or any other womens' rights issue for that matter) being somehow inoffensive to progressives just struck me as particularly wrong-headed.

DC Malleus wrote:

This should be ringing loud alarm bells. Purge the 'other' from the military and you create a much clearer path to dehumanisation for them. Ethnic monoculture in the US military is a really worrying goal. This is doubleplus ungood.

This really REALLY feels like a prelude to purging.

As Trade War Begins, Fed's Eye $30 Billion Bailout Fund For Farmers Facing Losses

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said last month at a Chicago convention that the Commodity Credit Corporation is a “tool” he’s considering to comply with Trump’s instructions to “craft a strategy to support our farmers against retaliatory tariffs. The program, which was started to help farmers during the Great Depression, allows the Agriculture Department to borrow as much as $30 billion from the U.S. Treasury that could be used to buy crops from farmers that would go unsold in a trade war.

And this comment from reddit:

And... guess how part of that is being paid for. You kind of touched on it. Because of the SALT cap limiting state and local deductions to $10,000, many residents from blue states who used to itemize their deductions will end up having to take the standard deduction. This will increase their federal tax burden.

So, Trump and Ryan's tax bill increases the tax burden on blue state residents and then takes some of that money and gives it to farmers who voted for Trump.

It's rob from Peter to pay Paul.

mindset.threat wrote:

As Trade War Begins, Fed's Eye $30 Billion Bailout Fund For Farmers Facing Losses

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said last month at a Chicago convention that the Commodity Credit Corporation is a “tool” he’s considering to comply with Trump’s instructions to “craft a strategy to support our farmers against retaliatory tariffs. The program, which was started to help farmers during the Great Depression, allows the Agriculture Department to borrow as much as $30 billion from the U.S. Treasury that could be used to buy crops from farmers that would go unsold in a trade war.

And this comment from reddit:

And... guess how part of that is being paid for. You kind of touched on it. Because of the SALT cap limiting state and local deductions to $10,000, many residents from blue states who used to itemize their deductions will end up having to take the standard deduction. This will increase their federal tax burden.

So, Trump and Ryan's tax bill increases the tax burden on blue state residents and then takes some of that money and gives it to farmers who voted for Trump.

It's rob from Peter to pay Paul.

bUT THATS WEALTH REDISTRIBUTION! sURELY THE gop IS COMPLETELY OPPOSED TO THIS CRAZY LIBERAL PLAN! rIGHT?

mindset.threat wrote:

As Trade War Begins, Fed's Eye $30 Billion Bailout Fund For Farmers Facing Losses

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said last month at a Chicago convention that the Commodity Credit Corporation is a “tool” he’s considering to comply with Trump’s instructions to “craft a strategy to support our farmers against retaliatory tariffs.

Iowa, prairie state. In it grows the corn crop, from which corn syrup is made. He who controls the corn, controls the state. He who controls the state, controls the country. The corn syrup must flow.

thrawn82 wrote:
DC Malleus wrote:

This should be ringing loud alarm bells. Purge the 'other' from the military and you create a much clearer path to dehumanisation for them. Ethnic monoculture in the US military is a really worrying goal. This is doubleplus ungood.

This really REALLY feels like a prelude to purging.

I guess service doesn't guarantee citizenship. It's real weird when the policies of the sci-fi fascist government are more progressive than the US's current policies.

The internet never disappoints
IMAGE(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dd1HSDYUQAEb8Ee.jpg)

Except all the time.

H.P. Lovesauce wrote:
mindset.threat wrote:

As Trade War Begins, Fed's Eye $30 Billion Bailout Fund For Farmers Facing Losses

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said last month at a Chicago convention that the Commodity Credit Corporation is a “tool” he’s considering to comply with Trump’s instructions to “craft a strategy to support our farmers against retaliatory tariffs.

Iowa, prairie state. In it grows the corn crop, from which corn syrup is made. He who controls the corn, controls the state. He who controls the state, controls the country. The corn syrup must flow.

I want a T-shirt with Harkonnen Trump and that quote.

Chaz wrote:
thrawn82 wrote:
DC Malleus wrote:

This should be ringing loud alarm bells. Purge the 'other' from the military and you create a much clearer path to dehumanisation for them. Ethnic monoculture in the US military is a really worrying goal. This is doubleplus ungood.

This really REALLY feels like a prelude to purging.

I guess service doesn't guarantee citizenship. It's real weird when the policies of the sci-fi fascist government are more progressive than the US's current policies.

