Support the Arctic Sea Ice Forum and Blog

Author Topic: The Trump  (Read 1474578 times)

budmantis

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 1220
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 7
  • Likes Given: 34
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1650 on: February 23, 2017, 05:22:04 PM »

For X's sake, how many times does it have to be exposed as a fraud? Reagan wasn't enough? Or Bush 1 or 2?? Disasters (by themselves) don't teach anyone any lessons. Spin and propaganda nearly always rule the day, as far as I can see.


Hi Wili, interesting article and will read it when I have a little more time. A note on the "supply siders": During the 1980 campaign, Bush 1 was calling it "voodoo economics", and despite his promise in 1988 of "read my lips", no new taxes, taxes were raised during his term in office. Therefore, I don't consider him to be a "supply sider". Bush 2 was definitely one though and it looks like the Republicans are going to try it again.


AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1651 on: February 23, 2017, 06:55:26 PM »
The linked article is entitled: "Populist Masculinity and the Suspension of Order".  The article indicates that Trump's populist masculinity demands crisis/disorder so that it remains relevant.  Also, I note that Bannon has retained Nicholas Taleb to consult on how Team Trump can gain from disorder.

https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2017/02/populist-masculinity-and-the-suspension-of-order.html

Extract: "Populist masculinity can be seen as a pyramid scheme with Trump at the top, surrounded by his uber-rich and uber-right cronies. Below this highest level of the pyramid reside the celebrity class of the alt-right such as Milo Yiannopoulos and Mike Cernovich. These mid-tier populists resell Trumpian populism to the people lower down the pyramid in the hope of building sufficient cultural and financial capital to elevate themselves further up the pyramid (they certainly have little genuine interest in those further down). At the base of the pyramid are the much-famed “white working class” and their various economic and racial permutations who suffer certain masculine anxieties. Some of those anxieties, such as the loss of identity in a globalized labor market, are forgivable; others, such as the loss of white male privilege, are not.

What this pyramid suggests is that there is no such singular thing as “populist masculinity,” rather a spectrum of populist masculinities with different hopes, dreams and anxieties. In order to do justice to these diverse experiences, let alone construct compelling alternatives that will draw people away from Trump, it is necessary to think more creatively around the subject of how masculinity functions right now. There are multiple dynamics at play behind populist masculinity. One of these is the suspension of order.

In short, populist masculinity casts masculinity in a state of exception. By framing masculinity as under attack by liberal values, populist masculinity invokes exceptional powers to assert regressive forms of masculinity that in non-exceptional circumstances might appear unreasonable. We hear much about the so-called “crisis of masculinity.” The crucial pivot here is that masculinity is not in crisis, rather masculinity demands crisis. When crisis ensues, unexpected proposals may suddenly appear on the table: the suppression of women and atypical men, martial law, or any number of other unsavory things justified by alternative facts that would not seem credible in normal circumstances.

All such strategies require an intellectual mentor, and populist masculinity may find one in Nassim Nicholas Taleb, whose book Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder argues for the need to thrive in what might otherwise be described as the state of exception. Taleb may not know it, but Antifragile enjoys a certain cult status within populist masculinity. A quick search on the forum of populist masculinist Roosh V shows many references to the man and the concept. Given Taleb is known for his bully-boy tactics and his tendency on Twitter to gauge a man’s worth by how much he can deadlift, perhaps Taleb will function not just as intellectual mentor, but intellectual attack dog."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1652 on: February 23, 2017, 07:04:49 PM »
Fed up with dysfunctional non-solutions? Heck, why copy decades of experience of serious nations and why acknowledge serious health market economics (like Hillary desperately tried to suggest since last century...)... nope, we alcohol boneheads vote Trump!

Martin,

Thanks for your responses.  In Reply #1650 I cite an article that discusses how Team Trump benefits from disorder/crisis, in order to create the need for a strongman.  During the Obama years the Tea Party in Congress worked to obstruct Obama's economic efforts in order to create the types of dysfunction that they are now benefiting from by working with Team Trump.  It is much easier to contribute to the problem and then blame the establishment for our mutual suffering than to work to implement measures like those taken in successful nations (like Sweden, Portugal, etc.).  We are now seeing the expansion of Vulture Capitalism via alt-right populism, as espoused by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, in his book "Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder".

Best,
ASLR
« Last Edit: February 23, 2017, 07:28:29 PM by AbruptSLR »
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1653 on: February 23, 2017, 08:27:13 PM »
The linked article is entitled: "Donald Trump's Mystery $50 Million (or More) Loan"; and discusses the need to investigate deeper into Trump's finances:

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/02/does-trump-have-mystery-creditor

Extract: "Among Donald Trump's debts—the source of some of his most intractable conflicts of interest—is a mystery loan that Trump has not publicly explained. And this means that the president could have a secret creditor to whom he owes tens of millions of dollars.

According to Trump's financial disclosure records and various news reports, Trump is carrying hundreds of millions of dollars in debt. These transactions could provide his creditors with leverage over the new commander-in-chief. Moreover, it would be difficult for Trump to refinance or modify the terms of his various loans without raising suspicion that he is receiving favorable treatment because of his position.

Either Trump's disclosure report is incomplete or there could be a hidden creditor, Eisen and Painter assert. If Trump were to release his tax returns, as all other major presidential candidates have done in recent decades, they point out, he could clear up the matter by providing information on his interest payments. (Eisen and Painter have filed a lawsuit against Trump alleging that the president has violated the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution by maintaining a number of beneficial financial relationships with foreign governments.)

"Without more information, we cannot properly assess the import of this entry, or of the changes in how it was reported," Eisen says. "We need those additional details, including to assess possible conflicts. It may well be the case that the answers lie in Mr. Trump's tax returns, but he has refused to provide them. This is yet another transparency failure on the part of the president.""
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

Buddy

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3379
  • Go DUCKS!!
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 49
  • Likes Given: 34
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1654 on: February 23, 2017, 08:37:50 PM »
Quote
Extract: "Among Donald Trump's debts—the source of some of his most intractable conflicts of interest—is a mystery loan that Trump has not publicly explained. And this means that the president could have a secret creditor to whom he owes tens of millions of dollars.

Keep in mind that debt can be "hidden" as to its source.  Say that Donnie wanted the $50 million......but he didn't want it to show up as being "$50 million from Russia".  He could arrange with ANOTHER BANK/company.....to serve as the "go between".  For instance....a German bank could take $50 million from a Russian bank (or Ukraine bank) and loan that to Donnie.  Then....Donnie would owe $50 million to a "German bank".

