[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.

So Putin fired Bolton, not Trump. That makes more sense. He never even did the firing on his own stupid TV show. Coward all the way.

Federal authorities arrested Ahsha Tribble, FEMA's former deputy regional administrator

THE KLINGONS WERE RIGHT!

Donald Keith Ellison, former president of energy company Cobra Acquisitions.

That one was too easy even by G.I. Joe's standards.

A 12-year-old Bahamian girl was separated from her godmother at Miami International Airport by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and placed in a shelter for abused and abandoned children over the weekend because Trump thinks that "very bad people and some very bad gang members, and some very, very bad drug dealers" went to the Bahamas before Hurricane Dorian hit in a convoluted plan to sneak into America by hiding among storm refugees.

The girl's family had their house destroyed in the storm and only survived by staying in their car, which had its windshield blown out, for days. When rescuers finally arrived, there wasn't enough room to take the whole family so the girl's mother decided to have her go with her godmother while she stayed behind with her husband and three other children.

CBP separated the young girl from her godmother because the US government only recognizes biological parents (the CBP also refused to hand the girl over to her biological aunt, who came to pick her up at the airport).

The girl's mother finally made it to America today, but was told she can't see her child--who the US government is treating as an unaccompanied minor--because she first has to apply with the HHS to be the her sponsor. Even worse, the mother has exactly 16 days to complete this process because she doesn't have a U.S. visa and will be kicked out of the country come September 26th.

Adviser who applauded rise in CO2 to leave administration

E&E News wrote:

A chief critic of climate science in the White House is leaving the administration after failing to convince the president to review mainstream research on global warming.

William Happer will leave his post as a senior director on the National Security Council on Friday. Happer's departure comes a day after National Security Adviser John Bolton abruptly resigned amid a dispute with President Trump over holding negotiations with the Taliban. Bolton supported Happer's effort to try to weaken the science backing the National Climate Assessment.

Happer, who is not formally trained in climate science but is an accomplished physicist at Princeton University, was one of the strongest voices against climate science within the administration. He is perhaps the only scientist to brief Trump on climate change research.

Happer has a long history of rejecting established climate science in favor of fringe research. He has claimed that the world is in a carbon dioxide "drought" and that burning more fossil fuels will help humanity by making the planet more habitable, a claim not supported by science. Happer founded the CO2 Coalition, which has sought to expand its influence on Capitol Hill by briefing members of Congress on the benefits of CO2 emissions.

https://www.salon.com/2019/09/11/tru...

"Donald Trump is reportedly mulling the relocation of California's homeless population to government facilities, a move which would follow increased coverage of homelessness on Fox News from its top personalities."

Between this and the national registry for the mentally ill he is calling for, it seems like it is only a matter of time now before we're all rounded up to be put in the concentration camps along with the immigrants.

* And to be fair I am taking this the same grain of salt that I took all the stories about Obama sending troops to Texas which my racist/conspiracy minded relatives sent during his term. So I don't really believe it but if it is true we need to be vocal about our opposition.

The president has instructed White House officials to use the powers of the federal government to remove the homeless from the streets of major cities like Los Angeles, according to the Washington Post. This could possibly include detaining homeless individuals in government facilities, although it is unclear whether the Trump administration has the legal authority to do so

It is really turning into Nazi Germany. First they came for the immigrants but I wasn't an immigrant, then they came for the homeless but I wasn't homeless....

Somehow we have to have our eyes on Poland. I don't know how we'll do it, but that's the next step.

farley3k wrote:

* And to be fair I am taking this the same grain of salt that I took all the stories about Obama sending troops to Texas which my racist/conspiracy minded relatives sent during his term. So I don't really believe it but if it is true we need to be vocal about our opposition.

I understand your reticence with this; however, I'm seeing more and more of a uptick of Donald Trump and his cronies espousing institutionalization of the mentally ill lately. And with more mass murders being inevitable, they are only going to double down on it. Homelessness and mental illness are practically synonymous. They're seeding these ideas repeatedly and the time will come when they germinate. At this point, I think it is a matter of when, not if, they are going to start rounding up people for "anti-social" behavior, which includes homelessness and mental illness.

Also, there's a pretty stark difference here. You are forgetting that these people project onto others what they want to do. Which is why President Obama was accused of all the sorts of things that Donald Trump has done.

OG_slinger wrote:
Vrikk wrote:
Rat Boy wrote:

I'm going to go out on a limb and say Bolton was fired for advocating war with Iran when Putin was telling Trump not to do it.

Bolton didn't want the Taliban on U.S. soil. Trump did.

Didn't ever think I would be agreeing with John Bolton, but here we are.

