[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.

In Trump's mind "American" means "White American". Graham and Pence attach "Evangelical Christian" to the label, but they mean the same thing.

And it's not actually about immigration status.
IMAGE(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D_i91QbXoAIxpob.jpg)

Given that last week's news was about the guy he was previously pals with being arrested on accusations of raping middle school children, and this week he's spouting racist things, I hesitate to imagine what on earth next week is going to look like.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/8kpZtLR.png)

mUh eCOnoMIc AnXIETy

CBS News wrote:

President Trump has refused to walk back his racist tweets targeting a group of Democratic congresswomen of color in part because he believes his supporters will stand by him. CBS News' Ed O'Keefe spoke to a number of Trump supporters on Monday who say they do.

"I know some people don't like his tweets and they think he's crass. I -- that's why I voted for him," said retired businesswoman Mary Lou Kohlhofer.

Another supporter, Doug Thomas, said, "It's unfortunate he had to do it the way he had to do it… It's really the only way he can to get this country back."

Nancy Schneider even went so far as to echo the sentiment in President Trump's tweets, saying, "If you think you have it better in your -- where you came from or how they did things there, go back where you came from."

I think the title gets at what trumpists can't grasp - America is great and it can be better. Both can be true.

As immigrants, we love America and still want it to be better

James Baldwin famously said, "I love America more than any other country in this world, and exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually."
As immigrants, we often come to America because we love it more than the place we are leaving. Sometimes, it's inspired by the idea of America from far away -- the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. Sometimes, as in my case, we get a taste of it as students and want to stay for the freedom and opportunity. And for many immigrants and refugees, America is a safe haven -- from war or abuse, from repressive regimes or individuals. Once here, we seek to give to America the very best of who we are, whether we are serving in Congress or in a restaurant.
As president of a country that holds such an important place in the world's imagination, Donald Trump should continue to welcome immigrants, whether we cross borders, deserts or oceans. Instead, he threatens with walls, bans, and raids. And on July 14, he used Twitter to ask brown and black congresswomen -- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib -- to "go back" to where they came from. Twitter erupted with accusations that Trump is racist and clarifications that three of the women were born in the US, and that the fourth, Ilhan Omar, is a naturalized citizen.
But facts have never been the point with this president. His fear-mongering and racism are making us lose sight of the unique brand of American-ness that characterizes immigrants and refugees and makes us best positioned to be America's next generation of leaders.
In 2001, then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg appointed me to be New York City's first commissioner of immigrant affairs. My appointment began a few months after the attacks of September 11, when New Yorkers were at their very best, rallying to help those in need of emotional support, shelter and food. But one group of New Yorkers -- those who looked like the attackers -- were also afraid of how they would be perceived. This fear was real. In my role as commissioner, I heard stories from individuals and community leaders about the pervasive fear that a knock on the door by immigration authorities could change the course of a family's life.
Some Americans seemingly believe that this fear is justified. After all, if immigrants followed the law, then why would they worry about their status. But the racism against the four congresswomen reminds us all that this othering behavior is a result of who we are -- not what we do, what our status is or what we fight for. Congresswomen Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, Pressley and Tlaib are simply held to a different standard because of the color of their skin, their religion, their names and their assumed immigration status.
There has long been a code followed in the immigrant world, especially among older immigrants: be obedient and orderly because you are a guest in someone else's home. But that code is eroding. For one, the all-too-often attacks by Trump remind us that we are not even given the courtesy that a host gives a guest. For another, American-born children of immigrants play an important role in shaping their parents' way of thinking and reminding them that they are as American as anyone else.
But over time, immigrants also become comfortable in their new home, growing to understand that they are not here to be passive recipients of America's scraps. Instead, we immigrants are the active designers of our version of the American dream. Sometimes, as it was for me in 2010 when I established New American Leaders to create a more inclusive and transparent democracy, our paths demand disobedience and disruption. This too is a route to American-ness. It's our way of showing love for America -- our way of saying we know that it's possible for this country to be the best version of itself.
We come here with a fighting spirit. We come to make a better life for ourselves, certainly, but also because we believe in the idea of America. Our optimism about what this nation can be is not naive, it's aspirational and visionary. Among our masses lies the same fervor that our founding fathers brought here: a fervor for a democracy that represents our interests. When we run for office, the potential we have to make government work for all of us is one that true Americans welcome.
Trump is afraid that we do not huddle in fear but stride in power.