Not that Donnie would ever play that "shell game"......just saying.....years of financial auditing is very revealing.....

And NO....you will NEVER.....EVER......see Donnies tax returns.   EVER.......unless someone outside of Donnies crew were to "expose"/hack them...
FOX (RT) News....."The Trump Channel.....where truth and journalism are dead."

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1655 on: February 23, 2017, 09:29:34 PM »
The linked article is entitled: "Here Are All The Favors Donald Trump Has Performed For Wall Street".  The list is long so below I only extract a few of the less widely cited examples of Team Trump favoring Wall Street at the expense of the common man.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/wall-street-white-house-trump_us_58ae12a8e4b05ca474a078ef

Extract: "The same day Trump attacked Dodd-Frank, he signed another executive order with more immediate consequences. The Obama administration had crafted a “fiduciary duty” rule that required retirement account professionals to manage their funds in their clients’ best interests. Most people think their retirement advisers have to work on their behalf, but many pick and choose investments based on special perks and financial gains that accrue to the adviser or his firm.

Shortly after the Senate Banking Committee advance the nomination of former neurosurgeon Ben Carson as the secretary of housing and urban development, the agency raised prices on mortgages for low-income people. It was a windfall for private mortgage insurance companies that compete with the Federal Housing Administration.

The Securities and Exchange Commission appears to have received Trump’s deregulatory message. Former President Barack Obama left the agency understaffed ― only two of the five commissioners appointed by the president were in office when Trump assumed the presidency.
The December resignation of SEC Chair Mary Jo White ― perhaps Obama’s most embarrassing regulatory appointment for her deference to CEOs and dark money ― left Republican Commissioner Michael Piwowar in charge of the agency. And Piwowar has unleashed a reign of corporate favoritism that would make even White blush."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1656 on: February 23, 2017, 11:30:34 PM »
The linked CNN article is entitled: "Trump lawyer pushed pro-Russia deal for Ukraine, politician claims".  The article offers details of how Trump's personal lawyer may have delivered to Michael Flynn (shortly before he resigned) a pro-Russia peace deal to settle the Ukraine conflict that would have allowed Team Trump to then remove the sanctions on Russia.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/23/politics/trump-lawyer-ukraine-peace-deal/

Extract: "In a CNN interview, Ukrainian lawmaker Andrii Artemenko said he discussed his left-field proposal for Ukraine in January with US President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, who offered to deliver the plan to the Trump administration.

The exact details of the plan are unclear, yet reports have suggested it revolves around leasing Crimea -- annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014 -- to Moscow for 50 to 100 years. In exchange, Russia would withdraw its troops from the separatist regions in Ukraine's war-torn east."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

TerryM

  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 6002
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 893
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1657 on: February 23, 2017, 11:33:51 PM »

When the volume has been been maximized on all channels, none of the messages are heard.


Just as a stage magician distracts to hide his true objectives, so Trump has found he can get away with all kinds of nefarious domestic chicanery while the hounds bay loudly in Moscow.


While Flynn's phone calls were being dissected ad nauseam, Trump was undoing a law that compelled a financial adviser to work on his client's behalf??? He was also appointing a foe of the EPA as the head of the EPA??


Normally undoing such a ruling, or making such an appointment, would have created such a stir that neither might have stood. Unfortunately however, the ink that could have drawn the attention of Trump's detractors was spilt explaining why a very old law had to be dusted off, and selectively applied to Trump's choice for National Security Adviser.


I won't argue Flynn's indiscretion except to say that McCain, Nuland or Joe Biden's son would all be better targets for the Logan Act. Also that every American on this thread who has attempted to influence Canada WRT Tar Sands extraction could be prosecuted.


What I am arguing for is far more selective rage against Trump.
Peace is a positive, and driving Trump away from peaceful relations with Moscow is not to anyone's advantage.
I don't want to die to force the residence of Sevastopol into the hands of those that chant for their death.
I don't want to die to allow Filipinos access to fishing grounds that they have already successfully negotiated for.
I don't want to die for a pipeline through Syria, through Turkey or through Bulgaria, and I particularly don't want to die because someone considers Putin's eyes to be close set. (A Mensa members remaining observation when her other negatives had been excogitated.) 8)


Terry

DrTskoul

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 1455
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 210
  • Likes Given: 60
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1658 on: February 24, 2017, 01:27:32 AM »
Trump Plans To Increase U.S. Nuclear Arsenal, Make It ‘Top Of The Pack’

Quote
President Donald Trump said on Thursday he wants to build up the U.S. nuclear arsenal to ensure it is at the “top of the pack,” saying the United States has fallen behind in its atomic weapons capacity.

Because he wants peace.....

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1659 on: February 24, 2017, 03:13:40 AM »
The linked article is entitled: “FBI refused White House request to knock down recent Trump-Russia stories”, and it alleges that the White House violated DOJ procedures regarding pending investigations:

http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/23/politics/fbi-refused-white-house-request-to-knock-down-recent-trump-russia-stories/index.html

Extract: “The FBI rejected a recent White House request to publicly knock down media reports about communications between Donald Trump's associates and Russians known to US intelligence during the 2016 presidential campaign, multiple US officials briefed on the matter tell CNN.

But a White House official said late Thursday that the request was only made after the FBI indicated to the White House it did not believe the reporting to be accurate.

White House officials had sought the help of the bureau and other agencies investigating the Russia matter to say that the reports were wrong and that there had been no contacts, the officials said. The reports of the contacts were first published by The New York Times and CNN on February 14.

The direct communications between the White House and the FBI were unusual because of decade-old restrictions on such contacts. Such a request from the White House is a violation of procedures that limit communications with the FBI on pending investigations.”

The linked article is entitled: “Bannon vows a daily fight for ‘deconstruction of the administrative state’ “.  It looks like Team Trump/Bannon think they own the USA (and possibly more) now.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/top-wh-strategist-vows-a-daily-fight-for-deconstruction-of-the-administrative-state/2017/02/23/03f6b8da-f9ea-11e6-bf01-d47f8cf9b643_story.html?utm_term=.dff7f52299e5

Extract: “The reclusive mastermind behind President Trump’s nationalist ideology and combative tactics made his public debut Thursday, delivering a fiery rebuke of the media and declaring that the new administration is in an unending battle for “deconstruction of the administrative state.”
...

