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sidd

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5600 on: August 22, 2019, 06:42:38 AM »
Trump jumps first on student debt: cancels student debt for disabled military vets

"  will wipe out an average of $30,000 in debt owed by more than 25,000 eligible veterans"

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-address-veterans-help-raise-165535103.html

sidd

TerryM

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5601 on: August 22, 2019, 08:10:08 AM »
^^
Woops
How did our Oh So Bright Candidates miss that one?
Terry

sedziobs

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5602 on: August 22, 2019, 03:51:34 PM »
There's not much new about this. The program already exists for any permanently disabled person with a federal loan. Trump is just trying to expedite the process for veterans by undisclosed means.

Quote
Since the formation of the federal student loan program, borrowers who are considered totally and permanently disabled have been eligible to have their federal student loans forgiven.

Student loan forgiveness in this context includes:
  • Veterans who the Department of Veterans Affairs has determined are unemployable due to a service-connected disability
  • Borrowers receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits
  • Borrowers certified as “totally and permanently disabled” by a physician
Forbes

studentaid.ed.gov

Neven

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5603 on: August 23, 2019, 12:46:26 AM »
Has anyone in the media asked him yet how he's 'going to pay for it'? Because that's all they do when progressives propose these things.
The enemy is within
Don't confuse me with him

E. Smith

vox_mundi

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5604 on: August 23, 2019, 01:03:14 AM »
He only takes questions from Faux News and they would never ask a hard-ball question like that.
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

DrTskoul

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5605 on: August 23, 2019, 01:07:13 AM »
You mean use reason, when asking?

blumenkraft

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5606 on: August 24, 2019, 03:39:04 PM »
Trump's plan to cage kids indefinitely while denying them vaccines is ethnic cleansing in plain sight

Link >> https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/trump-administration-detention-indefinite-children-cages-flu-vaccine-custody-deaths-a9075181.html

kassy

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5607 on: August 25, 2019, 04:55:46 PM »
They should relentlessly ask why they imprison children or why they tolerate it (to the Rep party in general).

It´s not like children have a say in this. They are not legally responsible.
Þetta minnismerki er til vitnis um að við vitum hvað er að gerast og hvað þarf að gera. Aðeins þú veist hvort við gerðum eitthvað.

Tom_Mazanec

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5608 on: September 01, 2019, 01:13:42 AM »
Why Trump Wants Even More Pollution Than Industry Does
http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/08/why-trump-wants-even-more-pollution-than-industry-methane-climate.html
Quote
The American Petroleum Institute has supported Trump’s anti-regulation emissions policy, but several of the largest drillers have opposed it. They have good reason. The Trump rollback will face a legal challenge, producing years of uncertainty during which drillers won’t know which rules they’ll ultimately have to follow. And it allows the sloppiest drillers to gain an advantage in the meantime over the more efficient ones.

Gumbercules

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5609 on: September 01, 2019, 07:57:55 AM »
They should relentlessly ask why they imprison children or why they tolerate it (to the Rep party in general).

It´s not like children have a say in this. They are not legally responsible.

I want people like you to tell me why you didn't cvare about it when Obama did it.

Also, what is your immigration policy? If you're for open borders, you're ignorant and immoral.

vox_mundi

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5610 on: September 02, 2019, 04:40:43 PM »
Psychologists Define the 'Dark Core of Personality'
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-09-psychologists-dark-core-personality.html



Egoism, Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy, sadism, spitefulness and others are among the traits of the malevolent side of human personality. As results from a recently published German-Danish research project show, these traits share a common "dark core." People with one of these tendencies are also likely to have one or more of the others.

... Although at first glance, there appear to be noteworthy differences between these traits—and it may seem more "acceptable" to be an egoist than a psychopath—new research shows that all dark aspects of human personality are very closely linked and are based on the same tendency. That is, most dark traits can be understood as flavoured manifestations of a single common underlying disposition: The dark core of personality. In practice, this implies that if you have a tendency to show one of these dark personality traits, you are also more likely to have a strong tendency to display one or more of the others.