Not defending the administration, but this story is misleading. All these recruits were in a pre-IET (Initial Entry Training) status, meaning they were either Delayed Entry Program (DEP) or Reserve Component soldiers who had not shipped to basic training. This is a limbo status for any service member, as they cannot deploy or train OCONUS, and are not eligible for any benefits other than pay for time at unit assemblies. In this status the government can cancel its contract and separate them with an uncharacterized discharge. This happens to new enlistees all the time, citizen or not, if a required clearance doesn't come through or a background check reveals something previously unknown to the government.

In this case the government is saying background checks have raised concerns about these 40 individuals that led the military to sever ties. While this doesn't look good for the Trump administration given its position and policies on immigration, I prefer to wait and see if this expands to affect any of the thousands of immigrants enlisted under the MAVNI program who have successfully completed training and are already serving as fully-qualified soldiers.

JeffreyLSmith wrote:

In this case the government is saying background checks have raised concerns about these 40 individuals that led the military to sever ties. While this doesn't look good for the Trump administration given its position and policies on immigration, I prefer to wait and see if this expands to affect any of the thousands of immigrants enlisted under the MAVNI program who have successfully completed training and are already serving as fully-qualified soldiers.

And I'd rather everything be dragged out into the sunlight and have a couple of klieg lights set up precisely because of this administration's position and policies on immigration. The default assumption should be that they're pulling something racist and illegal because that's exactly what they've been doing.

OG_slinger wrote:
JeffreyLSmith wrote:

In this case the government is saying background checks have raised concerns about these 40 individuals that led the military to sever ties. While this doesn't look good for the Trump administration given its position and policies on immigration, I prefer to wait and see if this expands to affect any of the thousands of immigrants enlisted under the MAVNI program who have successfully completed training and are already serving as fully-qualified soldiers.

And I'd rather everything be dragged out into the sunlight and have a couple of klieg lights set up precisely because of this administration's position and policies on immigration. The default assumption should be that they're pulling something racist and illegal because that's exactly what they've been doing.

No argument. I'll be interested to hear the results of the lawsuit one person is bringing.

Edit to add: I wouldn't put it past this admin to end careers of decorated soldier-immigrants due to some arbitrary and capricious application of myopic policy. After all, they are trying to do that to transgender service members right now. Vigilance is needed.

This is real, I guess?

Trump gifted Kim Jong Un an Elton John CD with the song “Rocket Man”

And this time, he brought Kim a gift: an Elton John CD featuring the hit song “Rocket Man,” personally signed by Trump.

Yeah, Fox reported that too so pretty sure it's been confirmed by the administration. I was also worried by report that Trump felt a "charm offensive" would work on Putin. Maybe this "gift" is his idea of charming Kim. Kind of a "hey, remember that thing I called you that everyone thought was an insult? Good times, huh? Good times...."

Kehama wrote:

Yeah, Fox reported that too so pretty sure it's been confirmed by the administration. I was also worried by report that Trump felt a "charm offensive" would work on Putin. Maybe this "gift" is his idea of charming Kim. Kind of a "hey, remember that thing I called you that everyone thought was an insult? Good times, huh? Good times...."

"We'll always have that summer when I tried to start a nuclear holocaust by calling you names"

Trump Foundation donated to charities that booked galas at Mar-a-Lago

Posted: 1:00 p.m. Friday, July 06, 2018

Nearly all of the $706,000 in donations made by the Donald J. Trump Foundation in Palm Beach County since 2008 went to charities that hosted lavish fundraisers at Mar-a-Lago — the president’s highest-profile business in the county.
While the timing and frequency of the donations suggest charities that fete at Mar-a-Lago — especially those that return after fundraising at other venues — are rewarded for their loyalty, several local charities said the donations were not a quid pro quo or a reward for doing business with Trump.

An event planner instrumental in moving one of the more popular fundraisers to Mar-a-Lago four years ago said receiving a donation from Trump was completely unexpected.

“It was a surprise,” said Chase Scott, who arranged for the Salvation Army’s gala to be moved from The Breakers in 2014.

Other factors, including availability and preference for Mar-a-Lago’s setting, are indisputable elements. Nonetheless, a Palm Beach Post review of the Trump Foundation’s tax records found a pattern — donations, typically $25,000 — to eight charities after they relocated their events to the Trump family’s private Palm Beach club. That list included the event widely considered the grandest gala of the island’s social season, the Red Cross Ball.