“If you think they’re going to give you your country back without a fight, you are sadly mistaken,” Bannon said in reference to the media and opposition forces. “Every day, it is going to be a fight.”“
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

budmantis

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 1220
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 7
  • Likes Given: 34
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1660 on: February 24, 2017, 05:19:24 AM »
I'm curious ASLR as to why despite many challenges from both JimD and Neven regarding your posts about the Trump administration, you do not actively engage them, choosing to continue posting articles about Trump's administration and policies. Perhaps you choose to answer their objections indirectly with the articles you post? Nevertheless, I still don't understand why you don't respond to their challenges directly.

TerryM

  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 6002
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 893
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1661 on: February 24, 2017, 05:35:14 AM »
Trump Plans To Increase U.S. Nuclear Arsenal, Make It ‘Top Of The Pack’

Quote
President Donald Trump said on Thursday he wants to build up the U.S. nuclear arsenal to ensure it is at the “top of the pack,” saying the United States has fallen behind in its atomic weapons capacity.

Because he wants peace.....


It's a damn shame he hadn't the calming counsel that General Flynn might well have provided. If Flynn was guilty of seeking a peace accord with Putin, he obviously would have been against this policy. If he was not guilty he might well have encouraged Trump, but in that case we railroaded an innocent man who had the best interests of America in mind.


Interesting quandary, do we persecute those seeking peace, even if through private channels, or do we complain when Trump's hawkish musings are voiced? It's difficult to justify both positions simultaneously.


Terry

TerryM

  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 6002
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 893
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1662 on: February 24, 2017, 06:28:24 AM »
ASLR


Have you done any research into just who Andrii Artemenko is?


Andrii is the oligarch behind the infamous Right Sector troops who march beneath the swastika and the wolf-angle, insignia of Hitler's SS.


The idea that Russia would be interested in a 50 or 100 year lease on Crimea is ridiculous, that was the situation before the coup took place. A situation that Artemenko and other conspirators found so oppressive, that they swore to break the lease once they came into power.


The US had preemptively called for bids on building a naval base in Sevastopol months before the riots in Kiev began, and they had already completed a Baptist church in a region where all Christians are Orthodox. When Crimean's refused to take orders from their new bosses, their secession began, and America's dream of a Black Sea base were doomed.


Artemenko's honesty is such that if he swore that the sun would rise in the East, a bet on it popping up in the West might be reasonable.


Conspiracy time:
Was this animal anywhere near New York when the Russian Ambassador suddenly died?


Terry

shmengie

  • New ice
  • Posts: 46
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 0
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1663 on: February 24, 2017, 02:29:09 PM »


According to plant life, Spring arrived ~ 20 ~ days earlier this year for much of the southern continental US

How do you use "military operation" (as an *adjective*) with that??? 

- Ask a 4th grader.
Professor Trump, who'd thought it was that complicated?

Buddy

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3379
  • Go DUCKS!!
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 49
  • Likes Given: 34
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1664 on: February 24, 2017, 03:17:31 PM »
Quote
It's a damn shame he hadn't the calming counsel that General Flynn might well have provided.

That must be a DIFFERENT General Flynn that I am aware of.....

The Flynn I am familiar with was leading a chant of "lock her up" at a rally.   The Flynn I am aware of thinks all Muslims are "out to get us."  The Flynn I am aware of has so many problems with Tweets, that they made him shut down his Twitter account long before he was fired.

THAT....is the guy I am aware of.  NOT a guy that would give "calming counsel"......
FOX (RT) News....."The Trump Channel.....where truth and journalism are dead."

budmantis

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 1220
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 7
  • Likes Given: 34
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1665 on: February 24, 2017, 05:29:03 PM »
Here's an interesting article from Politico magazine, that echoes what JimD and Neven have been saying with regard to changing the Democratic party:

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/02/democrats-progressives-new-leaders-david-brock-third-way-214811

Extract: Take, for instance, the continued prominence of David Brock and his organizations as centerpieces of the party apparatus. Brock is a conservative journalist-turned-liberal political strategist who some have called Hillary’s attack dog. To many progressives, Brock represents the insider, establishment wing of the party—the Wall Street Democrats who have roused the ire of Americans who rightly feel that they’ve been sold out. As a longstanding member of Hillary Clinton's team, during last year’s primaries, Brock orchestrated attacks on Bernie Sanders were brutal and unfair—as when he proclaimed that “it seems black lives don’t matter much to Bernie Sanders”—and exacerbated divides within the Democratic Party.

It will be interesting to see who the next DNC chairman will be. I consider myself an optimist but I have a feeling the Party will continue with BAU.

pileus

  • Grease ice
  • Posts: 536
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 45
  • Likes Given: 9
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1666 on: February 24, 2017, 05:33:40 PM »
I'm curious ASLR as to why despite many challenges from both JimD and Neven regarding your posts about the Trump administration, you do not actively engage them, choosing to continue posting articles about Trump's administration and policies. Perhaps you choose to answer their objections indirectly with the articles you post? Nevertheless, I still don't understand why you don't respond to their challenges directly.

I can't speak for ASLR but perhaps he realizes the futility of constantly engaging ideological conspiracy theorists point by point? 

Zerohedge, Putin the humanitarian, Flynn's calm counsel, peace in our time brought to us by Vladimir Putin?  smh

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1667 on: February 24, 2017, 09:32:30 PM »
I'm curious ASLR as to why despite many challenges from both JimD and Neven regarding your posts about the Trump administration, you do not actively engage them, choosing to continue posting articles about Trump's administration and policies. Perhaps you choose to answer their objections indirectly with the articles you post? Nevertheless, I still don't understand why you don't respond to their challenges directly.

I can't speak for ASLR but perhaps he realizes the futility of constantly engaging ideological conspiracy theorists point by point? 

Zerohedge, Putin the humanitarian, Flynn's calm counsel, peace in our time brought to us by Vladimir Putin?  smh

Yes, pileus is essentially correct.  Plus I am a relatively busy person and I find going back and forth about personal opinions to be less satisfying than researching and presenting facts.

I have had continuing dialogs with JimD in times past, and while I respect his integrity we tend to talk past each other.
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1668 on: February 24, 2017, 09:37:20 PM »
ASLR

Have you done any research into just who Andrii Artemenko is?