As the new research reveals, the common denominator of all dark traits, the D-factor, can be defined as:

Quote
... the general tendency to maximize one's individual utility—disregarding, accepting or malevolently provoking disutility for others—accompanied by beliefs that serve as justifications

In other words, all dark traits can be traced back to the general tendency of placing one's own goals and interests over those of others, even to the extent of taking pleasure in hurting others—along with a host of beliefs that serve as justifications and thus prevent feelings of guilt, shame or regret. The research shows that dark traits in general can be understood as instances of this common core—although they may differ in which aspects are predominant (e.g., the justifications aspect is very strong in narcissism, whereas the aspect of malevolently provoking disutility is the main feature of sadism) .

Nine of the most commonly studied dark personality traits:

- Egoism: an excessive preoccupation with one's own advantage at the expense of others and the community
- Machiavellianism: a manipulative, callous attitude and a belief that the ends justify the means
- Moral disengagement: cognitive processing style that allows behaving unethically without feeling distress
- Narcissism: excessive self-absorption, a sense of superiority, and an extreme need for attention from others
- Psychological entitlement: a recurring belief that one is better than others and deserves better treatment
- Psychopathy: lack of empathy and self-control, combined with impulsive behaviour
- Sadism: a desire to inflict mental or physical harm on others for one's own pleasure or to benefit oneself
- Self-interest: a desire to advance and highlight one's own social and financial status
- Spitefulness: destructiveness and willingness to cause harm to others, even if one harms oneself in the process


Morten Moshagen et al, The dark core of personality., Psychological Review (2018)

----------------------

Sound familiar?

----------------------

“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

blumenkraft

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5611 on: September 06, 2019, 05:21:48 PM »
From Reddit. I find it to be very accurate.

Quote
The GOP did a self-assessment back in 2013 after Obama won re-election. It said many things, but one of the main points was that the GOP needs to change and appeal more to minority voters and that if it didn't the party would continue to shrink. (See page 78 under the "America Looks Different" heading to see some of their comments on this including how they need to champion immigration reform to appear to Hispanic voters).

So naturally the GOP saw the writing on the wall and started changing, right? Well I think they did, but not in a way that a sane person would react. Instead of taking their own advice and moving towards the center, they doubled-down and decided to move further right. It suddenly became justifiable to them to accept the help of a foreign power to interfere with our elections since it would help their ideals survive.

That's why they're shameless about their tactics to put ultra-conservative judges on the SC, gerrymandering, not taking steps to secure our elections, etc.; It's because they know if they play fair they have to change their platform to conform with what the majority of Americans actually want. They would rather destroy democracy in order to cling to the shreds that remain of "their" America than to evolve and actually be a party of the people.

They're not playing fair and they never will again. That's why they don't want challengers to the nomination. They're playing for the survival of their far-right views and they'll do whatever it takes at this point to make sure they stay in power.
To me this is the scariest part of everything we're seeing.

Quote
I think the GOP strategists that were thinking long term would have liked to have weened the party off it's racism, and courted minority voters. I think that's what Jeb or Rubio would have tried to do. The problem was they've been feeding their base racism methadone to keep them hooked for so long, that when Trump came along with his black tar heroin racism, their base ran off with him and is never going back.

Link >> https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/d0eb6c/republicans_to_scrap_primaries_and_caucuses_as/ez92n4w/

SteveMDFP

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5612 on: September 06, 2019, 06:08:50 PM »
From Reddit. I find it to be very accurate.

 
Quote
. . . I think the GOP strategists that were thinking long term would have liked to have weened the party off it's racism, and courted minority voters. I think that's what Jeb or Rubio would have tried to do. The problem was they've been feeding their base racism methadone to keep them hooked for so long, that when Trump came along with his black tar heroin racism, their base ran off with him and is never going back.

Link >> https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/d0eb6c/republicans_to_scrap_primaries_and_caucuses_as/ez92n4w/
I agree that the passages are accurate and insightful.  There is an additional dynamic going on, though.  I think the behavior of GOP legislators is entirely rational for those seeking to retain power at any cost.

My sense is that ever since the disastrous reign of Bush Jr., moderate Republican voters have been leaving the party.  The residual "base" that vote in primaries is thus steadily more regressive, more reactionary, with rabid segments wielding a greater proportion of primary votes.