The Republicans in congress are currently objecting to...Pelosi calling the tweets 'racist'.

I mean, they're obviously racist, but that's such a heinous accusation that clearly the real crime is someone calling them that on the congressional record.

(How do these people sleep at night? Does harm against fellow human beings rate so low for them that they feel compelled to defend racist words?)

Gremlin wrote:

The Republicans in congress are currently objecting to...Pelosi calling the tweets 'racist'.

I mean, they're obviously racist, but that's such a heinous accusation that clearly the real crime is someone calling them that on the congressional record.

(How do these people sleep at night? Does harm against fellow human beings rate so low for them that they feel compelled to defend racist words?)

They are not rich white dudes, there for they do not count as human beings.

mudbunny wrote:
Gremlin wrote:

The Republicans in congress are currently objecting to...Pelosi calling the tweets 'racist'.

I mean, they're obviously racist, but that's such a heinous accusation that clearly the real crime is someone calling them that on the congressional record.

(How do these people sleep at night? Does harm against fellow human beings rate so low for them that they feel compelled to defend racist words?)

They are not rich white dudes, there for they do not count as human beings.

Worse, they are capably doing a rich white man's job, which makes them a THREAT. (from the perspective of racist GOP lawmakers, not my own, obviously)

From the BBC website today:

"After their [border agents] testimony, Mr Trump said conditions at the centre had had "great reviews". He then posted his series of tweets about the women and Ms Omar, and has since stood by the comments."

"Great reviews". Seriously. And am I the only one wondering where the actual migrants being held at these centre can also leave a review?

"An opinion poll in the wake of his tweets suggested support for Mr Trump rose among Republicans by 5%, although dipped among Democrats and independent voters."

Apparently Republicans approve of white men who make racist tweets. But everyone else doesn't. Who knew?

On our local media in non-Chicagoland Illinois, I'd estimate the commenters are 2-1 in favor of Trump's tweets, cheering him and essentially repeating and expanding on what he said, claiming that the congresswomen indeed hate the country because they're in favor of sharia law, support 9/11, and want to throw out the constitution and install a socialist government. Belief in lies aside, their inability to differentiate 'hate' from 'wanting to fix the country and/or do things in a different way' is disheartening, even though it's exactly what I expected. This country's population is its greatest enemy.

Mormech wrote:

This country's population is its greatest enemy.

A too large portion of this country's white and (supposedly) Christian population is its greatest enemy. Everyone else gets it and is cool.

OG_slinger wrote:
Mormech wrote:

This country's population is its greatest enemy.

A too large portion of this country's white and (supposedly) Christian population is its greatest enemy. Everyone else gets it and is cool.

Eh, everyone 'gets it' until they get invited into the club.

The silver lining of Trump's racism may be that (edit) his say-the-soft-parts-loud racism towards Latinos damned up the replenishment of white people by screwing up the invitation of the next formerly 'ethnic' group to become 'white'.

OG_slinger wrote:
Mormech wrote:

This country's population is its greatest enemy.

A too large portion of this country's white and (supposedly) Christian population is its greatest enemy. Everyone else gets it and is cool.

May I direct your attention to this non-white woman.

The problem isn't necessarily ethnicity or religion-- I believe it is education. If people aren't properly taught history, civics and economics, not to mention critical thinking (especially critical thinking), they tend to be pretty stupid, politically.