Terry

Terry,

The question is not particularly who Andrii Artemenko is, it is whether Trump's personal lawyer delivered a peace proposal from Andrii to Michael Flynn.  There are intelligence sources saying that it did happen and there are WH statements that it did not happen; so one side is lying & lying during a formal investigation (e.g. the FBI is conducting such investigations) is an impeachable offense.

ASLR
« Last Edit: February 25, 2017, 02:44:30 AM by AbruptSLR »
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

budmantis

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 1220
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 7
  • Likes Given: 34
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1669 on: February 24, 2017, 09:53:21 PM »
I'm curious ASLR as to why despite many challenges from both JimD and Neven regarding your posts about the Trump administration, you do not actively engage them, choosing to continue posting articles about Trump's administration and policies. Perhaps you choose to answer their objections indirectly with the articles you post? Nevertheless, I still don't understand why you don't respond to their challenges directly.

I can't speak for ASLR but perhaps he realizes the futility of constantly engaging ideological conspiracy theorists point by point? 

Zerohedge, Putin the humanitarian, Flynn's calm counsel, peace in our time brought to us by Vladimir Putin?  smh

Yes, pileus is essentially correct.  Plus I am a relatively busy person and I find going back and forth about personal opinions to be less satisfying than researching and presenting facts.

I have had continuing dialogs with JimD in times past, and while I respect his integrity we tend to talk past each other.

Thanks, and I thought Pileus was close to the mark as well. You certainly are busy, especially with all the great articles you post. I don't know where you find the time!

DrTskoul

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 1455
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 210
  • Likes Given: 60
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1670 on: February 24, 2017, 11:24:30 PM »
Trump White House Bars News Organizations From Press Briefing

Quote
“Nothing like this has ever happened at the White House in our long history of covering multiple administrations of different parties,” said New York Times editor Dean Baquet.

Because they are an "opportunity", better than the previous alternative...

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1671 on: February 25, 2017, 04:19:52 AM »
The linked article is entitled: "Stephen K. Bannon’s CPAC Comments, Annotated and Explained".  The alt-right tends to speak in a code that is difficult for some people to understand, and this article can act as a help to start to decode what Bannon is trying to achieve:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/24/us/politics/stephen-bannon-cpac-speech.html?ribbon-ad-idx=3&rref=politics&module=Ribbon&version=context&region=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Politics&pgtype=article

Selected extract: "“The third, broadly, line of work is deconstruction of the administrative state. ... If you look at these cabinet appointees, they were selected for a reason and that is the deconstruction. The way the progressive left runs, is if they can’t get it passed, they’re just going to put in some sort of regulation in an agency.”

Republicans have long warned against over-regulation. Mr. Bannon portrays the problem as flowing from something deeper: a shadowy “administrative state” engineered by the left to advance its ‘‘agenda.”

The state, in this view, is not an instrument of the American electorate, nor even a hurdle to be overcome as mainline conservatives often see it, but rather an adversary innately hostile to the people.

This is a core argument of populist leaders, who typically rise by promising to oppose institutions, which are blamed for society’s problems. But in practice, they often consolidate power away from those institutions for themselves."

Edit: If the extracted quote is not clear it indicates that the "Deep State" is a red herring that the kleptocratic alt-right populist strongmen use to consolidate power away from the state and into the hands of the kleptocratic strongman.
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

Pmt111500

  • Guest
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1672 on: February 25, 2017, 04:29:17 AM »
Trump White House Bars News Organizations From Press Briefing

Quote
“Nothing like this has ever happened at the White House in our long history of covering multiple administrations of different parties,” said New York Times editor Dean Baquet.

Because they are an "opportunity", better than the previous alternative...

These news are somewhat troubling, but at least this helps people outside Trumpistan to know which news are locally approved by governement and which are trying to do their job...

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1673 on: February 25, 2017, 04:48:10 AM »
The linked article entitled: “GOP senators embrace awkward Russia investigation that could hurt Trump“, discusses a bipartisan US Senate Intelligence Committee panel investigation of Russia's possible attempt to influence the last US federal election.  Hopefully, Mitch McConnell wont interfere with the panel's investigations and the release of its full findings to the public.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-russia-investigation-republican-senate-20170224-story.html

Extract: “The panel's ranking Democrat, Mark Warner of Virginia, said he is pleased with how Chairman Richard Burr of North Carolina has handled the inquiry so far.
"We both understand how serious this is," Warner said. "This was an assault on a basic democratic process," he said.

He added, "And what we are trying to do, and I give Richard a lot of credit, is to have this not devolve into a partisan food fight that doesn't serve the public purpose. This is so important that we get it right."

After a closed-door meeting Friday with FBI Director Jim Comey, Burr and Warner shared smiles, but declined to talk to the press even to confirm they met with the director. The FBI and U.S. intelligence agencies are conducting multiple investigations to determine the full extent of contacts that Trump's advisers and associates had with Russia during and after the 2016 campaign, according to four national security officials with knowledge of the matter.

Trump blasted the FBI on Friday over "leakers," following a CNN report Thursday that the bureau rebuffed a recent White House request that it shoot down a media report that Trump's associates communicated with Russians known to U.S. intelligence. The network cited a law enforcement official it didn't identify."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

budmantis

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 1220
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 7
  • Likes Given: 34
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1674 on: February 25, 2017, 04:53:49 AM »
So far the only problem McConnell has with Trump are his tweets, according to a recent town hall he conducted.

Martin Gisser

  • Guest
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1675 on: February 25, 2017, 05:06:23 AM »
...
Edit: If the extracted quote is not clear it indicates that the "Deep State" is a red herring that the kleptocratic alt-right populist strongmen use to consolidate power away from the state and into the hands of the kleptocratic strongman.

http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/02/22/the-shallow-state-trump/
Quote
...
The shallow state is in many respects the antithesis of the deep state. The power of the deep state comes from experience, knowledge, relationships, insight, craft, special skills, traditions, and shared values. Together, these purported attributes make nameless bureaucrats into a supergovernment that is accountable to no one. That is a scary prospect. But the nature of bureaucracies, human nature, inertia, checks and balances, and respect for the chain of command makes it seem a bit far-fetched to me. (The bureaucracy will drive Trump, like many presidents, mad, and some within it will challenge him, but that’s not the same thing.)