The Red Cross received a $21,000 donation in 2015 — the year it decided to move its tiara-studded event from The Breakers back to Mar-a-Lago. It is the only donation the foundation made to the local chapter of the Red Cross between 2008 and 2016 — when the foundation announced it would dissolve. The local chapter of the Red Cross declined to comment.

NathanialG wrote:

This is real, I guess?

Trump gifted Kim Jong Un an Elton John CD with the song “Rocket Man”

And this time, he brought Kim a gift: an Elton John CD featuring the hit song “Rocket Man,” personally signed by Trump.

What an idiot. Nobody listens to CDs any more, it's all about the streaming.

North Korea pans 'gangster-like mindset' of US as Pompeo signals 'progress' in talks

CNN wrote:

North Korea slammed what it called the United States' "gangster-like mindset" in denuclearization talks just hours after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described the high-level negotiations as "productive" and insisted progress was made.

"We had many hours of productive conversations," Pompeo told reporters Saturday in Pyongyang before boarding a flight to Tokyo. "These are complicated issues, but we've made progress on almost all the central issues. Some places, a great deal of progress. Other places, there's still more work to be done."

North Korea, however, poured cold water on the talks, saying the "attitude" of the US was "regrettable" and not in the spirit of the June 12 summit in Singapore between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

"We expected the US to bring constructive measures to build confidence in accordance with the spirit of the US-NK Summit," the statement carried by state-run news agency KCNA said, according to a CNN translation of the Korean version of the statement. "However, the attitude of the US in the first high-level talks held on the 6th and 7th were indeed regrettable."

The statement added, according to an English-language version of the statement released by KCNA: "The US is fatally mistaken if it went to the extent of regarding that the (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) would be compelled to accept, out of its patience, the demands reflecting its gangster-like mindset."

The country called the outcome of the discussion "worrisome" and argued that the "cancerous issues" the US delegation raised were the same ones that had "amplified" distrust and the risk of war with past administrations, resulting in previous talks ending in failure.

The White House declined to comment on North Korea's statement, and the State Department did not respond to requests for comment from CNN or reporters traveling with Pompeo.

Who knew that negotiating with a third-generation dictator whose family pursued nuclear weapons for generations could be so hard?

Clearly only Trump speaks the language of crazy dictators. Maybe place him in North Korea permanently. For the sake of world peace! Or just a moment of silence for everyone else.

My guess is Amy Coney Barrett, at 46 she's the youngest of those three, which is one of the more important traits for a party largely concerned with locking down the Court for as long as possible. Not that Kavanaugh and Kethledge are hugely older (53 and 51 respectively).

US fights UN recommendation for breast feeding.

A resolution to encourage breast-feeding was expected to be approved quickly and easily by the hundreds of government delegates who gathered this spring in Geneva for the United Nations-affiliated World Health Assembly.

Based on decades of research, the resolution says that mother’s milk is healthiest for children and countries should strive to limit the inaccurate or misleading marketing of breast milk substitutes.

Then the United States delegation, embracing the interests of infant formula manufacturers, upended the deliberations.

American officials sought to water down the resolution by removing language that called on governments to “protect, promote and support breast-feeding” and another passage that called on policymakers to restrict the promotion of food products that many experts say can have deleterious effects on young children.

When that failed, they turned to threats, according to diplomats and government officials who took part in the discussions. Ecuador, which had planned to introduce the measure, was the first to find itself in the cross hairs.

The Americans were blunt: If Ecuador refused to drop the resolution, Washington would unleash punishing trade measures and withdraw crucial military aid. The Ecuadorean government quickly acquiesced.

This is us now. Corporate welfare above all else. To hell with children as long as some asshole makes more money next quarter.

I wonder if Equador is one of the countries where US formula manufactures caused the death or under-development of millions of babies due to malnutrition?

Yonder wrote:

I wonder if Equador is one of the countries where US formula manufactures caused the death or under-development of millions of babies due to malnutrition?

Ah, I suppose you can’t go half in on becoming the evil empire. I suspect that I’ve just never really noticed this type of behavior but with 45 and the stooges running the show, they’ve stripped the gloss and shown how rotten it really is underneath. For that... I thank them?

Stele wrote:

US fights UN recommendation for breast feeding.

A resolution to encourage breast-feeding was expected to be approved quickly and easily by the hundreds of government delegates who gathered this spring in Geneva for the United Nations-affiliated World Health Assembly.

Based on decades of research, the resolution says that mother’s milk is healthiest for children and countries should strive to limit the inaccurate or misleading marketing of breast milk substitutes.