The biggest fear of the incumbent legislators is losing in a primary, not losing in general elections.  To fend off primary challengers, they *have* to cater to this crowd.  Catering to this crowd, though, does lower their chance of winning in general elections, so they have to do whatever it takes to suppress Democratic votes   

The countering strategy has to include efforts to get more voters to the polls in general elections.  If this succeeds, the problem of Repube extremism will mostly take care of itself.  Just the fear of losing in general elections will moderate the policy stances of the Repube legislators.

I'm skeptical that Repube legislators have actually become more regressive in their personal beliefs.  I think the awful policy shifts we've seen have been are more about seeking retention of power than any ideology.

blumenkraft

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5613 on: September 08, 2019, 09:01:55 AM »
NOAA staff warned in Sept. 1 directive against contradicting Trump

Quote
Nearly a week before the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration publicly backed President Trump over its own scientists, a top NOAA official warned its staff against contradicting the president.

In an agencywide directive sent Sept. 1 to National Weather Service personnel, hours after Trump asserted, with no evidence, that Alabama “would most likely be hit (much) harder than anticipated,” staff was told to “only stick with official National Hurricane Center forecasts if questions arise from some national level social media posts which hit the news this afternoon.”

They were also told not to “provide any opinion,” according to a copy of the email obtained by The Washington Post.

Link >> https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/noaa-staff-warned-in-sept-1-directive-against-contradicting-trump/2019/09/07/12a52d1a-d18f-11e9-87fa-8501a456c003_story.html

The great leader has spoken. Only in North Korea and in the US.

The land of the free, home of the brave my ass.

blumenkraft

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5614 on: September 09, 2019, 11:05:21 AM »
Very interesting pre-trump talk with Mark Blyth. Not that his predictions are correct (so far) because trump obviously never delivered on his promises, but the analysis is worth hearing indeed.

Is the World Less Risky with Trump in Charge?


Rob Dekker

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5615 on: September 10, 2019, 07:05:41 AM »
Very interesting pre-trump talk with Mark Blyth. Not that his predictions are correct (so far) because trump obviously never delivered on his promises, but the analysis is worth hearing indeed.

That video is from March 2018.
What do you mean with "pre-trump" talk with Mark Blyth ?
This is our planet. This is our time.
Let's not waste either.

blumenkraft

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5616 on: September 10, 2019, 10:50:40 AM »
Rob, the date a video is uploaded to YouTube doesn't necessarily equal the date of the talk.  ::)

vox_mundi

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5617 on: September 10, 2019, 09:20:36 PM »
And another one bites the dust ...

John Bolton Fired as National Security Adviser 
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/09/10/investing/john-bolton-oil-prices/index.html
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

TerryM

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5618 on: September 10, 2019, 09:39:44 PM »
And another one bites the dust ...

John Bolton Fired as National Security Adviser 
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/09/10/investing/john-bolton-oil-prices/index.html

WoW!!


There will be dancing in the streets - in Many countries.


Thanks for making this a wonderful day!
Terry

vox_mundi

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5619 on: September 10, 2019, 10:29:19 PM »
Plan?! There ain't no plan!!!

“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

vox_mundi

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5620 on: September 11, 2019, 09:07:09 PM »
Trump Adviser Who Lamented 'Demonization of Carbon Dioxide' Follows Bolton Out the White House Door
https://earther.gizmodo.com/trump-adviser-who-lamented-demonization-of-carbon-dioxi-1838041167

President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, was fired (or resigned) on Monday. Now it appears the flotsam he brought with him to the National Security Council could be following him out the door. And it could have a surprising climate upside.

Bloomberg’s Ari Natter reported on Tuesday that William Happer has turned in his resignation from the National Security Council. Happer is a physicist, but he’s best known for being a climate denier who once said the “demonization of carbon dioxide is just like the demonization of the poor Jews under Hitler.” Seriously, you can’t make this shit up.