The shallow state, on the other hand, is unsettling because not only are the signs of it ever more visible but because its influence is clearly growing. It is made scarier still because it not only actively eschews experience, knowledge, relationships, insight, craft, special skills, tradition, and shared values but because it celebrates its ignorance of and disdain for those things. Donald Trump, champion and avatar of the shallow state, has won power because his supporters are threatened by what they don’t understand, and what they don’t understand is almost everything.
...

Edit:
The "deep state" has of course also its problem with understanding stuff, esp. when seeing things through the neocon and neoliberal lens. But then, there is no major alternative religion against Hayek, who has written the bible followed since Reagan and Thatcher:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/apr/15/neoliberalism-ideology-problem-george-monbiot
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/14/neoliberalsim-donald-trump-george-monbiot
« Last Edit: February 25, 2017, 05:13:40 AM by Martin Gisser »

TerryM

  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 6002
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 893
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1676 on: February 25, 2017, 11:22:30 AM »

Terry,

The question is not particularly who Andrii Artemenko is, it is whether Trump's personal lawyer delivered a peace proposal from Andrii to Michael Flynn.  There are intelligence sources saying that it did happen and there are WH statements that it did not happen; so one side is lying & lying during a formal investigation (e.g. the FBI is conducting such investigations) is an impeachable offense.

ASLR
Sorry ASLR my bad.


I spent as much time studying the Ukrainian situation as we now spend trying to understand the Arctic ice.


Just as we might tend to discount anything Lord Monckton says about Arctic ice, so those of us who studied the Ukraine tend to discount Artemenko's statements about Russia.
And just as we wouldn't expect an archaeologist, an engineer or any other person uninvolved in Arctic studies to be repelled by the mere mention of Monckton's name, so I should not have expected you to react as I do when Andrii is mentioned.


Artemenko's troops are the ones that stood behind Ukraine's conscripts, killing those who attempted to flee the fighting. They didn't fight the rebels who are both motivated and armed, but rather the disheartened conscripts, some of whom feared the Russians, and some of whom just didn't want to kill their neighbors.
Many of the early squabbles ended when old ladies went to the tanks and told those inside to go home and to leave them and theirs alone. The Right Sector was there to assure that this attitude didn't spread.


I became interested in the Ukraine when I saw, just as you mention, that one side was lying, not mistaken, not misguided but lying through their teeth.
I expected to find both sides dissembling, but with the balance of truth resting firmly on "our" side. It took some weeks of study before I came to realize that my initial mindset had been totally wrong.
The following months of study were to verify my initial conclusions & by the second year I was simply following the progress of the various threads that had been teased open.


The site I studied is gone, thousands of pages, tens of thousands of photos and videos. Unlike Neven's wonderful pages, that site was populated with trolls from both sides, advocates for everyone from the US to Russia and with input from Texas Crimeans and Canadian Galatians.
Each statement was expected to be proven, and arguments over minutia could last for months. Many of the techniques I learned in my Arctic studies proved useful. When multiple explanations are all accepted, then they are all lies, is as true in Anthony's pages as in Ukrainian politics.


The site was 8,000 pages long when I started, I read all that, as well as the thousands of pages that followed. I didn't expect any not following to be aware of the true situation on the ground and was surprised when I found that JimD was.


I can't expect those that didn't see what I had seen, and read what I had read, to understand what I understand. You know my understanding of the problems we face from climate change, and my concern that we're still close to nuclear annihilation.


Accept that there are many who fear war with Russia, and that when you drive Trump away from Putin you drive us away from your battle against Trump. We despise Trump and everything he represents - except for his alleged rapport with Russia. 


Attack Trumps policies, particularly those related to climate change, that's where your expertise lies.
Think of the well placed shots of a marksman, none will end his reign, but by placing them carefully perhaps we can alter his course.
I'd like him to draw closer to Putin perhaps that alone will change his mind about China and Iran.
 Let him get caught up in the quagmire of devising an American healthcare plan, as possibly he'll ignore those calling for more coal.
Maybe he'll fight so hard to keep Muslims out, that he'll forget about the Mexicans already in country.


We won't win, that option is now off the table, but perhaps we can make defeat easier by pushing him away from destroying what we most value, and pulling him towards actions that we are less concerned with.


Terry

Buddy

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3379
  • Go DUCKS!!
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 49
  • Likes Given: 34
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1677 on: February 25, 2017, 02:32:42 PM »
I see Kellyanne Conway is touting "Conservative Feminism".  That sounds a lot like "ethical attorney" or "chocoholic dieter" or "cold day in hell".  NONEXISTENT.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/kellyanne-conway-touts-conservative-feminism-at-cpac-164342949.html

She really does fit in well with everyone else in the Trump inner circle:  Delusional liars.



 
FOX (RT) News....."The Trump Channel.....where truth and journalism are dead."

budmantis

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 1220
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 7
  • Likes Given: 34
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1678 on: February 25, 2017, 03:50:23 PM »
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/darrell-issa-bill-maher-jeff-sessions-recuse_us_58b10218e4b0780bac29b0d6?3ntn11ujdwsyfu5wmi&

Rep. Darrell Issa Suggests Trump-Russia Inquiry Needs Special Prosecutor, Not Jeff Sessions
“You cannot have somebody who was on the campaign and who is an appointee,” the GOP congressman says.

This is the first Republican that I'm aware of calling for a special prosecutor.
 

DrTskoul

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 1455
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 210
  • Likes Given: 60
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1679 on: February 25, 2017, 06:55:57 PM »
Quote
Muhammad Ali’s Son Detained At Airport, Asked ‘Are You Muslim?’

Because they offer an opporrunity....

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1680 on: February 25, 2017, 08:27:55 PM »
The linked article is entitled: "EPA administrator lied about private email use in Senate testimony".  Either Team Trump is very bad at vetting cabinet members, or it prefers members who like "alternate facts" (i.e. lies).  If congress were controlled by Democrats such examples of perjury would not be accepted a business as usual.

https://thinkprogress.org/pruitt-lie-senate-epa-emails-3c750d5527ef#.kdkx9lbf0

Extract: "An investigation by Fox 25 in Oklahoma has confirmed that Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt used a private email account to conduct official business while he was the state’s attorney general, directly contradicting what he told the Senate during his confirmation hearing.

It’s not illegal for the Oklahoma attorney general to use private email accounts for government business, but those emails must be included in any records requests. Lying to the Senate under oath about the emails amounts to perjury. And it is illegal to use private email for official federal government business.