And earlier this month Bolton visited Poland, Moldova, and Belarus in an attempt to counter Russian (and Chinese) influence in Eastern Europe. I doubt Trump's boss was happy with that.

I gave Trump (way) too much credit.

Looks like the real reason Trump fired Bolton was because he thought Bolton or his team was the source of the nuking hurricanes story.

CBS News wrote:

But three sources directly involved tell CBS News White House correspondent Major Garrett that the main irritant that drove Mr. Trump to distraction was his belief that Bolton or those close to Bolton leaked a story about Mr. Trump asking about whether nuclear weapons could be used to abate hurricanes.

It makes sense. The man baby is far more concerned about his self image than geopolitics.

BoogtehWoog wrote:

https://www.salon.com/2019/09/11/tru...

"Donald Trump is reportedly mulling the relocation of California's homeless population to government facilities, a move which would follow increased coverage of homelessness on Fox News from its top personalities."

Between this and the national registry for the mentally ill he is calling for, it seems like it is only a matter of time now before we're all rounded up to be put in the concentration camps along with the immigrants.

Someone in the White House must have realized we're five years out from the Bell Riots and decided now was the time to start up Sanctuary Districts.

I'm sure Trump doesn't understand federalism in the least, but it still exists to some degree. Trump isn't going to be able to drop into California and start rounding up homeless people.

Trump doesn't understand his own party if he thinks it's a good idea to have the federal government step in a fix a problem a state is unwilling to address themselves.

Eh? The GOP was all too happy to infringe on city rights at the state level when it suited them in NC a couple years ago.

The only time they give a sh*t about states rights is when they're pretending they're not racist for defending the Confederacy.

Stele wrote:

Eh? The GOP was all too happy to infringe on city rights at the state level when it suited them in NC a couple years ago.

The only time they give a sh*t about states rights is when they're pretending they're not racist for defending the Confederacy.

State power over cities is practically limitless. Not so much federal power over states, as a matter of constitutional law.

Quintin_Stone wrote:
Stele wrote:

Eh? The GOP was all too happy to infringe on city rights at the state level when it suited them in NC a couple years ago.

The only time they give a sh*t about states rights is when they're pretending they're not racist for defending the Confederacy.

State power over cities is practically limitless. Not so much federal power over states, as a matter of constitutional law.

In fact, North Carolina in particular has a long history of state-level politicians trying to grab local power: in the 1870s a big thing was the local racists' plan to reverse home rule--i.e. local officers wouldn't be elected by the local population (which was and is in parts of North Carolina majority black) and would instead be appointed by the state (dominated by white politicians who also amended the state constitution to put the courts under their control, rescind the vote from some kinds of criminals, segregated schools, etc.). Which is rather shockingly similar to their current plans, it's just that they've switched parties since the Southern Strategy and no longer literally use the n-word as their campaign slogan.

Leading up to the 1898 election, Wilmington bigots organized white supremacy clubs and then formed mobs and systemically murdered dozens and dozens of innocent black citizens and caused hundreds or thousands more to flee for their lives. Murdering your political opponents is one way to win elections, and with that win they worked on establishing Jim Crow laws.

Cohen just entered an agreement to provide the Manhattan District Attorney's office with information about the Trump Organization. NYC prosecutors are investigating whether Trump's company falsified business records.

OG_slinger wrote:

Trump doesn't understand his own party if he thinks it's a good idea to have the federal government step in a fix a problem a state is unwilling to address themselves.

You're talking about rounding up undesirables and putting them in cages. Why would Republicans suddenly start caring about ideological consistency over their favorite past-time? That's waiting for a train that don't come.

Mixolyde wrote:
OG_slinger wrote:

Trump doesn't understand his own party if he thinks it's a good idea to have the federal government step in a fix a problem a state is unwilling to address themselves.

You're talking about rounding up undesirables and putting them in cages. Why would Republicans suddenly start caring about ideological consistency over their favorite past-time? That's waiting for a train that don't come.

It’s a train that runs on time to the ovens they’ll soon be building.

OG_slinger wrote:

Trump doesn't understand his own party if he thinks it's a good idea to have the federal government step in a fix a problem a state is unwilling to address themselves.

I think you're wrong. I think that the republican party has become willing to debase itself and abandon any/all principles for trump.

I am not really sure why but that is where they have found themselves.

A lot of Republicans consider California to be some sort of liberal anarchist state and wouldnt give a sh*t what happens there.

NathanialG wrote:

A lot of Republicans consider California to be some sort of liberal anarchist state and wouldnt give a sh*t what happens there.

You'll get way more right-wing support for military actions in California than against Iran.