Then the United States delegation, embracing the interests of infant formula manufacturers, upended the deliberations.

American officials sought to water down the resolution by removing language that called on governments to “protect, promote and support breast-feeding” and another passage that called on policymakers to restrict the promotion of food products that many experts say can have deleterious effects on young children.

When that failed, they turned to threats, according to diplomats and government officials who took part in the discussions. Ecuador, which had planned to introduce the measure, was the first to find itself in the cross hairs.

The Americans were blunt: If Ecuador refused to drop the resolution, Washington would unleash punishing trade measures and withdraw crucial military aid. The Ecuadorean government quickly acquiesced.

This is us now. Corporate welfare above all else. To hell with children as long as some asshole makes more money next quarter.

A lot of those studies have been debunked. The few statistically significant differences, as long as the formula is manufactured correctly, are minimal. Something like 6 women have to breastfeed for 9 months to prevent one ear infection.

On top of that, in a lot of developing nations, women aren't getting enough nutrition for themselves, let alone breastfeed. Formula at least ensures the kids are developing well. Again, as long as it is made to standards. Maybe fix the hunger problems before shaming formula-using parents.

Breastfeeding came back into vogue in the US as a way for the upper class to say, "I make so much my wife can stay home all day" and look down on formula families where both parents work, and eventually "studies" were done to making the working class feel worse about being poor.

Also, I wouldn't want someone getting 2 hours of sleep on a good night driving themselves or a baby around.

Source: Adam Ruins Everything and related science journalism.

I hope we're all going to avoid the reality TV reveal of the SCOTUS pick tonight by the guy who lost the popular vote by 3mm votes and whose daighters' made-in-China products are exempt from tariffs?

Well, I'm sure as hell not watching the bathing-suit portion.

Racist white male who wants to suspend women's right to their own bodies, will you accept this rose?

oilypenguin wrote:

Racist white male who wants to suspend women's right to their own bodies, will you accept this rose?

Come on lets be fair here: It could also be a racist white woman who wants to suspend women's right to their own bodies

thrawn82 wrote:
oilypenguin wrote:

Racist white male who wants to suspend women's right to their own bodies, will you accept this rose?

Come on lets be fair here: It could also be a racist white woman who wants to suspend women's right to their own bodies

That cult member seems like a strong candidate, yeah. But 45 said something along the lines of "all-american looking" so I have to assume to him that's a white dude.

Mixolyde wrote:
Stele wrote:

US fights UN recommendation for breast feeding.

A resolution to encourage breast-feeding was expected to be approved quickly and easily by the hundreds of government delegates who gathered this spring in Geneva for the United Nations-affiliated World Health Assembly.

Based on decades of research, the resolution says that mother’s milk is healthiest for children and countries should strive to limit the inaccurate or misleading marketing of breast milk substitutes.

Then the United States delegation, embracing the interests of infant formula manufacturers, upended the deliberations.

American officials sought to water down the resolution by removing language that called on governments to “protect, promote and support breast-feeding” and another passage that called on policymakers to restrict the promotion of food products that many experts say can have deleterious effects on young children.

When that failed, they turned to threats, according to diplomats and government officials who took part in the discussions. Ecuador, which had planned to introduce the measure, was the first to find itself in the cross hairs.

The Americans were blunt: If Ecuador refused to drop the resolution, Washington would unleash punishing trade measures and withdraw crucial military aid. The Ecuadorean government quickly acquiesced.

This is us now. Corporate welfare above all else. To hell with children as long as some asshole makes more money next quarter.

A lot of those studies have been debunked. The few statistically significant differences, as long as the formula is manufactured correctly, are minimal. Something like 6 women have to breastfeed for 9 months to prevent one ear infection.

On top of that, in a lot of developing nations, women aren't getting enough nutrition for themselves, let alone breastfeed. Formula at least ensures the kids are developing well. Again, as long as it is made to standards. Maybe fix the hunger problems before shaming formula-using parents.

Breastfeeding came back into vogue in the US as a way for the upper class to say, "I make so much my wife can stay home all day" and look down on formula families where both parents work, and eventually "studies" were done to making the working class feel worse about being poor.

Also, I wouldn't want someone getting 2 hours of sleep on a good night driving themselves or a baby around.

Source: Adam Ruins Everything and related science journalism.

Seems like it is still up for debate.

http://www.nber.org/papers/w24452
"Mortality from Nestlé's Marketing of Infant Formula in Low and Middle-Income Countries"

Published March this year.