Pruitt is not the only member of Trump’s cabinet to have been caught lying in Senate testimony. Betsy DeVos, who has been confirmed to lead the Education Department, told the Senate that she didn’t sit on the board of her mother’s foundation when it made donations to the anti-gay groups Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council, despite legal forms that list her on the board during that period. Steven Mnuchin, who has been confirmed as Treasury Secretary, told the Senate that the bank he previously ran never “robo-signed,” or illegally signed documents without the proper review, despite reams of court documents that say it did."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1681 on: February 25, 2017, 08:31:29 PM »
Accept that there are many who fear war with Russia, and that when you drive Trump away from Putin you drive us away from your battle against Trump. We despise Trump and everything he represents - except for his alleged rapport with Russia. 


Attack Trumps policies, particularly those related to climate change, that's where your expertise lies.

Terry,

Please feel free to post what you believe to be correct and I will do the same.

Best,
ASLR
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1682 on: February 26, 2017, 02:55:51 AM »
The linked article is entitled: “Thomas Perez elected the first Latino leader of Democratic Party“.  Hopefully, Perez can unit the Democratic Party.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/tom-perez-elected-as-first-latino-leader-of-democratic-party/2017/02/25/1fd76f52-fad7-11e6-9845-576c69081518_story.html?utm_term=.50842e5aae7d

Extract: “The race was close enough that it required a second round of balloting, with Perez winning 235 of 435 votes cast.

Onstage, Perez gave Ellison the symbolic role of deputy party chair, and the Minnesota congressman gave a short speech asking his supporters to stay with the party and avoid recriminations.

“We don’t have the luxury to walk out of this room divided,” Ellison said.

Sanders, who had supported Ellison, said in a statement that it was “imperative that Tom understands that the same-old, same-old is not working and that we must open the doors of the party to working people and young people in a way that has never been done before.”

Perez’s victory did not represent a Democratic shift to the right. On key issues, Perez’s platform mostly resembled Ellison’s. Perez promised to refocus on small donors and online fundraising; Ellison set a goal for “low-dollar contributions from everyday Americans [to] account for 33 percent of revenue.” Ellison called for an “Innovation Hub” in Silicon Valley; Perez promoted DNC fellowships to “encourage developers, programmers, data scientists, [and] engineers.”

In public forums, including the final one broadcast on CNN, Ellison and Perez declined to criticize each other. While progressive media outlets accused Perez of protecting the party’s consultant class, DNC members who broke for Perez said that he had convinced them that he knew what state parties needed.“
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

TerryM

  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 6002
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 893
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1683 on: February 26, 2017, 05:31:59 AM »
While I'm not familiar with either, a Latino heading up the party could be advantageous.


I assume they are still the fastest growing demographic, and if motivated might swing a number of districts. The good will shown by the losers bodes well for the future. A house divided, and all that stuff.


Terry

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1684 on: February 27, 2017, 10:23:20 AM »
The linked article is entitled: "Who's watching Trump's ethics watchdogs?", and it discusses the lack of oversight of Trump's likely ethical conflicts associated with his company.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/trump-ethics-watchdogs-lawyers-235385

Extract: "The president and his business interests have more than two dozen lawyers policing potential conflicts, but a POLITICO investigation finds oversight is lacking."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1685 on: February 27, 2017, 10:27:25 AM »
Per the linked article entitled: "Donald Trump's 'shadow president' in Silicon Valley", Peter Thiel is becoming something of a 'shadow president'.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/donald-trumps-shadow-president-in-silicon-valley-235372
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

Buddy

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3379
  • Go DUCKS!!
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 49
  • Likes Given: 34
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1686 on: February 27, 2017, 01:59:09 PM »
Here's a good video that is an interview with John Dean.....who was the white house counsel in Nixon's staff....and he gave hours of testimony that helped to bring down Richard Nixon in 1974.

Echo's of Watergate......

John Dean refers to "momentum" in the interview.  And he is right....it is all about PERCEPTION, POLLS, and MOMENTUM.  It is a PROCESS.....and it continues. 

As Dean describes it....the Russia investigation/issue breaks down into 3 categories:

1)  Pre-election activity
2)  Period between election and inauguration
3)  What are the facts or lack thereof....of the dossier on Trump from the former MI6 employee....that Russia had compromised Donald Trump.



FOX (RT) News....."The Trump Channel.....where truth and journalism are dead."

Buddy

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3379
  • Go DUCKS!!
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 49
  • Likes Given: 34
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1687 on: February 27, 2017, 02:29:16 PM »
Tick....tick....tick....tick....tick.....

1)  What is going to be the next shoe to drop.....and when will it drop?

2)  Donnie is continuing to have major problems with the press....and they will continue to grow.

3)  Leaking continues.....as it appears many folks on the inside want people on the OUTISDE to know what is actually happening inside the "Cuckoo's Nest"

4)  From a "poll watching perspective".....this week will be worth watching.  Donnie was able to stem the bleeding more than a week ago when he campaigned in Florida.  Does the LONGER TERM TREND DOWN continue this week.....OR.....is he able to "stabilize" his poll numbers around where they are now in the short run?  Polls ARE important.....because the folks in Congress watch them like a hawk...and react to them.  Larger defections won't take place until those polls go south.

5)  The White House is getting more and more paranoid.  I guess Donnie doesn't like all the leaking....and is in need of some good plumbers.....and there are NONE to be found in Donnie's White House.  This is what happens when you have a bad coach....and can't hire good folks.  Outside of Mattis and Kelly.....his team is HORRIBLE.

6)  It is becoming clearer and clearer regarding Donnie's failed "decision making process."  Now that he is in the WH.....his piss poor decision making process has already caused one death.  And that Seal's father is none too happy about it.  That is a BIG....BIG....DEAL. And you can bet that both people IN MILITARY SERVICES NOW.....AS WELL AS RETIRED......are aware of it.

In the weeks and months ahead.....Donnie's poor decision making process will continue to be on display.  You can't make good decisions without (1) a good decision making process, and (2) a good team with effective communication skills:

Donnie has NEITHER....AND.....HIS OVERSIZED EGO IS CONTINUALLY ON DISPLAY.

This is heading for uglyville in the weeks and months ahead.  Not surprising that Donnie took a pass on the White House Correspondents Dinner.  He doesn't tell a good joke.....he can't make fun of himself.....and the only people there that would laugh at his jokes would be the FOX IDIOTS table (Shep Smith excluded).

