[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.

But 99% of them are just workers doing a job, so I think it does matter. Especially when those low skill skill jobs become political talking points.

iaintgotnopants wrote:
SallyNasty wrote:

If you want numbers to depress you about how politicized they are, look up how many coal workers there are in the US and then how many employees Arby's has.

Spoiler:

83k vs 2.2 million.

Coal accounts for roughly 30% of the electricity in the US. Roast beef accounts for a lot less.

I'm not defending the coal industry. It needs to not exist anymore. But, that comparison is just silly.

Roast beef needs heat and rotation. Just saying no one has tried to turn Arby's into a utility casual fast food joint yet either.

Hoo boy...

And Arby's isn't getting a massive $2,754,908,000 government subsidy. At least not that I'm aware of.

Oil it makes some sense to still subsidize, since we haven't got an effective replacement for use in vehicles yet. But if we gave the coal subsidy to solar, wind, or hydro we'd be powering a lot less with coal. Or, for that matter nuclear, though in that case first you'd want to replace the current head of the DoE with someone less corrupt and incompetent.

Rat Boy wrote:

Hoo boy...

Speak of the devil.

Rat Boy wrote:

Hoo boy...

Tyler is just the best.

What time is The Mistake Misstate of The Union on tonight?

WizKid wrote:

What time is The Mistake Misstate of The Union on tonight?

An hour before your post.

Gremlin wrote:

And Arby's isn't getting a massive $2,754,908,000 government subsidy. At least not that I'm aware of.

Oil it makes some sense to still subsidize, since we haven't got an effective replacement for use in vehicles yet. But if we gave the coal subsidy to solar, wind, or hydro we'd be powering a lot less with coal. Or, for that matter nuclear, though in that case first you'd want to replace the current head of the DoE with someone less corrupt and incompetent.

With 83,000 employees that is over $33,000 per worker. They could literally give everyone in the coal industry $50k a year jobs doing something else and come out ahead financially and environmentally.

SallyNasty wrote:

I wouldn't be friends with people who used racism that casually.

They are all black and work toward civil rights. I am pretty sure they use it as a pejorative toward the NFL.

It doesn't seem like much important was said in the SotU last night. Heard some reporting on the news this morning but it seems like he repeated the same drum beats. Was there anything of note?

Apparently the ghost of Johnny Cochran was the speechwriter, because we went from 'if the glove don't fit you must acquit' to 'no legislation if there's an investigation'

SallyNasty wrote:

I guess you haven't had their french dip!

Now Freedom dip

He also tried to take credit for there being so many women elected to Congress (which I guess is true but not in the way he meant), announced another North Korea summit in Vietnam, and we all need to come together in unity behind exactly what he wants to do because we're all the same except for those brown people who are going to murder and then human traffic you unless he gets to build an impenetrable sphere around the country.

The real show was watching Pelosi's reactions behind him.

Chaz wrote:

He also tried to take credit for there being so many women elected to Congress (which I guess is true but not in the way he meant), announced another North Korea summit in Vietnam, and we all need to come together in unity behind exactly what he wants to do because we're all the same except for those brown people who are going to murder and then human traffic you unless he gets to build an impenetrable sphere around the country.

The real show was watching Pelosi's reactions behind him.

He should take credit for so many women being elected to Congress, a lot of that was inadvertently him.

I'm not the only one to notice this, but I think the SOTU had two major takeaways:

1) Donald is terrified of investigations. I've seen cornered raccoons lash out less than he did.

2) Every time Pelosi has a chance to impress me, she does so. What a fine leader.

I heard he took credit for a record number of women in Congress.

I wonder if he knows how right he is.

cheeze_pavilion wrote:

Apparently the ghost of Johnny Cochran was the speechwriter, because we went from 'if the glove don't fit you must acquit' to 'no legislation if there's an investigation'

OG_slinger wrote:
cheeze_pavilion wrote:

Apparently the ghost of Johnny Cochran was the speechwriter, because we went from 'if the glove don't fit you must acquit' to 'no legislation if there's an investigation'

You know what they say: history repeats itself, first as a tragedy, then as an Adam Sandler bit.

He also spent several minutes specifically calling out tHe EvILs oF SOciALisM, which I think really reflects how much traction the ideology has gained and how terrified the Worst Generation are of the rise of a generation proving to be much more progressive and politically inclined.

Mr. Trump, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

CBO: Trump's Mar-a-Lago trips costs taxpayers a minimum of $3.4 million a pop.

The CBO just published a report analyzing the costs associated with four Trump administration trips taken from February 3, 2017 to March 5, 2017. It found the federal government spent an estimated $13.6 million on those trips.

In a little over two years Trump has taken 20 trips to Mar-a-Lago, putting his travel costs at $68 million. For perspective Obama racked up $114 million in travel costs over eight years. Trump's travels costs also don't include his numerous trips to other Trump properties.

The vast majority of the costs are incurred by the DoD and the DHS, but, buried in the report was the little detail that there were $60,000 in expenditures paid directly to Mar-a-Lago for lodging and meeting space. It is unknown how many tax dollars were spent on meals and incidentals at Mar-a-Lago because those expenses were covered by per diems (and nothing under $75 requires receipts).

The costs are estimated because the Secret Service failed to provide Congress with semiannual expenditure reports for FY 2016 and 2017, something the Secret Service blames on the fact that "management and personnel" who assembled the report left the agency in 2016 and their replacements weren't hired until 2017.