One of Happer’s big endeavors during his year with the Trump administration was trying to spearhead a “debate” over the validity of climate science between actual scientists and a bunch of doofuses from conservative think tanks. The idea was a favorite of grift master Scott Pruitt, the former head of the Environmental Protection Agency. After he resigned in disgrace, Happer took up the mantle of making the debate happen with Bolton’s blessing. Thankfully, it never did because it would be a huge waste of time for everyone involved, America at large included.

It’s unclear what else, if anything, Happer accomplished on the National Security Council. But with him and Bolton out, there are at least two fewer idiots on the council trying to put a torch to climate science and even worse, ignore its impacts on national security. It’s easy to forget just how outlandish it is to have climate deniers providing key national security advice, but step back and it’s quickly clear how fucked up it is.

Climate change poses one of the biggest national security threats to the U.S. Science backs this up, showing that military bases could be flooded out by sea level rise and storms and that changing weather patterns could destabilize parts of the world. People who don’t acknowledge the threat of climate change let alone the scientific reality shouldn’t be in positions of power. And yet, Bolton (who does not deny climate change but has opposed international efforts to curb rising temperatures) and Happer (who has claimed climate scientists are wrong) have both managed to have long had access to the halls of power; Bolton has had a position in every Republican administration since Regan, and Happer worked in George W. Bush’s Department of Energy.

In fact, Bolton’s lobbying for endless war in the Middle East to keep the flow of oil running uninterrupted has spurred climate change along. The U.S. military is also the largest consumer of oil in the world, and the 21st century “War on Terror” that Bolton backed has kicked carbon emissions into high gear. A report earlier this year found an astounding 35 percent of the military’s emissions since 2001 are tied to the war, helping speed climate change along and resulting in a more unstable future.
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

KiwiGriff

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5621 on: September 11, 2019, 09:14:41 PM »
News just in.
We now know why trump wound back the light bulb standards.
Trump gets an even lovelier orange glow under incandescents.
Animals can be driven crazy by placing too many in too small a pen. Homo sapiens is the only animal that voluntarily does this to himself.
Notebooks of Lazarus Long.
Robert Heinlein.

blumenkraft

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5622 on: September 12, 2019, 07:24:43 AM »
Trump Administration Officials Arrested for Scamming Puerto Rico Out of $1.8 Billion in Hurricane Relief Funds

Quote
Remember when Trump blasted Puerto Rico’s government for their corruption and thievery, explaining that he was the best thing that ever happened to that foreign country whose president’s name he couldn’t quite remember?

Well, it turned out, it was his own people who were actually doing the scamming.

Link >> https://www.theroot.com/trump-administration-officials-arrested-for-scamming-pu-1838044256

blumenkraft

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5623 on: September 12, 2019, 12:39:50 PM »
Hey trumpists, hope you are proud of yourselves.

This is taken from r/politics. The reputation of NOAA destroyed instantly because your great dictator manchild can't admit to a mistake.

This is what fascism does...

blumenkraft

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5624 on: September 12, 2019, 04:36:02 PM »
Creator of Stanford Prison Experiment on Trump's camps: It's how Nazi guards behaved



Link >> https://www.salon.com/2019/09/12/creator-of-stanford-prison-experiment-on-trumps-camps-its-how-nazi-guards-behaved/

Tom_Mazanec

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5625 on: September 13, 2019, 10:29:28 PM »
AP-NORC poll: 64% disapprove of Trump’s climate change views
https://www.apnews.com/82e8e6fd7b43436cbf5208ee1558d6b1
Quote
President Donald Trump gets some of his worst marks from the American people when it comes to his handling of climate change, and majorities believe the planet is warming and support government actions that he has sometimes scoffed at.

While the administration has rolled back regulations to cut emissions of heat-trapping carbon dioxide from power and industrial plants and pushed for more coal use, wide shares of Americans say they want just the opposite, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

vox_mundi

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5626 on: September 15, 2019, 02:45:08 AM »
Trump Brings Up Possible Defense Treaty that could Boost Netanyahu's Re-Election Bid
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1054501

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday he had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about a possible mutual defense treaty between the two nations, a move that could bolster Netanyahu's re-election bid just days before Israelis go to the polls.