It's a lot different running a PRIVATELY HELD company like Trump's.....and running a government.  And Donnie is finding that out.   In his company.....he says jump, and they say "how high?"  The only people doing that now.....is his inner circle.

Donnie is one very sick puppy.....and that will continue to dog him in the weeks and months ahead.

He has played 6 rounds of golf in 5 weeks.......you think he would try to learn how to run a country before playing golf.  If I were the deceased Navy Seals' father I WOULD BE LIVID....OUTRAGED....at Trump's behavior, lack of ethics, lack of process.   That outrage will continue to grow and spread in coming weeks and months.



FOX (RT) News....."The Trump Channel.....where truth and journalism are dead."

wili

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3342
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 602
  • Likes Given: 409
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1688 on: February 27, 2017, 02:58:48 PM »
The role of Mercer and 'weaponized AI' is getting more press:

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/feb/26/robert-mercer-breitbart-war-on-media-steve-bannon-donald-trump-nigel-farage

Robert Mercer: the big data billionaire waging war on mainstream media

With links to Donald Trump, Steve Bannon and Nigel Farage, the rightwing US computer scientist is at the heart of a multimillion-dollar propaganda network
"A force de chercher de bonnes raisons, on en trouve; on les dit; et après on y tient, non pas tant parce qu'elles sont bonnes que pour ne pas se démentir." Choderlos de Laclos "You struggle to come up with some valid reasons, then cling to them, not because they're good, but just to not back down."

DrTskoul

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 1455
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 210
  • Likes Given: 60
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1689 on: February 27, 2017, 07:03:02 PM »
Because they love peace and offer an opportunity:

Quote
http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/27/politics/trump-budget-proposal/index.html

Trump calls for a $54B hike in national security and a similar cut to most federal agencies

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1690 on: February 27, 2017, 11:43:56 PM »
Team Trump does not want a special prosecutor because it would be illegal for the WH to lobby him; but it is not illegal for the WH to lobby the Republican Chairs of the House and Senate intelligence committee panels to downplay any wrong doing on the part of the Trump campaign w.r.t. the Russian-Connection.  Indeed, the WH has already entreated both the Republican Chairs of the IC panels to speak-out and they already have spoken-out based on no formal congressional information.  However, if what the WH says is true is indeed true, then why are they interfering with the Congressional IC panels?  Based on this behavior it is not clear whether, or not, the congressional panel can run an unbiased investigation based on the fact that the Republican Chairs are already bending to WH pressure.   If not, then either Sessions should recuse himself before the DOJ appoints a special prosecutor. 

However, I think that the possibility of a special prosecutor is only a pipedream at this point.  If Democrats cannot convince themselves that their IC panels can act without WH interference, and that a fair special prosecutor will not be appointed by the DOJ, then Congress many need to authorize, empower & fund (many millions of dollars) an independent commission to investigate the Russian-Connections.
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25763
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1691 on: February 28, 2017, 12:13:59 AM »
Photographs from the U.S. in the 1970’s.

This is what America looked like before the EPA cleaned it up
http://www.rawstory.com/2017/02/this-is-what-america-looked-like-before-the-epa-cleaned-it-up/
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

TerryM

  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 6002
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 893
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1692 on: February 28, 2017, 12:34:47 AM »
Because they love peace and offer an opportunity:

Quote
http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/27/politics/trump-budget-proposal/index.html

Trump calls for a $54B hike in national security and a similar cut to most federal agencies


If Trump follows the same road as Nixon and both generations of Bushes, he will suffer a similar fate.


Cutting domestic spending while over inflating an already grossly bloated military budget hasn't worked in the past. This Neo-Con, Neo-Liberal strategy has cost millions of lives, destroyed America's standing in the world, and is beggaring the country.


What will happen to the infrastructure improvements that Trump promised? Roads, bridges and dams require investment dollars that this $54B might have been part of.
 
If fighting ISIS is our military objective, it can be done on the cheap. Stop funding ISIS. They are a mercenary force and won't work for free.


Terry


FWIW
Be careful when rejecting Trump's appointees. When the Senate rose up and rejected Bush's choice for Secretary of Defense back in 1989, the replacement was Dick Cheney.

TerryM

  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 6002
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 893
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1693 on: February 28, 2017, 01:19:37 AM »
Team Trump does not want a special prosecutor because it would be illegal for the WH to lobby him; but it is not illegal for the WH to lobby the Republican Chairs of the House and Senate intelligence committee panels to downplay any wrong doing on the part of the Trump campaign w.r.t. the Russian-Connection.  Indeed, the WH has already entreated both the Republican Chairs of the IC panels to speak-out and they already have spoken-out based on no formal congressional information.  However, if what the WH says is true is indeed true, then why are they interfering with the Congressional IC panels?  Based on this behavior it is not clear whether, or not, the congressional panel can run an unbiased investigation based on the fact that the Republican Chairs are already bending to WH pressure.   If not, then either Sessions should recuse himself before the DOJ appoints a special prosecutor. 

However, I think that the possibility of a special prosecutor is only a pipedream at this point.  If Democrats cannot convince themselves that their IC panels can act without WH interference, and that a fair special prosecutor will not be appointed by the DOJ, then Congress many need to authorize, empower & fund (many millions of dollars) an independent commission to investigate the Russian-Connections.


Will this be a replay of the Republican investigations of Clinton?
Hundreds of millions spent, years of congressional gridlock, and in the end the voters re-elected Clinton, in no small part because they saw the huge powers of a bullying government attacking someone that they or a friend had once voted for.


How would you define the climactic conclusion of a successful investigation?
 
After Trump is run out of town on a rail would the triumphant Pence now be in place to run for an additional two terms?
Would America immediately drop a Victory bomb on Moscow?
Would the EPA suddenly have a huge budget bump as Hansen is sworn in as it's new head?


If Clinton's prosecution had been successful Gore would have become president, and as an incumbent would almost certainly would have destroyed Shrub's chance at the brass ring. 9/11 probably would have been thwarted, Homeland Security legislation wouldn't have been enacted, and the mid east might have remained almost peaceful.


Our side would have emerged as huge winners & their side would still be nattering away in the depths of the Bohemian Grove.
They finally came to their senses and dropped everything before victory could have been declared. Why not learn from their experience and not start something where even if we win, we lose.


Terry

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1694 on: February 28, 2017, 01:41:01 AM »
Why not learn from their experience and not start something where even if we win, we lose.