The CBO also noted that the DoD failed to provide Congress with information about how much they spent on Trump's trips. The DoD was "unaware that the reports had not been submitted until we requested them," something they blamed on "administrative oversight." DoD officials also couldn't tell the CBO the last time the agency submitted the required semiannual expenditure reports to Congress.

The estimates also don't include expenditures incurred by the Executive Office of the President. The CBO contacted the White House in April 2017 and January 2018 to get the information and, as of January 2019, "the White House had not responded to our requests for information."

And, finally, the estimates don't include federal funds provided to local law enforcement to offset the costs incurred by presidential travel. So far FEMA has shelled out $4.4 million to various local Florida law enforcement agencies (who have requested another $5.7 million to cover trips Trump made in late 2017/early 2018).

ruhk wrote:

He also spent several minutes specifically calling out tHe EvILs oF SOciALisM, which I think really reflects how much traction the ideology has gained and how terrified the Worst Generation are of the rise of a generation proving to be much more progressive and politically inclined.

Because of this, Vox, in their Winners/Losers piece on the SOTU, declared Socialism to be one of the Winners.

You don't understand! Because we refuse to embrace SOCIALISM, we are FREE!

Free to be paid less than a living wage for our work!

Free to buy clothing manufactured by slave labor in Indonesia!

Free to feed our brains on a diet of lies served up by media conglomerates!

Free to feed our bodies with unhealthy processed foods loaded with high fructose corn syrup because that is all we can afford! (Wait, aren't farm subsidies socialis... SHUT UP!)

Free to die from preventable medical conditions because we can't afford basic health care!

In his speech, he was this -><- close to outright saying "freedom is slavery."

Donald Trump Delivers Hilarious Self-Own With ‘PRESIDENTIAL HARASSMENT’ Whine

Ryan Parker

@TheRyanParker
Says the birther.

Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump
PRESIDENTIAL HARASSMENT! It should never be allowed to happen again!

Bob Levine

@idguy
President Snowflake has spoken!

Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump
PRESIDENTIAL HARASSMENT! It should never be allowed to happen again!

Anand Giridharadas

@AnandWrites
Yes, you should stop doing that.

Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump
PRESIDENTIAL HARASSMENT! It should never be allowed to happen again!

Like father, like son. DJTJr self-owned himself this week too.

Republicans Ask Democrats To Please Leave Trump’s Tax Returns ALONE

Top House Republicans decry an oversight tactic that they used in the Obama years.
Republicans in Congress have formally asked Democrats to stop trying to get their hands on President Donald Trump’s tax returns.

Democrats are holding a hearing Thursday on the importance of disclosing Trump’s tax information, which would reveal how much money he makes, who pays him and how much tax he pays.

Top-ranking Republicans on the House tax committee asked its chairman not to request the documents, even though federal law explicitly gives him the power to do so ― and even though Republicans used that power to oversee Barack Obama’s administration.

Trump Jr. makes light of Native American genocide while rooting for father's attack on Warren

President Donald Trump's eldest son made light over the weekend of the US government's history of genocide against Native Americans as part of a slam against Sen. Elizabeth Warren and her claims of American Indian heritage.

The offensive remark, largely characteristic of the 41-year-old's pugnacious and near-constant social media presence, is another in a series by the President and his son to engage in racism to smear the Massachusetts Democrat.

Donald Trump Jr.'s comment on social media was in response to a tweet from the President, who on Saturday attacked Warren and emphasized the word "trail" in a tweet widely construed to be a mocking reference to the Trail of Tears, the forced relocation of thousands of Native Americans which led to thousands of deaths.

"Today Elizabeth Warren, sometimes referred to by me as Pocahontas, joined the race for President. Will she run as our first Native American presidential candidate, or has she decided that after 32 years, this is not playing so well anymore? See you on the campaign TRAIL, Liz!" the President tweeted on Saturday. CNN has reached out to the White House seeking additional comment on the tweet.

Donald Trump Jr. later posted a screenshot of his father's tweet on Instagram along with a reply by another user that said, "The Native American genocide continues with another murder by the president."
Trump. Jr captioned his post: "Savage!!! Love my President."

The Fox & Friends host who was Trump's #1 pick last year to run the VA just told his viewers that he hasn't washed his hands in ten years because "Germs are not a real thing. I can't see them; therefore, they're not real."

farley3k wrote:

Trump Jr. makes light of Native American genocide while rooting for father's attack on Warren

President Donald Trump's eldest son made light over the weekend of the US government's history of genocide against Native Americans as part of a slam against Sen. Elizabeth Warren and her claims of American Indian heritage.

The offensive remark, largely characteristic of the 41-year-old's pugnacious and near-constant social media presence, is another in a series by the President and his son to engage in racism to smear the Massachusetts Democrat.

Donald Trump Jr.'s comment on social media was in response to a tweet from the President, who on Saturday attacked Warren and emphasized the word "trail" in a tweet widely construed to be a mocking reference to the Trail of Tears, the forced relocation of thousands of Native Americans which led to thousands of deaths.

"Today Elizabeth Warren, sometimes referred to by me as Pocahontas, joined the race for President. Will she run as our first Native American presidential candidate, or has she decided that after 32 years, this is not playing so well anymore? See you on the campaign TRAIL, Liz!" the President tweeted on Saturday. CNN has reached out to the White House seeking additional comment on the tweet.

Donald Trump Jr. later posted a screenshot of his father's tweet on Instagram along with a reply by another user that said, "The Native American genocide continues with another murder by the president."
Trump. Jr captioned his post: "Savage!!! Love my President."

I'll be so sad if DJTJr gets hauled away in handcuffs. Seriously, tears in my eyes.