... Netanyahu made a direct appeal to voters based on the treaty. "I'm going to get us a defense pact that will provide us with security for centuries but for that I need your votes," he said.

Trump provided no details, but a mutual defense treaty could obligate the United States to come to Israel's defense if it is attacked.
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

blumenkraft

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5627 on: September 15, 2019, 07:05:27 AM »
Orange President Blames Light Bulbs for Making Him Orange

Link >> https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-president-blames-light-bulbs-orange-884499/

State of affairs on bizarro earth.

Meanwhile, people die in concentration camps and tens of thousands are getting disappeared by the government.

The US Has “Disappeared” More Than 42,000 Migrants. Where’s the Outrage?

Link >> https://truthout.org/articles/the-us-has-disappeared-more-than-42000-migrants-wheres-the-outrage/
« Last Edit: September 15, 2019, 08:09:39 AM by blumenkraft »

vox_mundi

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5628 on: September 16, 2019, 05:06:04 PM »
The movie equivalent of what Trump's offer to buy Greenland was like ...

“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

vox_mundi

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5629 on: September 19, 2019, 04:59:15 PM »
Quote
... "All governments suffer a recurring problem: Power attracts pathological personalities. It is not that power corrupts but that it is magnetic to the corruptible. - Missionaria Protectiva, Text QIV (decto)”

– Chapterhouse: Dune by Frank Herbert
http://www.systemsthinker.com/interests/systemsthinking/humansystems/pathocracy.shtml 

----------------------------------

Pathological Power: The Danger of Governments Led by Narcissists and Psychopaths
https://phys.org/news/2019-09-pathological-power-danger-narcissists-psychopaths.html

... It's not really surprising that people with personality disorders are drawn to political power—narcissists crave attention and affirmation, and feel that they are superior to others and have the right to dominate them. They also lack empathy, which means that they are able to ruthlessly exploit and abuse people for the sake of power. Psychopaths feel a similar sense of superiority and lack of empathy, but without the same impulse for attention and adoration.

But pathocracy isn't just about individuals. As Lobaczewski pointed out, pathological leaders tend to attract other people with psychological disorders. At the same time, empathetic and fair-minded people gradually fall away. They are either ostracised or step aside voluntarily, appalled by the growing pathology around them.

As a result, over time pathocracies become more entrenched and extreme. You can see this process in the Nazi takeover of the German government in the 1930s, when Germany moved from democracy to pathocracy in less than two years.

Democracy is an essential way of protecting people from pathological politicians, with principles and institutions that limit their power (the Bill of Rights in the US, which guarantees certain rights to citizens is a good example).

This is why pathocrats hate democracy. Once they attain power they do their best to dismantle and discredit democratic institutions, including the freedom and legitimacy of the press. This is the first thing that Hitler did when he became German chancellor, and it is what autocrats such as Trump, Vladimir Putin and Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán have been attempting to do.

... In the US, there has clearly been a movement towards pathocracy under Trump. As Lobaczewski's theory predicts, the old guard of more moderate White House officials—the "adults in the room" – has fallen away. The president is now surrounded by individuals who share his authoritarian tendencies and lack of empathy and morality.

It seems as if the UK is also, closer to pathocracy than ever before. The recent exodus of moderate Conservatives is characteristic of the purges which occur as a democracy transitions into pathocracy.

... the danger of democracy transitioning into pathocracy is always real. It is always closer to us than we think, and once it has a foothold, will crush every obstacle in its way.

-------------------------------

The Pathocracy Blog
https://pathocracy.wordpress.com/definition/

Definition: pathocracy (n). A system of government created by a small pathological minority that takes control over a society of normal people (from Political Ponerology: A Science on the Nature of Evil Adjusted for Political Purposes, by Andrew Lobaczewski)

http://www.ponerology.com/evil_2b.html
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

Tom_Mazanec

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5630 on: September 21, 2019, 01:38:13 AM »
'I want to look better.' For Trump, climate is a laugh line
https://www.eenews.net/stories/1061135857
Quote
A master of messaging and branding, Trump has transformed complex energy policies into laugh lines at rallies. And while the accuracy of such remarks is often questionable, they're hard to dispute in public debates and other formats that will be a feature of the presidential election, experts say.