Terry,

If it is not already clear, I disagree with your general line of logic regarding investigation of the Trump-Russia connection.

First, the FISA court has already authorized at least three different active investigations on this matter by the FBI (with CIA cooperation).  Having the WH reach out to FBI officials in order to influence their investigation is illegal.

Second, the two Congressional intelligence committees have already decided to conduct investigations (including: Flynn's actions, demanding Trump's taxes, and demanding the passport of Trump's personnel lawyer).  So unless Team Trump has something to hide why are they pressing both Republican Chairs for the intelligence investigation to say that there is nothing there.

Third, when Sally Yates had already told Trump that Flynn was compromised, why did Trump allow Pence announce publically that Flynn had done nothing wrong?

See:
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/richard-burr-donald-trump-north-carolina-235319
&
https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/house-intelligence-chairman-denies-evidence-of-trump-teams-ties-to-russia/2017/02/27/66495ce8-fcfd-11e6-99b4-9e613afeb09f_story.html?utm_term=.85cf05d9e135

Also see:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/14/us/politics/russia-intelligence-communications-trump.html?_r=0

The only thing we have to fear from an investigation is fear itself.
Best,
ASLR
« Last Edit: February 28, 2017, 02:18:00 AM by AbruptSLR »
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

Buddy

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3379
  • Go DUCKS!!
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 49
  • Likes Given: 34
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1695 on: February 28, 2017, 02:50:20 AM »
I'm not sure which is worse:

(1) Trump didn't know that healthcare was complicated, or

(2) he met with the largest health insurance companies (which is like meeting with "the big bad wolf" to make sure Little Red Riding Hood is well cared for.

What an absolute idiot.  Truly.  Incredible......

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-health-care-complicated_us_58b48652e4b0780bac2c54f0?
FOX (RT) News....."The Trump Channel.....where truth and journalism are dead."

Clare

  • Frazil ice
  • Posts: 167
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 5
  • Likes Given: 1
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1696 on: February 28, 2017, 04:52:03 AM »

Maybe some of you haven't caught up with this story yet, yes he has dual citizenship in NZ as well. Much to most of us kiwis' surprise too!
(Some scarey guy to my mind!).

"WHY DOES PETER THIEL HAVE NEW ZEALAND CITIZENSHIP?
Trump’s main ally in Silicon Valley has a $10 million backup plan in the South Pacific."

http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/01/why-does-peter-thiel-have-new-zealand-citizenship

and
https://techcrunch.com/2017/01/26/peter-thiel-new-zealand-citizen/

budmantis

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 1220
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 7
  • Likes Given: 34
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1697 on: February 28, 2017, 05:22:49 AM »


Will this be a replay of the Republican investigations of Clinton?
Hundreds of millions spent, years of congressional gridlock, and in the end the voters re-elected Clinton, in no small part because they saw the huge powers of a bullying government attacking someone that they or a friend had once voted for.


If Clinton's prosecution had been successful Gore would have become president, and as an incumbent would almost certainly would have destroyed Shrub's chance at the brass ring. 9/11 probably would have been thwarted, Homeland Security legislation wouldn't have been enacted, and the mid east might have remained almost peaceful.

Terry

Terry: Back in 98/99, during Clinton's impeachment proceedings, the GOP had a majority in both houses of Congress. The GOP has the same advantage now, therefore the only way the Democrats will get any traction is if the Republicans agree to go along.

Because it will require a bi-partisan effort to begin proceedings against Trump, the ramifications will be different from what happened with Clinton.

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1698 on: February 28, 2017, 10:28:38 AM »

Maybe some of you haven't caught up with this story yet, yes he has dual citizenship in NZ as well. Much to most of us kiwis' surprise too!
(Some scarey guy to my mind!).

"WHY DOES PETER THIEL HAVE NEW ZEALAND CITIZENSHIP?
Trump’s main ally in Silicon Valley has a $10 million backup plan in the South Pacific."

http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/01/why-does-peter-thiel-have-new-zealand-citizenship

and
https://techcrunch.com/2017/01/26/peter-thiel-new-zealand-citizen/

The linked article is entitled: "A Floating Libertarian City Gets a Step Closer to Reality".  While Thiel apparently doesn't want to pay the billions required to build such a floating city; nevertheless, you can see that he is intent on grabbing as much resources now (particularly during Trump's administration) and then running to a 'hide-out' in the Pacific.

http://www.seeker.com/a-floating-libertarian-city-is-a-step-closer-to-reality-2203456955.html

Extract: "But this past January 13, the dream came one step closer to reality when the Seastead Institute signed a deal with French Polynesia that lays the legal groundwork for the world's first semi-autonomous floating city-state.

French Polynesia is a cluster of more than 100 islands in the South Pacific, the biggest and best-known being Tahiti. Like other coastal and island nations in the Pacific, French Polynesia is courting investment in the so-called "blue economy," the sustainable development of offshore energy production, wild-catch fisheries, aquaculture and tourism.

Billionaire Thiel is not currently involved in the Seasteading Institute or this first floating cities project in French Polynesia. When it became clear that libertarian islands on the open ocean would cost billions to build and secure, Thiel's initial passion for seasteading cooled."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

Buddy

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3379
  • Go DUCKS!!
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 49
  • Likes Given: 34
Re: The Trump Presidency (was "Presidential Poll")
« Reply #1699 on: February 28, 2017, 12:48:26 PM »
Here is but one property that Trump sold in 2008 to a Russian businessman.  This was a property that was bought by Trump, renovated by the winner of one of the early editions of "The Apprentice"....and flipped for a profit to a Russian businessman who was looking to "park" money/investments outside of Russia.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/russian-mogul-pays-donald-trump-100-million-florida-mansion-article-1.294453

Watch Rachel Maddow's clip below and follow the money......(Always follow the money)

http://forum.arctic-sea-ice.net/index.php?action=post;topic=1748.1650;last_msg=104838

This is just one of many such relationships that Trump AND his cabinet.....have with Russians.  There is nothing wrong with having business relationships with Russians....there IS something wrong when you use those relationships to (1) impact elections in the US, and/or (2) help launder or "park" money (park meaning LEGALLY.....launder meaning illegally).  This appears to be "parking" of money....but it creates ONE MORE TIE between Trump and a Russian businessman.

FOX (RT) News....."The Trump Channel.....where truth and journalism are dead."