Iran or North Korea can fight back. The homeless can't. It's the perfect war.

farley3k wrote:
OG_slinger wrote:

Trump doesn't understand his own party if he thinks it's a good idea to have the federal government step in a fix a problem a state is unwilling to address themselves.

I think you're wrong. I think that the republican party has become willing to debase itself and abandon any/all principles for trump.

I am not really sure why but that is where they have found themselves.

Seems to me that, except for a small number of libertarians, the republican party has never been for states rights. They've just been for states to have specific rights. Federal ban on abortions? Great! Federal definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman? Awesome. States should be free to discriminate against minorities however they chose? You betcha. Same with the hue and cry against activist judges. They are all for judicial activism, just not when it comes down on the side of liberals.

farley3k wrote:

I think that the republican party has become willing to debase itself and abandon any/all principles for Individual 1. I am not really sure why but that is where they have found themselves.

I suspect it's because to many people, there is something fundamentally appealing about a strongman. History has shown that a large swath of the population will support a tyrant who nominally proclaims his support for the "common people", no matter what his crimes. Then the culture of fear, recrimination, and loyalty-at-all-costs takes hold, and you're stuck. I could fill the page with historical and (regrettably) modern examples.

I think that, unfortunately for the United States, the Republican party has long since abandoned its "The Daddy Party" principles in favor of "whatever puts/keeps us in power". This is just its logical conclusion.

The one reassuring thing is the current occupant of the White House is a hack, a coward, and an imbecile. Imagine what it would be like if a tyrant in that position had even the merest shred of competence.

Archangel wrote:

The one reassuring thing is the current occupant of the White House is a hack, a coward, and an imbecile. Imagine what it would be like if a tyrant in that position had even the merest shred of competence.

Pre-apocalyptic end times.

Archangel wrote:

The one reassuring thing is the current occupant of the White House is a hack, a coward, and an imbecile. Imagine what it would be like if a tyrant in that position had even the merest shred of competence.

I actually think what we have now is worse. There's a reason the USA has dramatically changed politically in the last few years and it is precisely because we have an idiot in charge. The more idiotic he is, the more confident he is in his ideas and those ideas filter all the way down to the teeming masses. He is a monkey with a wrench and he's been let loose on everything. Nothing escapes his chaos and destruction. The most extreme ignorance, idiocy, and malice all combined to create the worst possible outcomes for everything.

A buffoonish dictator paves the way for a more Putin-like leader to take over.

Wink_and_the_Gun wrote:
Archangel wrote:

The one reassuring thing is the current occupant of the White House is a hack, a coward, and an imbecile. Imagine what it would be like if a tyrant in that position had even the merest shred of competence.

Pre-apocalyptic end times.

Don't forget a decent percentage of the evangelistic electorate want just that. End of days rapture party.

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump was ordered by a federal appeals court to defend a lawsuit accusing him of profiting from his presidency.
The U.S. Court on Appeals in New York on Friday reinstated a lawsuit brought by a government-ethics group that accused the president of violating the U.S. Constitution’s emoluments clauses.

‘Their only concern is for whites’: Man Trump called ‘my African American’ leaves GOP

WaPo wrote:

Gregory Cheadle went to a Trump rally out of curiosity and left it as an international headline.

The infamous moment, like many at Donald Trump’s rallies that summer in 2016, seemed to materialize out of nowhere. Trump was telling a story about an African American supporter when suddenly he spotted Cheadle in the front row at the Redding, Calif., event, and paused to single out the black man.

“Oh, look at my African American over here!” Trump exclaimed, pointing at Cheadle. “Look at him! Are you the greatest?”

Cheadle laughed at Trump’s outburst then.

Now, citing the president’s “white superiority complex,” Cheadle isn’t in the same party anymore.

On Wednesday, Cheadle revealed he has abandoned the GOP to launch a bid for Congress as an independent in California’s 1st Congressional District, saying he’s had enough of Republicans’ failure to condemn Trump’s comments denigrating black people. Cheadle doesn’t identify any one moment as his breaking point, but rather a deflating succession of them. Somewhere between Trump’s feud with former NFL star Colin Kaepernick and his attacks on Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), between his “sh*thole countries” comment and his “go back” tweets, “I said, ‘Enough is enough. I’m sick of it,’" Cheadle said.

“I just hope this is a wake-up call for the GOP,” Cheadle, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress four times as a Republican, told The Washington Post. “The GOP is going to be in the Smithsonian the way they’re going. Their only concern is for whites. They don’t care about the poor. They don’t care about anybody else."

Trump responded to Cheadle’s comments on Thursday by claiming he didn’t know who Cheadle was, according to PBS NewsHour, which first reported Cheadle’s decision.

Duh? I mean what do you say to people who ignored all evidence?

And so many groups have done it for trump.