Trump is skilled at crafting an identification with his audience members, such that they feel he represents them in a particular way, even if large oil companies or car manufacturers are the true beneficiaries of his policies, said Anthony Arrigo, a rhetoric and communication professor at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth.

Tom_Mazanec

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5631 on: September 24, 2019, 09:16:16 PM »
Inside the Trump Administration’s Chaotic Dismantling of the Federal Land Agency
https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-the-trump-administrations-chaotic-dismantling-of-the-federal-land-agency
Quote
Internal records from the Bureau of Land Management contradict what its chief told Congress about a plan to ship 200 D.C.-based career staff out West. The plan would weaken the agency, which stands between federal lands and oil, gas and mineral companies.

blumenkraft

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5632 on: September 24, 2019, 09:57:00 PM »
Impeachment is on baby!

wili

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5633 on: September 24, 2019, 10:23:32 PM »
Yup: Rep. John Lewis just called for impeachment proceedings against Pres. Trump on the House floor (NowThis fb feed)
"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."

wili

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5634 on: September 24, 2019, 11:41:55 PM »
And now Pelosi has just announced that impeachment proceedings are officially initiated.

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-ukraine-09-24-2019/index.html
"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."

Neven

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5635 on: September 25, 2019, 12:11:28 AM »
This is a stupid mistake, but probably intentional.  :(
The enemy is within
Don't confuse me with him

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wili

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5636 on: September 25, 2019, 12:14:16 AM »
Ummmm, I would call it more of a constitutional duty.

Time will tell if it was a political mistake.
"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."

sidd

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5637 on: September 25, 2019, 12:35:14 AM »
Re: impeachment

This is almost guaranteed to inflate the Trump vote. Whether it will provide any similar and countervailing benefit for the democrats remains to be seen.

sidd

TerryM

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5638 on: September 25, 2019, 01:07:32 AM »
Re: impeachment

This is almost guaranteed to inflate the Trump vote. Whether it will provide any similar and countervailing benefit for the democrats remains to be seen.

sidd
Ramen!!


We'll never know whether Pelosi did it on purpose, but you don't need to go any further back than Clinton's presidency and see how that played out.
Did Pelosi somehow lose control of the Democratic Primary - is this her way of assuring the money people that she can still keep their foes out of power? ::)


If they toss in a little about gun control they'll make it a landslide & perhaps Trump won't feel that he needs to be a "War President" to be re-elected.  ???


Every cloud & all that stuff. :)
Terry

wili

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5639 on: September 25, 2019, 01:14:12 AM »
"...inflate the Trump vote..."

Can you guys really do no better than rehashing the idiotic blather that mindless tv pundits spew?

The number of ways this is different than Clinton are so myriad...I don't even know where to start.

I won't bother, since you all don't really seem interested in a serious conversation about all this.

How can people think so clearly about climate and Arctic ice, yet have such shallow (nicest word I could conjure up at the moment :) ) 'analyses' of these matters?
"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."

sidd

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5640 on: September 25, 2019, 01:23:28 AM »
Re: impeachment inflating the Trump vote

I take it that the counter thesis is that it will have no effect or depress the Trump vote ? That is not what i see on the street. But, of course, thats just me your mileage may vary. I will say that I probably know more Trump voters than most on this forum.

As for " rehashing the idiotic blather that mindless tv pundits spew",  perhaps you are better educated on TV blather than I. I have not watched any TV excepting period drama (think Downton Abbey) on PBS and BBC for the last twenty years or more and certainly not any political analysis.

sidd
« Last Edit: September 25, 2019, 01:30:57 AM by sidd »

TerryM

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5641 on: September 25, 2019, 02:05:31 AM »
^^
I saw some commercials on TV for the first time in years last night.
They have not improved! :P
Terry

sidd

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5642 on: September 25, 2019, 08:08:54 AM »
Coulda guessed he'd pick a torturer for a human rights post: Trump nominates Billingslea

"nomination of Marshall Billingslea as Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights"

"Billingslea, who participated in a 2003 Pentagon working group on interrogation, pressed for the use of torture of detainees at the US military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, despite the objections of high-ranking military officials"

 “It’s time to take the gloves off.”