WipEout wrote:

The problem isn't necessarily ethnicity or religion-- I believe it is education. If people aren't properly taught history, civics and economics, not to mention critical thinking (especially critical thinking), they tend to be pretty stupid, politically.

Yes. Republicans benefit from an uneducated voter base. The irony when they complain about universities being leftist and indoctrinating students. No, they just teach people to think, and when you use your brain no GoP policies make sense.

I know there's a political satire videos thread, but this is relevant to this one, I think.

WipEout wrote:
OG_slinger wrote:
Mormech wrote:

This country's population is its greatest enemy.

A too large portion of this country's white and (supposedly) Christian population is its greatest enemy. Everyone else gets it and is cool.

May I direct your attention to this non-white woman.

The problem isn't necessarily ethnicity or religion-- I believe it is education. If people aren't properly taught history, civics and economics, not to mention critical thinking (especially critical thinking), they tend to be pretty stupid, politically.

It's all three. 90%+ of Republican voters are white people and the vast majority of them are either evangelicals or conservative Catholics.

Even though white evangelicals only make up 15% of the population, they make up 26% of the electorate. They are seriously motivated voters and a record high 81% of them voted for Trump in 2016. 60% of white Catholics voted for Trump. One issue dominates both groups and it seems they're all happy to vote for racists and tax cuts for billionaires if they think there's a chance to get rid of abortion. And there's also a not insignificant portion of both who are racists themselves.

Educationwise Trump cleaned house among white people with a high school education or less. 64% of them voted for Trump along with 38% of college-educated whites. 58% of college-educated whites and only 28% of non-college educated whites voted for Hillary.

The woman in the video is part of the one in three HIspanics who, like Log Cabin or black Republicans, voted for a party that actively hates them. Given the video was shot in Miami, she's likely of Cuban descent and half of them supported Trump. Luckily for the country the younger Cuban-Americans who were born here are much more progressive than their parents and grandparents (and they outnumber them).

I've wondered a bit about Some More News: Is simply pointing to things that are happening and describing them accurately really satire? I love it, and it makes me laugh-cry, but i'm not sure satire is the right label for it

thrawn82 wrote:

I've wondered a bi about Some More News: Is simply pointing to things that are happening and describing them accurately really satire?

Probably but it is kind of depressing.

TPM: Trump’s Tweets So Clearly Racist It’s Spelled Out In Discrimination Law

Federal law as enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission counts discrimination based on nation of origin as one of several kinds of prohibited discrimination.

One example the EEOC lists on its website matches nearly word-for-word the President’s tweets.

“Examples of potentially unlawful conduct include insults, taunting, or ethnic epithets, such as making fun of a person’s foreign accent or comments like, “Go back to where you came from.”

Highlighting the EEOC’s language Tuesday, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) wrote, “The President’s bigoted words are so contrary to who we are as a country that we literally have laws against them.”

In other words, if an employer had tweeted what Trump did at his or her employees, that employer could face a lawsuit.

Anyone got the number of the White House HR and/or Ethics Department?

Jonman wrote:

Anyone got the number of the White House HR and/or Ethics Department?

Why would they start listening to the United States Office of Government Ethics now?

"we're sorry, the number you have dialed is no longer in service"

Jayhawker wrote:

TPM: Trump’s Tweets So Clearly Racist It’s Spelled Out In Discrimination Law

Federal law as enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission counts discrimination based on nation of origin as one of several kinds of prohibited discrimination.

One example the EEOC lists on its website matches nearly word-for-word the President’s tweets.

“Examples of potentially unlawful conduct include insults, taunting, or ethnic epithets, such as making fun of a person’s foreign accent or comments like, “Go back to where you came from.”

Highlighting the EEOC’s language Tuesday, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) wrote, “The President’s bigoted words are so contrary to who we are as a country that we literally have laws against them.”

In other words, if an employer had tweeted what Trump did at his or her employees, that employer could face a lawsuit.

Haha jokes on you. That just let the Administration know there’s another law to kill

I think you mean Freedom crushing regulation to free us from!