"Billingslea falsely claimed that the Pentagon working group had endorsed some of the torture techniques "

"Billingslea completed the group’s final report without the knowledge of its dissenting members"

"Rumsfeld approved all of the techniques recommended by Billingslea, which were then used to torture Mohamedou Ould Slahi ... refused to proceed with prosecuting him after determining that “what had been done to Slahi amounted to torture.” "

Wilkins at commondreams:

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/09/24/rights-groups-urge-senate-reject-nomination-torture-advocate-marshall-billingslea

This should get Trump a couple days publicity in the form of facebook and twitter outrage.

sidd

Neven

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5643 on: September 25, 2019, 09:37:07 AM »
Impeachment could be advantageous for Democrats in the presidential race, if Biden were innocent and not the corrupt sleazebag that he is. You need to show that Trump is part of the corrupt establishment, and always has been, but now you make the argument for him that the corrupt establishment is trying to get rid of him in undemocratic ways because he is the outsider.

I don't need TV pundits to figure that one out. Just like sidd, I hardly watch any TV, and I haven't watched any YouTube videos about this yet. It's common sense.

Just like Russiagate (the left's version of 'birth certificate'), this is going to suck out all the air from talks about policy, and it's exactly what Trump wants and needs to get re-elected. Unless he's running against Biden or Warren, of course. Another four years is almost ensured then.

Call me crazy, but I think they're doing it on purpose. There are a lot of 'Democrats' who'd rather have four more years of Trump than a Sanders presidency.
The enemy is within
Don't confuse me with him

E. Smith

Tom_Mazanec

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5644 on: September 25, 2019, 01:37:02 PM »
Even if Trump is forced out of office, think:
Do you want Pence for POTUS?

blumenkraft

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5645 on: September 25, 2019, 02:48:13 PM »
The purpose of the impeachment is not to remove him from office, this is a very unlikely outcome anyway.

It's a machine that makes people talk about Trump's wrongdoings. It's worth it IMHO. You can't talk about this topic enough.

Neven

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5646 on: September 25, 2019, 03:09:02 PM »
It's a machine that makes people talk about Trump's wrongdoings. It's worth it IMHO. You can't talk about this topic enough.

I absolutely agree, but this particular action, just like Russiagate, is going to help deflect talk about Trump's real wrongdoings and how he is actually not outside of the establishment, but well inside it.

It's just dumb, but most politicians aren't dumb, and so they're doing this on purpose.
The enemy is within
Don't confuse me with him

E. Smith

blumenkraft

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5647 on: September 25, 2019, 03:27:21 PM »
Well, there is enough dirt to throw on Trump. There are hundreds and possibly thousands of offenses regarding the emoluments clause only. Or the stuff Mueller pulled out. A lot of impeachable stuff no one is talking about. Let's hope the Dems do their job this time around. They better hire some great lawyers...

Tom_Mazanec

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5648 on: September 25, 2019, 04:46:09 PM »
It's a machine that makes people talk about Trump's wrongdoings. It's worth it IMHO. You can't talk about this topic enough.

I absolutely agree, but this particular action, just like Russiagate, is going to help deflect talk about Trump's real wrongdoings and how he is actually not outside of the establishment, but well inside it.

It's just dumb, but most politicians aren't dumb, and so they're doing this on purpose.
Let's you and me just agree to disagree about the average politician IQ.

EDITED to properly bold quote
« Last Edit: September 25, 2019, 06:17:31 PM by Tom_Mazanec »

blumenkraft

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Re: The Trump Presidency
« Reply #5649 on: September 25, 2019, 08:06:52 PM »
Gnihihihihihihihihihihi  ;D

The White House accidentally emailed its Ukraine talking points to Nancy Pelosi

Quote
Today's really not the best day for someone at the White House to be extremely bad at email.

In the aftermath of the memorandum showing President Trump pushing for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, the White House was quick to shoot off an email of talking points in hopes of containing the damage.

Link >> https://theweek.com/speedreads/867641/white-house-accidentally-emailed-ukraine-talking-points-nancy-pelosi