From my great state.

Sen. Joni Ernst says Trump’s tweets are racist, but that doesn’t change her support for him

Sen. Joni Ernst wants to make one thing clear: President Donald Trump’s latest racist statements haven’t diminished her support for him.

“I’d love for you to make that clear,” Ernst told Politico on Tuesday. “While I don’t appreciate the tweets, but I still support the president.”

Ernst’s reaffirmation of her loyalty to Trump came one day after she’d said Trump’s tweets on Sunday aimed at four members of the House of Representatives who are women of color were racist.

farley3k wrote:

From my great state.

Sen. Joni Ernst says Trump’s tweets are racist, but that doesn’t change her support for him

Sen. Joni Ernst wants to make one thing clear: President Donald Trump’s latest racist statements haven’t diminished her support for him.

“I’d love for you to make that clear,” Ernst told Politico on Tuesday. “While I don’t appreciate the tweets, but I still support the president.”

Ernst’s reaffirmation of her loyalty to Trump came one day after she’d said Trump’s tweets on Sunday aimed at four members of the House of Representatives who are women of color were racist.

How dare Politico initially frame an article that made it seem like she was disapproving of racism. They clearly missed her obvious intended message of "Yea it's racist, and I LOVE IT"

Trump officials pressing to slash refugee admissions to zero next year

Politico wrote:

The Trump administration is considering a virtual shutdown of refugee admissions next year — cutting the number to nearly zero — according to three people familiar with the plan.

During a key meeting of security officials on refugee admissions last week, a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services representative who is closely aligned with White House immigration adviser Stephen Miller suggested setting a cap at zero, the people said. Homeland Security Department officials at the meeting later floated making the level anywhere from 3,000 to 10,000, according to one of the people.

The proposal for a near-shutdown of the refugee program is alarming officials at the Department of Defense, who don’t want to see a halt in admissions of Iraqis who risked their lives assisting U.S. forces in that country. The possible move comes after the Trump administration cut refugee admissions by a third this year, to 30,000.

If the administration shuts down refugee admissions, it would give President Donald Trump a powerful talking point as he makes immigration restrictions a centerpiece of his reelection campaign.

At the same time, it would strand thousands of people already far along in the process and damage the ability of resettlement agencies to process refugees in future years, according to advocates tracking the issue.

“In the long-term, it would mean that the capacity and the ability of the United States to resettle refugees would be completely decimated,” said Jen Smyers, a director with Church World Service, one of the nine U.S. resettlement agencies.

I'd hate to live in Trump's version of America because it seems he's saying our country--which supposedly has the strongest and best performing economy (thanks to Trump) and has literally been powered by "hungry masses yearning to be free"--is so weak that taking in any amount of refugees will somehow irrevocably harm it.

That's 'cause the old refugees were...what's the word...white.

We, as a country, are actively working to construct an ethnostate. Right now the only ones they can directly punish are Hispanic non-citizens and black Americans, with concentration camps and cops committing murder in broad daylight. (And otherwise: a suspicious number of activists from Ferguson have turned up dead). Citizens are next on this list, since it's hard to prove that you're a citizen once ICE puts you in the system.

We're conducting genocide.

Many Democrats in Congress are complicit in this. All the Republicans are definitely complicit. The news is debating if it is fair to discern the intent of the heart while children are dying.

Those photos of lynch mobs in their Sunday best? That's not very far from America today. They'll just be wearing red hats.

May God have mercy on our souls, because we certainly don't deserve it.

The good news is that there are existing laws and HR rules against their shiny new bigotry.

Yahoo News: Store clerk fired after telling customers to ‘go back to their country’ in viral video

The bad news is that the President's racism is blatantly obvious.

Me, yesterday in the 2020 election thread:

Rat Boy wrote:

It was a rope and a tree shy of being a lynch mob.

Trump, today in front of Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins in the Oval Office:

Buzz should have punched Trump in the face like he did the moon landing denier.